Chapter 2: Vix

The next morning I woke up to the sound of Eve wandering around the campsite. I peeked at her through a cracked eye as she paced and muttered to herself. The sun wasn’t even up yet. Obviously this Pokèmon was a morning person. Lucky me. I hoped that she would settle down a bit so that I could just get a little more sleep.

Eventually Eve seemed to lose her patience. She prodded me with her tails, shaking my shoulder. “Slink. Slink? Slink! Come on Slink, get up.” If I was hoping that she would leave me alone if I played dead I was wrong. She whipped me with her tails. “Get up! We are losing daylight!”

“You can’t lose what you haven’t had yet.” I grumbled as I rolled to my feet.

“Come on, please.” Eve said as she hopped from foot to foot. “If we hurry we can get to the Expedition Society HQ by nightfall.”

“Fine,” I mumbled. I shook myself to get some of the clinging blades of grass off, and it helped wake me up as well.”Okay, lead the way.”

She looked at me for a moment as if she was expecting me to do something else. “What?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she said turning away. I swear I heard her mutter something about not understanding boys and hygiene. As she walked away I noticed that her fur was wet. She must have found a pond or stream and had taken a bath before waking me up.

Sure, my fur was a little dusty from the cave collapse, and I did smell a bit like smoke, but I was a Fire type. I was supposed to look a bit rugged. Also, I wasn’t that dirty.

I followed Eve as we returned to the road. Maybe it was the early hour, or perhaps it was the fact that the nearest town was a few hours away, but we didn’t see any other Pokemon up and about that morning. Although I hated being up, I had to admit that watching the sun slowly peek up over the Scale mountains was beautiful. The pinkish light reflected off of the clouds complimenting the purple-orange sky. The hours melted away as we eventually turned north, following the road as it meandered to avoid a large river, before eventually turning back east once again heading towards a natural cleft in the mountains.I followed Eve as we returned to the road. After a few minutes we turned north where the road forked, and then back east as we reached the foothills. Today the travel was actually nice. We were able to keep up a conversation, but only because we had learned last night where to toe the line. I didn’t mind. I wouldn’t pry if she didn’t. It was nice to have a companion. 

The journey through the pass almost went well. Honestly I should have known with my luck that it wouldn’t go smooth. We were nearly at the peak of the pass when I felt it. A rush of wind, as if we had stepped through a wall made from air. I shivered as the feeling passed down my body. Something didn’t feel right. “What was that?” I asked Eve.

She didn’t seem that bothered. “I don’t know. Last time I came through here was a while ago. But I know this place is safe. Don’t worry about it.”

I relaxed. I trusted that Eve knew what she was doing. I wasn’t going to challenge her, especially considering that I had no idea where we were going.

We passed several other side paths and forks as we traveled through the pass, but Eve ignored them. I retained my faith in her and followed blindly. Of course it was at that moment that the path we were on hit a dead end at a sheer rock face.

“I don’t understand,” Eve said, “the path should be right here. I remember; it was a perfectly straight path over the mountain.”

“Perhaps it changed. You never know. Maybe an earthquake or mudslide blocked that path. You said it has been a while. Let’s look for the road somewhere else.” I tried to stay calm and reasonable, but I had a growing suspicion of what had happened. I just hoped I was wrong.

Eve nodded and we backtracked to where the road split. She glanced back at me and then took the new path leading to the right. I closed my eyes and tried to create a mental map. I knew that this route would take us perpendicular to our original trail. Hopefully we would turn right again to head in the correct direction.

The road weaved and meandered a little, but it mostly lead the way we wanted to go. The path diverted through a few large meadows. We didn’t at any point see a path leading back to the right.  After a rather long, thin segment, the path took a sharp turn to the left.

This wasn’t correct. Who had built this detour? We needed to head right once again. This would take us in the opposite direction that we wanted to go. Nonetheless, we took the new path until it too dead ended in a small clearing completely surrounded by thick trees.

Except. Tucked away in the back corner of the clearing was a flat stone platform overgrown with grass. I gasped aloud, for I now knew exactly what was happening. We were in a Mystery Dungeon.

Eve moved over to investigate the platform. “No,” I shouted. Eve jumped back looking around. She searched for anything dangerous and, finding nothing, she turned to me. She looked rather cross.

