Arc One: Mystery
Chapter Twenty-Two: Protection
I'm riding on a boat as it's being pulled along the water. I'm breathing quite heavily as I sit down on a seat.
My mind is still racing, so I try to calm myself by slowing down my breathes and making them much longer.
"Oh boy." I think to myself looking down. "Still can't believe that we got out of there in one piece."
"See? Told you I could be trusted." I hear a voice call out to me. I turn and see a fellow human, although his skin is black compared to my white skin. In fact, his clothing, while not the same as mine, was a mix of gray and black, with some white lines along his pants and gloves.
"So, seemed like you got yourself into a pickle back there." He says as he takes a seat next to me.
I nod and say, "Yeah, though I didn't mean to."
He laughs and says, "That part was no-brainer. You don't seem like someone who'd cause trouble. Purposeful anyways."
He then looks down at my lap and asks, "How is she?"
I sigh. "I think she's good...hopefully...she got hit badly. She didn't even have time to use a move. They just came out of nowhere."
I look at the other human and see that he's staring right at me. I sweat and ask, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
He takes some time to answer, but as he does, he gets up. "I'm just getting a good read of you, and from what I can tell, you look stressed and confused, and that leads me to believe that you aren't from around here."
I let out a nervous chuckle and add, "You couldn't be more right. I thought I was going to calm down, but fate really likes to play with me as if I'm a toy."
"Try me then." He says as he sits down on the other side.
"Pardon?"
"Tell me how fate is messing with you." He says firmly.
I'm hesitant and say, "It's a long story."
"I got plenty of time." He says.
Drats, uhhhh. "I'd rather focus on healing up-" I say to change the subject, but I stop as he pulls out berries from his backpack.
"Catch!" He says as he tosses two blue berries at me. Even if I didn't try to catch them, they still would have landed on my lap.
"Oran Berries?" I ask.
He nods. "Yep. One of those should get the two of you in top shape."
We then look at each other in silence for a minute before I ask, "You're going to hear my story no matter what I try to do?"
He snickers. "Yep! So, how did you end up here?"
I still don't feel good and say, "Hold on. I'm not going to tell a stranger about myself."
"Well, this 'stranger' just got you out of trouble, and I can put you right back in it if you're not carefully." He says to threaten me.
I get scared, so much that I actually think of jumping off of the boat, but before I can, he laughs. "Whoa! Wait, don't jump! Forgot you were a wreck, but I like making jokes like that. My bad if the timing was a little too soon."
"Yeah, that joke was way too soon." I say a little annoyed.
"Besides, I don't need to hear about your whole life story." He says. "I just want to know how you ended up here. Understand?"
I sigh and say, "Well, can I at least know your name first, before I start?"
He looks off the boat for a moment, but then turns back around and says, "Marcus. My name's Marcus." He then pulls out a golden badge and says, "I'm pretty much the leader of this place. Rest assured I'm no crook."
I take a short sigh of relief and say, "Well, that name suits you. I'm Red."
"Really, named after a color?" He says with an eyebrow raised. "Your parents don't sound very creative."
"Well, you're named after a planet!" I snap.
He then makes a confused face. "No, it means polite, not some big floating rock in the sky." He looks at me again, but I'm looking over to the side.
He bites his tongue. "Alright, I'm sorry. I'm not acting like the leader everyone around here knows me to be. I have a side of me that I can't outgrow no matter how much I try." He take a breath, "So, will you stop stalling and tell me what I need to know?"
I look at him one last time as he says, "I said it before, you can trust me." The look he has is the face of someone who wants to help, which only one other person has given me that same look, and she's knocked out on my lap.
I take a breath and say, "Alright, but I don't know if you'll believe me." He smiles and says, "Don't worry about that. I deal with liars all the time. I know what's true and false."
I blink. "That's good...I guess."
"Now for the last time, tell me how you ended up here. You're only making me more interested."
My eyes open slowly. I'm stuck in the middle of reality and my dream. I really want to go back to sleep, as I realize how badly I need some shut eye.
But I then remember that if I just seen a memory, and I'm no longer in it, then that means I'm in a nightmare.
