Mr Extensions: Thanks, I do try my best.


"W- what are you?" I called out. Bated breaths caught in my throat, my hands hovering over my guns. The figure remained still with little more than the occasional sway. Fear of the unknown began to take hold in my heart, twisting this situation into something worse then I could ever dream.

Silence took the scene as the figure remained still. It's hand mirroring my own with the glint of another gun on its hip. My heart was starting to pound, each beat rhythmically getting faster for some final crescendo.

Scarlet was far too calm for my liking, seemingly entranced by her double. If they were to get mixed up, I doubt I'd be able to tell them apart. I stared once more into the figures eyes, seeing my own. What were these things? And are they a threat?

I swore its hand just got closer to its gun, I can't take risks like this… I just can't… I can't… I…-

The echo of a gunshot tore through the cavern, I stepped back in shock, the figure's gun pointed directly at my chest. I practically tore my revolver from out of its holster, now pointed at whatever this thing was. Ironically, it had the very same weapon I currently entered this world with.

How did it miss? The barrel was pointed directly at me, that should've nailed me right in the chest-

Something fell to the floor with a thump behind us, my breathing stifled as I saw the body of a Slowbro with a bullet in its head. The Shellder on its arm writhing in pain. The figure slowly started to walk towards us, the Honedge right behind it.

It tore off its hood, my own face greeting me like some messed up mirror. He looked to the second Scarlet, a grimace on his face. "I'm just faster to the draw I guess, let's get out of here before more show up." Fake-me walked towards the exit with fake-Scarlet in tow, disappearing into nothingness as they reached the light. What did I just see? A different version of me? A possible future? Something inevitable?

I shakily put my gun away, my fingers barely able to register the action. "What were those things?"

"I…" Scarlet worriedly wrapped her ribbon around herself like she was trying to find warmth. "I can not really explain it, all we know is that the Mystery Dungeons sometimes show Pokémon visions and whatnot like Kira had said." her body tipped forward slightly, hovering down the cave with me close behind again.

Something didn't feel right anymore, like what I just saw was a warning more than anything else. The words nearly caught in my throat, only being uttered because the more calm side won out. "Didn't that seem, oh I don't know, a little too lifelike? Surely that means something."

"Just be careful. If we are getting these now, picture what will happen further down."

I suddenly didn't want to be here anymore, but it could be worse. I could've ended up here alone and without something to defend myself with. I took my nineteen-eleven out. Hopefully that'll curb my paranoia.

My footsteps echoed around us, darkness starting to consume all of my vision. Merely following Scarlet's soft red glow, trusting that she won't lead me off a cliff by accident. I found it oddly calming. Especially when compared to whatever those things were.

Some part of me didn't want to believe what was taking place, that this was all some horrid dream that I have yet to awake from. But if this was a dream, it's a damn good one, right on the balance of both nightmare and calm. The unexplainable, and the supernatural.

It felt, dare I say… familiar.

A light was in the distance, apparently something else was here. I winced as we approached, my eyes having just gotten used to the soft darkness.

I heard Scarlet sigh, one more upbeat in nature. "We are actually here, Arceus above, finally." We entered onto what looked to be a plateau overlooking the ocean. All of which looked to be inside the mountain, hollowed out by forces unknown.

"I never expected this to be inside a mountain of all places…" I said as my jaw went slack.

"You should see the palace up in the Etyth mountains if you think this is impressive-"

"Wait," I pointed at her. "Are you royalty or something?"

She let out a disappointed sigh. "Just promise me something first, simply that you do not tell anyone else what you hear. Agreed?"

"On my heart."

A little unease was in her voice, full of pent up emotion. "I am royalty, and on top of that I am revered because I happen to be a 'Chosen'. Do not ask about the finer details, you are not getting them yet."

"Don't trust me?" I sarcastically retorted.

"I do trust you. Just not with that... not yet."

"I get it, all's fine," We started moving along the edges of the plateau. "Lets just figure out what 'reset' means within the context of a Mystery Dungeon."

This place was weird, it was sunset currently and I know for a fact it wasn't before we came in. So something funky with time was happening. What could 'reset' even mean? Did it have to do with the 'common variable' that Merek mentioned?

