Chapter 7 – Yet To Be Named

So tell me, oh-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa.

If I could soar through the skies anymore.

Oh I don’t know-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa

What tomorrow will bring.

Will I reach all of my dreams?

---

Why , ignoring every rational thinking, did Shiron think waking up this morning would be any different? It was like any other. He went to the bathroom, turned on the sink, and let the cold water moisturize his medium-sized, five-fingered hands (wrong). Veins were hidden beneath scars that were barely beginning to heal, and then he washed his face.

It was only when he took a look at his reflection that Shiron was taken aback. His face, his human face, disappeared, and he only saw the Marshtomp body staring back.

“…That was weird,” he took the towel, only to realize how stupid that was. He was a water-type, so being wet was natural. Not just that, but the mere thought of drying was disgusting.

Okay, so maybe I didn’t sleep well enough, Shiron blinked, his eyes lowering to his wrists. The scars were still there, but it looked like they were smaller. …No, I slept a lot more than I normally do. And I feel like crap. Yay, me. Can’t even do something as simple as sleeping, and here I am, trying to be a stupid hero!

Shiron felt his legs tremble, faltering. It was hard to move, let alone stay up. So he did the most reasonable thing and sat down, hugging his legs. What if there was a simple solution to his problems, his thoughts? The thoughts that never went away. 

I… I-I need to check, he thought, slapping both cheeks. Shiron took a look around the bathroom, and he found what he looked for: a bathtub. White, shiny and with a few faucets. Perfect!

Humans were weak when compared to Pokémon, Shiron knew that. For example, it took ten to twelve minutes for someone to drown to death. Of course, this could take less time if the person was panicking, which was normal in these scenarios. Not just that, but a burning sensation entered their bodies along with the water. It was painful. Numbness followed, and the waiting… the waiting was by far the worst part.

What am I doing…?

“Shiron! Get out of the bathroom, I need to go!” 

Nick knocked on the door so many times it was a miracle there weren’t any dents or cracks. Regardless of the intention, it snapped Shiron out of his thoughts. He stood up, turning off the sink and putting his scarf back on.

Saved by the metaphorical clock, my favorite part of the day! Now to think of an excuse. Something, something… just play dumb and act casual, y’know, like I always do!

“In a minute, just gonna brush my teeth real quick!”

“You don’t even have teeth!”

A wall of silence stood between them.

“…I’ll brush my gums!” Shiron said, after much thought. If it was believable or not, Nick didn’t tell him. What mattered was that it worked.

---

“So! What’re we gonna do today?”

Shiron closed the door behind him and adjusted his scarf, taking a look at Nick. He smiled, waiting for the answer.

“We should probably register if we wanna do this,” he said with a flick of his tail. “Let’s see, there’s seven of us, but I don’t think all of us need to go.”

“Seven?” Shiron tilted his head. “I’m not really good at math, but uh, weren’t just four of us?”

Nick grinned in reply, shrugging. “I’m counting Amy, Audrey and Magnus. They’re joining us as well, just not on the field.”

Magnus is joining too?! Oh man, great! Shiron held in his excitement and simply nodded. “Okay, so who’s gonna register?”

“You, me and—”

A Zorua materialized next to them in a puff of black smoke. “Sup!”

Shiron gasped, falling on his butt. “H-Hah! Audrey, hi! Don’t do that, please!”

“You were right, this is fun!” the kit beamed, grinning proudly and scooting over to Nick.

“I’m a ‘mon of many talents,” Nick replied, puffing out his chest. “But uh, yeah. If Shiron doesn’t want it, let’s not do that again.”

Audrey nodded. “Anyway, I’m gonna go with you guys to the registry. We’ll probably not receive a lot of financial support, considering the budget is tight, but everything will work out just fine, trust me!”

“…Is there any reason why you’re coming with—” Shiron stopped when he saw Nick patting her on the head. “Okay, nevermind. I forgot you two are lovesick.”

Nick bit his lip, swishing his tail again. “I have an idea of how we’re organizing this team, let’s go! I’ll tell you on the way!”

Before Shiron knew it, the two lovebirds were running away from him. He sighed. Maybe I should hurry before I go on another downwards spiral. They’re cute together.

He picked up the pace, strolling, or rather, running, towards the other two. Though Shiron was panting, sweating and struggling to breathe, he was fast enough to catch up with them. Eventually.

“…Huff, how’re you guys so fast?” Shiron panted, falling to his knees right after getting close enough to his friends.

