In the midst of the night, the bustling town of Treasure Town shifted peacefully over to clean and quiet streets. All the booths and shops were now shuttered shut and the only Pokemon around were the occasional street vagrants who prowled the ground, searching for any bit of anything forgotten on the ground after the last minute rush of the evening. There was one Pokemon however who was not among the vagrants. The silent pastel Hatterrene floated daintily past the town and into the far outskirts. Her motives were much more sinister.
The Hatterrene continued on into a cave filled with glistening stones. Just like the cavern Cody and company were trapped in earlier that day, this one too was filled with lingering Heartless, both pure and Pokemon. Unlike our heroes however, these creatures paid little to no mind to the Hatterrene.
She finished her journey at the furthest room in the dungeon. She looked up. Far up on the cave walls was a sizely collection of glowing gems and crystals of various shapes and colors. And right at the center of the collection lay a peculiar stone in the distinct shape of a keyhole.
This was the place.
The Hatterrene breathed in and suddenly, she was no longer a Hatterrene. Instead, there now stood a young girl with a bright red gothic dress and a monstrously thick pair of twin tail hair.
It was the young witch, Ashley.
And she wasn't alone.
Green flames in thorny shapes erupted right next to her, revealing her master, Maleficent.
"You know what to do, correct?"
Ashley nodded. "This room has to be completely consumed with darkness. We do that and this world will be doomed, just like all those others."
"And," Maleficent looked down on the small teenager with judgeful eyes. "You're certain you know how to summon the demon of this world?"
Without a world, Ashley summoned her wand and held it out confidently in front of her. The ruby red gem that sat on top glistened in unworldly ways, and the space around it reacted accordingly. Soon, a large gust of wind slowly trickled in the closed space and quickly spread into what felt like a mini tornado all in one room. Maleficent and Ashley would've made their painful ends in this storm if it weren't for the forcefield that Ashley had placed atop of them.
As the one room storm continued, a strange presence could be felt entering the room. The two witches couldn't see it, but they knew where it was and they knew they now had it in their hands. Ashley's wand glowed once more, but rather than a glow of bright light like before, it was a deep hue of darkness.
And before they knew it, the entire dungeon was consumed.
oOo
The sun had barely finished weaning away the dim of dawn by the time Cody already began to tiptoe out of the guild. It was an unusual act for him. He could barely remember the last time he woke up this bright and early out of his own volition.
Though in a way, that wasn't necessarily the case. Alakazam had more or less threatened to pull him out of this case last night. He had to make sure he began his evidence gathering even earlier than anyone would have anticipated.
"My freaking back," he groaned in pain. He assumed taking the form of a four-legged creature would've automatically made him acclimated to sleeping like one too. Thought wrong!
"Hey, you alright?"
"Yeah, don't worry. It's just…"
Treecko and Chimchar were right in front of him.
Cody blinked, wide eyed. He really hadn't expected to see them. "Y-you guys are up early."
"Why wouldn't we be?" Treecko rolled his eyes. "You guys were practically screaming right next to us. We're lucky your little in-fight didn't echo through the walls the entire night."
Cody blushed in embarrassment. "So, you two heard that, huh?"
"Yeah," Chimchar nodded knowingly. "That Alakazam guy was really adamant on making you guys drop this, right? We figured you'd probably be trying to avoid him on your way out. So here we are."
"You guys really didn't have to…"
"Hey," Treecko said. "I was the one staring Purugly down last night. We started this, not you."
"Besides," Chimchar laughed. "You're not from Treasure Town, right? You probably don't even know where to investigate."
Well, he got him there.
"Thanks," Cody sighed in appreciation. "Not gonna lie, I got beat pretty bad yesterday, so I was getting a little worried about heading into this all alone."
"Well," Treecko chuckled as he pointed behind Cody. "Even if we weren't here, looks like you wouldn't have had to worry about that at all."
Cody turned around and lo and behold, Loudred giddily trudged over to him with Mokona in tow.
"Good morning!" The two shouted simultaneously.
"Hey, not so loud," Chimchar shushed nervously. "It's barely even morning."
