IT'S DONE! CHAPTER 2 IS HEEEEEEEEEEERE!
This one took a while because I got busy... very, very busy... and demotivated. But i pulled through!
Special thanks to my good friend "The Pilot Archangel" and "Citrine Island's" Diatomic Rex! You both helped me BIG TIME!
Thank you for your patience!
-EmblemKing009
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Cinders of Fate.
Chapter 2: Lost in the Fog.
"Hey Bud! Wake up! It's already morning!" A loud voice called at him first thing in the morning, however, Cinder offered little reaction, instead he merely opened one eye.
"Mhu?" he mumbled sleepily, looking at the figure standing in front of him; it was a Machop, likely Hilbert's child "Tired…" he said, yawning.
"Wake up bud! Father said it's time for breakfast!" the Machop said "You're the only one still sleeping!"
I'm so tired… Cinder stretched, it felt awkward considering his mind and body felt like they were different in a way, but he had to stretch still. Once that was done, he yawned again before looking at the Machop straight in the eye "There, I'm up…"
Machop smiled brightly "Nice to meet you bud! I'm Euan!" he said "Father didn't tell me your name and your Fennekin friend was trying to help him, so… What's your name?"
Cinder blinked tiredly "I'm… Cinder, Nice to meet you Euan…" he tried to sound excited, but he was still too tired to even manage.
The Machop didn't seem to mind though "You really sleep like a rock, do you?" he joked a bit before putting a hand on his head "Can't blame ya bud, father said you had an eventful night"
Cinder chuckled "You can say that…" it was still annoying that he couldn't remember much of… anything really.
Euan then put his hand on his mane and pointed at the door "Come on! We gotta get outside! Father's waiting for us to start breakfast!" Having said that, the Machop ran out of the room, likely towards the door outside.
With a slight groan, Cinder stretched some more before he began moving out of the room, using this to stare around the hut as much as he could.
The hut itself wasn't too big, it had a straw roof and stone floor. There were three rooms, likely the bedrooms and one where he saw a lot of wood stored, windows were present as well, illuminating the hut with the sunlight. Small, but comfy… I Like it!
Once he was done, he approached the largest door, the one where the sunlight came from and he found himself outside the cabin, looking at the distance to some distant houses and buildings, even what looked like a field and a lake.
It was beautiful and calm…. And it tickled his brain a bit. It's almost like a feeling of nostalgia… one I cannot place.
"Boy! Over here!" came Hilbert's voice to his left, snapping him out of his reverie, looking there, he saw the Machamp sitting down in front of a stone table with berries and apples in it. On the other side, he noticed Luna smiling at him and right in front of him, there was Euan, munching on a Sitrus Berry.
"You sleep a lot, you know that boy?" Hilbert said with a chuckle "Anyway, take your seat and eat some breakfast! I can offer you and Luna a tour around the village after this!"
Cinder nodded and he sat down in front of Hilbert, who promptly gave him a good portion of apples and berries "That should be enough, dig in!"
He yawned again before snatching a Cheri Berry from the pile, which he promptly began eating.
Over the next half an hour or so, all four of them had breakfast peacefully with some jokes courtesy of father and son. Cinder smiled, he liked those two a lot.
But he also spent some time talking to Luna, where she mentioned that Hilbert was apparently a helper around the village and the larger town south of the mountain, Cinder nodded, he respected Hilbert a lot more now.
"Alright! Cinder, Luna! Look down the hill and tell me what you see! I'll explain what it is!" the Machamp said, stretching one set of arms.
Blinking, Cinder looked down the hill again, as did Luna; they saw two other huts, one of them near a river, a set of buildings, a field, a couple of bridges and a statue.
He looked at Luna, who looked at him unsure, he simply nodded, letting her know she could ask first.
"There is a hut down there, near the river" she said finally.
Hilbert nodded "That's Julian's home and business, he runs it with his two sons, Tim and Dan, they provide the village with a lot of stuff they find there, they're also crazy fast swimmers." The Machamp then chuckled "Typical Buizel and Floatzel stuff"
Buizel and Floatzel… Cinder recognized those, as he did with any Pokémon so far mentioned or seen, but why? — he pushed that thought deep into his brain, he didn't need to have another episode like that.
