Clouds of deep purple and blue shift and overlap but never form. A sea of stars drifts among them in tranquil peace. Two voices speak in the distance: Mark's own, and a feminine voice, who sounds like an old friend.
"A Sableye," she says. "You're okay with being a Sableye? If you have any doubts, speak up. Finding the right body for you is most important."
"The more I think about it, the more I feel it's the choice meant for me, even if it's not a practical Pokemon."
"It's okay if it isn't practical. You shouldn't need to fight anyways."
"Sableye, then."
"Alright. And there's still a few days before we transfer you and feel free to change your mind in that time, but we'll go ahead and prepare a Sableye body for you."
"Thank you."
"Anything for you. You're the one sacrificing a lot. It's the least we can do."
"I'm just doing what's right. I wouldn't be happy otherwise. That being said, is it okay if it's a bit taller than a regular Sableye?"
The two continue to speak, but the voices become reverberated and faint. Soon, it's silent, and the sea of stars turns dark.
Clink, clank, clunk. Layla's hopping down the labyrinth of crossbeams holding the scrap hut's upper layers. "Hey, Mark!" she says, landing next to his bed. "It's time to wake up!"
Mark's not in his bed.
She looks around confused. "Mark?"
"Yes?" he asks. He's by the entrance, stretching his arms over his head. His torch and adventure bag are already on him.
She leans in and raises an eyebrow. "You're already up?"
"We got to figure out more about what we learned." He stretches his arms forward instead of above. "I'm just really eager. Plus, I'm hungry."
Both her eyebrows rise.
He furrows in confusion. "What?"
She shakes her head. "Nothing, nothing! I'm just too used to dragging you out of bed. It's more fun that way."
"Oh, uh." He shakes his limbs to round out the stretch, then lifts a free arm to her. "You can still drag me to Myla's cafe."
She leaps to him and clasps his wrist. A giggle escapes. "You still know how to be a good partner."
"Hey, I like it." He smirks.
She wiggles her eyebrows before dragging him all the way to the cafe.
A scene's brewing inside. Pokemon circle around a single table and loud voices shout over each other. Some push each other while jeers and profanity slip by. Myla's leaning over the bar and watching, hand-ribbons holding her cheeks while her head pleasantly bobs side-to-side. Her eyes flick to Team Surface for a brief moment.
"Heeeeeey Myla," Layla says. She hops onto a stool and leans over the counter, smirking at her with claw-in-cheek. Mark settles for watching the commotion, tapping his chin.
"A fight's about to begin," Myla says. "Come on, let's watch it together."
"Hmmm maybe, but we need info again. And we got plenty to share with you!" Her eyebrow perks to tempt the ghost, although Myla's too distracted to notice.
"Hey, if they fight, won't it make a Mystery Dungeon?" Mark asks. His eyes flick between the crowd and two girls at the bar.
"Nah," they say in unison. Myla follows up, "Most will peel off and form a line once fists start flying. Only two to four will actually fight at once. And if things get bad anyways, Mamon here will stop them."
A Duskull wiping down a bowl to their side grunts. He's hovering lower than the counter.
"Still," Mark crosses his arms. "We shouldn't let them start, right?"
"Hey Layla," Myla says. "Think Penelope's finally going to die?"
Mark smacks his forehead.
"Mmmm," Layla twists her head to stare at the crowd. Her tongue wiggles around in her mouth as she thinks. "You really should hear what we have to say. We discovered a lot about, y'know. The major stuff. The big, juicy steak of stuff. The stuff that drips. Mmmm good stuff."
Their eyes meet. Layla's brows waggle. "Come on, what do you want more?"
"Fine. Mamon, cheer on Phil, make sure he kills the bitch," she says before her body floats backwards without breaking her leaning pose. The servant grunts in response and continues scrubbing the bowl while she passes through the wall.
Mark rolls his eyes to the two and steps towards the crowd with his arms waving. "Hey, break it up, everyone! No need for figh- aaah!" Layla pulls him by the ear, all the way around the corner and through the rustic door in spite of his flailing.
Cool musty air still lingers here. The boxes are stacked in cacophonous arrangements, some open and others closed. The biggest difference to the room was no more prisoner in the corner. Instead, splotches of blood drip down the wall. Mark seethes at it, but Layla barely notices it.
Myla's waiting in the middle. Layla hops onto a box nearby and lays on her side, claw in her cheek. Mark stands by her and fidgets his claws.
"Alright, what's the update?" Myla asks.
"It's a long story." Layla's eyes roll to emphasize the word "long". "We, uh, um, where to start…" She looks at Mark.
"You must know how there were two Lucia guildmembers searching for something in the lower tunnels, right? A Gallade and a Machamp?" Mark says.
