It was the day.
The early rays of the sun filtered between the small buildings of the shopping district of Bismuth Town, and the cold winds of winter whistled as pokémon started coming and going, not paying any mind to the group that stood near the archway.
Everyone was gathered at the west exit of town, making preparations and sharing some last words before the big journey, while a duo of Tauros waited beside a carriage so they could get their job done.
Team Riding Star, Lyla and Maia were there to say goodbye, some being more sentimental than others. Meanwhile, Ari, Sanah and Mylo were awkwardly soothing a certain Brionne who was taking the whole thing like the end of the world.
"I'M GONNA MISS YOU GUYS SOOOOO MUCH! Please bring us some souvenirs, and be careful, and bring souvenirs, that too!" Cora begged, eagerly shaking Ari's paws and almost sending him flying.
"Okay, okay! Cora, it's just going to be a few days, we'll be fine!" Ari reassured, giving her a pat on the shoulder.
"Yeah, Cora, give him some room to breathe," Kyle said, adjusting his belt. "He already had enough with…"
Before he finished that sentence, Maia leaned in to give Ari a big hug, and he was squeezed to (almost) death.
"Ari, take care out there, okay? I want you to return safe and sound, please!"
Kyle sighed. "... Yeah, that's what I was talking about."
The Riolu chuckled awkwardly. "Y-yeah, I promise, mom… You can let go now."
From the carriage, two pokémon emerged and stepped down. A Zeraora that was handcuffed to a Weavile waved at them.
"It's okay, Maia! I'll make sure nothing happens to him!" Brynel said. Beside him, Ren scoffed.
"In better conditions, I'd be the one making sure he's safe, but here I am, still handcuffed."
Brynel glared back. "I'm not risking you running away. You should be thankful I'm taking you with me despite everything."
Ren sighed and looked away, resigned. "Yeah, whatever."
From the other group, Velia stepped forward and put her paws to her hips, posing proudly. "We'll take care of the hard missions while you're out; you don't have to worry about a thing."
"Heh, we know you will. Make us proud," Mylo said, and he rubbed his hand on her head, ruffling her fur.
Velia cringed and grabbed his hand, pushing it away. "Hey, hands off." Mylo only chuckled.
"I can't believe you're actually getting personal requests to your team," Lyla said, the Seviper slithering in between the other mons to get a better look at her friends. "You've come so far! Now you better deliver, okay?"
"We'll try, that's for sure," Ari said, and then flinched when Lyla suddenly wrapped her tail around him and leaned on his side to whisper.
"Now, Ari, I know you're the one who everyone's focused on protecting, but you better take care of Sanah out there, okay?"
Sanah blushed. "H-hey! I'm hearing that!"
Ari chuckled sheepishly and rested his paw on Lyla's tail. "I will, don't worry. She's strong too, anyway."
Sanah rolled her eyes and crossed her arms with annoyance, trying to hide her embarrassment. "So… Are we leaving or what? We've been stalling for a while, and there's a long and tedious journey ahead of us." She tapped her foot on the ground. "Apex City isn't precisely close."
Maia nodded. "Right. But make sure you have everything planned for the trip first!"
"We do," Sanah quickly responded. "First thing we'll do once we get there is find an inn to spend the night, then we'll meet with our client."
"Good. Be careful, then. I trust you all," the Decidueye decided.
Asher, who had been quiet during the whole thing, only looked awkwardly between all the pokémon. Then, his eyes focused on Maia, who, for a moment, looked back at him, but quickly averted her eyes. The Cyclizar sighed at that, his gaze turning to the ground.
Ari noticed his sad look and hesitated, finally deciding to approach him, and Asher perked up.
"Hey, Asher…" Ari rubbed his arm awkwardly. It was still a bit hard to look past all that had happened. "We… We'll be okay. I promise things will go back to normal eventually. We just need a bit of time to heal."
Asher crouched a little to get closer, but still found it hard to keep his gaze fixed on him. "I sure hope you're right…"
It would be a shame to leave things like that, so Ari leaned in for a hug, wrapping his arms around the Cyclizar's neck. "I know it's only a few days, but… I'll miss you."
Even if Asher winced at first, he sighed and wrapped a claw around the Riolu. "Me too, buddy."
After a long moment, they finally let go and nodded to each other, while the rest finished exchanging some last words. Sanah and Mylo jumped on the carriage as Ari followed them, climbing into the vehicle and stopping at the door.
His aura sensors danced on the wind, and he suppressed a shiver. He'd think of the cold in another moment; for now, he turned around and smiled one last time.
"Bye, Mom. Bye, everyone. See you soon."
Team Riding Star and Lyla waved while Maia just smiled, a hint of worry in her eyes as she watched her adoptive son depart. It was going to be weird seeing that bedroom empty again, but luckily, it was going to be just for a few days. Whatever they needed to complete their investigation.
The duo of Tauros finally set out, pulling the carriage along as they went through the archway, and Bismuth Town was left behind. Everyone watched through the windows, waving back at their friends and family until they were just small dots in the distance.
And so, the travelers went north.
An endless mass of pine trees covered the sights from both sides of the carriage, some branches and leaves brushing against the wood as they passed through a narrow path in the forest. Chirping of bird pokémon were the only sounds that filtered between the sound of the rustling leaves, caressed by the wind.
They didn't take long to reach Gemstone Mountain, this time going through the main tunnel that avoided the mystery dungeon. The air felt moist, congesting the Riolu's nostrils and making for an uncomfortable feeling that he tried to ignore. During this whole time, the group had been silent, just enjoying the ride and saving energy.
But Ari wasn't silent because he was enjoying the ride. His mind was still going back to Nimb, like it always did since that fateful day. It didn't feel the same to go on an investigation without him by his side.
As his mind spiraled, he noticed a red claw resting on his own paw, and he looked to his right to meet Sanah's sympathetic smile. He mimicked with a smile of his own, even if it still looked sad.
"You okay there, Ari?" It was Brynel who asked, as he watched the exchange from the seat across.
"Oh, um. Yeah, it's just… You know, same as always."
Brynel nodded, as a frown formed on his face. "I understand… I'm still sorry that things had to go that way… I wish I could have done something."
"It's okay, you couldn't know."
"I don't care," Brynel said, his tone becoming louder than he intended. "I focused on protecting you, when he was also in danger all this time. He was just a kid…"
Ari watched with sadness as Brynel punched the wooden wall, narrowing his eyes and cursing silently. Ren, who was sitting next to the Zeraora, cast a confused look at him, but chose to stay quiet.
"I wonder when this all will end," Ari said. His eyes trailed down to his own chest, where his burn lay. "Bad things keep happening, and there's barely enough time to recover. Now this… and who knows what else is coming."
"It's no use to worry about the future," Mylo said, cutting his spiraling thoughts short. He was leaning forward to see better from Sanah's right side. "Bad things happened, but right now you're here, and you're alive. We don't know what's going to happen, but we know we'll face it together, and we'll recover like we always do."
The Riolu stared back, but his eyes were unfocused, lost in those words and trying to find their meaning. He sighed and leaned back on the seat, tilting his head upwards. He was already tired, and the trip had just started.
"I know you're right. I just wish I could get that idea engraved in my skull," Ari said.
"It's fine, nobody expects you to immediately get over it," Mylo reassured, and Ari only nodded.
