Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Shadows of Ganderosa
Chapter 15
Trust
"Stop it!" a somehow familiar, girlish voice demanded. She sounded frustrated. Dillan identified the voice. Grace... He was relieved.
Dillan tried to identify his surroundings. There was a tan, blur that Grace's voice came from. There was also a white blur was in front of Grace's blur. Dillan noticed he could see more detail. The last dream he had with Grace, everything was indistinct. Now, he could start to tell where Grace was. He could see more. Under normal circumstances, it would have made Dillan excited; but his mind drifted to Reya. If I remember too much, will Reya get hurt? Dillan thought about it. His thoughts were interrupted by the white blur.
"Why?" the blur asked Grace. The voice was male. He sounded rude. Dillan felt the urge to fight this voice. He wanted to kick the new voice, but he didn't know why. "You gonna call you're white knight to stop m-" He gave a groan as Grace's form flew at the white one. They were too close together for Dillan to distinguish them apart. He heard the new mixed blur grunting and moaning. Here I go... Dillan unintentionally thought. He started running towards the mixture of tan and white. He felt himself reach towards the blur and grab something, which surprised Dillan. I can grab things? Obviously, a human had some form of paw. Dillan pulled the tan blur from the white one. The white one was still moaning while Grace was panting heavily.
"What are you doing here?" Grace asked with frustration.
"Helping." Dillan said. "We need to leave."
"No!" Grace shouted as she yanked her arm from Dillan's grasp. "You can't fight my fights for me!"
"Yes I can." Dillan stated. He didn't want to. He wanted to stop fighting with Grace. He wanted to remember something that was happy. "You're nine years old-"
"So?" Grace said. "I don't need my stupid brother fighting for me!" Those words echoed in Dillan's mind. Stupid Brother... From Dillan's outside perspective, he felt like crying. Apparently, his body thought differently.
"You can't just fight bullies like this." Dillan's body said. "You would have killed him if I didn't step in." He watched as the white blur got taller, probably from standing up.
"That was the point!" Grace shouted. Dillan hated this side of his sister. Aren't nine year old girls suppose to be sweet and innocent?
Dillan walked over to the white blur. "Give me the doll." Dillan told the blur sternly. The blur stuck out a limb quickly. Dillan reached for the limb, grabbed something, and pulled his own arm back. The white blur ran off. Dillan walked up to Grace. He stuck out his arm. Grace reached with her own blurred limb and took whatever Dillan had.
"Do you think it worked?" Dillan said. He felt his lips curl into a grin. What do I mean by "worked"?
"I think it worked." Grace said confidently.
"For a nine year old, you have the mind of a tactician."
"You play that Fire Ember game too much." Grace said with a laugh.
"I'm not kidding." Dillan said. "That was a really good plan."
"It was nothing. I just convinced him that I'm a psycho-attacker and that if it wasn't for you, I would have killed him. Elementary, my dear Dillan."
"You're too young for Sherlock Holmes." Dillan said.
"And you're too old to be at an Elementary School." Grace said with a playful tone.
"Ooh!" Dillan said playfully as he pressed his arm to the left side of his chest. "Like an ice dagger to my heart!"
Grace giggled at the comment. Dillan was starting to understand what had happened. Grace used me to stop a bully... So before, me and her fighting was an act? She's pretty devious. At least she seems to get along with me and vice-versa... Dillan dwelled on his sister's laugh. It sounded like a small angel, laughing heartily with its bright, heavenly tone.
"Everyone get up!" Dean shouted. Dillan jolted upright from his dream. He hit his head on the metal mesh that held the bed above him. Dillan keeled over, holding his head in pain.
"Dang it!" Dillan moaned. Ryan fell into Dillan's view. Apparently, he had taken the bed above Dillan. Ryan stretched his arms wildly in the air. Due to his size, it didn't amount to much. Dillan looked around the room. The guildmembers were getting up from their beds. He recognized Koa, Dean, and Wallace. Dean walked over to Koa.
"Hey, Stutters." Dean said roughly. "Where's butter-fingers?" Koa looked at Dean. He immediately shrunk down, looking up at the machoke's figure. "Well?"
"I-I. Um. W-well, he's-" Koa stumbled.
"Stop stuttering and tell me where Bolt is." Dean demanded.
"Hey!" Ryan shouted at Dean. Ryan's tail was twitching uncontrollably. "Leave him alone!"
Wallace seemed to not care about the impending confrontation. He left the room.
Dean looked at Ryan. He stared at him, as if evaluating his options of what he could do to Ryan that would get him to submit. "Alright." Dean said with a neutral expression. Dillan looked at Dean with shock. Ryan had the same reaction.
"What?" Ryan asked with surprise.
"I said fine!" Dean shouted. "Get your hearing checked, pipsqueak." Dean turned towards Koa. He gave him a sneer. Koa gave a squeak at Dean's expression. Dean turned towards the door and left the room.
Koa gave a sigh of relief. He turned to Ryan and said in a thankful tone, "Thank you."
"Don't mention it." Ryan said. "Dean's a jerk. Someone needs to stand up to him."
"Yeah..." Koa said. His voice was filled with concern. "Bolt usually stops him from bullying me, but when Bolt's occupied, Dean likes to pick on me."
"What's wrong with Bolt?" Dillan asked.
"N-Nothing!" Koa said quickly and loudly. "He's fine and so is his-..." He stopped himself. Koa turned towards the door and speed-walked out of the room, leaving Ryan and Dillan wondering what he was going to say next.
"Well," Ryan said. "Better go to get a mission." He walked out of the room and signaled Dillan to follow. Dillan walked with Ryan, thinking about how we wanted to spend the day planning to go to the Castle Ruins like Reya said, but it looks like the morning isn't a good time to plan.
Ryan was about to head down the hall that leads to the Lobby when Hazel called from behind him, "Where do you think you're going?"
Ryan and Dillan spun around to face Hazel. "We were going to meet you outside at the bulletin board." Ryan stated.