"What're you two doing here?" Cody gaped. "Won't Alakazam get mad?"
"Bah, who cares? It's not like we're attached to the hip or anything. I see a sad kid, I help them!"
"Yeah, we're not meanies," Mokona affirmed.
Cody smiled. He wasn't going to lie; some of the things Alakazam said last night really did get to him. It may have been a little selfish, but it really was nice to have the others here if only for validation. As he let the more experienced exploration team lead the way, Cody felt that despite all the faults he knew he possessed, he'd done the right thing.
oOo
Time passed. The sun was now bright and shining in the sky. The real morning had begun. In the halls of the guild, Pokemon began to slowly trickle in and out of the building, ready to fulfill a new round of requests and missions for the day.
And then there was Alakazam who shook angrily as his achingly twitchy eyes threw daggers onto the paper he was just a few careless movements away from tearing apart completely.
What was supposed to be a note from Loudred explaining the situation was instead a messy bout of random crayon doodles, no doubt drawn by an illiterate Mokona. But even with the questionable messaging, Alakazam could tell exactly what the rest of his team had just done.
"They just left me back here!"
Yes, he made a big deal last night about how they should abandon the inhabitants of this world in favor of searching for the King and the King only. Yes, he may have gone out of line with some of the things he said to Cody. Yes, he was a stubborn mule who refused to admit he was not and never would be the main authority on anything.
But like hell was he going to be left alone here.
After haphazardly gathering details on the rest of the group's possible whereabouts, he comically sped out and into the distance.
oOo
Almost an hour had passed since the group started their trek. Cody had never been one for extended periods of physical activity, but he would've assumed all the running he'd done the past few days would've done something to him. Apparently, not only had Cody not miraculously become acclimated to sleeping like an animal, but he wasn't used to being on all fours for extended periods of time either.
"Hey, are you alright?" Treecko asked in worry. Cody had managed to lag far behind enough that Treecko, the loner who purposely kept his distance from the others, caught up to him.
"Uh, yeah," Cody replied with feigned positivity.
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I'm still sluggish from yesterday is all." He knew that wasn't the reason, but any ounce of honesty would risk revealing himself. He may had already decided to head face into this world's affairs, but even he wasn't dumb enough to go further than that.
Treecko raised his brow. Cody couldn't help but feel that the grass type Pokemon still had suspicions, but it didn't appear he was willing to press further.
Silence settled between the two as they continued to walk at their own pace. Up ahead, Chimchar, Loudred, and Mokona were already well acquainted with one another, happily roughhousing and laughing amongst themselves as they carried along. It was a steep contrast to the blank and almost dreary atmosphere that surrounded the two in the back.
Cody was sweating. Things were getting awkward.
"S-so," he began. "Chimchar's your Exploration Team partner, right?"
"Yeah. And?"
"Well, I've been thinking how it was kind of funny how different you two are despite everything. How'd you guys team up anyway?"
It was time for Treecko to be uncomfortable. "Well, he was the first Pokemon I remember meeting since about a week ago…"
"...Huh?"
"..."
"You're not gonna elaborate on that?"
"..."
"Well? Treecko?"
"..."
"Hey, Treecko-"
"I have amnesia, okay?" Treecko blurted out in frustration.
Oh?
"And are you going to elaborate on that?"
"Has anyone ever told you how nosy you are?"
With that, Treecko skipped ahead to catch up with his fire monkey friend. Despite how gloomy and unapproachable the small green reptile seemed, he looked relaxed and at ease with his much more excitable partner. Cody couldn't help but smile seeing the two. Even with their contrasting personalities, they were like two halves of a coin. Their interactions seemed natural with one another as if they'd been friends their entire life.
Must be nice, Cody thought.
He didn't want to admit it, but he was jealous.
Cody blinked. The others up front had stopped in their tracks. And it was no wonder. Right in front of them was the entranceway to a cave that was drenched in pitch black. It was like the road to hell was laid out neatly in front of them.
"That's...quite a cave," Loudred laughed nervously.
