Episode 26: World of the Archfiend
A labyrinth of conveyor belts hummed quietly above, but with nothing on them, the large metal boxes at their ends were silent. Ventilation fans filled the rest of the ambience, with the occasional heavy clang of iron machinery in action. Cranes, scaffolding lifts, and a power drill added to the rhythm on occasion. Throughout this indoor city of a factory, no one seemed to be working, despite the noises.
They were all gathered before a stage on the lowest level. A single Maushold stood upon a podium on the stage, the one with the blue fur resembling pants. They addressed an army of their kind, both the smaller mice and the bigger ones like themselves, the ones with the shirt-like fur. Rather than the podium having a microphone, they wore a headset with one attached. There wasn't much chatter, but many of the mice bounced on the spot, eager to return to their work, or conversed with their nearby fellows. Some were antisocial, and let out fake coughs of impatience.
"My fellow Sunrise, a critical situation is upon us," their leader began. He spoke calmly enough that his mouth didn't enlarge, but the microphone carried his voice well, transferring it to a dozen speakers across the factory. "Our scouts came back, and we're running outta time. We've gotta get our bones together."
"Slow down, sir. Who're we dealing with?" a voice from the crowd squeaked up at him. He paused and cleared his throat, but that sound made the mic screech, irritating even himself.
"You're all up to date on Hammock, aren't you? I'm talking about that Netherworld that toppled the Bird Type district," Treasure continued, hoping to style off his mistake. His fellows were silent. "Netherworld… and the Pokémon that drew Netherworld there. We found out their names. None other than one Team Daybreak."
A cloth was hung behind him, which he hopped beside to give everyone a clear view of. A projector turned on, displaying an image of Kayla, Kari, and Pola. Yet, the crowd remained silent.
"That's right! These little sods are the culprits we're after now. But they're extraordinary Pokémon! Small Pokémon causing destruction more times their size than units can feasibly estimate! They're in direct objection to the Extraordinary Pokémon non-aggression treaty! Therefore, they must be tried, and pay the price."
Treasure returned to the centre of the stage, and his mouth was beginning to grow wide. "And yet, no such trial has happened. How? They ran. Further and faster than any ordinary Pokémon, extraordinary or otherwise, could hope to achieve. They returned to RSE Academy no less than a day than when they battled in the city. What do you think of that?"
The crowd finally fell into chatter. Treasure's ears were sensitive enough to pick up on all the confused rambles and concerned comments, and twitched with glee.
"To that, my fellow treasures, I say the sum of their crimes has reached the stage where we can no longer cooperate with them, their kind, their space in our realm. Back in the day, Extraordinary Pokémon were known to the world and easily identifiable as lesser species… our MissingNo., 'M (00), 4B 8 4 8… They were capable, but controllable, kept alive for morals and integrity. Now these Extraordinary Pokémon resemble ordinary Pokémon, capable of destroying entire towns if left unchecked," Treasure was enthusiastic with his speech, and hopped on top of his podium. He finally had his signature weapon equipped, his strange claw armour that wrapped around his arm. "The solution is war. We must strike first and fast. Erase them from the world before they threaten our very existence of normality!"
"Sir Treasure!" a female voice called out this time. "What of the archfiend?"
Treasure hung his head. "We concluded the archfiend was extraordinary as well, and left them to their kind. Yet, its reign continues to expand, a whole two decades later."
Silence fell, and Treasure slowly lifted their head. Their eyes were livid. "We will kill them. We will kill them all."
…
For the first time in a while, Kayla woke up refreshed. Her body was fine but her thoughts weren't. After her usual round of stretches and yawns, she found Kari's bed was empty, while Pola lay sprawled out on top of her own, snoring louder than ever. Kayla sighed, and swept the floor with a foot. Today is not the day to be worried about drama.
Before long, Pola was woken up and the duo had breakfast without leaving their dorm, eating whatever fruits they laid out the night before. Shannon showed up not long later, followed by May, and finally Ashe and Kari.
"Kari, there you were," Kayla stood up the moment they came in.
"Yep, yep, yep! All here, well-rested and ready for the big one!" the Furret cheered, arms raised. "I even got up extra early to have a bigger breakfast than usual, so no complaints from me!"
"Ah," Kayla stood back. She stared, but that only made Kari tilt her head with her usual peppy smile. "You okay? After… you know."
"Defo! You don't need to worry about a thing. Today, Mathildaath goes down," she pumped her paws with enthusiasm.
I wanna talk about it, but I guess she's got the right attitude, Kayla sighed to herself. She shook, and grinned back. Yeah. Today's for the cool battle. Let's do this.
"So that's where you were. I was a little worried when I got back and didn't see you in the room," Pola swayed her head. "Did you sleep at all? Please tell me you slept."
"I did, I did! I promise," Kari blushed. "Did you sleep? None of the teachers caught you, did they?"
"I didn't actually leave the academy," Pola tucked her paws behind her head. "Just found a spot and chilled on my own for a bit. Sometimes it's good to just clear your head, y'know?"
"It sounds like we're all ready to go," Ashe nodded and smiled. May nodded back, and then took the lead.
"With me now. Until this operation is over, please try to remember that I am this team's temporary leader," the Pichu instructed.
"Oh don't worry. We won't forget," Pola put on a smug grin.
The comment actually relaxed Kayla. It was good to know her friends were chill enough to be themselves. She didn't want to admit it, but she wasn't. Her mind swirled with all sorts of fearful thoughts. What Mathildaath was really like, whether the dungeon would go well, and what it all meant for her – they were directly confronting her nightmare, after all. The dream that brought her into all this in the first place. A tap from Jirachi got her attention. The little legendary tucked himself into her ponytail, letting her know he was present.
As they marched through the academy halls, the forefront of her thoughts were clouded with worries about Kari, however. Had they forgotten about their little touchy incident? Or were they forgetting on purpose? If they were pretending nothing had happened, they were doing a darn good job of it. Kari bounced along beside her with her usual pep, perhaps even more energetically than usual. With such outward bubbliness, she would feel like a villain if she brought the mood down. But she had to know, and Kari was the only one she could talk to about it.
May directed the group to the outside area where clients and deliveries were normally made, but this time went further away from the academy grounds and into the forest beyond. The Stealth Rock barricade was here, but a barbed wire gate had been built into this section, plastered with danger and warning signs.