“What was that?” Eve snapped. “It is only a stone platform, Slink. Maybe there was a house or something here and that was the foundation. If this area is populated, maybe we could ask for directions.”

I shook my head, unable to find the words that I needed. “That isn’t a stone platform. That is a portal to the next floor. We are in a Mystery Dungeon!”

“Mystery Dungeon!” Eve echoed. She got paler, her normal lilac turning more lavender. “Slink, I have a confession to make. I’ve never actually been in a Mystery Dungeon before.” I bit my lip, cursing under my breath. “Hey, I’m actually pretty good at battling, but I’ve never been in a Dungeon.”

“I understand,” I muttered. Truth be told I had only ever been in a Dungeon with my father, and even then only weak three to five floor ones. I took a deep breath. “Okay, we should be fine. But, I should probably lead.”

“Of course,” Eve said. For the first time she sounded at least nervous. “Of course you can lead. You know more about Dungeons than I do.”

“Thank you. This Dungeon can’t have more than five floors, but we need to stay alert. Three rules that you need to know about Dungeons before we go anywhere. One, don’t ever enter one alone. Two, always get out before nightfall. And three, don’t be tricked by the Pokèmon in the dungeons. They are wild, feral, and will kill you for food if they get the chance. Got it?”

“I do know that much,” Eve said, the impatience evident in her voice. “Can we go now?”

Together, we stepped forward onto the stone platform. Immediately the the world seemed to jerk, as if someone had suddenly hit the brakes on reality. The world around us distorted, the colors bled onto one another until we were in the center of a swirling mass of color. Then came my least favorite part of the whole thing. The platform beneath us shattered, and we fell through sound and color.

I knew enough to brace myself, and just in time too, as we landed on the next floor only seconds later. Eve wasn’t nearly as prepared. Her legs collapsed as we slammed into the ground. She gave a yelp of surprise. “Welcome to floor two,” I smiled at Eve.

“Well that was… interesting,” Eve said as she shakily got to her feet, “do we have to do that every time?”

“Yes,” I said before walking off into the Dungeon. I paused as we stepped out of the small room we had landed in. I looked around frantically. Had anything moved? Were there any traps nearby? Was a wild Pokèmon about to attack me from behind? I waited for a second, and then took another step. Eve smacked me with her tail.

“Hey at this rate we will be in here until nightfall. Pick up the pace. Seriously!” I blushed slightly. I was probably overreacting.

We started off on a path that lead east. There wasn’t any particular reason, but it seemed like a step in the right direction. As we walked I told Eve every tip my father had given me for navigating a Dungeon. “If all else fails  turn left unless it will cause you to hit a dead end… Always map mentally where you have been…only use wands or orbs when you are pressed for time…”

We carefully navigated the maze of paths, clearings and dead ends. Unfortunately, it didn’t feel like we were anywhere near the portal. Every path we went down seemed to lead to a dozen other alternate routes. I was a bit worried that we would spend all day on this one floor.

A few minutes later we found a smaller clearing with a stream running across one end. Eve suggested that we take a break. It was getting pretty hot, and by the sun’s position we had been walking for over an hour, so we decided to stop and take a drink.

I knew that navigating a Dungeon was difficult, but I had no idea where I was going. It was infuriating to walk down a path for almost ten minutes just to meet a dead end. My only comfort was that according to my mental map there were only three or four more places left that could hold the stone platform.

Once I was finished drinking, I looked up to find that Eve was no longer standing next to me. I turned to see that she had leapt over the creek and was backed up against the sheer cliff face that made up the wall. Her feet were braced against the ground, as if she was actually trying to push herself into the wall. She had her ears tucked back against her head, and her eyes were huge and staring.

I didn’t hesitate. I whirled around, breathing Fire as I went to push back any potential attackers. I scanned the room around me, searching for any threat. At the same time I tried to call on Psychic. The cool energy gathered, but I felt the Fire die in my stomach. I saw something shooting towards my face so I instinctively reached for my Fire. I gasped as I felt both sensations battle for a moment before both died.

It was in that moment of struggle that I met my attacker. Or at least he met me. I felt a blinding pain across my snout as a thick, scaled, tail snapped across it. I stumbled to the side blindly, trying to avoid a second attack. I felt something wrap around my ankles. I lost my balance, and was thrown to the ground. As the tears cleared from my eyes I saw a bright purple Ekans hovering over me, its dripping fangs ready to strike. My blood ran cold, and I found that I couldn’t even move.

