When the human returned to the den, he found the grass stained red and the forest floor littered with the corpses of the Bounsweet. Liepard rested before them, paws crossed in front of her and head held high with pride in her accomplishment.
But the human looked to her with disappointment.
"Why have you killed these creatures that your kind do not eat?" the human asked Liepard.
Liepard looked at the slaughtered children with disdain. "It is because I am predator, and they are prey. They have intruded on my space, and so I have done as I am meant."
"Perhaps it is so," the human mused. "But the Bounsweet fertilize the earth. They give birth to the sweet fruit you consume, and draw more prey to your forest. To slay them is to deny yourself these gifts. And what have you gained for it?"
Doubt crossed Liepard's face, for she had not considered that.
~ The 8th Tale, Liepard's Bounty
Bristle squirmed helplessly against her binds. With both buds pinned to the wall and no physical strength to speak of, she was hopeless. She'd be stuck here until someone found her.
She could cry for help. The village was pretty dense, someone would hear her for sure. They'd follow her cries into the house, see her stuck up here, struggling helplessly... They'd give her a pitying looking, or worse, a smug grin. They'd help her, of course, because that's who she was to them. A weak child, who couldn't do a thing to help themselves.
She'd sooner die up here. She'd find a way out.
Why was it always like this? Why did something always have to get in her way? Had she tugged on a Ninetale's tail in a past life?
This was supposed to be easy. She was made to do this! The child of two of the best delvers on the planet, trained from birth by the Jade Crest's greatest... She wasn't supposed to struggle with this. Much less fail!
Fail... no. She hadn't failed. She hadn't failed yet. She wouldn't fail.
It just hadn't been her time to bloom yet, that was all. Like a flower in the rain, she wouldn't blossom until the storm had passed. Eventually her streak of bad luck would be behind her, and then it would really be time.
She hadn't failed, she just hadn't succeeded yet.
She struggled against the webbing some more. She couldn't move her arms, and the feeble motions she could manage weren't nearly enough to free her from the sticky goop. The webbing had welded her firmly to the wall.
She finally gave up and rested. Galvantula webbing was used as a construction-grade adhesive. Even she couldn't tear it apart like this.
Her first mistake in all of this was obvious. She never should have trusted Helioptile. He had been nothing but trouble from the start. If she'd rejected him like her gut told her, then he never could have turned on her.
But her problems had stretched further back than Helioptile, hadn't they? It wasn't his fault her recruitment efforts had fallen flat. It wasn't his fault no one would give her any respect.
And why would they, honestly? Every time she tried to show them what she was capable of, something got in her way. Every time she'd tried to do her job, she couldn't find her gear, or the dungeon was all psychic-types, or a bloody four-quadrant dungeon started deviating! It was always something!
She couldn't keep going on like this. Though it killed her to admit it... this was her fault. Legends were legends because of what they did in spite of the circumstances! Her parents had never fallen just because the dungeon was full of fire types, or because of an ambush.
Maybe fate was slanted against her. But she was better than fate! She was born to delve where no one else could! And that meant winning no matter what happened. No more complaining about it, just win! She just had to win.
And that meant regaining the respect she deserved. She'd show everyone just what she was capable of.
She had her target. This so-called "spirit"... They were nothing more than some self-aggrandizing outlaw scum, no doubt. But they'd done a lot of damage already. And they'd doubtlessly do more if left alone.
She'd take them down herself! And when the whole forest was saved from this arsonist scum by her, and her alone, the whole region would know that she had turned her own fate! Then her time would come!
She'd do it all! Just as soon as she could get down from the wall...
Just as soon as she'd begun frantically struggling against the web again, a head popped through her doorway.
"Uhm, Roselia? Are you in here?" Umbreon called softly.
"I'm- I'm up here," Bristle called down, avoiding looking Umbreon in the eyes. If she had to be caught by anyone, Umbreon was among the least insufferable people who could have found her.
Umbreon looked up to see the self-proclaimed guildmaster stuck to the wall by a thick, and unrefined glob of webbing. She'd never seen the Roselia look this embarrassed.
"Me and Galvantula had a... disagreement," Bristle explained curtly. "Can you help me down?"
Umbreon stared at the mess curiously. What had Bristle said to get that timid girl this mad at her? If anything she would have expected the Helioptile to meet this fate. "Alright... Get ready," Umbreon muttered.
She reared back as energy formed in her throat. She unleashed the dark torrent into the webbing, holding back as much as she could. The earful she'd receive if she hurt Roselia...
Bristle grimaced as she bore the wave of negative energy. When the pain subsided, she could finally move her arms a bit. Half a dozen vines instantly shot from her her buds and ripped up the remaining threads holding her to the wall.
She fell onto her knees, bits of webbing still stuck all over her. She scowled in disgust and began ripping them off with a flurry of vines.
"Sorry about that..." Umbreon said guiltily, looking her over for any sign of injury.
Bristle ignored her as she wrenched the final bit of webbing off of her, taking a layer of cuticle with it. "The outlaw is out there somewhere. We're going to find them," she said with conviction.
"What about the rest of your team?" Umbreon eyed her skeptically.
"They were useless anyways," Bristle growled. "We're more than enough."
Umbreon bowed her head in defeat. "Okay... Are we going back out into the woods?
Bristle shook her head. "No. The outlaw claims to be from Flak Mountain, that's where we'll go."
"O-outlaw? I just want to find little Mumble..." Umbreon backed away defensively.
"You heard the hound. His scent vanished, right in front of the warning. I'm certain he's with our outlaw. So if you want to find Mumble, we have to find the outlaw."
Umbreon shuddered. She hadn't signed up for fighting criminals. But if that was what she had to do... she'd do it. This was her fault. She should have noticed. She should have known.
"Okay... We'll look for the outlaw. But they could be anwhere. What's the plan to find them?" She pawed the ground nervously as Bristle snatched her bag from her room and sorted through its contents.
Her plan to find him... That was a good question. Bristle was used to receiving outlaw requests directly from the Jade Crest's job board. They only posted up notices when they had a general sense of where the outlaw was hiding out. But this "spirit" could be anywhere around the mountain. It was a massive space to search.
Umbreon was less than reassured by Roselia freezing the moment she'd asked for a plan. Was it too late for her to find help somewhere else? Hadn't she heard about delvers from the Jade Crest stationed in Flak Grotto? Were they still there?
"We'll... We'll start making for the mountain, and we'll figure out a plan along the way. I know a spot outlaws like to hide out, so we can head towards there," she finally resolved. Doing was better than thinking. And even if they had to think this one through, it was best to be doing while they thought.
"I- " Umbreon started to protest, but only sighed. "Okay. Do you have another bag?"
Bristle nodded and stepped into her secondary room. She scanned over the room. All of the supply boxes still packed up tight, the extra bed, her withering flowerbeds... No bag. Of course. The Helioptile wasn't just useless, he was also a thief.
She returned to Umbreon. "We'll have to share mine," she spat with frustration. Umbreon nodded meekly. "We should get going. It's going to be a long trek, and we need to get there before sundown."
Sundown... Umbreon shook her head, trying to stave off her encroaching exhaustion. In the span of a day she'd nearly flipped her sleep schedule entirely to work with Roselia.
She nodded her heavy head and followed Roselia out the door. She had dug her own hole. Now she had to lie in it.
Rex scowled, straightening his back and raising his head high to take in as much sunlight as possible. He had hoped the morning sun would wash way his. frustration. But the time to think had only deepened his anger.
