Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Shadows of Ganderosa
Chapter 20
Flames in the Darkness
Hey guys! MasterKnight2142 here! I just wanted to tell you that I had a few issues with getting this chapter up on the site. I have some more info at the end of the chapter in the "Author's Notes" section. I don't want to go into too much detail, so let me just say sorry to you guys. Without further a due, here's the new chapter! Enjoy!
"Hey." Dillan called out. He could easily identify Grace's blurred expression amongst the whites of the room. He had seen it enough times to know where she was even without her voice. Dillan also recognized the tears that he held back in his throat. "Are you doing alright?"
"Dillan," Grace said. "I can't see you."
"I know, Grace." Dillan said softly and shakily. "Just try and stay calm. The doctor's going to be here any second." Am I going to get to the end this time?
"Why does this keep happening to me?" Grace sounded on the verge of tears.
"They'll know soon. Just hang in there, alright?"
"Dillan, I'm scared."
"I know." Dillan felt himself get closer to Grace. He felt his arms wrap around Grace's body. He felt a silky touch to her.
"Dillan." a male voice called out to him. The voice sounded strong and confident as well as sad.
"I need to go now." Dillan told Grace.
"Please don't go." Grace was crying now. "Stay with me."
"I wish I could, but the doctor's coming in to look at you."
"I don't mind it." Grace said. "I just want you to stay here."
Dillan was silent. He felt his eyebrows come closer together as if he was thinking.
"Dillan." the male voice said.
"I'm only going to be outside the room, alright?" Dillan told Grace.
"You promise?" Grace asked.
"Cross my heart." Dillan let go of Grace. "I'll be back in once the doctor's finished."
"Okay." Grace said with a sniffle.
Dillan felt himself break away from the hug. He felt his legs walk away from Grace. He exited the room. By now, Dillan recognized all of the sounds. He knew all of the beeping of machines and rolling of wheels along the hallway meant he was in a hospital. Dillan watched as a blur moved passed him into Grace's room. The blur shut the door, keeping Dillan out.
"Hey, kid." a male voice said sympathetically.
"Hi dad." Dillan said half heartedly.
"You doing alright?" Dillan's dad asked.
"Can't you tell?" Dillan asked, annoyed by the question. "I'm your son."
"Don't take that tone with me." Dillan's dad said with a slightly commanding voice, though Dillan could tell that he was trying to stay calm.
"Why did you and mom decide to get a divorce?" Dillan asked. He felt himself scowl at his father, a multicolor blur of white and green.
"Things don't always work out."
"So you move on, right? If you can't be bothered with a problem, leave it behind."
"Dillan, I won't have my own son talk to me like this." Dillan could tell his father was starting to lose his patience.
"You stopped being my father when you got a divorce; when you let mom take custody of me. Both of you lost me when you tore this family apart with your fighting."
"Dillan, I'm warning you." His father dropped his calm voice. He now sounded stern and angry.
The sound of a creaking door came from the direction of Grace's room. "Mr. Lambert?" a voice called out.
Dillan's father gave a sigh. "Yes?" he asked with a forced calmness.
"I wanted to ask you a question about your daughter." Dillan guessed he was the doctor who kept visiting Grace.
"Alright." Mr. Lambert agreed.
"How does your daughter do with running?"
"She does fine, I guess."
"No, she doesn't." Dillan interrupted. Mr. Lambert gave a sigh. "Shouldn't that be on record?"
"What do you mean by that?" the doctor asked.
"We've been here before and we've talked about this." Dillan stated. "My sister can't do any sports. If she tries to be active for too long, she passes out. You told us it had something to do with her blood pressure." You've told me this. Keep going.
"That's probably the reason this wasn't identified earlier." the doctor said calmly and empathetically. This is it.
"What wasn't identified earlier?" Dillan asked slowly. Yes, what? Dillan felt the world begin to vibrate. No, not yet! Not again!
"Grace has..." the doctor's voice trailed off into the oblivion. Everything around him began to go black. No! What's wrong with my sister? Dillan felt himself leave his body.
Dillan jolted awake. He slammed his head into the top bunk. He inhaled sharply from the pain. Dang it! It happened again! Why can't I see the end of that stupid dream? Dillan tried to think of what the doctor said next. He thought for a few minutes. Come on! His brain started to hurt. Dillan stopped himself. This isn't working.
"Bad dream again?" Ryan asked above Dillan. He jumped down from the top bunk. He began to stretch.
"Wake up!" Dean shouted from the boys dorm door. "It's morning!"
"We know!" Ryan shouted through the door, annoyed with the machoke. He turned back to Dillan.
"It's that dream again." Dillan stated as he got up from his bed. Dillan saw Wallace get up. The watchog started making his bed in a tidy fashion.
"The one with your sister in the hospital?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah."
"Did the doctor finally spill?"
"No. I woke up before he could... Again."
"How many times is that now? Ten? Fifteen?"
"I don't know. I lost count." Dillan looked at the bunk beds. He stared at Koa's and Bolt' followed his gaze.
"Three weeks." Dillan stated.
"Yeah." Ryan agreed. "I was thinking about inviting Adelina to our team, seeing as Bolt's left the guild."
"He never said he was gone for good."
