The next day saw Team Pelagic delving into another Mystery Dungeon, this time on the other side of Perrin island. Lyra felt like the team had started to acquire some semblance of a routine during their dungeon dives: she took the lead in order to navigate the hallways, Seph was behind her, and Indigo would follow a comfortable distance behind them. He would constantly wander off into another pathway if he thought there was something more interesting there.
Indigo was still being difficult, but at least he was beginning to cooperate with the group. He always wanted to land the last blow in a fight, but didn't protest when Seph and Lyra helped him. He was still mostly silent, but he would occasionally give commands to his teammates when they were doing something wrong:
"Keep your knees bent, Speh."
"Don't let them get close to you, Lyra. You're most effective at range. Keep them there."
"What are you doing? Don't just let them hit you. Try to dodge or counterattack."
"Don't stand still Lyra! Keep moving! Always keep moving."
It was an incredibly frustrating experience for Lyra. Being constantly critiqued by this kid was driving her insane. The worst part was he was right. Every time Lyra followed Indigo's advice, she felt more in-tune with the flow of combat. His advice was actually helping her improve, despite what her ego might say.
It was an incredibly enlightening experience for Seph. Being constantly given helpful advice by Indigo was greatly expanding his rather shoddy understanding of combat. The best part was seeing Indigo finally coming out of his shell a little bit to talk about a topic he understood well. Seph was really improving!
The team finished their mission much faster than yesterday's fiasco. It helped that all three members were actually contributing this time. They dropped off their rescue target - a confused but uninjured Skidoo - at the town of Alkai, before boarding their sloop and sailing back towards the guild.
Indigo once again broke his silence halfway through the boat ride.
"We didn't need to escort him back to town, you know. The mission was just to get him out of the dungeon. He could have found his own way back. Just saying."
Lyra wondered as to why he didn't say this earlier, back when they were actually escorting Skidoo. Maybe he didn't think it was worth arguing over. Or maybe he knew Seph would force him to do it anyway out of the kindness of his heart.
Sure enough, Seph replied.
"I know that, but what's the harm in helping them back home? It only took a few extra minutes. I bet it made Skidoo feel much safer than walking alone through the forest!"
Indigo did not seem convinced. "It's not a forest. It's a handful of trees in a flat clearing. In the middle of the day. There's nothing to be afraid of in there."
"Well, maybe that's true." Seph admitted. "But at least Lyra and I got to see Alkai for the first time! Plus, the people in Alkai know about Team Pelagic now. They know who we are and know we can save people!"
That last point resonated with Indigo. He looked away from Seph and up at their sail.
"Huh. Yeah, you're… that's right. We're a little more famous now."
Lyra figured she needed to contribute to the conversation.
"Do you care a lot about fame, Indigo?" She asked. "Like, is that why you joined the guild?"
Indigo chuckled. "Heh, no. It wasn't the main reason I joined, at least. Being popular is great, but it's not everything. Please don't tell me it's the reason you two joined." he looked at Lyra condescendingly.
Everytime he started to appear less annoying, Indigo again managed to fill Lyra with the desire to punch him.
"No." Lyra said assertively. "I have amnesia. I'm trying to find information about where I'm from or what happened to me. Zoroark told me if I work for the guild I could get a book that might have what I need."
Indigo gave a knowing nod. "Oh, yeah. That place. Yep, if you're looking for knowledge that's where you'll find it. If you can't find it in a book there, it probably doesn't exist."
Lyra stood up in the boat. "You know where that book is? Can… Can you tell me where?"
Indigo grinned with glee. "No way. Strict guild rules: only gold rank teams and above are allowed to know about that place. You newbies have to prove yourselves before you get the good stuff."
Well, it was worth a try. Even though Indigo was clearly enjoying denying Lyra what she wanted, she couldn't get angry at someone following the rules. All things considered, it was pretty impressive the guild had such a tight lid on all its secrets, what with all its members.
Indigo pointed a claw at Seph.
"What about you, Buizel? Don't tell me you have amnesia too."
Seph laughed and shook his head. "Nope! I just joined the guild because I want to be an explorer! Navigating dungeons, exploring uncharted territory, helping people in need… I can't think of a better way to live my life!"
Indigo clicked his tongue.
"Huh. You really mean that, don't you?"
"Yup!"
Not even Indigo was immune to Seph's infectious optimism.
