Gracker Stack

Thanks for reviewing: Crunchyy24, and ravengal!


Taffy abruptly found herself awake. Her eyes shot open immediately, and she looked around in frantic confusion.

The minccino let out a small whine. Her whole body seemed to ache, and she could smell her blood caked into her fur. She raised her paws to attempt to rub at the dry, crusty substance on her face.

Taffy felt a distinct lack of her glasses being present. Glancing around her surroundings allowed her to confirm that, indeed, everything appeared as a nondescript amorphous blob of color.

"Wonderful, Taff'. You just had to say no to the contacts," the minccino sighed as she shakily stood up. Her ears soon picked up movement from behind, prompting her to turn around.

The indistinct sea of brown around her soon had a large, black blob in the center, with a yellow and brown one within that. Taffy briefly turned her head from one side to the other, gauging the acoustics of her surroundings, and concluding herself to be in a small cave of sorts, with it being night time outside.

"You're awake!" a voice called, startling the minccino. The yellow and brown blob separated into one yellow and brown blob and one yellow blob. She attempted to back away as it approached, but she soon found herself against the wall.

Soon enough, as it got closer, Taffy could just barely make out the face of a furret smiling at her. Grinning in return, the minccino waved with enthusiasm.

"Howdy, there!" Taffy greeted, her tail swishing from one side to another.

The furret put one paw on the minccino's head. Taffy briefly shivered uncomfortably from the touch, but it was concluded soon thereafter.

"Well, hi!" the furret soon said, taking a seat. Taffy felt inclined to do the same, and so she did. She noticed that the other blob in the distance hadn't really moved. "My name is Furret!"

Taffy nodded politely, resting her paws in her lap.

"I'm Taffy. Good to meet ya', sugar!" after a short pause, she got right into questioning. "Mind telling me what happened?"

From what little Taffy could make out, Furret's posture appeared to sag. She looked away from the minccino with a sigh.

"Well... Stoutland and his gang attacked again. Took out you explorer folk, and... And they took Minun!" Furret shot upright in pure rage, which startled Taffy into falling backwards. Furret took a few deep breaths to relax. "Everyone 'scept you and the fennekin were able to warp away. Since you two were pretty beat up, the village decided we'd nurse you back to health..."

Taffy felt a swell of anger within her chest. Standing with confidence, she gestured to herself with a smirk.

"Ain't a problem, sugar! Peppy and I will retrieve our fair Minun. That's a promise!"

"Really?! You two'd do that?" The furret appeared to look back and forth between Taffy and the yellow blob.

Peppy finally spoke up, confirming the identity of said shape.

"W-Well... It's kinda our j-job, right?" the fennekin squeaked.

Taffy smiled, advancing toward her.

"Atta girl!" The minccino began feeling around herself, taking stock of her inventory. She still had her her APER Gear, and her back pack was slipped onto her by Furret, though her glasses were nowhere to be found. If her vague memories of face-planting the wall were correct, she doubted that she'd be seeing anything any time soon.

"You two be careful, out there!" Furret called, as Taffy bounded out of the cave with Peppy following after.

"We will!" replied the minccino.


Minun peeked her head out from beneath the sleeping form of Stoutland. Bracing her paws against the dog, she began to methodically shift her way out.

She panted heavily from the oppressive heat. The mouse wiped a head of sweat from her brow, before taking a gander at her surroundings.

The sandy landscape was enclosed by a wall of cacti, stretching high into the air. Minun grumbled a bit, knowing she could easily clear the jump if not for the loose sand she stood on.

Numerous lilipup and herdier were lazing about, sleeping soundly. The only two that remained awake stood facing away from her, guarding the exit of the cactus fortress.

In the center was a wide, deep hole, stretching so far down that no light appeared to reach the bottom.

With a determined huff, Minun began to tip-toe around the camp. One by one, starting with Stoutland, she placed one paw on each pokémon's hide, sending a weak wave of electricity through their bodies just well enough to inflict minor paralysis.

The minun was able to affect over half of the camp before her electricity reserves ran dry. Exhausted, her satisfied, she briefly stretched, then flopped down onto her front for a nap.


"And, you really don't remember anything?" Alfonzo's voice was painted with concern as he rested his hand upon Snute's back.

The ninetales shrugged off his touch as she nodded.

The pair were sat within a large room. The floor was a gray cobblestone, in contrast to the black walls and ceiling. It stretched the parameter if the room to form a walkway surrounding a pool of water in the middle.

Also in the room were a buizel propelling herself around through the water and a sableye relaxing atop a black towel.

"It's just... I remember walking in there, talking for a while, then it gets fuzzy. Next thing I know, I'm waking up with a pounding headache." As Snute spoke, she finished attaching the new APER Gear addon which she has obtained as a reward for the previous mission. One that annoyed her with its current lack of conclusion. Said addon appeared to be a long rod with two blades on the end.

The floragato shrugged, then fell onto his tummy. He crossed his arms in front of him, resting his chin atop them.

"Sounds kinda sus to me, but maybe the fumes from his machines were just getting to you," Alfonzo suggested. "So, what's that new junk you got do?"

Shaking her head with a frown, Snute shrugged.

"It says it's a 'Helicopter Addon'. No clue what that entails." The ninetales tapped the icon that had appeared in her toolbox. She then backed away as a hollow clang rang out.

The new addon attachment whirred to life, Snute's APER Gear rising into the air.

Snute squinted at the device.

"How am I supposed to control it if it flies the whole device?"

Alfonzo shrugged.

"Maybe you're supposed to fly around with it."

Having no better ideas, Snute gripped onto the device. Though growling lightly in humiliation, she began booping her nose against the screen to operate the device.

The APER Gear began to rise and rise. It was not strong enough to beat out Snute's weight and lift her off from the ground.

"That's a rather bit cringe, innit, bruv?"

Alfonzo blinked, staring at the ninetales. He eventually shrugged.

"Your moon-speak aside, I guess your butt is just too big."

Ignoring the remark, Snute released her APER Gear. It floated to the top of the room, much to her dismay.

"Brilliant," Snute snarked. "It's worse that useless." With an agonized sigh, Snute shouted up to her treacherous technology. "Hey! SP-1!"

She waited a moment.

And another.

No response.

The ninetales growled, throwing her paws into the air. She fell onto her back shortly after.

Alfonzo shook his head, waggling a finger.

"Maybe she wouldn't ignore you if you treated her with any respect."

"What do you know about respect, serial kisser? It's a fucking machine." Snute spoke each word with increasing venom.

Shrugging noncommittally, Alfonzo looked up. He put his hands on either side of his mouth.

"Yo, Espy!" called the floragato. "You there?"

After a short moment, a slightly timid voice responded from above.

"Fonzy?"

"The one and only!" The floragato smirked, placing his hands on his hips.

"Oh, bugger," Snute grumbled, rolling her eyes.

"What's up?" Espy called down. Alfonzo couldn't see her image from there, but the concern was clear in her voice.

"Snute's APER Gear is stuck hovering in the air! Can you bring it back down?"

"Oh! Sure!"

Within a few seconds, the rotary blades on the addon slowed. The APER Gear descended for several meters until Snute caught it in her paws.

Alfonzo walked over, taking a seat next to Snute with a smirk. Her wrapped an arm around her, eliciting a growl.

"Thanks, Espy!" Alfonzo said with a smile. He leaned down to place a kiss on the screen, about where the 2D espeon's muzzle was.

Snute scoffed, snatching it out of his reach. She ignored the confused, blushing expression on the virtual espeon's face.

"You're just bloody insufferable!" she snapped, glaring at Alfonzo.

The floragato smirked, trailing a finger along Snute's muzzle.

"Yet, you love me anyway!" Alfonzo chuckled, gazing into her eyes.

Snute maintained a flat stare. She responded after a moment.

"Do I?"

Alfonzo's eyes widened briefly, his smirk faltering. He let his hand lower, ceasing to caress Snute's face.

"I don't know. Do you?" He asked, leaning forward just a bit.

"I'm not sure anymore," Snute sighed. She sat her APER Gear down along with her bag. Espy still appeared on the screen, though she seemed content to merely listen.

The ninetales slipped into the pool. As she entered the cool water, she pulled Alfonzo along with her.

"Honestly, I get it," the floragato eventually said. He kept his tone as neutral as he could. "I'm happy to be with you again, but... I'm not sure I feel that connection anymore."

"That's... Good." the ninetales gave a pleased nod.

"Good?" Alfonzo relaxed further into the water until just his head peeked above the surface. "Do you actively wish not to love me?"

Snute nodded.

"Truth be told, I wish to rid this planet of filthy love." She stared down solemnly into her reflection.

