Extra - Finding Truth
Hi there, I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long, since I did still have that other part of my tale to tell. Though where exactly did I leave off again…?
Right, at the part where I, my mate, and my companions realized we'd mixed up my children with a pair of local youngsters. I don't have too much to say about how we sorted out things with the local wilds afterwards other than that they were understanding. Mostly. They gave us an earful and after seeing that we didn't mean any harm, left us to go our own way and tend to other matters that were weighing on our mind…
"Druddigon! Druddigon!"
Namely finding my children, which sent us going about the second tower of Dragonspiral Tower and leaving no stone unturned in our search. Doing so is a bit trickier in a place where every pebble and flake of paint is a sacred treasure, but even so, we passed what felt like a small eternity just looking around that ancient floor. Time has a way of flying by when one is stopping to crane one's heads around every nook and cranny within reach, especially when there was no shortage of them to search around.
"Haxorus? Haxorus!"
My mate was by my side and searching, too. He would bring his tusked head high and low, peeking into dens and around ancient columns and walls for any sign of our children… and occasionally getting into an argument with one the local wilds in the process. Ones that I would then need to step in to sort out. Even our humans and our other companions joined in, as they followed our trails and checked the places we could not reach. Like us, they too went about calling out for our children as they walked through the ancient chambers, raising their voices in the hope that one of them might hear them.
"Rufus! Rudd! Where are you?!" James cried.
"Come on!" Noel added. "It's not safe for you to sneak off like this!"
Though even between a dozen humans and Pokémon put together, Dragonspiral Tower is not exactly a small search area. Especially when you're trying to search while staying together in order to avoid getting lost yourself. All the while, our procession started to attract a small train of local Pokémon. At first we drew the attention of wary guardians, then of curious onlookers. One of the latter was a male Druddigon who's stuck in my mind in particular from how unfortunate our encounter was. I remember the way he approached me like it was yesterday, and how he nudged me as he passed before stepping back and fanning his wings out in full view.
"Gon… Drudd?"
Something must've gotten lost along the lines to his ears, as the first thing he told me after catching my attention was that he'd heard that my children had moved along… and that the spring was still young enough for there to still be time to bear new ones. Ones which would have a set of watchful claws to stand guard over them.
It was… a very forward offer, the sort that even if I didn't already have a mate, I likely would've still answered it with the same piercing glare and growl that I did at the time.
"Haxorus!"
To say nothing about how angry my would-be suitor's advances made my mate. My mate lunged ahead with a swing of his tusks at the interloper, just missing the wild Druddigon's wings and sending him scurrying away with a startled yelp. The Haxorus snarled and was about to give chase after the wild, when Carol hurried in, tugging at her companion's arm and pleading with him to settle down.
"Chopper, don't go picking fights like that! You'll rile these Pokémon-!"
"Lurk…"
Which I suppose was a matter which would've settled itself in short order, as before Carol could finish her words, the ground shook from the heavy footsteps of a Golurk approaching us. Worse still, the Ghost-type came flanked by a small mob of other wilds gathered at its sides, including my would-be suitor, who growled with wounded pride in the ranks of a good dozen of his peers.
It was just the sort of encounter that would make just about any creature freeze up like a startled Deerling, and our humans were no exception. The mood of our group grew tense and uneasy, as the color drained out of Carol's face after realizing just how tight of a spot my mate's temper had gotten us into.
"... Up."
I suppose I can't really blame my companions for their reaction. Staring down so many angered Pokémon, including a number of Druddigon flashing tooth and claw, is an experience that even a dragon would find intimidating. My mate, too, found himself swiftly regretting his earlier outburst, and hurriedly stepped in front of his trainer and braced himself for battle. He flashed his tusks back defiantly, but even so, he couldn't hide a nervous grimace from his face. In the face of such opposition, he was no longer certain his strength would be enough to protect his trainer or his other companions.
"Druddigon!"
Fortunately, words sometimes have a way of accomplishing what even a dragon's might can't. I stepped out before the encroaching wilds and turned my snout up to bear my throat, to show them that I meant no harm. Perhaps I laid it on a bit thick and was a bit more supplicative than I'd normally like, but the appeal did its job: it showed them that we didn't wish to fight and wanted to make amends.
The surrounding wilds hesitated briefly, before I bowed and dropped to all fours, raising my voice to try and explain ourselves. I told them that we were sorry for any trouble that we'd caused as guests to their home, but that I was at my wits' end as a mother separated from her children. That as their mother, that I just couldn't bear to leave them behind in a place where they were strangers all on their own.
"Golurk."
The Golurk motioned for a pause as the surrounding wilds traded glances with each other, some giving dismissive scoffs about our plight, others murmuring in understanding. For me and my companions, it gave much-needed reassurance that we weren't about to face down a wall of scale and fang. But the words of Pokémon like us have a way of being lost on human ears. That occasion was no exception, as James failed to make sense of our words, and gave a dumbfounded look down to his Servine after the Grass-type tugged at him and motioned ahead.
"Huh? What's going on?"
The Pokémon around the Golurk parted ways, as a Mienfoo and a Golett from their ranks marched towards us. They came along, pushing a pair of squirming bundles of blue and red scales forward—the lookalike youngsters we'd run into earlier.
The two pinned their wings against their bodies with shy glimpses up and shrank away from the larger Pokémon in our group. Jane blinked in response, before turning to the Golurk with a puzzled frown.
"Er… they're cute, but these two aren't our Pokémon," she said. "Our Pokéballs wouldn't work on them even if we wanted them to."
