Choices
by MalwareBirb404It had been a few days since what Brine viewed as a resounding failure. He had been ambushed in the middle of the job, and gotten injured in the process. And while his efforts had redirected the guild’s attention as intended, he had drawn more unwanted attention to himself. His pride only further suffered as he began to think of all of the ways Bella would mock and bother him once she caught wind of what happened.
“ Sometimes I wonder if I should have just taken those other job offers… ” Brine muttered as he approached the Crimson Eye’s now ruined outpost. He stopped and flinched as the pain in his wrapped arm surfaced again. Cradling the appendage, the Inteleon glanced around the wreckage.
“ I swear… the concept of discretion is lost on bandits… ”
Weightless… But somehow feeling the sensation of falling… Not a single sound was present in the vast ocean of lavender that surrounded Crash as he drifted throughout the seemingly endless void. That is until a familiar voice began to reverberate throughout the shifting space.
Crash… Crash… Crash…
“Crash! Wake up!” Cinder shouted, repeatedly jabbing the Scraggy with her paws. However this only succeeded in getting Crash to turn on his side. Cinder huffed before giving the fighting type a swift kick to the back, but then the fox then felt herself get lifted off the ground.
“Cinder, stop.” Hickory firmly scolded, looking over to his teammate.
The Vulpix glanced at the vines holding her up, and back down at Crash. “You realize this is his fault, right?!” She protested to the grass type. “Because of him! We’re stuck in the middle of nowhere! And all our stuff’s back at the house!”
“… If I pretend I’m dead will you stop…? ” The Scraggy groaned, pulling himself up.
“ Don’t act like I don’t pretend you’re dead already… ” Cinder angrily mumbled.
Crash rubbed his eye as he got up, loosely glancing around the gray, rocky terrain as he did. “ Where the hell are we…? ” He tiredly asked, turning towards a seething Cinder.
“I wish we knew…” Hickory said, turning his head to look at the small box on his back.
“ Right… that… ” Crash muttered, narrowing his gaze at the box as well. “Mind telling us what the heck that thing is.” The Scraggy said, looking up at Cinder.
The Vulpix took a few deep breaths before glancing down at Hickory, gesturing with her head to put her back on the ground. Hickory nodded, carefully doing so as to not drop her. Cinder sighed, turning away from the others.
“I… I don’t know… ” Cinder quietly said, as she visibly became more withdrawn.
“What do you mean, you don’t know?! ” Crash asked, crossing his arms. “Who just keeps something like that in their house without-” He then cut himself off, noticing Cinder’s shrinking posture.
“ … Right… let’s just try and figure out where we are… ” Crash said, shifting his gaze to the side.
A heavy tension lingered in the air as the three pokemon walked in silence. However, as they pressed on, Crash couldn’t help but think about the circumstances of how they wound up in their current situation. “That box… it’s like when I tried to pick it that one time…” He thought, pressing the side of his hand to his chin. “What the hell is Cinder hiding…?” Crash thought as he turned his head to glance at the Vulpix. However upon doing so, he noticed Cinder and Hickory slow their pace.
“You know, I don’t like the feel of this place.” Crash said, carefully glancing around the rocky surroundings. “I’d like to find a place to hold up while we still have daylight.” But despite his demeanor being more calm in comparison to his companions, there was a feeling creeping in the back of his mind. It was slight at first, simply trying to bubble its way up to the surface. But was now starting to eat away at him.
“ Are you… good…? ” Crash hesitantly asked, turning towards the others. His voice wavering in such a way that made it sound like he wasn’t sure how to handle the situation.
Hickory cleared his throat as he wiped his eye with a vine. “Before we go anywhere… I want to try something… ” The Bayleef said, reaching for the box sitting on his back with his tendrils. “Whatever happened, do you think you can do it again to bring us back to Timberglade…?” Hickory asked.
Crash tilted his head as the grass type held the wooden box in front of him. He walked up to the two pokemon and slowly took the box from Hickory, noticing that Cinder looked visibly uncomfortable as he did. Crash stared at it for a good while before glancing back up. “Fine…”
“ Alright box… take us back… ”
…
…
… Nothing. Not even a slight glow. Crash narrowed his glare and began to start shaking the box. Cinder had to restrain every fiber in her being to not try and snatch it away from him, heavily breathing as she watched the Scraggy.
“ No good… ” Crash huffed. “I remember feeling… something last time, but now… I’d say we have a better chance of finding a ‘ kind stranger’s ’ house out here… ”
Hickory and Cinder both slumped hearing what Crash had to say, the ladder gritting her teeth and the former showing a more somber expression before perking back up, looking more stern than earlier. “Well I’m not giving up… not yet… ”
“ Right… ” Crash muttered, pushing the box over to the Bayleef.
Bella watched the goings ons of her allies both new and old as repairs to the dilapidated stone temple were being made around her. The Salazzle hung from the rebuilt scaffold that held up a good amount of the building. However, her upside-down view of everything did nothing to change how bored she was. The black and purple lizard slowly looked up at her long tail, the dexterous appendage still wrapped around the wooden beam just as it has been for the past hour or so.
Ever since Team Raiders had begun staying with the Crimson Eye Rouges, things gradually became more dull and monotonous. But Scorch’s instructions were clear: ‘You and Hunter are not to leave the area. Do you understand…? ’ “And all over a small disagreement…” She thought.
Hunter had gone off to sleep somewhere, and Brine still hadn’t come back yet. So ‘spending time’ with the Garchomp and bothering the Inteleon were both out of the question. And no one around seemed to pay her any mind either, so what was a bored Salazzle to do.
“ Well, I guess I’ve been putting that off for long enough… ” Bella mumbled, lazely reaching for her belt. The spaces for vials were all still empty even well after her arrival, she sighed before loosening her tail’s grip on the scaffold. As her hands slowly made contact with the cool floor, Bella flipped onto her feet and readjusted her belt. Noticing it felt just a bit tighter than normal, Bella rolled her eyes and groaned. “ Thanks Scorch… ”
While on the search for more vials, something interesting caught Bella’s eye. Hunter, along with a few other pokemon she assumed were with the rogues, walked off into the swamp. “What are you doing…?” The Salazzle thought, narrowing her stare as her curiosity peaked.
Following the group of pokemon deeper into the wetlands, Bella soon came across what appeared to be an arena of some kind. A large wooden, crescent shaped seating area that stood over a big, shodely walled off field. Sharp, pointed logs stuck out of the ground, each one being tied together in a sort of ‘X’ pattern as they marked the boundaries of the round dirt field. The structures as a whole had clearly seen better days, but still seemed to manage to hold themselves up.
Bella could already see and hear the plethora of pokemon inside, loudly chanting for the event to start. The Salazzle once again looked over at Hunter, who appeared to be speaking to a Honchkrow outside what looked like a short wooden gate surrounding the arena. The black feathered bird could be seen stoking the white, beard-like plumage covering their chest. As the Honchkrow continued to speak, Bella watched as Hunter seemed to nod along. Unable to make out what they were saying, Bella’s glare narrowed before she soon approached the two.
“Hunter!” Bella snapped. “What is this?!”