Alfonzo's eyes shot open in alarm. He sat back up, turning to stare at Snute with utter bewilderment.

"Excuse me?" The floragato gestured his hands around as he tried to formulate any thoughts. Snute briefly glanced toward him, then shamefully back to her reflection. "There's no way you're serious."

"Dead." Snute's eyes narrowed.

Alfonzo through his hands up in exasperation, splashing water all over himself and Snute.

"That's... Like, evil! How heartless do you have to be to want to rip something so wonderful away from everyone? Do you care so little about your fellow pokémon?"

"I knew you wouldn't understand." Snute sighed dejectedly, slumping down into the water.

"Well, then, by all means; help me to do so, Lucille. Explain your thought process."

Snute narrowed her eyes. With gritted teeth, she looked away.

"Forget about it.".

Alfonzo shook his head with a shrug.

"Women..." He received a small slap in the face, courtesy of one of Snute's tails.


Peppy checked the time on her APER Gear as she and Taffy prepared for the dungeon journey ahead.

It read to be roughly five-thirty in the morning. She suspected that the rest of her team would come to help soon enough, but it did little to quell the apprehension of heading into a hostile environment with only Taffy for company.

Just remembering the look on Stoutland's face before he charged made her feel like wetting herself. For the time being, however, she refrained.

"Mama Mia... We're gonna die..." Peppy muttered, plucking a small calzone from her bag.

Taffy, whilst chewing on a large acorn, rested a paw onto the fennekin's back.

"There, there, sugar!" Taffy soothed. "He just caught us off guard, is all! He's got brute strength, I'll give em' that, but we've got brute intellect!"

Peppy sighed, taking a bite of her calzone. She shot a nervous glance toward the minccino next to her. She re-wrapped her calzone, slipping it back into her bag.

"I d-doubt I'll be much help... I'm just... I'm weak, and I always want to run away!" She sniffled a bit as she spoke, tears threatening to leak from her eyes. "I didn't even do anything useful in the dungeon yesterday, and then just got taken out in one attack!"

As the fennekin began to sob, Taffy shook her head, pulling Peppy into a hug.

"Oh, fiddlesticks," thought the minccino. "I'm never good with the crying ones... Think! What would Yuja do for Ringue?"

Smirking in triumph, Taffy snapped her digits. Quickly rustling into her back, she pulled out a rich chocolate brownie.

"Hey, cheer up! I've got a... Uhm..." She squinted down at the shape, trying to discern what it was. "Some sort of chocolate baked good, all for you!"

Peppy peeked one eye open, still sniffling.

"I... I appreciate it, r-really, but that's not gonna make me any stronger..." The fennekin gulped. "N-Not that I'm dissing your brownie! I j-just..." Sighing, Peppy face-planted into Taffy's lap. The tears continued to flow. "Look, I don't wanna seem ungrateful or anything, but I don't th-think I have an a-appetite right now."

Taffy sighed. Shrugging, she stuffed the entire baked good into her maw. Only then did the word "brownie" register in her mind.

It was too late, however. The taste of grass gummi hit her tongue quickly, the jammy, sweet, and fresh flavor mingling with the deep, savory chocolate experience.

"Well... Guess I'm gonna be blazed out of my mind in like ten minutes."

"Look, Peps," Taffy sighed, stroking the fennekin's back. "Yeah, sure, you were a bit useless yesterday," she paused as Peppy choked out a whine. "but that doesn't matter! Today is today, sugar. Life is hard, and it's never gonna get easier, so just stand up and do what ya' feel ya' gotta, 'kay?"

The fennekin sighed miserably, though raised a paw to wipe away her tears.

"I don't know... I just... I don't feel like I can contribute."

The pair finished packing up, heading off into the mystery dungeon. Taffy kept a paw on Peppy's side, partially to comfort her and partially to be lead around.

"Feel like you don't match up to your other teammates, sugar?" the minccino ventured, her tone soft and caring.

Their paws sank into the cool sand of the dungeon. The sky appeared its previous grayish blue, and the gloomy mid-day lighting persisted, despite it being around sunrise outside of the dungeon.

Sighing, Peppy nodded.

"Yeah. Just kinda seems like everyone has some value and all." The fennekin grew more passionate as she spoke. "Aundei is kind, brave, and strong! Alfonzo is charming, clever, and slick! Snute is... Uh... Fearless and committed! And that's not even to begin signing the praises of the rest of the guild!" She then appeared to visibly deflate. "Then, there's me. I just sit there, useless, until I either need to run away or make someone a pizza..."

Peppy frowned, staring up into the sky. A rush of wind blew past, which felt nice through her fluffy white muzzle.

"Well, hey," Taffy started, "everyone has something of value to contribute! And, we all get stronger with time!" She turned to gaze into Peppy's eyes. The two shared a comfortable moment of silence before the minccino continued. "I was always quite weak, myself, you know! But, in spite of that, I've always excelled in knowledge of mystery dungeons! Even if I can hold my own in a fight, now, that's still where my expertise is. Everyone appreciates me for it!"

The fennekin smiled just a bit, nodding.

"That's good to hear. I guess I just need to find my niche and keep working, right?"

"That's right, sugar." Taffy patted Peppy on the back with a smile.

"I... I appreciate you letting me vent, Taff'." Peppy bowed her head gratefully.

The minccino nodded in response.

"Ain't no problem! If there's anything on your mind, it's best to talk about it."

"Well... Is there anything you need to talk about, then?"

Taffy paused a bit at that question. Peppy soon followed, halting her progress. The minccino's expression visibly fell.

"Well... I'm sure you know what happened with Alena, right?"

Peppy's smile vanished. She cringed, averting her gaze.

"Y-Yeah."

The minccino sighed deeply. She sat down, with Peppy soon following.

"Her death is kind of my fault." She bit her lip, shame etched onto her features.

Peppy's eyes widened.

"W-What?!"

Taffy raised her paws defensively.

"No, no, nothing like that!" With a deep breath, she shook her head. "To make a long story short... I was eager to study something about the dungeon. I rushed forward on my own, and Alena decided to follow me to keep me safe. The Draco-Shredder blocked us in and... Well... It wasn't pretty. Luckily, or maybe not so much depending on who you ask, everything kind of went dark after the initial attack, so I didn't see much. But... Her screams... And, the body wasn't ever found."

The minccino seemed to be staring off into space. Her expression had turned to one of unreadable neutrality. She let her eyes fall closed as Peppy hugged her tightly.

"I-It doesn't seem like it was your fault at all! You couldn't have known..."

Taffy shook her head.

"Deceit Gorge was an extremely dangerous dungeon, and we knew the killer was in the area. I shouldn't have run off. Amy explicitly told me not to, but... I didn't listen. I ignored her warnings, and because of it, Alena is dead." She shut her eyes. "And... Amy is dead, too. I... I never got to make things right with her." The minccino's composure failed her rapidly. She began to breathe quickly, tears flowing freely. "Our last conversation was an argument! My friend... Gone! I never got to say goodbye! I never got to say I was sorry! I never got to tell her how much she meant to me!"

"I..." Peppy felt her heart drop at the sight of Taffy breaking down. The fennekin had no clue what to say.


Snute's gaze lingered on the sunrise. She stood there, simply watching the celestial body raise above the horizon. After a long moment, she closed her dove pendant, slipping it back into her bag.

The ninetales turned away from the ship's balcony to see Aundei approaching steadily. The glameow fixed her with a wide smile.

"Good morning, Silly!"

Snute simply grunted in acknowledgement, narrowing her gaze into a glare. As the glameow turned to walk back toward the stairwell, he occasionally looked over his shoulder to see Snute trailing behind. He looked concerned all the while, before eventually speaking up.

"What's the matter, Silly?"

"Up yours."

Aundei smiled, shaking his head

"You can talk to me! I'm your friend!" The cat reached over to give Snute a hug. He was instead aggressively pushed away, stumbling back. Her eyes widened in alarm as Aundei stumbled backwards and down the stairwell.

Aundei's yowl of pain upon skidding across the first landing and into the railing sent a spike of guilt through the ninetales' heart.

She shook her head with a sigh, gritting her teeth.

"Just stop caring. Just stop caring. Just stop caring."

Klyshio growled to himself a few feet away as he watched Snute descend the stairs. The simisage was practically fuming.

"I'm going to rip that girl limb for limb..." he muttered, balling his fist.

Lopunny turned to look at him, head tilted.

"Hmm? What happened?"

"...Nothing. Nothing at all," Klyshio growled.


At the breakfast table sat Snute, Aundei, Alfonzo, Yuja, Ringue, and Vanilluxe.

Snute idly picked at her bowl of salted nuts whilst she listened to the others talk.

