"Here we are, our house!" Ronan boasted.
After about an hour of walking, Nona had managed to follow just behind the two siblings to find them both standing in front of a wall of cattails and reeds that towered high above them, bordering a large marsh. Ronan stood wide and held his claws out proudly towards the marsh as if he were showing her something impressive.
Cinder gently punched her brother's arm and laughed. "Well, almost, we live through these reeds here. Our house is in the middle of the swamp, on a little island so that the water doesn't soak our floor."
Taking in the sight of the towering wall of faded green grass, Nona couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with how small they made her feel. If she were a human, she would be able to walk through no problem, but now she had to sulk through the muddy water that lapped gently against the plant roots.
Taking a few steps closer, Nona stuck a cautionary foot into the watery earth. It was cold enough for the chill to soak into her paws, but not enough to numb them like the water in the lake. It seemed like the mud was just starting to feel the winter's bite and would not yet freeze for some time.
"Let's go, Cinder, I wanna get home and eat!" Ronan exclaimed as he pushed apart the reeds, creating a small opening into the marsh.
"O-Ok, just wait for me to get in front-"
Cinder shuffled ahead, helping Ronan part the reeds further and slipping inside. Ronan followed behind, holding their passageway open a second more for Nona to take up the tail-end of the line.
Nona immediately felt the sting of cold on her feet, and she danced a bit on her toes to try to avoid the chill.
Ronan did the same, though he giggled as he did. "It's really cold, isn't it. Don't worry! We'll be all warm and cozy once we get home."
"C'mon, Ronan, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can get a fire going," Cinder chimed.
Turning to look ahead of her, Nona saw just how suffocating the reeds around them were. There was barely enough space for them to stand in a single-file line, and even the stray grasses and fuzzy cattails tickled and scratched at her skin as they explored. Despite the tight quarters though, Nona could see ahead a small bit, noting the clearly well-trodden path they were walking.
Cinder, seeing Nona acknowledge her, turned forward again and led the way, her pace a bit slowed by the mud grasping at her ankles. She and Ronan followed.
Their telegraphed path quickly led them to a crossroads, with two branching paths splitting off in opposite directions. Cinder looked between them before choosing to take a right, though her expression wasn't one of confidence.
Does she not know the way? Nona thought to herself. She lives here, right? She must have taken this path before. . .
"Nice choice, Cin. I have a good feeling about that one!" Ronan whistled. Cinder only chuckled in response.
Nona squinted in suspicion. What if they weren't actually taking her to their home, but instead taking her somewhere they couldn't be found, so they could rob her? Who doesn't know the way to their own house? Whether that was their plan or not, Nona still didn't feel safe, and after what had happened the last time her trust was given blindly, she wasn't going to be careless and wait until it was too late.
"How do you not know the way?" Nona whispered, allowing herself to lag behind in case she needed to run backwards. Her mind frantically traced the path they had taken already.
Now it was Ronan's turn to laugh. "You can't know the way through a mystery dungeon, silly. But if we could, that would make it a lot easier to get home."
"Mystery dungeon?"
"You. . . don't know what that is?" Cinder interrupted, peering to the back of the line.
Nona shook her head.
"Well, see- erhm. . . A mystery dungeon is a strange place that never stays the same. It's like a maze that changes every time you go inside. Each time you do, there are different treasures you can find and different pokemon too-"
"That's the mystery part!" Ronan bounced on his heels, splashing a bit of mud up his leg.
"We're in one right now, actually. See, each time we go through the dungeon to get home, we have to find a different path to get there, 'cause the path doesn't stay the same," Cinder explained.
Still skeptical, Nona started walking a few paces closer to the group again. A magical place that changes every time you go in sounded fake, but it didn't sound like they were lying to her, and besides, it's not like she had anything they could want from her. Why would they be trying to rob her? She didn't even have a bag like Ronan did. Were they trying to kill her? It felt counter intuitive to rescue someone only to try killing them, though that didn't seem to stop team Eviscerate. . .