Before he could answer, the Honchkrow held up his wing. “Another one of the newcomers I presume…” He said before giving a gracious bow. “My name is Blake, the overseer of this event… The pleasure is mine…”
The Salazzle stared at the bird for a few seconds before crossing her arms. “I’ll ask again. What is this?”
“Blake… asked me to compete in his tournament… ” The Garchomp said, tapping his claws together. Bella slammed a hand into her face before rubbing her temple with her fingers. “ How many times have I- …What do we get out of this…?” She said, looking back down at Blake.
“For an entrance fee of 250 poké you can find out.” The bird said in a friendly, but somewhat forceful manner.
“ What game are you trying to pull here…? ”
“No game. Just some simple entertainment.” Blake cheerfully said, spreading out his wings. “ So what do you say…? ”
Bella turned her head slightly, eyeing up the arena before glaring at Blake. “ I’ll be right back… ”
Upon entering past the gate, Bella hesitantly looked over the two tiered seating area as it shook with every motion the pokemon atop it made. Sure the larger species were on the lower tier, but the Salazzle just couldn’t shake the feeling the whole thing could collapse at any moment. “It’s more structurally sound than it appears.” She heard Blake say behind her.
“ Something else you want…? ” Bella groaned as she turned around.
“I just wanted to see if you were interested in making a bet.” Blake said, gesturing his wing towards a booth outside the benches. The wooden stall was being run by three smaller birds with hat-shaped plumage on their heads. One was accepting the bets of the last few pokemon entering the seating area, while another seemed to be giving away pouches of coins to a couple of pokemon. An embarrassed looking Raichu had a dumb smile plastered on thier face as he rubbed his neckwith a paw, that is before the Monferno standing next to him smacked the rodent in the back of the head. The third Murkrow that stood between the other two rolled their eyes, writing something down with their beak.
“ I think I’m good… ” Bella said, turning towards the benches.
Climbing onto the higher tier, Bella managed to find an open spot with a decent view of the field. As the pokemon around her continued to cheer, waiting for the show to start. Blake and a Murkrow slowly made their way into the center of the field, calmly walking out from one of the two large tents that sat at either end of the seating area. Blake then raised his wings to silence the audience. “Thank you all for joining us today! For those of you who are new here, allow me to explain the rules.”
“Anything goes in the following battles! And the winner is decided when the victor has their opponent pinned after the count of three, or if the match ends in a knockout!” Blake said before leaning towards the smaller bird. “ Understand… ”
“ Yes sir… ” The Murkrow tiredly answered before walking towards the arena’s barrier.
“And with that, may combat begin!” Blake exclaimed as he was met with a mass of cheering and applause before leaving the battlefield.
The Murkrow cleared their throat as the crowd began to settle down. “Alright… You know him, you-” They paused momentarily, catching a glance of another Murkrow behind the other end of the wooden barrier. Using their wings, gesturing for him to speak up. The Murkrow on the field rolled his eyes and continued. “You know him! You tolerate him! The Hard-headed Bruiser himself, Mal!
The rather annoyed looking Scrafty soon sauntered onto the field from the same entrance Blake had used earlier. “And his opponent! Last week’s champion, Blitz!”
On queue, a long legged rooster clad in red and yellow feathers stepped onto the battlefield from the other tent. His wrists flashed with flames as he pounded his clawed fists together. The two fighters approached each other in the center of the arena, taking their positions. The Murkrow stepped back and took a deep breath, glancing at the two. “Begin!”
With that, Blitz ran for Mal, the Blaziken quickly doing a flip before coming down with his leg outstretched. Landing, it was quickly apparent to the fire type that Mal had blocked the attack. Looking up at the rooster, the Scrafty swiftly pushed out his arms to get the Blaziken off balance. Without wasting time, Mal jumped up towards the taller rooster. Now at eye level with each other, the Scrafty kneed him in the chest before he spun and delivered a swift kick to just below their neck.
As Blitz was sent careening to the ground, Mal walked towards his fallen adversary to finish the fight until something caught his attention. The glanced off to the side to one of the Murkrow before rolling his eyes and mouthing out ‘fine.’
‘Come on! Hurry up and get him!’ and, ‘Arceus dammit! I didn’t bet 9,000 poké on your dumb-ass to just stand there!’ Were among the things the Scafty heard as waited for Blitz to make his next move.
“I can’t believe I wasted my money on that bastard!” A Farfetch’d sitting next to Bella yelled, looking almost as if they’d snap the stalk they held in their wings out of frustration.
“Ah, he’ll get up…” Bella said, staring intensely at the battlefield.
“Really?” The beige duck said, having a look in his eyes that tried to hold on to whatever hope they had left.
“I said Blitz would get up, I didn’t say he’d win… ”
About a minute later Bella’s prediction would be proven right as Mal came out victorious via knockout. A mix of screams filled with both excitement and anger filled the arena as the first fight came to an end. However Bella remained quiet. A wide grin formed across the Salazzle’s snout as she calmly got up, leaving the seating area as headed straight for the betting stand.
“Do you mind if I could get a look at today’s lineup?” Bella politely said, leaning over the counter. “That is, if it’s not any trouble… ” She followed up a more flirtatious tone. The three Murkrow behind the counter each stiffend their posture and glanced at each other before the one in the middle gave her a piece of paper.
“Thanks. You might be seeing me again soon… ” Bella cheerfully said, flicking her tail as she walked away. Once she was out of range, the three birds sighed in unison as they slumped over.
“You think she’s hot too, right?” The leftmost Murkrow asked.
The center Murkrow put a wing to his temple. “ What I think is we don’t get paid enough… ”
Bella calmly sat in the lower tier, intensely looking over the paper she got from the Murkrow. “Hunter… Hunter… Hunter… … there we are…” She thought, tapping the list with her finger.
“Huh, he’s fighting that Mal guy… Interesting…”
“All that I’m saying is someone will notice that we’re gone.” Hickory said as he paced back and forth, almost sounding as if he was trying to tell himself this as much as he was his companions.
“ If we don’t even know where we are, then how is the guild supposed to? ” Cinder asked, not bothering to hide the frustration in her voice.
“Yeah, for once I’m with Powderkeg on this one.” Crash agreed, crossing his arms.
“Still, I don’t wanna just sit here.” Cinder said as she stood up.
“Well if we’re gonna just wander around aimlessly, can we at least try to find somewhere to stay?” Crash huffed.
Cinder’s head snapped towards the Scraggy. “ You know, we wouldn’t be in this mess if you had just kept your hands off that- UGHHH!”
“ Here we go… ” Crash said under his breath.
“My life was going just fine before you- no… no… no, we’re not doing this. ” Cinder muttered before taking a few deep breaths. “Let’s… try to find somewhere to stay… ” The Vulpix said, gritting her teeth as she started walking.
Hickory and Crash soon followed, the Bayleef making sure to stay between Crash and Cinder. “ This is starting to feel like the world’s worst camping trip… ” Crash mumbled.
Glaring off to the side before something soon caught his attention. Amongst a pile of rocks, what looked like a piece of blue fabric was stuck against it. “ The hell is that…? ”
Quickly making his way to a pile of rocks, Crash pulled the large piece of fabric free. Holding it out, the first thing of note was that it had clearly been torn. Angled tatters lined the bottom half, cutting off white markings that looked like some kind of insignia. “Crash! Let’s go!” He heard Cinder call out.
