Dungeon 25 – Hourglass

The scorching heat of the desert beamed down upon three figures, who walked with capes on to protect their bodies. Lance looked at the horizon, rocky arches covered most of the area, but it also had a few trees here and there, and the occasional feral that appeared, being defeated swiftly by either him or the Marowak that accompanied Lance.

Meggie was behind the others, and despite wearing goggles like them, she covered her face; a heavy sandstorm swept through the desert.

“Isn’t this lovely, guys?” she coughed, the sand felt like tiny needles, not strong enough to pierce her skin, but they hurt. She mumbled something before running to catch up with her teammates.

“Hm, perhaps we could rest under that arch? The closest one,” Scar said. “It has a natural ceiling, so we should be at least a bit safe from the heat.”

“Yes, please! This heat is unbearable!” Meggie shouted, panting. “Look, I could really use some ice cream right now…”

“That would be lovely, miss Meggie,” Scar nodded. “But you would just be dehydrated, don’t you think?”

“We brought canteens, right? Also, Brain said that this tiara he gave me enhances my moves,” she pointed to the item she wore on her head. “Something about a Never-Melt-Ice? Right, Lance?”

Lance didn’t say anything, but he felt something. A presence that made his feelers twitch. He looked at his arms, checking the bracelets he got as a birthday gift. According to Brian, they served as aura enhancers, taking small amounts to allow him to shape his signature move, Aura Sphere, into whatever he wanted.

Hmph. Seems like a good opportunity to test this thing, Lance smirked, turning around. He focused aura on his palm, shaping it into a sphere. The bracelets glowed blue, and the move changed form, turning into a whip. Lance whipped the area where he sensed something, but nothing came out.

“Huh, Lance? What was that?” Meggie asked, blinking.

They all heard a screech, and from the sand came a feral Trapinch. It jumped towards Lance, but got hit by a Water Pulse and passed out. Lance looked back, seeing Meggie with a wide smile.

“No need to thank me!” she said.

Lance blushed. “S-Sorry, guess I was wrong. Let’s just… go.”

“You both seem to be good friends, that is adorable,” Scar said, walking alongside them.

---

After a few more hours of walking, they ended up beneath one giant stone structure, shaped like an arc. Deciding that the best option would be to rest, the trio sat on the floor. Meggie drank from one large canteen to hydrate while Scar checked his map; they were going in the right direction.

“What time is it?” Lance stretched his arms, yawning.

Scar checked his bag, taking out a pocket watch. “Five in the afternoon. Interesting, I didn’t think we would take this long to cross the desert.”

“I mean, we did get those mirages,” Meggie chuckled. “Aw, I really want to find an oasis!”

“We might not make it today,” Lance said, looking at his companions. “What if we set up a camp?”

The Marowak nodded. That was a good idea; they wouldn’t be tired and could use that opportunity to know more of each other. Scar, in particular, was interested in knowing more about Meggie, and to that end, an idea came up.

“Mister Williams, would you like to get supplies? If we’re camping, we should have some fire and food.”

“Understandable,” Lance stood up. “Wait for me here, I’ll go and get those things.”

And with that, Lance ran away into the desert, leaving Meggie and Scar alone. The Marowak looked at her, smiling.

“Would you like to do something to pass the time?”

“Hm, sure!” Meggie said. “Any ideas?”

Scar’s gaze was fixed on her.

“Alright. How about this: I ask you one question about yourself, you answer, and then you do the same for me. How does that sound?”

Meggie pouted. It’s not like she would be able to answer all that much, having amnesia and all. Yet, she took the offer with a nod.

“Very well. Why are you so sure about the Gallade taking specific species?”

She flinched, not expecting that to be the first question. At the very least, it was something she could answer. “Well, think about it: nobody here had any idea that was possible, and it just so happens that a Mawile is able to do it, don’t you think that’s weird?”

“Ah, good idea. However, there’s one flaw,” Scar retorted. “Is there any guarantee that only those species are able to do it?”

She pouted again; the answer hurt. Well, she kept going. “Didn’t Lance and Lilith say that they felt drawn to that Emera? I didn’t, what about you?”

Scar chuckled, defeated. “That was the answer I was hoping for. You’re smart, miss Meggie.”

“Fine! Now it’s my turn!” she grinned. “Why are you helping us?”

Scar sighed, scratching his arm. “You see, I believe we can change the world, and help others. Don’t you think Lance deserves a good life? Not worrying about nightmares, panic, or anything that came with his kidnapping?”

Meggie tilted her head. “Okay, I get that, and I want to help him too, but like… Is there any specific reason you’re doing this?”

Scar now had a somber look, his tail dropped. “If you really must know… I had a family, once. They’re gone now, and I think… If I can help others, I might make up for letting my children die.”

Meggie backed away, unsure of what to say. She wanted to help him, but at the same time, it wasn’t something she saw coming.

