Dungeon 52 – Hive

“Goggles? Check. Scarf? Check. Supplies?”

Brian zipped the bag open, shoving a nut-like seed, with a tiny, green vine sticking out of it. He repeated the process, shoving three more.

“Reviver seeds? Check,” he grinned. “Dex? What about the orbs? What’d ya got?”

Dex held one such orb, one with a portal engraved inside. “Escape Orb ‘ere, Goggles.”

“Okay, okay, good. I’ll have to thank Lance for bringing this to us later…” Brian inhaled. “…We got this.”

Meggie entered the warehouse, holding an orb of her own. Yellow, with orange spirals inside. “Totter Orb, check!”

The two threw the spheres at Brian, who put them inside his bag. He sighed, putting the bag on his back. “Okay… we have all the supplies we need, we have the entercard, and we have… well, ourselves.”

Dexter crossed his arms, huffing. “Can’t believe I’m goin’ to a place full o’ damn bugs… it better be worth it.”

“Oh?” Meggie took this opportunity to hover next to the Floatzel, flashing a large grin. “My, my, This big, burly Floatzel is scared of some bugs?”

“I ain’t!” He shook his head, too fast, and even though Dex tried to hide it, his sweaty face and shaky body told otherwise. “I just don’t like ’em. Squishy, gross, disgustin’… ne’er liked ’em.”

“Heh. Just teasing you. It’s what I do best, after all~” she spinned in the air, then floated towards Brian. “And you? Ready to squish some bugs?”

Brian chuckled, fiddling with his fingers. “…Don’t like bugs either, but if push comes to shove, I’ll just torch any. Unless it’s like… Volcarona.”

“I’ll handle them for you,” she snapped a finger. “…Can freeze them. You can torch them. And Dex?”

A flex. “Punch ’em really ‘ard! And maybe slash away with me Iron Tail…s.”

“That’s at least reassuring.” Brian looked at their hideout’s exit, to the outside world. Nobody would know what they were doing, that they were saving the world. But honestly… that didn’t bother him as much as he thought it would. “Well, I’m activating the entercard. Before that, there’s a few things I’d like to say.”

Dex and Meggie exchanged looks, silently, then both focused on Brian and what he had to say.

” We have supplies, and we should be fine. But still. This is gonna be really tough. Tougher than everything we ever did before. Well, me and Meg. You weren’t with us before, Dex, so…”

He inhaled, frowning, tapping the Floatzel’s shoulder. “…You don’t need to follow us if you don’t wanna. This’ll be dangerous, and I don’t blame you for wanting to back off.”

Dex sighed, shaking his head. “…I’m gonna be real with ye, Goggles. I ain’t a ‘ero. I ain’t strong. But yer me mates. An’ mates stick together. Prolly save the world together, too.”

Brian’s ears flicked, and he leaned in, hugging the Floatzel. “Thank you…”

“I’ll always have your back, Brian.” Meggie added, making the peace sign with her fingers. “We got this. All three of us.”

“Yeah, yeah we do!” Brian pulled away, taking the entercard again. Brian put it on the ground, and touched the web on its center.

A portal opened around the area where the card was, unleashing a burst of energy. Brian put his goggles on, held Meggie’s hand, and jumped inside. Dex scratched his chin, considering getting away, but after a light chuckle, jumped in.

The portal closed.

---

And another portal opened, one where Brian and Meggie hopped out of. Dexter came behind, watching the portal turn back into an entercard. He picked it up.

Wait, the portal was gone. “I… forgot to ask, but ‘ow are we comin’ back? Is this thin’ capable o’ warpin’ back?”

“It is, don’t worry about it.” Brian looked back at him. “Now, we just need to get inside the—” he stopped to look at the place, ears flicking. “Whoa.”

“Whoa…” Meggie’s eyes sparkled as she looked forward.

First, they weren’t even inside the dungeon. Though, noting the intricately carved patterns and entrance, Meggie decided that word didn’t quite fit. It was much more reminiscent of a shrine instead. Due to being in a large hole in the ground, vines covered the shrine from top to bottom. It was also clearly damaged, though it was impossible to tell whether it came from time or whatever monstrous creature dwelled within.

Turning her attention to the floor—concrete? No, rock. Solid rock—she noticed it was cracked in a few places. Moss grew out of those cracks, covering up the ground like a cozy blanket.

What was most impressive, however, was the entrance. Instead of being a cave, or forest, given the location, it was a large construction. Not naturally, as there were two statues of a Pokemon Meggie had never seen before. The statues looked like mosquitos, except… They were four-legged, instead, with the fifth and sixth acting as arms. The chest and arms themselves seemed to have been given special attention, as they looked quite bulky, easily capable of demolishing a building in one swing.

Its head, on the other hand, was comparatively small, and hard to see from her vantage point. However, the signature mouth stuck about halfway down the body.

“The fuck is that?” Dexter rubbed his eyes, taking a better look. Just to confirm what he saw. “I’ve ne’er seen anythin’ like it.”

“Me neither. It’s like… I dunno. What species is that? Meg? Human knowledge?”

“…Sorry guys, no clue either. Must be some sort of guardian or protector.” Meggie chuckled, her heart pumping again and again, faster and faster. “Regardless of Dex’s bug cousin, I wanna get inside! Not just for the crystal, but… whoa. I need to see this place! It’s so pretty! Well, apart from being cracked and all that… but I wanna see it!”

“At least one o’ us is excited.” Dexter looked at his arms, tiny and frail compared to that… beast. He knew it wasn’t the time to be self-conscious, but once this was over, he could go to the gym. Again. “Aight. Are we gonna keep starin’ at that there, or are we goin’ inside?”

Meggie just let out a laugh in response, rushing inside.

“…She seems way too happy about this.”

“Definitely,” Dex shivered, wondering what kind of bugs were inside that place.

Even as he entered with Brian, a thought never left his mind: if that thing was the guardian, what was it defending the temple from?

---

The second they walked inside, they were hit by a strong, pungent smell, oily and woody. Brian was almost sad he didn’t think to bring a mask to this place, and the least he could do was cover his snout, like Dex did. Meggie was the last one to cover her nostrils, grumbling.

“I take it back. I hate this place,” she groaned.

“Gotta move fast, y’all.” Dex grunted, stepping forward, but keeping his head looking at the ground. Too scary to do otherwise.

Brian didn’t bother removing his paw from his snout. “Yeah, Dex is right. Surprisingly.”

“I’m not that dumb,” he chuckled, but soon snarled. “Hey! What’d ye mean ‘surprisingly’?!”

Dexter groaned. Okay, the smell was bad, but at least nothing was attacking them so far. He carefully, slowly, raised his head, to see what the path ahead of them was. And if it was going to be difficult to cross. The sight that awaited him was just as bad, if not worse, than the smell. The tunnel walls were covered and dripping with slime, supported periodically with pillars. The pillars themselves… No, best not think of them. The substance making them up looked quite suspicious, and almost seemed to have eyes. At least they provided some light, even if not much.