"Before you listen to the Guildleader?" Hazel asked.
"What is the Guildleader talking about?" Dillan asked.
"Come with me and find out." Hazel said as she ran up to Dillan and grabbed his arm. She started pulling him down the hallway in the opposite direction Ryan was going. Ryan gave a sigh and followed.
Team Rapture found themselves in a big room at the North side of the Guild. For how big the room was, Dillan thought it looked pretty barren. There was a stage at the back of the room, but that was everything. The walls had the symbol of Ganderosa on banners. Team Force, Koa, Adelina, and Wallace were all lined up in front of the stage while the Guildleader was in the middle of the stage. To the Guildleader's left was Janette. She was holding a piece of paper at the end of one of her legs. Dean looked confident, as if he knew exactly what challenges he was going to face today and how capable he was at taking them head on. Haily stood next to Dean, looking emotionless as usual. Jess looked as though a clown was about to give a speech in which it would inevitably fall over itself or squirt a stream of water from a fake flower onto the audience. Koa looked nervous. Adelina eyed Ryan as he came into the room. Saliva was shining off of her tongue. Wallace stood up straight, like a soldier. He kept his hands at his sides. He looked unmovable.
Team Rapture stood next to Team Force. Dillan was next to Dean, which made him nervous. Dean looked down at Dillan and smirked. Dillan involuntarily gulped. He didn't want to be Dean's next victim.
"Hello, everyone!" the Guildleader said. All eyes were directed towards him. "Everyone sleep alright?" No one answered. Under normal circumstances, Dillan would have, but this felt wrong. Why is Garth being formal with me? "Good!" the Guildleader said as if someone had answered his question. "Now then. Wallace, the mother of that Jeremy child is coming in later today. This issue with that poor child being missing can no longer-"
"Sir?" Dillan interrupted. Ryan nudged Dillan's arm, urging him to stop.
"Yes..." Garth said. "Digger?"
Dean and Jess snickered at the Guildleader's mistake.
"Dillan..." Dillan said nervously. The snickering was unnerving him.
"My mistake." the Guildleader apologized. "Go on."
Ryan nudged Dillan again. Dillan didn't care. "We found Jeremy two days ago."
Ryan gave a sigh of defeat and Hazel looked shocked by Dillan's words.
"Oh?" Garth asked. "And did you help him?"
"Sir, he didn't need to be helped." Dillan said. He scanned the reaction of his fellow guildmembers. Dean looked joyed at Dillan's words and so did Jess. Haily's eyes widened slightly. Koa and Adelina started whispering to each other. Wallace looked half way between mad and scared. Dillan didn't know where Janette got her astrological book from, but she began to flip through the pages.
"What do you mean?" Garth asked. He didn't seem fazed by Dillan's response.
"Well, there was this team called Team K. P. and they were the ones who took Jeremy away from his mom. Apparently she was abusive towards Jeremy."
"And that's what they told you?" Dean asked smugly.
"W-well..." Dillan said. He realized now why Ryan didn't want him to talk about it. "Yes-"
"So you believed some potential kidnappers who said they didn't kidnap a pokemon?" The room started erupting with whispers about Team Rapture.
"That's not everything." Hazel cut in. "Jeremy told us he was abused from his own mouth and he had scars all over his back which proves he had been abused before."
"What's to say those weren't from this 'Team K. P.'?"
"Didn't you hear her?" Ryan cut in. "What are you, brain dead? They were scars which means they were healed as much as they could be. Team K. P. just took Jeremy recently. The marks wouldn't have had time to heal if Team K. P. caused them."
Judging from Dean's knuckles popping like rocks being smashed together, Dean was mad about that response.
"Then why kidnap the kid?" Jess asked as though she had trapped Ryan in a corner.
"Because they watched the mother abuse Jeremy first hand." Ryan responded
"Then there wasn't any time for the marks to heal." Dean said through gritted teeth.
"The abuse didn't have to leave scars when Team K. P. witnessed it." Dillan pointed out. Dean looked at Dillan. He gave him a hateful glare.
"Enough." the Guildleader said calmly. His tail was swishing back and forth. "Where is Team K. P. now?"
"They're making their way to Kerroshia Castle to inform the guild about the abusive nature of Jeremy's mother." Hazel proclaimed.
Silence filled the room. The Guildleader's tail started swishing back and forth faster than before. After a minute or two of silence, the Guildleader said, "Well then, Wallace. You have a new task. Go arrest Jeremy's mother."
"But, sir." Wallace said with chattering teeth. "We don't have enough evidence!"
"I think our new guildmember's have witnessed enough evidence to justify their claims. If Team K. P. has taken Jeremy to the Kerroshian Guild, we should get a letter tonight saying to call off the search, therefore proving their reasoning for taking Jeremy was justified. If they turn out to be kidnappers, they won't take Jeremy to the guild, in which case Jeremy's mother will be released and Team Rapture will be fired." Hazel inhaled deeply at that statement. Dean slapped the back of Dillan's back in a "Great job" sort of way.
"Now then." Garth continued. "Everyone else will go to the job bulletin board to get their jobs for today. Since Team Rapture is a new exploration team, allow me to explain what happens next.
"Now, we do the Guildmember's Directives. Afterwards, you go out and claim a job. Understood?" He didn't wait for Team Rapture to respond He cleared his throat. Ryan and Dillan remained silent as the rest of the guild, Hazel included, said "My king is my duty. To serve is what I deserve. My guild is my home. My fellow members are my family. Trust between us is a must. The pokemon I will help. To not save is grave. I will work to help the kingdom, not laze around. Fight, not might." Then they all chanted loudly, "All hail the Arvaines!"
the Guildleader turned towards Koa and Adelina. "I want you two to come with me to my office. I have something I want you to help me with."