"Yikes!" I say as I jump off of my seat. I slowly descend into a panicked state as I haven't no idea where that thing could be. I'm and then reminded that he came out of the water the last time I saw him. I get really scared as the raft starts to shake. I'm on a lake. He could appear at any-
"Hey!" I hear somemon right behind me. I then use the first part of my Double Kick, hitting-ZACK!?
I hold off using my finishing move, and look at the Ampharos. I then say, "Zack, I'm sorry! I thought-"
"No worries." He says, "It didn't hurt that bad. My defense stats are incredible for my kind."
"Red!" I hear Lucas as he runs over to me. "What happened? Did you remember something?"
"Remember something?" Team Forever asks all at once.
Lucas smiles. "Yeah, back at Ocean's Island, Red fell asleep in the hot springs. He then had dream from his past, but then he had a nightmare at the end and forgot most of it, but he did remember somemon was with him." He then turns toward me and asks, "So, what was it this time?"
I start to sweat as everymon (aside from Zena) is looking right at me, making me feel like a public speaker, and I hate getting attention when I don't want it. Lucas, we're partners, but please, if you want to tell everymon about these kinds of things about me, ask me first.
"Lucas." Daisy says, "I don't think Red is ready to tell all of us yet. He still looks a bit shaken from his nightmare."
I rub the back of my head and add, "Well, I didn't have a nightmare this time, but I still wasn't planning on telling everymon here just yet. I'd like to think harder about it if you don't mind."
Lucas lets out a nervous chuckle. "Right...sorry. I just got really excited and couldn't resist. Glad you didn't have a nightmare this time." He shakes as he finishes. "I'm getting chills just thinking about it."
"I think that's just the humidity here." Zack pointed out, not knowing what Lucas was really referring to.
"You can tell anyone of us whenever you're comfortable, Red." Daisy says. "Besides, we're at the shore now, so we'll have to get off and make our way to the temple."
"Wait really?" Lucas says in a shock state. He then quickly looks across of the water. "Wahoo!" Lucas yells as he jumps in the air, with his fist pointing to the sky. I smile at the sight of my blue partner as I also look out to the water.
I notice that Daisy was right: Land is only a few yards away from the raft. It won't be long now.
"I hope you guys find whatever you're looking for." The Tender Pokémon says as she guides the raft parallel to the shore.
Lucas and Zack pick up their bags, with the latter taking a comic out of his and starts to read as he walks off the raft.
"Hey, Zack." Lucas says, "Aren't you going to run into something if you keep reading?"
"Relax Lucas." Crush says behind him. "Zack has been reading comics forever. He knows how to read and walk perfectly upright, even if I still have no idea how he walk on any surface without tripping."
The Rilo laughs, which makes me smile as I prepare to leave the raft, but then I over hear Daisy and Zena talking with each other. "If I'm not mistaken, the price for a trip from Dense Jungle to the Ground Temple was 200 Poke for all of us, right?" Daisy asks as she pulls up a money bag.
Zena shakes her head. "You owe me nothing. What you're trying to do is much more important than some gold coins."
"I didn't come here for you to give five Pokémon a free ride across the lake." Daisy says with the amount of money to pay for the ride floating in the air.
"Please, I enjoy having the exercise." Zena says as she takes off her harness off.
Daisy teleports in front of the larger Pokémon and says, "You have to take care of yourself, and others."
"What you're trying to do is enough for me, now go." The Milotic says as she slowly goes into the water.
"She'd want me to pay you what I owe you in full." Daisy says.
The snake-like Pokémon stops as Daisy ties the bag onto her with string. "You need it more than we do. We're part of the Guild, Wigglytuff made sure that we'd have enough money before we left."
Zena looks down at the bag and says, "Alright, but I'm only doing this because you aren't going to give up."
Daisy smiles, "What else can I say? I've been trained by the best." She waves goodbye as Zena says, "If you gave me a tip, so help me." Chuckling as she disappears into the water.
Daisy gives me a quick glance before grouping up with everymon else.
"Ok everymon." She says as I make my way to the teams.
"The temple isn't too far from here. The only thing that we have to worry about are roots that are sticking out of the ground, and maybe a possible Mystery Dungeon. The most important thing that we can do this stick together, understood?"
"Yep!" We all say at once, to which the Gardevoir says, "The way to the temple is north." Pointing towards a rock path that's almost buried in dirt.
"Well then." Lucas says, "Let's go!" And begins to walk on the path while being followed by Crush and Zack.
