Hi everyone!
Serene Sunrise here.
Back at you again with another chapter!
Should I take PMD out of my title and just have the story as Warped Skies?
"Witness me!" Saniya cried before handing an apple to a hungry child. "Eat up, young one, grow large and strong."
The child, a machop, cheerfully ran off, daydreaming of muscles .
"I am raising the next generation right," Saniya said to herself, nodding wisely. Machop knocked a tree down with a punch, and it flattened a shrub.
Her mouth fell open. Violent attacks upon nature, destroying precious trees and bushes. Unforgivable.
Her celebi-inspired wrath was halted when something poked her foot. "Miss Celebi?" A tiny little shinx, she dubbed Squee said. "May I have another sitrus berry?"
"Of course, sweet child," Saniya said, levitating one away from the kecleon mart and replacing it with a coin. "But remember, sitrus is good for a treat, but a mixture of fruit, vegetable, and meat is required for a healthy diet."
"Kay." He took it and ran off. Saniya wiped a tear away.
"I'm so going to win," she said as more children began popping out of the woodwork, the tales of the pink fairy giving treats was spreading as planned. "Jirachi, eat your heart out. Or I will. I'll rip your heart out and eat it in front of you! MAHAHAHAHAWHAHAHAHA."
"Miss Celebi, what are you laughing at?" Aron asked.
"The destruction of my enemies," Saniya explained. The children cheered and began to sharpen sticks and stones.
She was so proud.
"So…?" Guardian sipped his tea. It involved discretely pulling the cup down to his belly mouth and pouring a little in when others weren't looking.
"Yes," Striker said, taking in some green tea. The idea amused Guardian when he was looking at the teas they had to choose from.
They were sitting in a small outdoor tea and herb shop. There was no café in town, yet at least. Just tea.
Saniya flew past with Sean chasing her and behind him a growlithe rolling in fire.
"They seem to be having fun," Guardian said.
They ran by again. Now the growlithe was being chased by a machop who was knocking boulders aside. They might have questioned why Serene Village had so many, but they had a dedicated rock cutter, so it was clearly part of the trade.
"Where did Mawile go?" Striker asked after a few more minutes of tea-sipping. She had gone in with Guardian but hadn't returned.
"She was talking to the proprietor," Guardian explained. "About the history of the tea leaf."
"I see."
Another sip.
"Does this seem familiar to you?" Striker asked.
"It does."
Saniya and Sean and Growlithe, and Machop were joined by Whirlipede.
"Hm. Well, it's been a while since we've had a chance to simply talk," Striker said. "I love Sean and Saniya, but it can be hard to have a serious conversation when Furry and Axe keeps on flying through my head." He smirked as Guardian laughed.
"Hoo-ha-ha, nice one." Guardian tipped the rest of the tea in. He almost ate the teacup as well, but he was a gentlemon, and that would be rude. "Saniya would never let you hear the end of saying that."
"I trust you'll keep my feelings between us?"
"Only if you tell me you love me too."
Striker rolled his eyes. "I love you too, Guardian." He deepened his voice even more for that.
Saniya fainted, and Sean tripped over her, Machop collided with him, Whirlipede flattened the three of them, and then Voltorb exploded.
"I'd like to ask about Scout if you don't mind?" Guardian said, asking, coughing away Striker's smooth voice.
Striker nodded. "Ask away; I know you've been wanting to."
"And how do you know that?"
"Guardian," Striker said flatly.
"Very well, fair enough." Guardian cleared his…throat? It was definitely the sound of that. For that matter, Striker wondered how he even coughed. He had no mouth on his face; did he even have lungs? Why didn't he know the answers to these questions?
Guardian definitely breathed. Striker had slept on his belly before and felt the rise and fall. Snored too.
"So…uh, how do you feel about him?"
"That's a strange way to word that," Striker pointed out. "Scout's fine. We've worked out what was going on between us, talked it out. Cried it out even. I blame the cider."
It was always the ciders' fault.
"I will thank the cider when we return, then," Guardian said. "But that's still not much of an answer?"
Striker gave a half-smile. "He's a good kid. I've missed him."
Guardian beamed. He knew when Striker was talking bullshit or when he meant what he said. The crooked half-smile and halfway confident, halfway bashful tone spoke louder than words.
"I want to give my thanks," Striker said, giving a cough. "I know it bothered you more than anyone that we'd had that wedge driven between us."
Guardian didn't really respond. He just waited.
"But thank you for not…for giving me time to try and process. I did need the kick that Rai gave me, but it means a lot to me that you were willing to…well."
"I care for you as well as him," Guardian said evenly. "And I would not want to lose either one of you." Not again. "I was willing to accept the word you two gave that things would be polite but no longer the same as it once was, as long as that was what the two of you wanted."
Striker nodded softly. "…emotions are hard, huh?"
"Indubitably," Guardian said, raising another cup of tea. Where had he gotten it? Ah, that was only for Guardian to know.
Striker finished his own tea, then there was another. This one had a biscuit. He held it up. "Where did this come from?"
Guardian gestured for him to lean in. Once Striker had leaned across the table, Guardian leaned in as well.
"I have no idea," Guardian whispered.
Striker's face screwed up in confusion, and he gave Guardian a baffled look.
Guardian held his composure and ate the biscuit.
"…Okay." He sipped at his tea. "I have an uncomfortable question to ask."
"Ask away," Guardian said, gesturing lazily for him to speak his mind.
"…Among two."
"Take your time."
"Very well. I've always wondered, what caused you to realise what changing time would entail? Not that we ever really meant to hide it, but you didn't seem to realise as far as I remember."
Guardian slowly set the teacup down. "Ah, that kind of uncomfortable." He nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid I don't remember despite being such a pivotal moment of our lives. I think I never wanted to hang onto that memory and let it go with the paradox. I do wonder how I went so long without realising? Perhaps I simply didn't want to believe it but believed in our goal until…."
