First of all, I'd like to thank Team_Ion_Pokemon, NaturallyDark, and MultiKirby for reviewing my last chapter. Now then, on with the show.

The group finished and paid for their meal, as they filed out of the restaurant, Fringe started a small conversation with the newly named Ninetales, "Seeing as you have yet to see the base, Ninetales." Fringe paused to glance over at the Lurantis. "Sylpheed, show him around when we get back."

Sylpheed perked up and nodded. "Got it." She told him, the flowing collar on her shirt whiffing around a bit as she did so.

As they left, Flocon took one more look back at the sign set up in front, The Howlin' Mightyena. I'll have to come back here one of these days. He thought, thought he also knew that it probably wasn't going to happen, at least not anytime soon.

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at a fairly plain apartment complex in Galet, appearing no different from the other stone and stucco buildings, some of them so tall Flocon had to take a few steps back to see the top. Fringe invited them into the lobby, once again, nothing special, a few brass mailboxes and a low ceiling that was supported by wooden beams. On the plus side, at least it wasn't trying to oversell itself. Leading his group up the staircase to the apartment.

The inside was small and cramped with the seven of them in there, however Bancho went over and shoved aside one of the bookshelves, revealing another doorway on the other side of it, also locked. Fringe unlocked said door with another set of keys and the group slowly filed in once more. Fringe let himself go last to push the bookshelf into its initial position, phasing through the wall instead to get into the somewhat spacious base that is the rest of the apartment.

The windows lower to the ground had the curtains drawn, the only windows that let light through were up near the ceiling. There were a few tables and chairs placed in the center of the room. Why is one of the tables broken? And it looks like one of the chairs is missing too. Flocon thought a bit confused. Deciding not to think much of it, Flocon looked to the side to see a line of bookshelves, and a board with a bunch of papers tacked onto it. And when he looked to his other side there were two hallways.

Fringe turned to face Flocon and with a wide motion he said, "Well then Ninetales, this is the base it isn't exactly big, but it's enough, from here on out you'll be working and rooming with Frukkshin and Sylpheed-" he was cut off by a small cheer from her before continuing. "-and she will show you around." He said, motioning towards the giddy Lurantis.

Flocon turned to Frukkshin and smiled but stopped when he noticed he was giving him a funny look, he had his mouth opened as if he were about to say something. This was quickly cut off by Sylpheed. "Come on." she announced, grabbing ahold of Flocon and pulling him to the middle of the room.

Flocon was a little confused but said, "I already saw, but sure… I guess."

Frukkshin chuckled and followed the two of them. "I suppose I can offer a helping hoof." he muttered.

Sylpheed stood in the middle of the room and motioned around her. "This is the main room, if you want to talk to someone, you do it here." She said, pointing to a few seats around a table, she then turned Flocon's attention to the board. "That's the notice board where you pick up jobs at, Fringe is very good about putting up the new jobs and removing old ones. We try to pick up a couple at a time. Makes things a bit easier in the long run." She then turned him to face the bookshelves. "And those are a mixed bag of training manuals and stories, Irukan keeps them in order."

Before Flocon could ask any questions, Sylpheed whisked him into one of the hallways to another room. This one had a stack of wood in the corner, along the wall stood two wood fired stoves with slabs of oven bricks stacked up neatly between them. Clay pots of water sat nicely on a short table beside it, cupboards were mounted above all of them with various ingredients and utensils filling them. All behind a counter top, which was behind a long table. "This is the dining room, Ohm and Frukkshin handle all the cooking, though we usually only eat breakfast and dinner here, today was a bit of a special day." She told him

"Alright then." Flocon sounded a bit confused as he was dragged into another room.

The room smelled strange and foreign, but whatever it was, Flocon gagged. "This is the medical bay, if you get an injury that we can't treat in the field, we bring you here," She said before pointing to herself. "and it's run by yours truly." there was a hint of pride in Sylpheed's voice as she spoke.

Flocon opened his mouth as if to say something, but by the time he had taken his first breath, Sylpheed had already dragged him into a new room. "Sylpheed, I'm busy." Bancho told her, moving a box onto one of the metal storage shelves lining the room. The room itself was not big, but it was very efficient with what it had.

Sylpheed, seemingly unfazed, told Flocon, "This is the storage room, Bancho does all the heavy-lifting… not much else to say or see here."

As she dragged Flocon off to another room, Bancho, without turning, said, "See you tomorrow." His voice was deadpan and somewhat unamused.

The room she bought him into was small, though tidy, with two straw beds sprawled across the ground near the center, a small couch placed against the wall with a short table in front of it, two chests labeled "Sylpheed" and "Frukkshin" were sat against the opposite wall, a couple shelves with various items stacked up above them, and a bag of supplies sat between them. "And this is our room, which is also yours as well. We'll get you set up and then I'll tell you about the job board in the morning. Oh, and don't touch our stuff, okay?" She said, letting go of Flocon after tapping him on the nose and chuckling.