Jane pointed at a Pokéball to try and emphasize her point, only for the Golurk to ignore her and point off into the distance, towards a set of ancient stairs that went past the ceiling and onto the next floor. The ancient golem continued speaking in its eerie, almost grinding voice, explaining how my youngsters weren't as alone as we'd feared. That their creche had been part of a procession that had representatives of all the tower's guardians, and if we reunited these two youngsters with their creche on the floors above, that we'd surely get my children back.
It… admittedly took a few tries to successfully pass the instructions along to the Does and the Vernes, but after the Mienfoo and the Golett pointed the youngsters at each other and mimed an exchange of the hatchlings in front of us… the message sank in well enough for John to understand the point.
"So we just go up those stairs until we find that group from earlier, and then trade these two for our Druddigon?" he asked.
A nod from my companions and I as we'd learned to do long ago confirmed our humans' wonderings. As such, it came time for the young doppelgangers to join us temporarily. They approached me meekly, peeking past my wings at the strange-looking Pokémon who were nearby me with my humans… especially the scary-looking Haxorus who was just by my side, and made the elder of the youngsters shrink back with a nervous whine.
"G-Gon?"
Their fears were assuaged soon enough by a scratch under the young dragonlet's chin, first by me, then by my mate. The young Druddigon tilted his head up as the Haxorus eagerly reassured them that no matter our appearances, that none of us would bring them any harm. That until we returned them to their creche, we'd protect and care for them as if they were our own.
James' Servine was the next to introduce himself to the pair with a wave of his leaves. Then came Jane's Marowak and Sawsbuck—complete with an unfortunate remark by the younger of the two dragonlets about him looking 'delicious' that we swiftly brushed aside. By the time it was John's Stoutland and Scolipede turn to come over and make themselves known, the youngsters had lost their unease enough to give them wary, explorative pats of their own. Things settled down a bit afterwards, as the Golurk and the other wilds drifted off, and John turned his attention off for the stairs with a sigh.
"Right, guess that's a sign we should get moving along," he said. "Rufus and Rudd must be starting to get worried from being separated from anyone they know in a bunch of ancient ruins like these…"
Which, I suppose they were, even if things turned out quite differently from what we had feared at the time.
That part of the story is one that I admittedly only know from what others told me after the fact, including my children. And as such, it can sometimes be hard for me to tell what is improbable truth and what is merely flights of fancy.
But, from the best that I was able to piece things together, right around the time we'd received our guidance to find my children, they were walking along none the wiser a few floors above us. Mixed in with the rest of the inexperienced guardian's creche. My understanding is that my children got mixed up with them in the first place after they chanced to overhear from one of the youngling wilds that they were on a journey for a special day and decided to tag along after their curiosity got the better of them.
One thing led to another, and before they knew it, my children were roped into the ranks of a procession of various local guardians, all making their way up for the tower's higher floors. They trudged along, passing the parts of Dragonspiral Tower where only the strongest of Pokémon that live there dare make their dens, and carrying on into the parts of the tower that are left unclaimed entirely beyond sparing visits. My children apparently picked up on the shift in atmosphere and began to grow unnerved themselves, with my younger child spending much of the trek nervously cradling his marble in his claws.
Now children have a certain degree of naivete and innocence to them while they are younger, one that my own children still had at the time, and I suppose that they still do to this day. To them, those upper floors seemed much the same as the ones that they'd already gone through, except quieter and lonelier.
I suppose it was partly my fault for not teaching them more about Dragonspiral Tower before coming. Since if I had, they'd have known that they were passing through spaces that had been set aside for visitors to steel themselves. A place to clear one's mind and compose oneself before entering the presence of the god who'd made a roost at the top of Dragonspiral Tower.
And, in light of the stories about that god from the past: they were also spaces that provided a safe berth. Just in case someone who came before that great being threw him into a rage.
All of which were things that my children remained ignorant about as they carried along with the surrounding crowd of strangers and kept trying to break an increasingly stifling atmosphere by finding little snatches of amusement for themselves… attempts which didn't particularly endear them to the shrine's guardians who were present. There were representatives of all the that watched over the tower making the journey: young and old, weak and strong, and with all their kinds accounted for in their ranks. Druddigon, Mienfoo and Mienshao, Golett and Golurk… why there was apparently even a Dragonite who was born to that little colony of sea serpents in the moat who was present. That same one that is said to have started some years ago after one of their kind took shelter there after being wounded and came to take a local Druddigon as a mate.
Though being the restless souls that they were, my children grew increasingly tired of marching along, and had grown more than a little unnerved by the ever-more-noticeable lack of life in their surroundings. And much like any other restless children herded along by adults, they started to look for opportunities to slip away.
"Gon!"
Which time and time again were thwarted by the creche's guardian, who would dutifully herd them back into line, if increasingly worn down by having to do the same with over a dozen other souls who'd gotten similar ideas at the most inopportune times. The final straw finally came in a hall with a decorated frieze, where my children's attention drifted off towards a small collection of pebbles that had broken off and laid at its base. One pebble with a flash of red on it caught my elder child's eye, and without thinking, he went over and scooped it up, sharing it with his brother…
"DRUDDIGON!"
Only to be summarily interrupted by the creche's guardian, who yanked it out of his claws and bellowed in his face. She let out a frustrated roar, declaring that she had put up with enough of their misbehavior during the journey, and didn't need them making a mockery of the ritual they were participating in on top of everything else.
