Chapter 11 – Thornshot Disaster

A deafening silence replaces the suffocating wind. It’s too silent, and the air is too still. I’ve been plucked from one great discomfort to another.

Well, there’s still a little comfort to be had…

Just hold him tight, and don’t let go.

I dare to pull my head away from his chest, allowing me a little bit of vision.

It’s dark. Well, maybe ‘dark’ isn’t the word. There’s enough light to see just fine, but all of the surrounding terrain is colored with deep shades of blue and red. And that terrain itself… sideways, diagonal, upside-down. There’s no sense of orientation to be had here. These detached rock formations stretch for what must be an eternity, though an indescribable purple haze keeps one from viewing too far.

Where are we? Another world? Or did that orb do something to our world?

“Gh!”

Something strong is pulling me from Hopper. The wind is picking up again.

“Hang on! Don’t let go!” His grip becomes even tighter, nearly suffocating me in his fur.

“I’m trying!” My grip… is slipping…

He’s struggling to hang on, too…

Paws… slipping…

“No!” We cry out as both of our grips are overpowered by the rushing wind.

We’re propelled in opposite directions, helpless to control ourselves in this disorienting nightmare. In my peripheral vision, I can see Samuel flying nearby. Rosemary is flying closer to Hopper, and they’re going up.

The whirlwind of dust begins to obscure my view. Wherever we are, we must be leaving.

Before it all goes away, I see a figure far in the distance, among that purple haze.

Serpentine… with tendrils…?

It’s familiar…

All going gray…

THUD!

“Urk!”

Suddenly, I fall to the ground.

It’s dark again. Actually dark, not weird and hazy. A bit of light shines through an opening in the rocky wall at my side. Back on Shimmering Mountain, I guess.

“Eri! You there?!” Samuel’s voice echoes through the cave.

After getting to my feet, I respond. “I’m all good! Are Rosemary and Hopper with you?!”

“No! Just me! Let’s follow each other’s voices, okay?!”

“Good thinking!”

---

“Heyyyyyyyy~! Wake upppppppp~! Not naptime yet, Hopper!” A leaf gently slaps my cheek, disrupting my light slumber. “Wow. Those cheek pouches run warm, huh…”

I’m expecting sunlight to flood my eyes when I open them, but my surroundings are actually rather dreary. The dark, thick clouds are larger than ever. Not just because they’ve been growing the past couple weeks, but because we’re a hell of a lot closer to them than we were before. If I had to guess, we’re about one third of the way up the mountain by now.

“Alright, I’m up. Just you, Rosemary?”

“Wishing for someone else~?”

Read the room a little. “I mean, yeah.” I stumble to my feet and perform a cursory brushing of my fur. Rosemary rustles my hair a bit, releasing an avalanche of dust. “Did you also pass out?”

She crosses her leaves with pride. “Nope~! Guess you were just that exhausted.”

“Something like that.” Alright, enough screwing around. I need to figure out what happened to Eri. “Did you see where the others might have gone? I tried my best to stay with Eri in… wherever that was.”

“So pragmatic today. Samuel’s energy is rubbing off on you.” She stifles a giggle. “I didn’t see much, but we seemed to drift up. At least ‘up’ relative to our starting orientation.”

“Far up?”

“No, but…” She points a leaf to the other end of our surrounding area. It’s a rocky clearing devoid of trees, with tall pointed stones jutting out all around to form a sort of barrier. Aside from the barrier, the terrain is… surprisingly stable. “…I landed all the way over there.” The clearing has to be about one hundred feet across, give or take. “But in that weird other world, I remember being pretty close to you at the end.”

My head tilts out of habit, revealing my confusion. “That doesn’t make any sense. You’re sure you didn’t fall asleep?”

“Think it through.” She playfully chops at my head with her leaf. “The space in that other place must be all wonky. If we were close in there but so far away out here, then the same would apply for Samuel and Eri, right? Meaning…”

“They’re a lot further down than we think…?”

“Now you’re getting it.”

“Okay…” So Eri and Samuel are pretty far down. Or rather, we’re pretty far up, since those clouds are so much closer now than before. “So, what, do we start going down to find them?”

She lifts a leaf to her cheek, resting her head on it. “Not interested in a little Rosemary and Hopper adventure? No fun~!”

“Focus.”

“Take Eri from him and he becomes a mini-Samuel…” She mumbles under her breath. I ignore it. “That aside, I’m not sure. I’m sure they can handle themselves, so why don’t we take a look around for anything valuable first? It’s an expedition, after all. Wouldn’t wanna go back to the Guild empty-handed.”

---

“No sign of them.” Samuel looks around, eventually settling on the window-like openings lining the passage. “Yet another cave system… Wonder if it connects to the one down below.” He gets dangerously close to the edge, keeping one claw inside while he peers out.

“Hopefully not. Don’t wanna deal with that Aggron again.”

Looking over his shoulder, he chuckles. “Fair enough.” After fully returning to the tunnel, he crosses his claws. “So, leader, what’s our game plan?”

“Find the others, obviously.”

“Any guesses to where they are?”

