Chapter 15: Truths Unspoken, Trusts Broken
by NikelEzera opened his eyes, instantly aware that wherever they were, it wasn’t safe. The air maintained a suffocating vibe to it, and wind felt nonexistent. Even the moonlight on his skin was off. Wait, moonlight? ‘What the hell? It can’t be nighttime,‘ he thought. His first instinct was to gaze up to see if they had traveled to the bottom of the pit. ‘The sky is there for sure but… it doesn’t look natural.‘ Ezera squinted, spotting some meager clouds. They remained frozen in place, much like a fake green screen. ‘This can’t be the pit. We’re somewhere else. This is a ravine!‘
Litleo shook her forepaw, stepping away from the tiny stream flowing between the jagged walls. A slight distortion rippled through the terrain every few moments. “I thought so. It’s a normal mystery dungeon…”
“I hate it already,” Ezera said. “Where are we?”
“That’s part of the mystery, Ezera. I’m expecting vicious wildmon to wait everywhere…”
“Because the wildmon here aren’t vicious already.”
“The ‘mon we’re used to are far from vicious. They’re hostile, if anything. And still have their wits.”
“Okay but, we won’t be finding any pokémon in here, would we? This mystery dungeon popped out of nowhere. There’s no way anyone could live here.”
“Don’t be so sure of that.” Litleo stared ahead at the one way they could go. “Common sense tells me Salna and that carbink will be at the end of the dungeon, along with whatever is doing this. You want to lead us there?”
“Uh, you can go ahead. This’ll be my first rescue mission, since my other one had a bit of a distraction…” Ezera declined.
“I wonder who was the cause of that,” she lightly scoffed. “We’ll need to find the next warp tile.”
They set off into the ravine. Ezera kept glancing behind, worried a flying enemy would plunge from above and assault them like their earlier foe, Manda. ‘We should be okay. Litleo’s in charge, she’s done this before. I hope.‘
Litleo hissed, bringing him out of his thoughts as a cubone walked into their line of sight. So much for the dungeon being empty. “Told you,” she muttered.
The cubone took a glimpse at the pair, their fiery purple eyes gleaming in the low light. “Thus I tried walking the young ones home.”
Litleo exchanged a wary glance with Ezera. “This isn’t right. They shouldn’t talk.”
“I insisted they come with me. I’m very good at what I do. All they needed to do was take a little nap…”
Cubone rushed over, brandishing their bone weapon. Litleo met their advance with a rush of flames. The cubone twirled their bone in front, spinning the fire out of the way and launching themself headfirst into the source.
Litleo yelped as the cubone’s head bashed hers. “Oww!”
Ezera stepped in, claws swinging, but Cubone jumped away unharmed. “Man, these days I really wish I had less melee moves! I’m more of a ranged type of guy!”
“Could you at least take the cubone out before complaining?!”
The cubone hastily flung their weapon. Litleo waited and caught it in her mouth, wincing from the force. She threw it back and struck them in the stomach. Ezera shot a Dragon Rage to deal the final blow.
The cubone toppled over, whispering a few last words. “Just you wait, Salna… just you wait…” They dissolved into a black mist.
“Wha- huh?! Where did they go?” Ezera asked, spinning around and almost tripping on himself.
“Jeez, calm down,” Litleo replied, holding up a paw to slap him. He promptly obeyed. “They can’t be real. They have to be part of the dungeon’s weird nature.”
“Didn’t you say this was a normal mystery dungeon, whatever that means?”
“It’s normal in the way the floors are changing. I don’t know about that cubone talking like they’re narrating… Why did it mention Salna?”
“They’re creeps, obviously. I know I said it already, but I hate this place…” Ezera said, huddling close to Litleo.
They moved on, this time somewhat knowing what to expect. The pokémon that did jump out at them were swiftly dispatched as the pair settled into a rhythm. Litleo would open up with her fire-type moves, then Ezera would aid with a Dragon Rage, the one useful thing he knew how to do. If they pulled it off really well, the pokémon dissolved or was too hurt to retaliate. Even after defeating their third skarmory, Ezera had to keep reminding himself they weren’t “real.” It was hard to believe that when the pokémon were trying to talk to them with ominous narration, though.
Navigating the dungeon itself was simple; A turn here, a backtrack there. The layout allowed them to locate the warp tiles quickly. Ezera’s gaze rested on Litleo’s unfazed stride forward. ‘I’m just glad Litleo’s so capable. If she’s this good by herself, what happened to break her and Rockruff up?‘
After passing through six floors and defeating more of the strange wilds, the beginnings of exhaustion crept into Ezera. He could feel it in his moves- they were already lacking in oomph, and the exhaustion only amplified it.
“We’ve passed seven of these now,” Ezera commented after the next warp tile, waiting for the blindness to wear off.
“You’re counting?” Litleo replied, glancing at him briefly.
“You’re not?”
“You tire yourself out thinking about it.” Litleo passed him an orange bottle. “Drink it.”
