We've done it.

We've made it back home.

Well, nearly, the Exploration Center's trees have been in view for some time and steadily grow larger as we approach.

We've been passing Noibat, who introduced himself when he awoke, back and forth. Although he's regained consciousness, he's still too weak to fly.

Other than asking about the Center and rehashing his encounter with Dragalge, he's been very quiet. We all have, but I think it's more the exhaustion than not enjoying the company.

As we enter the Center, we almost collide with Ariados and Scolipede.

"Y-you're back! We are all so worried!" Scolipede says. "Tinkaton! They're back!" "What a relief! I'll call Master Lurantis!" "No need, my dear," Lurantis flies from the Explorers Lounge, landing in front of us. "Where have you been?!" She looks frantic, a far cry from the composed leader I met just yesterday. "You were just meant to get berries! A very safe and simple task! Then I hear from the police that you went after a band of criminals!? And who's this?!" She gestures at Noibat.

"Ma'am, I was attacked by Dragalge, but these kind explorers…they saved me and captured them! And then they brought me all the way back here."

"While that is commendable…wait, Dragalge has been captured?" I suppose during our time away chief Grumpig shared Audino and Phantump's statement with the Center, "Uhm…well to tell you the truth…" the guilty feelings that have been building as we returned are overwhelming now, "I don't know if they've been captured…or…if uh...well they're in this…" I fish out the ball from my bag and present it, feeling ashamed. "They're…in the ball? Gwen, this is hardly the time for jokes" Lurantis looks unimpressed.

"N-no, you don't understand," I'm now shaking slightly. "In the middle of the fight, Gwen pulled this out, pointed it at Dragalge, and BAM! They were gone! In there it looked like!" Skitty interjects, coming to my aid.

"…Gwen, where did you get a thing like this?" "It…it was in my bag when I first woke up," "may I?" Lurantis asks, reaching out as I hand her the ball. "This is fascinating…I'll consult Sigilyph, hopefully he'll know something about it" "Sigilyph is head of Intelligence 'round here," Skitty whispers to me. "Ah, got it."

"In the meantime, you three get cleaned up and rest—Noibat, you're welcome here as long as you need, team Starburst here can take care of you for now." "Actually, I was wondering if I could uh…if I could join team…Starburst? As a member, I mean" Noibat says with embarrassment and a small smile.

"Skitty, it's your call as team leader. And I think I'll relieve you of your berry retrieval duties, it seems you've confused berries for teammates, the way you keep recruiting them. Now off you go" Lurantis says, waving us off while regarding the ball again.

"You really want to join our team?" Skitty turns to Noibat. "Of course! I was in a bad way out there, if it weren't for you guys, I'd have been done for sure!" "Gwen, what do you think? You'll have to give up your title as the New Kid" Skitty grins. "I mean, if he wants to, why not? But, maybe we should take him to Dr. Drampa first…" and with that, we go to the doctor, get Noibat checked out, find something to eat, and head back to our dorm.

"Thank you so much you guys, you won't regret letting me join!" Noibat says from his newly laid out bed. "I…I've always wanted to explore the world, but it's only been a dream…until now! I just can't believe it!"

Skitty and I smile at each other. Noibat may be small, but he's definitely tough, especially to have survived Dragalge by himself.

Dragalge…I know they're supposed to be a vicious criminal, but I still hope they're ok. There was something about them…when I pulled out that ball, they seemed to know exactly what it was. I'm wishing I could've asked them about it, but then how could I trust the answer?

And that's another thing, they said we shouldn't trust Audino. So they have a history together, one that likely precedes their last meeting, and, for whatever reason, they did not part ways on good terms. They say not to trust Audino, but then why trust them? They were where Audino said, after all, and they did attack us. But…it also didn't start that way, they seemed more…well, to be honest, they seemed more lost and confused as opposed to aggressive and vicious.

Argh! No matter how I turn it in my head, I'm not quite sure what to think. There's so many things about the encounter that bother me, and…and the weird thing is that I find myself wanting to trust Dragalge, trying to analyze the situation in a way that makes them seem like less of a villain.

I must just be tired—scratch that, I'm absolutely wiped. I don't remember my life before waking up here, but I'm almost certain it wasn't centered around traversing deserts all day, fighting—and possibly killing—dangerous criminals, and rescuing others along the way. Hopefully things will look clearer in the morning after I get some sleep.

—

Today has been a day for good and bad news. The good news is I've seen signs of my team! Well most of them, anyway. The bad news was that we were prominently featured on wanted posters.

Some of these posters were nailed to trees fairly close to the one I was in. Not sure how much faith I have in a police force that failed to notice one of the "Nefarious, Vicious Bandits" sleeping in a tree almost directly overhead, but it suits me. What we've done to deserve such a designation, I'm not sure. Maybe Rotom possessed a toaster or something and attacked the local authorities. Shame I missed it.

What's more likely though, and what's been burning at the back of my mind, is the chance that He's somehow here. It's just His flavor; theatric, outlandish, and downright untrue.

I tear the posters down, no point letting word spread more than necessary. This is seriously going to hamper my chances of finding the others. But no matter, I can be stealthy—and failing stealthy I can at least be fast.