“ Yeah don’t get your- fine!” He said back, rolling up the ruined flag as he rejoined the group.
“And you took it because…?” Cinder asked.
“I don’t know, looked neat…” Crash responded, giving a shrug.
“It’s junk.”
“It’s protection from the elements, a potential distraction, and maybe a weapon if I try hard enough.” Cinder raised a brow at the Scraggy as they continued to walk. “ You’re not very creative are you? ” Crash facetiously asked, a shit-eating grin clear as day on his face.
“And that’s enough of that…” Hickory said, gently using his vines to separate the two.
“Listen Powderkeg, some of us don’t exactly have a whole lot to work with… ” Crash said as he shoved the tendril away, his expression much more serious. Sensing the tension in the air, Hickory wanted to say something to try and lighten the mood a bit. However nothing came to mind… That is until he spotted something in the distance.
A large rocky hill sat before the trio of pokemon. However it wasn’t the hill itself that got the Bayleef’s attention, but rather a red flag that stuck out from its base. “Hey… do you think that means something…? ” Hickory asked, pointing a vine at the flag.
Crash looked up at the aforementioned spot and froze. Narrowing his glare at the red banner, he could make out an insignia drawn in black, similar to the one on the blue fabric he’d found earlier. The Scraggy unfurled his find, holding it up as Cinder and Hickory gathered behind him. The three looked back and forth between the two flags until the wind picked up, sending the fabric into Crash’s face.
“Well to answer your question, this definitely means something.” Crash said, in a ‘matter of fact’ tone as he lowered the flag and turned towards the Bayleef. “ The real question is if we’re in deep shit or not… ”
But just as Crash finished his sentence, he began to feel… off… His body began to feel uncomfortably numb before he quickly dropped to the ground like a sack of bricks. Laying on the ground he noticed the same happen to Cinder as she too collapsed to the stony surface. But that’s when the trio saw it, a yellow, powder-like substance floating through the air as it rode the wind straight for them. However Hickory seemed to be the only one unaffected by the strange mist, as he quickly rushed towards the two.
“So now that bastard sent a bunch of kids to do his dirty work for him!? Is your pathetic, coward of a boss just that desperate, or is he trying to mock me?!” A deep voice bellowed.
Crash could only think that if he could still move, he probably would’ve instinctively reached in his pouch for his slingshot… before remembering it was back at the house. Hickory took a more aggressive stance, but still remained as close to his teammates as he could while searching for the source of the voice.
A large Venusaur lumbered out from around the rocky hill as a Skuntank trailed behind them. Crash, Cinder, and Hickory could feel the two poison types staring them down, now having the feeling running was now out of the question. The large, turquoise amphibian continued to stare at the three, raising a brow before glancing up. “I thought you said they were with Blue Tempest?!”
“I said they had their banner.” A Gliscor said, gliding down to his teammates.
“Either way, you need your eyes checked, they’re explorers… ”
“Explorers? Out here?” The gray, winged scorpion asked, tilting his head.
As the trio of bandits conversed with each other, Hickory slowly leaned down towards Cinder. “ What do we do…?! ” He loudly whispered.
“ I… I-I don’t know… ” CInder answered, trying to force herself to move.
Crash’s eyes darted around, looking around for some kind of escape route. But the surrounding area was relatively flat and open with few places to hide from the team of bandits. Granted the Venusaur didn’t look all that fast, but his cohorts on the other hand seemed like they could put up a chase. Then again this all meant nothing if he couldn’t move, and frankly had his doubts that Hickory could get away with carrying two paralized teammates while being chased. Sure the incident with the Tyrantrum was one thing, but the dumb dino was too busy dealing with a face full of rocks to chase them. Three unobscured, and presumably smarter bandits were another story.
Hickory looked up at the trio before him, this time getting a better look at them. It was plain to see that the Venusaur, who seemed to be their leader, was the source of the Stun Spore attack. The yellow powder only continued to pour from the massive dark pink flower on his back as he slowly walked closer. His menacing demeanor didn’t let up as he watched the Bayleef take a few shaky steps in front of Crash and Cinder.
“Heh… cute.” The Venusaur said. “You three have any idea where you are?” He asked.
“Just let us leave! We only need to pass though, and we can be out of your way!” Hickory protested.
“I wouldn’t really say you’re in the best position to make any demands. The Skuntank smugly brought up as their leader ended the stream of powder. Hickory took a step back, glancing down at Cinder and Crash as he did.
The Gliscor wasted no time dasing up to Hickory’s face, causing the leafy sauropod to stagger backwards. “Though we might be willing to make an exception… in exchange for that box… ”
“ T-Touch it, and I’ll- ”
“You’ll what?!” The winged scorpion yelled, interrupting Cinder. Who was struggling to stand.
“ Listen… ” The Gliscor hissed as they lowered their tail in front of Crash, using it as a pedestal to stand on as he leaned around Hickory, almost enveloping the Bayleef’s upper body. “Just know it’s your choice… We can do this the easy way, or we can do it the hard way and have you and your friends shipped off to Inferno’s Maw.”
Hearing the words ‘Inferno’s Maw’ seemed to set something off within the Scraggy, as in that moment his skin began to peel before feeling returned to his arm. Crash’s hand was soon set ablaze before striking the end of the Gliscor’s tail as hard as he could.
“AHH! SON OF A-” The scorpion yelled, getting knocked off balance. HIckory then took this opportunity to quickly wrap one of his vines around the Gliscor’s claw, before blasting them in the face with Energy Ball.
Crash steadily got up and watched as HIckory used his tendrils to quickly pick up Cinder and place her on his back. Seeing this, the Gliscor lunged at the grass type. But before he could do anything, his vision quickly became obscured as Crash had thrown the blue banner at his face. Fumbling to the stony ground, the gray scorpion viciously snapped his claws at the fabric covering his face as he aimed to tear it to shreds.
The Venusaur could only roll his eyes at the display unfolding in front of him. Their latest game was running away, and his partner was writhing on the ground like a lunatic. “Kill’em and take that box.” The large grass type bluntly said, turning his head towards the Skuntank.
“And you said that flag was junk!” Crash gloated as he and Hickory continued to run from the group of bandits.
“ Turm aound ideot! ” A paralized Cinder loudly groaned in response.
“Sorry, what was that Powderkeg? Didn’t catch that!” Crash answered in an almost joking manner. However the sight of a fast, grimey projectile flying past him quickly changed the Scraggy’s tune. Turning his head back, Crash saw the Skuntank from earlier chasing after them.
“Faster Hick! Faster! Faster!” Crash yelled, running alongside the Bayleef. The large purple skunk continued to use Sludge Bomb, primarily aiming at Crash. However the Scraggy proved to be a bit harder to hit than expected. Getting frustrated, the Skuntank took a deep breath before dashing forwards and leaping into the air.
Once off the ground, the poison type exhaled and released a stream of fire towards the three pokemon. Crash and Hickory noticed a bit too late to do anything, taking a direct hit from the attack. The members of Team Lightwood were each sent to the ground as the Skuntank sauntered closer. Hickory and Crash each steadily got up, the former having a harder time doing so.