He brought the bottle to its lips, drinking its contents. A different kind of invigoration hit him, unlike the one from eating an Oran Berry. It was almost… soulful. “Power of elixirs I guess…”
Litleo went forward, eyes peeled for enemies. “Looks like we reached the end.”
Up ahead the walls expanded like a sideways V, growing wider in the middle and narrowing farther down. Coming out of the wall on the right was a spring spouting multiple fountains of water that trailed up and down the path.
A small mass of energy hung in the air above the center of the area. Bits of its red, black, and white color crackled every second.
“Do you see Salna and carbink?” Litleo asked, watching the mass.
“Uuuh,” Ezera began, “no… Wait! I think I do!” He pointed a finger to his right.
Lying next to the spring was none other than their quarry. Litleo dashed over to Salna’s curled form and found Carnik resting in his arms.
“Are they okay?” Ezera said, fidgeting.
She noted the rise and fall of Salna’s chest, as well as the occasional twitch from Carnik’s ears. She breathed out a sigh of relief. “Yeah. They’re fine.”
“Oh finally, some good luck…”
“Huh?”
“Just saying stuff to myself. We ready to use that Escape Orb?”
“We can’t. Not until we figure out what that thing is,” Litleo replied, looking over Salna and carbink some more.
“I thought this would be the time we wait for backup,” Ezera suggested, tapping his Linkbead. It wasn’t picking up any signal.
“Good luck. Reception is notoriously bad here.” Litleo got up, pulling Ezera toward the energy but still keeping a good distance from it.
“Could it be where the pokémon in this dungeon are coming from?” Ezera said.
Litleo nodded. “Maybe. If we can destroy it, that might solve our problems.”
Four rocks on wheels zoomed out from the ravine in front. The rocks’ singular orange eyes contained the same fiery gleam, staying trained to Ezera and Litleo. They made a square formation, growling.
“I don’t think the dungeon liked that,” Ezera stated, gulping.
“It’s only a few rolycoly. We can take them,” Litleo assured, getting into a battle stance.
One of the rolycoly spoke. “And so the knights went to find the prince, but what did they find but two of his pesky guards?”
“Nothing they’re saying makes sense,” Ezera said, frowning.
“Which makes it simpler for us to ignore it and get rid of them,” Litleo answered.
Smoke billowed out of the two front rolycoly’s backs, shrouding the area and obscuring Ezera and Litleo’s vision. Crunching noises told them the rolycoly were on the move. A golf-ball sized rock appeared out of the smoke, aimed at Ezera. He saw it and ducked, only to receive one on his back instead.
“Ah, hey! What’s the plan to clear out this smoke, Litleo?” Ezera said, checking behind him. “Oh.” She disappeared from his side. He heard her grunts and scuffling somewhere else in the smoke. “Nevermind then…”
‘She needs a lesson on teamwork.‘ He ran opposite to where he assumed Litleo was fighting, hoping to catch a rolycoly alone. He luckily got his wish and ran into one fleeing. Ezera wobbled backwards while rolycoly fell to their side.
“Gotcha!” he exclaimed, catching himself. Ezera spat a ball of dragon-fire. Rolycoly squealed and righted themself, negating the move with a Rapid Spin. Harsh fireballs flew out as they spun in circles. Ezera yelped and withdrew, but not fast enough— a fireball burned his left arm.
“Agh!” he yelped, grunting. His foot touched water. “Wait…” Ezera hurriedly stepped to the other side of the shallow stream. He knelt down and dipped his arm in it. “Aaaah.”
Upon seeing this, rolycoly charged forward shooting another Incinerate. Ezera rolled away, feeling its heat pass by him. Rolycoly stopped to growl before the water’s edge.
“Don’t like water, huh? You’re just like a cat,” Ezera taunted. He splashed some water at them. Rolycoly shied further back. “Guess I’ll relax here then.”
Rolycoly snarled and jumped. Ezera raised his arms and Slashed. The force brought rolycoly down into the water with a satisfying SSSSIIIZZZZ! Rolycoly rolled out as quick as they could, retreating. As the smoke began to clear, Ezera finally spotted Litleo near Salna. She roared as the three rolycoly she fought backed off to where they came.
“Really? Three of them?” Ezera called.
Litleo smirked. “What? Did you want to take on an extra?”
“AND WHEN THE KNIGHTS FAILED, WHO DID THEY TURN TO? THE KING!” a gruff voice boomed.
Ezera and Litleo jumped in fright as small tremors shook the ground. A larger bipedal pokémon emerged from the ravine, their height easily half of an onix. Their entire body consisted of a tower of coals, accompanied by small arms and legs. Litleo stopped by Ezera.
“Things can never go smoothly when I’m out with you, huh? Seems the rolycoly brought their giant friend Coalossal to avenge them,” she said.
“Please tell me Coalossal isn’t dynamaxed.”
“He’s not, but that’s not a normal size for them either.”
Ezera and Litleo skirted right to avoid a pile of steaming tar from Coalossal’s mouth.
“OBEY!” Coalossal bellowed.
