Chapter One: Those in Need

Sunset. A lone Vulpix paced nervously atop a hill before a large tent in the shape of a Wigglytuff. "There's no reason they'd turn you down, Violet. You have nothing to worry about," the small fox murmured, running through the thoughts in her head. She eyed a wooden grate resting before the tent warily. She closed her eyes, trying to psyche herself up. "You've practiced more, it'll be fine. It won't be like last time, you're more than qualified, there's no need to panic." She took a step forward, but her paws felt heavy, as if her body didn't want to do it. "You won't fail," she chanted over and over to herself, trying to work up the courage to step forward.

"Excuse me!" piped up a Diglett, popping out of the ground next to the grate. Violet leapt back in surprise. "Are you coming in or not? I can't really open the door until you step on the grate…"

Violet's eyes darted around, unsure of what to say. "Uh, n-no, no, sorry, just, uhh…" she stammered. "J-just a bit lost, th-that's all, s-sorry!" she hollered, running down the hill as the Diglett watched in confusion before going back underground.

The Vulpix stopped at the bottom of the stairs to catch her breath. She felt embarrassed and her worries were only exaggerated further. She sulked away, feeling as if she lost her chance.

The sound of crashing waves informed her that she had arrived at the beach not too far from town. She felt the sun-warmed sand beneath her paws and listened to the rhythm of the waves, as they softly crashed against the shore. She slowed to a halt and took a deep breath, quietly berating herself. "...What's wrong with me? Why can't I just stand on a stupid grate!" She kicked a rock near her foot, fueled with self-deprecating thoughts. "M-Maybe I'm just… not cut out for it," the Vulpix sniffled. "Don't… don't you cry over this." She closed her eyes, taking in a few deep breaths.

Her eyes opened out to the sprawling sea, feeling a sense of longing for its wide open expanse and the unknown extents of its reach. Many, many bubbles were blown about in the warm, sea breeze. They hovered gently in the air, carried along as the local Krabby population blew them idly as they relaxed at the end of the day. The sun had begun to set on the horizon, dyeing the water a warm orange—the color of fire. The motion of the sea caused it to flicker with life and passion. It reminded the young fox of her own ideals, and recentered her focus back to reality. She breathed calmly; her mind was now at ease.

Before her eyes, a part of the sandy beach rose up into the air. She got on her haunches and jumped back instinctually, taken by surprise. A Riolu had just come out from under the sand! "Urgh," he groaned, "What the hell just happened?" Sand poured off of him as if he had been lying there for hours. He nursed his forehead, the rock from earlier lying beside him.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hit you!" the Vulpix shouted, running over to his side. "I didn't know you were-" she froze. He was badly injured, sand clumped to wounds on his legs and torso, dried there as it mixed with blood. "Are you alright!? What happened to you?"

The Riolu stopped suddenly. Slowly, he looked up at the Vulpix in front of him, a look of disbelief on his face. He stumbled forward in shock, completely unsure of how to react.

"Hello? I said, are you alright? Can you hear me?" Violet continued.

"W-what the hell?!" the Riolu cried, falling over backward in surprise, scrambling away from the Vulpix before him. "D-did you just talk?!"

Violet scoffed in disbelief, "...Yes…? I didn't think I kicked the rock that hard…"

The Riolu held his paws up to his head, before shrieking loudly. He scrambled to the water, and looked at his reflection in the waves, completely flabbergasted. "What in the world is going on?!"

"...Um… Can I take you to a doctor…?" Violet asked, trailing off in immense confusion.

"D-did you do this to me? I didn't even step on one of your tails, why would you curse me?!" The Riolu exclaimed.

"No! I didn't curse you! I was frustrated and kicked that rock off to the side, that's all that happened!"

"What!? Why would you hit me like that?!"

"I didn't see you! You were fucking sand!" Violet huffed.

"That answers nothing!" the Riolu shouted back, in a large state of distress. "How did I end up like this," he shouted, before he grit his teeth and took in a sharp breath. The initial shock had worn off, leaving him in a considerable amount of pain. He tilted his head back in the sand and groaned in pain.

"Uh… here, let me see what I can do." Violet put her bag down, scooping a few seeds out to the side to dig further in. "This should help." She gently picked up two yellow berries, with orange speckles, in her teeth and set them down beside the stranger. "Eat these. They'll dull the pain."

"I don't see how this is supposed to-"

"Just eat them already!" Violet snapped, "I'm trying to do you a favor here!"

