Kazap! A brittle trunk blasts across the dungeon.

Kashoom! Several bug Pokemon follow after.

A flash of yellow and green zips through the floors of Puny Plains. Said flash is one angry Meira, ripe with anger at her best friend. You forget one small thing and suddenly yer a baby? Gah, I can't stand him sometimes! Meira vents to herself. She stops to collect herself in a clearing, sitting on the ground with her arms crossed. Her roots finally ease themselves, quietly probing the dirt as Meira fluffs her fur out of its static.

Suddenly, Meira feels her spine harden and her body feels like an anvil. Instead of feeling refreshed by the soil, Meira feels an eruption of burning rage building up inside her. Her cheek pouches crackle with electricity that flows against her usual energy, causing her face to burn flash-crimson from strain. Her fur shoots up into little spikes as if it holds static electricity, energy Meira trained to resist and rebound. Quickly, she tries to retract her roots, but they won't budge. With no choice, Meira braces herself as energy keeps building and building until…

Kashoom! Dadoom! Zk-zk-zk-zk-zk.

A huge blast of iridescent thunder explodes from the Pikachu's body. The energy engulfs dungeon walls and the ground around Meira is scorched. "W-woah!" She yells as she topples over. Where'd all that come from? Weird dungeon soil? Good thing nobody was around to get hit by that, Meira thinks.

"Almost…got it…" Meira squeaks. With enough force, she finally pulls her roots back into herself. But the excess energy buildup flows within her like a flurry of ocean waves, rippling and surging. Her body grows heavy, pulling her closer and closer to the soil until her face smooshes against it. Meira panics, ripping and tearing away at patches of grass as she tries to stand. But the more she pulls, the stronger the force of the energy holds her down.

Meira tries to prop herself with her tail to no avail. She tries to stand on her hind-legs, pointing the energy towards the sky with her tail. Her body slams down against the dirt. She tries scooting herself to the dungeon wall, trying to scrape herself up with it. Nothing.

"Ugh, seriously?! This is just provin' him right, how the heck-" Meira feels her spine clench, but only for a moment.

She stops moving and fussing, neither isn't doing any good. She knows no dungeon mons would dare approach her, lest they wanna get fried by stray electricity. Instead, Meira embraces the pulling force, allowing her body to flatten against the dirt. Meira closes her eyes and enters her mind, the only thing she can do right now. She lets her mind run free for a moment, but the pull grows unbearable when she thinks about his sweet face, tainted by their arguing. She thinks about the next time she'll need to heal any new wounds. Pull grows stronger. She thinks about how things could be worse, like the room suddenly becoming a Monster House, and the pull becomes even stronger. Apparently, any thoughts Meira taps into doesn't help one bit. Her back fur spikes up with the force of the energy, somehow lifting and pulling simultaneously.

Meira lays flat once more, taking a deep breath. She thinks deeply of things that make her happy. Apple pies with a little extra filling. The perfect, hug-like temperature of a hot spring bath. Just the right amount of sleep that makes a mon feel both refreshed and energetic.

Suddenly, Meira feels a foot twitch, but she does not try to move. She feels an ear wiggle, but she does not try to move. She even feels the speck of dirt dancing in her nostril. She sneezes, but she doesn't move until her body begins to feel lighter. The once surging flow of energy grows docile with Meira's thoughts.

Meira takes a deep breath. "W-well, guess that's a thang now. As long as I stay calm, I can keep things just fine. Just…need to be calm, right about now…" She feels a small tightening of her spine when she thinks of Flint.

She shakes her head. Before long, Meira begins bursting through another floor and snatching up any random items she tramples along the way. Her roots occasionally attempt to attach to any stray land, thirsting for more energy. But Meira couldn't let them do that again; another burst of electricity might cause the dungeon to collapse. However, the surplus energy makes dungeon Starly and Weedle a breeze to knock out. Dangerous or not, the energy could be put to good use for now.

Upon reaching the seventh floor, Meira stabs her paws into the earth for a screeching halt, stopping in front of a cowering mon. The mon continues to cower until Meira gently taps their head.