I felt a surge of Psychic power, and the air seemed to ripple above me. The Ekans, lunged at me, but its head was caught as a barrier of Psychic energy formed between me and it. I looked back to see Eve with her gem blazing. She took a step towards the snake, and the barrier advanced as well. The snake was forced to retreat. When she forced it back into the narrow corridor the Ekans hissed angrily then it turned and slithered away.

“Slink, are you okay?” Eve turned back and started running towards me. Without warning I heard something that was a mix of a hiss and a snarl. The grass rustled, before the Ekans burst out of it, and jumped at Eve.

I didn’t think. I reacted. Fire spewed from my mouth in a stream, catching the snake in midair and incinerating it instantly. Eve half turned as the snake’s ashes fell around her like snow, and then she froze in place, trembling. She just sat there shaking and breathing heavily. I didn’t know what to do, but even without Psychic powers I knew what was going on.  

Without speaking, I walked over to her, sat down in front of her and pulled her close to me. This is what I had done whenever my mother or sister cried. It seemed to make them happy, or at least feel better. The second I touched her, Eve buried her face in my chest fur and broke down into sobs that shook her whole body. I still had no clue, but I pulled her closer and just offered her reassurance.

“An Ekans, huh? Like the day you evolved.” She didn’t speak, but I felt her nod through her sobs. “Your sister saved you then…” she nodded again “… and you are afraid of them now.” I could feel her breathing slow down, and her crying became less violent. “And today you thought that it was going to kill you. You thought I might not save you.” Her crying stopped completely at this point, although her body shook periodically with dry sobs.

“Eve, remember what you said last night?” She turned her head so that she could look at me with one eye. “When you saved me you told me that you didn’t think. They were going to kill me, so you acted.” She nodded into my chest. “Eve, we are Expedition partners now, understand? I will help you and I will protect you because we are teammates. You are all I have now, so like it or not, we are family, and family watches out for each other.” I leaned back so that her face was no longer buried in my chest. I met eyes with her. “Eve I will never let anyone or anything hurt you if I can help it.”

She nodded slowly before putting her face into my chest again. I knew she was trying to calm down, so I just hugged her and let her be. A few minutes later I finally broke the silence. “Eve, I completely get it but we have lost a lot of time and we need to get moving.”

I took a step back and watched as Eve wiped her eyes with her paw and took a deep breath. “Okay,” she said sounding almost normal, “let’s go.”

We took a new path, and I prayed to Arceus that we would find the platform. He must have been listening, because a few minutes later we found the portal. In fact he must have been feeling extremely helpful, because when we landed on the next floor we were only feet from the stone platform.

Since we had saved so much time on the second floor, I was certain that the third floor would be a breeze. After another hour of wandering I decided that we needed a new plan. “We can’t keep going like this,” I muttered to Eve. I glanced at her bag. “You have wands in there, right?”

“Sure,” she said as she set it down and stuck her nose into it. “Here.” She handed me what looked like a handful of short sticks, except the leaves were acting strange.

For example, the first one I picked up seemed to have normal leaves, except from time to time they would all shiver as if they were caught in a breeze. I was certain that it was a paralysis wand. Another seemed to move and change every time I looked away. It was probably a warp wand. I sorted through stay-away wands and pounce wands until I found a few that had all of their leaves pointing towards the tip of the stick. A guiding wand.

Eve moved closer to me as I dumped all of the sticks back into her bag except the one I was holding. I closed my eyes thinking about the stone platform and shook my head. When my head was sideways and the stick was pointing straight up, a ball of light shot from the tip as the stick disintegrated in my mouth. The light grew brighter as it flew up, and it grew larger. Eventually it stopped, blazing in the sky like a miniature sun. I knew we would find the platform directly beneath it.

Despite this it took us a while to find a path that would lead to the portal, and then another hour after that fighting our way through the army of feral Wurmples that had barricaded the road.

