Chapter 2 : Team Dissidia's fourth member!

"We're lost, aren't we?"

Kite sighed, as she grabbed the map out of Bruce's hands.

"Noooo! The map says there's a shortcut! We just have to go through a Mystery Dungeon!" He pointed to a spot on the map. "It's so rarely explored, that it doesn't even have a name!"

"Sounds like fun!" Ranmaru looked over Bruce's shoulder. "Let's go!"

Kitalia turned around to the two. "Hold on, we don't even have much equipment to explore a Mystery Dungeon. We should just take the long way."

"We'll be fine! This will cut our travel time to the Academy by two days! Anyways, I've got a feeling this will be cake!" Bruce ran forward, talking about the Explorer Team Academy, the place where exploration teams were officially certified. The Academy though, was about two weeks away from them. "Come on, guys!" The two followed, Kitalia sighing softly as she ran in the rear.

"Here's the entrance!" Two large trees loomed in the distance, a large batch of fog around it. "Team Dissidia, charge!" The three ran through the fog, the Mystery Dungeon unraveling in front of them.

"Okay, left!" They ran down the narrow path to the left, appearing in another room, a hole leading down. "There's the stairs!" Hopping down the hole, they found themselves in another large room, successfully advancing to the next floor.

They kept going around and down, advancing another few floors. "This is weird. We haven't seen any of "them" around." Ranmaru was talking about the soulless Pokemon that wandered every Mystery Dungeon, doomed to wander and attack any travelers, and could be only be freed by defeating them in battle. Many rumors circled about "them", nobody know where they come from, other than one fact. If you fell in a Mystery Dungeon, you became one of "them". There were few that became that way though, so none know where the majority of "them" come from.

"We should have run into a couple of them by now…" Kitalia murmured.

"We're getting lucky! Let's not jinx it!" Bruce yelled, a grin on his face, adrenaline pumping through the Servine. "There's another stairway! Let's go!"

(Turn on your battle music, folks~)

They landed in another large room, where a cry finally broke the silence.

"H-H-HELP!" In the corner was a Quilava, tears running from her eyes. "Leave me alone, you creepers!" Cornering her was four Pokemon, the blank white eyes telling the difference inbetween "them" and other Pokemon.

"Hold on-" Suddenly, Bruce got a chill down his spine, as the room exploded in light, filling with "them". Every team knew the term for this.

"MONSTER HOUSE!" Kitalia yelled, instantly getting ready for a fight. Ranmaru growled, his fange crackling with electricity.

"First things first! We have to make our way to her!" Bruce growled, his paws growing with a green aura. "Carve a path! Leaf Blade!" He slammed his fist into a Sudowoodo, sending him flying, knocking over other souls and sending the Pokemon into the wall behind the Quilava, forming into a small ball of light and flying skyward. "Charge!"

"Aye!" Kitalia dashed forward, materializing a bow of pure energy, firing multiple shots of Psychic blasts, all hitting their marks and sending them back, Ranmaru and Bruce were not far behind, attacking and pushing back anyone of "them" that tried to attack the team.

"S-Stay back…" The Quilava's burners ignited, feeling more threatened by the second.

"Hey! Back off!" Ranmaru tackled a Pokemon to the ground, sinking his fangs into a Sableye, using his Link of Thunder, Ice, and Fire Fang, disappearing underneath him.

"Fall to the might of Arceus!" Kitalia put an arrow point-blank through the skull of a Crokanaw, it disappearing as well.

"Heads up!" Bruce hopped up into the air, crashing down on top of a Clefable, disappearing underneath him. The Wigglytuff charged up a Mega Punch, running forward toward the girl. She balled up, screaming, waiting for the pain. It never came.

"H-Huh…?" She looked up, and that Servine was standing in front of her.

"You stupid ghouls…!" He winced, the fist dug into his shoulder. "Picking on innocent Pokemon!" Vines came out of his back, the rage glowing in his azure eyes. "DIE!" He slashed at the Wigglytuff, it disappearing almost instantaneously. Bruce cried out in a mix of anger and pain, an almost feral howl, charging forward, blasting through "them".

"Don't worry, Team Dissidia's here now." Ranmaru smiled, then turned around, launching a Charge Beam, three of "them" disappearing.

"Dissidia…?" Her eyes were sparking. "Cool…!"

The three of them fought for minutes on end, finally defeating the last one, a Rhydon disappearing in light. "Team Dissisia one…. Them, z-zero….!" Bruce fist-pumed, then collapsed, his injuries finally taking their toll.

"Bruce!" Kitalia dove to his side! "You better not be dying! You're not turning into one of them!"

"Bruce!" Ranmaru ran to him, the Quilava not far behind. "I'll… Be fine…" He coughed up a bit of blood, the red liquid only seen when a Pokemon was close to their doom.

"H-Here…" The Quilava pulled an Oran Berry from her small tattered bag. She placed it in Bruce's mouth, him chewing it softly. His body gave off a faint blue glow, all his scratches disappearing. Even the bruise from the Mega Punch softened up, the mark a light purple instead of the dark magenta.

"B-B-Better…" He sighed, as he got up to his feet, brushing the dirt off his stomach.

"Thank you for saving me! My name's Wynn." She smiled.

"You don't have a last name?" Bruce asked, poking at the bruise and wincing. "Nope. I've been in orphanage after orphanage for as long as I can remember. I finally ran away, and got lost here. Then you showed up, and saved me~!" She ran up to him, and nuzzled against his side.

"Oh, um, okay. I'm Bruce, by-" His sentence was cut off by Wynn pouncing him, the Quilava giggling.

"Nuh-uh. I'ma call you Senpai~!" She licked his cheek, a blush crossing her own. "A Zangooze I know said that it's a term of honor in his pack!"

"Oh, okay!" He smiled, loving the attention, not knowing how else to react.

"Bruce. Ranmaru. Let's go. NOW." Kitalia stomped by them, pulsing rage. He meeped, and immediately got up, Wynn tumbling off his chest. "A-Aye!" Ranmaru wasn't far behind.

"So, I can travel with you guys, right?" Wynn trotted along, right beside Bruce.

"Wait, WHAT?" Kitalia turned around. "Just like that, you think you can come and travel with us?"

"I… I kinda have nowhere else to go… So yeah!" She smiled a little wider.

"You can join us, Wynn." Bruce stopped and smiled. "It'd be great to have another person watching our backs.

"R-R-Really?" Wynn's eyes were glowing bright, as she rolled up and sped around the group as they walked. "YAAYYYYYYYYY!"

-We're somehow going to regret this…- Kitalia sighed as she thought to herself. –But…- She looked to Bruce, who had begun to chase her. –It makes Brucie-kun so happy… I guess I'll have to put up with it.-

Ranmaru joined in as well, the tree of them running about. "This is fun!"

"I think we've forgotten we're still in a Mystery Dungeon…" Kitalia sighed again, her hand hitting her forehead rather hard.

"Nawwwwwh, cheer up, Kitty-kun!" Wynn skidded to a stop in front of her. She burped though, and accidently ignited the Kirlia in a Flamethrower, shivering. "S-Sorry! I'm still learning how to control my attacks and stuff."

Kitalia shook with rage, just wanting to snap the furball in half. –No, breathe…- She took a deep breath, straighted her face, and patted Wynn on the head. "It's okay."

"Yay!" She went back to rolling again, as the boys chased her.

-This is going to be tough…-

-Fin-

(A preview for next chapter!)

"I've never seen any markings like this…"

"Why you little ssssssshit!"

"Ranmaru!"

"YOU LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE!"

Chapter 3 – Team Dissidia becomes parents?