From there, another long silence came. Ari's thoughts were still unpleasant, but at least they weren't as intense as before. He was slightly soothed by the warmth that Sanah radiated, and he barely noticed he was leaning into her a bit. She wasn't bothered by it at all.
Brynel watched through the window, even if all they could see were the endless rocky walls of the tunnel. He shifted uncomfortably, already getting bored with the trip, and in the process, he accidentally pulled the handcuffs and made Ren stagger and lean into him.
Ren immediately pulled away and scowled at him.
"Hey, cut it out, you're moving too much!"
Brynel looked back at him with a scowl of his own, but remained calm. "It was an accident, okay? There's not much space here, and I needed to stretch."
Ren rolled his eyes. "How impressive, a police officer complaining like a kid."
"You're overstepping your boundaries, you know? I shouldn't have let you come," Brynel said, visibly annoyed.
Sanah groaned. "Will you two shut up? It's going to be a long journey, and I don't wanna hear this all the time!"
"You have it easy, you don't have to be handcuffed to a criminal," Brynel responded.
"Hey, it was you who decided to do that," Ren complained. He pulled his handcuff, tugging Brynel in the process. "Or are you really incapable of getting your job done?"
"Guys… Please."
Ren and Brynel turned to Ari, who looked as annoyed as they were, but also tired. They looked back at each other for a moment, and both eventually turned away with a huff.
"I'm sorry, Ari. This isn't like me," Brynel said.
Ren had to bite his tongue to stop himself from giving a snarky remark. "Sorry. I just… This is not how I pictured it would be."
The Zeraora sighed, still with his back turned to the Weavile. "There's no other way. As much as you want to come along, having you roaming freely is literally against the law."
"But you're in a high position, aren't you? Can't you bend the law?" Ren proposed.
"I mean, to a certain degree, but…"
"Think about it. If you really want to protect Ari from whatever danger there could be, be it a kidnapper or a feral… How are you going to do it? It's going to be hard for either of us to defend him if we're tied to each other."
Brynel's eyes widened. He definitely hadn't thought of that. Ari could tell he was thinking hard, trying to come up with a counterargument, but he knew Ren was right. They would just trip over each other unless they were highly coordinated, which they weren't. How would they fight like that?
Then, the Zeraora suddenly gasped. "I know! Ari, come here, please."
The Riolu stared back with confusion, but he did as told. Then, to everyone's surprise, Brynel pulled a key from his bag and unlocked the handcuff on his paw, quickly locking it back… around Ari's paw instead.
"Huh? What are you doing?" Ari asked.
"This way, I will be able to fight with no problem, and Ren will always be close to you to protect you, no matter what. Also, I trust you won't run away with him. This is the best solution I could think of."
Ari blinked. That… was definitely not what he was expecting. He looked at Ren, who was pretty much happy with that arrangement, but he didn't share the same smile.
"Anything wrong?" Ren asked.
"No, uh…" Ari sat next to the Weavile and sighed. "I accept. This is probably the best way."
The Zeraora smiled and took Ari's original seat, across from them and right next to Sanah.
"Great, so that's solved. Now I'm sure the trip will be smoother."
However, Ari didn't look so convinced. He could feel the concerned look from Ren, but didn't look back at him. His shoulders were stiff, like there was something off. And yet, there was no danger, nothing that should be bothering him.
He felt Ren's claw on his shoulder, and he finally turned to him.
"I'll protect you no matter what," the Weavile said with a smile.
Ari smiled at him.
…
It was a forced smile.
Why did he need to force it?
The tunnel eventually gave way to an endless plain area, vast grass fields extending beyond what their eyes could see, ending in various hills and woods. The road was marked with some signs that pointed in different directions. But the one that interested them the most was the one signaling that Apex City was further to the north.
There was still a long way ahead, so Sanah decided to stare at the screen of her gholdevice as she tried different functions, even if there was nothing she could do with it at the moment, while Mylo just watched with amusement.
Ren was tapping his claw endlessly on the wooden seat, and Brynel called out to him when he carved his own name on it. Ren couldn't hide his embarrassment, and he said he couldn't help himself. Seemed like as much as he tried to act cool, he couldn't hide the fact that he was still sixteen.
Ari kept staring through the window, taking in the landscapes and enjoying the journey a bit more than before, despite his spiraling thoughts. It's not like he could distract himself by looking outside when they were in the tunnel.
"This place is nice… It kinda reminded me I have plenty of places to see in this country," Ari eventually said, still leaning into the window.
"Oh, right, you're not from Syftelia, after all," Brynel said. "How much do you know about the country?"
Ari turned to him. "Well, not too much… We have barely left Bismuth Town since Nimb and I arrived. But I had a map, and something that really caught my eye was that huge part of the country that was barely detailed."
"Those are the Lands Untamed," Ren intervened, only one eye open as he leaned on the seat with his arms behind his head. "Basically, lands that haven't been stolen by the civilized yet."
Ari frowned at that, even if he knew Ren wasn't blaming him for anything. "I see… Right, you've been in Syftelia for longer than I have, of course you would know more."
"Mhm. The Lands Untamed cover most of the northeast part of Syftelia, but I guess it's a matter of time before it ends up turned into towns and cities eventually."
"But… For what I've seen so far, there are not many towns and cities, and most of the land I've explored so far in this country was wild territory. Why call it 'Lands Untamed' if the rest of Syftelia is pretty similar?"
"That's because there are not even roads or communities," Mylo said, and everyone turned to him. "It's the most primitive way of living, or so they call it."
"And that's how it should be," Ren said with a frown. "Natural resources are becoming scarce in some areas because of exploitation. Communities, at least, are more balanced, but they still have their issues."
A cold wind blew through the window, and Ari shivered slightly.
"But… It's not that bad so far, right? If there's such a big part of the country that's completely untouched by civilization…" The Riolu said, a hint of concern in his voice.
There was a long silence. Ren looked down at his own claws and eventually asked.
"Ari… What do you know about the other countries?"
"Huh? Well, not much… I know about the geography, but not customs or anything. I mostly know what I was told about our country, Simhai. And for what I've seen, it's similar to Syftelia in many ways."
"... That's because both countries are the farthest from when it all started."
Ari tilted his head in confusion. "Huh? When it all started? What do you mean?"
That must have been some dumb question, because Ren arched an eyebrow and almost looked offended.
"The War of the New World. Didn't your parents tell you?"
Ari took a moment to process that. His mouth opened slowly, thinking on how to respond, but Brynel might have sensed the tension in the air, since he interrupted the conversation almost immediately.
"Look! We're reaching the Stone Forest!"
Everyone looked through the window and looked in the direction Brynel was pointing. They were entering a rocky area, the path they were taking being in a high rock formation similar to a bridge that went over what seemed to be an endless sea of tall rock pillars. It was hard to see the bottom from up there.
"Wow, I can see why it's called like that," Sanah deduced. "It's like a forest but with tall rocks instead of trees. And quite dense, too."
Ari squinted his eyes and noticed a bluish fog around the Stone Forest, below the path they were traversing. "Don't tell me the Stone Forest is a mystery dungeon…"
"It is, indeed. But don't worry, we're going above it," Brynel reassured.
Ari frowned. "The path is a bit narrow, we could fall easily…"
Brynel rested a paw on Ari's shoulder and squeezed it gently. "Don't worry about it, the Tauros know what they're doing. They've been through this path plenty of times already."