Ezera glanced at the hot tar and shivered. “So he’s just on steroids, cool. Can we use your emergency wand now?”
“No,” Litleo shut down. “The wand or my moves aren’t going to be much help here. This will be mostly down to you!”
“ME?! Wha- what am I gonna do to him?”
“Figure out something!” She charged in.
Ezera covered her with a Dragon Rage. In response, Coalossal simply swatted it away and roared. He stomped the floor, causing violet glowing rocks to float off the ground. Litleo caught on and switched her target, opting instead to Headbutt one of the rocks. The force broke the rock into shards, pelting Coalossal as the rest of his Ancient Power crumbled to dust.
“Pest!” Coalossal raged, tilting his head skyward. He spat wads of tar high up.
Litleo distanced herself, grimacing from the pounding pain on her head. Charging into a rock, not exactly her best idea. “Stop standing so far! How are you going to hit him like that?” she yelled, giving Ezera her annoyed face.
“Nevermind that,” Ezera waved off, “look at what he’s doing with the tar!”
The Tar Shots rained on Coalossal, covering him head to toe in the substance. He clenched his fists and roared. Fire blazed up on every inch of his body, making him a walking fire mountain.
“Do you still want me to get in range of that?” Ezera said, bewildered.
Coalossal ran toward Litleo, rapidly increasing his momentum and intensifying the blaze on his body. Litleo sharply inhaled and dove to the side. Coalossal plowed into the wall, generating rumbles through the dungeon. He stumbled out of the small crack he created. Ezera, still not wanting to get near, decided he’d be better off launching another ball of dragon-fire. His attack only added to Coalossal’s enraged fire.
“Oops…” Ezera muttered.
“UGH! Why did it have to be coalossal of all pokémon to fight, ” Litleo griped. She ducked under Coalossal’s legs as he turned around. Baring the heat, she pounced to Headbutt his back.
Coalossal was unphased. “A useless effort on the guard’s part!”
Litleo found herself lifted by an Ancient Power rock and tried to hop off. She slipped and Coalossal flung the rocks with her still on it.
“Shoot!” Litleo hollered. She crashed onto the floor, rolling and getting hit by various rock pieces. As she stood, Coalossal snatched her in his grip. “Hey, paws off! Urgh!”
Litleo slapped his charcoal hands, pushing but unable to squeeze out. Coalossal squeezed harder and charged a white light in his mouth.
‘I gotta go in!‘ Ezera told himself. ‘But that heat…‘ He gripped his tusks. ‘Stop stalling, Litleo needs your help!‘ He dashed forward. The light in Coalossal’s mouth grew brighter.
“Ezera! It’s a Hyper Beam, get clear!” Litleo said, blowing a Flamethrower in vain.
Ezera skidded to a halt. “Wait, but that’ll-“
The light coalesced to a surge of energy, and Coalossal let go of Litleo right as the beam shot out. The beam engulfed and propelled her several feet back. She crumpled to the floor.
“Oh crap, oh crap,” Ezera panicked. Coalossal seemed to be recuperating, giving Ezera a moment to attend to Litleo. He cringed seeing her disheveled and burnt fur. Some parts had no fur at all. Miraculously, the item bag was still in mint condition. “Thank you, Watchog… Ah, where are the damn Reviver Seeds…”
Ezera thrust his hand in the bag but recoiled when an Ancient Power rock landed near him. Coalossal was on the move again and charging another Hyper Beam.
“What the hell is this? Using it again already?!” Ezera whined. He wrapped his arms around Litleo’s body and dragged her as fast as he could. “Urk, kinda heavy- Ahhh!”
Coalossal’s Hyper Beam sweeped the area around him.
BOOM! Debris and dust showered over them. Ezera flew along with Litleo, flinching from small chunks of rock striking him. He mustered the will to pull Litleo out of the danger area and fell on all fours, panting.
‘I can’t keep this up. And Coalossal won’t give me an opening to revive Litleo.‘ Ezera unslung Litleo’s bag to quickly gobble an Oran Berry. He then clumsily dashed someplace where Coalossal’s attacks wouldn’t harm Litleo anymore. Coalossal went after him in a blazing fury, colliding into Ezera with his fire infused body. Ezera’s consciousness slipped in and out from the heat. He tumbled to a halt. ‘Come on, arms, push!‘ His muscles protested in the effort, shaking as he stood. ‘Is this really where we fail?‘
“It was over, the king had won,” Coalossal roared.
‘He’s way too hot to attack. If I could just put him out… The spring! I’ll do what I did with rolycoly. If he breaks the spring, it’ll pour and douse him!‘ With newfound energy, Ezera stopped in front of Coalossal.
“I promise I won’t use too many of your items, Litleo,” Ezera said under his breath. He brought out a pink berry and chucked it at Coalossal. It bounced on him and burned up.
“And so the guard gets up in one last display!” Coalossal yelled, firing off a Tar Shot. Ezera blasted it using Dragon Rage to burn it up midair, then ran in circles around the giant. Coalossal attempted to grab him but grew tired of it. “A valiant effort!” The coal pokémon’s body flamed up.
