Dungeon 24 – Smiles go for miles!
by NavarSalty air filled Brian’s mouth as he walked down a grassy road, behind him were an Electivire and a Lopunny, two members of the team Lance had allied with. He didn’t know them very much, but trusted Lance’s judgement enough to work with those two just fine.
Still, he worried about his sibling. “I hope Lance and the others are okay… And that they’re enjoying my gifts!”
Lilith chuckled. “If ya’re worried about them, I think they’re fine!”
“Oh yeah, the bracelets and the tiara will work fine with their skills! I gave my best making those things!”
Brian mumbled something, then nodded. Thinking would only make him anxious, and he had a job to do. It was five days after their meeting, where they decided to split in order to have a more effective search: him, Lilith and Max were going for Treasure town, a village known for its guild. His brother, on the other hand, was heading towards Sandune, a city that some said was built on top of ancient ruins.
“Coome ooon! We’re going so slow! A Torterra would’ve arrived before us!” Max said as he stretched. The Electivire was eager for action, and so many days of walking made his legs tired.
“Oh dear,” Lilith said. “Don’t ya think ya’re being a bit too, I dunno… worked up over this?”
Brian put his goggles on, zooming in on the horizon. He could see the city, and of course, the guild, built like a Wigglytuff. Well, the guildmaster was known to be eccentric, wasn’t he? He chuckled, taking off the goggles.
“Well, guys, we’re closer than before! I mean, my mouth tastes like salt… So we gotta keep moving, right?!”
“Brian, you’re a genius! So… Last one there is a rotten Exeggcute!”
Lilith tilted her head, as if to say something, only for the two to dash forward. She pouted before joining them, dealing with two big babies wasn’t going to be easy, she could tell.
Brian stared at the crossroads right before the town square. To his right, he saw the guild, smirking. Perhaps in a different scenario, he and Lance would have trained there. That was meaningless right now, because he won the race! The Zoroark turned around and puffed his chest, his long mane moving with the wind.
Max finally stopped running, panting. “S-Shit! You won this one…”
“Dude, I’m used to doing those things!” Brian said, ruffling his hair. “When I was still at the guild, I used to have races with this Electrike.”
“Oh, but did you win any?” Max chuckled.
“The same way I won this one.” Brian stuck out his tongue.
Lilith joined them, panting much like Max. She wanted to give both of them a much needed slap, but contained herself, the mission came first.
“Alright. We should summarize what we’re about to do,” Lilith glared at them. “We received reports of a Treecko that went missing.”
Brian’s expression shifted to a more serious one. Another missing kid… He wondered if they were okay, and hoped for the best.
“Yeah! Of course there should be a mission report at this guild, don’t you think?” Max answered, looking at Brian.
“So we’re gonna get it?” The Zoroark asked. With a nod from his companions, they all went to the guild.
Before they could get inside, however, they had to pass through the gate, where a Diglett checked their footprints. Brian found that to be odd, but didn’t want to question it, he heard rumors about Wigglytuff’s rage… Brian gulped and soon climbed down the stairs.
To his surprise, the guild seemed way more… ancient than Brian assumed, living in that large city clouded his judgement, he guessed. Grass covered most of the first floor, where he could see a few Pokémon, checking out the mission board on the walls.
Lilith cleared her throat to get his attention, they weren’t there to gaze at the place. Brian nodded, before climbing down another set of stairs.
This time, there were multiple rooms that Brian assumed were offices for the higher members of that guild. His eyes shifted their gaze to the window.
“Wow! We’re two floors underground, but look! We can see the sea!”
“Ha, this place ain’t bad, it’s kinda charming… don’t you think?” Max chuckled, before a sound of wings flapping got his attention.
A Chatot appeared before then, heald tilted. “Hello. I never saw any of you gentlemon before, where are you from?”
Even though that bird wasn’t singing, the tone of his voice sure made it sound like he was. Lilith put her serious face on before continuing the conversation.
“Greetings. I’m Lilith, those are my teammates…”
“Brian!” The Zoroark said.
“And Maxwell!”
Chatot flapped his wings again. “Well, shoo! Leave this place! The guildmaster is very busy, so we don’t have time for your surveys!”
“W-Wha? We’re not here for that!” Brian said. “Look, we want to help this missing kid… A Treecko!”
Chatot blinked, having misjudged them. “…Oh my. That poor, poor child. I see, apologies for my actions. How can I help you?”
“Well, ya could start by giving us info! There’s a mission, yeah?” Lilith asked him.