Kira was talking about time like it was resetting a specific event in a localized area. Wait, are we going to stop the event? Well first we have to figure out what that event even is, and I don't know where to start. This place is massive after all, probably goes on for miles.

But it sure is beautiful to gaze at.

Slowly I started to realize that I felt like something was watching me, I wanted to chalk that up to being in a new place even farther from home… but I couldn't. The feeling was unshakable even as I constantly checked behind us, or stopped and scanned the area. Listening to every noise as closely as I could.

Scarlet noticed my agitation, watching behind us every now and then as we crossed over this landscape with no clear destination in mind. Eventually the feeling evolved, I could feel it seeping around me like a smoke. Wrapping around me with smokey tendrils and slowly strangling the sane side of my mind.

I had to steel myself more than ever, even if I was still shaken from what happened at the damned entrance.

"I'm not liking how this place is making me feel, it's like I'm always out of breath." I murmured timidly.

Scarlet suddenly unsheathed herself, gesturing for me to get behind her. Her voice was frightened. "Something powerful just dropped in behind us." an odd glow came from her gem "I felt its ghastly power pull at mine, we are not alone anymore and I do not think it is here to greet us... I think it is after you."

"Oh, for the third time then? Perfect." I sarcastically muttered to myself as I cocked back my nineteen-eleven. "I swear this happens every day now."

"CEASE YOUR RETORTS, IT IS HERE-"

An explosion ripped through the area, a tree getting sent directly at us. Scarlet slashed, the tree falling to either end of us. Something stepped out into the light, and it wore my face. Instead of staring through me, I felt it bore into my soul.

I trained my sights on it, my gun tensely held by my hands. Scarlet's double was nowhere to be found, and that scared me. Where was it hiding? Was it even here? I know this guy was, but how the hell is it physically here now?

My mind was running amuck trying to figure out a possible plan. But then again, this guy had caused an explosion that sent a tree towards us. "So, Scarlet, any ideas?"

"Hold your breath," her ribbon shot out and grabbed my arm. My feet gave out as I went face-first into the shadow I was being dragged into. Darkness enveloped me, my only feeling being of the ribbon. A pressure inside my mind began to build up, like water was filling every orifice of my body.

The darkness suddenly ceased, spitting me out of its cold embrace. I squinted my eyes at the sudden brightness, barely able to make out what was around me. Scarlet lifted me to my feet, worriedly checking me. "I am sorry about that, but if we see that thing we need to run."

"Why? I had it dead to rights." I asked, frustration in my voice.

"Look," she haphazardly waved her ribbon. "I could feel the power coming off of it like it was some kind of light. The only thing that was 'dead to rights' was us."

I sighed, a part of me happy that we were away from it at least. "What even was that anyway?"

"We call them Reflections, because as you saw, they look like whoever they are going after."

"Are they always this violent?" I asked, wondering why the hell some different version of me was at my throat.

She seemed at a loss for words, barely managing to even register my question. "I- I do not know. But for now it is better safe than sorry, right?"

"I'll just ask Kira when I can, for now let's maybe go in the direction of-" A deep roar bellowed out from our right, the sound echoing around us. The ground shook as a Salamence marched up to us.

Scarlet hovered in front of me, unveiling her blade with a swish, already glowing with power. The Salamence didn't stop its advance, opening its mouth with what looked to be fire building up.

"Retreat?" I asked her.

"Not from this," she grabbed my arm with her ribbon, a forign feeling leaking into my mind as I grabbed her by the handle. Fervor flowed from her voice. "I will pull you where you need to be, you just have to worry about landing your shots."

I clicked my safety off, along with the worried side of my brain. I'll be fine… hopefully. My nineteen-eleven hadn't seen action yet, and hey, I might be able to tell a great story about how I slayed a dragon with a sentient sword.

A grin grew on my face as the Salamence fired off an ember, Scarlet dragged me into the darkness of my own shadow. [Aim for the lower backside of the neck.] Light returned, finding myself behind the dragon.

I fired three shots off where I was told, two hitting directly as it buckled and roared in pain. No blood was drawn, but the scales looked almost broken…

The Salamence jumped into the sky, its wings catching the air and sending a torrent of flames down to us. Darkness took my vision again as Scarlet's fervor-filled voice spread throughout my mind. [I will smite it to the ground, just be ready to hit the same spot.]