He was mad at Bristle, of course. But more than anything, he was mad at himself. He had gotten himself wrapped up in all of this, even though he'd known it was a disaster waiting to happen. He could have walked away at the first red flags, but instead he'd kept convincing himself he was the one in control.
Well, it was never too late. He was free now. He'd marched straight out of her house, straight out of that shithole village, and made his way back to Flak Grotto. He'd taken the long road, curving far around the mystery dungeon, of course. He was done with those hellholes.
He relaxed his back and closed his frills, his current fully recharged. But his head was still pounding. It was time for plan B.
He made his way back onto the path and back down into the village that filled the chasm. The single long street was bustling with activity at this hour, as the menagerie of villagers socialized and perused the street vendors. Many of them cast him odd looks, curious of the determined-looking outsider. He ignored them all and shoved his way into the inn.
The moment he entered, Claydol spun out from his nook in the lobby and hovered in the air. "Helioptile. Welcome back. I suspect you are seeking lodging." Claydol stated, different eyes locking onto Rex as his head span around.
"No. Are Team Pride still here?" Rex asked, quickly giving up on looking the idol in its rotating eyes and staring at his torso.
Claydol's head tilted and clicked. "Yes. They are in their room at the moment."
Rex muttered his thanks and pushed past Claydol to the team's room. Claydol stared at his back a few seconds longer before surrendering his curiosity and settling down into his nook again.
Rex tried rapping a claw on the stone to knock, but his tiny claws only let out a pitiful tap. Sighing, he called out. "Hey, Gabite, you there?"
A murmur of voices sounded, before Gabite's familiar voice called back. "Yeah. Come on in."
Rex pushed the curtain aside to see Gabite and two other Pokémon huddled around a collection of marbles. One was reptilian, with huge scales forming a heavy green armor, and two long, blade-like tusks. The other was a little purple bat, with massively oversized ears. Rex was, at this point, entirely unsurprised by anything about their appearances.
Gabite was glaring over Rex's shoulder nervously. "She's not here," Rex said flatly.
Gabite's tension vanished. "Wasn't expecting you to come by. This is Bristle's new, eh... teammate?" he explained to his teammates.
"Ex-teammate. No, ex-serf," Rex instantly corrected him.
"That's unsurprising," Gabite grinned. "Well, I don't believe you've met the rest of Team Pride. Helioptile, Fraxure. Fraxure, Helioptile." Gabite gestured to the armored lizard.
Fraxure nodded politely. "Well met."
"And Noibat," Gabite gestured to the bat next.
"Heya, nice to meet you!" the bat whispered.
Rex waved to both of them. "Uh... Helioptile, I guess..."
"Well, what brings you here? Got a job for us?" Gabite broke his gaze to look down and flick a marble with his claw. It rolled through a labyrinth of lines they'd dug into the dirt and struck another marble, sending it flying. Gabite smiled widely.
"Uh, I guess so? I'm done with Bristle, so I'm kind of in need of a new place to stay. I figured I'd have better luck with that in the city. I need help getting there."
"It's a pretty straight shoot. A few days walk, but the road is safe once you get past Rolling Fields. Which shouldn't be a big issue for the Magmortar slayer, should it?" he added with a grin.
A multi-day trek through an unfamiliar world didn't sound too appealing to Rex. It might be a harmless trip to a normal Pokémon, but who knew what obstacles his ignorance would bring. And apparently he was still exceptionally weak, too.
Noibat seemed to notice his unease. "I wanted to make a run home anyways. I could escort him tomorrow."
Gabite considered a moment. "That'll be a few days trip. What if something comes up while you're gone?"
Fraxure scoffed. "Here? The most pressing danger to the people is death by monotony. Let the bat be free for a few days." Fraxure flicked another marble, scowling as it bumped over one of the lines and rolled off into the corner of the room.
Gabite chuckled. "Game set! And you have a point. Alright Deci, you're spared losing another dozen games of Delvers."
"You try playing with wings..." Noibat muttered.
"So how's that sound, Helioptile? Deci can give you a personal escort tomorrow."
Rex nodded. "That's great. Thanks a lot." He watched curiously as Gabite herded the marbles together and Fraxure stamped out all of the lines they'd drawn in the dirt. "What are you playing?"
"Eh? It's called 'Delvers', funnily enough. Cause the walls are always changing. Wanna join us?" Gabite offered.
Rex hesitated. He had literally nothing else to do for the rest of the day. And the thought of just... playing a game was very tempting. No crazy labyrinths. No violent zombies. No giant spiders, or overgrown children chastising him.
Honestly, Team Pride's seeming normalcy had caught him off guard. Bristle had tricked him into thinking all delvers were crazy.
"Sure. Show me how to play." He sat down with a smile and let his tail stretch out behind him.
Gabite and Fraxure quickly explained the rules. They'd take turns drawing walls and flicking their own marbles, trying to knock the various other marbles out without hitting the walls or the edge of the game circle.
It was a simple game, and Rex picked it up quickly. His delicate little claws were an advantage here. In under an hour he was laughing and shouting with the rest of them.
"I appear to be in a precarious situation..." Fraxure muttered anxiously, realizing no matter where he flicked his marble Rex would box him in. Rex flashed him a devious grin.
"Take your turn already, Xew. Stalling the inevitable just wastes all of our time," Gabite growled.
Fraxure sighed and flicked his marble through the maze, lightly tapping another one as it came to rest next to it. "Do your worst, Helioptile," he said with a bowed head.
Rex dragged his claw through the dirt and drew his line, never breaking his smug gaze with Fraxure as he sealed the lizard's marble in. Fraxure grabbed his marble, and counted up all of the ones that had been sealed in with him.
"That makes my final total... A humble nine points. I cannot win."
"True. But you may still beat Deci," Gabite pointed out. Noibat whimpered in reply.
Gabite pulled forward to take his own turn, bringing his head low to the ground and eyeing the marbles from ground level.
"So, I have to ask. What's up with Bristle?" Gabite pried in a more serious tone as he examined their board. "Is she... doing okay?"
The reminder of Bristle made Rex's smile vanished. "Not sure what you mean by 'okay', but the answer is probably no. She's a delusional sociopath who can't speak three words to anyone she comes across without pissing them off."
Gabite sighed, flicking his own marble half-heartedly but still sending two others careening out of the circle. "Yeah, I got that impression. I don't imagine you want to talk about what happened with you two?"
Rex shook his head. He wanted nothing more than to forget her right now and enjoy some sanity.
Gabite nodded understandingly. "She's always been a bit... eh... full of herself. But it seems like she's gotten a lot worse. It feels bad to see her sink this low."
"Yeah, well, to be blunt I don't really care what her issue is. I've got my own problems and putting up with her isn't my responsibility."
"Yeah, I get that. You're a stranger in all of this. Can't blame you for staying clear."
Rex tried to forget it and refocus on the game. Team Pride were cool, and the marbles were fun. This was all he needed at the moment. To his appreciation, Gabite dropped it and let the game continue.
"What are you planning to do in Sapsion, anyways?" Noibat asked. The bat hopped over to his marble, dancing over the lines so as to not smear them. He fumbled to strike his marble delicately with his wing. It went rolling in the wrong direction as Noibat cursed and angrily hopped back off the board.
"Dunno. Find somewhere to say, find a job, probably, and work on a uh... research project of mine," Rex offered vaguely.