It was clear they were going to be going down. The further he looked, the darker and more sporadic the pillars seemed to be, before disappearing entirely. Possibly beyond a curve or even beyond what he could see. And the stairs? While the stairs were covered with the same substance covering the walls, if they moved carefully they probably wouldn’t slip and tumble to the bottom.

Brian scratched his head. “Y’know, for a place dedicated to protecting something that important, you’d think they would have some sorta challenge.”

“Yeah, and there’s not even any bugs for you to torch! That must be rough, eh?” Meggie grinned, that grin that made Brian blush.

“This place still sucks. It smells bad, an’ I don’t wanna ‘ead down them stairs…” Dex began to shake. True. It was gross, and if they kept going, there’d be bugs, and they’d kill him, eat him, and feed him to the little bugs—

“We gotta. Just gotta…” Brian tapped the Floatzel’s back. “Besides, we’re all here together, right? Even if you’re scared, you’re not alone!”

“We’re saving the world! That’s enough to make anyone brave.”

It didn’t convince him, nor did it stop the shaking. “Ain’t brave. Bravery’s ne’er been me thin’.”

Having friends was also not his thing, and that changed. So maybe Dex could be brave, could be strong, could face those fears. With them, his friends. He wasn’t alone anymore. Even if that place looked and smelled awful, even as they continued to climb down the steps, even as he approached the darkness.

Dex held on, because his friends were there with him. And besides, there was no danger, right?

Right?

---

Right.

It was just more of the same, more weird walls, more slime, more… whatever the hell this place was made of. Dexter gulped. Fuck… if it weren’t fer these guys, I would’ve left this place right at the entrance!

Well, there was no quitting now, was there? Dexter just shoved it and kept walking with them.

Eventually, they stopped at the end of the steps. And, as suspected, looked mostly the same as the entrance. Well, Dexter felt it was calmer, and didn’t give him the same creepy vibes as the other floor. In fact, it was too calm.

“Goggles, yer right. ‘Ow come they expect to protect the crystal? there’s… nothin’ ‘ere.”

Meggie interjected, hovering towards Brian’s bag and picking an orb, one that was yellow, and had a four-point sigil inside. “Should be enough to make the entire place lit for some seconds, and then we can just… keep going.”

She smashed the orb open, unleashing a burst of light that managed to reveal what that floor really had.

First, a giant web, right in the center of the room. Large, really large. It covered half of the room, maybe even more. Brian approached it, taking a look down below, seeing what appeared to be a lake. It was the only way forward. He managed a grin.

“This’ll be easy! I can just burn that thing up!”

While Brian went to do that, Dexter used the opportunity to look around. On each corner of the room, he saw an unlit torch. “What the… weird.”

The sound of a flamethrower got his attention, and he turned to see Brian blasting away at the web, the smell of smoke filling the air, a welcome change from the stench that tortured them before.

But… once the smoke cleared, Brian stepped back; the web was intact, not a single part of it burnt. In fact, nothing changed.

Meggie sighed. “Huh… maybe you should try harder?”

“Good idea, I’ll—”

“Goggles.” Dexter pointed at the corners, at his discovery. “Look ‘ere, I found these torches.”

The Zoroark’s eyes sparkled. “Oh, good idea! Maybe it’s a puzzle! I love puzzles!”

“Good job, Dex!” Meggie cheered him on. She then pointed at the closest torch, relative to Brian. “We probably need to light them all, but that one’s closer, go for it!”

“Gotcha! I knew burning things would be useful!” Brian ran to the torch, cracked his neck, and let out a tiny, simple flame. Just enough to light it up.

And it did light up. Brian grinned, proud of himself. A second passed, two, three, four, five, and then…

---

The flame was gone, like it was never there. Brian blinked, obviously confused by it. Was the wind… too strong?

No, there wasn’t any wind. He just needed to try it again! After launching the tiny flamethrower, he grinned, once again proud.

Five, four, three, two, one…

Once again, the flame disappeared. Meggie watched it, thinking. “…Okay, that’s weird.”

“There’s more than one torch. Try on one o’ the others, Goggles!”

“Got it, got it!” Brian turned to his left, walking there and, for the third time, firing at the torch. Once the five seconds passed, the flame remained. Great!

…Another five seconds passed, and the flame was gone.

Brian rubbed his eyes. “Wait, what? That doesn’t make any sense! Well, dungeons never do, but…”

Meggie squinted her eyes. “There has to be a pattern, a solution to this. It’s not impossible.”

Dexter crossed his arms. Yeah, there was a pattern, but hell if he knew, or was able to figure it out. That’d never happen. Sure, the flames disappeared after a few seconds, but…

Wait. Seconds. The first one took five, and the second took ten. There were four torches. Which means… which means…

Dexter roared, grinning as wide as he could. “Goggles! Try the next one! it’s gonna stay lit fer fifteen seconds!”

“Huh… wait, yeah, that’s it! Good job, Dex!” Meggie cheered him on, clapping her hands together. “They’re all following an order! The fourth one must be twenty seconds!”

Brian went to test that theory, lighting the third torch. Like Dex said, it remained lit for fifteen seconds, and disappeared after the time passed. The fourth one was just the same, as predicted, remaining on fire for twenty seconds.

“We figured it out!” Dex went to hug Meggie, tight. Up until her bones began to crack. “Whoooo! Popsicle, yer the best!”

“Hold on, that doesn’t change much… we only know how long they’re up, not the solution. Or if it’s even a puzzle in the first place. Hm…” Brian crossed his arms. No, that had to be a clue.

Meggie flashed a devilish grin at Dex. “Should we tell him?”

“Dunno. Should we?”

Brian just blinked. “Tell me… what?”

“Goggles. Light up the twenty second torch. Then, the fifteen, then ten, then five. That way they can all stay lit.”

Brian covered his face with both paws. “Oh… I’m an idiot. That was obvious, even for you.”

He turned back, lighting the fourth torch. Brian moved on to the next one, as quick as he could, then the second one, then, finally, the first torch he lit, the one that stayed for five seconds.

They all heard rumbling coming from deep below, and the torch next to Brian crackled, suddenly growing larger and forcing him to back off. It happened with the other ones, the fire was launched off the torches and into the center of the room, forming a large fireball that fell on the web, burning it to smithereens.

Brian fell on his rear, still blinking. “O…kay, that worked. Thanks, Dex.”

“Don’t mention it. C’mon, we gotta keep movin’!”

After Meggie helped him stand up, Brian nodded. The trio walked forward, falling inside the hole where the web used to be.

---

The water was dark and thick, but Dex managed to swim out without much trouble. True, he was a natural. Meggie never even went there, she simply hovered down, holding Brian with both her arms.

Brian blinked. “Dex… why’d you get there? Meggie could’ve taken you—”

“No. He’s too heavy. Actually, you’re too heavy, Brian,” she said, putting him to the “shore” next to the lake. Made from the same material as the other rooms they visited, and with the same slime.

