This chapter may well be the greatest deviation from just telling Scarlet and Violet's story, but I think it'll be pretty interesting. Please enjoy Chapter 8!
Chapter 8
A Phantom
"Juli, take cover."
Arven was faster to move than she was. Soon as they both saw the banner of Phantom Zero, he had grabbed her and steered Koraidon to a corner. There were dusty crates, cages and various antiquities, but there was dim lighting, concealing them in the shadows. Juliana's breath caught, unable to think or breathe in the enormity of what they'd found. Even Arven looked on the verge of falling apart, but he managed to keep it all together.
"What…what the hell is this place? I thought these caves were abandoned. There was no mining…" Juliana felt herself close to hyperventilating, trying to suck in lungfuls of air. It did no good, and Arven had to shake her shoulders to calm her down.
"I have no idea. But I have a very sharp idea we've stumbled into something we weren't meant to find." That was for sure, but Juliana wasn't sure how to react to that. Attempting to get her bearings on where they had found themselves, she craned her neck around Arven's body to get a glimpse of the market.
The first thing she noticed was the jagged crystal on the walls, and the marks that indicated this was neither natural erosion, nor manmade. It left one conclusion as to what had hollowed out this chamber. "Orthworm's been through here."
"Has it?" Arven sat back, no longer gripping her shoulders. The worry in his eyes dimmed as she used her own observations to stop herself from freaking out. "Guess the crystals might be a giveaway. But it must not have been here for some time if people could set this up. Whatever this is."
"Korai…" whimpered the lizard next to them. Juliana watched him, the poor creature a mix between eager and fearful. Like it could sense two things of a conflicting nature. Neither student was sure what to make of that. So, Juliana decided that observation could avail them further.
"Looks like a market of sorts."
"Or a base. Lots of robed people here," Arven pointed out. Juliana nodded, agreeing with his assertion, though realizing that they didn't have to quite be mutually exclusive. "Either way, this place is probably a criminal's paradise. Maybe it's best we turn around. Find a different way."
That became far more difficult a moment later, as from the tunnel they had entered through, an entourage of people dressed in all manner of ratty uniforms entered. They were boisterous, singing a triumphant tune that was both out of place and right at home. The girl at the head of the new arrivals made their presence known.
"Something about the stink of this place makes you feel right at home. That Phantom knows how to put on a good show!" she shouted. At her feet was a Liepard, weaving back and forth between her legs. More than once, Juliana swore the Pokémon had seen them shivering in the shadows, but it did little to alert its trainer. "Been a long time since the market's had a fixed location."
"Ever since the King fell from his throne, yeah?" replied a muscular bruiser next to her. "Everyone knows who the real power was. He was just a pretender to the throne."
"Heh heh! Stupid guy got 'imself blown up! By his own weapon!"
"Some decorum, please." Juliana swallowed, her throat dry as the group was intercepted by a man in a robe. His mouth could be seen from under the hood, smiling, but little other features were discerned. "Miss Shelly, the Phantom has extended their invitation in the hopes of better relations. However, please respect the market."
"Yeah, yeah! It's not like you guys made this place easy to find. Those tunnels have no set map!"
"Of course. Orthworm makes new tunnels every day. Now, may we interest you in some Slowpoke Tails? Or perhaps fragments of meteorites? A shipment of material used in Keystones just arrived the other…"
The group moved off, reduced to a general hubbub of chatter. Juliana let loose a shaky breath. Arven joined her in it. Koraidon just whimpered once again, causing both to push him deeper into the darkness, hoping no one would see him. The pair of students looked at each other.
"Maybe going out the way we came won't work," Arven whispered. "If there are any more convoys arriving, we're liable to be caught in a sticky situation. Granting, I don't even know how we got here in the first place."
"Unlucky chance. You heard her; they're hiding in these shifting tunnels. We just happened to find the right one. Go us." Juliana reached up, removing her hat and running a hand through her hair. Now that they had a better idea of where they'd found themselves, she couldn't help but observe more. Arven felt the same, both watching from within their little hidey-hole.