"You know, if you're the mighty Magmortar slayer you claim to be, the Jade Crest would happily take you in," Gabite suggested.
Rex's first instinct was to scoff. Like he was going to escape from one crazy job and jump right into another. But... if the rest of the Jade Crest were this chill, it might not be a bad deal. Team Pride seemed like they'd vouch for him, and the Jade Crest seemed pretty respected. He'd have a place to stay, food to eat, and a new angle for chasing his mystery. It was exactly what he'd been trying with Bristle, except with less psychobitch involved.
"I... might consider it," he said, lost in thought.
Gabite shrugged. "It's good work. Never a boring day." Gabite paused as Fraxure and Noibat glared at him. "'Cept when you get stationed out in the boonies for a few weeks. But I promise this doesn't happen often."
"Of course you're not bored. You were not subjected to an entire day of games alone with littlewing over here," Fraxure grumbled.
"I swear, when I evolve I'm going to ruin this game for both of you..." Noibat muttered.
Gabite laughed. "Hey, I didn't exactly start the fires myself. I just got lucky that they needed ground-types to help put them out."
"You were helping out with that?" Rex asked.
"Yep. All claws out for rock, ground, and water-types on that. Let me guess, Bristle had you two involved too?"
"Yeeep. Looking for a lost kid in the woods. She was saw absolutely nothing wrong with wandering aimlessly around woods that were on fire," he grumbled.
"Children seem to have a special sense for finding the most dangerous places to hide," Fraxure commented. "I hope that the child is okay?"
"Who knows!" Rex threw his claws in the air. "Our tracker said he just vanished into thin air. So that's great. Hopefully whoever burnt some ominous bullshit into a tree trunk didn't get him. But whatever, it's Bristle's problem now. It's all Bristle's problem."
Gabite's eyes narrowed and he got very serious. "'Ominous bullshit'? What does that mean?"
"It means someone was trying way too hard to sound tough. Seared a warning into the back of a tree about how the 'spirit of flak mountain' was going to reclaim the woods." Rex rolled his eyes. "Sounded like some kid's edgy graffiti."
Team Pride didn't seem half as amused.
"So do we think the fires are deliberate?" Fraxure asked Gabite directly.
Gabite nodded. "And you think whoever left the message may have taken the child?"
Rex hesitated. He had just started something, hadn't he? He hadn't even considered these guys would take this so seriously. But it was their job, after all. And it was probably for the best that someone capable actually looked for the kid.
"Yeah, it seems likely. The kid's trail vanished right by where we found the message," Rex affirmed.
"We're gonna have to put a hold on that trip home, Deci. If someone's responsible for the fires, we need to find that outlaw as soon as possible."
Rex couldn't help but pout a bit. It was a necessary inconvenience, but it still stung to have another wrench in his plans.
Gabite noticed his disappointment. "Don't worry, Helioptile. We're good at what we do. And we're sure as a lock-on not letting someone start any more fires near Solemn Meadow. Can you give us a full report of what you know?"
Rex nodded and obliged. He told them about Umbreon's plea for their help, about his plan, about Bastette's tracking, and recited the ominous warning for them word-for-word.
"Alright. First of all, thank you for looping in Talonflame. Stars was he useful yesterday," Gabite nodded appreciatively. "Secondly, if our outlaw is calling themself the 'spirit of Flak Mountain', I think we can make a good guess where they're hiding out."
Noibat and Fraxure nodded in unison. "If they're coming down into these woods, and they're hiding out in a mystery dungeon, they're likely in Flak Slopes. If not Flak Crown."
"Wait," Rex interrupted. "What makes you so sure they're in a mystery dungeon?"
Gabite grinned. "History. A lot of outlaws hide out in mystery dungeons that aren't too threatening. It makes them totally untraceable, and lots of folks won't follow them in. And stories say that dungeons are particularly kind to outlaws, though I don't know if that part's true."
Seemed like a stretch to base their whole search plan on, but who was he to question the experts?
"If we head out right away, we could complete an exploration by sunset. With any luck, we could keep you two on schedule for heading out tomorrow," Gabite suggested.
"I'm down to go right away!" Noibat whispered, flapping his wings excitedly. Fraxure nodded as well.
Rex flicked his marble one more time with a frown. It went flying into one of the "walls" and bounced away. So much for the peaceful evening of games. He had enough coin from Leafeon to get a room for the night, but god was it going to be a boring evening.
"Do you wanna come along?" Gabite asked to Rex's surprise. "If you're thinking about joining the Crest, we can give you a bit of a trial and put in a good word for you. Mighty Magmortar-slayer." Gabite winked with a smile.
Rex fiddled with his frill. He was out. He never had to go in a stupid dungeon ever again. They were crazy, dangerous, and he had no real reason to ever throw himself into one again. But... somehow, the thought of staring at an inn wall for hours frustrated him more. Was he just insane? Maybe.
"Ah, why the hell not." He grinned. "Count me in."
Gabite cheered. "With four of us, this will be a breeze. We'll get you to Sapsion in no time at all."
A loud clanging of marbles sounded behind them. They turned to see Noibat on their game board, smacking his own marble repeatedly as he used it to knock off all of the others without any regard for the walls.
As soon as he'd sent the last marble tumbling into the edges of the room he stared Gabite directly in the eye with a challenging gaze.
"I win," he huffed.
Fraxure attempted to cut in, "That is not at all how the game wo-"
"I WIN." Noibat's once quiet voice suddenly echoed out through his massive ears like amplifiers, the volume shaking the wall and bringing everyone's claws to their respective ears in an instant.
Rex's ears were ringing when he removed his claws, still cringing. "I'm willing to give him this one."
Fraxure nodded in agreement. Gabite grumbled a few curses as he snatched up his marble.
Rex stared awestruck at the fantastic vista sweeping beneath him. The entire forest was a sea of green below, and the actual ocean a sparkling carpet of blue beyond that. Small peaks decorated the landscape, and he could see half a dozen small villages scattered all throughout the region from up here. Even as dots in the distance, each and every town held its own identity of unique shapes and colors. The mountain range formed a sheer wall behind him, separating this portrait of the landscape from the ones awaiting from every other angle.
"Wow..." was all he could muster. He could stare at this for an hour and keep finding new things to appreciate. But they didn't have that kind of time.
"First time up here, eh?" Gabite grinned. "Well, don't worry, we've got plenty of this view ahead of us."
Rex smiled. Then frowned. "Are we still not close to the mystery dungeon?" They'd been hiking all afternoon. The view and the good company was the only thing silencing his stubby, aching legs.
Noibat let out a faint snicker, and Gabite's grin widened. "Oh, we're pretty close alright."
Rex's eyes narrowed. What did they know that he didn't? But Noibat and Gabite kept their lips tight in smug grins.
"Look further down the path," Fraxure instructed mercifully.
Rex squinted and stared as far down the narrow path along the cliffside as he could. Wait... was that...
"The cliff is moving. But... where's the entrance?"
Fraxure wordlessly pointed back behind them.
"Wait- We're in the dungeon already?!" Oh dear god. The dungeons were horrifying enough when they had clear, identifiable boundaries. You could just wander into one without even knowing?
Noibat nodded. "Flak Slopes is a huuuuuge dungeon. It takes up like half of this side of the mountain. The force rearranges the paths along the cliffside and the connecting caverns."
Gabite noticed Rex start to look around the area anxiously. "Don't worry too much about the apparitions around here. This dungeon is a stroll through a meadow, even with just three of us."