Flocon shook out his fur and nodded. "Okay then." He said, as he sort of scratched his nose as best he could.

Sylpheed nodded and perked up again. "I almost forgot, rules, okay, there are only a few rules here that you need to follow: never sell out your teammates, never steal from your teammates, always follow through on the jobs you do, show up to meetings on time – we have one in the morning and occasionally in the afternoon, and don't be a dick." She said, "I'm sure you can follow them."

Sylpheed left the room, leaving Flocon the time to process everything. Before he was done doing even that much Frukkshin backed up into the room, dragging a chest with him and setting it near the others, he turned towards Flocon and told him, "Carve your name on this when you have the time, this is where you'll store all your things that you don't want anyone else getting into; anything you don't mind, just put it on the shelves." Flocon nodded.

Sylpheed followed him and threw down a pile of straw. "Set this up however you like it." She said as she walked over to her pile and curled up on the ground.

Flocon began to work on spreading out the straw in a way that he was comfortable with, Nodding along with nothing in particular, Frukkshin looked over at him. "By the way, if you're going to be working with us, I'd like to get an estimate of your abilities, see what type of pokemon you are." He said.

Looking up from what he was doing, but not really stopping, Flocon asked, "How so?"

Frukkshin smiled at him and straightened himself to stand at his full height. "A sparring match seems like it would be enough. I expect you won't hold back." He said with resolution.

Flocon, content with his work, laid down and asked, "I suppose I don't really have a choice?" Frukkshin shook his head. "Well then, I'll ready myself for it… I guess?"

"Then tomorrow, after breakfast, but before lunch." He said before going to lay down on his own pile.

Nodding his head and letting out a yawn. Today's been quite a day. He thought, looking up at Sylpheed and Frukkshin. I know I just met them, but… I trust them, maybe not a lot, but at least a little bit. But, why is my memory the way it is? There has to be an answer, right? Flocon shook his head. I shouldn't worry about that too much right now, besides, I have to fight Rapidash tomorrow, I should get some sleep, best to not disappoint him. Flocon curled up with his tails and closed his eyes, letting sleep overtake him.

Flocon was abruptly awoken by violent shaking, he leapt to his feet in fear, only to be met by Sylpheed. "Rise and shine, Sleepytales, it's breakfast time." She sang as she grabbed Flocon by the scruff again to drag him to the dining room.

"Lurantis, do you really have to drag me everywhere?" Flocon protested, finding her actions both degrading and painful.

She let go of him. "Sorry about that." Sylpheed apologised and kinda withdrew a bit, backing away from the slightly irate Ninetales. "I can be a little much at times."

"And you're telling me this?" he mumbled.

Flocon entered into the dining room with a huff and grabbed a plate near Sylpheed and Frukkshin. "Ninetales," Fringe called before he even had a chance to get situated. "I need to talk to you a moment after breakfast."

He nodded. "Sure thing." Flocon said.

Breakfast was finished by all of them, it wasn't anything special, but Flocon wasn't complaining, after all, it was a lot better than his cooking.

Everyone left one-by-one at varying intervals, Flocon staying behind to talk with Fringe, who said, "I'll be telling you a little more about our arrangements: for every mission you do, I'll be taking twenty percent to put back into the guild. What's leftover you can split amongst your team of which I'll have to take out ten percent of what you make to put towards a safe to fund whatever steps we need to take during your investigation. Whatever's leftover you can keep when we finish this case of yours. Any questions? Objections?"

Flocon mulled it over for a few minutes before finally shaking his head. "None that I can think of." He said.

"Very well, I think we should start by finding a geriatrician for you. Maybe they could figure out why you can't remember anything, if they can't figure it out, then we might have to find a specialist of some kind for you. A physician too, we need to know if you have any conditions we need to worry about before moving forward." Fringe said as he grabbed a stack of papers, walking out of the room he called back to Flocon, "Dismissed."

Flocon looked around for a few moments before sighing, walking out into the main room and standing next to Frukkshin and Sylpheed, who were sifting through some jobs on the notice board.

"I think these will do great for his first – Ninetales when did you get here?" Sylpheed exclaimed, leaping back in surprise, almost dropping the papers in her claws.

Frukkshin smiled at him. "Alright, the plan for today is that we'll travel to this Mystery Dungeon – Purple Bog – and do our job. But not before our little spar, which we'll have in a field outside of the Mystery Dungeon." He said with a slight nod. "Sound good?"

Flocon tilted his head. "Sure." He replied. "But I do have one question Rapidash."

"Go ahead."

"What's a Mystery Dungeon?"

Frukkshin stared blankly at Flocon, taking a moment to recompose himself he answered, "Hmmm… it's a bit difficult to explain what a Mystery Dungeon is, once you see one, most of your questions will be answered." He let out a long neigh, his ears pinned to the side of his head and after loitering for a short while, he led his group outside.

As they left the complex, the plateaus of stone called buildings stood above them once more, Frukkshin stood next to a metal pole and hailed down a carriage. Once it came to a halt at the pole. "Taxi," he said in greeting. "We need you to bring us as close as you can to Purple Bog, you know where that is, right?"