‘Here it is! Oh please let all this walking and running pay off!‘ Ezera made a run for the spring, and not far behind him, Coalossal’s Heat Crash chased after him. Ezera took out a curved stick from the bag as he neared the spring’s edge. ‘Is this the wand? I have no idea how to use it but-‘
“Here goes nothing!” Ezera yelled, twisting and waving the wand behind. A yellow orb flung into Coalossal’s face. Nothing happened. “Work, stupid thing!”
Coalossal was almost reaching him. Ezera flung the wand a few more times, each sending another yellow orb into the giant’s face. On the last fling, the wand shattered and disappeared. With no other choice, he prepared to dive in the water. However, Coalossal started to slow. Ezera jumped out of the way as the coal pokémon staggered to a standstill at the spring, then fell in. Their weight ruptured the rocks open, causing more water to flow out. Hot steam blew everywhere as Coalossal’s flames were doused. Ezera waded in and aimed his claws.
“This. Is. What. You. Get. For. Being. Annoying!” he said in between Slashes. On the final Slash, an instinct told him to raise both hands. He followed it and brought them down in consecutive chops.
Coalossal let out a low bellow and dissolved.
‘Was that a new move?‘ He smiled but quickly groaned. ‘It’s melee…‘ Ezera stepped out of the water and slumped to the dirt. He exhaled, resisting the urge to pass out. “Geez. That was exhausting, huh Li- wait… Oh my God, I didn’t give you the seed!”
He scrambled to her, taking out what was hopefully a Reviver Seed but stopped. ‘If I feed her this and she wakes up, she might be in a ton of pain. Maybe it would be better to treat her elsewhere.‘ He put the Reviver Seed away and searched for the Escape Orb. His hand came in contact with soft fabric. The scarves. Ezera’s brow furrowed. ‘She’s still carrying these around? I thought she’d learn by now.‘ He pushed them further into the bag, finding the orb.
The energy, Ezera! Your job’s almost finished.
Ezera peeked up and around. “Um, hello?” He stared at Salna and Carnik thinking they awoke, but the two were still unconscious.
‘I’m either crazy or I just heard a mysterious voice in my head,‘ Ezera wondered. ‘Both of which is concerning. The question is, do I listen to it?‘ He rubbed his fingers together in thought. There wasn’t any harm in indulging it, right? He walked to the swirling mass and glanced up. ‘Now what?‘
A spark of light left the vortex and flowed toward the bag, followed by another. And another. Tons of tiny sparks were flowing and shrinking the vortex until there was nothing left. Ezera lifted the bag, eyes widened.
“What the heck did Watchog give to us…?”
His question was answered in the form of a blinding glow illuminating out of the bag and a high pitched ring.
“There they are! Tell’ah Salna and the others!”
Ezera rubbed his eyes to clear his disorientation. Roca, Cranos, and Ronne sprinted to meet them. ‘Are we back at the pit?‘ He surveyed the surroundings. ‘Huh? We’re in the pit? But it caved in!‘
Roca wrapped Salna in a hug while Cranos and Ronne attended to Carnik. “Oh, Pop, you’re okay!”
Salna blinked rapidly. “Roca? When did- didn’t we darn fall into a hole?”
“You did. But Ruffers’ guildmates went in to save you. We waited and suddenly the clouds here vanished and the ground reformed. Then all of you appeared.” She centered on Ezera. “What happened in there?”
“We, uh, went through the whole dungeon,” Ezera replied, his mind occupied with the portal. There was a lot to unpack. Did getting rid of the vortex return everything to normal? And the voice he heard, where did it go? He gasped. Litleo needed attention still! “Um, could you guys help Litleo please? She took a Hyper Beam to the face.”
“A Hyper-! Geepers. Roca, you and Cranos take her to Barbelle this instant. Ronne, make sure Carnik goes to his parents,” Salna directed.
Roca helped lift Litleo onto Cranos’ back. “You need to see Barbelle too, Pop.”
“I will, don’t you worry anymore.”
The five pokémon departed, leaving Ezera and Salna alone. Ezera fiddled with the bag, hoping to ignore the awkwardness and also see if anything was different after it absorbed all those sparks. ‘No change as far as I can tell.‘
“That fall killed my back. Walk with me, pardon, what’s your name?” Salna asked.
“Uh, Ezera,” he answered.
“Ezera it is. Any friend of my boyo Ruffers’ is a friend of mine.”
‘I’ve never even met the guy!‘ Ezera fearfully thought. He and Salna trekked side by side at a slow pace. ‘I can’t tell what’s worse, this silence or my aching body.‘
Salna cleared his throat. “Roca didn’t say it, but thank you for rescuing us. You guild ‘mon, you do the legendaries’ work.”
“Ah, no problem. Someone has to, right?” Ezera acknowledged, blushing.
