Chapter 5: Rookie rescuers
"Jake..."
"Jake..."
"Can you hear me?"
"Jake!"
I woke up suddenly, gasping for air.
I heard something in my sleep. A voice. I think it was calling my name? I am definitely going crazy.
Kit seemed to have woken up too from my sudden jolt. Gotta say, messy hair didn't look good on him.
"Morning, Jakey. Had a nightmare?" He said groggily.
"Not quite. Just a strange dream. By the way, have you seen your hair?"
"You think that my hairstyle is natural? Do you know what having this much fur does to someone?"
I smirked. "Gotta be handsome for the laidies~"
He laughed. "Come on, lets get up. We got something pending, don't we?"
My face went pale. "Shit. I forgot about that"
"Alright, just wait for me in the living room. I have to brush my fur, and that can take some time, since, as you said, I gotta be handsome for the ladies"
We both got up and I went to the living room. It was as untidy as yesterday. I walked to the sofa and saw the MP3 again. I picked it up and took a look at it.
Indeed, it was an MP3. But not just any MP3, a human MP3. I could see some letters that were readable, which meant that it was indeed human. I couldn't make out what they said though.
Flicking the switch did nothing. It didn't switch on. My best guess was that it had no battery. But how would I find a battery here?
Could I ask an electric type to charge it with a Thunder Shock? Or would it just completely fry the thing? Would it even be ok to ask that?
I kept looking the device for a long time. I don't know why though, it didn't have battery, so it was useless. It was probably nostalgia.
I'll ask Kit if I can keep it.
After not too long, Kit came out of his bedroom.
"Whatchu looking at?"
I showed him the music player and he stared at it. "Oh! That old thing. I never managed to make it work, and the only text there is completely illegible, so you can keep it. If you manage to make it work, I'll give you twenty bucks"
"You know what? Bet. Twenty bucks it is. But you will help me"
He raised an eyebrow. "You seem fairly confident"
"That's because I am. Do you by any chance know any electric types who could do you a favour?"
"What? I do, but why is it important?"
I grinned. "For nothing. Now come on, lets go to Ember's house"
Kit didn't seem to understand, but he followed me out. There were some Pokémon outside, but this time, no one seemed to be rushing. They were just enjoying a little walk outside. The kids were running around, probably playing something. It was...nothing like Castelia.
We kept walking and we eventually arrived at the fountain that made the center of the town. This time, it seemed to be more lively, as there were people talking, admiring the fountain, and, of course, the usual elders sitting on the benches.
Then, we arrived at our destination. Ember's house. Kit tapped my back, encouraging me. After sighing, I knocked on the door.
...
Nothing.
I knocked again.
...
Still nothing.
I was getting worried. I could feel sweat dripping down my forehead.
I knocked for the third time.
...
Not a thing.
"Why isn't she answering? Is she ok? I swear I'll break this door down!"
"Hey! Relax, Jake. Maybe she isn't at home. She uses the days were she doesn't have to work to do the shopping, or even go to that forest clearing. She'll be fine"
"And what if she isn't in any of those places?"
"Then I will be the one to break this door down"
We walked to the shop where Ember works and asked the manager if she had seen Ember today.
The Froslass was keeping stock of all the articles at display when we arrived.
"She came here half an hour ago to do her shopping. Don't know why, but she seemed sad"
"Thank you, miss..."
"Agatha"
"Thank you, miss Agatha. See you next time"
She waved us goodbye as we exited the shop.
"So she is ok. Thank goodness..."
"That must mean she is at that forest. Lets go. You must know where it is, right?"
"Kinda?"
"Then lets go!"
The walk through the forest was pleasant. Much more than when I had to rely on Ember carrying me all the way to the town. It was silent. Not even birds chirping, but I guessed there were no birds to do that here.
The path was exactly the same as the first time I came through: Surrounded by bushes and small trees.
After some time though, I managed to hear what sounded like the flow of a river. We went on the right track, it seems.
The clear was...relaxing. I now understood why Ember decided to make this her place.
And on the shore, there she was. Ember was sitting on the shore of the river, seemingly looking at nothing in particular.
