Chapter 8: Mission Averted

“We shouldn’t act until we are absolutely certain.”

“And let it be taken from under our noses? Nuh uh. No shot.” 

Team Vigilant sat at a roundtable meeting. Sevve was, much to his chagrin, sandwiched between the feisty guildmaster Corsair and his irritatingly captious mienshao teammate Kamira. 

“Who else would be looking for a human? And if they were, how would they even tell we have one? Hell, we don’t even know if we have a human.” Kamira snapped her sleevelike appendages. 

“Well, Kaaaam, Sevve thinks we have the human. And I trust his judgment best, no offense,” Guildmaster Corsair fired back. The delphox winked at Sevve. That was his cue to speak. 

“Yes. I have ample reason to suspect it. Pokemon auras are… angular. This wimpod’s aura is smooth, like a bubble.”

“And have you ever seen a human aura before?” The mienshao raised an eyebrow. 

Sevve shook his head. “But all the information we gleaned from ancient manuscripts before the Rapture suggest that humans have smooth, elliptical auras.”

“And there have never been exceptions?” Kamira refused to back down. “Why do you put so much trust in these moldy tomes, anyways? You do know that these ‘ancient philosophers’ also believed Araegis is flat and that the first pokemon were created from clay, right? Be real for a sec, what are the chances that a human would show up now of all times? And in the form of a wimpod?”

“Philosophy and theory are separate from empirical discoveries,” Derato interjected from across the table. The sandslash had been silent until then. 

“You’re missing the point. We shouldn’t take information from millennia ago at face value.”

“What about the fact that he’s an amnesiac who has no family records? Or any official documents that prove his existence prior to joining the guild? It all lines up,” Sevve retorted.

“There are many more plausible explanations for that than ‘he’s an alien being from another dimension’. Why would a human lose their memories? It’s all just speculation. Maybe he got corrupted and then wandered far from his home.” 

“So, what’s your plan then, Kam? Do we just let it slide?” said a drapion from across the table. Chimari isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but he had a point this time. The mienshao was doing an awful lot of complaining despite not proposing anything herself. 

“Well, you guys conveniently failed to address my first point. I can’t think of a single reason why anyone else would want to find a human. Therefore, there’s no urgency in capturing this supposed human. We should go to the drawing board and see if there are other reliable ways to ascertain the identity of this wimpod without bringing suspicion. As a corporation with a reputation to uphold, we can’t just go around arresting pokemon who we think are humans. We’re already in hot water since someone didn’t follow protocol and Torr snuck into our shit.” The mienshao glared at Derato with that final statement. 

 “Kamira, calm down. No need to point fingers. Your concerns are valid, but this deal is not one we can afford to lose. If there is even a one in a million chance that another party steals away our goods, we must quash it,” Sevve reasoned. 

“The risk is literally zero. What we should really be concerned about is our reputation. We’re under deep public scrutiny at the moment. Several teams are confused about Team Metaphys exploding and their members going missing. They don’t buy our story. What we can’t afford is to stir up more controversy.” 

“Hate tah say it, boss, but I think she’s right,” Chimari chimed in. Sevve rolled his eyes. He was consistently impressed by how little the dunce of a drapion could contribute to a conversation.

“Alright Kam. Even if the risk of a third party is almost negligible, there’s a separate risk we must concern ourselves over. If I recall, his team was at Sundered Grove yesterday. That’s barely an appropriate environment for any new recruit, let alone a wimpod that didn’t pass their exams.” 

Sevve couldn’t let this fortunate lead go to waste because it went and got itself killed. Who in distortion graded that mission D tier, anyway? He was going to have a stern talk with the job team. 

“Oh, the newbie’s hardly in bad hands. Tahlia’s girl’s on his team.”

“Tahlia is rolling in her watery grave hearing you compare her to her daughter.” Sevve started getting heated at the mention of his former teammate. Back when they were a proper team. 

He had always thought happiness would come with achieving his greatest goal at the time. Becoming a goliath, too big to fail. But as they rose up the hierarchy, the emptiness in his heart remained and the longing persisted. He had almost everything he could ask for, so why? Maybe happiness just wasn’t meant for him. 

“Arrrighty, my mighty crew. These times call for a tentative compromise. Let’s discreetly limit the difficulty of missions that we assign to the rookie teams. Plant some ‘lost’ items in cakewalk dungeons and the sort. It’ll help us keep an eye on the team. We can follow them into the dungeons and eavesdrop. Try to extract more information about the wimpod,” Guildmaster Corsair proposed. “Any objections?” 