"What he heck?" Treecko mumbled under his breath.
Loudred looked at Treecko in shock. "Uh, is this place not supposed to look like this?"
"Definitely not," Chimchar replied with a tinge of fear in his voice. "This place is known as 'The Glistening Caverns'. The whole cave is supposed to be covered head to toe in jewel encrusted rocks and boulders."
"There were teams here just yesterday. Nobody reported anything weird going on here," Treecko added.
"This couldn't have happened overnight, could it?"
Cody gulped. As did Loudred and perhaps Mokona as well. They knew that whatever happened here overnight, it was the Heartless's doing. With what they seemed to be capable of, would they be ready to fight what laid ahead?
No one dared to take the first step. It was as if they worried the cave would consume them as well. Eyes constantly shifted amongst themselves, trying to mentally push each other to take one for the team. After a while, Mokona appeared to be the sole volunteer, but he was quickly pulled back as the worry continued that walking into the dark would end their very existence.
Alakazam finally entered the scene, rolling his eyes at this sorry sight. "You made such a big deal about going against me and you guys won't even walk in?"
The group jolted at his voice; his fellow teammates especially. They fully expected the guy to just stubbornly go about his day without them.
As Alakazam approached, Cody couldn't help but wince thinking the dude was ready to unleash part two to their raucous debate. Alakazam however simply walked past him to become the first real entrant into the cursed looking cavern.
"Hey, Mokona," he called out, prompting the temporary Togepi to bounce towards him. "Aerith said you're multi-purpose, right? Any chance you've got a camera function or…"
"Camera?" Cody blinked.
Alakazam gave him a face as if Cody just said the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. "Well duh. How else do you expect to gather evidence? How dumb can you get?"
Cody wasn't sure what he was more stunned by; the fact that Alakazam was very blatantly continuing to openly roast the ever loving heck out of him or the fact that he was willing to help enough to smooth over an oversight he and the others missed.
"Well," Mokona tilted his head in thought. "I don't have a camera, but…" He crouched down as if he were harnessing energy before allowing a light beam of light to reflect from the beaded gem on his forehead. Before them was a translucent image of Loudred and Chimchar spewing out over the top faces to one another; no doubt a memory from their horseplay from earlier.
"If I concentrate on something hard enough, I can embed the image into my memories like this."
"That's perfect!" Loudred praised as he happily grabbed Mokona to allow the small creature to perch on his head like usual. Apparently Alakazam's first steps gave him enough courage to follow the two into the entranceway.
"That's some Togepi," Chimchar mused in awe before following as well.
Cody and Treecko were once again left straggling behind. Cody was completely taken aback by Alakazam's sudden change in tune and acted almost apprehensively at it. Although he offered no words of support, it was as if Treecko stuck around as a means for Cody to bounce his muddled feelings onto. The duo gave knowing blank stares to one another before they too finally entered the cave as well.
The contents of the cavernous dungeon were no different from the one they explored just yesterday. At every corner they crept towards laid constant swarms of Heartless and corrupted Pokemon. The only huge difference now was the added on threatening aura that the pitch blank darkness created. Who knew how worse off they would've been if Chimchar's own built-in flame tail wasn't lighting the way.
The group fought and provoked enemies for what felt like hours on end. In turn, Mokona constantly bounced around from battle to battle, trying to capture as much "footage" as he possibly could. Despite all the time and effort however, they knew nothing they'd gotten would be enough for Purugly. All they needed was to run into that Shadow Pichu the feline had described, but not once did they come across a Pokemon that was even remotely similar. It was next to impossible to tell what time it was with the area's condition, but they knew that they were quickly running out of it.
"All this and still not a single Pichu," Treecko grumbled.
"Well," Chimchar said shakily, knowing his positive spin would be fruitless. "We have so much evidence of other Heartless. Maybe that would be enough?"
"You know it won't be," Treecko griped back. He had more than enough energy left over to continue his rant, but he settled for massaging his head instead.