From Gabite, it was enough to reassure him. His body relaxed, and his smile returned.
"Well that's good to know at least. I'm not much of a fighter."
Gabite raised an eyebrow with a smile. "Really? What happened to slaying a Magmortar?"
"I- I got lucky. I got very lucky." It was clear as day Gabite justifiably didn't believe him. "So, I might have understated my luck last time to shut Bristle up," he admitted.
Gabite just laughed. "Understood. I would have done the exact same thing."
"Would have?" Fraxure scoffed. "I've seen you fib to her about missions on at least three occasions."
"Yeah, but it was kind of funny to see her totally convinced that we took down a Terrakion!" Noibat snickered.
"Amusing, yes. But we are supposed to be role models, you know," Fraxure leered at them with disappointment.
Gabite shrugged. "We were a novice rank team, dude. We weren't exactly elites."
Fraxure deflated a bit. "Perhaps it wasn't our duty. But someone had to do it," he muttered to himself.
The group continued down the path. Now that he was looking, Rex could see the paths ahead of them twisting and turning in the distance, before eventually setting into a singular arrangement along the mountainside that continued to branch. At every split, Gabite would march down one of the paths utmost confidence.
Eventually, their path led them to a massive opening straight into the mountain. A twirling metal gate arched around the mouth of the cave.
"Halfset, above us," Fraxure called out. Gabite and Noibat instantly glanced up and Rex followed their gaze. A scrappy brown bird roosted on an outcropping above the gate, staring emptily into the distance burning orange eyes.
"Oh quick! Get out the rocks!" Gabite said eagerly, grabbing for Fraxure's bag.
Fraxure pulled away from him and opened the bag himself. He shuffled through it and procured three round stones and handing one of them to each teammate. Noibat cast him an annoyed glare as he grabbed the smallest stone in his talon, barely able to grip it.
"Grab one for Helioptile too," Gabite instructed. Then he added, "It's Rex, right? My personal rule is that if I'm delving with you, you can use my name. I'm Ego. Gabite Ego."
Rex would... overlook the ominousness of that name.
"I have the same rule! Noibat Deci, at your service!" Noibat happily reintroduced himself, dropping through the air a moment as he bowed with his wing.
"Of course you do. It would be awkward if people used Ego's name and no one else's. And its Fraxure Xew, by the way," Fraxure nodded cordially.
"It's uh, nice to re-meet you," Rex said as Xew handed him a round stone. "So uh, what's up with the rocks?"
"It's a bit of a game we play," Ego explained with a huge smile. "Bird apparitions used to keep gettin' up way too high for us to fight when we were younger and knew less attacks, so we resorted to just throwing rocks at them. We started getting competitive about who could hit 'em from the furthest away and came up with a scoring system. So we still use the rocks when we get the chance."
"You have an entire game dedicated to throwing rocks at birds? I can't decide if that's sadistic or amazing," Rex laughed.
"Eh, they're apparitions. The only thing that gets hurt is Deci's pride," Ego snickered as he took a step back and drew a line in the dirt with his back claws. Xew stepped back and joined him behind the line.
"You two are jerks," Deci mumbled, not moving from his spot. He was struggling to even grasp the stone in his tiny talon.
Ego winded his arm back and forth as he squinted at the bird, appraising the distance. "The second we throw, cranky up there's gonna start coming at us. So we've got to all throw at once," he instructed. "The goal is to throw from the furthest and still hit. And if it's dead before your rock hits it, zero points to you!"
Rex nodded and joined the dragons behind the line. Gabite raised an eye at him skeptically. "You sure you wanna throw from this far back? No one will fault the newbie for taking an easier shot."
Rex looked his thin, noodley arms over. "Yeah, why not," he shrugged. Who knew if he had any strength as a human, but he sure as hell didn't as a lizard. No matter how close he stood, he wasn't throwing that high anyways.
Xew stopped his own practice swings and glared up at the bird pensively. He stepped a few paces forward and marked his own line in the dirt. "Throw on the count at three," he instructed. "Three. Two. One. Attack!"
Rex flung as hard as he could with his little lizard claw. The rock barely made it halfway up to the outcropping before clattering into the cliff face and bouncing back. Deci yelped and fluttered out of the way as it nearly plinked on his head.
Ego thrust his stone with a powerful swing. It rocketed through the air and shattered into pieces on the stones behind the bird. The apparition let out a screech and spread its wings.
Before it could move, Xew's stone shot straight threw it with just as much force. The apparition burst into ooze and the stone exploded on the wall behind it.
"Point to me," Xew announced with a faint grin.
"Hey, hold up! Deci hasn't even thrown yet!" Ego snickered.
Deci cast him a frigid glare as he flapped in place, stone still in his grip. Without breaking his gaze he dropped the stone to the ground straight under him. "Screw you guys."
"Love ya, Deci," Ego reassured him. Deci gave him a playful growl in response. "And Rex, what was that?"
Rex shrugged with a sheepish grin. "I don't exactly have throwing arms." He waved his dainty arm in demonstration.
"Guess not," he chuckled. He paused and inspected Rex. "Say, you don't happen to have the dragon's pride, do you?"
"Yeah, I don't know what the hell that means," Rex said nonchalantly. He was getting pretty used to people just asking casually asking him stuff like this.
"The dragon's pride. The source of dragon power," Ego repeated, like that explained anything.
"I'm... going to need more detail than that."
"Are you familiar with elemental sources?" Xew cut in as he stamped out the line he'd drawn in the dirt.
"Uhhhhh... no," Rex answered awkwardly. Was this something he'd look dumb for not knowing?
But Xew just nodded pensively. "Pokémon have a natural attunement to their own element. Just as you can use electricity without a second thought, we can invoke the blood of dragons from the moment we hatch. But Pokémon are not restricted to their own element. Pokémon can channel other elements through what we call a 'source'. It's... a way of thinking that mimics the essence of the element in question."
"I was just wondering if you could learn to use the dragon's tail. Could probably use that instead of throwing," Ego explained.
"You keep saying these things like I know what they mean," Rex glared at him.
"Hey, not my fault you need to hang out with more dragons," Ego smirked. "The dragon's tail is an attack that channels dragon power into your tail, imbuing it with kinetic force. Or in common speak- it makes you smack stuff really really far."
Rex glanced his tail over. He hadn't ever considered ever using it offensively. Frankly, he wasn't sure what to do with it most of the time. It helped keep him balanced when he ran on all fours, but otherwise that he just felt awkward about it. Like he wasn't ever sure where to keep it.
But practical or not, supercharging it and using it as a blunt weapon sounded pretty freaking cool.
"Can you show me how?" he asked.
Ego scrunched his face and considered. "Well, I can't use the dragon's tail, so I can't teach you that. That would be a question for Xew. But the really hard part is teaching you an entirely new source."
"There's no harm in trying. We can work on it as we walk," Xew suggested. "Speaking of which, we should continue along. We're on a tight schedule."
Everyone nodded and they stepped through the gateway. The tunnel ahead twisted and reshaped itself, and the mouth of the cave closed behind them, sealing off the exit. But a warm glow kept the tunnel lit around them.
After a few minutes of walking, the source of the light became clear. The tunnel opened up into a large, multistory cavern. Small pools and rivers of magma dotted the room, coating the room in an orange glow and a toasty warmth. Various paths wound around the irregular chamber, following up the magma rivers to higher levels, or descending deeper into the caves.
