Arc One: Mystery
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Hidden Away
Both my red eyes stare into the compass as I make sure we're going in the right direction. And while we seemed to be, the only thing that this was missing was something to tell us how close we are to the temple. I stop looking at it and look down so that I can climb down the slopes of this wasteland without messing up. I don't want to fall down and get hurt, as every bruise and cut matters when we don't have anything left to heal us.
So, with that in mind, it's been a bit more difficult going through Shifting Caves compared to anywhere else, but thankfully, we've somehow been able to avoid a lot of Ghost-Types on our way to the Ghost Temple. Not that we have been perfect, as we've had our shares of fights, but there were times when we would let Daisy stand still for a moment and tell us if we needed to go a different way as to dodge fighting with any Pokemon.
And speaking of fighting with Pokemon, they haven't been too strong either, as most of them run away after taking some damage or if we take out the strongest one of the group. I guess these guy don't really train against anymon else besides other Ghost-Types.
Still, with no berries, we'd rather not run into any Pokemon, even if they're weaker than us, a hit is a hit, and you'll need to bare with it for the whole way if that happens.
Still, as I continue to climb down and rub my paw against my face, I wonder when we'll arrive at the temple. This trip has been dragging on for much too long. Normally when I'm on a mission with Lucas, I look around myself at the wonderful scenery, maybe get into a small fight, or just breath in some clean air. But here, there's nothing to look at around at, everything is dead here.
All the trees are just bark skeletons, no flowers in sight, and any blades of grass are all dried up with a yellow color, and that's IF you see grass. And we're trying to AVOID fights, and the air? Let's just say that I've been breathing with my mouth for most of the time.
I groan when I reach the bottom of the pit. I'm starting to get tired again from all of this uneven terrain. I really wish I could be back at Treasure Town right now. I could really go for some actual food that isn't berries. And I can tell that this trip is getting to the others as well.
Being an Ampharos, Zack isn't made to climb up and down very steep rockwalls, so Daisy is forced to use Psychic to help him do both actions. She hasn't said anything would make you believe that she's tired, but just by looking at her, you can tell that this trip is doing a toll on her, but I don't think she'll admit that to anymon, especially me.
In fact, I turn around and see Daisy and Crush just finishing climbing down the wall, only for Zack to carefully lean against the wall as Daisy tries her best to make sure he gets down safely. I really am grateful that they're helping me do this. I don't know what would happen to me if Team Forever wasn't with us...
I look to my side to where I'm sure Lucas would have been, only to remember something. Right, Lucas is back at Treasure Town watching Eve, and not with us. Still feels weird to me though. We've been together ever since we met, whether doing missions, doing something in town, or just hanging out. The only other time he wasn't with me was when I was when me and Sparks split up from Lucas and Eve so we could find Xatu faster.
But I'm not mad about it, I'm glad he's somewhere safe, and I can understand that this would have been a big challenge for him, but it's just weird not seeing him right next to me.
"But hey, it'll only lasting for today." I think as I look up at the sky to see it the same gray color it's always had. "However long today'll be." Right now, we got a temple to find.
"You're getting tired of this place, aren't you?" Crush asks me.
I chuckle. "Yeah, I can barely believe anymon would want to live here."
"And it hurts more when you wonder what this place could have looked like before everything died here." Crush says as she sighs. "All I want to see is at least one flower growing here just to know that's there's some good is coming out from here, but yet, this ground is all dried up and it all looks like plates."
I look down at the ground and begin to move my foot around in the dust. Maybe I should continue this conversation. It can help get my mind off of...well, you know.
"...Do you have a thing for flowers?" I ask Crush awkwardly. She doesn't respond right away, but she when she does, she say, "Yeah, but it's more like I have a thing for things being well."
I'm left a little puzzled. I thought my question was weird. "You have a thing for what?"
She then goes to walk away, saying, "Sorry, I bet you don't want anymore things to think about-"
"No! Go on." I say...awkwardly. "I'd rather have something more simpler to think about other than all the "Save the world" stuff." I blink. "I actually would like to know you guys a bit more."
She looks at me. "Well, I guess it is about time you learned a little about us. Bolt did say he told you a little about him and his team, so I guess we should do our part."
"Little bit about what?" Zack asks as he and Daisy walks towards us.
"Red wants to think about something else other than his responsibility." Crush jokes.
"What?!" I panic. "That's not-well, I guess it is when you think about it that way, but-"
Crush interrupts me. "Stop! I guess I shouldn't make jokes like that with everything that's going on." She then whispers under her breath, "Jokes are never my thing."