More banners were draped across the marketplace, each bearing the same sigil of Phantom Zero, as if to remind their visitors just who their patron was. Under each were numerous stalls, though not all of their goods could be made out. The closest ones, holding various evolutionary stones, or some other rare goods could be seen, including what looked like the fabled Z-Crystals of Alola. They all looked to be in pristine condition, and the hawkers near them were shouting out their qualities like their lives depended on it.
Just as they'd first noticed, the marketplace was swarmed with black-robed individuals, the cultists that appeared to run the entire place, but there were just as many customers dressed in all manner of clothing. Arven sucked a breath in at one such person that walked past, wearing a tattered orange suit.
"Team Flare," he hissed. "Or what used to be. They were disintegrated as an organization almost fifteen years ago."
"Guess there's still believers, then. Must be the sort of place where all those discontents and former criminals gather," Juliana breathed out. The longer she looked, the more she saw, the various wacky outfits that belonged to former criminal organizations that had long gone defunct. "Must've…seen themselves as having no other place to hide."
"Phantom offers protection, they come running?"
"I doubt they're so magnanimous," Juliana said. Arven most assuredly agreed. "And they're bound to be around somewhere. I'd rather not get caught."
"Well, then, when with cultists…" Arven turned around, rummaging through one of the crates behind him. It stirred up the dust, causing Koraidon to sneeze and the boy to cough. When he finished, he held up a pair of dusty robes. "Act as cultists do."
"Good plan. We look for an exit and get the hell out of here." Juliana swiped the robe from Arven, wrapping it around her. The clothing was a bit big on her figure, though it matched Arven perfectly, but she supposed that was good enough. At the very least, it concealed her face and school uniform. Feeling secured about it, she turned to Koraidon. "Stay here, Koraidon. I'll whistle for you if we need you."
"Kor."
She took a step away, Arven at her side, but briefly looked back. "And no food. They see you, I don't want to imagine what criminals like them will do. Promise?"
He snorted, stomping further back into the shadows. That was good enough for her. Another nod later, and the students stepped further out into the open air of the cavern and the black market that awaited them.
The lights grew brighter, strung up and making the cavern seem as if it was drenched in daylight. With them, each step illuminated some new prize or feature, but to Juliana, it was just another chance at being discovered. She shrunk in, sticking close to Arven as they began to walk the path between the stalls.
"Come and get some rare items! Black Augurite! A legendary rock not seen for almost two hundred years!"
"If you don't have the cash, then we broker in information."
"I-I don't have any!" A ruckus sounded out, making Juliana flinch when a young man, dressed in black clothing with a shredded R on it was tossed from a stand by a Machoke that glared at him. Arven kept pushing Juliana along, striding for the opposite end of the cavern.
"The Phantom is interested in either coin or information. If you have neither, we cannot service you." A nasty cracking sound echoed after those words. "There's no wonder Team Rocket is on the ash heap like all the rest."
"Keep moving," Arven whispered. He still slowed his steps so as to not be suspicious, though. That was difficult with just how many people were in the space, looking at the forbidden wares or exchanging their own kind of information, most of which flew over Juliana's head.
Between the various stalls, she could see other, smaller pathways. Some led to wooden doors, while others opened up to living spaces. It seemed wild to her that people actually lived here, but then she figured this was Phantom Zero's base of operations. That fact made a lot more sense. As did the revelry to one side, causing her to nearly stumble over.
"That's another you'll owe!" an older man shouted, his rough, bearded face standing out against his eyepatch. "You're racking up quite the debt to the Phantom."
"Is it true what they say, then? About the Phantom's victims?"
"Aye, some of them are true," the older man said, his remaining eye putting a chill in many that were there. Juliana slowed, while Arven walked ahead. He turned back after a moment, as if having found something, but didn't dare to speak a word with others so nearby. "A ruthless specter. They absorb information and have ruled the underworld for a long time, constantly trading tips. Even the former King feared them. Or feared their resurfacing."
"So, the rumors are true that they went silent?"
"Silent? Or maybe the old Phantom died. Fifty years their legacy hung over everything, but there's always been a Phantom in el hampa."
"And there always will be."