“Are we planning on disrupting guild business to babysit some rookies?” 

“This is guild business, Kam. Are you aware of the importance of this deal? Our alliance with the Sovereignty, the Palomerian Kingdom is paramount to our development.” Corsair narrowed her eyes and smiled patronizingly at the mienshao. “So please, don’t make this too hard, will you?”

Kamira huffed. “Your favoritism is showing. Hmph, fine, guess I’m bound for another week of carrying this team on my back while you guys chase after children.”

And with that, the terms were settled. Knowing that the upcoming conversation was headed nowhere but exploring the extent of Kamira’s unproductive drivel, Sevve adjourned the meeting. Now that the complications were smoothed out, nothing could go awry. Surely. 

---

The sun peeked over the horizon, and the warm colors of morning began setting into the cityscape. Sachi yawned. Getting up at six in the morning every day, what an utterly torturous way to live. So many of society’s problems could be fixed if everything was just shifted back two hours. Instead, he was out in the freezing cold with a splitting headache and dark bags beneath his eyes. 

“Hey, get a move on! Time waits for no one. We need to be there when the board refreshes.” 

Oh right. Sachi’s team was here with him at the mission board. Dela wouldn’t trust him with picking out a mission again, for some reason. Personally, he thought yesterday’s mission went great. They were back in time for a late lunch, and their team ranking shot up quite a few points. The only real kicker was the damn tax. Fifty percent? Really? The rich get richer and the poor stay poor.

Anyways, Dela really wanted to go to a mystery dungeon. So she was here today to make sure Sachi didn’t become a “repeat offender”. Sachi was mostly irritated by the fact that he had to be in her vicinity for another half an hour. Krem was also here, albeit half asleep. His eyes were half open, and he was shuffling instead of crawling. The wimpod looked just as miserable as Sachi. 

“Ok, Dela, we made it to the mission board,” Sachi said gloomily. “Ohhh and would you look at that, it’s not updated yet. Why did we get up so early again?”

“So that we can be there when it updates.”

“We just need to be here before everyone else.”

“Look, there are already plenty of teams up.” Dela pointed toward a few groups of pokemon waiting around the A and S rank boards, bored looks plastered on their faces. 

“I obviously meant us rookies. None of those top tiers are gonna contest our pisspoor hundred poké missions.”

“Are you saying we’re going to be rookies forever?”

“That is not what I said. Try again.”

“Then we need to get used to getting up early.”

Sachi preferred to live in the moment, but Dela always had other plans for him. He didn’t know why the skitty couldn’t just choose a mission herself and wake them up later. Instead, she had to force her lifestyle on the whole team. Right as he was about to voice that thought, the mission board flipped over.

Dela rushed up to the board and began scanning. Sachi watched as her expression turned from restless anticipation to disgusted confusion. 

“What is wrong with these missions?”

Sachi stepped up to see what the issue was. 

“Not a single mission paying triple digits, damn,” Sachi said, scratching his head. “Oh well, guess we get to take it easy today.”

“Not a single D-Level 3 dungeon. And why is everything on the first or second floor?” Dela stomped on the floor. “Which dimwit lost a sitrus berry? It’s probably rotten by now! Just buy a new one.”

 As Dela was fuming about missions, a few more teams had shown up at the board. 

“Look who’s up early today,” the pompous frogadier from Team Serration said as he shoved Dela out of the way. Sachi had forgotten his name already. “Had a sneaking suspicion it was you guys who stashed away the highest paying mission yesterday. Care to explain yourselves?”

“Why don’t you explain yourself for rudely crashing into me?” Dela shouted back. 

“Oh, this snappy brat’s got some nerve.” The frogadier chuckled, then leaned in toward Dela’s face menacingly. “You think you have some special privilege just because your mom is a local celebrity? Oops, sorry, was a local celebrity.” 

“No, I think I have special privilege over you because I got here first. Now get out of my face, nimrod.” 

“Hah, do you know who you’re talking to?” The sneasel from Team Serration walked to the other side of Dela. Sachi believed this guy was called Raster? He wasn’t sure. “That’s Maho of the Rorsach family. Wanna keep talking back, big shot?”

Amie Rorsach Greninja, the governor of Cressinger and writer of terrible policies? Sachi believed it. The leppa doesn’t fall far from the tree, after all. 