The driver looked down at them in confusion before finally saying. "Ah, I get it, you must be one of them Exploration Teams from far off. Very well, 50 poke from the each of you and I'll get you there in a jiff." They climbed on and paid the driver, Frukkshin and Sylpheed seemed to deflate a bit as they sat down. The driver then turned back to the Mudsdale and called, "Right men, let's get them to where they need to go."

The clopping of the Mudsdale driving the carriage echoed through the streets. Flocon was used to seeing crowds of pokemon lining the cobblestone sidewalks, but at this time of day the city looked abandoned and as they made their way through Flocon glanced around curiously from his low position. There was a dead silence inside the small carriage until Sylpheed finally broke it. "you know, Ninetales, you should really take better care of your fur." she said as she tugged a bit at his fur using the tip of a claw.

Flocon looked at her confusedly. "Why? I get that it's sort of a matted mess, but it doesn't bother me that much." he responded. "Besides, I'll just get it all messed up again fighting and exploring."

"Still, it isn't good for you, clean fur is healthy fur after all. And do you know how soft you could be if you took better care of it?" She said as she began to tug at a mass of his fur, much to his dismay. "There's a lot here, it could be so nice and fluffy. Like a soft and cool blanket."

Frukkshin chuckled. "And why exactly does that matter?" he said, smiling at the antics of the Lurantis.

Sylpheed leaned into the Rapidash's side. "Well, you're warm don't get me wrong, but you don't have any fur to sink into." she teased.

"I refuse to be treated as a mattress Sylpheed!" Frukkshin protested, blush crossing his face as he scooted away from her. Flocon couldn't help but give a nervous chuckle as he glanced between the two of them. "Oh that settles it," Frukkshin said in a dark voice, staring down Flocon. "now you have to get your fur done."

The three of them sat in silence for a moment until Frukkshin and Sylpheed burst out laughing the next, leaving a very confused Flocon to watch them. But they were quickly cut off by the driver. "This is as far as I can take the lot of you, Purple Bog is just a bit to the North about a few miles, you'll be there in a few minutes."

Flocon stood up and as he disembarked with the others he asked, "Is this really as far as you can take us?"

The driver turned to face him and said in a gruff voice, "You're either new to these parts, or you've been living under a stone for your entire life. Entire city of Galet's built atop a peninsula, and guarded by this massive Mystery Dungeon - Marais Morte - biggest in the world, so big they had to split it up into a bunch of smaller ones to make sense of the thing. But to this day, none have ever crossed it start to finish and lived to tell the tale, much less made it to the heart and back, though, I'd imagine both would make quite the story." he said, laughing at the last bit as the carriage began its return. Clattering as it made its way into the foggy city.

Flocon turned towards Frukkshin then turned away with a soft, but persistent growl coming from him, he took notice and told him, "This entire area was part of some massive disaster centuries ago called the Great Fold, it's why you don't see many Legendaries still around. Supposedly it's also why Mystery Dungeons are around too…" He took a moment to think and sighed. "You'll have to ask Ohm, he knows this stuff better than I do. But that's neither here nor there, what's here is this: are you prepared?" he said as he straightened his stance and rose to his full height.

"Huh?" said Flocon, shaking his head and blinking a few times. "Rapidash, If this place is so dangerous, wouldn't it be better to wait until we're out of the dungeon?"

Frukkshin clicked his tongue. "While I might agree under normal circumstances Ninetales. The part we're going into, Purple Bog, isn't too dangerous, so we should be fine." he said. "Even then, Sylpheed can heal us, at least to some extent, so we can be a little more… aggressive."

Staring down Flocon, Frukkshin's flames begin to flare up. He stomped the ground a few times, lowered his head and widened his stance. Flocon realized that there was no way to back out now, his tails quivering as they rose into the air, he lowered his stance and splayed his legs.

Sylpheed looked between the two of them and backed away. "Just be careful you two." she shouted as she withdrew a bit. "Don't kill each other."

Frukkshin turned and nodded toward the worried Lurantis. After a few moments he turned back to Flocon, smiling, he launched forward and fired a Flamethrower.

Flocon sprung to the side, allowing himself room to maneuver past the flames, but as the flames touched the ground they hissed. A plume of steam blinded Flocon and let Frukkshin slam into him with ease, sending the Ninetales tumbling backwards across the muddy ground.

Recovering and climbing back to his paws Flocon looked up and saw his fiery opponent standing there, watching him. The Ninetales returned the stare for a moment, Frukkshin lowered his head and began to charge him once more. However Ninetales ran to the side firing an Aurora Beam. Frukkshin jumped out of the way, dodging it with ease, the beam struck the ground instead and he took the moment as a chance to taunt Flocon, "You need to learn to lead your shots."

