[Alright, we got ourselves a new chapter. I have the same feelings about this chapter that I had with the last chapter. To be honest, I'm really liking how this story is going. While still not the best author, I like what I'm writing here, and I think that's the most important part of writing a story. Hope you all enjoy. Note: I do not own Pokémon. All rights to it's actual owners]
[Characters within this chapter:
Flara (Braxian)
Ema (Emolga)
Tony (Monferno)
Spark (Pikachu)
Snive (Servine)
Dew (Dewott)
Tepper (Pignite)
Mr. Morington (Tyranitar)
Drew (Servine)
Cassidy (Meowstic)
Oliver (Floatzel)
Brent (Flareon)
Sasha, Flara and Tepper's mother (Delphox)
New but Familiar Characters]
Chapter 18: I Believe In Myself!
(Flara)
"CONGRATS YOU GUYS!" I exclaimed upon hearing that the guys and Snive are now officially explorers, badge rank and all. We were currently back in the guys' room relaxing in our usual spots.
"I'm sure it was a piece of cake for you guys. I bet your battle was a clean sweep." Ema stated.
"I wouldn't say it was a clean sweep..."Snive stated.
"Oh yeah, they got some hits in, especially Lucy." Dew stated.
"Whose Lucy?" I asked. I also noticed Snive open one of her eyes to give attention to Dew's comment.
"The Gothorita I was fighting. She's actually one of the Goth sisters who helped Darkrai, the once Gothita to be specific." Dew stated.
"Really?" Tepper said.
"And she wants to be in an exploration team?" Ema asked.
"Yeah, it seemed like she wanted to make amends. She said something like that along those lines before our battle." Dew stated.
"Well good for her. I think being an explorer is a great way to make amends." I stated.
"Same here, though her team might make it difficult if that's the case." Spark said.
"Why do you say that?" I asked.
"Her team is full of self-centered Pokemon." Tepper said. "Their Persian, Batty I think it was, total asshole. He was more focused on looks than fighting."
"My cousin is also on that team, though it's not to help others. She's in it for the glory and 'prrrestige' as she puts it, not wanting to put in the work or deal with Pokemon outside of her social status. It's so annoying." Snive stated.
"Their leader is no better. She is only in it for the fame as well, not helping Pokemon, and seems to be the definition of two-faced and was constantly berating her team. I can only image what she's saying to them now. It's gross." Spark said in disgust.
"Yikes, sounds like a Team Royals 2.0." Ema said.
"But enough about them for now. Your badges look awesome now. I like the color." I said diverting from the toxic topic.
"It's an okay color but it's only for normal ranks." Dew said.
"We're basically at the bottom." Snive stated bluntly.
"Come on guys, we got to start somewhere. We'll move up the ranks in no time." Spark said motivating everyone.
"Yeah, and you're doing a lot better than us right now." I stated jokingly.
"You got this too sis. We got a fighter's blood in us. If I got this, you do too." Tepper stated.
"I think you overestimate my skills..." I said.
"You did get chosen for this test right? We heard that you did." Spark said.
"We did." I said.
"Then that must mean you have the skill to participate." Spark stated.
"Exactly, we'll show them that Team ElectricFire is just as good as Team PPD." Ema stated excitedly to me.
"I'll try..." I said a bit unsure of myself but feeling a bit of Ema's excitement. It was then that I stood up. "Anyway, it's getting pretty late. We should probably head back and get some rest, gonna need the energy if our test is anything like yours."
"Good idea. We shall be off then." Ema said standing up and quickly going up to Tepper and giving him a quick kiss on the lips. "Night Temper."
"Night Emi" Tepper said lovingly.
"Ew, leaving." Snive said getting off Dew's bed and heading towards the door, but not before lightly pushing Dew head. "Later Dew-fus, later guys."
"Oooo, still so clever..." Dew joked sarcastically as he watched Snive exit, with her giving a wave to the boys as Ema and I followed her.
"Night guys!" Ema said.
"Night." I said afterwards.
"Niiight." The boys responded as we finally left the room and began making our way back to our room.
"How come we never have the boys over to our room instead?" I asked. "I rather not walk back all the time."
"I refuse." Snive stated quickly.
"Surprising that you want to walk all the time to their room." I said.
"It's cause she wants to lay in Dew's bed, to really get his scent." Ema said grinning smugly as Snive jumped a little at the comment.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Snive stuttered embarrassed.
"Looks like I was right." Ema grinned.
"When are you gonna tell him how you feel? One of you has to do it at some point." I stated.
"Not having this convo. Too tired." She said bluntly as she quickened her pace. I looked over to Ema who also looked up at me and we only sighed as we continued in silence to our room.
(Middle of the night)
"Damn it..." I said quietly so as to not disturb the sleeping Ema and Snive. Due to excitement and more so nervousness, I can't sleep. I've been tossing and turning all night but I can't find that one right position that'll get me to fall asleep. Plus, my mind is coming up with all sorts of scenarios about what might happen tomorrow. A few are good but most are bad, ending with a heap of embarrassment, failure, and letting everyone down.
This can't go on. Why can't I just sleep?
I turn over to my right side one more time, my eyes slowly opening in annoyance. I let out a quiet huff before my eyes came upon my explorer badge resting on the bed next to me. As soon as I saw it, a thought crossed my mind.
You could text him.
Where did that come from? And why would I do that?
He did say you can talk to him if something is wrong.
But I don't think this is that serious. Plus it's the middle of the night. He's probably asleep.
Well...you could text him. If he doesn't respond, that may mean he's asleep and you didn't bother him.
That...may be true. But...
You also want to talk to him as well.
I...
I groaned silently while grabbing my badge. I activated it and made sure to put the brightness down so as to not wake up the others from the light. I navigated to my messages and put in his name. When his chat screen popped up, I steeled myself and typed in three simple words.
F: "Hey, you awake?"
I then hit send and as soon as it was sent, I froze.
Did...I just do that?
I changed my position to lay on my back before pressing my hand onto my face, trying to suppress a groan.
I can't believe I just did that. Arceus, why did I do that. If anything, I'm gonna be more stressed waiting for an answer. And he's probably going to think I'm weird messaging him so late.
As soon as I thought that, my badge vibrated in my paw and on my face. I froze. I slowly moved the badge away from my face and activated it. The screen popped up with the notification 'New Message from: Tony.' I quickly, a bit too quickly, opened the message and read it.
T: "Nope lol."
Before I could grasp it, another message came in.
T: "Kidding, what's up Flara?"
I read the messages a few more times before letting out a quiet snort with a small smile spreading across my face. I soon began typing my next message.
F: "Wow, I didn't think you'd actually be awake. Why are you awake?"
I was genuinely surprised and curious. Why would he be up? His next message came.
T: "I could be asking you the same thing. What's got you up this late?"
F: "I'll say after you tell me. I asked first, ha."
I hoped I wasn't coming off as rude. He'd say something right?
T: "True true. I'm up doing some late night light exercise. Helps get rid of some excess energy to help me sleep."
F: "Oooh, that makes sense."
T: "Now your turn."
F: "Right, sorry... I honestly couldn't sleep. Too much keeping me up. Thought talking to someone would help and I thought of you."
T: "I'm happy to help. What's wrong? Did something happen?"
F: "Not exactly. It's because of tomorrow.
T: "Nervous about the test?"
F: "I don't think nervous is the right word. I think it's excited, scared, terrified maybe?"