"I'm sure they'll get here eventually," Ringue huffed, rolling her eyes. She quickly stuffed two whole muffins down her throat in less than ten seconds. "If I was you, Guildmaster, I'd barge in there with that master key of yours and drag her ass out here myself!"

Snute's eyebrow briefly quirked in intrigue at the mention of a master key, her ears perking up just a bit.

"Hey, Ringue! Cheer up! I know you don't like Honey very much, but she'll be a great help in getting our friends back!"

The slurpuff grumbled quietly, opting to stuff another muffin into her mouth, actually chewing that time to avoid needing to respond.

Alfonzo glanced down at Aundei curiously.

"She ain't get a nickname?"

The glameow smiled, shaking his head.

"Ringue is her nickname!"

"...Fascinating." The floragato placed his thumb on his chin thoughtfully. "What's your real name, then, Ringue?"

"It's Ringue!" she cheered, hopping up in joy.

Whilst Alfonzo was utterly baffled, Snute was, unfortunately, used to the guild members' eccentricities by that point in time.

Their conversation was interrupted as three individuals rushed into the cafeteria. A deerling, poochyena, and growlithe met the group's eyes.

Some pokémon at various other tables briefly turned to look, before going back to their discussions.

"Sorry we're late!" Honey sing-songed. "I was putting on my makeup!"

"And, I was putting on my makeup," Pea added.

"And I was putting on my makeup!" the growlithe added.

"So, the sloozy arrives," Snute acknowledged. "Who're your lackies?"

Honey blinked, tilting her head confusedly.

"Lackies...?"

"I'm Pea," the poochyena sighed, closing her eyes. She reached up a paw to adjust her pikachu skull collar.

"And I'm Ishe!" the growlithe cheered. "The 'S' and 'H' are silent!" He stood proud, chin tilted up just a bit. His fur appeared a bit disheveled.

Alfonzo smiled, bowing politely.

"It is a pleasure to meet ya', folks! I am The Amazing Alfonzo!"

Pea looked generally disinterested, Ishe gave a wide grin, and Honey was admiring the distracted cat's body.

Ringue leaned over toward Snute, muttering in the ninetales' ear.

"Don't trust that doe-eyed slut. Keep her far away from your man."

Snute quirked an eyebrow. The slurpuff seemed to be a completely different individual when Honey was involved.

"...Noted," the ninetales eventually replied."


"Team Horizon! Are you ready?!" Lefty cheered.

"Yes, Guildmaster!" Yuja and Ringue replied in unison.

Everyone stood at the entrance to the Shifting Sands dungeon, preparing to head inside.

"Team Stop Calling Me That! Are you ready?!"

"Yes, Guildmaster!" Aundei cheered. Alfonzo and Snute simply saluted in unison.

Alfonzo leaned down to confide with Snute.

"That's our team name?" he asked, incredulous.

"Unfortunately," the ninetales confirmed.

"That... Sucks."

"Yeah."

"Tab! Are you ready?!" Lefty called.

"Yes," the minccino in question grunted. He adjusted his white coat, then shifting his glasses.

"Team Uh Uhm What's a Good Team Name Guys Um Team Stars I Guess Is Fine Wait Are You Writing All Of That Down Stop It I Said Stop Please I'm Begging You Okay What If I Offer You a Bit of the Ol' Backside Access If You Catch My Drift! Are you ready?!"

"Yes, Guildmaster!" Honey and Ishe shouted, both smiling. Pea gave a polite nod.

"I suddenly feel a lot less terrible about our team name," Snute snidely snarked.

"What's wrong with our team name?" Aundei ventured. "I think it's unique!"

"Of course you do."

"Attention, maggots!" Righty shouted, grabbing everyone's attention. "The dungeon's big! These mutts could be hiding anywhere! I want every team to split up and cover more ground! Our top priority is to rescue Minun, and secondly to locate our missing personnel! Any questions?"

"Just one," Alfonzo interjected. "Shouldn't saving our friends be the top priority?"

"No," Tab stated flatly. He sneered condescendingly as he adjusted his glasses. "My sister can take care of both herself, and your fennekin. We have a presumably untrained civilian who's been kidnapped and needs to be located immediately." He then turned to address Snute, pointing a paw toward her accusingly. "And you. Don't go rushing in blindly like you did with the Draco-Shredder incident. We're in teams for a reason. Got it?"

Snute glared.

"Loud and clear, Einstein."

"What does Einstein mean?" Ringue asked with a tilt of her head.

"She's calling him a rock," Yuja explained. "In a grammatically questionable fashion, at that."

Tab shook his head, sighing.

"Yeah, whatever. Let her toss her petty insults. Can we go grab my sister, now?"


Taffy and Peppy walked together in relative silence. They'd recovered from their earlier emotional dump enough to progress through the dungeon.

They were following the almost faded tracks Stoutland's gang had left behind. The shifting sand of the dungeon made paw prints wash away within hours, but the sheer quantity of them meant that some were still left barely visible.

"So..." Peppy started. "Why can't we just contact them with our APER Gear, anyway? Let 'em know we're okay."

"The signal can't escape or enter mystery dungeons, except through an entrance or exit! These places are pocket dimensions, as best as we understand, so most of the waves are just being shot out into the void instead of beaming into any satellites."

"I see." The fennekin nodded in confirmation. She looked down to her own APER Gear, checking the map. Her brows raised in curiosity. "Oh, hey! Look at this, Taffy!"

"Hm?"

The minccino took a peak at Peppy's screen. She squinted, though couldn't make out any fine details, try as she might.

"What's up, darlin'?"

"Th-there's little Pokémon icons on the map!" Peppy exclaimed, tail wagging excitedly.

Smiling, Taffy nodded.

"Looks like our friends are here. Press that icon in the top right to start a group chat!"


GROUP CHAT - Heyyyy!

Peppy started a group chat, with the topic: Heyyyy!

Peppy added Taffy, Aundei, Snute, Alfonzo, Vanilluxe, Tab, Ishe, Honey, Pea, Yuja, and Ringue to the group.

Tab left the group.

Aundei: Oh, hi! Good to see you're still kicking!

Pea: That's good.

Ringue: HI TAFFY HI PEPPY!

Honey: Heyyyy, you two! :wink: :hearts:

Ringue: Shut up

Ishe: Hey! That's not nice...

Taffy: Hey guys! Glad you made it out okay

Yuja: long story short, we've split into groups and are searching for those dogs

Honey: Be sure to let us know if you find them! :smile:

Taffy: Got it


Snute and Aundei advanced through the sands, the former slouched with a frown as the latter giddily frolicked along.

"It's been ages since we've tackled a dungeon just the two of us, Silly! Isn't this exciting? Just like the good old days!"

Snute sighed miserably, rolling her eyes.

"It's been less than a week." After a moment of thought, she continues. "I've not even known you for a week."

Aundei smiled wide, looking back toward Snute. He casually hopped over an incoming tumbleweed, which caught in the oblivious ninetales' fur.

"That's true! Tell me about yourself, then! What did you do before you joined the guild?"

Snute blinked, frowning. With a careful tug of her foreleg, she has her paw freed from the offending ball of plant matter.

"Doesn't matter."

"It matters to me!" The glameow slowed to walk alongside Snute, giving her a comraderous nudge on the side.

Sighing, Snute raised her head to walk fully upright.

"I went to explorer's school for a few years, worked for a few more to pay off my loans. Not much to tell."

Aundei nodded, mulling over the information.

"Got any friends you miss?"

"Nope."

"Really?"

"...Maybe one or two."

"How about family?"

"It could be argued."

"Adoption?"

"Not legally speaking."

"Did you ever know your blood family?"

"Yes."

"Stop!"

"Stop wh-" Snute was cut off as she walked face-first into a large rock. She shook off her brief spell of dizziness, shooting a glare toward the offending artifact of geology. With a stark white bean, it was frozen solid, then promptly smashed to pieces with a heavy kick.

As the ninetales took out her frustration, Aundei was taking a look at the ground. Within the shifting sands, a clump of fur was being pulled along.

"Silly, take a look at this!"

"Hm?" Snute turned to look, seeing the clump of fur being leisurely pulled along. "Do you figure it's from one of the dogs?"

"I do!" the glameow confirmed. "Do you think you can pick up their scent?"

"Good idea. Hold on." Leaning down to the floor, she began to carefully sniff at the clump of fur. After a moment of this, she nosed around on the ground for a while. After a moment of searching, she began walking, locked firmly onto a scent trail. "This way."

"Got it!"

The glameow followed patiently behind Snute as she continued forward, nose kept just above the sand. As the two fell in sync, they were able to reach a light jogging pace.


"Woah woah woah!" Ringue shrieked, hopping out of the way of a wayward arc of electricity. "He is not happy about yesterday!"