"Ooh, the extra special VIP exit!" Kari quipped.
"That's one way of looking at it. Really and truly, this direction is a bit wilder than the main roads," May shrugged. She presented her PET to a padlock on the gate, which reacted and unlocked automatically. "Keep close, now. There are ferals in this area."
Kayla heeded that, but she couldn't hear anything. The easiest path to the academy was through the Twinight Woods, known for its blue leaves. The opposite exit was the hills of the misty woodlands, where the world was a mossy, misty green. This exit was west, and immediately managed to feel like an entirely different world to the other two exits. The river ran through here, but it was shallow and calm enough that May could wade through it if she had to. They crossed it via a log bridge anyway, which provided the team with a vast view of the purple forest ahead. It was as if the dusky tones of the early morning were reflecting off moonlit water, projecting crystalline shades of purple and blue all over the woodland. The trees were real, yet they looked like violet gemstones to Kayla.
Even the terrain was different. It was pleasantly swampy, soft and damp to the touch without having a sinking feeling with every step, or the expected slimy chill thanks to the cool water temperature. The land had a gentle slope, as if the entire forest floor were made of rocky shallows, the kind one would find at the seaside. The rocks were clean, letting the water run quiet, trickling through the area like a calming rainfall. Even the trees were spread apart here, yet dense enough to be called a forest, somehow keeping their roots deep out of sight beneath the ground. Many vines hung from these trees, while the unevenness of the rocks made Pola and Shannon hop from rock to rock rather than getting their feet wet.
Eventually the team made it to a clearing where the water was a little higher, but only enough to cover Kayla up to her waist. More of these vine-covered trees surrounded the group, while patterns of sunflowers seemed to grow beneath the shallow water. With the sunrise peeking through the leaves ahead, it was almost as if the light rays were glistening through the water, the tender current of the water strumming the sunflower petals like an instrument.
"Paris…" Kayla muttered, instantly feeling her chest heave.
"Oh, great. You got hired for this, too?" Pola put her paws on her hips.
The Raboot seemed surprised to see them, but quickly composed himself with an awkward grunt, and loosened his arms. There weren't many here, from the looks of things. Paris and his team of scarved Oshawott and Charmander, Gema and his trio of legendaries, Moby the Audino, and a team Kayla hadn't met before: a trio of shiny Golurk, Lucario, and a Mismagius. Each was decked out in unique attire, like a cowl and a scarf.
"It looks like we all made it. Very well then, let the briefing commence," Gema began.
"We seriously have to work with this asshole?" Pola complained.
"Pola… it's okay. Really, it's okay," Kari interjected quickly, putting Pola down with a paw. She turned to Paris with a warm smile. "We'll talk about it another time, is that better?"
"… Preferred," the Raboot struggled to respond.
"Ahem. You will all be progressing within your teams, anyway," Gema informed. He held his PET forward and flat, where it projected a large holographic map. Kayla recognised it as a map of all of Isnomia, but it quickly zoomed in on the northern continent, presenting their region in more detail. "Right now we are here, close to the Dawnheath Marsh dungeon. We need to get here, to Orchard Overgrowth. In the centre of that dungeon is where Mathildaath's shrine lies."
"Huh? Wait am I looking at that right? That's all the way on the edge of the continent… it'll take us weeks to get there without transport," Kayla cocked her head.
"That is why today is of imperative importance. Dawnheath Marsh is currently in a state of extremely high mysteriosity flux," Gema continued with an eager smirk. "You remember how mysteriosity waves work, right?"
"I've never actually been in a dungeon where they're really high. Mum always tended to avoid them," Kayla answered quietly. "It's where the distortions that make mystery dungeons possible go totally out of whack, right? And all sorts of weird effects happen to Pokémon."
"Bravo Kayla, bravo! I must ask, are we even teaching you anything new about exploring?" Gema gave a hearty laugh. "If we go through this dungeon today, it is highly likely we will be warped to Gilded Hall. From there, we will warp out close to Orchard Overgrowth, where we'll link up again for another meeting and further instruction. If you arrive before the others, set up camp and wait. We must all move together in this mission."
"In the sense that your teams will be going on their own, but it's really important that we all go our separate ways in these dungeons at the same time," Mesprit clarified. "Team Daybreak. If this is your first time in high mysteriosity, you'll be able to handle it, right?"
"U-us? Sure thing, you ain't gotta worry about a thing," Kayla posed.
"Yeah, we got this. We have our unsung hero May to guide us," Pola teased.
"If you're going to try and mock me with that tone, at least learn what words mean. Unsung was praise there," May shrugged.
"Whatever. Shut up."
"Sounds like they'll be okay to me," Azelf agreed.
"I just worry a bit. Teams don't normally travel in groups of six. That's double the usual size of exploration teams in action," Gema commented.
"Right, that's a thing," Kayla scratched her side. "I wanna say this is a special case. We've been fine journeying as a four for most of our missions, so what's two more?"
"Very well, I will trust your leadership. Embark when ready, but one team at a time. Watch out for the water and grass ferals occupying this dungeon, as they're capable of a few nasty ailments," Gema finished with a swipe of his arm. "Dismissed!"
Mismagius, Golurk, and Lucario nodded to each other, and then were first off, sprinting in as a group. Just watching them made Kayla pumped, until she saw the strange effect as they vanished between the trees. A previously invisible field of light rippled as they passed through, emitting blurry specks like clouds of pollen.
Is that the mysteriosity? She thought to herself, staring intently.
"Very well. Let us do RSE proud," Paris said to his team. They huddled and put their paws together, raised a cheer, and then marched in, taking a different route to the others. Just like before, they passed through the strange gold barrier.
"Don't lemme down now, Kayla. You're my favourite student!" Moby giggled, and then charged off. She took a different route, too.
"Ack, let's not fall behind?" Kayla gasped, turning to May.
"Then this is our route. Stay close, now," May instructed, leading the way.
Back into the shallows they went, down a path where the canopy was dense enough to block the light overhead. It almost looked like there was a road here, while the water level kept changing height, never going higher than Kayla's waist. Now that they were here and in a darker spot, Kayla instinctively unrolled both ears and listened out, expecting ferals to ambush them at any moment. She didn't know how tough this dungeon was known to be, after all.