T: "Oh, first time jitters. That's normal."
F: "Is it really? I remember how focused and determined you sounded with your first exploration and Team PPD was pretty into it from what I heard."
T: "We all had different experiences though. That dungeon was not Team PPD's first rodeo with adventure and I was so focused on writing a wrong and helping a friend that I didn't even stop to think about what was going on."
F: "I never had the experience though. What if I mess up?"
T: "You won't know unless you try. The fact that you were chosen to take the test means that you got the skills. I was even one of the trainers to OK you."
*eyes widen* Wait, what!?
F: "...what!?"
T: "...the fact that you were chosen?"
F: "No no no, after that."
T: "Oh...I felt like you were ready and a number of other trainers believe so too, at least for the test we set up for you tomorrow."
F: "What's...that supposed to mean?"
T: "You'll see. And you'll be fine, Flara."
F: "Whatever you say. I just...don't know if I'm ready to take the lead on something like this, especially having someone put their trust in me to make sure they don't get hurt or worse."
T: "I can tell you're the type of person to not want to let others down and will do whatever you can to make sure that doesn't happen, right?"
F: "I believe so, yes."
T: "And as a result of not wanting to let others down, you let fear stop you from doing new things that might cause failure, right?"
Am I that readable?
F: "Also true."
T: "Had a feeling. I'm the same way. I live a lot for my friends since they're the only thing I got nowadays. I also feel that fear as well, even today when I go out exploring."
That caught me off guard.
F: "Really? You're still feel afraid? That seems unbelievable considering all you've been through and how skilled you are."
T: "I put on a pretty good front but every exploration is different. I'm not saying this to scare you more but that it's okay to be scared. You can't let that fear stop you from doing what you want to do though. You want to do this right?
F: "Of course."
T: "Then you have to tell yourself that you can do this and that you believe in yourself. I know for a fact that your friends and family know that you can do this and succeed, but you have to be the one to believe that the most at the end of the day."
F: "That...is true."
T: "Hmm...I'm not convinced. I need to see you say it."
F: "Say what?"
T: "That you believe in yourself."
F: "*types shyly* I believe in myself..."
T: "Come on girl, you can do better than that lol."
F: *small smile appears on her face* "I believe in myself."
T: "Better, more energy."
F: "I believe in myself!"
Despite it only being a text and not saying it out loud for obvious reasons, reading what I say seems to be working just as well and I felt the confidence rise in me. So much so that I sprung into a cross-legged sitting position on my bed.
T: "F yeah! Now I expect to hear you say it out loud before the beginning of your adventure tomorrow."
F: "What? Out loud? I don't know about that. Everyone'll think I'm crazy."
T: "Eh, ignore them. This is to help you gain strength and confidence. No one can fault you for that. You shouldn't worry about them anyway."
F: "True...okay, I'll do it. Now, it is pretty late so I should probably let you go. I don't want to take up too much of your time, though I greatly appreciate it ."
T: "You're not taking up any time. I'm glad to help. You should rest up though for your big day tomorrow. And I'll be expecting that chant tomorrow. :3"
While not knowing what that little thing at the end of Tony sentence was,
It kind of looks like a face, but I'm not sure.
The chant echoed in my mind and that caused me to smile brighter in the night.
F: "Heh. Thought you'd forget about that. I definitely got you tomorrow. Well today technically." *small giggle*
A thought then appeared in my head.
F: "I'll have something else for you along with the chant when I see you tomorrow."
T: "Really? And what might that be?"
F: "It's nothing big, but you'll have to wait till later to get it."
T: "Boo, now you got me even more excited for later."
F: "Ha, how do you think I feel? Now we should really get some sleep. I feel the drowsiness coming. Thanks Tony, you helped out a lot."
T: "I'm glad to hear that. Goodnight Flara, see ya later. :)"
F: "Heh, no idea what those are but they're pretty cute. Goodnight Tony, see ya."
And with that, the messages stop. I honestly do feel like that talk helped a lot. I soon dropped my explorer badge next to me, closed my eyes, and let sleep take me with a smile on my face.
(Next day, Afternoon, Training Dungeon)
"Wow, I've been waiting for this day for a long time!" Ema said excitedly while doing a somersault in the air before landing next to me. We were both currently waiting for our turn to go into the dungeon. "You have got to be as excited as I am, right girl?"
"*exhale* Yeah, excited is one word for it." I told her while trying to get my breathing under control. While the talk last night helped at first, the longer I had to wait for my turn in the dungeon, the more my anxiety grew. I thought that we would go as soon as we got here but it was pretty busy today so Ema and I had to wait and stir in our differing emotions.
Tony has been too busy to talk to as well *sigh*
"TEAM ELECTRICFIRE! FRONT AND CENTER!" Mr. Morington's voice boomed out from in the front entrance of the practice dungeon. This has caused me to jump and snap my attention to the intimidating Tyranitar at the entrance. Ema and I quickly ran up to him. "About time. Now, TEAM ROYALS! YOU'RE UP AS WELL!"
"Huh?" Both Ema and I said simultaneously, not even realizing that they were in this period as well. We soon heard shuffling behind us and we turned to see Team PPD's, and to a lesser extent our, main rivals.
"Oh joy..." Ema groaned while crossing her arms and turning back around.
"Hey toots." Oliver flirted. Knowing it was towards me, I groan and rolled my eyes before mimicking Emma's actions.
"Of course we run into the prude and pig fucker." Cassidy stated causing my eye to twitch trying to hold back from confronting her.
"Why are these peasants here? I thought this was for qualified explorers." Drew stated, sounding egotistical.
"If that's the case, we could say the same about you assholes." Ema shot at them.
"What was that?" Brent asked trying to sound menacing.
"ENOUGH!" Mr. Morington boomed out causing all of us to jump and stand at attention.
"Against my better judgement regarding both team's track records and skills." He started while looking down menacingly at all of us. Though in my mind, he was looking directly at me. I gulped.
This is definitely not helping my nerves...
"The majority of the trainers believe that you may be ready for the level of exploration you are about to be put through." Morington said.
"Will we be fighting other teams in the dungeon?" Brent asked quickly, somewhat interrupting the trainer. I brought my attention to Team Royals after thinking for a quick second.
...wait.
"Ah, so you've heard about the test from other trainees." Mr. Morington stated.
"Yeah, so youze can save the explanation. It's obvious we're gonna cream these two. Sorry but not sorry doll face." Oliver stated while looking towards Ema and I, me mostly.
"Wait..." I said hesitantly.
"Well, too bad for all of you because that not what we'll be testing you on." Morington stated, stopping Team Royal's smack talk.
"Huh? What will we be doing then?" Ema asked.
"While most of the trainers believe you're qualified to go through the dungeon. Many were in the right minds to see that you lot weren't ready to take on mock outlaw hunting." Morington stated sternly, received complaints from the Royals.
"What? A pokemon of my stature should be in the best class possible. Not among these failures." Drew stated pointing to us.
"I second that. What the hell!?." Cassidy chimed in.
"I'm honestly not sure how to feel about this one. Morington basically just dissed us." Ema stated to me as we chose to ignore Royals comments. I was also feeling a bit disheartened by the way he worded it but then I remembered what Tony said to me last night.
"True but we did make it to this test at least. That has to mean something right?" I stated to her.
"Yeah...yeah, you're right. We do got this! Come on Ema! Think positive!" Ema said pepping herself up. I smiled, glad I was to seemingly quell her doubts.
