Serket POV

The first thing I felt was burning across my entire body, then after a few seconds, I noticed I was laying on what felt like a bed, but it was pretty hard to tell since I could barely feel anything other then the fucking burning. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw a medium sized room with two beds, Suijin sleeping in the other bed to my left. There were a few other things in the room like cabinets, plants, paintings, a few chairs, and a door to my right.

"What the-" I stopped mid-sentence, my throat feeling as dry as a desert, and my voice sounding worse then nails on a chalkboard. I slowly sat up and rubbed my throat, trying to find any moisture left in my body. The door opened and in came a Mawile and Mimikyu. The Mimikyu handed me a water bottle, which I downed as quickly as possible in order to actually talk to these guys.

"Looks like you're feeling better." The Mawile said in a voice I recognized.

"Y-You're the mon that chomped down on that Hypno, right?" I asked, getting a nod in return. A cough resounded throughout the room, to which we turned to see Suijin awake and taking a sip of water. I glanced around for a second before turning my attention to... what was her name?

"Hey Stall, where are the other two?" I asked, her non-verbal response being a harsh glare.

"Stel." She corrected in a quiet but violent voice. I quickly nodded in understanding. Bitch is scary.

"Cream and Marshadow were nowhere near you two when we found you, do you remember anything that might've lead to them being taken or leaving?" She spoke in a soft, questioning voice. Definitely better then the murderous aura that went with the last one. I thought back to the fight, remembering Cream getting grabbed, then I was knocked out. What if they...

"We fought two Cacturne, then Cream was grabbed and threatened, so we stopped and were knocked out. My guess would be that they took them." I stated, making Stel close her eyes and think.

"These Cacturne... were they wearing scarves?" She asked with a slight head tilt.

"Uh... yeah, how'd you-"

"Then they may be in grave danger." She cut me off, confusing me a bit.

"Huh? I mean, they did seem dangerous, but if they wanted us dead they would have killed us after knocking us out." I said, though she frowned afterwards and turned to the door.

"You should stretch your legs, you've been sleeping for a while." She suggested. I raised a brow, but shrugged and got off the bed, the burning already mostly gone. Guess it only felt that bad cause I felt all of it at once. Suijin stood up and was being helped by the Mimikyu.

"Thank you..."

"O-Oh, right. My name's Clover."

"Thank you Clover."

"You're welcome." So his name's Clover, good, now I can actually refer to him by name. We all walked outside to see- actually... all except Suijin walked out to see a desert town overrun by Maractus.

"Geez, there's so many of them." I muttered as we walked through town, eventually arriving at a large building in the middle of this densely populated community. A Maractus stood in front of the double doors leading inside.

"Stel, you're two minutes late." He said in a slightly harsh tone. Stel bowed her head and gestured to me and Suijin.

"I was waiting for these two to wake up, I thought they'd need to hear this." She responded in a nice voice, I thought she'd give this guy the death whisper like she did for me.

"Alright, that's fine. The elder is inside." He stepped to the side and let us in. The place was huge, there were large tables near the walls, a giant chandelier, and a stage in the back. It looked like either a giant cafeteria or meeting room. No in between.

"Ah, you're here. I welcome you four to our town, I hope you have had a smooth time getting here." An older looking Maractus greeted us, hunched over, holding a walking stick to keep himself upright.

"Greetings elder, you already know, but I'm Stel. These are Clover, Suijin and Serket." Why am I last?

"Hi there... Uh, elder."

"Hello."

"Hey." We all greeted one after the other. Why am I last.

"Hello to all of you. Now that you are here, I can fully explain what is happening between us and the Cacturne." I sighed and took a seat on a nearby chair.

"Alright gramps, tell us the long and troubled story of this town, complete with so much detail it would put every book in existence to shame." I said, getting comfortable. The guy laughed and waved me off.

"That's not at all what I was about to do! I'll only highlight the important bits, don't worry." He finished with a chuckle before moving on to the story.

"It was quite a few years back when we founded this village, but it wasn't long until the Cacturne arrived and tried taking over. Though we just barely drove them off, they didn't give up and opted to start stealing from us, probably hoping to take the town bit by bit. They have started their attacks again after a few years, and we are not as good as fighting as we once were, so we need your help." He sighed and looked at us, waiting for a reply.

"The Cacturne have not only threatened your town, but they have kidnapped friends of mine. I must say, with no hesitation, that we will help you." Stel replied, making the elder give a small smile, but it... didn't feel right? Is this really the elder? Or some creep who got this position by chance? I shrugged. Not my problem.

"Yeah, we do need to save those two, but there's just one problem... we have no idea where they are." I said, but the elder shook his head and gestured for someone behind him. A Maractus wearing a yellow ribbon tied around their neck walked forward, looking very nervous.

"Melody here knows where their hideout is located. She is a bit paranoid and easily frightened, but that's because of her run in with the Cacturne. She'll show you the way, but please, protect her." He said, gently nudging Melody, who slowly approached us.

"H-Hi... I'm M-Melody..." She said, shakily reaching out to Stel for a handshake.

"Don't worry Melody, you are safe with us." She responded, shaking her hand. This'll be great...