The Doomed Sprout
Chapter 10
It took a long while, but Fen eventually arrived back to the hoard pile, the one singular milestone she could identify in this maze of rooms, with how similar each room looked to the others. While she wasn't certain how to leave, the Nidoran expected the hole from which she fell to still be here, regardless of whether she was actually below the forest, or, more likely had been teleported. That was her current theory on why this place had so many different Pokemon that didn't fit together, though she refused to delve deeper into it, wanting to find her companions first.
Although there was no sunlight of any sort, her scent was showing the exact thing she expected to see, a small stream of hotter air flowing through the ceiling, likely from the surface. Figuring out where exactly on the ceiling proved a lot more difficult, however, due to something weird called ''physics'', with hot air going above cold air and being stuck on the ceiling. Why can't the magical world with fire-breathing dogs just give up on that and make her job easier...
Since she had no intention of doing dangerous climbs in order to try and randomly find that crevasse/portal, Fen decided to go at it more rashly, chucking around all the glowing gems she had gathered, seeing where each would hit the ceiling, until, eventually, one didn't, phasing through something invisible. Pushing a sigh of relief, she tossed another one, leading to the same result, the crystal disappearing into thin air. A few seconds later, that same crystal appeared, shooting back at high speed and knocking her head, pushing her to the ground and eliciting a groan of pain. As Fen was starting to put together what had just happened, a second crystal came shooting through the ceiling, piercing the ground next to her.
« Hello? Is someone on the other side? », the Nidoran asked. No reply came, leading her to send a message. If only there was paper…
An idea sparked in her mind, and the Nidoran rushed to grab an Oran Berry she had stashed. She focused, launching a weak poison needle into it, making sure it stood out, before throwing it with all her might into the invisible pathway. Whatever was out there was smart enough to pick up stuff and throw it back, so it was probably smart enough to identify a needle as belonging to a Nidoran. And there's only one Pokemon that's shown any kind of intelligence out there…
As if on cue, Sera fell down from the ceiling, landing on her paws, visibly anxious as she looked around the cavern, before realizing who was standing in front of her.
« Finally! I'm free! », she yelled, before jumping at the Nidoran, wrapping her into a tight hug.
« Happy to see you too, ahah… Wait, what do you mean by free? », Fen asked nervously.
« You told Lumin to wait for you, and he decided that I had to listen to that order too »
Fen pretended to ignore she just outright said she was trying to leave him behind. « So, why are you here then ? The entrance wasn't really near the tree we hid it »
« Well, stuff happened, and now we got more Outcasts to talk to ! I'm sure you'll love them, these Pokemon actually talk and are open to questions, they even like different stuff ! ». Sera's joyful tirade kept on for a little while, with Fen absorbing none of it, still stuck on the core information that they had found Outcasts. There was more than one, based on what she was saying, so was it a group ? Do they have a leader ?
Fen gently pushed her paw on the Eevee's mouth, hushing her before she kept talking about Noelle's healing abilities. The two walked to the nearby illuminated pile, Sera casting a questioning glance.
« And what is that supposed to be ? »
« I just thought a light source could be near. Also, I was bored, sue me »
« Fen, we were thinking you could be dead, and you were playing with crystals ? Didn't I teach you how to handle caves ? », Sera asked, frustration evident in her expression.
« I-I know, I did the light steps thing, but I couldn't find my way out, and there was so much junk scattered around, and.. »
« We've been waiting on you for almost an entire day ! », the Eevee lashed out, baring her fangs, before a growl from behind made her freeze.
Fen tilted her head, noticing Lumin was now in the cave as well, and was apparently very on edge. She walked towards the Shinx, patting his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down, which surprisingly worked.
« Hello Lumin, it's been a while. Thanks for finding me », Fen said, earnestly.
The Shinx looked at her, his face showing no expression, though his eyes betrayed his relief. « I didn't find you, the Outcasts did », he pointed out.