Flocon smirked at him, watching him touch down and slip on the icy surface and smash his face against the ground. Flocon took the opportunity to reposition himself and charge Frukkshin. The Rapidash snorted as his body's temperature began an ascent, his flames rose with vigor, melting the ice around him letting him get back to his hooves with ease. He turned and kicked Flocon straight in the face, cracking the Ninetales' jaw and sending him to the ground.

Shaking his face dry as he climbed back to his paws, Flocon began to charge once more, Frukkshin grinned and stormed forwards. What looked like a Flame Charge was headed straight for the Ninetales who prepared to dodge, closing the distance between them. But as they got nearer to one another the fire wreathing Frukkshin splayed out in heightened intensity a spray of steam now following his stampede. One that left no room for Flocon to try and dodge. Flocon focused for a moment, chilling the air around him and firing a Powder Snow to break Frukkshin's concentration but the attack vaporized the second it came into contact with the roaring flames. Frukkshin was entirely unfazed as he slammed into Flocon with his attack, heavily damaging the Ninetales, skipping him across the ground as if he were a stone on a river.

Flocon struggled while on the ground. What was that? It was like a Flame Charge, but with an abnormal strength behind it, I felt it down to my core. Flocon thought as he repositioned himself, tails flicking in the air. It seems that by altering the way you use moves, you can change the end effect it has. When I use my Powder Snow, I condense the water in the air to make an attack. But maybe if I condense the air in the right way, perhaps I can make an armor of sorts.

Frukkshin composed himself and flared his tail a few more times, blazing his mane hotter than ever before, the flames rising to ever greater heights and taking on this odd, yellow tinge.

As Flocon looked back up, he noticed that Frukkshin's breathing seemed to be heavy, irregular, as if he were struggling to even stand. The only issue; it would require so much precision that I'd need time to make it cover my entire body, though, maybe I can get away with only a shield.

Frukkshin shook out his body and began another charge. Flocon put on a brave face and chilled the air around him as he began to move forward at a jog as he focused on his next move. He felt the first few ice crystals forming and began to shape the air so that they surrounded him. The Ninetales then broke into a sprint and leapt into the air, surrounded by an icy shell, withstanding the Flame Charge Frukkshin was using and smashing into him.

But one fatal miscalculation was all it took. Flocon had failed to account for Frukkshin's horn and though the strike did a lot more than just daze his opponent, the horn broke through, the armor shattered like glass. The horn on his opponent provided a point for Flocon to lever forward. He fell straight into Frukkshin's flames, singing his fur, and bruising his ribs as he smashed into the Rapidash's back before bouncing and falling to the ground in defeat.

Frukkshin fell to his knees, stunned by the attack, looking back at Flocon in a mix of respect and shock. "Impressive fight." he said, a small smile crossing his face. "Very impressive."

Flocon did his best to stifle a yelp of pain as he awoke violently. "Sorry." said Sylpheed, taking her claws off of him. As soon as she did, the pain returned to a slow throbbing and he weakly turned his head towards her.

He felt someone nudge him and turned to face the source of it, Frukkshin, who seemed perfectly fine. Flocon opened his mouth but was stopped by a hoof. "You're going to ask what that pain was about," he said, Flocon nodding in turn. "That's just Sylpheed's doing."

Sylpheed nodded and turned back to Flocon to say, "I have a type of healing ability," her voice seemed almost unsure of itself. "but to call it that is sort of a lie, it's mostly that I speed up all the natural things already there." to demonstrate she touched her claw to a seedling as it quickly grew into a full flower. "And when I say everything, I mean it, pain too." She stroked the back of her head and blushed. "So you'll heal, but It'll hurt. All I can do is heal you slowly enough where you hopefully won't die of shock."

Flocon's ears drooped and he sighed. "Good to hear." he said, his voice as flat and bland as an ice rink. Giving a sigh he just relaxed and let the madness continue.

Sylpheed grabbed a wad of plant and shoved it into a very confused Ninetales maw. "Bite down on this, you'll thank me later." she told Flocon, who reluctantly followed her directions. Her claws surrounded themselves with an ethereal light as she tended to his injuries.

Flocon shut his eyes, whining in anticipation and fear, his tails hiding between his legs as she touched his wounds. the pain shot through his entire body causing him to squirm a bit. Frukkshin had to hold him down to keep him from writhing out of Sylpheed's touch. He groaned in pain as she did her job feeling his vision fade in and out, but after some time it all dissipated like nothing was there in the first place.

Sylpheed wiped her forehead. "And done, most of your wounds weren't very deep but try not to wriggle so much in the future, because if you break something and it doesn't align when I heal it, it never will." she told him.

Flocon spat out the wad of plant. Looking up at her he half-shouted his response, "Well, if it wasn't so painful, I wouldn't squirm."

She flinched away and told him, "Then think of it as a reason to not get hurt in the first place."

Flocon's face went blank, his head falling low and his ears drooping. "Will do…" he said, letting out a long sigh.

Frukkshin let out a hearty laugh. "That was a good fight there Ninetales… tell me, what was that trick at the end?" he asked.