"Alright, this test will simulate a rescue team mission. The goal of you lot is to get to the end of the dungeon in a timely manner to 'rescue' the victim. Sounds simple enough right?" Morington asked.
"Of course it's simple. Even peasants like those two have a chance to accomplish this task, however small that chance might be." Drew stated.
"Hey!" Ema and I exclaimed.
"Glad you see it that way, cause now I can change that attitude. Last team to make it to the end of the dungeon will be receiving extra classes with me on their week off going over what you did wrong." Morington stated shocking everyone present.
"What!?" Everyone yelled.
"Everyone inside, you'll be meeting with the 'trainer' watching your progress inside." Morington said moving to the side. We all tilted our head to look towards the pitch black darkness that was the dungeon entrance.
"So we just go in?" Oliver asked.
"Yep." Morington said bluntly.
"Nothing weird will happen to us when walking in?" I asked.
"Nope." Morington said bluntly with increasing annoyance.
"You sure, cause if something happens to me in there-" Cassidy started complaining.
"GET YOUR WHINING SELVES IN THERE ALREADY OR ELSE!" Morington yelled startling everyone who could here. My team and Royals both rushed into the dungeon, my team going first and neither team thinking about the consequences of going in.
(No POV)
Brent of Team Royals stopped just before going in with the rest of his team.
"Wait. What would happen if we didn't go in?" Brent asked. The response he got was a huff of sand from Morington who gave Brent a look that could kill. Brent shudder and coughed from the sand before quickly rushing in after his team.
(Flara)
"Ah, that's a weird feeling." I said upon exiting the entrance.
"Uh...girl..." Ema said slowly.
"Yeah?" I said with closed eyes, trying to shake off the weird tingle I felt when going.
"You seeing this?" Ema questioned.
"Seeing wh-" I began as I opened my eyes and cut myself off. I was taken aback by the sudden change in scenery.
There wasn't this much green in the entrance area right?
"This place is beau-" Ema started.
"ExcCUSE us!" Drew said behind us as I was suddenly pushed to the ground. I also saw Ema pushed down as well.
"What the fuck!?" Ema yelled as we sat up and glared at the opposing team.
"Next time don't stand in front of the-" Cassidy started before her and the rest of her team were suddenly knocked to the ground as well. Ema and I quickly moved out of the way to let them fall to the ground. We soon found out that the cause of their fall was Brent who now had swirls in his eyes.
"Argh, get off of me you idiots!" Yelled Drew who was currently at the bottom of the pile. Team Royal all got up and launched Brent off of them. This caused him to wake up and shake his head rapidly. He then noticed the death glares that his team was giving him.
"What?" Brent asked ignorantly. "Mr. Morington looked like he was on the attack."
"Why you..." Drew growled, ready to attack Brent along with the rest of his team. This whole situation got a giggle out of Ema and I, a giggle that was heard by our opponents.
"Something funny over there peasants?" Drew questioned threateningly as the rest of Team Royals began to glare at us. I gulped down my nerves and met them with my own glare, though I'm sure they noticed me shaking a little at the situation Ema and I were in.
Two against four, with a team who's had way more combat experience than us. Odds are definitely against us.
"At you bullies of course." Ema said while her cheeks started sparking up.
"I would take that back if I was youze." Oliver said, cracking his knuckles. Both teams sized each other up, one team having the willingness to pounce more than the other. Despite her bravado, I knew Ema was thinking the same thing I was.
We're screwed.
Even with this thought, I grabbed my wand and lit it in defense. Despite the feeling and obvious beat down, I was going to fight with my best friend and team member. That's what a good exploration team leader and member would do.
Just like Tony. Alright, bring it, you bullies.
Speaking of Tony...
"Woah there Teams! We won't be having that right now!" Tony yelled from the tree lines. Both teams turned to the sound only to see Tony falling towards us. He landed successfully into a tuck and roll before he stood in between both teams, getting in the middle of the oncoming confrontation. I mentally sighed in relief upon seeing him and the present danger being squashed. "I'm sure Mr. Morington already told you that you won't be fighting each other. So this brewing fight needs to stop."
"Mee-ow." Cassidy purred, causing Tony, Drew, and I to roll our eyes.
"And what's stopping us from just addin' youze to the beatdown?" Oliver threatened.
"Do you really think attacking us would be the smartest decision?" Tony said lowly while glaring at Oliver and the rest of his team. "Especially since I'm one of the people deciding whether your team passes or not."
"He does have a point." Brent said only to receive a smack to the back of the head by Oliver. "Ow!"
"Maybe we should get started on our test." I suggested, trying to get this whole thing back on track.
"Yes we should. I'm sure he already told you but this test will be a race to get to the Pokemon that needs rescuing at the end of the dungeon. Just so you all know, the punishment was out of my hands. Anyway, the first team there gets the rescue." Tony explained.
"Sounds simple enough." Ema stated.
"It is, but just so you all know, you will be judged on the manner in which you get to the end. It's not just about rushing to the end. I'll step in if things get too challenging or there's danger. Do you all understand?" Tony asked.
"We understand." I said politely.
"Of course we understand. We're not imbeciles." Drew stated.
"And we won't need the help. Team Royals actually knows what it's doing." Cassidy stated.
"Hey!" Ema and I exclaimed.
"Enough both teams, take these." Tony said, handing Drew and I badges. "This badge is connected to my badge's voice responder and will allow me to keep in touch with you all. Everyone ready?"
"Ready." Everyone responded in various tones.
"Awesome, everyone, face a corridor and wait for my signal to go." Tony said. There were three corridors in the room going in different directions of the dungeon, both teams picking a different one to go too. "Ready?"
"Let's show those bullies what we're made of, bestie." Ema said to me with a determined smile.
"Set?"
"Let's pass and make PPD proud." I said, sharing my own determined smile.
"Go!"
With Tony's yell, Ema and I went to take our first step into our first dungeon exploration...and fell flat on our faces.
"Nice job peasants! See you at the end!" Yelled Drew while the rest of his team laughed out loud before disappearing down the corridor. I groaned in slight pain but mostly in frustration as I lifted my head and looked down at my foot to see that it got tied up by a Grass Knot that was quickly retreating back into the ground.
"*cough* What the fuck!?" I yelled in frustration before getting onto my hands and knees, coughing out the dirt and dust. I then turned to Ema. "You okay?"
"When I get my hands on those assholes..." Ema growled while getting on her hands and knees as well. I also saw that her cheeks were cackling with electricity.
"Goddamnit. You girls okay?" Tony said, running up to us. He offered both of us a hand which we took and stood. If it wasn't for Team Royals antics, I probably would have been more grateful for this action than I was at the moment.
"I'm okay. What a great start to our exploration career..." I sighed. I doubt starting like this is a good sign.
"Oh no, you're not giving up. Y'all haven't even started yet." Tony said but with my silence, he continued. "Hey, remember what we talked about last night?"
"Last night!?" Ema perked up.
"You did say you would bring that up..." I groaned. "But is it really worth doing? I mean, at this rate..."
"It is worth it. Please, give it a shot." Tony said sympathetically while giving a similar smile. I froze at the sight.
I think he just broke me.
"Flara?" Ema questioned which broke me out of the trance. I shook my head just to make sure I was completely out.
"...I believe in myself..." I said in a low voice, blushing heavily. It was one thing to say it over text, it's another doing it in public in front of your crush and best friend who would inevitably tease you afterwards.