We landed next to another stream, so we both decided to take a break before moving on, (after I had checked the area thoroughly for snakes). After we took another long drink, I picked one of the paths leading out of the room and we followed it. This particular path lead us along for a while with very few branches. In fact the only fork we found was simply where the path looped around and crossed back over itself. Eventually the road straightened and stayed that way for a while. We were traveling east, I noted, and soon enough (as the path widened somewhat) I saw the shimmering wall of air that marked the end of the Dungeon.

“Well done Slink,” Eve cheered as we moved towards the exit. I turned to smile at her, but I was cut off as she cried out.

I whirled around to see a tornado made of Fire flying at me. I tried to skip aside, but I was too late. The Fire didn’t harm me of course, but beneath it something solid and strangely furry smacked me hard enough to knock me off my feet. The flames died revealing the tiny Vulpix within. It pounced on Eve who, I assume, had also been knocked off her feet by the creature’s attack. Eve must have learned from the whole Ekans situation, as she almost immediately knocked the little fox away with a blast of Psychic energy.

Eve quickly rolled to her feet before charging the Vulpix. The little fox however was already running. An instant later it dove into the mouth of a small den dug into the side of the mountain.

When I caught up, Eve was staring uncertainly into the den entrance. “Just let it go,” I said.

“I can’t. The little sneak took my bag; slipped it right over my shoulders.” Eve dropped to her belly and began to crawl into the hole.

“It’s almost sunset,” I protested, “we need to get out of here before then!” Eve had already disappeared into the den, and she obviously wasn’t listening to me.

I knew that I had no other choice, so I dropped to my belly and began worming my way in after her. She was shorter than I was, but I was more lithe and flexible. I had to crouch, but my sides didn’t brush the dirt walls. After what seemed like hours of crawling the den opened up in front of me. I heard a constant roar as I wiggled out of the tunnel.

Once I was free from the tunnel I finally noticed what was happening within. Eve had her eyes closed and seemed to be in deep concentration. Two feet in front of her an angled pink shield of pure Psychic power held against the flames pouring from the mouth of the Vulpix. I closed my eyes as well and conjured my own energy, and using it to shore up Eve’s shield. Together our power was strong enough that I expected that it would have held against a Rhyhorn.

Eventually the Vulpix ran out of steam, and the stream of fire died. The thing just stood there panting heavily. Slowly, I dropped my shield, but Eve kept her’s up. She was eyeing the Vulpix as if she expected it to sprout poison fangs. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Eve’s bag laying abandoned by the mouth of the cave, well behind Eve.

“Eve, your bag is right there. Just grab it and let’s go.” She shot me a glare.

“It attacked me.” Eve grumbled.

“They were defending themselves ,” I said, “you did break into their house.”

“It stole my bag,” Eve argued.

I rolled my eyes at her. Then I took a look back at the Vulpix. They  seemed downright terrified, I mean even more frightened than when Eve had run into the Ekans. I knew that we had just broken into their  home, but that didn’t lead to the level of horror I saw in them now. Especially since they had chosen to engage us.

I stepped closer to the Vulpix, stepping through Eve’s shield.The Vulpix gave a little shriek as I stepped closer. “Hey,” I said softly, “I’m not going to hurt you. ” But me getting closer actually seemed to cause them pain as they pressed into the wall trying to get away.

“Okay,” I said, backing away slightly, “I’m not going to get any closer.” For some reason I felt extreme concern for this Vulpix. I gathered up my Psychic energy and sent a small tendril of thought towards them.

Immediately I felt a rush of thoughts and memories that threatened to overwhelm me. I tuned them out and began sifting through everything to try and find… I don’t know. I honestly wasn’t sure what I was looking for. I tried to stay focused as I wiggled deeper. A brilliant image came to me of the little fox sitting at the mouth of the den watching the sunset.

I quickly discovered a pattern. Every day without fail the little fox would sit at the mouth of the den and watch as the sun set. I flicked to a new day. The sun was at a different angle, and the landscape outside was slightly different, but the Vulpix still diligently watched as the sun went down.

I watched the days flash past, watching for something that stood out, but I also forged an understanding with the Vulpix.

I lost track of the days, but I was pretty sure I had delved at least five years backward into the Vulpix’s memories, but something had changed. The den, the landscape, and the sun were the same, except that a Mightyena sat next to the Vulpix watching the sunset as well.