“I’m athletic!” Nick flashed a grin and flexed an arm. “…And I don’t spend half the day eating cake. It’ll go to your thighs, dude.”

“That was just mean , Nicky.” Audrey stuck out her tongue. “For real, though, I do a lot of manual labor. Maybe you should try that out?”

“My thighs aren’t even—whatever!” Shiron pouted right as his face turned a deep red. “Uh, where are we going, exactly?”

Nick snapped his fingers and pointed to the end of that cliff, towards the city. He slowly began pointing at a building, too far away to be discernible, other than the black color.

“The bank. It’s where—”

Audrey chirped, interrupting him. “We call it a bank, but it’s more like… both a bank, a police station and guild.”

“Guild?” Shiron blinked. Okay, that was… fine, it was fine. He could handle it. The hell’s a guild?

---

They kept on walking, crossing the streets, doing nothing more than talking. Of course, the main subject being what the hell this bank was. It had to be super organized, and… god, imagine how much money the mons running it had. Though Shiron never had much money, he knew how to save it.

What if they invest the money? They could capitalize in it and make even more pr—Okay I hate this line of thinking. Shiron cringed at himself, cursing at his studies, the dreaded hours of studying economy. 

Flashes of thick books grew into his mind, and the thought of reading them alone was making him nauseous and sleepy. It didn’t even contribute to social skills, after all, who would want to talk about economy, of all things?

At least that was useless in this world. He hoped it was.

Amidst his little trip across memory lane, Shiron didn’t notice how both Nick and Audrey stopped walking to take a look at him.

“Shiron, you’ve been staring at us for like, five minutes.” Nick snapped his fingers, they were eerily close to the Marshtomp’s face. “What’s up?”

“We did say a lot of things at once, no wonder the lil fish didn’t get ‘em,” Audrey added, then flashed a friendly smile towards Shiron. “What do you wanna know?”

Part of him wondered how and why their entire defense system was saved to one building. Another part wanted to ask if it’d be easy to set up a team.

The second option was what he decided on. “So, uh, didn’t those guys say that we couldn’t form a team? What’s up with that?”

“Budget issues.” Nick replied with a shrug. “But hey, I got some savings for this scenario, we should be good to go.”

“…For how long have you been saving money?”

“Fifteen years.”

Shiron quirked a brow. “And you’re…?”

“Nineteen years old,” he replied, grinning. Despite how obvious the answer to that question was from his perspective, Nick had no issue with it. If anything, it made him closer to Shiron, in a way.

“And I’m nineteen too,” Audrey chimed in, wagging her tail. “Nick’s a few months older, though. Not much, but eh, it happens!”

“You’re both a year older than me. Got it.” Shiron nodded. “Ahem, that was a distraction, my bad. I don’t think there’s any other questions? Other than… uh, why did I need to go with you?”

“Heh. Obvious answer!” Nick flashed another grin.

“Tell him already.” Audrey pouted.

“Shiron, you’re gonna be the team leader!” Nick said with a smile as his tail began to wag.

If any reveal before that didn’t happen, the impact of those words wouldn’t be nearly as bad as it was. Shiron blinked. He had to have misheard it, right? It couldn’t be true!

…His legs shook, trembling like jelly. “M-Me, the leader? N-Nah! You guys are overreacting, I’m barely good enough to be a grunt, let alone a leader. H-Haha!”

Shiron’s vision turned blurry as he fell on the ground.

---

When he came back to his senses, Shiron was still dizzy. He bobbed around, eyes barely open, even after he rubbed them. There were voices all around him. Strange, at first, but after some seconds passed, he began to recognize them.

“You’re awake again,” Nick sighed in relief. Shiron blinked, finally able to see the Riolu sitting next to him. “Man, you got me worried there. Everything good?”

“The patient had a dizzy spell and passed out, Nick. He’s better now, but it happened for a reason,” the second voice… Amelia. “I believe some orans are more than enough for him.”

She turned to him. “Hello, Shiron. Are you better now? You were only out for a few minutes, but Nick here called me to check on you.”

Audrey was the third to check on him, frowning. “All we said was that you’re the leader, and then you got knocked out.”

Shiron looked down and shook his head. “S-Sorry about that, but I don’t think I have leadership material. I’m better following orders.”

“Nonsense.” Nick put his paws on Shiron’s shoulders and looked at him straight in the eye. “I saw a spark in you, man. I think you got what it takes. And if you don’t believe in yourself… believe in me, ‘cause I believe in you!”

