Ties of Fate

by Fusion Phoenix

Follow behind Rio and his group of friends as they prepare themselves to save the world! From what, or how, they don't know, but by god will they try anyway! They might be under qualified, and mostly inexperienced, but it can't be that hard to save a world, right? Right?

34. To Bask in the Sunlight

Rio held onto Mia as the darkness washed over the both of them, then everyone else. The force of it would have been enough to sweep the Lucario off his feet, but luckily he remained upright. Once the darkness finally passed, Rio opened his eyes to a vast, dark space, filled with floating, black stones and an unearthly chill in the air. Looking over the edge… Rio didn't see a bottom. It just kept going and going…

"Wh-What is this place?" Rio muttered, then grimaced and groaned. "How many "new" areas are we gonna get thrown into? This is, like, the fifth one! At least!"

'I know, right? And this has gotta be the worst place, hands down. I'm not even sensing any gems! Or… anything? What gives!' Orion hissed in Rio's head. 'Great! We're totally blind here! Which I think is ironic since we can still see, but still!'

Mia seemed equally upset about this development, but she quickly redirected Rio's attention ahead of them. Standing right there, a toothy grin on his face, stood Kai on top of Kora's snarling body. "Hey hey! Talk about lucky!" Kai laughed. "If it isn't the Outlander! This should be loads of fun! Loads and loads of fun!"

'...Uh oh. So, that's not good…' Orion muttered, a somber bitterness to his voice. 'Kora… Kai… Tell you what, Rio. I'm gonna go silent for a bit and try to think of a plan. You just… try not to panic too much, and also don't provoke them. I can not stress that part enough, they will tear us to shreds.'

The color draining from his body, Rio took a step back, chuckling nervously. Orion just had such a way with words. "O-Oh boy, uh, hey there, Kai!" Rio squeaked. "Wouldn't it be loads of fun to get outta here, though? Safely? Without hurting us?"

"Nah, that was boring, but fighting is fun! It's what we were made to do, right bro?" Kai snickered, patting the side of Kora's head. The Zoroark barely even flinched, his eyes remaining glued on Rio. Kai left and flashed a bright, toothy grin. "That's a yes! We even made this cool place to fight a whole lot in! It's awesome, right?"

"I mean, yeah, but I'm kinda missing the outside," Rio swallowed, taking another step back as he took in the scenery. It was so… dark, and bleak. Kinda depressing. "Aren't… you? This place could use some sunshine, and… proper flooring." He had no idea where everyone else was, or how he was gonna get outta this mess. At least none of the injured were here, and it looked like he could just talk his way out of this.

But then Kora took a step forward, and Kai's grin stretched even wider. "The sun's for babies! And I'm a boy! And ain't no boys gonna need no sun!" the Zorua huffed, proud, and Kora took another step forward.

"Y-Yeah you are! Haha!" Rio said, beads of sweat rolling down his face as he backed further away.

Kora took another step, and the shadowed brothers seemed to get larger. "What we dooooo need is to run…"

"Well I can agree with that! I could do some running myself!" Rio looked behind him. There was only so much stone he could walk on, it looked like, and he couldn't tell if there were any platforms close enough to jump to. "And some place to run too! Haha!"

"And we gotta play…" Kai snarled, snickering. Dark embers rose off his and Kora's body.

Rio fell back, catching himself so Mia didn't have to hop off of him. "Playing's good! Really good! Especially outside with fresh air, and grass, and not a vast empty void to fall in!"

"But most importantly, boys have gotta grow, right?" Kai asked, a sinister glow in his eyes as he and his brother towered over Rio and Mia. Rio frantically nodded his head, hoping that agreeing would buy him some more time at least. He was rewarded with the mad cackling of Kai, and a snarl from Kora. "And the best way to grow is to FIGHT!" Kai shouted, and Kora suddenly raised his claws in the air.

"Well there's plenty of ways t–" Rio began, until Kora slammed his claws down before them. The Lucario was sent flying off the dark stone platform from the force of impact alone, and the stone itself nearly flipped over! "AA-AAAHHHHH! Somebody HEEEEELP!"

Fortunately, Rio landed on another platform, and it was quite far away from Kai too, but he couldn't take a breather just yet. The shadowed foxes leapt from their platform to Rio's, nearly landing on them as they crashed to the ground. "Nuh-uh! We're just doin' a two-v-one! You can't call for support, that'd be cheating!" Kai cackled. Kora got down on all fours, growling lowly.

"I-I'd be cheating?! You just called it a two-v-one! I'm literally at a disadvantage!" Rio barked, then yipped as Kora shot towards him. Crimson claws just barely grazed Rio's body, a thin, stinging wound being left on his side where blood faintly trickled out. "A-And I'm not alone! I'm not alone! I-I have Mi–MMPH?!" Rio was cut short by Mia herself covering his mouth and shushing him.

Kai snickered, wild and distorted. "You have "mmph?" I didn't know that was a name! I also didn't know you were crazy, Rio! I wonder if you'll fight like crazy too, hehe!" As if on cue, Kora let out a fierce roar and charged Rio again.

Rio, again, narrowly avoided the attack, causing Kora and Kai to slam head first into a tall stone. A frustrated and warped groan left Kai as the two stood back up, and a jagged frown morphed onto his face. "This is a fight, Rio! You can't keep dodging, that's just cheatin!" he whined, then held Kora's head and shook it. "And what's with you, bro? You didn't miss that many times with Zen! How about I just aim instead? I can get 'im!"

"W-Wait, c-can't we just chill? I'm, like, really tired! It wouldn't be a fair fight if I'm already exhausted, right?" Rio tittered, already looking for a close enough platform to escape to. "Gimme like, five… ten minutes!"

"What?! Of COURSE not! I don't wanna wait that long, that's boring!" Kai hissed, aiming Kora's head at Rio. The boys shared a red glow in their eyes, Kora's snarl grew more fierce, but Kai started snickering and cackling again, causing Rio's fur to stand on end. "How about we beat you in five minutes? No, three minutes! Two!" the Zorua beamed, Kora's claws now aimed at the Lucario. "Maybe we'll go for a new record! Dark Pulse!"

Rio's eyes widened and his body tensed. He raised his arms defensively without realizing it, and a split second later was met with a sudden blast to his chest. A chilling pulse of darkness blasted him right off the platform, leaving a constant stinging pain in his arms. He hissed, trying to shake it off before grabbing Mia and holding her protectively in his arms. They both crash landed on another platform, leaving Rio winded as he slowly got back up on his feet. "Th-This was already bad, but now it's worse…"

He still didn't have time to rest as Mia got back on his shoulder and tugged on his ear to get him moving, pointing at a free platform they could jump over to. Rio nodded, shaking his head and body, then sprinted to the stone's edge. He jumped just as he got the edge, and to his surprise, caught a lot more air than he was expecting to. Which he was in the midst of processing when he realized this made him overshoot his jump, and he fell flat on his face. "Uhg…" he groaned, getting back up and running again. "G-Gotta keep moving..!"

"Come ON! I just said to stop dodging, and now you're just running?!" Kai spat, utterly baffled, totally stumped. "Well fine! We'll just change to our speedy brother form! Let's see you run from that!" Another roar left Kora, then he dropped down to all fours and snarled as crimson energy crackled around him. Rio could have sworn Kora got bigger, but maybe that was because Kora threw himself at Rio with one powerful leap. Fortunately, Kora landed on the platform just behind the Lucario and to tilt the stone downwards, instead of right on top of him.

Rio caught himself from a stumble and kept running, spotting another stone and jumping for it. As he landed on the next stone, he grumbled and looked for another one to jump to. "Hey, uh, if anyone has any good ideas, now would be a perfect time for it! I'd think of one myself but I can barely even think!" he called out, trying to signal to Orion, but the voice remained silent. As did Mia, as he expected, but she didn't seem to mind him thinking she'd answer.

"Oh! Oh oh oh! I got one! I got one!" Kai exclaimed, him and Kora suddenly landing beside Rio. "Play with us!" the fox kit barked. Kora threw a punch at Rio, which grazed the Lucario's cheek and made him stumble back. Kai sucked his teeth, then snickered. "Shoot! Bad play! Kora's aim was off, so lemme try it this time!"

Without giving him the chance to run, Kai and Kora's eyes flashed again, and the larger fox threw another punch. That one landed true on Rio's chest, sending the jackal skidding across the floor, and Mia flying off of him. Clutching his chest and gasping for air, Rio managed to stand, just in time to see Mia hit the ground. "M-Mia..!" he panted, clenching his free fist and trying to run towards her.

Instead of throwing another attack, Kai froze, and in turn so did Kora. "M-Mia? What about Mia? She's not even here!" Kai said, an uncertain shakiness to his voice. That didn't stay for long, as the fox kit snarled fiercely. "Now you're just trying to distract me! THAT'S definitely cheating!" Kora growled, raising his paws to Rio, an intense darkness crackling around him. "And cheaters oughta get punished, hehe!"

Rio made it to Mia's body, grabbing her off the ground and keeping his sprint. He didn't even bother looking for a platform as he raced for the edge, but another pulse from Kora hit the ground behind him. A startled yelp escaped Rio as he was blasted right off the stone, and he got a real good look at the emptiness and scattered rock floating beneath him. "D-D-Don't worry, Mia! I-I g-g-got you!" he stammered, holding Mia to his chest, hoping he'd be lucky enough to land on one of the platforms, and also not break anything.