"See, Jake. Told you she'd be here. Lets go"
We slowly approached Ember. I was trying to think what to say to her.
Do I just tell her that I'm sorry? Will it even fix anything? I hope we can still be friends.
"Umm...Ember?"
She didn't look back, but I saw her ears twitch, which meant she heard me.
"I...I'm sorry for what happened yesterday. I shouldn't have tried to push you into telling us what happened if you didn't want to. I just wanted to help you, but I just fucked it up. I won't try to make you tell us if you don't want to, I just hope we can just keep being friends..."
...
Is she even listening?
Just as I thought that, she stood up and turned to look at us. She had a blank expression on her face, and I couldn't tell what was going on with her at that moment.
She started walking towards us without changing her expression and stood mere inches from me. We spent what seemed like minutes starting at each others eyes.
And just like that, without any previous warning, she suddenly hugged me, tears falling from her eyes, the blank expression having long been vanished from her face.
"You have nothing to be sorry for. Neither of you. I was the one that acted like a little girl. You were just trying to help me, and I refused to accept it. So not only I am sorry, but I am also thankful that you two worry about me that much. You deserve to know what happened, but I just can't tell you. Not yet. But I promise I will"
Kit joined the hug too.
"No need to rush, girl" He said. "We'll always be for you if you need us. Take all the time you need"
We spent a long time in silence after that. Only Ember's faint sobs broke it.
At last, we broke the hug and got back to standing in front of each other.
"So everything okay then?" I asked.
"Yes. And I'm sorry for just running away without you having another place to sleep, Jake. I guess Kit put you up for the night?"
He nodded. "I did. I wasn't going to leave him in the street!"
I giggled. "Only two days of knowing each other and you are already saying that?"
"Yes, of course. But next time, can you not steal my stuff?"
Ember raised an eyebrow. "Really? He stole something important from all of the stuff in your house? We must send this Lucario to the official stuff searching competition immediately! He may win the first price!"
I smiled and gave her the small music player. "I 'stole' this thing from a pile of stuff on the sofa and realized it doesn't work. But I have a theory, and I need electricity, so we are on the hunt for an electric type that can shock it"
"And how are you sure that will fix it?"
I showed her the small text on the device, and she inspected it closely. "Because I can read that" I said.
She seemed to catch up with what I was trying to say, and handed me the player back.
"Then what are we waiting for? Lets go find ol' Spark and ask him for some energy!" Said Kit.
Just as he said that, both his and my stomach growled. I forgot we didn't have breakfast this morning.
Our vixen friend laughed. "Hungry? Luckily for you, I packed some apples in case I got hungry" She said taking a pair of apples from her bag. "Have them. You must be hungry if you haven't eaten anything since you woke up. It's past noon now, and you have to be full of energy to apply to form an exploration team, right Jake?"
"What?" I said.
"I thought about it and realized that if you want to form an exploration team, I won't let my past affect you. Whenever you find members, I'll take you to the town hall to apply, what do you think?"
I almost dropped my apple at that. "Really?"
She nodded.
"THANKYOUEMBERYOUARETHEBEST" I said while huging her again.
"Hey! Just because I hug you once, doesn't mean you can do it whenever you want!"
I left her be and apologized. "Sorry. I just...! Thank you"
"Don't worry, I was just joking. And you are welcome"
"Ah! Love is beautiful~" Said Kit.
"Lets go before I decide to punch this guy in the face" She said.
"Agreed" I added.
"So, if I am not mistaken, Spark should be on guard duty at the town's entrance"
So one of the guards I saw yesterday was Kit's friend? How many people does this guy know?
The gate at this time was far more lively that yesterday. Now, Pokémon of all types were entering and exiting the town. The guards didn't seem to do a lot though, just the ocasional random checks on people.
Like yesterday, the Machoke and the Raichu were playing cards, and the Ampharos was again saying something to the group of Raticate.
Kit just shamelessly walked towards the Raichu and almost got knocked out to the ground by the Machoke.
"Leave him be, Miles. He's my friend" Said the Raichu, leaving his cards on the box and sighing.