“I don’t give a raticate’s ass if your egg-layer wears a fancy necktie and gives speeches about the economy. Wake up earlier if you want first pick,” Dela fired back with no signs of backing down. Oh boy, a fight was about to break out. Sachi stepped back. No way in distortion he was getting involved. 

“Woah, someone’s got a sharp mouth. We oughtta teach her a lesson, ey Raster?” The frogadier scowled and balled his hands into fists. 

“Aye aye, captain.” 

The sneasel dashed forward and took an overhead swing with his claws, performing a quick attack at Dela. The skitty conjured some elementary energy and protected herself gracefully. 

“Gonna have to try har-” Dela was interrupted by Maho launching himself in the air and attempting a take down attack. She easily sidestepped the clunky move, causing the frogadier to crash onto the stone floor. Maho quickly rolled to his feet, trying to conceal his pain. 

Sachi huffed in satisfaction. Somehow, the Team Serration duo were so annoying that they even got him rooting for Dela. 

“Oh, you’ve done it this time,” Raster seethed. The sneasel put his claws together to his side and began charging a sphere of ice energy. But before he could muster enough to fire an attack, Dela slammed into his chest, tackling him to the ground. She raised her extended claws to the fallen sneasel’s face. 

“Hey there, friends! Sorry to crash the party, but the mission board is hardly a place for a brawl. Why don’t we break it up?” A strange typhlosion had walked up to the fight. Sachi recognized him as a regular at the diner he frequented with Krem. He wore a wide, dopey smile and had his arms slouched to the side. Behind him, the A and S tier teams were watching on in amusement. A few seemed to be taking bets. 

Dela obeyed, stepping away from Raster. 

“Aww, Onny. Way to ruin the show! Booo!”

“Yeah. I put a twenty on the cat. Let ‘er at ‘em!”

The two defeated Team Serration members looked at each other with a mix of anger and embarrassment, before stepping away from the scene. On his way out, Maho shot a nasty look at Dela. The skitty just tilted her head and smiled back condescendingly. 

“Good morning, Oneiros,” Dela greeted the typhlosion, who raised a brow.

“Oh! Dela, was it? Already making enemies, I see,” he replied. 

“I can’t help it. The enemies just make themselves.” 

“Hah, touché. Don’t get too strong for your own sake!” The typhlosion turned to face Sachi and Krem. “And these two must be your teammates, huh?”

The typhlosion extended a hand, which Sachi shook. 

“Sachi.”

“Oneiros.” The typhlosion’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he retained his smile. Sachi shuffled uncomfortably. “We’ve met before.”

“Uhh… yeah…”

Oneiros extended a finger to Krem, who awkwardly touched it with a leg. 

“Um, I’m Krem.”

“It’s nice to formally meet you two. Y’know, Dela’s been talking a lotta smack behind your backs.”

“We are aware, yes,” Sachi replied. “Don’t worry, she talks a lotta shit to our faces too.”

Oneiros chuckled.

“Alright, I’ll leave you guys to it. I should really get to work too. Ciao.” The typhlosion headed back toward the S board. 

“Anyyyywayyyys. Dela, which mission are ya gonna grab?”

“Let’s go with this one.” Dela snatched a sheet down with her mouth after much deliberation. “Holf ih for me.”

Sachi took the paper and began scanning it. 

“Damn, that’s forty after taxes,” Sachi lamented. “At least we probably don’t need to prepare much.”

“Raahh, what a let down. I guess we’re headed to Riverwatch to retrieve a pocket watch from the second floor.”

“Oh, I think we all know where Riverwatch is. The water types go there to train all the time.” Sachi yawned. His yearning for caffeine was growing by the second. “Let’s grab some breakfast first. C’mon, Krem.”

“Fine, fine,” Dela moped. “Let’s meet at the gate by 7:30. Don’t dilly dally.”

The skitty walked off on her own. Sachi and Krem began making their way to the diner.

“Honestly, I’m glad we get a chill day. Yesterday was enough action for a week, for me at least.”

“I agree. I think I’ve had enough action f-for a lifetime.” 

The duo had been walking for not even a minute when the two wackjobs from Team Serration caught up and began following them.

“What do you clowns want?” Sachi confronted the stalkers after a few seconds of awkward silence. 

“Oh, nothing much. But we can’t help but notice that the missions have gotten significantly easier since yesterday,” the frogadier answered haughtily.  

“Not in the mood for small talk,” Sachi said with disinterest. 