“Ruffers says the exact same thing. If the world had more of him, you, and his partner, ah…” Salna put a claw over his mouth. “That’s not to say the world can’t use more of Roca either.”
“Roca isn’t like Rock- her brother, is she?”
“She doesn’t take after him, for sure. Makes it a point not to. That girl sometimes…” Salna lightly sighed. “Do you work with Ruffers?”
“Um not really… I’ve only recently joined the guild.” ‘Please change the subject, please change the subject.‘
“But you’re acquainted with his partner?”
“You could say that. She’s been showing me the ropes on how everything works.”
“Showing you the ropes? Is that an expression?”
“Yeah. It’s like, hm, to teach someone.”
“What’s the rope for in teaching?”
Ezera chuckled. “It’s not a real rope. Come to think of it, I don’t know why they say rope… I’ll have to ask about that when I go home.”
Salna’s eyes gleamed. “If you don’t mind me asking, do you live on another continent?”
Ezera’s first instinct was to say it wasn’t here in general, but remembered he had to stay in cover. “Nah, it’s just in Bladed Peaks.”
“Oh, I should’ve guessed. Silly me, jumping to conclusions whenever I hear opportunities to expand my repertoire of storytelling,” Salna said, tapping the tips of his claws together. “I do hope to one day meet a ‘mon from another continent.”
Salna’s previous sentence lit a lightbulb in Ezera’s brain. “Actually, if you tell stories, are there any about cubone or coalossal?”
“Those are very specific choices, boyo,” Salna said, straightening up in interest. He held his claws out to the left and right. “But yes, I do know two tales with them. Coalossal is the king in A Higher Squire, and cubone is the main star in Night Walker.”
‘So the dungeon was influenced off of Salna’s stories? Or his memories? Reuniclus is going to have a field day with this…‘ A new question popped into his mind. “Also, do any of your stories contain things about humans?”
“Humans? A select few do, mostly the legends.”
“And those legends, what are they about?”
“World saving shenanigans, stuff us normal ‘mon could never dream of doing.” Salna nodded approvingly at Ezera. “Those of you at the guild might get close. Imagine meeting a real human. All the tales they could tell!”
“Haha yeah, if only we could meet them…” Ezera said, dying inside. ‘Didn’t Rapidash say once I was called here for a reason? Could that voice tell me what for? And finally give an answer on how to get home?‘
They reached the main part of the settlement. A crowd had just broken up, all talking and dispersing to other corners of their home. A two horned rhydon broke off mingling from their group and approached Salna.
“Salna! Glad to see you’re in good shape,” the rhydon stated, clasping him by the arm. “When I heard the ground caved with you in it, I feared the worst. Frankly, I don’t know what we would do if we lost you.”
“Your words are too kind, Chief Ryn. I doubt my presence is important in the grand scheme of things,” Salna said, scratching his head.
All the air left Ryn as he wheezed, going into the breathless kind of laughter that sounded much like a deflating balloon. “You hear this guy?” he said, looking at Ezera. Ryn bent over holding his stomach and stomped on the floor with one foot. “This is why I love you!”
Salna laughed along with him. “You love everymon, Chief Ryn.”
“True, but not as much as I love you.”
“Geepers, still know how to make ‘mon blush don’t you?”
“Don’t tell the missus I said that, ahahaha!”
‘I’m in between something I feel like I shouldn’t be witnessing. I wonder if Litleo’s been treated yet so we can go…‘ Ezera gulped. ‘We still need to tell them about Rockruff.‘
“…we’re lucky to have guild members nearby when it happened. This ‘mon here is Ezera,” Salna said.
“Ezera! So you’re the savior of the day?” Ryn exclaimed.
Ezera examined Ryn’s imposing figure and height, stretching his neck up to meet the chief’s gaze. “A little. Litleo did a lot of the work if I’m being honest.”
“Where are they? We should throw both of you a feast!”
“Thanks but that’s really not necessary… We gotta head to the guild and report this I think.”
“The story pit has no tunnels drilled underneath to explain the ground falling through. You went down there, do you have an explanation?” Ryn said, suddenly serious.
“We don’t know much ourselves, sorry. Litleo said it behaved like a mystery dungeon.”
“We live in a mystery dungeon,” Salna commented, frowning. “There can’t be another one inside.”
“It’s gone now, that’s what matters!” Ryn interrupted, changing back to a big smile. “I have to check in on the others but I’ll come round again later, Salna.”
“If you don’t see me at my cave I’ll be at Barbelle’s.”
Ryn patted Salna’s spiked back and sauntered off to another group of krokorok, krookodile, and numel. Salna walked them to a secluded cave. The mouth of it had been outlined in red paint. Inside, a pointy-limbed pokémon was treating Litleo on some straw. Roca sat off to the side.
“Pop. Barbelle’s almost done with Litleo,” Roca greeted.
Barbelle briefly turned around to wave his two free pink and green colored arms. Each of his hands had an eye in the center and his head resembled a fist. “I gots two ot’er arms to work wit’. Sit.”