"Yeah." I say, agreeing with her one hundred percent. Crush looks at Daisy with a slightly worried face. I'm not sure why she's doing that, but maybe it's because she wants to make sure with the Gardevoir if it's ok with her. She is a Psychic-Type, and knowing that I can be a wreak at points, she's probably making sure that this isn't a mistake.
Crush then looks back at me. "Ok, I guess I can tell you a little about ourselves, so I'll start with myself." As I get ready to hear her story, I just make sure that I won't run into anything by looking ahead, but we should be good for a while.
Crush then begins. "Before I joined the guild, I could never stay healthy back at my home. I can't say how many times I got under the weather, but it was a lot. Sometimes it wasn't that bad, like just a runny nose, other times, I was having a fever, but the point was that because I'd always get sick, I stayed at home most of the time."
"Huh." I go. "That must have been pretty annoying to have that happening all the time."
"It was, but there was a bright side to that." The Mawile says. "By being home all day a lot, I needed to still do some school, so I had to start reading books and send in homework, but then, I started to really enjoy reading, and I began reading in my spare time."
I notice how her eyes sparkle like Lucas as she says, "I'd always read any non- fiction book I could get my hands on, and I'd read them over and over. I did also get some books about how to take care of yourself, so I was slowly doing what the books told me to. Some of the ideas...didn't work out, but after a while, I was staying healthy for much longer."
"Unfortunately, all the time I spent stay at home made me a really shy Pokemon. I could try and make new friends, but I didn't know how to. But I did still stayed outside. Indoors was nice, but I found reading under trees to be more relaxing, and one day, I met Zack."
There's a pause of silence as the four of us walk down the shattered ground. Crush then looks at Zack and says, "That was your que, Zack."
"Oh! Really?" Zack asks. He then clears his throat and continues Crush's story. "Well, as I'm sure you can tell by now, I really enjoy reading comics and other fiction-filled stories, and one day I was reading a comic under a tree, and then I fell asleep."
"And as fate would have it, I happened to be reading on the other side of the same tree that Zack was sleeping under." Crush says. "I didn't notice him at first, but when he started snoring, oh, I heard him loud and clear."
Everymon starts to chuckle, as I finally figure out what was making those noises in the night. Not that they kept me up too long, but not knowing what was making the sounds was getting to me, like everything else in my life.
After Team Forever stops, Crush picks back up where she left off. "Even though we liked two different types of stories, they were still two sides of the same coin, and so we found ourselves reading the other's book once in a while."
"However!" Zack boldly states. "All the reading about fantastical adventure made me want to go on grand adventures too."
"Yeah, you really wanted to go on a mission, but you wanted me to come along so badly." Crush says.
"It was the perfect bonding time. Trying out new things is the best way to become better friends." The Light Pokemon says.
"So this that how you ran into Daisy?" I ask.
The Gardevoir nods and says, "It was, but can you check the compass first before Crush continues?"
"Sure thing." I say as I pull it up to my face. I was getting anxious, and wanted to take a peak when the time was right.
But then, I get even more worried as I look at the compass. The light, instead of being at the top of the circle, was at the bottom. I then slap my head. It's must be upside-down, that's why it's not right...right?
Sure enough, I turn the thing one-eighty degrees, and the dot goes back to the top. I breathe a sigh of relief, now that that's alright, it's time to-
The glowing dot then hurries to the bottom, much to my dismay. I sweat as I turn it around again.
It goes to the bottom.
I turn it once more.
Bottom.
"Is something wrong, Red?" Daisy asks me, to which I'm too distracted to reply.
"I'll check on him." Zack says, as he takes a couple of steps back to look at me looking at the compass. He then also notices the light on the compass and calls out to the others. "Guys, something is off with the compass."
Crush confusingly says, "Off? It's from Eclipse. I'd doubt something he'd give us won't work properly."
"Maybe it's because Zygarde was mad at us?" Zack says.
"Zack, he gave us the compass before Zygarde got back." Daisy says. "Unless he somehow switched it with a fake, there's no way that one doesn't work right."
"Then why is it telling me that we need to go back?!" I yell. "We're still in the middle of nowhere and have been walking across nothing for the whole time!"
Daisy thinks to herself, but then she says, "Maybe it's telling us we're close."
I'm confused by this. This isn't a temple. It lack anything that a temple has. Even if it got destroyed, there would be at least something around here that would tell us that this used to be a temple.
Out of frustration, I say, "Does this look like a temple to anymon?"
Daisy smiles. "Maybe not up here." She then taps her foot on the ground. "But maybe down there."