“Not in the mood? Does it look like we care what mood you’re in?” Maho shouted. Sachi stopped walking and turned to face the persistent duo. In hindsight, he really shouldn’t have poked the beehive with sarcasm. “Listen, we just wanna know why today’s missions are so shit.”

Sachi shrugged. It was too late to turn around now, so he might as well follow through. 

“Dunno. I just work here.”

“Don’t you think it’s because they don’t trust underqualified rookies with worthwhile missions?” The frogadier walked up to a puzzled Krem and stared at him with frightening intensity. “Recruit quality has definitely plummeted as of late.”

“I agree. They really need to stop recruiting goons who get their asses handed to them two on one against a skitty.” Sachi watched as Maho and Raster’s faces contorted into scowls. It was so easy to get under their skin. “Frankly, it’s embarrassing.” 

Sachi could see Maho scanning the pavilion. Teams were flooding into the area now. 

“Hey Krem, hey Sachi!” Sorbi ran up to the group, mission in hand. The squirtle’s cheery smile faded as he noticed Team Serration. “Oh. And you guys. Am I interrupting something?”

“No, actually, we were just finishing up here,” Sachi replied, flashing one last contemptuous smirk at the agitated frogadier and his henchman. “Say, Sorbi, wanna go grab breakfast with us? We got a bit over half an hour.” 

“I’m down. The others decided to sleep in, so I got time to kill.”

“Sweet.” Sachi turned to his teammate. The wimpod’s eyes were still wide with fearful anticipation. “Let’s go, Krem. Don’t let those losers get to you.” 

###

“I still can’t believe that you guys got to fight two rotom.”

“The only thing I can’t believe is that Dela didn’t somehow get herself killed.” 

“Yeah, she sounds like quite a handful. Effa is a bit uppity at times, but Dela’s in a whole different league.” Sorbi downed the last of his bloomleaf tea. “Though I will say, you have a habit of getting in her fur.”

“Pfft. Honestly, I’m doing her a favor. Can’t let her get too in over her head, or she’s going to be even more of a danger to herself.” Sachi wolfed down the rest of his hot sauce drenched rice cakes. The spice selection here paled in comparison to that in his hometown of Temon, but the flavor was still serviceable. A bit too fruity for his tastes, though. “Besides, as I told Krem, it’s a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. Knocking fragile egos down is pretty entertaining, albeit sometimes tiresome.” 

“I can see it. Sometimes, I wish I had the balls to do that. I talk mad shit behind closed doors, but when it comes time to face the bullies I just seep into my shell and take it.”

“You can Krem both. Maybe it’s a water type thing. My take, life’s too short to play the victim.”

“Hey!” Krem piped up, offended. “It’s a lot easier said than done when I can barely harness m-my energy.”  

“Haha, I’m mostly joking bud. But there will come times where you’ll need to stand your own ground.” Sachi got up and pushed in his chair. “Lost track of time for a moment. We gotta meet Dela in five minutes.”

“Bye Sorbi!” 

“I’ll seeya two around.” 

---

The sound of fast flowing water resonated throughout the flowery fen as Team Caustic made their way up the paved trailhead. Scattered patches of sedges, rushes, and hardy grasses littered the moist landscape. A massive river sliced through the wetland, occasionally splashing cold mists of freshwater onto the trail and its occupants. Droves of wild basculin jumped in and out of the water, attempting to travel upstream. Poliwags shimmied along the current, steering clear of the inbound fish. 

Krem relished in his surroundings. The flowing water invigorated his body. The mild breeze calmed his nerves. The swaying grasses brought solace to his mind. His affinity to water had been amplified ever since his arrival. It had gotten to the point where he could not go a day without taking a walk by the river or spending an afternoon in the springhouse. It wasn’t an addiction. It was just his nature. Or at least, he was told that many pokemon undergo the same feelings based on their typings. 

“This is it. Riverwatch Dungeon,” Dela announced as the three found themselves at a tall wooden gate, which was at the brink of collapse from wet rot. Beyond the gate was a swirling veil of white mist.

“What?” Sachi cupped a hand to his head. The restless current was drowning out Dela’s words. 

“RIVERWATCH. WE’RE HERE.”

“WHAT?”

The skitty groaned in response and pushed open the gate. She stepped into the mist and said something hardly audible. Sachi and Krem looked at each other before following her in. 