Thanks to their speedy rescue mission, Team Pelagic found themselves with free time on their hands for the first time since their team's inception. Indigo spent the afternoon alone in the team's chambers, doing who knows what. Lyra took the time to finally learn how to read and write Footprint Runes. Seph wanted to help her. He was chiefly there for moral support.
A very kind guild member by the name of Espeon was the one to teach Lyra the language. When Lyra told her she already knew a different language, Espeon asked her to write a few words so she could see what language it was. Lyra painstakingly wrote the sentence 'hello, my name is Lyra' in English via a quill in her mouth.
Espeon examined Lyra's writing. She squinted at the words. She flipped the parchment upside down. She peered at it from an angle. She held the paper above her into the light and gazed at it from underneath.
"I think I have it." Espeon announced, using psychic energy to flip through a large book resting next to her. "It doesn't look exactly the same, but it's too close to be anything else. Here we go: Unown script."
Lyra looked at the page Espeon had flipped to, to see a series of one eyed creatures that almost looked like letters. That first one was like an A, that one a B, then a C, and so on through the entire alphabet. Each letter-creature had a particular footprint mark underneath it.
"I don't know how you know Unown script but don't know your footprints," Espeon admitted, "But it's an easy translation. Each of the Unowns is just a one-to-one translation of the corresponding footprint. Just memorize which footprint corresponds with each Unown and you can translate in your head."
What.
What?
What the fuck?
Those Unown creature-things make up the Latin alphabet. Sure, some of the poses are a bit of a stretch, but if she squinted Lyra could clearly identify each one as a letter of the alphabet. How in God's green Earth did the Latin alphabet get here? Are there actually humans here? Were there humans here? Or was the Latin alphabet spontaneously invented in two separate worlds simultaneously?
That was 'what the fuck' moment number one.
'What the fuck' moment number two was seeing that each letter of Footprint Runes was a direct translation of a letter of the Latin alphabet.
Lyra quickly looked at a piece of Footprint writing on the adjacent page to make sure she was correct. She looked at the translation key and, sure enough, the phrase converted perfectly to English: 'Unown script is a rare and seldom used writing system'. Jesus Christ.
That is not how languages work. Independently developed languages do not translate perfectly 1 to 1 to English. That is how ciphers work. Footprint Runes is just a fucking chicken scratch cipher of English.
How the everloving fuck is the primary language of this world a cipher of English? Who spread English here? Why English? Why doesn't it translate to, I dunno, fucking French or something? How is any of this even remotely possible?
Lyra's mind was swimming. This lexicological nightmare was somehow worse than losing her memories.
"I… I can translate it…" Lyra muttered under her breath.
Seph gave Lyra a big old slap on the back and some fun words of encouragement. "That's great! I knew you were pretty smart, but being able to read an entirely different language is really impressive! Way to go Lyra!"
Lyra's understanding of the universe and her existence in it was fracturing in ways she never conceived of being possible while Seph patted her on the back.
By the time Lyra recovered from her language-based bout of existential terror, it was dinner time.
Team Pelagic was gathered with every other team in the dining hall, tearing into their food. Halfway through their meal, Zoroark stood up on a chair a few tables in front of them. Everyone quickly hushed each other to listen to what she would say. It seemed to Lyra that the guild was eager to hear whatever would happen next.
"Oi, everyone! Firstly, great job making it to the end of the week! There was some good effort this week."
A quick round of cheering and clapping erupted from the guildlings.
"Now, for our two new recruits - I'm talking to you, Ms. Mareep and Mr. Buizel - there's a tradition around here when we get to the end of the week. I'm a big fan of stories. Stories are how folks pass down knowledge from one generation to the next. They're how legends form. They shape our view of the world. So, at the end of every week, we share a story together as a guild. Now, normally I'd ask you lot if you have a story you want to share, but I'm feeling selfish today. I've got a real good story tonight. It's a story related to one of our lovely new guildlings. And it's the story of my favorite saying to ever come out of this guild."
A few Pokémon chuckled and laughed after Zoroark said this, as if they knew what she was alluding to.
Zoroark sat on the table, assuming a more comfortable position as she prepared to spin a tale. Lyra looked around to see that just about everybody was paying attention to what Zoroark was saying.