Looking back up at Frukkshin, a small smile crossed Flocon's face. "Figured it out on the spot by watching you." he replied, shaking his fur away from his face.

"Huh?" Frukkshin remarked as he recoiled, his eyes going wide. Though he shook off the expression soon after. "Great improvisation then." Frukkshin stood up and placed a firm hoof on Flocon's shoulder. "You may fit in better than I initially thought, Ninetales…" his head fell low as his voice trailed off. "No, that doesn't sound right." he muttered.

Flocon perked up. "Rapidash, do you feel okay?" he asked, looking up at him with some concern.

Frukkshin puffed. "That doesn't sound right either…" he said with a groan. "That settles it, allow me to introduce myself as Frukkshin D. Spossis, and may I have your name?"

"Flocon Septembre." he responded, smiling at him.

"Flocon, huh?" said Frukkshin. "Probably not what I would've chosen for you, you're certainly no flake." He let out a snort. "Though I do have to admit that it does sound nice."

Sylpheed shrugged. "If he can trust you… I guess I can too." she said, extending a claw to him. "Sylpheed S. Schizmun, nice to meet you Flocon. You don't mind, do you?" she tacked on, realizing she might've gone a bit too far as she withdrew once more.

"Not at all." Flocon said with a smile.

Sylpheed gave a small cheer as she got back up. "We're pretty close to where we need to be." she said with a new energy to her voice.

Flocon glanced around himself. "Come on then Flocon." Frukkshin said as he began to walk towards what he could only assume to be Purple Bog.

"This place looks a little…" Flocon said, mulling over his next statement. "…suspect, creepy maybe?" Purple Bog stood before the Ninetales, its curling wisps of violet fog looked as if they were trying to pull the trio in.

Sylpheed perked up after a few moments. "Flocon did you say something?" she asked.

Flocon turned to face the Lurantis and shook his head before turning back to the bog. "Huh?" Flocon expressed, looking around curiously, a soft growl coming from him.

Frukkshin came up beside him, nudging him with a hoof to get his attention, he asked him, "Something troubling you?"

"Yeah…" Flocon said, his voice trailing off. "I thought there was a tree there." he motioned towards an empty space.

Casting his gaze towards Sylpheed, Frukkshin motioned towards Flocon. "Oh, that happens all the time in Mystery Dungeons." she told him. "Nothing to worry about there, as long as we're out fast enough, we'll be good."

Flocon stopped her from moving forward. "Okay, you've said some strange things to me today." he said, his tails rising slightly. "But you're not explaining anything, so I'll ask you again, what's a Mystery Dungeon?" his voice was shaky, as if it were a lit fuse.

Rolling his eyes, and letting out a huff, Frukkshin told him, "For an Ice-type, you certainly have a hot head. But, all I know is that they form over ley-lines that intersect."

"...What's a ley-line." Flocon said, his face starting to twitch a little.

"They carry Native Energy through the lands and seas. It's what we use to create our attacks."

Flocon let his tails down. "What? What does any of this mean?" he said, letting out a small growl.

"Like I said before, Ohm's really the only one who knows anything about Mystery Dungeons. All I've told you is all I know." Frukkshin said, looking over into the Purple Bog then up at the sky. "We have to move now, it's not a large Mystery Dungeon, but every second we waste here, is another second we could be in there." he motioned towards the Mystery Dungeon. "And being caught here in the dark is death waiting to happen."

"I thought you said it was safe here." Flocon said as he recoiled a bit in disbelief.

"At day it is, night is a different matter. They don't call it Marais Morte because it's a fun place to be, luckily for us, that means fewer ferals to worry about." he said, trudging into the coiling mist.

Sylpheed walked past Flocon and motioned for him to follow. "Stay by me. Okay? There's a lot of Poison-types here, my powers can help injuries but they can't drain venom, and we only have so many antidotes."

Flocon nodded as he heeled besides her and with his tails flicking and his ears perked, the two headed inside after Frukkshin.

As they entered, there was a small but noticeable shift in the air, it was heavier, denser. Frukkshin tilted one ear back and nodded, acknowledging the presence of the others and shifted his ear back forwards, letting the two of them follow.

The sod below was loose, Flocon sinking a few inches into it with every step, he tried to sniff the air, but he couldn't smell anything other than a slightly sour and rotten smell that made him gag. The trees above him were dense, leaving precious little space for light to filter down through.

Flocon shifted a little nearer to Sylpheed as he heard some chattering in the underbrush. "Don't worry about it," she whispered, making him jump a little. "They shouldn't attack unless we do something to them."

"They definitely sound like they will." Flocon whispered back. Looking up at her worriedly, he said, "This place, it's putting me on edge."

Sylpheed lightly touched his shoulder. "Flocon, there's no such thing as an aggressive feral, it just doesn't happen." she told him in a soft voice. "We're on their territory, like… if you broke into someone's house, like that. They'll only get angry if we start making a bunch of trouble."