In fact, the slime was creeping out of the only exit they saw in that area, and some cocoon pieces floated on top of said slime.

“Farrr from the worst water I’ve been in.” Dex shrugged, shaking off the water. It made his fur puff up. “An’ nice to see both o’ ye are alright.”

“Thanks for solving the puzzle back then!” Brian chirped, smiling and adjusting his goggles. “It probably won’t be the last, and… and that smells awful.”

The three did their best attempt to cover any nose and/or nostrils. Dex flicked his tails, eyeing the hallway where the goo came from. He couldn’t see that far away.

“Goggles, can ye—”

“Already on it!” Brian adjusted the lenses, zooming in to make out any details. For now, just slime, slime, and more slime. But there was enough space for them to go. “Got it. We can go.”

Meggie sighed. “…Wait. It’s weird. We’ve solved a puzzle, but there’s been nothing. Not a single feral, just… us. Don’t you guys think that’s weird?”

Oh, great! Meggie told exactly what Dexter was thinking about! “Popsicle’s got a point. Ain’t this pluce ‘sposed to protect the crystal? It’s not doin’ a very good job, is it?”

“No, it isn’t…” Brian leaned against the wall, starting to think. Maybe that statue meant something.

Could be the protector of this place, or just a mighty creature that was worshiped before. Either way, it didn’t sit right that they were blazing through this without many worries.

But worrying about it wouldn’t lead them anywhere. “Alright, guys. From now on, let’s be extra careful about our plans, okay? We might be safe for now, but who knows?”

“Lance mentioned this dungeon won’t turn us feral, but still… don’t wanna stay here for long.” Meggie rolled her eyes. On the bright side, she had good company. “And where are we going anyway?”

“There ain’t no other direction to go but forward,” Dex added. “Everythin’ led us ‘ere, which either means we’re screwed, or that we’re on the right track.”

Brian nodded. “Pretty much. Now, uh… as much as I don’t wanna get slimed, we should go. Dex, can you stay ahead? You’re the strongest here—physically, I mean.”

Before Dex could say a word, Meggie raised an arm. “I’ll stay behind Brian!”

The Floatzel eyed her with a smug grin, and shrugged. “Fine by me. Y’all need protection anyway, an’ I won’t let anyone ‘urt me mates!”

Meggie giggled, letting her teammates go ahead, and she soon joined them, passing through the hallway.

---

As soon as they stepped inside, the entire place lit up, candles were spread around the walls, extending far into the area. Dexter gulped. At least it wasn’t a bug.

I ‘ate bugs. They’re all disgusting, icky, gross. Dex gulped again, forcing a smile. Gotta keep on puttin’ a brave act… fer me mates.

“Yup. Still creepy,” Brian felt his fur poof upwards. “But… uh, w-we’re all together! That counts. And we stick together.”

Meggie was going to nod and agree, when her eyes looked at the wall. Not a common, everyday wall. There were drawings inside. “Hey, come take a look at this!”

Brian rubbed his arms, even before looking, he shook. Something was off. Still, he stared at the drawing.

Six Pokémon. One, Brian managed to recognize; the same as the statue at the entrance. He recognized another as the Pokemon the crystal had shared him with… But the rest were entirely foreign.

A disco ball suspended above a colorful skinny body, almost like a stick-mon. This one sat on the left, with Darkrai and the mosquito from earlier. In front of that group were another two, which seemed to be depicted attacking.

The first of those greatly resembled the day’s sun, though with a muscular feline (canine?) body stretching behind it. It almost reminded him of Apollo, in that sense. The other, however, was much darker and wider.

It seemed to depict the many phases of the moon on its body, from waning crescent to waxing crescent. From both shot wide beams of bright colors.

Those beams were directed at the lone creature on the far side. It looked to be a collection of prismatic shapes, with sharp edges and spikes. Certainly, a figure clearly made to inspire fear in any who looked at it..

It told a story. Brian knew that much. But what was that prismatic Pokémon? Why were they attacking it? He clenched his chest, trembling. Maybe it was fear, or maybe it was… it was that feeling of wanting to protect, from when he had the crystal. To protect the world from… that thing.

“Brian?” Meggie leaned close, holding his paw. “…Are you alright?”

“Necrozma,” he said. No, muttered. “I-I… I think that’s him. The one that looks like a prism. I can sense that. It’s him.”

“It looks ugly,” Dex pointed out, squinting his eyes. They were locked on the two attacking Pokémon. “…Think I’ve ‘eard o’ them two. Solgaleo an’ lunala. Deities fer the sun an’ the moon.”

Meggie held Brian’s paw tighter. “Seems like it’s depicting a battle. If they’re all deities, then… they’re probably trying to stop Necrozma from doing whatever the hell he wants to do.”

“He can destroy the world.” Brian said, still shaky. “…We won’t let him do that.

He clenched the other fist. “We won’t. To save Lance and the world, we’ll keep fighting!”

“Hell yeah, Goggles.” Dex chuckled. I dunno… the longer I’m with them, the less o’ an act it is. I can be brave, too.

They moved on, following the corridor until its end.

---

Once they arrived at the end, they saw a different room. Dexter instantly shivered, covering his snout with a paw, trying not to vomit.

This room was… well, it was hard to describe. It certainly looked like the rest of the dungeon so far… Only there were lots and lots of cocoons scattered around. Cocoons that likely contained thousands of hungry, vicious bugs. They were everywhere. Littering the floor, on the side of the supporting pillars, up the walls… There were even some hanging from the ceiling.

“Let’s make it like a tree and leave.” Meggie shivered, sticking out her tongue, nothing but pure disgust filled her thoughts. And the cocoons didn’t help, either.

“We should set sail, yeah.” Dex added. He swallowed down the vomit without any hesitation, and stepped forward, preparing water gauntlets. Just in case.

Dex shivered. This wasn’t a room to stay in long. If they moved carefully through, they could probably reach the passages across the sea of bug slime. That is, if they didn’t already have the feeling of being watched…

…There was something. Brian’s ears flicked, focusing on what he could hear. Rattling, buzzing. From the ceiling, he figured. And just as he was about to say something about it—

A giant cube fell in front of them. A red cube. With one of its faces staring right at Dex. A face… that was identical to the statue, and to the painting.

“What the ‘ell?!” Dex fell back, panting. He looked up, watching more cubes fall down, surrounding the original one.

“It’s… what?!” Meggie stuttered. What? What was that? “We can’t… what is going on in here?!”

Brian’s ears continued to flick. No, that wasn’t the noise he heard. It came from behind. It brought a shiver to his body.

“M-Meg…”

She turned back and gasped. One of the cocoons burst open, followed by another, and another. Three creatures, three things hopped out.

At first glance, they were recognizable to her. The first was a Pidgeotto. But there was something wrong with it. Instead of wings, it had stingers. Instead of feathers, it had scales. Instead of a beak, there were large pincers, capable of puncturing through her and her friends without any issue.