Think back to what happened in that weird world. They were flying the opposite direction from me, and they were going up, right? If Samuel and I ended up so far apart, then they must be way above us. “They’ve gotta be up. Think this tunnel can take us there?”

He smiles, giving the impression that he figured it out already. “I wouldn’t bet on it. If it does, it would probably take forever to traverse anyway.” He scrapes his claws against one-another, cleaning some grime off and sharpening them a tad. “But luckily you’ve got a digging ace with you.”

“’Lucky’, he says, knowing that I’ll get my coat all dirty in his tunnels. You better be careful.”

“I’m good at what I do.” He steps towards the inner wall, pulling one claw back. “…no promises, though. Hope that thing is easy to wa-”

BADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUM-

A frantic thumping grows louder from below, shaking the tunnel in its wake. Samuel is on high alert, his head darting back and forth.

Closer, closer, closer. The thumping got higher and higher, eventually reaching our level…

BADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUM-

“Forget about the digging, we’re bailing!”

“B-Bailing?! Bailing how?!”

Without answering my question, Samuel scoops me up with a claw and sprints towards the outside.

“ARE YOU INSANE?!”

“JUST TRUST ME!!!”

BADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUM-

It’s so close now, there’s no time left to lose.

“HUP!”

Samuel leaps outside, planting one claw into the outer wall to hold us up.

BADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUM-

Within seconds of our exit, the tunnel is flooded with a wall of purple scales. The tunnel is just barely big enough to hold this mass as it slithers past, eventually wrapping around and, by the sound of it, sliding back into the mountain’s interior. The thumping begins to ascend.

“It’s a good thing… that these claws… can be used for climbing too…!” He moves his arm, bringing me close to his back. “I’m gonna need both of them for this. Hang on tight. Oh, and don’t look down.”

I maneuver around him as best I can without looking. Eventually, I’m able to get a solid hold on his back. I wrap my tail around his too, for good measure.

“Going up…” His voice is strained.

CHK!

CHK!

CHK!

CHK!

One after another, his claws dig into the wall, slowly bringing us up.

I take one last look at the tunnel, and-

Urk! Big mistake! Look back up, Eri! “You’re insane you’re insane you’re insane you’re insane! You’re IN! SANE!”

“Told you…” CHK! “…not to look down…”

---

Rosemary and I poked around for some time. I found another weird orb and… spare change, weirdly enough.

This is all valuable work, but I hate just sitting around here. “Hey, Rosemary, don’t you think we should go look for them now? It’s been a few minutes.”

She walks closer to me, shoving a few things into her bag. “Forget you and Samuel. You and Eri are peas in a pod. So worried about each other.”

“How could I not-”

“Ye of little faith.” She interrupts me by pulling me into an awkward side hug. “She’s probably got Samuel with her, anyhow.”

“How can you be so sure that they’re together?”

She looks unprepared for the question, but quickly snaps back to normal. “I mean, we found each other, didn’t we? Stands to reason that they would too.” She messes with my hair with one of her leaves. “Seriously, she’ll be fine. She acts the same way when you’re away, y’kn-”

BADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUM-

All the pebbles littering the ground begin to bounce and shake. Rosemary and I stare anxiously.

“Oh my, that doesn’t sound good.”

“…”

---

I hope the two of them are okay up there… Whatever that thing was, it’s probably headed their way.

Sure, I trust them to be alright, but if there’s a hair out of place on Hopper’s big fluffy head… I’ll… I’ll feel really bad, because this whole stupid thing is my fault. If I hadn’t ticked off those Guild guys, or if I’d made that catch, then I wouldn’t have to worry about anything.

A heavy sigh falls out of my mouth, though I wish it hadn’t. Samuel’s here carrying us up this mountain, and I – the one messing up today – have the audacity to throw myself a pity party.

“You know…” He speaks up between stabs at the wall. “You…” CHK! “…did good…” CHK! “…earlier.” CHK!

“You guys did most of the work, though…”

CHK! “You’re still…” CHK! “…on about that?” CHK! “Everyone’s got…” CHK! “…a part to play.” CHK! He stops climbing for a moment, huffing and puffing while he has the chance. “Your part is just as important as everyone else’s. I’m sure the others would agree.”

CHK! CHK! CHK!

Without waiting for a response, he returns to climbing.

“I… Thanks…”

Can’t be far from them now.

---

BADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUM-

It grows louder and draws closer.

BADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUM-

The thumping spirals around below us, sounding like it’s closing in.

BADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUM-

Getting really close…

BADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUMBADUM-

“Look out!” Rosemary points straight ahead to the path leading back down the mountain. Barreling up it is a colossal mass of purple, though it’s difficult to make out any details at a glance.

She dives forward, pulling both of us to the ground and out of the creature’s way.

THOOOOOOOOM!!!

It slithers past us, ramming headfirst into the stone barrier. Its gigantic coiling body begins to reorient itself, shaking the confusion out of its head.

“Tactical retreat, let’s move~!”

“On it!”

HISSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

The rejuvenated beast turns our way, slithering across the area in a flash to cut off our escape.

“Okay, retreat from the retreat!” Rosemary redirects as fast as she can, nearly tripping over herself.

HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHA!!!

A wall of purple closes in on her, so I jump in to pull her away. Just barely, we dodge unscathed.

“You good?” I pull her to her feet.

“I’ll pull through.”

We at last get a chance to stare in awe at our apparent opponent: a thick, segmented purple serpent. Below its head, its neck stretches out to reveal an intimidating pattern resembling a devious smiling face. The real face is no more pleasant, bearing a fanged grin and an unnerving tongue. I believe this one’s Arbok, but they shouldn’t be this tall. Even at its sitting height, this one is about… four times Rosemary’s height, give or take. If we stretched it all the way out, that height would probably double. It licks a bit of red from its teeth as it looks between us.

Red from…

…and now it’s fighting us.

If we’re not careful, we’ll… we’ll…

Good thing Eri isn’t here.

“What’s our plan, second-in-command? Best think fast.”

It stares at us hungrily, giving me an opportunity to think.

Alright, priorities. First is Eri’s safety, which is assured. Second would be Rosemary and Samuel’s safety. “Look for an opening to escape, Rosemary. I’ll keep it occupied. Get out of here with the others.”

She looks at me, shocked. “What the hell are you talking about?” Before she can continue, I bolt away from her and towards the center of our new arena. “HOPPER! THINK FOR A SECOND!!!”

---

HISSSSSSSSSSS!

“We must be…” CHK! “…real close.” CHK!

That doesn’t sound good at all. We gotta get in there! I can’t rush Samuel though…

Hold up, idea! “Samuel, you think we’re close enough to dig for it now?”

We stop ascending, and he takes a second to catch his breath. “Not ideal, but I think we’re gonna have to. Hang on extra tight.” One claw releases from the wall before… CHK! …slamming right back in.

CHK!

…

CHK!

…

CHK!

…

CHK!

…

CHK!

It keeps going like that for a minute, until there’s finally a spot to stand carved in. “This might get a little dirty. Nothing I can do.”

“Permission to go all out: granted.” Could care less about the integrity of my outfit right now. We need to help!

vrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRR!

Now that he has access to both claws, Samuel’s digging efficiency skyrockets. He’s like a drill, or some kind of new-fangled excavating machine. He wasn’t lying, this is getting pretty damn dirty, but that’s a sacrifice I’ll have to accept.

---

“Alright, you and me!” I slide into the center of the enclosure, drawing the Arbok’s attention with my voice.

It stares fiercely into my soul, mouth gaping open.

Think back to all those times with Vincent. What did you learn?

When an opponent thinks they’ve got you beat, don’t give them an inch! Keep up a strong appearance!

Can’t lower my stance. Gotta be firm. Maintain eye contact, and don’t cr-

“GH…”

Why… can’t I move…?

It’s slithering closer. Slowly; confidently.

My limbs thrash against their incorporeal confines. No, nothing external is holding me. My own muscles aren’t responding!

Yeah, this is it. The cook is on the menu tonight. Grandpa raised me as a vegetarian, what karma did I rack up to deserve this ending?

Whatever. If this thing is slithering over to me, then it’s gonna open the exit for Rosemary.

It’s not much, but you did good, Hopper. Be proud of yourself.

The head leans back, opening its jaw wide.

Leaning forward.

Bring it on, you piece of- ow!

Petals whip up around me, slashing at everything in the vicinity – myself included. The Arbok hangs just barely above me, its mouth now closed to prevent further damage.

“YOU’RE NOT…”

The Leaf Storm attack wobbles and spins, concentrating its force at the ground. It’s strong enough to lift me up.

“…GETTING…”

I go around and around in the air, getting flung at high speed out of the tornado!

“…A HEROIC SACRIFICE, DAMN IT!”

I sail through the air, quickly colliding with the stone barrier. I scramble to my fee-

Wait, I can move my body again?!

Don’t question it, eyes on the prize!

The Arbok has shifted attention to Rosemary in short order. However, it doesn’t seem interested in making her a snack. Instead, it raises its tail to strike.

Crap, crap, crap! She’s not agile enough to deal with that!

Rather than dodge, Rosemary remains planted in the ground. Wait, no, she’s literally planted herself. Roots extend from her natural dress into the surrounding terrain.

The tail closes in, but her raised leaf calls forth a barrier of roots. In her brief moment of safety, she calls out to me. “You’re stupid, so so stupid!!!” The tail comes down once more, and another root barrier blocks it. “What, you think letting yourself die is the cure-all when things get tough?!” Another tail strike, and another barrier. “Think past the next twenty seconds for once, and realize that throwing your life away makes no sense at all!” Strike. Barrier. “Die and leave me to fight this thing alone, what a great idea!” Strike. Barrier. She’s almost fully encased in roots. “And then what? Eri lives the rest of her life knowing you gave up yours for her dream? You think she’d want that?! You’re all about her safety and her happiness, right? Then how about…” She calls forth a Sunny Day sprite, then one more. They collide and explode, bursting the barrier into a set of fiery stakes which launch themselves in every direction. “…you think a little harder?! Now catch!”

HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Another Sunny Day sprite floats to me as I rush toward her. Catch? Won’t that hurt? Whatever, don’t overthink it, just trust her!