The sounds of nature faded away as they walked through the misty curtain. Krem squinted, trying to make out his surroundings. The scenery started to distort. The sparse trees started to blur, before swirling around like paint on a palette. They blended with the darkening sky, forming blotches of dark green and blue. As the mist subsided gradually, the shapes began to recreate themselves. The trees became trees, the bushes became bushes. It was as if everything was rebuilt and rearranged. The gate behind them had disappeared along with the trail they came from. The river remained, but the chaotic current had turned still. The breeze grew more erratic, blowing gusts of sulphuric air directly at his face. 

“It’s your first time in a dungeon, huh?”

Sachi looked down strangely at Krem, who must have been grimacing at the smell.

“Oh, yeah. I wasn’t expecting… that.” 

“It usually changes more. There’s just not much antanima in this one. Smells like shit, though.” Sachi pulled his scarf up to cover his snout.

“Aren’t dungeons supposed to h-have walls?”

“We’ll probably see some when we get to the second floor. The first floor is usually different, like a book cover.” Sachi pointed towards a purple blip over yonder. Dela was already making her way in that direction, trampling over all sorts of vegetation. “That’s probably the staircase portal. Let’s go.”

There was marginally less complaining this time around, mostly because Dela had the foresight to wear boots. They would slow her down in combat, but they didn’t expect to be doing much fighting on this job. Dela was salty about that fact, though.

“Ugh. What are we, dumpster divers? Retrieving a scarf from this stinky, mucky swamp.” 

“Yeah, sucks. Second day on the job and we’re not out there defeating criminal masterminds or rescuing cubs from a volcano,” Sachi responded. 

“Not what I said. I just wish there was some action to be had. Is that too much to ask for?”

“Trivial jobs still need to be done. Even the higher tier teams aren’t breaking their backs every day.”

“Well, I think we have no shortage of incompetent teams to sweep up the busywork. It’s insulting that a team of my caliber is assigned these menial tasks.”

“Is Dela short for delusional?” 

“It’s short for Deliana, actually.” 

Krem followed the two bickering mon into the staircase portal. It was a similar experience to the entrance portal, with the lines and colors of the landscape blurring into unidentifiable blobs. This time, however, a series of labyrinthine walls formed from the ground before the landscape reshaped itself. They found themselves in a room with two paths leading out.

“See, walls. Wahoo.” Sachi knocked on the dirt wall before them. “So what are we looking for again?”

Dela grumbled in exasperation.

“A silver pocket watch.”

“Isn’t it kinda hard to find something that small in this huge maze?” Krem piped up. 

“This place isn’t as big as it looks,” Sachi answered. “It’ll still be a pain digging through the grass and mud, though. “

Dela had turned her attention to a patch of sedges near the corner of the room. She was crouched over with her face an inch from the floor. 

“Whatcha looking at there?” Sachi leaned over her shoulder, trying to get a peek. 

“These grasses have been trampled.” Dela lifted her head, revealing a faded, yet still pretty explicit pawprint in the mud. 

“Ya think there’s a corrupted here?” 

“There shouldn’t be. Well, there is the occasional wild psyduck, but these are evidently not psyduck prints,” Dela replied, eyes slanted in thought. “It could be an outlaw.”

“What kinda dumbass outlaw would hide in here?” 

“Whatever the case, we should follow the tracks. We need to report it to the guild.”

“We better get a bonus.” Sachi sighed. He turned toward the direction of the prints and peered down the path. “I do think the tracks are our best bet, though. Maybe they belong to the client.”

“Unless they were here yesterday, the dungeon would have shifted and gotten rid of the tracks.” 

“Shifted?” Krem asked. He hadn’t really thought of it until now, but he had set foot into a mystery dungeon without any knowledge of how they worked, other than that it could kill him. It was probably a better idea to get that information before entering the potential death trap. 

“When the dungeon changes layouts,” Sachi answered nonchalantly. 

“W-what happens then?”

“Oh, everything still alive inside the dungeon dies a horrible death. And then they get reincarnated as zombies.” Sachi made a couple disinterested arm motions to help Krem visualize. 

Krem was absolutely nonplussed at his teammate’s disregard for such a catastrophic phenomenon. His nervous trepidation must have been obvious, because Sachi looked back at him, brow raised. 

“Don’t worry about it too much. Shifts happen on an interval of at least a few days, and this one apparently shifted last night. Besides, it’s not a good look for the guild if teams get caught in one.” Sachi yawned. “The guild may not care about us, but they do care about their reputation. And their money.”