I didn't want to ask how she intended to do that, simply nodding in approval as I was spat out of a shadow beneath a rock. Scarlet wasn't anywhere around me, just me and the dragon who was desperately looking for us. It's enraged eyes finally found me, another furious roar echoing out from its now glowing maw.

A sizable rock was to my right, I dove behind it as more flames billowed out all around me. The fire licking my shoes in intense heat, I rubbed them on the ground, hoping to stifle the flame that nearly burst out on them.

Scarlet exploded into the sky, some kind of ball forming at the tip of her blade. She shouted something I couldn't understand as it fired it off into the Salamence's wings. It lost its air, rapidly coming directly towards the rock I was behind. I took cover, braced as the dragon crashed and bounced off of it.

It landed in front of me, I fired off three more shots into the back of the neck. A sickening crack ringed in the air as the scales broke and drew blood. The Salamence jumped to its feet, inconceivable rage fueling it now more than ever. I climbed up onto the rock, ready to jump down behind it when the maddened dragon came for me.

Counting bullets fired, I had one left. Seven rounds was the most these old time nineteen-eleven had in 'em. I didn't want to reload just yet, I had an angle I could take advantage of. The Salamence opened its mouth, I took aim and fired into it.

A single shot echoed out as it wrenched in pain. Gagging on lead, definitely not something I'd ever imagine witnessing. It bent its neck down, exposing its broken scales.

"This ends NOW," Scarlet descended from the sky, her red blade stabbed into its neck where I broke its scales. Twisting around, it tried to fly away. Scarlet pushed deeper, the dragon's wings giving out as it crashed into the ground.

With some sickening sounds of her blade gushing through its flesh, she slashed at the wound with precision. More blood getting spilt everywhere. A fading roar came from the Salamence before it's head finally fell flat on the ground.

I put the spent magazine in a pocket, a few clicks sounding out before I put a new one in and put the safety on. I looked at Scarlet, her blade now coated in a profuse amount of blood. The blade was already red, making it seem like she was dripping with some kind of power. I had no idea what got into her throughout that...

"Well," she swept her blade side to side, the blood mostly coming off. "That sure was a fight if I do say so myself."

I holstered my gun. "Remind me to not make you angry, ever."

"Oh, it wasn't anger fueling me there, human." she snickered as her blade clicked back into the sheath.

"Enlighten me, sentient sword."

She stared at the Salamence's corpse, a spark of some sort of feeling flashed across her eye. "The Salamence was one of the targets it would seem. This chaos should be enough to cause a rift."

"Rifts?" I asked curiously, forgetting about what we just committed.

Like some kind of divine punishment, the body vanished. Leaving in its place a glowing rip in what I assumed to be reality itself. Scarlet didn't seem phased, she turned to me with a neutral voice. "Do not resist its pull, you are only going to be hurting yourself."

I didn't respond, my questions seemed to only land me with more questions. Maybe these rifts were how we got lower or completed a 'reset' around here. The badges we found started to glow a bright blue. Something was attracted to them, and the badges were absorbing it.

"What's going to happen next?"

Scarlet laughed. "I do not know, but we are about to find out."

"Hey wait, I thought you knew this stuff-" a blinding light cut me off, the rift grew in size and started to tug us into it. I wanted to pull away and resist, but Scarlet's words still rung in my mind. The tug got stronger, I could feel my feet slipping on the rocky surface beneath my shoes.

Scarlet grabbed my arm, her ribbon jerking me into the rift alongside her. A tingling ran up my body, ceasing to feel anything else as I crossed into it. What awaited me was a limitless white abyss punctuated by nothing. The badge's glow intensified, overtaking my vision with its shine.

My hands met solid ground, relief washed over me as I got my bearings. I struggled to stand, my balance thrown off by whatever that did to me. I saw Scarlet hover over to me, her ribbon shot out and helped me to my feet. We were still in the Mystery Dungeon, but things looked different. The mountain above us hadn't moved an inch, but holes dotted the landscape that went directly into some kind of cave system.

Scarlet gazed around the area curiously. "So, human, what do you think has changed other than these holes everywhere?"