Yuja backflipped out of the way as another bolt was launched toward her. She let the composition of her cells begin to shift and change.

"You can say that again," the smeargle huffed. Before long, her body had morphed into that of a sandshrew. "Ringue! Pinball Formation!"

"Got it!"

As the false sandshrew curled up into a ball, Ringue began to form a reflect barrier in front of herself. Once it was of sufficient size, she used it to scoop Yuja into the air, then violently smacking her.

A fearow in the sky continued to soar about, eying up its two targets. As it noticed the sandshrew flying directly toward itself, it unleashed a bolt of lightning. It did nothing to harm the oncoming attacker, who soon smacked into the bird with great force.

Shrieking in pain, the fearow quickly grappled Yuja in its claws, aggressively throwing her straight down toward the slurpuff.

Ringue raised her barrier, perfectly bouncing Yuja right back toward the bird. She then quickly took off running forward.

As she looked up, she saw the fearow dodge out of Yuja's way, as she'd predicted it would. Channeling aura into her entire body, the slurpuff took two bounds forward with immense speed. Using the last of the charged up energy, she threw herself powerfully down into the sand.

As Yuja continued to helplessly fly through the air, a slurpuff emerged from the cloud layer, just barely hanging on. Ringue used her barrier to stop Yuja's momentum, then quickly reorienting the conjured surface to let her friend begin rolling down it. Upon reaching the end, Yuja felt the angle of the surface abruptly change, launching her upward at an angle.

The fearow was shooting up toward the pair as Yuja disappeared up through the clouds. Before long, it felt a powerful impact against its head from below, eliciting a shriek.

Yuja finally uncurled. She launched her fist directly into her opponent's face with a loud crack, knocking them out subsequently. The pair fell toward the ground, with Ringue joining as she finally lost grip on the clouds above.

The three impacted the ground with force, creating a huge plume of sand.

Ringue laid flat on her back, exhausted.

"Uuurgh... I need something to eat..."

Yuja clutched at her tummy, eyes squinted shut.

"I think I'm gonna barf."


Alfonzo, Honey, Ishe, and Pea all walked together.

"So..." Pea started, "Why do you figure the Guildmaster put you with us?"

Alfonzo grinned, shrugging.

"No clue. Maybe they thought grumpy pants needed to warm up to Aundei a bit more."

"I'm not complaining!" Honey sing-songed with a smile. She pulled the floragato and growlithe of the group into a hug. "I love hanging with cute boys!"

Ishe and Alfonzo both grinned happily, the former's tail wagging with excitement.

The poochyena sighed miserably, rolling her eyes.

"We know, Honey. Trust me."

The deerling released the targets of her affection. She pranced about gleefully.

"You're quite cute, yourself, Honey!" Ishe chirped, smiling.

Honey giggled merrily, bringing her hooves up to the growlithe's cheeks. She pulled him into a quick kiss.

"You're so sweet, Ishy-boo!"

Ishe smiled brightly, his tail wagging with excitement.

"Thanks a bunch!"

Alfonzo chuckled to himself. Pea audibly gagged.

"You should take a cue from this desert," the poochyena deadpanned. "It's nice and dry."

The deerling hummed, contemplating this.

"It's also full of pricks!" She pointed out.

Pea sighed, exasperated.

"I hate you."

Honey pranced over to Pea, landing directly in front of her. She gave the poochyena the bedroom eyes.

"Oh, yeah? Would a kiss change your mind?"

Groaning, Pea rolled her eyes.

"Sure. Why n-" She didn't have a chance to finish before she was brought into a smooch. With a sigh, she patted the deerling on the back.


Snute abruptly stopped, straightening her posture. Aundei galloped face-first into her rump. The two had walked out of a large rock formation, similar to the dungeon's entrance but on a much larger scale. There were similar formations on all four sides. The sky above them was normal, signifying that the "enclosed" space was, in fact, outside of the dungeon.

"I think this it it," mused the ninetales, looking up at a strange structure they'd approached. It appeared to be a large cylinder, composed of a circle of cacti. It asymmetrically had a large buildup of sand against the side facing the shifting sand's current. The other side had a long trail in front of it where the sand was lower into the ground.

"Wow!" Aundei exclaimed, looking up at the tall row of plants. "That's pretty cool! Think you can get a peek over it?"

"I can try."

The glameow approached the wall, pulling his tail taught. Snute hopped on top of it. The cat forcefully extended his tail, with the ninetales clinging on tight to use it as a perch.

Snute peeked over the wall, careful not to brush against any needles.

"Hm... Lots of dogs, as expected. The stoutland is there."

"Do you see Minun?"

Snute squinted, looking closer. After a moment of searching, she noticed a small bit of blue sulking in the corner.

"Mhm." She paused to consider a thought. "Why did they take her, anyway? Seems a might bit sus if it were just a land or food dispute."

Aundei hummed to himself.

"Maybe there's something more personal going on!"

"Maybe," Snute agreed. "How many of them do you think we could take out from a distance before we're noticed?"

"We may want to wait on the others to arrive," the glameow advised. "There's a lot of pokémon there to be taking on with just us two!" He pulled out his APER Gear, looking down to check the map. He then frowned. "Huh. Looks like we're outside of the dungeon."

Snute's eyes flicked over to the entrance on the other side of the cactus ring.

"If we stay near the front entrance, we can probably funnel them more into one place so they don't overwhelm us."

"I dunno, Silly. Seems risky!"

"Well, I'm impatient." With that, the ninetales hopped off from her partner.

Aundei followed behind reluctantly.

"Really, Snute, I'd be more comfortable with at least one more pokémon here to help."

"Maybe I could be of assistance! chirped a third voice. The pair jumped, with Snute assuming a hostile stance.

The ninetales' APER Gear sprouted its helicopter addon, floating into the air. Espy was on the screen, smiling.

Aundei grinned.

"Hey, Espy!"

The digital espeon shook back and forth excitedly.

"Hey!"

Snute raised an eyebrow.

"You're literally a mobile phone. What are you going to do in a fight?"

"Observe, Silly!" Espy declared.

"Don't call me that."

Ignoring the ninetales, Espy activated the aura addon. The fire gem within glowed a bright red, before a small fireball shot out of it.

Snute flinched back, but nodded.

"Fair enough. Come, you two."

"Okie dokie!" Aundei chirped.

"Yes, ma'am!" Espy's image switched to a salute.

Snute began walking around the cactus fortress, with Aundei walking behind and Espy flying above.

The trio made it around front fairly quickly, approaching the two herdier guarding the entrance.

The two pokémon growled, narrowing their eyes.

"What is your business at Fort Stoutland?" the left one snarled.

Aundei give a friendly grin.

"We're just here to-" He was cut off as an ice beam flew above his head, causing him to duck with a yowl. It struck the herdier square in the face, freezing its head over. It began frantically attempting to claw off the offending ice.

The second herdier was met with a fireball to its fur, instantly setting its fur alight. Though panicked, it rushed over to its fellow guard's side, attempting to melt through the ice with their flaming fur.

Within seconds, they managed to free themselves, turning back to face the intruders.

The left herdier lunged forward, teeth bared and aiming for Snute's neck. She deftly dodged the strike, sending a second ice beam into its side after. With a growl, the dog quickly turned and pounced, tackling Snute to the ground, eliciting a shout of alarm.

Meanwhile, Aundei's claws extended into glowing white blades. He repeatedly swung and slashed at the other herdier. Simultaneously, Espy was circling the pair, flinging fireballs into the frey.

The herdier deftly leapt, ducked, and swerved around each blade and incoming projectile, skillfully avoiding every attack.

"Espy! Attack me!" Aundei called.

"W-What?!"

"Just do it!"

Without further question, the device shot an ember down toward Aundei. He quickly slapped it with his claws, redirecting it into the herdier. Not expecting this move, it took a hit, stumbling back. Aundei advanced forward, incapacitating the dog with a slash to the face.

Meters away, Snute was struggling against the large dog, desperately pushing back as it attempted to teae into her neck with its large fangs.

Just when it seemed she'd be overpowered, a fireball flew into her assailant's back, making it howl in pain. Acting quickly, she managed to hook her hind paws under its stomach, aggressively kicking it off from her.

The ninetales hopped up, pounced over, and quickly began assaulting it with a consistent beam of ice. The herdier struggled and struggled, until it could no more, almost completely encased in ice, save for its head.

In a last ditch effort, the herdier bit down on her leg. She shrieked, ice beam fizzling out. She held as still as she could so that the fangs didn't rip through her flesh.

"No!" Aundei shouted, leaping over. He kicked the dog in the side of the head, knocking it out and subseqje fly loosening its jaw.

Snute quickly pulled her paw away, wiping the mixture of blood and saliva off on the unconscious canine's fur.