"What was that?" Tony said teasingly.
"I believe in myself." I said with a bit more conviction.
"Didn't quite catch that. One more time." Tony teases again with a smile while putting a hand up to his ear. This also got a giggle out of Ema.
"I believe in myself!" I yelled while pumping a fist into the air. The frustration of Drew's team and the encouragement and faith my friends had in me seemed to come out and re-energize me.
"There it is!" Tony yelled in similar enthusiasm.
"Fuck yeah, let's do this girl!" Ema yelled.
"Let's." I said to her before taking out my wand and pointing to the corridor that we chose before. "Thatta way."
"Go get 'em Team ElectricFire, there's a Pokémon that needs saving." Tony said pointing to our corridor. "Good luck. And stay safe."
"Right." Ema and I responded before charging in. Before heading in though, I stopped just before it and turned to Tony.
"Thanks Tony! We'll see you at the end!" I yelled so he could hear and gave a wave. He responded with a two-fingered single wave and a smile. I smiled back before getting back to the task at hand, and soon Ema and I were rushing down the corridor. A few minutes afterward, once we were out of Tony's sight...
"So...last night?" Ema teased while giving a sly smile. This caused me to groan.
"I'll tell you later." I said, still keeping my smile.
(Tony)
"Go get 'em you two. And stay strong Flara." I said not noticing the content smile on my face. Sure, I've already been pushing teams to do their best since I started training them...
"But this...this feels different." I said contently.
I stood there looking down their corridor for another few seconds, remembering Flara's enthusiastic smile and drive before I shook my head and remembered that I had a job to do. I then took to the trees to begin my evaluation.
(Flara)
This exploration was...going better than I expected. I wouldn't say that Ema and I were blazing through this but we were keeping at a good pace. The Pokemon there were few but the few that were there only needed an Ember or two from me or a Spark or two from Ema to take them down. Although, along with many other things present only in mystery dungeons, I don't think I'll get used to the transfer of fainted Pokemon into leveling experience. It's freaky overthinking it. But we did grow a level or two in our exploration so that was good. Ema and I actually came up with a good tactic of her speeding around the enemy to draw their fire while I held back and hit the distracted enemy with my long range attacks. It's been working pretty good so far. I also kept track of items since I was the biggest of the two and had to hold the bag. It wasn't that much work though, it was still pretty light, even with all the berries we found. Another thing that I noticed was the lack of Team Royals in our trek. We were already a few floors up and yet there was no sign of them. I know they started sooner than us, the memory still fresh and earning a growl from me, but just how far ahead were they?
Did they already make it to the end? Is there even a point in continuing. Is Tony gonna come tell us the bad news...
I shook my head to get the intrusive thoughts out of my head.
"I believe in myself." I said quietly to myself.
"It ain't over till we get there girl. Remember that." Ema encouraged me, which helped me out a little bit.
"You're right, thanks partner." I said.
"Anytiiime. Now, which way captain?" Ema joked when we reached a fork in the corridors.
"Uh...that way." I said pointing to the right path before continuing. We then came into another clearing, but this was very different.
"A ravine!?" Ema yelled at the sight. In front of us was a pretty wide ravine. I took a careful step up to it and looked down. It was pretty deep as well and had a river at the bottom of it.
"Well this is a problem..." I said.
"Well I can get across no problem." Ema said jumping into the air and gliding down into the same spot. "We gotta find a way across for you though."
"Yeah, um..." I said, taking a look around. My attention came to a convenient tree that had fallen down over the ravine, making a makeshift bridge. "Oh..."
"Hmm?" Ema said looking in the same direction I was. She lit up at the sight. "Oooh! That could work."
"It's a bit sketchy. Is it even stable?" I said as we walked over to the fallen tree. It was a big tree that could easily support me and Ema if she chose to walk on it. I tried pushing it and while it nudged a little, it didn't move that much. This did not curb my anxiousness on the matter however.
"I don't know...Maybe it'll be better to look elsewhere." I stated.
"Maybe the reason the tree is conveniently here is because the stairs are in the next room over. Mystery dungeons are strange so I wouldn't put it past this place." Ema explained.
"That is a good point." I stated.
"Plus, we're explorers. I'm sure this will be nothing compared to our future adventures." Ema beamed. "Aaaand, I'm sure a certain fire monkey friend of ours takes risks like this all the time."
At the mention of him, I blushed and glared down at Ema who only gave me a sly smile.
Oh I know what you just did.
"Let's do this." I said with determination as I tightened my hold on our explorer bag and took a step onto the tree.
"That's the spirit girl." She said, following behind me. It didn't take us long to reach the middle of it, the entire time I had to hold myself back from looking down.
"*exhale* I believe in myself. I'm already halfway there." I said to myself.
"NOW!" A familiar voice yelled from behind us. Ema and I quickly turned around to see Drew and Oliver charging towards us, a Leaf Blade and Aqua Tail readily charged up in their respective tails.
"What the-" was all I got out before they did their deed.
"Leaf Blade!/Aqua Tail!" Both attackers yelled out, Drew using his bright green glowing tail to cut the tree, separating the tree from the part that was on the ravine's edge. Oliver struck immediately afterward, using his bright blue glowing tail to smack the tree downward into the ravine. All I could do was freeze as the tree began to go downward. Once gravity took hold of me and I was falling with it, I began to scream.
"FLARA!" Ema said, floating where we once stood. I looked up to see Ema flying towards me and Oliver being pulled up by vines, throwing me a wink as he was pulled up. I soon lost footing on the tree and began to free fall.
"Flara! What are we gonna do!?" Ema yelled, both of us knowing full well that she wasn't going to be able to lift me.
"I don't know! I don't know!" I panicked and looked down to see that I was approaching the river quickly. I knew a fall from this height would one-hit me, and while I knew I would just be sent back to the entrance, I wanted to avoid having to deal with all that pain as much as I could. I began to hyperventilate before looking at our team's treasure bag. With no time to lose, I started fishing through it in hopes that I would have something that could cushion the fall.
Berries? No. Rocks? Definitely not. And none of my seeds are gonna help her-Wait? What's this?
I felt some kind of sphere and pulled it out. It turned out to be one of the few orbs we picked up. This orb was blue with a tornado like image on the inside of it.
"Ema, what is this!?" I asked quickly.
"A Blowback Orb! It's meant to push foes back!" She said as I looked down again at the falling tree and the increasingly growing river.
"Well I hope this works!" I yelled while facing the tree below me and waited a second.
"What are you do-" Was all I heard from Ema.
"BLOWBACK!" I yelled while holding the orb towards the tree. The orb quickly glowed a bright white before a small but strong tornado pushed out of it and hit the tree. With no stable footing, the force of the orb and it hitting the tree had led to it pushing me up a little, slowing down my fall. This also had the effect of pushing the tree down faster, causing it to hit the river harder. This caused a huge splash that ended up reaching and engulfing me, practically dragging me under water. Despite being a fire type and not being particularly fond of swimming, being submerged was actually quite peaceful, given that there weren't any sounds around me other than water ripples. It was so peaceful that I didn't even realize that I was still awake and thought that I was in the process of being kicked out of the dungeon.
"Flara! Please tell me you're still in there and okay!" I heard a muffled yell from Ema, breaking the silence and making me realize I was still there. This also made me realize my need for air. I quickly started fighting the water to reach the surface and soon broke through, gasping for air as I did.