The energy here was somehow different from Zoroark's normal speeches, though. Pokémon were much more nonchalant and relaxed, moving to and fro and joking with each other as Zoroark spoke. They listened to her now not out of a duty to obey instructions, but out of playful curiosity. This was not the guildmaster issuing rules and demands; this was a fellow guild member telling a campfire story.
Lyra allowed herself to relax as she listened to Zoroark's story.
"Now, Mr. Buizel is not the first of his lineage to be a part of this guild. Almost a hundred years ago, Mr. Buizel's ancestor lived and worked here She was a Floatzel by the name of Elizabeth."
Seph perked up at the mention of his great great grandmother.
"I had the absolute pleasure of meeting her once, when I was a wee lass. She was an old Pokémon by then. Age had claimed most of the strength in her body. Even still, I could see the shine in those old eyes: the shine of an explorer. I was never a bright kid, but I was smart enough to know then and there I was in the presence of a legend.
"But, this is a story from before then. Back when old Lizzy was in her prime. Back when she was an up-and-coming explorer, working for the guild just like you lot. One day, Lizzy and her team went on an expedition with the guild, deep into the Outer Sea. The guildmaster back then, a bloke by the name of Blastoise, had lofty goals for the expedition. They were supposed to go deeper into the Outer than anybody had ever been before. They wanted to see things that had never been, uncover the most hidden secrets of the ocean. And they did. It's still to this day an impressive expedition.
"So, one day on this voyage, Lizzy's team is sent out in a dinghy to spot out a new island they found. It was a small island, only a little bit larger than their flagship, so Blastoise reckoned it was a job for one team. I suppose he was right, in a way."
In front of her, Zoroark used her illusion magic to create an image of the story she was telling. A miniature dinghy rested next to a small, flat island on the table top.
"Lizzy lands on this island, and at first there's nothing out of the ordinary. Just a small grassy island with little to speak of. She's ready to get back in the dinghy and call it a day, when suddenly…
"GRRRRR… THWOOM!"
Zoroark made exaggerated motions with her hands, her illusory diagram shifting as she did so.
"The entire island starts to shake! It starts moving, too! The island starts rotating; turning so vertical that Lizzy and her teammates can't stand on it anymore! They splash into the ocean and clamber into the dinghy, trying to see what happened. And what they saw next was unbelievable.
"Now, none of the accounts of this story that we have described what this thing looked like. Shit, I've even asked some researchers what it could have been and they had no clue. But, there in the water, with the island attached to its back, stood the largest Pokémon Lizzy had ever seen. It was as tall as the cliffs of Perrin - able to tower above the dinghy even while standing on the ocean floor. It was a proper beast.
"That beast was so huge, everyone on the flagship could see it rise out of the ocean, clear as day. It dwarfed poor Lizzy's dinghy, waves pushing the boat every which way! Eventually, the water started to settle. Lizzy looked up at the beast, and the beast looked down at her. Then, the beastie spoke. It had a low, gravelly voice. The voice of a lethal predator.
"'WHY DO YOU DISTURB ME, SMALL ONES? YOUR INANE MOTION ANGERS ME.' Not only was this thing massive, it was pissed at them! Lizzy was ever the optimist, though. She tried her best to reason with the thing. He assured the Pokémon that this was just an accident, and they would leave immediately if it let them do so. The beast wasn't having any of it.
"With a wicked smile, the monster agreed to let them go. But, there's a catch. 'YOU ALL MAY LEAVE', it said, 'EXCEPT FOR ONE. THERE MUST BE PUNISHMENT FOR WAKING ME. I THINK I WILL TAKE THIS ONE!' And the beast swooped down and grabbed a Pokémon straight out of the dinghy! It dangled the poor bastard 3 stories off the ground, holding them right in front of its mouth.
"Now, the Pokémon snatched by the beast was not actually Lizzy. I bet you thought that the beast woulda picked her up. No, no. The Pokémon held in the beast's claw was good old Galio, another member of Lizzy's team, who was but a Luxray at the time. I'll tell you this now, folks: this was the worst mistake the beast would ever make in its life. You see, Galio was not just Lizzy's teammate: they were married! In fact, they tied the knot just a few weeks before the expedition!
"A word of advice for all the gentlemen in the room here tonight: threatening to kill the love of a woman's life is the fastest way in this world to get a one-way ticket to the afterlife!"
Some Pokémon cheered and laughed.