Which, I suppose, was only to be expected coming from a Pokémon of her sort. And it was perhaps a more generous reaction than what some more harsh-minded types among her peers might have done. Though being roared in one's face by someone bigger and stronger than you takes nerves to stand firm against, and for a pair of children worn down from a long and increasingly tiresome walk that'd stopped being fun for them…
"Goooooon!"
It was just the push they both needed to break down, as they began to whine and cry for their mother. The creche guardian grimaced and bit her tongue at my children's cries. After all, Pokémon like her who care poorly for their charges often aren't suffered well once those youngsters' true parents hear about their treatment. Between her inexperience, and growing worries over how a job done poorly would reflect on her or lead to things being taken out of her hide, the caretaker began to have her own nerves start to fray.
"D-Drud… Druddigon!"
The Druddigon hurried over and pawed and nudged at my children, cooing at them with hushed apologies and reassurances that their actions weren't that bad, since no harm had come to the sacred pebble they'd disturbed. That surely the whole episode could be all swept under the den and forgotten.
Her efforts fell flat as my children remained inconsolable, while the others from her creche looked on puzzledly, and the rest of the procession stopped and stared. The guardian's inexperience had apparently carried over to other duties in the past, as a few onlookers were particularly unimpressed with her. Some even gave wondering harrumphs to themselves as to how on earth she had ever been put in charge of watching over a creche of youngsters of all things.
"Shao?"
The caretaker Druddigon cringed and pinned her wings back as the Mienshao from earlier came over. He traded a glance between her and her still-crying charges, before cupping a wispy-furred paw under one chin and then the other, and giving a set of gentle scratches to calm my children. As the pair sniffled and began to settle down, the Mienshao stooped before them, and asked them what was going on, and why the two were troubling their caretaker so?
"Gon?"
"Druddi… gon?"
Apparently, I wasn't the only one who thought that Mienshao resembled my mentor, as even my children got things mixed up with him at first.
The Mienshao paused with a knowing murmur under his breath, before turning to the Druddigon guardian and speaking up in explanation: that he had an idea of who these two were, since he'd encountered Pokémon like them before from lived experience. These youngsters weren't the two charges she initially thought, but outsiders from their tower who dwelt among humans.
I was told that the caretaker Druddigon went stiff with a startled grimace afterwards, and looked about ready to keel over from embarrassment as snickers and unimpressed grumbles at her mistake went about the other Pokémon. Including from some of her own creche's younglings. The Mienshao let his gaze linger on my children for a moment, before turning to the others with a sharp cry.
"Shao! Mienshao!"
Nothing about their plans had changed, he insisted. Even with a pair of outsiders in their midst, the tributes they brought for their god would surely be accepted all the same. At this, my younger child blinked and raised his head up at the Fighting-type with a curious murmur.
"Druddi… gon?"
Wondering just what there 'tributes' that they were going to offer were.
"Mien…"
The Mienshao looked down at the marble in my youngest child's claws, before explaining that like them, they had all brought treasures of their own to offer and motioned off at some of the elder Pokémon in the crowd. Some brought food that had been their first fruits taken from the surrounding forest, others came bearing flowers and fragrant plants that would be pleasing to smell, while still others carried little baubles of their own. Ones with splendid colors or glistening surfaces that would gleam after catching a suitable ray of light.
My children blinked in reply, unsure what to make of the procession when the Mienshao took my younger child'stheir marbles and explained that those 'tributes' were gifts. Ones that they were quite lucky to be able to witness, since they would have the chance to take part of a ritual that until very recently, none of the Pokémon that lived in and around Dragonspiral Tower had been able to carry out in many lifetimes.
"Drud?"
The children were curious, since while their travels through Dragonspiral Tower had been special for them and they had heard others say it was a special day, none of the other Pokémon had mentioned anything before about there being a 'ritual' of some sort. The Druddigon caretaker opened her mouth and began to explain in her tongue only to be stopped by a gentle prod by a paw lined with wispy fur.
"Mienshao."
The Mienshao assured her that the younglings would see for themselves why things were so special soon enough. There was a brief moment of hesitation, before my children followed along and rejoined the procession. They resumed their march shortly afterwards, as all the while, my children's restlessness had tamped down, and wondered under their breaths to themselves about what this mysterious surprise might be.
I'm not sure whether or not knowing what my children were going through at the time would've comforted me at all, but without that knowledge, my companions and I were focused more on returning the two youngsters who'd joined our midst. Once we made our way up to the third floor, the overall atmosphere of the tower abruptly changed. Where there was bustling life just a floor before, now at the base of a spiraling set of steps that led to a platform with flooring that had been cracked into a maze, there was eerie silence and quiet. There were no dens made out in the open that could be seen, and what few footprints or shed scales and fur were present were only occasionally scattered about. Mostly from Pokémon who were far stronger than the wilds we'd left behind on the second floor.
My mate gave me a nudge and worried murmur, and asked if things were alright. I supposed that they were, but for Pokémon like me who grew up in this place, we were taught from a young age that the tower's floors were not our own—that the higher one went, that the more one treaded on ever more sacred and dangerous ground. Even our humans put two and two together once they reached the top of the steps, where they found a metal sign set up against the wall. Placed there recently enough that there were no signs of weathering aside from a faint layer of dust, with human glyphs that Noel could read as clear as day from a dozen paces away.
"'Do not enter, dangerous Pokémon territory ahead'?"