"Oh thank Arceus, she's still with us Tony." Ema said as she made her way over to help me out of the water with one hand while holding the badge that Tony gave us in the other. I soon got out of the water and started coughing up the excess water that got into me.
"Is she alright? Bleeding or broken bones anywhere?" I heard Tony say through the badge. I also detected concern in his voice. Ema then took out her own badge and activated it, a screen popping up with our names and health next to them.
"She seems alright from the outside and her health is only barely in the red. Flara, are you okay?" Ema asked, also concerned. With what just happened and the thoughts of who caused it, I finally spoke.
"ARCEUS DAMNIT!" I yelled and stood up quickly, causing Ema to flinch back. I was mad, madder than mad. I know they don't like us but why would the Royals pull something like that. They could've killed us! I was so angry and full of adrenaline that I just had to fire something. I reach behind me to grab my wand. I then pointed at a wall away from us with my wand charged with fire and yelled "EMBER!"
The attack came out and hit the wall, causing a bit of dust to appear and slight damage was done to the rock wall. After a second of heavy breathing, I fell to my knees, exhausted.
"Flara?" Ema asked slowly.
"I'm alright, for the most part I guess..." I finally said, a bit exhausted.
"Do you guys see any exits down there or any way up?" Tony asked. I was still too distraught to answer so Ema answered for us.
"Nothing down here. We're pretty stuck." Ema explained.
"Alright, get yourselves healed up and I'll look for a way to get you girls up. Just sit tight." Tony said.
"Shouldn't be a problem." Ema joked before coming up to me to open the treasure bag. She fished out one of our Oran berries and gave it to me.
"Thanks." I said simply before taking it. After eating it and recovering my health, signified by a light green aura appearing at my feet and quickly moving up my body before disappearing, I spoke again. "I'm sorry. I led-"
"Oh no you don't!" Ema cut me off, getting in front of me and holding my face to get me to look at her. "Don't you start taking the blame for all this."
"But-" She cut me off again.
"Nope, I'm not hearing it. The only thing that I will be hearing is your orders when we get out of here and continue our exploration." Ema stated sternly with her arms crossed. "We'll be getting our revenge on the Royals later. Now stand up."
I knelt there with a dumbfounded look on my face while staring at Ema's opened hand. I shook my head a little to quiet the negative thoughts before taking Ema's hand and standing up.
"I ever tell you how awesome you are?" I laughed.
"You don't tell me enough." Ema joked and we laughed a little together. "Now all we got to do is wait-"
As she was talking, a bright light appeared behind me. The both of us turned our attention to it, with me at least needing to shield my eyes with how bright it was. When it died down, we were shocked to see that there were now stairs down here with us. After staring at it in shock, Ema spoke up.
"Tony?" She said slowly into the badge Tony gave us.
"Yeah, how's it going down there?" Tony said through the badge.
"Some stairs just appeared down here." Ema explained.
"Appeared? What do they look like?" Tony asked.
"They look like normal stairs, but the black portal is now a bright gold." I explained.
"Gold you say..." Tony said. "Go through it."
"You sure?" I asked. I know he's the trained explorer here but this is the first time I've seen or even heard of stairs like this.
I don't remember this being talked about in class.
"Trust me, it's at least a way out of there. The rest will be a surprise. I won't be able to communicate with you guys while you're in there so I'll see y'all at the end." Tony said.
"Well that's...reassuring." I said still a bit skeptical at what I was seeing.
"Come on. Do you really think Tony would lead us to danger?" Ema asked.
"No..." I said truthfully.
"Then let's go!" Ema said excitedly before quickly gliding up the stairs and into the portal.
"H-hey, wait for me!" I yelled before chasing her into the portal.
The next floor was...shocking to say the least. Where we were once in a lush forest, we were now in a grand corridor of sorts with only a large set of double doors in front of us.
"And just when I thought these dungeons couldn't get weirder." I sighed.
"A forest and now some random building? Where are we?" Ema asked as we stared around the place.
"You're in sanctuary, friends." An echoing, heavenly voice suddenly spoke out from behind the door. We turned and were soon blinded by a bright light that came from the opened door. I shielded my eyes with my hand and tried to peek through squinted eyes and the gaps in my fingers to see in front of me. I saw a silhouette of a Pokemon with outstretched arms but I couldn't figure out what it was. I also heard some sort of divine harmonizing in the background. "Welcome."
"Ah, can't see anything!" Ema exclaimed. "Can you girl?"
"Nothing." I said. "Can't see anything."
"Huh? You know, now that you mention it, it is a bit bright." The silhouette said casually but still having that heavenly tone, throwing off the atmosphere. "Suzy, you can cut the Flash now."
"Got it chief." A young, feminine voice said before the light died down. We soon opened our eyes fully and saw that the silhouette was a female Kirlia.
"Sorry about that. Thought it would be good to have an entrance for newcomers from now on but we're still working on it." The Kirlia said sheepishly in a normal, feminine voice.
"Okay..." Ema said awkwardly.
"Anyway." The Kirlia started while clapping her hands together. "To answer your previous question, you are now in a place we like to call a Secret Bazaar."
"A Secret Bazaar? So it's a shop of some sorts?" I inquired.
"Also, we?" Ema questioned.
"You could say that." The Kirlia said to me before turning to Ema. "You'll be able to introduce yourselves to the others. Follow me inside."
The Kirlia beckoned us to enter with a hand as she stood aside to allow us through. Ema and I looked at each other and shrugged before entering.
The exit doesn't seem to be out here anyway so we might as well check this place out.
We soon made our way inside and were greeted by the sight of five stalls run by four different Pokemon in a big room, the room begin filled with all sorts of different species of Pokemon at all the different stalls. One of the stalls, the one in the center of the room, was empty and this was the one that the Kirlia led us to. Right as she reached the outside of her counter, the Kirlia suddenly disappeared in a small flash of light before reappearing again behind the counter with the same small flash of light.
"Ooo, that was cool. Can you do that?" Ema whispered to me in innocent curiosity.
"N-not that I know of. That seemed a bit unnecessary anyway." I whispered back, a hint of jealousy in my voice at the psychic type's higher psychic power.
"It is a bit showoff-y but I like to do that for newcomers." The Kirlia said with a smile, causing Ema and I to straighten up upon realizing that she heard us. "Now I don't think I introduced myself before. My name is Gweneth, and I run and provide info about this mysterious entity called the Secret Bazaar."
"Hiya! I'm Ema and this is my best friend and team leader for ElectricFire, Flara." Ema said, introducing us as I gave a small wave.
"What do you mean by 'mysterious entity?'" I asked curiously.
"Well, the place isn't a normal floor in this mystery dungeon. My crew and I discovered this floor by accident and after some serious studies, we learned that this floor can appear in any dungeon at any time." Gweneth explained.
"Come again?" Ema said, answering for the both of us.
"It's a strange floor that shows up randomly in mystery dungeons all over the world. It seems to connect to several random dungeons around the world at any given time. It makes things pretty lively here considering the amount of traffic that comes through." Gweneth said.
"Wow, just when you think mystery dungeons couldn't get any weirder." Ema said.
"You said it." I said to her before turning my attention back to Gweneth. "So how did you set this place up?"
"I'm actually a mystery dungeon researcher. This place was a pretty big discovery for me and allowed me to get info about many different dungeons around the world thanks to the explorers that stumbled upon this place. With that in mind, I set up my research base here. The others who run the shops stumbled here on accident as well and saw the uses this place could have as a rest stop. I agreed to them staying here and we soon created the Secret Bazaar." Gweneth explained with her arms stretched out and a bright smile on her face.