I could tell that it was a male, and that he seemed uninterested in the entire thing. It was almost as if he watched more out of a sense of duty rather than choice. The Vulpix seemed to treat him like he had some sort of authority, but they didn’t seem to be too close. I searched around for a few more memories of the Mightyena. I still couldn’t figure out their relationship. He was never close with the Vulpix, but I never saw anything like abuse. He wasn’t the reason the Vulpix was afraid.

I continued to move back through the memories. The Mightyena was only there for about a month or two, and then the Vulpix was alone again. I thought I was nearing the end, and that I was going to run out of memories when the final change occurred.

I could tell that this was a powerful memory as the others had all faded slightly with age. In this one everything was the same, but the baby Vulpix was with a fully grown, beautiful Ninetales.

Before I looked at the memory, I tried to inch backward another day, but this seemed to be the earliest thing the Vulpix could remember. I returned to the image of the Ninetales and let the memory play out.

I tried to shake off the feeling that I was intruding on something personal, but as the scene came to life before me I stopped to take it in.

The sun seemed to shimmer as it slowly sank in the sky. The meadow outside of the den was coated in shadow, and the rippling of the grass in the slight breeze gave the impression of an ocean.

My view suddenly shifted as the Vulpix snapped their head around to look at the Ninetales who had taken a few steps from the mouth of the den. Then surprisingly the Ninetales began to speak.

“I have to leave for a moment, my love.” The words were so warm and I instantly knew that this beautiful creature before me was the Vulpix’s mother.  But the thing that stuck out to me the most were the mother’s eyes. The look in them were hauntingly familiar. There was a firm determination in them. It felt like she was psyching herself up for something. But they also sparkled with unshed tears, and there was pain behind her words.

“You can’t come with me. Don’t follow me. You must stay here.” She paused briefly. Her tails lashed behind her nervously. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back by the time the sun sets.” This final line echoed for a moment. I felt the importance of these words. They must have meant a lot to the Vulpix.

I heard the Vulpix whine as the Ninetales left, vanishing into the tall grass. The Vulpix sat there for a moment. They  shifted impatiently, and several times they rose to their feet and then sat back down instantly as if they were debating with themselves. Eventually, they caved, got up, and plunged into the tall grass after their mother.

The young fox  dashed through the grass silently. The thick foliage hid the young fox. Even someone looking for the Vulpix would have a hard time finding them. Thankfully the grass was full and long through one clearing and into the next. I could vaguely hear shouting, and even what sounded like battling. Eventually the Vulpix neared the edge of a clearing where the grass had been matted down. A brilliant red glow filled the clearing.

The baby fox ducked into the grass quickly as they realized that the glow was their mother; her nine tails glowing with heat and the Fire that flickered across them. “Threaten and bully me all you want,” the Ninetales shouted into the night, “but stay the hell away from my child!” 

Silhouetted against the red glow I could see two dark forms. They circled the Ninetales menacingly. Suddenly they both charged towards the Ninetales. The big fox roared over her shoulder, breathing a huge inferno at the taller and faster of the two. The sudden light gave me a clear view of the attacking Pokèmon, and it led me to one conclusion.

It was hopeless.

The first figure was a Greninja, although it had taken me a moment to realize it, as the figure was almost entirely black. Its blood-red tongue shone in sharp contrast to the rest of its body. I felt a pit grow in my stomach as I realized it was shiny.

The Ninetales however didn’t lose confidence. It struck again with a powerful Fire blast. The Greninja was slowed at it desperately dodged the flames, but the mother was still in danger.

Just as the Ninetales turned to run, the second figure, a huge tan Tyranitar with a bright purple belly struck out at the fox. The kitsune ducked aside, but the Tyranitar wasn’t aiming at her. He struck the ground with his fist, and a huge shockwave exploded from that point. The earth began to crack apart from the massive seismic waves that shook the ground. The Ninetales tried to dodge the encroaching cracks, but that was when the second stage of the attack engaged.

Hot air blasted from the fissures as the energy deep within the earth was released. The Ninetales braced herself as the hot gas spewed over her. Any non Fire type would have been killed instantly. As it was the Ninetales had to be in terrible pain.

Red light exploded from the cracks arcing high into the air and forming a dome over the mountain pass. I felt my heart rate increase as I realized that I was watching the creation of a Mystery Dungeon.