As soon as he got the chance, Rex kicked a stone and watched it roll across the ground into one of the magma pools. It tumbled slowly across the pool, gradually turning a neon orange. As soon as it came to rest it began slowly sinking, melting and becoming one with the magma at the same time.
Rex grimaced. "That's a safety violation if I've ever seen one."
"Just don't step in it," Xew shuddered and rubbed the scales on his legs. "The wounds last a long time."
Ego continued to lead them through the cavern with confidence, leading them up the slopes to higher levels. Rex took the opportunity to pull up alongside Xew.
"So, how do I learn this dragon tail thing?" he asked.
"Well, first you'll need to understand the dragon's pride. I can explain it to you, verbally, but it will likely take you more consideration than that to truly understand it."
"Alright... so... I understand this source thing, and then suddenly I can supercharge my tail?" Rex eyed him narrowly. He didn't doubt it was true at this point, but he couldn't begin to grasp how that worked. The lightning felt more like a physical response- like moving a muscle. He didn't have to invoke some mystic secret.
"You understand the source. You feed the source. You draw energy from the source and use it," Xew nodded.
"Okay. I don't understand that in the slightest, but I feel like any clarifications will probably just confuse me more. Lay it on me. Tell me your mystical arcanum," Rex tried to wiggle his claws mystically, only to come to the conclusion that the motion just looked stupid without fingers.
"The dragon's pride, at its essence, is pride in oneself. Not the vain, empty sort, but the pride of the ancient dragons. Pride in everything one has accomplished, untarnished by distortion or embellishment. Pride in everything one does, not just the triumphs in which one basks, but the failures from which one grows. Pride in one's future. Not delusions of grandeur and wealth, but confidence that one will be stronger and wiser than they were before.
"All dragons feel this pride deeply. It is a good and healthy pride, but one that many struggle to decouple from vanity. Understand this, nurture this, and when the need arises, draw on that pride."
Rex considered it. Okay, that was a cool philosophy and all. But how exactly did that translate to super-dragon-tail? It just sounded like some kind of mysticism being used to explain away the magic bullshit Pokémon did.
"Three-quarter-right, Magcargo," Ego called. Everyone's head snapped to the right ahead of them, and Rex followed their gazes. A stone seemed to be dragging itself out of river of magma, its dark hue charred but still firm in spite of the heat. The stone was actually a shell. The shell of a slug seemingly made from the magma itself, inching slowly towards them with burning eyes.
Ego assumed a fighting stance, but Xew held his arm out in front of him. "It's a timely demonstration for our guest," Xew flashed him a rare smile.
Ego hesitated, and then relaxed. "Yeah. Alright."
Xew held his ground, crouching his legs and letting the creature pull itself fully from the lava and inch towards them. When it was just a few feet away, he leapt and spun in the air, turning his tail towards it. A brilliant, deep blue light flooded into his tail as it expanded to twice its usual size in an instant and he slammed it directly into the slug's shell. The slug went flying several meters back through the cavern, right off of the slope they were ascending, slamming into the backwall and collapsing into another pool of magma far below them. Somehow still moving, it glared up at them with empty eyes.
Xew landed back on the ground right in front of the river, leaping back in a panic. He eyed his foot, relieve to see it unburnt, and quickly regained his composure.
"Alright, that was the most anime shit I've ever seen," Rex laughed in disbelief. "So I can do that too?"
Xew nodded, the tension disappearing as he returned to the group. "If you can understand the source, yes."
"Alright, I think I get what you're saying about pride. But what do I like... do? How do I translate that idea into... into... this," he gestured towards his tail. Mysticism or not, this was definitely a real thing. He just needed the dragon to explain it to him in practical terms.
Xew shrugged. "You make that feeling tangible, if you understand it correctly. And then you put it there."
Rex pouted, but he didn't bother protest. Like or it not, he was the crazy one here, and not them. They'd been doing this a lot longer than him.
Light poured out ahead of them, as the tunnel Ego had selected seemed to let out to the exterior cliff routes again. Another gateway marked the end of this quadrant.
"Different people learn sources at different speeds. Some people resonate with another element than their own and can learn the source in a day. Others simply cannot ever learn a certain source, as their mentality is too far misaligned. But do not worry, that is uncommon and you seem fairly flexible. We can keep working on it," Xew reassured him as they stepped out into the sunlight, and Rex appreciated the view once again.
"Alright, thanks," Rex nodded enthusiastically. He grabbed his own tail with a smile and tried to focus all of this thoughts on pride. Hopefully this wouldn't be too tough.
"What am I doing wrong?" Rex growled, hobbling awkwardly as he carried his perfectly-mundane tail in his claw. They'd traversed eight quadrants now and were nearing the far end of the dungeon. And in all of that time, he hadn't gotten so much of a spark out of his tail.
They'd been darting in and out of the mountain, with some quadrants leading them through magma-drenched caverns and others along narrow trails above sheer cliff faces. And yet, in spite of how ridiculously dangerous it all was, Rex hadn't minded one bit. Somehow, Team Pride had made it a fun, casual adventure, and not a ridiculous life-or-death scenario.
Right now, they were on the cliff routes again. A single glance down the cliffside up here could give anyone acrophobia. So he stuck to looking at the sights further out.
Xew shrugged. "Hard to tell since it's all in your head. Remember: it's about pride, not vanity."
"Pride not vanity," Rex muttered a mocking echo. "You keep saying that! I get it! I'm not being vain! But I'm really not sure what I'm supposed to be proud of considering I'm a damned amnesiac!"
This earned curious glances from all of Team Pride. "Amnesiac huh? What's the story with that?" Ego asked.
Rex cast him a cold glare. "I forget," he said flatly.
That earned a laugh from everyone. "Okay, fair enough. But I meant like, how far back can you remember?"
"Just a few days. So I can honestly say that I've been dealing with bullshit for as long as I can remember."
"A few days?" Ego asked incredulously. "How did you end up saddled with Bristle in that time?"
Rex scowled. He'd gone hours without hearing her name. But he relented and conveyed the events of his awakening to them. He told them the full truth- everything except remembering being human, and the details of what the voice had told him.
You know, he didn't really have any issues with telling them the truth. In fact, he kind of wanted to. They were cool, and they could probably help him. But... later. This was the first enjoyable day he'd experienced since... since he could remember. He had no idea how they'd react to that news, and he just wanted to enjoy this time.
"That's... quite a strange predicament," Ego responded hesitantly, tilting his head in thought.
"Imagine waking up lost and Bristle being the first person you meet," Deci snickered. "No wonder you were so high-strung."
Xew didn't comment but was eyeing Rex up and down intently.
"Guess that's the research project you mentioned earlier then?" Deci asked. Rex nodded his confirmation. "I can connect you with some folks in Sapsion who might be able to help you. I know some types who are really into this sort of mystery stuff," the bat reassured him.
Rex finally dropped his tail to give a grateful bow. "I appreciate it."
"Yeah, we can all lend a hand. Messing with someone's head like that is definitely a crime. And catching outlaws is our job," Ego offered.
"What's more, as I understand it, some skilled psychics can repair psychological damage such as suppressed memories," Xew added. "I know a few such folks within the Crest. I'd be curious to know what it is you've forgotten."
Bristle had told him about "psychic types" but he hadn't realized they could actually mess with his head. If someone could just instantly restore all of his memories... well. He wasn't sure what happened then. It would depend on what he remembered, he supposed.