"What the hell are you doing here, dude? You know I can't be talking with you while I'm on duty! This better be important"
"It is!" He said. He then smirked. "We need you to Thunder Shock a device so that it works, and I couldn't think of a better person for the job! What do you say, dude?"
Spark frowned at that. "Really? You interrupt my duty to ask to attack a device? You are lucky that I don't slap you right here"
"It's not like you were doing a lot of work anyway" He said, rolling his eyes.
Spark looked at him and sighed, but started laughing shortly afterwards.
"You really are something else, bro. Alright, you talked me into it. What do I shock?"
I walked forward and showed him the MP3.
"Remember the thing we found at that MD that we didn't know how to make it work? Well, Jakey here thinks that it just needs some electricity"
Spark raised an eyebrow. "Ah, so that old thing. How much exactly?"
"Ummm, I don't know if you can control that, but maybe...5 volts? More or less"
His eyes went wide. "5 VOLTS?! Are you kidding me?! That amount of electricity is like asking a Blastoise to lightly water a plant! In all of my fighting days I have never shocked anything with that small amount of energy!"
I winced. Luckily, Kit was the one that replied. "So you can't do it?"
"Of course I can! But I can't attack it! It will just fry the thing! Just bring it close to my tail"
He brought his lightning shaped tail towards me. I made the music player be in contact with it and felt how the MP3 suddenly regained all of the needed electricity in a flash of light.
You know how electricians wear rubber gloves not to get shocked? 'I felt' wasn't just a random choice of words.
"Jake! Are you ok?" Asked Ember.
"I've been through worse" I answered while slowly standing up. Thankfully, the charge wasn't big enough to actually hurt me.
"Sorry Kid. I haven't attacked anyone in days and the energy just piles up, y'know?"
"Don't worry. It was nothing"
"So! Will it work?" Asked Kit.
Right! I flicked the switch on. At first, I thought we just wasted time. The screen was still black, and it wasn't changing from that. But after some time, the screen turned on, and finally showed a white screen, and finally, the song list. Kit was amazed, so was Ember. Spark? Amazed too.
"Told ya!" I said. "You owe me twenty bucks!"
"Woah! Honestly, I didn't think it would work!" He said. He was trying to sound calm, but he was clearly amazed by the device.
"You did it! Thanks, Spark!" I said grinning.
He was also amazed, looking at the player. "So what does it-"
"Hey! Come on! It's our turn to patrol the east! Quit talking and lets go!" That was the Machoke from earlier.
"Roger that! You better show me what this does, and please, when I'm not on duty!"
As he said that, he ran with the Machoke to grab a weapon and ran to patrol.
"Why do they need weapons?" I asked.
"It's probably to improve their chance on winning. Now, what does this thing do?" Kit said.
"You look like a little kid" I said while rolling my eyes.
"Did he ever stop being one, though?" Ember joked.
"What time is it? I'm hungry already, and I just ate!" Said Kit in response.
"No worries, I ordered a picnic menu in one of the restaurants before, and it should be ready soon! How about we eat together and discuss what that thing does? Maybe you can explain to us, Jake?"
"Yeah, sure! I'm also starving. A picnic is just what I need"
After picking up the food, we came back to the small forest clearing. We sat on the ground, and unpacked the food.
"This restaurant really has some good food, doesn't it?" I said while looking at the plate of smoked sausages.
"Indeed. I used to eat there a lot, before I realized I have to save money..." Said our fox friend, unpacking his lunch.
"So anyways, Jake. What is the device you were so obsessed about?"
"Oh yeah! This is a music player! You put music inside, and it plays it! I don't know if these one needs headphones, though"
"Slow down there, Jake. What do you mean by 'put music inside'? I don't see how that could be possible" Kit pondered.
"Why doesn't he show us instead of saying so many terms that we don't know what they are?" Say Ember trying to, yet again, make me realize I messed up.
"Oh, girl. Relax! Do you think I'm dumb? I already know something is up! He doesn't do a very big job at hiding it"
"What? Know what?" Ember was clearly panicking.