Without interrupting my sprint, I jump up and close my right paw around the little fireball. Flame slips between my digits, coating my forearm in a searing heat. My adrenaline must be distracting me from it a little, but it does really REALLY hurt. Can’t release, though. Rosemary is counting on me!

SHHHHHHHHHHHHA!

While the Arbok is still recoiling from those thorns, this is my chance! I’ll only get so many openings in this fight, so I need to do as much as I can right now!

Catching with my right paw was a bad move; I’ve got more electricity available there than in the left. Still a little juice left, though. Doesn’t have to be perfect, just has to be something.

I preserve my running momentum as I close in on the enemy, utilizing that speed to deliver a Thunder Punch with even greater force.

BZZZZZZZZZT!

The electricity along my arm tracks on to the Arbok’s scales, spreading itself across the surface of its body.

HISSSSSSSHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

What’s causing it to conduct? Did it go for a swim recently? Or maybe it got covered in snow?

Let the thinkers do the thinking, you’ve gotta focus! “One, uh… Sun Punch coming right up!” I plant my right fist on a conductive spot to double up on the focused elemental damage. The fire from Rosemary’s Sunny Day doesn’t seem to do much, but when I open my paw…

FWOOOOOOOOSH!

A raging flame bursts from my paw the moment it opens, so strong that it even blows me back.

HISSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHH…!

I land beside Rosemary, who is still rooted in the ground. “Snapped out of it yet?”

“Huh?” Right, all that stuff she was saying. If I die, then Eri would have to carry that. But what am I supposed to do? Not save the others if they need it? This stuff is too complicated, I don’t have time for it! “Yeah, ready. Thanks for the save. Are you gonna be okay stuck in the ground like that?”

Her silly demeanor is nowhere to be seen. “It’s not ideal, but it lets me defend a lot easier. Not like I have the agility to dodge much anyway. Besides, you should know how these things work by now.”

“How… things work?” Before I have time to question her cryptic remark…

vrrrrrrrrrrrr…

Ah. Right. They do tend to work like that.

---

VRRRRRRRRRRR-

You don’t notice it when you’re on the surface, but Samuel’s digging is crazy loud up close.

“Almost there! Be ready for anything!” He needs to shout just to be heard at all.

“Right!”

VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR-

Any second now…

VRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOSH!

Once a tiny bit of light breaks through, a full opening emerges in short order. With no hesitation, Samuel takes my paw and yanks me out of the tunnel, allowing me to make a clean landing outside.

It’s bright, but not as bright as it should be. The clouds hang rather close overhead, blocking light from directly above-

HISSSSSSSSSSS!

There’s a giant Arbok. Why didn’t I notice that first? Why the fixation on all this other stuff?

HISSSSSSSSS…

Its jaws open wide as it leans its head back.

“ERI!!!”

…SHAAAAAAA!

Head jolts forward and down.

Traces of red on the jaws.

Roots cover my vision.

I’m… alive…

Rosemary saved me. If she hadn’t been here, I would’ve been dead right now. I didn’t even move an inch. What’s my problem? Am I always dead weight like this?

I’m lucky to be alive…

I almost died…

Come on, breathe. Deep breaths. In and out. In and out.

---

Thank goodness she’s alright. This thing isn’t off the hook, though! No more holding back! Nobody gets away with trying to eat Eri!

I kick off at top speed, trailing electricity behind me as I rush down my target. Its head is low, so I can get a real good hit in.

My arms are running out of juice, but I can’t waste the opportunity. Come on arms, I’ll give you a full recharge right after, so please don’t fail me right now!

zzzzzzzt…

Good old trusty arms…

I arrive directly below the Arbok’s chin. It’s stuck in place momentarily, having dug its fangs into Rosemary’s root barrier.

“Hup!” I leap from the ground with my paw held high!

BZZZZZZZZZZT!

HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Once again, it conducts. I don’t have time for a follow-up, though.

I skid along the ground as I land, and I catch a glimpse of Eri on my way. She looks… horrified. No, not horrified. More like overwhelmed. She hasn’t moved a muscle since she landed.

This… is unlike her. Whether it’s from her face or just some gut feeling, I can tell something’s wrong.

“Rosemary! Samuel! Can you cover us?”

“Don’t take too long!” Samuel replies, and Rosemary immediately follows up by creating a small root barrier. I run to Eri’s side and take her paw, pulling her to the barrier.

When we stop, she seems to snap back to reality. “What’s… huff… going on…?”

“You seem like you could use a break.”

She shakes her head profusely. “N-No! Let’s go, I can fight just fine! Let me show you!” As soon as she stops speaking, her breathing speeds up again.

My grip on her paw doesn’t loosen. “Breathe. I know something’s wrong, so let’s just take a minute to talk.”

“But what abo-”

“They’ll be fine. Just breathe.”

---

This doesn’t make any sense, but if Hopper insists… “snnnnnnnnn… phoooooooo…”

“There you go. Ready to talk?”

“Y-Yeah…” We huddle together in the little root blockade.