It wasn't long before she was back in the flow of her own world. Birds a few paces to the left stopped their pecking and became silent, likely eying them from the shadows. She heard a few slight scratches to the northeast too, possibly from a feral with nails digging them into the trunk of a tree. Above all those sounds however, an irritably loud splash came with every step, no less than a couple paces away from her.
"Kari could you please!" Kayla snapped. The Furret flinched and froze, paws and ears held flat against herself guiltily. Kayla felt guilt of her own, and then a flash of fear as her ears picked up on movements. A second later and she leapt right into Kari, pushing the duo to the floor but away from a surprise Bubble Beam attack.
"Kingler!" Pola shouted, posing for battle. From the northeast just as Kayla anticipated, a Kingler emerged, both pincers held open. Its mouth leaked foam from its recent attack.
"Wait, there's more!" Kari cried, pulling Kayla back. A school of Krabby soon showed up, dozens of tiny ferals seeping out from the soil beneath their feet. There were so many that the floor may as well have been made out of spikes shaped like their pincers. Seeing as they had nowhere to run, the group jumped onto the nearest rock they could.
"Yeesh, we're not even that far from—" Kayla commented, glancing back. The view had completely changed, transformed into a labyrinth of trees. "God damn mystery dungeons don't waste time, huh?"
"Well now, it seems the children have come out to play," May added with a cheeky smirk on her face.
"If we deal with all of 'em, we'll be here forever," Pola complained, having to kick a couple Krabby off of her rock as they climbed on. Kingler snapped it pincers in threat, awaiting their move, too. "What do we do?"
"One of your magic moves, obviously. Surf should clear 'em out," Kayla grinned.
"This is a perfect opportunity, if you would allow me," Ashe came forward. She floated in the centre of the path just above the water. Several of the Krabby jumped up at her, but couldn't reach. "Allow me to show you one of my accursed songs, and the power I possess."
Kayla kept her ears open for surprise attacks, though all eyes were on Ashe, now. With a spin, the Jigglypuff retrieved an unseen weapon from the bow she wore on her back, a strange Otamatone fashioned in elegant greens and whites. She didn't play it however, instead using it as a microphone.
It felt like the area darkened, similar to when Pola used her own magic. Ashe glowed in calm, regal sway as she closed her eyes and begun to sing, and yet, her song was anything but beautiful. The lyrics were in a language Kayla couldn't understand, but their eerie tones filled her with dread nonetheless. She barely sung a verse, and still her song echoed through the area, bringing the Krabby to a sudden, frightening silence. The Kingler froze too, all surrounded by purple light that made them cringe and shudder. One by one the crabs began to fall, shivering hard as if in immense pain.
"This will not last long. Let's go," Ashe warned, and glanced back to the group. May hopped on top of Ashe to get carried across, while the others grabbed onto Kari, who sprinted through.
"They're all asleep. It's like they're having a nightmare. Is it some funky version of Sing?" Kayla glanced back as the enemies were left behind.
"You could see it that way," Ashe replied. Seeing as the enemies were out of sight, the team returned to the ground and resumed walking. "It's not a Pokémon attack. It's an ancient spell known as a Fonic Hymn… Nightmare, to be specific."
"That's the name of another Pokémon move, though," Kayla tilted her head.
"Fonic Hymns have their own set of laws, so it'd be best if you just thought of them as magic songs," Ashe smiled. "I'll announce when I'm going to use them, so please keep your ears open, and protect me when I do."
"Geez… Kari's stretchiness, Pola and Shannon's Visionary Magic, May's magnetism, and now your Fonic Hymns? We're pretty powerful for a team, you know," Kayla remarked.
"Can't discredit your powers, too! You still didn't tell us how your Quick Attack got so strong," Kari added.
"Oh, I trained with Moby while you girls were readying for prom. I learnt Move Theory, but I'm still getting the hang of it, to be honest," Kayla said.
"You actually figured out that nerdy stuff?" Pola rolled her eyes.
"Y'know, there's something funny about you calling it nerdy considering we have to recite poems every time we attack," Shannon pointed out.
"Shannon what the heck!" Pola cried while the others snickered.
"If possible, it would be best if myself, Kayla and Kari could take charge in any coming battles," May spoke up. "You two should conserve your energy as much as possible, since your magic and hymns hit the hardest."
"Backup again, huh?" Shannon mumbled.
"Hey I don't mind. The easier all this is, the better," Pola swayed with arms tucked behind her head.
Lazy, Kayla smiled at the thought. Even after this little bit, it didn't feel like they were walking anywhere. The shallows and trees remained, all so randomly and illogically spaced. She noticed it was quieter without Kari bouncing or talking however, and glanced back. The Furret had a frown on her face. "You okay?"
"There are vibrations," she muttered, all fours in the soil. Her ears flicked, and she gasped. "Shannon, look out!"
"Wha?" the Pachirisu flinched at her warning. The soil beneath him bubbled up suddenly, making him yelp and jump. A Sharpedo jetted out where he just was, snapping its jaws at a wild pace.
Kayla was first to react, putting her money where her mouth was. Quick Attack fuelled her feet and she leapt after the enemy, barging it into the nearest tree. The Sharpedo smashed into it so hard that wood chipped off the trunk. It made a whiny yelp before vanishing back into the soil.
"Water Pokémon in the- I mean I know there's water, but do they all live down there?" Pola asked.
Kari squeaked this time, jumping up high to avoid an Eelektross that poked its head out of the water where she just was. Kayla charged at it again, kicking it down before it could attack with electricity. The moment Kari landed, she sprinted past Kayla and slashed, hitting a Lombre that planned to ambush the Buneary.
"Thanks," Kayla whispered. "I can't hear them if they're coming from underground, underwater, whatever this counts as?"
"Then we need to move faster," May warned, fighting off her own enemy, a couple of Lotad. She had a large red fan, and twisted to fling it at the water types. It had enough force to cut them, and then unnaturally returned to the Pichu, who caught it with ease.
The group took off at her order, but that wouldn't spare them. A couple more Sharpedo leapt out of the soil below, and began chasing the group with frightening speed. Kayla knew she could outrun them normally, but having to wade through the shallows or leap across the rocks slowed her down too much. Before they could get close however, Shannon stood back and crackled with electricity.