The group walked for a few more minutes, passing through winding pathway after winding pathway before reaching a clearing in the reeds. When Cinder led them inside, Nona saw that it was no bigger than a few yards all around. It was completely empty except for a small blue object in the corner. Ronan ran up to it and snatched it up, holding it high above his head.
"It's an oran berry- score!"
"But. . . it was on the ground," Nona pointed out. Is eating mud covered fruit just a normal thing here?
"Well, we can wash it for dinner when we get home, right Cinder?" Ronan rubbed the berry against his upper arm.
With a nod, Cinder turned away from the other two, surveying the walls of the room, prompting Nona to do the same.
Not too much different than what she saw in the hallways, Nona's eyes took in the fleeting light of the sun illuminating the dried green and brown of the cattails and tall grass above them, casting blurred shadows down on the mud below. While beautiful, the sort of "room" they stood in didn't seem to have any other exit.
"Guess we should turn around." Nona spoke, but she didn't give enough force for it to come out anything other than a shapeless whistle.
Before she could tap Cinder's shoulder to tell her to lead the way back, the Cyndaquil was suddenly fixated on something in the wall opposite to the entrance of the room. Reaching out into the tall grass, she stuck her whole arm inside of the solid wall of faded emerald. After a few seconds of digging, her face lit up.
"I found the stump!" Cinder cried triumphantly, pushing her way through the grass in front of her, which parted with alarming ease.
Ronan beamed. "Ooh, Mudkip, that means we're almost home!"
"The what?-" Nona rasped, prodding cautiously ahead of Ronan to peek her head through Cinder's makeshift entrance.
Sure enough, sitting in another, much wider clearing this time, there lay a waterlogged stump, moss conquering the wood that remained above the murky puddle it lay in. The space itself was wide and sprawling, much bigger than the clearing they were just in. How did she miss this?
A gentle push against her rump persuaded Nona to actually enter the opening. Just as her feet hit the earth, she noticed just how much drier it was. Gravel and dampened sand wriggled their way between her small toes, though it was a welcome change from the mud.
Placing a paw against the soft emerald moss, Cinder turned to look at Nona and Ronan. "Ok. . . so, Mudkip, this is how we travel through the dungeon to the next floor. Do you know how that kind of stuff works?"
Nona's eyes danced between Cinder and the stump.
How is a stump gonna get us anywhere? She questioned silently, are they messing with me? I knew that something was up-
Before she could doubt any further, Ronan pushed past her and skipped up to the stump.
"It's easy! There's just this special little dance we gotta do!"
"Well, you don't have to dance. That's just what helps Ronan remember what to do," Cinder giggled.
"I don't know. . ." Stepping back, Nona looked confused at Cinder and Ronan.
The two siblings exchanged concerned glances. Though, this time, Nona didn't see the same fear she saw in Gengar earlier that day. It didn't look like an expression of fear, but one of confusion, not like the fearful glare on the lying ghost pokemon.
The Cyndaquil rubbed the back of her neck with a paw. "Er, let's just-. . . let's just-"
"-C'mere for a sec! It'll all make sense if you just let us show you!" Ronan interrupted, offering a hand out to Nona. The same smile he wore during the Abomasnow attack was present on his features once more, even visible through his mask.
"O-Ok." The Mudkip pawed her way forward and examined the stump, pointing towards it with a foot. "How is this supposed to get us to the next- er- floor?"
Giving a warm smile to her brother, Cinder walked up to explain. "You remember what I said about mystery dungeons being strange? See- this is one of the strange parts. Each dungeon has different floors, and the way to reach the next floor is different for each one. This dungeon has this stump." She gently patted the mealy wood, the sound muffled by the moss.
"All we gotta do is dance- uh, walk around it with our eyes closed, and we can go to the next floor!" Ronan finished his sister's thought.
Once again, Nona was skeptical. She was already shaky on the idea of mystery dungeons. The changing floor plan, the weird entrances, and now a magical ritual to reach a "floor" in the middle of a marsh?- Did marshes even have floors?- it was all too much for her to believe.
Though, they had said that they lived here. Whatever they did to get out, it must work, right?