"That's pretty awesome." Ema stated.
"Yeah, I can see how convenient and helpful this is to explorers. You seem to have a good thing going here." I smiled.
"It's not all me though. I'm pretty sure the explorers stay for the others' shops, I'm just here to give and receive information." Gweneth said modestly.
"Not sure we have any useful information to give. We're currently in a mystery dungeon at our school in PokéPark." I stated.
"Oh you are? Emboar's school right?" Gweneth asked.
"Yep." Ema said.
"I see, we've been getting a few trainees from there over the last month. That must mean you two are trainees as well to become full fledged explorers." Gweneth stated.
"You're correct. We're actually in the middle of our exploration test right now..." I said before my eyes widened as I slowly realized something. "Oh no, our test!"
"Our test?" Ema started before she started to panic as well. "We're still doing it. We gotta get out of here before-"
"Hold on there ladies. There's actually nothing to worry about."'Gweneth stated, causing us to turn our attention back to her.
"What do you mean?" I asked, questioning why I shouldn't be panicking.
"This Secret Bazaar has another weird quirk I forgot to mention. Time here is actually different from the outside world." She said.
"What do you mean?" Ema asked.
"From the info I've gathered, time seems to slow to a crawl when you enter this place. I'm still not too sure why but I hypothesized that it had something to do with the time gear thefts that had taken place in the past. That time is actually where I discovered this place. Maybe the two are linked..." Gweneth said, the last part was mainly to herself however.
"So time just stopped outside this place?" I asked, getting her attention back.
"Not stopped, just slowed down to a Slugma's pace. When you go through the exit stairs, which is right at the end of the room over there by the way," Gweneth said turning around and pointing to the end of the room. Ema and I looked past her to see the steps that led up to the normal black portal. Gweneth then turned back to us and continued. "you'll go to the next floor with only a few minutes passing even after spending only an hour or two here."
"So you could stay here forever and barely any time will have passed when you leave?" Ema asked.
"Yes...but we don't encourage Pokemon to do that. It can be pretty bad for a Pokémon's mental health if they stay here for too long of a time. The max we let Pokemon stay here is a day, but that's only for emergencies." Gweneth stated seriously.
"Makes sense. But it's a good thing that we don't have to worry about the test while we're here." I stated, relaxing a little. "Though we shouldn't stay too long."
"That's understandable, but it'll give you time to enjoy the stalls that make up this place. You should go meet the others, they'll provide some very useful commodities that every explorer needs."
"We'll do that. It was nice meeting you, Gweneth." I stated.
"Likewise, enjoy your stay." Gweneth said bow slightly before we took our leave. I led the two of us to the left side towards a stand run by a Mime Jr.. She stood on a light green rug and was surrounded by tree stumps and two baskets of two types of berries. Around all of them were several potted plants. The Mime Jr. was currently doing a little dance around a group of three Pokemon who were sitting on the rug. A white circle then appeared around them in the air before it dispersed into glittering sparkles. The sparkles then came down onto the group of three, a light green aura appearing and quickly disappearing around them. I soon realized that the being used was a strong looking Heal Pulse. After that group of Pokemon paid, gave their thanks, and left, Ema and I went up to introduce ourselves and see what was going on here. We got a quick introduction from Suzy, the Mime Jr. running the place, and a rundown of the place. At her booth, for just 100 Poké, she'll use Heal Pulse to heal our wounds. It was a pretty good price, especially since we found more than enough Poké lying around in the dungeon. We took a seat in the middle of the booth before Suzy repeated the dance that she had done on the previous team. It was extremely relaxing, and it felt like my energy and muscles were a bit stronger than when I first entered the dungeon. I was a bit curious and opened up my explorer badge to look at my stats. I was surprised to see that both Ema's and my HP and PP were both filled, like we never used our moves.
"Oh yeah." Ema said next to me while also looking at my screen. "The price is definitely worth it."
"Glad I can be of service. Hope to see you soon." Suzy said cheerfully before twirling over to the next group of Pokemon. We then went to the booth to Suzy's right. This was surrounded by many similar looking bags and Pokemon and was the busiest booth in the bazaar. It was run by an energetic Swalot who was sliding between customers, swiping up their Poké and leaving them with one of the bags from his booth. Teams who got their bag excited walked off, trying to guess what was in their bags. Ema and I looked at each other and shrugged before pulling out some cash and waited behind everyone else. We didn't have to wait long as the Swalot suddenly zipped by us, grabbed our cash from our hands and gave us two identical bags. He gave a quick thanks, which we responded to with our own, and quickly went to the next customer. After recovering from the slight whiplash received from the Swalot who's name we never got, we soon stepped away from the crowd. We then opened the bags to find that both were completely different from each other. Ema had a few Oran Berries and a Pertify Orb while I had two Tiny Reviver Seeds and a Loopet that I couldn't remember the name of. It had four notches and a mirror in the middle.
"Luckyy! Loopets are super rare, and I don't think I've ever seen that one before." Ema said.
"Me neither, might have to ask Ms. Marina about." I said before snapping it onto my wrist. I then raised it in the air for a second, admiring it. "It does look cool though."
"Looks good on ya. Maybe Tony'll notice." Ema said slyly.
"You think?" I said a little excitedly before shaking my head. "No, not the time. Let's focus on checking the rest of this place and then finish our mission."
"Heh heh, alright alright. I'll play matchmaker afterwards." Ema joked as we continued to the top right stand where we found a Lickilicky holding a smudged up orb while standing in front of another exploration team.
"Wonder what's going on here." I thought aloud. My thought was immediately answered by the Lickilicky extending his long tongue out of his mouth and then proceeded to rapidly and meticulously lick the orb clean of the smudge, much to the disgust of Ema, me, and a few other patrons at the bazaar.
"...Oh." Ema stated simply, shocked and not really knowing what to say to this.
"Should we just..?" I asked slowly, shocked as well.
"Yep." Ema answered simply as we slowly started walking backwards away from the scene. The Lickilicky continued his work with whatever orbs he was brought. Despite how disgusting it looked, Ema and I really couldn't tear our eyes away from the scene and continued walking.
"Escape...~" A hollow, lifeless voice suddenly moaned behind us.
"Eeeep!" Ema and I quickly shrieked out, both of us jumping slightly as we quickly turned around. I instinctually pulled out my wand and took aim at the Shedinja who was just floating there, not even looking at us or even acknowledging that I have my wand pointed at him.
"Escape...~" The Shedinja moaned out again.
"Wo-woah there!" A familiar voice yelled behind us. We were about to turn around to the source but Gweneth suddenly teleported in front of us, specifically between me and the Shedinja, with her hands in the air before taking one of them down to push my wand down to aim at the floor. "I may have forgotten to mention but attacking other Pokemon here is against the rules."
"Oh sorry, the Shedinja startled me." I apologized before frantically putting my wand away. I then quickly turned my attention to the Shedinja. "And sorry for almost attacking you. It was rude of me."
The Shedinja didn't respond, it didn't even look at me, just continued to float and stare off into the distance with its hollow eyes. This only left us with an awkward silence between the four of us.
"Um..." I said awkwardly.
"Soooo... What's it's deal?" Ema said awkwardly to Gweneth, nodding her head to the Shedinja.
"I didn't make it mad, did I?" I asked.