The Riolu sniffed at the offering hesitantly. His stomach then growled, which happened to quickly sway his opinion on the matter. He took a small nibble out of one, and, after determining that it tasted good, ravenously ate them both. He sighed in satisfaction, and his discomfort was made bearable.

"Okay, let's start over." She offered, extending a paw out. "My name is Violet."

"I don't know my name." he responded bluntly.

"Excuse me, what?" Violet inquired.

"I can't… I can't remember anything." the stranger murmured to himself.

"Uh-huh, riiight… " Violet rolled her eyes and put her paw back down on the ground.

"I'm not lying! I'm being serious! I don't remember anything else…" The Riolu off looked inland, towards the dark blue horizon. He narrowed his eyes, feeling a sense of familiarity to the view. Suddenly, he felt as if a small light was turned on inside his mind. "C-Cobalt." he whispered.

"What? I didn't catch that." Violet tilted her head to listen to him.

"Call me Cobalt." he repeated.

"You remembered your name now?" she eyed him doubtfully.

He rolled his eyes, "Yes, I did."

"Awfully convenient, no?" she responded with an air of cynicism.

"Look, it is what it is. Believe me or not, I don't know what to tell you! I just woke up here, covered in sand, and hungry as hell," he snapped. His stomach's growling turned his attention to the seeds scattered about on the ground. "Speaking of which, can I have those?"

"I'd advise that you don't, they aren't exactly… healthy." Violet stated.

"Listen, food's food. I don't care, I'll eat anything." Cobalt asserted.

"You could blow up."

"Like… explode?" he looked at her incredulously, sure that she must be joking. She slowly nodded her head at him, her eyes were dead serious. She wasn't lying-he would actually blow up. He then, not surprisingly, scooted away from them. "Nevermind. I'm good."

"I figured." she quipped, stuffing the littered goods back into her bag. "Now, clean yourself up. I'd like to interrogate you for more answers."

"Oh gee, how inviting," he deadpanned, "Will there at least be food?"

"Yes yes, I'll get you something to eat. Now come on, I'd like to get there sometime today."

Cobalt rose to his feet, picking the bits and pieces of dried blood and sand off his fur. "I'm surprised that actually worked."

"Well of course it worked, Sitrus berries are-" A sudden gust of wind cut Violet off, and blew both of them up off their feet with shocked screams. They tumbled through the sand, and looked around wildly to see what the cause could have been.

A Zubat perched on Violet's bag, peering into it's contents. "She's got some goodies alright!" He hollered, before flapping his wings and taking off with the bag in tow.

"Hey! Get the fuck back here!" Violet shouted, racing forward to grab it back. She opened her mouth, preparing to send a blast of fire straight towards the Zubat, but a Koffing slammed into her side, knocking her into the sand face first. She was gasping for breath-the wind was knocked out of her.

"You'll stay there if you know what's good for you." the Koffing threatened, taking a deep breath in. If either of them moved, they would be shrouded in a poisonous fog in an instant. They sat there, unable to do anything, as the two thieves ran off into the cave.

"Violet, are you alright?" Cobalt panicked, racing over to check up on her.

"M-my bag… " she choked out, still recuperating. "A-all my stuff is in there."

Cobalt silently cursed to himself, looking between her and the cave. "Uhh… I'll help you get it back!"

"It's… dangerous. We'll never find them in there." she responded slowly, regaining her composure.

"It's just a stupid cave! Come on, Violet, don't be so scared!" he batted the air with his paws, acting as if she was making a big deal out of nothing. Inwardly, he felt responsible for the crime in some way. If she had maybe had her bag on her, she could have held onto it and fought them off. It was his fault for the theft, and he had to make it up to her. "Come on, you're wasting time!" he raced into the cavern, filled with determination to make things right.

"Wait! Cobalt, no! It's a Mystery Dunge-" but by the time she had even got to her feet, the Riolu had jumped headfirst into danger. She pressed her lips together in frustration, "Ooh, today just keeps getting worse." She looked towards the cave opening. There was so many unknown factors that could come into play, which made her nervous. No matter how much of an idiot Cobalt was for trying to rush into a Mystery Dungeon without a plan, he did it to help her. She steeled her resolve, and marched forward towards the cave with determination. It was time to take a risk, and she wouldn't let her own fears get in the way this time. She jumped into the dark expanse, hoping to be ready to take on whatever came her way.

END CHAPTER ONE