The group passed through another gate, entering back into the mountain's interior for one final time. The rift was up ahead, and the dungeon's exit beyond it. They'd gone the entire way through without any hint of the spirit. Maybe they were further up the mountain. Or maybe they hadn't hid out in a dungeon at all.
Rex silently hoped that wasn't the case. If Ego had been wrong about this, who knew how long it would take to find this spirit. It could be weeks before he got his escort.
"To your prior point, amnesia is irrelevant to your pride," Xew returned the conversation back to where it had started. "Pride in your history and accomplishments is an extension of pride in yourself. Even if you can't recall what you've accomplished, you can still bear pride in knowing what you're capable of."
Rex groaned. "Now that sounds like vanity. Which you keep telling me is not the key."
Xew shook his head. "Vanity distorts your pride. Be proud of what you're capable of, but not dishonest. There is pride in recognizing your limitations as well, just as their is pride in surpassing those limitations."
If Rex took a shot every time this guy said pride... He threw his arms in the air. "Gah! This is the worst! I literally don't understand what I'm doing wrong."
Xew gave him a kind smile. "Relax. Most people struggle with this, but in time most find their answ-"
"Halfright, quarterset" Ego cut him off sternly. Again everyone's eyes darted up to a specific spot on cavern wall above and ahead of them, and Rex followed along. He really needed to learn their directional codewords...
A thick smoke billowed out from a hole in the cavern wall. In just a moment, a wall of gray overtook them. They couldn't make out more than hazy shapes even a foot past their faces.
Rex and Noibat began to cough as the filth sept into their lungs. Rex dropped to the ground to avoid the thick of it. He saw the vague shapes of feet, but he couldn't tell who they belonged to.
"Deci, defog!" Ego shouted from above him.
For a moment, Rex heard the heavy beating of his little wings. The smog right around them started to lighten.
A light glimmered in the distance, and then flew towards them at lightning speed. The lavender glow whizzed over Rex's head and slammed directly into Deci. He heard the shriek of pain, followed by a series of thuds as Deci rolled across the ground.
"Interlopers! Who- who dares intrude upon this sacred ground!" a deep voice called out from further down the tunnel. Something about it seemed off, but Rex couldn't pin what in the chaos.
"Are you the so-called spirit of Flak Mountain?" Ego called out accusingly.
The spirit gave an awkward and forced laugh. "Yes! I... am he!"
"And you are responsible for the wildfires?"
"I- well- I perform the will of Flak Mountain!" the voice faltered a moment before regaining its gusto.
"Your actions are needless destruction, in violation to the fifth rule. We will take you down!" Ego declared. A thud sounded through the cloud as he struck his chest.
The spirit choked out a laugh again. "No, you are in violation of the rules! The er- rules of the mountain! Now you will fall!"
Another glow formed in the distance ahead of them, this time a bright orange. Rex's instincts screamed with recognition at the sudden heat: fire. He dove to the side just in time to avoid the flare of light that dissipated right where they had stood.
"Ergh, that freaking hurt," he heard Ego's voice mutter quietly from somewhere around him. The dragon called out loudly, "Is that the best you have 'spirit'? Show yourself, coward."
Footfalls sounded as Ego and Xew rushed through the smoke towards the glow. The light flared again, exposing the spirit as a distant orange glow in the smoke. The colors pulsed as it spit flames. He heard the roar of fire, the pounding of feet, the swinging of claws, the groaning of dragons. He saw the glow dancing back and forth, occasionally flickering out as one of the dragons passed in front of it. Flashes of deep blue traded back.
Rex had no idea what was going on in the chaos. Were they winning? Losing? Should he help? Or would he just get in the way? Did he really care enough about any of this to get lit on fire again? He shuddered and coughed out more smoke.
He heard motion behind him too. Deci. The bat must still be moving. He could help by making sure the Noibat was okay. No danger, and he'd be out of the way. He skittered on all fours towards where he'd heard them fall, keeping his head low to minimize how much smoke he breathed in.
Before he could find Deci in the grayness, he heard them yelp in pain again. And then another dull thud.
That made no sense. The spirit was in the other direction. Did some stray attack hit him? No orange streaks had shot by.
Rex followed the cry and found Deci lying unconscious on the ground, bruised. He pulled up onto his haunches and spun around, trying to see anything in the smokescreen. Whatever had attacked him could still be around.
"Well, well, well! We meet again, human!"
Time froze for Rex as a voice he couldn't forget echoed around him. It was low, like it didn't want Team Pride to hear it.
"How have you been doing?" The voice snickered. "Actually, don't answer that. I already know! My apologies for the... frustrating circumstances. Even I underestimated her... tenacity. Kee-hee!"
Rex didn't respond. He was hardly even listening to what the voice said. Every ounce of his brain was trying to pinpoint the sound.
"You really shouldn't attack me, you know! You won't like the results."
Got it. Rex's frills shot open, and in an instant he discharged every volt he had to spare. Didn't matter how he felt after this. Taking this thing down was his only damned goal.
The lightning arced out towards the voice, a momentary trail of light through the haze. A trail that suddenly bounced back and flew right into Rex.
Rex yipped in pain as he was thrown onto his side by his own attack.
"Tsk tsk tsk. I warned you, you know!" the voice chided, giggling all the while.
Another yelp of pain sounded further down the tunnel. An unfamiliar one.
"Ah, drats. It seems my friend needs me. This was a nice catch-up, human! Again, my apologies for your... frustrating company. ...I do hope we'll speak again soon? Kee-hee-hee!"
The voice vanished instantly, mid-laugh, and Rex was left alone. His muscles ached, and his scales charred by his own electricity. Or maybe that was just all of the smoke built up on them.
The sounds on the other side of the tunnel grew worse. Another series of lights had joined the crackling orange glow in the distance. A flickering rainbow of different colors, accompanied by a wide and inexplicable array of sounds. He heard Ego's howl. And Xew's shriek shortly afterwards. He heard a loud thud as someone hit the ground. He prayed it was the spirit, or the voice. But the flashes of color still piercing through the haze dashed that hope.
Part of him wanted to run up and help them. Another part wanted to run away or play dead. He shook those parts off and dragged himself to his feet, ignoring his aching body. No, he was going to do the smart thing.
He hobbled over to Noibat and grabbed the bat's bag. He ripped it open and dug through it, tossing aside wands and seeds. He saw the glimmer of blue and wrenched out what he was looking for: an escape orb. He hoped.
He still had no idea how to use these on multiple people at once, but they were in deep shit. And when you're in deep shit, you just do your best and hope it works out. He grabbed Deci's wing and draped his unconscious teammate over his back. Luckily the Noibat was astoundingly light.
He carried him as fast as he could towards the sounds of chaos. The flashes of color had died down, and now only flares of orange and blue were being traded. Was the voice defeated? Or had he just vanished again?
Rex nearly walked face first into Xew's unconscious body as it emerged from the smoke. The cries and grunts just a few feet ahead meant Ego must still be fighting alone.
"Intruders fall first!" the spirit's voice cried out, labored and cracking.
"Die." Was all Ego could growl in response between attacks.
"And second... " the spirit hesitated. "Second, I will- I'll burn the village in the woods to the ground! A-and return the land to its rightful holders! The Pokémon of Flak Mountain!"
"Ego, pull back!" Rex cried out to him.
"I'm not letting them go!" he growled back.