Ezera blinked, processing what pokémon Barbelle was. “Is Litleo alright at least?” he inquired as Salna went and occupied a straw bed.
“She fine. She wakes up soon, I thinks.”
“Whew, okay. Thanks.”
Roca tapped Ezera on the shoulder. “Let’s move this way to give Barbelle space to work. He can treat you after.”
They stayed outside the cave, watching Barbelle. Ezera coughed. “Do you mind if I ask what kind of pokémon Barbelle is? He’s certainly… interesting looking.”
“His species might be called barbaracle? I’m not too sure.”
“Huh. He’s got a lot of hands…”
“I wanted to say, you brought them both home. I know Ruffers will appreciate it,” Roca said. “I… do too. You’re wild, right?”
“Er, yeah,” Ezera responded.
“Then why did you join the guild? Why join the place that helps the ‘mon who hate us?”
Ezera struggled to find an adequate answer. He wasn’t expecting to receive a grilling from Roca. Heck, he was in danger of being literally grilled not too long ago. “Um…”
“I’m not judging you. I just- I’m trying to understand.”
“Well, to me, sending that same hate back won’t get anyone anywhere. It’s tiring. Who wants to keep arguing or fighting? And plus, not everyone is all that bad.”
Roca’s tail lowered, taking that in. “My brother and my pop think like that. Take Litleo, she’s a part of a town. My brother trusts her. From the way he spoke about her, he trusts her a lot.” She stood up, gazing somewhere into the settlement. “And I’ve been trying to get myself to do the same but I can’t. You and her saved my pop today. I should trust her, yet… I get the feeling she’s not trustworthy. I can’t figure it out. Is it because I know she’s a towner, or is she really hiding something?” She looked pleadingly at Ezera. “You understand where I’m coming from, don’t you?”
He hesitantly nodded.
“Then I need to ask you… From one wildmon to another, is she trustworthy?”
Uh oh. What could he say? That she was? Once they revealed Rockruff was missing, that just proved the exact opposite. But he didn’t want to say she wasn’t, either. He really did believe Litleo was trustworthy, on all other matters at least. ‘Except… what other choice do I have?‘
“Litleo… she… she does have something to tell you. You and your dad.”
We can’t outrun him at this rate! You have to leave.
That’s not an option.
What are you- he wants me, not you, alright?! You can’t stay!
I’m not abandoning you. Remember what I said?
Litleo’s ears twitched. A husky scent entered her nostrils and she sat up. Her muscles groaned in achiness. “Ugh…”
Then you mean…
We’ll face it together.
The conversation faded out of her head. ‘What- why does this keep happening?‘ she thought, trying to retain it.
“Hey. Barbelle said you’d be up soon,” Ezera said. Litleo blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light. He sat against the wall next to her.
“Are we… in the Rugged Crags settlement?” Litleo asked, remembering the foe they were fighting. “Does that mean you…?”
“Mhm. After you got knocked out by the Hyper Beam, I managed to take out Coalossal,” he finished.
Litleo flopped back down. “Wow. I’m surprised, but nice job.”
“Thanks.”
‘No peppy remark? That’s not like him.‘ “What happened to the energy thing?”
“You might not believe me, but it got absorbed into your bag.”
Litleo rushed to sit up again. “It did what?”
“Yeah, I brought it near and suddenly these sparks flowed into it. Wherever Watchog got this new bag, it’s magical or something.”
“Let me see.”
Ezera handed the satchel to her. Litleo pawed through it, sniffing and inspecting it. Nothing out of the ordinary.
“I’m not noticing anything different,” she concluded. “Except for a few items missing.”
“Oh, aha… I might’ve used a few to take out Coalossal. Including your wand,” Ezera sheepishly added, grinning.
“You- fine. It’s better than you getting knocked out too. But you owe me.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.” His grin fell. “I might owe you for another thing too.”
“For what?”
Ezera sighed. “I might’ve alluded to Roca that something happened to Rockruff. I know it’s not my place to say, but she was asking all these things and I couldn’t keep lying to her.” He met Litleo’s eyes. “Sorry.”
“Oh.” Litleo’s gaze dropped to the floor. “It was bound to come out sooner or later. How did she react?”
“Concerned, I guess? She doesn’t know the specifics. Just that you have something to confess.”
“Where is she and Salna now?”
“Outside waiting for you.”
Litleo dug her claws into the straw. A heavy weight anchored to her chest, and her stomach acted as if she ingested a Gunk Shot. ‘I have to tell them. There’s no avoiding it, so suck it up.‘ She got to her feet, wincing.
“Woah, are you okay to walk just yet?” Ezera said, holding his hands out.
“I’m fine. It’s only soreness left.” She stepped out of the cave, instantly catching Roca and Salna huddled together. Roca glared at her and came up.
“You have something to tell us?” she said.
Salna pulled Roca away. “Easy there, Roca. She just woke up. Give her some space.”
Litleo didn’t back down on the glare, choosing to return it with a neutral stare. “No, she’s right. I do have something I need to say. Is there somewhere private we can go?”