Juliana backed away, straight into Arven. She hadn't expected them to appear so suddenly, the one that was their lieutenant at their side. As always, the Phantom was masked, but a wicked smirk could be felt behind it. Their hands descended on the youths sitting there, and for the briefest of moments, Juliana could swear to having seen them before. That thought was overridden by the Phantom's sheer presence.
"But fear not. I welcome all wayward Mareep. Just take a look around," the Phantom said, patting them on the shoulders. "All former criminal elements. Brick by brick the underworld has been built, and all for the purpose that every underworld exists for. Well…the part no one wants to talk about, but we all know.
"So please, friends! Eat. Drink. Be merry. Shop until your heart is full. And just remember, an information shared is a conquest gained."
"Y-y-yes, your eminence." The Phantom tapped them once again, and turned away, their lieutenant with them. The mask scanned the chamber, locking on Juliana for a second, but she ducked her head. Just as soon as she felt it there, the Phantom had turned away, heading for one of the offshoot paths. The liveliness returned with their departure.
"There might be a path further in." Juliana hummed her understanding, but didn't take her eyes away from the Phantom. "Oh, no. Don't you dare. Juli."
"Come on," she whispered. Careful that no one else had heard them, Juliana turned and followed as stealthily as she could after the Phantom. Through stalls and into one of the larger tunnels, right up to a door emblazoned with the familiar eye. It swung open, revealing a rather large chamber, with other doors in and out, and both Phantom and follower stepped inside. Just as it closed behind them, Juliana slid up to the door, careful that they hadn't been seen.
"I take it we've finished moving things into place," the Phantom spoke, seating themselves upon a chair and drawing a berry out. They bit into it, lifting their mask for just a moment.
"Nearly. Mapping has been the hardest, as has needling what needs needling."
"Just a little push." The Phantom tossed their berry up and caught it, before picking at a thread on their robe. "Sometimes, you find the little thread, and you pull. Then, it becomes so annoying that it distracts others. Have we located the other seals?"
"Nearly. One is in Team Star territory."
"Hmph, can't have that. Still, the third seal could prove a golden opportunity."
"We're having a hard time opening it."
"That will happen with time." The Phantom was dismissive, and with a single bite, they finished off their berry. Juliana leaned closer, soon feeling Arven against her back. "I need more than that, though. More than pawns. You understand, don't you, my faithful bishop."
"A chess metaphor again, my lord?"
"Would you prefer something different?" The lieutenant coughed, turning his head away and almost catching sight of them. Juliana pulled back, waiting for more to be said.
"I think I liked IDEAL's old monikers."
"I'd prefer not. Then one of the little sniffers would figure it out. Nevertheless…" The Phantom slammed what was left of the berry's pit on a desk. "My pieces will be in place. A brain. A blade. And any others."
"They're best used as distraction."
"The masses usually are. I only need four. You know that, Fel-"
"Your Eminence!" One of the doors burst open, a young, school-aged cultist running in. "We've lost contact with one of the squads. In the Thicket."
"Ahh, always a problem. When did we last hear from them?" The Phantom stood, annoyance in their breath, but they followed right after the disturbed young man, exiting through the doors. When all was silent, Juliana let out her breath, and pushed at the door to let her inside the office.
"Now what the bloody hell was that all about…?"
"Sounded like cryptic nonsense to me," Arven concurred. He was more on-edge than she was, spinning this way and that, but her eyes focused on the office before them. It wasn't furnished like any usual office.
Rather than bookcases or shelves, there were many papers pinned to the walls. Each was almost indistinguishable at first, some just penciled drawings, while others were printed. They were tied together by string, differently colored and spanning the ceiling, but despite being connected, there was no way to make sense of them. It didn't help that some pieces were just walls of text stuck on a page, old engravings of ancient murals, or excerpts from ancient regions with crude, draconic-looking illustrations. The tiniest bit of scrutiny made it look like status reports from far-off places, but they appeared just as much gibberish as the rest.
"What's this doodle?" Arven asked, stopping at one of them. He seemed afraid to touch it, but his attention caused Juliana to scrutinize it. They appeared to be blueprints of a sort, but for what, she couldn't figure. All she knew was that it was a circular building, whose exterior appeared to be built into a wall with just a couple entry points. The inside was likewise circular, with what seemed to be wings.