Aundei quickly pulled an orange berry out of his bag along with some gauze. He squeezed some juice out onto his team mate's wound before carefully wrapping it.

Snute hissed in pain, gritting her teeth but holding still.

"Um, guys?" Espy interjected. "There's more coming!"

The two pokémon looked toward the entrance. Within the base, several herdier appeared to have woken up during the scuffle, some approaching surprisingly slowly, with the others trying to wake everyone up.

Numerous lilipup cowered in one group, with Stoutland standing guard over them.

Five of the approaching herdier seemed to be able to move a lot faster than their stumbling companions.

"The hell are they moving so slow for?" Snute questioned.

"They seem paralyzed, with how their limbs are tensing up," Aundei suggested.

Espy's image switched to one of concern.

"Figure we can take on those five by ourselves?"

"Hm..." Snute tested out her paw, putting weight on it. She cringed, but nodded. "I'll manage."

There was no more time to spare as the five dogs charged out, fangs bared.

Two of them rushed down Snute, with three charging toward Aundei. The pair backed up into each other.

The glameow quickly threw up a protective barrier. All five of the herdier pounced at once, smacking into it. It held just long enough to push them back before dissipating.

"Snute! Bouncepad formation!"

Snute quirked an eyebrow. She got the hint when Aundei sprung his tail a few times. She hopped onto it, and he sprung her into the air.

"And how exactly is this helping, mate?!" she called down, watching the herdier swarm Aundei from all sides.

The glameow quickly lifted his claws, beginning to spin around quickly. He picked up speed until he was a rotating saw blade of death, with his spiraling tail sticking out the top.

"All right, Silly! Turret top tower formation!"

The herdier backed up as Aundei slowly spun toward one. Before long, Snute landed inside of his spinning tail. He formed a whirlwind within his tail to keep Snute in place without spinning.

The herdier were unable to get too close to Aundei without risking the wrath of his rotating claws. They kept their distance, dodging Snute's ice beams

Instead of aiming for the herdier, she began strategically shooting to herd them closer to the wall. As they were rounded up near it, Snute leaned forward, causing Aundei to begin spinning in their direction. Three herdier dodged to either side, with the other two jumping backwards. They yelped loudly as the cactus pines dug into their pelts, sticking them to the wall.

The spinning Aundei soon ran into them, eliciting loud howls as they were painfully grinded and cut by the sharp bladsa. Aundei aimed carefully as to not leave any lethal wounds.

Snute turned to see the other three herdier leap into the air, diving right toward her. She managed to nail one with an ice beam before they landed within Aundei's tail, disrupting his spin with a tackle. The sudden release and redirection of energy sent everybody flying, scattering away from the impact zone.

One herdier landed on its back, barely conscious. Snute landed sat atop his face, burying its head halfway into the sand.

Aundei landed on his tummy. He quickly scrambled away as two more knocked out dogs came to land right next to him. Stumbling, the glameow fell to the ground, head feeling like it was spinning.

The two herdier on the wall had been knocked off, unconscious with several needles poking out of their backs.

Snute briefly looked inside to spy about thirteen herdier nearing the fort entrance, lumbering with labored movements. She ran over to Aundei, leaping onto his tail again. He clumsily sprang her high into the air.

Snute narrowed her eyes, observing the scene below her. With Espy having flown her APER Gear over, she grabbed onto it. The propeller kicked into overdrive in an attempt to keep Snute in the air, successfully managing.

The ninetales frowned in concern as thirteen herdier gathered below, staring right up at her.

"What do we do?!" Espy cried. "There's so many of them!"

Snute looked around, teeth gritted. She then spied a few figures exiting from the Shifting Sands mystery dungeon.

"Looks like our backup is here."

"Huh?!" Espy swiveled to aim her camera down toward the approaching group.

Alfonzo, Honey, Pea, and Ishe all walked out, looking around. They soon took notice of the scene before them.

"Hey!" Snute called. "Get your asses over here and help us!"

Alfonzo looked up to Snute, smirking.

"Got yourself in a pickle, I see!"

Honey looked around in surprise.

"Oh? What's this?"

Ishe and Pea simply shared a nod with each other, the two of them rushing down the herdier group. Half of them jumped to meet the pair, the eight dogs soon clashing in an uproar of kicking, biting, and scratching. The occasional flame or shadow ball could be seen flying out.

The other six herdier divided their attention between Alfonzo, Honey, and Snute.

The deerling fluttered her eyelashes as five herdier approached her, since she was closest.

"Hey there, big boys,~" she cooed, rubbing her front hooves together.

"Can it, pansy," one growled.

"I suggest you run while you can still walk," another added.

Honey batted her lashes more, putting on a cute expression.

"Oh, you don't have to beat me up to remove my ability to walk, silly goofs!" She almost purred as she nuzzled against one of them. She rubbed her hindquarters against another, cupping its face with her tail. Mildly uncomfortable, the five herdier stopped to watch her suspiciously. "Come on... Why don't you boys take me somewhere more... Private?"

The five dogs shared looks with each other. They occasionally looked back to the pleading deerling. Eventually, one of them sighed.

"Well, I wasn't looking forward to fighting today, anyway. I feel sluggish."

"Amen to that, brother!"

With nods of agreement, the five lifted up Honey, beginning to drag her away. With a wide grin, she waves goodbye to her teammates.

Alfonzo raised an eyebrow.

"Uh... Should we go after them?"

At that moment, Pea received a particularly hard kick to the face, getting knocked out of the fight. The swarm of herdier all turned on Ishe. The growlithe met their glares with a cocky grin.

"No," the poochyena grunted, standing up and looking at Alfonzo. "As much as I disagree with her methods, she did just effectively take out five of our opposition at once."

Alfonzo smiled.

"Oh! She's just luring them away to beat them up? I thought it was some sort of self sacrifice."

Pea shook her head, sighing.

"Oh, believe me, she's not sacrificing anything."

The floragato blinked.

"Is she actually going to... Uh... 'Bed' them?"

"...Unfortunately."

"Damn."

They turned back to observe the progress of the fight. Snute had joined in. The ninetales and growlithe fought tooth and nail to keep the dogs at bay with a flurry of ice and fire attacks. They appeared to be getting tired. Espy hovered around in circles, occasionally firing an ember, with her fire gem slowly depleting into nothing.

Sighing, Pea charged back in, tackling two of them from behind. She was immediately piled on top of by two others.

Alfonzo was about to run forward as well, until Aundei called out to him.

"Hey! Fonz!"

The floragato looked to see the glameow shakily sitting up, though still visibly dizzy.

"'Sup?"

Aundei fully extended his tail toward his teammate.

"Yo-yo formation!"

Alfonzo gripped the end of the glameow's tail. Said glameow then curled into a ball, with his empowered claws sticking out.

With a flick of his wrist, Alfonzo retracted Aundei over to himself, before flinging him out toward one of the herdier.

The dog cried out in surprise as it was impacted full force, sent stumbling back. Aundei slashed across its face, knocking it down before Alfonzo sprang him back.

A few of the other herdier turned back in surprise. Alfonzo flung Aundei out to the side, then waved his arm, sweeping the glameow across the battlefield. The three dogs were all struck perfectly, both smacked and slashed.

As Aundei glanced about, he noticed three of the dogs had gotten on top of Snute, Ishe, and Pea and were furiously scratching and biting at them. On his way back to Alfonzo, he quickly grabbed onto Snute's waist. She in turn grabbed onto Ishe's scruff. He wrapped his paws tightly around Pea. The glameow yoinked the fellow explorers backwards with him, tossing the herdier off in the process.

Alfonzo, not expecting the returning weight of four whole pokémon, was toppled down onto his back. The others collapsed on top of him in a pile. They soon sprang back up, with the remaining three herdier doing the same.

"Aren't performers supposed to have good balance?" Snute snarked, eying Alfonzo.

He smirked, patting her back.

"It's not my fault your butt's so big, Snooty Booty."

Ishe looked over, humming in thought.

"But, isn't yours about the same size, Fonz?"

With a contemplative expression, Alfonzo gave his rump an experimental slap.

"By golly, I think you might be right! The acoustics are identical! That makes us booty buddies, Lucy!"

Snute groaned in irritation, whilst Aundei and Ishe snickered, paw-bumping each other.

Pea sighed, shaking her head.

"Who's Lucy?"

"Shut up! You're all so annoying!"

They all stood back to attention as one of the herdier spoke. They turned to see the group of three approaching, flanked by four more.

"Jesus Christ, how many of these fuckers are there?" Snute complained.

Pea threw her paws up in exasperation.

"Who's Jesus Christ?!"