"But we haven't heard a word from him since Koa died. Three weeks is a long time to take a break."
"His best friend died." Dillan said, a little annoyed with Ryan's lack of sympathy.
"I know." Ryan stated. "But don't you think he should've shown up at least once by now? If you ask me, the guy doesn't want to be on an exploration team any longer."
"Alright." Dillan said. Wallace exited the room.
"Anyways," Ryan began. "Since I'm not the team leader or anything, I thought about asking you and Hazel first before we add a new member."
"Makes sense." Dillan admitted. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter."
"Then that's a yes." Ryan said triumphantly. Dillan shouldered Reya's bag from the bunk bed's shelf. "One member to go." Dillan and Ryan walked out of the room towards the Guild's Assembly.
Dillan and Ryan, like usual, were the last ones to enter the room. Hazel was waiting for them at the end of the line of guildmembers.
"Why are you guys always late?" Hazel asked with a playful glare.
"We're not late." Ryan stated. "We're just the last ones to arrive is all." Ryan looked down the line, observing each member. Dillan looked down the line as well. His eyes landed on the Royal Guards.
"They're still here?" Dillan asked.
"The Royal Guard?" Hazel asked. Dillan nodded.
"Weren't they suppose to leave yesterday?" Ryan asked.
"Alright guildmembers!" Garth announced as he came out of his quarters and strode onto the stage. "I've got a big announcement to make this morning, so no interruptions. A lot of you have made such an impression on the Royal Guards that the King has decided to look into the guild!"
"What did you say?" Wallace shouted with excitement. "We actually got the King's attention?
"We?" Dean scoffed. "He's obviously talking about Team Force."
Haily rolled her eyes.
"That's amazing!" Hazel stated. "What does that mean for the guild?"
"Well," Janette cut in. "It means the King is going to come here to evaluate the guild's progress."
"Not likely." Haily said. "He'll probably send his advisor here instead."
"That's not the best part." Garth said. "It says the king should be here in two days."
"Two days?" Wallace shouted.
"Calm down." Dean told the watchog.
"The king's going to be here!" Jess chanted as she floated above Team Force's heads. "The king's going to be here!"
"Jess." Haily said with a scowl.
Hazel eyed the haunter worriedly.
"Jess," Garth ordered. "Calm down."
"Yes Guildleader!" Jess shouted as she floated back to the ground, continuing to chant, "The king's going to be here!"
"Guildleader," Ryan started. "Won't the rioters pose a threat to the king?"
"I don't see why." Garth stated. "The Royal Guards arrested half of them. Seeing as we haven't had so much as a threatening word from the civilians, I would say he's safe."
"I'm still not convinced." Ryan said.
"Well, it doesn't matter if you're convince, pipsqueak." Dean stated. "It only matters if the king comes."
"Easy for you to say." Ryan said quietly.
"What was that?" Dean asked.
"Enough." Garth said sternly. "You're all guildmembers and should be treating each other like family. Now back to the subject.
"Since the king is coming in two days, I want Team Rapture and Team Force to continue their daily routine of missions. Wallace, I want you to patrol Palando with the Royal Guard."
"Really?" Wallace asked with enthusiasm.
"Yes." Garth acknowledged.
"Yes sir!" Wallace and the Royal Guard saluted Garth. "I won't let you down!"
"Adelina. I want Dean and Ryan to go with you to find Bolt."
"What?" Dean, Ryan, and Adelina asked at the same time. Garth looked at them with a smile. "I want you three to ask Bolt if he wants to leave the guild."
"Guildleader," Adelina began. "Why?"
"Bolt has a place here. I think we need to remind him that we're still open to him being here."
"Alright," Ryan started. " But why me and Dean?"
"I agree." Dean said. "Pipsqueak will just make things worse."
Ryan glared at Dean. "I think you've got that the wrong way."
"Yeah right!" Dean exclaimed.
"This is exactly why I want you two to work together on this assignment." Garth announced. "The king is going to be here in two days and I want you two to work as a group. You are guildmembers, after all."
"Guildleader," Adelina cut in. "I don't think this is a good idea. Bolt doesn't..." Adelina trailed off. She gave Dean a nervous glance. "Like Dean."
Dean looked at Adelina. He gave a huff. "Well, the feeling's mutual."
"Adelina," Garth said . "Trust me. Ryan and Dean won't be a problem for Bolt." Garth took a deep breath and stood up straight. "Now then. If that's settled, let's move on."
The whole guild knew what came next. Seeing as how Dillan had been doing this for a few weeks, it became a habit for him. Everyone began reciting the Guildmember's Directives. "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." Everyone shouted proudly, "All hail the Arvaines!" Garth then turned towards his room and walked out. Janette followed.
"Ugh." Ryan moaned. He turned to Dillan and Hazel. "Can't believe I got dumped with Dean."
"At least you're with Adelina." Hazel added.
"Yeah, but I was looking forward to today. I had a really good feeling that something was going to be awesome."
"It'll be fine." Dillan added. In reality, he was worried about himself. Ryan's a powerhouse on this team. He's stronger than me or Hazel. We'll probably be fine, but something could happen without
him.