“I-It’s… oh dear, dear God. What the hell is that?!” Brian stepped back, taking a large breath. “Meg, dodge!”

She ducked out of the way right as Brian unleashed the largest fire he could, hitting the Pidgeotto without giving it an opportunity to dodge.

That was when the second one attacked, screeching. A Herdier, with the same… mutations as the bird had. Meggie charged in, her fist coated in ice, and punched it to the back of the room.

“Those cubes must be the puzzle! Someone needs to solve them!” She said, screaming at Dex. “You need to try it! Brian and I will hold them off!”

Finally, the third mutant arrived, its cocoon bursting open into tiny bits. It was… a Meowstic, who growled and hissed, pincers slapping.

Dex held off another urge to vomit. “W-Where do I start?”

Brian got on all fours, groaning. “It’s a jigsaw puzzle! Try to align the pieces! Go!”

Without much of a choice, Dex turned his attention to the cubes.

---

“Alright! Brian, we’re doing this together!” Meggie shouted, already rushing in. With Pidgeotto gone, that left only two opponents for them to face. For now, if they were lucky and the rest of the cocoons didn’t open…

Right as Meowstic jumped in to bite off Brian, she charged, fist crackling with electricity. She shouted, unleashing a thunderbolt that hit the mutant and forced it to the side.

Brian watched it with sparkling eyes, his face turning red. He shook his head, ignoring the thought and focusing on the fight ahead. With a snarl, the Zoroark charged ahead, towards the Herdier, and Brian roared, unleashing the flames.

Unlike last time, they missed, with Herdier jumping in and slashing at Brian, its stingers dripping with poison. Brian groaned, holding the canine with both his arms.

“Dex! Anytime now!”

“Don’t rush me, Goggles!” Dex carried one of the cubes, the one with the mosquito’s face, then aligned it with another, one with its chest. He remembered it with exact precision, because it made him a tad self-conscious. “Let’s see… this goes ‘ere, that goes there…”

Meggie floated back, dodging the Meowstic trying to jump at her. She took a deep breath, then charged in again, her hands wrapped in ghostly energy, shaping into large claws. “We’re doing our best, but these things—hiyah!”

She slashed the Meowstic, panting. However, her eyes widened, watching the Meowstic be split into half, and exposing its insides, composed of nothing but webs.

“W-What? It… i-it wasn’t even alive?!”

“Doesn’t seem like it!” Brian tossed the canine aside, then unleashed more flames, this time, they connected, burning it to a crisp. He panted, falling to his knees.

The worst part was over. It had to be… but the puzzle was yet to be done. Dex aligned more pieces, with each one, they produced a clicking noise, and glowed red.

“Think I’m gettin’ there! Don’t rush—”

Meggie hovered higher, watching the pieces from afar. “I’ll help you finish! Brian, if more appear, can you handle them?!”

“Y-Yeah!” he replied, gulping. “A-At least, I can try!”

Seconds that felt like minutes passed. Dex looked as a single drop of sweat fell from him, then another, and another. Until they came in at full force.

Brian prepared more flames, watching in awe as more cocoons burst open. Everything appeared, Wigglytuff, Pichu, Throh, Arctozolt. They kept coming, rushing, hissing, buzzing.

“J-Just a lil’ more…!”

Click!

The puzzle finished, forming a large piece that represented the Pokémon on the statues. As soon as it was done, the piece emitted a large noise, making all the mutants screech, before retreating back into their cocoons. And behind the three teammates, a door opened, revealing the other side to them. The piece finally disappeared in a flash of light.

Needless to say, all three of them were shocked. Brian, particularly, was still shaking, trying to process what the fuck happened.

“We can’t… stay here.” Meggie said, looking at the two. “We just need… to keep moving.”

“Fine by me, Popsicle. Goggles, ‘urry up—”

Brian didn’t reply, and just walked forward on the new passage, as did his friends.

---

This corridor was like the one with the paintings, but Brian noticed the distinct lack of any drawing this time, just torches that lit the way into the unknown.

He needed to rest. Brian leaned against the wall, panting. “Fuck… we got out. I dunno how, but we got out. We can afford to take a break. Just a few minutes. This dungeon’s exhausting.”

“Tell me about it, Goggles.” Dex thought about sitting down, but the ground was still gross, so he remained standing. “An’ we ‘ave no idea ‘ow long till we get to the end.”

Meggie took short, but deep breaths. “…Yeah. Nice job, Dex. Again. Really, it saved us all, I don’t even want to know what those things were.”

“Heh. No worries, Popsicle! Told y’all. Won’t let anythin’ ‘appen to me mates.”

Brian smiled. If there was any doubt about recruiting this Floatzel, it was gone. As far as he was concerned, Dex proved his worth.

Meggie then looked around, trying to see the end of the road. While doing so, she noticed something odd about Brian. Or… something on him. A large shadow, covering most of him. Her eyes widened.

“Brian?! There’s something falling, walk awa—”

What happened next made her gasp. A large hand fell from the ceiling, grasping Brian before he could do anything about it. In that short moment that stretched into eternity, Meggie shouted, watching the hand, the dirty, rotten hand take him upwards, into the ceiling.

“Go—Brian!” Dex shouted, trying to charge at the hand, but it was already gone. He looked up, in shock, and shaky, then turned to Meggie. “What was that?!”

“You think I know?!” Meggie shook her head. No, no! This wasn’t happening! It couldn’t be! Brian was fine! They just needed to find that thing, deal with it, and he’d be alright! She began to hover up, to catch up.

But Dex stepped back. The same shadow, creeping on his friend, on Meggie. “Watch out, that thing’s back!”

And once again, the hand fell, grabbing Meggie. She screamed, unleashing a powerful slash at the hand, but it dealt no damage, and she failed to escape its clutches, only getting higher, until, finally, she was gone.

“Meggie!” Dex shouted, reaching out a hand, trying to grab her, to do anything. But it was all for naught.

He was alone.

---

Alone. Completely alone.

After he said he’d never let anything happen to them. He said it twice. But something still happened. They were taken, right in front of him. Dex punched the wall, grunting.

“Fuck! Dammit! Dammit all!” Dex shouted, his legs shaking. He slowly fell to his knees. “Fuck… Brian, Meggie… sorry. I failed ye. I knew it. I ain’t a ‘ero.”

He groaned, punching the wall again. Why was Dex so weak? So stupid? Failure. A failure. That’s what he was. Failed to save his friends, the only ones that liked him for who he was. All gone.

Because of that thing. That hand… thing. Not a Pokémon. At least, Dex didn’t think it was. It didn’t look like any Pokémon he ever saw, then again, neither did most of the ones in the painting.

“I can’t… stay ‘ere.” Dex wrapped his bandanna tight. “I need to do somethin’. I need to find ’em! find an’ save me mates!”