With a resigned nod, Nona let her eyes fall once more on the towering stump.
"Alright, then line up right behind me and close your eyes, okay?" Cinder stood with her left side facing the stump as she let her paw rest on it.
Doing as she was told, Nona closed her eyes and heard Ronan's footsteps as he scampered up behind her.
"Start walking, Mudkip." The Cyndaquil's voice grew quiet and her pawsteps were heard on the dirt in front of her.
Feeling a bit silly, Nona followed after her. She could hear the rowdy steps of Ronan behind her, taking about three steps more than he would need to just walk around a stump. Was he. . .?
He's dancing. Cinder wasn't joking.
"How long do we have to walk?" Nona asked hastily, her head turning around in panic. She didn't like being unable to see, especially not when alone with two strangers.
"Mmmm. . ." Cinder hummed, not really giving much of an answer.
I don't like this- This is stupid! I'm going to open my-
"-Mmmm-now," Cinder finally said. Her paw patted against Nona's head, signalling that they were done.
Whipping around, Nona's eyes shot open and her gaze darted around the clearing- or, wait. Where was the clearing?
The space she found herself in was covered in shade, with the reeds taking on a richer green and looming higher above her, blocking out the last fading bit of sunlight. Though the grass still looked the same, the layout had changed. They were no longer in the large, dry clearing. Nona could tell by the fact that the stump was no longer there. The ground beneath them was even shiftier and wetter than when they had entered the dungeon, making Nona's feet feel uncomfortable and cold. The wide and well-lit they were in moments before was replaced with a long and claustrophobic gap in the reeds with two smaller passageways.
"Wha. . ." Nona gawked.
"Toooold youuuuu." With a playful chuckle, Ronan plunged his hand into his bag.
That. . . That couldn't have just happened. Cinder must have led me somewhere else. She must have had her eyes open. Nona's head swam with questions. But how? My eyes were only shut for a moment, not even long enough for us to have reached the grass at the clearing's edge. How?. . .
"Still here!" Ronan shouted, holding a fistful of dolls above his head. "I didn't lose any of my dolls today, so you have to make roasted berry halves for dinner like you said!"
His sister grinned at him, giving him a thumbs up. "Good job, Ronan! Roasted berry halves it is."
"Oh, Nona, you're gonna love Cinder's roasted berry halves! C'mon, we're almost home, and then we can eat!"
The Cubone dashed into the nearest hallway before Cinder could take the lead. Turning to go after her brother, Cinder began to trudge through the mud after him, not even bothering to call out.
Just before Nona could follow, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. As her gaze dashed over to the movement, she saw a stream of water flying directly at her head. Instinct jerking her body to life, Nona dropped to the ground, slamming against the mud beneath her as spray flecks of water soaked the back of her head. She heard Cinder scream.
Lifting herself up out of the mud, Nona saw that the assailant was a Wooper on the other side of the room, its small, black and beady eyes completely blank as it stared at Nona.
"Cinder? Cinder!" Ronan turned back around the corner just in time to see his sister getting blasted with a water gun with what looked to be enough force to shatter rocks. He sprinted to her side, dragging her back through the hallway and out of the attacker's line of sight.
Now that the two were alone in the room, Nona had to weigh her options. Could I really fight this thing? Her knees wobbled and her teeth chattered in the cold. It's just a Wooper- I took down an Abomasnow!- But it hit Cinder so hard-
Before she could finish her train of thought, she felt a powerful impact on her side. The Wooper had tackled her to the ground. Without arms to follow up though, the Wooper slid off of her and into the mud at her side, where it flapped and flailed in a feverish attempt to defend itself.
Now with mud and grit in her eyes, Nona flailed just as wildly, throwing herself on top of the Wooper in frenzied panic. For a few seconds, it almost seemed like the Wooper was gaining leverage, but just as it was about to flip her on her back, Nona raised her head up high and brought it down full force on the mudskipper pokemon's skull. It lay dazed enough not to get back up as Nona's front paws immediately flew to her forehead as it seared with pain. Why did I do that? Damn-. . .
