Note: Whew! Managed to transfer everything to the computer just in time! Well, I couldn't think of any good chapter name so I hope you do recognize the quote... It's from Popple... Sorry, I couldn't resist not leaving out that quote... Anyway, this chappie's quite long because I doubt I'll be updating soon because of the exams... But sure, go ahead and read first before I go back to chatting about negative stuff such as exams and all...
Rose's POV:
"Yes," I answered, "my name is Ro- uhh... Gardev from a Master Rank Exploration Team."
I held out the badge that I had stolen and "modified" as proof that the aforementioned information was "true".
Normally, the sentries of Treasure Town only took their jobs inside guilds but ever since the reports of the recent muggings and thefts were spread all over the news, they were going for tighter security.
"You may pass," the sentry, a Snorlax, lazily replied before going back to sleep.
I rolled my eyes. No wonder this town had so many jobs in the Outlaw Notice Board... Their "security" was practically useless. If I was the boss of this Snorlax here, he would've been fired a decade ago.
Oh well, I thought to myself, their loss is my gain!
I walked through the town avoiding the citizens. The last thing I needed to happen was someone recognizing me somehow. They would probably either recognize me as the thief that had escaped the clutches of the law for I-don't-know-how-long and gang up on me or they might just find me attractive and start flirting with me again. Either way, both of these options didn't seem like a good thing to me so I just did my best to avoid them through using several small alleys that I had grown accustomed to in my past visits to this wretched town.
I felt more comfortable hiding in shadows. The light shade of black often made the beating of my heart slower; it usually puts me out of stress. The shade of darkness often made me feel safe... It was like a blanket that shielded me from the prying eyes of others. When I usually go out in broad daylight, I usually only do so when there are little to no other living beings present.
I sighed. This sort of psychology often bothered my personal life... Oh wait, it's not like it would matter as I still reside in darkness then too.
I continued on navigating through the dimly lit alleys for several more hours. It bothered me that I had not yet reached my destination despite several hours of navigation, but I pushed on anyway.
I felt unnerved, however, as I felt that there was something following or watching me. Regardless of these circumstances, I persisted on trudging forward through that damp... cave?
I never recalled entering a cave. One second I was in a dark alley and now I'm in a pitch black cave?
The labyrinth-like structure of the cave unnerved me even further. Half of my instincts told me that the cave was a Mystery Dungeon, but I disregarded the thought because I was in the middle of a town. Maybe it was also because I wanted to believe that I was going the right way.
All of a sudden, a straight blast of fire shot out from the darkness aiming towards me. I dodged at the last minute by bending my body sideways. I could feel the heat of the attack as it had almost hit me.
I scanned the place around me. I was surrounded by walls on my left and right making the place look like a narrow corridor. This narrowed down my options of escaping... It was either north or south.
Suddenly, another burst of fire, which I now recognized to be a Flamethrower attack, shot out from the southern path. This made me decide that I was definitely going to choose the northern path.
I continued running, aware that the enemy had a home field advantage in this kind of darkness. I could not identify what was attacking me in such a dark place.
Soon enough, I entered a cavernous room. I had recognized the place to be a Mystery Dungeon by then for I could feel the supernatural feeling that only existed within the world of these ever-changing labyrinths. How I got there, I had no idea.
I turned around to face my attacker. It seems that both of us have finally entered the same room. Upon closer inspection, I became horrified when I learned what I was up against. I was up against a Salamence. Yep, a Salamence...
At that moment, the enraged Salamence roared and three more came to answer his call. The four Salamence surrounded me, as if to say that escape is futile. I knew that Mystery Dungeons often housed various Pokémon, but I knew that those that lived in dungeons were often uncivilized, horridly aggressive, and territorial.
The four Salamence began to press inwards against me, forming a circle around me to prevent escape. I brightened up when I remembered that my usual tactic could've made quick work of them, but let's just say confidence isn't something good in excess. Before I could even launch Attract, two of them fired Flamethrower and the other two fired Dragonbreath. With me in the middle of these four attacks, I knew my tactic would fail and escape was impossible.
I closed my eyes in fear of what would happen when I suddenly tripped on something. With all four attacks aimed at me, I didn't have time to think. I looked down at the object, which resembled an orb. I muttered a silent prayer as I scooped up the orb and smashed it down to the ground.
At first, nothing happened and I could hear the four attacks rushing to meet me. I lost the hope I had when I thought that it was an Escape Orb. But then, a bright light enveloped me and teleported me away a split second before the attacks were about to hit.