"Shannon!" Kayla called back to him, stopping as well. The two sharks surrounded the rock he was stood on, now joined by a third, a Carvanha. They circled him from below, their dorsal fins peeking up through the soil.
Shannon seemed to be as focused as he needed to be, despite her worries. His tail was down and he was on all fours, ready to pounce across the little space he had on this rock. The moment a Sharpedo leapt out, he slid to the side, just about grazing its jaw. The second one came from behind, and he flattened himself against the rock to dodge it completely. The three sharks all came at once this time, and two of them had water attacks held in their mouths. Shannon was ready, though. He punched the rock with a surprising amount of force for his species, causing a sphere of electricity to crackle around him, the rock, and the nearby water. The three ferals were stunned in mid-air, and fell into the shallows like frozen statues.
"Sorry. I'll stick around for sushi next time," Shannon commented as he waved at them.
"Heh, show off. Why'd I worry about you?" Kayla grinned as he returned to her side. They quickly caught up with the others, who had slowed to a steady jog. Once it was clear enemies weren't chasing or attacking, they returned to walking.
May led them in as straight a direction as the path would allow. It felt like wherever Kayla looked, trees and shallows were all that was around her. She really had entered this world of a mystery dungeon, where nothing was beyond the trees except more of everything that was currently around her. One could even derive repeated patterns from the position of everything, but the random attacks from ferals implied they were still moving somewhere. This carried on for a while, what felt like an hour or so, before a strange sensation overcame Kayla in her jog. It irritated her eyes, though she couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary.
The next thing she knew, she tripped up and planted straight into the water. Her ears rolled up as she braced for the pain, and yet, such never came. Instead, bubbles and muffled water sensations were all she could see. High-pitched screeching and heavy wind filled her ears, but neither sounded like what they should sound like underwater, and were as clear as a wailing guitar. She also didn't feel any wetness at all, nor did she even lose her balance. She was stumbling forward even though she was sure she tripped up, and gasped as she skidded to a stop.
"What the?" she whispered. Everything was blurry and blinding, so she shook her head to focus. Just like that, she was in a completely different place. An ancient ruin made of stone halls and smooth slabs, where every last bit of it gleamed bright gold. She spun around in disbelief, seeing her team in just as much surprise, while the paths behind her showed no hint of the nature she was just in.
"That was a mysteriosity wave, wasn't it?" Kayla guessed.
"It's hardly the first time I've experienced it, and yet it never gets any easier," May replied.
"Wow. It really is a 'one second you're here, the next you're there' kinda thing," Pola remarked, still gazing around. "So this is, uh, Gilded Hall, right? No one said the whole thing'd be made of gold!"
"I think the clue is in the name," Shannon said.
"Who cares! We're rich! Kari, help me dig this stuff up!"
"Can we? Kayla, can we?" Kari bounced giddily, too.
"Not even a minute in and her eyes are on the prize," Kayla mumbled. "Uh, if you can even dig this stuff up. Then you've gotta get it transformed into physical or digital money… probably need a way to carry it outta here, too."
"You're not gonna help?" Pola smirked.
"Do I look like I could carry this stuff even if my hands worked?"
"Gotta put that Move Theory to use somewhere!"
Kayla sighed. "It's always something new with you."
"Uh… sorry Pola, this stuff's way too hard to dig into," Kari confessed. She even had her new Shovel Claws equipped.
"Aww, rats. Wait then that means this stuffs made of like, somethin' metal, right? May, it's up to you!"
"Gold, in its purest form, isn't made of metal. My magnetism is useless here," May stated, arms tucked behind her back with a snide grin. "You're welcome to stay here and figure out how to dig out your fortune, if you want. It would save us the noise of dealing with you, especially if the distortions throw you out somewhere."
"Somewhere? Anywhere?" Kayla whispered. She twirled around to examine the halls again. This place didn't feel real. Low, slanted ceilings and smooth walls gave a claustrophobic feel, all made out of perfectly identical slabs. Although the room they landed in was wide, the many corridors branching off of it weren't, barely wide enough for two of them to walk beside each other. Kari could barely stand normally without her ears brushing against the ceiling in places. There were no windows, vents, holes, or even candles – no source of light was here, yet everything gleamed and sparkled like only gold could.
"We really just warped in here from nowhere. Somehow, this is even weirder than being able to go into Kayla's dreams," Shannon commented. "I actually don't like it here."
"You and me both. How do we even get out?" Kayla asked.
"The same way we got in. We explore until a mysteriosity wave takes us," May explained, holding up a compass. "It is absolutely imperative that we all stick together and go through the same wave this time, as well as that we continue in the direction we were going in when we entered. So west."
"A normal compass? Doesn't the PET have one?" Kari asked.
"Have you tried using it?" May replied.
That got Kayla to look at hers. Whatever systems it used to track their location, it was now on the fritz. The screen was fuzzy with 'AREA UNKNOWN' displayed anywhere that would normally identify where they were. "Oh wow. It really doesn't work. How did you know we'd end up in Gilded Hall?"
"That's the job of the scouters. There's also a lot of experimentation and theory going on with mystery dungeons," May led the way, rubbing her chin. "Although we've never been able to perfect it, scientists in the field have been able to come up with methods of how these spaces come about, how to take advantage of the waves, and more. Right now, we're relying on the direction rule. If we continue to head west, we will exit in the west, and so forth."
"And we know we'll come out close to Orchard Overgrowth… how?" Pola asked. "As in, we're just gonna pop out there when the mysteriosity wave does its thing again?"
"Precisely."
There was a pause. "So when does it happen?"
"It happens when it happens. We simply have to keep walking," May stated.
"It's random?" Shannon cried.
"Honestly, I'm not surprised. What about mystery dungeons isn't random?" Kayla said with a giggle.
"We could be stuck here until the wave decides to free us!" Shannon darted back and forth. Everyone kept walking. "Why aren't you guys worried?"
"Being stuck here with everyone doesn't sound that bad. You're all the bestest friends a girl could ask for," Kari said.
"Don't say things like that! We're not seriously trapped here, are we?" Shannon cried. There was another pause. "Guys, please! We're not going to have ration food, are we?"
"Trapped in a dungeon with a bunch of pretty girls. You get to take your pick," Pola gave him a wink, to which he slumped.
"I can't believe we're still on this."