Crash glanced over at the two explorers before glaring at the Skuntank, who smirked as he stepped ever closer. “You know, I like it when they run… ” The purple skunk said, spaying a thick, deep violet fog as he marched towards them. Crash yanked his guild scarf off of his arm, holding it over his face as he dashed for the Skuntank. Using the poison type’s own move as cover, Crash quickly used Brick Break, delivering a swift chop to the skunk’s head.
Hickory couldn’t see what was happening inside the violet cloud, but the sounds of conflict that came from it were enough to tell him it wasn’t anything good. Preparing to try and help, the leaves around his neck began to glow as Hickory used Synthesis.
“Don’t…” Cinder said as she stumbled towards the Bayleef, as the Skuntank’s Flamethrower attack had dampened the powder’s effect on her. “Crash! Get out of there!” Almost on queue, the aforementioned Scraggy was flung from the toxic cloud. A reddish-orange aura dissipating from his body as Crash hit the ground.
With the cloud now starting to clear up, and Crash out of the way, Cinder used this chance to blast the Skuntank with Flamethrower; strengthened courtesy of the Skuntank’s own. Landing a direct hit, the singed skunk still stood but looked worse for wear. “ I’m not done yet… and you three are really starting to piss me off…” He grumbled preparing another attack.
Readying himself for what was to come, Hickory used Light Screen. The glowing barrier holding off the barrage of Sludge Bombs aimed at him and Cinder. But it all came to an end when a blur of yellow knocked the Skuntank to the ground, unconscious. Crash, having mustered all of the energy he could, had headbutted their adversary into submission. The Scraggy looked up at the two explorers and smiled. But his gaze of the duo quickly grew hasey before everything went black.
The two hurried over towards Crash, Hickory using his vines to prod the limp Scraggy before picking him off the ground. Crash’s breaths were shallow, and his face appeared to be rather pale. Cinder stared at the yellow lizard as a feeling of concern came over her. “We need to get him out of here-” The Vulpix said before pausing. Watching Hickory set Crash on his back, her body ran cold the moment she saw that the box was gone.
“ Come on, come on, come on… ”Cinder muttered as she began to frantically look around, until the auburn fox saw the wooden capsule lying on the ground a short ways away. Meanwhile Hickory could see something quickly flying towards him and Cinder. Narrowing his gaze, the grass type realized it was the Gliscor from earlier.
“Cinder! Wai-” Hickory yelled before a stabbing pain in his rear leg cut him off.
Turning back his head, Hickory saw a small blue scorpion had jammed their pincer shaped stinger into him. A bright purple aura that surrounded the stinger then faded as the Skorupi prepared to attack again. Kicking them away, Hickory quickly used Energy Ball on the scorpion before turning back towards Cinder… Only to see the Gliscor flying in an erratic manner to evade the streams of fire from Cinder’s mouth. She repeated this process of trying to hit the airborne arachnid, but to no avail.
As Hickory tried to get closer, he felt Skorupi’s poison taking an effect on him. Using Synthesis, he pressed on knowing this wouldn’t solve the problem at hand, and would merely buy him more time. He then violently swung the leaf on his head to and and fro, sending smaller, bladed leaves though the air in an effort to hit the Gliscor in a wider area. A few of them hit, but didn’t seem to have much of an effect. However the winged scorpion suddenly ceased their assault, merely flying up high above them. However he was laughing as he did so, quickly changing the mood as Cinder and Hickory soon felt the ground rumble.
Cinder hurried for the box, standing over it with a panicked look on her face. But before she could fully process what happened, the Vulpix felt herself get pushed up off the ground as something hit her in the stomach. Hard. A large, purple armed claw burst out of the ground knocking the wind out of Cinder, before the rest of the Drapion shot up to use Dig in order to push the fox aside. More Skorupi began to pour out of the hole, a few of which heading for Hickory, while the others went for the box. The Gliscor’s fanged mouth curved into a wicked smile as they swooped down to grab the box from the Skorupi.
Hickory quickly tried to grab at the wooden case with his tendrils, but was intercepted by the Skorupi in front of him as they sprayed a viscous liquid on him. He tried using Synthesis again, but it didn’t seem to be as effective. Trying to keep his footing, Hickory felt a familiar energy course through him as Overgrow had activated. But before he could put it into use, a blast of electricity struck all of the opposing poison types within view.
Looking in the direction the lightning had come from, Hickory saw a large blue and black cat and an even larger greenish bear-like pokemon marching towards him. Taking heavy breaths, Bayleef took a defensive stance towards the Luxray and Snorlax as the cat got closer.
“We’re not here for you.” The Luxray bluntly said before stopping, taking a few seconds to scan the area. He glanced at Cinder and Crash, looking over the Scraggy with seemingly more intrigue. “They with you?”
Seeing the distressed expression on the young Bayleef’s face, the Luxray shook his head slightly. “You can relax kid… we’re not gonna hurt you…” He said before turning towards his partner. The Snorlax nodded, removing the large bag from over their shoulder. He took a couple of small, pink, heart shaped berries out from the bag, tossing one in front of Hickory.
The next few rounds came and went for Bella, the lizard not showing much interest. By the end of the next match, she found herself growing bored. The Salazzle sighed, noting that there were still a few more fights before Hunter’s debut match.
“ Well I may as well get something out of this… ” Bella muttered, getting up to once again head to the betting booth.
Making sure she was at the back of the line, Bella patiently waited for other pokemon to make their decisions as she tried her best to keep track of how many bets each combatant got. Once there was no one left, the Salazzle made her move. “ Hello boys… ” Bella flirtatiously said, leaning against the counter as she confronted the leftmost of the three Murkrow.
“I think I want to place a bet…” The Salazzle said, rhythmically tapping her fingers on the wooden counter with each word she spoke. Each time dotting the surface with the same substance she used in her vials. “But I just can’t seem to make a decision… I mean an Electivire against a Chesnaught… that could go either way. And I was wondering if you could maybe give a… recommendation… ”
Bella spread the liquid around as she spoke, letting it seep into the counter as the fumes rose up towards the Murkrow. “ Electivire’s a pretty good choice… ” The bird whispered as Bella leaned closer, seemingly in a somewhat dazed state.
“Then I guess I’ll go with that.” Bella replied happily, placing some money on the counter. “ I’ll be baaack… ” Bella sing-songed as she walked away.
It wasn’t a large amount of money the Salazzle had bet away prior to the match, but that didn’t change the fact that it felt good to win. Bella rode this feeling throughout the next few matches as she waited for the finale. “They’re just swinging around like an idiot!…” She thought, watching the current fight.
“Then again, I’ve never met an intelligent Rydon…” Bella thought, taking another look at her paper. “So the next one is… Ah! Perfect…” The Salazzle mumbled before looking up and around the lower tier for somewhere inconspicuous. “ There could probably do… ” However Bella was soon snapped out of her thoughts as a loud crash got her attention, making her jump in the process.