"Until?"
"I don't know. Perhaps the consequences simply hit me one day? Perhaps I was approached by someone who was wiser than I? Perhaps Darkrai tried to intervene so early? Dialga was in little condition to do something so coherent. I simply do not know."
Striker nodded. It would always be a question then.
"You…said you had another?"
"Right." Striker took a long drink of tea, draining his cup completely and setting it down firmly. "Are we on another date?"
"Yes, I think so." Guardian nodded wisely.
"I don't look forward to our third," Striker said dryly. "I've heard what they say about third dates."
"That is very hurtful, Striker," Guardian said, reproached.
"What do they think is actually going to happen, though?" Striker asked wearily. "And considering Saniya…well, I suppose she's a question of her own."
"Yes…rather foolish of them, I think. I am a fine partner, however. You would be lucky to land me."
"Lucky!?"
In the distance, Sean and Saniya giggled. "We're geniuses," Sean said.
"Look at them talking and junk," Saniya sighed. Slowly their conversation grew more intense. "Oh. Oh dear." Then they turned and stared right towards them. "Uh, I think they've seen us."
"Oh no!" Sean bolted to his feet. "What do we do?"
"Run!"
"Where?"
"Sahra Town! BOOK IT!"
They bolted off as Striker and Guardian chased after them.
"I think the victor is clear," Saniya sniffed arrogantly as the day ran to a close. She floated above the Big Rock, the village square where people stood to make dramatic proclamations and speeches.
The count was simple.
Sean had made two friends. Machop and Whirlipede. Jirachi had a modest group of three pokémon. Ampharos… hadn't turned up. No one knew where he was, and no one was overly concerned either; Mawile said this was normal.
Saniya's group….
"Thirty-two new bountiful, beautiful best friends forever. Thirty-two new BBBFF's. isn't that RIGHT, EVERYONE!?"
Her crowd cheered. "Saniya! Saniya! Saniya!" They tossed her up and down.
Jirachi snapped his fingers. Chocolate rained from the sky for his three pokémon. "Anyone who joins my friendship circle gets chocolate," he said.
Saniya hit the ground as everyone abandoned her.
"Jirachi! Jirachi! Jirachi!"
Saniya's expression existed in a way that words didn't.
Lying in the dirt was nothing compared to the betrayal that had dumped her there.
Slowly but surely, she floated back up, ignoring the sounds that Sean was pretending was words.
She then turned to Jirachi and teleported into his personal space.
"ç≈√¡∞¢ç∫¿∫‰£ß¥$œ¡γ ∂£‰¥!" she howled, violently shaking him.
"Ge-et he-ee-er off m-m-M-E-E!"
It took the remaining members of Team Sunrise and Mawile to pry Saniya's fingers from Jirachi's thin, snappable neck.
"Hey there buddy chum pal friend buddy pal chum bud friend fella brvr amigo pal buddy friend chummy chum chum pal I don't mean to be rude my girl, my man, my mon, my pal home slice bread slice dawg but I gotta warn you if you take one more diddly darn friend I'm going to have to diddly darn snap your snap crackle and pop neck and wowza wouldn't that be a crummy juncture, huh? Do you desire this happenstance to occur upon you? Do you wish upon yourself to come into the physical experience with such an unfortunate crummy juncture? Because friend buddy chum friend chum pally pal chum friend if you keep this up well gosh diddly darn I just might have to get not-so-friendly with you my friendly friend friend pal friend buddy chum pally friend chum buddy..."
"I think I'm having a stroke," Sean said, dragging her away as Saniya repeated herself on loop.
Jirachi needed a minute to shake that off.
"What did she even say before?" he mumbled. "There isn't a word that exists I don't know, and that was just…gobbledegook. Gibberish gobbledegook."
"Those mean the same thing, you cheating-" The rest of Saniya's words were suspiciously censored by the arrival of another.
"Oooh dear," Ampharos said, stumbling around. "That was an experience."
"You're telling me," his companion, a big and bulky carracosta, grumbled. "OI, WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE; THERE ARE CHILDREN HERE!"
"Oh, you want to go!?" Saniya yelled back. "Unlike Armaldo, I am the one with the quadruple type advantage. I will clean your entire business out, junior buckerino!"
"Okay, who is that?" Carracosta growled.
"Ooh, well-well-well, that's quite the curious question you have there," Ampharos said. "What is it to call an identity, and can we truly know who a pokémon is by simply hearing them cry…excessive amounts of profanity?"
"YES!" Saniya and Carracosta both replied.
"You both wield a powerful voice," Ampharos said, dizzy. "Perhaps you should talk about that?"
"I gotta get this egg to safety," Carracosta snorted. "Poor abandoned thing," he said sadly, stroking a large white egg.
"Omelette!"
"Don't you even dare!"
"Why are we shouting!?" Saniya called.
"You did it first!?"
"Well, you're really far away!"
"Then stop being a coward and talk to me face to face!"
"I'm being restrained!"
"Probably for the best!"
"Are you the owner of the restaurant!?"
"Yes!"
"Your food is delicious!"
"I know! Thank you!"
"I want noodles!"
"Then come along, and I'll make you some!"
"I want egg on it!"
"Keep your hungry eyes off this poor thing!"
"I didn't mean THAT egg!"
"I know what you meant." Carracosta stopped yelling; he returned to his usual grumbly tone and stomped off.
Saniya, having calmed down and such, was gently allowed out of the quadruple hold she was trapped in. "Well, that was fun. Who wants noodles?"
She flew after Carracosta and began to badger him as Sean determined it was okay.
"She scares me sometimes," Sean said.
"Only sometimes?" Guardian joked.
As the pokémon of Serene Village disbanded back into wherever they needed to go, Ampharos dragged himself over panting. "That Carracosta is the Squirtle to my Bunnelby."
