Nihilego's idea of a 'safe place' had apparently been on the other side of a sinister looking forest.

"Hey, what gives?" Piers grumbled as he scanned his surroundings. Nothing was familiar and it didn't seem like somewhere Leon had accidentally wandered to either judging by his expression. Behind them was a generic grassland that perfectly summoned up that feeling that they had been dropped in the middle of nowhere, not even a faint pathing towards the dungeon before them. "Lilligant's friend doesn't live in this shady looking place, do they?"

"If they're a grass type like her, I suppose it makes sense." Raihan hovered on the spot awkwardly, still getting used to his new body having woken up only minutes before stepping through the portal.

Nihilego gave a girlish giggle. "Oh no, she isn't. I'm dropping you off here so Lunala can't track her down so easily. You're looking for a Pokemon called Lucina, you'll know her when you see her. She lives somewhere on the other side of this forest."

Leon hesitantly stuck his head through the entrance then quickly popped back out of the distorted space. "... It is really dark and we don't have all that many supplies. Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"You'll be fine," she responded, shrugging dismissively. "One of my old friends sometimes frequents this forest, he might be able to guide you the rest of the way if you find him. Lunala wouldn't dare pick a fight with him."

Piers assumed with that little amount of detail that her own friend was another 'you'll know them when you see them' Pokemon. He didn't know enough about Ultra Beasts to guess what that Pokemon would be, though… What would Lunala fear? He sighed. "Alright, uh… Thanks. I guess we're going to struggle through. Hey, this forest isn't full of bugs, is it?"

"Nah, there's only a few. A lot of Grass types though, you'll be good at handling them, right Leon?"

He perked up, grinning and tapping his chest. "Of course! I'll fry them all up! We'll be off then!"

It was a fortunate thing that they had been fully healed, HP and all, before setting foot in the forest because Leon's fire attacks were doing overtime.

"Thank Arceus that Mystery Dungeons ignore all laws of physics," Raihan murmured as Piers cowered, Leon taking down the fifth Scyther in five minutes with yet another Flamethrower. "There would be a fire brigade by now if this happened back home!"

"Back home, I wouldn't be worried about bugs coming for me with every step, I really don't care about logic right now." Piers spied an Eevee sneaking up on their friend, quickly knocking them down with a Night Slash. "I thought we would be in our own world by now, but no."

Raihan casually dodged a far too brave Chikorita as it went for him, barely managing to stay airborne and launching a Dragonbreath attack. "That bitch set us up instead… What is she after, trying to zap our life forces like that? She didn't just want us to take out Eternatus for her, did she?" He vibrated, watching the frenzied Chikorita dart the other way. What a strange mix of Pokemon in this dungeon, they had already spied a Bulbasaur and Turtwig too. How lucky he was to get his secondary Dragon typing before stepping foot in here.

"Obviously not or she could have just sent us back home no problem," Leon growled, sighing in relief as he picked up the Elixir that the unconscious Scyther had dropped.

Raihan faded into silence barring the faint buzzing of his wings as they progressed to the next floor. Forests having floors, he still wouldn't understand that when it felt like they remained on the exact same plane of existence. The setting sun remained the same distance above them, flickering through the overlapping trees. How many floors had they passed through now? They had pretty good luck with the stairs but…

Were they being lured into another trap? It sounded too good to be true, some strange guardian plant lady sweeping in to save them from being backstabbed then promising refuge with another stranger. … A stranger no one had bothered to tell them the identity of, just an unfamiliar name. What kind of Pokemon was 'Lucina'? Why did some Pokemon bother with nicknames but not others? No, that was a question he had possessed and gained no real answer to since they had arrived in this world, when even common species didn't seem to bother to distinct themselves that way.

Leon halted and he almost flew into him at the same time Piers failed to stop zig-zagging. "Oi, why did you stop?" the latter snapped as Leon barely caught himself.

"I-I thought I just saw a shadow."

"There's shadows everywhere, this place is getting darker and darker," Piers grumbled, tilting his head as Leon shook his own, yelping.

"Not like that- I saw one darting through the trees! It looked like a Ghost Pokemon."

Raihan gave a nervous chuckle as he landed to nudge their resident Normal type. "We don't have to worry about that, right? As long as it doesn't know Perish Song."