They sure sound like fun fellas to be around Cinder mused, imagining those three having fun in the water cracking jokes and friendly banter.
Luna looked at Hilbert in awe. "They sound like dependable mons" She said.
Hilbert nodded "They are, even if they love to tease how they're the fastest mons in the river. But they are friendly fellas, and Tim is Euan's best friend for that matter."
Euan nodded "Ayup! Tim is my best friend and we both support each other when needed! Even if we clash a bit sometimes"
That situation sounded familiar to Cinder, but he ignored that before he looked at the field and the nearby building "Uh, Hilbert? What's that field over there?"
Hilbert followed his sight before answering "That's the school field, and further down there, you'll find the village school; the field is used for live demonstration of moves and some friendly battles between the inhabitants, granted, it is also used for some games among the students, like Euan here or Tim and Dan over at Julian's"
"We don't always see new moves or play fights or games though…" Euan added a little sourly "We also see History, Healthcare, Safety… pretty boring stuff most of the time outside of Ms. Chesnaught's tales"
Cinder merely kept staring at the field "It sounds awesome though…" he muttered, imagining how a battle would look like.
Machamp kneeled beside him "Sounds like you're interested in the School Cinder, or maybe is it the mention of battles?"
Cinder looked at Hilbert "It's the battles, for some reason, I can't help but picture moves flying back and forth between two opponents as they fight for the advantage"
Hilbert chuckled "You got the spirit over there kid! Maybe I can help arrange something in the next few days!"
Luna appeared between them "Can I join in too? I wanna see what they can teach us!"
"Of course you two! I'll arrange something with Lydia and Hannah!" Hilbert stated before he used his topmost arms to grab and put them on his shoulders.
Cinder laughed a bit at that before he noticed a statue near the lake, it was too far away for him to make out too many details, but what he could see was… eerily familiar. I think I've seen that figure before…
"Uh…Hilbert? What's that?" Cinder asked nervously; mostly because he felt the answer wouldn't trigger anything.
"Hm? Oh, that's the Esper River, which gives this village its name, it begins in a lake all the way up Mt. Evolution and flows down until it merges with the Pikorin River" Hilbert explained helpfully before grabbing Cinder with an arm and extending it all the way up "On the other side, the rest of the village is located, from the stores, the elder council room, the signal tower and the gates to the sacred Mt. Evolution"
From his new vantage point, Cinder could definitely see some of what the Machamp was explaining, from a tower and a small group of Pokémon buying something.
But still, that was not what he was curious about "Hilbert… I meant that statue by the river" he clarified a bit awkwardly.
The muscular hand of the Machamp went down as he was put on the shoulder "You mean the statue of the great one?" he asked, looking at him with curious eyes to which Cinder nodded.
Hilbert said nothing at first but looked at him with a smile "It's an honorable statue to the Alpha Pokémon, every town and village in these lands has one in thanks for his intervention and mercy during an event long past"
Cinder blinked, the Machamp's tone wasn't exactly encouraging him to ask more, but he… somehow understood that it's not an easy topic to talk about "It… Looks majestic even from a distance"
Hilbert began petting him "That it is, young Cinder, but you're still young for the full tale…" the Machamp said.
Euan groaned "You say that all the time father… is it really that grown-up oriented?" the Machop protested.
"Yes" was the simple answer Hilbert gave his son.
Euan is definitely curious, but… I don't think I want to know right now… Cinder mused as he jumped off of Hilbert's shoulder "Thanks Hilbert!" he said sincerely "You know a lot!"
The Machamp chuckled a bit "Anytime Cinder. Anytime"
Luna looked ready to jump down before she stopped, she was looking at something in the distance "Hilbert… There's a red blur quickly approaching"
The Machamp looked at the direction she was pointing "Oh, that's Ace, messenger and mailman to the village, very hyper, but excellent at his job and friendly to all"
As if on cue, the blur skidded to a halt by Hilbert, revealing it to be a primarily red and cream Pokémon with hints of yellow, it had talons for hands and a beak in its face.