There was a long block of smaller human glyphs on the sign under the message. I can't tell you what they said other than that it likely could've been replaced with 'trespassers will be burned and eaten' and it'd have communicated the danger of poking around willy-nilly just as effectively. John went over and inspected the sign, before casting a wary glance up towards the floor's ceiling high above.
"... I knew that there were a couple sightings of the dragon around lately, but that doesn't mean it's not necessarily here, right?" he asked "It's not as if it's constantly just lurking here to burn up anything that gets too close…"
My mate let out a quiet squeak as a frightened tremor went down his spine at the idea of having to come face to face with a living god whose fiery pique was literally a thing of legends. I nudged him and reassured that things wouldn't surely come to that, and that the dragon of legend who had awakened here a few years prior was most likely wandering about far, far away right now…
"Druddigon!"
Only for the youngsters accompanying us to perk up and cheerfully explain that that same dragon of legend would indeed be coming to the tower soon, and would be eagerly awaiting gifts of tribute. My mouth flopped open after their reply and I set my teeth on edge with a startled grimace. I suppose that I should've expected something of the sort to happen after the Golurk told us to head upwards. But at the time, I didn't know about the watchful gazes my children were under just a few floors above us. And as youngsters who had already drawn the ire of the locals from their ignorance, I couldn't help but start shedding scales over the thought of my children cheerfully stumbling headfirst into a fiery end.
"I doubt it, John. Otherwise there'd be more stories like that," Jane replied. "But even so, if things were serious enough for the Rangers to leave a sign like this, we shouldn't go tempting fate."
"Right... do any of you have reception right now?" Carol asked "I brought my old X-Transciever with me. There should be Rangers on-staff around these parts. This would probably be a good time to stop and call them for help."
Carol raised her wrist and held up a worn-looking device on it, one of those old watch things that used to be popular a few years ago that have since been falling out of favor for those slate-like "phones" which are all the rage these days. My mate huddled beside her, watching the screen anxiously as a chime rang out, when I looked to my right and noticed that the two youngsters were gone.
"Drud?"
I stiffened up and hurriedly dropped to all fours, sniffing the ground to catch their scent as I followed it into the maze of tiled platforms and upturned stones. I climbed one and made my way from one platform to the next between glides and clambering with my claws. All the while, I stopped and looked around for any sign of the younglings, keeping quiet so as not to alert my trainers.
"Druddigon! Druddigon!"
That was when I finally came across them: starting up the base of a set of steps that spiraled up again along an outer wall.
"Drudd!"
I darted forward and snatched the pair up and off the steps. They flinched under my grasp and pinned their wings back as I glared down at them and let out an annoyed growl demanding an explanation: of what on earth the two thought they were doing sneaking off from us, especially in a place like this where it was dangerous to wander about. I let out a low growl and reminded them that if anything had happened to the two, that their parents and untold numbers of their comrades would surely have my and my companions' hides.
The pair squirmed briefly, before the younger of them raised his head, and lifted a claw to point off upward.
"Gon… Di…?"
They too had been told the stories about how these parts of the tower were places to tread carefully. And yet in spite of it, their creche had been given the honor of going up with a party of their elders to explore it that day. Whatever danger there was in this place, it didn't apply to them since their caretakers had deemed it safe enough for them to come along.
I blinked and stared down at the two. And while I must confess it's a tad embarrassing to admit, I couldn't help but start to agree with the youngsters' reasoning. After all, the Golurk had entrusted us with reuniting the dragonlets and said nothing about it being a dangerous task… and surely Pokémon born and raised among the ranks of the local guardians would be better prepared to handle any unexpected surprises.
"Gon! Gon!"
The elder of the two dragonlets already started his way up the stairs, flaring his wings and nosing upwards to beckon us to follow. According to him, the others had already come through here and it'd be easy enough to find them based off of their trail.
"Drud?"
I glanced down and sure enough, the stones around us did appear to be suspiciously free of dust, and there were even fresh footprints lingering about at the edges. I stopped and craned down to gather the travelers' scent, picking up the smell of a party that had come through. One which had had Druddigon among their numbers, with two scents that lingered more than the others that stood out to me:
"Drud!"
The scents of my children. I didn't need any prompting to come along after that and hurried after the elder dragonlet, all but dragging his younger counterpart with me up the steps when a startled cry rang out from the other end of the chamber.
"Ack! Where's Neela?! She was just here with us a moment ago!"
I paused and flinched at the voice after realizing that it was James'. His siblings' voice joined in with his afterwards in alarm, along with their Pokémon's... and my mate's, whose own voice sounded downright panicked. I couldn't get a clear view of them from so far away, but every word of theirs echoing along the ancient walls and stones cut at my hide and made me waver.
About whether or not this was a good idea, about whether or not I should turn back…
"... Druddigon."
I shook my head and sucked in a sharp breath. I'd been entrusted to return the two dragonlets in order to get my children back, with or without my companions' help. A task that I already knew full well I'd be unlikely to explain to my humans, much less successfully convince them to join in with it.
I trudged along and tried not to listen to their voices as we headed upwards from the third floor. All the while, I kept telling myself that soon enough we'd be together and in each other's claws once again.
The air seemed to grow heavier and heavier as the youngsters and I continued climbing up the upper floors of Dragonspiral Tower. On the fourth floor, we would turn up occasional footprints and scales or strands of fur from the procession of wild Pokémon we'd been tracking… along with scars in the walls and floors which bore testament to fierce battles in the past. The youngsters said they were left behind from trainers and their Pokémon fighting with each other during Team Plasma's raid a few years past, or at least that was what they had been told by their elders.
