Into Sunglow Thicket

"Ah, finally a nice, normal morning."

Haru stretched out in the morning sun, flopping onto her belly as she let the warmth relax her tired muscles. Fir the first time in days, her morning had been free of interruption and excitement. And after any hopes of spreading her name by learning from Nip was from had been dashed by his caginess and hurry to move on, she was ready to return to her usual schedule.

Still, there was still one loose end to tie up before she could get back to work. One thing that she needed to take care of. Nip may have failed to provide her with the fortune she had been hoping for, and she was still skeptical of his motivations, but it would only be polite to say goodbye.

Returning into her family's hut, she waddled over to where her mother had set out the morning's food on a small, clay platter. An apple had been paired with a small, flat piece of bread and a few assorted nuts. She sat back on her haunches, lifted the apple between her paws, and began to gnaw away.

Her mom, surprisingly, was nowhere to be seen. Presumably, she had left early to help her dad fell trees, to make up for her slack. Even her brother was out and about already. As bad as she felt for shirking work, she couldn't help but appreciate the silence.

After scarfing down the simple breakfast, she nosed her way into a small drawstring bag, letting it hang around her neck, then set out, beginning the short walk towards the village square. Yes, a quick, polite goodbye to Nip, and then she could get back to work. It was better to not burn bridges, wasn't it?

As she began to make her way towards the village center, however, she realized that something felt off. The road to the village had been eerily quiet so far; she hadn't passed a single mon. The few that she saw as she neared the square moved in a hurry, speaking in hushed whispers. A knot beginning to form in her stomach, she picked up her pace as well.

A dozen or so pokemon — about a third of the village — had already gathered, with more walking towards the commotion. Unable to see whatever was at the center, she ran up to the edge of the crowd. She caught sight of Ruffle near the edge, who waved her down and gave her a curtsey in greeting.

"Ruffle, what's going on?" she asked.

The bellosom shook her head. "I don't know. Something to do with Whisper and Vale. They came out of Lecha's clinic early this morning looking a bit roughed up and headed straight for the daycare. Anu came rushing from the temple just a few minutes ago, too."

Haru opened her mouth to say something else but closed it again when she heard hushed voices nearby.

"Look, the mayor's coming!"

"The mayor? Something big must of happened."

"Where is he? I can't see!"

"Haru!"

The bidoof whipped around at the sound of her name. To her left, she could see Jhorlo making his way down the road from his manor, his face grim but his pace unrushed. Just behind him, Muse — with Shimmer on her back as usual — had veered off, heading her way at a light trot. Normally, she wouldn't want to hear from the duo. But if anyone might be able to fill her in, it would be the mayor's daughter.

Muse skidded to a stop in front of her. Haru pawed at the ground nervously. "Shimmer, Muse, please tell me you have an idea of what's going on."

The pair exchanged an anxious glance before turning their attention back to Haru. The fact that Shimmer of all people seemed worried only further twisted the knot in her stomach. "Nothing good I'm afraid," Muse answered. She paused to lay down on her stomach. "Here, climb on behind Shimmer, we'll go where we can see better."

But with something big enough that it had drawn this much of a crowd… Though tempted to turn down the offer, she wanted to be at the front. Something was happening here, and it was too big to not stick her nose in. She stood up on her hind paws and scrambled up onto the absol's back.

Muse stumbled a bit under her weight, but quickly corrected and pushed through the crowd, weaving between bodies and stepping over smaller pokemon. Recognizing Muse and Shimmer, most pokemon parted to let them pass.

At the center of the crowd were the pokemon Ruffle had mentioned: Vale, Whisper, and Anu. In addition to the two guards and shrine attendant were the mayor and his two personal guards, Lecha, Tor — the blissey that ran the daycare — and the two young ghost pokemon that stayed with him. The shuppet of the pair seemed tired and unsteady, resting in air against the phantump's side.

They arrived just in time to catch Vale raising his voice at Tor. "Really? You did everything you could? You seem pretty relaxed for someone who had an egg stolen right out from under their care!"

The blissey turned to look at him, a neutral, almost bored expression on his face. "I assure you I am oh so torn up inside." His tone was dull, unperturbed by the manetric's harsh words.

"Yeah? Well you sure did a shit job of stopping the thief!"