"Hey, pipsqueak!" Dean shouted. "Come on! We're wasting daylight!" Dillan looked at Dean who was already with Adelina.
"I guess I'm off." Ryan announced while rolling his eyes.
"Good luck." Hazel said.
"You, too." Ryan added. With that, Ryan left to join Adelina and Dean. Team Rapture was once again split.
"This is going to suck." Hazel said quietly.
"What?" Dillan asked.
"Nothing!" Hazel said, trying to recover from her lapse in enthusiasm.
"You think it's going to suck?"
"W-Well..." Hazel tried to think of something to say, but she couldn't. Hazel gave a sigh. "Ryan's usually such an asset to the team. Not having him is going to make things harder on us." So she has the same doubts.
"It'll be fine." Dillan assured her, trying to sound sure of himself even though he was just as worried; if not more so. "We can handle ourselves. Besides, Adelina's team needs Ryan right now."
"Yeah. Alright." Hazel said, trying to sound upbeat. "All we can do is keep moving forward." Hazel took Dillan by the arm and began pulling him towards the guild's exit.
Dillan gave one more look to Ryan. The pachirisu looked annoyed as Adelina began telling the temporary team something Dillan couldn't fully hear. Dillan and Hazel exited the guild.
Team Rapture walked over to the job bulletin board. Hazel began searching through the jobs. A few weeks ago, Hazel made a proposition to the team. She proposed that they would take the job from a pokemon that needed the most help. The only problem was their rank. The rank excluded them from the more difficult tasks that needed to be taken care of. As a result, they could only help pokemon who were judged as a Silver Rank job.
"None of these pokemon need help." Hazel said. "Take this one for example." Hazel took one of the jobs off of the board and read it aloud. "'Dear guildmembers. My husband and I were hoping to go on a vacation. You see, he's the adventuring sort. We were hoping you could escort us through a mystery dungeon.' These jobs are all jokes."
"No one needs any real help?" Dillan asked.
Hazel gave a sigh. "This..." She stopped herself. Hazel put her chin up and said, "This could be fun."
"You actually want to be a tour guide through a mystery dungeon?" Dillan asked, wondering what makes that such a good idea.
"We need to stay positive about our situations, right?" Hazel gave a smile. Dillan watched as her eyes drifted behind Dillan. Hazel's face changed into a worried glare.
"What?" Dillan asked. He turned around. Next to the fountain was a glaceon. The pokemon was scowling at Dillan and Hazel. "Who are-" Dillan stopped himself. His mind went back to three weeks ago; back to when the guild was attacked. "You're the pokemon who attacked the guild." Dillan stated. He then remembered the icicle shards that clung to his body. Dillan gave an involuntary shudder. He felt nervous and worried.
"Chill out." the glaceon shouted. It was scowling at the team. "I'm not here to attack you."
"Then why are you here?" Hazel asked calmly.
The glaceon looked at the guildmembers for a few seconds before grimacing. "I need-" She stopped herself briefly. "I need your help." The glaceon glared at Team Rapture.
"For what?" Dillan asked.
"Shut up and listen, gabite!" the glaceon snapped. "Because of your system, my father lost his job. To give me something to eat, he started adventuring into a mystery dungeon called Lantern Fields. That was two weeks ago. He still hasn't come back."
"You want us to help bring him back?" Hazel asked.
"Everyone else thinks he's gone feral by now. No one else would help. I wouldn't ask the guild for help if there wasn't any other way!"
"How many times did you go into the plains?" Hazel asked worriedly.
The glaceon grimaced. "Wh-What makes you think I did?" she asked.
"Lantern Plains is filled with Fire-Type pokemon. You have a burn on your leg." Dillan looked more closely. She did have a burn on her back left leg. "Do you want some help?" Hazel sounded empathetic.
"All I want is for you to help my father!" the glaceon barked.
"We'll do it." Hazel said. Dillan wasn't surprised at the answer. In fact, he was ready to convince Hazel to help if she didn't want to.
"You will?" the glaceon asked, thoroughly confused by the response. "B-But..."
"What's your name?" Dillan asked.
"Tracey." The glaceon said quietly.
"Tracey, we're about helping others who need help." Dillan said.
"But I don't have any money..." Tracey said. She started scowling at the floor.
Hazel moved closer to the glaceon. "That's alright." the charmeleon said. "We don't work for the money."
Tracey looked up and started scowling again. "This was a mistake." she said. "This is some kind of guild trick."
"No, it isn't." Dillan assured.
"You guys will probably hold this thing above my head, waiting until you can use me." Tracey turned around and started running away.
"Tracey, wait!" Hazel called out. Tracey didn't listen. She kept running until she exited the guild. She took a right and was gone.
"That didn't work." Dillan said.
"We're going to help whether she likes it or not." Hazel said.
"We are?" Dillan asked. "Even if she doesn't want help?"
"Of course we are." Hazel said. "We're going to prove that there are guildmembers who are good pokemon. Are you with me?"
Dillan thought about it for a few seconds. He gave a smile. "Let's save Tracey's dad."
Team Rapture departed from the guild to the southern road, the same road that extended towards Castellum Town. When the road branched, they began moving in a south-west direction. After a few hours of walking, Hazel and Dillan decided to take a quick rest-stop.