Ari nodded, a bit unsure. However, a bump on the road made him jump and end up falling on top of Ren, who caught him in time.
"Hey, are you okay?" Ren asked, and both of them looked at each other, their faces inches away from each other.
Ari stared back for a moment, but quickly looked away as he pulled back. "Yeah… don't worry."
Ren frowned at his reaction, expecting something different from him. He tried to read his expression, but Ari was almost with his back turned to him, avoiding his eyes. Ren extended his arm and went to touch his shoulder, but stopped himself. Meanwhile, Sanah watched with a frown of her own.
Nothing was said for a while as they crossed above the Stone Forest, the only sound being that of the wheels crushing small pebbles on their way, the Tauros' hooves stepping on the hard soil, and a subtle melody that the wind whistled as it zigzagged between the rock formations.
And then…
Brrrruuuuuuuuummmmmmm…
Everyone perked up.
"Do you guys… hear that?" Sanah asked, shoulders tensed.
"Sounds like something from underground…" Mylo theorised.
The Tauros didn't stop, but everyone inside the carriage stayed alert as they listened to the sounds.
Brrruuuuuummmm... brrrrrrrruuuummmmmm…
It was getting closer.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…
Ren gripped Ari's arm in reflex.
CRACK
Suddenly, the carriage was pierced from below with a huge serpentine body, and Ren lifted Ari and quickly jumped through the window. Ari yelped as he saw the carriage from outside, being torn in half with everyone else inside, and he saw the perpetrator: an onix.
"GUYS!" Ari yelled desperately.
The onix, once completely out of the ground, fell right beside the Tauros, who lost control and moved aside to avoid being hit. However, the path was too narrow for that kind of maneuver, and they fell off the left side, dragging the carriage with them.
Everyone yelled as they were dragged out of the main path and into the depths of Stone Forest, while the onix, which Ari noticed was a feral, lashed with its tail around like crazy.
Ari and Ren were still on the ground after jumping out of the vehicle, so they didn't have enough time to react to the huge rocky tail that hit both of them, and they were sent towards the right side of the path. Ren desperately grabbed onto the curb of the road, and Ari felt his arm being tugged hard as he hung from the handcuff that kept him tied to Ren.
"Ari!" Ren yelled, gritting his teeth as he felt the rock he was gripping crumble under his claw. "Hold on tight!"
"I'm literally handcuffed to you, you're the one who needs to hold on! But- AH, WATCH OUT!"
Ren's face went pale as he turned around and saw the onix's mouth inches away from him. Trying to avoid getting bitten, he instinctively let go of his grip and yelped as he realized his big mistake.
Ari and Ren yelled as they fell down into the mystery dungeon, the sight of that terrifying monster becoming smaller as it stared back at the duo from the top. Ari felt the wind muffling his ears and overpowering his intense heartbeat as he braced for the impact.
Any moment…
They were about to hit the ground hard…
… And yet, nothing happened.
"Uhhh… Ari?"
The Riolu opened his eyes slowly and found himself and Ren hovering over the ground, surrounded by a reddish energy. He looked at his paws, and indeed, they were glowing as well. Both of them slowly descended and planted their feet on the ground, letting a sigh of relief as the psychic energy faded.
"Wow… I can't believe my psychic power was actually useful for once… so far it only caused problems," Ari said as he put a paw to his chest, feeling his heart about to come out of it.
Ren crossed his arms. "That was pretty convenient then… Thanks, Ari."
"Oh… it's nothing," Ari said and immediately looked away. His gaze was then directed towards the top of the hill where the road stood. "It seems that the onix is gone…"
"That's good, we already have enough on our plates right now." Ren sighed and looked around. "We're lost in the Stone Forest, and the others are on the other side."
The place was pretty much like a canyon from the inside, but filled with surprisingly tall rocks everywhere, which obscured the view a bit. There were a few trees and bushes scattered around, but they weren't as common as the rocks. There was plenty of sunlight, even if the bluish fog from the Azure tainted the view.
"So… What's the plan now? Follow the path close to the wall until we find a tunnel or some other way to cross to the other side? We definitely have to reunite with the others somehow…" Ari questioned.
"Hmmm…" Ren paced a bit without getting far from Ari, due to the handcuffs, thinking as he stared at the ground. "That seems like our best option, but don't you have your gholdevice?"
Ari perked up. "Oh, right! I can call them! Let me just…"
He went to check on his bag, but before he could grab anything, a loud screech made him jump, and both he and Ren turned around to find a feral quickly approaching them.
Ari generated a Protect barrier instinctively in front of both of them, and the feral, a tyrunt, hit it with enough strength to send them back a bit, even if the damage was absorbed.
"Of course, immediately after we get inside the dungeon, we're attacked by ferals…" Ari complained.
"I'll dispatch it quickly," Ren said, and quickly went ahead to attack the tyrunt with a Night Slash, but he forgot a minor detail: he was still handcuffed to his friend, and the chain wasn't that long.
Ren's attack was cut short, and Ari was launched forward, slamming against the Weavile. Both of them fell to the ground with a grunt.
"Ouch! Be careful!" Ari said, but yelped as he saw the feral launching a barrage of rocks enveloped in an ancient energy.
He didn't have time to think of using his Protect move, but luckily, Ren reacted faster than him and rolled out of the way with Ari in tow. He helped him stand up and grimaced.
"Sorry about that, I think we'll have to make do with just ranged attacks."
Ari concentrated some energy on his paws. "That I'm good at, at the very least."
He prepared an Aura Sphere, and once he was about to launch it towards the feral, he felt his blood run cold as he saw Nimb's face staring back at him. But… That wasn't right. Nimb wasn't here, that was just a tyrunt, right?
Ari hesitated, his Aura Sphere becoming unstable and fading from his paws. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, the weird vision immediately disappearing. And yet, Ari felt uneasy.
"Ari, what's wrong?" Ren asked.
"I… N-no, it's nothing…"
Ren decided it was his turn to act, shooting a few sharp fragments of ice at the feral, who couldn't avoid it and was hit with enough force to launch it toward one of the rock pillars, immediately fainting. Ari flinched while Ren sighed in relief, but his moment of peace was short, since from behind the rocks came even more tyrunts. Ari could count four of them.
"W-what the…? There was a whole family?"
Ren grabbed Ari's paw. "We'll have to run for now!"
Ari nodded and ran away with Ren, following the path close to the wall, but zigzagging between some of the rocks in order to get out of the ferals' sight. After a while, they couldn't hear the tyrunts anymore and stopped to catch their breath, leaning against a rock.
"Hah… I'm surprised you didn't use your quick attack," Ren said, turning to the Riolu with an arched eyebrow.
Ari kicked a pebble. "I… I guess I forgot."
Ren frowned at him, but didn't comment on that. "Anyway… Back to our original plan."
"Right." Ari pulled his GD and pressed a few buttons. "Let's see…"
Mylo grimaced at the wound on his arm, caused by the splintered wood of the carriage. The fall wasn't too bad, but the vehicle was completely destroyed, and they had been separated from Ari and Ren. Definitely not an ideal situation.
Sanah and Brynel were the first to exit the pile of rubble, and they were quick to help him out. The duo of Tauros had luckily landed on a few bushes, so they were mostly unharmed.
"This is just great… What are we going to do now?" Sanah complained, rubbing her head as she seemed to still be hurting from the fall. She glanced up and yelled. "Ari, Ren! Are you up there?"