He stood up, both fists trembling as he remembered the thing that took his friends. Scary… like all bugs. Those little critters, some small, but strong enough to tear him apart if they so desired.

I… I gotta keep tryin’. They wouldn’t give up on me, would they? Goggles wouldn’t. Popsicle too. They’re me mates.

Lucky, because Dex saw the same shadow on him. That familiar and terrifying shadow. This was his only shot! If he wanted to take it down, he would need to be fast, be quick and dodge at the right moment! Right before it striked.

Easy, Dex, easy. Any second now… any… second…!

The shadow grew larger, larger, larger, until it was larger than him. Dex grunted, jumping back, right as the hand striked, hitting the ground with such force it cracked. And then, he was finally able to take a closer look at it.

There. It definitely looked like a hand, but… disembodied, and no body anywhere to be seen. Veins bulged out of each finger, possibly as a result of being dried out. The ends were long and sharp, almost like this hand had been weaponized.

The back of the hand was possibly even worse. With ridges poking out where obvious bones were, and what looked to be scaly skin… This thing was creepy. Touching it would probably feel worse than it looked.

And then it started scuttling towards him. Dex groaned, flicking his tail, and charged towards the thing, spinning around, his twin tails turning gray like iron, slapping the hand backwards.

“Gimme back me mates!” Dex roared, not giving the hand enough time to react before his fists were wrapped in water, created from his own aura, and he punched it, roaring, giving an uppercut that sent the disembodied creature into the sky, before it fell down, right in front of him.

“I said… Gimme. Back. Me. Mates!” Another dual punch, this time with more power behind it. Dex’s tails flicked again, and his roar, his rage shook the entire area, sending the hand crashing against the floor, only accentuating the crack further.

The hand screeched, before disintegrating into dust. Dex panted, looking at his fists. He had to keep going. There was no way to go but forward, and forward meant finding Brian and Meggie.

---

It meant that. But doing it was an entirely new challenge for Dex. After walking more across that corridor, he failed to meet any more… hands. And boy was he glad that was the case! They were creepy enough as it was, meeting them again would only prove to be trouble. And to give him a heart attack.

Too bad he didn’t have any plans on how to find them. Just… walk forward and hope for the best. Which wasn’t anywhere near a plan. No, Brian would have something better. Hell, Meggie would too. Dex was just the muscle of the team, both literally and metaphorically.

If I could question one o’ the ‘ands…

Dex sighed, walking again. More torches lit, revealing another painting on the wall. Unlike the previous one, this one was… different. For starters, there was the prismatic Pokémon from before—Necrozma. But it was cracked.

Or rather, it was bursting open into a new Pokémon. This new Pokemon was really… bright. It had four disconnected wings,and a pattern on its neck looking a little like a shield. The prisms that had formed the arms of the previous painting were now the legs of this new creature, its tail long and windy.

“Goggles was right. This thin’ can destroy… everything.”

It looked truly imposing… Not something anyone could possibly stand against.

“But what can I do? I’m just… a nobody. I can’t even rescue me mates, let alone fight… that.”

…Dex was powerless. He should just find a way to escape that dungeon. Brian and Meggie were far stronger than him, and they were captured. He could do nothing about it.

No! I can’t think like this here! I ain’t even got the escape orb, another clenched fist. Can’t leave, even if I wanted to.

He heard more buzzing, and on his side, another hand fell down. It carried a bag between two fingers, and didn’t move to attack him. A careful inspection made Dex realize it was Brian’s bag. With the escape orb rolling out of it.

“…Ye brought that fer me?”

“Bzzzzz.”

The voice was… odd. Not unlike a feral, or rather, like it was following someone’s orders.

“Are ye workin’ fer that bug?”

A nod. The closest thing to a nod a hand could do.

“…An’ yer givin’ me a chance to escape.” Dex sighed. He looked at the orb, temptation rising. Now he could leave, letting go of his friends.

Let go of them? Brian and Meggie counted on him to rescue them. There was no way he could just abandon them.

“Nah. Thanks fer the opportunity, but I’ll find ’em. I’ll find an’ rescue ’em.”

The hand shivered, hovering above into the ceiling, but left the bag intact. Something told Dex this wasn’t over, and he had another trial to face.

---

Once Dex walked just a little more, he found himself inside a different room. The scenario had even shifted, looking more like a forest, although one infested with cobwebs everywhere. And it wasn’t all.

Dex saw three different hallways, one north, one west, and one east. One of them, the west one, had slime crawling out of it, and inside, Dex heard the faint sound of… flexing?

“Weird. Hm… where should I go?” Dex asked nobody, because he was all alone. Other than the buzzing, and the almost imperceptible flexing coming from the left path, he only had his own voice to hear.

“Fuck, I dunno. An’ there ain’t any notebook or somethin’ like it inside Goggles’ bag.”

For now, he decided to not do anything about it. To see his surroundings, to inspect and check his options. If he failed to find the right path… what would happen? The first puzzle, the one with torches, didn’t seem punishing. Being eaten alive by mutants? Gross. Being taken away by a floating hand? Ew. This one seemed almost… too calm.

He inspected the place again, only now noticing a tiny tree stump on the right side, with some webs sticking on top of it.

“Can’t say it’s nice architecture.”

And Dex continued to stand there, unable to decide on any course of action. It wasn’t long until he started to look down, seeing that familiar shadow cast on him.

“Ye’ve got to be fuckin’ kiddin’ me!” Dex rolled to the side, watching the hand fall again.

…A different hand. With green patches on it.

Different or not, I can still kick its ass! Dex roared. Even though it doesn’t ‘ave an ass.

This time, he was faster, rushing in and punching the hand with his full strength, launching it down. Dex flicked his fist, grinning. “Easy!”

Too easy. The hand screeched, its body shivering, until it exploded into three tiny hands, all flying towards him.

“What… the actual… fuck?!”

Multiple enemies or not, Dex wasn’t going to give up so easily! He put a paw inside the bag, looking at it, and picked the Totter Orb, remembering Meggie put it there before.

“Eat a load o’ this, ye bodiless bastards!”

After throwing the orb at the ground next to the hands, it exploded, instantly making them all confused, flying around without any aim whatsoever.

Dex grinned, taking this opportunity to run ahead and slash each of them with a flick of his now-metallic tails, turning all of the hands into dust.

After finishing them all, he flexed a bicep, grinning widely. “An’ that’s why ye don’t mess with Dexter, the muscle badass!”

Now free, he wanted to know where he should go next. Dexter looked at each of the paths, grunting. He finally set sights on the left path, rushing through it with a grin on his face, bag on his back, and with the hope this was the right way to go. Despite being on the left.

---

This time, Dex ended up in a very similar place to where he was before, down to the three exits again. Only this time, there was a thick fog covering most of the place.

“Huh. Must be a maze!” Dex said, soon frowning. “…I hate mazes. If I go the wrong way, I’ll probably run into more o’ the ‘ands.”