"This sea beast was about to learn that fact. Lizzy, an explorer who was famous for her level-headed approach to everything in life, had finally fucking lost it. Maybe this was the last in a series of frustrating moments for her. Maybe she was having a bad day. Or maybe Lizzy just didn't want her newly wedded husband to be eaten. I don't really know. Whatever the case, the result was the same.
This calm, agreeable Floatzel looked up at the beast with pure anger in her eyes. What she said next would become the greatest inside joke to ever exist. She eyed up this gargantuan monster who was 50 times her size, harnessed all her anger, and shouted-"
Everyone in the guild (except for Seph and Lyra) joined in for this next line. They hollered it at the top of their lungs.
"I SHOULD KICK YOUR FUCKING ASS!"
"You're abso-fucking-lutely right that's what she said! And, of course, like all good villains, this monster underestimated the hero. It laughed and laughed at what Lizzy said. There was no way it could be defeated, the monster thought, these Pokémon were tiny! They wouldn't be able to put a dent in it! Well, you wanna know what happened next?"
"WHAT HAPPENED?"
"LIZZY KICKED ITS FUCKING ASS!"
As Zoroark finished that line, the crowd roared with approval. Lyra and Seph were laughing their asses off. Even Indigo seemed to be enjoying himself a little bit.
"That Floatzel fought so hard and so ferociously, there was nothing the beast could do! The whole guild watched as Lizzy singlehandedly sent the thing sinking back into the ocean. Her beloved Galio was safe and sound - not a hair was out of place on his body! Lizzy's ass kicking one of the most impressive feats any guild member has ever done.
"Nowadays, we honor Elizabeth's bravery and fierce loyalty by using her famous quote, when appropriate. You see, this story teaches an important lesson for any explorer: as nice as it is to be nice, sometimes you really should just kick someone's fucking ass!"
The guild cheered and hollered once more, clapping for the guildmaster as she finished her story.
"Try using that line next time you need to threaten somebody. I guarantee it'll make them piss themselves."
As Zoroark joked with the Pokémon around her, Infernape slinked up to her side. He cupped a hand to her ear and whispered something in the noisy mess hall.
Lyra saw Zoroark's face instantly turn deathly serious.
Zoroark scanned through the hall, looking for something. She didn't find it. She stood up, preparing to speak again. She was no longer a fellow guild member telling a story: her next words held power and importance. She was speaking as the guildmaster.
"Oi, is Team Rupture here? Anybody seen Ms. Nidorina and Mr. Wooper?"
A silence fell upon the crowd. A few Pokémon shook their heads. Lyra didn't see the team anywhere in the building.
"Were they here earlier today? Or yesterday? If anybody's seen them, you need to speak up now."
Nothing.
Zoroark grimly nodded.
"Alright. The guild rule is we give a team 48 hours before we send a search party. They've still got till morning before we go looking for them. While I hope they return on their own before then… I would appreciate it if some of you would get ready to look for them tomorrow. If anybody knows anything about where Team Rupture could be, tell me immediately. If not… Well, let's hope they're okay."
The next morning arrived quickly. Team Rupture was nowhere to be seen.
Heading out for morning roll call, Lyra could feel a knot forming in her stomach. The room next to theirs, the room of Team Rupture, was uncomfortably empty. Other Pokémon held similar expressions of worry as they lined up in front of the guildmaster.
"Good morning explorers!" Zoroark shouted.
"Good morning guildmaster." The reply was less enthusiastic than usual.
"Alright folks, Let's address the Donphan in the room. Your fellow exploration team, Team Rupture, has been missing for 48 hours. That means we're sending out a search party for 'em. The goal of the search party is to find them, and bring them back here if it's safe to do so. The search party will be leaving immediately. Do we have any volunteers?"
Instantly, the hands of several Pokémon shot up into the air. Notably, all three members of Team Pelagic volunteered themselves. Including Indigo.
Zoroark took notice of the new team's enthusiasm.
"Alright, Pelagic, you're on the case. Remember: just find them. If they're in trouble, report back here and we'll organize a rescue. Don't try to be heroes, yeah? Mr. Fraxure can tell you how bad of an idea that was last time. Go get a boat and head over to Marton, right now. Good luck."
Seph responded with a salute. "Yes, ma'am!" He shouted, before running off with the rest of his team towards the docks. Some of the more experienced explorers cheered for them as they hurried to take off.