They waited… and waited…
… But no response.
Mylo looked at the top of the wall and saw nothing. "At least the onix isn't here. For now, we need to go forward and find a way up."
Brynel suddenly punched a rock pillar and threw his arms upwards. "This is just GREAT! Not only did I lose sight of the criminal, but I also left Ari out there in the middle of a mystery dungeon! What if something happens to him?"
"Relax, he's with Ren. There's no way he's going to let anything happen to him," Mylo reassured. "But I'm surprised they aren't showing up there. I wonder if they also fell into the dungeon…"
"Even more reasons to find them quickly," Brynel said, and he started walking. "Come on, we don't have any time to waste."
"Hey, wait for us!" One of the Tauros said, still standing up from the bushes.
"We're definitely losing our job after this…" The other one said.
Mylo cast a sympathetic glance at them, but it might have been one of his sinister looks, because they quickly stiffened and quickened their pace, catching up with Brynel. Huh. He guessed he still had a lot to work on his facial expressions. Ari and Nimb already explained to him that he could be quite scary without noticing.
He started walking as well and approached Sanah, who was lagging a bit behind the rest of the group. She wore a concerned expression, and Mylo thought he might press her on that.
"You looked troubled. Are you worried about Ari?"
The Zangoose perked up and blinked. "Huh? Um, yeah… maybe a bit."
"Don't worry, you know him well. He'll be fine." However, she didn't look any better. He found it amusing how much she cared about him. "So… how are things going between you two?"
Sanah's eyes widened. "Huh? What do you mean?"
Mylo tilted his head. "You know… these past few days, you two have been quite different. I'd say you're really attached to each other. Did I miss something?"
She couldn't hide her deep blush. "S-shut up. It's private stuff."
Mylo chuckled. "I see. Though I'm glad things are going well."
He wouldn't say it, but even if he was wary of her before, he was grateful to Sanah for being the moral support Ari needed after what happened to Nimb. He wasn't blind, he noticed she was pretty much the main reason he was doing a bit better.
"Huh… It's funny how we ended in a similar situation to that one time in Misty Valley," Sanah suddenly commented. "With being separated in a mystery dungeon and all. And the same happened in Gemstone Mountain."
Mylo brought a hand to his chin. "Hmmm… Heh, you're right. It's almost as if we had a curse."
Sanah sighed. "With everything that's happened to us, I wouldn't be surprised."
Suddenly, Sanah's GD started playing a ringtone, and she jumped in surprise. After a quick moment of searching inside her bag, she pulled the device and pressed a button.
"Ari! Are you okay over there?" Sanah asked, and Mylo approached her to listen closely.
Ari's voice responded from the other side of the GD.
"Yeah, don't worry! We fell from the right side of the path, and we're stuck in the dungeon. Any idea of where you are?"
"Uhhh…" Sanah looked around. "It's just full of rocks. We're following the path near the wall to find a way to get back up for now."
"I see… We're doing the same thing. Just keep moving forward for now, and hope we'll regroup eventually."
Mylo decided to intervene. "Are you hurt? That fall was quite big."
"Oh, don't worry, my psychic powers saved us, somehow."
Mylo and Sanah sighed in relief, and she responded. "Good. We'll keep in contact, okay?"
"Alright. Talk to you later."
Click
As Sanah put her GD back inside her bag, Mylo couldn't help but stare at her, thinking about something, and she turned to him with a frown.
"What?"
"So. How do you feel about Ren?"
She seemed to tense for a moment. "H-huh? Why?"
He arched an eyebrow. "You know. He's done things, and now Nimb is a feral."
Sanah relaxed. "O-oh, you mean that… Well, I won't lie, I did think about that. But…" She trailed off, her claw fidgeting with the tuft of fur on her cheek. "He's not a direct cause of that. And he was used. They lied to him so he thought there was a cure for the ferals and that all of this was temporary."
Mylo nodded. "I see."
They kept walking in silence, but Mylo could notice she was stealing some glances at him. The distant sound of ferals lurking uneased him a bit, and the rough feeling of the sharp pebbles on the ground was starting to get on his nerves, so Sanah's attitude didn't help.
"What's wrong?" He eventually asked.
"Oh, well… What about you? Your opinion on Ren, I mean."
Mylo hummed as he thought about his answer. If he had to be honest with himself, he wasn't sure anymore. He was okay with Ren after that conversation with the whole riddle investigation, but Nimb's fate was something hard to ignore.
He was also hurting after what happened to Nimb, but he didn't like showing it. If he could stop himself from souring the mood even further, he'd do it, so that was that. But Nimb didn't deserve all that, and as much as Ren didn't have anything to do with that, it was hard not to look for someone to blame.
"I'd say… I'm not too sure as of now. I already decided Ren isn't at fault and that he'd better work to compensate for all the damage caused instead of having him punished, and at the same time, I think I'm gonna need some time to get over it. But…"
Sanah tilted her head. "But…?"
Mylo stopped, and so did Sanah.
"He's the support Ari needs right now. I'm willing to put up with him if that means Ari can get better."
"Ah, right…"
Mylo noticed Sanah was a bit upset after that, but he didn't have time to ask about it when a screech could be heard coming from further ahead, where the rest of the group was. Mylo and Sanah exchanged a concerned look and immediately rushed ahead.
As they caught up with Brynel and the Tauros duo, they found they were being attacked by a few doduos and dodrios. Mylo gasped; he could count around six of them. It was going to be a tough fight.
Ren walked in silence alongside his dear friend, feeling his left claw a bit sore after carrying the handcuff all the way. The sound of the chain bumping against his side was a bit annoying after a while, so he kept some distance from Ari so the iron wouldn't drag too much.
Occasionally, he would feel a tug on his arm as the Riolu fidgeted with the handcuff.
"Sorry," Ari said every time. He looked uncomfortable with that thing on his wrist, and Ren was the one to blame for that. Unless you count Brynel, who had the idea in the first place. That damn cop.
Either way, Ren was still glad he was given the chance to go with Ari, not only because he got to see the light of day for once, but because he was actually exploring with him again, like old times. Well, almost like old times; they used to be able to move freely without handcuffs. But this was the closest he'd been to that for a while.
And they were alone. Every time Ari visited him in jail, there was always that Gallade guard watching them, so it was a bit awkward. Now they were finally left to themselves, and Ren was surely going to enjoy it, even if they were lost in a dungeon.
"I missed this," Ren said, eyes focused on the path ahead.
Ari took a few seconds to register that. "Huh? Miss what?"
"Exploring with you." He smiled at him.
Ari blinked. "Oh. Yeah… I guess this counts, huh."
Something wasn't right. Ari didn't look excited or happy, like he used to. Maybe he was still sad about Nimb; after all, Ren hadn't seen him for a while after the incident happened. He wondered how he might have reacted to it. Heck, he wished he could have been there for him, even if he hated seeing him so sad. If only he had stayed by his side instead of joining the Rising Bandits, everything could have been avoided.
But enough of blaming himself. Nothing could change the past, but he could make the present better.
"Hey, remember when we were assigned to rescue that old lady at Zephyr Mountain?"
Ari seemed confused at the sudden mention of that one mission, but nodded nonetheless. "Yeah, that Jynx that went to find some minerals for her grandson."
Ren threw his arms behind his head. "Mhm. And then we found she fell into a crevasse that's somewhat similar to this place. We had to tie ourselves to a rope to get down there."