"Dunno…" She continued scanning along the same track of papers until finding one that seemed more than familiar. "Wait a sec…is this…Area Zero?"
"They're Crater-obsessed cultists, what do you think?" Arven asked, but he looked at the drawings all the same. "Poorly drawn, but it definitely looks like something my parents might have mentioned. Way too detailed to just be from notes though. Kinda makes me wish I didn't delete mom's messages…"
"You really do have problems with them, huh?"
"Just wish they didn't put their research first." Arven's comment was off the cuff, said as he was moving around, his body turning towards the desk and the stack of papers sitting there. A few more pictures littered its surface, mostly of crude drawings scrawled out in some madness. They disturbed Juliana to look at, like a demon staring out at her, or the cold eyes of a young girl driven to some frightful end. It made her look anywhere but there, and that was when she saw it.
"Sada and Turo…" she breathed, hands finding the thick report upon the desk. "Arven, did your parents ever compile a report on Area Zero?"
"Sure. They are researchers."
"Then why does the Phantom have it?" Arven came over, and both stared down at the pages containing the names of Arven's parents. Gripped by sudden fear, the boy turned the pages over, his expression becoming harsher by the second.
"This is definitely their notes. Only they would be so obsessed with time and paradoxes and Great Crater stuff."
"Anything on Terastallization?"
"Mm, not much. Just a theory that it could connect to all sorts of things, like a distortion." Arven flipped through more pages, and he looked up. "Koraidon is mentioned here."
"I wish I could say I was surprised, but I'm no…" Juliana's voice trailed to nothingness, her eyes now taking in the opposite side of the room. Rather, it was the side of the room consumed by one single thing: Team Star. "What…the…hell…?"
If one side was like some wacko conspiracy theory board, this other side had taken it to the next level. The insignia of Team Star was everywhere, right down to various squad colors and names. Schematics of the Starmobile could be seen, and there were even pictures of Mela, Giacomo and others. Aerial shots of the bases were present, as well as maps that appeared to outline strategic points of entry to the various areas. Front and center was one that looked like Navi Squad's base, but it had been so scribbled over, it was barely recognizable.
Pictures weren't the only thing there. Notes were present, too, some hastily drawn in illegible script, while others were typed out, their cardstock appearing to be the same kind the Academy used. Lists of rules, member charters, all of it was there. Most disturbing of all were the pictures of students on the board, some red Xs through their faces. Juliana recognized a few as from Team Star, though just as many hadn't been seen in nearly two years.
"What does it all mean?"
Juliana inhaled her shaky breath. "It means Phantom Zero is at war with Team Star. And they're planning something."
"But why? What does the cult obsessed with the Great Crater get out of harassing a bunch of kids?" Arven perused the board, himself, but gleaned no answers. Just more surveillance images, including those of the Academy. Juliana reached for that one, but stopped as a door creaked open, two men framed in its light.
"Oh. Didn't expect this," one of the men said. Juliana backed off, dragging Arven towards the door from whence they came. That one, too, began to open, trapping them like Arrokuda in a barrel. "This isn't the place for children."
"We were just going," Juliana squeaked out. The door finished opening, a trio of cultists entering the room with laughter. The students felt their throats tighten.
Then, the room shook.
Papers fell, and stones trickled. The desk wobbled where it stood, and the cultists right behind them gripped to each other. The pair of men in the doorway were hardly affected, standing as if it was something they were used to their entire lives. Perhaps they were, as Juliana caught only the briefest glint of a blade holding one of the men in place…right before she slipped and fell on her butt. Her hood slipped off, her face revealed, though no one said anything as the tremors continued through the caverns.
Once they had vanished, and the whispers of Orthworm's presence became heard, was her mistake made apparent.
"INTRUDER!"
"Time to go!" Arven's hand gripped Juliana's arm, yanking her from the ground. He ran straight at the cultists with her in tow, the trio attempting to stand in their way. It didn't last long, as Arven kneed one and squeezed right through, dashing back down the hall and into the market proper. Juliana watched him run, holding tight to her, surprised by how sturdy and dependable he seemed. Every muscle on his face screamed that they were getting out of there.
She had to do her part.