As Piers mumbled something incoherent that Raihan guessed was meant to be 'it better fucking not', their friend sighed. "Maybe not… Come on, let's hurry up and find those stairs."

They moved on, Raihan taking advantage of his new abilities to search for the stairs from above while Piers and Leon covered the ground. How unfortunate this world's logic was that he couldn't simply fly over the whole dungeon, unable to even see any edges as he seemed to warp from one end back to the start of that floor. No, flying in a straight line wasn't going to help him.

As he scoured the eastern side of the floor he caught sight of something black shifting through the trees with a hint of red. Leon hadn't imagined it, there was something roaming the floor. Yet as he approached however, it disappeared into the earth. Definitely a ghost.

"Rai!" He turned west again as Leon's voice called out, swooping down and almost falling out of the air at the sight. He thought he would see eighteen enemies in a room at once but no, they seemed to have spawned out of nowhere, surrounding his friends. Mostly grass types, but they would need help with that Skuntank.

"What the fuck did you do?" he exclaimed as he landed by their side, Piers stumbling for an answer.

"I don't fucking know, I stepped on something and these fuckers just surrounded us!"

Some kind of trap, probably. If only they had equipped the Goggle Specs. He sighed, scanning the room. The Grass types, easy prey for Leon. There were a few Exeggcute Piers could take care of, too. Poison types he would have to handle quickly… "I just hope we have enough PP for this."

With a flash of fire, Leon dove into action. Some of the weaker, first-stage Grass types balked at the sight but were soon inspired by their elders tackling them head-on, led by a Torterra that tanked the Flamethrower then retaliated with an Earth Power he hastily dodged. "I think we might be a little too low-levelled for some of these guys!"

"Grotle evolve at level 32, we're probably fine." Raihan evaded the Skuntank's Sludge Bomb, narrowing his focus onto the Stunky accompanying it with a well-timed Bulldoze. "Let's take out the small guys first! It'll be hard to focus with status moves being thrown around!"

Piers zipped past a Stun Spore ejected from an Ivysaur and nailed a few Exeggcute using Night Slash. When the 'small guys' were the only ones he could wipe out with super-effective STAB moves, that was a given, he supposed. He could count 13 Pokemon remaining already, maybe this wouldn't be so bad… Was that buzzing he heard? "Raihan, are you making that noise or one of these guys?"

Raihan stopped and stared at him, barely avoiding another Poison attack before knocking down the remaining Stunky. Now to focus on helping the others with the small fry, but… He listened out as he landed on one of the unconscious skunks, only allowed mere seconds to listen out before he had to dodge yet there was a distant humming almost drowned out by his own. "No, I think a Scyther must be on its way. Get ready to pop that Elixir, Lee!"

Leon rolled his eyes, stumbling his way out of another Earth Power. Thank Arceus Torterra was so slow, able to knock down one of its sneaky kids before yelping as he got hit by the giant Pokemon's body slamming into him. Judging by the fact he was still conscious, it wasn't a Ground type move at least. At least the fucker looked dazed by its own assault. "I already popped it, who knows if I'll still have Flamethrowers left after I take care of this tanky bastard and his brats!"

"Surely we're close to evolving ourselves, with wings you wouldn't have to worry!" Piers took out the last set of Psychic eggs then took advantage of Torterra's biggest weakness. His claws got in two Night Slashes, one resulting in a roar of critical injury, before he was knocked into the dirt by its weight slamming against him. It staggered then Leon grabbed Piers before the creature could crush him. "Jeez, that thing weighs a ton…" The Linoone grumbled, wobbling on the spot. Fortunately before the remaining Bulbasaur could attempt to add to the disorientation, Leon unleashed another stream of flames leaving it scurrying away.

"I think that was Wood Hammer… How are you…" Leon trailed off as they laid eyes on Raihan, who was now standing on the unconscious Skuntank with a big grin. "Lucky bastard. How did you not get poisoned?"

"Oh I did, but I had a Pecha Berry handy." Humming, Raihan glanced around. Of the ambushers, he could spot over half of them in various levels of consciousness while the remainers had skedaddled lest they be next. "Whew, that didn't go as bad as I thought it would~"

They did just take on a legendary Pokemon, already injured or not. However Piers found himself shivering as he picked up the faint buzzing once more. "I wouldn't celebrate yet, I think the Scyther found us."