"Yeah, now that you mention that… This reminds me of that time." After a moment, Ari subtly smiled as he recalled something. "You had to carry her, and your face was priceless. You spent the night complaining about how heavy she was, haha…"
There. That smile Ren strived to see. It was gone in mere seconds, but he could tell the Riolu was trying. Maybe it was the small moments like these what he needed. Ren would make sure he had plenty of those.
"And what about that item fetch quest in Clear Woods?"
Ari heaved a deep sigh. "The one where the locals thought we were trying to steal their food?"
"Yeah, but… remember when that Swadloon defended us? He turned out to be the one who ate others' food because he was always hungry!"
"... Mhm."
That didn't work. He didn't smile this time, for some reason. He was clearly not okay, but Ren was worried that if he pressed him to talk about it, he would get worse.
However, before he could say anything else, Ari stopped and closed his eyes.
"Wait…" The Riolu then glowed with a blue aura, and his tassels raised. He seemed to be sensing something. "Someone's coming. There are two of them… And they're beneath us!"
Ari quickly jumped to the side as a durant emerged from the dirt, narrowly avoiding an attack as Ren did the same. Another durant emerged, and they watched the duo with hungry glares.
"More ferals… You know what to do!" Ren said, and decided to target one of them with an icy shard that couldn't quite pierce its rough skin.
The feral, in response, ran ahead and tried to bite Ren, but its teeth met the hard claw of the Weavile. Ari, meanwhile, watched as the other durant approached him. He probably had it under control.
Ren coated his claw in dark energy and slashed the durant while it was still dazed, sending it flying against one of the rock pillars. However, the feral bounced off it and immediately started digging a hole in the ground, disappearing from Ren's sight.
He looked around, trying to detect any sign of movement or noise, waiting for the right moment to move. Then, he rolled to the side as it emerged from below, avoiding any damage. Once more, his quick reflexes saved him from a Dig move.
Taking his chance, Ren blew an Icy Wind with all his lung power and froze the durant in place, ensuring it wasn't going to move for a while. With that out of the way, he turned around to see how the Riolu was handling the situation.
… What he found was Ari casting Protect to defend himself from the foe as he kept taking steps back.
"Leave me alone, please…" Ari begged. He didn't look willing to fight. What was wrong with him?
The feral lunged forward to attack with its powerful maw once more, but Ren reached it in time and kicked it, sending it a few feet away.
"Ari, are you okay? Why aren't you fighting back?"
Ari hesitated. "I… It's just… Wait, behind you!"
Ren didn't need to turn around; he just threw an Ice Shard over his shoulder and struck the durant before it could reach him. It didn't do much damage, but it stopped the feral just enough for Ren to turn around and slice it with a Night Slash. The durant staggered; it seemed to be barely standing at this point.
Ren wasn't having more of that. He blew another Icy Wind towards the durant, but it tried avoiding it by digging a hole.
"Oh, no you won't!" Ren said right before quickly approaching the hole and blowing more of his Icy Wind into it. Then, after a few seconds of blowing nonstop, something emerged from the dirt not far from there. It was a frozen durant. Ren smirked at that, proud of his strong move.
Now that both ferals were frozen, Ren turned back to Ari.
"So… What was that?"
Ari rubbed his arm and looked away. "I… I'm sorry."
The Weavile leaned closer with arms crossed. "And why didn't you use your pearls? They seem to be really useful."
"Uh… I forgot."
Ren sighed. "You're clearly not okay. You can't fight, and you keep forgetting to use your moves. What's wrong? You know you can tell me."
Ari seemed to consider that for a moment, his eyes staring back into Ren's, but eventually frowned and turned around. "I'm fine. I'm just distracted, that's all."
That wasn't right. Ari was lying, it wasn't hard to tell for Ren. And why would he lie to him? He'd always been there for him, and he always told him whenever something was wrong! Well, besides when his parents hurt him, but he eventually stopped hiding that, too.
Why did it feel like he was going back to hiding stuff? Why from him?
Whatever it was, Ari wasn't going to talk. Maybe he just needed to enjoy more time just the two of them to remember that he can always trust Ren. It's not like he could do anything else for now.
At times like those, Ren wished he could read auras like Ari did.
Brynel gritted his teeth as he watched the enemies surrounding the group. To his right, Sanah struggled against an enraged donphan; to his left, Mylo confronted a sandaconda that seemed prepared to strike. Meanwhile, the Zeraora had to ensure the two Tauros were safe from a feral krokorok that was trying to get a snack out of them. It didn't help that those two weren't capable of fighting and needed protection.
The krokorok kicked some dust to hinder Brynel's vision, and he wasn't quick enough to cover his eyes, receiving all of it. He rubbed his eyes, cursing under his breath as he heard the feral approaching, but luckily he had a good ear to notice its exact position without looking straight at it. Brynel used his Power-up Punch to stop the krokorok in the exact moment it was about to strike, making it stagger backwards and receiving another stronger punch.
However, the feral was quick to recover and spat a stream of mud that Brynel couldn't see coming, getting hit right on his torso and falling on the ground, creating a puddle of mud. Great, now he could barely see, and his fur was a mess. That feral was gonna pay for that.
The Zeraora stood up and ran ahead with a Quick Attack, his face covered in mud and barely able to dodge the tall stones all around the battlefield as he approached the krokorok and tried to slash it. The feral dodged it and chomped his arm, eliciting a pained yell from Brynel.
But the krokorok made a big mistake; now Brynel had it right where he wanted. He grabbed it with his other arm while it still had his arm in its maw, and suplexed it, slamming the krokorok against the hard ground. With that strong blow, his arm was now free, and even with the pain from the bite, he was still able to deliver a series of punches with both arms, each punch getting stronger than the previous one, until the feral couldn't take it anymore and fainted.
Good, that one was out. Brynel turned around and saw Sanah rolling out of the way to dodge the donphan, who crashed into a stone and completely destroyed it. Once it stood back up, it didn't see the Zangoose coming and was slashed hard on the face. The donphan shrieked in pain, while Sanah decided to step back and hone her claws.
"You asked for this, don't complain now," she said.
The donphan slammed its foot on the ground and went for another roll, this time being fast enough to almost catch the Zangoose, which evaded in the last moment but wasn't prepared for the feral to spin in place and go for another round, and she felt the weight of the living wheel crushing her. She screamed in pain, and Brynel winced.
"Oof… You need help there?" Brynel asked.
Sanah tried to stand back up. "I… have it… under control…"
The donphan rapidly approached her, but she was still struggling to move. Once it was about to run over her again, it was slammed on the side by Brynel with a Quick Attack, which managed to divert its trajectory.
"Yeah, I don't think you had it under control," Brynel said as he approached Sanah and offered his paw.
Sanah took it. "Yeah, whatever… Watch out, it's coming again!"
Brynel jumped aside to avoid the rolling donphan, but Sanah decided to try a different strategy by jumping on top of it, and the result was… not too favorable. She ran on top of the donphan like a clown on top of an inflatable ball, desperately trying to maintain her balance.
While she struggled with that, Brynel looked to where Mylo was taking care of the sandaconda, and saw he was jumping time after time to avoid its headbutts, until it got tired and decided to slam the ground hard, creating a crack on the ground where Mylo fell, immediately getting buried by many rocks and pebbles. He definitely didn't have a type advantage here.