“Indeed, there is. Not with me, though. It’s with one of our crew members, this Heracross. I’ll go get—”
Brian snarled, his fur standing on end. “A Heracross?!”
Chatot squawked at him. “Yes, a Heracross. Is there any problem, child?”
Shit, jumping to conclusions again. I hope it isn’t that guy, Brian thought, before bowing. “S-Sorry, sir! I heard something else!”
“You misheard me? Hmph, alright. Like I was saying, I’ll go get him. The guildmaster and I have quite a wingful of paperwork to do, so I’ll just let him deal with it.”
“Sounds good to me,” Lilith said.
Meanwhile, another Pokémon had arrived in that city: an orange Lycanroc. He sniffed the air, and when he found the scent, he growled.
“Shit! What am I going to do now?!”
His enemies were inside, and he knew that place very well, as one of the higher underlings of his boss worked there. Sirius snarled; since he wasn’t exactly on the side of the law, entering had to wait.
Hm, I think I know a place…
Sirius chuckled, his tail swished around and the wolf dashed into hiding.
Soon enough, through one of the doors came a Heracross, carrying a bunch of papers on his right hand. He had a wide smile on his face as he looked at the others.
“Good morning, it seems you’re gonna try and find that Treecko?” The bug asked.
“Yeah! We are!” Brian shouted. “Well, we can’t just let that happen…” his ears dropped.
“Understandable,” Heracross gave the papers to Brian. “This is a copy of our files, it should have all the info you need. Will that be enough for you guys?”
“Sure.” Lilith gave him a thumbs-up.
“Yeeeah!” Max chuckled, sparkling with electricity.
“Well, if that’s all, excuse me, I need to go back to my office,” and with that, Heracross was gone.
The trio left the building, and Lilith soon looked straight at Brian, making him turn around in shock.
“W-What? What’s up?”
“What were ya thinking? What’s so bad about a Heracross?”
Brian gulped. So his brother didn’t tell them the whole thing? Odd, but regardless, he still reacted badly.
“…A Heracross was the one who kidnapped Lance.”
Lilith blinked. “O-Oh, sorry, I didn’t know… Do you think he’s the same one?”
Brian shrugged. “No clue. I mean, he works at the guild, just like that one, and there’s a missing kid, just like—”
A loud bark interrupted the Zoroark. “B-Brian?! It’s that really you?!”
Brian turned around, seeing a Manectric, wearing a collar with the letter “B” around his neck, alongside a wristband. The dog blinked as he approached.
“I-I’m sorry, but uh, who are you?” Brian tilted his head.
“Oh, come on! It’s me! Blitz!” he said, tail wagging.
The Zoroark stared at him, as if to analyze him, and smiled, hugging the canine. “Blitz! Holy shit, it’s been so long!”
The Manectric chuckled, embracing the hug. “Dude, I could never forget your smell! Don’t underestimate us canine Pokémon!”
Both were still wrapped in the embrace for some time, not really caring. They needed to make up for the time lost!
“Are you telling me I stink?” Brian grinned, sniffing his arm. “Uh, no, I’m a clean mon!”
“It’s a joke… But seriously! It’s so good to see you again!”
Finally, Lilith glared at them, causing both to shiver. That bunny could be scary if she wanted to.
The dog’s gaze shifted to the other two. “Oops! Sorry, I didn’t see you there! Hi, I’m Blitz Shred! Nice to meet you two!”
“Any friend of Brian is my friend! And well, you’re electric too!” Max said with a smile.
Blitz sat on all fours. “So what are you guys doing here? I didn’t think you or Lance would visit me, after… we broke up.”
“Oh yeah, that. Don’t worry about it,” Brian sighed. “We’re here because of a missing kid, a Treecko…”
“Ah, that case… Yeah, nobody found him yet, and we really don’t have any suspects,” Blitz whined.
An opportunity presented itself to Lilith, and the bunny laughed.
“I have an idea,” Lilith said. “Brian, why don’t you and Blitz go talk with the kid’s parents? The rest of us can search about… Ya know.”
“Ah, right! Blitz, what do you think? Wanna crack this case together?”
“Just like old times, right?” the dog smirked. “Sure, why not? But I have a question! What do you mean by “ya know”, miss Lopunny?”
Brian scratched his chin. “Here’s the thing. That Heracross at the guild? He’s kinda sus, reminds me of the one that took… Lance.”
Blitz blinked, confused. What was Brian talking about?
“…Really?! What makes you think so?”