With that, the Guildleader left the room followed by Janette, Koa and Adelina. Once they were gone, Dean slid his foot under Dillan and took his feet out from under him. Dillan landed on his tail which sprung him to his back-side. Dean snickered as he left with his team following him. Dillan jumped up and reared his head around to see if he had hurt his tail. It felt sore, but it didn't look broken.
"I'll beat the-" Ryan started.
"Let him go." Hazel said. "That's what he wants. He wants to get you two mad. Don't give him control of your emotions."
"I don't plan on it." Ryan said.
"Let's just go pick a job." Dillan stated.
"Agreed." Hazel said as she and the other two members of Team Rapture walked out of the guild.
Once Dillan was outside of the guild, he saw Team Force departing from the guild's grounds with a paper in Dean's hand. Dillan didn't think into it too much.
Ryan went to the board and stared. Dillan looked at the board. It was covered in papers for jobs; so much so that there were papers tacked to papers as well as papers on the floor. Ryan began to scan the papers. Hazel joined him. Dillan was watching the streets of Palando that had the occasional pokemon walking past the guild, eyeing it with suspicion. Dillan wondered why they were viewing the guild like someone would view a parasite.
"You gonna help?" Ryan asked. Dillan looked at his teammates. They were watching him, waiting for an answer.
"Uh..." Dillan started. His eyes drifted towards the job board. He found a piece of paper at the top-right corner of the board. His eyes widened upon the words. "Castelum Town Quarantined. No Pokemon Allowed."
"Castelum Town." Ryan repeated. "What?"
Dillan pointed towards the "Quarantine" note. Ryan looked at the piece of paper. Hazel reached up and removed it from the board.
"Castellum Town," Hazel began to read aloud. "Is under quarantine because of the outbreak of a..." Hazel stopped.
"A what?" Ryan asked.
"This can't be right..." Hazel said.
"What?" Dillan said.
"It says Castellum Town has been turned into a Mystery Dungeon." Hazel said slowly and gravely. "'So far, only one family has managed to escape the dungeon to tell other pokemon about the impending danger. The King is making preparations for a team of explorers to find out what has happened in Castelum Town as well as find the pokemon who were caught in the Mystery Dungeon.' But that can't be true. Mystery Dungeons stopped spreading centuries ago. This must be some kind of prank. It just isn't possible." Hazel said.
"What isn't possible?" the Guildleader asked from the door. Team Rapture turned to face the Guildleader. Dillan was caught off guard by his presence.
"This." Hazel said as she handed the "quarantine" note to the ampharos. Garth read the note. His eyes got wider the farther he went down the page. He flipped it to check if there were words on the back. There weren't any. Garth's lips scrunched together and his tail started swishing back and forth. His eyes moved rapidly to random things in the courtyard.
"Guildleader?" Hazel asked.
He looked at Team Rapture. "I'm afraid to say that this is true." Garth said depressingly. "Though, this is the only incident to affect a town. I assume that is why you guildmembers have been slammed with work. I hoped something like this would not occur again."
"Something like what?" Ryan asked.
"Mystery Dungeons spreading. Thankfully, Castellum Town is the only incident to occur, so it isn't spreading; but that can change quickly. I hope that is not the case.
"The last time this occurred, pokemon went into a mass panic."
"That's when Maxamillian stepped in and introduced the Guild System to help everyone." Hazel stated.
Garth smiled. "Good." he said. "You know your stuff. If I'm not mistaken, you were also reciting the Guildmember's Directives with everyone else. Am I wrong?"
"No sir." Hazel said.
"Hazel, was it?" Garth asked. Hazel nodded. "We need more members like you; members who know what they are doing and are open to helping anyone they can, even if other's assume they are the bad guys." Hazel started blushing. She smiled brightly.
"Now then," the Guildleader said. "You three should be off. Based on this outbreak, you guildmembers have a lot of work ahead of you. Don't let me get in your way. Be the best guildmembers. Help everyone you can today." The Guildleader walked away into Palando Town, his tail still swishing back and forth.
"Back to business." Ryan stated as soon as the Guildleader was out of sight. He grabbed at a random letter and pulled it out in front of him. He read it aloud. "'I, Leslie Bartholemule, am trapped in the Shadowed Brush with my accomplice, Nancy Remington. We are in need of assistance as soon as possible. Nancy has been pinned underneath a tree and has not been able to move. I dare not leave her behind for fear of a savage attacking her. Please come to our aid.' It says the pay is ten thousand pokes."
"That's a lot, right?" Dillan asked.
"Nah." Ryan said. "It isn't. It's pretty average for a job; though these guys are in trouble. I vote we help them."
"Me too." Hazel said.
"Than it's unanimous." Dillan stated.
"Well then." Ryan said. "Can I have the map, Hazel?" Hazel took the map out of her wonder bag and handed it to Ryan. Ryan unfolded it. "The Shadowed Brush is north of here." Ryan rolled the map back up and Hazel put it in her bag. "This way." Ryan stated as he led the team to their next goal.
They exited Palando about three hours ago. They were walking on a gravel path. Trees were spouting out of the ground all around the path. They weren't very dense. The snow-tipped mountains of the Palando Mountain Range could be seen through the leaves that shaded the path. Dillan looked through the leaves at the blue sky. There were white clouds in the sky. Dillan looked at each one of them. He didn't know why, but seeing them made him crave a sweet berry; preferably pink.
"I think we've made some progress." Hazel said. "We can stop here for breakfast."
Team Rapture went to a tree and sat down on its grass. Hazel dug in her bag and pulled out three pink berries. She gave one to Ryan and Dillan and then ate the last one herself. Ryan eyed the berry suspiciously.
Hazel saw Ryan's eyes and said, "The berry doesn't bite back." She smiled.
"It's not that." Ryan said. "It's just that I'm wondering if this berry is any good. You haven't bought anything since we met you, yet you seem to have an endless suply of these things. On top of that, they aren't going bad. It's just a little weird is all."