"YOU are the Squirtle to everyone's Bunnelby," Mawile said in grave and unnecessary concern.
"Unstoppable," Ampharos said, breathing a bit easier. "Decisions? Unshakable as a pillar of stone. Enemy pokémon? Mere blades of grass in the way of a volcanic eruption. Walls? Those are merely for the uncreative."
Jirachi gave him some water, and Ampharos elected to water himself with it like a Grass-type rather than imbibe it like anyone else.
Including the Grass-types.
Still, it seemed to do the trick. "Well, I have some excellent news then!" He sprung back up to full stature and waved his cape dramatically. "By the path of the Dashing Wanderer, our future has been reclaimed!"
"… You're going to need to explain this one," Mawile said.
"I'm so glad you asked," Ampharos said, cape still billowing correctly. "For you see, I listened intently to what the good Meowth had to say, and ideas brewed like storm clouds within my noggin! Oh, to see the dramatic electrical shockwaves of thunderous understanding strike me many times today!"
"So, that egg that Carracosta has…you think that's Mew?" Jirachi asked.
Ampharos froze.
He looked like he was really trying to work out some difficult mathematical equations in his head for a solid few seconds.
"I see my genius is so great it's uplifting those around me!" he declared, doing yet another pose. "My-my-my, fewer decisions have been greater than to join our mighty intellects. I would be nowhere without you two."
It was a little like suffering a car crash into a candy store, hearing Ampharos praise himself entirely and then thank his partners for being there for him. To watch him be amazing and support him to become even better.
"Truly, I would not be here without you. I'd likely be ruling some shanty village that gets no tourists until word of my presence spread. With you, I have become The Dashing Wanderer Plus! No place can hold me down for long, but I'll stay for you."
"What are you even talking about?" Mawile asked.
"I don't know; I hit my head a lot in that dungeon." Ampharos swayed before crashing onto the ground. No one caught him; they just watched it happen.
"Before you faint on us," Jirachi started, "aannd… he's already gone." Ampharos let out some snores.
Saniya was nowhere to be found, and Ampharos was unconscious, which might have put a hole in the plans to come, but it worked out fair enough.
Dragging Ampharos along the streets, they received not as many strange looks for dragging an unconscious pokémon as they probably should have.
Guardian was the one dragging him. In Treasure Town, that would elicit many cries of concern about who Guardian would toss into a Dimensional Hole or string up in ropes next.
Here there was only the occasional askew glance.
Ampharos was tossed in a room in the inn and shut-in. Saniya was still nowhere to be found, which meant she could be anywhere.
To the sensibilities of Mawile and Jirachi, that was terrifying.
But the rest of Team Sunrise didn't seem concerned.
"Revelation Mountain…." Mawile mused, staring out a window at the looming mountain in the distance.
There was discussion on how to get to the top.
"I tried to ask someone about the mountain 'in the distance'," Mawile sighed. "The response was not thrilling."
"What did they say?" Sean asked as Jirachi was now settling into bed himself.
"No idea," Mawile replied. "That's what they said, I mean. Not that I couldn't understand what they said. I asked a few others, but that was the general consensus. They don't know."
"Could they be lying?" Guardian asked.
"Is that always your first thought?" Sean asked.
"Well, they could be!"
"If they weren't, then that's maybe a good sign," Mawile said. "There may not be as stringent of a defence of the place like what Meowth implied. If they were lying…."
"A headache," Striker surmised.
"I had a thought," Sean said. "We're small, you and me, Mawile. What if we went to just…check it out? See what's going on over there?"
Mawile nodded, thinking it over. "It's not a bad idea to get an idea of the area before we put together too much of a plan. A scouting mission should work well between the two of us."
Team Sunrise smiled.
"What?" Mawile asked.
"Nothing," Guardian said, waving it off. "Nothing at all."
Striker was also a good option, but they wanted to be a little more covert about this. Sean and Mawile snuck out of the town as night began to fall, leaving Striker and Guardian to watch over the town and get some rest.
"… There's only one bed," Striker said, looking over the room he and Guardian were to share.
"I see." Guardian grabbed Striker and tossed him onto the bed. "Nothing different from the usual then."
Striker rolled his eyes. "It's a lot different when the bed is tiny, and it's just us."
"I can invite Saniya if you'd like?" She had been discovered battling Carracosta in an eating competition.
"Whatever, just go to sleep."
Chuckling at Striker, Guardian settled in.
"So, how have you been since The Dream?" Sean asked curiously as they walked the spooky dark woods.
"Perfectly fine," Mawile replied. "A pity we don't have Meowth here to finish the trio we made. How is he?"
"Scout's going great!" Sean beamed. "He and Striker are working through their issues, and everyone is a lot happier since everything's calmed down."
"That's good to hear," Mawile said.
"How's it been to travel with Ampharos and Jirachi?"
"I've spent a lot of time with Ampharos already," Mawile replied. "Jirachi has been interesting to get to know. He knows a great many things, but he's not forthright with any information. To learn anything, you need to ask the right questions. Which is a good mental exercise that Ampharos and I have enjoyed doing."
"That's cool. Saniya sometimes says too much, can't imagine her not talking."
"It is hard to imagine," Mawile said dryly, and Sean laughed. They chatted the rest of the way as they neared the first gate.
"Damn, they are keeping this place under lock and key," Sean said, peering out from the bushes where Lombre stood bored but vigilant at the first gate. A pair of torches provided some light in the night, but only right up where the gate lay.
"Appears so," Mawile said, taking stock. It was only one of them, if needed, they could stun him with an item, knock him out, and move on without him identifying them. However, such a course of action would require them to reach the top in one go, as security would be tightened once their actions were discovered.
"Hey, can we try and get around the gate?" Sean asked suddenly.
"What do you mean?" Mawile asked, frowning at the formation of the gate. She'd love to ask about its design and why they were guarding, and what all the crates and boxes that were easy to hide behind were for.