Ignoring the blasts echoing from behind them, Juliana put her fingers to her lips and blew. A tense moment followed, the duo becoming keenly aware of the robed cultists and their Pokémon out and surrounding them, from ornery Flamigo to Maschiff that growled and howled. The students drew close.
"KORRRRA!" The crash was heard from where they'd last left Koraidon, and moments later, their companion broke through the ranks of cultists. Some scattered, while others remained to stand their ground. Juliana and Arven didn't waste a second, leaping atop Koraidon.
"Go!" Juliana shouted, kicking the lizard's side. He reared up, and then his forelegs hit the ground and broke into a sprint. The movement punted aside some of the Pokémon, leaving a stretch through the market.
"Straight ahead! There's another tunnel out of here!" Arven yelled, the wind whistling past both their ears. Koraidon heard the order and obeyed, racing headlong into the stalls. His body broke some apart, causing screams, shouts and curses.
"After them!" That shout made Juliana turn her head around, grimacing at the sight of the fleet of Cyclizar-mounted riders coming after them. She shifted back.
"Arven, take over." Their gazes locked, and instead of protesting, the boy nodded. She clambered over him and took to standing on Koraidon's swiftly moving back. Her fingers gripped a Poké Ball, and with it, she called Quaxwell with shining light. "Acrobatics!"
"Quaxell!" Eyes gleaming with focus, Quaxwell dove in, flipping and spinning up to the pursuing forces that tore through the market. With a wide sweep, he dismounted a great many and then flipped backwards, joining them in their flight.
"Hold tight. We'll lose 'em just beyond!" Arven shouted. Juliana nearly lost her balance, but fell right down, securing herself to Koraidon. A shout ahead indicated a barrier forming, like a wall of Durant. "Jump it!"
"Koria!" Koraidon's full strength pooled in his back legs, and then he leapt, soaring high for just a moment before his body dove. The exit tunnel was right in their sights.
"Quax!" Quaxwell's sudden shout alerted Juliana to the danger, almost a moment too late. She turned her head, and as she did a thorny bramble suddenly snapped itself around her throat.
Her breathing instantly muffled, losing all sense of hearing. Juliana's eyes went dim, and her sensation of touch appeared to diminish. Every limb felt sluggish, draining the life out. An image burned itself into her eyes, of Pokémon defeated and laying in a nasty, horrid circle. She managed to turn her head, and she saw it: the Brambleghast owned by the Phantom's lieutenant. Her mouth opened, but couldn't make a sound, nor could she hear Arven's cries.
"Fue…urn…!" Juliana nearly slipped, but briefly caught the flash of crimson roaring across her vision. The vine slackened, and after a second, a blade sliced through. Every sense returned to her in a rush, complete with a coughing fit. She rubbed at her throat.
"T-turn!" she gagged out. Arven took hold of the antennae, and with a sharp jerk, pivoted Koraidon to the side. They had breached the exit tunnel, and turned down another in a clear effort to confuse their pursuers.
It led in a winding way through, the lights dimming and then growing brighter until, finally, the pair felt they could see the way out. Both looked behind, hoping to have lost the cultists in the chase, and felt relieved when they saw no one. Both faced forward. Koraidon screeched to a halt.
"Kingambit," called an emotionless voice. Standing at the end of the hall was the Phantom, hands in their pockets and a devastating Pokémon of enormous strength and weight right in front of them. "Plummet."
"KING-A!"
Juliana tugged on Arven's vest, giving an indication to turn around, but it was too late. Kingambit's mighty arm raised, coated with a metallic sheen. Quaxwell raced forth, as if he could stop the inevitable, but was too late. Kingambit's attack struck the ground. Cracks surged forth, breaking everything around them, through the floors, the walls and everything in between.
For a moment, it held, the same as their breaths, enough for Juliana to lock eyes with the pitiless Phantom.
Then, the ground beneath their feet gave way, and the group was sent plummeting into the darkness that awaited beneath them.
The tumble became a mess of screams, flailing limbs and falling rock. Juliana couldn't tell what was up from down, or light from dark. She just knew they were falling, with a single rock poised to knock her into oblivion at any time. For a brief moment, she hoped it would end, before swiftly wishing otherwise, because an end could only mean untold damage.