"Well, my father is a berry farmer and he's taught me a few tricks to preserve the berries. Also, these are from the trail. I picked them while we were walking and put them into the bag, but I haven't seen many. These are the only ones I found. Other than these, we don't have any more berries. Also, we don't have any money, so no food."
"That's alright." Ryan said. "We're getting money from this job. We'll be alright."
"Hey Sparky!" a voice called from down the path. Team Rapture turned to see a few familiar faces. Ryan stood up and grinned confidently towards the new exploration team.
Bolt ran up to Ryan. He grabbed Ryan's paw forcefully. Ryan met Bolt's force that pressed his paw. The bulging veins on the two pokemon's arms showed they were trying to crush one another's paws. They both grinned. Neither one looked as though they were going to give in.
"How are you dong, E. B.?" Ryan asked.
"Stronger than your grip!" Bolt said with a grin. The rest of Bolt's team came up the path. Adelina and Koa stared at the battle that ensued. The wind blew forth a few leaves in a way that seemed all too perfect to Dillan. He looked at the new team. He noticed something was different about Koa and Adelina. Koa was wearing a chain with a crystal at the bottom. The crystal looked like Bolt's, except it was lime-green. Koa was also wearing a bag around his shoulder. Dillan saw Adelina had a leather string around her neck. It looked as though it was holding something, but her tongue covered the end of the leather string. Dillan assumed it was a crystal like that which was found suspended from her teammates necks. Koa walked over to Dillan.
"Hi!" Koa said. He looked unnerved.
"Hi, Koa!" Dillan said.
"What are you guys doing here?" Adelina asked as she eyed Ryan with what Dillan thought looked like "want." She seemed to try and sound elegant. What's her connection to Ryan?
"We're on our way to the Shadowed Brush." Hazel said as she stared at the red paws of Ryan and Bolt.
"What a coincidence!" Bolt stated as he kept his eyes on Ryan's paw. He didn't look or sound fazed by Ryan's grip. "So are we!"
"Isn't that neat?" Adelina asked Koa. Koa nodded slowly. He started eyeing the shroud of leaves that hung above, casting shadows on the two exploration teams.
"Why are you guys going there?" Dillan asked.
"T-To help some pokemon who got lost." Koa said. He didn't take his eyes off of the sky.
"These pokemon don't happen to be researchers, do they?" Ryan asked through gritted teeth. Dillan guessed the pain was starting to get to his friend, but Ryan didn't back off.
"They most certainly do." Adelina pronounced rudely to Ryan. Ryan took his eyes off of Bolt and looked at Adelina. He looked at her briefly before his face contorted from pain. He drew his hand out of Bolt's grip and started examining his hand.
"That makes two, Sparky!" Bolt announced.
"My focus slipped." Ryan said. "Besides, we were going to eat breakfast. I'm not at full strength."
Bolt looked towards Hazel. "Do you mind if my friends and I join you, beautiful?" he asked her with a hand to his chest.
Hazel rolled her eyes. "I don't see why not." she said. Dillan was about to take a bite out of his berry.
"Wait!" Adelina shouted. Koa jumped from the sudden outburst. Dillan took the berry away from his mouth.
"What?" Dillan asked. He was very confused. "Is there something wrong with my berry?"
"Sorry." Adelina said. "That wasn't very lady-like for me. It isn't that something is wrong with the berries, only that they can be better. Ryan." Adelina said. Hazel and Dillan stared at Adelina in confusion. However, Ryan gave his berry to Adelina. He didn't meet her gaze and Adelina didn't try to meet his. "Thank you. Koa, can you get us some wood?"
"A-Alright." Koa told her as he walked off.
Dillan watched the scyther as he seemed to fly up a nearby tree. He began to hack at its branches with his scythe-like arms, cutting sticks and twigs that fell to the ground. After thirty seconds or so, Koa came back with a big pile of sticks.
"Here you go." Koa told Adelina.
"Can I have the bag?" Adelina asked pleasantly. Koa obliged. "Thank you, Koa." Adelina began to search through the bag. She pulled out a small, metal box that had bars for surfaces. Adelina pulled on the box until it unfolded into a big, metal skillet with foldable legs. She set the skillet on the ground. Adelina began to pull out all sorts of jars, pouches, and containers, all of which were only four inches tall and two inches in diameter. Koa proceeded to put the sticks on the ground and Adelina moved them under the rack. She then reached into her bag and pulled out a pot as well as some water. She set the pot on the skillet and the water in the pot.
"This is where the fun begins!" Bolt said as he sat down next to Ryan. Ryan looked uncomfortable while watching Adelina. Team Rapture took Bolt sitting down as a cue to follow his lead.
"Dillan, Hazel," Adelina said. "Would you both allow me to handle your berries?" Hazel gave her berry to Adelina with anticipation. Dillan gave his berry because everyone else had already done so. Adelina took the two berries and said, "Thank you." To both Dillan and Hazel's surprise, Adelina threw them into the air. They seemed to slow with time. Dillan watched as orange swords of light seemed to materialize out of thin air. They spun around, cutting every branch within reach. Adelina watched the swords with eyes of precision. She lunged at the swords. Both Dillan and Hazel gasped. She's gonna get herself hurt! Dillan was about to move in to help Adelina, but he realized she hadn't been hurt. She had caught the swords and was now beginning to dance through the air like a professional diver, doing twirls and flips. The berries were with her. With each graceful move of accuracy, she cut the berries into pieces, each one smaller than the last. Dillan watched in awe as she made one final swipe with her swords. The berries were hit with the swords blunt side and flew into the pot of water. Adelina then floated gracefully to the ground where her swords flashed out of existence in a shower of sparkles. She took a bow. Dillan and Hazel, still in awe of the magnificent performance they had just witnessed, began to clap (Dillan did the best he could with his claws).
"Thank you both." Adelina said with a smile. "It's nothing, really. I need to work on cutting the berries. The bits turn out too small."