“Works at the guild like the one I know, and there’s a missing kid, don’t you think this is sus?”
“You have a point,” Blitz said, turning to face Lilith and Max. “Okay, if Brian trusts you guys, then me too! You got this!”
“Alright! If that’s settled, let’s go!” Max stretched his body, getting ready for a fight. The others wanted this to be peaceful, but his body was itching for battles.
“Okay! Blitz, come on!”
The two used that opportunity to catch up. While Blitz was talking about his missions and life in that town, Brian looked at the buildings. For some reason, he assumed they would have the shape of whatever Pokémon lived inside, or maybe that Wigglytuff was simply too eccentric, like the rumors said. Blitz smirked at that; every tourist had the same reaction, it seemed.
“I gotta admit, this town is impressive. Not like the one I live in, of course, but still…”
“Oh yeah, where do you live? Still with your bro?”
“We moved to Bright Dawn. It was his idea, but to be honest, I like it!” if Brian had a tail, it would be wagging. But since he didn’t, all he was doing was giving a wide, toothy grin. “I even had a course on engineering, so I can build cool stuff to help my team!”
“I see, cool! Have you had any big accomplishments?”
“As a matter of fact, we did! There was this town, I think it’s called Heavenwind? Well, a Luxray was terrorizing its citizens, so Lance and I took them down!” Brian flexed his claws, transforming into a Golem. “See this big guy? We defeated him.”
Blitz nodded, looking at Brian, now back in his normal form.
“And uh, we had quite the trouble with some mercs…” Brian whined; the thought of their deaths still haunted him, even six months after it happened.
“I… see.”
“What about you, Blitz? Any big things?”
Blitz pondered and then continued.
“Let’s see… Oh, Shao Shao and I took care of a lost baby, returning him to his parents!” The canine barked happily.
“Uh, who’s Shao Shao?”
“My boyfriend. He’s this Mienshao, who’s super cool! He went on a solo mission at the guild’s request, so I’m on my own for now.”
Brian nodded. Blitz seemed to get over his sibling fast, huh? Well, it was none of his business. Soon, they found themselves in front of a big house. Blitz dropped his jovial expression, whining for a bit.
“This is… the Regios’ house. They’re the parents of that Treecko. We should talk to them, right?”
Brian sighed. “…We should. Let’s go.”
Heracross stared at the green orb he possessed. He wanted to use it to talk to his boss about that team that came earlier, but didn’t feel like it was worth it.
Come on, Alder, it’s gotta be a coincidence… right? It’s not that same Zorua!
He couldn’t get that thought out of his head. What if it wasn’t? He would have sent an innocent team to their demise. Then again, kidnapping children was his job, after all. He shouldn’t feel remorse, as long as he got paid the right money.
On the bright side, I still have… this.
Alder opened his drawer, looking at the Emera he possessed, given to him by his boss. It was precious and allowed him to become stronger, and that was all that mattered. This job paid well, so he would do it.
Still, that is a tad weird. I hope it’s not that kid. How many years ago? Nine? Eh, don’t care.
He looked at the clock: three in the afternoon. His shift was over, and he was tired, so Alder left that building to go home. Once he got into the crossroad, a Dusk Lycanroc approached him, and he instantly recognized the wolf.
“Sirius? What are you doing here? I thought your mission was to test the side effects of the Emera?”
“Change of plans, Alder,” he growled. “There’s a team looking for our boss. Apparently this… Lucario was one of his subjects, and he wants revenge.”
Alder bit his lips. That was the worst outcome, his instincts were right in suspecting that the Zoroark was the same Zorua from years ago. He clenched his fists.
“Got it. What do you want us to do, then?”
“We can ambush them,” Sirius said. “My brother is following the rest of the team, and if he doesn’t screw it up, we should be done with this soon.”
“Ambush… serves you right!”
A sudden voice left them on high alert, but it was too late, two Orbs hit them, knocking them to a hole nearby, where a cafe led by a Spinda used to be. Soon, two figures, a Lopunny and an Electivire, joined them.
Alder coughed, the area was filled with dust and it was dark, unused for years. He got up, before a seed hit both yet again, paralysing them. Sirius stood up as well, growling to his enemies.
“Alright! We gotta ask you a few questions, nice and easy, okay?!” Max chuckled, his hands crackled with electric sparks.
The door to the abandoned cafe, guarded by Lilith.
“Max, please don’t take too long. This place makes me want to sneeze.”
She threw a Luminous Orb around, and light filled that area.