“ Very cheesy,” Amelia pointed out, holding a grin. “But fitting regardless. Nick, do you need anything else? I’m going to check on the prince and his bodyguard. They’re free to go, but a check-up never hurts.”

“Nah, go ahead.” Nick turned back to Shiron. “So, can you trust me on this one?”

“…Sure,” Shiron was uncertain, but if it meant getting rid of that conversation, then it was fine. He stood up slowly. “Sure, sure. I’ll be the leader. This will end well… Did you at least tell the others about this?”

“Everyone but Liz approves.” Audrey said. “Anything else before we get inside? Only a few minutes away.”

Damn it. Maybe I can convince Liz to be the leader… Shiron cleared his throat. “Alright, sure. Let’s go.”

“You bet!” Nick hopped up, his tail starting to wag like there was no tomorrow. “I can’t believe it, I’m actually doing this! I’m making my own team! I’m a hero!”

What were meant to be encouraging words felt nothing less than knives in Shiron’s chest. He didn’t want to disappoint his friend, but there was no way he could be a good leader, a leader everyone looked forward to, and respected.

“Thanks, Shiron!” Nick said to him, and then hugged the Marshtomp. He was so tense his furry body shook. “You’re the best partner I could hope for!”

Audrey raised a brow. “Hm?”

“Platonic partner!” Nick corrected, smiling sheepishly at her. “Don’t give me that look!”

“Just teasing!”

But Shiron could certainly try , couldn’t he? Shiron took a large breath and followed them on their way across the city, silently hoping that Nick made the right decision. 

---

It all started with the large line outside the building. Pokémon after Pokémon waited for their turn inside the bank. Some were tapping the ground, others were huffing, and overall, the mood was filled with impatience.

“…Is this place always so full?” Shiron gulped. How long would they have to wait?

“It can take five hours for your turn to arrive,” Nick explained, dripping with sweat.

“Uuuunless you make a reservation before!” Audrey chirped, posing dramatically as tiny sparkles of light surrounded her. An illusion.

“Thought you didn’t like doing that.” Nick blinked. “But it’s for dramatic effect, so it’s fine, right?”

The Zorua nodded, turning to Shiron. “So yeah, we did get a reservation! We can skip waiting and losing half the day to bureaucracy.”

“Neat,” he smiled. The three went ahead, ignoring the large cries of the other Pokémon who had to wait. Shiron felt bad for it, but… there wasn’t anything he could do to help them.

And Shiron had even thought of a song to pass the time… 

---

…The inside was better, at least when compared to the huge queue outside. It was organized. First, Shiron saw two Rhydon near the door he came from, sporting black ties. Guards, he presumed. After an inspection (and a minor annoyance when they took off his scarf), he and his friends were good to go.

Secondly, the walls. White, bright and tough. That last part was only revealed to him by an offhand comment from Nick.

“Even a Hyper Beam would have trouble tearing this place down!”

Shiron made a mental note to never get hit by such a move in this world. He kept walking, seeing employees helping some of the Pokémon find the place to do what they came there for. 

In his case, Shiron just followed Nick, and of course, they ended up in another queue. There was only one other customer in front of them, a Samurott.

Huh? Weird, never seen a ‘rott like this.

…Except this one looked odd. Shiron rubbed his eyes to see if they had failed him, but it wasn’t true. The helmet was a dark shade of blue with a few details in red. It had more spikes, and they were sharper, too.

Whoa. His limbs have that blue and red armor too. And that tail… it looks like it’s bent.

“What’re you lookin’ at?” Nick asked, tilting his head. Noticing where Shiron laid his eyes, he chuckled, and began to whisper. “That’s… old mon Ronan. I heard he never lost a battle!”

“Cool…” Shiron whispered back. Still no idea why he looks like that. Maybe I shouldn’t ask.

“Eh, if you never go into battle, you don’t lose either!” Audrey teased, looking away dramatically. At that point, the weird Samurott had walked away, but none of the three noticed it. “But hey, maybe you should ask the guy to train you. From what Nick told me, you could barely take on a feral!”

Shiron looked at the Riolu, who shrugged. “Uh, yeah. But I helped us win! Somehow. It was this—”

“Next Pokémon in line, please! Bzzrt!”

A mechanical voice spoke, startling him. Only then did Shiron notice the clerk’s species: a Porygon. A Porygon-Z , being exact. Out of all the Pokémon he knew, why was it a Porygon-Z ? His shock didn’t last long, however, as Nick pulled him towards the odd, technological Pokémon.