"If that was nothing, than I'm a mankey's aunt." Hazel said. Adelina looked at Ryan briefly before going back to the pot. She took the containers from the ground and poured its contents with precision into the pot.
"Hazel, would you please light the fire for me?" Adelina asked. "Normally Bolt helps with this sparks, but it would be faster for you to use your flame."
"No problem." Hazel said as she took hold of her tail flame and held it to the pile of sticks below the skillet. The sticks caught fire and started licking the bottom of the pot.
"What did you think of Adelina's skills, Sparky?" Bolt asked.
Ryan didn't answer. He stood up. That seemed to make Bolt slightly uncomfortable. Ryan looked down the path.
"I'm going for a walk." Ryan said.
"Why?" Adelina asked as she dug through Koa's bag. "Afraid I'll spit in your food?" She pulled out a wooden spoon and started mixing the contents of the pot.
"T-That's not it." Ryan protested. It surprised Dillan to find Ryan didn't sound the slightest bit annoyed with the comment. "I just need to... Take a walk." Ryan walked away from the group.
"That was weird." Bolt said awkwardly.
"That's Ryan." Adelina said as she bent over the bag and pulled out more berries. One by one, she cut them with a sword that materialized from the air.
"You know him?" Koa asked. Dillan was thankful someone else asked a question for once.
"We were once friends, yes." Adelina said. "But now he's no more than an..." She sliced the last of the berries quickly and not as gracefully as before. "Acquaintance."
"You haven't mentioned him, C. A." Bolt said. "What happened between you two?"
Adelina put the berry pieces into the stew. "Ask Ryan." she said coldly.
"How did you two meet?" Dillan asked.
Adelina turned to face him. "You're team name is Team Rapture, right?" she asked.
"Yeah." Dillan said.
"Tell me," Adelina began. "How did you get that name?"
"Well," Hazel said. "The Guildmaster of Ferricia told us that we were able to bring each other up, therefore creating a feeling of happiness between us. He thought that "Rapture" was the best way to describe us."
"Now then," Adelina began. "Surely after what you two saw last night, you asked Ryan about me. Did he say he wouldn't tell you? Explain to me this. If you all are truly feeling "Rapture" towards each other, then why has Ryan avoided telling you about me?"
Dillan felt hurt. She's right. We're suppose to trust one another. If Ryan doesn't trust us enough to tell us who Adelina is and his connection to her, then does he truly trust us? Dillan felt even worse.
"C. A." Bolt said calmly. "Come on. Don't say that." Adelina turned towards him with annoyance. "I'm not saying Ryan is in the right, only that you shouldn't be destroying a team's trust. Besides, we fully trust you, but you haven't even mentioned you've even met Ryan."
"Sorry to change the subject." Hazel said, trying to sound cheerful. "But since we've started talking about team names and their meanings, whether they make sense or not, I have a question for your team. What's the team name?"
Koa jumped in. "Team B. A. K.! Bak! It's because we have the backs of everyone who needs help!"
"It's not BAK." Bolt said with a playful punch to Koa's arm. Koa gave a soft "Ow" and started rubbing his arm lightly. "It's Team Z because of our Crystals."
"We never really agreed to that." Koa said. "Just pointing that out."
"We are currently working on it." Adelina said.
"Didn't you have to put in a team name for registration?" Dillan asked.
"Nope." Bolt said.
"His dad was a friend of the Guildleader." Koa said. Bolt nudged Koa's arm.
"I told you not to mention that." Bolt said with a big smile, though his eyes contradicted his lips.
"Right..." Koa said as he looked towards Bolt with concern. "Sorry."
"It's cool." Bolt said. "I'm going to go looking for Sparky." Bolt looked down the path in the direction Ryan had gone. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
Bolt left, leaving the two teams in silence for nearly five minutes.
"So," Hazel said. "What's wrong with mentioning Bolt's dad's connection to the Guildleader?"
"Two reasons." Adelina said. "For one, the Guildleader only likes Bolt and his dad for the strength they bring to the guild. The second reason is that Bolt's dad died two months ago."
Dillan and Hazel looked at Adelina with shock.
"I don't think Bolt would like you telling them that." Koa said to Adelina.
"If we're going to work on this assignment together, then they need to know that they cannot talk about Bolt's dad or the Guildleader." Adelina said calmly.
"Working together?" Dillan asked.
"Yep." Adelina said. "You guys are on the same mission we're on, right? Two researchers stranded in the forest. The Guildleader told us to rescue them after the Guild Directives; though he forgot to mention you three would be joining us."
"Is that a problem?" Dillan asked.
"Not at all." Adelina said with a smile. "It was just unexpected is all."
"What's so special about this professor that the Guildleader would let two teams take the job?" Dillan asked.
"Good question." Hazel commented. "Though, it should be cool getting to work with another team."
Adelina turned her attention back to the berry stew. A smell wafted its way to Dillan's nostrils. The only word Dillan could think of to describe the smell was excellent.
"Koa." Adelina said to her friend. "The food's almost ready. Could you be a gentleman and get six bowls out of the Wonder Bag?"
"O-Of course!" Koa said nervously. It took nearly three minutes for Koa to come up from the bag, but when he did, he had six wooden bowls with matching spoons. He placed two of them in front of Dillan and Hazel. Koa kept one for him and set the last three to the side. Adelina scooped the soup out of the pot and poured a serving into Dillan and Hazel's bowls.
"Hey." Adelina said to Hazel and Dillan. "Forget what I said about your team. Ryan has a hard past that he doesn't like to share with anyone. What I said was wrong and not needed. Take this meal as an apology."
"Adelina." Dillan said. "What's going on between you and Ryan?"
"I can't say." Adelina told him. "I made a promise to Ryan that I wouldn't tell anyone and I always keep my promises. I cannot help you."