Frukkshin lagged a little for a moment. "I don't think we'll have any issues, it seems we caught the locals in a good mood. As long as we don't make any sudden movements, we'll be fine." he said in a low voice to both of them. Afterwards, he increased his trot to take the lead once more.

The group had only one or two run-ins with wild pokemon, though most of them were simple enough to take out. After an hour or so, they reached a clearing in the bog.

Frukkshin scanned the area for a moment before muttering something to himself. "This place should do for a quick rest, but I don't want to stay long, we still have a few jobs to complete." He folded his legs on the ground letting his head rest on them, his fire falling to a more gentle flame.

Sylpheed set down the bag and sat near him, leaning on him and facing the opposite direction. Flocon had to stifle a chuckle as he curled up. Well, it certainly seems like he doesn't mind. He thought, facing the way they came in. After letting out a small yawn and licking his lips a few times he doubled over his tails to keep himself cold, letting the stress in his body fade.

"Alright, I think we should head out now." Frukkshin said to the others a few minutes later, he stood up and began stretching, letting Sylpheed fall back and hit her head on the ground, his fire flaring back up.

Sylpheed gripped the back of her head. "Thank Arceus for my shell, why does that always happen?" she exclaimed.

Flocon perked up and stretched out, cracking his bones and releasing tension. He let out a large yawn, Frukkshin doing much the same. Sylpheed raised her arms above her head and let them down slowly. The group then prepared to head deeper into the dungeon ahead of them.

As they headed in deeper, Flocon turned back towards Sylpheed and asked, "What was that question yesterday?"

Sylpheed took a few moments before she realized that he was talking to her. "Which one?" she asked.

"About me maybe feeling that I shouldn't be a pokemon? What was that supposed to mean?"

Sylpheed turned quickly away from him. "Well, I was thinking, maybe you're a human. I mean, all humans in history had little to no memory." she told him, a small frown crossed her face. "Though most of them did have at least a fleeting feeling of being one."

Flocon waited a moment before nodding. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense," he said. "it's weird, but the more I think about it, the more I feel like you're right. Or at least partially right." he paused as Sylpheed looked down at him. "Something about me, doesn't feel… like it should." he looked down at his paws foreignly.

Looking forwards, Sylpheed said, "Well, that's why you're here, isn't it? But that is weird."

"I feel like…" Flocon trailed off, he bit the bottom of his lip. "...like something is off."

Half-turning his head, Frukkshin chimed in, "I'd wager that's just your memories being a mess, give it another month, see how you're feeling." he turned his head back forward saying, "Tell me if you're ever bothered by it. And Sylpheed, quit it with this human talk."

Sylpheed narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't you forget the prophecy." she said.

Snorting in amusement and rolling his eyes Frukkshin said, "Yeah, sure, I'd think I'd know if it were set into motion, so would everyone else."

Flocon perked up a little. "Prophecy, what prophecy?"

The two halted and after sharing a glance Sylpheed turned around to face Flocon and said, "There's a prophecy foretelling disaster, the first sign is that the three districts of Galet will come together. There are a few more, like the innocent thief, but they ultimately end up with what will be the second Great Fold. I think there will be a human in there."

Huffing loudly, Frukkshin offered his thoughts, "Yeah, you talk like it'll ever happen, the districts have been separate for as long as Galet's been around and rebuilt, twice. And then came the invaders that took over…" Frukkshin shook his head. "To make a long story short, it isn't happening, I would know, everyone in the damn city, nay, the whole fucking empire would know. And if it does, I can say with certainty, not in my life time, not in Sylpheed's, not in yours." Frukkshin stamped the ground a few times, letting out a huff and turning around, beginning to walk once more.

"So why do humans happen?" Flocon asked.

Sylpheed shrugged. "Nobody really knows."

"Let's just keep moving." Frukkshin said, cutting off any further conversation and letting out a grunt.

The other two exchanged a look but said nothing as they began to move once more into the foggy depths of the bog.

The three of them stumbled out of the dungeon, Flocon looked up and said, "I never thought I would miss the groggy air of Galet, but stranger things have happened." He let his head down as they moved through the streets. His pockets lined with a few extra poke. The ones that were going back into the guild already factored in and placed in another bag.

"You acclimate to it… eventually." Frukkshin told him, letting out a small neigh.

"Alright, we're heading back now though, right?" Flocon asked, eyeing upwards at his fellow pokemon.

Sylpheed grabbed a hold of him. "Not until we get you all groomed up, especially with how you did near the end." She exclaimed. Flocon let out a long groan, his tails drooping as she slung him over Frukkshin. The Rapidash just rolled his eyes and kept moving.

"Where to first, Sylpheed?" Frukkshin asked.

"Let's get his fur cleaned up. Then we can get him something to make him unique…" her voice trailed off as she glanced over at Flocon. "well, more than he is now. Never seen a Ninetales like him really." the two chuckled and kept moving. The streets were mostly cleaned out at this time of day, the sun still hung high in the sky but it wasn't rush hour just yet.