As Rio braced for impact, gritting his teeth so hard it felt like they would shatter, he felt something grab him right out of the air and throw him at a closer platform. Rio and Mia rolled onto the cold stone relatively unharmed, relief washing over them both for a moment. "Hiiiii, Rioooooooooo!" Right when Rio was about to thank whatever god had blessed him, he heard that voice, and spun right around to see who it was.

Sure enough, a floaty pink feline was right there, giggling happily. "M-MEW?!" Rio shouted, filled equally by dread and relief.

"Hiya! Fancy meeting you here, right?" Mew snickered, flying around Rio. "Didya miss me?"

Against his better judgment, Rio grabbed Mew and started running again. "No time for all that, we need to run!" he exclaimed, ignoring when the feline let out a fluttery sigh and let herself be dragged behind him. Seconds later, Kora and Kai caught up with them, sending cracks into the stone with their landing. "We really need to run!" Rio yelped.

"What the HECK?! How did I MISS?!" Kai shouted, causing those cracks to spread and splinter worse. His attention returned to Rio, and seeing the Lucario still running from him, let out an infuriated bark. "Stop running and PLAY WITH ME!"

"Oh, is this a game? Is it tag! I love tag!" Mew purred, rubbing her cheek against Rio's. "Tag, you're it!"

"N-Not the time!" Rio groaned as he leapt to another platform, aided by Mew, and kept on running. He needed a plan, and quickly, since Orion was still silent! "Uh, uh…" Rio gulped, then snapped as something came to mind. He turned to Mew with a grin. "Actually, forget what I said! You're a genius!"

Mew pumped her fists, beaming. "I have no idea what that has to do with me being smart but I accept the compliment anyway!"

Rio started running backwards, startled somehow that Kora and Kai were still following them, and began thinking this was still a bad idea. But it was the only one he had. "W-We are playing! Tag! We're playing tag!" he called back, running right off the edge. Luckily, thanks again to Mew, they made it to another one safely. "You gotta catch us! Me! S-SAFELY! W-Without killing me!"

"Kill you? Why would we do that?" Kai scoffed, as if he was offended. "I just wanna fight! I wanna fight you until you stop moving completely! Cuz that's how fights go!" he then snickered.

"TH-THAT'S HOW YOU KILL PEOPLE!" Rio shouted, sweating bullets.

"Not if they get better from it!" Kai shouted back, then shook his head. "But tag is fun too! And if we catch you, we get to beat you up! Deal?" Rio didn't even have the chance to respond before Kora and Kai charged at him at a blinding speed. "It's a deal then! Ready or not, here we come!"

There wasn't enough time for Rio to get his legs to move him out of the way, which was the perfect situation for Mew to come in clutch yet again. The pink feline pulled Rio with all her might, yanking him to the side to send Kora and Kai rocketing off the platform empty handed and crash into the side of another one floating by. "Wh-When'd this rock get here?" Kai puffed as he and Kora fell. "Aw crap, we're gonna lose tag! Just stay right there, Rio!"

"Haha! Missed me! Missed me!" Mew taunted, then patted Rio on the head. "That's one point for us!"

"Th-That's not how tag works, but I am not complaining," Rio sighed, looking for another platform and sprinting for it. "We probably have a few seconds before they storm us again. Mew, where's everyone else?"

Mew pointed upwards, then hummed, and pointed sort of to the left? No, now she was pointing right. Left again… Just up in general, basically. "I can't remember but they're up there somewhere," Mew said with a smile.

"Great, thanks. At least that's something," Rio said with a deadpanned look and a sigh. "But we can't join up with them if we're getting chased to death. We've gotta… t-take care of Kora and Kai first," he swallowed, leaping for another platform. "Any ideas? Anyone? Anyone?"

'Oh, yeah, sure, I got something in mind,' Finally, after so long, Rio got a response from Orion. The Lucario would have been brought to tears if he didn't need to see to run for his life, or if Orion didn't say what he did next… 'Figure it out. It's pretty obvious what we gotta do now, right?I am in your head, if I can figure it out with our brain, so can you.''

Rio stumbled and tripped, saved from faceplanting into the stone by Mew holding him up. "WH-WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN IT'S OBVIOUS?!" he shouted, hitting his forehead. "Orion you son of a–"

"Rio! You can't say bad words like that, even if you're talking to yourself! I'm still just a kid!" Kai's voice echoed from behind, and Rio was very suddenly tackled to the ground. Mew grabbed Mia at the last second, watching as the fox and jackal bodies rolled and stumbled right off the platform and onto the next. They hit the ground with a heavy thud, and when the dust settled, Rio was pinned to the ground by Kora's shadowed form. The air around him was so cold it made Rio shiver. "Now we gotta beat you up twice for that dirty mouth! Also tag! You're it!" There was another flash of crimson in both foxes' eyes, and Kora opened his mouth. Darkness swelled inside of it, drawing the heat from Rio's body as it got bigger and bigger.

"W-WAIT!" Rio cried out, and to his surprise, they actually did. Unfortunately, he… didn't think that would work. He didn't know what he was gonna say, so… "M-Maybe, uh, you could… get off me first?"

Kai squinted at Rio, humming thoughtfully. "You promise to stay here and fight me?"

"Y-Yeah. You, uh, did catch me fair and square…" Rio nodded his head, with a pit growing in his stomach. It felt like signing his own death certificate. "I-I promise."

"Ok!" Kai happily chirped, patting Kora's cheek. The Zoroark closed his mouth and got off of Rio, even going so far as to pick him up off the ground and set him down on his two feet. Although it was mostly shadows and a scary red eyes, Rio felt like Kai was actually happy to hear that. "Hehe, yes! Finally! After Zen it felt like no one would foughten with me! And that wolf guy kept cheating too! Now we can have a good, clean fi–" Kai's cheery monologue was cut off by a large stone slamming and shattering against Kora's side, sending the two boys flying off the platform. "OOOOOOooooowwwwwwww..!" Kai's screams trailed off as he fell.

"GEEZ!" Rio exclaimed, stepping back. That was too close to hitting him as well.

"Four!" Mew shouted gleefully, spinning from when the rock first whizzed by.

"Wh-What the hell, lizard breath?! Ya tryin' to kill 'im?!" barked a familiar, tomboyish voice. Rio lit up as he quickly recognized the source, turning his head up to see Minerva looking over the edge of a platform.

"It's Kora, he's gonna be fine! Rio, on the other hand…" And standing right beside Minerva was Kane, who had another heavy looking stone in both hands. Seeing that Rio was staring up at him, though, Kane gave a nod and a wave. "You doin' alright down there?"

"Absolutely not!" Rio whined. "Can we swap places? Please? You two can actually do something to him!"

Kane shook his head. "Couldn't even if we wanted to."

"WH-WHY THE HELL NOT?!" Rio barked.

"Cuz we already got a plan! We need ya to keep Kora busy for a little bit!" Minerva explained. "Lizard breath here made it, so we already know it's a stupid plan, but it's all we got!" She then gave Mew a glare and a huff. "You, don't start any trouble. And give Mia to us, she'll be safer up here."

"Yes sir! Ma'am! Miss! Lady!" Mew saluted, holding Mia under her arm as she started floating up. Surprisingly, Mia shook her head and pouted, pointing down at Rio. Mew stopped, looking down at the small fox cat thingy, then up to Minerva. "I don't think she wanna. Oh! Can I keep her then!"

"I…guess? Just make sure she doesn't get hurt," Kane shrugged.

"Are you sure I can't swap places with someone? Anyone?" Rio asked, looking over to where Kora and Kai were sent flying, wondering why they were taking so long… and actually getting kinda worried for them.

"Quit whinin' Blue! It ain't a good look on ya," Minerva said, rolling her eyes. "Ya got this, just keep on runnin' and whatever, and don't let Mew do anythin' stupid. Besides, we gotta do a lotta heavy liftin' up here, we ain't lazin' around doin' nothin'."

Kane flashed a proud grin and nodded. "Plus, we'll send ya help whenever it looks like you need it. If we can, at least."

Rio sighed, nodding his head. Having some sort of backup was nice at least. "Alright, fine… But, uh, maybe try not to aim so close at me with the rocks?" Minerva and Kane gave a nod and a wave, vanishing over the stone's edge. Mew and Mia floated back down to Rio, taking their places back on his shoulders.

"Hehe, we're gonna do great! I dunno about you, but I was having fun already! We should get him to play tag again!" Mew giggled, bobbing her head excitedly. "Maybe I can be the one to tag next! Then you guys can team up on me!"

With a disapproving shake of his head, Rio started his possibly never-ending game of keep-away from Kora and Kai, running to an edge to get to the next platform. "No, Mew, we're not gonna do that. Partially because I need you to make sure I don't fall, and I can't catch you if Kora and Kai are beating me to a pulp." He then shuddered and swallowed, a chill shooting up his spine. "Th-They're gonna be mad when they get back up here…"

As Rio jumped over to another stone, a blur of black and red whizzed right past him. "AAAH!" Rio screamed, falling flat on his face on the next platform. "Aaah…"

"Man, I thought you totally had that landing!" Mew said, sucking her teeth with Mia in her arms.

Just then, Kora and Kai landed right beside her, but their burning red glare was focused entirely on Rio alone. "I am getting really tired of you cheating and running," Kai growled, crackling with energy. "Is it really that hard to just play with me? You don't even gotta let me win! You can beat me if you wanna!"