Dillan didn't like that answer. Ryan has a relationship with Adelina. He acts differently towards her than to us. Knowing why he's distant from her now could help us to help him with his relationship. Dillan knew it wasn't his business, but he couldn't help wanting to help his friend with any potential issues. Ryan was his friend and he wanted to do everything to help, even if he couldn't do so at the moment.
"Smells good, C. A.!" Bolt said. Dillan looked down the path and saw Ryan and Bolt walking side-by-side; Bolt smiling and Ryan looking nervous. Ryan walked over to his group and sat down next to Hazel. Bolt ran up to one of the free bowls. He stepped on the lid, sending it into the air. He caught it with the flat-side of his lightning bolt-tail. It rolled on his tail towards his back. Bolt put his left paw in the bowl's path. It slid up his arm to his neck where it slid down his right arm and into his paw where he caught it.
"You guys are amazing!" Dillan said in awe at Bolt's mad bowl-rolling skills.
"It's a gift." Bolt said with a playful smirk.
"You sure it's not too much free time?" Hazel asked.
"That, too." Bolt shrugged.
Adelina filled the remaining bowls and handed one to Bolt and the second one to Ryan. She seemed very awkward about handing the bowl to him. Ryan took the bowl in the same manner.
Each team, listening to the chirping of birds overhead or the rustling of the leaves when air flowed through their branches, took a slurp of their soup. Dillan felt at peace. When the soup touched his tongue, it tasted fantastic. It seemed to flow over his taste buds like a tornado of flavor, blowing its warm contents to the far corners of Dillan's mouth; unlike the pecha berries he had been eating for the past few days, he didn't feel like throwing up from disgust. He felt like spitting it up because of the overwhelming power it seemed to force upon his mind, but the rustling of the leaves overhead filled him with determination; determination he used to force himself to swallow the delicious soup. He felt a warmth spread through his body. It seemed to soothe his very soul.
"Do you not like it?" Adelina asked with fear. "It's the spices, isn't it? I knew I put a dash more basil than I needed!"
"That's not it!" Dillan protested. "It's fine; perfect, even. I just don't remember tasting anything this delicious. It overloads my systems."
"Oh, hush!" Adelina said. "I'm not that good. Surely you can remember at least one thing that tastes better than my old soup." Dillan smiled lightly. Ryan and Hazel looked uncomfortable with the question. They seemed to want to explain, but not overstep some kind of boundary.
Koa stopped eating his soup. He looked at Dillan. Bolt either didn't care or was too absorbed in his soup to pay attention.
"Did I say something wrong?" Adelina asked.
Why am I hesitating? I can tell them. They're good pokemon. Then again, based on their team not having a name yet, they're fairly new. Even if Bolt seems like a good pokemon; if Reya's right about the enemy, whoever the enemy is, then I'm probably being targeted or something. Can I truly trust strangers I've just met? I mean, if they had been at the Guild for a few months, that's one thing; but if their team is new, then they probably haven't been there long.
"Sorry." Dillan said with a forced smile. "It's just too delicious! You're a really good cook!"
Adelina seemed satisfied with that answer. "Thank you very much." she said cheerfully. Koa didn't seem convinced of Dillan's act. Nevertheless, he resumed eating his soup and so did Team Rapture.
Not much was said after the meal, just some chattering from Hazel and Adelina. Bolt and Ryan seemed to get along with each other. Dillan, on the other hand, just helped out Hazel and Adelina as best he could. Koa was with Ryan and Bolt, talking about something along the lines of, "And then, I beat him senseless". Dillan wasn't into that kind of thing, but it seemed to please Ryan enough.
After everything was put back into Koa's wonder bag, Koa picked it up and the two teams decided to leave. Team Rapture and the no-named team walked onwards towards their destination.
It took nearly four hours of walking to reach the Shadowed Brush. The only distinguishable difference between the outside of the brush and the entrance was the density in the trees. The shadows seemed to shift further ahead, making a dimly lit corridor. The other indicator was the sign that said, "Beware the Shadowed Brush".
"Here we are." Hazel said.
"For a name like, 'Shadowed Brush', it looks pretty unintimidating." Bolt said with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.
"It's probably darker inside." Ryan said.
"I-I'm not so sure about this anymore." Koa said nervously.
"Neither are those researchers." Adelina said. "They need our assistance and we should be willing to help regardless of a silly name."
"I agree." Dillan said.
"W-Well, then who's leading?" Koa asked.
"I'll go first." Bolt said. "Should be a cake-walk with my expertise. Just you watch, beautiful." Bolt gave a wink towards Hazel. Hazel rolled her eyes and moved ahead of everyone. "Or you can lead." Bolt said with a shrug. He, Adelina, and Koa followed Hazel into the brush. Ryan and Dillan took up the rear.
Dillan didn't like being in the forest. There was no wind. The air felt dry, as if every tree had taken every dew drop for itself. Some trees looked healthy. Other's were dead and withered. Faces seemed to form from the shadows that were cast against the bark. Because of her tail-flame, Hazel was the obvious choice to be the leader. Other than the occasional beam of light that casted itself through the trees, it was dimly lit. There were roots that had grown from the trees and infested the path like vines. Dillan was careful to not trip on any of them. He didn't want to land on Ryan.
The group took lefts and rights. Dillan tried to remember where they had turned, but he was lost. The amount of turns confused his brain with information. He didn't know if they had gone left, right, right, left, right, or right, left, left, left, right. He decided to let Hazel figure that out. He would just have to remember two turns at a time. At one point, Hazel called back to the group that she had run into a dead end. Dillan decided it was his turn to lead, which scared him more than the forest itself. You can do this. It's simply picking a path and going through it. Piece of cake. Just try not to think about screwing up.
Dillan led them down the path. He took a right at an intersection. He tried to hear Hazel or anyone tell him they had gone down this path before, but to his surprise, no one said anything. He felt content. Dillan moved forwards, trying to keep his mind focused ahead. He had to squint in order to see any further than three feet in front of him. A sort of dry fog seemed to hang in the air, creating an ominous vibe. Dillan had been trying to use his miracle sense in order to get a layout of the Mystery Dungeon, but it didn't work. He knew that since he wasn't in a cave, it wouldn't work; but he tried anyways.