I had no reason to disbelieve them from what I knew about their elder counterparts, even if the sight still made me wince. The fifth floor was a temporary respite from our climb, one which proved short-lived as we made our way into the main chamber. In that chamber, there is a strange, circular maze that one must pass through—one with gaps which are hard to jump or glide across even for a Druddigon. The one consolation was that the maze lacked walls outside a couple lonely remnants and a central column, which allows one passing through it to have a good look of the surroundings while navigating it and allows sound to travel far and wide.
"Druddigon! Druddigon!"
But once again, there was neither hide nor scale to be found of my children. I must confess that things were a bit overwhelming for me at that time, and I let out a quiet whine before turning my eyes up towards the ceiling. There were only two floors left before we reached the top of Dragonspiral Tower, and I was starting to grow anxious over just how high up it my children and this procession could have gone.
"Digon!"
Now children have a way of having their own priorities surface even during serious moments. And the youngster wilds were no exception back then. A turn of my head revealed the elder dragonlet was grasping a bauble from the ground and lifting it up, while his younger counterpart noticed it and grabbed at it. The pair growled, squabbling and wrestling with each other over their little treasure. Some old habits took over me at the sight, and I narrowed my eyes and stomped over to the pair with a sharp reprimand.
"Drud!"
I snatched the bauble out of their claws and drew a pair of yelps, before glaring down with a sharp growl. Chiding words demanding that they behave came out of my mouth before I caught myself and realized something was amiss:
The two had been born and raised in an abode of the gods. Surely they of all Pokémon would have been taught better than to just go around picking at its sacred stones willy-nilly.
"Gon! Druddigon!"
The younger dragonlet protested that they hadn't been doing anything of the sort, and that they had found a treasure which had been brought in from outside. I glanced down at the bauble in my claws, and sure enough, I saw that I was holding a human coin. Pocket change of the sort that many humans don't think anything of losing in a corner of their dens, but one which was new enough to still be polished and gleaming. Hardly a relic that would've been lying around the tower since ancient times.
Then what, I asked the dragonlets, was this little coin doing here?
The pair traded looks with one another before the younger motioned up towards the ceiling with a cheerful cry.
"Drud! Drud!"
The coin was probably a tribute and had most likely slipped the claws of one of their fellows who went before them, he explained. After all, the Lord of the Tower had returned to them some time ago, and he was due to come and visit today.
I froze afterwards, much as if a sudden winter chill had blown over me. When the pair had said the dragon would be coming 'soon', I'd held out hope that 'soon' would stretch out into another day. As their words sank in, I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach as I turned and nervously asked them…
"Drud… digon?"
Just when today was the Lord of the Tower expected to arrive?
PREEEEAAH!
Almost as soon as I asked, a bellowing roar rang out and shook the tower in its presence. The dragonlets reflexively dropped onto all four claws and clung tight as dust and loose pebbles shook loose in the background. Calm returned shortly afterwards, but even so, I couldn't help but stand there dumbly, with my mouth hanging open in fright.
I had heard that same roar before through the picture-box in the Does' living room several years ago:
When the strange man with green hair spoke before all Unova alongside the Dragon of Vast White.
"G-Gon… Gon…"
There are few moments more sobering for a parent, few where one feels as helpless, as when one knows that one's children are in danger while being unable to protect them. And knowing that my children were in a place where they did not know how to behave in the presence of a divine being that was said to have burned regions...
Well, it was hard to keep my head and wings raised afterwards. Much less to fight back growing tears of despair as I thought of what might happen to my children.
"Drud! Drud!"
I raised my head after the younger dragonlet let out a cry and saw that he'd made his way through the final turns of the maze. He was happily standing and waving at us from the base of a set of stairs headed upwards, with another human coin in his claws. His elder companion growled in protest and hurried off to try and contest him for ownership of it. That was when I noticed faint voices coming from further above, including ones who were much like those of the two youngsters with me.
"Druddigon!"
Something snapped inside me and I thrust the coin back into the elder drake's claws before dragging him along, rushing over towards the younger as fast as my limbs and the maze's path would let me. I didn't bother to stop to explain things to them, as I all but dragged the two up the steps with a pair of yelps.
From the voices, I knew that my children were close by, and I would get them back and out of harm's way.
Or die trying.
The next floor went by in a blur, which I suppose is only to be expected when one's mind is wracked with fear for the life and limb of one's children. The main chamber of the floor happening to have a relatively straightforward path didn't hurt our pace either. Why, aside from a few glimpses of scars of battles past in the ruins, there wasn't much to distract me or the youngsters until we made it over to the final flight of stairs.
"Gon?"
It was there that at long last, that we found the procession of wilds the Golurk told us about gathered along the steps. Sure enough, all the kinds of the tower's Pokémon were represented amongst their ranks. Young and old, weak and strong, and with no shortage of Druddigon present, either.
"Druddigon!"
Including the guardian for the creche that the two younglings with me had wandered off from. She barreled down the steps, scampering along her claws as she hurriedly rushed over and tucked the pair under her arms. She looked down, giving worried whines to the two as she pleaded with them in her tongue to keep their absence between the three of them and to not tell their parents.
Part of me still wonders how long the other Druddigon had been serving her role as that creche's guardian back then. She seemed a bit inexperienced and clumsy, and yet at the same time, with the way the youngsters squirmed and tried to avoid being seen with her, she'd clearly served long enough for her peers to form an opinion about her.
"Mienshao."