Quickly turning her gaze back to the field, Bella froze as the Rydon’s horn was caught in the barrier in front of her, narrowly missing her abdomen. After the initial shock wore off, Bella saw red. As she had to retrain herself from using a move on the dumb rock type for the sake of her plan. “ I… hate this place… ”
It was time. The whole reason Bella had bothered to stay at this show was here. Hunter’s debut match. The Salazzle made her way to the betting booth once again to the leftmost Murkrow’s delight, and the center Murkrow’s dismay. “Ten grand on Hunter.” Bella said, leaving her money on the counter. As she made her way back to the seats, Bella could hear a familiar growling sound coming from one of the tents.
“Don’t touch me!” A familiar voice growled.
“Oh Hunter…” Bella thought as she rolled her eyes and smiled. Taking a seat near where the Garchomp was set to come out, she began to massage her fingers together as a look of discomfort appeared on her face. Bella’s talent of manipulating the properties of her pheromones may have come naturally to her, but creating her ‘red variant’ proved difficult.
She didn’t need a lot, as Bella didn’t want Hunter to ‘completely’ lose it. Bella just needed enough to guarantee a win. However this was something the Salazzle had only done a handful of times, so the exact specifics of ‘how much was too much’ still wasn’t completely clear.
“Alright everyone! It’s time for our final match of the day!” The Murkrow announcer called out. “On this side… Welcome back Mal everybody!” The crowd cheered as the annoyed looking Scrafty exited one of the tents. “And on this side! A newcomer to the fights… Hunter!” With that, the large Garchomp rushed out onto the field.
“Just a bit… just a bit…” Bella thought as she clenched her hand. Feeling the liquid pooling in her fist, the Salazzle was now trying her damndest not to spill it. A task that was easier said than done, given the commotion around her.
Mal and Hunter took a minute sizing each other up, that is before the Scrafty turned to a Murkrow on the side of the field who gave a sort of ‘thumbs up’ motion the best they could with their wings. However, the two combatants’ attention was soon taken by the announcer Murkrow as they began to count down. “Three! Two! One! Begin!”
Hunter took the initiative and took a wide step forwards, pivoting his body to swing his tail at Mal. The Scrafty blocked the attack, putting up his arms. As the two continued to fight, Bella grew more and more irritated. She was growing tense holding onto her ‘red mist’, and watching Hunter hold back on top of that caused a slight twitch in the Salazzle’s eye. Especially after how much money she’d bet on him.
As the fight went on, it was becoming increasingly clear to Bella that Mal was probably meant to win this match. “I don’t get it… He should be able to smell it from here…” Bella thought. “Did I not use enough…?”
Tensing up her hand again, Bella started to secrete more into her hand. “I swear, if this doesn’t work…” She thought, before smearing the liquid over one of the boundary posts lining the field.
Hunter soon froze mid fight, glancing around as he began to sniff at the air. Mal used then used this as an opportunity to attack, running towards the Garchomp. Leaping into the air, the Scrafty was about to use High Jump Kick. But no sooner, Hunter swung around and rushed him. A deep purple aura radiated from the blue and red land shark’s body. He charged towards the downed Scrafty, grinding to a stop just before Mal. Hunter then stomped the ground to use Stone Edge, causing a pillar of rock to shoot up from under the dark type. As Mal was launched into the air, the Garchomp hastily scaled the pillar before using it to launch himself up after him.
Seeing this, Mal swung his hand back as he prepared to use Brick Break. However, his counterattack did absolutely nothing. As his hand, and soon arm were quickly met with a set jaws before feeling himself get thrown downwards.
There was a massive cloud of dirt when Mal collided with the ground. Everyone other than Bella had a look of shock on their faces, all except for Bella who bore a massive grin across her snout. Hunter quickly landed, and proceeded to march towards the unconscious Scrafty. Grabbing the dark type by the side with his teeth, Hunter then began to treat the Mal much in the same manner one’s pet would treat a chew toy.
“ U-Uhh… the winner is… Hunter… ” The Murkrow announcer said in a shaky voice. Both out of fear of the Garchomp, and because he knew he’d get an earful from Blake later. Waving a few other Murkrow to his position on the wooden barrier, the birds began to converse over what to do.
‘ What’s Blake gonna say? ’ ‘ Well I’m not doing it! ’ and ‘ Not it! ’ were among the few things nearby patrons could hear as the murder of Murkow loudly whisperd to each other.
“ H-Hey! ” One of the birds nervously piped up, trying to get Hunter’s attention. “ W-We’re gonna need you to- AHH! The birds yelled, quickly flying up as Hunter tossed Mal through the barrier they once stood on. Hunter’s breath’s soon grew heavier as a guttural growl escaped his maw.
Two of the Murkrow each looked at each other, before pushing forward the one who had gotten Hunter’s attention. “You got his attention, you deal with him!” One of the birds said as they flew off. Roughly landing on the ground in front of the Garchomp, the Murkrow scrambled to their feet and backed up against the wooden barrier. There they stood frozen in place as Hunter loomed over them, staring at the Murkrow with the same vicious glare a predator would gaze at their prey.
“Note to self… use less next time…” Bella thought as she watched the scene in front of her unfold. The Salazzle absentmindedly reached for her belt, thinking it might be time to put a stop to everything. “ Right, still empty… ”
Blake was seething as he sat in a nearby tree that overlooked the arena. “ I thought I told that stupid Garhomp to take a dive… ” The bird muttered as he aggressively preened his ebony feathers. “ It’s like no one around here knows how to follow simple. fucking. instructions- ”
“ Um… excuse me sir… ” A Murkrow said, carefully landing beside Blake.
“ What are you- ” The Honchkrow snapped before quickly composing himself. “ I do believe I remember telling you not to talk to me during my private time… ” Blake groaned.
“ Sorry about that… but this is important. The Murkrow steeled himself, as delivering bad news to his boss was something the bird always dreaded doing. “ We… may have reason to believe that there was interference in the last match…”
“ What kind of interference…? ” Blake sternly asked, his tone bordering on something more sinister. However before the Murkrow could answer, a loud crashing sound coming from the arena got their attention.
The crowd of pokemon broke into chaos as Hunter stormed into the seating area. As the Murkrow he’d cornered managed to get away, only the Garchomp to start chasing them across the arena. Blake raised a wing to his head. “Find a way to stop him, and then we can discuss this… interference… ”
As the pokemon filling the audience began to frantically abandon the arena, Bella quickly slipped past the crowd as she made her way to the betting stand. “You know what I’m here for, let’s make this quick.” She said, before hastily collecting her winnings. Bella hopped the wooden gate as the remaining pokemon rushed out of the collapsing arena. As the Salazzle rushed to find a temporary spot to stash her newly acquired wealth, Bella noticed a familiar figure walking towards the arena in her peripheral vision.
Hunter stood amongst the remains of the seating area, the predatory gleam still in his eyes as he stared at the Murkrow. The bird was stuck within the debris, struggling as they looked up at the Garchomp who clearly saw this all as some kind of game. However, a thick, black fog took over the two pokemon’s vision, as Blake and his group Murkrow had surrounded what remained of the arena from the air, and had all used Haze.
The Honchkrow gestured with his wing for the birds to go down towards the side before he dove into the fog to retrieve the struggling Murkrow. Feeling himself get picked up, the Murkrow instinctively flailed about and squawked as they were soon tossed out of the fog, and into the talons of their fellow Murkrow. The fog soon cleared, and Hunter could be seen with Blake dangling from his maw by the wing.