That's a Blaziken, I know it! Cinder cheered mentally, even though the Pokémon was even more familiar than just a passing mention or encounter.
"Ayo! Hilby! How's things?" The Blaziken exclaimed, waving despite the close distance he was from them.
Hilbert chuckled as he put him and Luna down "Good day Ace, you got something for me?" he asked, extending one of his 4 arms at the Blaziken.
"Absolutely of course my man! This comes from the South Path glade!" Ace said, producing a yellow card from a satchel as he shook Hilbert's hand "Just arrived at the tower too!"
Hilbert took the envelope once he finished shaking Ace's hand. He began to check on the contents "Code Yellow, a traveler needs to resupply at the glade en route to Pikorin Town"
"Pikorin Town?" Cinder queried, tilting his head.
Ace kneeled in front of Cinder "One of the larger towns around, located just down the stream at the point the Esper and Pikorin rivers merge into the greater Pikorin"
Sounds interesting! Cinder thought, as he looked at Ace, as if asking him for more.
The Blaziken sighed "I'd love to tell y'all more, but duty calls where it calls, so I gotta run!" as he said that, he stood up and ran off into town, but not before giving them a goodbye wave.
"He seems enthusiastic! I like him" Luna commented.
He was friendly indeed, I'd like to talk to him sometime! Cinder thought, before he saw Hilbert come out of the hut with three of his arms holding supplies.
"I have to leave through the South Path into the Glade, travelers need supplies" he said to them, including Euan "Don't do anything reckless, ok?"
Cinder and Luna tilted their heads "South path?" they asked at the same time.
"Esper Village is surrounded with Mystery Dungeons, the exception is the South Path, a narrow and rocky path down the mountain into a glade, where I get supplies to any traveler lost on their way to Pikorin or Husein"
Mystery Dungeons? What are those? Cinder thought to himself struggling to even think of what those could be. Luna however, asked directly.
"What are Mystery Dungeons?"
Hilbert sighed "I'll explain when I get back! I have to deliver these to the travelers!" He said before sprinting down the path, likely to the South Path.
"Hey! Are you two gonna come in or what?" Euan's voice called from the hut's entrance.
"Oh! Uh… Yes! Let's go!" Luna called as she ran to the hut.
Cinder stood behind, gaze returning to the city and the school field in particular, and he looked at it until he felt Euan's hand.
"You're interested in Battles Cinder? I'm surprised, you don't… Uh… give the appearance of a battler"
Cinder smiled "You never know if a skilled battler hides beneath an innocent façade" he commented before frowning Where did that come from?
Euan laughed a bit "You're right! Miss Tinker doesn't look that tough being a Mawile and all! But she's deceivingly strong!"
Cinder laughed with Euan. "Sounds like she's fun to be around!"
"She very much is, bud!" Euan grinned and they both laughed.
"Euan!" Luna called from behind "What is this?"
Luna was holding a rather large bag on her Fang, being careful to not tear it.
Euan's eyes widened "That's father's medicine bag! I can't believe he left it behind!" he grabbed it "We need to find Ace so he can—No, he must be on the other side of the river!"
The Machop began running down the hill of the hut "C'mon! We gotta get to the South Path and get it to father!"
Cinder ran after him, not saying a word, Luna followed behind, but she protested "Isn't this dangerous Euan!?"
Euan answered as they sped to what they believed was the South Path entrance "Can be! But we can come back with Father! He usually never leaves without this bag!"
"So we get him his bag and accompany him?" Cinder asked as they got closer to a gate.
"Yes of course! Retreating could be even more risky for u—" They crossed the gate.
Suddenly, everything went white as they passed the gate and found themselves standing in a densely forested area covered in fog of varying densities, no gate in sight, causing them to stop dead on their tracks.
This place feels… Weird. Cinder thought as he looked around.