Nevertheless, the end came soon enough, and with a mighty crash, Juliana found her body hitting Koraidon, bouncing off his smooth scales and being catapulted to the floor. Arven landed atop her, with a squeak from Fuecoco echoing in the middle. Seconds then passed, and everything went silent. Juliana breathed in.
"Are we…alive…?" she groaned. Her hand reached back, fumbling for her phone and turning its light on. It illuminated just a little of where they found themselves.
"Barely. They really didn't want us there." Arven shook his head, and then checked Fuecoco over. "But I guess they got us out. Damn it. Really wanted to know what they were thinking of with my parents' research."
"Probably just cultist mumbo jumbo. I'm more concerned about all that Team Star data," Juliana said, pushing herself to stand. Everything on her body worked properly after a shake or two, and she sighed before casting a light around, finally landing on the heap that was Koraidon and Quaxwell. "No. Are you two all right?! Koraidon! Quaxwell!"
"Quaaax…" The whine spoke to pain, and even the slightest vestiges of light showed nasty welts and bruises on the side of the pair. Large boulders were nearby, too, the source of the damage self-evident.
"Arven, Potions!"
"All out. We didn't have a chance to restock in Levincia, and Gloria's training…"
"Damn it." Juliana clucked her tongue, letting her eyes drift upwards. There was nothing there but darkness. They had no clue what lay ahead, either. "Any berries?"
"I wouldn't feel safe administering it in this darkness. We need light, and that phone won't cut it." Arven's strong tone reminded Juliana of just why he was the upperclassman of the group. Though she hated it, there was no denying he was right. The only safe treatment was back in the light of day. Juliana sucked on her cheek.
"Right…" Part of her wanted to scream at that suggestion, or find some way to climb back up. But then rose the thought of the Phantom, and the nasty looking bruise on Quaxwell. There was, perhaps, just one path forward. Resigning herself to this, Juliana returned Quaxwell, and tossed two others, Wattrel and Smoliv emerging. "Wattrel, use Spark. I wanna see what's down this tunnel. Smoliv, use a little Sunny Day to help. Arven-"
"Yeah, I got the big lug," Arven said, moving over to help Juliana in propping Koraidon up. As they got him back to his whimpering feet, light pooled in the caverns, showing a tunnel that stretched into abyssal infinity. "There's a path. Keep it up, you two."
"Smol!" Smoliv toddled forward, leading the way through the light alongside Wattrel. Juliana and Arven followed, slowly urging Koraidon along at a snail's pace, leaving the crushed rock behind. The further they went, the more the rock changed, becoming crystalline, and reflecting all of their light back at them.
"Wonder how far this thing goes," Arven said, grunting with the exertion of the day. Juliana didn't answer, her eyes focused on Koraidon's wound and all she had seen above. "This crystal doesn't look natural, or at least not from around here. Reminds me of Segin Squad, when Orthworm…"
He was struck silent, and it drew Juliana out of her reverie. They turned a corner, Wattrel stopping for a moment to find the path before he led them round another bend. "You're worried."
"Yeah. Seeing my parents' notes…they were obsessed with the Crater, and Phantom Zero is, too. I'm worried that maybe they stole it from them or…"
"Your parents practically live in Area Zero, right?" Juliana said. She nearly tripped over her own feet, but remained walking. "They eat danger for breakfast."
"I wouldn't know. But if this is a taste of that, then maybe." Arven's face slipped, his thoughts shrinking backwards. "Wish I could know. But then…they loved that stupid hole more than…" He tousled his hair. "No point in worrying, right."
"I'm worried," Juliana admitted. "Those Team Star plans… Why are they going to war with them? It's making them act out. Making things worse. Team Star members already snapped once. Pushing them further is like poking an Ursaring."
"Hmmm…" They trundled on in silence, occasionally checking the darkness for their path. Their feet grew tired, ragged from the endless walking with no end in sight. Juliana felt herself slipping, leaning on the injured Koraidon for support. Smells shifted, starting to become almost damp and leafy, but she figured it was just a trick of her imagination. Through it all, Arven said nothing, not until the tunnel brightened a little. "You know, I said I wouldn't ask, but…
"How were they? Team Star?"