Flocon rolled over on Frukkshin's back and let out a sigh. This is my life now I guess. He thought, letting his eyes trail over the sloped roofs of the three-story buildings and awnings of various colors.

The sky above him was gray like the sidewalk beneath him, creating a nice contrast to the dull brick road that echoed with the occasional clattering of a cart or the occasional stomping of pokemon like Rhyperior or Aggron.

But soon enough Frukkshin lowered himself to the ground and tilted back. Flocon slowly slid off him and onto the ground. The Ninetales didn't protest, at least not vocally.

Flocon sighed as he got to his fett, looking up at the sign in the barred window. "Doesn't exactly look, welcoming." he said, a bit suspicious of the shop.

Before he could say anything further Sylpheed dragged him into the groomers. It was fairly plain though surprisingly clean which gave Flocon a bit of hope that maybe this wouldn't be too bad.

A Scizor at the desk peered up from his book, garbed in a long gray robe to keep fur from his carapace. He greeted them one by one. "Ah, Lurantis, Rapida… oh my, you look quite the mess." he got up and walked around Flocon. The Ninetales sat down roughly, lowering his head as his ears pinned to the side of it, his eyes twitching ever slightly. "I see why you came in today, very well, have a… right there will be fine I suppose, I will be charging you a price of seventy poke, a bit higher than I normally would. Since your fur will take a lot of work."

Flocon handed him the money and Scizor stood up straight and cleared his throat. Grabbing a handful of bottles, combs, and buckets of water he began to get to work. He started by soaking Flocon, who whined as his tails drooped, Scizor looked up and asked, "I know you Ninetales can get very defensive over your tails, though I have to clean them out." Flocon looked back and nodded, letting him know that it was fine.

Some time elapsed and Scizor was doing his best to tease out the mattes in Flocon's fur. "You know," he began, "I've never seen a Ninetales quite like you, I'm not talking about your curly fur, I'm talking about how cool to the touch it is, though, maybe I just need to get out more, eh?" he nudged Flocon while chuckling, who returned a confused look.

Frukkshin perked up. "It's strange, isn't it? he's an Ice-type, and from the beating he got from some of those Poison-types," Frukkshin said, choking back a laugh as Flocon shot him an icy glare from across the room. "He may be another type, Fairy-type probably, I don't see him being a Grass-type."

Sylpheed brightened up as she looked over at him. Flocon simply sighed and went back to facing forward with the occasional whimper rising from his maw. His tails hardly moved anymore, it was almost as if they were glued to the ground.

After a few more minutes of tugging at knots and trimming hair. Scizor fanned his wings, drying Flocon off and causing his fur to puff up. "And, done." He announced, pulling a mirror in front of Flocon. "I think you look rather handsome like that."

Flocon had to look twice to make certain he was looking at the right Ninetales. His once matted tangles of fur that stuck close to his skin was replaced by a fluffier and lighter coat, seeming almost lighter in color than it once was. He turned a few times, a smile sliding across his face. His tails swayed gently in the small breeze created by the open windows, Flocon sat down and yawned whilst nodding his head.

Combing a claw through his fur a few times, Sylpheed giggled and whispered, "It's so soft." she patted Flocon's head before stepping back. Flocon didn't seem to mind the motion beyond a grunt and a couple of glances alternating between her and Frukkshin.

Flocon eventually rose to his feet and habitually shook out his fur. "I love it" he expressed to Scizor, his tails giving a few brief wags.

"I suppose Sylpheed was right, you look a lot better with your fur groomed like that." Frukkshin said, whinnying softly.

Flocon stood up and handed the Scizor a tip. He took one last look into the mirror and smiled before heading out with the others.

Repositioning her beret and looking over at Frukkshin, Sylpheed hummed a moment and said, "We really should get Flocon an accessory too."

"He's rather unique on his own, don't you think?" Frukkshin said, glancing down at Flocon who was returning his look with a much dirtier one. Frukkshin's face went blank after a few moments. "And this helmet is not a mere accessory." He exclaimed, staring down Sylpheed.

"Doesn't mean he can't express himself." She exclaimed, batting lightly at Frukkshin, who moved his head out of the way before delivering a soft kick to her chest.

Flocon watched the small exchange of mock blows and could only smile, audibly stifling a chuckle he said, "Very well, Sylpheed, lead the way."

She smiled in response. "I was hoping you'd say that." she said, walking ahead of them. "it's just around the corner."

"Sounds like you go out here a lot."

"Not really."

"Good memory then?"

"Sort of?" Sylpheed said, letting her claws fall to the side. Oblivious to Flocon's unamused glare drilling into the side of her head.

Frukkshin leaned his head over and whispered, "The less you worry about her, the easier you'll sleep at night."

Flocon's eyes went wide, the muscles in his body tensing. "What?" he muttered back. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just let it go, Flocon."

Flocon waited a moment, pawing idly at the stone sidewalk beneath him, before letting out a long sigh and scurrying back to the others before he lost sight of them.