“Now let’s begin our investigation, shall we?”
Max chuckled again, ready to ask some questions.
Brian sat on a chair, gulping. A female Sceptile and a male Grovyle were both crying. Blitz and his friend waited for them to calm down, which wasn’t easy, after all that time their child was gone, they began to lose hope they would find him again.
“Uh, excuse me, but we wanna help you two…” Brian whined. “My brother was kidnapped as well,so I know how you feel…”
“Y-You do?! Is your brother alive?!” the Sceptile said.
“Y-Yeah! Well, he did get a scar and all, but he’s still alive! In fact, we’re on the hunt for who did this!”
Brian nodded and smiled, trying his best to calm them down. There was no point to asking questions if they were too anxious to answer. Fortunately, it worked, as the couple slowly calmed themselves.
“O-Okay,” the Grovyle said. “We last saw Anthony when he went to train at the guild…”
“Yes!” The other Grass-type shouted. “He went out to the Sharpedo Bluff, and then…”
“He vanished,” Blitz whined.
Training at the guild?! That’s… the same thing!
Brian growled, he was sure of it. That Heracross was the same one, and he did the exact same thing to that Trecko as he did to Lance. Who knows what was happening to the boy right now?
“I understand,” Brian got up. “Blitz, we’re done. Okay?”
“S-Sure!” he nodded, leaving with the Zoroark.
Once they got outside, Brain looked straight at Blitz.
“It’s him. It’s the exact… shit, what’s the word? Mode, moda… something!”
The Manectric tilted his head. “You mean Modus operandi?”
“Thanks, that one! We gotta warn the guild, right?”
“…Yes, we do! I can’t believe it… he was here the whole time, if I knew, I-I would have done something!” Blitz’s whole body shivered when he thought, he knew that Lance went missing and that he was tortured, but he never told him everything.
“Maybe I could have stopped that bug of doing the same thing he did to Lance…”
Brian whined. “I… didn’t know you cared so much.”
“Look, Lance couldn’t accept that I needed to move out, but… it’s fine. I got over it and I’m happy with Shao Shao,” Blitz said. “But this doesn’t matter, I don’t need to love him to know that what happened was wrong!”
“Thanks, now let’s go! Warn the guild!”
The duo ran towards the guild, and once they got close enough, they saw what appeared to be a commotion, where two Magnezone had not only the Heracross, but the Lycanroc in handcuffs and muzzled. They also had several bruises around their bodies and Brian could see a few electrical sparks around them. A fight must’ve happened, but why? He ignored that and kept walking. Alongside them were Lilith and Max, both in silence.
“W-What?!” Brian blinked, stopping on his tracks. “Wait, you guys got a confession? And what’s that Lycanroc?”
“BZZZ, both are charged with kidnapping and attempted murder,” one of the Magnezone said.
“BZZZ, that is correct,” the other one continued. “The Electivire and Lopunny had a fight with them, and during that fight, both confessed their crimes. That is enough for them to be arrested.”
Brian then looked at Alder, his eyes had a fire, a fury inside them, if he didn’t hold back, he would have attacked the bug already. “You… I’ll find your boss, and he’s gonna pay for what he did to Lance.”
“Hmpff!” was all Alder said.
The Magnezone took them away into the prison, leaving the team and Blitz to talk alone.
Blitz sighed in relief. “…I’m in debt. Brian confirmed that he was related to Lance’s kidnapping before, but it would take some time to have that confession! How did you do that?”
“They attacked us,” Lilith said.
“But we did get something from those two!” Max said. Lilith opened her purse, taking out one green orb and one Emera.
“W-Whoa! Is that the item Lance said? The thingy that makes you evolve?”
“Evolve? I don’t follow…” Blitz tilted his head. He felt that Emera calling to him, but shook the feeling off.
“Nothing to worry about!” Brian smirked. “And that green orb, what’s it for?”
“Apparently, it teleports you to the Gallade’s HQ,” Max shrugged. “So look, we have two advantages now!”
Brian couldn’t hold back his smile. “That’s… amazing! How is this even possible?! Mind if I take a look at that orb?”
“I’ll tell you what, Brian,” Blitz said. “What if you and your friends came over to my house? You need to rest, I mean, if you travelled for so long, you must be starving, right?”
Brian agreed, and they all went back into the town again. A small victory, sure, but in the grand scheme of things, that might prove to be a bigger one than the team thought.
Lance, I promise… I’ll help you in any way I can! We’re gonna have our closure!
0 Comments