Though that was when the Mienshao came. One of the elders of his kind, as he introduced himself. He started with a bit of smalltalk, telling me that I'd done well to make it so far. He assured me that my children were unharmed and had behaved themselves—or at least well enough—and that he understood that I was worried sick about them.
It was all well and good, but I couldn't help but find myself staring at the Mienshao with my head held at a tilt that he eventually noticed and found strange.
"Mien?"
For whatever reason, he really did look eerily like my mentor back in the Does' household. I don't know whether or not that was from me having trouble telling Pokémon of other kinds apart, much as humans sometimes do, or if my mentor has a story of his own to tell about relatives of his he left behind back around Dragonspiral Tower. But I suppose that's a story for him to tell himself some other time.
At that moment, I was just relieved that everything seemed to have resolved itself without incident, and thinking more about returning back to my mate and friends along with my children. I gave the Mienshao my thanks, and stepped forward with open claws to claim my children.
"Druddi! Druddi!"
Only for those thoughts to come to a swift end after my younger child cried out and went over to snatch something from a small treasure pile in the claws of one of the local Druddigon along with his elder brother.
"Lett!"
It went about as well as expected, as a pair of Golett stepped out, angrily barking at the pair to return the stolen bauble to their lord's offerings. I hurried forward to try and set things right, only for my children to backpedal with low whines. They glanced over their shoulders and saw sunlight coming through a doorway, and at once charged through.
Into the same chamber with the shattered roof where the Dragon of Vast White had made his roost in bygone times.
"Druddigon!"
That was all that I needed to spur me forward into running after my children myself. The Golett hurried after them, with a few of their fellow wilds joining in, only for them all to abruptly stop at the doorway and refuse to venture a step further. They craned their heads out and in harsh tones, demanded my children come back at once and return their pilfered offering. Demands which the two answered with hisses and growls of protest.
"Gon! Gon!"
When I made it to the doorway, I at last saw what the cause of their dispute was. There, in my younger child's claw, was one of the marbles he'd brought along that day as a toy. I couldn't help but grimace a bit at some of the unamused glares and frowns the nearby wilds were giving me, and truthfully, I probably should've been more diligent about keeping my children's treasures safely tucked away…
"Druddigon!"
But such considerations weren't on my mind at the time. I hurried into the chamber, under the light of the sun as I stepped into a space with broken pillars and walls set beneath the remnants of an ancient roof that had been blown away from inside. I hurried over to my children and snatched them up, scolding them that they'd scared me half to death, and were most fortunate that the Pokémon that dwelled here wasn't present to take offense to them charging into this place.
"Preeeeaah!"
A deafening roar rang out, from the same voice that I'd heard through the picture cube years ago. One that demanded to know who dared impose upon his den. Over at the doorway, the wilds at the threshold reflexively cringed and hurriedly made themselves scarce as they took shelter to its sides.
That was when it dawned on me that the chamber wasn't anywhere near as empty as I had thought.
"Drud… digon?"
My children turned to look further down the chamber as the sound of heavy footsteps approached, and let out frightened squeals before they hurriedly hid behind me. My younger child let his marble slip from his grasp as he latched onto my wings for safety, and left it to roll off along the ancient tiles. I saw the marble drift away briefly, before I turned and followed my children's eyes up and deeper into the chamber…
Where there was the Dragon of Vast White, approaching us with his blue eyes fixed down into a piercing scowl.
For a moment, I thought that that was the end. I crouched, throwing my body and wings in front of my children as a shield as I stood firm. Or at least as firm as one can in the presence of an incensed god. The dragon wasn't particularly impressed, and bared his fangs with a snarl, demanding to know by what right we dared impose on a dragon's den without even asking for entrance.
… I can see that skeptical look in your eye. And I suppose that beyond my and my children's own words, I don't have any hard proof of our encounter. But even so, everything in this story did indeed happen, and I remember the moment that came afterwards like it was yesterday: the moment when the dragon's growls trailed off and his blue eyes drifted toward the ground with a curious murmur.
My eyes followed after his gaze, when I saw the Dragon of Vast White stare down at the marble on the floor. He blinked and stooped down to scoop it up into his claws, bringing it up to his eyes as he let out a content rumble. He mused aloud that it reminded him of his travels with one of his recent companions, a green-haired man who he had chosen as a hero. One who had introduced him to many strange and wonderful things that humans had, including marbles much like this one which the man would render as tribute to calm him whenever the two had a particularly sharp disagreement.
I must confess, it was a bit surprising to hear even Reshiram speak so fondly of treasures like the ones in my hoard. I suppose I had heard it said before that he and the other dragon that once lived there were like us in temperament, but I'd never imagined that it would carry over even to such petty pleasures.
The local wilds began to warily pop their heads out from around the corners of the doorway and emerge from their hiding places. Sensing that the dragon's mood was in better spirits, I decided not to tempt fate any further. I spoke up and began to explain that my children and I hadn't meant to impose upon his roost. That we were sorry for any impropriety or embarrassment we'd caused, and would quickly take our leave.
"G-Gon! Druddigon!"
My younger child burst out from behind me, raising his voice in protest that the marble was his treasure and that it couldn't just be taken. I'll admit that my heart skipped a beat after hearing my younger child raise his voice, as I quickly grabbed onto him and pulled him close with a harsh shush, my elder peeking warily from behind my wings as the Dragon of Vast White tilted his head at us with a guarded frown.
