The Flood of Knives

The forces of the Dungeon robbed all reason from Bramble Hill. The ground rolled in odd shapes as if the landscape itself had been fed to a kaleidoscope. Uphill climbs met sideways slopes with no warning and had Von second-guessing every footstep.

On rare occasions, the tight tunnel of tangled plant matter opened up into large pockets of space. These ‘rooms’ all had at their center a gnarled, dead tree. No matter the size of these  pockets, the canopy overhead strained itself into a dome and wrapped around its trunk. The larger spaces reminded Von of a circus tent, as kudzu greedily took most of the sunlight for itself, letting only sparse rays to drift through the gaps in its foliage.

“This is a direshroom,” Ren explained in one such bubble in the maze. The fungi sprouted from between twisted tree roots, globular, bumpy, and brown.

“Sounds foreboding.” Von lifted it by its stalk between two claws and gently shook loose soil from its root cluster. “Toxic?”

“No, tasty. It helps with focus.”

Von gently tucked their find into Linoone’s bag, besides the fruits of their meager scavenging. The few blooms of vivichoke they found looked like artichokes left to blossom.

Noibat’s head suddenly snapped towards the tunnel Rockruff stood guarded in front of. “Quiet,” he whispered, and strained his ears.

Von held his breath, and no one else moved, until Noibat raised a wing. “I hear a group of five or six, all bipeds.”

“Any voices?”

“One chittering, one scraping, the rest silent.”

“What could they be? Brigands?”

Rockruff glanced at them from over her shoulder. “Let’s find out. Ready?”

“We know now we don’t outnumber them. Be cautious, be cautious,” Linoone warned.

Ren made his way over to his partner, but this time swathed himself in illusion. His Banette mask wore a wide smile.

“Can you teach me how to disguise myself?” Von whispered as he fell into formation.

Ren grinned. “When you teach me how to ooze pheromones, maybe.”

“Hush,” clicked Noibat, and so they did. They quietly delved once more into tunnels in pursuit.

For ten minutes, all they did was skulk through the tunnels, until finally, they caught a glimpse of their Dungeon company. Rounding a corner, Rockruff froze, and once more endured Ren colliding with her. A curious Von poked his head around the corner while Ren righted himself, and beheld the vanishing of a Pokemon down another corridor. All he caught was sunlight glinting off of a blade.

Rockruff pushed the rest of Night Vision back behind the wall of kudzu. “Pawniard,” she said in a hushed growl.

“Did it see you?” asked Noibat in a hushed whisper.

She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

Von wracked his brain, but he wasn’t familiar with the name. He kept his voice low. “What’s a Pawniard?”

The sound of metal scraping against metal rang down the corridor. “Who hunts us?” The voice sounded like a fork dragging across a wooden cutting board.

The five teammates looked between themselves. “We hunt no-one,” Noibat squeaked. “We’re Researchers.”

“Then show me a badge.”

Linoone nodded to Rockruff, who rounded the corner again. She moved slowly into a ray of sunlight and angled her side so that whoever met her down the corridor could see the badge on her bag from afar. “If you’re lost in the Dungeon, we can help you find a way out.”

“The other voice. Where is your teammate?” the voice pressed. The four Researchers huddled behind the kudzu could hear a march of multiple footsteps drawing closer.

“Noibat! Bisharp wants to meet you!”

How naive is she? Von clenched his jaw as he searched the wall of kudzu for an opening big enough to hide in. He saw only thorns. Ren grinned down at him and mimed zipping his faux lips shut..

Noibat fluttered past them to land beside Rockruff. “Oh, you brought your clan with you! Of course, safety in numbers! Did you need help-”

“We have our own methods of escape.” Blade scraped against blade- a challenge, Von realized. “Cede your supplies to us and slink back to Slowking.”

“Brigands?” Rockruff gasped in exaggerated surprise. “But we need these mushrooms to heal our sick! I have pups at home!”

“Fall back,” Ren whispered to Von. “We’ll need more space.”

Linoone had already taken a few steps back the way they came. She waited for him to follow. He didn’t need to be convinced to flee.

“Resist, and your blood will nourish the Dungeon.”

Rockruff’s snarl echoed behind them.“Persist, and I will bury you alongside your clan!”

The ground trembled, and Von scurried away as fast as his legs could carry him. He chanced a glance over his shoulder as the clash of battle erupted, and the foliage that made up the walls swayed as wind billowed from Noibat’s wings.

With a sharp howl, Rockruff raised rock from below ground in a thick slab of mica. The barricade covered her retreat, if only for a moment. She chased after Noibat as the wall of stone exploded into splintered shards.