Meaning he had to identify which place to go. With the fog covering everything, it was hard to figure out. Dex still heard the flexing, a little closer this time, but he was more worried about trying to see, figuring it was the best option to find out which way.

Can’t be left again, can it? Dex crossed his arms. No, maybe it was! Whoever designed this is smart.

A wide grin spread across his face. If I think it can’t be the one from before, I’ll pick the wrong one. So I oughta pick the least possible option! Meanin’…

Dex ran to the left exit, still keeping the grin. That was flawless, undisputable logic! He simply crossed through, thinking nothing else other than how right he was! But I’m going left!

He stopped on the other side. A room like the two before, with slime covering the east exit, with a tree stump, with webs across the floor…

…Wait. Slime? Tree stump? That wasn’t just like the first room. It was exactly the same!

“No… no, no… fuck!”

It couldn’t be the same, right? Dex squinted his eyes, looking around again, but then noticed another shadow on him. Again. A thought came to mind. If the thing that fell was just like the one before…

Dex dodged it, rolling to the side. The sight confirmed his suspicions: the hand again. With green spots.

“The maze… it sends me back ‘ere if I enter the wrong path!”

That thing charged at him again, hissing, but Dex made no effort to fight, simply dashing under it, towards the left exit. This time, he knew he wasn’t wrong.

As expected, he ended up in the room from before, full of fog, and with the flexing noise again.

“Aight. Let’s see… it’s not left, so I got two options. North or east. Which one… which one…”

Hard to say, but at least there wasn’t anything trying to get him this time. Dex slapped his cheeks, thinking. There had to be a clue, a way for him to progress. But now that he knew the consequences of missing the spot… he could do something entirely.

Dex ran to the north exit. I get to try out! if I be wrong, then I’ll just try again! Trial an’ error!

As soon as he was on the other side, Dex saw, for the third time, the slime and the stump.

Aight. It’s left, right, then… dunno. If I keep this up, I’ll get there in no time!

Dex didn’t even wait for the hand to fall down, he just dashed through, walking west again.

The next segment was fast. Dexter just walked east, still flashing a smile, and quickly noticing there was little to no fog in that area. Once he stopped, he saw a similar, yet different room than before.

---

Fog was still present, but now he saw the stump again. So he was making progress. Dex could still hear the flexing, and it was definitely closer than before.

“Better to think o’ an actual plan this time. What’s… the common factor inside all rooms?”

Now that he stopped to think, Dex did notice something. In the first room, the correct path had slime next to it. But what about the second? There was fog everywhere except the east path.

“There’s a clue in each room! An’ I bet if I follow the sound o’ flexing, I’ll figure this out!”

He stopped moving, flicking his ears, and focusing the hardest he could on the sounds, on where he heard the flex come from. It was… north? No, west. West!

Taking a look in that direction, Dex once again saw little smoke. So that was it! He solved it! Every puzzle, every challenge—he solved it all!

Dex could not be happier to figure it out. He followed left again, then right, seeing slime on the east path, then north, after seeing no fog there.

Right again, then, finally, left. Once he figured out the meaning behind the maze, it was a breeze to go through it!

After walking some more, he finally made it to a different room, nothing like the maze from before.

The first thing Dexter noticed upon entering was a web. A large web, and it seemed like both of his pals were wrapped up in it! He started to run towards it, but a loud sound from behind made him think twice. Turning around, he’d find that a door had suddenly slammed shut, leaving him in this room with an otherworldly, overwhelming presence…

“Hmmmph!” Brian shouted from the web, trying to bite it off. “Hmmmph!”

Now he had to look more carefully. The room as a whole was very circular, looking like the rest of the dungeon before. However, what made this room stand out was the stone. While there certainly were some indications of slime, most of the stone was showing. This was especially prevalent in the four large pillars supporting the ceiling. He almost hated to look up…

But he did it anyway. Nothing was on the ceiling, but once he looked back down, he saw a shadow. Not like the hands from before, now. It was large, larger than anything he’d seen before in this dungeon. And it only grew more.

Something fell on the ground, producing a large shockwave that forced him back, and made Dex cover his face, groaning.

It was right there in front of him. The thing from the statues, the thing from the painting, the mosquito, that… creature, the protector of this temple. A large, muscular, red mosquito. It instantly buzzed, but it soon became a roar that shook the entire room to its core.

Swollen Pokémon, Buzzwole

---

“Yer fuckin’ kiddin’ me…”

Buzzwole stared at him, tilting his head. From the looks of it, the beast was staring at Dex’s… abs. Comparing them with his own.

“Oh, fer fuck’s sake…” Dex groaned, pointing at the bug. “Alright, ye steroid-filled bug! Gimme me mates! We’re just ‘ere to get that bloody crystal, so give it to us!”

Nothing happened. The creature just buzzed, and charged, running towards Dex, each step sending water upwards at incredible speeds. The stinger on his mouth began to glow, wind currents surrounding it.

But Dex was on his element, literally. Water surrounded him, and he smirked, diving in. Instantly, he became faster, swimming away from the attack; from Buzzwole swishing his head on the ground to hit Dex with the stinger.

Luckily, he dodged that attack, but even so, the Floatzel didn’t fight back, simply swimming away, and into one of the pillars. “Goggles, Popsicle! I aint askin’ ye to stay put, cuz yer already doin’ that! I’ll get ye two outta there!”

He jumped on a pillar, then turned back, ready to jump again. Dex did exactly that, but…

Buzzwole turned back, moving in the blink of an eye and punching the Floatzel with a fist big enough that covered all of Dex’s body, sending him across the watery floor. It resulted in him screaming in pain, and coughing up a bit of blood right as he crashed.

Meanwhile, the bug simply raised his two biceps in the air, flexing. The flex unleashed a large shockwave everywhere, moving the water like waves.

“Show-off…” Dex stood up, groaning, picking the bag that fell and putting it on. “I don’t ‘ave the time to fight ye! If yer really a guardian, ‘elp us! We wanna prevent Necrozma from being released!”

To that, the bug stopped moving, tilting his head.

“…Then prove your worth.”

That voice came from nowhere, and everywhere in the room at the same time. Dex grunted, figuring that was the case. He looked up, at his friends, then smiled. “Dontcha worry. I’ll kick this guy’s ass, an’ rescue y’all!”

Brian finally managed to get a handful of web in his mouth, and spit it away. “Dex! Thank god you’re here! We were worried—we’re counting on you, dude! You got all the way here, you can do this!”

Dex simply scoffed, cracking his knuckles. “Ye ‘earrr me, bug?! I’m savin’ ’em, an’ there’s nothin’ ye can do about it! I’ll finish ye off, an’ then, just fer the ‘eck o’ it, flex off!”

Buzzwole laughed, a loud, guttural laugh that extended all the way across the arena. Then, he cracked his knuckles too. Dex sank his feet on the ground, getting ready, and charged, swimming on the water as fast as he could, dodging another punch, one that shattered the ground and shook the ceiling.