After the bright light faded, I found myself at the entrance of a cave. I looked around and found out that the cave entrance was carved on the wall of someone's basement for I saw stairs leading upwards.
I shrugged at the thought of a cave entrance in a basement. I walked up the stairs and was greeted by a surprised shriek.
"Y-you!" the voice shrieked, "Y-you entered that dungeon?"
I recognized the voice to belong to a Marowak, which my eyes had missed due to his short stature.
"Yes?" I answered, still dazed from his shriek.
"I-I never even saw you enter," the Marowak continued, "That cave is the entrance to the Final Maze! It's a really dangerous dungeon unusable for training that I have sealed it away. Thank goodness you didn't get into any serious trouble."
My jaw dropped upon hearing that.
"Um..." I slowly asked, "Excuse me sir, but where am I?"
"This is Marowak's Dojo," he answered, "a place where explorers do their training in some of our practice dungeons... Say, where'd you come from? I never saw you come in through the door... How did you end up in the Final Maze? D-did you maybe break in to steal something?"
I started to sweat after he pressed me with that question. While I certainly didn't come to steal anything from this place, I certainly looked shady enough to be accused of such.
"N-NO!" I stammered, "Eh... I can explain!"
"Go on," he said, raising a bony eyebrow.
"I... uh... fell down a pitfall?" I lied.
The Marowak didn't seem to buy what I had said. He didn't move from where he was standing and his face remained serious. His eyes seemed to pierce my mind, as if he was trying to read my thoughts.
"Erm... Can we talk about this later?" I asked, thinking of any possible way to escape, "Because I have to use your facilities..."
The Marowak sighed.
"Fine," he strictly said, "But you have to explain to me what happened. The bathroom's just down the second stairs."
As he said that, I was already inching away to the exit.
"Thanks!" I answered, hoping that he wouldn't notice that I was about to escape.
"I thought you had to use the facilities?" he asked, now crossing his arms.
"I... um... Yeah, I do," I answered.
"Then why are you going to the exit?" he asked, looking suspiciously at me.
"Oh," I replied, annoyed that I was so close to escaping, "I... didn't notice that this was the exit..."
I went down the stairs and found myself in another basement. Just as the Marowak had said, I found the entrance to the bathroom there. For some reason, something was off with that room. I surveyed the area and found what had piqued my interest. A ray of moonlight came from the farthest stall.
I tilted my head in confusion. I was in a basement yet there was moonlight coming from somewhere...
I opened the stall and saw a very small opening near the ceiling. It was like a small rectangular window.
I suddenly smiled. Treasure Town was located near a cliff so it was only natural for the land to be uneven.
I entered the stall and closed the door, locking it. I looked down and tried to find something that would give me a good footing. The stall was pretty small, having only a small pit on the ground for anyone to go about their "business" and a shovel to bury the pit with dirt after each use. I suddenly struck an idea. I opened the door and took the shovel out. I removed the metallic part of the shovel, turning it into a pole of some sort.
I walked out of the stall and faced directly at the window while I was outside. I ran forward and at the last minute, I stabbed the pole into the pit helping me vault over it and allowed me to jump higher. Due to being able to jump higher, I managed to grab ahold of the window.
I tried to pull my body up, using my Psychic powers to lessen the effects of gravity. I managed to pull myself out the small opening. I rolled sidewards and lay down on the fresh ground outside.
It was already dusk. I shook of the dust and stood up, finding myself outside the said dojo. My destination wouldn't be far from there now...
Since dusk had fallen, I chose to walk in the open instead. After having entered the Final Maze a while ago, I learned that hiding in darkness wasn't always 'safe'...
A few minutes later, I had managed to arrive at my targeted place. I slowly grinned as I looked at a small two story house. I walked up to the door and gently knocked it. A Typhlosion, presumable Blaze, sleepily opened the door.
"What is it-" he stopped speaking when he opened his eyes and noticed me.
"Err..." I started, "I'm new here and I'm not so familiar with this town and I... um really need a place to stay..."
He raised an eyebrow.
"I'll make it worth your while," I sweetly said.
"Fine," he said, "you don't need to pay... But I have to tell you that there's not much room in my place... By the way, are you in an Exploration Team?"
I handed over the badge to him. He took it and sleepily read all the details written.
"Oh..." he yawned, "So your name's Gardev, eh? I was initially trying to find new recruits for my team but I see you already have one... Look for me if you change your mind though... Look for the name 'Blaze' on the list of Exploration Team leaders..."
He led me up the stairs where there were two rooms on opposite sides of the wall. He left me by myself in one room and then went back to his room.