Before anyone could respond, yet more explorers arrived. Peppy, Taffy, Ringue, and Yuja all wandered in together at once.

Outnumbered, the herdier turned tail and retreated back into the cactus fortress. It wasn't very fast.

Peppy ran over, hopping up to nuzzle against Aundei, relieved to be reunited. The still dizzy cat chuckled, hugging the fennekin close.

"Hey there, Chef! Good to see you!"

Peppy just giggled, nuzzling against him.

"What? I don't get anything?" Alfonzo scoffed, though smirking. Peppy leapt over, glomping her other teammate. He chuckled, stroking the top of her head.

Snute huffed, swallowing the surge of envy flowing through her.

"That's so sweet!" Ringue cooed.

"Reunited, at last! What precious darlings!" Taffy cheered.

"Where's Honey?" Yuja sighed.

Ishe stepped up, acknowledging the smeargle.

"She went off to take care of some more herdier!"

"...Nice." Yuja turned to look at the cactus fortress. "Is this their hideout?"

"Seems like," Aundei confirmed. "Stoutland is in there, and he has Minun!"

"Well, well," Alfonzo huffed, cracking his knuckles. "I think it's about time we go teach him a lesson, no?"


The group of explorers walked down the center of the cactus fortress with determination. Numerous herdier were glaring at them from around the edges. They were protecting other injured herdier from the previous battle, as well as the young lilipup.

Stoutland stood up, glaring. He began walking around the large central pit to meet them.

They stopped about ten meters apart. Minun suddenly sprang off from Stoutland's back, to the large dog's surprise. She somersaulted through the air, landing on Alfonzo's shoulder.

Aundei was the first to speak.

"Meowdy, Mr. Stoutland! Sorry about your friends!"

Taffy struck a pose, pointing at the large dog.

"We suggest that ya' stand down, darlin'! We've got you way even more outnumbered, this time, and the Guildmaster will be here any minute!"

Snute snorted, glaring into his eyes.

"Die, monster. You don't belong in this world!" she spoke in an unenthusiastic tone.

Everyone tried their best to ignore Snute's typical weirdness as Stoutland responded.

"Bah! You saw what happened last time, didn't you? A couple extra buddies isn't gonna save little Minun."

The mouse visibly shook with anger, electricity crackling off from her fur as she clenched her fists.

Alfonzo hissed in pain as current began to flow through his arm.

"Hey! Cut that out!" he complained.

"Look, mate," Snute sighed. She began to approach Stoutland, posture remaining low and submissive. "We can talk this out, 'aight? I'm sure we can come to an agreement."

"Oh?" The large dog looked down at the ninetales, interested. The rest of the explorers looked amongst themselves unsurely. "And, what could you possibly offer us?"

Snute pointed to her left.

"See that giant diamond right there?"

"What?" Confused, Stoutland glared to his left. Without warning, Snute extended her fangs with ice, sinking them into Stoutland's neck. He howled loudly in pain, pouncing around and trying to shake the ninetales off.

The rest of the pokémon backed up warily. The dog throwing his weight around was enough to make the ground shake, sending sand cascading into the central abyss. Before long, he managed to shake Snute off him, throwing her several meters away. He immediately charged for her.

The explorers all moved at once, rushing toward Stoutland. Aundei channeled flying energy into his legs, springing toward the dog. Pea formed a large dark pulse, releasing it with a shrill bark. Ishe and Peppy both dashed forward with a flame charge. Alfonzo had his leaf blade extended as he charged down the dog. Taffy and Minun both began charging thunder bolts, which they released with a bang. Ringue, and Yuja at her side having become a perfect copy of the slurpuff, both launched large energy balls straight ahead.

Every single thrown attack hit Stoutland at once. He barked in pain, with the course of his movement thrown off just barely enough to pass the dazed form of Snute. He tanked the attack well, however, still undamaged enough to continue fighting.

Snute soon shook off her dizziness, scrambling back to the rest of the explorers.

"What the hell?!" Taffy cried. "We hit 'em with everything we had!"

"Is this guy invincible?!" Ringue gasped.

"He's a tank! Don't let him hit you, or you're as good as our!" Minun warned. "Just keep hitting him as hard as you can!"

"All right, team!" Aundei called. "Slingshot formation!" The glameow extended his tail toward Alfonzo, who gripped it confusedly. It began attempting to retract, but the floragato held it in place. Shrugging, Peppy then hopped into the spring, followed by Snute.

"Girls! Pinball formation!" Yuja ordered, shape-shifting into a sandshrew. Ringue formed her energy shield ice again, whilst Taffy solidified her tail until it took on a metal sheen. The pair took up positions on either side of Stoutland, a good distance away.

"Pea! Minun! Cavalry formation!" Ishe called, taking a readied stance. The poochyena hopped onto his back, beginning to charge up a dark pulse. Unsure, but wanting to help, Minun hopped up as well, sinking into Ishe's hair.

Stoutland stared the teams down with a glare. He stood tall, growling threateningly. Many of the explorers gulped with trepidation.

With a shout, Alfonzo took aim, releasing Aundei's tail. Stoutland quickly hopped out of the way, letting the living ammunition crash through the cactus wall. With a boom, it exploded into a rain of debris and needles, many of which struck the fleeing dog, solid chunks of cactus smacking into him repeatedly.

Peppy collapsed in the sand, nearly knocked out from the force of the impact. Snute groaned, though stood back up without much issue. She began plucking needles out of herself and Peppy, eliciting pained yips from the fennekin.

As Stoutland hopped and dashed around the living slingshot, projectiles from Pea and Minun, and rollout attacks from Yuja, he began to charge a hyper beam. Upon landing from a particularly large jump, he unleashed it, sweeping it across the field.

Alfonzo instinctively whipped out his leaf blade to deflect it. As a reward for his efforts, he was thrown backward into a wall of cactus, letting out a loud yowl.

Ringue's protective barrier held up significantly better, but she was still subject to thinner, yet still very painful blast of energy.

Taffy frantically scampered away, using her tail to smack Yuja forward. As the bean approached the minccino, she leapt over it with a flip, yelping as her ears got singed. She almost tumbled down into the fortress's large, central hole, quickly scrambling away from the edge.

Ishe gritted his teeth, pumping his legs faster and faster. The growlithe's fiery aura grew as he fought to outpace the incoming attack, the passengers on his back both immensely relieved.

As Stoutland's hyper beam fizzled out, he collapsed forward, panting with exhaustion.

"I think he needs time to recover from that attack!" Aundei shouted, landing gracefully. "We need to get him while he's still down!"

"Be careful!" Minun warned. "You don't want him to get his paws on you, exhausted or not!"

Stoutland growled and panted.

"Leave us... Alone! You... Stupid... Pests!" the dog angrily shouted.

"It's too late for that, darling!" Taffy shouted. She swung her iron tail violently into Yuja, sending the false sandshrew hurling into Stoutland's face. He cried out in pain as she bounced off, then ricocheting off from the wall. Ringue angled her energy shield to bounce Yuja away, sending her into another wall. Taffy then slapped her back Stoutland's way. This repeated for several passes, Yuja gradually speeding up and hitting harder each time she pinballed around.

Finally, with one last powerful slam, Yuja was sent directly toward Stoutland's muzzle. He quickly opened it, then bit down just in time to brutally crunch the false sandshrew under his large canines. Yuja shrieked in agony, the pain so intense that she lost hold of her transformation, reverting back into a smeargle. She was tossed aside, tumbling across the ground limply. Her body was largely spared from damage due to her previous form's tough skin, though the sheer pain was enough to knock her out cold.

Taffy and Ringue both cried out, intense fear written across their faces.

With an enranged shout, Taffy charged forward, despite everyone else's panicked cries for her to stop. She started straight into Stoutland's narrowed eyes. He glared right back. The minccino pressed a button on her APER Gear, activating her dragon claw attack.

Taffy leapt toward the large dog, swinging her glowing magenta claws straight down. She landed a large strike across his face, leaving a bloody gash. With a roar, Stoutland swung his large paw, clobbering the minccino with all of his might. She fell unconscious before she could even process any pain. She was caught by Ringue, who gently set Taffy down.

All of the explorers gathered around their fallen allies, staring down Stoutland.

Still in perfect fighting condition were Ishe, Pea, Minun, and Aundei. Significantly injured were Snute, Alfonzo, and Ringue. The one worst off was Peppy, who only barely hung onto consciousness, ready to collapse at a moment's notice.

"Face it, Stoutland! You can't win, at this rate!" Ishe growled.

The large dog growled, sizing up his odds. He didn't like the look of things. They'd gotten in several good hits on him with only two casualties to their own numbers. And, like they'd said earlier, they had backup on the way, assuming they weren't bluffing.

He internally weighed his options until his eyes settled on the pit in the middle.