Cody cringed. Treecko and Chimchar assured him this morning that this predicament was just as much of their responsibility as his, but even still, he couldn't help but feel guilt for their current situation. Not even theirs; Pichu's situation. If they didn't deliver, she was doomed. Maybe if he'd shut his big mouth last night, there could've been a better way to save her?
He glanced at his teammates. Loudred saw his weary eyes and could only respond with an apologetic look. He knew that this wasn't working. The perpetually energetic Mokona already seemed worn out, no doubt from all the memory overload they already forced on to him.
And then there was Alakazam who set things off with one phrase.
"I knew this was a waste of time."
Any anger Cody was ready to throw at him was immediately beaten out by the sheer force of Treecko's own emotions.
"What are you even doing here?" He smacked at the larger Pokemon.
"Me?" Alakazam arched his eyebrows, surprised that the small gecko dared to start something with him.
"Yes, you!" Treecko snapped. "I saw the look on your face after that meeting with Purugly. I heard everything you said last night. If you're clearly so above 'interfering' with stuff that doesn't matter to you, then why are you here? Why are you here claiming to help and then giving up and saying saving a little girl is 'a waste of time'?!"
He really dug into him. Treecko now defiantly stared him down the same way he'd done to Purugly last night. Only now, it was against someone who was supposedly his ally.
"I didn't say saving a kid was a waste of time," Alakazam replied in confused arrogance.
"What other meaning could you possibly get out of that then?"
"This is a waste of time."
"This is our only way to save the kid. Just admit you're a heartless jerk and quit pretending you care!"
Loudred gulped. Alakazam was not known for his leveled temperament and he could already tell the psychic Pokemon was ready to strangle the much smaller Treecko. He instinctively ran over to his friend to hold him back; a good call as Al was already trying to get up close and personal to the gecko.
"H-hey," Chimchar breathed. "Treecko, he just said that because he's tired. We all are. Please, we can't be fighting like this."
"He's right though," Cody mumbled.
Loudred started to sweat profusely. With Cody's entrance, he knew exactly what was coming. Alakazam was set off yet again and the two launched into the same screaming match they had last night; only now there was a third player in the pack. Poor Loudred and Chimchar were left struggling to contain the three while Mokona just lazily sat aside and spectated like he was watching an intense drama.
"For the last time," Alakazam growled. "You have severe delusions of grandeur and you never went into this with pure thoughts to begin with. Stop pretending like you're the better one out of us!"
"Oh shut up! You have piles of stupid excuses why you can't be bothered to save not even just Pichu but any person who needs help. At least I had enough sense to know she needed my help!"
"Yeah, and I showed up too! What more do you want from me?"
"You showed up just to complain," Treecko grumped. "You're doing this out of obligation, not because you actually want to save her."
"No I'm not!"
"Prove it!"
"Why I outta…"
"Guys, seriously, please stop," Chimchar started to look like he was about to cry. He felt so helpless just watching this turmoil explode right in front of him knowing that all three were too heated in their verbal match to listen to reason at this point.
Loudred saw the tension in Chimchar's face and decided enough was enough. He was going to end this the same way he ended things last night. After taking in a deep breath, Loudred started to ready himself for the loudest Uproar he could muster. Everyone's hearing abilities were in danger now.
Luckily though, the Uproar never came because the petty argument was instead interrupted with a shadowy creature charging right between them, giving them just mere seconds to dodge the tips of its claws.
Everyone shifted looks amongst one another as they attempted to process what had just occurred. Alakazam however was quick enough on the fly to locate and examine what exactly split right past them. It was no doubt yet another Heartless corrupted Pokemon. It was distorted in dark colors that contrasted against its bright yellow eyes that glowed in the darkness. Its hands were morphed into disturbingly intricate claws which almost comically clashed in size compared to the creature's demure body. It was like a tiny little demon with horns that helped double its height alone.
Even with its mangled looks, Alakazam could tell that they had finally found their Pichu.
He desperately pointed towards its direction as the small Heartless made a mad dash out of there. "That one's a Pichu! After it!"