"Don't worry, I'll handle it-" Leon's smile fell off his face however as the buzzing suddenly got right into their ears, prompting them to turn and look up from the sleek pale green abdomen before them. The draconic Pokemon's eyes glared at them from behind its red lenses. "Uh… That's a Flygon."

"Oh fuck," Raihan deadpanned.

The Flygon howled then lashed out at them with its tail, sending the three crashing to the dirt. Piers clawed at the ground in his frantic attempt to push himself up, throwing a panicked glance at his friends. That must have been a Dragon Tail, Raihan was already down for the count while Leon looked pained but thankful, probably due to the fact he was neither a dragon nor would he become one without whatever made Pokemon mega-evolve in this world. "That wasn't very nice… Where the fuck did you come from?"

Flygon screeched at them and Leon grimaced, aching arm feebly searching for the bag. An oran berry had tumbled out just out of reach. "I don't know if it can respond… Why are some of these Pokemon just incapable of speech?"

Maybe the fact their homes randomly changed locations really did drive them all crazy. "No idea but we need to get away. Think you can paralyse it while I grab the bag? Then we can revive Raihan and run."

Leon started to sweat as Flygon charged up a Dragon Pulse. "I don't know if we can gamble on a 30% chance to paralyse, not in this state!"

"Just try it!" Piers darted over to the bag and Flygon's attention diverted to him, prompting Leon to yelp.

"Fine!" He charged then fired the Dragon Breath, Flygon flinching but not long enough to save Piers from being blasted across the room. "Shit! I told you!"

His remaining vision was plagued with black as he tried to locate Leon to aim a middle-claw at him, only to end up kissing the dirt once more. Strangely he felt colder in some areas than others, making him ponder whether the blast had burnt off some of his fur. "Don't… Try again!"

He obeyed, only for Flygon's second Dragon Pulse to connect with and overwhelm his flames. He stumbled but it was not enough to spare him from the aftermath, his limbs painfully tensing. He couldn't open his mouth to curse, his own status infliction turned against him.

A random Flygon. This wasn't the way they were going to go, was it?

The beast powered up a third beam of flames and he squeezed his eyes closed, only to shiver as an eerie chill drifted through the air. Maybe that was why the Flygon hesitated, only to shriek as shockwaves ripped through the dungeon. Leon dared to look in time to watch as a Dark Pulse slammed into the enemy's side, knocking it down. He gaped at it, body shuddering the longer he took in the reality.

That violent creature, taken down with a single hit.

Then he came into view.

Their rescuer materialised once more from the shadow casted by the trees, white mist creeping out first then extending into black energy, disrupted only by a red collar and his piercing blue eye. Just looking at him stole the breath from Leon's lungs, tail flame flickering weakly then brighter to counter the supernatural cold brought on by the phantom's existence.

"Da-Dar- Darkrai!"

At his exclamation, Piers looked up at their saviour, wide-eyed and hastily staggering over to grab their supplies and coax Raihan back into consciousness as Darkrai rested on top of the blacked-out menace. "Rai, get up!"

Raihan spat out the reviver seed, blinking slowly then startling at the sight before them. How calmly that spectre was floating between them, staring at them so casually. "Another legendary?!"

"We prefer to be called mythicals," Darkrai deadpanned, watching Leon join his friends' side. "I was told to look out for some humans, I presume you're the ones she was talking about."

Leon tilted his head. "How could you tell it was us?"

"I was observing the fight and heard your names, I can count the native Pokemon I've met with nicknames on one hand."

Raihan noted the number of fingers and sweatdropped. "That says a lot, huh? Are you Nihilego's friend?"

He nodded, gesturing for them to follow down the path. They hesitantly tagged after. "She told me you might need a guide. It seems you have pissed off Lunala."

"Not that we intended it but, yeah," Piers grumbled, watching the ferals scurry away as they passed. "Are you acquainted with her?"

"Barely, Cresselia always told me she felt she was up to no good, though." Darkrai idled for a moment, looking at the diverging paths then sweeping through. "I'm sorry that you were deceived so horribly, being stranded in this world must be stressful for you."

How long had they been here now, a month? Raihan mulled it over. Though they had no idea where they'd go once they found Lucina… It surely wouldn't take them another month to get back, right? "It sucks but… It sounds like we have a responsibility to take down Lunala now. However we're going to do that. Oh hey, wouldn't you be able to help?" Darkrai looked back over his 'shoulder' to stare at him. "Lunala must be scared of you, as a Psychic/Ghost type."