The two picked a spot by the road to rest. They picked that spot specifically because of the tree that shaded the grass from the sun. Dillan looked at the plains of grass that stretched onwards, only interrupted by the occasional tree that spouted from the soil. Dillan laid Reya's bag down on the ground. He then sat on the grass. He closed his eyes and thought for a second. Grace... What happens next in my dream? And what's with my dad? He seems like a guy who demands respect. Does he deserve it? I didn't seem to think so, even if he is my father. Dillan thought about his dad. I can't remember anything about you... He felt bad. What's it like to have parents?
"Are you alright?" Hazel asked.
Dillan opened his eyes. Hazel was sitting on the ground. She had also removed her bag. She was extending her paw towards Dillan. A green and yellow-spotted berry rested in her paw. Dillan skewered the berry with his right talon.
"What's your father like?" Dillan asked.
Hazel looked at him for a few seconds, as if she was registering the question. "U-Um..." Hazel stumbled. She gave a nervous grin. "Why do you ask?"
"It's because of my dream." Dillan admitted.
"The one about Grace in the hospital room?" Hazel asked.
"Yeah." Dillan acknowledged. "My dad doesn't seem too cool to me. I just wanted to know what other dads are like."
"I don't know if I'm the pokemon you should be asking." Hazel said as she looked towards the sky. "My dad isn't what pokemon consider normal."
"Why not?" Dillan asked.
"Well, he use to hold meetings with my friend's parents. They were always about me and my friends becoming an exploration team. It might seem normal, discussing the future of your children, but he was obsessed with it. He always pushed me to be the best explorer. You could say it was effective. I didn't have a problem with it. Even though he would push me to be the best, he would still interact with me. He would still be my father. It all changed when my mother died.
"My father became less-social. His obsession with pushing me became too much. He would push me to my breaking point. It does things to you when you're only a kid. Hanging out with my friends became my only source of enjoyment. My dad would still read me stories, but that was it.
"After a while, strange things started happening around my family. Pokemon around us would get hurt for unexplained reasons. Most pokemon started looking at us like we were trash that needed to be removed from their life. Me and my father were labelled "cursed". No one would be around us. The group meetings discussing the future of me and my friends stopped. Parents would look at me like I was a problem. Living outside of my home was hard. On top of that, my father continued to push me to be better."
"Was pushing you to be better a problem?" Dillan asked.
"It is when you're ten and you need to run for three hours straight." Hazel said with an as-a-matter-of-fact voice. "My point is, my father pushed me to my breaking point. I would feel bad inside of my own home. When my friends moved, everything became unbearable. After a few more years, my grandparents offered to be my legal guardians in Fericia. I wanted to get away from my father and join an exploration team with my friends. So, my father, seeing that Fericia was an opportunity to get me into an exploration team, sent me to live with my grandparents. You know what happened next."
"So you don't like your dad?"
"I love my father. He's very kind and wants to help everyone he can. He just changed after my mother died. I only wish he would be a father to me instead of a drill sergeant."
"How can you be so positive?"
"What do you mean?"
"You've had so many bad things happen to you. How can you continue to look at the bright side of things?"
Hazel looked at the floor. She gave a smile. "That's not true at all."
"You're joking?" Dillan asked.
"Not at all." Hazel said with a warm smile to Dillan. "It get's hard. You've seen me get all dark and moody before. Being positive is more of a decision than anything. You've got to look past the bad and see the good. For instance, if Dean and Haily didn't leave me, I wouldn't have found you or Ryan. We wouldn't be the team we are today."
Dillan looked at Hazel in awe.
"Stop looking at me that way." Hazel said in a playful way.
"Alright." Dillan said. He began to eat his berry. It tasted sweet and spicy. Dillan thought it was weird. His face tightened together from the fire that formed on his tongue.
Hazel laughed. "Don't like it?" she asked.
Dillan swallowed the berry. "It's hot." he said as he opened his mouth to air his tongue.
"We should be pretty close to Lantern Fields. An hour or so of walking and we should see it."
"Then let's get going." Dillan stated, finishing the last bite off his berry.
"I have a better idea." Hazel said. "Why don't we read more of the History of Ganderosa?"
"Are you sure it's a good time? We're in the middle of a mission."
"I'll read while we walk." Hazel went to Reya's bag. "Do you mind?"
"It's alright."
Hazel went into Reya's bag and pulled out the history book. She opened it to the bookmark she had placed after their last session. She took a bite of her berry. It looked like Dillan's, but Hazel's reaction was different. She ate the berry in seconds.
"Let's walk." Hazel said as she shouldered her bag. Dillan did the same with Reya's. The two were back on the gravel road. Hazel held the book with both paws. She scanned the pages. "Where were we?"
"If I remember correctly..." Dillan said as he thought about it. "We were when King Maxamillian died and his son... Henry-"
"Herald Armadine." Hazel corrected.
"Right. We were at the part where he became king."
"Alright. Then we can skip more of the book." Hazel said as she began flipping through pages.
"A-Are you sure?" Dillan asked.
"Sure I'm sure. Herald didn't do much in his time as king. He just made some adjustments to the Guild System. No, we need to go to when Judah Armadine the First was king." Hazel stopped on a page. She scanned it and said, "Here we go. Judah and Darwin Armadine."