Still disoriented from the might of the previous argument, the others trailed behind Alakazam as their chase through the cave began. The tiny dark creature zipped through every opening and crevasse it could find to shake the motley crew off but would continuously be ratted out time and time again by the bright flash of Mokona's red light sifting through. Unfortunately, even if Mokona gave them an advantage, the sheer speed of the shadow mouse made any effort for him to take a proper "picture" of the Heartless naught.
"Hold still dangit," Treecko grumbled as he activated his Detect ability, allowing the group to more easily pick out pitch black creature from the equally pitch black backdrop.
Chimchar loaded up balls of fire both to help make the Heartless Pichu more legible in sight but also to shoot flames at it itself. Of course, none of those flames would land on the creature that shifted its pace and position by the second, and soon, the Pichu lunged its claws towards the monkey in a crazed manner as if it were preparing to gouge open his chest. At least there was no doubt that they were indeed fighting off against the very monster that had attempted to take out Purugly's life.
Chimchar winced while the others could only run desperately towards the two in the few moments they had before his end would come.
…
Chimchar slowly opened his eyes. Rather than the sight of a diminutive demon tearing him apart, he instead saw its snarling face desperately grasping towards him as it floated around suspended in midair.
In the distance, Alakazam was holding his arms outstretched as he telekinetically held the overly energetic creature in place. Even with its small size, the sheer franticness of the creature proved to be difficult for him to contain.
"Hurry up and take its picture," he barked over at Mokona.
As if Alakazam turned on a switch in the small guy, Mokona excitedly sprinted from his spot and flashed his gem light at a rapid pace as he built up their pile of evidence. Even as Alakazam began to lose his grip on the Heartless, forcing the others to fend off whatever lightning sparks and claws it threw onto them, Mokona continued to diligently snap shot after shot all the way to the false Pichu's demise.
With the Heartless now gone and their mission more or less complete, Alakazam enthusiastically fistpumped in celebration only to look away sheepishly after catching a blank stare from Treecko.
"Alright," Cody cheered. "I was worried there for a sec, but it really did work out in the end."
"It sure did," Treecko mumbled, still exchanging awkward glances with the same guy he'd been yelling furiously at earlier.
Treecko reached under his scarf for his badge; their easy ticket out of here. Things of course could never end simply. A strong gust of wind suddenly pushed through the caverns, knocking the badge straight out of the gecko's hands. He blinked in utter confusion. How in the hell was there wind this deep into the cave? The rest of the group seemed to have the same reaction, all except Chimchar who was stunned into dread.
"We have to get out here," Chimchar griped. His level of fear earned increased confusion from the group. "What? Do you guys really don't know?"
Blank stares.
Chimchar groaned. "I expected Treecko to be clueless, but you four too?"
"There's this omen with Exploration Teams; the big reason why they always tell us to finish our missions as soon as possible. If we linger around remote areas we're not native to, a demon Pokemon will lurk in the shadows and blow us away."
"So, it would just shove us towards the exit?" Cody said. "That doesn't sound bad. Honestly, we could use that right now."
"No, you don't understand!" Chimchar cried. It's like being sucked into the eye of a hurricane and there's no telling when you'd get out. Come on Treecko, we need to get out of here as soon as-"
Right as Treecko began to walk over to pick up his badge, mostly to shut his partner up if anything, another large gust of wind billowed by. It not only blew the badge further off, but it carried it away as if someone had just snatched it. Everyone gaped in shock while Chimchar continued to cower in fear. That was their quick ticket out of here. If they tried to navigate the caves with their own devices, they were doomed to miss the deadline of their mission. If they didn't chase after it, they were screwed.
So of course, they ran like hell.
If there was any doubt that there was a mysterious force behind the wind, it blew away alongside the badge the further they ventured off into the dungeon. There was a lingering thought amongst all six of them: This was a path they were following, but where was it taking them to? They wondered to themselves if they should stop in their tracks, weary about what exactly this supposed demon had under its sleeves. And when they found themselves at a dead end, their unease only escalated.