“Enough of this!” A stern voice called out as Hunter felt a sharp, cold pain in his back. Dropping the Honchkrow, Hunter turned around and snarled. Before the land shark stood Brine, alone on the dirt field that Hunter had just fought on himself. The Inteleon didn’t speak, simply lowering his raised arm, and sliding his foot backwards as he took a fighting stance.
As Brine predicted, Hunter took this as a challenge. The Garchomp lunged forwards as he charged towards the blue lizard. Swiping a claw at Brine, the Inteleon dove out of the way as a duplicate was left in his place. Kneeling on the ground, Brine quickly stuck out his hand and fired a jet of water from his finger. Using Snipe Shot on Hunter’s foot, Brine hastily switched over to Ice Beam, albeit a weaker version of the move to lock Hunter’s foot in place.
“Bella! Now!” The water type called out. A light purplish-pink mist began to fill the air as Bella made her way onto the field. The Salazzle didn’t hold back, the sheer amount already having taken over half of the battlefield. Bella’s body continued to tense up as she walked ever closer towards Hunter, more and more mist radiating off of her body.
Hunter became visibly more relaxed as breathed in the lilac colored vapors. He grunted and shook his head, before dropping to a sitting position. “ Fucking dammit, my head hurts… ” The Garchomp groaned.
Bella let out a sigh of relief, stopping her production of mist as she sauntered towards Hunter. “ How’re you feeling…? ” The Salazzle asked in a more gentle, concerned tone as she caressed the dragon type’s rough hide.
“ I feel like shit… ”
“ Yeah… in hindsight, I probably should’ve warned you about- ”
“So assume this was your doing…” Brine dryly said, using his hand to cover his face. The inteleon was sitting in a higher part of what remained of the seating area, as the entirety of the mist still hadn’t dissipated yet.
Bella rolled her eyes as she glared at the water type. “You know, you could at least tell us where you’ve been before you start giving me a hard time.”
“I’ll take that as a yes then.” Brine replied.
Bella stood up, and marched up to the seating area. Crossing her arms, she looked up at the blue lizard. “ Don’t you have anything more important to do? ”
“If Scorch weren’t busy at the moment, I would. But instead, I’m here helping clean your mess… ”
A partially strong breeze soon came in, blowing Bella’s mist away. Brine, Bella, and Hunter all looked in the direction the wind came from to see a flock of Murkrow approach the field as Blake hobbled towards Bella. “ You… ” The disheveled Honchkrow angrily grumbled. However despite his contempt towards Bella, and the pain he was clearly in, the bird once again composed himself.
“ I’m pretty sure you can imagine that the operation I run can get a bit… expensive… ” Blake said in a polite, yet threatening manner.
“ I don’t think I like your tone… ” Bella responded.
“ Miss Belladonna… I know who you are, and I know that you like to cause trouble… I was hoping you would at least behave yourself here… But since you clearly can’t, I am going to give you an ultimatum…”
“ Sixty Five thousand poké… ” Bella angrily grumbled as she marched back towards the base.
“You should be glad he took off twenty five thousand from from your winnings.” Brine said, not bothering to look at the Salazzle.
“This is fucking extortion!” Bella yelled, grabbing Brine’s injured arm.
“ You’re a bandit aren’t you? Go steal it yourself if you’re so desperate. ” The Inteleon hissed, pulling his arm away.
As Brine hastily walked off, Bella sighed. Rubbing her temple with her fingers, the black and purple lizard looked back at Hunter, who had followed her back. “ How ‘bout we just call it a day… ” She was met with a simple, but annoyed grumble from the Garchomp.
“ Are you ki- come on, I said I was sorry.” Bella huffed. Hunter raised a brow at this, prompting the poison type to give a slight sigh. “ Okay, fine… I’m sorry… I’ll make it up to you… alright.”
Scorch grumbled obscenities to himself as he and Umbral stepped out of the stone temple, the flames around his neck only whipping more wildly when he caught a glimpse of the Gengar’s wide grin. A slight chuckle left the ghost type’s mouth as Umbral noticed this, only aggravating the Emboar more. “Quit it.”
“Come on, it’s not that bad… ” Umbral teased. “It’s just a quick trip to Inferno’s Maw…”
“ I hate you… ”
“Attention! Attention everyone! Here Ye! Here Ye!” Umbral called out, his voice echoing throughout the area. “Gather round, We have something very important to say!”
Bella, Hunter, and Brine soon found themselves by eachother once again as they watched all their fellow bandits gather outside the dilapidated temple. “Soon, Scorch and I are going to be going on a trip to Inferno’s Maw for a bit. We should be gone for a few days, maybe a week, and… … Yeah, yeah that’s it.” Umbral said, clapping his hands together before a more serious expression appeared on his violet form.
“And I expect you to behave yourselves while we’re gone, I’d hate for the guild to do away with everything we’ve worked so hard for… ”
“ Inferno’s Maw… ” Bella muttered, her tail idly whipping around as she appeared to be in deep thought. Brine glanced over at the Salazzle as a wide grin grew on her face.
“Belladonna, whatever it is you’re thinking. Stop it.”
“Shut it, beanpole. I’m fixing my mess… I’d thought you of all ‘mons would like that…” Bella said, strutting forward, beckoning Hunter as she did.
The crowd parted as the Salazzle and Garchomp walked up to the head, stopping before Scorch and Umbral. The large pig raised a brow as he stared at the two. “Bella what are you doing-”
“Allow us to come with you…” The poison type said with a slight bow. “Look, I know the place. And while I know you’re both capable, you never know if shit could go sideways.”
“Sure!” Umbral beamed. Scorch loudly groaned at the Gengar’s response before Umbral turned towards him. “ Come on, a few extra hands never hurt anything… ”
Scorch rolled his eyes and huffed as he began to ease up. “ Fine… just don’t cause any more problems for me… ”
Internally, Bella was ecstatic. As she tried her hardest to keep a wicked grin from taking over her face. Hunter gave the Salazzle a knowing glance, tilting his head as he watched her thinking. “Well that’s step one out of the way…” Bella thought before looking up at Scorch with a more gentle smile.
“Thank you for this opportunity…”
Nobody spoke as Hickory followed the Luxray and Snorlax across the stony terrain. Looking up at the massive normal type carrying the Bayleef’s unconscious teammates, Hickory quickly looked away as a feeling of guilt came over him. After a while, the group reached an incline leading up to a cliffside. “Just a bit further up.” The Luxray said, keeping his eyes on the path ahead.
Reaching the cliffside, they soon came across a large metal grate blocking what looked like an entrance to a cave. “Hey, we’re back! Open the gate!” The large cat yelled. A cobalt colored metal quadruped approached the gate from the inside, they nodded and proceeded to lift the gate with Psychic.
Passing the Metagross, the group walked further inside. Further down, Hickory flinched as the gate slammed down behind him, the echo reverberated throughout the tunnel as he began to glance around at torches lining the dim tunnel. “ Who… are you…? I-I mean who are you really…? ”
“We’re not bandits if that’s what you’re asking.” The Luxray bluntly said.