Rio propped himself off the floor, rubbing his snout. "If I could, I probably would…" he grimaced, looking at Mew and Mia, then starting to crawl back. "But even then… I don't want to hurt you."

"It's not hurting! It's fighting! Friends fight all the time! You guys do it ALL THE TIME!" Kai snapped, Kora slowly walking after Rio. Both of them totally ignore the floating Mew and Mia beside them. "I wanna fight too! I wanna have fun! It's not fair! It's NOT!"

"Wh-Why not play with Mia, then? Aren't you both friends?" Rio asked, looking up for any sign of Minerva and Kane, and cussing under his breath when he saw nothing.

Kai flinched, shadowy wisps flying from his body. "O-Of course she is! She's my best friend! But she's… not here no, so I gotta be everyone else's friend! I finally got to be Kora's friend, and Zen's! So now I get to be YOUR friend! Then Minerva! And Kane and Eva too!" Kai said through a shaky smile. Kora picked up his pace slightly, a slight frown on his lips. "So just play with me! It'll be great! And fun! I won't even tell anyone if you lose, it's only me and you here!"

Rio paused, staring up at Kai, then Mew and Mia silently floated behind them. He let out a sigh and shook his head, lifting himself up off the floor. "Alright, fine. I'll fight you. A fair fight. A one-v-one."

Now it was Kai's turn to pause, and a bright smile grew on his face. "Really?! Really really?!" he cheered. "Finally! Aw man, this is gonna be so much fun! Here I come!" he giggled, and Kora swiftly jabbed Rio in the gut.

"Ooof! Y-You didn't even warn me..!" Rio wheezed, buckling over. "A-And maybe you could try going easy on me?"

"Hehe, sorry! I'm just so excited to finally get to fight!" Kai cheered as Kora helped Rio back up, then hopped a few steps back. "Come on! Come on! I'll even let you get a good clean hit in!" Kora leaned down and turned his head, presenting both his and Kai's cheeks to Rio.

The Lucario took a second to breath, then nodded and got ready to fight. He clenched his fists tightly, ran in, and punched Kia in the face as hard as he could! Then pulled his fist back in pain and yipped. It felt like it was about to freeze right off! And it did nothing!

In immediate retaliation, Kora tackled Rio with his shoulder. "Now we're even! Now let's keep going!" Kai whooped, an intense crackle of energy around him and his brother. "We can brag about this to everyone! Then I'll get to fight them, and we'll play all the time after! It'll be fun! Fun-fun!"

'Orion-one to Rio-Zero, can you read me?' Orion suddenly spoke up.

'Now is really not the best time!' Rio snapped back, letting out another exhale as he charged towards Kora and Kai. He swung a punch with all his weight behind it, making it more of a tackle or a lunge, and also managing to make the fox brothers take a step back.

'Ok, cool, you can still hear me. That's all that matters. Anyway, you still need a hint on how to get through this?'

Rio sidestepped a forward punch, but Kora swung his arm out and struck Rio in the chest anyway. He stumbled, but kept himself upright. 'Again, not the best time! Trying to fight!'

"One-two! One-two!" Kai cheered playfully, now standing on Kora's head and throwing out jabs, and Kora doing the same to Rio. "One-two-three!" The kit threw out an uppercut, leading to Kora performing the same and connecting with Rio's chin.

Orion winced and sucked his teeth. 'Emphasis on the trying huh?' he said, chuckling lightly. 'Fine, I'll be the brains to your… well not brawn, but–'

'ORION!' Rio mentally shouted, shaking off the uppercut and running Kora down with a tackle. It hardly phazed the shadowed Zoroark, and left a nasty chill on Rio's shoulder.

'Ok ok! It's simple, really, we just gotta take out the one in charge.'

Rio rubbed his arm to try and warm the chill on it, keeping his gaze on the foxes. '...You, you mean Kai?'

Orion clapped, which was a weird thing to hear only in his head, Rio thought. 'Bravo! So you have been paying attention! You gotta find some way to separate Kai from Kora!'

"Here's comes a biggie!" Kai said, pulling back his fist. Kora did the same, a choked growl rolling in his chest. The two shot forward and socked Rio in the face, jabbed him in the gut, and punched him hard in the chest.

Rio landed on his back, winded and sore, and freezing on top of it all. 'I-I can't… just being close to them is painful. Wh-Why are they so cold?' he thought, holding his cheek. The chill faded quickly, but still left an annoying numbness. 'I mean, maybe if I'm quick enough…'

"Come on, get up! Get up! We're not even close to done yet!" Kai snickered, flexing his arms proudly. All Kora did was sway from side to side. "Zen went on way way way way WAY longer than that! You can too! You gotta!"

Mew flew up above, still carrying Mia. Rio honestly expected Mew to have dropped her somewhere, but thank gods she didn't. "Woo-hoo! Tou got this, Rio! Show that tall thingy who's boss!"

"A-At least you're cheering me on… Could really use some help," Rio groaned, aiming that verbal jab at Mew as he got up from the ground. Mew simply giggled and twirled in the air. "This still doesn't feel fair…"

"But I'm going super easy on you! You can't whine about that, that'll make you a big ol' baby!" Kai giggled, and Kora growled. "Alright, here's to round two!"

'The answer to our cold problem is also the answer to our getting-our-ass-handed-to-us problem,' Orion hummed. Guessing that that didn't make much sense to Rio, it didn't, Orion elaborated, 'If we wanted to actually fight toe-to-toe with these two, what would we need, that they have plenty of?'

'What would we…' Rio began to wonder, but Kora appearing suddenly in front of him cut that train of thought short. A mighty blow knocked Rio off balance, and another knocked him clean off the stony platform they fought on. 'I know not spelling it out is a respectable thing to me from you, but I'd rather be disrespected than dead!' Rio thought as rolled onto another platform, getting back to his feet and huffing.

Kora and Kai came not long after, an excited grin on the youngest brother's face. "Your turn! We start with one clean hit each round, right? That's fair?" he hummed, snickering. "Yeah, that's totally fair!"

"Wha– You hit me twice! How is that fair!" Rio barked, wincing as his stance started to falter.

"Fine! You can hit me twice! Now it's even more fair!" Kai cooed. Kora growled lowly and approached, his gaze on Rio shaky and… possibly less focused? It didn't really feel like Kora was staring at him, just kinda… looking at him.

'Aura, smartypants. I'll hold faith that you would've figured that out on your own, but now's a great chance to try and suck theirs!' Orion laughed heartily. 'Two clean hits? More like two cheap grabs win us this fight! Or at least put us on even ground for it.'

'ABSORB, Orion! It's ABSORB!' Rio sucked in through gritted teeth, then rolled his shoulders, visibly more furious than before.

Spotting this, Kai clapped his paws and cheered. "Oh man! That look on your face is so cool! Now you're really getting into it! Guess that means I can start trying again? Like, after your hits, I mean, hehe!"

'Just make sure I can absorb aura or whatever,' Rio told Orion. 'And I'm blaming you if they break anything.'

'Already set, actually I think we've been set. But uh… try not to get too much, that stuff still hurts, you know? And I'll be honest, I still don't entirely know if I can shut off the sucking part of us, and by us I mean you. I know I ain't ever did that,' Orion replied, getting total silence from Rio in return. 'Oh come on, that's at least worth some snark.'

With a long exhale, and further ignorance towards Orion, Rio lunged for Kai and Kora. He made it look like he was about to strike, but instead he put his paw on Kora's chest. He winced from the chill, and almost pulled away, but grit his teeth grabbed hold of Kora. The band on his arm started to glow, and a green tint shone in Rio's eyes. "Abso–"

Like sitting before a dam as it burst, Rio's body was instantly overtaken by the sudden flux of aura, and the impossible weight of it. He felt every cell in his body cry out in brutal agony, before it was all washed away and frozen over by the… "aura" that rushed inside of him. And it was only then that Rio realized he was screaming at the top of his lungs, his cries distorted and warped like Kai's voice and Kora's beastly sounds. He wanted to pull away, he needed to, but his body didn't move, his grip on Kora only tightened in response to the pain. Even as he momentarily blacked out, Rio's hold didn't lessen, and the aura never stopped.

Rio regained consciousness almost as quickly as he lost it. The cold started to fade, but his entire body was still numb. To his surprise, he was still standing, mostly thanks to his wrist being tightly held by Kora. The two locked eyes for a few seconds, and Rio swore he saw something looking back at him for once.

"...You… You dirty, rotten…" Kai's voice immediately drew Rio's attention. He sounded on the verge of tears, not saddened, but furious. "CHEATER!" the fox exploded, and Kora's grip tightened before he threw Rio back."You're trying to take my power away! That's not fair! Not fair not fair NOT FAIR!"

Rio hit the ground hard, gasping for air, clutching his wrist, and still dazed. Mew was about to fly in and help, but a sudden surge of darkness from Kai kept her back. The feline looked worried, but Mia, still held firmly in her arms, stared at Kai with determination on her face.

"I should've known! You don't want me to be strong, you don't wanna be my FRIEND! You're just some jerk, just like everyone else! Just like that stupid, dumb, IDIOT Wolf JERK!" Kai hissed, his aura reaching higher and higher into the abyss above. Kora flinched and twitched, his stare becoming more empty as he too was swallowed up in the inky blackness of the aura, his eyes fading from view before long. "You're a cheater! And a terrible one! You've been cheating this ENTIRE TIME! But that was too far! WAY TOO FAR!"