Just like the rest of the cave, the spacious room was walled in pitch black with the vast majority of the glowing jewels having lost their shine from the overwhelming gloom. In the upper crust of the wall opposite of them, however, lay a single cluster of gems that had miraculously survived the cave's makeover, shining like a keyhole constellation in the vast night sky. Cody stared in awe at the display, completely distracted from the blister of wind that continued carrying the badge throughout the confines of the room.
The badge frantically flew across every corner of the strange area and the breeze of each movement quickly culminated into an insular tornado. Everyone had given up trying to go after the badge and shifted their focus to making sure they didn't get carried away by the peculiar storm themselves. The wind kept getting stronger and stronger and stronger…
Until right in the middle of the lit space stood a towering juggling stickman in red and black stripes; Trickmaster.
"What the heck?" Chimchar breathed. The entire day, they'd fought nothing but Heartless that resembled the fellow Pokemon that he and Treecko were used to interacting with on a day-to-day basis. Not only was this their first true blood Heartless, it was their first real glimpse at the true terror that endangered their world.
Treecko was the first to take action and ran towards the monster as he shot out a small string of Energy Balls. Chimchar took his partner's lead and let out Ember flares, only to be horrified when it tossed his attacks right back at him. Trickmaster wasn't just a juggler; he was a fully pyrokinetic one. That meant Treecko was in grave danger.
Before Chimchar could even cry out for help, Mokona rushed in and shot a force field right in front of the grass gecko before flames from Trickmaster's erratic dance could rain on to him. Mokona gleefully continued taking more memory snapshots which prompted Treecko to tell him to move out of the way in annoyance.
Alakazam and Loudred quickly joined the fray. Now that they knew exactly what kind of monster they were dealing with, it was apparent their newfound friends wouldn't be able to get much done on their own.
Cody once again stood quietly in the back, quivering helplessly in place. He wanted to charge forward alongside his companions, but the same frozen anxiety that built up in him back at Traverse Town returned in full force. Cody admittedly hadn't been much of an asset at all since they arrived in this world. He knew he was a triple threat of disappointment here. He was already below an amateur in combat, but here, he also had to learn how to shoddily fight on all fours with his weapon in his mouth. He actively tried to pass most confrontations on to his peers in an attempt to fight as little as possible.
During the battle at Traverse Town, he kept telling himself that he wasn't going to run away anymore. He never wanted to have that same sense of paralyzing fear and helplessness ever again, but there he was, and like hell if he hadn't been running away the entire damn time.
It dawned on him.
Maybe Al was right.
Everyone must've caught on quickly that he avoided almost every fight. Loudred and Mokona said nothing out of politeness, but Alakazam knew Cody had a responsibility, and he refused to let his behavior slide. This whole time, he'd been against his companion because he felt he did nothing but beat him down when in reality, he was just trying to pull his head out of the sand he dug himself into. They both knew deep down that Cody wouldn't be the one truly doing the saving in this mission, yet he brought it upon himself anyway.
He was, wasn't he?
"Get out of the way!"
!
Cody was suddenly slammed straight on to the ground, having just narrowly missed an enormous ball of flame that engulfed the spot where he once stood.
He wearily regained his stance and he audibly gasped at what he saw. Alakazam groaned in pain as he laid down, all scratched up with small trickles of fire sprinkled throughout his body. He had just pushed Cody out of harm's way.
"Wh-why didn't you just push me out of the way with your mind?"
"It was literally right about to hit you. No time to concentrate," Alakazam groaned as he smashed his tired hands onto his flames to put them out. "Look, I get that this is your first time ever being in a body like this and there's no easy way for you to suddenly know how to fight. Just be more careful if you plan to lay low."
Something in his head just clicked in him. He didn't want a repeat of Traverse Town, but this was most assuredly worse than what happened in Traverse Town.
So he decided to do the exact same tactic as back then.
He ran into the thick of battle, blindly and furiously.
Alakazam slapped his hand on his face. "Idiot…"
Cody bit onto the handle of his keyblade like his life depended on it as he slashed and sliced sloppily on to Trickmaster's lower body. He knew the amount of damage he was doing was probably worse than miniscule, but he refused to just stand there and do nothing. Something about his sudden valor sparked light in the rest of the fighters. Even if Cody's attacks did nothing, the increasing force of the others' gradually wore on the monstrous performer. Trickmaster's juggling began to lose momentum, and the flaming projectiles he held simply fell limply on to the ground.