Team Pelagic moved as quickly as they could once they boarded the sloop, untying themselves from the dock and quickly rowing out of the cove. Seph found the heading towards Marton Island, then Indigo attached his guild badge to the mast and Lyra hoisted the sails. They were once again flying atop the glittering blue sea.
The trio took a moment to catch their breath, and prepared themselves for whatever was to come.
"I hope they're not in trouble." Lyra mused. "I mean, there could be a hundred reasons they haven't returned yet, right? Maybe they got lost. Or they got sidetracked."
Indigo shook his head. "I'm… Not sure about that. Team Rupture is always on time for everything they do - Wooper hates being late. If they've been gone for two days, something must have gone wrong."
"Do you know them?" Lyra asked.
Indigo shrugged. "A little. They're a decent team. Nidorina's nice and Wooper's got a stick up his ass. They're not the strongest, though. If they went into an unexplored Mystery Dungeon… Well, I don't know what happened to them."
"Don't worry!" Seph exclaimed. "They'll be okay. Even if they were in big trouble in the dungeon, their badges would've warped them out if they got hurt. We just have to find them! …Wherever they are…"
"Island's coming up." Indigo announced. "Steer us towards where the dungeon is. We should check that out first."
Seph effortlessly maneuvered the sloop towards the side of Marton Island that supposedly had the new Mystery Dungeon on it. According to the map, the dungeon entrance was right on the coast. It should have been easy to spot on the gentle sandy beaches.
Sure enough, the team quickly spotted something strange. Through part of the otherwise idyllic beach, an inlet of water flowed in land, cutting into the beach. However, instead of flowing flatly through the island, this huge river instead began angling downwards, moving underneath the island. The water was flowing through a massive underground tunnel. The decline looked soft enough for a boat to be able to enter the tunnel.
Above the tunnel was a sign stuck into the grassy sand. Lyra was able to read it thanks to her Footprint lesson from yesterday: 'WARNING - MYSTERY DUNGEON AHEAD. ENTER AT OWN RISK'.
"That river must be the dungeon entrance." Lyra concluded.
"Should we just… sail in?" Seph asked. "I mean, it looks big enough to fit the sloop. Should we just try that?"
Indigo scratched his chin. "I've heard people talk about sailing into Mystery Dungeons before. Sometimes, dungeons submerged in water like this one are partially flooded, so sailing in might be a good idea."
"Sounds good!" Seph grabbed the oars and started rowing the sloop into the inlet. He pulled the oars in and watched with amazement as their boat sailed downstream, heading into the tunnel. The sunlight above them vanished, and the only noise they could hear now was the rush of the water around them.
All three explorers independently arrived at the thought that barreling through an underground river with no idea where it would lead was not a good idea. Oh well. It was too late now.
On the bright side, the experience reminded Lyra of an amusement park ride. She tried her best to enjoy it.
The boat picked up more and more speed as Team Pelagic was hurtled through the pitch black. The water was moving faster and faster, turning into a cacophony of noise around them. Lyra wondered if they would capsize here, in the middle of nothing.
Then, freedom.
Without warning, they were transported somewhere new. The rushing of water had ceased, and their surroundings were illuminated once more. Team Pelagic now found themselves in a large underground cavern. The cave was partially flooded, and their sloop drifted idly on the still water. Far up above them, in the ceiling, luminescent rocks casted light onto the water.
Up ahead, the cavern split off into several pathways. The entire cave seemed uniform: every pathway was about the same width, and they were all flooded.
Lyra realized what this was.
"This… Is this the Mystery Dungeon?"
Flooded Reservoir - 1F
Seph whistled. "I've never seen a dungeon this big before. It's like a Mystery Dungeon for ships! Awesome!"
"Let's look for any sign of Team Rupture on this floor." Lyra proposed. "If we don't see anything, we leave the dungeon and look elsewhere on Marton for them. I don't have a good feeling about this place."
The trio rowed further into the Mystery Dungeon, ready for anything.
"Captain, sir, I'm picking something up near the entrance. I think somebody came in. Feels like… 2… No, 3 people."
"Shit. Alright, get ready to move out. We'll head to the next floor then leave from there."
"Yes, sir. But, uh, what about the prisoners, sir?"
"We'll take 'em with us for now. Can't have 'em sharing what they know with the guild."
"Very well, sir. I will prepare for departure."