I go to catch up with them, but before I could take a step, I hear, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"
I realize that it was Daisy who spoke to me with her mind, to which I slowly respond, "Sure, I guess."
"You know, you can just think in your head. I may not be able to dig deep into your thoughts, but I can still read the surface of your mind."
I panic. She read my thoughts!? When did she do it? How much does she know about me?
"Just as much as you do." She says. "But don't worry, I only tried to do it when we first found out about your memory loss. I promise to only use your mind for communicating from now on."
I'm still a bit shocked, but then I take a breath. At least I just have to think what I'm going to say instead of saying it.
"Sorry for interrupting you again, but do you always think in First-Pokémon?"
I chuckle. "I guess can't help myself. I'm always thinking. If I'm not battling or thinking of a plan...I guess, I talk to myself to keep my brain in check."
"That's smart of you to do that." She says. "I...talk to myself as well. Maybe not as much as you do, but enough that it keeps me up."
There's a small gap of silence that follows as we slowly make our way to the rest of the group.
"I bet it was stressful to think that you were the reason the Mystery Dungeons were appearing." Daisy asks.
"It was." I think. "But hearing Xatu saying how we could stop it has definitely calmed me down. Now the only thing I have to worry about is Eve and getting the stuff we need to solve the Mystery Dungeons."
"It's good that you have a big heart." She says. "Being willing to protect others can be both rewarding, but devastating if not used correctly."
I'm caught off guard by the comment and ask, "You had some close calls?"
I notice that she bites her tongue, but she responds with, "I've made some mistakes in my life, but even if you fail your job, if you've inspired others, they're inspire you to get back on your feet."
I smile as she continues, "That's what makes you and Lucas so strong. You help each other. Whatever one can't do, the other will help them through it. You two help each other get out of rough times. Both of you are so much stronger when you have trust in one another."
My eyes widen as she adds more. "You were very lucky to run into Lucas, Red. He's a good kid. He has a big heart like you do, except the difference is that you hold onto him because he's the only thing you know, he holds onto you because he wants you to be safe. He made a promise to you, right?"
I'm stunned. I didn't expect for her to say something like that to me. What's stranger is the way that she said it, like as if she was there when we went through those moments. I'm so caught up in my thoughts that I almost forget that she asked me a question.
"Yeah, to help me remember who I am." I think back.
She smiles and says, "The way his face lit up when you woke up was one of pure happiness. He was thrilled to hear that you remembered something, what ever that may be. To have somemon who has that kind of energy is hard to find. I mean, Eve has never been so happy in her life."
Before I can get down from the mention of Eve, she says, "I know you had a rough time yesterday, but still in your struggles, I am sure that she cares just as much for you as you do for her."
I crack a smile as she finishes, "Make sure that you'll always be there for Lucas no matter what. Take it from a team leader. You two will do great things if you keep doing what you're doing, and maybe, in due time, Eve will follow suite."
I happily chuckle and say, "Alright. Thanks for the chat, Daisy."
"Anytime." She says with a smile. "Now let's get back with everymon."
Before she leaves though, I ask her, "I have a question. How did you know what we had gone through?"
"Every team will have their ups and downs, not to mention that the other Guildmates that have seen it happen have told everymon at the dinner table about it. You never get to hear because you normally leave to go to bed."
"Huh, yeah." I say. "I guess I get embarrassed pretty easily."
"That was easy to tell from when you first got up from your nap." She says laughing. I go to laugh, but I feel my foot hit a root. Thankfully for me, Daisy uses Psychic before I can even lean towards the ground.
"Thanks." I say.
"No problem." She says. "I think it's time we focus on walking down the trail."
"Agreed." I say, as I run up behind Lucas, who's admiring the surrounding of the jungle.
"There you are." He says. "What were you doing?"
I turn my head to face Daisy, as she teleports in the middle of Zack and Crush. "I was having a conversation with Daisy."
"Really?" Lucas asks. "What did you two talk about?"
I smile. "She was just saying how good of a pair we make, and how she believes that we'll do great things in the future."
The Rilo can barely keep his excitement down and hugs me. "See! What did I tell you? We're going to be unstoppable! A force to be reckon with! Zygarde won't stand a chance next time we see him."