"Down...there..." I think as I look down to the ground. "It's called a Ghost-Temple id for the Ghost-Types." Daisy says. "And because of that, maybe this one is underground, or in this case, 'buried' into the earth."
"That would make sense to why no one would have found it." Crush says. "No mon wants to be here, so I doubt they'd try and dig a hole, or climb down a black chasm for that matter."
"So then that's the perfect place to hide the temple!" Zack says.
Daisy smiles. "If the compass says we passed it, then we passed it. We'll just have to make our way down. Where ever that may be, but it can't be that far."
I turn to a bottomless pit. I gulp. That's another thing I don't like about this place. There are holes that are just spread throughout this place. Whether they were big, or small, they all had no bottom to them, or at least that's what I thought.
"S-so how do we know which hole won't kill us?" I ask.
"Only one way to find out." Daisy says as she heads towards it. The hole in question is pretty narrow, but I think Zack should be able to fit through, though it might be a close call. But I have faith in the Gardevoir. She's gotten us this far, so there's no reason why she can't do this.
We all get to the edge of the cliff leading into the dark. I make the grave decision of looking down, and I regret it in a heartbeat. I close my eyes, but then I just see the same thing I saw down there: Nothing. "Ok, so I've spotted an opening down there." Daisy says, pointing towards it, but I can't tell where.
"Just follow me." She says as she slips down the side of the crater, and carefully makes her way along the wall. I know from this trip that she's good at climbing, but the fact that she's doing it over what could certainly be her death is terrifying, and by the looks on Zack and Crush's face, they're most likely thinking the same thing.
Zack does what an Ampharos does best and becomes a light for us, so that we can get a good look at Daisy while she goes deeper and deeper. "You're sure there's an entrance down there?" He asks worried.
"Positive." She says using telepathy. "Just wait until I get there. It won't be long now." Wow, she really is sure about herself. I'm not saying she's wrong, but I won't climb over nothing that fast. Besides, isn't there a better way to get down there?
We wait as the Gardevoir scales the rocky wall. She's quiet and seems to have everything under control, but one can't help but worry.
Suddenly, she disappears into the wall, but shortly after she does, we hear from her. "Yep, this is an entrance that leads to somewhere. Just stay careful when you climb over here. And only one at a time. If something goes wrong, I'll only be able to catch one of you without stressing myself out."
I look down at the compass. As much as I want to be wrong, it does seem that the temple might be in her direction. I just wished we didn't have to climb over the dark abyss to get there.
"Now's a good time to mention that Daisy is the most experienced out of all of us." Crush whispers to my ear. "She's not a bad leader, in fact, this is why she is leader. Me and Zack would never do something like this, so Daisy's there to give us that push."
"Yeah, no kidding." I say back. I gulp as I look back down. I don't like the look of these, but if Daisy says it's down there...well, it better be.
"I'll go first." I say as I slowly get down on my knees. I then put half of my body off of the ground and onto the wall, while my upper half is hugging the edge.
"You know, you didn't have to go first." Daisy says to me.
"Well, might as well do it now rather then later." I say, chuckling at the end, but I stop as I feel one of my foot slip. Daisy cuts in.
"It's ok. You're doing great, just stay calm." I slowly shuffle above where Daisy is, before I have to do the hardest part: Going down.
I look at Crush and Zack one last time, who both give me a look that tell me I'll be alright. I take a deep breathe as I go lower and lower. My hands and feet try and feel around for what can support my weight as I descend. Daisy wasn't climbing for that long, and I think I can see her. I still want this to end so badly.
I'm worried sick, what if my feet slip up, what if the part I'm holding on to just gives away. I stop as I try and calm myself down. Oh Lucas, I could really use your support right now.
"Don't worry, Red." Daisy calls out to me. "You got this."
Well, the fact that she didn't use telepathy does give me hope that it won't be long now. Just got to keep climbing, but it's so hard when you hear every little sound that you make, including all the tiny rocks that fall from the cliffside as I move my limbs.
"I can do this. I can do this. I can do this." I repeat on loop. If the Mystery Dungeons are ever going to stop, I have to keep going, not matter how scary this is.
*Inhales* I going for it! I continue to move without slowing down. I'm getting this over with, because if I start to slow down, I'll freeze up again, and I do not want to be here anymore than I have to be.
"You're doing it." Daisy says, a little shocked. "Keep going. I can almost grab you." Hearing that only makes me pick up the pace just a tad more. Finally, I can't wait to land on solid ground-
My right foot doesn't get a grip on anything. I stop and panic. Wh-why this there nothing below me?! This is not good, this is not good, this is-
"Red, don't freak out. I'm right below you." Daisy says calmly. "In fact, hold still."