Rex heard another heavy slam, and another yelp of pain. Then a massive orange light pierced through the haze as a wave of flame revealed their outlines through the smoke. The spirit, a quadruped perhaps a head taller than Rex, was unleashing a constant stream of flame directly into the hazy outline of Ego. It didn't let up, spewing out more and more fire in an endless stream.
Rex shuddered, stepping back and clutching the escape orb. Even from a few feet away the heat was burning away at him. He- he couldn't go through that again. Ego wouldn't give up. The spirit would turn on him next. And it would happen again.
"Ego, please! We need to get out of here!" Rex pleaded desperately. But the dragon's only response was a pained cry.
"Two days!" the spirit cried out as it ended its assault and Rex lost sight of them again. "In two days, the village burns!" It sounded as much like a cry of dismay as it did a threat.
A resounding thud filled the tunnel as Ego's unconscious body hit the ground. Rex scrambled to activate the escape orb, praying Ego's teammates would forgive him. But before he could smash it, another loud slam sounded.
Ego's body flew into him, sending him rolling. He tumbled across the ground, clutching the orb like his life depended on it. Because it probably did.
He rolled directly onto all fours. A vague orange light flicked in the haze, a few feet ahead of him. Unmoving. Waiting.
He had the orb. He could leave. But... Team Pride... God damnit! The first decent god damned people he'd met!
Hating himself, he ran towards them. He tripped over Xew, his face landing next to Deci's wing. He grabbed the wing, and in a single motion wrenched him closer to Ego. He dropped the orb and grabbed Ego's claw with his other hand. Draped over Xew's body, and with one member of Team Pride in each hand, he brought his head up and slammed it down on the escape orb, shattering it.
The floor turned to putty, and the four of them sank into it as the orange glow leered down at them without attacking.
Applause echoed through the smoke-filled chamber as Mumble tried to regain his composure.
"Oh wonderful, wonderful! Tres magnifique! Your delivery could use some work, but beyond that, art in motion!"
The smoke suddenly dispersed, and Mumble found that they were, unsurprisingly, no longer in the tunnel. Instead, he'd been taken to a small chamber of dark, collapsing stone with an open ceiling. The evening sky poured in from above. An old and collapsing throne sat in the back. The few possessions Mumble had cared enough to save from his hideaway were stowed behind it.
His "friend" had told him these ruins were high up Flak Mountain, but he had never made the trek. Whenever his smokescreen cleared, he'd find himself wherever his "friend" wanted them to be.
Also unsurprisingly, his "friend" was nowhere to be seen. He was half convinced the voice was just in his head at this point.
"Was it really necessary for you to hurt them that bad?" Mumble muttered, walking dejectedly over to the throne and hopping up in a single bound. It was so effortless now. The seat would have been twice his height before. He was still getting used to his new size. At least his mother's raincoat fit him now.
"Indeed it was. Now they believe you a great threat. They'll spread news of this. Tensions will rise. And that makes for a great climax! And the hu- Helioptile... He'll make an appearance too, now that he knows I'm involved."
Mumble sat down, his head and paws hanging low off the front of the seat. A throne. What a joke. All of this, a joke. All a con.
"I'm not actually going to do it you know," he said, eyes staring emptily at the ground. "I'm not going to burn their home down."
The voice's grating laugh echoed through the ruins. "Of course not! We're actors my friend, not true monsters. I'm only asking of you the things you already want."
"I didn't want to burn my den down..." he muttered.
He honestly wasn't sure if that was true. It had been so easy. So easy to destroy his own home. Not just physically. It was easy for him to destroy anything physically, now. He was built for destruction.
But he wasn't prepared for how easy it was mentally. He hadn't felt a thing. He had watched the mighty oak start to go up just as he'd finished the ridiculous warning. And he expected to feel something. Pain, regret, fear of what he'd done so easily...
But there was nothing. He didn't need it anymore. It was just where he hid from his own failures. Well, soon he'd either atone for that all through the voice's crazy plan, or he'd end up facing the just consequences of being such a failure. Either way, there as no more hiding.
The voice spoke without a hint of its usual joviality. "I never told you to destroy your den, burning child. I merely told you to start fires. You chose the locations."
"Well, I didn't want to burn anything..."
"Hmm, perhaps arson wasn't in your plans. At least not directly," the voice snickered. "But your part was played, and no one was hurt. Not even a feral, as you requested. The fires you started are quenched or being quenched. We got exactly what we needed, without the slightest harm! Feel proud, for you succeeded!"
"Succeeded? What exactly did we succeed at?" Mumble whimpered. "How are we helping anyone by starting fires and beating them up?"
The voice sighed. "It took me quite a long time to understand it myself, burning child. And my understanding cost me greatly. I'm sorry to sha-"
"And why do you still refuse to show yourself? Who am I even supposed to talk to?" Mumble cut him off.
"I'm hiding from you for your own sake, you know. I am granting you... freedom of movement. If you need someone to look at while you talk... ", a faint giggle echoed through the air, "Look up."
Mumble looked up from the ground and nearly jumped. Right in front of his throne, stones had been arranged in a sloppy rendition of a Sableye.
"You can look at the statue! Kee-hee-hee!"
Mumble frowned. "That's not what I meant... I'm trusting you a lot... I- I could just be making everything worse. But you won't even look me in the eyes!"
The voice sighed. "Rest assured, burning child, I have looked far closer at you than your eyes. The story in play here, it is far bigger than you. For once, even bigger than I. I need to keep all of my options on the table for this one. If I let you see who I am, it could cause me problems later. So if I showed myself to you- I couldn't let you leave! But by staying hidden... We can help each other, and you're free to leave whenever you want. You're welcome, burning child!"
The freedom to leave? He hadn't even considered it. Frankly, he assumed that once he started this whole shady affair he was trapped in it.
The voice sensed his surprise. "Kee-hee-hee! Did you think you were my captive? No, burning child, I promised you a friend, not a captor. As I said, I won't make you do a thing you don't want to. If you ever say the word, you'll be back home in an instant..." The voice grew more serious, "But beware: there are things I cannot undo. Your smoking new look, for one! Who knew such a mighty beast hid behind that pitiful child! Kee-hee! But the longer you travel this path, the harder it will be to go back. I truly believe it a good path for you to follow... but your choices must ultimately be your own."
He could go home at any moment... He could forget all of this ever happened. No one would know what he did, and he wouldn't have to go through with any of this. Heck, with his new strength he could probably even help dad!
He let that scene play out in his mind. Returning to dad. The shock on his face. The confusion. The pain, the sadness. The regret that after putting up with Mumble for years, the kid had gone and messed up in the most irreversible and severe way possible. Changed in the one way that was useless to the farm, and that crushed generations of tradition. Changed in the one way that assured that he would always be the useless child he had been all along. All on an impulsive whim, during a tantrum.
Mumble winced and tried not to cry.
"Explain it to me again. How are we helping them?" he sniffled, hating himself for looking the statue dead in the eyes as he asked.
"Let me use your sister, as an example..." the voice started. It registered the shock on Mumble's face. "Kee! You think I haven't been watching you all? I don't set these schemes up at random, you know! Yes, your sister... Her spirit flickers. Her flame dances in the wind, so close to being snuffed out... And your father... his spirit is nothing but a dim wisp already."
"What does that mean? What happened to dad?" Mumble asked the statue, heart in his throat.
The voice sighed and continued wistfully. "From the ancient days, Pokémon have understood that there can be too much of a good thing. We didn't even need the humans to teach us that one. The flowers need the sun and the rain, but too much sunlight burns them away and too much rain will drown them out. But the ancients were too cowardly to accept that the same is true of peace.