“Above the caves, on top of the cliff. That’s the most private,” Roca answered, leading the way.
The four pokémon scaled the trail, not saying a word. Litleo snuck peeks at each of their expressions, all harboring enough pensiveness to make one think the end of the world was nigh. She focused on keeping her breathing steady. The few minutes seemed to stretch endlessly before they reached the top, where Roca wasted no time in getting down to business.
“So?” she prompted, not taking her eyes off Litleo.
Litleo took a deep breath and let it out. “It’s about Rockruff. Your brother.”
“What? Did he get hurt? Quit?” Roca jumped in, inching closer with each question.
“Roca! Why are you assuming the worst? He’s fine, I’m sure,” Salna scolded, ushering her back.
“He’s…” Litleo shut her eyes. “He’s… missing.”
Silence. Then, a nervous laugh escaped Roca. “Mi- missing? My brother? He may be many things, but missing isn’t one of them.”
“That’s a darn joke, right?” Salna said, worry edging into his tone.
“I wish it was. Really,” Litleo confirmed.
Salna held a claw over his chest, silently mouthing something.
“How… how can he be missing?” Roca said, eyeing different spots on the floor. “You told me he was on a commission elsewhere. You…” She glanced up. “You lied to me?”
“I know, I know. At the time I thought keeping it from you would be better, but…” Litleo gave Ezera a nod. “You needed to know.”
“When did you last see him?” Salna said, tearing up.
Litleo desperately wished she was anywhere but here. “…A few months ago.”
Gasps sounded from Roca and Salna. In the corner of Litleo’s vision, she saw Ezera cringe as she said the words.
“I can’t believe you’re only telling us now! I knew I was right not to trust you. You towners are worse than I thought,” Roca spat, growling.
“Roca, I understand you’re angry but imagine how Litleo must feel,” Salna silenced. “How did he go missing?”
Litleo tried keeping her shuffling paws to a minimum. “I… I don’t know. I don’t remember.”
“You don’t-” Roca breathlessly began. “This keeps getting better and better! What do you mean you don’t remember?! That’s my brother, your supposed PARTNER!” she shouted. “If you don’t remember then why don’t you tell us somemon who does?”
“Because I was the last one with him. And then… argh, look, I don’t know! The entire event is a blank and I don’t know why. My memory about it is gone!”
“That’s a load of shit and you know it! You don’t just forget how he goes missing. You- you’re an idiot if you do!” Roca said, voice quivering. “He said… you protected him.” Tears streamed down her face. “You were supposed to protect him. What did you do?!”
Litleo bit her lip in silence.
“And now you’ve gone and replaced him? With this axew? Like he was nothing?!” Roca continued.
“Wait, I’m not-” Ezera started.
“Ezera,” Litleo cut off, signaling him to stay out. “I would never replace him. You have to believe me. He’s just as important to me as he is to you!”
“Believe you? You lied to me! Both of you!” Roca seethed. She dug her forepaws into the dirt, trembling. “I hate you! I HATE you! I hate your guild!”
The dirt under Litleo burst, knocking her down. Roca aimed two rocks and launched them. Litleo scrambled out of their trajectory.
Salna stared at Roca in alarm. “Roca, what do you think you’re doing?!”
“Is that why you saved my pop? Out of pity?!” Roca ignored, completely focused on Litleo.
Ezera steadied Litleo. “Hey, I can-“
“No, Ezera. You aren’t part of this.” Litleo crouched, staying on the defensive. “Now you’re making yourself delusional! I genuinely wanted to rescue him, okay?”
“Then why don’t you genuinely rescue my brother?”
“I’m trying!”
“If you’ve gone all these months and haven’t found him, YOU AREN’T TRYING HARD ENOUGH!” Roca multiplied herself. Her copies leaped over, all baring their teeth.
Litleo swept them away using her Flamethrower. Roca cried out and fell.
“You know, I didn’t have to tell you!” Litleo retaliated, her temper flaring in her mane. “I could’ve left you thinking everything was happy and fine!”
“How thoughtful of you!” Roca snarled, popping the ground under Litleo up and socking her in the ribs. Litleo gasped and went down on one forepaw. Roca lunged for a Crunch. Litleo twisted so Roca’s teeth met her satchel.
“Roca! That is enough!” Salna commanded.
Roca let go and whirled on him, tears flinging everywhere. “Why?! Why should I stop? They already think the worst of us, it doesn’t matter what we do.”
“And if Ruffers were to see you?”
“He’s not here, is he?!” Roca faced Litleo. “All because his partner couldn’t do the one thing she was supposed to!”
“You’re one to talk,” Litleo snapped, huffing fire. “You can’t breathe down my neck when you hide up here!”
“I’m not hiding! Like I would want to be in a place full of assholes like you. I bet you decided you were better off without him.”
“Shut up! You have no idea what you’re saying,” Litleo retorted. She took a few steps and suppressed the heat threatening to come out her throat.
Roca went head to head, baring her teeth. “Make me!”