Words couldn't find their way out of Rio's mouth, but he doubted anything he could have said would have done him any good. Even worse, the numbness hadn't left yet. Rio was stuck on the ground, and his "help" couldn't even come to save him.

"I don't care about this being fair anymore, I'm not holding anything back!" Kai said, lumbering towards Rio with pure mania in his eyes. "I'll get to brag about beating a human then! Then everyone would wanna be my friend! I'll be just like Kora!"

'O…rion..? I could… u…se some… h-help…' Rio thought, but the more he tried to communicate with Orion, the more a migraine set in. Great, now he couldn't even think, and something told him that meant Orion couldn't talk back either. What a wonderful way for everything to fall into literal pieces.

Well… crying over that wouldn't get him anywhere, Rio told him. He needed to find a way to do something, at least long enough for Kane and Minerva's plan, whatever it was, to come into effect. The best thing that came to mind was whatever aura he absorbed from Kora and Kai. It had to still be in his system, it was essentially paralyzing him. Now to figure out how to use it…

A shame, then, that Kai wasn't playing nice any more. As soon as he was close to Rio, a powerful kick was dealt to Rio's side. The Lucario skid across the floor, glad that most of his body was numb… except the part that was kicked. While Rio could barely speak, he could wheeze and cry perfectly still.

Once again, Kai towered over Rio. Instead of a kick, Kai slammed Kora's fist into Rio's chest. The Lucario's screams didn't phaze the fox at all. Kora's claws gripped Rio by his chest and lifted him up to Kai's face. "Wow, you're a whole lot easier to beat than I thought. Oh well, a win's still a win!" he said with an unsettlingly chipper tone. Kora's mouth started to open, strings of inky-black aura refused to snap as it opened wider and wider, and a dense well of darkness formed inside it.

Rio winced and choked, holding onto Kora's arm as if that would help him. His fighting spirit was drained at this point, replaced by that numbing cold of Kai's aura. But he still had to do something. What was that aura even supposed to do? And what would he do if he figured that out? His body was in no shape to fight, Mew couldn't get close with Kai's aura being this intense, and Kane and Minerva still weren't doing whatever they were doing so it couldn't have been the right time for it…

Seemingly out of options, Rio let his body go limp and let out a bitter sigh. He lost, and was about to be blasted to smithereens by his friend and said friend's younger brother. Leaving them with this… terrible aura, and everyone else to deal with it.

"S…orry…" Rio choked out, his gaze locking with Kai's in that instance. "I'm… s-sorry…"

Kai froze, staring back at Rio. "S-Sorry?" he repeated, the distortion in his voice wavering differently. "Y-You're sorry?" Although there wasn't much Rio could feel, he could tell that Kai's aura was shifting too. Shrinking. Kai snarled and growled, shaking his head. "I-It's too late for that! You don't get to be sorry! You're a cheater! Cheater! And a jerk! I-I don't… I won't..!" The darkness in Kora's mouth swelled and festered, black whips already lashing at Rio's body. "I won't ever forgive you! Never ever!"

It looked like the attack was about to fire, and Rio tried to brace as best he could. Then Kora let out a ferocious roar that startled even Kai. Suddenly, the Zoroark shoved his free paw into his mouth, and the darkness stored inside violently backfired. Rio was blown back, skidding and bouncing off the stone floor. Meanwhile, Kora and Kai were barely even standing, swaying and groaning as the shadows over their bodies flickered and wavered.

"N-NO! No no No NO NO NO!" Kai cried out, holding his head. "Wh-What happened?! I was winning!"

"We're comin' Rio! Don't move a muscle!" Mew called out, speeding down to the fallen Outlander. "I mean, if you can still move, just don't!"

Rio didn't have the strength to pick himself back up, to separate Kora and Kai and actually save them, but Mew and Mia were still there! They could do it! The Lucario gritted his teeth, panting heavily, then threw his head back and shouted, "Get Kai NOW!" with all the might he had left.

Kai's eyes shot up to Rio. "M-Mia? Mia's really here?" he asked, his voice desperate and lost.

"Huh?" Mew blinked, looking down at Mia in her arms. "You think he's serious? Think he knocked a few screws loose? Should we find 'em for 'im?" Mia silently grabbed Mew's face and pulled on it towards Kai. With a bubbly giggle, Mew nodded. "Hehe, understood!" Mew held Mia over her head, aiming at Kai with her tail, then chucked the Eevee at her target.

Kai's eyes suddenly widened, and he managed to turn right towards Mia as she tackled him off of Kora's head. The pair rolled on the ground until Mia stopped them, then squeezed the Zorua in her arms tightly, tears pouring down her face. Still confused, it took Kai a moment or so to realize Mia was actually really there, and he bawled his eyes out as he hugged her back. "M-MIA! Mia it's really you!" Kai cried, rubbing his face against hers. "You're here! You're really here! I-I thought you'd be gone forever!"

Rio turned his head to the two young kits crying in each other's arms, and let out a weak chuckle. He then looked up to Kora, but he was just sort of standing there, silently slouched over. They did it, it looked like… They actually did it. And only one person got horribly injured. Aside from… the ones that were injured already, wherever they were. Unfortunately, Rio didn't get too much time to celebrate alone, as Mew dove right into his chest and lifted him off the ground in an overly-excited hug.

"Ahhh! I did it!" Mew exclaimed, swinging Rio from side to side. "Did you see that throw?! I'm a natural, aren't I?" she cooed.

"N-Natural… disaster… more like," Rio croaked, lacking the strength to resist. "P-Please… stop…"

Mew did, flipping Rio around to hold him from behind his shoulders. She started flying over to Kai and Mia, snickering to herself. "Oki doki! Let's go see what Kane and Minerva are gonna do now, since I took allll the spotlight! Oh, you wanna know what I just realized? I should get a reward! Or maybe I'll give out rewards! We all did good!"

Kai and Mia let go of each other by the time Mew and Rio floated, and gave a happy wave to the beaten Lucario. Well, Mia did, Kai tried but could barely lift his paw up from the ground. "H-Hey, uh, Rio," Kai tittered. "Um… you feeling alright?" Rio responded with a deadpan glare, which made Kai look to the side and wince. "Y-Yeah, I, uh… figured. Sorry for… for…" Kai trailed off, tilting his head past Rio, staring at Kora. His eyes suddenly went wide, as did Mia's. "I-I just remembered something..! Something Important!"

Something shot through Mew and Rio just then, and they snapped back to Kora's body. The Zoroark was… laughing. A pained, sorrowful laughter that echoed through the stone-filled void around them, that shook the rock they stood on. Clumps of inky-black aura oozed and fell from his body, slowly spreading over the rock at his feet.

"Kora! Oh no, I gotta–" Kai began, starting to run to his brother, but stopping and sucking in painfully. "Ngh, e-everything hurts..! But I gotta save him! H-He can't control himself!"

"O-Of course, he can't…" Rio hissed through gritted teeth, then looked back to Kai and Mia. "Hang on to me, we n-need to get to the others, n-now..!"

Mew scoffed and snickered. "I could just hold them with my magic mind powers! Watch!" she said, a pulse of psychic energy coursing over her, Rio, then Kai and Mia, and all four of them started to float upwards. "See? It's easy as, uh… something easy!"

The four shot into the air, twisting and turning and looping around floating stones. They would have kept going too, if Minerva and Kane didn't shout to grab their attention.

"Hey! Over here! We're ready for the plan!" Minerva said with a proud grin on her face, standing on top of a pile of hefty looking boulders, and Kane leaned against that very same pile.

As Mew and the others floated by, Minerva and Kane winced at the sight of Rio and his limp, beaten body. "Oooh, what chewed you up and spat you out?" Kane asked

"The same thing that's gonna probably rip us to shreds when he's done… doing whatever he's doing," Rio said, sounding more lifeless than snarky like he intended. "What's your plan, by the way? And please don't tell me it has anything to do with those rocks…"

Minerva hopped off the pile of stones and presented them proudly. "Hell yea it does! I mean, heck yea, haha," she chuckled. "We're gonna beam Kora and Kai from a distance until they calm down. Like I said, Kane's shhh… ehem, stupid idea."

"You keep sayin' that, but you looked eager as heeee… heck, to help me smash these rocks, and you were practically beggin' to be the thrower," Kane scoffed, then shook his head, putting a paw up to Minerva to stop her from starting an argument. "Whatever, what's this about something rippin' us to shreds?"

Everyone who was able pointed down below, so just Mia and Mew, to the still-growing well of darkness beneath them. "Kora," Rio answered. "You guys think those rocks are gonna stop him like that?"

Minerva looked over the edge, letting out a quiet whimper. "Geez, Kora…" she muttered, then shook her head and slapped her cheeks. "We ain't got nothin' else to try, do we?"

"I could… try and absorb more aura from him. But the first time I did that I ended up blacking out, and ending up like this," Rio said, sighing. "Still can't feel my legs…"

"Stones it is, then," Kane whistled, gulping. "Mew, you should bring the kids back to Jirachi. Then, uh, come back. So Rio can move."

Kai shook his head and whined. "I-I shouldn't! I can save Kora this time, I promise! I won't… I-I'm not gonna cause any trouble." He looked away from the others, his ears falling to the sides of his head. "Besides, it's my fault he got like this in the first place…"

"Yeah, and the fluffy one won't let me bring her to safety soooo…" Mew hummed as she slowly floated over to Kane's hood and set Mia inside it. "There! Perfect! Like a hat for the back of your head!" She then grabbed Kai and placed him right next to Mia. "Ha! Double hat!"