Dillan couldn't help but notice that the two were more than half-way through the book.
"Are you sure we skipped unimportant things?" Dillan asked.
"Trust me." Hazel said. "Nothing influential has happened yet." Hazel began reading from the book. "'Judah Armadine's life was one filled with pleasures. He wasn't one to deny himself of anything he desired. The only time he wouldn't take what he wanted was when it interfered with the daily lives of his citizens. He took after the Great King in which he would put his citizen's needs before his own.
"'Eventually, King Judah met a woman to call his own.' That's sexist." Hazel rolled her eyes and continued. "'That woman would give an heir to the throne of the Armadines. Judah was later declared dead...' That's not right." Hazel looked at the book with a curious glance.
"That quickly?" Dillan asked. "I thought you said Judah had an impact on today?"
"No, he doesn't. His sons do." Hazel ran her claw along the book. "This book is missing some pages."
"Really?" Dillan looked over Hazels shoulders. Hazel spread the pages of the book farther apart to reveal torn pieces of paper that were stuck to the book's spine. "What now?"
"Guess I'll have to give you the short version." Hazel said. "I've pretty much memorized this part anyways. My dad told me this story plenty of times. Anyways, Judah the First has two kids; Darwin the First and Judah the Second. Darwin was the first-born. He studied to be the leader of Ganderosa. Even though Judah was the second child of the king, he wanted the throne of Ganderosa. Instead of studying like his brother, Judah spent time with the pokemon of Ganderosa, trying to learn what they needed. Judah also took part in an exploration team.
"He thought that King Judah would have chosen him to be king because of his knowledge about the pokemon. King Judah had another idea to serve his son. He declared Darwin would be king in a week's time. Judah the Second would serve as Darwin's advisor. Judah wasn't happy with that outcome, so he journeyed to the desolate island of Jarondai to sort through his thoughts whilst exploring.
"On the day of Darwin's coronation, Judah the second tried to kill his brother. Judah used a Dark Pulse against Darwin. King Judah stepped in the way of the attack. King Judah was killed instead of Darwin. Once Darwin found out his brother tried to have him killed, he sentenced Judah to live out the rest of his life on Jarondai.
"Because of Darwin's tragic loss of his father and the exile of his brother, he fell into depression. He neglected his son, Carnandite Armadine. As a result, Carnandite became a harsh ruler. Thus ends the rule of Darwin Armadine."
"How does that impact the world today?" Dillan asked.
"The chapter about Hans Armadine should tell you that; though I'll let the information I gave to you sit in your head."
"So Judah was exiled to Jarondai? Is that the same Jarondai that the capitol of Ganderosa is at?"
"Yep."
"Why did they make an exiled island a capitol?"
Hazel thought about it. "Would you like me to continue through the book?"
"Nah. I'm good." Dillan thought about the stories Hazel had told him. Reya said these stories have a reason for why I'm here; but why? Have I read something about it? Am I missing something? Is there a piece of information I need? With those questions in mind, Dillan and Hazel walked onwards towards Lantern Fields.
After two hours of walking, Dillan noticed something different about his surroundings. He looked ahead. The sky seemed to be brighter. Something was definitely weird. Dillan took a whiff of the air. He stated coughing.
"Smoke?" he asked.
"We're closer now." Hazel said.
The two walked for a few more minutes. The smell of smoke seemed to become heavier the more time that went by. Dillan noticed he was getting hotter. Finally, he saw the source of everything.
"A fire?" he asked. Dillan looked ahead at a big black stream of smoke that wafted into the air.
Dillan was looking at a field of tall, yellow grass. Some of the grass was on fire while other parts of it weren't.
"That's Lantern Fields." Hazel said. "The minerals in the earth are really rich with nutrients here because of the constant burning that happens inside of the fields. As a result, some of the best berries grow here. No one touches them due to the constant danger of the fire."
"You mean we're going in there?" Dillan asked frantically. "The whole place is on fire!"
"You don't need to worry about it." Hazel said. "You're a dragon and ground-type. Fire won't hurt you. Also, not all of it is on fire. Some of it is; but other parts of the grass are safe to pass through because of a mineral in the soil. Not all of the grass gets that mineral, so there's the fire; but the grass that does creates a natural path through the flames."
"How does that work?" Dillan asked.
"Natural phenomenon." Hazel answered with a wink. "Now come on. Tracey's dad is in there somewhere."
"May I just say I don't like going in there?" Dillan said.
"Just don't touch the fire and you'll be fine." Hazel said as the two made their way towards the Lantern Fields.
Dillan and Hazel entered the Lantern Fields. The grass went up to Dillan's waist while the fires danced a few feet above his head. Dillan felt hot inside of the fields, but it wasn't too bad. The fields were fascinating, and also terrifying, to be in. The heat blasted Dillan in waves. He didn't see anything spontaneously light like Hazel had told him, but that didn't mean it wouldn't happen. Hazel had the lead while Dillan brought up the rear. He watched as Hazel moved onwards. She would move wherever the fire wasn't, but that was difficult.
"Turn back." Hazel told Dillan as they hit the third dead end.