"Er…howdy." Meira grumbles. "You the Bidoof that needed rescuin'?"

The Bidoof's eyes sparkle with delight. "O-oh! Yes, you must've seen my reques-"

Meira presses a badge onto Bidoof before they could finish. "Easy-peasy, yer rescued."

"Wait, don't you want the-" A beacon of light envelopes the Bidoof as they ascend out the dungeon.

Meira's eyes go wide. "Ah, ding dang it! I forgot 'bout the stamp and everythin'! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She feels her roots beginning to wander. "Oh, no no no, gotta stay calm…happy…" She forces a grin and sinks her fangs into an oran berry. The sweet flavor brings Meira to a low. She sighs, reaching for the torn mission page caught in her bangle. The page is wrinkled beyond repair, but Meira does her best to read the near gibberish strewn across it. Now, what kinda outlaw hides away in a dungeon so close to a city? Not to mention all the rescue teams 'round here. It's gotta be a trap, I know it, Meira rubs her chin. For a moment, a chilly breezes flies past Meira, causing her to shiver.

"Who's there!?" She turns. Nothing but a faint chill...

Boulders and brambles pour from every direction in Puny Plains. Flint and Sia land tail-to-tail, barely keeping their footing. Sia's tail stands tall, preparing for the inevitable ambush of bug mons. But no such ambush ever arrives; a faint crackling creeps past the duo's ears, but not much else.

"S-she couldn't have gotten too far," Flint catches his breath. "We were on her tuh...tail."

Sia plops her behind onto the soil. "Hardly! She d-dusted us…"

Flint huffs. "Not…not helping!" He shakes his body, causing his branches to bounce back and forth. The branches seem to falter with his breath, gradually lowering back into his body. As the pair rest, a sudden chill blows in from nowhere, strong enough to move Flint a little bit. Flint bears his fangs, looking around at whoever did the sneaky attack. But the only other mon in the room is Sia, who looks back at him in confusion.

"Whuh?" Said Sia.

Flint exhales weakly. "Y-you didn't feel that wind just now? That frosty chill? Last I checked, wind don't usually attack mons."

"Uhh...no? Maybe you're out of it."

Flint shakes his head and coughs. Maybe it had something to do with the weird energy surrounding him? He tries to hold a deep breath, but his legs feel wiggly. Feeling compromised, Flint passes Sia the team's satchel, hoping it's just a fleeting feeling affecting him. Sia adjusts the satchel so that it fits neatly along the curve of her spine, securing the bag.

Sia watches the Fennekin's movement carefully, her tail slowly waving between her head and the skies. "Hold up. You got some explaining to do. What's with the plant parts on you and Meira? Are you...grass-types?" Said Sia.

Flint thinks about protesting, but realizes their cover's blown. "...Okay, I'll talk. Can we walk and talk though? This ain't a short tale."

"Sure."

"I'll still lead, in case my, uh, 'condition' gets any worse." Flint scratches an ear.

Picking a random direction, Flint starts down a hall with Sia trailing behind, cautiously watching for any powder spewing Bug-types along the way. Sia's eyes shift between different parts of dungeon rooms and Flint, who occasionally stops and attempts to take deep breaths.

As they make their way to the second floor, Flint sighs. "A few years ago, Meira and I lived in her hometown, and this hometown has a tradition called Twine. Basically, it's a event where two or more mons gather and exchange gifts to show much they care." Flint stops to blast an approaching Pidove with an Ember.

Sia furls a brow as she Tail Slaps several Weedle. "What's that have to do with the plant parts?"

"I'm gettin' to it, no story starts at the good part." Flint shakes his head. "Anyhoo, Twine came up real quick. That day, Meira came up to me with a pair of scarves in her paws. I remember apologizin' to her cuz all I had brought was a couple of berries, but she didn't seem to mind." Flint gives a long sigh as he patters his paws against the dirt. "W-well, she nearly bashes my nose off with one of the scarves, and for the first time ever, I saw tears in her eyes. Lemme tell you, Meira's not a crier. Never has been." Suddenly, Flint's twigs stretch and contort into weird shapes. The air around him begins to heat up like a hot spring. A strange shaped branch emerges from the tip of his tail fur, almost paw-like in shape.