"Drud…"
I shuffled in front of my children and turned up my head, baring my throat with my wings pinned back and trembling. I spoke up as best as I could, explaining that I was deeply sorry if my children had caused him any offense. They were young and hadn't been raised among his servants' ranks, and because of my own shortcomings, they weren't familiar with its ways.
Except, much to my surprise, the great dragon wasn't upset, but puzzled. I'd clearly raised young who were fierce and determined, he told me. Ones who even at such a young age were willing to stand up for things as they rightfully were, even if they weren't easy to defend.
With outstretched claw, the Lord of Truth pointed down with a skeptical frown and asked aloud in our tongue:
I was clearly from here. So then why was I not standing guard over his tower like the others present beyond the doorway?
I cast a glance back past my wings as scales brushed up against me, where my elder child was trying to hold back his little brother as he stared at the marble in Reshiram's claws, letting his maw quiver with a low whine.
There was a moment of silence, before I gave the dragon my answer:
That it was because I had others away from Dragonspiral Tower who still needed me to stand guard over them.
There was a long silence, before the Dragon of Vast White stooped down, and rolled the marble along the ground towards my children. My younger child eagerly snatched it up, before shrinking back, looking up into the great dragon's blue eyes as the ancient drake let out a rumbling chuckle.
He bore no grudge against us, he reassured. For he knew himself how much a treasure could mean to a dragon. He would overlook our transgression, so long as we saw we made sure to take better care of the treasures of our own in our lives.
I know that you obviously are a bit doubtful, and truthfully, I sometimes can't believe that that encounter wasn't all a dream. But that commision was my cue to shuffle my children along for the door. The pair of Golett from the procession of guardians entered afterwards along with a few of their fellows bearing their tributes, bowing and offering profuse apologies to their patron as we headed back out into the hall.
As we passed, a number of the wild Pokémon stared at us. Some in awe, others in envy, others telling us to thank our lucky stars that we hadn't worn out the patience of their lord. Along the way, I saw the inexperienced guardian near the back of her creche, pawing at her shoulder and looking away with a downcast gaze.
Perhaps my sentimental side got the better of me, but I stopped for a moment as I passed her, and raised my voice with a determined growl.
'Stand tall, brave and noble dragon'. I told her. She had defended my greatest treasures well and had my eternal thanks for it. Even if she'd made a few mistakes, I could already tell she'd been admirably defending her own little treasures all about her.
And that I was sure that she would grow to be a great guardian someday.
She batted her wings flusteredly for a moment, before we bid each other farewell. To her and the youngsters she watched over, all as the Mienshao elder and other faces in the crowd watched us leave from the stairs.
I can't say that I've kept up to date with the workings of those Pokémon. But it hasn't been that long since we saw each other. From what I saw of them, I'm sure that the tower and its forests are in good care these days under their watch.
The journey back down from the tower's peak was mercifully less stressful than the climb up, if a bit longer than I'd expected. Part of that was because the entire way down, my children would stop to examine little relics and curiosities in and along the tower's floors and walls. They'd fawn over them a bit and ask me what this or that relic was, while I would answer them and ply them with stories told to me when I was about their age. Ones told to me by my own parents and guardians about how my once-home came to be.
Though time has a way of flying by even at a lazy pace, and before we knew it, we were back on the floor with the spiral maze. We took our time retracing our steps there, carefully making our way back through scent trails and footprints in dust when I felt a tug at my wings.
"Gon?"
It was my elder child, who glanced up at the ceiling before he asked me in our tongue…
Would we meet the Dragon of Vast White again in the future?
He stared up longingly alongside his brother, and from the way they still speak of their encounter to their friends, I suppose it left quite an impression on them. I wasn't sure how to answer them at the time, and paused for a moment, before I decided that it was best to be frank and not to avoid the truth:
That I didn't have an answer to their question. Since when I had grown up around Dragonspiral Tower, the Dragon of Vast White had been in deep slumber for longer than anybody had been alive. What few stories I'd been told back then said that when he was awake, that even for the Pokémon that lived around his roost, just a passing encounter with him was already a rare treat.
Even if I don't know how much of a treat it is to be in such a being's presence if he's in a foul mood. Though I've heard from Pokémon that live about Dragonspiral Tower that since reawakening and returning, he's been a bit more temperate than they expected.
But those latter details were ones that I opted to wait on telling my children until they were older, and they let out quiet whines of disappointment as we made our way deeper into the maze. As we passed along its inner ring, my ears pricked up at the sound of footsteps and familiar scents, when suddenly a loud cry filled the chamber.
"Haxorus!"
It was my mate, who bounded around the corner and swept me up in an embrace. He fought back tears and let out a choking whine to not frighten him the way I had. I nosed at his chest with a low growl, as our children sidled up against his armored scales. We had but a brief moment together before when our companions caught up with him, with John and Carol leading the head of the group.
"There you are!" John snapped. "Neela, don't run off on us like that!"
"Yeah, you had us worried sick back!" Carol cried. "Just because you used to live here doesn't mean that it's a good idea for you to also wander off from us!"
There was a moment of silence between us all as I realized that while the Does were clearly upset with me, their frustration seemed to be one borne of worry. After all, they themselves had braved the sign warning of danger to follow us all the way up here, and had surely feared the entire time that the worst had happened to us. I lowered my head in front of them, before nudging my children back along. My elder child could barely contain his excitement as he darted over to Noel as his trainer pawed at him with a worried stare.
"Are you okay, Rufus?" he asked. "You're not hurt, are you?"