"Escape...~" The Shedinja moaned out again, causing me to shudder a little.
"You're okay Flara. Shedinja is...an odd one. Though most are like that, at least the ones I've met are." Gweneth explained.
"I see..." Ema said simply.
"Believe it or not however, Shedinja actually runs a pretty popular booth here in his own right." Gweneth stated, surprising us both.
"Really? What does Shedinja do?" I asked.
"Well, Shedinja explains it itself." Gweneth states while motioning a palm towards the Shedinja.
"Escape...~" The Shedinja moaned out again.
"Escape?" Ema questioned.
"Like...escape from the dungeon?" I asked.
"Correct, he gets Pokemon out of a dungeon with power similar to an Escape Orb. This means that you won't lose newly collected items if you need to make a quick-"
"Escape...~" The Shedinja moaned out again, finishing Gweneth's statement and causing all of us to giggle a little.
"He's helped a lot of Pokemon out, especially when Mystery Dungeons were getting extremely dangerous back then. So if you ever need a quick escape, just say yes to him when he says something. He'll take you out for 100 Poke." Gweneth explained.
"Gotta monetize that too?" Ema asked.
"Gotta keep this place running somehow. The funds also help in my research." Gweneth explained.
"That's understandable." I said before looking back at the other stalls and then to the stairs at the far end of the room. I felt better again after coming here. It was certainly better than having to wait for help trapped in a wet ravine. We can finish this.
I believe in myself.
"Alright Ema, I'm ready to finish this." I said, a brave smile appearing on my face.
"The exploration? That's what I like to hear, leader. I knew the Royals' Taurosshit wouldn't break you down." Ema said excitedly.
"I won't keep you then, I must head back to my work as well. As you both can see, the stairs are just over there at the end of the hall. It was great meeting you two and I hope to meet you on your exploration journeys again." Gweneth said sincerely while curtsying slightly.
"Likewise, I hope for your continued success." Flara stated with a slight bow.
"Same, this place rocks. Can't wait to come back." Ema stated before turning to Flara. "Let's do this leader."
"Let's." Flara stated simply before they both rushed over to the stairs. Gweneth waved at the retreating forms before teleporting back to her usual spot. With continued excitement, Ema and I ran straight into the portal. Upon exiting, I pulled out my wand to prepare for any incoming ferals or Team Royals while I heard Ema sparking up against me. We weren't greeted by ferals or the Royals however, just a large, empty room with...
"Hey, you girls made it!" Said a familiar, excited voice behind us. We turn to see that in the middle of the empty room was a treasure chest, a smiling Monferno, and a sitting, female Delphox...wait a minute.
"Mom?/Mrs. Delphox?" Ema and I said in unison, confused.
"My rescuers have finally arrived, in a great time too." My mother said as she stood up and walked over to us, holding her old magic staff in one hand and something else that I couldn't make out in the other. We walked up to her to meet her halfway and she turned her attention down to Ema. "And please Ema, I told you to call me Sasha. I feel you would be comfortable saying it by now given your relationship with the family."
"Ah right, sorry S-Sasha. Heh heh." Ema stuttered before laughing nervously with an embarrassed blush on her face. The Emolga always seemed to grow nervous around my mother despite her usual confidant nature.
"What are you doing here Mom?" I asked.
"Well, once I heard that you were chosen for a mock rescue mission and were doing it today, I wanted to be there to congratulate the both of you on your success. Plus, being the one getting rescued and knowing that it's your daughter's team doing it was a great experience." Mom said, smiling brightly before bending down to our levels and bringing us into a hug, which shocked us a little bit since we weren't expecting it. "I'm so proud of you both."
"Success? But we didn't win the challenge..." I stated a little bit disheartened. The loss hurts even more now that I kept my mom waiting and how much expectation she had in me.
"Yeah, didn't Team Royals get here already and win? Where are they?" Ema asked, looking around.
"Heh, about the Royals..." Tony laughed. We turned our attention to the Monferno and he walked up to the rest of us. "They just trapped themselves on that floor."
"Huh?" Ema and I said in unison while mom just listened.
"After destroying that fallen tree bridge, they searched the rest of the dungeon floor for the stairs and turned up with nothing. Turns out...the stairs were in the room on the other side of the ravine." Tony said with a grin.
After a few seconds of silence, Ema snorted and then began to laugh, causing the rest of us to laugh as well except for mother.
"I called it. Serves those jerks right after what they did." Ema stated proudly.
"It's good to know that they got their karma." I stated.
"But why would they destroy it in the first place? What happened?" My mother questioned, ending our laughter as we all turned to her.
"Those guys destroyed the bridge because I was using it to get across." I explained as I see my mother begin to frown.
"That reminds me...how did you survive that fall? You said you were in the red when you landed." Tony said.
"This crazy girl used a Blowback Orb right before landing to slow herself down." Ema explained proudly, shocking Tony and mom.
"I-it was a spur of the moment decision! I didn't know what else to do. I know it was reckless of me..." I said putting my head down nervously, thinking that they were gonna scold me for doing something so reckless.
"Wow, a Blowback Orb? That's freaking awesome. Honestly never thought to use it that way before, gotta remember that..." Tony said excitedly with a thoughtful expression, causing me to look back up surprised. The tone and look he had was a sight to see and it felt great to impress him like that. He then broke out of his thoughts with a cute *ahem* once he realized we were staring. "Anyway, that's the kind of quick thinking that explorers need to have in mystery dungeons. I knew you both had it in ya."
"Both? That was her feat. I just followed." Ema said humbly.
"But you were there to support her and her decision as your team leader. Knowing you, I'm sure you gave encouragement when needed. Plus, you did pretty well in crisis mode. You took good care of the situation after the fall and called for help when you needed too. You'd be surprised how many accidents we've had in the practice dungeon because the teams didn't think to radio in. You were great out there Ema." Tony praised.
"Uh-well-I just...did what I needed to do." Ema said sheepishly, turning her away to hide her blushing embarrassed face. Mom and I giggled a little at this.
"And I'm definitely glad that you saw this to the end." Tony said suddenly, stopping my giggling. "I knew you had it in you, the both of you."
"Well...I have you to thank for the confidence. I really couldn't have done it without you. You're really amazing." I said sincerely, fidgeting a little and looking towards the ground with a blush and content smile on my face. If I looked back up at him, I would have noticed Tony with a spreading blush on his face as well with a surprised look on his face. I would have also noticed Ema giving a silent 'Dawwe' look at our display while mom gave a sly smirk with a raised eyebrow. I finally looked back up at him, half-lidded eyes, smile, and a blush still present on my face, and his blush deepened further, his surprise look slowly forming into a thankful and affectionate smile.
Maybe I should revise my gift to him. I don't think just a hug is gonna cut it anymore. I thought, sensing his emotions and those adding to mine.
I then saw my mom and Ema out of the corner of my eye directly behind Tony, Ema giving me a teasing kissy face while mom gave a simple, small wave with a grin on her face. It was then I remembered exactly where I was and my eyes widened in shock and panic as I quickly turned my attention to the other two people in the room.
"A-and these two were also a big help, along with Dad and PPD of course." I said quickly while moving around Tony to turn his attention towards Mom and Ema. When he turned and realized they were there, his shocked expression returned and he shook his head a little to come back to his senses.
"Ah, yes, of course. You've got a great support group." Tony said quickly and sheepishly before clearing his throat and turning around to the stairs. He then turned his head to look at the three of us before speaking again. "I should probably go help out the Royals, see if they can still make it to the next floor or if they want to forfeit. Congrats again ElectricFire."