“I-I… sorry! I shouldn’t have asked that!”

“Don’t worry, it’s fine,” Scar raised his head, smiling. “I now have the chance to make things right. There’s one deity I believe in, and He’s kind and benevolent.”

“…You’re religious? Huh.”

Scar looked at the sides, checking out the vast desert they were in. That conversation went better than he expected, but talking about his past still stung.

“He is known as Necrozma. Many Pokémon believe Legends to be nothing more than that, a myth that helps children fall asleep. I am not one of them, I know Necrozma will help me, or rather, all of us.”

“I see… Okay, it’s your turn.”

Scar shook his head. “Apologies, but I think I’ve had enough of this game. We should wait for mister Williams.”

“Hm, I hope he’s okay.”

---

I hate sand, why does this thing stick to my fur so much?!

Lance, now carrying a few logs on his arm, mumbled to himself. He didn’t have any luck finding ferals, and his aura sensors tingled every once in a while, although he couldn’t quite tell what made him feel like that.

And of course this place is filled with ferals, but they all just love to dig!

Sensing one specific aura in that desert was proving to be difficult. Why couldn’t he just focus? Maybe he was getting anxious, since they were near the town.

If he’s there, I—

Another aura spike. This time, Lance heard flames crackling, and dodged just in time to avoid the attack, seeing one enemy he fought before: a red Lycanrock.

“You!”

“Nice to see you again, Lucario!” the wolf licked his lips. “This time I’ll have my payback!”

“Hmph. Lunick, you continue to be pathetic, although…” he looked around. That whole desert was the perfect place to hide a body…

“Just shut up and fight me!” Lycanroc jumped, hands covered in draconic energy.

He charged towards Lance, but right before the attack could land, Lance thrust his arms forward, shaping two Aura Spheres into a big shield. Sparkles came out when the moves collided and Lunick stumbled back, dumbstruck.

“The fuck is that?! Some kinda aura enhancer?”

“Oh yeah, that is a cool name, not that it matters,” Lance smirked, shaping another sphere into a blade.

“Tsc!” Lunick charged forward, his left fist shone red.

Lance jumped, shifting the blade into a whip, hitting the wolf with it. His opponent roared in pain, before tumbling down to check his wounds; his chest was bleeding from that attack.

“What the hell is your problem?! You could’ve killed me!” Lunick screamed, panting.

“I’m sorry, did you really think your life was worth it? You disgust me,” Lance was on the ground again, preparing a regular Aura Sphere.

“A-Are you insane?! What the hell would your team think of this, you monster?!”

Monster, Lance shivered, but shook his head. It’s pointless to think about that!

The fight was interrupted by a loud roar, enough to shake the ground and the sand. From the depths of the floor came a Bastiodon, its eyes were fixed on the other two, and it was drooling.

“Oh, great. Now a feral shows up, if it wasn’t for yo—”

Lunick was already gone into the horizon, not wanting to continue that battle. Lance sighed, he couldn’t get very far with that wound, could he? Regardless, his focus changed to Bastiodon again, as it charged, trying to strike Lance with its head.

“Argh!” Lance barely dodged, his chest got grazed a bit, and he fired his move, enough to land an aura burn on the Bastiodon’s body.

The feral screeched, rocks began to appear from the ground and towards Lance.

“A smart one, huh?” Lance chuckled. Despite the danger, he was thrilled to fight, blood boiling in excitement.

He jumped, changing the spheres into blades, launching them at the rocks and destroying them. This made Bastiodon stumble back in fear.

“…How pathetic,” Lance panted, his enemy went back into the ground.

With that out of the way, he noticed something: he lost the logs! With a scream, he kicked the sand, having to search for supplies once more.

---

“I don’t think I understand this concept of… rock, paper, scissors.”

Scar and Meggie were trying to play more games for most of the afternoon, although the Marowak had no idea what most of them were. Just what was up with that Snorunt?

She rolled her eyes. “Well, I’m not sure how I know about it myself… Guess we’ll have to find something else to try, right?”

“Hm. What if we test that theory? I can try using the Emera on myself, and we see the results.”

“Not a chance,” Lance said, having just arrived, carrying a Sandshrew around his shoulder, and a few logs on the other one.

“Mister Williams, it’s good to see you,” Scar smiled. “I can see you got everything. Are you alright?”

Lance dropped everything on the ground. “Other than the fact I had to fight off a bunch of ferals and that stupid Lycanroc, yes.”

“Huh, wait!” Meggie said. “Which one of the Lycanroc?”

“Midnight.”

“That is a problem, for sure,” Scar nodded. “With that in mind, perhaps we should continue travelling.”

“He is wounded, I don’t think he’s a threat,” Lance sighed. “And I’m tired, maybe we can take shifts to guard this area?”

“Understandable. I’ll take the first shift, you take the second,” he turned to Meggie. “And that leaves you with the final shift. Is that okay?”