---

Between Shiron and the Porygon-Z stood piles and piles of paper, so thick that it would probably hurt him a lot, should they fall on him, not to mention the possibility of being cut! He gulped at the thought.

Nick was more impatient, tapping his fingers on the wooden table, while Porygon-Z seemed to scan the papers, grabbing some of them. “Papers for registration identified,” it said, much like a machine. 

A typing machine, to be more precise. Judging by the noise Shiron heard, Porygon-Z was using one. He wondered if that meant there were no computers, or that the bank was just old-fashioned.

“Input is required for this part of the process.” Porygon-Z said, staring at them. Even with locked eyes, the mechanical Pokémon hardly showed any emotion.

…Mental note. Ask why in the world there’s a Porygon-Z here, Shiron thought.

“Ah, right!” Nick barked, finally showing off a smile again. “What inputs?”

“Please input the members, species and function.”

“Nick, Riolu,” he pointed at himself. “Second in-command. Shiron, Marshtomp, leader.”

“O-Oh…” Shiron gulped. This was real . It was happening right in front of him. Scary.

Audrey chimed in, putting her front paws at the table. “Audrey, Zorua, mechanical consultant!”

Before long, Nick continued. “Amelia, Kirlia, nurse. Magnus, Quilladin, cook. Terrence, Tyrunt, uh… combatant! Elizabeth, Roselia, combatant!”

Porygon-Z typed on the machine after every word, the buttons clunking with each press. 

“Now, input your name.”

Nick and Audrey both turned to Shiron, like they expected him to answer.

…

…They really expected an answer. Shiron froze , only barely managing to look at the two. “It’s… I-It’s, yet to be named?”

“Wait.” Nick interjected, eyes widening. “Shiron, no—”

“Team ‘Yet To Be Named’,” Porygon-Z stated, still showing no expression. It typed. “Registration complete.”

“Shiron, fuck !” Nick covered his face just as his fur turned into a deep shade of red. “This guy takes everything literally, we need to be very careful when naming things!”

The Marshtomp stepped back, gulping. Of course he blew it. “S-Sorry, sorry, sorry! Please forgive me!”

“Easy, easy. We can try changing it now, I think.” Audrey hopped down, shaking her head. “Dang it… hey, Porygon-Z, can we change the name?”

Porygon-Z bobbed its head. “Requesting name change. State your reasoning.”

Nick grunted. “The name sucks .”

The clerk stopped, making a high-pitched, instrumental sound as it processed the information given to it.

Shiron tilted his head. Did… that sounded like a computer noise. Unsurprisingly.

“Request denied,” Porygon-Z finally said. “I have determined ‘the name sucks ’ is not a good reason. You may request another name change in twenty-nine days, twenty-three hours and fifty-nine minutes.”

“…So much for that,” Nick looked down, defeated, and let out a whimper. His ears began to flop down. “Let’s go to the base.”

He began to walk off into the exit alongside Audrey, but Shiron remained in place, still frozen. “I-I… I’m sorry.”

Nick turned back. He took a long breath. “It’s fine, c’mon.”

---

Magnus entered the (if it could even be called that) team base carrying a large box. Anyone nearby could smell the content inside: a fresh cake. For his friends, of course.

And what a genius I am, made a bigger one for that hungry lil ‘shtomp.

Right away, he realized how different the office was. For starters, the area he was in had a large gray sofa, a table with an empty bowl for snacks, and open windows that let the air enter. The inner areas were still a mystery, but at least the main part of the base worked well enough.

“Anyone here?” Magnus asked. “Kinda hard to close the do—”

A vine sprouted next to Magnus, wrapping around the handle and closing the door.

“—or. Okay, thanks.” Magnus smiled sheepishly.

“Ah, the baker we helped earlier.” Liz put down her vine, simply eyeing the Quilladin. “Hello, may I ask what you are doing here?”

“…Welcome party. Nick asked, and I thought ‘Hey, why not bring cake to the peeps that saved my bro?’, so here I am.”

Terry was the next to appear, sniffing the air and drooling from the smell. “Cake! Chocolate, right?”

“Yup!” Magnus wagged his tail. Apart from how… Liz seemed to be, these two didn’t look all that bad. “Seems the others will get here soon, can we prepare the place for ‘em?”

“Disgusting,” Liz stated. “…But better than mopping. I shall take it.”

“Whoa boy, you’re easy to convince, huh?” Magnus blinked. Well, at least it worked.

“You have no idea…” Terry muttered. He motioned for them to follow, deep inside the house. 

“Cool!” Magnus followed.