Sia slows her trailing, raising her tail again. "Uh…Flint? What are you doing?" But her words fall on deaf, lovestruck ears as they reach the third floor.

"An' I just remember my own eyes gettin' wet, too. Meira's not one to show her emotions much. She's always been headstrong, she never wanted to let me see her that way. So whatever changed then and there changed somethin' in me too." Small, independent embers float around Flint as he continues forward. Singed paw shapes appear below him with each step. Flint and Sia stop in a large room, the staircase to the next floor in sight.

"Flint?! Watch what you're doing, the dungeon's burning!" Sia stamps her paws against the ground, trying to get his attention.

"And it's burnin' me up that she forgot all about that! That time where nothin' else mattered for a minute 'cept her and I. That's kinda selfish of me, but I don't know what to feel right about now!" As he raises his voice, a stream of flames shoot out, surprising Flint. His branches grow further, forming into hand-like appendages from him. "Uh-oh."

Sia backs away. "Uh-oh? What's 'uh-oh'?"

Flint's branch-limbs tear wildly at the air as he braces one branch against the ground. "Quickly, get away, Sia!"

Sia doesn't hesitate to mosey when one of Flint's branches swings close to her. With quick thinking, she dives behind a sizable boulder, shooing away bug mons that slowly approach her with her tail's pattern. "You okay over there?" She calls out.

"Y-yeah, uh-" Flint's voice cuts short when flames seep from his lips. The branch arms snatch up flowers and patches of grass, burning their life-force away as they shrivel into dusty collections of ash. Flint stumbles again, a burning energy erupting from his core. His tail-branch clenches the ground below him, keeping Flint from tumbling into the dungeon walls. He points his snoot skyward, feeling a sudden burst of energy rise from his abdomen.

Fa-woosh!

A hurricane of iridescent flames spray from the Fennekin, lighting the dungeon ablaze. His loose branch limbs continue grabbing and burning flora for excess energy throughout the storm. Flint tries to stop the flames from within him, but they burst with even more force when he tries to close his mouth.

"K-knock it off!! Everything's on fire!" Sia screeches, beelining towards a small puddle.

Flint couldn't answer as he focuses on stopping the flame-storm bellowing from within. He tries to relax his body, but the branches jerk back and forth, searching for more life to burn. I gotta stop this, Sia could get burnt! Flint thinks to himself. Sia peeks from a shallow puddle still as stone. She attempts to catch her tail in her mouth, but it shoots into the air at the display. Thankfully, the dungeon's overgrowth prevents the fire from spreading outside of the large room.

Carefully, Flint stands on his hind legs, maw agape. He figures he has to stop thinking about Meira and how beautiful her eyes looked when she cries. He closes his eyes and inhales deeply, letting molten air return to his body from the inferno. The noise around him falters as his ears succumb to the crackling of wood. Sia sinks into the puddle, splashing water back and forth at embers creeping towards her.

As he breathes, Flint's mind wanders away from those bitter memories. Instead, he thinks his library of books back in his room, the deep, insightful literature he looks forward to reading after a long day. He thinks about his budding aloe vera, and the big sale on supplies he caught in Twiligleam's shopping district last week. He thinks about a slice of apple pie with perfect crust: soft enough to chew, firm enough to hold the warm goodness.

Flint feels something change within him. The blazing inferno thins with every thought, swooshing around the dungeon walls. His branch-limbs shrink into Flint's fur, losing their paw-like shape as they return to mere twigs. The one sprouting from his tail points to a dull tip, kind of like a claw. Not too long after, Flint closes his mouth and plants his rear on the scorched soil. He feels dazed and weak, but his mind is clear. He blows his breath from his mouth and breathes in with his nose...before recoiling his snoot. An eggy funk billows around the dungeon. Flint looks around the dungeon, and notices a strange violet liquid splashed across the dirt. The smell becomes stronger the closer he moves to the liquid.

Flint shakes his head back and forth. "Oh no, Sia!" He sprints over to Sia, who is soaked, exhausted, and singed.