Bisharp rushed through the hole it punched open. It looked almost insectile, coated in metal, and sported blades on the back of its forearms. Six knives jutted from its torso, reminiscent of an exposed ribcage. Its battle cry screeched painfully through Von’s skull while its clan poured through the opening behind it, a small horde of beetle-like warriors whose arms ended in spearpoints.

“What are these things!?” he wheezed as he pushed himself as fast as he could.

Ren’s illusion glided through the air before him, though he could hear the fox beneath it panting in exertion. “Invasive brutes!”

Linoone was first to burst from the tunnel into the spacious cavern ahead. Ren and Von both bolted past her, and Von threw himself behind the lone tree. He cowered behind the trunk, heart hammering in his chest. He peeked up over one of the roots to witness Noibat soar into the room, Rockruff leaping through behind him, and hot on her heels chased a flood of knives.

Gnashing steel seethed into the space. Chaos and noise clashed as the pursuers flung themselves at their targets. Rockruff had earned Bisharp’s ire. She danced out of reach of his bladestrokes, and the ground cracked in her wake. From the fissures of her footsteps she launched stones at her attacker, shattering them against his red metal carapace.

The Pawniard broke their ranks to hunt the rest of the Researchers. There were six of them, as far as Von could count in the commotion. The rest of the Research teams all found themselves fending off pairs of attackers. Noibat took flight, his erratic patterns helping him evade spearpoints thrust skyward.

Two Pawniard backed Ren into a corner, brandishing blades at the Banette disguise. They swept forward with sharp jabs, while the ghost pulsed with a dark aura. A sphere of black energy knocked one oncomer off of its feet, and the other’s blade tore away Ren’s disguise. In its momentary confusion, the fox darted through the opening he had made.

Rens pursuers took off after him as he darted towards the tree. Why are you leading them to me?! Von panicked, until Linoone bowled into one of his pursuers. The headbutt flung one Pawniard off its feet, yet Linoone sped on unhindered. She had been outrunning her own angry pair, dancing away from the blades swiping at her heels.

“Think you can handle a one-on-one?” Ren didn’t wait for an answer from Von. He leapt over the roots Von cowered behind, and spun around to face the Pawniard scrambling after him. A blade thrust toward his muzzle, and the nimble fox dropped low. The swipe nicked an ear, eliciting a yip from the black fox, but it didn’t break his focus. His shadow lashed out at the Pawniard, ethereal darkness raking claws through the defenses of its carapace. Ren’s attack opened no wound, yet the creature flinched all the same. Its next downward slice Ren sidestepped, and when its quarry ran, Pawniard gave chase.

Von let out a sigh, having been overlooked by Ren’s foe, but his relief was short lived. The Pawniard that Linoone had struck now stalked its way toward him.

Von scuttled backwards as it stepped over twisted roots. “I haven’t done anything to you!” He croaked in fear.

Pawniard narrowed its eyes. “You quake like you’re fresh from the egg. I hope your fighting is better than your form.” It lunged.

It was all Von could do to evade, twisting out of the way in time for the blade to gouge into the root. The second strike came sooner. Von didn’t have the time to react against a well-honed blow. The edge of the knife found his flesh. All at once, Von felt stinging pain, and the cold air against an open wound. It scored over his back in a line, and he felt the wetness and warmth trickle down his hide.

It should have been deeper, it should have hindered his movement. Yet it was true, that Pokemon were more durable than the fauna of Earth. Panic rose in his chest, though still he drew upon what little practice Wyn had ran him through. As he backpedaled, he opened his mouth. Acid splashed over his foe as Von backpedaled. The purple liquid dripped from Pawniard’s glinting carapace, who seethed and swung its blades through the air.

It didn’t melt as much as Von hoped. It didn’t melt anything at all. Something about poison and steel , he thought as he struggled to recall distant childhood memories and Wyn’s type chart in the solar. He clumsily rolled out of the way of a piercing blade, and another cut glistened open along his side.

I’m going to die if I don’t.

He inhaled sharply, and what roared from his mouth wasn’t poison, but fire. The eruption that spewed from the Salandit’s mouth engulfed his attacker’s upper body, and Pawniard swiftly brought its arms up to shield its head from the sudden heat. Flames swirled over its armor, steam billowing from beneath its plates as it cried out in a metallic rattle of pain.

Still, it remained upright. It stormed forward as the flames that licked its form faded and struck out. The blade punched into the side of his jaw, opening a wound that crunched against bone. The blow lifted Von off his claws and sent him crashing against the root cluster.

Adrenaline hammered through his system as Von rushed to right himself. Before he could sort out his tangled limbs, the Pawniard loomed over him, arm drawn back for another blow.