Hold still, as in, she's going to-
I freak out momentarily as I'm pushed away from the wall, but thankfully, I'm surrounded by Daisy's energy. Feels weird, like if I'm looking through a pink filter, though I guess it feels nice that Daisy is taking the wheel from me. Soon, she brings me to a small opening where she is, and sets me on the ground.
I breathe a sigh of relief as the pink goes away. Finally, I can walk around freely without the worry of death dragging me down, though there isn't much leg room in here.
Daisy closes her eyes as I assume she's using telepathy to tell to either Crush or Zack. I don't see who's the next one up and instead, I sit down. We haven't taken a break since Lucas left, so I'd like to catch my breath.
Man, being awake for so long really makes the day feel like it's gone on for forever. But hey, if there's one good thing to take away from this, we might have finally found the Ghost Temple. I look further into the pathway. I then look at the compass. Daisy was right, the temple has got to be over there somewhere.
"Don't go out looking for the temple yet, Red." Daisy says, "Crush is almost here, and I'd want you next to me just in case something happens."
"Oh sure." I say as I get back on my feet. The break was short lived, but I'm glad that one of our problems are solved. As I reach the edge, Daisy is slowly carrying Crush down to our level, but as the Mawile lands on the ground, I notice that Daisy is huffing and puffing. She's clearly getting tired, but she still has the hardest part to do.
"Alright, Zack is the only one left." Daisy says as she turns around. "You guys have to be ready, because this is going to take a lot out of me."
She turns back around to face Zack, which gives me the perfect time to make a worried face without her seeing me. Knowing that our trips have always had something go wrong...well, I'm better off not finishing that sentence.
"Both of you are set, right?" Daisy asks us without facing us.
"Yeah." Both me and the Mawile say, as that's the only thing we can do. I hear the rocks from the up of the cliff start to fall as the Ampharos starts on his way down. I hold my breathe as I'm a little from the edge, preparing myself for the worst. All the sound from the falling rocks makes me want to tremble about what could happen, but I have to stay strong.
I hate the feeling of free falling, and I'd rather have somemon who's nearly seven times my weight not fall into the black nothingness.
But then I hear rocks from the tunnel behind me. Great, now it's all around me, could this get any worse?
As if an omen, I feel something, I'm not sure what it is exactly, but...
I don't waste a moment and release Ember behind me, not even knowing if I'm going to hit anything or just look like an idiot.
"Gahhh!" I hear somemon scream, which takes my breath away, even though the only reason I attacked was because I thought somemon was behind us. But the thing is, even with my flaming hit, I still can't see the Pokemon. All I see is...dark aura...and I'm hearing mutters from the Pokemon too.
"What was that?" Zack's voice echoes down the hole.
"Zack! Please! Don't move, I'll lose focus!" I hear Daisy gasp back.
But I don't look towards them, my eyes are locked on my opponent(?) as a figure appears from the purple clouds. Daisy remains helping Zack out scaling the wall, but I hear Crush turning around to see what I hit after she heard the cry.
I use Ember again, but this time the mon jumps out of the way of my attack, and from the light of the flames I can just make out a Pokemon that looks like it's about Daisy's size, has short gray fur, and...a long red mane?!
There's only one kind of Pokemon that comes to my mind with those features, and as he lands right in front of me, I instantly know who the Pokemon is now. A Dark-Type Pokemon that just picked the worst time to attack us: Scar, who has some fire still on him from the first round.
I pause for a moment in total disbelief. W-why is he here?! How did he manage to find us?! Was he following us or something, or is this really just a small world we live in?
"Scar?" I slip out.
"You little rabbit!" He yells as he dives at me. I quickly try to focus on the fight and use Ember at the last second, but this time, Crush uses Flamethrower to try and stop the Zoroark from reaching me. But he disappears before anything can get to him.
Crush is confused and asks, "Hold on, where'd Scar go?"
"Wait, SCAR?! Here?! HOW?!" Zack yells.
"How should I know?!" I say as I look around for the Dark-Type, but then I feel the same kind of energy from before, but this time, Scar beats me to the punch, and lands a kick on me, sending me away from the cliff. Crush turns to see the Zoroark, but she too is not fast enough against Scar and is tossed over by me, this time with Shadow Claw, leaving Daisy, who's looking off into the pit, all by herself.