With that, Tony began making his way to the stairs. I began to fidget a little again, digging my foot into the ground and biting my lip, contemplating if I should do something or not, debating whether it was a good idea or not. I'm honestly really scared to do what I want to do.
You can't let that fear stop you from doing what you want to do though. You want to do this right? Tony's words echoed from last night, causing me to repeat another phrase in my head.
I believe in myself.
"Tony! Hold up!" I yelled before running up to him. He turned around to face me just in time for me to throw my arms around him and hug him. I felt him stiffen in my hold and his heartbeat rapid. To be honest though, that may have just been my heart beating for the both of us.
"I-wha-Flara?" Tony stammered cutely, though I was too nervous to point it out.
"Remember what I told you last night. About giving you something other than the chant?" I said nervously.
"Y-yeah? What's u-" I cut him off by tip-toeing up to him, since he was a bit taller than me, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. After that, I quickly let go of him and back away a few steps, both of us blushing like mad. I also noticed Tony's tail flame turned into a slightly lighter shade, looking slightly pink. While a little odd, I had too much on my mind to question it.
"Th-thanks again." I stammered before quickly bolting in the opposite direction towards Mom and Ema. I went away too quickly to get Tony's reaction, with him slightly reaching out towards me with a conflicted longing look on his face. He then brought his hand back to rest on the back of his neck, that look on his face becoming more conflicted and his tail starting to turn darker again before he made his way down the stairs.
I soon made it back to the other two, panting slightly. Not really from the trek back but from the excitement and adrenaline I received from what I just did. While panting, I could see Ema bouncing excitedly.
"OMA girl! That was so fucking cute." Ema said excitedly before hearing Mom clear her throat because of Ema's language. "Oh sorry, but I didn't know you had it in you girl."
"Me neither. *takes deep breath* I don't think it's healthy for my heart to be beating this quickly." I said clutching my chest to calm my heart.
"While I would like to go have that 'talk' after seeing that." Mom said, making me nervous at what kind of 'talk' she could be implying. "There is something I like to discuss with the both of you."
Upon seeing her serious look, Ema and I straightened up. I started feeling nervous again and Ema's nervous energy had only added to it. After a minute or so of letting us stir in our emotions, Mom broke into a motherly smile and held out her hand, not the one holding the staff, and opened it to reveal two pink stones. Ema and I stared at them in confusion before slowly realizing what they were. We looked right up at Mom as a way of saying "can we?"
"*giggle* Go on girls, you have both earned them." Mom said. Soon, smiles started appearing on both our faces as we quickly took one each, careful not to just snatch them out of her hand.
"Yes girl! We did it! We made it!" Ema said, flying up and wrapping her arms around my neck to hug me with me hugging her back of course as we laughed ecstatically while twirling around. This got a giggle out of Mom.
"You gotta make sure you put the stones in your badges ladies. Then it will be official." Mom stated, stopping our twirling.
"Right." Ema and I said laughing a little as Ema let go of me and landed on the ground next to me. We both pulled out our explorer badges and simultaneously placed the stones in, soon hearing a click sound that let us know that the stones were locked in. We then gave a bright smile to each other.
"Given the results of the test," Mom started, bringing our attention up to her. "You two will only be allowed to take part in rescue missions in known and already explored dungeons until we; meaning your father, the faculty, and I, deem you ready enough to take on outlaw and true exploration missions if you choose to. Aside from that, this is a big milestone in your road to becoming great explorers and I know for sure that you two will do great things in the future. I know I'm repeating myself but I just cannot state this enough, I'm so proud of the both of you."
"You have no idea how awesome this is Mrs. Delphox." Ema stated before receiving a look from Mom. "I-I mean Sasha, sorry. But just wait till Temper and everyone else sees this."
"I can't wait. This is honestly the best day of my life. Let's teleport to them now and see if they're out of class." I stated excitedly, remembering PPD telling us how the teleportation system on the badges worked.
"Hold on there young lady, I have something specifically for you as well. And I hope it makes your day even better." Mom said stopping us from leaving. Mom then knelt down to my level and presented her old staff to me, making me confused. "You know what this is?"
"Yeah, it's your old staff. Ever since you got that new wand it's been collecting dust in the house." I stated.
"Well you are correct there. I never actually told you its significance though." Mom stated, changing my confusion to curiosity. "Among many in the Delphox species and within our family, special staffs/wands are made. They are treated much like family insignias and no two are alike. These special staffs and wands are handed down from parent to offspring after the parent creates their own and the child reaches an important milestone in their lives. Right now, I believe, is that milestone. These staffs and wands are used by the offspring to figure out the level and type of fire and psychic abilities they will grow accustomed to and will help in the creation of their own wands or staffs later on in life. So Flara, my child, I bestow our family staff to you."
"..." I was stunned for a minute, not sure what to say. Soon, words finally came out. "Are...are you sure I'm worthy for this? Now that I know the significance of this staff, do you really think I'm ready?"
"*giggles* My child, you really need to work on your self-confidence." Mom giggled.
"Yeah girl, I don't know anyone else more worthy than you right now." Ema stated. With their words, I blushed and looked towards the ground in embarrassment. Mom quickly and gently lifted up my head by the chin to look at her.
"Flara, I wouldn't be giving this to you now if you weren't ready. You are stronger than you think you are and this staff will help you see that. Take it Flara, it's yours." Mom said sincerely before tears started pooling in my eyes. With a sniffle, I launched into mom for a hug, burying my face in her shoulder as cried a little. She was knocked a little off balance but she managed to keep us upright as she then wrapped her arms around me and returned my hug, shedding a few tears herself.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou." I said rapidly though it came out muffle because I was still in her shoulder. I soon pick myself up though and wiped my eyes from tears, my mom doing the same to her own tears. She than present the family staff to me again and I hesitantly and gently grabbed it with my right hand. As soon as I did, I felt a rush of psychic power and heat rush into me. It was a little bit too much for me to handle and made me slightly dizzy.
"How does it feel?" Mom asked.
"It feels...woah." I said before losing balance slightly. Mom and Ema quickly moved to help but I managed to stick the staff in the ground to keep myself up. With me holding it like this, it was easy to see that me and the staff were roughly the same height. "I'm good, I'm good. It just feels like a lot of energy went into me. I feel a little dizzy. Is this normal?"
"More like was brought out. That staff unlocked a limiter of sorts. You must have a lot of power within you if it makes you dizzy." Mom stated.
"That's so cool. You psychic types get all the best stuff." Ema said with a pout but soon smiled towards me. "Told ya you're awesome."
Despite the dizziness, I smiled at the compliment, my mind quickly going to a familiar phrase now that I have the potential for more growth.
I believe in myself.
"Now that the test is over. I suggest you both head back to your rooms to relax and recover, especially you Flara." Mom stated as Ema and I both nodded and pulled out our newly christened badges to figure out the teleportation system. "Also Flara, don't think me letting you go now means that I've forgotten about our 'talk' about Tony."
When she said that, I froze and the blush crept back onto my face. Ema began laughing.
"We'll have to get your father involved but just so you know...I support it." Mom said cheekily.
"MOM!" I whined, turning to her just to see her winked and grin at me. I groaned in embarrassment.
[Let's get this outro done quickly. I don't have much to say here. I hope you all enjoyed. Anyway, onto the outro
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