"Hey, lighten up! It was a joke, silly," Pola smacked his back. "I think we can all agree this is the sorta shit mystery dungeon explorin's all about. Crawling about the unknown, wading through peril toward untold treasures in the ever-changing magic landscape…"
Kayla glanced back at her. Right. She's actually into this stuff, underneath all that raunchiness. Weird how I never noticed until she said something.
"It is strange how there aren't any ferals here," Ashe spoke up. She was at the back of the group and still had her weapon out.
The comment made Kayla focus. Since they got here, all she could make out were the voices and footsteps of her team, and not the habits of the enemies they should be facing. "Does Gilded Hall normally have enemies?"
"It depends. Mysteriosity waves don't spare anyone. Travellers, teams, ferals, anyone caught up in them will be transported to wherever they lead. In other words, the enemies here should be the same as wherever the original dungeon was," May explained. "For some reason, we're spared. I can't detect any ferals, either."
Kayla went quiet again. It was hard not to feel unsettled now that things had gotten going, but she couldn't forget what they were here for. This could have been some strange outcome caused by them getting closer to Mathildaath, or some other unknown factor. No. Don't scare yourself, Kayla. All you can do is press onward. Can't slow down now.
She sped up her walk, and the others copied without instruction. May continued to lead the way, frequently glancing at her compass as they passed from corridor to room. The layout of this place was the most unnatural dungeon they had ever been to, even less natural than the urban landscapes Kayla grew up in. The pattern of corridor to room just kept repeating, similar pattern-wise to the Dawnheath Marsh place they were in earlier. Each room and hall was the same size and shape as the last, with the same number of exits, same lighting, probably even the same number of slabs for all she knew. The only difference was where those corridors were positioned, but there always seemed to be at least one western exit, so they didn't have much work to decide where to go next.
Half an hour in and she couldn't escape the feeling that they'd made a serious mistake. Not even hedge mazes were this monotonous. With the tightness of the walls and ceiling however, she felt like the walls were slowly closing in on them. A nervous glance at everyone else implied they were thinking similar, especially Shannon, who wouldn't stop playing with his paws as he peered down the alternate hallways.
"Anyone in their right mind would call this one of those psycho traps," Kayla spoke up.
"D-don't say stuff like that!" Shannon cried.
"I don't wanna doubt you May, but are you sure we're doing this right?" she asked.
"Patience, girls. This kind of thing is very unpredictable," Ashe replied. "We are dealing with something that is still being experimented with, after all."
"But to have everything stay the same, and not have any feral Pokémon when there should be? There has to be something going on, right?" Kayla questioned. "We're still in a dungeon."
May finally slowed down and tapped a few things on her PET. "It is worth considering. We're closing in on Mathildaath's influence, after all. In fact, we have no idea how close we are to it. Knowing she has a personal vendetta against Kayla, perhaps her magic is at play here."
"You're just saying that now?" Shannon shrieked.
"Alright, you've gotta take a chill pill dude. We're alright," Pola gave him a smack on the side.
"No, no it's not alright! I feel like I'm gonna be sick!" he grabbed his head. "It's so stale and hot in here, I'm actually queasy. Like I'm being shaken like some kinda soda or something. All this light too, we're going in circles, I just know it!"
"Circles would make sense," Kayla mumbled, taking another look around the room. Exactly the same as the last. Several corridor exits, sparkling gold walls, low ceiling, the lot. Then she noticed Kari was quiet again, on all fours. "Kari?"
"O-oh. Don't mind me," the Furret squeaked, and stood back up.
"Nah-uh. We're at a loss here, so speak to me."
Kari swayed playfully. "I think I can feel vibrations again."
"Vibrations?" May replied. She twisted to scan the room as well, and then her ears flicked with agitation. "How didn't I realise this earlier? Kari, please use Dig, right here!"
"You want me to dig a hole in the ground?"
"What would that do?" Shannon cried.
"Just do it. You'll see," May tucked her arms behind her back.
"O-kay. You're the boss!" Kari said cheerfully, slipping her Shovel Claws on. Raising her arms high, she dove into the floor and shovelled away, managing to dig cleanly into it unlike the walls earlier. She made it look like the floor was made of cakey mud with how easily she tore through it, tail left wagging out of the ground after a few moments. And then she suddenly yelped and fell right down, disappearing from sight completely.
"Kari!" Kayla gasped. She hopped down the hole without a second thought.
"No! Follow her, don't hesitate!" May ordered, jumping in as well. Pola was about to join them but noticed Shannon was still nervous, so she grabbed his paw and dragged him in, despite his cries of protest.
The team landed on solid ground, but took immediate notice of the shallow water covering it. This place was just the same as the golden halls above at first glance, and then sensory overload hit, and the team instinctively stood back-to-back with one another.
The ceiling was gone. In its place was a layer of fog with a disgusting pattern to it, like a murky, multicoloured amalgamation of liquid substances swirling in a blender. The dark, faded colours spiralled and scrolled so rapidly it was irritating to look at, especially thanks to the many static, glowing red eyes dotted all over the pattern. Kayla identified an overwhelming mashup of concerning noises from all around them: groans and gurgles from different creatures, distorted jingling like shards of glass raining on a metal floor, and what even sounded like a choir howling in reverse. The water on the floor was so shallow it only covered her feet, yet it felt heavy and sticky, as if a powerful grip took a hold of her.
Altogether, it shifted Kayla into an angst she had never felt before. She couldn't concentrate on anything. She was in the world of Dawnheath Marsh, and then Gilded Hall, and then was suddenly yanked out of both worlds. Not in the sense that she had left the dungeon, or the oncoming battle, but the world entirely. She wasn't here. She couldn't concentrate.
"Wha-what?" she gasped, even though she was sure that she thought that rather than saying it aloud. Even more confusingly, those very words appeared before the group, written in smoke, stutter and all. Just the sight of it made Kayla's eyes water, and she started shuddering.
To make matters even worse, the platform they were on was spinning, as were portions of the floor all around them. This place was like an optical illusion designed to make even the most resilient figures sick to their stomach. The noises, the fog, the fact that everything moved, even themselves when standing still, except those unmoving eyes that somehow stayed perfectly still in their view, which didn't make sense. You could look straight forward and see things moving in one direction, turn around and suddenly everything was moving in another, and then upwards, and somehow those eyes weren't moving while everything else was. Combined with the hard grip of the water and the constant noises, Kayla quickly shut her eyes and curled up, losing her mind to the headache brought on by this madness.