"Huh?" Juliana stopped, almost slipping when Koraidon kept moving forward with laborious breaths. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, you used to be one of them. Guess I'm just wondering…how it was like for you. Bad memory or…?"
Juliana felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment at such a question, and she rushed to catch up. Once she was stable with Koraidon once again, she let a sigh part her lips. "It wasn't…all bad. I had some fun. Bunch of kids running around, pretending they lived by different rules, sticking it to the bullies."
"Bullies?"
"The one thing we had in common, you know? Mela was a thug that people couldn't stand. Giacomo was so anal they mocked him mercilessly. He was even student council president once," she said, focusing on her feet to avoid looking at Arven. "For me…guess I was just a nerd. Obsessed with research and history. Parentless loser. I was hardly the first. Other kids could be nasty. And after the initial formation of Team Star, things just got worse."
"I see…" Arven said, his voice barely a whisper. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's a passe thing. Least for me. Can't say the same for them," was the honest truth. "We had lots of positive times, and support, thanks to Cass. But…they all considered each other their 'treasures', and the more that line of thought was enforced, the more I knew I didn't belong there, either. Didn't belong anywhere. Just my search mattered.
"They weren't enough."
"So that's why you said that to Giacomo. Must've been difficult." Arven chuckled, and then reached over Koraidon to slap her on the back. "Well, don't worry. I still think you're plenty cool, Juli. Let's find your treasure, yeah?"
"Yours, too, Arven. After all, you're my…my fri-"
"Smoliv!" As if sensing their deep desire, Smoliv's excited squeaks bounced off the cavern walls. In the light of Wattrel's sparks, all could see her starting to run ahead, getting further and further illuminated by a growing orange light. The hope of sun stirred inside them, and without delay, the pair urged Koraidon along faster.
The light grew, becoming a wide portal that signaled the end of the cave. Smoliv was the first out, nearly tripping but standing tall until Wattrel zipped and landed atop her head. As one, Juliana, Arven and Koraidon exited with a great gasp that sucked in the cold, nighttime air coming off Mount Glaseado. So relieved were they that they couldn't yet take in their surroundings.
"Sweet, fresh air!" Arven shouted. Juliana almost wanted to laugh with him, tipping her head skyward, only to notice they were hardly free.
"Kinda," she lamented. Her finger pointed up, and Arven followed it. "Looks like we're in some hole in the ground. And that's a long way up."
"Baby steps," Arven said, earning a chuckle. Juliana shook her head with utter amusement.
And that was when she saw it: the glowing white vines that snaked all the way up the open-air cavern, leading to one spot against the far wall of the massive, crystalline crater. "Arven. We found it."
At once, they uttered it. "The Herba Mystica."
Koraidon whimpered at the sound. Smoliv jumped up and down. Eagerness overtook the pair, and with the briefest of glances, they took a step towards the plant that was the object of their larger search.
And soon as they did, the ground rumbled and churned. Vines broke and snapped away, part of the floor fell down, and from within the deep ground, a white glow burgeoned forth. It pulsed erratically before flickering out, leaving a void of silence.
"ZUZAAAAAAAA!" A high-pitched scream echoed, forcing all to brace their eardrums. Then a white, silvery light burst from within the ground, shooting towards the sky and hitting naught but rock. It quickly subsided for all of a moment before the ground blasted upwards, a massive creature emerging from within and baring its sharpened, drooling teeth, with its many segments and legs rippling with power.
For better or worse, they had found the Titan, Orthworm.
Author's Note: Far as the story goes, there's probably a lot to unpack in this one. Some references to past elements of the series, to hints of what may be to come, and especially this growing war between Team Star and Phantom Zero. Not to mention, I'd like to think I created a pretty chilling picture of the Phantom and their lieutenant with their Brambleghast and Kingambit.
Of course, no chapter is complete without a cliffhanger and we have one here for sure! Orthworm Round Two, let's go!
With all that said, I hope you're enjoying the story, of course, and if you are, please leave a comment or review. I'd really appreciate it, and it only takes five minutes of your time. So, until then, just remember, Dare to Be Silly.