Fen's eyes shot back towards the ceiling. « Oh, right, where are these guys ? Are they coming in too ? »
« They said they'd join after we made sure the coast was clear. Ethan needed some healing, your crystal lodged itself on his knee for a bit »
« I still do not see a coast », grumped Lumin.
« It's an expression », both Fen and Sera let out, sighing.
Soon enough, the trio left the cave, First Fen, then the other two once she came back with some vines alongside a little weight-lifting from the Tauros in that new group they found. They were eventually able to pull every Pokemon out, albeit with some difficulties considering they weren't very happy about Fen's lack of unique coloration.
« So… You're the pipsqueak we've been tasked to save ? », approached the Breloom, Ethan, from what Fen could remember from Sera's rambling. « We were told you were a Shiny, yet here you are, completely bland »
Fen suddenly felt a whole lot happier about hitting him in the leg with a crystal. Guy sounded like a prick. « Excuse me for not meeting your standards, just invent some paint and I'll happily douse your eyes in them », Fen spat out.
Ethan simply looked at the small Nidoran, dumbfounded. « She did say the Nidoran was a weird one… what even is paint ? », he mumbled. If Fen heard him, she didn't care enough to reply, instead idly patting the Weedle that had crawled up to her, Glen, if her memory served right.
« Are you really a Shiny ? The strong one said you were », Glen asked, apparently very comfortable.
« I'm no shiny, but I am an Outcast, little one. Though… how do you know of this word ? »
« The Honorable taught it to us. He said it was so we wouldn't feel bad whenever we described ourselves. I like it, because it's different like we are »
Fen looked at the little Weedle, amazed to hear that such a little Pokemon seemed to be able to share as much emotion and thought as a human. Sera was the first hint of this, and maybe there was more to Lumin, hidden under all the silence and growls, but Glen was, without a doubt, perfectly able of abstract thoughts. They felt human, something she needed not to feel alone.
« Hey, so… thank you all for saving me, though I do have to ask… do you guys have a base camp ? », she asked, appearing as welcoming as possible and smiling wildly, making a few of them shake from discomfort.
« We do, though we'll only take Sera with us. She's the Shiny, you are not, even if you seem… not dumb », Ethan replied sharply, refusing to look her way.
« Well, what if I could show you something of value that you wouldn't be able to get in any other way, would that be enough for me to join you guys ? »
Ethan scoffed, before turning to glare at the Nidoran. Lumin growled as a warning to the Breloom, though Fen walked to him and pressed a paw on his side, seemingly calming him. Ethan simply looked at the situation in surprise, still silent.
« Let it out, then. What's so amazing that we should bring you over for ? », he finally let out. As Sera realized, she giggled before coming closer as well, stretching her ears towards Lumin.
Fen smiled, before taking out a device from the Shinx's tail. « Have you ever heard of Hip-Hop? I think you'd like it », he smiled.
Deep in the forest, an embarrassed Breloom was allegedly clearing the forest ahead, making the path safe for those following behind, including a very smug Nidoran whose face he could have smushed. On top of that, his main role in protecting the team seemed currently obsolete, the noise coming from that strange machine being apparently a good deterrent for Commons. Ethan had asked about how it worked, though he wasn't really sure he believed the reasoning that Commons just were afraid of the unknown noise. Surely a few of them would push on ahead anyway if only to attack the Outcasts ?
Eventually, his embarrassment over being shut up by a regular Nidoran wore off, and he explained his worry to the group. Surprisingly, Fen was extremely receptive to his doubts, spouting something about alternate theories and going on a long tirade he couldn't really keep up with. Noelle, however, seemed to handle that just fine, wrapping herself around her head to continue the discussion, completely ignoring the dumbfounded look of the rest of her team. Ethan decided to instead focus on the other two members of the group they had found.