"A second Salamence," I said sarcastically. Perhaps it was my paranoia, but something felt off and I didn't quite know what. It was like a voice was inside my head telling me to run or arm myself, but I didn't know what this enemy was.

Scarlet gasped, a shiver ran down my spine as I spun around. She fell to the floor, some force keeping her still. A hand grasped tightly around my neck and lifted me off the ground, air being cut off from my lungs immediately. My own face stared back at me with an emotionless stare that bored into my soul.

I kicked its face, not even eliciting a flinch. Its grasp tightened as my vision started to black out. I tried to pull for my guns, the thing ripped them off of me as I tried to shoot. My vision slowly faded out more as I felt something crack in the back of my neck.

My hands met solid ground, relief washed over me as I got my bearings. I struggled to stand, my balance thrown off by whatever the rift did to me. I saw Scarlet hover over to me, her ribbon shot out and helped me to my feet. We were still in the Mystery Dungeon, but things looked different. The mountain above us hadn't moved an inch, but holes dotted the landscape that went directly into some kind of cave system.

Scarlet gazed around the area curiously. "So what do you think has changed other than these holes everywhere?"

"A second... Salamence..." I stuttered back. Wasn't I just here? I drew my gun and frantically pointed it around the area. "Hey, wait, what just happened?"

"We used a rift-"

I stumbled around, looking for the danger my senses screamed to me about. "No, we were ambushed by that thing… a 'reflection' I think. It had me in a choke hold and had you pinned to the ground."

"I do not know what you are talking about," Scarlet's gem glowed again like she was looking for it. "It is not anywhere near us anymore, dare I say it is completely gone."

My breathing slowed back down, I wearily lowered my gun. Something was amiss, was what I saw some kind of vision again? Or an outcome that could've happened? It felt so real, I could vividly remember the cracking sound my spine made as it was crushed. I swore I could still feel that thing's hand around my neck.

I instinctively rubbed there, finding nothing of note to even entertain the idea. I holstered my pistol, tentatively keeping an eye on my surroundings still. "Just… please tell me the very second you-"

A burst of energy exploded from the center of the plateau, our badges started once more glowing with light blue energy. The light came off the badge and started swirling around us, creating a distortion effect in my vision.

The rapid feeling of vertigo came over me, stretching throughout my body. It was strong enough to the point where I felt like vomiting, but I staved it off just barely. I dropped to my knees as the air around me seemed to get less heavy. I realized the sun was upon me once more, and never was I more glad to see it then now.

Somehow we had ended up just outside the cave entrance, with everything intact. Sweat beaded down my forehead and the stress certainly never left. Kira approached us with Merek behind her, both looked pretty impressed.

"Well done to the both of you," Merek congratulated. "Got both your badges, and managed to do a reset of the Mystery Dungeon in a relatively speedy fashion."

I was practically out of breath still. "Hey, uh, what's a 'reflection' and why did mine want me dead?"

"A Reflection attacked you?" Kira asked worriedly.

"I've got the memories to prove it."

Her eyes flashed as I felt her slip into my mind. I didn't resist, allowing her to see everything I saw, including my supposed death. She put a hand to her mouth, her face's expression morphing to one of distraught. "Your first two encounters were definitely with Reflections, but they shouldn't be showing up here at all. Especially with how deep you have to go in order to even find glimpses of them. You're either extremely unlucky, or malevolent forces wish for your death."

"No, what happened to me after that? I know you saw it," I tensed up a little, my voice becoming shaky. "I felt myself die, I still do feel that thing's hand around my neck."

Kira's face was calm again, but her voice betrayed her. "I don't know."

Scarlet was shocked, looking between me and Kira, realizing what I told her did happen to us. Yet somehow, we were still alive. Somehow, my neck is still intact and not broken. And yet for some odd and mysterious reason nobody knows what I witnessed.

"Could it have been a vision of some sort of possible future?" I asked.

Merek seemed to snap out of his stupor. "Maybe, but for now, young Mason, you both should rest. You've both clearly seen a lot today. Ace will debrief you both, then you can leave with Kira. I've got other places to be at the moment I'm afraid."

"Sounds good." I murmured.