"I already told you, he had already left by the time I discovered the theft. I would not have woken up at all if not for Aves' bravery."

At mention of his name, the shuppet meekly tried to hide himself.

"Yeah, well that doesn't mean—"

"Vale!" Whisper cawed.

The manetric flinched, turning his attention to Whisper. Up close, Haru could see that the hawlucha's feathers were singed in spots, and her eyes hinted at exhaustion. Besides that, she also had a patched-up gash on her shoulder, and Vale had several recent cuts on his face.

"Fellow pokemon, please," Jhorlo started, cutting in. "I know tensions are high right now, but I am here for a reason. I need the full story. From the beginning, you know. Let's start with this: what all was stolen, and when did the theft occur?"

"I had a bag and a few minor supplies stolen," Lecha began, "the most valuable of which was a single reviver seed. But that's minor in the grand scheme of what happened last night."

"Agreed," Tor said, still in his usual monotone. "I was awoken by the sound of Aves' screech at perhaps halfway through the night. I saw someone make an exit out the door at that time but did not get a good look. I instead went to find Aves and check the egg room and discovered Aves had been knocked out and an egg stolen, at which point I called for the guard."

"I started running that way," Whisper said, beginning her part of the story. "I got about halfway there and heard movement behind me. I broke a luminous orb and was able to catch sight of someone fleeing the scene, carrying—" she took a deep, steadying breath. "—carrying the egg with them. I turned to pursue the thief, and chased them out towards the forest, where Vale came in to try to help. He discharged electricity, but unfortunately I was caught in the fray, and the thief managed to get away."

"Do you have any clue where they went then?" Jhorlo asked.

"Vale tried to track the path. We have good reason to believe he entered Sunglow Thicket. As far as we know, he's still in there, but we aren't certain."

The purugly let out a long breath of air, coming out as a frustrated hiss. "I suppose I should fill the crowd in, before we start making preparations to track him down. Whisper, are you sure you want to be in charge of the operation? I can let you rest if you would like, given the situation, you know."

The hawlucha nodded slowly. "I am positive. This has… unfortunately become personal, and I'd like to see him brought to justice myself."

"Very well," the mayor replied before turning his attention to the still growing crowd. He cleared his throat loudly, bringing most of the uneasy murmurs in the crowd to a stop.

Haru leaned forward to whisper to Shimmer. "Do they even know who the thief is?" Haru asked.

Neither Shimmer nor Muse answered Haru, further twisting the knot in her stomach. She turned her attention back to Jhorlo.

"Pokemon of Theran Village," the purugly began. "This meeting brings no good news, I'm afraid. I'm sure some of you heard the commotion late last night, and others have been filled in on it by those that did. Yes, the rumors are true; last night, we had our first egg theft in many cylces. Since before I was Mayor, and before my mate was Mayor. Whisper and Anu's egg was stolen from the nursery." He paused, allowing the pokemon to murmur amongst themselves for several heartbeats.

"An egg theft? Here?"

"When was the last time we had any crime this serious?"

"Could this be a sign we've lost Regigigas' favor?"

"Now, now, dear villagers. I know this comes at a great shock, but please let me talk. There is more to discuss. Although our valiant guard gave chase, the thief was able to escape, unfortunately. However, we have been able to track him to the Sunglow Thicket. As soon as this meeting is over, we'll be sending a few of the guard and some volunteers to go and stake out the known dungeon exits."

"But Jhorlo!" A villager from the back of the group called out, someone that Haru could not see. "Do we know who the culprit is?"

"Please give me a moment, I was getting to that. Yes, thanks to witnesses and the hard work of the pursuing guards, we were able to identify the thief as none other than the sneasel that had been staying at Lecha's clinic these last few days."

More voices broke out, some louder than others.

"What?!"

"I knew bringing an unvetted stranger into town was bad news."

"Was he a wildener? What did we know about him?"

"How could this be happening? He seemed so nice!"

"Order!" The purugly called out. "Order please!" Slowly, the cacophony of voices died away. "I know this is a lot to take in. It's unfortunate that someone we gave such care to has betrayed us. As I said, the guard will be preparing a stakeout of Sunglow Thickets. Anyone who wants to volunteer should meet with Whisper. We will bring this thief to justice. That is all. Please disperse and go about our daily business."