"Mudkip, I'm here to-" Ronan ran out from the hallway, his club held high above his head in a shaky battle stance. "-help?"
Nona spat out mud and lifted herself off of the Wooper. "It's. . . It's ok," was all she could muster.
"Woah, did you even use a move to knock it out?"
"I. . . I don't think so."
Nona turned back towards the Wooper, only to see a froth of dirt-speckled bubbles filling the spot where it once lay. Without hesitation, Nona dropped herself to the ground, her paws gripping tightly to the mud. Where did it go? Where the hell did it go?
"W-Wait, Mudkip, it's ok! That's another thing with mystery dungeons. When you hurt a pokemon here real bad, they disappear," Ronan reassured her, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder.
That was enough to ease some of Nona's fear, though the surprise attack still had her shaken up- too shaken up to even question how absurd vanishing pokemon sounded. "Where's Cinder?"
"Over here." The Cyndaquil limped out from the hallway after Ronan, her paws rubbing over the fur on her sides vigorously. "That water attack scared me really bad- and now my fur's soaked. . . W-We can keep going though. The sooner we're home, the easier it'll be to warm up. . ."
Nona nodded, letting out a sigh of relief. She waited for a moment for Cinder and Ronan to walk ahead, but Cinder didn't move.
"Cin?" Ronan stopped as well. "What's wrong?"
"I just. . ." Cinder stammered, averting her eyes, "I don't know if I can lead the group. . . That Wooper got me real bad."
"Oh! That's ok! I can lead instead."
Cinder grabbed her brother's arm right as he was about to blow ahead. "Ronan, I can't have you leading- you'll get ahead of us and we'll get lost. It's too much of a risk- Mudkip. . . you handled yourself against that surprise attack pretty well, and you aren't weak to water attacks- do you think that maybe you could lead?"
The request took Nona by surprise, but after a moment of thought, she saw that Cinder had a point. Another attack like that could spell doom for the group, and if Nona were in front, maybe her fights will end up going better.
The Mudkip nodded, silently walking to the front of the line and allowing the other two to follow.
The rest of the dungeon was eerily quiet. No more pokemon jumped out at them, and they hadn't found any other items either. With the sun completely set above them and the gentle light of the waning moon bathing the field of reeds, it almost felt like they were wandering through a painting. After what felt like about a half hour, Nona pushed through a thin wall of blooming cattails to see a small wooden house perched on a grassy rise in the center of a large clearing.
"Home sweet home. . ." Cinder sighed wistfully as she entered the clearing. Ronan slipped past her and ran forward into house
"Hoooooome!" He shouted with his arms raised in the air.
Nona let out a raspy chuckle. "Is he always like this?"
"Oh definitely. It grows on you, though." Cinder smiled warmly and walked side-by-side with Nona up to the front door.
As she got closer, Nona could make out the details of the house much easier. It was very small, with seemingly only one room inside. The entire building was made out of wood with a few windows on each side of the round house. The outside of the building was worn down, a few wayward plants and patches of moss finding their spots in the nooks and crannies of the windowsills and doorframe, but despite the worn down appearance, it didn't look abandoned. There were small flower beds dug out of the trampled grass, as well as well-kept, if not dull, brown paint on the walls. Even if the entire building was far from lavish, it felt like a home where a hyperactive and young brother and sister would live.
Cinder unlocked the door with a key from Ronan's bag and pulled it open with a faint creak, revealing the entire building to be pitch black, minus a few faint strings of moonlight peeking through the windows.
Before Nona's eyes could start to adjust to the darkness, Cinder let out a huff as her back ignited in a weak, yet steady flame. Now guided by the amber glow, the Cyndaquil walked through the house to a fireplace and spit a few embers into a pile of logs already set there. The hearth ignited quickly, bathing the house in a warm orange glow.
With the entire interior much more visible, Nona really saw just how lived in the home was. There were two nests next to the fireplace, both with large indents in the middle from many nights of sleep. There was a small kitchen to the right of the entrance, with doorless cupboards lining the walls and a table big enough for four. The floors were wooden and cold with various dolls and toys strewn all over.