"Euan…" Luna asked nervously "Where are we…?"
The Machop turned to look at them nervously "We took a wrong turn… This is the Foggy Forest…"
"Foggy Forest?" Cinder asked, the name was right, but there was something… Off about the place itself.
"One of the three Mystery Dungeons surrounding the village, a forest covered in dense fog." Euan elaborated.
"I-I can s-s-see that… but… What is a… M-mystery D-dungeon?" Luna asked, clearly on edge.
Euan looked around before clutching the bag and turning at them again "They're strange, scattered places that have no discernable layout, hence the mystery… Pokémon inhabit them too, but… They're aggressive, they attack you without a word, and you can't leave unless you make it to the final area…"
Cinder's ears shot up in alarm and so did Luna's "You mean that we're trapped here…?"
Euan shook his head "Not exactly, Foggy Forest is very short and is the tamest Dungeon around. If this were the Marshlands or Mt. Evolution… we'd be in a lot of danger"
Luna breathed a sigh of relief "That's good… now shall we begin moving so we can get out!?"
Euan massaged his fist "Yes, just stay behind me, you two may not know how to fight, so leave that to me"
"You got it Euan!" Cinder said as he stood behind the Machop, Luna following suit "Let's go!"
—Foggy Forest—The Machop began walking around the area with both Cinder and Luna behind him "Don't let your guard down if you hear something, this Dungeon may be easy, but the Fog means we can be taken by surprise"
Suddenly, a little Pokémon appeared in front of Euan. It was a Zigzagoon and it didn't look friendly.
Is that a Pokémon? Cinder mused as he saw Euan being hit by a Tackle before retaliating with a strong punch, making the Zigzagoon faint and disappear.
Why did it disappear? Cinder looked around, frozen at what he had seen. Luna was the same just beside him.
"Stay alert! they may jump and surprise you from behind!" Euan called, signaling them to follow him and snapping them out of their shock.
Blinking, Cinder looked at Luna and nodded, telling the Fennekin that they should follow the Machop, which they promptly did through a dense spread of trees and leaves.
"What happened to the Pokémon?" Cinder queried, not wanting to leave a corner unseen for as long as the Fog allowed him.
"I don't know! They simply disappear and heal? My teachers won't tell!" Euan exclaimed, clearly just as clueless as they were.
The fog didn't seem to get any thinner, but it didn't seem to get any denser either as they kept walking around the area.
What even is this place? Cinder was more and more unnerved the longer he was in this place.
"They may be very aggressive… But I hope nothing bad happens to them…" Luna's ears were erect catching any sounds that may be suspicious.
"I don't know what happens to them, really, my teachers aren't sure either, but they believe that these ferals aren't real, that they're… Projections made by the dungeon to defend itself"
Projections? As in illusions? Cinder mused, that sounded… unnerving yet oddly appealing to him.
"You mean that these Pokémon might not be real?" Luna asked weakly.
"It's something the teachers tell us, which is weird because it doesn't make sense! They don't explain where they come from and why these Pokémon in particular!"
After that, Cinder and Luna traveled in silence, letting Euan take the lead through the fog surrounding them until they reached an area where the fog seemed to be thinner, revealing a small, unlit torch hanging on the bark of a tree.
"Isn't that a torch?" Cinder queried, looking at it.
"It is! And it could be really helpful to carry it around this fog!" Euan said, walking near it.
"Euan! Be careful! We don't know if there's a Pokémon around!" Luna said, clearly nervous.
The Machop merely grinned and began reaching for the Torch. "Once I take it, we can light it! Then we'll have an easier time here!"
Cinder kept himself alert, something was not right here. He could feel it. We have to get out of here… soon! Repeated all over his frantic mind as he looked around.
Luna was also alert, but she looked close to panicking herself, and he could feel her breathing becoming… Warmer.
"That was easy! Hey Cinder! Luna! We have the Torch!" Euan called, and just as he began approaching them, the shadows of two Pokémon appeared to be following behind him.
"Euan! Behind you!" Cinder called, rushing to defend the Machop as his paws gleamed with energy claws for a Scratch.