“I almost got eaten too, you know. Something stopped me from moving, and Rosemary had to save me at the last minute. Did the same happen to you?” He sounds like he already knows the answer, but I’ll play along.

“No… Arbok are known for their petrifying glare. Make eye contact and you’re screwed. I was just spacing out. Thinking, I guess.”

His feet kick back and forth in front of him. “Thinking about what?”

“Since when are you my therapist?” My face shrinks into my scarf as I realize his psychoanalysis crap.

“I learn from the best.”

“Touche…” Bleh, this is the worst feeling in the world. I simultaneously want nothing less and nothing more than to vent to him. “Just been a rough day, alright? Between the Guild guys, dropping that orb, and now almost getting eaten. I can’t help but feel like… like a failure.” He remains silent. I appreciate his gesture of kindness, but I had a feeling unloading all this on him would be too much. “Satisfied? We’ve got a fight to get back to.”

---

No, not ‘satisfied’. “Hey, that Arbok conducted my electricity. Isn’t that weird?”

She looks incredibly confused again. “What’re you… No, that’s not weird. They can secrete poisonous venom to keep attackers away. Wait, you were touching that stuff?” She begins to wipe her paws on my coat. “That stuff can kill you, Hopper!”

I wave my paws in front of me. “L-Look! All dry, honest! No poisonous venom!” She looks apprehensive for a second, but calms down right after. “It’s a good thing you told me, though. Heh heh.” My mouth contorts into a nervous grin.

---

Only boy on Earth who can touch poison and laugh about it. “What am I going to do with you?” I pinch his cheek pouch and pull it to the side, further stretching that weird grin. “If we ever find more of those orbs, remind me never to use them. Clearly you need constant supervision.”

“Still standing, aren’t I?” He doesn’t stop smiling. “I’m lucky to have a partner who can do the heavy thinking for me, though. Still feeling useless?”

“Enjoy it while you can, poison boy.” I release his cheek. “And no, I see your point now. Kind of a roundabout way of making it, though.”

“In any case…” He bumps me with his elbow. “Will you join me in this battle, Miss Supervisor? Clearly I need your assistance. And when we get home, we can complain all night about those Guild guys. Because I can tell you really want to.”

I can’t tell whether this whole thing was an elaborate plan to make me open up, or if he’s just a big dumb weirdo. Whatever it was, it worked. “You better be ready. A good Eri vent sesh will talk that cute, chipped ear clean off.” I pull at the ear in question with my tail.

“My chipped ear is… cute…?”

“You’re cute from ear to tail.”

“…” His feet kick back and forth even faster.

Alright, cool it Eri. You’re on the clock. Right now, Hopper’s your partner. You’re here to fight a giant serpent and explore a shifting mountain, not to make moves on him. “A-Anyway, let’s talk battle strategy! Where else did you notice the venom coating?”

---

“My first hit was around where its body sits at the ground. It streaked out a little, but not super far.”

“I see, I see…” She stands up and paces around our little blockade. “That’s probably around where its stomach is. Between that and the chin, it’s probably using that venom to protect vital spots. One at normal size would be able to distribute that venom more evenly, but it becomes unsustainable at this size.”

She’s losing me. “Meaning…?”

“Meaning…” Her left paw, closed into a fist, descends to her opened right paw, signaling some kind of epiphany. “…we just need to target non-vitals! It’s less efficient, but it beats getting poisoned!”

I raise my paw, and she points to it. “Makes sense, but I was able to hit it with my electric attacks without coating myself in the venom.”

Her mouth lays agape for a second. “Wait, that’s a good point! Ok, new plan. I’ll hit the non-vitals, and I’ll save the really big hits for you. Think you can handle it?”

“Big hits are my specialt-”

RUN!

What?

RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN-

“Urk…”

“Hopper? Are you okay?”

“My… my head…”

THREE SECONDS.

“Three seconds…?”

Everything is slow.

FROM ABOVE. TWO SECONDS.

Above?

My head is pounding.

“ERI! HOPPER!” Rosemary and Samuel’s voices cry out in unison.

ONE SECOND.

It’s not a voice in my head, it’s like a sensation. An abstract inner feeling made familiar… or rather comprehensible… through words. It hurts, but I feel like I can trust it.

Something from above. In one second.

Need to get out of the way, then!

---

In a split-second movement, Hopper takes both of my paws and pulls me over his back before leaping out from our barrier. It’s so sudden that I can’t even comprehend it, until…

CRUSH!

A purple mass crashes down upon the root barrier, decimating it immediately. Hopper lands face down in the dirt, with me on top of him. He wastes no time getting to his feet, pulling me up with him.

I lean over his shoulder to look him in the eye. “How did you- woah, your eyes!”

He squints as our eyes meet, though they quickly open fully. “Hm? What’s wrong with them?”

“Wooooooah. They’re, like, red…”

“R-Red?!” He reaches up to rub them, but it remains the same. “Is it still there???”

“Maybe they’ve always been like that?” No, I’m feeling fine now. This is definitely weird, it isn’t some lapse in memory or a hallucination. “Regardless, w-we should get a move on. That Arbok has to be-”

HISSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

“…ready to fight again!”