This next area was more of the same, but instead of a sofa, there were multiple tables, one for each member. Magnus’ eyes landed on the corner, seeing a mini fridge: the perfect place to put the cake. And he did just that.

Magnus looked around, searching for the nearest chair to sit on. “Can I ask you guys something?” 

Terry was on his table already, and nodded. “Sure thing!”

“It is… acceptable, yes.”

“Honestly, I was gonna ask why’d you run away, but I got something better,” he said, biting a lip. “So, uh, how was the trip? That storm looked really rough…”

“Other than the storm, pleasant.” Liz said, flicking a rose. “I was taught how to steer a ship, and though it took me a while to get used to a smaller vessel, we pulled through. As you can see.”

“I see. We don’t usually have storms…” Magnus replied. He looked up, thinking. “Usually, I heard some people talking about mini storms. Not here, but like, in the center of the continent. Not large enough to be relevant, I think. Thought it was something similar to the one you guys faced.”

Hearing that, the Tyrunt tilted his head. “Never heard of mini storms.”

“I cannot say I have heard of them either.” Liz added. “However, the world is largely unknown, even to us. Perhaps it is another one of life’s mysteries.”

Just then, they heard the door opening. Magnus’ ears twitched. Maybe the others had arrived! And he could show the cake he baked!

“I’ll go check that out,” he said, going through the door he came from.

---

Nick had left Audrey back home after a request from her, justifying it by saying she was working on something impressive for him and the rest of the team. 

So now only he and Shiron were left, walking towards their base. They didn’t talk much on the way, the fallout of what happened at the bank still fresh in their minds.

“How was I supposed to know that guy was so literal?”

“It’s a machine, Shiron!” Nick protested with a whine. “A month! A month to change the name again! You’re not even taking this seriously!”

“ I’m not? Nick, you’re the one that forced me to be a leader, I told you I had no qualities!”

Nick clenched his fists, holding back the urge to punch his friend right then, right there. Not due to anger (though he felt that way), but because what Shiron said wasn’t true in the slightest! How could he not see the qualities?!

More importantly, why blame him ?!

“Stop that, don’t pin this on me!” Nick snarled at him. “You have! It’s just… I wanted this for so long, and it’s… not how I pictured it.”

Did Nick sound… sad? No, disappointed. Yeah, that was it.

Shiron rubbed his right arm. “I’m sorry, Nick. I didn’t mean to do it.”

“I know you didn’t,” he replied. With a drawn-out sigh, Nick continued. “…It’s fine, let’s go.”

Yet, Shiron wasn’t any better. He still ruined everything, didn’t he? Just like always… always ruining things, always the worst person to ever exist. A mistake, that’s what Shiron was. An abomination.

He kicked the grass. Then again, and then once more. Shiron’s voice turned into a roar, a cry for help. Everything about it hurt, he needed to let it out, bottling up no longer.

“I-I can try talking to Porygon-Z again!” Shiron cried. Yes, cried. The tears came rushing in, and there was no stopping them. “J-Just… please, please forgive me! I-I didn’t mean to do it, Nick!”

“W-Whoa, calm down!” Nick turned to him, gasping. He stepped closer. “It’s fine, Shiron! I’m fine! We all make mistakes, it’s gonna be okay!”

“…You don’t mean it,” he blurted, panting. “Everyone says that, but they never mean it. Mom and Dad made sure of that… of telling me all about how much of a mistake I am!”

“What?” Nick grunted. Wanting to delay it no further, he hugged the Marshtomp tightly. “Shiron, you’re not a mistake ! If your parents told you that, screw them! You’re my friend! I was upset about the name, but I don’t think you’re a mistake because of it!”

Shiron sniffled, saying nothing more. He just… accepted the hug. It was nice, fluffy, and felt good. His parents were wrong… they had to be wrong.

Wait. His parents.

Shiron pulled back from the hug, noticing what he did. What he told Nick. Oh shit, oh shit! I said too much!

“Are you alright, Shiron?” Nick asked. His concern sounded genuine enough. 

“Uh, uh, y-yeah! Seems like I got some memories back during this moment, huh? I-I didn’t even know I had parents, haha!”

Nick blinked at him, then shook his head. “…Shiron, I know.”

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Shiron did his best to not make the internal screaming become external. “Know… what?”

“I know you’re human,” Nick replied, rubbing the back of his head. “…I knew it for a while. Washed up on the shore, claimed to have no memories, acted all weird…”

Shiron’s heart sunk . “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about! I’m just a wee little Marshtomp!” 