Kane rolled his eyes, holding a stone over his head, ready to fire at a moment's notice. "Just stay behind us, and be ready to throw rocks as well. There's no tellin' how many it'll take to calm Kora down…"

Having been sat down beside a bigger rock, Rio looked at Kane and Minerva with disbelief. "Is that really just the plan? Throw rocks?"

"Worked before, even though I kinda don't wanna do it," Minerva sighed, grabbing a rock larger than herself with ease. "...Man, like, maybe I should just talk to 'im? That worked last time, didn't it?"

Kane blinked, looking back at Minerva. "Oh yeah… That was before Zen went nuts, right? Or… after? I can't remember, it's been forever since it happened."

Minerva shrugged. "Couldn't care less. But I know he ain't one to hurt me when he's like this. I think I'll just try an' talk 'im outta this when he gets up here."

"Yeah, and when he's calmed down, I can help settle his aura to get him back to normal," Kai added, a bit of happiness on his face. "I-I promise I won't mess up this time!"

Kane thought it over for a moment, then shrugged. "Yeah, that should work. Even if it doesn't, if Rio can still absorb aura, he can try that. The stones will stay as a plan "B," and hopefully it won't come to that."

And just like that, they had another plan. Rio was honestly surprised that it came so easily, but then he started to doubt if it'd even work. Just because it did once doesn't mean it would again. Although, he knew that no matter what, Kora was still in that mess of darkness… so there was always a chance.

…But, for some reason, Kora wasn't coming up. Seconds passed, then minutes… but Kora didn't show up.

"Is… he alright?" Rio asked. "I sort of figured he'd be, like, attacking us by now…"

Kane shrugged, walking over the edge to check. "I can… still see him. He's still spreadin' that aura and laugh… crying? Both." He looked back at the others, confused. "Should… Should I call him up?" Everyone else shrugged, and Mew excitedly nodded, so that was a yes. Kane took a deep breath and sighed, leaning back over the edge. "Hey Ko–"

In an instant, a mass of darkness appeared before Kane. Two lifeless, crimson eyes staring inches away into his own. A bone chilling air washed over him, paralyzing him in utter fear, his face frozen in a twisted agony from the sudden nightmare before him.

"AAH!" Everyone screamed, except Mew who pretended to faint, and Minerva instinctively threw the boulder she held. It struck Kora in the chest, hard, shattering into pieces and sending the dark-enveloped fox crashing into another platform behind him. The Zoroark was left in a crater, back to his normal self, unconscious.

"..." Everyone who saw that was silent, a whirlpool of emotions swirling between them. Most of which were bewilderment and utter confusion.

"Rock throwing time!" Mew cheered, lifting several rocks with her psychic and chucking them at Kora's unconscious body.

"MEW NO!" Rio, Minerva, and Kai shouted, but it was too late. The stones were already airborne… but thankfully none of them hit their mark.

"Come on! Everyone else got to throw rocks!" Mew puffed, crossing her arms. She then had a look of eureka on her face, and a sly grin crept along her muzzle. "Fine, then I'll just be the first to get him! And I also call dibs on carrying him!"

"LIKE HELL YOU DO!" Minerva and Rio shouted this time, the latter finding the strength to stand, but not enough to move. Kai was too busy snickering with Mia over it all.

As Mew flew off towards Kora, Minerva swiftly leapt up and snagged onto her tail. Mew let out a purr, which made Minerva quickly consider letting go and burning her paws to forget that ever happened. It also made Rio regret still being conscious.

Exhausted, Rio let out a long-winded sigh, almost falling over on his back. "I… can't believe it. It's over. Right? Please?" he begged to no one in particular. He brought his gaze up to Kane, who hadn't moved an inch after Kora suddenly showed up. Rio took a single step towards the Scrafty before deciding that was enough movement for the rest of his life. "What's up with you? Kane? Hello?"

Kane fell flat on the floor and slowly turned his head towards Rio, dread written all over his face. "Do not. Tell. Anyone."

"Don't tell anyone… what?" Rio asked, wondering what Kane even meant. "You mean that you got sc–"

"Do. NOT. Tell anyone," Kane repeated, his dread now mixed with a flustered rage. "And you two! Kai and Mia! Not a word!" He then looked back to Mew and Minerva. "Hey, Mew! I need you to bring us to everyone else! We're gettin' outta here, I don't want to spend another second longer in this nightmare."

Mew waved back, having now reached Kora's body. "Ok! I still call dibs on holding this big ol' guy though!" She lifted up an arm and let it go, watching it fall with a dull thud against the stone. "I wonder if he's ticklish too..?"

"Don't ya even dare!" Minerva barked, standing on Kora's chest and batting Mew away. "Lay a finger on 'im an' I'll rip it off!"

"Oh no! Not my fingers! I need those!" Mew gasped dramatically, holding her cheeks and looking as if she was close to fainting. "How could I possibly end up tickling anyone without them?" she swooned, putting on a sneaky grin, flicking her tail towards Minerva.

Minerva swatted it away and growled. "NO, what did we say about doin' stupid shit?! Just get us the hell outta here ya creep!"

Mew laughed, wiping a tear from her eye and nodding. "One bubbly escape comin' right up!" she cheered, snapping her little fingers. Everyone else was instantly wrapped up in two transparent separate pink bubbles, and as Mew flewoff, each bubble followed.

---

Further into the void, larger platforms of stone appeared in larger clusters, and it was noticeably warmer there too, which was probably a good thing. According to Mew, and backed by Kane and Minerva, the others were grouped up on one of the largest stones, hidden in a large array of stones. It was like flying through a maze just getting through that, and as soon as they did, Jirachi greeted them… in his usual Jirachi way.

"Mew, you're alright," Jirachi sighed, a hand over his chest as he floated over to her. It was hard to tell, but he looked relieved, until he glanced past her and saw Rio and the others. "And… you brought everyone else. Fantastic."

"The heck's that supposed to mean?!" Minerva barked, glaring the shooting star sprite down. "We just came back from savin' ya sorry butt! Ya'd be stuck here if we didn't!"

Jirachi shrugged. "What's one hell for another? At least I wouldn't have to deal with your aggravating voice and accent any longer." He then spotted Kora, still out cold in the same bubble as Minerva, and grimaced. "What the hell is that?"

"Are ya tryin' to start a fight?!" Minerva spat, punching the side of their bubble.

Jirachi deadpanned and sighed. "Whatever. If you've found a way out, then stop wasting our time and do your job."

Minerva was left seething, punching her bubble repeatedly and growling profanities under her breath. All of them being directed towards Jirachi, who didn't even give her the satisfaction of shrugging them off, he just ignored her outright. Rio and Kane would have snickered at that, but fought that urge with all they had knowing Minerva would tear them apart. That didn't stop Kai and Mia, though. Or even Mew.

The bubbles descended to the platform below, floating along it until they reached a crater, covered from above by more carefully placed floating stones. Instead of weaving through them, Mew and Jirachi pushed a few aside. Fortunately, everyone else was there. Diana, Nate, and Zeke sat in a circle conversing between themselves, and Eva and Paras sat besides a seemingly asleep Zen.

"We're back!" Mew cheered, startling everyone to get their attention. "It was so much fun! We played tag, then we threw rocks, and Rio got all beat up! Oh! And I called dibs on holding the big guy!"

"Why is me getting beat up one of your highlights?" Rio glared at the feline, taking a seat right where he was. By now, most of the numbness in his body had faded, now it was only exhaustion weighing him down.

"It's not! The real highlight was that I got to save you again and again!" Mew winked, floating onto Rio's shoulder, much to his dismay. "Now I'm irreplaceable! And a part of the team!" she cheered, wrapping her arms and legs around Rio's head in a full body hug.

Diana sighed, shaking her head and chuckling. "Well it is certainly nice to see you again, Mew. And Rio! I knew you'd be alright, but I was worried when we didn't find you after so long."

Curious, Rio tilted his head, and was answered by Zeke before he even got to ask. "We all ended up in different places, and had to sneak by Kora and Kai until we regrouped," the Blaziken explained.

"We went out looking for you and Mia too, honest, we did! We just… couldn't find you. After a few too many close calls, we decided to deal with Kora first and hope we'd find you when it was safe," Nate added, then rested his chin on his fist and hummed. "Although… it's strange that Kora and Kai didn't find us at all, right? I'm not the only one thinking we were sitting ducks here?"

Kane shrugged and crossed his arms, walking over to Diana to stand by her. "Maybe. They seemed hard-focused on Rio when we found them, they didn't even look our way when Minerva and I pelted them with stones."

"Hm, peculiar," Diana hummed. "Whatever the reason, I'm just glad you all are alright. Speaking of, what of Kai and Kora? Are they well?"

"Y-Yeah…" Kai muttered, hopping out of Kane's hood, ears flat against his head. "I-I'm really sorry Mom… A-And everyone, too…"

As soon as Kai touched the ground, Diana scooped him up in her arms and held him to her chest, gently stroking the back of his head. "There is nothing to apologize for, my beloved child. You're safe, and that's all that matters." Mia got out of Kane's hood as well, and was just as quickly held by Diana. "And you too, I didn't forget about you either."

Kai purred quietly, hugging Diana back. "Th-Thanks… A-And, uh, I like your hair when it's short. But… now I can't hide in your mane though…"

Diana laughed, pressing her nose against Kai's. "It'll grow back eventually, dear. Until then, you and Mia will just have to use your brother's."