Several minutes later the event ended. The Ninetales was still standing as the light faded. I felt a small amount of hope; that is until the Ninetales tried to take a step and she collapsed. Even if she was even still alive, she couldn’t have been conscious.

I watched as the Greninja pulled out a blade made of pure water and…

Enough. I pulled out of the Vulpix’s mind. I felt sick to my stomach for having intruded on such private, personal memory. And yet, I felt like I understood the Vulpix that much better. I also knew what I had to do.

I approached the fox slowly and quietly. “I know how you feel,” I said, “I’ve lost my mother too.”

Their head perked up at this. “I know what it is like to lose the most important person on earth. I understand that it hurts, and there is nothing you can do. But the way you have handled it was wrong.”

The Vulpix scowled at me. “You shouldn’t be alone. You need other people, not just to protect you, but to help you and to rely on. I met Eve here and she grows on you eventually.”

“Hey what do you mean by that!” Eve cried. Then she stopped for a moment. “Are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting?”

“I think you should come with us,” I said to the Vulpix.

“Are you crazy?” Eve said. Then she realized that she had said it out loud. “Sorry, er, could I speak with you for a moment.” She yanked on my fur and pulled me to the opposite side of the cave. “Are you crazy? You want to take a feral with us?”

“Yes,” I stated instantly, “why not?”

“Because we are a team and-“

“Look,” I interrupted, “I may not know much about the Expedition Society, but I do know that a team is made up of at least three members.”

“But we aren’t able to raise a feral. That would be impossible.”

“Who are you callin’ a feral,” a new voice shouted.

The little Vulpix was glaring daggers at Eve. Then in a smaller voice they said, “What is this team?” It was a little hard to tell, considering the Vulpix was still a child, but the voice was clearly  . I glanced at Eve, but she had her mouth gaping open at the Vulpix.

“We are going to join a society bent on exploring the entire world. You need to join the society as a team.” I tried to explain it, but I don’t think I did a very good job.

“Explore the world?” I wouldn’t have expected that to be the only thing the Vulpix retained. “I’ve never been outside of the mountains,” she said. “The whole world…?”

“Do you want to join us?” Eve asked at least trying to extend the olive branch.

The Vulpix seemed to struggle with this for a moment before   to herself. “No, I’ll stay here.”

“What! I thought you wanted to-” I cut Eve off before she could say anything more.

“That’s fine,” I said, “you don’t have to come with us. I just want you to think about it. You have been alone in this den for six years. You haven’t moved from these mountains in six years. Aren’t you sick of it? Aren’t you tired of being alone?”

“I can take care of myself just fine!” the Vulpix snapped. “I don’t need anyone else.”

“You do need other people,” I countered, “not just for survival, but for support. You need people who care about you and who will support you. I hate to say it, and I wish I didn’t have to, but your mother is never coming back. You keep watching for her to return every evening more in desperation than hope that she will return. That isn’t healthy. Eve and I are both moving on from something, why not you too?”

“I told Eve today. I have nobody else. We have to be family, and family looks out for one another.” I stepped closer to the Vulpix. “I promise we will take care of you. We won’t let anyone hurt you as long as we can help it. I’m not saying that you have to, but I think you should join our team.

I looked at Eve who grimaced and motioned to the Vulpix. She was crying, while at the same time fighting to hold the tears back. I hadn’t meant to make her cry, but she needed to hear what I said. I did the only thing that I could think of. I walked over to her and pulled her into my chest. She cried openly into my fur.

“I knew that she was never coming back,” she cried as tears continued to fall from her eyes, “but I didn’t know what else to do! I was alone and scared. I just had to hope that she would return eventually.”

My stomach turned at the thought of this Vulpix alone in this cave for six years; doing all she could to stay alive. I knew that she needed someone in her life. She needed the chance to be a kid and to enjoy herself.

“When we make camp for the night,” I told her, “we can talk about everything.” She looked up at me and nodded.

The Vulpix stuck close to me as we walked back towards the mouth of the den. I picked up Eve’s bag as we passed it, and handed it to her. Eve was looking at me strangely, but I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. “Why don’t you go first,” I muttered to the Vulpix.

She nodded, before she crawled into the tunnel. She was small enough that she didn’t need to crouch. I turned to Eve. “I’m sorry,” I whispered to Eve.