He went silent for a moment, the trio exchanged puzzled glances as they continued to follow. They descended some stairs and found themselves surrounded, however the enemies took one look at Darkrai and fled. "... Perhaps, but this isn't my battle to fight. Even if you were brought here under a false pretense, we believe in destiny. She brought you here - she's your responsibility to handle."

Leon felt a shiver down his spine. "Wow, well… That's certainly reassuring. But at least you have the same type advantage, Piers! And maybe we'll be able to take her down as the three of us…"

"Maybe after we evolve, sure," Piers mumbled, shuddering a bit. "Lunala is the Moon Pokemon however… I imagine she can use Moonblast."

Raihan joined him. "Yeah, that's bad for the both of us. I wonder if Lucina will be able to help us train, though. Whoever she is. Do you know her, Darkrai?"

His icy eye shifted to him then away. "We're not strangers. But I'll be dropping you 50 feet away from her front door, if you don't mind."

"Sounds like you have a history." Raihan almost hovered past the next set of stairs. Looked like having a Poke-god as a guide acted like a natural Repel. "I won't pry if you don't want to tell but… It could make the rest of this journey more entertaining!"

Darkrai glared at him.

"... Never mind."

It felt like only a matter of minutes before the forest was behind them, the trio marveling at the night sky. The moon shone so brightly, reflected in the small river reaching up a hill where they could see a lonely house.

"That must be where Lucina lives!" Leon chirped as Darkrai turned away.

"You won't need me now, good luck."

Raihan piped in, "Hey, we're more than 50 feet away though. What if something happens to us on the way up?"

"That's not my problem."

"It will be if Lunala wins and manages to take over the world," Piers responded bluntly, his fellow Dark type looking at him coolly then groaning.

"Fine, fine, I'll take you half way up the hill. Then you can scream for Lucina if someone tries to mug you."

He went right back to leading them, Leon taking a break from admiring the scenery to give Piers and Raihan a scrutinising look. "You two just want to see the drama, don't you?"

"Don't you?" Raihan laughed. "You gotta wonder what Lucina is to make a legend wary of her. They must have some history together."

Piers observed the river as they trekked alongside it. There were various Water Pokemon playing in it, a Horsea, Buizel, Piplup… Huh, he didn't recognise the last Pokemon. It nearly blended into the stream, with long antenna poking out. "She might be a Fairy type… Hey Darkrai, what is that thing there?"

He gestured to the mystery Pokemon and Darkrai looked at it the same time it looked back at them, wading towards them as he stiffened. "That's…"

"Hey, old man Darkrai!" the creature chirped. It looked remarkably young, blue with yellow markings and a red gem in its abdomen. Piers observed it a little longer. No, this thing was completely new to him. "Are you here to see Mother again? She's not in the mood to put up with your bullshit today, I heard!"

… Maybe it wasn't as young as he thought. Raihan chuckled as Piers rolled his tongue back into his mouth. "Who's the kid?"

Darkrai let out a long-suffering sigh. "This is Lucina's son, Manaphy. She's never in the mood to 'put up' with me but this is important. Tell your mother she has visitors, please. These three were sent by Lilligant."

Manaphy nodded with a grin and swam up the stream, the trio watching him disappear from view. Piers cleared his throat. "Have either of you two heard of that thing?"

"Manaphy is another mythical, I believe it's called the 'Prince of the Sea'." Leon rubbed his neck, mumbling. "Sheesh, Lucina really doesn't like you, does she? What did you do, teach her kid how to swear?"

Darkrai rolled his eye, observing the other Water types idle in waiting for their friend. "That 'kid' is nearly an adult now. To tell you the truth… I don't have the slightest idea why we're on bad terms. She has simply despised me from the moment we met."

"Well, that's kinda depressing," Piers deadpanned. Though he supposed with the little he knew about Darkrai… No, as far as he remembered, its ability to cause nightmares was not (usually) intentional. "Have you tried apologising?"

"I'm not sure what I have to apologise for, but I have tried, believe me." He turned away, black shroud flowing in the gentle night breeze. "I will be on my way, I'm assuming Lucina and Manaphy will escort you the rest of the way to their home. If you need my assistance getting through the forest again, just call for me."