Slowly, the crowd began to break away in small groups of pokemon talking amongst themselves in hushed whispers. Some pokemon made their way over to where Whisper stood to offer their help. Jhorlo turned his attention to Muse, Shimmer, and Haru.

"Shimmer, dear, I have business to attend to at the villa. Will you see to it that anyone that didn't happen to be here gets filled in on the situation?"

"Of course, dad," the kirlia replied with a dismissive wave. "I'll touch base with Phoel and Numi at the post office and make sure a memo gets delivered to everyone. Would you like me to send a message out to the enforcers union also?"

Jhorlo shook his head. "Not right now. I would like to keep this problem just village business if at all possible. We'll reconsider it if he manages to give us the slip out of the mystery dungeon."

"With all respect sir," Muse cut in, "how do you know he hasn't already?"

"Even a seasoned explorer would take several hours to work their way through Sunglow Thicket. By then we had at least one guard watching every exit, you see."

"What if he happened to have an escape orb with him?" Haru suggested.

Jhorlo scoffed. "No one reported any orbs being stolen. Only a few medical supplies and a bag from Lecha. And with how few of us settled pokemon venture inside, it's unlikely he'd find one. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be going. I have a lot of work to do. We have a trade shipment coming in today, as you may already know."

The purugly dipped his head to Shimmer, then he and his two purrloin guards began to walk back to their home.

Haru carefully slid off Muse's back. She opened her mouth to excuse herself, but Shimmer held a hand up, glancing back to be sure her father was gone.

"Okay you two," the kirlia began, "go get any exploration gear you have together. We'll meet back at the edge of town in an hour."

"E-excuse me?" Haru stammered. "What on earth are you getting at?"

Before Shimmer could answer, the call of "Haruuu!" sounded behind her. Whirling around, she saw her brother hurrying up the street as fast as his stubby legs could take him. He took a second to catch his breath. "Did you already hear?"

Haru opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by a squeal from Shimmer.

"Toshi-kins!" Shimmer exclaimed. "Oh, this is just perfect, now we have a full team!"

Toshi slowed to a stop in front of Haru, tilting his head up towards the kirlia. "Huh?" he deadpanned.

Muse turned her head back to look at the kirlia as well. "Shimmer… I think I know what you're getting at, and I cannot advise it. We don't know Nip's strength."

"Wait," Haru interjected. "Are you suggesting we go into the mystery dungeon and track him down ourselves?"

"That's exactly what I'm thinking, oh you do catch on fast! Think about it, we're the ones that brought him here, so that makes it our problem, doesn't it?"

"But Shimmer," Haru protested, "none of us are trained for battle, except Muse. Besides, they've got a stakeout in the works. Let the trained battlers handle it."

Shimmer shook her head. "And sometimes dad makes dummy decisions. I know we're not fighters, but we still would have the upper hand in numbers."

"Shimmer…" The absol pawed at the ground nervously before shaking her head. "I am going to strongly advise against this. But if we must go, I would like it if Haru did accompany us, at least."

"W-what? Why?" Haru stammered.

"Because, you've had the most interaction with Nip, and thus have the best chance of convincing him to come back without a fight."

Haru didn't like this one bit. Why should she have to get dragged into this mess? "We don't even know if he's still there!"

"I don't know…" Toshi mumbled. "I think it's worth a shot. Besides," he added, with a bit of mischief in his eye, "wouldn't this be a great time to make your name known, if you could help bring a criminal to justice?"

"That's…" Haru began, but she couldn't come up with a satisfactory argument. He did have a point… As did Muse. "Oh… Why are you taking their side Toshi?"

"Hey, I want to go out there and join the Rescue Guild or Expedition Society one day. I have to practice dungeon exploring at some point, and what better time to start than now?"

Haru groaned, outmatched. Technically, she could just not go, leaving the rest of them to explore without her, but she could not bring herself to let her brother dive into danger without her. "Fine, just one attempt to find him. But make sure you bring an escape orb. I'm not risking any of our lives down there to peacefully stop an ungrateful egg thief."

"Aw come on, where's your sense of adventure?" Shimmer teased. "Fine. You and your brother go get your supplies. We'll meet you in an hour."

"You're better at this, Toshi. What should I grab?"

"We mostly have heal seeds and oran berries, but if you happen to have any pecha or aspear berries, I'd bring them too."