"There are a lot of dead ends in here." Dillan stated.
"Not sure why." Hazel said. "Let's just keep moving."
"Alright." Dillan stated. He turned a corner and was faced with a pokemon.
The pokemon was bipedal with a brick red stomach. It had yellow stripes that looked like fire on its stomach. Its legs were brick red until the knees, where they became brown for the rest of the way. Its arms came out like twigs. They extended to its wrists where two massive wrist-bands sat. The wrist-bands were brown with holes along it. There were brown like the pokemon's feet. Its hands were more like yellow tallons that extended from the palms. The tallons were about six inches. Its brown head was like a banana. It curved until it came to the small mouth on the end of its face. The pokemon spat fire like it was its tongue, then brought it back in. Its eyes seemed flush with its head, which Dillan found slightly disturbing. It had a tail that extended from its body, then poked upwards at a ninety degree angle. It had a hole at the end like a pipe.
Dillan stared at the heatmor as it licked the air with its tongue.
"Hi." Dillan said nervously. The heatmor just stared at him.
"Are you feral?" Dillan asked.
The heatmor hissed at the two pokemon. It flicked his hands to the side. They were both consumed by fire that spewed from its arm bands. The fire died down after a few seconds. Its claws were extended. It started walking towards Dillan.
"S-Stay back!" Dillan shouted.
"Alright, then." Hazel said. "If he wants a fight, let's give him one."
Dillan looked at the heatmor with worry and confidence. I can beat him. I've got nothing to worry about.
A hissing sound came from Dillan's left. He then heard shouting.
"What was that?" Dillan asked. He noticed the heatmor had turned its attention to the left; its right. The pokemon leapt into the fiery grass, running towards the cause of the shouting.
"Um..." Dillan said.
Suddenly, the grass to Dillan's left parted briefly as the heatmor flew through the grass, flying across the path, then into the fiery grass once more.
"That's not good." Hazel stated.
A roar came from Dillan's left. He tired to look through the grass to see the source. He peered through the blades of the grass that wasn't on fire. He heard a hissing sound directly in front of him. He waited for a few seconds, watching the grass.
"Do you see anything?" Hazel asked.
That's when Dillan did see something. A blue blur was coming towards him. "Move!" Dillan shouted as he lunged at Hazel. He pushed the charmeleon to the floor as the watery blast flew above him, catching his fin.
"Water?" Hazel asked.
Dillan got off of Hazel quickly. He turned to the path. There was a new pokemon there.
It was a bipedal pokemon with a tuxedo-like, white design on its black chest. It looked like a penguin. Its black fins came to blue edges like a blade. It stood on yellow bird feet. The pokemon's face was slim compared to its body. Its beak looked like a trident pointing skywards. Between the trident's spears were two, blue eyes. The pokemon had a blue blade-like edge coming from its stomach and making its way up to its chest where it parted. It then made its way to the shoulders. Dillan noticed three little spikes coming off of the pokemon's fins like fingers.
The empoleon gave a roar.
"That isn't good." Hazel said.
"What is that?" Dillan asked.
"Die!" the empoleon shouted. It had a deep, male voice. He began running towards Team Rapture. Dillan extended his fin in a desperate attempt at a defensive attack. The empoleon's fin began to glow white as he rushed Dillan. Dillan brought his dragon claw attack into the empoleon's fin.
"What moves are best against him?" Dillan asked.
"Nothing you can use!" Hazel shouted. "He's a water-steel-type! You can't use dig due to the roots! They're too dense! Most of my attacks aren't going to do much either!"
The empoleon forced Dillan back. He collided into Hazel. The empoleon took a step back and began spinning around. His fins spun like blades, cutting the grass. Water seemed to spew from the floor and surround the empoleon. A whirlpool formed around the water pokemon. It flung droplets of water all around like a light drizzle. Some of the droplets hit the flames with a hissing sound. The empoleon began moving forwards; towards Team Rapture.
"Dillan, get down!" Hazel shouted. Dillan got onto the floor. Hazel spat a ball of fire at the empoleon. The fire spin collided with its target. The new attack started spinning in the opposite direction of the empoleon's whirlpool attack. Dillan was surprised to see the empoleon's whirlpool attack was slower. Her attack must have turned the empoleon in the opposite direction, slowing it down. Hazel rushed in on the empoleon. Her claws began glowing white as she attacked. The empoleon slammed into Hazel with its attack. The whirlpool seemed to transfer from the empoleon's body to Hazel's. Hazel gave a cry of pain. She moved away from the pokemon.
"Hazel!" Dillan shouted. The whirlpool dissipated.
"I'm fine." she said. "But something's wrong!"
"What do you mean?" Dillan asked.
"Why is a water type in the Lantern Fields?"
Dillan stared at the empoleon. A fiery tornado appeared around it. The empoleon didn't seem fazed.
"Good question." Dillan stated. "But there's no time to think!" The empoleon started rushing in on Team Rapture.
"Move back!" Hazel said as she grabbed Dillan's arm. She began running backwards. Dillan followed.
Hazel and Dillan ran down pathways, trying to avoid the empoleon. Hazel glanced back. Her face turned into one of fear.
"What is it?" Dillan asked.