Behind him, Luna stood in place, but her breathing had quickened and had gotten even warmer "Look out!"
As soon as she said that, Cinder saw a little ball of fire shot at the Pokémon he wasn't targeting while a confused Euan looked at them.
Cinder hit his target, which turned out to be a small purple mouse Pokémon; a Rattata.
The fireball hit the other Pokémon, which turned out to be a Budew. Finally alerting Euan that he was being followed.
"Whoa!" The Machop exclaimed as he stepped back momentarily before he smirked and began punching the Budew.
Cinder kept scratching the Rattata time and time again, it appeared to want to scratch him, but the attack simply phazed over him; leaving him unscathed.
Eventually, the Ratatta fainted and vanished in the fog; thus allowing him to see Euan punching the Budew into unconsciousness, making it fade too.
"That was close! Thanks Cinder! Luna!" Euan said sheepishly.
He's taking this surprisingly well…
"Are you OK, Euan?" Came Luna's concerned voice.
"I'm fine thanks to you!" The Machop said, picking up the Torch again "... We need to light it up"
"How do we do that?" Cinder asked, walking to the Machop.
Euan smiled at him before facing Luna "Hey Luna, can you do it?"
Wait, Luna!? I guess it makes sense but—
"M-me!?" She yelped, eyes wide as she jumped back.
"You're a fire type right? You can use fire to light the Torch!" Euan explained, approaching her.
Cinder wanted to defend Luna, but Euan was right, she was a fire type.
"I-I don't know how I did that… I just—" a tiny flame came out of her mouth "Huh?"
The group kept walking through the forest. It had taken a bit of encouragement, but Luna had successfully lit the torch, making navigation through the forest much easier.
Euan was still at the front, carrying the Torch in one hand and holding onto the medicine bag in the other "We should be near the exit, stay alert in case we're ambushed again…"
Cinder kept his ears alert to detect the slightest sound around them, at his side, Luna did the same, while also preparing to blast anyone with fire.
She seems nervous… But if I controlled fire, I'd be nervous of burning anything other than these Pokémon too…
They walked around the forest, guided by the Torch on Euan's hand, weaving around trees and flora until they all arrived at a clearing still within this extremely foggy place.
This clearing had what seemed like a gate covered in vines and foliage, unnatural in shape and formation; it left no questions about what it was.
That's the exit! We're out! Cinder cheered, they would exit this place, give Hilbert the bag and then return to the outside!
Besides him, Luna's eyes brightened and in front of them, Euan began shaking with excitement "That's it! That's the exit!" he confirmed to them.
"What are we waiting for then!? Let's get outta here!" Luna said, barely holding herself from sprinting to it.
Cinder understood, this was their chance. Their exit but they needed— A barely discernible sound reached his ears; making him pause.
Euan signaled them to follow "Now! C'mon! We gotta—"
Hearing something, Cinder tackled Euan to the side, barely away from the slicing pincer or a Parasect that jumped at the clearing.
Euan let go of the Torch, which proceeded to fall into a pile of mud, making the flame go off "Wha—Thanks Cinder! But we gotta MOVE!"
Euan said that just before he got them both away from the next attack "Thanks Euan!" Cinder exclaimed as he got off.
"No problem bud! Now! Let's get out of—"
A high pitched screech sounded off near them. Turning around, they saw the Parasect cornering Luna, who had a terrified look on her face.
"Luna!"
Cinder set off, not thinking twice, he sprinted to the Parasect and launched himself into the mushroom on top and dug his fangs. Hard.
The Parasect began flailing around, possibly looking to knock him off of it. But in the process, leaving enough room for Luna to escape.
Finally he couldn't hold on anymore and got flung into the nearest tree, knocking the air out of his lungs and leaving him vulnerable.
However, the Parasect couldn't approach him because Luna had set an ember on top of the mushroom, near where he had bit it.
Nice one…!
Suddenly, he felt Euan's hand on his mane "Gather yourself bud! We gotta escape while we can!"