---

Eri tugs at my jacket, pointing beside the Arbok. “Alright, that way!”

I begin running, but… “With you on my back? Are you sure?”

“You better not be calling me heavy, or I’ll show you the true might of a Cinccino’s tail.”

“N-Not heavy! I can carry you just fine!” It sounds like a lie, and realistically it should be; Eri isn’t heavy, but her weight should be inhibiting my acrobatics. For some reason, though, I can barely feel her. “Just making sure it’s part of your plan, that’s all.”

I look up at the Arbok and-

“GH!” Crap! Made eye contact!

Immediately after, Eri slips her paws over my eyes, returning freedom to my muscles. “No eye contact!” She releases her paws, freeing up my vision.

“R-Right, thank y-”

LEFT. ONE SECOND.

I jump to the right.

CRUSH!

The tip of the Arbok’s tail plants itself in the ground.

Eri leans back to face the tail behind us, releasing one paw from my jacket to point at it. “Alright, close in!”

“W-What about the venom?!”

“It wouldn’t need any on the tail. I think, you move!”

“C-Copy!”

---

Hopper pivots back to the tail, approaching beside it. He’s moving far faster than usual. Yeah, he evolved, but should the difference be this massive?

When we finally cross the tail…

PLOOF! PLOOF! PLOOF! PLOOF! PLOOF!

I spin my tail at top speed, allowing it to unwind in a flurry of attacks.

“Doubling back! Get ready!” He pivots again, moving around to the other side of the tail.

“R-Ready!”

---

Its tail wiggles in the ground, beginning to dislodge itself. Right when it seems to be coming loose-

PIERCING YOUR SIDE. TWO SECONDS.

Two seconds? That’s when I’ll be right next to it! I don’t have time to slow down, though…

SLIDE!

…

If you say so!

“Change of plans, prepare for impact!”

“W-What?!”

I hold Eri’s paws tight and slide on my side as we pass the Arbok once more.

“A-AH!”

Sure enough, the tail pulls out of the ground and nearly strikes us, but I barely dodge below it.

“Don’t forget… you have a passenger…” Eri sounds sick as I return to my feet, continuing my forward march.

“S-Sorry! I’ll try to take it easy!” This weird precognition thing is handy, but I should stop relying on it so hard. If Eri vomits or passes out or something, we’d be at a serious disadvantage. It would also be really gross, especially if she’s leaning over my new jacket…

I slow to a stop ahead of Rosemary and Samuel, taking care not to disturb Eri this time. “Sorry we took so long…!”

Rosemary, now liberated from her roots, runs to our side. “Eri, you feeling okay? You had us so worried~!”

“I wasn’t, but I’m fine now.” She leans over my shoulder and gently bumps heads with me. “Got a drop-in session with a good therapist.”

HISSSSSSSSSSSS!

“Arceus Almighty, can this thing stop interrupting my cute one-liners?”

“Let’s save the small talk for later. You ready to wrap this up, leader?” Samuel steps next to us as well, the four of us now lined up facing the Arbok – save for Eri, still atop my back.

“Ready and willing. Let’s switch up our partnerships, though.” Eri drops down, instead gravitating to Rosemary. “Meet me up top on my signal, Hopper.”

“Up… top…?”

She winks at me and points above the Arbok’s head. I take care not to make eye contact as I look up. “We’re trusting you boys to hit hard, so don’t let us down!” She and Rosemary run away beside each other, leaving Samuel and I alone.

“Sounds like we’re evading until she gives the word.” He waves his claw as he jogs away. “Stick together. We’ll attack as one.”

“Copy!”

---

“Hey, hey, Eriiiiii~!”

“Yes?”

“Lemme try reading your mind real quick. You’re plotting a little team attack, aren’t you~?”

“…maybe. Not a little team attack, though. I’m going all out with this one.”

“Don’t you think these would be easier if you planned them in advance?”

“Life comes at you fast. No one-size-fits-all solution.”

“Smells like an excuse to me.”

“I don’t see you coming up with this stuff, Rosemary.”

A wall of roots emerges next to me to block a tail attack, and Rosemary ceases to follow my advance. “Fair enough. Better get your plan started now, though, because I’m not going anywhere~!” She sounds so giddy about it, but that’s actually a huge problem.

Alright, whatever, this can work. Let’s go for it! “Rosemary, give me a Leaf Storm around the Arbok. Use the biggest foliage you can manage!”

She lets out a heavy sigh, but begins waving her leaf around in short order. “You don’t make it easy for me, princess. You’re lucky I’ve got these roots.”

---

“Say, Samuel…”

“What’s the matter?” He’s a lot slower than me, so I pace myself and remain by his side. We bolted in the opposite direction from the girls, and are closing in on the edge of the arena.

“Eri’s definitely going for some team attack with Rosemary, so don’t you think we should do something cool too?”

“Afraid of being upstaged?”

“Says the guy who always steals all the credit.” We slow to a stop near the rock barrier. “Come on, it’ll be fun! I’ve even got a cool idea. Thought of it when I was a Pawmo, but it could probably still work.”

“Go on…”

---

“This… good enough…?!” Rosemary strains as she whips up a storm of thorns and roots around the Arbok.