They both nodded and began to set up camp. Lance, however, sat down, too tired to work anymore, so the job was instead done by Meggie and Scar.

---

Meggie had no idea where she was. Apparently a city? She saw a long road with buildings on either side, and on the end of the street, a large building that stretched as far as her eyes could see.

What…?

She looked at her hands and gasped. Unlike her usual Snorunt hands, they were human. Meggie took a look around her body, not only did she look taller, she had… fur? What was that?

Something inside said it was “hair”. She touched it and brought it to her face, seeing it had orange color.

Why does this feel weird, but… it also feels right?!

Another closer look led Meggie to find out she had a lab coat on, although she wasn’t sure how she knew that word.

A buzzing sound made her look down, seeing large pants. She took a phone out of her pocket, eyes widening.

Whoa, is this… a p-phone? Where did I even learn that word?

Suddenly, she heard laughter right next to her. Meggie turned around, seeing a couple of humans like her, chatting amongst themselves.

“So you’re gonna challenge Clemont? With just a Gogoat? Don’t you think you should have caught a ground-type?” one of them, a female, asked.

“Nope, I can kick that gym leader’s ass with my Gogoat!” the other one, a man, answered.

Gym leader? Just what is going on?!

Meggie gulped, checking her phone again. She focused all of her strength to read what was on the screen, seeing it was a call from someone.

Doctor… Jones? Who is this?

The buzzing kept going, until she screamed.

---

She woke up in cold sweat. Was it her shift already? Nobody bothered to wake her up. Instead, her friends were also sleeping.

“H-Huh? Guys!” she shook them, and saw a seed next to Scar and Lance. “O-Oh no.”

A snarl made Meggie turn around. It was already dark, and she could see two red eyes, glowing in the distance. That alone made her whole body shiver.

“You know, I need to make this quick, my chest still hurts,” Lunick said, snarling. “I guess taking out the weakest member will be easy, hehe~”

Weakest member? So he knocked the others out? They didn’t seem like they were waking up soon, so it was up to Meggie to fight.

“I may be the weakest, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fight! You hurt my friends!

She took one step, water forming between her hands.

Lunick chuckled, a chilling, genuine laugh. “My, my, don’t you think you’re getting carried away?”

She sniffed the air, picking up the scent of blood. “S-Says the one that is still hurt!”

The wolf growled, leaping at Meggie with his fangs coated in flames, only to be hit by the Water Pulse, falling to the ground and screaming.

Her mind was moving so fast in order to think of a plan. Meggie thought about her moves: Water Pulse, Frost Breath, Rollout and…

That’s it!

“W-Why, you little piece of shit…!” Lunick snarled as he got up, charging with the same move from before.

This time, once he got near, Meggie looked at him, her eyes were glowing blue, and the move faded away. Lunick stumbled back.

“Y-You know Disab—”

Meggie rolled like a ball while also using her water move, crashing into Lunick and propelling herself to the air. As she fell to the ground again, she took a good look at Lunick. His fur stood on end, and his sharp fangs were showing.

“Y-You… I’ll kill you!” he ran, but felt a sharp pain on his chest, that move made his wounds open. A loud thud drew his attention, and he saw an Oran Berry right in front of him.

“…Take it and leave,” Meggie said. “This battle is getting drawn out, I think you should might be our enemy, but… I don’t want to see anyone dying. Enjoy your second chance!”

Lunick whined, not understanding why she did that, he was her enemy, and would kill her if he had the chance! Despite that, the pain was only getting stronger, and if he took too long, not even that berry would work.

“Your Lucario friend will regret this. This wound?” Lunick barked. “He did it! I could have died!”

“Lance would never—”

“He said my life was worthless. Is that the kind of guy you call your friend?”

Meggie flinched. She only knew Lance for six months, but that Lycanroc had to be lying! Right? She couldn’t trust the words of a criminal. She wanted to ask more, but Lunick had already left.

This world… I wonder how my world is. If it’s so violent as this one.

Still unsure if what Lunick said was true, Meggie sat on the floor. For now, she decided to trust Lance, and hope for the best, even if did intend to kill Lunick, maybe that was just how things worked there. She looked at the sky, feeling uneasy.

Scar was right as well. I need to help others, and if I did that with Lance, then… Maybe I’ll be able to go home eventually.

She looked at the Lucario, who was sleeping like a baby. Meggie smiled, feeling a bit better after that whole ordeal. Now that she had to guard, she had time to think about herself, and that made her remember the dream.

Was that my human life? I don’t understand… What kinda city looks like that? Come on, brain!

Something stirred inside her, that name she saw on the call felt familiar, even if Meggie couldn’t quite know what it meant. Another, creepier thought came to her head: she concluded that the missing Pokémon were related to Mega Evolution and was able to do that because she was human.

O-Oh. OH!

Morgan was also able to do that, since he was the one behind all the kidnappings.

“Is… Is he like me?!”