He answered Noel with outstretched wings and a cheerful nose with his snout, while my younger child darted out and went back to James and his Servine. He eagerly went on and on with his story about how he met the legendary dragon of the tower, and I couldn't help but stifle a laugh at their reactions. Both at the Servine's incredulity of how impossible everything sounded, along with James' befuddled reaction.
"Neela..."
A reaction that was hard to keep up after I heard Jane approaching, with my Pokéball in hand and her face curled down into a sharp frown. I stiffened up and pinned my wings back, and braced myself for the expected earful from her.
"I'm happy that you managed to exchange those Druddigon for Rufus and Rudd, but what on earth were you thinking?!" she huffed. "You should've let us help! Honestly, I'd have expected Rufus and Rudd to sneak off like this, but you ought to know better!"
I pawed at my shoulder before letting out an apologetic growl. Jane paused briefly, before shaking her head and folding her arms with a sharp scoff.
"What on earth was further up the tower that made you all act like this, anyways?"
Life has a funny way of timing things sometimes, since right as I opened my mouth to explain myself, a bellowing roar rang out. Loud and strong enough to shake the tower underfoot again. My teammates flinched briefly, while my mate… let out a cry of his own that was an octave or two higher than I'd remembered him letting out for some years.
Except I and my children didn't budge… well, aside from shielding our ears. After all, we knew what that roar was, and as a shock of white that went by the windows, it dawned to me that it was a cry of triumph.
"Druddigon!"
My elder child got a bit swept up in the moment, as he eagerly pointed at the windows, calling out goodbyes to a figure that we briefly glimpsed pulling up over the trees and slipping away into the clouds. My mate pulled me close with a low whine, worriedly asking what on earth the creature was and if we were safe.
My children were quick to hurry over to tell him it was the Dragon of Vast White and tell him tales of their encounter with him. The explanation took the Haxorus aback, and even our other teammates couldn't help but stare in disbelief. I'm not sure how well the humans with us were able to see things for themselves—especially since human eyes can be a bit weak in dim light—but even so, Carol's brother seemed to put things together well enough, as he stared at the Does with an expression of blank awe.
"It's that roar again…" the Verne boy murmured. "Was… that the dragon that used to rest here?"
There was a brief moment of incredulity among the Doe siblings, before James went up and pawed at my younger child, staring down at him with blinking surprise.
"Rudd? Did… you all actually see the dragon up there?"
The little drake excitedly fanned his wings out, going on and on about how he indeed had met the dragon, who was fierce and scary, but still nice in spite of it all. Which… with the way we Pokémon's tongues are to humans, naturally went completely over his trainer's head.
The others puzzled among themselves over what my child's response meant. Even if I'm not sure if they would've believed us even if they had understood our words. John's Scolipede and Stoutland certainly weren't convinced of my children's claims at the time in spite of their protests. I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at it all, before I carried off along for the steps and motioned for the others to follow.
"Druddigon!"
After all, we were all still in a place that we weren't supposed to be. Even if we had the resident Pokémon's blessing to be there, it wouldn't do any good to worry those Rangers Carol called… or their parents for that matter. There was a brief moment of hesitation, before Jane's Marowak pawed at her trainer's side and motioned after me, leaving her trainer to sigh and shake her head.
"I'm not sure if they understood the question or not, James. And I don't think we'll ever know for sure," Jane said. "But whatever happened between them up there, I think we've all had enough excitement for one day. Let's go home."
Everyone began to make their way down the stairs after that, with James and Noel keeping a close watch over my children to make sure they wouldn't sneak off yet again as we made our way back out of the tower. As we climbed down the ancient flight of stairs, we chanced to pass by a window, where I stopped and let my eyes drift outside.
There was a view there of the surrounding moat and forests, with Icirrus City and its windmills poking up at the base of hills in the distance. I'll admit, for a moment, I got a bit lost in the scenery. Since even when I lived around the Dragonspiral Tower, I'd never had a chance to look down on the world like that.
Perhaps it's part of the reason why Druddigon and their companions continue to dwell in the tower and its surroundings to this day. Since I'll admit, for a moment, I wondered whether or not it really was the place where I ultimately belonged.
"H-Hax?"
My mate's voice snapped me back to attention as I saw him coming up the steps and asking me if something was wrong. His head and tail were tucked in close to his body as he nervously glanced around his surroundings, still on edge from the earlier roar.
Those thoughts faded for a bit, as I beckoned my mate to come near. I insisted that everything was fine and that I was just taking in the view.
"... Xor?"
He wasn't sure of what to make of my reply at first, when he came up and saw things for himself, and stood there in awe of the surroundings. While we've grown a few years since those days when we first looked out over Icirrus City together, just being there together reminded me of them and the times when we first met.
And it was a reminder that whatever the future ultimately held, that for now, I still had a calling away from this place.
"Gon!"
"Neela! Come on! I thought you wanted to leave!"
My younger child and his trainer's voices reminded us that we still had a ways to go to depart Dragonspiral Tower. My mate and I turned to take our leave afterwards, if with a brief moment to stop and nuzzle him first. And to thank him for being there with me.
I still haven't decided whether or not I'll go back to that tower one day to help the Pokémon there stand guard over it and its treasures again. Some of them might welcome the experience that I've picked up to add to back their ranks. While others might think that I've been apart from their ways for too long to be effective as a fellow guardian.
But there will be time for me to make up my mind one way or another about it. For now, I have my own treasures away from there to stand guard over. Ones in and around the little houses on the outskirts of Icirrus City that I and my friends call home.
Where to this day, I proudly stand guard over a pair of Dragonspiral's children.