But she's not helpless, as she quickly turns around and uses Moonblast against the Illusion Pokemon. It hits him right in the gut, but that means it sends him straight at Crush and I. We both hit the ground as the Zoroark sails overhead. Once I get back onto my feet, I use Double Kick to get him while he's down, and that's exactly what happens.
But hearing Scar grunt isn't the only thing I hear, as I also hear Zack panicking. Oh no, he's still on the edge, isn't he. "RED!" I hear Daisy's voice ring in my head. "You and Crush need to keep Scar away from me. I need to get Zack on solid ground before helping you guys out!"
Well, at least I know somemon's helping Zack out. "Duck!" I hear Crush say behind me. I don't even turn around to face her, I just fall to the floor because I know she's probably firing an Ice Beam. And sure enough, it sails right above me, and it makes sure that the Zoroark can't catch a break, as I hear him grunt once more as my face is to the ground.
As the moment I look at him, I see that his left leg is trapped in ice, but he quickly uses Shadow Claw to break himself free and makes a mad dash away from us.
I for one am not going to stay put, as I start to give chase towards him, as he runs through the tunnel, I begin to hop after him. Huh, 'hop,' that felt weird to say, but I sure ain't running. It just feels like something's taking me over, like some kind of guide to help me move around, and fast too. Makes me think how long have I been a Raboot.
Then, I see what the Zoroark is running towards: Some sort of opening, and it looks to be far better than staying in a tight tunnel, but it's one way he can get away much easier.
Daisy has said that they've been trying to get him for sometime, and I already have a score to settle with him. Sooooo...
"Oh no you don't!" I yell at him as I lunge at him as he gets to the end, and before he can get any further, I tackle him. We roll on the ground for a bit, but when we stop, he's pinned me to the ground as he stares at me furious, but I don't back down. I feel great right now, even when my back is against the dirt.
Scar speaks. "You know, you got a lot of nerves to chase after me, and I'm actually surprised you managed to catch me, not even Daisy's that fast, but you have to ask yourself, did you think this through?"
As he finishes, I hear a beam by the tunnel's exit. I manage to move my head to look at it. I may be up-side down, but I can still tell that somemon just used Ice Beam to block off Team Forever, and from where it came from, I doubt it was Crush.
I then hear two chuckles, and I see the same Gengar and Stableye that Lucas and I fought back in Apple Woods, and I'm not happy to see them, and that mainly because I thought they would be in jail! But then I look farther and see the Dusknoir from Central Mountain in between the other two Ghost-Types. You've got to be kidding me.
I'm lifted off the ground and then tossed to a rockwall by the Zoroark, and while my impact into the wall didn't hurt too bad, I do begin to feel myself getting exhausted from this trip. For all the times to feel like taking a nap, this is not a good time.
"You made us wait for a lot longer than we excepted." Scar says. "But at least you also made the big mistake by going after me."
"Yeah, this time there's nothing to do except fight us." Fang says. "Time for some good old payback!"
I begin to panic in my head. Against Scar was already a risk, so of course the rest of his team is only making things worse for me. Who knows when Crush is going to get here, heck, Daisy is still helping Zack climbing from the last I know, but would Daisy even be able to defend us in the state she's in? We were already in a hole, and I just made it ten times deeper. All we had to do was find the-
That's it. I slowly pick myself up from the ground as the Scar continues, "All we want is the Vulpix, rabbit. So if you know what's good for you, stay down!" I pay little attention to him, as it's stuff I already know at this point. All I want to know is where the Ghost Temple is, and I take a small peak at the compass get a good idea where to go.
Shard notices this and asks, "Hey, what's that you got there?"
I grin as I get another idea. I turn my focus to him. "You want it?" I ask. This doesn't make any sense to him, but I then toss the compass at him, and I somehow manage to hit dead center in the face. It breaks as soon as it hits him as I jump towards the right, as that was the direction that the compass was pointing in when I last saw it.
Man, I want to take the time to just realize how cool I just was, but that has to wait. I need to find the Ghost Temple, and find a painting of a Lucky Pebble before any of the four of them can catch me.
Oh, I better figure this out. The path I'm jumping down is the same as the path I was on back before we climbed down here, expect there's a roof over us that's pretty high. While it's a bit difficult to go down this as fast as I can, it does give me a better view of where I'm going, along if I can see the Ghost Temple. I then hear a grunt behind me, but it sounded like somemon throwing something.
So I move over to the left. Turns out I'm on a roll, as a Shadow Ball lands right where I was just at. I then turn around and decide to use Ember to try and slow them down. I don't really try to aim at anymon specificity, I just release it.