However, he figured the gig was up at this point. “…Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I figured you wanted it to be a secret, so I played along.” Nick didn’t falter. In fact, he seemed 100% serious. “And it’s not like humans are that uncommon. I mean, some ‘mon don’t believe they exist, but I always did.”

“You… why?” Shiron sounded and looked confused. Frowns, drooped gills, it was all splattered on his face. 

“I dunno,” Nick shrugged. “All I know is that you’re my friend. And I mean it. If your parents told you that crap, just ignore them. It’s not easy, but… you got a friend in me, buddy.”

Shiron began wobbling again, and hugged the Riolu again, putting all his strength. “T-Thank… thank you.”

Nick returned the hug, tail wagging. “Here’s something funny. Did you know there’s conspiracy theories claiming they’re controlling us from the inside? Like, some secret human society! Crazy, huh?”

“Y-Yeah, crazy…” Shiron sported a laugh. It was funny, and useful for calming down. “Let’s… go to the base. Our friends are waiting, right?”

“…Right.”

---

After more walking, they eventually saw the old building in the distance. Shiron also noticed what appeared to be a brown blur, but didn’t see any other details.

On the other hand, Nick recognized what that was. Who that was. “Shiron, it’s that prick Golem again! C’mon, we gotta run!”

“O-Okay!”

They sped up, Nick obviously walking faster and with more vigor. But Shiron was able to keep the pace, following a bit behind his friend. As they got closer, they were able to see more details about what was going on.

The Golem was standing in front of the door, grinning, while Magnus was on the other side with drops of sweat falling from his face. Whatever it was, it made Nick and Shiron’s heart start to race.

“Hey, stop whatever you’re doing!” Shiron cried out, stopping suddenly, only to fall on the floor and roll for a moment, until Nick pulled him upwards. “T-Thanks!”

“Why are you here, Daichi?” Nick asked, letting go of the Marshtomp. “What do you want?!”

“Oh shit, you guys got here!” The Golem replied, now facing them. “Just wanted to have a chat. Heard you folks haven’t taken our little tip in consideration…”

“H-Hi Shiron, hi Nick!” Magnus whispered towards them. “I’m good, don’t worry.”

“And y’all went to the trouble of getting an office and registering!” Daichi grinned, waving them off. “…But lemme tell you something, Nick. Sometimes, dreams just don’t become true! Sometimes they get grinded, turned into dust! Think ‘bout it, we don’t have the resources, me and my teammates even tried to make things easier for you. And you refused. Every. Single. Time.”

“I know we don’t have resources!” Nick snarled. His fur stood on end as he prepared to fight. “But I can’t give up on that! If I have to claw my way, I will!”

“Tch, ‘mons like you are very annoying…” Daichi cracked his knuckles.

Time stopped. The Riolu and Golem locked eyes, none of them saying a word. It looked like a fight was about to break out at any point.

---

Shiron looked at them, confused. Daichi, meanwhile, roared, curving into a ball and rolling towards Nick.

That was it. It had started. Shiron felt his heart stop for a moment, and before he knew it, his body did something odd. It moved on its own. And it kept moving, kept running in Daichi’s direction. He couldn’t stop, nor did he want to stop.

Zzzzzrt!

A cloud of sandy smoke appeared before Nick, forcing him to quickly put on his goggles. One he did it, the sight in front of him made the canine gasp: Shiron was using both arms to grab Daichi, preventing his attack.

“S-Stop! I can’t let you hurt my friend like this!” Shiron grunted, putting more pressure. Slowly, he began forcing the Golem backwards. “And… A-And I’ll do everything I can to help him! I’ll stop you!”

Daichi began to chuckle, stopping on his tracks. He pulled back, still laughing. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Holy shit, that was hilarious ! How’d you do that?”

“I-I… don’t know.” Shiron fell on his rear, panting. I… can’t be that strong, can I?

Magnus quickly made his way towards Shiron, standing on his side. “A-Are you alright?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“Tell you what,” Daichi looked at Nick, then at Shiron. “I have an idea that’ll solve our problems. Let’s play a game, shall we? A competition, if you will. To decide who gets to represent this town!”

“…You want to do what?!” Nick protested with a bark. 

“A workplace competition! We’ll figure it out later, but if you win, we’ll let you have all our resources. If we win, you disband. How’s about it?”

Nick stopped. Even if it was a crazy idea, it could work. All they had to do was win . He looked at Shiron and solemnly nodded. “It’s his decision.”

Shiron panted, frowning harder than he ever did this day. “…I’ll do it.”