“What for?” She whispered with just a hint of sarcasm.

I met her eyes to let her know I was serious. “This is your Expedition Team. I should have asked you before I asked her to join. But I couldn’t just leave her here.”

Eve smiled and shook her head. “It’s fine. Really. But why did you…?”

“Are you guys coming or what?” The Vulpix called from the tunnel.

“I’ll tell you later,” I muttered to Eve. I ducked into the tunnel with Eve following on my heels. “So,” I called ahead to where I could see the Vulpix’s eyes reflecting the light filtering in through the mouth of the tunnel, “do you have a name kid?”

“Ummm,” she said, as if that hadn’t occurred to her before, “I don’t think so. My mother just used to call me Vulpix.”

“What did the Mightyena call you?” I asked without thinking.

The little fox was silent for a moment before answering. “He always called me ‘Little Vixen’”.

“I’m definitely not calling you that,” Eve snorted from behind me. “How about…Vix? Can we call you Vix?”

The Vulpix cocked her head. “Vix? Yes, Vix is fine. I kinda like Vix.”

I smiled to myself as we went along. Vix had shot forward again and was waiting patiently at the mouth of the den. “So Vix, who was that Mightyena by the way?”

Vix flinched as I asked that question. Oops. Me and my big mouth. She was silent for a while, and neither Eve nor I dared to move.  “I’m not sure, but I think he may have thought he was my father. My mother never talked about my father much. Apparently he left before I was born. She did mention something once about a Mightena, and I guess he was the guy. He taught me how to survive after my mother died. He just showed up out of the blue and taught me how to take care of myself. Before that I had gotten lucky, survived off of mushrooms and stored food, or just went hungry.”

Thankfully Vix moved after saying that, so Eve and I could exit the tunnel. I looked around. We must have been in the tunnel for quite a while because I couldn’t see the sun anymore. It was really dark out now. “So the exit was this way right?”

Eve scrunched her eyebrows. “I thought it was that way.”

“Don’t ask me,” Vix said, “it’s way too dark to see anything anyway.”

My eyes snapped to the horizon as I realized our mistake. The sun had set and the dungeon was about to shift.

“Quick, back into the den!” I shouted.

“What?” Eve asked, but it was too late. There was a rushing sound, like a firm breeze,  except it caused the trees to bow and the grass to flatten all around us.

There was a flash of light and suddenly Vix was gone! I cried out for Eve to run, but with a flash she was gone too.

In that moment I realized that Eve had set her bag down as she exited the den. It was still sitting there. If I didn’t get it, it would be lost forever.

I took a flying leap and managed to hook one of my claws through the strap before I felt a tug in my gut as if someone had tied a rope around my stomach and pulled. The world went black for a moment with flashes of sound and color before I fell face first into a pile of foul smelling dirt.

“Slink what are you doing? You are getting ash all over my bag.” I stood up and shook the soot and ash from my fur. It took me a second to realize that we had landed at our campsite from the night before. Eve had landed in her bed, Vix had landed in mine, and I had slammed into the fire pit.

“What was that?” Vix howled. “Where are we?”

“I promise I’ll explain tonight, to both of you. But first I’d like to get this ash out of my fur.”

I heard Eve grumble something that sounded like “oh now he wants to bathe” but I ignored it. 

As I washed off, Vix and Eve worked at the campsite. When I returned there was a third nest and a merrily crackling fire. I settled down between Eve and Vix, and then I got stuck. How was I ever going to explain this?

“What do you guys know about ley lines?” I asked hesitantly. Eve furrowed her brows, like she was trying to remember something, while Vix looked like I was speaking gibberish. To be fair, I kinda was.

Using my power I projected a glowing globe into the smoke above the fire. “Ley lines are where the earth’s natural power is concentrated.” On the globe, I drew a web of purple-white lines. “It’s actually kind of interesting, because ancient civilizations used to settle along these lines, and they built all sorts of monuments and structures along them. Researchers were about to dismiss the theory of ley lines, but then they made a connection between them and Mystery Dungeons.”

I zoomed in on the map. “Where two, three or, for really special Dungeons, more ley lines intersect a Mystery Dungeon is created.”  I paused for a moment as I thought about how best to present the next concept.