"Yup," Myla says. "They've been missing for a few days. What about them?"
Mark taps his heel as he recalls all the info. "They were aware that there was a human out somewhere in the lower tunnels. A human who turned into a Pokemon, although didn't actually know which species… I was. The Gallade we found was supposed to find me and the key he had was supposed to open a lab where I was frozen in time by 'black magic.' They did actually find me, but on the way back, came across one of Merka's team and they took each other out. Then Layla found me.
"We went back there, and found the lab I came from. We found a journal…"
Mark went on to explain the last series of events in thorough detail. Jace, the laboratory tubes, his memories of the past, Anthropy and the corpse, everything in the journal, even his dreams. Mark's hands got more animated the further into the story he went. Myla's grin, for the first time Mark ever witnessed, turned into a muted, prospecting grimace. Layla interjects a few times, but only to exaggerate how mysterious the human's dark magic is.
"We were wondering if you may know anything that could help," Mark says. "Especially about 'Anthropy.' Does that mean anything to you?"
Myla closes her eyes and shakes her head. "No, actually. Although this is the kind of group I would have heard about, especially if it used to be the City Guild itself. Eh," her ribbon reaches around to scratch the back of her head. "The fact I haven't heard about them is pretty significant. They're either not very powerful or they're very recent, and they wouldn't be connected to the City Guild cause then Lucia wouldn't need to have asked where you are. Either way, sounds like you could learn more if you go straight after them."
"What?" Mark asks.
"Think about it," Myla says. "A single scary note. There are more effective ways of threatening people." She gestures her head towards the blood. "Either they don't believe they're strong enough to confront you, or they're not serious about this."
Layla speaks up. "We have no leads though!"
Mark shakes his head."No, that's not true. I mentioned I was a human aloud to Andy. Anybody who was in the cafe on that day could be Anthropy. I might be able to remember who was there." He rubs his chin a bit more before looking at Layla. "It wouldn't be Andy, right?"
"No! He pretty much raised me!" She frowns with brows furrowed in offense. "Took care of me after my father died and later my mother. He was always teaching me about being nice to others and not killing others for the longest time. It couldn't possibly be him. Besides, he supports me finding the surface, even if he doesn't like it."
"Hey, I just wanted to make sure, it is a relief to hear it."
"Hey," Myla gets the two's attention. "It's more likely this 11th human spilled the beans, or there's a source of information both of them are using. Either way, the guild is hiding secrets about the surface, so there's another path to pursue."
Both Mark and Layla look down to ponder this.
Myla continues. "And on top of that, if answers are buried in the past, then exploring Upside-Downtown may also help as well. Their legends run back the furthest."
Layla sighs. "That's on the other side of the Underground."
She shrugs and rolls her eyes. "Yeah, I know," she says wistfully. "But that's the end of everything I can share, I don't have much to say. Upside-Downtown, Anthropy, the 11th human, and prying from Lucia's Guild directly - these are where I'd try to find more answers. I can look into getting a high-ranking Lucia guildmember kidnapped, but it's unlikely to happen and you'd owe me big if I do."
"Yeah." Layla rubs the back of her neck and sheepishly looks to the side as she ponders. "Thank you, this helps a lot."
Mark nods to Myla. "The 11th human's hiding in Merka's Guild. That sounds like the most reliable path at the moment."
Layla shakes her head. "The guild's dangerous. Upside-Downtown makes a little sense but… Are you sure it'll have anything useful? It's such a long trek."
Myla nods. "It might not have anything. I mostly pointed it out cause there's little risk involved. Anyways," she turns around. "I want to see who died."
"Wait!" Layla says, free hand reaching out. She exaggerates her lounging pose. Her voice becomes smoother. "You know, we're all alone together again. Just like old times."
Mark points to himself. "What about me?"
"Well, and Mark. S-still! We can spend some time together before you head back. Get to know each other more like those days." Her grin widens.
Myla turns around. She says nothing.
"Just one kiss! Come on! Right here," she says tapping her lips.
"Is this the best time?" Mark asks.
"Mark! It's always the right time for love! Plus, you definitely want to see girls make out. You're already blushing."
"What?" he says. He rubs his cheek. It's warm! "Uh, uh, um- Uhh,"
The large ghost floats over her and pushes a ribbon into her forehead. "When you're on the surface. But I'm sorry. I want to but nothing's gonna work if you'll never be around. And I kinda care about how I feel."
"We have time now!" Layla says, grin growing more smug.
Myla's ribbon caresses her chin. "Find the surface," she whispers. "Then we'll have all the time we need." After that, she floats away backwards, tauntingly waving her goodbye.
Just before she phases through, Layla speaks up. "I'm sorry I can't be around as often as you want, I wish I could."