He disappeared into the night and the guys looked between each other. "He's shady, but he seems like a nice guy," Leon mumbled, furrowing his brow, "What on Earth is going on here?"

"He probably gives her kid bad dreams just living near them." Raihan gave a sheepish laugh, glancing up at the rest of the stretch ahead of them. "So, let's place our bets. Something must be special about Lucina for her to house us when we're running from a legendary. Do you think she's a legendary Pokemon as well?"

Piers squinted at the house. It wasn't easy to make it out from this angle but from a further distance, it looked completely ordinary. "I don't know, I feel like a Pokemon god would live more lavishly. I would bet my other eye she is a Fairy type, however. Just call it a hunch."

The other Water Pokemon left to join their friend and the trio stood in relative peace, observing the area. Raihan's gaze drifted to the trees at the bottom of the hill, squinting as he noticed what appeared to be a small pathway with a distant twinkle at the end. Whatever did that lead to? Probably not a good idea to let his curiosity get the better of him with the darkness…

Footsteps greeted them and they turned their attention to the two Pokemon joining them. Piers breathed a sigh of relief. She was an oddly coloured Sylveon but a Sylveon no less, with blue fur where one would usually expect pink and her irises the reverse. Manaphy waded through the water by her side, all smiles. His mother however… Piers had never seen a Sylveon looking so stern yet somehow welcoming at the same time.

"Good evening, you three must be the ones Lilligant was talking about. May I verify your names, please?"

… He had never heard a Sylveon talk before, yet the formality was startling in itself. "I'm Piers."

Raihan looked a little dejected. At least he hadn't betted anything but his intuition streak. "Raihan, nice to meet you."

"And I'm Leon, you must be Lucina, right?" Having no stakes in their bet, Leon greeted her carefree, Lucina mirroring his grin with a slight smile.

"That's correct, it is a pleasure to meet the three of you. I'm afraid I didn't have much time to prepare for your arrival but I hope you'll be content with your new living space regardless."

Piers gave Raihan a look. The intended silent message was slightly lost in translation - 'She talks like a machine' was what Piers tried to convey. 'She seems like a bit of a looney' was what Raihan understood, answering with a crooked grin and a nudge. "Don't be like that." He spoke up as Lucina tilted her head. "Thank you, I hope we won't be a bother!"

She gave a quiet giggle, gesturing for them to follow. "Of course not. Now, right this way…"

They did not get much time to absorb the interior of the house before she led them to a small room, set out with soft hay beds and blankets. The hastiness they did not mind however, as the long day finally crashed down on them, the three claiming their spaces. Piers silently collapsed onto his blanket, listening to Leon conversing with their new host.

"Again, thank you so much!"

"No problem," she whispered, her smile clearly struggling to remain however. Maybe she was tired herself, having to make arrangements for three new lodgers so suddenly. "I'll bring you some apples, I'm assuming you haven't had time to eat. We can talk business in the morning, alright?"

She did not linger for much longer after her return with their late night dinner, Piers watching her leave and gazing down at a bright red apple as his stomach growled. "This feels strange. Doesn't she feel weird letting three complete strangers into her home when she has a kid?"

Raihan shrugged as he started eating. With his new jaw, he found it took longer, yet the trade-off was being able to truly take in the fresh sweet flavour. "She's a Fairy, she could Moonblast the both of us to next week if we stepped out of line. I'm more wondering where her kid sleeps, he's a fish, isn't he?"

"Sea Angel," Leon corrected, furrowing his brow as he pondered over his apple. "Maybe we'll get a tour in the morning… I smelt saltwater stepping in, he might have a water-bed. Did either of you two see that eerie path just south of here?" They stopped and stared at him as he expanded. "It looked like a split in the trees. I thought I saw a light flickering."

Raihan went quiet, mulling that pathway over. "I think I saw it too. That's a question for tomorrow though, I'm beat. How many sleeps will it be until we wake up in our own beds?"

The silence lingered.

Soon it was joined by soft snoring as Piers' friends fell asleep, leaving him to gaze out of the window by himself at the night sky. The moon was so bright… He hoped Lunala wasn't watching them from afar.

Marnie, soon…

The darkness swallowed him, leaving him with only that thought.