"Move!" Hazel shouted as she pulled Dillan into the burning grass. Dillan felt his skin become scorched from the heat. Dillan heard what sounded like a waterfall behind him. He heard it begin to crash against the ground. Dillan felt the fire all around his body. It burned, but it didn't seem to do any damage. Hazel continued to drag Dillan through the grass until they came to a clearing. They found themselves on a new path Dillan hadn't seen before.
"What was that?" Dillan asked as he rubbed his body in an attempt to make the burning pain stop.
"That pokemon was using a move I hadn't ever seen before." Hazel said. "It was like a tidal wave was forced out of a hose."
"But why the fire?" Dillan asked. The burning started dissipating. He began checking his body for burns.
"You're a dragon-ground. Again, you shouldn't have been in too much pain." Hazel grabbed Dillan by the arm. "Now come on. The fires won't stop that empoleon." Dillan and Hazel began running down the path.
It had been ten minutes since the encounter with the empoleon. Dillan and Hazel were thoroughly tired from running.
"Let's stop... for a minute." Hazel said through her rapid breaths.
"Alright." Dillan said. The two sat down on the floor. Dillan gazed upwards. The sky was grey. "Is it dark already?" Dillan asked.
"It's just the smoke." Hazel said.
Dillan took a better look. He tried to see through the smoke. For a minute, they sat there. Dillan just watched the sky. He decided to look down. He stared at the grass.
"What in Ganderosa?" Dillan asked.
"What do you mean?" Hazel asked.
"The grass." Dillan pointed out. "Doesn't it seem different?"
"How so?"
It could just be Dillan, but... "It looks more... Grey." Dillan was looking at a greyish-yellow thicket of grass.
"Are you feeling alright?" Hazel asked.
"I'm fine." Dillan said. Is she going to see through my lie? I mean, I'm fine and all. It's just that for the past five minutes, something's felt wrong.
"Let's move on." Hazel said.
"Do we even know who we're looking for?" Dillan asked. He and Hazel got up. They started moving onwards.
"Tracey's dad." Hazel said.
"And who would that be? Tracey didn't tell us."
Hazel hummed as if thinking. "Well, she isn't related to a fire-type..." Hazel's voice trailed off.
"What is it?" Dillan asked.
"Why didn't I think of it before!" Hazel looked back to where they came from. "That empoleon didn't belong here. He must have been Tracey's dad."
"That empoleon?" Dillan asked.
"If Tracey's mom is a vaporeon, then it would make sense."
"But wasn't the empoleon feral?"
"I don't think so." Hazel said. "He said, "Die" to us."
"That helps how?"
"Feral pokemon don't talk."
"Then why attack us?" Dillan said.
"I'm not sure." Hazel said. "He might have been afraid of me because I'm a fire-type, and by association, you."
"Alright then. Let's look for Tracey's dad." Dillan started walking forwards.
"Not now." Hazel said.
Dillan turned around. "Why not?" he asked.
"I'm feeling worn out."
"You're still tired?" Dillan asked with surprise.
"I know it's been five minutes, but I'm too tired right now."
"You." a voice said from above Dillan. Dillan looked above. Red eyes stared down at him. "Hello Dillan."
"Jake." Dillan said. It was the same voice from his dreams. "You're here?" Dillan asked.
"After all this time!" Jake said in a triumphant voice. "All this time! My speculations were right! All of my attempts to get close to you; and you've come to me! After all this time and worry! All of my work! I was correct about you!"
Dillan looked at Hazel. She looked up at the eyes with fear. "Wh-Who are y-you?" Hazel asked with a voice full of fear.
"What are you talking about, Jake?" Dillan asked.
"You really are human!" Jake said. Dillan looked at the shadowy figure with confusion. "And you're on my very doorstep! No, in my living room!" A black spike shot from the smoke above. It flew towards Dillan. He jumped to the side and avoided the attack. "You made a mistake coming here!"
"What are you doing?" Dillan shouted.
"What I should've done the entire time! I'm going to kill you for being a stopping point in my plan! I'm going to kill you before you ruin everything I've ever tried to accomplish! Dillan, this will be your final resting place!"
"Die!" a voice shouted. Dillan looked to his left and saw the empoleon rush towards Dillan. He looked towards the sky. Dillan watched as the empoleon moved his hands in a circular motion. Water formed around the air where the empoleon was moving his hands. A ring of water formed in the air. The empoleon threw his fins at the circle. To Dillan's complete shock, a massive blast of water flew through the air towards Jake's eyes. Jake looked at the empoleon. Another black tendril shot out from the smoke and intercepted the water.
"Foolish empoleon!" Jake shouted shrilly. "You can't hurt me here! You will die where you stand!" A third black tendril flew from the sky towards the empoleon. The pokemon dodged the attack. Its fins started glowing white and it slashed at the tendril. Jake gave a cry of pain as he withdrew his tendril. He shot another one at Dillan. Dillan jumped to the side to avoid the attack. The empoleon struck at the new tendril with his claws. "Stop it, you nuisance!" The tendril slammed into the empoleon, sending him flying into the fiery grass.
"We need to leave." Hazel said. Dillan couldn't help but notice the fear in her voice.