"Pecha berries I get," Haru started, pausing to grab a couple in her mouth by the stems and pull them into her bag. "There's plenty of bug and grass wildeners around here. But why aspear? I don't know if we even have any."

"Nip's an ice type," Toshi explained, pawing a couple of oran berries out of a basket. He knocked them over to where Haru was before retreating to his room, returning with a couple of seeds that he spat out of his mouth. "It's possible he's packing moves that could freeze us. Better safe than sorry. But if we don't have any, we'll just have to use heal seeds."

Haru finished placing the items in her small bag, then nosed her head through the strap, so that it was hanging around her neck. "Well, there's not a lot of space in here, so we'll go with what we have. Hopefully Shimmer and Muse have stuff more useful for exploration on them."

"They should still have stuff from yesterday. C'mon let's get going before mom gets home and questions where we're going."

"I'm going to get so chewed out for skipping work, aren't I?" Haru grumbled, following her younger brother out the door.

The two set off down the path, heading away from town and instead towards the path to the forest. She could see a few tired looking pokemon working their way up the path, likely the few that had been watching the exits before the meeting. A marshtomp among the group let out a yawn and began to speak with the others in his group in a hushed tone, sparing only enough time for the pair of bidoof to give a quick wave of a hand.

A white smudge against the tree line alerted her to Muse's location, just off the path. She adjusted her route slightly, cutting through overgrown grass and bushes to reach them faster.

Muse had been outfitted with a bigger satchel than usual, carefully secured to her back with a couple straps. Shimmer was down from her usual perch, instead resting against Muse, playfully running fingers through her thick neck fur. "Okay, so you still have the oran berries from yesterday, and you bought a few cheri and pecha berries, an escape orb and a totter orb?"

The absol nodded. "That is correct. I also brought a petrify wand from the villa, but it only has a few uses left in it."

"That's fine, we'll save them for emergencies." The kirlia opened her eyes. "Oh look, there they are, finally!" A hand raised up, waving Haru and Toshi down. "Hey you two! Come on hurry up already! We're losing daylight here!"

Haru huffed, but picked up her pace regardless, Toshi following close behind. Once the four were together, they did a quick look over of their supplies before setting off, heading down the path into the woods. At first, Shimmer prattled on about various things, intent on offering a distraction, but eventually her small talk gave way to uneasy silence, as they grew closer to their destination. Before long, they could spot splotches of red and orange and brown amongst the greenery.

"Do you see anyone from the village?" Toshi asked, breaking the silence.

"Not here," Haru responded with a shake of her head. "But as far as I know, there's not a dungeon exit in this area. Better for us, I guess. I mean, I know we're all adults here, but can you imagine how most of the village mon would react if they saw us headed into the dungeon, especially right now?"

Toshi grimaced. "Eugh, fair enough. I think Mom would flip." He went on to mimic Saku's voice. "'Putting yourself in danger like that?' She'd say. 'How could you? You worry your mother so much.'"

Haru snickered slightly as the group made their way down a hill towards the dungeon. "Gotta love Mom. She's great, but sometimes she just gets so pushy. She's got it in her head that I'm going to become mates with some powerful dragon-type or something. I mean, really? Maybe I'm not ready to settle down mom, I've got a life ahead of me still!"

"Um… Sis?" Toshi mumbled.

Shimmer covered her mouth to restrain a giggle. "Wow Haru, you got some issues!"

Haru realized she had begun to ramble, and how loud her voice had grown. "Er… Never mind. Let's just focus on the task ahead."

She took the lead, making a beeline for two twisted aspen trees that marked where the distortion began. The grass here came nearly up to her nose, but in little fluctuating patches on the other side, she could see shorter grass covered in fallen red and yellow leaves. She had never been to Sunglow Thicket, but she'd been told the dungeon was trapped in a perpetual autumn, almost like it was frozen in time.

As she stepped through the point where normal and distorted world met, she immediately noticed the drop in temperature from summer to fall air. She paused and shook, as if casting off the cold. While she had only been able to see patches from the outside, in here the trees were completely red and gold. The sound was different too. After passing through, it was as if the normal quiet chatter of forest life just dropped away, leaving only the rustle of trees in a light breeze.