"Ronan, buddy, you gotta stop leaving your toys all over. I almost tripped on your spinning top while I was walking," Cinder gently scolded.
"Okay. . . I'll pick them up." The Cubone groaned, throwing his bag haphazardly on the ground to his side before scooping up an armful of toys and carrying them towards the nests.
Nona saw that Ronan had numerous toys, but none of them were in good condition. A few seams of the dolls were frayed, and the spinning top looked lopsided. Still, he placed them gently down in the pile of straw as if he was delivering the finest of gold.
Cinder walked over to the bag that Ronan dropped and carried it into the open kitchen, setting it down on the table and carefully rummaging through until she pulled out the oran berry they had found earlier. She walked over to a basin of water that was built into the counter and dunked the berry a few times, scrubbing it with her paws.
"Dinner will be ready in a few, Mudkip," Cinder hummed distractedly, "hey, Ronan, how about you show our guest your toys for a bit?"
Meeting eyes with the eager Cubone, Nona walked over to the pile of toys Ronan had dropped. Ronan plopped himself down into his nest and grabbed a Charizard plushie from the pile.
"Ok, so this right here is Charizard- She's from Team ACT, and she's a hero! Oh- wait- speaking of ACT, have you heard of Alakazam? They're the leader, and they can read minds!-"
The rest of the night was somehow both rowdy and peaceful, with Ronan enthralling Nona with tales of heroes and villains from this strange world she knew nothing about. Though most of it was the overexcited ramblings of a child, she took in all she could. Every once and awhile, Nona glanced over to the hearth and saw Cinder smiling as she kept the fire roaring, placing a pan of sliced berries on a rack inside of the hearth. She was listening too, though her far-off expression showed that this most likely wasn't her first time hearing the stories.
"Charizard's your favorite, right Cinder? I always let you play as her whenever we play heroes."
"Mhm," Cinder chuckled, "she's one of the fiercest explorers out there when it comes to fighting, and she's so kind too. . . Oh- looks like these are almost done, Ronan, could you help me set the table?"
The Cubone dropped the two Team ACT dolls he had in his hands and rushed into the kitchen, pulling out a stack of three cream colored plates and setting them carefully on the table before pulling up a round wooden chair at the far end of the table, leaving two other chairs just next to him for the others to sit.
Nona took up the chair to Ronan's left, sitting awkwardly with her quadrupedal body, but eventually being able to rest her front legs on the tabletop and balance herself.
With her guest and younger brother set to eat, Cinder brought the pan of perfectly sauteed oran berry slices, setting one on each plate before sitting down herself in the final chair and leaving the rest of the food in a bowl at the table's center.
"Yay, food!" Ronan squealed happily as he picked the slice up whole and took a large bite.
With dinner finally underway, Nona lowered her head down to the plate and bit down on the morsel. Her paws weren't maneuverable enough to use for eating, so this was the next best thing. As much as she wanted to savor the dish, her appetite got the best of her, and before she knew it, she had the entire slice in her mouth. It tasted strangely earthy and natural, with a bit of a kick, like she had bitten into a wild fruit, but with her hunger, Nona would have sworn it tasted as good as a well-done steak.
Without asking permission, Nona leaned over the table and took up another slice in her teeth, dropping it down on her plate and taking the time to eat it in bites. She hadn't even realized just how starved she felt after two days without food, but now that she had the chance to rest, she felt like she could swallow a Wailord.
"Hey, Mudkip, can I ask you something?" Cinder asked, setting down her half eaten slice.
Nona lifted her head up from the plate and nodded. Her face was covered in cooking oil and berry juice.
"What were you doing out there on the ice?"
The air went silent for a moment, the only sounds being those of Ronan munching on his meal, appearing uninterested in the conversation.
"-You don't have to tell me. I was just curious, since the ice looked like it got cracked real bad, and-"
"I don't know," Nona replied curtly.
"O-Oh, alright." Cinder looked down at her food and took another bite.