Unfortunately, all four of them dodge it (not that they had to anyways), and they're catching up to me fast. I bolt my eyes forward as I jump down to the next step and notice that there's another abyss. I turn to the right as I start to pray that the temple is just ahead of-
"MEEEEEEE!" I yell as I feel a claw slash my back. It sends me towards the pit I wanted to avoid, but unlucky for me, the momentum is just enough to send me over the nothingness. I close my eyes as I can't look. Dang it, are these my final moments?
Then, I feel myself get pushed. I don't have much time to think about what it was because I land on the ground hard, as I bounce off of my chest and onto my back. I open my eyes and see...oh great another tunnel.
I turn my head to look to my other side, but the moment I see a Dark Pulse coming at me, I roll deeper into the cave. I get up onto my feet, but man, my back could be feeling much better than it is now. But as I make my way through, I see some weird patterns on the wall.
Oh thank Arceus, this might actually be the temple. That would mean that the only thing I have to do it find a painting of the Lucky Pebble, and pray once again that Scar or any of his friends don't know the move Teleport.
My pace is much slower than it was before I fell down here, but I can't spend any time to rest. I finally reach a dome like structure that's as almost the same build as the Ground Temple. Garden, stairs, patterns, yadi yadi yada, aside from looking like trains hit this place, I can't deny that there is some beauty here. Guess Arceus wanted each temple to look the same just with a new coat of paint, and I'm not complaining, that means that the Lucky Pebble should be...
I yell, "THERE!" As soon as I see it on the wall, right above a picture of Lunala and under a photo of Arceus. I look towards the entrance I came through. Doesn't seem like they tried to take the jump, or hopefully didn't make it. The pain from my back starts to get worse, but as soon as I touch that picture, I'll be able to take a breather-
Speaking of breath, I lose all of it as somemon just charged into me and pinned me against the wall hard. Bad news: It's Scar, and I think his team might have just arrived. Good news: I think I can just reach the pattern from where I am.
"Man, you really are annoying to chase after, but it's the end of the line for you." He says to me.
But I just can't help but laugh, which catches Scar's team, including himself, off guard. He pushes me harder into the rocks and says, "What's so funny?"
As my hand gets closer to the mark, I smile as I get the last laugh. "Did you ever ask yourself if you thought this through?" The last thing I see is his dumbfound face as I close my eyes, and the moment, I feel as if I'm traveling at light speed, until I stop. I open my eyes again, it's nothing but black.
I sigh. Finally, I get to have a break! I slide down until I get into a sitting position. I know that Team Forever is still out there, and they would probably want me to get done as soon as possible, especially now that I'm separated from them.
But after all of that?! Like I said, I need a breather.
She groans, but she still remains on the ground.
"Just five more minutes." She thinks as she tries to drift back into a nice, cozy slumber. She moves her legs to try and get more comfortable, but her nest is...muddy, that doesn't seem-
Suddenly, she remembered everything! She was at the Guild in her nest, and Lucas had just came in to check up on her, and then she touched Red's scarf-
*Gasp* SHE WASN'T HOME!
She screamed in terror as she went straight to her feet. Her eyes began to focus on her surroundings, but it was dark. The only light was coming from torches that were already lilted along the walls, although the color light they gave out was very eerie.
Safe to say that she was far from home. But where is she?! Red and Team Forever were going to the Ghost Temple, so, was this is a secret chamber in there, or some other part of Shifting Caves. How long was she out for?! Teleporting long distances took a lot out of her, but she had no idea that she could teleport THIS far.
...was somemon...watching her?..
Eve was shaking like a baby tree in a wind storm, but slowly, she turned herself around three-sixty degrees. The room she was in was just like a box. It had six even sides, with each of the four walls on the ground having doors, making her confused as one way just looked like another path.
"So, that's the gimmick?" She thought to herself. Oh, she wasn't having a good time. She put her paws over her eyes as tears already began to make their way out. What was she doing?! Teleporting to a place which she only saw in a vision without even bringing anything here. No berries, no seeds, no orbs, just her. A small, little, Alolan Vulpix, in way over her head.
She wanted to go home. She tried to imagine her nest next to the fireplace. That soft hay that was so comforting and inviting to sleep in. Just being safe, away from anything that wants her. She lost her balance and fell in the mud. She then took gasps of fresh air as she got up.
Her stamina, it was nearly gone. The only energy she had was what she was using to stay awake. She was stuck here...alone...or with whatever guardian was here.
Her knees were still shaking like chains. She was at the mercy of whoever was here. She-she couldn't fight, not in the shape that she was in. She wasn't strong, or even brave. Just a frail coward who wanted nothing more then to return to the place she called home.