Mylo quickly rose from the crack on the ground and frowned as he saw the feral approaching once more. He was already tired of it, and once he was back up, he dodged another headbutt and grabbed the sandaconda's tail. The feral yelped as it was dragged around by the tail, until Mylo slammed it against a rock pillar.
And then, against another.
And again.
The feral was getting dizzy, but Mylo wasn't done. He noticed Sanah on top of the donphan, rolling around like crazy, and decided what to do. Mylo spun the sandaconda around several times until it gained enough momentum, and then threw it towards the donphan.
"Sanah, jump now!" Mylo yelled.
Sanah did as told, and the sandaconda hit the donphan, both of them being sent a few meters back. This time, neither of them stood back up.
Brynel walked closer to check on the ferals, making sure they were fainted, and nodded to himself. "Okay. Is everyone alright?"
Sanah grunted as she rolled her shoulder. "I could be better, but at least it's over."
"I'm mostly fine," Mylo said.
Brynel sighed. "Good. We lost too much time with this, we need to continue! Ari might be in trouble if we take too long."
He quickly walked onwards, being followed by the two Tauros, who didn't say a word. Mylo and Sanah followed him, and Brynel could hear Sanah complaining.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" She asked. "Are you really that worried about him?"
Brynel didn't even turn around, leaping over a few bushes as he responded. "Yes, I am. It's my job to ensure he's okay."
Mylo didn't seem convinced. "Is it really your job? I don't think anyone hired you to do that."
"Yeah, why are you so obsessed with protecting Ari? You never told us, and I think it's a bit weird," Sanah commented.
Brynel didn't look back. He couldn't look back now, but they had a point. He never explained anything, but it's not like he needed to. After all, how could a bunch of teenagers understand him? It's not like they went through something similar.
"It's none of your business."
He could hear Sanah groan in annoyance behind him, but he continued.
"Brynel. I think if you're dragging us around like this, the least you could do is answer our questions. We deserve that," Mylo said with a stern voice.
Great, now the Toxtricity was lecturing him. Brynel stopped for a moment, this time looking back at them, while the Tauros eyed the three a bit uncomfortably.
"... Fine. I can't argue against that." Brynel turned around and resumed the walk, but this time, he responded. "I… used to have an important task before being a police officer. I was a bodyguard."
Sanah tilted her head. "A… bodyguard? You had to protect someone?"
Brynel nodded solemnly. "There was a girl… Someone with a really important role. She had a mission, an investigation that she was doing to cure a rare illness. A parasite, rather."
Mylo frowned. "Parasite, huh? Sounds severe."
"It was. I don't remember the details, but I was tasked to protect her as she investigated that. She had made important progress, but one day… Someone attacked her."
"Really? Why would someone do something like that if the parasite was so dangerous?" Sanah asked.
Brynel paused for a moment, but then he shook his head. "I don't know. Some pokémon are rotten. They could gain something from the pain that the parasite caused, and that's why they wanted her dead. That's why I was hired to protect her in the first place. But I failed…"
After that, there was silence that spoke volumes. It seemed like nobody wanted to ask what happened because it was obvious. Nevertheless, Brynel said it.
"That attack was too much for me. I was severely damaged and lost some key memories of that mission, but the girl… she died. And I couldn't do anything against it."
"Oh… I'm so sorry, I had no idea…" Sanah said.
"You couldn't know," Brynel immediately responded, his gaze fixated on the path ahead. "Even if my memory is hazy, I do know something: I loved that girl. I don't even remember her species, but I know she meant the world to me. I know my role was just being the bodyguard, but we became inseparable. And I couldn't protect her…"
The duo of Tauros looked at each other with a frown, while the sound of footsteps filled the silence in between. Brynel could hear Mylo and Sanah whispering to each other, but he paid no mind.
"Once I recovered from my injuries," Brynel continued, "I met Melly, and she was a huge moral support back then. She had the idea of both of us joining the police; she had to convince me quite a bit before I agreed, and here we are now. At least, working with her put me at ease most of the time, somehow… but I never got over what happened before."
"So that's why you're so obsessed with protecting Ari?" Mylo asked. "You don't want history to repeat itself?"
Brynel sighed. "You could say so. His situation feels too familiar… Someone with an important role, even if he doesn't know what it is… And he's being targeted for some reason, especially by ferals and that Armarouge. Someone so kind and innocent, someone that… reminds me so much of her. I don't wanna let it happen again."
And that was that. Brynel didn't give further explanations; he felt no need. He was going to protect Ari, no matter what. As the Stone Forest kept going, the Zeraora walked ahead without wasting any time, and his thoughts kept coming back to that girl he loved so much.
He swallowed a lump in his throat and whispered to himself.
"I'm doing this for you… my dear Astra."
The situation was really bad for Ari and Ren.
Ari quickly dodged to the side as the onix from before emerged from the ground, but as he did so, he dragged Ren with him, who barely avoided being hit by the rock serpent. The area was filled with holes created by the onix, and it was getting hard to navigate.
"Ari, be careful! We need to coordinate!" Ren yelled.
Ren rolled as the onix fell from above, digging another hole, and then grabbed Ari and jumped out of the way when the feral emerged once more. No matter how much they tried to run away, the feral always caught up to them; it was too big and too fast.
Ren grabbed Ari's paw and ran ahead, the chain bouncing on both of their bodies and making noise, which made it easier for the feral to locate them. Ren was running out of energy, and he had to slow his pace.
In front of them, the onix emerged once more, catching both of them by surprise. What they also didn't expect was that the hole it dug became bigger as the edges collapsed, reaching both Ari and Ren. The Weavile tried to grab onto the ledge, but Ari's weight made him unable to keep his hold, and both of them fell into the hole.
After a few seconds, Ari and Ren reached the bottom and hit the ground hard, yelping in pain. The sound of the onix digging holes nearby made them quickly perk up, staying alert for any following attack. Ren raised a claw for Ari to stay quiet, and both of them waited as the sounds of the feral kept going. The onix seemed to be still digging around, but it sounded like it was going in the wrong direction.
The sounds could be heard farther, and farther… Until they were sure the onix wasn't around anymore.
Ren sighed in relief and let his body collapse on the ground, followed by Ari, who did the same. Ari looked up; it was a pretty tall and narrow hole, and it wasn't going to be easy to get back up. To make things worse, there was no tunnel to go look for another way up, since most of it had collapsed.
"Okay… We need to get out of here. Come on, Ari," Ren said as he stood up. Ari sighed and got back up, glancing up with a frown.
"It's quite a climb… And the walls aren't rough enough to get a hold."
"We can do it if we coordinate ourselves. Come on, let's put our backs together and climb."
Ari frowned. He needed to concentrate; he couldn't let himself get distracted in a moment like that. He turned around and pressed his back against Ren's, and slowly put his left foot on the wall. Ren did the same, and the climb began.
Once they weren't touching the ground, it became really hard for Ari to keep hold. He moved way too fast, instead of waiting for Ren's instructions, which made him lose balance and fall back down, dragging Ren with him. The Weavile landed on top of him, and he grunted as the air was drained from his lungs.
Ren quickly moved away and grimaced at the Riolu. "Ari! Are you okay?"
Ari coughed a bit and brushed some dirt from his fur. "Yeah… Sorry, I lost concentration. Let's try again."