The positivity from my best friend rubs off onto me as I laugh with him. Unknowing to me, Daisy smiles at the sight of our laughter.
"What do you say to Red?" Crush asks.
She smiles and says, "Just what every team needs to know."
Zack laughs. "Well, whatever you told him, it seems like it worked really well. I think that's the fastest I've seen Lucas wag his tail."
"It sure seems like it." She says. She then grasps her necklace. She switches back and forth between looking at that and Team Adventure. She smiles.
"They'll go as far as they want to, and we'll watch them the entire way."
Wigglytuff is standing outside the Guild, talking to Officer Magnezone and two Arcanine, one male, and the other female. Right by the Guildmaster, her assistant, Ray, is taking notes from the conversation.
"You're sure that's the case." She asks.
"Positive! *zzz* The scheduled deportation was for today. *zzz* We are certain that this wasn't normal. *zzz*" "It's a shame that we can never have one day where everything goes to plan."
The Chatot mumbles. "That Zoroark just HAS to do something."
"I didn't mean to let that happen!" The female Arcanine said. "I thought that it was Blitz. I looked at the piece of paper, and it looked right, so I didn't have any second thoughts about it. I'm sorry Guildmaster!"
"Don't beat yourself up." Blitz said. "You just started this job, and it was my fault that I let my guard down."
"Alright." Ray says. "So, if I've heard the story correctly, you were making rounds around Apple Woods, when you were attacked, correct?"
The Arcanine nods. "He made some noise behind a bush, then used a Flash Orb right in front of me, and then knocked me out almost as fast as a snap."
"That doesn't surprise me." Wigglytuff says. "Daisy has said that he's very cleaver, and she's been after him for a long time."
The female Arcanine agrees, saying, "Yeah Blitz, he had your attitude in perfect sync with yours, the tone, the attitude, the way you got mad, and you know how much I don't like getting on your bad side."
As if he proves her right, Blitz stares at the Guildmaster and says, "What's also surprising is the fact that your Guild hasn't been able to capture him! He's been a wanted S criminal for nearly a full year! And yet, even your best team can't catch him!"
"Mr. Blitz, Scar is a very difficult Pokémon to track down." Wigglytuff answers. "It doesn't help that he's a Zoroark either. Not once have we gotten a lead on where he might be, and he's always moving around. He never stays at the same place twice because he knows we know where that is."
The female Arcanine tilts her head. "Then how do you seem to run into him all the time?"
Wigglytuff pauses for a moment, but then answers. "Normally, he runs into us, like the time he attacked my daughter. And other times, we get lucky."
Blitz let's out a small flame. "Well then, it's sad that whole Guild can't catch a single Pokémon."
The comment makes Wigglytuff not so happy, but she does her best to remain calm. "For your information, my Guild does not focus on just criminals. We have to get and give supplies to two islands, and in case you haven't noticed, the world around us is heading into distortion!"
The male officer gets closer to the pink puffball and says, "Listen, Fluff! You had nine months to get him, yet you still haven't gotten him yet. He's always stayed in this part of the island, so when this is over, why don't you-"
"Actually, Blitz." The other Legendary Pokémon interrupts. "He might not be staying in this area for too long."
Blitz turns his head toward the other Pokémon, revealing that he's much taller than her, about a head larger. "Cream, clarify."
She continues. "When we were doing our report to see if anything was stolen, we found that we had five badges removed. We then checked to see if we had any missing Glow Polls and...we were missing one."
"Well then. *zzz* We can use the badges, *zzz* to teleport to his hideout, *zzz* and capture him there. *zzz*" The lead Officer says.
"That most likely won't work." Wigglytuff says. "The badges can only teleport to Polls that they've been assigned to. So, unless you did do that, we're out of luck."
"Cream!" Blitz orders.
She sighs, "I'm...afraid we didn't do that, sir. We'll start to do so from now on."
Blitz stomps his foot. "Gahh! I can't believe it!"
He then looks over to Wigglytuff and says, "Make sure you send a team inside Apple Woods ASAP!"
"The soonest we can get a team there will be tomorrow morning, or later tonight." Wigglytuff says.
"Well then I'll get a team and go there myself!" He yells.
"Not possible *zzz*" Magnezone says. "All strong troops *zzz* are at Ocean's Island *zzz* because of the chaos happening there."