"...help..." She whimpered.
...
"...h-help..." Tears were now falling to the already wet ground.
"Save me...anybody..."
...
"...help..."
Her energy wasn't enough for her. Even doing something as simple as this was draining for her. What was she thinking? Not only could this be the end of her, but it could be the end for so much more. She clutched something harder that was in her paws. She then slowly opened her eyes to a red bandana, Red's bandana.
She became furious. It was all because she touched this stupid piece of clothing. If she had just left it alone, or didn't even notice it, she would still be at home safe and-
Her ears then picked up a soft bam, the first noise that she didn't make, but that wasn't worth celebrating over. She didn't move to face it, but remained frozen in fear. She was just asking for anymon to help her out of her, but now she realizes that it was a mistake to wish for that.
The bams turned into steps, heavy steps that made her turn whiter than she already was. Her mind was taunting her with what horrible monster is right behind her, and it's all her fault that this is even happening. She shook more and more as the steps slowly became louder and louder. She want to scream so bad, but she might as well be inside an ice cube.
Everything about this was awful. Then the steps stopped, which only worsened the Vulpix's scrabbled mind. She felt the beast staring down at her as she wondered what would happen next.
"Well, I guess you can't stop making stupid mistakes, now can you?" A male voice called out.
Eve stopped. Her brain crashed as the voice reached her ears. She was filled with nothing but dread.
There-there-...there was no way...
...he's dead...
"Dead? Are you referring to me or to yourself?"
Her anxiety was at an all time high. This was a nightmare, right? She's asleep in her nest and just needs to wake up.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" The voice yelled.
The tears resumed. She didn't know what to do, but she had to do something-
"LOOK AT ME!" The voice barked.
She let out a scared yelp. She had to obey the voice. It was the only thing that she was good at. Every step she took was torture for her. What was going to happen to her? She was stuck here, with the Pokemon she feared more than anything.
With a heavy heart, her body was facing the other Pokemon, but her head was still looking to the dirt. Her breathing was fast, she was still shaking, and she still felt tears in her eyes.
The voice then said, "Now look me in the eye."
Like a Slowpoke, her head slowly moved-
"NOW!" It scared the daylights out of the Fox Pokemon, who's head shot up and looked the Pokemon in the eyes, and it only made everything worse. What she saw was a battle-riddled Pokemon, with marks all over his body. His gray colored fur was only made darker and more threatening by the lighting, and his face...
*Gulp* His face had a deep, fatal looking slash over his face that started where his left ear would have been if it was there, then ran through his left eye, and stopped at his nose. His horn on his head was also destroyed, and he only had one eye, but that right eye stared deep into her soul.
She was nothing compared to this Pokemon. The one before her was her mentor, the Hisuian Arcanine, the Legendary Pokemon himself...
...Ash...
Her head went straight back down. She couldn't bring herself to look at his face again. It was too much for her.
Ash was very crossed. "So, you won't even look at what you've done to me, huh. Fits you well."
Eve felt that, but she couldn't speak back. Ash was her teacher, the Pokemon that understood her gift the most...even more than what she knows about today.
"I was right about you Dreamers." Ash continued as he began to walk around Eve. "You always had your heads in the sky and could never look down and see what was in front of your own four feet."
She felt that as well, and it was getting deeper and deeper into her the longer he talked.
"I tried my best with you, and I'm not going to lie, you had something in you, but that's long been forgotten. Do you even remember anything I taught you aside from what your mother helped you with?"
She grunted at the mention of her mother, and her breathing was slowly getting faster and louder.
"And speaking of Winter, she was so inclined to let you keep doing school, hanging out around the island, despite the fact that the world as we knew it was wrong! Well, guess what, kid, she was wrong, your dad was wrong, your sister-EVERYMON BUT ME WAS WRONG!" He roared at the end.
Eve was at her breaking point when she felt Ash's mouth right up to her left ear. "And you took their bait. You didn't want to give up your old life. You wanted this as an excuse, not because of your willingness to help others, and what has that done for you? You've been throwing pearls to Mightyena, constantly putting yourself in danger and risking the lives around you and the bloodline you're apart of."
He then yelled, "WAKE UP! MOMMY CAN'T SAVE YOU NOW! NO ONE CAN! YOU'RE JUST A WEAK, PATCHIC, LITTLE CHILD WHO CAN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT!" Causing the Alolan Vulpix's ears to shake like her body.