And he turned back, rushing in, swimming right under Buzzwole, managing to dodge yet another attack. That was his strategy for now, figure out that thing’s weakness, and then make a plan to strike him down once Dex managed to get an opening.

Now he needed to find that opening.

---

Something that proved to be a bigger challenge than he thought. Buzz rushed in, disappearing and reappearing in the blink of an eye. Dex braced himself, all his muscles suddenly tensing up and hardening, right as the bug punched him with electrified fists.

Although it was painful, Dex didn’t move, or pass out, even as the energy rushed through him, and through the water, burning through his body like it was nothing. He remained standing.

“H-Heh. Ye got me good there, bug. But I ain’t done!” Dex put his two fists forward, closed, and bursting with power. “Eat this, motherfucker! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA!”

Dex unleashed a barrage of punches, one after another, in quick succession, not giving Buzzwole room to breathe or to dodge. His strikes were powerful, brimming with energy. They all hit the target, Buzzwole’s fist.

Not that the beast bothered to do anything, instead letting the attack connect. Dex grunted, deciding to put more power into it, making his punches faster, and hitting harder. He gave two final punches on the bug, then panted, groaning in pain, hands shaking.

“Fuck me… Close Combat’s side effects suck…”

A chuckle came out of the beast, and he cracked his neck, readying another punch, thunder sparking across his fist.

I ain’t plannin’ on gettin’ ‘it by that thing! Dex jumped on the water, swimming away before the attack hit, climbing into a pillar, just in time to see the monster stopping before the attack hit the water.

Wait a minute… heh. Heh! I got a plan! Just watch me, Goggles, Popsicle!

Dex hopped off the pillar, spinning like a ball, and safely landed on the ground. The bug’ll want to ‘it me with an electric attack again. I can dodge it, or I can use it to fuck ‘im up!

He swam like a torpedo, closing in on Buzzwole. As Dex thought, the bug prepared another punch, the sparks flying again. The Floatzel stopped, waiting, waiting for the opportunity, thanking the hands from before for the chance to hone his reflexes.

Right before the attack hit him, Dex jumped, letting Buzzwole hit the water, and in turn, electrified himself, gushing out in pain. Dex spun in the air, his tails hardening, and managed to strike a hit on Buzzwole’s head, before landing again.

“Take that, motherfucker! Don’t mess with me or me mates!”

“Whooo!” Brian said, and cursed his inability to clap. “Congrats, Dex! Now please let us out of here!”

“Hmmmmph!” Meggie cried out. Unlike Brian, she couldn’t get rid of the web in her mouth, and so her words became muffled cries.

“On it!” Dex walked forward, seeing the beast still sparking with its own electricity. He smirked. “Aight, bug. Now, if ye let ’em go nice an’ easy, I’ll—”

Buzzwole suddenly stood up, roaring once again. Despite the powerful attack, he was still very much standing.

Dex groaned. “Fuck off… guess it’s round two, eh?”

---

Amidst the fight, Dex managed to notice a tiny detail, but one that could come in hand sooner rather than later. Buzzwole only attacked with his fists. The four legs didn’t do anything, nor did he try to use any kicks.

…Bug skipped leg day. Ye can’t skip leg day. Dex readied his fists, looking at the water, and diving in, swimming once again.

Once again, Buzzwole rushed, stepping on the ground with incredible force. Dex ignored it, zigzagging across the arena to dodge the attacks; he was faster on water anyway. He quickly aimed at the legs, rushing in, his fists wrapped in water gauntlets.

Liquidation it is! Dex rammed the fists on all four legs, ending up on the other side, standing up as fast as he could. Buzzwole screeched, falling on its “knees”.

“Okay. Didn’t think it’d work, but I love bein’ wrong. In situations like this one.”

Buzzwole stopped moving, only occasionally twitching his arms. Stunned, Dex figured. Which meant that was the perfect opportunity to hit him with all he had.

But first, he took off an oran berry, eating it to regain some vigor and health. Then, he readied more water gauntlets.

Figure they’re farrr more effective than naked punches.

He walked close, hitting the bug once. Buzzwole screeched, clearly taking more damage than before, and for a moment, Dex stepped back.

“Guess stunnin’ ye worked wonders.” Dex put a fist down. “Aight, motherfuckin’ bug! ORA!”

Dex punched Buzzwole repeatedly, each strike giving more damage than the previous one, and making the beast scream. Until the final strike, or rather, until Dex was going to. Before he punched, Buzzwole grabbed the fist, squeezing it tight.

“GAH! FUCK!” Dex fell down, shouting, screaming in pain. His bones started to crack and pop the more pressure was put into them.

Buzzwole jumped back, flexing again. This time, it was a side chest. Once again, the flex unleashed a powerful shockwave. Except… there was something different.

Bright green energy began to cover Buzzwole, wrapping him in a powerful aura. Bits of web began to come out of his mouth. He shot it at full-force, wrapping Dex in a thick layer of web, forming a cocoon. Even the web was energized.

Savage Spin-Out

“RRGHRAAAAAH!” The bug roared, spinning around and around, along with the cocoon, making it hit each one of the pillars multiple times.

Dex kept screaming, trying to free himself, but he could hardly move, the web preventing something as little as a finger twitch. Not to mention how dizzy it was! Finally, Buzzwole raised its head, letting Dex high in the air, before the bug jumped, piercing through the cocoon with a sharp strike of his stinger.

Brian watched it happen with wide eyes. “Dex! Dex!” Oh, how he wanted to get out of that prison of webs.

“K-Kuh!”

He coughed more blood, falling down the ground into a crater of his own. Dex still tried to move, reach out a hand, or do anything to fight back. He managed to extend an arm, but then…

It lowered just as quickly.

Buzzwole landed, watching the crater with a pierce gaze. He posed one more time, a side tricep. Just then, a flash of bright, yellow light burst on the crate, and Dex jumped off of it, holding a shattered seed in his hand.

“What’d ye know? Goggles wasn right on packin’ this thin’.”

Another crack of knuckles, and another oran chomped down. Dex flashed a smirk at Buzzwole. “Yer doin’ a good job protectin’ the temple. But I ain’t leavin’ it without me mates, an’ without me prize!”

---

Buzzwole immediately charged, readying another punch. This one wasn’t electrified. No, he punched the ground, making a large wave splash and move towards Dex.

“Really? Tryin’ to hit me with somethin’ so simple?” Dex dove on the wave, swimming through it like it was nothing, and coming out on the other side.

As he did, he received a full punch coming from Buzzwole, sending him back into the ground. Nevertheless, Dex stood up, rubbing off some blood on his face. He noticed that, after the punch, Buzzwole seemed… more muscular. If that was even possible.

He ran ahead, gathering the gauntlets once again. Buzzwole simply punched ahead, while Dex did the same, their fists clashing with each other and producing a bigger shockwave that began to crack the pillars around them.