"The pit," he thought. "I don't like it, but if I can knock someone in, they're out for good." Snarling, Stoutland stood up tall, largely recovered from the energy drained from his hyper beam. He powerfully leapt forward, jaws opening as he descended upon everyone with great speed.

With shouts of alarm, anyone who could scrambled out of the way. Stoutland indiscriminately lunged forward with his maw, using it to trap whoever he could in one bite. He lifted his head. He'd caught Snute, Peppy, and Pea, all by the tails. Quickly, he turned to desperately charge toward the pit, poised to toss them in.

The three girls all screamed and threw what attacks they into their captor. Peppy weakly spat an ember, Snute stabbed him in the leg with an icicle, and Pea bit down roughly on his neck. Stoutland did not stop for any of it!

"No!" Aundei shrieked, eyes shrinking to pinpricks. Acting fast, he charged all of the energy he could into his legs, darting forward to grab his allies, tearing some fur and flesh off from their tails, but otherwise saving them from certain doom, the four skidding a good distance through the sand.

With pure rage flaring throughout his body, the glameow pushed his tail against the ground, then sprang forward with every ounce of energy he could. With the air as his medium, Aundei shot forward ten meters in an instant, impacting Stoutland with tremendous force, knocking him straight off his paws.

Upon landing, the glameow felt drained from all the energy exerted. His anger had left his system as quickly as it had entered, leaving him with a clear head. As he saw Stoutland flying forward, he gasped in alarm.

The glameow pushed his agonized muscles into overdrive once more, darting forward as fast as he could. He was not fast enough.

With a shout of horror, Stoutland fell over the edge, flailing as gravity pulled him down into the abyss. Aundei tried to leap in, a last ditch effort to save his adversary from demise, but Snute's jaws and Alfonzo's hand both gripped his tail, leading him to simply look over the edge with growing dread.

The other explorers, herdier, lilipup, and Minun all ran over to watch.

Stoutland's horrified shouts filled everyone's ears, echoing all around in a nightmarish cacophony.

For an agonizingly long twenty-four seconds, many of the pokémon present felt intense despair fill their souls as their senses were overwhelmed by nothing but a doomed pokémon's cries of terror.

Aundei felt his heart drop into his stomach as a loud crash echoed up from the abyss. It rang in everyone's ears for a good few seconds. The proceeding absolute silence felt deafening.

Everyone sat in silence. The tension in the air was palpable. Amongst the explorers was a growing mixture of resent, relief, and confusion.

The herdier and lilipup stewed. They fell sad. They grew angry. One by one, they all gathered around the abyss. Even the injured among them struggled over. They soon turned to look at their intruders. Hate sparked within each dog's eyes, save for the youngest of them which didn't quite understand what was going on. They began to shout.

"You killed him!"

"What did we do to you?!"

"Stoutland, no!"

"Murderer!"

They began to charge, one after the other, forming into a large crowd.

The explorers quickly gathered their injured, plus Minun who Alfonzo scooped up. They began to run.

Aundei remained at the pit, staring down into the black abyss. He violently shook. He saw nothing but the pit below him. He heard nothing but the phantom echoes of Stoutland's screams and the accusatory shouts of the herdier. He left nothing but frigid dread.

Snute turned back to see the glameow getting swarmed. He did nothing to fight back as the claws, bit, and generally battered his form.

With a frustrated sigh, the ninetales turned around and darted back toward her teammate.

"You bloody moron!" Snute shouted, doing what she could to swat and kick the herdier off from Aundei. He simply laid there as she uncovered him. He stared right through her, unmoving, unresponsive. "Run, damn it! Run!" Snute hissed. Upon receiving no response from Aundei, plus several fresh wounds, she bit down onto Aundei's scruff. She quickly turned back around and ran out of the fortress.

Herdier pursued them from behind, and more were after everyone else ahead. The sheer amount of pokémon after them was going to be a problem. Or, it would have, if they weren't saved at the last moment.

"So, the lazy bum finally shows up," Snute grumbled internally as she spotted Vanilluxe floating in with Tab on its' back. With two carefully positioned attacks, the Guildmaster instantly froze every single pursuing herdier in place.


The walk back to the S.S. Cryogonal felt like an eternity. Each silent step felt crushing on the soul. The harsh sunlight beating down upon them wasn't helping.

Eventually, they found themselves back inside the halls. Aundei was walking on his own again by that point. He marched forward on ahead of everyone else.

"Hey! Aundei!" Alfonzo called. "Where ya' going?"

"A-Are you okay?" Peppy worriedly croaked. She grimaced in pain as she rolled off from Ishe's back, who did his best to set her down carefully. She gave him a nuzzle on the cheek as a thank-you for carrying her, which was accepted happily.

Snute gazed at the retreating glameow with a frown.

"Glameow. Stop."

Aundei did not stop. He kept walking, head low, tattered cape dragging on the floor.

Taffy frowned sympathetically, fighting to shakily raise her head up atop Snute's back.

"Oh, the poor darling..."

"Yeah," Tab agreed. The minccino had a slightly regretful look for once. "He ain't gonna be okay."

"I can't imagine how he must be feeling!" Lefty cried. "Out of any of us, Aundei might care about others the most!"

"To take a life..." Righty lamented. "The first is always the worst. It doesn't get easier; you simply get more numb to the pain..."

Minun awkwardly shuffled in place, a look of worry on her face.

"Someone should probably go comfort him..."

Snute turned to glare daggers at the tiny mouse. Minun squeaked quietly, eyes widening as she took a step back.

"It's your fault this even happened. You're going to come with us and explain just why we had to save your ass from that brute."

Minun looked down in shame, gulping.

"Now, now, Snute," Taffy coughed. "That's... Ack... Not fair of you to say, darlin'."

Minun quickly shook her head.

"N-No, no, she has a point. I owe an explanation, at the very least."

"Go," Lefty urged. "Aundei will need his team, right now. As an exploration team, it is your duty to protect each other through all danger. That includes the emotional."

"Come on, then," Snute snorted, walking off. Alfonzo turned to follow quietly. Peppy limped along after them. Minun scampered quickly in an attempt to keep up.


Aundei was curled up on his bed. He was hugging a green fabric of some sort, as well as Alena's journal close to his chest.

Everything was a blur. Nothing felt real. It was as if he was everywhere in time, yet nowhere all the same.

"You killed him!"

"Murderer!"

"He's a monster!"

The glameow forced his eyes shut, sniffling. He tried to force down the tears as best as he could.

"I can't cry... I can't cry... My team needs me to be strong... I have to... Set a good example..." But it was no use. Liquid shame poured down his face like a raging river.

He looked up with a start as the curtain to his bed was pushed open.

One by one, Snute, Alfonzo, Peppy, and Minun entered. It was quite the cramped space for all of them, but they managed.

No one spoke up for a long time. No one knew what to say. It took a good four minutes of sitting in silence for Snute to finally break the ice.

"So... Uh... Y'aight, mate?"

Aundei buried his muzzle into his pillow, mumbling.

Alfonzo snapped his fingers, smirking.

"I've got it!" The floragato procured a hankerchief from somewhere undetermined, offering it to the glameow. Sighing miserable, Aundei grabbed it, pulling it out of Alfonzo's hand. Strangely enough, there seemed to be another one tied to the end. Aundei frowned, pulling that out as well.

Snute appeared irritated as she watched Aundei confusedly pulling the seemingly endless hankerchief chain out of Alfonzo's sleeve, with the floragato's smirk ever increasing.

Eventually, the chain came to a stop. Aundei had a large pile of handkerchiefs coiled in front of him. The glameow didn't look any less upset.

"Okay, okay... Um... How about a card trick?" He flicked his wrist, splaying ten cards into his hand from seemingly nowhere.

The other pokémon present stared on blankly.

"Pick a card!" Alfonzo exclaimed.

Hesitantly, Aundei plucked out a card.

"Now, memorize it, then re-shuffle my hand!"

The glameow did as instructed. He took note of the ace of spades he had, then shuffled it back into the other cards, before handing the stack back to Alfonzo.

The floragato pretended to think over things for a moment. He did a wavy gesture over the cards, before plucking out the ace of spades and presenting it.

"Ta-da!"

Aundei stared down at it. He sighed.

"...Cool."

Alfonzo huffed.

"Hmm. Tough crowd." The floragato thought for a moment. A lightbulb went off in his head. He quickly darted over to his barrel home sitting in the corner of the room, ruffling through it. He zipped back shortly after with a large spray bottle of seltzer in his hand.

Before the glameow could become victim to a wet and fizzy fate, Snute put a paw onto Alfonzo's arm, forcrfully lowering it."