"Could we just…climb that tree and get into the brush and skirt around the entry?" Sean asked. Mawile looked up and around.
"I… don't see why not," she said.
"Want to try?"
"Hm." Mawile weren't normally the most agile of pokémon. Unless you were a badass. Which she was. "Let's give it a try."
Using Sean to boost, she got up the tree, and Sean climbed after her. They made little noise, not enough for Lombre to do more than glance around once or twice.
The moment they jumped off the tree and onto the raised hill, everything changed.
"Pause," Mawile said immediately, steadying Sean as he bumped into her.
"Woah, what happened?" Sean asked, glancing around. The relatively thin brushlands of trees immediately were swallowed up by dark woods stretching as far as the eye could see.
They looked up.
"That's…almost a dungeon sky," Mawile said, glaring at the crackling storm above.
"I guess…it worked?" Sean asked. "We got into the dungeon. But…."
"Right," Mawile said. "Dungeons are orderly and regimented; there are trees everywhere. I don't think we should be here."
"It was just a mountain heading up to a dungeon!" Sean protested as Mawile backed them out. He wasn't protesting them leaving, more just the situation.
They backed up, and then their feet stepped over open air, and both of them tumbled back, smacking into the trees and cursing as they fell in a heap. The heavy mawile body crushed Sean, and he yelped.
"Who's there?" Lombre shouted, and they scrambled to their feet. "You shouldn't be here, and you can't get around me! Come out of the shadows so I can get a look at you."
They chose not to do that, skirting back along the dark path and away from the torches.
"What even was that?" Sean asked as they left; Lombre wouldn't follow. "I've never seen a dungeon do that before."
"Neither have I," Mawile said, mind brimming with curiosity.
"Should we have gone in?"
"I don't think so. Not without an escape plan and people knowing where we were. That's just asking for disaster otherwise."
"Oh, I…I guess that's a fair point."
They returned to the village. It wasn't time to share their small discovery, as people were asleep.
"Aww," Sean cooed upon seeing Striker and Guardian cuddled up. "I wish I still had my pokégear and could take a photo of this to show Scout."
He crept in and went to sleep next to Striker. As the only one with fur and generating body heat, he wound up between them by the time he woke up.
After beating Jirachi to consciousness, explaining that problem over breakfast led to the expected and the unexpected.
"Well, you've got to get up there," Saniya said, not eating a bite. Instead, she wore a medal declaring her Best Eater – Serene Village. "Do we brute force it?"
"Or we don't traumatise the village?" Guardian suggested.
"They'll get over it," Saniya giggled.
Her suggestion was vetoed. At least for now.
Suggestions were tossed into the proverbial collective hat.
Convince the townsfolk.
Sneak in.
Impress the town and be granted passage.
Tell them a monster is coming to turn them all into stone, and they need the water that is up there, or else the demon will toss the planet into the sun.
Ask politely.
"I believe the answer is as bright as the sun is!" Ampharos declared, slapping the table they were sitting at before standing up and striding out of the room.
"…Was that supposed to make sense?" Saniya asked.
"We should follow him," Mawile said quickly, standing up to rush after him. Despite his seeming unsteadiness, Ampharos was quick.
Quick to make a move, quick to draw a crowd, quick to spin a saga.
"-to that end, I wanted to enlighten the fair villagers here upon an exciting advent that is dawning in your corner!"
"Oh, by the legends, he's already talking," Mawile cursed. It looked like half the town was in the square, staring at the Ampharos who was standing unsteadily on the Big Rock.
"I still take offence to that," Jirachi said, flying up next to her. "I think at least."
"And to demonstrate the excellence in which you will be bedazzled by!" Ampharos cried, gesturing wildly at his teammates and then nearly fell off the rock.
Jirachi tugged him back with his mind and then tossed Mawile at him. He caught her and was knocked off the rock by the force of her weight.
"Looks like they're falling for each other," Jirachi said snottily before floating up to the rock himself. "Hey."
"Hi Jirachi!" the town chorused happily.
Saniya had to be pulled back lest she fly up and gives him a knock on the chin.
"It's okay, it's okay, just focus on how much prettier you are than him," Sean soothed. That worked.
"I am the prettiest by far." Saniya nodded, adequately soothed for now. She still glared daggers into the backs of all who betrayed her.
"So, since my boss and the guy who pays for my chesto coffee gathered you all here today, I think it's about time we talk about something extremely important to the future of everyone to ever live," Jirachi said as Mawile finally dragged herself off Ampharos. "Which is in no way a distraction for anything."
Team Sunrise shared a look. Did he seriously just say that.
"I'm very serious here," Jirachi said as Mawile also looked at him like he had three eyes. Which he did. "Something everyone should listen to; other engagements can be saved for a bit. Now is the time. Now is the time. So, come on, get comfortable because you're going to be listening to the boss while I periodically shower you with chocolate."
He really was doing this.
Team Sunrise began to edge away as Jirachi gave his finest Willy Wonka impression, showered the crowd with the treats he promised, and set aside for Ampharos.
"Well-well-well," Ampharos said, brushing himself down nervously as the crowd looked to him again. "Ah, yes. Of course. The debut of THE DASHING WANDERER!" He did a pose, cape flowing in the wind. "With his compatriots in adventure, Mawile and the mythical legend Jirachi! We are the Expedition Society!"
"I thought we were Team Expedition," Mawile said stiffly. Ampharos had whispered the plan very fast to her. She only caught about a third of what he was saying with no complete sentences. She gathered she was to play along.
"Ah, that is where we started." Ampharos nodded smartly, rubbing his chin. "But soon we begin a globetrotting expedition to chart the very world itself! The Expedition Society has been born here today in this village!"
"What's the Expedition Society?" someone called.
"I'm glad you asked," Ampharos chirped. "Mawile? What is it?"