"You know, Kit? I was planning on telling you anyway, but seems like you beat me to it. What do you know exactly?"
"Let me see. You don't know how to read, you don't know how to fight, you use phrases that don't make any sense,... I could keep going, but I think you get the point, human "
"How? How did you come up with that"
"Well, you see... after meeting you and seeing how weird you were, I read lots of legends, and found a lot of them which had information about how humans are said to talk, to be, and all of that. But, if you ask me? Never believed it. Until I spent a bit more time with you. You acted exactly how a complete stranger to a new world would act. I just had to connect the dots"
Ember seemed a bit shocked, but I couldn't help but slowly, and ironically, clap my hands.
"Congratulations, Kit. Didn't expect you would figure it out so easily. Now, if you would, keep the secret"
"My lips are sealed. Now, show us what this thing does!"
"Guess there is no point hiding it anymore. This is an MP3. A device used by humans to listen to music whenever they want, wherever they are. As I said before, it just needs electricity to work. Now, let's see which music is saved here..."
I switched on the player and looked at its playlist. Some of it was corrupted, which means that this thing is either old, or the files were a bit sketchy. But the files that were readable were...
"No way! This is music from Roxie! I love her music! This guy had a good taste. And she's also a gym leader! Is there something cooler?"
"Roxie?" Asked Ember.
"Gym leader?" Asked Kit.
"Did I go a bit overboard?"
Both of them nodded. "Alright, so let me summarize it for you. Roxie is a musician, and she plays the guitar. Amazingly if I may add. She has a band, and she plays with them in a city near the coast, back where I come from. I am afraid to play the music though. It is usually pretty loud, and I don't want to blast my new, probably hyper sensitive ears!"
They both stood in silence. Probably didn't expect this much. I sighed smiling. "How about we eat? It will be easier than having to deal with this much information, huh?"
The both nodded again, and before starting to eat, Kit commented. "Never thought I'd meet a human. Much less one like you, Jake"
Meanwhile, in the forest, there was a kid. Running for his life.
"Come on, boy! You can run, but you can't hide~"
The small Jigglypuff was doing his best to run away, but his legs were to small, and his pursuiters too big.
He shouldn't have separated from his mom. If he didn't, he wouldn't be in this situation.
He stopped to hide behind a tree, putting his hands on his mouth, as to not to make any sound. He heard footsteps passing nearby, and he started sweating.
"Ugh! Come on, kid! I don't have the whole day! Can't you just make things easier and stop being a little bitch?"
"Explain to me why are we doing this?" A different voice asked. "Why do we have to take a kid? I never thought you would want to do something like this"
"Oh, for fucks sake, let me tell you. Because we have no money, dumbass! We are taking the kid so that we can ask for money in exchange of him! And if they want to see him again..."
That was followed by a rather sinister laugh.
The Jigglypuff was started sweating even more instensely. He knew that he couldn't fend off against two, probably trained, criminals.
"That's great and all, but where is the kid?"
He didn't want to hear anything else. He started to run again, this time, towards a suspicious looking cave. It didn't matter, though. If he didn't hide, he wouldn't make it. He entered the cave, without looking at the sign that was at the entrance at all.
Not too long after, a Mawile and a red and white Lycanroc appeared from the bushes, looking at the entrance that the kid just went through.
"Is that kid insane? If he can't even defend himself against us, he has no chance against an MD!" The Lycanroc exclaimed looking at the sign that read "Darkness Cave. This is a Mistery Dungeon; only qualified explorer teams are allowed to enter!".
"Do you really think that that kid knows where he just got into? We have to follow him"
"What?! Why?"
"Because if that kid dies, we'll have no money! Come on!" said the Mawile running inside.
"You are going to kill me someday" Said the Lycanroc while following his partner.
"Seriously, that lunch was amazingly good! I could eat it ten times over!" Said Kit.
"Yeah! But I almost choked when Jake put that music so loud back there. How do you even call that music? That's just very loud sound!"
"Watch what you say! You don't want to know what happens when someone says something like that against a fanbase like Roxie's!"