A rock wall appeared in between them.
“ENOUGH!” Salna exclaimed, breaking the wall. “Geepers. The news of Ruffers is taxing already. We don’t need this.”
“I’m not listening to another word. I… I won’t.” Roca ran to the trail and halted. “I hope I never see you again,” she said firmly, a couple tears falling, then went out of view.
A long sigh left Ezera. “That went… just as horribly as it could’ve gone.”
Salna drew close to Litleo. “Can you really remember nothing at all?”
“It’s blank. I’m sorry,” she said, barely audible.
His expression softened. “Perhaps, back in ancient times when Calyrex were here, they could help you with this unusual case. We’re on our own now.”
“I haven’t given up on finding him. I’m still searching. Everyday.”
Salna laid a claw on Litleo’s head. “Thank you. I’ll talk to Roca.”
“No need. No offense, but I don’t plan on coming here again outside of guild work. Not until I find Ruffers.”
“I understand.”
“Let’s go, Ezera. We’ve spent enough time here.”
Ezera waved as they walked. “Bye, Salna. It was nice meeting you.”
“Live your lives to the fullest,” Salna bade, waving. He dropped his arm and observed the sky. “Ruffers, my boyo, where are you?”
Litleo left the turn-in of the commission to Ezera. As for their report of the pop-up mystery dungeon and her weird bag, that could wait until the next morning. She was in no mood… to do anything, actually. Her turbulent emotions and thoughts left her wanting for energy. She entered her room and threw her bag on the empty cushion. Coincidentally, the scarves peeped out of the flap.
‘I took them today in the naive hope I would finally see him. I’m an idiot.‘ Litleo raised an eyebrow as she grabbed to put them behind the pillow. The yellow glimmer shined stronger than she remembered. ‘Are they… brighter? Nevermind. It has to be the light and tiredness making me imagine things.’
Litleo examined the parts of herself missing fur. She’d have to visit Indeedee to grow them back faster. And fix up her new injuries too, no thanks to Roca. A twinge of guilt cropped up at her name. ‘I know Roca was mad. I would be, was, too. But her attack was uncalled for.‘
“‘Better off without him.’ As if,” Litleo muttered to herself.
“Hi, it’s done. Watchog’s sending our rewards to storage,” she heard Ezera say, who appeared in the archway.
Litleo hopped off the counter. “Jeez, no knock this time?”
“Oh, my bad. I thought you’d be used to me dropping in by now,” he joked.
“Uh huh.”
Ezera fidgeted for a few moments. “Uh, how are you feeling?”
“Not well enough to talk about it.”
“You never do,” he murmured.
“Yeah, and I appreciate it but now’s not the time,” she stated, turning away.
“Your tough act won’t work forever. It’s seriously hurting you.”
“I’m working on it, okay? The day it goes away isn’t today. I don’t want to fight, Ezera.” Her eyes started to burn as water ever so slightly entered them. “Just leave me be, please. We’ve both had a long day.”
“…Goodnight, then. Don’t let what Roca said get to you, alright? I don’t believe a single part of it, and neither should you,” Ezera comforted.
“Since when have I ever let somemon’s word get to me?” Litleo answered, back still turned. “Night.”
Ezera’s footsteps faded out of her hearing. Litleo stood, unmoving.
‘If I put the memories that have been trickling back to me together, Rockruff and I went on an unrecorded commission. We obviously encountered something dangerous. Then…‘ Her legs trembled. ‘Then…‘ Litleo finally collapsed into a ball. She pulled a pillow down and shoved her face into it, sobbing.
‘I’m sorry, Ezera. I know you’re trying. I’m sorry, Salna and Roca. I know you love him. But… I’m sorry, Rockruff. If it is my fault you’re gone, I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry.‘
Ezera paused, casting a fretful glance at Litleo’s quarters. Would it be rude to go back in? ‘I need to honor her wishes,‘ he decided. He descended the stairs to get to his floor. His brain filed through all the ways to support Litleo. He didn’t need to ask how she felt. ‘She’s hurting.‘
He trudged straight to his pillow, unslinging his scarf. Relief flooded him as he laid down and faced the ceiling, arms spread apart. ‘I guess I can’t do anything else for her right now. Only keep staying by her side.‘
Ezera got up and stuck his face into the window. The atmosphere had taken on a navy and pinkish hue. ‘Could she be mad at me for telling Roca beforehand? And that’s why she didn’t want to talk?‘ He shook his head. ‘She didn’t seem bothered when I told her. What’s bothering me though is…‘
“Hey, mysterious voice. You there?” he whispered. He only heard the growl of his own stomach. If the voice didn’t want to answer him, cool. It didn’t bother him… much. Ezera returned to the pillow and closed his eyes, but his stomach made a fiercer growl. ‘On second thought, maybe I’ll eat.‘ He held his stomach as he exited his room.
‘Don’t worry, Litleo. We’re gonna find Rockruff. For you and for myself, I don’t wanna go back until this gets solved.‘
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