“ Right… ” Hickory said, giving a nervous laugh.
“You can call me Mellan by the way.”
Further down, the tunnel soon opened up to a massive round space. After readjusting to the daylight, Hickory couldn’t help but look up at the sheer scale of the rocky walls of the settlement before him. However what Hickory found interesting was the pokemon living here seemed to live along the many spaces lining the walls rather than the ground. A few flying pokemon could be seen soaring in and out of the large hole at the top, while non-flyers walked along and scaled the various walkways and scaffolds along the walls.
“Are you just gonna stand there?” The Luxray asked, as his Snorlax companion continued walking towards a large space in the wall. “Oh! Uh… Sorry… ” Hickory said before following the two. “What is this place…?” The grass type asked, following the Luxray.
“It’s a relatively new settlement that we’re tasked with guarding.” The cat answered, still looking ahead. “You’re lucky we were out patrolling the area for bandits.”
“ Yeah… I guess we are… ” Hickory said, a somber aura hanging over the Bayleef.
Following the two into the large burrow, Hickory watched the Snorlax carefully place Crash and Cinder onto two nest-like beds. Walking towards the two, the grass type carefully held up a vine. “U-Um… excuse me…”
“Hm.” The Snorlax responded.
“I think it would be better if they didn’t wake up next to each other… they haven’t really been getting along… ”
The large normal type gave a slight shrug, moving Crash to the other end of the room. Hickory smiled, nodding his head. “Thanks… …You know… It’s my only second day being an explorer… and this really isn’t how I saw all going… ”
“So what’s eating at’cha?” The Snorlax asked.
“Honestly… well, I… I… ”
“You feel like you let them down, don’t cha…?” Hickory didn’t answer, instead slowly lowering his head as he glanced to the side.
“Well all things considered, things could’ve been worse…” The Snorlax said, stepping away from Crash. “So I suggest you use this to think about what you can do next time, and not dwell on what happened now.”
“ Next time… ” Hickory mumbled to himself. As the Snorlax exited the borrow, HIckory soon slowly approached his companions before he knelt down on the stony floor. Waiting for the two to awaken.
Crash had a splitting headache when he woke up. He lazily felt around with his hand before slowly pulling himself into a sitting position. As his vision became more focused, Hickory, Cinder, and a Luxray came into view. “ You’re… you’re okay… ” The Bayleef said, sounding relieved.
Narrowing his gaze, Crash looked past Hickory at the Luxray who was sitting behind him. Crash tilted his head, and lifted his hand to his chin. “ … Sparky…? ”
The cat rolled his eyes, flashing the slightest grin. “I told you not to call me that.”
“Wait, you know him?!” Hickory asked, taken aback that Crash seemingly knew this stranger.
“Less know, more… ‘acquainted’… And not so loud… ” Crash answered, glancing to the side as he rubbed his temple.
“ Acquainted…? ” The Bayleef asked as he tilted his head, a skeptical tone present in his voice.
“Okay so I don’t really know much about him, but he used to live in my hometown… kinda… ”
The Luxray slowly walked up to Crash, brushing past Hickory. The large cat carried Crash’s green guild scarf in his mouth before dropping it in the Scraggy’s lap. “I’m glad you decided to take my advice.” Crash froze when the Luxray said this, his eyes slowly shifting away from the cat’s gaze. “ Crash… ”
The Scraggy remained silent as the Luxray’s amber eyes peered into him. “What… Did you do…?” The cat sternly asked.
“I’m… technically not in the guild…” Crash hesitantly responded.
“That would either put you under guild custody, or mean that you scammed your way in.” The Luxray said, continuing to glare at the dark type.
“ Are we done here? ” Crash groaned, still looking away from the Luxray as he rubbed his head.
“No. Now answer the question.”
“ Igoaresed… ” Crash quickly mumbled.
“ I didn’t quite get that. ” The icy tone in the Luxray’s voice caused Crash to shudder as he leaned further away. However the yellow lizard soon gave up, knowing he wasn’t getting out of this.
Crash sighed as he glanced down at the floor, a feeling of dread washing over him. “ I got arrested by the guild, and they kept me through a deal I made with the guildmaster… ”
After a few long, uncomfortable seconds, Crash hesitantly looked up to confirm that Mellan clearly wasn’t done with him, before quickly glancing away again, as Crash was desperate to avoid eye contact with the large cat. Crash then slumped further down. “ Because I… I had information about Team Raiders… ”
It took a bit for Mellan to put the pieces together, but when he did the Luxray simply closed his eyes and shook his head. “ You foolish, foolish- ” He then sighed before looking at each of the three pokemon. “Well, I’ll let you stay here for now… I’ll be back…” The Luxray said, as he turned to leave.
“You at least tell me where we are!” Crash yelled before flinching and rubbing his head.
As Crash and Hickory watched Mellan exit the borrow, Crash then looked over at Cinder, who sat on the other side of the stone room in another bed. The defeated Vulpix had rested her head on her paws, a shroud of despair hanging over her as she faced away from everyone. But most noticeably, she didn’t move. Crash having to stare a bit longer just to see if Cinder was still breathing. However the Scraggy got his answer when Cinder shifted her posture, sniffling as she did so.
“ What’s with her…? ” Crash asked.
Hickory’s smile faded. “ We… uh, lost the box… ”
Looking back at Cinder, Crash couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty. At this point he wasn’t a stranger to seeing the multi-tailed fox upset, but this… this was different. “Should I… say something…” The Scraggy thought as he shifted around. “Who am I kidding, she’d probably just-”
“ I failed… ” CInder muttered, interrupting his thoughts. “ I… I failed… ” The Vulpix repeated.
Crash slowly got up, taking a small step towards Cinder. “Uh… hey, Powd- …Cinder… is- ”
“ This is all my fault… ” She said more audibly as tears began to form in her glossy eyes. “ I should’ve never agreed to watch you… ” Cinder said, turning her head towards Crash.
“ Char trusted me with- ” She said before pausing and glancing away from the Scraggy.
“ …Then why did you…? ” Crash quietly asked. This got Cinder’s attention, as she soon turned towards the yellow lizard again. “ You heard me… Why did you…? ” Crash asked again, raising his voice.
“I mean if you wanted a partner so bad, why didn’t you hand me over to the guildmaster when Leafhead over here showed up?!” Crash asked, gesturing his hands towards Hickory.
Cinder didn’t answer immediately, pausing for a couple of seconds so she wouldn’t yell. “ Because I’m responsible for you… ” Cinder answered, almost growling as she did. “Oh, like how you’re ‘responsible’ for that box I assume.” Crash snapped back.
Hickory looked back and forth between the two for a short while as the room went silent. before speaking up. “I… think it might be best if we-” However, before he could finish He saw Crash stomp out of the room.
“Don’t! If he wants to go, let him… I don’t care… ” Cinder said as Hickory stepped over to try and stop him.
Crash sat outside grabbing the side of his head as his headache came back at full force, after having tuned it out during his argument with Cinder. “So why’d you do it?” A familiar voice asked. “ Why join Team Raiders…? ” The Scraggy slowly looked up at the Luxray that now stood in front of him. Crash just turned away, not wanting to bother with anything when his head was pounding like this.