Mawile turned to give him a look that promised bloody murder for putting her on the spot. "Ah. Yes. I feel a little under the weather. Like I might have a froakie in my throat. Ahem. Ahem. AHEM."
She turned around and let her horns speak for her. "The Eexpeditiiion Sociieety is the neext step in the paaath this woorrld takes."
She turned around again. "My apologies, my throat is all better now. So, what is the Expedition Society? Well, it certainly won't be used to punish you, ahem. My throat." Her horns shivered, and so did Ampharos.
"We see a future where the world is entirely mapped out, that new explorations can be made each day. Developing all the maps together to create a uniform guide to exploring the whole world and bridge bonds between pokémon from one side of the world to the next. The Expedition Society will pioneer this."
Ampharos, looking very nervous at Mawile's previous words, gave a frantic nod. "Quite so. But we are not merely empty words and false proclamations here! To stand upon this grand stone and speak anything less than pure conviction is a crime worthy of the harshest penalty!"
"Death?" a child asked.
"I…no."
"Oh. Is it time out with no cookies?"
"Ooh cookies," Jirachi said, spawning a scattershot of those as well. "Carry on."
"I wanted a cookie," Ampharos complained.
"Cookies are for pokémon who do not place their partners on a stage with no warning," Mawile said as cheerfully as Ampharos was.
Team Sunrise made their way out while Team Expedition the Expedition Society distracted the town, successfully confusing Hippopotas into sticking around for the presentation. Not that Hippopotas needed much coaxing, he found sentry duty sinfully boring.
Only someone seemed to notice as the four left. A single solitary drowzee standing aside from the crowd.
"Pretty mountain," Saniya said. "I wonder what's wrong with it?"
"Let's not walk into the brush," Sean suggested as they began the uphill walk. "I'm not kidding that it was weird. Thankfully we were able to leave."
"Bring the escape orbs next time," Striker said, patting the orb bag.
"How could I when you never let them leave your sight?"
"They're free to go to a good home."
"No one is good enough for you."
"Is that why you were so mad about that one krokorok?"
"You!" Sean snapped.
"Were NEVER!" Saniya added.
"Supposed to speak of that again," Guardian finished, growling.
"Well, someone's got to remember now that Keira is gone."
"She would appreciate the sentiment," Saniya sighed. "Which I hate so much. So…very…much."
Sean gave a half-smile, closing his eyes. "Whatever happened to her…I only hope she's happy."
"Because if she isn't, she'll find a way to let us know," Guardian said dryly.
Far away, a disturbed grave laid with a split stone, defiled and empty….
Sean still insisted they should have arrested that krokorok.
There was no one manning the first gate. No one had ever actively tried to break into the mountain in years, only the occasional children who learned about the place and were curious. Security had gotten lax, and when Hippopotas hadn't shown up, Lombre just walked back. There were more guards up ahead anyway, he reasoned.
Leaving the path pleasantly open for Team Sunrise.
"This seems too easy," Saniya said, suspicious, as they passed the entry into the dungeon. "I don't like that."
"There should be a more protected one up further," Sean reasoned as the area around them became the dungeon.
All of Team Sunrise tensed slightly in different ways as they began to work through Revelation Mountain.
The core of it was Sean. He felt the back of his neck prickle with the weight of information. He knew what feral pokémon were now. Could he do something to save them?
His concern leaked out of him, unable to be entirely contained as he focused more on not feeling it than controlling his aura.
Saniya fell a little quiet, slinking back behind Striker and Guardian as they pushed aggressively forwards, taking on the feral that appeared swiftly and without mercy.
It was the first dungeon they had stepped into due to walking around Lush Forest. The first time they had encountered ferals since Giratina.
It was hard not to look into the beast's eyes as they attacked. There was nothing there…was there ever anyone there? Even now, they still don't understand everything about feral pokémon.
Not wanting to deal with the moral complex running through Sean's head, Striker and Guardian simply made attacking them very much not worth it. There was the tiniest bit of self-preservation instinct in the feral pokémon, and they tended to respect strength once it was proven it was held.
Which only spoke to glimmers of intelligence in them.
Weirdly enough, there was something else going on. Striker and Guardian, powerful as they were, could not stop every single feral pokémon from every direction.
Yet when they came from behind, they did not attack Sean or Saniya. They stared and then backed away or were spotted by the attackers and promptly exterminated.
Non-lethally at least.
Besides the ferals avoiding Sean and Saniya, little of note happened. Team Sunrise didn't talk much until they reached the checkpoint.
"It's opening up," Sean said in relief.
"Then let us be ready," Guardian suggested. "They may be able to see us as soon as we exit."
"I'll go ahead," Saniya said, zooming forth and preparing to teleport.
They followed after her at a sedate pace until they came out at the checkpoint. The sun was shining again, which was nice even if it was from a crimson sky.
There weren't boxes and tables littered around here. Rather just a few heavy stones leading to an ancient gateway. Where the previous one was built by the hands and paws of pokémon and was well-maintained, this one was ancient and crumbling and had faded etchings made by hands a long time ago.
It was not maintained out of respect or reverence, and while it was overgrown with moss, the gate held firm and steady.
Before them floated three pokémon. Magnemite, Magneton, and Magnezone. The local police force.
"What are they doing here?" Sean wondered. "Shouldn't they be on the lookout for crimes?"
"Like what we're doing?" Striker asked.
"Well…whatever, shut up!"
"Guys," a voice hissed, and they turned to see Saniya raising her fingers to her mouth to shush them. She gave them a wink, a finger motion, she turned it around like she was spinning a top and the top was her finger, gave a silent armpit fart, winked three more times, mouthed something that could not be spoken with lips, did a somersault, a backflip, three spines, walked on her hands, moonwalked with her legs, grinned wide, winked with one eye while glaring with the other, flapped both her hands, skipped in place, did a little dance, a-
"Saniya," Sean groaned, and she gasped softly, realising she was going a little far with the silent communication.