Dillan walked for what seemed like minutes, when voices were coming from behind. Dillan looked back to see Ryan sanding still, keeping Koa and the rest of the group from moving. Ryan had his eyes closed, focusing on something. What it was, Dillan couldn't tell. Ryan's ears perked up. He looked left, away from the path. He stared off into the dense cluster of trees.
"Follow me." Ryan said as he strayed away from the path to the left. Dillan was shocked and so was Koa.
"W-What are you doing?!" Koa asked fearfully.
"Finding the egg-heads who decided the path wasn't good enough for them." Ryan proclaimed. He stepped back onto the path and faced Dillan. "Trust me." he said. Trust you? You've been keeping secrets from the team about your past... No. I can't dwell on that now. He probably has a good reason. Besides, the mission has to come first, right?
Dillan walked up to Ryan and put his claw out. Ryan grabbed his claw and started pulling Dillan into the forest. Once Dillan stepped off of the path, Ryan stopped.
"Alright." Ryan said. "Koa. Step in front of Dillan. Addi, grab Dillan's claw. We need to form a pokemon chain in order to stay together."
"To what end?" Adelina's voice called from the path. "What do you think you're doing?"
"The researchers strayed from the path." Ryan stated. "I can hear them now, but..." Ryan stopped talking. He perked up his head. His eyes changed to worry and concern. He looked at Koa on the path and said quickly, "Koa! Give me your Escape Orb!" Koa looked confused. He hesitated. "Stop hesitating and toss me the orb right now or so help me, I will go over there and take it myself!" Koa seemed terrified by Ryan's threat. He took his bag off and handed it to Dillan.
"Take the bag." Koa said. Dillan held the strap and slipped it on his shoulder.
"Now, get out of the dungeon!" Ryan said. "We'll meet you guys soon!" With that, Ryan started pulling on Dillan's arm, pulling him through cracks in the trees and branches. Dillan was very confused by what was going on. He wanted to ask Ryan what was happening, but he doubted he would answer. Ryan just kept on pulling.
After a minute or so of running, Dillan started hearing voices. They eventually became loud enough to hear.
"I don't want to hurt you! Just stop assaulting us!" a male voice said.
A nasty snarl-like vibration echoed through the trees.
Ryan and Dillan finally found a clearing. They came into a square room. Dillan saw no paths that could be distinguished from the gaps they had entered the room from. There were four pokemon surrounding two more pokemon. One looked hurt while the other was under a fallen tree.
The four surrounding pokemon were bug pokemon. Two of them had a purple body with no legs. It had spines with black stripes protruding from its cylinder-like body. It had purple rings on its body. Its eyes were yellow with black pupils. (Whirlipede)
One of the other surrounding pokemon looked like a miniature version of Janette, except it was green with a face on its thorax. It had yellow pincers in the front of its head. (Spinarak)
The last surrounding pokemon was pink with long arms held in a praying-mantis position. It had bulging, glassy, hot-pink eyes with black pupils. It's antenna were pink. It looked as though it had pink-striped pants on. It also had pink wings on its back. (Lurantis)
The injured pokemon in the middle was a quadrupedal pokemon. It was small and brown with white fluff around its neck. Its ears were brown and pointed at the tips. The pokemon looked like a normal, small animal with brown fuzz. Dirt clung to the scratches edged into the pokemon's skin along with the blood that poured from the wounds. The pokemon also had a round, white stone hanging from a string around its neck. (Eevee)
The pokemon under the tree was a quadrupedal pokemon. It had an elongated body with small paws. The pokemon's fur was divided into two sections: The top half was blue while the bottom half was tan. Dillan was surprised to see it didn't seem to have any back legs, just paws. The pokemon had red marks on the top of its head and its back-side. It didn't have a tail. Dillan couldn't tell if it had any nostrils. Its eyes were squinted together as if the pokemon was in pain. The tree was rested on the pokemon's back. (Quilava)
One of the whirlipede spun towards the quilava. The eevee jumped into its way. Its body began to glow and a barrier formed around the eevee. The whirlipede bounced off of the field. The eevee looked exhausted. He wasn't going to last much longer.
"Hey, you!" Dillan shouted at the pokemon. They all looked towards Dillan maliciously. Dillan felt his courage drain from his body. The eyes of the pokemon seemed to lock onto Dillan and Ryan.
"Finally." the eevee said. "I was wondering when the rapidash would arri-..." The eevee passed out on the spot. Dillan looked on at the eevee that seemed to have fought to protect the already incapacitated quilava. His courage might have left him, but his need to help most certainly stayed. Dillan ran towards the eevee at full speed. Ryan followed behind. The whirlipede began to roll towards the remaining members of Team Rapture. Dillan lunged at the ground, creating a hole as fast as he could. The whirlipede rolled at the hole and slammed into the edge, bouncing into the air. The second whirlipede was aimed at Ryan who quickly used a swift attack. The stars pummeled into the second whirlipede, but it didn't stop it. The whirlipede kept going until it hit Ryan. Dillan sensed the whirlipede's spines inserting itself into Ryan's arm. Ryan quickly grabbed the whirlipede. He rubbed his cheeks on the whirlipede's hard skin. He then let go of the whirlipede, letting it roll away. The whirlipede kept rolling until it hit a tree. Ryan ran over to the eevee. Dillan climbed out of his hole and did the same.
"Are you alright?" Dillan asked Ryan.
