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Chapter 6

The Arcanine

"Seth, any clue why Wigglytuff is calling us?" I ask my partner, nervously. The starly beside me has unusual blue eyes. That why I like him. He's like me: different. My eyes were a murky green and I was not much bigger than a Growlithe.

"Sorry, Ser. I don't." Seth responds. He calls me Ser, but my real name's Seraphinus. "Hope we're not in trouble."

As we enter the room our guild master claims as his, we realize we aren't alone. Chatot, as always, and two other pokemon, a lucario and a buizel, joined us and Wigglytuff.

"Hi!" Wigglytuff greets.

"Hello," I offer carefully. Seth only nods.

"Today I must ask a sad mission for the four of you." Unexpectedly, the pink pokemon starts at the point. "Dark, an umbreon in Rescue Team Sound, has been injured badly. Unfortunately, his gashes have become infected with a rare disease called Scarlet Fever. If we do not get him a flower known simply as the Healer's Charm, our friend will die."

"I could try healing him." The buizel suggests, sounding desperate.

"Wylie," Wigglytuff says quietly, "you know that flower is the only thing that can cure Scarlet Fever."

"We'll leave now." The lucario suggests, then turns to us. "Is that all right?"

"Where is it?" Seth asks.

"The last floor of Crystal Cave." Wigglytuff tells us.

"Well..." Seth thinks for a moment. I whisper to him that we are prepared. "Okay. Let's go."

The Buizel

"Why are we at Waterfall Cave?" Seth asks, annoyed. Clearly, he is not a fan of water.

"The quickest way to get to Crystal Cave is through the waterfall." I explain. His eyes widen with fear, then narrow with the smirk coming across his face.

"It'll only lead us to the hot springs." Seth says slyly.

Austin laughs. "Not the way we do it, kid. Sorry."

We arrive at the dungeon entrance and start walking through it. Austin and I blast all the pokemon we see away.

"Wait! Are you serious about this?" Seth asks, sounding both extremely annoyed and a little frightened.

"Yup." Austin says. "Dark is depending on the four of us. The quicker, the better chance we have of saving him."

"Who's Dark?" The small arcanine asks. He told us to call him "Ser."

"He's a friend of ours. He and his team probably saved our lives." I tell Ser and Seth.

"HAH!" We all whip around. A whiscash dares to challenge the four of us. Austin whips a small aura sphere from the tips of his fingers to the floor in front of the pokemon, causing smoke to blow up in its face. We make a run for it.

The Starly

"No. I'm not doing this!" I say. We stare at the big huge jem, knowing that touching it will activate the flooding. And that the flooding would blow us out of the top of the cave.

"You don't have to." Austin responds. He and Wylie have their backs turned to Ser and I, as they're about to push the huge crystal.

"I hate water. You guys like it and don't mind." I protest.

"You think I like water?" Austin retorts, turning to face me. "I'm doing this because my friend needs me now. I won't let a little water stand in my way."

"I... I don't understand. Doesn't Scarlet Fever take weeks to kill someone?" I ask. "I've been wondering why we're in such a hurry."

"It only takes two days." Wylie says sadly. "Yesterday was the first. Dark needs it by tonight..."

My eyes widen, and I swallow all fears. Ser steps up beside me, and I know he feels the same way. "Well, then, what are we waiting for?"

"Thanks." Austin smiles, and he and Wylie press on the back of the stone. What's with that?

I don't have much time to wonder. The waves crash down on us almost instantly, and we are shoved upwards at an angle. I am beaten against rock after rock, and quickly loose my breath. Am I going to drown? I wonder. This is why I hate water. Or, one reason.

But, as soon as it started, it ended. We land on the the hard, rocky surface of Mt. Bristle with a thud. Wylie stands up and shakes himself, purposely splashing Austin.

"I'm going to get you now!" Austin yells playfully, and jumps on Wylie. Ser and I laugh. The two sopping-wet pokemon are slow and clumsy with the added weight of the water on them. Then I notice something.

Wylie has a scar on his chest that looks like a tick-tack-toe board. Every space in it has O's or X's in it except for the center... What cruel pokemon would scratch a game onto someone's chest? I wonder with horror.

By now, Austin and Wylie have collapsed onto the ground, panting hard. But, they're laughing.

The Buizel

"Let's go now. We've wasted time." I pant. Austin gets up and walks to a corner and shakes the water from his fur. I do the same, and then part my fur so the scars don't show. "Ready, guys?" I ask as I finish. They nod, and we step into the cave.

The Buizel

Mount Bristle was like not like it sounded. Yes, it was a mountain, but it wasn't prickly or bristly. Instead, it was rocky and rough. I can't count the amount of pebbles that have gotten stuck between my toes. Seth seems extremely irritated, but that's probably because his feathers are still wet. Plus, the higher we climb, the colder it gets. Everyone's pretty cold right now. Seth hasn't shut up, but Austin and Ser have been talking about other mountains. Ser looks alright, but the water hadn't been good to him. Being a fire type was probably keeping him warm, though. Austin grew up on a mountain (I know that, at least) so he's pretty used to it.

"There's the stairs." I point.

"YES!" Seth shouted. "Finally! I hate this cave!"

"You hate being wet!" Ser argues, showing a rare, genuine smile.

"What ever! Let's get the flower and get the hell out of here!" Seth declares.

"Fine, let's-" I stop. Austin has frozen in place, his eyes opening wide. He whips to face behind me. The others gasp. I turn around... too late.