"Right. Anyway, stay there. I've got the plan."
They were not allowed to ask what it was because that'd be spoilers, and Saniya was not about ANY of that.
She tossed a glowing sphere back, it turning rocky as it went. Something crashed in the dungeon and caused the magne-pokémon to jump.
"BZZT! What was that? BZZT!" Magnezone buzzed.
"BZZT! I check. BZZT!" Magnemite flew forwards.
"BZZT! No me! BZZT!" Eager for approval, Magneton flew themselves forwards.
"BZZT! Hey, where are you going? Return to your stations! BZZT!" Magnezone pursued them.
"Was that really that easy?" Sean asked as they were gone into the dungeon.
"Yep!" Saniya beamed.
"But it's never that easy."
"We already beat the game," she laughed. "Darkrai's dusted. Now it's time to reap the rewards of being the best, and that means our suffering is over! Let us be on our way!"
Still not accustomed to anything going right or being easy in the least, Sean followed cautiously, with Striker and Guardian racing forth, eager to not let this chance slip away.
"I still feel like we're being set up," Sean said, checking every wall and corner for any hidden threats.
Yet, there was nothing besides the ferals that avoided him and Saniya.
The feral pokémon tapered off entirely not far into the rest of the dungeon. They walked out into a field. "Woah, are we out already?" Sean wondered as they walked a forested path.
"Hmm."
They kept vigilant, and then the world turned into a dungeon again.
"What is this place?" Guardian wondered, glancing around.
"Did Scout ever mention why Revelation Mountain has the water?" Saniya asked.
"Not that I remember," Sean answered. "I wonder if he knows."
"Or if he remembers?" Striker added.
There were ferals still, but they simply watched them. Sean couldn't handle it for long, and he called out. "Hello?"
He received no answer. Only more staring.
He made it halfway to one before it turned around and disappeared.
"This is weird," Sean said.
"Let's just…continue. Faster."
With nothing to slow them down, they raced ahead, charging down corridors with tensed limbs ready for combat.
Ultimately when a threat came, it did not come from in front or behind. It trapped them from below and attacked from above.
The dungeon began to shift to realspace to their collective relief. This slight relaxation of tension was the perfect trigger to a trap.
"Okay, I think we're, AH!" Sean and Striker were staggered as suddenly the ground erupted with electricity, jolting their limbs violently and leaving an ache that was joined as they were tripped by a suddenly sticky floor.
"Sean! Stri-AH!" Saniya flew in sharply to protect them, taking a sharp, deadly strike aimed for Striker in the back. A lunging behemoth of a galvantula slammed into her, ripping into her and sending her to the ground to be captured in the shocking webs as well.
As that is what tangled Sean and Striker. An Electroweb, concealed under dust and soil, until the voltage had been sent through it, blasting the dirt off and blinding Guardian and Saniya while tangling and shocking Sean and Striker.
Had Saniya been anything less than a deity, the Lunge may have killed her.
"Everyone!" Guardian boomed as, within seconds, a team that took on the apocalypse twice and won was brought to a single member. He was not fast, but he was much faster than he should be.
Shadows spun like webs, gripping onto the legs of the galvantula as Guardian rushed between it and the downed pair twitching on the webs. He managed to restrain the monster for about three seconds.
It Lunged at him as well, and Guardian braced with his arms, tanking the strike far better than Saniya could and grappling the giant spider. Its pedipalps drizzled with electricity as it tried to bite at Guardian's ghostly flesh, his arms were able to hold its head back, and the beast then discharged violently into him.
Guardian braced through that as well, anchoring the wispy tip of his body into the ground to knock some of the voltage out of him.
"I just knew something was up," Sean groaned, thrusting a shuddering arm into the Treasure Bag. "Laugh at the guy who's paranoid. When he's right, he gets to laugh."
"Stop laughing and help!" Striker snapped. Sean lost the bag, and the items within scattered on the web as Guardian managed to throw the galvantula back and slam it in the face with a Shadow Ball. He couldn't aid them as everything he had was being put towards holding the creature bag.
Rolling around was what Sean was looking for. A cheri berry. He cracked it with a swipe of his paw and knocked one part to Striker. They scooped the berry into their mouths and chewed.
The paralysis wore off.
The galvantula noticed and sent another shockwave through the web, but the two were lifted out of harm's way and into the air.
"Ow! Saniya!" Sean cried, happy and in pain from the rough Psychic as she raised an arm weakly to lift them with her Power.
Sean raced over as Striker joined Guardian, bringing one of their two reviver seeds.
"Thanks," Saniya said weakly as she bit down on the powerful stimulant and painkiller. Sean shoved other, healthier berries down her throat until she had the energy to wrap herself in a Life Dew.
They turned to the battle as she recovered, and Saniya snarled. "Big. Gross. BUG!"
She raised both hands and clenched, forming a circling diadem of stones with her Power. "Gets squashed by my Ancient POWER!"
She threw her hands apart, forcing Striker and Guardian against the walls as she bombarded the galvantula with her generated stones.
"Teamwork, Saniya!" Guardian yelled, and she growled and nodded furiously.
"Team Sunrise Combination Attack!" Sean yelled, barrelling in as well as Saniya manoeuvred them in one side each. Guardian behind, Striker and Sean to the sides, and Saniya at its front.
Swift as the wind, Striker, unleashed a powerful Energy Ball right into its back as Guardian burned away bristly fur with his Shadow Ball.
Saniya created new stones to crack the monster's carapace while Sean duplicated her attack for double the super effective hit.
All four attacks at once struck home and stunned the galvantula. Striker dove underground.
"Begone, you foul MONSTER!" Saniya screamed, eyes blazing with pink light as she bent the air around them and blasted a sheer wave of Psychic might.
Striker ripped up from below and cracked its underbelly as well, launching it up into Saniya's blaze of fury.