Sylpheed stopped at a modestly sized store and motioned them inside. The place seemed typical of the part of the city he was in. The only stand-out feature being the cream colored tiles lining the floor that also ran partway up the walls, visible wherever they weren't obscured by various pieces of clothing or mirrors. The store was neatly sectioned into clothing for bipeds, quadrupeds, everything in between and more. With extra rows dedicated to various other types of accessories like bracelets, necklaces, scarves and the like. In the corner sat behind a register was a Simipour whose hair was braided with golden threads woven through it. She waved at them as they came in.

Dazed by the sheer amount of cramped aisles created by the almost obsessively efficient organization. Flocon found it more than a little difficult to find a single point to focus on, biting his lower lip and groaning, his eyes darting in every direction.

Noticing her ally's confusion, Sylpheed lightly tapped him on the shoulder to grab his attention. "Just follow me, this store isn't too difficult to move around," she said, then leaned in to finish with a whisper, "don't knock anything over, Simipour over there looks pretty relaxed, but she has quite the voice when she wants to."

Flocon nodded, letting Sylpheed go ahead of him and following. After a few moments he looked around, noticing that a certain Rapidash wasn't with them. Finally spotting Frukkshin just outside the entrance, he called, "Frukkshin, you coming?"

Frukkshin tilted an ear back and lifted his head. "No, I'm good."

Before returning to the aisles, Flocon gazed at Frukkshin for a few more moments. When he finally did, he found his eyes passing idly over various hats. "Hey, Sylpheed," he said, waiting a moment for Sylpheed to look over at him. "how did you pick out your beret?"

"Oh this thing?" she asked, taking it off and turning it over a few times before setting it back. "It was a gift from a friend, but that's between me and them." her voice didn't change a whole lot as she said it, but there was this odd feeling about it that Flocon couldn't really place his paw on.

Flocon looked her up and down before going back to looking at the hats. He picked up a couple and tried them on in the mirror but found that none of them looked right, and with his flowing hair, none of them really felt right either. Finding themselves at a standstill, they moved over to the bracelets.

Sylpheed picked up a bracelet and, without asking Flocon, put it on one of his tails. The Ninetales yelped and instinctively kicked her the instant she grabbed one. "Oi! Settle down you two." Simipour barked.

"Everything alright in there?" Frukkshin called as he heard the sound of someone falling onto the ground.

"It's fine." Flocon shouted, his voice a bit shaky as he helped Sylpheed up, then continued in a much softer voice, "Sorry about that."

After taking some time to brush off her face and set the bracelet back, she sighed. "I guess I should've seen that coming." she said, brushing off her shirt and readjusting the collar.

Flocon frowned and went back to looking. "There really isn't much - oh…" Flocon said, his voice trailing off as he picked up a shawl. It was short, split down the middle and indigo, with some lighter swirls crossing here and there rising from a solid stripe of aquamarine about an inch thick at the bottom that had some indigo fringes lining it.

Standing in front of a mirror with it on, Flocon struck a few poses, some triumphant, some aggressive, and some that he swore he would never use again for as long as he lived. "That settles it, I'm buying this one." he said contentedly.

A few minutes passed as he completed his transaction. But after all was said and done, Flocon bounded back outside. "Look at, this." Flocon said, striking a pose reminiscent of the heroes in stories. He stood there for a few seconds, waiting to hear something from the Rapidash, eventually he looked over and asked, "...Frukkshin, you there?"

Frukkshin was staring off into the distance, not really reacting to Flocon. "Hm?" He sounded after a few moments. Looking down at the confused looking Ninetales he remarked, "Yes, quite nice."

"Do you feel okay?" Flocon said, tilting his head a little. "I know I haven't known you long, but you seem… distracted."

Glancing back into the store, then at Sylpheed and Flocon respectively. "Don't worry about me." he said as he walked off. "Let's just go home."

Sylpheed nudged Flocon. "Happens to the best of us. I'm just glad I have someone always looking out for me." she said as she began to close the distance between her and Frukkshin.

Wait… what? Flocon thought as he trailed closely behind. Maybe I should take Frukkshin's advice. But… no… maybe? He shifted his gaze to eye up Sylpheed. If there's even a chance, I need to take it, right?

Catching up to Sylpheed, Flocon lightly bumped her. "I need to talk to you, maybe not now, but sometime. And it needs to be private." he whispered.

Sylpheed shook her head. "If I had anything I wanted to tell you, I would've." she said, taking a moment to look at the horizon. "Now come on, it's almost dinnertime. And we need to give Fringe the cut of our earnings and yours as well."

"Right, almost forgot." He said as he broke into a run to catch up with Frukkshin.

Sylpheed watched him as he ran. "There's something in the water, and I don't like it." she said.

So, this was a bit of a bumpy ride here, but that's what I get for rolling a few chapters into two. Luckily there shouldn't be an issue with this in the future though expect the chapters to start shortening up.

And I already couldn't keep to my upload schedule since I'm updating this one day early due to events in my life. See you all in two weeks (hopefully) for the next chapter.