The other three followed closely behind, Toshi walking up to stand beside her and Muse and Shimmer following just behind him. She shifted her weight as she took a better look at her surroundings.

The dungeon had deposited them in a clearing, thick brush impeding their ability to proceed in most directions. Even behind them, the way they came, there was nothing but thick undergrowth. Just to be certain, she took a moment to waddle over and try to push through, only receiving a few thorns in her face for her trouble.

"You don't think he'll still be in this zone, do you?" Haru asked, turning back to the group.

"I doubt it," Toshi said. He pawed at the ground anxiously. "I heard the zones typically shift layouts every few hours or so and sweep out any unfortunate pokemon in the area. He would have probably tried to get to the base floor as quickly as possible — where it's stable — so that he could rest."

"A good point," Muse agreed. "Still, I think it would be best that we try to sweep every zone as carefully as possible, to make sure we don't miss him."

Shimmer reached out to brush her fingers through Muse's thick neck-fur. "Good idea Musey. You come up with the best ideas!"

Muse lowered her head and rubbed a paw across her muzzle, though Haru could tell she was smiling.

"Well I try to come up with reasonable solutions."

"Actually…" Toshi started, taking a step back towards the group. "I think we should hurry through this zone. We can spread out our search in the next zone. I'm almost certain he would have moved on by now."

"I feel that's fair enough," Muse agreed. "Let's hurry. We're wasting precious time the more we stand around here."

With an air of caution about them, the group set off, crossing the clearing with their senses peeled, as if expecting wilderners to burst from the undergrowth at any given time. The clearing narrowed into a thin path, just wide enough for them to pass through single file. Muse took the lead, head raised high and treading cautiously while the others followed close behind.

Sunlight slowly shifted as they made slow progress, filtering through the thick, golden canopy. The longer they traveled through the narrowed pathway, the more the undergrowth felt like it was closing in, threating to swallow them up. The path twisted to and fro, leading then in a caravan around tight, blind corners to a point that Haru could not be sure they had not doubled back on their path at some point.

But finally, the path began to widen slightly, enough that they could walk in pairs of two. Then it opened into a small clearing a bit further down the path. Muse paused, giving the following pokemon a chance to spread out behind her.

Haru stepped forward to stand beside Muse, scanning the room for any signs of danger.

"Hey, what's that over there?"

Haru turned her head to the left where Muse was pointing a paw. Across the clearing she could make out something glimmering in the sunlight.

"I don't know, I'm going to check it out real quick."

One last quick, cautious look around, and she began to rush across the floor to the glimmering object. As she got closer, she could tell that it was some sort of orb, although she could not tell what kind yet.

"Sis, wait!"

Haru glanced back towards her brother, slowing her gait. But before she could say something, she felt the ground shift slightly below her, and heard a soft, clicking noise.

A powerful gust of wind whipped up beneath her. She tried to hold her ground, digging her paws into the dirt, but the gust was too much, and she was hurled into the air backwards towards her teammates where she crashed into Shimmer. She let out a pained squeal as she flopped to the round.

Haru groaned and pushed herself to her feet, her vision blurred. The sound of beating wings turned her attention back to the orb. As her vision cleared, she saw that a fletchinder had landed in front of it, a couple of fletchlings hiding just behind it.

"This is ours!" The fletchinder chirped. "We found it and you can't have it!"

Muse backed up slightly, lowering her head. "My apologies, we did not realize it belonged to someone. We are just passing through. If you would, please allow us to pass."

The fletchinder gave pause, looking back to the fletchlings behind him, who returned skeptical looks.

"Really," Haru grumbled under her breath. "Who leaves something so valuable just laying around on the ground for anyone to grab like that?"

Although she thought she had been quiet, apparently, she was loud enough for the fletchinder to catch her words. He whipped his head back around, talons scraping at the dirt and leaves below him. "What was that?"

"Haru," Toshi urged in a whisper, bumping against her front right leg. "Watch what you're saying! You never know what kind of mood a wildener is in. Especially in a dungeon!" He turned his attention back to the trio. "Oh, it was nothing! My sister is just in a rush is all. We're looking for a sneasel that might have passed through here."

The fletchinder scraped at the leaves again. "A sneasel? You're out here helping a sneasel?"