How she got there was something that Nona had been wondering for herself this entire time, and still she had no answer. Even if she did want to tell them, Nona didn't even have a guess.
"That's ok! You know, I forget stuff all the time, like just last week I forgot my Alakazam doll at the general store in town! Maybe if you think back to when you last-"
"I just don't know."
Cinder placed a guiding paw on Ronan's arm. "Hey, she doesn't want to talk about it, just let it be."
The silence continued as Ronan shrugged off the conversation, grabbing another slice and cutting it into little shapes with his claws.
Would it have been right to tell them? Even if they didn't seem as bad as Eviscerate, Nona couldn't be sure of whether or not she could trust them with the knowledge of her amnesia or of her being human. Still, she couldn't just leave the conversation at that. Every second they spent not talking, Nona could feel the tension grow.
"What were you two doing there?" Nona asked, breaking the silence and shifting up in her seat.
Ronan looked up again from his food. "Oh! We were out on a delivery! It was a really important job, only for the best of the best."
"We were just delivering some bluk berries to someone out in the woods," Cinder explained with a chuckle, "some family out there needed them for their dinner."
"Well, it's still important! What if they were making it to impress their neighbors, then it would be important!"
Nona exhaled through her nose in a half-hearted laugh. This was good, the topic of conversation was shifting away from her, and with it went the anxiousness she was starting to harbor.
"Is delivering things your job?" Nona's eyes drifted between Ronan and Cinder.
"Yes, ever since we've lived here, we've been running deliveries. Right, Ronan?"
"Right!"
With his exclamation, Ronan popped the last bit of food in his mouth and pushed out his chair. Cinder did the same.
"Hey, Mudkip, you can sleep over here!" Ronan jumped off his round chair and pointed to a spot on the ground close to the fire. "I'll go get the blankets!"
The Cubone threw down a scratchy, murky-gray colored blanket in a ruffled pile, with a space in the middle large enough for Nona to sit in. He placed another blanket of the same material off to its side as well for Nona to cover herself with.
Taking a moment to feel out her bed, Nona pawed down the blanket pile until it was a comfy cushion. She slumped down into its folds, her face turned towards the glowing embers of the fire.
Cinder and Ronan followed suit. The two siblings swapped "I love you's" before curling up in their beds and telling Nona goodnight as well.
A few minutes passed with Nona sitting completely still and trying her best to fall asleep, but her mind refused to rest, instead keeping her awake with the hundreds of questions she had buried down deep since the Abomasnow had attacked.
Why was I brought here to the pokemon world?. . . If I was once a human, why am I now a Mudkip? That doesn't just happen. This isn't fair-
. . .
Maybe I was never a human at all? What if when I lost my memories, I somehow started believing I was a human?
No, that wouldn't make any sense. If I couldn't remember anything, how would I have been told I was a human? It might just be something I know deep down, like water being wet and the sun rising- it's just something that you don't forget. . .
But if I know that, how did I lose all of my other memories? I don't think I hit my head or anything like that. When I woke up there on the ice, my head didn't even hurt. . .
Wait a minute- what was I thinking of when I woke up? Did I dream anything? Think, Nona, think-
Nona squeezed her eyes shut as she tried desperately to remember something- anything from when she lost consciousness out on that lake.
A few words and tones danced in her mind, though when she reached out to them, they blew away like smoke, leaving her to try to desperately try to conjure up the memory once more. It was an endless cycle of desperate guesses as a few words started to solidify.
Die. . . Help
. . .
Please. . .
Nona. . .
It was all nonsense, just a few unconnected words. What could they mean? What did they have to do with her losing her humanity? How did she turn into a pokemon? Where the hell was she?
"Hey, Mudkip," Ronan whispered.
Nona opened her eyes groggily and rolled over to look at the Cubone. "Hm?"
"What's your name? I didn't ask you earlier, 'cause we didn't have time, but I want to know."
". . .Nona."
Ronan smiled. "That's a pretty name. Alright, goodnight, Nona."
". . . Uh, goodnight, Ronan."
Nona closed her eyes once more, her mind finally silencing enough for her to fall into a dreamless sleep.