"No wonder it felt like we weren't makin' progress. That compass of yours has gotta be messed up!" Pola shouted. "And is it just me, or are we actually in a monster house?"
"I'm actually gonna be sick… urk…" Shannon gurgled.
"Hold it in! Don't you dare!"
"This is definitely the work of Mathildaath. In all of my years and experience, I have never run into something like this," Ashe warned, eyes widened. "May, we need to act fast. What do we do?"
"Your first point of order is to ask the other adult here? My my," May replied, giving her a snide grin.
"Now is not the time for you to be a dick!" Pola snapped.
"Kayla!" Kari cried, bringing everyone's attention to the Buneary.
Kayla's attempts to calm down were fruitless. She'd been reduced to a shivering ball of stress, lacking the ball shape as her arms hung loose at her sides rather than curling with her. Kari's paws wrapping around her made her jump, but she must have given the Furret a frightening look as they immediately dropped her.
"K-Kayla, get it together!" Pola snapped at her.
"It's no use shouting at her!" Kari squeaked. "But Kayla, it's okay, I'm promise! Everything's okay!"
Their cries didn't help. If anything, they made her headache or whatever this was worse. Everything rushed. Nothing made sense. The noises, the nerves in her chest and stomach, the feeling of touch where it shouldn't be. It made her breathing ragged but frantic. Her eyes were shut tight, and yet light, words, and her thoughts all seemed to be visible as an epileptic storm of lines and waves. It wouldn't stop. This nightmarish storm of feelings wouldn't stop.
Nightmare. That one word caught her attention, and flicked on a small, but warm light in the depths of whatever was going on right now. This was a nightmare. Of course it was a nightmare. It was a nightmare trap, and she had walked right into it, all the while knowing how to get out of it. Or at least she hoped she knew. She relaxed, keeping her eyes shut, and fell back.
"K-K-Kayla?" Kari squeaked even louder. She caught Kayla carefully and let them rest on her body. "I-I think… oh, right! Yeah, let's try that!"
"Try what?" Shannon struggled to reply, hands clasped over his mouth.
Kari didn't answer, she just got to work, pulling out their dream catcher and holding it high. Almost immediately, the symbols began to spin and glow, and a Dream Pool formed. With Kari holding it however, she was instantly pulled into it, which seemed to make the portal itself fall onto the team, transporting them all just as suddenly.
Cries and screams rang out until the group realised where they were, flying through the smoky depths and into one of Kayla's dreams again. Kayla herself woke up before they breached the light at the end, enabling her to kick into focus and land safely.
Once again, they emerged in a world with shallow water and soil below. This time it was most familiar to Kayla: a field of sunflowers, only the sky was as dark as the night. On closer inspection, there was a murky mist giving the sky a dark blue hue, hiding the clouds, stars, and other details. There wasn't anything in the background, either. Just the sky, the layer of shallow water, and this endless field of sunflowers below it.
"Getting… kinda… tired of," Shannon commented, and heaved.
"Urk, go over there! Gods, don't you dare!" Pola shoved him away.
"Now what? He's got a point. This warping business is real tiring!" Kari cried.
Kayla felt her heart racing still, but with things quiet, she was able to take a deep breath and calm down. Shannon looked pale, but he was able to avoid throwing up, too. The Dream Pool was behind them as well, emitting its protection field that kept them all safe. Kayla warily stepped forward to test it, and stuck a foot out. Searing pain hit the tip of her toe.
"I thought so," she grinned.
"Kayla?" Ashe said.
"Alright you old witch. I've cracked the code. Show yourself already!" Kayla posed for battle. There was no response.
"… Seriously?" Pola folded her arms. She jolted when low, stifled laughter echoed across the field.
The laughter grew, both in volume and enthusiasm, bringing everyone to pose for battle. That seemed to set off whoever this woman was, who laughed at them without holding back. Just as suddenly, a set of eyes filled the sky. Huge, dark eyes with bright yellow pupils that lacked irises. There were three, one above and between the expected two. "So you've come."
"No way! Not already, right? Is that?" Kari squeaked.
May tensed up. "Mathildaath."
"You don't seriously think you can escape by creating your own dream, do you?" the voice asked.
"If you're intercepting it, then that means it was about to work," Kayla grinned.
"That's right, mortals. I am Mathildaath," the voice announced, making the others gasp and tense even more.
"Kayla, seriously. What's going on?" Shannon hissed at her.
"We got duped by our own plan. We didn't get teleported by mysteriosity at all, we just walked right into Mathildaath's Dream Pool!" Kayla stated. "We were right. You're just a Dreamer whose dreams have gotten way outta hand. But now that another Dreamer's in the region, you're scared. Afraid I could take you down!"
Mathildaath laughed aloud again. "Me? Afraid of the likes of a puny mortal such as you? Not even in your dreams. You are an insignificant mote to me, one no different than all the rest. All who approach me will know my wrath."
"Well if you're talking to us, we must be worth something," May shrugged.
"Why're you doing this?" Kari asked angrily.
"You are interfering with my master plan," Mathildaath's voice grew lower and more monstrous. "If you value your lives, then I suggest you flee. Flee like all the rest, and live your days out of my influence."
Kayla looked away for a moment. "Heh. Heh heh heh, wow, to think I was afraid of this. Seriously? An empty threat?"
"That threat's anything but empty! Look what she did to us!" Shannon gasped.
"Nah. All this has done is made me get more pumped," Kyala bragged, keeping a cocky grin. "You ready to throw down? 'Cos I'm ready. Get out here and fight me you pussy!"
"Kayla!" Kari squeaked, paws covering her mouth.
"That bravado will be your undoing," Mathildaath replied, and her giant eyes narrowed with anger. "This is my world. And you'll play by my rules."
"Last I checked, I'm pretty sure this is my dream, and you're trying desperately to take it away from me," Kayla shifted a foot forward. With her statement, her eyes glowed, and another Dream Pool appeared beside her. "If you really wanna put your money where your mouth is, then you better come at me with everything you've got. 'Cos your reign is coming to an end, Mathildaath. And you know it."