We were walking back to the center plaza when I sensed something was off. I told both of my friends about it, but no one seemed to feel it.
"Maybe it's you newly trained aura-sense! You are welcome, by the way" Said Kit.
"No time for jokes! What do you exactly-"
She didn't have time to finish the sentence when a Wigglytuff bumped into her. She seemed very worried.
"You three! Please, you have to help me!" She yelled.
"Sure. What's the matter, ma'am?"
"My-My kid! He dissapeared! We were walking though the woods near the east, and when I looked back, he wasn't with me! I'm so worried! Please! I beg you! You need to help me!"
What? A missing child? And she is asking us?!
"Wouldn't it be better if you asked an actual explorer team for that?"
"There are none! All of them are busy with other missions! Please, help me!"
Ember seemed to snap back to reality. "Wait! The east, you said? That's where Spark and his friend were going to patrol, right? Maybe we can ask them!"
Kit nodded and turned to the Wigglytuff. "Don't worry ma'am, we'll do all we can to find him. But promise me that you will call an actual team as soon as possible"
"I-I will! Thank you so much!"
"Lets go then. We have a kid to find" I declared.
"Shit! I swear they were over here!"
I heard Spark's voice coming from in front of us. Seems like they did find something.
"Spark!" Yelled Kit.
"Kit? Again? I have no time for this! A pair of criminals were just here. It's dangerous now, just wait for later!"
"No, wait! We came because we were asked to search for a missing child that ran into these woods! We were going to ask you if you found something!" I said.
The Machoke seemed to look down into a nearby bush. "A Jigglypuff?" He asked.
"Probably. How do you know?"
He signaled us to get closer. And then, we saw them. Three different pairs of footprints.
"One of those is from a Jigglypuff. The other ones, however, must be from those criminals!"
Kit suddenly gasped, followed by Spark's similar reaction.
"And they are headed towards..." Spark started. "Darkness Cave!" Finished Kit.
"Is that bad?" I asked.
Ember looked at me and answered. "Remember those Mistery Dungeons? Darkness Cave is one of those. Maybe not the most difficult, but no place for a child"
"Do you think they kidnapped him and put him there?" I asked.
"I don't think so. The Jigglypuff's footprints seem to be more hurried than the other two. My best guess is that the kid was running from them and maybe headed inside the MD without knowing"
"What are we waiting for? Lets follow the footprints!" Said Kit as he ran off. We decided to follow him.
After some time running, there were still three trails of footprints, which meant that the kid was still running away.
Finally, we arrived at what seemed to be an entrance to a cave. This had to be it. The footsteps led inside.
"So they are there. Nice one, Miles" Said Spark. "Alright, we will go to report this to HQ. You three wait here" He continued.
"What?! No way! When you come back it will be too late! That Wigglytuff told us that there were no teams available!" I said.
"Look, bud. MD's are dangerous. I don't know what you may think they are, but definitely not a walk in the park. You can die there. You don't even have proper equipment!" He answered.
"We are talking about a defenseless kid, Spark! He may be kidnapped by the time you arrive here! Or even worse, dead!" Kit yelled.
Spark didn't want to admit it, but he was right. This was a delicate situation, and every second mattered. He sighed and grabbed three oran berries.
"Three orans. You got nothing else. You better not die in there. When we come back with a team and say you are out, you are out. Understood?"
Kit nodded. "Seems like you got your rescue team leader test here! Beat this and I'm sure you'll be one in no time!" He said putting the equipment inside his bag, since I didn't have one.
"We are leaving. You better pull this off, you three, or you will be under serious trouble" Added Miles.
They finally ran off, and we were met with the entrance of the cave. Ember was shaking. I don't know if they were nerves, or something else. She finally sighed and took a step forward.
"A kid is in danger. We have to save him. Lets go, we are wasting time"
"Agreed. Lets roll" I added.
Kit nodded and we walked into the cave, unknown adventures, and possibly some criminals were waiting for us. Truly an adventure that would prove if I can be a rescue team leader.
END OF CHAPTER 5
No way! New chapter record! We have to celebrate! Or maybe after they save that kid...if they ever do that of course.