"Just focus on the job!" Ryan said through gritted teeth. Dillan noticed Ryan had his paw on his wound. He looked at the spinarak jumping through the air. Dillan jumped to the left, but his reaction time was off by a second. The spinarak shot a strand of web at Dillan's legs. Dillan tripped and landed on his chest. He looked back and saw the spinarak making its way up Dillan's leg. Dillan swung his tail at the spinarak. It hit the small pokemon off of Dillan. He looked for a new threat to see a glowing, green blade flying towards his head. Dillan moved his head to the right. The blade barely missed Dillan's head by half an inch. The blade came up, illuminating the lurantis' face with its green glow. The lurantis brought its blade down again. Dillan rolled his body right. He stopped rolling when his back-fin met the ground. Dillan focused on his arm-fins. They extended with a blue glow. He used the dragon claw on his bonds. Ryan tackled the lurantis before it struck at Dillan again. He then bit down on the lurantis' arm. The lurantis gave a cry that sounded like high-pitched vibrations. Dillan stood up. Ryan ran over to Dillan.
"Use your flame-thrower!" Ryan said. "It's super-effective against bug and grass types!"
Dillan nodded. The first whirlipede had recovered from his aerial adventure. It locked its eyes on Dillan. It started rolling towards its gabite foe. Dillan planted his feet, drew his head back, and exhaled a stream of fire. The flames flew forth towards the bug-type pokemon. The pokemon tried to avoid the attack. The fire burned the back of the whirlipede. The pokemon gave a cry and rolled away, off into the trees. The second whirlipede, still stunned by Ryan's nuzzle, followed its companion into the brush. Ryan started engaging in battle with the spinarak. Dillan tore his focus from that fight and turned it towards the new one that was about to brew.
He looked at the lurantis. It started to charge him. Dillan brought his head back once again and exhaled a new stream of flames. The lurantis vibrated its wings and jumped above the flames. It looked at Dillan with a hateful gaze. Its wings vibrated even faster, emitting an ear-splitting sound. Dillan's ears felt like shattering. He held his ear-drums in an attempt to shut-out the noise. It wouldn't work. His mind felt like splitting open. He tried to focus on the lurantis, but it seemed to disappear. He looked around until he found his target, but there was something wrong. Everything seemed to be bathed in a red light. Dillan decided it was due to his brain feeling like it was about to split and he couldn't dwell on it too much. The lurantis started attacking with random moves at random areas of the field. Dillan decided to take the opportunity to attack the lurantis while it was weak. Dillan rushed the lurantis. He extended his fins in a dragon claw attack. He struck out at Ryan. Wait... He came back to his senses. Ryan was grabbing at his wound. He had a slash across his chest. Dillan looked on in horror. Blood started dripping from Dillan's fin. Dillan looked at his fin, then Ryan's wound, then his fin again. Ryan looked at his chest. He fell into a sitting position.
"Ryan?" Dillan asked.
"Wh-..." Ryan tried to say. "What... Did you..." Ryan was panting rapidly. Dillan looked at his friend. He felt a blade glide across the scales on his back. Dillan looked around to see the lurantis. It looked savage. Dillan drew his head back quickly and breathed a blaze of fire at the lurantis. The pokemon gave a shriek of pain as the fire engulfed its body. Dillan stopped the stream. The lurantis ran off. Dillan looked around for the last foe, the spinarak. He found it on the floor, passed out. Sparks were flying off of its body, probably from Ryan. Dillan looked at Ryan. He ran over to his friend. Ryan was still breathing, pressing his stained paws against the wound in his chest.
"Ryan-" Dillan tried to say. Ryan put up his hand to tell Dillan to be quiet.
He pointed to the bag and said, "Orb."
"Orb?" Dillan asked. "The Escape Orb?" Dillan asked.
Ryan nodded. He then pointed to the eevee and the quilava. "Get me-..." Ryan stumbled. He coughed. "To them..." he finished. Dillan did what he was told. What did I do? Dillan brought Ryan next to the pokemon on the floor. "Use... Orb... Now..." Ryan said. He shut his eyes and started panting slower.
"How?" Dillan asked. Ryan didn't answer. "Ryan?" Dillan asked. He didn't respond. "Ryan!" Dillan felt like breaking down. No! Stop! Focus! Focus! Focus! Dillan racked his brain to ignore what had happened. He'll be alight. He'll be alright. He'll be alright! Dillan searched through the bag for anything that looked orb-like. He found a blue, crystal sphere. He took it out of the bag. It was about two feet in diameter. Alright... How does this work? He put his claws on the orb. "Escape." Nothing happened. "Work." It still didn't work. "Work!" Dillan shouted. It still did nothing. "Come on! Come on..." Tears started forming in Dillan's eyes. He slammed his claw into the orb. It cracked. Dillan looked at the orb with horror. The crack grew wider. And wider. Then, it shattered. A blue light enveloped the remains of the orb. It grew brighter and brighter until it engulfed the room.
(Warning! Important announcement below- The Author)
(Author's Notes)
There is a poll that has been created! Vote for your favorite character! The poll will be available pretty much until the story dies. So, vote now! While you still have the chance! Just kidding. Vote if you want. If you don't that's cool, too. I was just curious who your favorite character is. If you're wondering how to get to the poll, it's pretty simple. Just click on either my name or my profile picture and that will bring you to my page. From there, it's as simple as going to the poll section or clicking the "Poll" button at the top of my page. Another way is by putting, "MasterKnight2142" in the search box. That will take you to my page. I'm curious what your votes will be! Have fun! (That concludes the important announcement)
Shout out to the two new follower Kibago-FF! Again, I meant to give you a shout-out in the last chapter, but I messed up. Sorry! Also, thanks to everyone else who hasn't followed but has read the story up until this point; whether you be from five years in the future or right along with the suspense!
Welcome to another chapter of Dillan's horrible life! Sorry for the cliff-hanger. I wanted to give you guys something to look forward to in the next chapter. Here's some good news! The college semester is wrapping up; which means I'll have a lot more time to write! I never gave you guys a excuse why my writing hasn't been as consistent, but this is why.
Thanks for reading, guys! It's been a blast for me to show you my characters and my story! Hope you guys liked this chapter (even though it was probably boring). Hope to see you guys next time!