"That's quite enough, Fonzy," she grumbled. Alfonzo smiled sheepishly, setting the seltzer down. Snute shook her head, then turned back to address Aundei. "We..." She cut herself off, faking a cough. "They, are worried about you. Talk to us."

"I just..." Aundei turned away. "I've never killed anyone, before..."

"That's it?" Snute huffed, annoyed. She growled quietly as Alfonzo sprayed her with seltzer, turning to snarl at the visibly irritated caf.

Aundei buried his face in his paws.

"I-It's... Stupid, I know... I... I should be stronger than this..." he whined.

Peppy hopped up next to Aundei, cuddling up to him. The glameow hugged the lanky fennekin tightly.

"You're okay, Aundei... Taking a l-life is never e-easy, I'd bet."

"I want to help pokémon!" Aundei wailed. "I don't want to hurt them! I don't want to... To..." He fell into a mess of blubbering, tears flowing freely.

Snute bit her lip.

"...Look. That stoutland was gonna kill us. You were just protecting others. You were doing your job as a member of the Vanilluxe Guild."

Aundei wailed harder.

"I didn't h-have to kill him!" he choked. "I already s-saved you guys! I just... I just... I was so angry... Alena would be so ashamed..." He gagged and coughed on the mucus building in his throat. The pain only made him sob harder, screaming into his pillow.

Peppy shivered in place, squeezing Aundei tight. She'd joined in with her friend, bawling her eyes out at his side.

Alfonzo and Minun both looked anywhere that wasn't a pair of eyes. They looked deeply troubled.

Snute looked on. Her chest hurt, but she maintained a stoic glare. She looked down a Minun, who squeaked and backed away.

"Well," Snute grumbled. "You may as well tell us all why we had to go save your ass. Tell us about that 'deal' Stoutland mentioned yesterday."

Aundei did his best to choke back his tears, looking at Minun. His eyes were all puffy.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Minun nodded.

"W-Well... It's only fair," she sighed. "Stoutland was a good friend of myself and my brother, once upon a time. To make a long story short, I did something stupid, it made my brother leave. Stoutland was obviously not too happy that one of his friends was gone, and wanted me to go apologize to my brother so he'd come back. That was about it."

Snute raised an eyebrow.

"And, he kidnapped you, why?"

Minun sighed.

"He gave me the ultimatum that I'd help feed his pack, and if I didn't then I'd have to let him try to convince me to go talk to my brother. I... Didn't want to do that."

Aundei practically screamed in anguish, making everyone jump in alarm.

"H-He just wanted his friend back! And I killed him! I'm a monster! I'm a murderer! Why?! Why?!" Peppy jumped away to avoid Aundei kicking about.

The glameow began to hyperventilate as he stared at the ceiling.

Snute couldn't help but be immensely ticked off at Minun.

"All this, just because you were too much of a coward to apologize to your brother," she growled. "Your own flesh and blood, and you threw him away. Some of us would sell our soul for the chance to see our siblings again." The ninetales teared up as she spoke. "That stoutland's family won't get that chance."

Minun shook lightly, tears brimming at her eyes.

"I'm... So sorry..." mumbled the mouse. She averted her gaze in shame.

Peppy flinched, taken aback by Snute's harsh verbal lashing. Aundei managed to choke down his own despair enough to comfortingly pat Minun on the head. He felt she needed it more than he did.

Alfonzo crossed his arms, glaring at Snute.

"Lucy!" he hissed. "There's no way she coulda' known! It's not like she was seeking out this outcome!"

"Intentional or not," Snute growled, "it's still her fault."

"I-It's not..." Aundei croaked. "I... I killed him... And now you're all upset, too... All I do is hurt people... Everyone I try to help just gets hurt..."

Peppy shakily rested a paw on Aundei's back, stroking him carefully.

"D-don't say that! You're great!"

Alfonzo nodded.

"I haven't known you for very long, Aundei, but you've been a truly wonderful pokémon in that short amount of time. You've helped all of us, believe it or not."

Aundei sighed, quivering. He buried his face under his covers.

"Thank you..."

Snute shook her head sadly.

"All of this suffering, just from one loss. Truly, if we did not love others so much, we would never feel this kind of deep, wrenching pain."

Alfonzo groaned in exhasperation.

"Not this dribble again."

"W-What dribble?" Peppy squeaked.

Snute thought long and hard. She stood up, motioning to Aundei.

"Come. Just you." The ninetales turned to walk toward the door.

Everyone else looked confused. Aundei was concerned. He looked to Alfonzo, receiving an eye roll. Minun shrugged. Peppy gave no response.

Sighing, Aundei stood up and stretched, beginning to walk toward the door.

"Don't let her fill your head with nonsense," Alfonzo warned. Aundei nodded as he exited.

The three sat in silence for a while. It was only interrupted when Alfonzo and Peppy's APER Gears both went off at once.

They both went to check, seeing they'd received a global message along with everyone else.


Attention, Vanilluxe Guild explorers. Due to recent events involving the Draco-Shredder during our last flight, we have deemed that it is not safe to take off at this point in time. We will remain in the desert until further notice.

We are launching a full investigation into the Draco-Shredder's identity and motivations, and we will not cease until they are apprehended.

We will keep you all updated on the situation. Sincerely, Guildmaster Vanilluxe.


The three looked to each other. Alfonzo had a light smirk.

"Well, well. Hope Lucy can handle the heat for another day."


The glameow walked through the corridors of the S.S. Cryogonal with Snute for several minutes. They made their way into the very bowels of the ship, with scarce others present.

"Do you care about other pokémon, glameow?"

Aundei was taken aback by the question. He looked down with a frown, nodding his head.

"Of course..."

"I've had a lot of people taken from me, Aundei." She wrapped a foreleg around the glameow, trailing her free paw through his fur. "My sister. My mother. My father. My friends. Even Alfonzo, once." Snute began to quiver as she spoke. "It hurts me deeply. Every waking moment, I spend in agony, longing for each and every individual I once loved - still love - that is no longer there. Do you know how I feel?"

Aundei leaned into Snute's comforting touch. The pair sat together in the hallway. They looked over the walls, decorated with the artwork of many hundreds of pokémon over the years.

As Aundei pondered Snute's words, his gaze fell upon one painting in particular. A glameow, ninetales, marill, skitty, and murkrow were painted in haphazard detail. His eyes lingered longingly on each of them.

"...I... I do..." he sighed. "All of my teammates I've lost... I think about them every day. What I could have done differently..." He choked back tears. "I love them so much... It hurts..."

The ninetales nodded empathetically, resting her chin atop Aundei's head. He jumped a bit, not expecting the ice-type to be so warm.

"Each loss compounds the next, each burden crushing, squeezing, wringing my heart of any joy I once had. I know only pain, and with each individual I grow to love, I know it will only hurdle me into further and further depths of despair, the like I have no hope of falling out of." Snute's voice grew shakier with each word uttered, with tears beginning to leak from her eyes. "It's agony! I do not wish for anyone else to be burdened with this pain! To lose those they love, to forever suffer with the knowledge that they'll never see that individual's face again!"

Aundei felt worse and worse about what he'd done done as she spoke. His heart ached more and more for the several victims of the Draco-Shredder, each a good friend of his.

Snute continued speaking.

"Even worse than the pain of my loss is the pain of knowing that so many poor souls out there feel the same way. Exponential pain exists in this world, beyond all mortal comprehension.

"I don't want anyone to feel this way! I don't want people to hurt! Yet, they do, and... It's all love's fault! I... I just... I love everyone so much... And, since I do, the most noble thing I can do with said love is to take it away." Her face hardened with resolve. If nobody loves, nobody has to hurt. That's why I have to take over this guild; I must use its influence to rid the world of suffering." She turned to look down at the glameow. He looked shocked, hurt, confused... Yet, intrigued. "I know not if it's possible, but if we could rid ourselves of this putrid love, it would help countless pokémon live lives devoid of the crushing torment of lost attachments. I... I want you to help me, Aundei. For me, for yourself, for all you've lost, for all who will lose. Will you help me better the world?"

Aundei was at a complete loss for words. He'd never expected Snute to open up to him so soon, and especially not like that. Even crazier was what she actually said. Topping that, even, somehow her point made sense to him. It resonated deep within his wounded, shredded heart. It sounded insane, but at the same time, it sounded so right.

The glameow stared into Snute's piercing blue gaze. For the first time, her guard was down. In her eyes, he saw nothing but love, compassion, and steely resolved. In Snute's soul, he could see Alena's.

This was the first time the grumpy ninetales had opened up to him, and it very well could be the last if he didn't choose his next words carefully.

"I..." Aundei mumbled. Snute appeared to perk up, earnestly hopeful. She gazed deep into his eyes, awaiting an answer.