Krem let out a breath, trying to calm himself down. It was okay. Dozens of pokemon head into these things every day. And this was an easy one. 

Lacking any other leads, Team Caustic decided to follow the trail of faint prints. They weaved around corridor after corridor, room after room, each less promising than the last. All the while, Krem surveyed his surroundings cautiously. The more he saw, the more the dungeon felt alive. The massive dirt walls stared back down at him with stoney eyes, its grassy hair drifting in the breeze, its muddy face encrusted with slime. The ground beneath him was soft and yielding, enough for him to poke holes into it with his tiny legs. Spongy layers of peat and moss were held together by freshwater dew. 

But the lifeblood of the dungeon was not the water. As Krem continued walking, he could feel the antanima radiate within the dimensions. It was as if a sixth sense had activated, and the sinister energy was triggering it. Stimulating it. The psychic sensation oscillated from his tail to his head, crashing to and fro like tumultuous ocean waves under a torrential storm, jolting his consciousness with every step he took. 

“Feeling the antanima?” Sachi asked. “It’s crazy how much it messes with ya, especially your first time. It hit me like a tauros stampede too when Coach Chirell took me to my first dungeon.” 

“I thought this dungeon has b-barely any antanima.”  

“That’s true. I guess it only gets more intense from here,” Sachi replied. Upon witnessing Krem’s distressed expression, he added, “But Chirell told me the first time is always gonna be the worst. I mean, the higher tier fellas don’t seem to have any problems.”

“I dunno. They always seem on edge about one thing or another.”

“Probably unrelated. If I had been getting scammed by the guild for years, I’d probably be pretty pissed too.”

“Will you two shut up and help me check this room?” Dela interjected from the end of the corridor. 

The room they had just entered was larger than the previous ones and had several articles of old dungeoneering gear scattered around. The group split up and began scanning every bush and patch of grass in the area, searching for the coveted pocket watch. Dela had also told them to grab anything useful, like orbs or scarves. Krem didn’t know how he was supposed to do that, from a logistical standpoint. He had come across a couple of nullify orbs, but he couldn’t really pick them up. Maybe he could push an orb across the field to Dela like a rellor. 

Suddenly, Krem caught a glimpse of a silver sheen at the corner of his peripheral vision. He scuttled toward the thick patch of cattails and peeled away the stems. There, caked in mud and dripping with condensation, was a simple silver pocket watch. 

“Hey! Guys!” Krem shouted. “I think I found it.”

Dela sprinted toward him like a choice scarfed arcanine. She leaned in with her face inches from the watch, then flipped it over with her paw. 

“Fits the description.” Dela picked it up and flung it into her bag after a minute of inspection. 

Sachi had just made his way over to them from halfway across the field. 

“Sweet. Let’s get going, then.” The salandit turned tail and began walking back to the corridor they came from. 

“Nuh uh, not yet. I want to see what or who is at the end of the tracks,” Dela said, shaking her head. 

“Who cares? Job’s done.”

“Job’s not done until we can give a detailed report about these unregistered tracks.”

Krem didn’t enjoy the notion of staying in the dungeon for much longer, but Dela had her stubborn face on, and so he knew that resistance was futile. 

“They lead into this corridor here,” Dela continued, strutting toward the left wall. 

Sachi looked like he wanted to counter, but he just mumbled an obscenity under his breath and followed Dela. 

After a few sharp turns, the paths in the corridor led Team Caustic to another room. This room was significantly smaller, about the size of their bedroom, and had no other outgoing paths. At the center of the room curled up on a patch of grass was a pokemon. 

The furret was clad in a dark, hooded cloak and carried a patched up backpack. A couple of his stripes were misaligned along a gnarly, darkened scar that ran across his torso. He had two dark rings around his right eye, and on his forehead was a glowing emblem resembling a red crescent. He had been busy scribbling into a notepad, but when he noticed the group’s presence, he looked up directly into Krem’s eyes. 

Wait. That crescent…

“Uhh, hello sir. You’re not supposed to be in here,” Dela began. “Do you need to be rescued? Because I can help!”

The furret’s piercing gaze lifted from Krem as he turned to face Dela instead. 

“Hello, friends. I am a researcher from… Kreothe. I do not need to be ‘rescued’, but I do have a few questions, if you can spare the trouble,” the furret spoke. His voice was slightly hoarse, yet strangely commanding. 

“Sorry, we’re actually in a hur-” Sachi began.

“Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have a staraptor friend, would you?” Dela interrupted. 