Loudred smirked. It looked like they were ready to take it down.
After giving a quick warning to the others to scatter off, Loudred wailed out an Uproar that blew through the Heartless almost as strongly as its own wind did earlier to Treecko's badge. All juggling had now seized as it toppled around the room, dazed and confused.
Cody yelped in surprise as Treecko and Chimchar lifted him up into the air. He looked at the two who had the cockiest grins on their faces.
"Wh-what the heck are you doing?"
"That thing's strong against grass and fire, so your sword key thing will probably finish it," Chimchar explained.
"Huh?"
"We're throwing you at it," Treecko clarified bluntly.
"What?!"
And with that, Cody was launched straight into the air and towards Trickmaster. The sheer vertigo forced his mouth to lose grip of the Keyblade as he spiraled downwards. He summoned it back in a panic, forcing it to reappear, dangling on his tail.
And something else happened as he plummeted downwards into a powerful strike.
His tail morphed into a strange stance. What was once a thick patch of fluffy fur was now turning into a hardened metal with a shining luster.
He hit Trickmaster square on the head with a double whammy of the Keyblade and Iron Tail.
Trickmaster flailed around wildly, mimicing a dying screech with its body that had no mouth. A final flurry of wind erupted in the closed space, forcing the group to brace themselves as the last spray of flames came raining towards them. In that moment, there was a fear that their battle was for naught; that they would meet their demise even as the monster came crumbling down. But as the balls of fire began shrinking into glistening sparkles of light, those fears faltered. The wind slowly died down as Trickmaster's form quickly faded away from sight. Soon enough, the last remnants of the Heartless were twinkling lights that lit the once darkened room like fireflies and shooting stars.
It was hard not to stop and stare breathlessly at the sight. It was like they had their own piece of the night sky right in this cave. And at the upper crust of the artificial scene were the gems that miraculously survived the cave's corruption, gleaming brilliantly like a fabled constellation.
A constellation of a keyhole.
Cody couldn't figure out why he got such an indescribable feeling about the jeweled arrangement, but what he did know was that there was a part of him that kept urging him towards it. It was like he was possessed by his own Keyblade. He wasn't sure why he pointed the key upwards at the rocks as if this was the most natural thing to do in the world. And what followed he was even less well equipped to describe.
The bejeweled stones were no longer mere glimpses of light; they were morphing into light itself. In their place now laid an actual keyhole that blared at the group with the brightest warmth most of them ever felt.
Cody blinked. This was the same feeling he had back on the island when he first came in possession of the Keyblade. The moment when he thought he had met his end and a literal miracle saved his very existence.
Whatever this was, it was the true power of the Keyblade.
A soft beam of light trailed out of the tips of the key and towards the lighting lock. A final burst of light erupted in the room, engulfing the cave of darkness like the morning sun.
By the time everyone's vision returned, the cave was no longer the haunting dungeon of never ending darkness they'd entered. The gems that the walls and ground held now glistened brightly in their natural state. The Heartless that tainted this beautiful cavern were no more.
Treecko turned his attention towards the ground. They were all so distracted by the mesmerizing sight, they'd almost forgotten why they were here to begin with.
He walked up and picked up his worn badge.
It was time to head back.
oOo
Purugly could do nothing but twitch aggressively as she witnessed the act right in front of her. Cody and the gang had all returned just in the nick of time and were happily putting on a show of their triumphs for the entire guild to see. Cody and Chimchar recounted their adventure in increasingly exaggerated ways while Mokona flashed through his visual manifestations of his memories like a slideshow. Loudred blasted music in a massive fanfare which increased in intensity as the wild presentation continued. The whole scene was the very definition of mockery.
Purugly was fuming.
"None of this is evidence!" She cried. "That Pichu could've been a completely different one."