Minerva cleared her throat, holding Kora above her head. "Yeah, uh, funny you mention that. Kora's out cold. He went down pretty hard to a rock that, uh, Kane threw," she explained, bringing the Zoroark over to his mother.

"Wha– That was you! Why're you tryin' to throw me under the bus for?!" Kane barked, stomping his foot. "She beamed Kora in the chest when he was about to attack us!" He stopped his fit, tilting his head. "But, yeah, he went down way too easy. Maybe he was exhausted?"

Diana held Kora by the cheek, a sorrowful look on her for a moment before a warm smile grew along her snout. "Kora, sweetheart…" she muttered with a sigh. "That… must be it. My poor baby…"

"I mean, he did blow himself up," Rio said as he held his side. Understandably, everyone looked at him baffled, even Kai. The Lucario chuckled and went on to explain. "So, I tried to absorb Kai and Kora's aura, but that backfired, Kai got really mad and called me a cheater and a jerk, and almost made Kora shoot me point-blank with this… darkness. But before Kora fired, he shoved his paw in his mouth and it went off."

"Yeah! It was huuuuuuge! I almost got knocked out of the air!" Mew snickered, imitating a big explosion and rolling back from it.

Kai looked at Rio in shock. "I-I really… did that?" he asked, whimpering. "I-I'm really sorry, Rio…"

Rio shook his head and smiled. "Apology accepted. I know how that aura stuff messes with your head, I'm not really gonna blame you for that."

"R-Really?" Kai sniffled, tears welling in his eyes. "Really really?"

"Yeah dude, no hard feelings, honest," Rio beamed. "I'm just glad we got to snap you out of it in the end." He then rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. "But, if you wanna make it up to me, you can tell us how to get outta here, hehe."

Kai shone a smile almost as bright as sunlight, eagerly nodding and wagging his tail. "Y-Yeah! I just need to touch Kora," he chirped, already squeezing out of Diana's arms. Kai almost landed on top of Kora's head, when Minerva caught him by the tail, and he became totally stiff.

"And what are ya 'boutta do?" Minerva asked, her free paw on her hip.

"I gotta use some of Kora's power to get us outta here! I'm not strong enough to turn it off on my own," Kai explained. "I-I swear, that's all I'm gonna do! You can punch me if I do anything else!"

Minerva blinked at Kai in surprise, then looked up to Diana who gave a simple nod. "Well, if you say so, kid. I ain't gonna hesitate, you know that?" Minerva asked, getting a stiff nod from Kai. The Meowth shrugged and dropped Kai, herself sitting next to Kora's head. "Good enough for me, I guess."

Before Kai started, Mia hopped out of Diana's arms and stood by his side, smiling and nodding. "Sweet!" Kai grinned back, planting his forepaws firmly on Kora's head. As soon as he did, Kora's body started to glow with his aura, back to its usual black, fiery appearance. Kai's eyes started to glow crimson, and he started taking deep breaths. "O-Ok, everybody! Get close!"

Everyone started to huddle closer, Mew and Jirachi floating just over Kora's body, and Kane lifting Zen's body. Eva quietly sat behind Diana, staring at Kora's slumbering face and sighing.

"Alright, everyone ready?" Kai called out, glancing at everyone, and snickering once he saw everyone's faces. "Then here we–"

---

It was so fast, just a sudden veil of black, a brief chill coursing over their bodies, followed quickly by a pleasant warmth and that dark veil being pulled from over their eyes. They were back in that same hall from before, back in the dungeon… or, no, they never actually left it did they?

"We're… back here..?" Rio muttered, then grimaced. "Guess it was too much to ask that we'd wake up outside of this dungeon, right?"

"It's not that bad, the exit's down this hall," Kai said, pointing down at the light far at the end of the hall. He then paused, tilting his head in confusion. "...Wait, how did I..?"

"You are… right," Jirachi spoke, staring down the hall. "That is the exit. Without a doubt."

Rio then looked at Jirachi confused. "How do you know?" He was totally ignored, as Jirachi started floating down the hall. "Yeah no, that's cool. Not rude at all…"

"I may be wrong about this, but I do not think he cares," Diana giggled, standing up and dusting herself off. "Frankly, I don't blame him. When victory is on the horizon, manners tend to be the first thing someone discards."

"An' I doubt he had 'em in the first place," Minerva said through gritted teeth, grabbing Kora's body and carrying him over her head once again. "But… man, the exit's right there, huh? Just… down this hall?"

Zeke cracked his back and exhaled, putting his claws on his hips. "Almost can't believe it. If you told me we still had a year to go, I'd cry but I'd still believe you."

"But now it's just a short away," Nate hummed, standing by Zeke's side. "...Feels kinda bittersweet, don't it?"

Diana lifted Kai and Mia up into her arms, carefully pressing their heads together until their ears muffed the other, and covering their outer ears with her paws. "Hell no. Pardon my language," she giggled, and started walking down the hall herself. "If you two wish to remain, I certainly won't stop you."

"Yeah, no, this is about as sweet as it gets for me," Kane smirked, looking down at Zen with a smug look on his face. "And I get to rub it in Zen's face that I lasted longer than him. Honestly a huge win."

Eva rolled her eyes, lightly punching Kane's shoulder as the two followed behind Diana. "And he'll break you in half for it."

"And I'm lookin' forward to sleepin' in my straw bed again. Rocks are terrible," Minerva groaned, waddling ahead of everyone. "Actually, scratch that, I'm hoppin' in Kora's mane once I can set him out in the sun!"

"Oh! Can Mia and I join too?" Kai yipped, him and Mia both excited at the idea of it. "Please!"

"And me! Me too!" Mew cheered, floating around Minerva and Kora. "It sounds like the comfiest thing on the planet! It's like a bush! I love bushes!"

Zeke laughed, patting Nate on the back and shaking his head, the two walking closely together. "Haha, I'm not letting you anywhere near Kora until he wakes up!" he said, deceptively cheery. "And I am not kidding!"

Rio watched everyone go further and further down the hall, listening as their voices trailed off one by one. Leaving only Rio… and Paras. Before he even thought about joining the others, Rio crouched down to Paras and smiled. "So, are you excited?" he asked.

Paras, ever anxious, shook its head. "I-I do not know… b-but Sir Zen is, uh, he is going, s-so…" the insect looked ahead and shuddered, breathing heavily. "I m-must go too..!" Paras then turned his gaze back on Rio, shaking still. "C-Could I… perhaps… climb onto you? I do not trust my legs, I-I fear they may bring me back w-without me knowing…"

"I don't see why not," Rio shrugged, and Paras wasted absolutely no time to scuttle up Rio's body and tightly hold onto the Lucario's back. Paras' legs were like needles digging into his skin, and he was so weirdly cold, it made Rio's skin crawl! He desperately wanted to scream, but bit his tongue to keep himself quiet. "O-Ok, h-h-here we go..!" Rio squeaked, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves.

'EW! EWEWEWEW!' Orion's voice suddenly cried out. 'WHY?! Why is it ON US?!'

'N-Nice to have you back…' Rio thought, shuddering again.

'Don't say back! That's where the giant bug is!' Orion whined. 'And I never left! I just went quiet after the aura sucking backfired!'

Rio paused, glaring at nothing. 'You what.'

'Uhhhh… beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep…' Orion said with a monotonous tone. He then didn't say another word.

Suddenly, Rio wasn't so bothered by Paras' creepy bug legs clinging to his body. He was much more pissed at the voice in his head being a prick. He almost considered staying in the dungeon longer, but decided he himself didn't need any more punishment. He wanted to get out and join the others, walk on the sand, lay in the grass, bask in the sun… Basically just do anything he couldn't in this hell hole of a dungeon.

The hall wasn't very long, luckily, and sitting at the end of it was a wide open door, not unlike the one with those weird figures on it, but an even better sign to Rio was the jagged crystals that jutted around the door frame. Those? Those were the same sort of gems that were outside the dungeon. Normal, colorful, sharp gems.

Rio's heart suddenly started to pound, his escape sitting literally right in front of him. An open invitation for him to get back to what he considered a normal life. No giant ferals… aside from Paras, probably, no stupidly strong gems, no confusing floors that looked the same, and hopefully no Lee. He didn't wait long to take that invite, leaping through the door without a care in the world, joyful tears rolling down his cheek. He was finally…

---

The first sensation Rio felt from the world outside of the dungeon was his face colliding with what had to have been a solid, rigid surface. It left his face more sore than when Kora punched it… Which was an exaggeration, but it hurt so much since he wasn't bracing for anything. Backing up and holding his head, Rio realized that it was just Diana's back.

"Oh, hello there," Diana turned and smiled at Rio. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Uh, yeah, howdy," Rio tittered, rubbing the back of his head. "Wh-What a coincidence, right? What are the odds we showed up at the same time?"

Zeke let out a laugh and crossed his arms. "Didn't think of you as the kinda guy to flirt with a mother of two, Rio."

Instantly flustered, Rio puffed up his cheeks and stamped his foot. "It was a joke! Not a flirt!" he huffed.

"My my, honey, learn to put a lady down gently!" Diana hummed, shaking her head. "Truly, I'm hurt!"

Kai snickered at Rio deviously with Mia. "Wow dude, way to be rude!"

"And you call yourself a hero with lines like that? I'll go get some wine for cheese like that," Nate snorted.