“So you’ve met Kazuk. He’s my secretary, assistant, and more. We’ve been looking into strange weather phenomena affecting the continent.” The furret closed his notebook and placed it on the floor beside him. “Ah, where are my manners? My name is Amel.”

“Dela the magnificent rescue extraordinaire. And these two are my assistants as well.” Dela retained a confident smile, while Sachi had his palm on his face. 

“I am humbled to be in the presence of such a prestigious figure,” Amel replied, bowing his head. 

Dela was clearly a bit flustered by the gesture, but she quickly recovered her composure. 

“The pleasure is mine to grant you an audience. Now, what questions did you have?”

Amel lifted his head, his dull gray eyes once again piercing into Krem’s soul. Krem shivered with unease.

“I have heard about a situation that unfolded at Skiddo Forest a few weeks ago. Given that you few seem to be seasoned explorers, I was hoping that you would have some information.”

“We were there, actually. I was on my way home, when I spotted this giant red vortex in the sky.”

“Not this again,” Sachi groaned, rubbing his temple. 

“And so I dropped my plans for the afternoon, since I just knew there were pokemon in need of rescue. My intuition was right, because there in the river were these two helpless mon, flailing about in the frigid current!” 

“Pardon the interruption, but at that point had the vortex disappeared? Could you describe it in more detail?” Amel asked.

“Yes, the vortex only persisted for a few seconds. It was a red and purple circle that just tore the sky open and started sucking and blowing a bunch of air.”

“Understood. Continue,” Amel said, opening his notebook again. He began jotting something down. 

“Anyway, I rescued these two with ease. To show their gratitude, they decided to assist me in launching our rescue team. So here we are.”

“Did you witness anyone coming out of the portal at all? Or, the vortex.”

“Nope, I was only there to see the aftermath. A few trees were blown down, and there were branches strewn across the riverbank.”

“I see. Your answers are most helpful.” The furret was staring at his notes. “Do you mind if I ask your assistants the same question to gather some more perspectives?”

“Be my guest, though do keep in mind that they aren’t the brightest.”

Amel turned to face a cringing Sachi. 

“Salandit, can you give your account of that event?”

“What’s in it for me?”

“Other than the glory of contributing to modern science?” Amel opened a side pocket of his bag to reveal a stack of hundred poké coins. “How does a hundred to each of you sound?”

Krem could see Sachi’s eyes grow wide as a blipbug’s. 

“Oh hell yeah, you got a deal,” the salandit replied with more enthusiasm than Krem had seen him exhibit since they restocked on blast pies at the diner. “So I was lying on the riverbank after school, staring at the sky. And then suddenly the sky ruptured, forming a swirling chasm of deep crimson. I didn’t really get much time to look at it, though, because it got extremely windy all of a sudden, and a bunch of pink fog started obscuring my vision. If I wasn’t being pushed to the floor by the pressure, I would have been blown into the air. 

“Then, like under five seconds later, the windstorm stopped. The sky fissure closed, and all was tranquil again. Until I see this guy falling from the sky.” Sachi nudged Krem. “Dunno if he came from the portal or just got caught up in the tornado, but he landed in the river and got stuck there. And then this cat came and pushed me into the water too, dunno what her deal was.”

“You were already in the water when I got there, and I’m the one who got you out,” Dela interrupted, her eyes slanted.

“You should write an autobiography. It would be a fantasy bestseller.”

Amel tapped his pen against his notepad. His keen gaze had returned to Krem. 

“Wimpod, I would love to hear your perspective next.” 

“I, um. Uh, I was k-kinda…”

“He was unconscious for the whole thing,” Sachi answered, bailing Krem out.

“Does he remember what he was doing before the incident?” Amel asked, his gray eyes unmoving, unblinking. 

“Um, no. I don’t remember anything. I th-think I have amnesia.” 

“Interesting. And this crescent on my forehead. Do you recognize it?”

“What type of question is that?” Sachi cut in again. 

“Oh, I am simply curious. Our research group is quite prominent in Kreothe,” Amel replied slowly and deliberately. Sachi was unconvinced, but he let it slide. 

Krem wracked his memory as he stared at the glowing red crescent above Amel’s eyes. That crescent was part of something important that he had lost. Something core to his being that had slipped out of memory. He groaned in frustration as his mind turned up blank once more. 

“Y-yes? Or maybe not. It’s familiar, b-but I can’t put my finger on… or I meant, I don’t know where I’ve seen it before.” 