"Insolent mortal. You'll regret not running for your life when I oh-so benevolently gave you the chance!" Mathildaath's volume grew with every word. The moment those eyes glowed, Kayla sprung into action.
"Girls, into the portal, now!" she commanded with a serious glance at them. The team obeyed without hesitation, all diving into the new portal Kayla had made. She was last in, but hesitated to see what Mathildaath would do. The world shook and heavy wind picked up, followed by a strange black liquid covering the ground. From the liquid arose shadowy creatures with red eyes, one of which resembled a Buneary. Kayla snickered and grinned cockily at it, and then leapt into her Dream Pool.
A short flight through the cloudy realm once again, and this time, the group landed back in Dawnheath Marsh, complete with its vine trees and rocky shallows. The canopy didn't block the sky this time, allowing the team to see the early-afternoon horizon.
"Are… we back?" Shannon asked, gazing around.
"No doubt about it. This isn't the Dream World, neither Mathildaath's or mine," Kayla confirmed. "The mysteriosity of this place probably isn't high at all. We just walked into Mathildaath's influence changing the world."
"She must have known our plan somehow. So that version of Gilded Hall was fake," May rubbed her chin. "Excellent eyes Kayla, spotting that we were in her dream somehow."
"Eh, it didn't make sense. If mysteriosity dungeons are supposed to have the enemies of the previous dungeon, then we should've been able to see Sharpedo and that lot," Kayla explained. "Plus, Shannon got sick, like we were constantly moving somehow. I'm assuming you have motion sickness."
"I didn't know, either. I'll get it checked sometime," he confessed, embarrassed.
"That- uh, wow. Why didn't I think of that?" Kari scratched the back of her head. "I don't really get it fully, but if we're back here, we might as well hit the road, huh? Can we still get to that orchard place in good time?"
"We're not outta the woods yet. I doubt she will, but Mathildaath could do something similar anytime now when we're walking through this place," Kayla warned.
"I wonder whose fault that is?" Pola spat. "Seriously, why'd you piss 'er off?"
"Please don't start. Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere," Ashe came between them. "Let's hurry, girls!"
"Mathildaath could do it again, but I can just warp us out. She knows that now. Seriously, her threats are empty. All we've gotta do is get to her!" Kayla said.
"I admire the confidence, but we're talking about an archfiend who hasn't been approached in two decades now. A little seriousness would go a long way," Shannon replied.
"Aww, I thought you trusted me, Shannon!" Kayla teased. May rolled her eyes and started guiding the team with her compass again.
"I- urf, I do, I just, can we calm it with the taunts?" he requested. He didn't get an answer as everyone walked off. "Guys?"
"Coward," Pola grumbled.
"It's not being a coward, it's being- oh y'know what, you're all nuts."
…
Just as Kayla suspected, their journey was uninterrupted in terms of strange portals from there on. The Pokémon of the dungeon still attacked them the same way as earlier. Water Pokémon crept up from the soil beneath the shallows, attempting to ambush them. Meanwhile, grass Pokémon like Lombre, Nuzleaf, and Applin attacked from behind the vines, mostly throwing out spore and powder attacks. Each battle was dealt with as it came, with Kayla, Kari, and May at the front as they planned earlier.
Hours flew by, turning this pumped-up encounter into an ordinary dungeon trip. Despite her eagerness earlier, Kayla appreciated that. Any nerves she had were gone. As far as she knew, she was travelling with five other Pokémon she was beginning to trust, and nothing could defeat them. On top of that, she enjoyed this dungeon. Its pretty hues, cool water, and eventually changing scenery were more engaging than the other dungeons they had been to as a team so far.
The shallows eventually eased up, and the dungeon felt like they were ascending. The forest grew thicker, while the ground grew harder, resembling grey, stony mountain roads. When the horizon was in view, all she could see was clear scenery that faded into the distance, overlooking acre upon acre of shimmering, purple forest. Flying type ferals replaced the water types, but they were no harder to beat than a Quick Attack or spell from Pola. The Taillow that avoided the attacks were brought down by Shannon's Thunder Wave.
"Are we there yet?" Kari groaned, slumped as they walked.
"I believe we are, actually," May answered. She'd kept her arms tucked behind her almost the entire time, somehow.
Kayla grumbled something as she looked around. Surely enough, the scenery was changing. Although the mountain path continued on through the trees, nature was returning bit by bit. A chilly wind that howled from their altitude, while the scenery between the trees seemed to fill out with detail. She could hear more than ferals too, while the skyline matched the late afternoon she expected it to be. The world of the mystery dungeon was being left behind them.
Finally, we can take it easy, she stretched. That was way longer than I thought. Choosing not to eat until we meet up with the others has probably got Kari feeling all sorts.
A quick glance at the Furret, and she was giggling. Kari looked like a shrivelled drinking straw, and swayed while mumbling to herself. Yep. Thought so.
At last, the trees began to thin out. Instead of a high mountain path like she expected to see however, the area ahead was as dark as midnight, and barely lit up by a Pokémon holding a lantern. Kayla and the others gasped and jogged ahead. Somehow, outside of the forest was as dark as night, if not, darker. There were no Kricketot, Volbeat, or any of the expected nocturnal Pokémon around. Kayla couldn't even hear them.
"Wait, are we still in the dungeon?" Kayla gasped and glanced back in concern. May and Ashe caught up, but neither were surprised. "It was bright out between the trees."
"You've forgotten the report from before. Mathildaath has this section of the region in cursed night, remember?" May informed.
"We mustn't stay in her darkness for too long, or we'll be put to sleep," Ashe added.
"Right," Kayla nodded slowly. There was a clearing where the lantern Pokémon waited, and beyond that, a little more forest. She couldn't see much else due to how absurdly dark it was, and with potentially every Pokémon asleep, she couldn't hear a thing besides her team. She wouldn't be able to see with her ears even if she tried.
"Oh finally, you guys got here," a familiar gritty voice complained. The Pokémon holding the lantern dropped its camouflage, revealing Azelf. "Seriously, we've been waiting here all day for you guys. You're so late!"
"Late? How can you even tell?" Kayla objected.
"Uh, by sitting here all day? Whatever, just stay by the firelight so you don't fall asleep," the legendary instructed, leading them across the open area. There was some unsureness from the group, but it wasn't hard to keep up. Once they got into the woodland ahead, Azelf took off ahead into a campsite, where Gema and the others were waiting.