Toshi blinked a couple times. "What? No! We were-"

But the fletchinder was no longer listening. Both it and the two fletchlings had taken to the air now, along with the two fletchlings. Muse jumped to the side as the evolved bird dove for her head, talons outstretched.

"Shimmer!" The dark type called out. "Get back!"

"No way!" Shimmer called back, stepping up beside her guard. Her eyes glowed blue with psychic energy. She raised her hands up on either side, and turned her attention to the nearest fletchling, who was now diving towards her. For just a second, she squeezed her eyes shut, then pushed outwards with both hands. The same pale glow from her eyes enveloped the fletchling, seeming to stop it in its tracks.

"Ha ha! Finally! I'm really getting good at using my psychic powers in a fight, Muse!"

The absol grunted in response, slicing at the air with her sickle-like horn to ward off the fletchinder. "Don't you think you should stop talking and finish the attack before it breaks free?"

"Oh, right!" The kirlia giggled, seemingly unperturbed by the danger. She brought her arms back, then swung them to the side in an arc, sending the captured fletchling flying into a tree. It fell to the ground with a pained chirp and did not attempt to get up.

Haru and Toshi found themselves back to back, each with a few welts coming up where the other fletchling had managed to peck at them with its beak or scratch at them with its talons, severely out speeding the two bidoofs. But when it would flutter too close to her face, Haru would snap at it with her fangs, but so far all she had managed to do was pluck a feather or two.

"This isn't working!" Toshi called out.

"You think?" Haru called back.

"I'm going to try something, cover for me!"

Haru spun around as her brother took off, running a little way into the clearing. She chased behind him with the fletchling right on her tail. Once he had built up a decent amount of speed, he turned in an arc so that he was facing back towards the fletchling. He sprang into the air and came down curled into a ball, rolling and quickly gaining speed. Haru barely moved of the way as he came barreling past, knocking into the fletchling.

The fletchling tumbled in air, barely managing to keep its balance. Before it could get out of range, Haru reared up on her hind legs to chomp down on its leg, pulling it down to the ground. Its wings beat against her face as it twittered in alarm, trying to peck at her face. She only bit down harder until she felt the delicate leg bone snap in her powerful jaws.

Only then did she finally let go. As the bird tried to rise back into the air, she charged head-first, knocking into it and sending it sailing back a few feet. The small bird tumbled along the ground, coming to a stop a few feet away. Slowly, it managed to turn. Faced with her and with Toshi rolling back for another attack, the bird struggled to take to the air and fled back to the edge of the clearing, ducking down into a patch of grass.

Toshi slowed to a stop. "That was kind of brutal. You sure you're not a fighter?"

Haru didn't answer, turning her attention back towards Muse and Shimmer to see how they were faring. The absol took a blow to the side from the fletchinder, wreathed in flames. Muse grunted, skidding a few inches back from the force of the blow, but stayed on her feet. She sprang back a few more inches to put distance between herself and the bird.

The fletchinder dove once again. Muse crouched slightly as dark energy began to swirl around her horn. The bird dove again. Just as it closed in, no more than a few inches from her face, Muse sprang up, swinging her head sideways so that the sharp tip sliced across his chest, sending him tumbling through the air. He hit the ground hard and did not rise.

The group slowly gathered in the center of the clearing, looking over each other's injuries. Both Toshi and Haru had a few cuts, but were otherwise fine. Muse had taken a few embers to the face, and her right flank had been singed by the flame charge. Only Shimmer had gotten out of the battle without a scrape.

"How's everyone faring?" Shimmer asked.

"Pass me an oran berry," Toshi replied. "That should keep me going for a while."

"I'll take one, too," Haru said, pawing at her bag to remove it and reach for the berries.

"I will be fine," Muse said. "I do not wish to slow down our pursuit."

Shimmer looked the absol over and frowned before approaching to place a hand on her hip. Muse scraped a paw across the ground, gritting her teeth.

"Nonsense," Shimmer said with a shake of her head. "You're hurt and trying to continue with that limp will slow us down more. Let me take care of this."

The absol lowered her head slightly. "But I… Yes, of course, I'm sorry to have worried you, Shimmer."

Shimmer Giggled. "You don't need to apologize to me Musey! Now hold still, this might feel a little weird." The kirlia laid a hand over the absol's flank again, taking a deep breath. Her eyes began to glow with a slight pinkish tint. A wave of pink energy expelled from her hand, then another, and another, washing and wobbling over the absol's body. The waves continued for several heartbeats, and then faded.