A howl filled the maze, and with it sailed a hefty stone. It cracked against Pawniard’s carapace helmet, and the warrior crumpled to the ground with a clatter.

Von shook as he untangled himself from the root and wiped a claw along his jaw. The wound was tender, though his skin had already knit itself back together.

Rockruff bounded over the Pawniard’s fallen form and landed beside Von. She retethered to the stone she had hurtled its way, and her lithomancy held it hovering at her side as she bared her teeth at the Bisharp that stalked after her.

“Persistent,” Bisharp spat. “Stubborn.” Its cold eyes fell upon Von. “Surrounded by weaklings.”

“My weaklings are making short work of your weaklings,” Rockruff growled.

Bisharp scoffed and faced her again. “The next time your attention strays from me, your head will leave your shoulders.”

“Empty threats! Come!” A shrill yap, and the stone hurtled towards Bisharp.

With one swipe, Bisharp cleaved the projectile in two. The split stones disappeared into the thicket wall behind it. It leaped forward, arm raised-

-and promptly crashed to the ground, prone.

Von’s tail curled around the wand he plucked from Rockruff’s satchel. “Thought he’d never stop talking.”

The dog blinked in surprise, and sniffed at her sleeping foe. It remained unmoving. “When did- nevermind.” She perked her ears and took in her teammates’ situation in a glance. “Go help Star Calling.” She took off after Ren, gathering stone as she went.

Von tightened his tail around the wand. The wood hummed with arcane energy against his scales. He spat a mouthful of poison that splashed harmlessly off of Bisharp’s armor, then chased after Linoone.

---

The foggy memory of Pokemon Emerald painted a picture far detached from the reality Von found himself in. He stood over an unconscious Pawniard as sprites danced in his head, stiffly trading blows with one another.

Beside him, Ren looked over the slowly healing wounds in the Salandit’s hide. “You can relax, Von. I don’t see anything wrong with you.”

The human’s stomach twisted in knots. “In my world, when we get stabbed, we need immediate medical attention.”

“I’m giving you attention right now!” Ren pouted. “What else do you want from me?”

Von’s gut gnawed at him. “… Do we have any food?”

“I supposed you would be hungry after mending that many wounds.” Noibat perched beside the two friends and offered Von the vial grasped in a claw. “Drink.”

“Thank you.” Von pulled the stopper out with his teeth, and tipped the vial back. The rich blue elixir within settled his stomach and reignited his energy.

A short distance away, at the base of the tree, Rockruff snarled. “What are you doing here?”

“The Land of Smoke belongs to Kingambit,” Bisharp seethed from within a cocoon of stone slabs.

“But why are you here ? Inside a Dungeon ?”

“Kingambit’s rule is absolute!”

“I don’t think she’s telling us anything useful,” Noibat spoke as he fluttered over to Rockruff. “We shouldn’t let her and her clan waste any more of our time.”

“Adamantly unhelpful of them,” Rockruff sighed, but relented. “Let’s get going, then.”

As Von carefully tucked the wand back into the bag on Rockruff’s side, Bisharp strained against her prison. “Release me! You must!”

“Will you say anything important, or are you going to keep shouting about how great Kingambit is?” Linoone said.

Bisharp’s gaze dripped with malice, but otherwise fell silent.

“If you’re lucky, your clan will wake up to free you before an amalgam comes through.” Ren turned his back on Bisharp and her clan and trotted up alongside Von and Rockruff. “Should we resume our foraging?”

Noibat fluttered onto Linoone’s back and opened her bag to take stock. “We have most of what we need, but we will hurry to finish the job. It isn’t wise to linger so close to the enemy.”

“Then let’s get some distance between us.” Rockruff resumed her spot in the lead, and both Research teams delved back into the Dungeon’s twisting tunnels.

Their march was quiet, either due to weariness from the frantic fight or due to them not wanting to be overheard by the foe they left behind, Von couldn’t tell. After he felt they had taken enough corners, he finally spoke up. “… Was any of that normal?”

“For Kingambit and his clans, yes,” Rockruff answered. She glanced at Noibat from over her shoulder. “How long have they been pushing their territory beyond the Reeds?”

“This is the first I’ve heard word of his overambitious grasp reaching this far.”

“Fools, fools, full of pride,” Linoone grumbled. “Spreading his hive so thin to cover the land.”

“We’ll report this to the guild upon our return,” Noibat chittered. “Good work, everyone.”

Yet Von still dwelled on the sensation of blades splitting his skin, of the sight of his blood on the grass. He pulled his gaze upwards, to Ren marching ahead of him. All his thoughts could seem to focus on, was that they all remained in one piece.