Ren frowned at him, but Ari ignored that. They had to get out of there, there was no time for concerns. Both of them pressed their backs together once more and tried to get back up, stepping on opposite sides of the hole.
"Okay, one, two… one, two…" Ren said, trying to mark the rhythm of each step, and Ari tried to follow along, but he shifted uncomfortably. "Careful, Ari! One, two…"
But once again, Ari went too fast, and that made Ren lose balance this time. Both fell off, with the Riolu falling on top of the Weavile with a loud thud. Ari quickly rolled to the side and cast an apologetic look.
"S-sorry… I don't know what happened to me…"
Ren rubbed his back with a grimace and turned to look at his friend. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I am! Or… or I would be if we weren't stuck inside a stupid hole!" Ari stood up and gritted his teeth as he looked to the outside world. "How are we going to get out if I can't even keep my balance?"
"You can't keep your balance because we aren't coordinated… That's why I'm asking if you're okay. We used to be so coordinated, we could do anything together! And now you're clearly distracted. What's going on? You can tell me, you know that."
Ari crossed his arms and sighed, thinking about it. He wasn't even sure of what to say at this point, but is there anything to say? It wasn't going to be helpful at all. He would only make things more awkward.
"It's not important. Just drop it… There's nothing wrong with me, really."
Ren opened his mouth to formulate some words, but he only let out a quiet choke. He tried to reach Ari with a claw, but the Riolu took a step back, which made him stop. He looked quite troubled.
"Ari… I-I don't get it, why are you doing this? You used to tell me everything! If this is affecting you, then it's important! And I want to know what's bothering you so I can help! Don't you… trust me?"
"No, I don't!"
Ren winced, and Ari's eyes went wide as he realized what he said. Some pebbles fell from the wall inside the hole, landing next to where the Weavile was taking a step back.
"... What?"
Ari's heart ached at the sight of Ren's deep frown, and he could feel his breathing becoming shaky.
"I'm… I'm sorry, I just… I can't even look at you anymore! After what happened with Nimb, I can't look at you the same way, I wish I could, but I don't even understand myself!"
"Ari… So you're mad at me…?" Ren asked, his voice pained.
The Riolu rubbed his arm, another sign of his growing anxiety. "Not mad, just… I dunno. Maybe I'm just looking for someone to blame, like I did with Asher, but… you were a part of the Rising Bandits, who helped the people who developed the Azure… And even if you didn't actively cause that, I can't just pretend that didn't happen. Nimb is gone, and you… you worked with them…"
Ren blinked. He definitely seemed to get his point, as he looked away in shame. "I'm sorry… You're right, and you're not wrong to blame me for that. I shouldn't have worked with them, I regret everything…"
Ari shook his head. "But this isn't right! You thought there was a cure, they lied to you! Not only did you not cause any of this, but you also didn't want it to happen… So why am I so conflicted?"
"... It's fine. I don't blame you if you don't wanna trust me anymore," Ren decided. His eyes were solemn, but determined. "I can live with that, as long as you're okay. That's all that matters to me. I can't change how you feel about me, but no matter what… I'll do all I can to protect you and stop Zed's plans."
"Ren…"
"It's fine. You know… If I could, I would have protected Nimb. I wish I could have known what was going on… Not because he was your friend, but because he was innocent. He was a kind soul, and he deserved to be protected. I'm sorry, Ari… This isn't how things should have gone…"
Ari watched him clench his fist, regret showing on his face as he closed his eyes. The Riolu couldn't even stand seeing him like that, despite everything. His feelings were contradictory, and that annoyed him so much. He was emotionally exhausted; it hadn't stopped since Nimb's corruption. He was so, so tired, he could definitely cry.
Tears formed in the corners of his eyes.
"You know what's worse?" Ari said, his voice starting to break. "I hate that I'm feeling like this, because… I know you way more than I knew Nimb… and you're as important to me as he is…"
Ari couldn't take it anymore and broke down. Ren, meanwhile, extended a claw, hesitant on whether or not he should even touch him now.
"Ari…"
"I d-don't wanna be like this…" Ari choked between sniffles. "I wanna b-be with you and be okay…"
Ren gasped. He sounded like he could cry, too, but he was too strong for something like that. He swallowed and shook his head.
"We'll be okay… If that's how you feel, then maybe you just need time, and maybe… You'll forgive me one day."
The Riolu opened his teary eyes and stared for a long moment, until he let out a pained cry and lunged to embrace his friend. Ren flinched at first, but slowly relaxed and rested a claw on Ari's shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Ren… I'm s-so sorry…"
Ren shook his head and returned the embrace, keeping him tightly wrapped. "No, I'm the one who's sorry… I made so many mistakes, but at least I know I did the right thing when I decided to go back to your side. I'm gonna do all I can to compensate for all the damage I've caused…"
"I wanna forgive you so bad…"
"Maybe you will, but for now, just take it easy. I'll be here always, no matter if you don't forgive me."
Both of them stayed like that for a while, keeping the embrace in silence as Ari kept crying. Feeling Ren's chest moving with his breathing and the warmth he radiated slowly calmed him down until he was just letting out quiet sobs. He coughed one last time, the sound of his throat echoing through the hole.
"I'm feeling a bit better… Thanks, Ren. Maybe I just needed to talk about it, but I was scared of admitting my feelings. I didn't want to acknowledge the fact that I was uncomfortable with you…"
"It's okay. As I said, take all the time you need, and I don't blame you for being like this. After all, you went through so much…"
Ari didn't want to let go. It felt good to finally be able to hug Ren again without feeling wrong. He knew Ren still did all those things, but… He still really cared about him. They would be okay.
"So… About what happened earlier with the ferals…" Ari finally said, still keeping the embrace. "I just… can't see ferals the same anymore. Now that Nimb turned into one, I see every feral like him… Pokémon that once were intelligent, and had feelings, family, and… dreams…"
Ren frowned. "I see… I get what you mean. You don't wanna hurt them because you know they used to be just like us?"
Ari nodded, brushing his fur on the Weavile's neck. "It just feels wrong to hurt them…"
There was a long pause as Ren collected his thoughts. Eventually, he let go of the hug and stared into Ari's swollen and red eyes.
"Ari, I know it's hard, but you need to defend yourself. They're not the pokémon they were anymore, as much as that hurts. They're lost, but you're not, so you might as well prioritize your safety since you can still have that, unlike them."
The Riolu frowned. "I know… You're right, but I still need to get used to the idea…"
"It's fine. This also needs time, but in the meantime… you don't have to fight them if you don't wanna, I'll do it for you," Ren said as he pointed a claw at himself, smiling proudly. "Oh, and if you don't want me to hurt them… I can just freeze them and leave like we did earlier. How does that sound?"
Ari mulled over it for a moment and then nodded with a subtle smile.
"Okay… I guess I can accept that. Thank you, Ren."
He rubbed Ari's arm affectionately. "No problem."
With that out of the way, Ari looked up and was reminded of the situation they were in. Yeah, at this point, they had wasted so much time while the rest of the team was looking for them. They probably should try climbing again.
"Damn… I feel like I can't do much in my state, I'm not really useful as a Riolu," Ari complained with a sigh. "If I were a Lucario, I could easily climb this, but then I would also hate myself."
Ren frowned. "Oh, right, you still don't wanna evolve, right? Your feelings towards lucarios haven't changed?"
"It's hard to get over that… I can't shake the feeling that I would look and act like my biological parents. And I'm not having any of that."