Dex had to use both of his fists to not be blown away by the sheer power this creature had. His blood pumped, brimmed with excitement, only accentuated by how much his tails were flicking.

But there was one thing he knew for sure. Dex couldn’t defeat this guy. Not alone. He jumped on Buzzwole’s arm, climbing up as fast as he could, then hit it with a powerful barrage of punches, sending himself high, towards the webs that trapped his friends.

“Told ye I’d rescue y’all!” Dex spun, slashing the web away with iron tails, and grabbing his friends, wrapping each one in an arm, before landing on the ground.

“Thank…” Meggie panted, coughing up bits of web still stuck inside her mouth. “Thank you, Dex. I didn’t want to be there any more!”

Brian panted as well, grabbing his bag that Dex just threw. “Yeah, those hands got us, then brought us here. Very nasty—”

Buzzwole roared again, clenching both fists. Brian blinked, looking at Dex. “Alright, you lug. You’ve fought this guy so far. Care to lead the way?”

“With ye two by me side, I just know we can win.” Dex tightened the bandanna, grinning. “T’gether, we’re team Liberators! Helpin’ others is our motto!”

Meggie smiled, then readied a battle stance. “Well said. You’re really one of us now.”

“Bug’s tough. His legs’re the weak point. If we can combine our powers, we’ll win!”

Dex took a deep breath. The worst part was already over, and things would be easier with them around.

“Popsicle, work on restrainin’ the legs! Goggles, make a distraction! That’ll stun ‘im an’ I’ll be able to finish things!”

With a new goal, the team was ready to start round three.

---

At Dex’s command, Meggie charged in. Her nimble body was far more capable of dodging Buzzwole’s punches, even more so once she was higher than him. However, he lowered himself, as if getting ready to jump.

“Popsicle, now!” Dex slapped the water next to Buzzwole’s legs, making it cover him.

Meggie nodded, hovering back down and unleashing a freezing breath that turned the water into ice, temporarily halting Buzzwole’s movements.

They all knew this would only work for a while. Brian lowered his head, letting loose a large stream of flames that hit Buzzwole without any resistance. It, of course, had the unintended side effect of melting the ice, though the bug was a little busy screaming in pain to do anything about it.

Dex, however, did. He ducked behind the beast’s legs and gave quick kicks into each one of them, before ducking out. Once again, Buzzwole fell down, stunned.

“Looks like this’ll be our opportunity!” Brian said, adjusting his goggles once again.

“On me mark!” Dex said, pointing at their opponent. “Three, two, one… now!”

Meggie extended both her arms, forming a water sphere that pulsed through. She launched it at Buzzwole, making him stutter. Then, her hands started to spark, full of electricity, and she launched a large thunderbolt. The water, both on the ground and covering the beast, made the attack pierce through stronger than ever before.

Next up was Brian, he got on all ours and began to run around Buzzwole, firing multiple streams of flame, quick, but powerful, bringin the damage to a higher level. Once he did enough, Brian jumped back, stopping next to Meggie.

Buzzwole roared… no, this time it was a scream of pain, even as he stood up, slowly, feeling the burn and the electricity still traveling across him. His next roar, once again, shook the arena, and he readied a fist.

Although the attack was ready, it was slow. Dex realized this was the final attempt to win, and made sure as hell he wasn’t going to defeat him and his friends! The Floatzel moved in front of his teammates, prepared his two fists, and then unleashed another barrage of punches, trying to slow down or, at best, stop his attacks completely.

“ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA! ORA!”

Buzzwole began to grin, a grin so unnatural, but at the same time, a grin full of energy and power. His other fist soon joined, trading blows with Dex.

They both began to exchange hits, each striking faster and stronger than the other, soon enough, it was a flurry of punches. So fast, nobody could look. It was almost like the air itself was the one punching.

“Ye told me to prove me worth?! Well, ‘ere’s me worth, ye bug bastard!” Dex roared, his punches growing even faster, faster than he thought was possible, they were relentless.

Slowly, but surely, Buzzwole’s attacks changed. From offensive to defensive. He was less trying to fight back, and more trying to block Dex’s punches. But even that was failing.

“Eat… this!” Dex lowered his right fist, using all the power he had in him, and delivered one final punch, right on Buzzwole’s fist!

It caused him to scream as the punch permeated through his entire body, not just the arm. Buzzwole finally stumbled back, stuttering, struggling to walk. His legs turned into jelly, and he almost fell down. However…

Buzzwole remained standing.

---

Dex was the same. Despite his flurry, the hits landed on him as well, and his body was now full of bruises, some of which were bloody. Yet, he remained there.

“Shit… that guy’s still got it!” Brian created a sphere of ghost energy in his paw, ready to fire it. “Alright, one more should do it—”

“No!” Dex shouted, panting. “…We won. But as a man, an’ as a guardian, he ain’t fallin’ down.”

Buzzwole nodded. His movements were still sluggish, but he began to do something. He stood there, with his legs shoulder-width apart, raising both arms to flex his biceps.

“Aye.” Dex nodded, then did the same exact movement.

Next up, they placed both hands as fists on the hips while their palms faced down.

“Front lat spread!” Dex said.

And then, they placed one leg out slightly in front, flexing their thighs and calves. Dex and Buzzwole placed their arms overhead in a fully bent position, behind their heads and necks, keeping their shoulders downward.

Meggie blinked. As did Brian. They exchanged looks, then focused on the… athletes.

“What.”

“I… I dunno.” Brian muttered. “B-But… they’re having fun with it, I think? I’m not sure if we should stop them, honestly.”

To end it, they both faced Brian and Meggie, legs slightly staggered. They brought all their legs around up, out and in to show their big arms, along with their quads.

“Our most muscular pose!” Dex said, to which Buzzwole nodded.

The Floatzel finally turned to face his opponent, raising a fist. Buzzwole raised his own, shaking hands with Dex as a bright, green light enveloped their hands, powerful enough that it blinded everyone else in the room.

Brian covered his face with an arm, while Meggie grabbed his other one. The light remained there for seconds, then a minute, until it slowly fizzled out.

“Thanks fer helpin’ me, Goggles, Popsicle.” Dex turned around, holding a green crystal on his hand.

Much like the one Brian had, it was glowing with power. However, the symbol inside was vastly different. It had a body shape similar to an Orbeetle seeing from above, with six legs sticking out.

“H-Hey! It’s the… the thingy we’re here for!” Brian’s eyes sparkled, and he went in for a hug. Meggie joined afterward.

“Sure is!” Dex returned the hug, ears flicking. He looked at the sight, where Buzzwole now was.

The bug flexed one final time, before jumping into the ceiling. Where he stood now was a glowing spot, a portal.

“Best if we go, right?” Brian asked. He didn’t even wait for an answer, jumping right in. Meggie followed.

“Aye, aye…” Dex held the crystal in his hand, looking at it. Good thing it didn’t possess him like the dark one did with Brian… he jumped at the portal, smiling. This was a fun adventure, all things considered.

And now there was only one left.