"How's that feel?"

Muse carefully took a step on her hind leg. "Much better."

At the positive response, the kirlia sprang forward to wrap her arms around Muse's neck. "Oh, good! I hadn't tried using that heal pulse since I got Lecha to teach me."

Muse chuckled weakly reaching a paw up to put just a bit of space between the two of them. "Shimmer, you're embarrassing me."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about," Shimmer replied. Though she backed off regardless. "Now come on, we're losing daylight!"

The group gathered up their things and continued across the clearing, Haru paused to pick up the orb — a slumber orb, she thought.

"You sure you should do that?" Toshi asked. "They're gonna be pretty mad when they wake up."

"It could be useful," Haru countered. "Besides, I'm considering it payment for our troubles. If we'd lost, they totally would have looted our stuff."

Toshi gave her an unconvinced look, but didn't argue, hurrying to catch up with Muse. Haru frowned. He wasn't mad, was he? She thought she had made a good point. But she decided not to pursue it, continuing forward.

"There's the entrance to the next zone," Toshi said. He raised a paw to point to the left, where there was a gap in the undergrowth. But instead of a path, it appeared more like an indentation, the trees just behind seeming to warp and twist at odd angles.

By now, they'd walked through several clearings and interconnecting pathways, twisting this way and that so much that Haru wasn't sure that they hadn't doubled back on their path at least once. At least they didn't run into the flechinder again. And yet…

"This was an oddly small floor," Shimmer mused. "But we didn't run into Nip, so that must mean that he's deeper in the dungeon, right?"

"Hopefully," Toshi agreed.

They crossed the clearing and stepped into the small dent in the undergrowth. When they did, the world seemed to spin and the trees beyond seemed to shift away, opening into another clearing. As they stepped across the threshold, the trees beyond seemed to distort and twist and when the group turned back, there was nothing but trees and thick shrubbery behind them.

There were two ways to exit this clearing. One to their left, and one from the top-right corner. Both seemed to curve northwards, from the bit down the paths Haru could see.

"Let's start with the left," Toshi suggested, turning. "We have to start somewhere." The group set off once again, working their way across the zone. After a while, it all seemed to blur together. Path, clearing, path, clearing, crossroads, clearing. They all seemed the same, yet different as they trekked through leaves and around bunches of bushes. A couple times, they encountered wildeners again, but none were bold enough to take them on, fleeing down the paths.

When the search through the second floor proved fruitless, they returned to a clearing where they'd seen the distorted route onwards into the third zone.

"Figures he would be further in," Haru mumbled. She shook her head before addressing her teammates louder. "Hey, do you think he might have taken shelter in the stable zone already?"

"All the way at the end?" Toshi asked. "I mean… it's possible. But I don't know if he would have traveled that fast."

"Besides," Muse added, "we can't risk missing him and allowing him to slip away as a result."

"Fair point," Haru said "But at the same time why can't we just—"

She cut off as Muse suddenly stiffened, raising a paw to shush her.

"Shh, someone's coming," the absol warned, lowering herself into a crouch. The others shifted to defensive stances as well, following Muse's gaze to a path into the room with a blind corner. It wasn't long before the rest of them heard the tell-tale crunching of leaves as some pokemon approached their position.

"Probably just another wilderner that'll turn tail when they see us," Haru muttered. But as the pokemon rounded the corner, it quickly became clear that they had run into something much more dangerous.

The pokemon on the far side of the clearing was similar in size to the two bidoof. But they were bipedal, with cream and grey fur. Some of the lighter fur had been dyed with some sort of reddish tone, a spiral design climbing one arm and a crescent design adorning their chest.

Judging by the large second set of jaws, Haru inferred that the creature must have been a mawile. Something that, as far as Haru knew, was not native to this area, or anywhere nearby.

The mawile seemed to notice them as she entered the clearing and noticed their defensive stances. She turned, locking eyes with Muse, and reached out an arm towards them.

"You there!" She barked in an accent that Haru had come to recognize the last few days. "If you have seen a sneasel around and know what is good for you, then you will tell me where he is!"

A/N: Edits done on 7/31/2020