"ENOUGH!" Eve cried out with tears flooding her eyes. All the hatred, all the rage that was building up inside of her, she had to let it out on him. She didn't forget everything. She had power. And he was going to know about it. She let out a bright Hyper Beam at the Arcanine right beside her, but it just went past him, without hurting him in the slightest.
In a second though, he disappeared, but it was only a matter of time before she felt the earth punch her in the gut. The Stone Edge tossed her up into the air like a toy before the Arcanine used Iron Tail to send her into the corner of the room. A large dust cloud formed as the Vulpix's back slammed against the rockwall, but before she could speak, fire surrounded her on all sides as she was fried by Flamethrower.
It was brutal for her, and she screamed her lungs out. Finally, it stopped, and Eve finally fell to the floor. She dropped Red's bandana and tried to lift up her head to look for it, but her head was in bad shape. It was probably bleeding on the back, and she was as dizzy as a Spinda. But by some miracle, she saw the bandana in front of her, and she went to crawl towards it, but when she put her paw on top of it, something stepped on her back, pinning her chest to the ground and taking her breath away all at once.
"A jack of trades, master of none." Ash said. "Or in this case, a joke of trades. You think you could possibility stop me. You could never even land on hit on me, even when I wasn't trying."
Eve struggled to get fresh air as he said one last line. "I never understood why Arceus even looked at your direction, and thought that you were capable of wielding such a gift. You don't deserve this!"
With tears in her eyes, she exclaimed, "And I don't want this!"
She feels the pressure from Ash let up a little as she breaks down, weeping.
"I-I-I wanted to see the world, a-and I thought I could be a worthy successor to you, but I was wrong! So wrong..."
"And everymon's who isn't with me is trying to trap me or kill me. I'm just a tool to everymon. And I lead other's in danger...you're right, I'm just a mistake. Always ending up in trouble, and always getting myself and others hurt..."
"I miss Dad, I miss Mom...I miss Kindle...I wish I never got this curse. I wish things could go back to the way they were...I wanted to see my family again..."
That was all the Arcanine needed to hear. "Well, that was all you had to say, and I'd be more than happy to help you with that."
He lifted his paw over Eve, and went to crush her, but when he slammed both of his paws onto the ground, it was only the crater that remained. The Vulpix had teleported away and tried to hide in another room, but there was no where to hide. No place was safe. There was nothing but air in each room. No matter how much she ran, all of them looked the same, felt the same...was she going in circles.
"It's what you want, why aren't you happy?" She heard in her head.
She groaned. Doubt...she's never escaping from this nightmare. "You want to be with your family again, so why don't you give up?" He said.
Eve panicked as the pain from her head distracted her, but she answered. "I-I can't just die!"
"Oh come on, one minute, you don't want this, the next one, you do!? Make up your mind!"
"I have, and I'm leaving this place-"
"To hide? That's what you've been doing on this island, trying to escape from the past, running away from your mistakes, leaving everymon behind for dead."
Eve tried to answer, but she tripped over herself, and plopped onto the ground. She had never tripped over herself, but her body and mind were a mess. She couldn't think straight. Everything around her was nothing, the only thing she knew now was Doubt, and he had one more thing to say to her.
"You bring nothing but pain to those around you, and they can only take so much until they just...pop! You're not loved, no one cares about you, and it would be better if you died so that Ash can take what's his. You've proven you're not worthy, so now accept it. Accept fate! Maybe in the afterlife they will want to be with you."
Eve, with tears in her eyes, just sat there, crying away. She couldn't find any words to say. All of what he said was true. She was broken, weak, just a child who didn't know any better.
She was nothing. She then looked at her paws, and saw the red bandana, which now has lost most of it's color to the black mud of this dungeon. Her mind had flashbacks of Apple Woods, attacking Lucas and Red, nearly choking the Raboot to death, and then at Central Mountain where he took her out so that she won't cause any trouble.
That was all she could think about. Red, the Pokemon who had a mysterious power like her, was faster, braver, stronger, happier, despite only having it for about two weeks. She had this power for over a year, and had training from somemon who knew this like the back of their paw. How...how was that possible?
She starting twitching randomly. She lost her home, she lost her family, she lost her friends, lost any kind of strength she had, she lost her way, she lost to Ash, she lost her mind...
...
...
"You are nothing but a pawn that never wins."
And that was it for her. She gripped the bandana as hard as she could, chucked like a mad mon, and foamed flooded her mouth. She then started painting like a wild mon as she just lost the last thing she was hanging onto.
The part of her that has tried so hard to stay strong though her life, but now just couldn't take anymore.
Her sanity.
She was now truly broken.