However, to his surprise the Luxray had sat next to him. “ Sure do like to pry, don’tcha… ” Crash groaned.
“There’s a Persim berry in it for you if you talk.” Mellan said. The Scraggy huffed and stuck out his arm. Feeling the pink fruit get placed in his hand, Crash took a bite and prepared to speak.
“ I didn’t have a choice, okay… ” The Scraggy sighed.
“You always have a choice, kid.” Mellan said as he stood up. “And speaking of choices, it’s time you and your friends start making choices on what to do next.”
“ What’s that supposed to mean? ”
“It means I’m not deaf.” Mellan bluntly said. “You and your girlfriend need to make up.”
“ She’s not my girlfriend you- ”
“Well you fight like you’re a married couple.” The Luxray interrupted. ”
“ Look, we’re not- and we’re not ‘teammates’ either. Not like she’ll see me as one anyway… ” Crash huffed, glancing away from Mellan as he crossed his arms. However despite trying to ignore the Luxray, Crash could still feel the cat’s gaze piercing into him. “ You’re not giving me a choice, are you…? ”
“Again, there’s always a choice, kid…” Mellan said as he started walking towards the large borrow. “But no, no I’m not.”
As the two walked inside, Mellan Cleared his throat, getting Cinder and Hickory’s attention. “You two are gonna make up. Now.”
“ Why? ” Cinder said, not bothering to hide the anger in her voice.
“Because as long as you stay here, I refuse to sit through any needless bickering.”
A short while after hearing Mellan’s demands, Crash took a deep sigh and closed his eyes as he put his hand to his temple before facing Cinder. “Look… I’m- I’m sorr- ”
“What…? So now after everything that’s happened, now you want to apologize?! Do you even know what sorry for?!” Cinder yelled, the fox’s body starting to shake. “ I promised Char I’d try… But everything about you is just-”
“What do you want me to do then?!” Crash shouted. “I mean if this is about what happened with your brother’s team-”
“No! It’s- it’s… ” Cinder stammered as the whole room fell into an uncomfortable silence.
After what felt like an eternity of silence passed, Cinder had begun to think about what she’d say next. “It isn’t fair to blame him… It isn’t fair to blame him…” Her brother’s words echoed in her head. The Vulpix slowly sat on her haunches and looked Crash dead in the eyes as her’s started to tear up. “I… I’m sorry… It… It’s not fair of me to pin my problems on you…”
Crash froze, taken aback by Cinder’s actions. Once again the Vulpix had hit him with a reaction he wasn’t used to. “ Uh… yeah… I, um… I guess I can try not to… you know… ” Crash awkwardly said, slowly sticking out his hand as the other found its way behind his head. Cinder pawed at her eyes before getting up to shake the Scraggy’s hand. However an air of tension lingered over the group of pokemon, as Hickory and Mellan could both tell that the main issue at hand wasn’t close to being dealt with.
Later in the day, Cinder had decided to step out into the settlement for some air. With things having calmed down since the earlier fiasco. The multi-tailed fox wasn’t really paying attention to her surroundings as she sat on her haunches outside the large burrow. Feeling her tails brush up against something, Cinder turned her head to see Crash, seemingly asleep with his arms behind his head as he leaned against the rocky wall.
The two sat in silence for a long few minutes before Hickory joined the pair as well. The Bayleef didn’t say a word, instead sitting beside Cinder. Not a single word was exchanged between the three for the next few minutes, each too deep within their individual thoughts to do so. That is, until Crash began to stir.
“ So now that the gang’s all here, mind telling us what’s so special about that box…? ” The Scraggy calmly asked, opening an eye.
Cinder didn’t answer, not moving a muscle as she only continued to stare out at the settlement. The Vulpix remained this way for about another minute or two before she closed her eyes. “Honestly… I don’t know… ” Cinder then hesitated, despite looking like she wanted to say more. However, soon the Vulpix’s ears drooped as she lowered her head. “ But… it’s the last thing of my mom’s that I had… ”
Hickory reeled back a bit, while Crash looked like he was paying a bit more attention, lifting himself up from the wall. “C-Cinder… I…” Hickory said as he began to put two and two together.
“She… never told me what was inside… Just that: ‘It contained something that others shouldn’t get their hands on.’ I guess in retrospect, I was pretty carless with it, huh… ” Cinder choked as she tried to remain composed.
“ Char kept hold of that box for years before deciding to give it to me… …You know, I’ve always wanted to be just like him… that’s why I joined the guild, that’s why I wanted to start my own team, that’s why I chose to… ” Cinder then trailed off, her eyes drifting towards Crash. Stopping herself, the auburn fox continued with a pained smile on her face.
“ I wanted to prove that his little sister could handle herself… that he didn’t fail- … … … And look what it got me… ”
“Still doesn’t explain what it did to me…” Crash thought, staring down at his hands.
“ I need to get it back… ” He heard the Vulpix say, prompting him to look back up at her.
“And we will.” Hickory assured as he straightened up.
“How…? We don’t even know where those guys went…” The Vulpix groaned, lowering her head as she sulked.
“ I… I remember something that Gliscor said… Something about Inferno’s Maw… ” Hickory said, tilting his head a bit. “Maybe it has something to where they-”
“No.” Crash interrupted. Hickory and Cinder both turned their heads towards the Scraggy.
“What do you mean, no?! ” Cinder aggressively asked.
“H-Hey, it’s not like- ugh… Let me explain…” Crash said, holding up his hands. “Think of Inferno’s Maw as the opposite of Timberglade. It’s a city made by bandits, for bandits… And if we go there, we could die.”
The two explorers simply stared at Crash, both taken aback by the Scraggy’s warning. “I’ve never been there… but I’ve heard stories… ” Crash continued.
“Then why hasn’t the guild done anything about it?” Hickory asked.
“Cause anytime someone wearing one of those green rags goes near the place, they tend not to come back. ” Crash answered, pointing at the guild scarf around the Bayleef’s neck.
A cold feeling ran through Hickory and Cinder, making the Vulpix have a moment of pause. “So, what’s it gonna be?” Mellan asked, exiting the burrow with his Snorlax companion in tow. Crash glanced to the side, rolling his eyes at the arrival of the pair. “We could get you inside, and we have a friend there who can watch you.”
“ Is there anything else we should know…? ” Crash asked, crossing his arms.
After spending a while thinking, Cinder slowly stood up and looked the Luxray dead in the eyes. Crash gave his head a slight shake, giving a few surprised blinks as he did. “Don’t tell me you’re actually thinking about going!”
“I have to get it back!” The fox yelled, whipping her head back at Crash before trying to recompose herself. “… And not just for me… we both saw what the box did, and we don’t know what else it can do! Imagine what could happen if some psycho there got it!”
Hearing this Hickory slowly rose as well, much to Crash’s dismay. Cinder then stepped towards Crash, effectively standing over him. “And it’s like you once said… I’m stuck with you… ”
The Scraggy sat frozen on the ground, sighing as he put his hand to his face. “
Using my own words against me…
” Crash hesitated for a while before he slowly stood as well. “This is a stupid idea, and I hate it…
but I guess someone needs to make sure you two don’t die…
”
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