If it were a weaker creature, her attack might have eradicated it completely.
But it was not a weak beast, and the attack merely sent it careening into the path beyond them, smoking and groaning, curling its legs up to protect itself on reflex.
Team Sunrise panted together as Saniya waved her hands and gave magical healing water to everyone. "My dew is better than any 'Revelation Water'," Saniya snorted. "Okay. Do we KILL it?"
"Saniya!" Sean said.
"It almost killed me! And I really don't like that."
"That thing is a severe threat," Striker added. "Laying a trap, trying to continue to shock us."
"Yeah, it's intelligent," Sean agreed. "That's why we got to keep it alive!"
"I would much prefer that," Galvantula admitted.
"See? He gets…oh good grief."
They turned to it; it was getting up on shaky legs. And…had spoken?
"Did you speak?" Guardian demanded.
"That I did," Galvantula said. "I am the final guardian of the Spring of Revelation. Where the village has forgotten, I have not. I stand guard against any who come to despoil the final hope of the world."
Sean raised his paws, and everyone braced for another attack. It was approaching.
Galvantula stared straight at Sean with its many eyes. "You are human," it said.
Sean's eyes widened. "How do you know that?"
"I am not always as eloquent as this," Galvantula said. "As the price of guardianship eternal, I am one of the creatures that stalk these places. More intelligent than most, but only in a bestial sort of way."
Guardian gasped as Striker's breath hitched. "Did we awaken you?" Guardian asked. He'd known of Awakened Ferals before, those that seemed to just snap out of the madness upon being defeated. But it was absurdly rare to happen, and he'd only ever known one such pokémon. Ponyta of Team Flame.
"In a sense," Galvantula said. "But this will not last. Shortly I will return to only knowing that I must guard this passageway and nothing else."
"Why are you here?" Saniya asked, still ticked off a little.
"To guard," Galvantula answered.
"That's what you just said!"
"And that is the answer."
"Then why?"
"Why?" Galvantula asked. "…I see. You are not him."
"Who?" Sean asked.
"The human who stalled Dark Matter," Galvantula answered. "What a unique position. You are not the one who is supposed to come here, yet here you are regardless."
"Wait, how do YOU know about all that?"
"I was there."
"You…that happened a thousand years ago!"
"Has it been so long?" Galvantula asked sadly. "My vigil for so long…Dark Matter must be growing powerful indeed. Why are you here?"
"We want to protect the water," Sean answered honestly. "By taking some of it elsewhere."
"A bold idea," Galvantula said. "At least the warnings of Dark Matter were not forgotten. Go forth; you have proven your strength by defeating me."
"I have…questions," Saniya and Guardian said.
"And I have no answers," Galvantula responded. "Ah…I feel the comforting blend of instinct and duty taking me once more. This was nice to speak to someone once more, but I long for the comfort of my vigil until my redemption is made. Farewell."
It ran a line and disappeared above the trees.
"Well, that was something," Saniya said.
"At least I was right that something bad was coming," Sean said, relieved that the surprise was over. "Let's digest all that later; I want to get this water safe."
The final path brought them out of the dungeon properly. The top of Revelation Mountain.
"Surprisingly easy to get here," Striker said, not flinching when Saniya and Sean tried to set him on fire with their eyes. "It's a lovely day out here."
"You only get away with this because you're handsome and have a nice voice and nice eyes, and I like the way your voice feels in my head and ears, and I love you, and we're friends, and you're extremely nice and cool," Saniya warned.
"I know."
"I'd damage you, but I like the cockiness."
A blanket of green grass spread out across a lush field. Green trees swayed in the distance, forming a tightly-packed ring around the clearing. The sky was dotted with fluffy clouds rising up and around them; the peak was high in the sky.
On a smooth stone path that felt nice on Sean's paws, Team Sunrise approached a shining blue pyramid. Translucent blue light bounced in and off the glowing pyramid, sparkling water reflecting light and painting dancing figures across the planes of the containment field.
Surrounded by four pillars, one having collapsed due to age, and a simple stone tablet to tell a lost tale.
"Should you hope to overcome this crisis, summon a person," Guardian read, floating to it first. "A person will have the power to break the barrier over the spring. You must summon a person from the world of humans."
"You can tell a human wrote this," Sean joked.
"How? It's written with footprint runes."
Flashes of the words people and pokémon as if those were two separate things ran through his head like an advert for shitty fanfics. "Uh…no real reason."
"Well, we already know what this extremely vague warning means," Striker said, pushing Sean along. "It seems like they thought Dark Matter was the only threat."
"If they knew it was coming back, yeah, I guess I can see why," Sean said. "Thankfully, we've got a Scout who can exposit at us."
"Or a Giratina," Saniya added loudly.
"That too."
Sean began to approach the mountain, feeling an odd feeling in his gut. Like he was doing something well before it was supposed to happen.
He shook the feeling off as nerves. However, he wondered if this is what Scout felt when pondering what he could use his information for. Knowing the mistakes Scout made, Sean refused to let the same happen to him.
"I just touch it, right?" he asked, placing his paw upon the shining barrier. It was cool, but not in a cold way. Just in a sense that there was something there before his paws, but nothing. No heat, no warmth.
Nothing happened for the first few seconds. Sean withdrew his paw. "Do I need to say something?"
Maybe that was it. As then, the surface of the barrier cracked like glass, light beaming from the cracks before erupting into a cannon blaze of blinding light.
By the time everyone lowered their arms and was able to see again, the spring bubbled innocently before them, like it had not tried to blind them moments before.
"Hey, that worked!" Saniya cheered. "Hip-hip-hooray!" she tossed Sean up and then into the spring.
"Wah, SANIYA!" he yelped, bracing for cold and wet.
He came to a stop inches from the water, and she giggled, lifting him back up. "Can't taint the water with furry. What do you take me for?"