When I was sure that he had left, I began to search my room.
Crate of Oran Berries... Nope! A stash of TMs... Nice, but not what I'm looking for... A Doom Said... I would honestly never try to take even a bite from this thing... Who would keep a Doom Seed anyway?
My search ended up fruitless, so I silently snuck out of my room and went down the stairs. Other than a huge stack of papers filled with job requests, I didn't find anything else.
I slowly crept back upstairs, silently cursing... That was when I noticed it. I saw a small blue sparkle from the angle of the place I stood at coming from Blaze's door, which wasn't completely closed.
"Jackpot!" I silently muttered, unable to contain my excitement.
I slowly opened the door and crept into his room. I could see the Icy Flute atop his desk. I could almost... just... reach... it!
"What are you doing here?" a puzzled voice asked behind me.
I froze. Blaze was right behind me and he was quite awake and wide-eyed to find me in his room.
"Umm..." I tried to answer, sweating nervously, "Well, I thought this was the door to..."
I knew it was pretty obvious that I was trying to steal the Icy Flute, so I gave up on trying to make up an excuse. Instead, I emitted the pink ray of hearts towards him to infatuate him with Attract, my usual failsafe tactic.
Initially, Blaze didn't seem affected at all by the attack. He remained conscious as though his will fought off the usual effects Attract often gave.
"This was the door to?" he continued, albeit blushing slightly which signified that he was at least partially affected by the attack.
"Err..." I stalled, hoping that he would soon fall to the effects of Attract, "the door to..."
By that time, he had lost control and Attract finally won him over.
"Hey Gardev... I know this is sudden but I think I... like you..." he shyly said, as opposed to the usual arrogance my previous victims had. I guess the effect varies depending on the personality of the victim...
Yes, I thought, go on... Just let go and don't fight back... Surrender your will and succumb to my Attract!
"Oh really?" I said, smiling at him which caused him to blush even more.
I had already managed to turn the tables by then. An idea struck me and I took his hands gesturing him to dance with me.
Blaze shyly took them, still under the spell of Attract. Together, we danced around his room and I slowly led him beside the desk.
It was so close... I could feel the anticipation as the coldness of the Icy Flute brushed pass me as I circled around the desk once more.
I had a new problem though... How was I going to take it? Blaze may be infatuated, but if I did something so sudden, he might fall out of infatuation and regain his senses... Knowing that he has the attack Blast Burn, I didn't want him to snap out of it. It was then that I thought of a very unique idea.
We continued dancing until I knew that the desk was directly behind me. I slowly grinned and let go of his hand to execute a graceful spin.
As I spun around, I deliberately allowed the wind to blow my six gown-like appendages upward, exposing my long skinny legs and hips.
On one revolution, I managed to grab the flute while his attention was directed at my legs. He was probably blushing but I didn't mind... Because while my other hand was holding the Icy Flute, my empty right hand was free. While my left side was the side facing Blaze, my right side was the one facing the desk, concealing my Explorer Kit strapped on my right hip. My right hand used the opportunity to take a smoke bomb out of the pouch in a millisecond. I completed the spin by throwing the smoke bomb down on the ground.
Smoke immediately clouded the room and obscured everything from vision. I closed my eyes to recreate the structure of the room from memory. Once I located the window, I jumped out and landed on the street below.
"I'll be taking this, see..." I chuckled, pocketing the Icy Flute as I ran into the darkness.
I ran a considerable distance away from Treasure Town. I only stopped when I found a clearing in the forest at a safe distance from Treasure Town.
I collapsed from exhaustion.
"Heh, I guess this makes up for the incident back with the Nuzleaf and Shiftry back at Lake Afar," I muttered to myself, exposing a satisfied grin, "I'll surely have made quite an impression to that town... Now, I'm sure they won't forget me..."
What I didn't know is that I did leave an impression. An impression that would cost me my freedom.
Satisfied with my theft today, I lay down and soundly went to sleep.
Note: Heh, this honestly isn't the worst Rose can do... Trust me, if she found a Jirachi and got it to grant a wish of hers... I wouldn't be continuing this fic for she would've probably destroyed the MD world by then... Anyway, back to the topic... I've got exams next week Saturday, so I doubt I'll be able to upload for the next two weeks... But I have a Christmas Break after my exams anyway so I promise to get back to this as soon as I can... In other words... Both "What a Thief Can't Steal" and "You're the Only Fish in the Sea" will be on hold for two weeks... I hope you guys can wait... Oh yeah, before I go... Please leave a review fopr I found this chapter quite hard to write... Thanks! Gotta go... Bye~