Sia leaves the puddle and shakes the water from her fur, wincing when her burn brushes against her body. "My…my tail…didn't even notice it. An ember landed on it. By the time I noticed, it was..." The tip of Sia's tail fur burnt away, revealing a wrinkly cat-like tail. Instead of the usual fan shape, Sia's tail pattern appears as a wrinkly V shape. For a moment, Team Harmonious Hope could swear they heard someone gasp near them. They both brush it off as burnt foliage settling from the catastrophe.

Flint's jaw falls to the ground. "Wait, so that whole shape isn't your tail?" He catches his own tail, his paw causing a hollow, wood-like thump from it.

Sia doesn't respond. She frowns at Flint, who changes his tone after realizing how awkward his question is.

"Eheh...I should letchu beat me 'til I'm black and blue for that…I apologize, Sia." Flint hangs his head low. "Umm, lemme get the satchel, I got just the thing for somethin' like this…" He carefully pulls the satchel from Sia and begins rummaging. Flint retrieves a Rawst berry, a bandage, and an aloe vera leaf. He nips the top of the fruit and begins mashing it into a paste on the bandage, then slices open the aloe vera.

Sia holds onto her tail, confused. "Couldn't I just eat the berry myself?" Flint tries talking through the bits of berry caught in his teeth, but Sia can't understand him. "Uhh...Flint?"

"Oh, sorry about that. See, I've learned lots about healin' burns, so mixin' this Rawst berry and aloe vera into a paste would work faster than eatin' it." Flint squishes the aloe vera leaf with his forepaw, making a light green mess all over his paws. Finally, he mixes the two mashed ingredients into one gooey paste. "Now, lemme ask you this. Do you trust me?"

Sia frowns. "After that whole flame inferno out of nowhere? Not really, no."

"…Guess that's fair. Well, I reckon if you can reach it yerself…"

"I-I can't. Not without making it hurt more."

Flint's grief is clear in his eyes. "Trust me or not right about now, I gotta apply this to the burn. Sit still a moment."

Hesitantly, Sia moves closer to Flint and sits in front of him, her back facing his face. Normally, no mon would ever approach a Stunky from behind, lest they want to be blasted with a horrible odor. Sia's tail, despite the burn, moves in a hypnotic fashion. Carefully, Flint grabs Sia's tail with a paw, briefly catching a whiff of her skunky odor on accident. Flint slowly rubs globs of paste onto the burn with thoughtful precision. Before long, the tip of Sia's tail becomes stained a bright blue. With his mouth and careful use of his paw, he ties the bandage around her tail.

"There, that should be good. Should heal up in no time." Flint sighs as he dips his paws into the puddle.

Sia waves her tail, checking to see if the bandage is secure. When she's sure it is, she stomps the ground. The eggy odor emanating from her backside grows stronger. "What the heck was that?! You almost destroyed the dungeon and nearly incinerated me!"

"And I can't apologize enough for that. I had no control."

"What did that story have to do with you and Meira's plant parts?!" Sia flashes her fangs.

Flint glances away in guilt. "Truth be told, nothin' much." He looks up at Sia. "But...it's the only other way I've tapped into whatever all that was. I didn't think it would...umm, even we don't know what gives us roots and branches. It just happens, usually when we're feeling strong emotions, somethin' like that."

Sia feels labored breath escape her maw. "How can I be sure you won't do that again?"

"…I'd sooner pass you an escape orb if it does. Speakin' of, do you wanna head back? I can find Meira on my own."

"No. I've dealt with worse than a burn before." Sia grumbles. "I do wanna rest."

"Good idea." Flint stares off towards where he once stood and let the inferno roar. He looks at the singed flowers and the scorched grass. He looks at the vines that appear to run from his breath. He looks at poor Sia's tail, which still stood tall despite the damage. I gotta figure out what's wrong why this happens, that was scary, Flint ponders.

Notes: This chapter went through a lot of revision and ideas. I didn't want to have extra long chapter, so the story will continue in the next one. Anyway, I'm glad to have Team Harmonious Hope doing something as a team (not really...) for once! ...huh? What's with the bursts of energy from Flint and Meira? I guess we'll see soon enough!