"The hot springs were fine," Sean grumbled, being sent away from the water as Striker and Guardian pulled out their containers.
They knew they couldn't take all the water with them, but there were two hopes here. The first was that the power of the water would last. There shouldn't be any problem with that. It'd lain fine for a thousand years at least. Bottling a bunch of it should work fine.
The other hope was that between the town's vigil and this galvantula, anyone nefarious coming for the top might be stalled. With how things had been changed so much already, things may play out differently than what Scout had described.
Saniya was of exceptional aid in levitating up globules of water to place in their canteens and orb containers.
"This better be a good use for them," Striker warned, handing over another containment orb.
"You really need to work on the orb issue, man."
"It's mon, and no, I don't."
"That's the problem."
"Giratina, could you like…warp this water into your realm or something?" Saniya tried, hoping that something would happen. Nothing did.
Once they had bottled all that they could, it was time to return to Serene Village.
"I wonder why they call this place Revelation Mountain?" Sean wondered. "I don't feel like I've learned something new and sudden."
"I mean, what else is there to learn?" Saniya asked. "We learned that the cursed human of myth and legend was that idiot who pulled the tail of a ninetales. Kenji, was it? I don't know. Gengar. He was here at the same time, at least. Unless we were to find some sort of clue saying that the human was Scout or something, what else would there be?"
"Fair enough, I guess."
"What else could there be…? Hello, I'm tempting fate here! Nothing. Okay, let's go."
Beneath ancient stones. Beneath faded lines. Beneath those you cast aside and defied their putrid lies.
Drowzee stepped into Revelation Mountain's peak and gazed at the treasure that had been hidden for so long.
"-and…yeah. That's what happened."
It was not Team Sunrise explaining their story, but the Expedition Society. Now four pokémon strong.
"Yeah," Buizel said, rubbing his nose. "I couldn't help but join after I heard what they had to say. Mapping the whole world is going to be a challenge, and how are these three meant to explore the oceans? We've got Woolless Mareep, sink-like-a-piece-of-metal, and the guy who would drown halfway into it."
"Woolless?"
"I resent that," Jirachi said. "I wouldn't make it even across the docks before falling asleep from sheer apathy."
Ampharos seemed very chuffed about this. "See? I knew we were prepared to wow the world."
"More like everyone could see you didn't know what you were talking about," Buizel said, laughing. "Someone's got to show you three the ropes if you're going to get anywhere!"
"And that's you?" Mawile said.
"Don't antagonise each other," Ampharos said swiftly. "Let us celebrate the inclusion of our third member!"
"Hooray-third?" Jirachi said, halfway into a half-hearted cheer.
"Yes."
"…there are four of us."
"Ah, but I am not technically a member of the Expedition Society."
"…and why is that?" Mawile demanded.
"The leader is not a mere member, is he?"
"Mere?" Jirachi snapped.
"Member?" Buizel added.
"Leader?" Mawile questioned with both mouths, horrified at the thought.
"Yes," Ampharos said pleasantly.
"…would you excuse us, Team Sunrise?" Mawile asked. "We have some things to discuss as a group."
"I say I'm the leader," Buizel said.
"Veto," the remaining three said at once.
"Hey!"
Sean chuckled awkwardly. "It's fine. We're probably about to head on our way, actually."
"Not sticking around?" Buizel asked, already having put Jirachi into a headlock.
"Release me, you orange-flavoured bastard!" Jirachi demanded.
"You." Saniya pointed at him. "I like you."
"Thanks. I like me too."
"Keep up the good work."
"Don't need to tell me twice." He gave her a thumbs-up, Jirachi now trying to bite his arm.
"If this goodbye is so soon," Ampharos said, picking himself up off the floor. "Then it must not be a goodbye but simply a promise to see each other later!"
"We're heading back to the Grass Continent," Sean pointed out.
"And the Expedition Society will go everywhere!" Ampharos declared, imagining an invisible wind blowing his imaginary cape. Buizel was busy using it to hogtie Jirachi. "To the continents of grass and mist, water and sand."
"But not the Air Continent?"
"Ampharos has had bad experiences there," Mawile filled in as he shivered. "Something about…a rock everyone venerates?"
"The madness almost spread to me," Ampharos said. "It was close, but I escaped. But even to the Air Continent when it is needed!"
It was a little sad to say goodbye so soon. It'd take a solid month or so to Lapras Travel back to the Grass Continent, and they had to get a move on.
"Hang onto some of the Revelation Water for us," Sean requested. They handed a majority of it to Team' The Expedition' Society as they didn't want to carry it. Nor did they hope that THEY would be the ones needing it in the future.
Then, it was travel time.
"GIRATINA!?" Saniya called periodically, hoping it'd open a portal for them somehow.
Even along the lake they first appeared out of. Hoping that maybe that'd be the path, but no.
They decided to spend the rest of the day with Serene Village afterwards, having to backtrack through it and leave the next day.
In time they'd be on the sea, travelling between continents. Returning home. Home to the Grass Continent. Home to Team Ion. Home to the place they saved.
With some Revelation Water. It was very sparkly; Saniya had to be convinced not to try and drink it. Or try and fuse it with the ocean by pouring their meagre amount in.
"This is our last resort water," Sean said urgently. "If and when the world is ending again."
"Please not for at least a few years," Saniya groaned, leaning on the lapras, who was looking very concerned with their topic of conversation. "I'd like to relax."
"So would we," Striker and Guardian said.
It was time to relax. They had a long trip to go, with only a few islands to pit stop in between.
So, one of the weird things about these split chapters is timeline stuff. Team Sunrise's part only takes a couple weeks at most, compared to the couple of months the rest are playing at. They've been on the sea for pretty much the entirety of Team Ion and Team Voyage's sections.
They're making their way back, however. They won't miss what's coming.
Discord: discord gg/MUtgHqKhwg