"And where's the evidence saying it wasn't?" Cody smirked. "A scary and monstrous Pichu that was trying to claw its way into ripping our hearts straight out of our chests. Matches your description, no?"
There was really no reason at this point for Purugly to continue pressing the issue. She had no real personal vendetta towards Pichu nor did she personally know the child either. But to her, all of this was a direct attack on her pride and as if she was going to let these clowns get away with it.
Purugly marched menacingly towards Pichu. Her movement was heavy and full of force. The confusion towards her actions forced everyone in the room to spring into action much too late as they all witnessed the feline raise her claws at the cowering mouse. With his quick wit, Treecko Tackled her away right as her swipe was about to connect. The vengeful cat was left stumbling pathetically around the room in a dazed fury.
Alakazam grabbed hold of her before she could accidentally hurt herself. She glanced at the psychic type and could see nothing but pure loathing in his stern eyes. He spoke no words, but the message was clear. It was time for her to give up.
"Pichu is innocent," she grumbled in defeated contempt.
oOo
"Thank you so so much," Pichu cried for what felt like the umpteenth time.
The sun had begun to set and Cody''s group and their three Treasure Town acquaintances occupied the fields leading out of town. Treecko and Chimchar had suggested the four stay for at least one more night, but with more mysteries added on to their journey, the group decided it was best to leave as soon as they could.
"Don't mention it," Alakazam mumbled in embarrassment as he gently patted the small rat's head. Treecko exchanged a smug smile towards him which caused his face to grow red.
"You sure you guys can't stay another day or two?" Chimchar chimed in. "We'd love to go adventuring with you guys some more."
"We'd love to, but," Loudred grinned. "We've got a long journey ahead of us."
"Yeah," Mokona jumped excitedly. "We've gotta kick Heartless butt and save every single worl—"
Alakazam quickly smacked his hand on to Mokona's mouth which forced the small egg to flail energetically in muffles as the larger Pokemon started to drag him away. With that, it was their signal to finally leave for good. Not without Cody leaving with the last words of course.
"Hey, Treecko," he called out. "You'll get your memories back. I know you will." As he began to make his leave, Cody attempted to flash a hearty thumbs up at the three just like he did the night before. Once again, his paws failed to create anything discerning, gaining a triad of amused laughter from Treecko, Chimchar, and Pichu. The three repeated the same awkward gesture back at their new friends; a sign of their farewell and newfound bond.
"Man," Cody chuckled lightly, turning towards his more permanent companions this time. "I cannot wait to get back on the ship. If I have to sleep on all fours again, my back's gonna crack for good."
They clearly weren't far away enough to be having this conversation.
Treecko and Chimchar glanced at each other, eyes wide.
"Wait," the monkey cried out, almost ready to sprint after them. "Did you used to be human?! Treecko used to be human too. Please, come back. We could use you hel—"
Just as immediately as he shut up Mokona, Alakazam focused his telekinetic energy around the entire group's bodies and forced them to speed off into the distance before anyone could give a proper answer. The three remaining Pokemon were left staring wordlessly into the distance as the peculiar quartet quickly left their field of visions.
It was such a bizarre exit, all Treecko could do was smirk. "What a weird bunch."
oOo
Maleficent and Ashley stared at the foggy vision in front of them that chronicled the tribulations their foes just faced. Based on their performance back at Traverse Town, they fully expected the four to fall at the hands of a mere corrupted demon.
None of that went according to plan.
"Ha," a third voice interrupted from behind. "Some half baked plan that was, Ash. You're her top apprentice, right? Can't say I'm impressed so far."
The diminutive witch was fuming. She shot eyes of fire towards her new colleague, Heather. She had merely been brought in to learn and observe and there she was already acting as if she knew she was about to take her place in the castle.
A normal teacher would've told her students to simmer down, but a being of doom and chaos like Maleficent welcomed the clash. To her, inciting pointless hatred and distrust was all part of the training regimen. As the two junior witches glared menacingly at one another with body languages that were ready to break into a fighting stance at any moment, Maleficent nonchalantly made her exit and passed by another one of her conspirators along the way.
It was Tabuu's turn now.