Each jab at himself made Rio turn more red than blue. "Wh-What the heck?! We just got out of the dungeon! Why are all of you coming at me like this?!" he cried out, flailing his arms. "I haven't even gotten to sit down or nothing! Were you all just waiting for me to bully me?!"

Diana shook her head, sighing and patting Rio's head. "Oh, not at all. We all just got out ourselves. You're the one barreling into me like a madmon."

"Th…That was an accident," Rio pouted, then shook his head. "But what are we waiting for! I don't wanna be close to this door any–" he turned around to point at the door in question… but it wasn't there anymore. Well, no, that wasn't accurate. The designs of it were, but it didn't look like it could open again. Another thing Rio noticed, the gems around it were shattered almost entirely. "...more? It's gone?"

Zeke clicked his tongue and hummed. "So it is…" he said, then huffed. "Good riddance," he spat.

"Thank the gods, we won't have to go back in there ever again," Nate groaned, falling on his behind.

"Well, if you're all down teasin' Rio and spittin' at doors that ain't there anymore, we're gonna get the injured taken care of," Kane said, loudly clearing his throat. "All of us should head to Tia's, actually. That's… that's the nurse, right? I'm remembering her name right?"

Zeke and Nate nodded, then sucked their teeth. "Oh, right, Tia," Zeke muttered.

"Sh-She might kill us for bringing her more work, but she must've had a break by now, right?" Nate tittered. "M-Maybe it won't be that bad?" He then froze, furrowing his brow. "Wait, but… isn't time all different in the dungeon? How much time passed since we entered?"

"Perhaps you two should wait a bit longer here just in case?" Diana cooed, nudging the two with her shoulder as she walked past. "I, meanwhile, will happily see my dear old friend and leave myself in her tender care."

"Same, me an' Tia seem like we're on good standin'," Minerva said, following Diana's lead. "I dunno if I'm gonna take a bed at her place or go out on the beach…" she added, then shrugged. "Nah, I need me some sun. Gettin' sick an' tired of stone all around me."

Eva nodded her head, looking around the stony halls and grimacing. "Me too… I don't think I'll be able to bring myself back into the guild for a while. It's just… too much rock."

"Count me in, even if Minerva's goin'. I really need to sunbathe, and bathe-bathe. And to eat, honestly," Kane chuckled, readjusting Zen in his arms. "There's a lot I miss doin'. And I can't wait for this hard-head to wake up either."

The others started through the hall, once again leaving Rio by himself with Paras… and this time also Mew and Jirachi, who had silently floated above them all. A surprise to Rio, about Mew at least. She sat through him being teased and didn't make a peep, maybe she had self control after all. Or she was just distracted, really. Upon closer inspection, Mew was holding Jirachi's face gingerly, pressing her forehead to his and muttering something that Rio couldn't understand. Jirachi himself… looked shaken up. His eyes were wide and his body was shaking. It looked like Mew was trying to comfort him.

Feeling like they probably wanted to be alone for a bit, Rio quietly walked past, heading down for the infirmary. Walking through a hall he knew led outside was already refreshing enough, but the cool draft that carried that rich, non-dungeon air was the sweetened cherry on top. Rio took in a long, deep breath, taking it in when a surprised scream from the infirmary caught his attention.

Rio ran down the hall as fast as he could, so he jogged down it, and stopped at the entrance to the infirmary. Everyone was inside it already. Nate and Zeke hid behind Diana, who was holding Tia back from actually tearing them to shreds. If Rio had to guess, the scream came from one of them. Kane and Eva stood over Zen as he slept, worried just as much as they were relieved. Kora, unsurprisingly, had Minerva and Kai standing on his bed next to him, and Nina was there too, shocked and surprised at the sight of the fox. Jax had woken up in dazed confusion at everyone just being there. Lucas and Jay were much the same, but both boys were delighted to see everyone alright.

It was nice to see everyone acting like themselves, Rio thought, a sweet little smile growing on his face. He felt like a massive weight had fallen off his shoulders and back, he felt good. Rio would have joined the others, but Paras squeezed on his torso in opposition. "W-Wait… th-there is, uh… t-too many…" it chittered anxiously. "E-Even for Sir Zen… I c-cannot..!"

"Oh yeah, you're really shy still, huh?" Rio hummed, then shrugged. "Yeah, it's not really my scene either. I've been wanting to get some fresh air anyway, and some sun. You might like it too, really." Before Rio went on his merry way, he spotted Mia at the foot of Kora's bed, staring back at him. He gave the 'vee a wave and a smile, then pointed down the hall. Mia nodded and smiled, waving him off.

As they walked, Paras squeezed on Rio again, scuttling up closer to his head. "I-If I may, uh, pose a question to you…" it started, chittering. "What is… a sun?"

Rio thought for a moment, tilting his head. "How do I best describe it… It's a big, bright, hot ball of light in the sky, basically."

"What does… it do? And… what is a sky?" Paras asked, now mostly perched on Rio's shoulder. It still felt eerie having the giant insect on him at all, no matter how much Rio thought he was getting used to it.

"Well, the sun heats up the earth, and gives plants food from its light. And the sky… honestly I don't even know how to explain it. I've never had to think about it this much before," Rio chuckled, then crossed his arms, thinking again. "It's, like, the air? But it's huge and it changes color depending on the time of day."

Paras chittered, anxious again. "I-It is huge?! It is d-dangerous? A-Are we going to die to it?!"

"No no! The sky is harmless! When I say it's air, I mean it's literally air. We're technically breathing in sky right now," Rio clarified.

A relief sigh left the feral insect. "Ah, yes… thank you… of course," it said, then chittered again, curious. "And the sun… is harmless too?"

That was a technical can of worms that Rio knew was best to avoid, so he simply shook his head. "Yeah, honestly, it's better to see it for yourself."

A few steps away from the infirmary, Rio felt a tap on his shoulder. This time, it was Mew, holding Jirachi's hand with her other hand. He seemed even more quiet than usual, probably even out of it, if Rio knew what Jirachi was like when he was… in it? Is that the term? "Hiya! Fancy meeting you here, right?" Mew said with a purr and a wink.

Rio rolled his eyes, smiling still. "Already had that run-in earlier with Diana, you took too long," he replied. "What's up? And is everythi–"

"We're good, we're good, it's just…" Mew interrupted Rio, tittering shyly. "We… wanted to go outside. And, well, you look like you're already heading out, and we don't remember this mountain very well and…" her voice trailed off into a chuckle and a sheepish look.

Understanding, Rio nodded. "Yeah, you guys can come with. I don't mind. I'm in the best mood I've been in in a while too, so if you wanna hitch a ride on me, go right ahead."

"R-Really?" Mew blinked, baffled. She looked just about ready to take that offer, but one glance at Jirachi and she changed her mind. "Er, maybe next time. You know how I am, so fickle and indecisive, hehe!"

Rio grinned and nodded. "You are a bit of a basket case, on a good day," he chuckled, then nodded to follow him along. "It's a pretty short walk, and I guess I don't have to say to stick close to me? And not to wander off?"

"No sir!" Mew chirped, chipper as she and Jirachi floated behind Rio.

The rest of the walk was uneventful and quiet, aside from Rio sometimes explaining where a hall went or responding to Mew's few jokes and suspect remarks. Without the stress of the dungeon making him more irritable, Rio was getting worried that something was bothering Mew still. Which, yeah, that seemed obvious, but he didn't press about it.

Rio stopped in the main area of the guild, looking at the giant crystal in the middle of it and smiling pleasantly at it. He then turned to the exit, closing his eyes as a salty breeze washed over him, and let out a blissful sigh. His ears perked at the distant, gentle sound of waves lapping at the shoreline. "Alright, we just gotta head through here," Rio said, already walking down it.

"A-And then what..?" Paras chittered. "Will we… see the sun? A-And the sky?"

"Yep, and a bunch of other things too, it'll be fun," Rio replied, then turned his attention to Jirachi and Mew. The shooting star sprite was staring down the exit hall with quiet, shaky breaths, while his sister looked worried at him. "What about you guys? Do you need some more time, or..?"

With a shake of her head, Mew smiled and started floating ahead, pulling Jirachi behind her. "N-No, don't worry about us! We're just so excited that we're freezing up, is the thing!"

"Feel free to take your time, then. The outside isn't going anywhere," Rio said, watching the two go anyway. "Or just, grin and bear it. Probably better that way. I should be doing the same." With a final inhale of mountain air, and a long winded exhale, Rio started for the exit with an eager grin on his snout.

---

It was more beautiful than Rio remembered, and to him, he had only been gone for the majority of a day. The soft sand on his paws, the seabreeze coursing through his fur, the evening blend of oranges and purples in the sky, and the vibrant orange sun setting over the horizon… It was as if Rio had been asleep for centuries, and was finally able to open his eyes and see color in its vibrance for the first time. Flex his paws and feel the warm sand. Breathe in and let his lungs and body fill with rejuvenation. Listen to flowing water as it ebbed and flowed with the beach.

Rio was at a loss of words, and simply held his arms out to bask in the sun's rays and sea's breeze. He then lowered himself onto the sand, holding his head back as he indulged in this long-missed serenity. The exhaustion in his body was already melting away.

"Wh-What is this..?" Paras muttered, staring over the ocean, up into the sky, even down at the sand. "What is… What is this? I-I cannot look away… What is h-happening?" it chittered, panicked, but unmoving from Rio's shoulder.

"This is the outside. Sun, sky, sand, water…" Rio explained, turning towards the treeline. There was still some snow on the ground, but it looked like it was mostly melted. A surprise, but a welcome one at least. "And over there are trees and snow."