"Finally!" Gema shouted, making everyone jump. "What took you all so long? Everyone else got here hours ago!"
"Urk! I- we, had a run in—" Kayla struggled.
"Apologies, Headmaster Gema," May interrupted her, and bowed. "Gilded Hall didn't work in our favour. We warped in quickly, but then were warped out just as quickly. We wound up walking across the whole dungeon. Thankfully, it seems we were still warped here to our destination."
"Oh alright. Just weren't favoured by the mysteriosity, were you?" Gema calmed down. "Well, at least we can get some food on."
Kari grumbled weakly and swayed, making Kayla giggle again. "You've been really quiet today. But we're home free now, you can be yourself!"
"I thought you wanted me to stay quiet?" Kari squeaked.
"Huh?" Kayla flinched. "Oh, uh, I just meant earlier with the bouncing in the water. It was getting hard to hear the ferals. I love it when you talk, Kari!"
The Furret blushed and froze up. "You really mean that?"
"Someone has to like it," Pola rolled her eyes.
"Hey!"
"Is this the real reason we waited to eat? Dinner's going to be so noisy with them around," Mesprit challenged, hands on her hips.
"Maaaaybe," Gema gave her a tap, to which Uxie giggled as well.
"Geez, you're both children," Mesprit complained.
It didn't take long for the teams to set up around the campsite, although everyone was separated with their own tents and mini habitats. A trio of lanterns stay lit in the middle of the woodland to keep everything orange and warm. This did mean the teams had to be quite close to one another, close enough for Kayla's curiosity of their dinners to get the better of her. She regretted keeping it simple with berries and fruits once she saw everyone else's steamed buns and green skewers. Team Daybreak didn't complain though, so she didn't, either.
An hour later, Gema had everyone gathered around his holographic map again. "Right. We're approaching the core of the operation, everyone. Now is the time to put our heads down and focus. The coming battles will be the toughest any of us have ever faced."
"Even you? You're the headmaster, everything's supposed to be easy for you!" Kari said.
"Heh, if only. Then I wouldn't need anyone here," Gema chuckled. His map zoomed in on their continent, and then even further to their region, and again to their area. "Pay attention, now. Orchard Overgrowth is not normally a mystery dungeon, but has been turned into one thanks to Mathildaath's influence. That means anything can happen there, but the laws of mystery dungeons give us an advantage. This map is being uploaded to your PETs, alongside your designated targets. Use it to keep track of your general position."
"So it's like having an undetailed map," Kayla commented, taking a peek at hers. The mystery dungeon will have a random layout as always, but the map will keep track of exactly where we really are in the orchard. Kinda miraculous.
"I want to run through everything our scouts have learnt so that everyone is on the same page. Firstly, Mathildaath's main threat is this surrounding darkness. If you're exposed to this darkness, or the rays of her blue moon for even a minute, you will fall into a sleep that you can't wake up from. Consider that a mission failure," Gema explained. "Secondly, the archfiend resides in a shrine she built at the peak of the mountain in the middle of the orchard."
As he spoke, Kayla traced their location to the target shown on her PET. The shrine was in the middle of the area while they were on the southern edge, but the target marker was on the eastern side of the orchard.
"Thirdly, the shrine is sealed shut by four guardians appointed by the archfiend. Only upon defeating all four of them will the seal break, allowing us to attack the archfiend. So here's the plan," Gema continued. He went quiet to make sure everyone was paying attention to him. His glass eye meant he had to turn his whole head. "Our individual teams will make our way across the orchard to take out these guardians. Team Retribution, you're to the north. Paris, your team Is west. Team Daybreak, you girls are east, and Moby, you've got the south."
"Any particular reason I get the easy one? I'm fine in the water, y'know," the Audino complained.
"We actually picked based on the information we've been given for each guardian. Your designations should have the advantage against these guardians, be it their typing or species similarities," Gema answered. "Speaking of, these guardians are fiends on their own, Pokémon with strange powers unlike petty ferals or even members of Netherworld, so prepare for tough battles. With all the fiends defeated, I, and exclusively my group, will enter the shrine to defeat the archfiend."
There was a pause, and then the Tyranitar took on the nastiest scowl Kayla had ever seen, directed at her so hard he leaned forward at her. "I must stress this again. No. Heroics. Defeat your designated guardian and then return to camp here."
"If you were gonna treat any of us like kids, why enlist us?" Kayla turned away.
"Some of you like to disobey orders, but this is life or death. You absolutely must not under any circumstance overextend yourselves. We also have academy Pokémon and members of the authorities hired as rescue teams, so if you find yourselves defeated, send out an SOS if you can't escape. They'll come and rescue you," Gema continued.
"So in summary: travel the orchard, using the map on your PET to find your target. It'll be a fiend guardian. Your mission to defeat them, and then return here," Mesprit spoke up. "Any questions?"
"How are we going to stay out of the moonlight? Are we taking one of those lanterns with us?" Shannon asked.
"No. Because the area is now a mystery dungeon, we'll keep underwater to keep out of the moonlight," Gema answered.
"Wait a minute. What?" Kayla flinched.
"The area initially wasn't flooded, but now it is. Incidentally, water refracts light, nulling the effect of Mathildaath's moonlight. When it became a mystery dungeon, it became possible for us normal Pokémon to explore it. Quite a specific set of circumstances, I know," Gema explained.
"But… that," Kayla grit her teeth. No one else said anything. Does he expect us to hold our breath the whole time? Is no one going to say anything?
"This does also mean we have extremely limited time. For the duration of this mission, I've authorised your PETs to have hyper rank environment protection for those of you below that rank. That gives you about two hours once you enter the dungeon," Gema continued. "Don't overextend. If the timer's running low, return here with an Escape Orb. We cannot contact each other during this operation, so everyone's success is critical."
Environmental protection? Of all the things for me not to know about, Kayla couldn't help a worried look. She snuck a glance at the other teams, but no one else seemed concerned. Probably not a big deal if no one else is worried… Paris isn't even worried about this, so we can't actually be going underwater underwater, can we?
"No other questions?" Mesprit asked. "Now is the time to make final preparations. Recount your supplies, sharpen your weapons, and rest while you can. We head out in an hour."