Myla stops before going through the wall. "You make love so complicated."
"I love you," Layla says with a stern expression.
"Just find the surface." She phases through.
Mark twiddles his thumbs. The musty air and its chilly bite are strong in this silence. "Is everything alright?"
A longing sigh is let out as she looks at the spot Myla passed through. "I just wish things could be different." She drums her fingers against her legs before looking at Mark properly. "Also, I didn't uh, make you uncomfortable or anything, have I? With the whole 'you can watch'? Or even my behaviour in general? I'm a bit guilty about that."
"No, no you didn't. I'm just not used to uh… Girls."
She shifts and swings a leg over the other. Her foot taps while the smirk she had with Myla comes back. "That's fine. You're cuter when you're flustered anyways."
"Th-thanks." He rubs the back of his neck.
A brow quirks and her eyes lid. "Want to kiss me?"
Mark fumbles a lot of sounds without any word actually coming out. His heart pounds against his chest.
It makes the girl giggle. "Just right here." Her claws tap her lips. "Mwah, you know?Be my boyfriend."
He takes a deep breath and walks forward. He grips the edge of the box, leans in, and pecks his lips. His cheeks turn completely red.
"What?" Layla's eyes light up in surprise.
Mark tenses and gulps. "D-did I do it wrong?"
She giggles and pinches his cheek to stretch it wide out. "I liked it. It was good. I just didn't think you'd actually do it."
"Well, the prettiest girl in the underground is asking for a kiss. Of course I had to take it. Ah!" Layla stretches his cheeks even further.
"That's the correct response. And call me pretty more. I really like that."
"Eheh… But, uh," his tone becomes concerned, "does this mean we are dating or something?"
His cheek snaps as she lets go. "Do you want to?"
"I- No, actually. Like, I don't know. Not yet, you know? Uh," He looks away. She's still a murderous stranger by the end of the day.
"Hey, hey, I do like you, but it's okay if you don't want to date me. I'm actually glad you cleared that up." She grabs his chin and turns his head towards her. "But hey, just know it's okay if we kiss just because it's fun. I don't mind that and don't feel bad about it."
He looks into her eyes for a bit but ends up looking away again. "It-It's tempting, but I'm not sure if it's right. T-that was just a kiss, uh, um, uh, I'm worried about going fast."
She gently squeezes his shoulder. "Hey. Follow your heart. We don't need to do anything."
Mark let out a sigh of relief. "Alright. And I'm sorry. I'm not used to being attracted to girls and I just really don't want to be hasty, especially since everything has been a lot of whiplash. I've only been here five or six days."
Her comforting smile diminishes a bit, although she still consoles him by rubbing his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I guess I am being a lot for you. I can stop teasing if it'll help. I might not be the best at that though. I'm not the best with self-control."
"No, that's-" he pushes his foot around and takes a deep breath. He tries her advice and pays attention to what his heart says. "That's fine. I enjoy it, actually even if it makes me a nervous wreck." He looks up again. "It's just something fun, yeah?"
"Yes. I enjoy making you a nervous wreck. And if you ever want to turn something down or ask me to stop, I'll do that, okay? But I'll keep teasing you for now, and I haven't even done my biggest teasing yet." She winks.
"Yeah, thanks. I'm figuring out a lot of things fast. Heh." He smirks and gulps one last time before looking at her again. He can't pull away from looking at her eyes and infectious smirk. How beautiful he finds her. "Still, can we try kissing just… One more time?"
She bursts out laughing and she swings herself upright. "Yes, yes we can." Her claws cusp his shoulders to inch him closer. Mark's chest thumps, his breath gets light, and their mouths finally press together. The two soon lean into each other, wrapping their arms around each other. She caresses the back of his head while Mark closes his eyes and savours this moment with her.
After a good while, she parts from him with a smug, satisfied grin. "You liked that?"
"Heh. Eheh. Hehehe." Mark loses giggling. It makes her chuckle in turn. She toys with his ear fin a bit until he settles down, but that moment never comes.
"Alright, alright. We do have to do more missions, unfortunately. I know, I know." She slips off the box. "Think you'll be ready soon?"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry. You're the best. Heh."
She chuckles and gives him a quick hug before grabbing his forearm. "I am. By the way, what changed? You're different today."
"What? I, uh," he takes a few breaths to collect his thoughts. "I think it's learning that there's a purpose to me being down here and everything. Like, I feel a need to move, now that I have a direction to go. I don't quite feel the same anymore."
"Well, keep it up, it's good for you," she says with a wink, before moving them out of the cold, bloody room. Mark never stops giggling as Layla drags him across the cafe, and her gleeful smile never leaves.