"Sand? T-Trees? Snow?" Paras repeated, still panicky and anxious, but much less so than before. "And… up there… is the sky? And over there… the sun?" it asked, reaching a claw towards the horizon and pinching at it. "I-I cannot… grab it? How far is it? It looks so… close."

Rio shook his head and shrugged. "I dunno, but it's really, really far at least. We couldn't touch it even if we wanted to. And we don't want to."

A whimper left Paras as it scuttled over to Rio's front to look him in the eye. "But it is… so shiny, so big, so warm… Why can't we have it?"

"Don't worry about it, alright?" Rio chuckled, reaching to pat Paras on the head. The insect quickly backed away, staring at Rio's paw in panic before the Lucario pulled his paw back. "Oh, yeah, the shyness thing! Sorry!" he tittered.

"Wh-What were you about to do?! What was that?! W-Were you a-attacking?!" Paras anxiously asked, still staring at Rio's paw.

Rio shook his head, holding his paws away from Paras. "No, I wasn't! I promise! I was just… trying to pet you?" he replied, tilting his head to the side. "But, uh, saying it out loud… I don't imagine you'd like that, would you? Sounds patronizing."

Paras then looked Rio in the eyes, curious as ever. "What is… pet? Is it… not an attack?"

"No, it's like, patting someone on the head but it feels better. At least in my opinion," Rio explained, smiling lightly. "It makes sense you don't know what it is, I'll bet you've never been pet before. Would you… like to try it out?"

Paras stared at Rio for a bit longer, then turned right around and scuttled off his body. "...No. I would like… to see the sun longer," it said, hesitating as its legs felt the sand. It poked and prodded a bit before actually walking on it. Paras then nestled itself into a warm mound of sand and stared at the horizon.

A bit disappointed that he couldn't pet Paras, but also immensely grateful that the bug wasn't on him anymore, Rio stretched out his back and laid down in the sand. Which is how he saw Mew and Jirachi floating high above him. They were definitely talking about something again, but before Rio thought it was none of his business, Mew and Jirachi started descending to him.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Rio asked, tilting his head.

"Nothing of your concern," Jirachi replied coldly. He got nudged by Mew and let out a groan. "Although you could have done a better job, and you yourself were rather non-efficient–" Another nudge by Mew, which was more of a jab with her elbow, and Jirachi growled before sighing. "The point is, I wanted to… thank you, Outlander Rio. For helping us," he said, crossing his arms and looking away.

Hearing an apology, even a forced one, from a Pokemon that outright said he'd kill Rio, was certainly a strange thing for the Lucario to sit through, he thought. Still, Rio smiled and accepted it wholeheartedly. "Hey, anything for a friend, right?" Rio said with a snicker. "Honestly, you didn't even need to say thanks, I'm just glad we got you guys outta that place."

Jirachi's eyes widened slightly, staring back at Rio before he huffed and floated closer to the shoreline alone. Inversely, Mew dove into Rio's chest and gave him a surprisingly powerful hug. "Well ain't you just the charmer! So heroic and noble!" she cooed. "Maybe I should be in distress more often so you can save this damsel more often!"

"O-Or you could not do that!" Rio wheezed, unable to pry Mew off of him. "K-Keep this up and I'm gonna be in more distress!"

And just to make this more embarrassing for the Lucario, someone just had to walk in on them. "Well damn, looks like we're interruptin' somethin'?" Minerva's voice spoke, laughing after. "Didn't think Mew was ya type o' gal, Blue. But hey, ya can have her," she scoffed, planting herself right beside Rio and Mew.

"N-No! It's not wh-what it looks like!" Rio sputtered, trying desperately to get Mew off of him, but she actually wouldn't budge!

And of course Minerva didn't come alone. Kane and Eva sat on the other side of him, both of them snickering at Rio struggling. "No no, we get it. I heard that stressful things can bring people together, but I ain't ever thought it'd be this effective."

"Me neither, but it's kinda cute, isn't it? Rio's already managed to get a girlfriend," Eva teased.

"I did not! And this is not cute! She's gonna squeeze me to death!" Rio puffed, pushing on Mew's face to get her off. "Wh-Why are you so strong with those tiny arms?!"

"Never underestimate the strength of a lady, Rio," Diana's voice spoke from behind them, followed by Nate and Zeke. "And, frankly, I'm hurt. I thought we had something between us. What with our chance meeting in that hallway."

Rio pointed a finger at the Zoroark, furious and flustered. "Y-You mean when all of you teased me for no reason! Like you're doing now!"

"I'm sorry, I don't recall any teasing," Diana said, putting a claw to her chin in fake thought as she sat in the sand nearby. "Perhaps my mind is clouded by this unexpected heartbreak?"

"Man, never would've thought of Rio as a ladies man," Nate laughed, flopping onto his belly and resting his head on his claws. "He's gonna leave a trail of broken hearts if we aren't careful!"

Zeke laid on Nate's back, crossing his legs and sighing. "At least we don't gotta worry bout him, unless this teacher-student bond of ours blossoms into something more," he said, waving his claw in the air all dreamy-like.

With a huff and Mew still attached to his chest, Rio punched Zeke in the shoulder. "I swear whenever Mew lets me go, I'm sickin' her on you," he growled.

"Aww, I'd be happy to go after whoever you tell me to, Rio!" Mew chirped happily, squeezing him tighter. "When I'm done with you first, I mean!"

"C-Can you NOT with that?!" Rio exclaimed. He was then quickly tackled down by a blue of black and brown.

"Howdy!" Kai yipped. "Are we hugging Rio? Can we join?" he asked, hyper as ever.

Rio groaned, falling limp in the sand. "You might as well. I think I lost all the fight in me anyway," he sighed as he wrapped his arms around Kai and Mia, and Mew, too.

The feline let out a surprised gasp and started going on about requited feelings, getting some laughter from everyone else, which put a smile on Rio's face. He sat up, still holding the three in his arms, and listened as everyone started chatting and laughing amongst themselves. Rio managed to catch a glimpse of Paras digging deeper into the sand, then pop up close to where Jirachi was, and for whatever reason that made Rio chuckle. Soon after, Lucas, Jay, and Nina came out to join them.

"Yo, Rio," Lucas grinned and waved. "What with the cat?"

"I'm his friend who is a girl!" Mew snickered to the Charmeleon. "His girlfriend if you will!"

"She's Mew, and she is a friend, who is a girl," Rio said with a roll of her eyes. "Do yourself a favor and don't listen to her."

Nina held her hands together and gushed. "Aww, she's so cute! You really know how to pick 'em, don't you?" she snickered.

Rio choked, then chuckled. "Haha, very funny. Shame I'm all teased out so you get nothing from me," he said, sticking out his tongue.

"Yeah! He's all Mew's!" Kai snickered.

"I refuse to acknowledge that!" Rio huffed, bopping the top of Kai's head with his chin.

Nina snapped and sat down. "Well shoot, can't say I didn't try."

"I can, you didn't try," Jay hummed smugly, taking his seat beside Rio. "They told us a bit about what happened. I cannot believe… you and Mew got married and are already planning a honeymoon."

"I know! I've never been a happier gal!" Mew laughed.

Rio sputtered and choked, glaring at Jay as the Grovyle laughed at him. "Y-You sneaky little…" he said through gritted teeth. "I thought I could trust you."

"And that was your first mistake," Jay chuckled slyly, then shook his head. "But, for real, we didn't hear a lot about it but that dungeon sounded like a mess. It's nice seeing you all back in one piece." He then let out a sigh and held his elbows. "...A shame about Zen, though. And, uh, Kora too."

"At least Kora looks fine," Nina shrugged, wincing slightly. "But Zen… I've never seen his armor cracked before. I didn't think that could happen, honestly."

"But Tia said all they need is rest, so we shouldn't worry too much," Lucas added, smiling lightly. "Heck, she said we all should, which is why we're here." He glanced over at the forest, and the snow still present in it. "...I almost forgot about the snow. How'd it clear so much?"

Rio shrugged. "No idea, it was clear by the time I got out here. The sand's still nice and warm so I'm not complaining," he snickered, then sighed, blissful. "It's nice. Like when you spend a year and a half away from home and finally get to jump back into bed."

"Yeah…" Kai said, yawning loudly. Which caused Mia to yawn as well. "A nice, warm bed in the sun… It feels like… I'm already…" his voice trailed off as his eyes slowly shut, and the kit softly snored. Mia did the same, and they both leaned on Mew between them.

"...Rio I can't move," Mew whispered.

"That's more of a problem for me," Rio scoffed quietly.

"Is it?" the young trio asked, raising their brows and grinning smugly.

Rio laughed and rolled his eyes, letting them have that one. Now he had more reason to sit there and bask in the sunlight some more, listening to his friends laugh and joke together, and even join in himself. Every now and then, Rio would look over to Jirachi and Paras. They stared off into the distance, almost perfectly still, and something told Rio that they were enjoying themselves. He should leave them be, let them have this. Lord knows Rio himself had his hands full.

But it was nice, even with all the teasing and jokes and whatnot. Everyone was having fun, everyone was laughing, having a good time. They deserved this. Rio deserved this. This time in the outdoors after so long in caves and tunnels. Rio hoped it would last forever… but a part of him knew it wouldn't. A part that Rio quickly chose to ignore for the time being. He spent more than enough time dreading what was coming next, it was time to bask in this moment. To bask in the sunlight.