“Perfect! Keep it steady for me!” I turn to the side, locking eyes with Hopper at the edge of the arena. “Ready, boys?!”

“Ready!” Their voices are quiet from this distance, but their response is instant.

Alright, focus! You can do this!

---

Rosemary tosses Eri into the air, and she lands atop a thorn. She leaps off of it, spinning in the air and slapping the Arbok with her tail. She’s careful to aim for a spot that’s unlikely to have any venom on it.

The Arbok frantically looks around, clearly overwhelmed by the storm around him and the little assailant it now must deal with.

She elegantly lands on another bit of foliage and launches from it, landing another Tail Slap as she crosses. “Get a move on, you two!” She shows no sign of stopping this attack pattern.

“Right!” I turn to Samuel. “Ready, Freddy?”

He puts a claw to his forehead and shakes his head. “Let’s just get on with it.”

---

As I jump past, I see Samuel close in on the Arbok’s base at top speed with Hopper atop his back.

Alright, that’s our cue! “Rosemary! Ascend!”

“On it~!”

The foliage rises even higher, and the wind is strong enough to even lift me. In just a few seconds, I’ll be above this thing!

---

“Coming in hot!!! It’s the… uh… Electric Bulldozer!!!”

I firmly grasp my cheek pouches to prepare for impact…

Any second now…

…

NOW!

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!

I establish my electric current, allowing it to flow through my entire body and explode along my fur. A Ground-type Pokémon like Samuel doesn’t feel anything from this, so it’s a perfect combination attack!

HISSSSSSHAAAAA!

The Arbok reels in pain as it’s hit with both the onslaught of Samuel’s claws and my electric burst simultaneously.

“Going up!” I clamber on to the beast’s scales while maintaining an electric output from my paws. Earlier, touching the venom while I had a current active seemed to keep it off my fur, so I better hope that holds true!

---

After a final Tail Slap, I jump directly above the Arbok’s head. Hopper and Samuel’s attack did a good job stunning it, so now I’m just waiting on hi-

What the hell?! Is he insane?! Yeah, just climb up the guy who is covered with poison. This guy, I swear to Arceus…

He launches himself in the air and grabs my paw. Thankfully, it’s dry.

“Rosemary, cut the storm!”

“Understood~!” All of the debris ceases to fly, falling to the ground in unison. Among it all rises a little Sunny Day sprite. “Hopper, catch~!”

Catch? Doesn’t that hurt? Well, he does it anyway.

A split-second later, we both begin descending to the Arbok’s head. We avoid eye contact, but its jaws are wide open, waiting for us to slip in.

“S-SHIT!” I cry out in panic.

“GUYS! LOOK OUT!!!” Two more panicked screams resound from below as well.

I-Is this the end? Shit, shit! “H-HOPPER!” I get one last good look at him. If this is the end, I have to tell him-

“Mind if we jump in?!”

Blitz???

FWOOOSHHHHH!

A stream of fire erupts below us, striking the side of the Arbok’s mouth.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

The mouth closes, we’re safe!

“Eri, get ready!!!”

“Ready, Hopper!!!”

He swings me up, diving headfirst to the Arbok’s dome. His other paw opens wide, and from it…

FWOOSH!

…a small explosion of fire bursts out! It slightly dampens our momentum, and I see some venom fly off the sides of the Arbok’s head.

“Coast is clear! Your turn!” He whips his arm downwards, swapping our positions and setting me up to deliver my strongest Tail Slap yet!

“Finishing move! Thornshot Disaster!”

PLOOOOF!

Clean hit!

HISSSSSSSSSSHAAAAAACK!

“Good work, team!” I look between Rosemary and Samuel, and then to Hopper smiling at me from above.

Man, Rosemary and Samuel are so far below us.

So far… below…

“H-HOPPER! WE’RE GONNA FALL AND DIE!!!”

---

“No dying on my watch!” I tug her paw with all my strength and pull her into a hug, wrapping both arms tight around her. She clings equally tight. I reorient myself midair so that my back is facing the ground, and then… “Time to slide!”

“AHHHHHHHHHHH!” My fur isn’t thick enough to muffle Eri’s terrified scream.

We slide along the Arbok’s tail until it’s safe to jump down, which I do at my earliest convenience.

“Umph!” My landing isn’t graceful. I land back-first, rolling to lessen the impact. When I finally come to a stop, I flop my arms out at my side, releasing Eri. “Sorry that I keep needing to do that.”

“I don’t mind…” She doesn’t move, remaining at rest on top of me.

Up above, the Arbok is still moving.

It’s moving closer, actually.

Mouth open, right above us.

Cra-

“Not so fast!” Blitz dashes to our side with Ares atop his back. “Go get ‘em!”

“Hm!” Ares launches off his partner’s back and sails towards the fake face on the Arbok’s neck. “Take this! Night Slash!”

SHHHHHING!

The entire world seems to darken around us until that darkness is sliced in half by a streak of light. This light expands to return brightness to the surrounding area.

HISSSSSSS… ssssssss…

THOOOOOOOM!

And the beast goes down.