"Your sister... her spirit has great potential. A thirst for adventure that cries out to be free! But that spirit is smothered in peace. Generations upon generations which have phased out adversity... generations that were born into peace, told to maintain it, and wallowed in that peace from birth to death.
"They risk nothing... But they gain nothing. They end right where they started, their spirits to be exercised. To face the world, and remake their own fate. But that cry is silenced by the apathetic haze of a safe and easy life! Look at how your sibling denies her own dreams. She has been taught that peace and stability are the ultimate ideals. So when she is given an easy route to it, and told that she must maintain it for the future, she abandons the call of her heart to fade into that waking dream.
"You ask me what happened to your father? He hides himself in his menial work, hypnotically following the call of a simple duty that does not force him to grow or to think. The only difference between he and a feral is how they obtain their food. Nay, he's no different than a leaf in the wind or a stone in a stream- following the push of their circumstance wherever it guides them to go."
Mumble's mind grappled with the voice's strange philosophy. This couldn't be true, could it? Because if he had just picked up the slack and helped out, then neither dad nor Spritz would be in this situation... Spritz would be free to follow her dreams, and dad wouldn't be so tired all the time...
...Or would he? Dad had never planted as much as he had this year, after Spritz had evolved. If he had just planted as much as he had last year, with her help he could have had some rest... It was like mom always said: as soon as he got some reprieve, he'd always make things harder on himself. Like he wanted to drown in his work. Just like the voice said.
"You ask me how are we helping them? We are forcing them to make choices. We are forcing them to be more than the feral, more than the stone or the leaf. We are waking their spirits up. Is it madness? Perhaps. I was accused of that once, by one who's judgement I quite respected. Kee-hee... But it works. I've put on my little shows many a time before, and I promise you it works. I've seen the absolute proof."
Mumble rose to his feet and paced in a circle around the seat of the throne. "I... I need to think about this," he muttered.
"You know, your spirit was flickering too. But the moment you touched that stone... it ignited. Just like the rest of you! Kee-hee! The choice you made... the choices you continue to make... they've made you alive, burning child. Even if you're still so frustratingly depressing!"
Mumble started to reply when the voice cut him off again, urgency in its tone. "Hide, burning child! We have company."
Mumble leapt off the throne and started to panic, spinning around his own tail as he frantically tried to choose a hiding spot.
"Behind the throne!"
Following orders, Mumble dove behind the massive throne just as he heard a familiar voice approaching from the mouth of the ruin.
"Roselia... I don't think there's anyone up here..." Umbreon practically begged. "We've been through two dungeons at this point. We can't just keep wandering aimlessly like this."
Bristle scoffed. "I told you, outlaws love to hide up in these old ruins. We'll definitely find some scum bumming up here, even if it's not the so-called spirit. We'll get some info out of them and bring them down to turn over to officer- " Bristle's voice stopped abruptly.
Mumble's heart was beating a thousand times a minute. The delver was so close... and his mom was with her?! What was she doing here? She'd gone through two dungeons? Mom had always been tough. She was a hunter, after all. But she was never a delver.
"This unsightly statue is pretty new," he heard Bristle call out. "Which means I'm right! There's outlaws up here!" she boasted smugly.
"I don't care about outlaws," Umbreon muttered. "I just want to find my Mumble..."
Mumble couldn't believe his ears. She'd gone through two dungeons for him? Why?
The voice whispered to him, "The frustrating one is here. She won't leave until every stone is overturned. Ah well! It was time to move in for your grand debut soon anyways. Grab your things and throw down a smokescreen. It's time to go!"
But Mumble just shook his head. He needed to hear more. He needed to understand this. It didn't make sense.
"Yeeees, and an outlaw took your son." Mumble swore he could hear the eye roll.
"Roselia, this is just a pile of rocks. This could be weeks old, or heck, a feral could have cobbled together something like this. Please, we've been marching all day. I nearly got taken by the dungeon back there. I will do anything to find him. But we're just wasting time at this point, wandering around the entire mountain at random. We're never going to find him like this. There's better ways we could be doing this," Umbreon begged.
"Like what? What do you want to do? Just stop? I'm not going to stop!" Bristle snapped. "There's someone out there endangering the entire forest. It's my duty to stop them! And they have your son, which means it's your duty too! If you have some grand plan that will find them for sure, then please share. But otherwise, I'm going to keep going! Because sooner or later, I'm going to succeed. Just as long as I just keep trying!"
Why... why would mom do so much for him? What had he ever done for any of them? It just... why did she have to do that? Why did she have to keep wasting her time on him? Why wouldn't she just stop!?
That he'd just been considering walking away... Just going back and pretending this never happened. So stupid of him. So selfish. Look at what she had done for him. How could he ever go back to just being useless- draining that kindness without ever being able to give a single good thing back in return. No. He had to do this, even if it destroyed him. Even if he could never go back home and would spend the rest of his days as an outlaw. That was the only way he could atone for all of the love he'd taken.
Mumble put on his 'spirit voice' once again. His mature body made it easier to put on a deep voice, but it still required a bit of forcing.
"Ha- haha!" a sob cracked his attempted laugh. "Take this advice: Your son is of no use to you. Don't waste your time on him," he cried out from behind the throne.
Without stopping to grab his things, he coughed out a thick blanket of smoke. Just enough to cover the throne. When it cleared away moments later, he was back in the woods. Back outside the charred remains of his old hideaway.
"Your improv is quite depressing. But on character, at least." the voice commented, with a hint of concern.
Mumble shook his head and ignored it.
"Why are we back here? Won't they find me here?" he sniffled, trying to stop crying.
"Your new hiding place is being prepared. They can't debut it too soon, or the surprise will be ruined! But you just have to stay out of sight for a day. The fires are extinguished here, so no one will come by."
Mumble nodded apathetically. He wandered over to the ash-filled hole between the roots, stepping across the charred remains of his failed farm without a second thought. He hopped in and curled up, not caring about the ash now coating his fur and the raincoat.
"I... I don't want to be Mumble anymore," he muttered, as much to himself as the voice.
"Ooh, an evolved name for the burning child? Do entertain me! It can't be any worse than calling yourself Mumble," the voice giggled eagerly.
"I never called myself that," he muttered sadly. "The other kids called me it. It just kind of stuck... But I don't think it fits anymore."
"Well, I wonder what will stick this time? How about 'Flame' or 'Pyro'? The world only has about two thousand Flareons named that! Kee-hee!"
Mumble looked down at his filthy coat apathetically. "Right now the only thing sticking to me is ash. That's probably pretty fitting anyways... You keep calling me burning child. That's probably all that will be left, when this is over," he muttered.
"Ash?" the voice laughed. "Oh how typical. Fire types and naming themselves after the first fire-related thing they see. Very well Ash. It's still an upgrade Mumble."
The kid laid his head meekly between his paws, breathing lightly avoid inhaling the ashes. Maybe he could catch a nap. It would be better than thinking. "How about Ash... en...? Then it's not just a fire word..." he suggested half-heartedly.
The voice only burst out into laughter.
"You know, I don't even know your name... if you won't let me see you... can you at least tell me that much?"
The voice paused for a moment to consider. It continued with deep amusement.
"Well, I suppose there is no harm to my production in telling you my chosen name. Very well, burning child. Ashen. Let me introduce myself proper. I- am the ever-mischievous Strife! Kee-hee!"