Ethan turned towards the cream Eevee. « Do you know where Fen comes from exactly ? I know you told me she's weird, but this ? Carrying unknown objects that nobody knows about, and how she knows nothing about battling ? »
She shrugged. « I dunno. She was like this when I found them. You gotta ask Lumin, pretty sure they've been together since the start. I don't even know how she tamed him »
« Tamed him ? So Lumin's obeying her ? », Ethan asked in surprise.
« Yeeep… I don't even think she realizes how strong Lumin is, probably thinks it's a regular Shinx. I don't know much myself, honestly, only that he's weirdly emotional for a Common and apparently has spent a decent amount of time with his sister before she was chased off »
« Shiny ? »
Sera nodded. « Shiny. I kind of like that new name, feels less insulting. Where does it come from ? »
« The Honorable picked that term so we'd not feel bad about who we are. Apparently the term itself was a bad word, even before it started being used to describe us ». Ethan's voice was solemn as if he was doing a history lesson. « He's done a lot of other changes, too, and just like you like the term ''Shiny'', I'm sure you'll like his other changes. Even pipsqueaks can be of use in our town, we've got a lot of things you guys can do. »
Sera tilted her head towards him. « What's a town exactly ? I vaguely feel like it's a place with a lot of Pokemon, but... ». She shook her head.
« Exactly that. We've amassed quite a lot of Shinies since none of them have anywhere to go, and we aren't really good at hiding. The Honorable helps with that, you'll see when we get back »
« Hmm... ». Sera walked by, lost in thought. Eventually, she poked Ethan, getting his attention. « Say, you sure the term doesn't come from anywhere else ? I feel like Fen spoke about it before... »
They both looked behind them, staring down the Nidoran who was too engrossed in her discussion with Noelle to notice the stares. Glen did, however, and slithered his way up, climbing on top of Ethan.
« She seems nice. She says she's an Outcast, even if she doesn't have the colors we do », he chimed in, hoping to make them more comfortable.
« Nice or not, she's way too strange to just trust her. She's got information she shouldn't even know about, and the noise box isn't even the strangest thing she's brought up ! Where did you guys even rescue her from, you all disappeared into the ground ! », let out an exasperated Ethan.
« We can always ask her once we're all safe. I don't think she knows herself what that place was », Sera pointed out, brushing herself on his side in an attempt to calm him down.
Lumin, who had been silent until then, decided to chime in. « Maybe that's where she came from. She appeared from nothing in my territory, I had just patrolled where she was »
The Breloom sighed. « Am I the only one worried about the fact that you know nothing about this Common that acts and talks weird, yet seems to lead you two around ? I understand you were probably curious, Sera, but what's your excuse, Hunter ? »
Lumin only spared him a glance, before focusing on the path ahead. « She'd die without me », he stated matter-of-factly. The others couldn't find a reply.
About half an hour later, they eventually paused in the middle of the jungle. A stream of water was flowing nearby, giving the place a serene atmosphere, only interrupted by the cheery jingles popping from Fen's iPod. Lumin was shown to still be on edge, apparently deducting that the silence was a bad omen. Still, the rescue team that had brought them here told them to wait, as Ethan would announce their presence to the town to discuss whether or not the newcomers should be allowed in. Especially the two Commons, which Fen rolled her eyes about.
And so, after wishing goodbye to Ethan, Glen and Noelle, and an attempted goodbye to the Furret and Tauros who had decided to keep their distance the entire way, the trio sat down next to each other. They were too tired to have any form of discussion, and instead just stared at each other, uncertain on what to do. Eventually, Fen surprised herself, resting her side onto Lumin's back, who didn't even flinch, though Sera's giggle did draw his ire. Still, she said nothing. Whether they expressed it or not, it felt nice to be back together, and eventually Sera moved closer as well, nestling herself on Fen's free side.
As the hours passed, the three of them eventually fell asleep, lying on top of one another. Only then did the shinies reveal themselves, for they had a village to protect, and they were in the middle of it.