Blitz looks shocked. "Still?! They were sent there yesterday. How can that be?"
"Calming down an entire island *zzz* is no easy task." The Steel/Electric Type says. "Not to mention that they're still trying to save Pokémon *zzz* who are trapped in the Mystery Dungeon. *zzz*"
Steam can be seen escaping from his ears as Cream says, "Like the Gardevoir said, he's cleaver."
"Hmpf!" The Fire-Type goes as he turns around. "Well then we'll have to outsmart him one day. He'll slip up one day."
He and Cream then walk down the stairs as Magnezone says, "Sorry for being the barer *zzz* of bad news. *zzz* I hope your teams the best tomorrow. *zzz*"
"Thanks for telling us what happened." Wigglytuff says. "I hope we can all learn from this event."
The Magnet Area Pokémon then floats away as the Guildmaster takes a sigh of relief. "You're right, Ray. We can never seem catch a break nowadays."
"So, what will be the plan, Guildmaster? Not that I think Fang and Shard are dangerous, but they'll need to be brought back." Ray asks.
Wigglytuff starts to look a little overwhelmed and says, "I don't know. Team Current is getting supplies to store up, and Team Forever and Adventure are at the Ground Temple. I think we should take one step at a time. We don't want to get over worked now do we?"
"Guildmaster, could I suggest you to take an hour or two off? You seem a little stressed from all of this work and that Arcanine."
Wigglytuff smiles, "I appreciate the thought Ray, but as a Guildmaster I need to stay at work in a time like this. But perhaps I could take a small break to see Eve now."
She then walks inside the tent that's fashioned in her species image and slowly descends down the ladder. Ray grabs onto the ladder and asks, "And what do you plan to do with Eve?"
The Guildmaster reaches the second ladder and says, "I'm going to go talk to her. I want to know what's bugging her."
"Shall I join you?" The Musicnote Pokémon asks.
"No." Wigglytuff says. "Wait outside the door. After that, I suppose we check on our teams progress and plan on what to do about Scar afterward."
Ray sighs. "It's a shame that the Vulpix is feeling down. She finally looked like she was getting comfortable, but now, it seems like she's reverted back to square one. And that scar she has on herself...it doesn't seem normal."
Both Ray and the Guildmaster make their way off the last ladder and stand in front of the door leading to the Guildmaster's room.
"Well, the best I hope to do is to find out Eve's side of the story and see if I can at least put her at ease." She says.
As she puts her hand on the door, Ray says, "Good luck, Guildmaster." Before she opens the door and enters the room.
The white Vulpix is lying down in her nest, facing toward the slowly burning fire. She's so fixed on staring at the fire that she didn't realize that her mother had walked in.
Wigglytuff looks over her child and frowns. The only thing Eve has done today since she arrived was just walking inside this room and laying on the bed. The only movement she's making is her slow breathing. She hadn't even talked much today, only responding to questions that she was asked, but even then she would give the bare minimum.
She was hurt in the inside Wigglytuff could tell, but she didn't know what to do. While seeing her daughter act like this broke her heart, she knew that Red felt the same way.
She was missing some pieces of the puzzle, and she was going to get it as much as she could.
"Hey sweetie." She says softly. The Vulpix turns her head slightly and looks at her mother. She shows little emotion as she looks back to the warmth of the fire.
Wigglytuff keeps a smile on her face as she walks over to the Alolan Pokémon. "Eve, it hurts me to see you like this." She starts.
"I just want to know what happened, and if there's anything that I can do to help you, I want to do it."
The Vulpix closes her eyes and utters her first words. "I don't feel like talking right now, Mom."
She then feels something stroke her fur, which turns out to be her mother's hand. "I know you don't want to, but as your mother and the Guildmaster, I need to hear your side of the story so I can make the best decision for everymon." Eve looks down as her mother says, "I can tell that this is bothering you, it's for the best, trust me."
She looks up at her mother's lovely eyes. With tears in her eyes, she buries her head into her mother's soft chest. "I don't know what anything is anymore, Mom." She says crying. "Everything I knew is flipped on its head."
"What do you mean by that?" The Balloon Pokémon asks.
"Red's aura." She answers. "It's so...strong and wild. The look I see on his face is scary, like he's a whole different Pokémon." She puts her paw on her mark. "When he attacked, I was scared for my life. I didn't know what would happen to me-"
She is then hugged by her mother. "Sweetie, both you and Red have some extraordinaire abilities. Don't you remember how you were when we first found you?"