Ren closed his eyes as he thought about that, eliciting a confused glance from Ari. Then, he opened his eyes again and grabbed Ari's paw, smiling at him.
"Ari, I know I recommended you not to evolve in the past… I also hated your parents so much, and I didn't want to see you turned into that. But honestly? I've changed my mind. If you ever evolve, you'd be the living proof that you're nothing like them. You would be the best Lucario to ever exist. You'd be kind, affectionate, and selfless."
Ari's eyes went wide. "Y-you think so?"
Ren nodded. "You don't need to worry about being like your parents. You're perfect the way you are, no matter how you look. And even if you decide to stay like this, it's still perfect. I'll support whatever you decide."
This time, Ari felt his chest fluttering as he blushed. He could feel something similar to what happened back with Sanah. Why now, of all moments? Was Sanah right and he had something going on with Ren?
Thinking about that only made him get more flustered, and he didn't want Ren to notice. But just… why was he feeling like he wanted to hug Ren again so bad after how awkward he felt with him just a few minutes back?
"Anyway, Ari," Ren said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Wanna try climbing again?"
Ari took a deep breath and decided to push those thoughts into the back of his head for now.
"Yeah. Let's go."
With that, they pressed their backs together and tried again. One leg, then the other…
"One, two… One two…"
They climbed with a slow pace, Ari keeping the same rhythm this time. There was no rush to get out of there. He was safe with Ren either way.
"One, two… One, two…"
The top of the hole was close now. They could make it!
"One, two… One, two…"
And then, before they knew it… They were out. Ari let himself fall on his knees as he panted, the tension still high after the delicate climb, and Ren stretched his body sideways, cracking his bones in the process.
"We're out… Finally!" Ari celebrated.
"Yeah… See? I told you we could do it if we coordinated ourselves. Now we just have to keep moving and find the others."
Ari nodded. He didn't want to waste any more time, so he stood back up and grabbed Ren's claw. "Let's go!"
Ren didn't need to hear him twice. Both of them resumed their excursion, walking between an endless sea of tall rocks that seemed to be exactly the same no matter where you looked. It was hard to tell if they were actually making any progress, especially since they've moved a bit away from the wall that connected to the main elevated path they were supposed to be traversing inside the carriage.
The sun was already beginning to set, and the wind was picking up a bit, which meant they needed to be quick since they would likely not find any shelter around.
After a few minutes of walking, Ari and Ren felt a tremor on the ground, and they tensed.
"Wait, that feeling… I hope it's not…" Ren began.
Ari didn't wait for him to finish before he was already tapping into his aura powers. He felt the ferals in the area not too far from there, the rustling of leaves in the bushes, Ren's warm aura right next to him, and… something else approaching. Something was moving really fast! It was about to-
From the ground in front of the Riolu, the onix from before emerged, his serpentine body towering over them. Ari and Ren didn't even have time to react, and they froze.
The onix lunged towards them at lightning speed, and it was about to crush them when…
CRUNCH
A Zeraora slammed his fist against its side, diverting its trajectory and saving the duo just in time. Brynel landed in front of a flabbergasted Ari.
"Brynel! You're just in time!" Ari exclaimed. "How did you find us?"
The Zeraora smirked as he rubbed his nose. "Well, we found a tunnel connecting both sides of the Stone Forest, and then we saw the onix moving really fast and… Let's just say we had a hunch."
Ari remembered how he was targeted by ferals and chuckled awkwardly. "Hah, yeah…"
"I'm just glad I could protect you this time…" Brynel said, letting out a relieved sigh.
As the onix slowly rose from the ground once more, surrounded by cracked rocks, the rest of the team arrived. Mylo, Sanah and the two Tauros were there, which meant they were all finally reunited.
"Ari, Ren! You guys are in one piece, good…" Sanah said.
"I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but I'm glad to see you all," Ren admitted. "Okay, now let's take care of this big guy and leave this place for once."
Everyone fell into a battle stance, while the Tauros went to hide behind some rocks. And so, the onix weaved between the pillars, approaching the team fast, but they all jumped to avoid its Tackle. Sanah took her chance to use her Fury Cutter on the serpent, and it flinched slightly.
It tried to slam its tail against the Zangoose, but Mylo pushed her out of the way in time, jumping above the attack and landing on top of the onix. He punched the feral with a fist coated in venom, but it barely did anything. He might have forgotten that rock types were resistant to poison types.
As Mylo jumped out of the way, Ren was next. He shot several Ice Shards at the onix, and it flinched hard from the pain. The feral desperately lashed with its tail in a circular motion, crushing all the stone pillars around it, and almost hurting the Tauros who were hiding there.
Luckily, Ari was there to use his Protect barrier to save them, and they were led away from the battlefield. With that out of the way, Brynel was next. He jumped high and landed a Power-up Punch on the feral's head, finishing by perching himself on its horn. He prepared another punch, but this time, he wasn't alone.
Ari didn't want to fight the feral directly, at least not yet. But that doesn't mean he couldn't help his allies. He coated his body with a red aura, and his pearls started glowing. Brynel, similarly, was enveloped in this red energy, and his eyes went wide as the surge of power hit him.
"KIAAAAAA!"
Brynel smashed his fist against the rocky skin once, then again, and again. Each time, it was more powerful, and the feral could only try to shake him off, but he was unrelenting. With one final punch, the onix was sent down, hitting the ground hard until it finally stopped moving.
It had fainted.
Ari sighed in relief, a bit concerned about the feral, but smiling as he was once more safe and surrounded by friends. They weren't in the best state, but they were okay. Even if things seemed grim for a while, they still kept going, no matter what. It would take time for him to fully heal, at least emotionally.
But that was fine. Everything was fine.
It would be eventually.
Once they exchanged some words and made sure everyone was attended to and their wounds were treated, they resumed the walk, this time as a big group. They couldn't find a way to go back to the elevated path, but following the side path next to the wall would be enough to eventually reach the end of the dungeon.
Ari thought about all that had happened that day, about his conversation with Ren. He was still reflecting on the Weavile's words, which seemed to have made him realize something. As the chain connecting both of them bumped against their sides, Ari stopped for a moment, making Ren stop as well.
"Hey Ren…"
"Hm? What is it?"
"About what you said… What you told me about my evolution… I'm not too sure for now. But you were right, I would still be myself. So…" He took a deep breath and smiled. "I'll think about it."
Ren smiled back and nodded.
The group continued as the night began to fall, but luckily for them, the bluish fog that surrounded the dungeon seemed to be gone. They were out of the dungeon.
And with that, the final set of stones gave way to a wide meadow, and at the end of it…
"Wait, is that…?" Sanah asked.
It looked like a city. Bright lights could be seen coming from tall buildings, an indicator that it was a place full of life, and likely a lot of advanced technology. Just like their destination.
Brynel smiled as he announced what everyone was expecting.
"Apex City."
That was mostly an intermission chapter, but I needed an excuse for another dungeon theme (only linked in the AO3 and PMDFF versions of this chapter) and some character development here and there, so I think it was necessary. Thanks to RandomGames (writer of Kirby Mystery Dungeon and other fics) as always for proofreading the chapter, to Shanna (writer of Story of Arceus and other fics) for the help with worldbuilding stuff and to all of you for reading this story so far! We're reaching the end of Part 2, only two chapters left!
Next time: a key investigation in Apex City.