“Guys? Sorry to interrupt again, but does anyone hear that?” Sachi asked. He had turned around and was peering down the corridor they had come from. The group remained silent for a few seconds. 

Krem could hear faint voices in the distance accompanied by hurried footsteps. Although the sounds were muffled by the thick dungeon walls, the urgency of the tone was apparent. And they were getting closer.

He panicked. Why were there more pokemon in this dungeon? Was this an ambush? He looked back at Amel, hoping to glean information from his reaction. The furret had stashed his notepad into his bag and donned his hood, obscuring his emblem. 

“You absolute scoundrel!” Dela screamed at Amel with bared fangs. Rage radiated from her slanted eyes. “Grrrah. We fell right into this little trap of yours.” 

“I am just as confused as you are,” Amel said calmly, raising his paws and tilting his head. “I assure you I entered this bog alone.”

“No more of your devious trickery!” Dela pounced at the furret. 

Amel’s emblem shone brightly as a wall of red sigils suddenly manifested in front of him, blocking the skitty’s attack. Krem’s eyes widened. Unown script. ‘Protection of the Ancients’, followed by strings of random letters. 

“Whether you believe me or not, I mean no harm. I have already received the information I desired.” Amel relinquished the wall and pawed three coins from his bag. He tossed them at Sachi, who snatched them out of the air. “Payment, as promised.” 

“Uh, thanks,” Sachi responded, clearly bewildered by the unfolding situation, but not enough to refuse cold hard cash. He pocketed the coins and dropped to all fours, anticipating the mysterious mon closing in on their location. 

Krem scuttled into the room and positioned himself against a corner. If he had to be useful, he needed to keep a distance from the enemy. His anxiety piqued as the footsteps grew louder. They were just about around the corner now. Krem charged up a struggle bug and waited.

The instant the mon turned the corner into view, Krem released the globule of bug energy. His eyes grew wide as he recognized the intruder. 

“Sevve?” Dela cried in surprise as the lucario easily brushed aside the struggle bug wave. Sevve ignored Dela, brushing her aside as he confronted Amel.

“Who are you?” Sevve shouted at the furret, staring him down. “Speak.” 

“Doctor Amel Furret of the Kreothe Conservation Society,” Amel replied with an eerily relaxed composure. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.” 

“Do I look like a patient mon?” Sevve seethed. He grabbed Amel’s cloak. “Let’s try one more time. Who are you? And why are you talking to the wimpod?”

“You must be hard of hearing. My name is Amel, and I am here for field research.” 

Sevve had had enough. He charged his free fist with bronze fighting energy and slammed it at the furret’s face. Before his blow could connect, however, Amel suddenly teleported out of his grasp and to the other side of the room next to Krem, leaving behind a few fading sigils. Sevve reeled, recovering from his missed swing. 

Krem was so focused on the altercation that he hadn’t noticed the sandslash that had entered the room. It was another member of Team Vigilant. Krem had seen him around, but didn’t know his name. The sand mouse pokemon fired a mud shot at Amel, who blocked it with another sigil barrier. 

With Amel distracted, Sevve began sprinting toward them. To Krem’s surprise, the lucario ran straight past the furret adversary. He instead grabbed Krem from his corner and  turned back toward the exit. 

Krem yelped as he was swept off his feet. 

“Hey! Where are you taking him?” Krem could hear Sachi ask as Sevve carried him out of the room. 

“We need to help apprehend the criminal!” Dela yelled back. She shook off her boots and joined the sandslash’s assault on Amel, desperately trying to land a fury swipes on the slippery furret. 

“What? Are you not going to ask why he’s running off with our teammate?” 

As he hauled Krem out through the corridor, Sevve snapped a cold metal contraption around the wimpod’s tail. The voices from the room were fading quickly. The lucario held onto Krem with such an iron grip that it was difficult for him to breathe. A pained scowl was plastered on Sevve’s face, and he was panting heavily through grit teeth.

“W-where are you taking me?” Krem mustered. He was shivering again. The painful memories of getting his badge aurified rushed into his head. Sevve’s intentions were always a mystery to Krem. And what is more scary than what one cannot comprehend? 

The lucario looked down at him with a menacing gaze like a pyroar eyeing its next dinner. Krem felt his own body constricting under the pressure and fear. He was paralyzed both mentally and physically. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t think. 

“We need your soul.”

He couldn’t talk. 

His vision flashed white. Then black. Then white again.

Then, he wimped out.