Not needing to be told twice, Cinder began wobbling to the entrance.
He heard a screech behind him, it was the Parasect again.
"No you DON'T!" Euan exclaimed as he punched it, harder than any other Pokémon they had encountered thus far.
The Parasect crashed into the ground and disappeared in the fog… leaving no trace of it ever being there.
No one exchanged words for a few moments while Euan massaged his hand… Seemingly sore from such a strong punch.
"That… Ouch… Let's get outta here… "
Neither Cinder, nor Luna protested. They wanted to be OUT of here. As soon as possible.
That decided, they took a long breath and crossed the gate; welcoming the flash of light that consumed their vision.
The first thing Cinder felt was the wind in his fur followed by the sun; his eyes were graced by the wonderful fogless visage of a glade around a river.
Then his face greeted the grass as he was pushed down.
How funny… He thought drily.
"Sorry Cinder! We're here! Now we gotta find dad!" Euan said as he raced into the glade, to the figures within it.
In the distance, he could make out the familiar four armed figure of Hilbert talking with a couple figures that… seemed familiar with their long, lightning shaped tail.
Much more familiar than what he usually got. Those were Raichu.
Cinder got up and shook his head, both to get rid of the dirt, and stop that feeling from creeping up on him.
"Should we head down too Cinder?" Luna asked, looking him over.
He nodded "We should, let's go Luna!" he smiled at her through his fluffy scarf.
As they walked down the glade and into the figures, they saw Euan getting picked up by Hilbert, who proceeded to shake him slightly while saying some harsh sounding exclamations that became clearer as they got nearer.
"—Do something so STUPID!? And to drag our guests into it!" Hilbert's voice was filled with worry and a tiny bit of anger.
"Dad! We had to get this bag to you! You had left it in the Hut!" The little Machop exclaimed as his dad finally stopped shaking him.
"I appreciate that! But you should've looked where you were going! Maybe that way you wouldn't have led them to the Foggy Forest!" The Machamp told Euan leveling him a dissapointed parent face.
Both the Raichu were looking awkwardly at the scene "Should my brother and I leave?" one asked "We have everything we need now anyway…"
Hilbert looked at the two Raichu and smiled "Sure! Safe travels on your way to Pikorin!"
How interesting, harsh one second, but welcoming the other… Cinder noted as he and Luna approached.
"Thanks again for the supplies sir!" The other Raichu called as they began walking away "We owe you a big one!"
"It was nothing!"
Once they were far enough away, Hilbert looked at Euan yet again… But this time, the Machamp hugged the Machop tightly.
"Don't ever do that again Son… never… I wouldn't be able to live had I lost you to the forest… Or something had happened to Cinder and Luna…"
Cinder stood there, observing how the Machamp kept hugging Euan.
"I swear it was an accident, dad… I wanted to head down the south mountain path, but I took a wrong turn"
Hilbert stopped hugging his son and instead, held him in front of himself "Euan… Be more aware of where you're heading to…" he then looked down at him and Luna "I apologize for what this rascal got you through… I promise he won't do that again"
Hilbert's tone was final as he leveled Euan a look
Cinder laughed awkwardly as he smiled at them "It's fine, we both know to not head into it now!"
"Yeah we do! Although I did learn something there…" Luna said shakily.
Suddenly, Hilbert grabbed them into his arms "Today must've been long for you three. You can tell me all about it when we get to the village"
He then slowly shifted them to make them comfortable "For now… we gotta begin the journey back up, and I'm not gonna have you walking when you're obviously tired"
No one said anything as Hilbert began walking up a rocky path to the mountain, in which Cinder felt the events finally catch up to him as he felt sleepy.
A quick look around showed him he wasn't alone. Euan was stretching his arms while yawning while Luna had a groggy look on her eyes.
Taking that as his cue, Cinder let out a long yawn and closed his eyes. Letting sleep claim him on the way back to the village.
What an eventful few months... but I fianlly got this done!
Merry Christmas everyone! Thank you for sticking with me!
Stay Safe Y'all!
-EmblemKing009