"How?" Dillan asked. He kept his eyes on a black spike that came at him.
"The escape orb in my bag." Hazel said.
"What about-" Dillan felt a force slam into his back. He went flying into the fiery grass. He felt himself hit the ground. His back burned from the heat that bombarded his scales.
"You will die, Dillan!" Jake shouted.
"Why are you doing this?" Dillan asked as he got up. He began running through the grass to get back to Hazel. He tried to ignore the fiery pain.
"Your kind has been a thorn in my side for too long!" Jake shouted. "Now I will be your end!"
"Dillan!" Hazel shouted. Dillan ran towards the sound of her voice. A roar came from above. Dillan felt the earth beneath him begin to vibrate. He tried to keep himself on his feet. Fire began spewing from the ground. Dillan felt the air around him begin to disintegrate. He tried to run, walk, anything. Dillan moved forwards towards Hazel. He found himself in a clearing.
"Hazel!" Dillan shouted. He started running forwards. He looked up for a second to see a jet of water pelted one of Jake's big red eyes.
"Dillan..." Hazel called out. Dillan looked down to see a small fire in the grass. He got down below the grass and found Hazel. He put his arms under Hazel's shoulders and began pulling the charmeleon to her feet.
"What's wrong?" Dillan asked frantically.
"I'm too tired..." Hazel said weakly.
Let me think. An escape orb should get us out; but then we'd be leaving Tracey's father behind. Think!
"Look out..." Hazel said weakly, yet fearfully. Dillan looked up to see another tendril making its way towards the two. Dillan shouldered Hazel and jumped from the attack. Dillan felt the earth shake from the tendril. I can't leave Tracey's dad we stay, Hazel is going to get hurt.
"Can you move?" Dillan asked. Hazel shook her head. Alright then. Here goes nothing. "Use the orb. Leave without me."
"No..." Hazel said.
"Do it." Dillan told her. "I can't leave Tracey's dad here and you can't stay or you'll die. Use it now."
"You're sure?" Hazel asked.
"Trust me." Dillan said. He got up from Hazel and started running. He looked up. Another blast of water slammed into Jake's eyes. Dillan followed the stream and made a guess to where it originated. He looked at the fiery grass, made a quick decision, and trudged into the burning flames. Dillan made a mad dash through the grass, trying to ignore the pain. He kept his eyes forwards, only looking away to glance upwards to look for another stream of water to follow.
"You can't hide from me here." Jake said as he brought another tendril down towards Dillan. Dillan side-stepped to avoid the attack. He then moved onwards.
"Die!" the empoleon shouted. Dillan followed the voice ahead. He broke through the grass and found the empoleon. Alright. Now for step two. Dillan took off Reya's bag and began searching its contents. Every second was spent searching or looking upwards for an attack. When an attack came, Dillan stepped out of the way and dragged his fin across the tendril. Come on! Where is it?
"Dillan!" Jake shouted. Dillan looked up and saw a tendril that didn't come down in a stabbing motion like always. This tendril caught Dillan off guard. It swung into Dillan's chest, sending him flying upwards, away from the bag. It caught Dillan like a snake. It wrapped itself around Dillan's body and began squeezing him. "All this time! For over a month I waited when I could have just killed you when I first suspected your origin!"
"Stop!" Dillan tried to shout. The pressure exerted on his chest was too great to talk.
"I played along with you and your game! I tried to be your friend! I tried to let you use me! All to get your trust! After all this time, trying to get you to say you're human, all I needed to do was wait for you to come to me!"
The tendril began scraping against Dillan's scales like sand paper. Dillan gave a cry of pain.
"What is that?" Jake asked. Dillan saw a green light flashing on his eye lids. He opened his eyes and saw where the flash originated. Dillan looked downwards and saw his green crystal was glowing. "Arceus!" Jake shouted. He let go of Dillan, dropping the gabite. Dillan fell into the fiery grass. He began breathing heavilly, trying to get air into his lungs.
"Die!" the empoleon shouted. Dillan felt blades slam into his head.
"Stop!" Dillan shouted. The crystal began glowing brighter. The empoleon slammed into Dillan again. The crystal grew brighter.
"You can't take him from me!" Jake shouted. "I've come so close! Not now!"
The crystal grew even brighter. A roar came from above. Dillan felt the ground shake again. He felt the ground split beneath him. He was falling. He saw Jake's red eyes flash back at Dillan with hatred. A tendril flew from the sky towards Dillan. The crystal grew brighter still. It lit up the entire crevice. Dillan closed his eyes from the brightness. He descended, leaving the world behind.
(Author's notes)
Hey guys! Sorry for posting this chapter so late. I'm not sure if the problem was on my end or on 's, but it wouldn't let me upload the new chapter to the website last Friday. I've been trying to fix this issue for several days, only to get it working as of today (2/5/18). So, I'm sorry for the inconsistency in posting the chapters. Hopefully, this won't happen again and we'll get another chapter up a week from this Friday/Saturday!
Shout-out to Dusk Ebonpaw for following the story! Thanks a bunch, guys for following/favoriting the story!
That's all for today! I'm thinking about having a two-chapter-special in a few weeks just because of what they are about, but other than that, have a great day! I'll see you guys in the next chapter!