“What do you two know about the Multiple Universe Theory?” This time Eve nodded in recognition, and Vix looked at me like I was actually crazy. I bit my lip. “The general idea is that we exist in one of infinite dimensions, and every time there is a choice, or a different iteration of events can be reached, a new reality is created to follow both timelines.” Vix was shaking her head, so I decided I should move on. “So where these lines intersect, the raw power contained at that point is enough to make reality splinter.”

“Slink,” Eve said slowly, “I’m not quite sure I get it? Could you…er…”

I quickly drew a mountain on my globe with a bright blue line arcing directly over it. Underneath I drew the intersection of two ley lines. “So say this is the mountain pass in our dimension. In another it is like this.” I drew a purple line that was at a forty-five degree angle to the original. “And in another reality it is like this.” I drew a red line that zig-zagged over the mountain. “The ley lines cross here, so the raw energy of the earth is funneled through there.  This causes the different realities to bleed together.” I erased all three lines and replaced them with a single black line that curved and twisted and doubled back.

“What about the stone platforms? The portals?” Eve asked.

I exhaled in a long sigh. My dad had done a much better job of explaining this all to me. Still I had to try. “Okay, so those are naturally occuring portals between layers of dimensions. Different combinations of reality.”

“Then why was this mountain pass a dungeon.” Eve said. “I know it wasn’t one nine years ago.”

“I think I know what happened,” I said trying not to look at Vix. “There is only one ley line that runs under this mountain, but there was a seismic event like an earthquake… or a mudslide that allowed it to get close enough to the surface for its power to leak out into the mountain.  This results in a ‘weak’ Dungeon.”

“Ugggh,” Vix snapped, “who cares why the mountain is a Dungeon? Why were we sent here? What happened?”

I looked at Eve. “Remember how I said that you shouldn’t be in a Dungeon after sunset? That’s why. I wish there was a grass type here to explain it, but essentially life exists because of two sources of power that are in balance. The sun, which obviously works during the day, and the power in the earth. At night, the ley lines exert more power and within Dungeons this power remixes how the different realities graft together. We can’t exist in that space, so the Dungeon purged us back  to the entrance more or less.

Vix looked confused. “But what about my den? Why did that never change?”

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly, “but I have a theory. I think that your cave was just on the edge of the line’s influence. I think your presence in it, as a creature of this dimension anchored it to this reality.”

“So you mean it won’t be there anymore after tonight?”

I didn’t answer, but my silence was all the answer she needed.

We were silent for more than a while. None of us knew what to say. Eventually Eve offered a solution.  “Why don’t we all go to bed?” Eve said softly. “We have a big day tomorrow. Just think, by this time tomorrow, we will be an Official Expedition team!”

As I lay there in silence I couldn’t help the thoughts racing through my mind. Honestly I felt a little bad about Vix. She had just lost her home, all she had ever known, because of me. I knew on some level that she had chosen to come with us, but I still felt guilty about the whole thing.

I had no idea how much time had passed. Vix had tossed and turned for a while, but eventually her breathing had assumed a deep even rhythm. The sound relaxed me, but I couldn’t make my mind calm down enough to sleep.

“Pssst, Slink!” Eve’s harsh whisper cut through the darkness.

“Yes,” I replied.

“I’d just like to say… sorry about how I acted today. Especially with Vix and what I almost did to her.” There was a quiet moment filled only with the crackling of the dying fire. “Slink, why did you ask her to join us? Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to have her, but why her?”

I sighed. “Because she is in the same situation I was. You rescued me after only a few days, but she… she has been through so much.” I briefly relayed everything I had seen in Vix’s head to Eve.

“Right in front of her?” Eve asked horrified. “Oh, Arceus. How is she even functional after all that?”

“You become numb to it after a while,” I muttered.

“Slink. Jeez, I’m sorry I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s fine. But that is why I had to save her. She has avoided facing her loss her whole life. That just isn’t healthy. I saw in her what I would have become had I not met you. I probably would have searched for the Dreamstone until exhaustion turned me into worse than a feral.” I shook my head.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Eve asked. “It might make you feel better…”

“No,” I said firmly. Eve nodded, and I knew she wouldn’t push. “We should probably sleep. Big day and all that.”

I settled down, deliberately putting my back to Eve. Still, she called over to me. “Goodnight Slink.”

“Goodnight Eve,” I replied.