Eve then thinks about the past as the Guildmaster continues. "You were, and still are, a Pokémon with impossible strengths. Having the power to use any move combined with your temper was difficult to control, but after some time, we managed to calm you down, and look what a kind girl you've become."
Eve closes her eyes. "This is you, Eve. I've taught you to try and control yourself so that nothing bad would happen to anymon who's with you. Like that time you were using Swift when I first wanted to take you outside, or when you first woke up in your room. You even used Flamethrower when you had made Zack's spicy curry and it was too much for you."
Eve has a half smile as Wigglytuff says, "But you and I have done a good job making sure you don't lose control because of childish reasons, and it was working so well that I thought that you may have. But to see yourself go out of control to help Team Adventure was...unexpected. You knew what would happen if you did it, but you wanted to protect Lucas and Red."
Wigglytuff puts both of her hands on Eve's head. She then lifts her head to look up at hers. "You've grown so much since I first found you. It was difficult to take care of you because everymon told me that you could snap at any moment, but I didn't want to give up on you, because I saw that you needed help badly. So, that was why I decided to be a mother to you, and even though it wasn't easy, I don't regret a single day of being your mother."
"And the way Red has embraced his power is wonderful. It's showing me that he's not afraid to take chances, and I know he hurt you at the mountain, but if you would have stayed with him when they were calling us, you would have seen that he was destroyed. He was worried what I'd do to him. He said that he was tricked into believing that you were Dusknoir because the ghost had cast an illusion."
"Red may not perfect, but none of us are. But that's why we need to forgive those who are truly sorry. So please, the next time you see him, please just remember that whenever he uses his gift, he's doing it for the same reason you used yours."
Wigglytuff then kisses her daughter on the top of her head. Eve, whose head is still in her mother's fur, softly says, "Thanks Mom...I'll think about what you said."
She smiles and finally starts to stand up. "Thank you, dear. You can stay here for the rest of the day until dinner. I'd like for you to also apologize to Red when he gets back, and I'm sure he'll do the same when he sees you."
"Yes Mom." Eve says.
"Great!" Wigglytuff says. "Do you want me to get you anything when I leave?"
Eve stares back into the flames and says, "Maybe a Perfect Apple."
"Alright. Two Perfect Apples coming up. One for you, and one for me." Wigglytuff says happily. She walks to the door, and before she leaves, she says, "Feel better soon." As she closes the door.
"Thanks." Eve weakly says. She continues staring at the fire when she hears a voice inside her. "So, do you agree with her?"
She turns to her side and see a fellow Vulpix, but this one is pitch black. Eve turns her head away from him. "She's right in a way, but only you can decide if you want to listen."
"Mom's forgiven me so many times after everything I've done." Eve says. "I want to forgive Red, but I just wonder if Red's motives were-"
"There's only one way to find that out, Vulpix, and that's to ask the source." The dark Vulpix says as he sinks into the ground.
"I know, and it will be the first thing I say to him." She says. "I-I need to know the truth."
"But one thing's for sure though." She hears the voice whisper one more time. "You aren't perfect."
It laughs as Eve clings onto her nest, letting out one last tear.
A small green spot with a red center is resting on a rock. He's sitting right under the light of the sun, glowing brightly as he remains there. His eyes remain closed as he talks to himself.
"Anything?" He asks to the wind.
No word is brought back to him, and it only makes him angrier.
"That Raboot is lucky that I only have so many cells with me. He must have known that when he broke the core."
"Cell Number 72 reporting! We have found him!" He hears.
The Red Cell 'stands' up and asks, "Where is he?!"
The other cell responds. "Me and number 42 just spotted him going to the Ground Temple in Dense Jungle along with four other Pokemon."
"What?!" The Red Cell says as he starts glowing brighter. "What is he doing there?!"
"I have no idea, sir, but considering the Mystery Dungeon there is growing, he might be wanting to corrupt that place as well."
The leader growls as beams of light come in contact with him. His form changes into one of a dog as he says, "First, you crack the core, then, you spread chaos around this island, and now you want to ruin a temple?!"
He then dashes into the woods and says, "I will not allow it!"