---

Hopper and I remained prone while Blitz left to gather the rest of the expedition party, leaving Ares behind to supervise the four of us.

“Thornshot Disaster, hm~?” Rosemary bends down above us, obscuring what remained of the sunlight. “I like it, but there’s a lot less ‘Thorn’ than ‘Shot’, don’t you think?”

“How is that my problem? You two could’ve followed up from below.” I shoo her away with my paw.

“Follow up how?” Samuel chimes in from behind her. “We don’t have a team attack like you do.”

“You’re two years in and haven’t figured out a cool signature team attack?” Hopper chuckles next to me. “You gotta get that sorted out, man. For a guy who loves stealing the flashy final attack, I’d expect you to have this locked down already.”

The couple look nervously at each other, clearly embarrassed by us one-upping them.

“Guess we’re just the perfect team, right Hopper?” I turn my head to get a look at him.

He turns back to me with rosy cheeks, a little electricity tracing his cheek pouches. “S-Something like that!”

“Get a room.” The crunching of Samuel’s boots give weight to his frustrated departure.

“Maybe once you get a cool team attack!” Hopper briefly looks up while uttering his insult, but quickly returns eye contact to me.

We both lie there giggling, just happy to have lived through that fight.

---

“Wooooooah! You’re telling me Thorn and Earshot did all this?”

“How did it get so big? Come to think of it, weren’t there some other really big Pokémon earlier?”

“Yeah. Nothing this crazy, though.”

“How did they even get up here? Did they all climb?”

Unfamiliar voices break into wild speculation as they funnel into the arena.

“Order! Order in my Guild!” Blitz slams his paw down, gathering everyone’s attention. “I believe we’ve gathered everyone. I’ve sent word to the Flying-type escorts. They’ll be here to pick us up shortly.” He scans the crowd once more, nodding and muttering with each head he skims over. “Hold a moment, we’re missing two.”

Just as Blitz makes his observation, the Corviknight, Yanmega, Tropius, and Braviary arrive with their giant wood platform in tow. “Blitz, sir!” The Braviary snaps to attention after landing, standing firm before his Guildmaster.

“At ease, friend.” His paw motions downward. “Something to report?”

“Those rookies, the Zangoose and Druddigon, met us at the foot of the mountain. They told us they were returning to the Guild.”

Discussion breaks out amongst the crowd, though hardly anything is intelligible amidst the sea of voices.

Eri, now sitting up, pokes my belly. “Did you hear that? He called them rookies!”

“And those rookies were bossing us around…”

Blitz lets out a heavy sigh. “Understood. Thank you for your report. Are we prepared to depart?”

“At a moment’s notice, sir!” The four Flying-types respond at once.

“Excellent! I declare this Guild expedition… successful, and complete!”

---

We all boarded in the same fashion as the trip here. Hopper and I are both mighty sore, but our victory left us energized as well. Despite the tight squeeze, the mood is much less anxious this time around.

“How did a pair like you beat that huge Arbok anyway?” The Rampardos cranes his neck to get a good look at us. “No offense of course, but I’m sure you can understand my surprise.”

“W-Well it wasn’t just us! Our friends Rosemary and Samuel did a lot of the work. Without Rosemary especially, we’d have been that Arbok’s lunch!” His vision is unsteady, and I can feel his arm shaking. “And Eri here worked out all the strategic stuff. I just followed her orders.”

Always shirking all the credit. “Don’t forget you’re the one who helped me out of that funk. Though yes, my brain did a lot of heavy lifting.”

The towering Rock-type unleashes a bellowing chuckle. “Making up for the size difference with strategy, hm? Must’ve been one hell of a strategy then.”

“I just had to figure out where its venom was coated, and then coordinate a big team attack.”

“That team attack is what saved you.” The Hatterene next to Hopper bends down, staring deep within our souls. “Everyone on the mountain could see that storm, and that flash of electricity. Blitz leapt away the moment he felt something was wrong.”

I feel a little bad to have worried him. “You were with Blitz’s group, then?”

Her jelly exoskeleton rises to cover her mouth as she giggles. “With all the other A and S-Ranks, yes.”

Did I hear her right? “Y-You’re… that high of rank…?” Gosh, I was being so informal. I need to show more respect to my hopefully-to-be-superiors!

“No need to be nervous. Today we’re peers. I speak for the entire Guild with that sentiment.” The entire Guild, huh? She must not know those jerks very well. “What jerks? Did someone give you a hard time?” That Zangoose and Druddigon.

Wait, huh? “Are you…?”

She closes her eyes and smiles wide.

Reading your minds? Yeah, just a little.

Hopper and I lock eyes. Guess she was poking around in his brain, too. I wonder what it’s like in there…

It’s emptier than yours, that’s for sure.

Hm. Had a feeling. His gaze lowers and his face turns a bright red.

Chin up. Clean is better than cluttered. Anyway, if something’s bothering you then you might want to tell Blitz about it.

It’s nothing, really. Just a disagreement.

I can’t force you to do anything, but just consider it. Those two will be off doing important missions to help other Pokémon. If you don’t want to report him for yourselves, consider doing it for those potential clients.

I shake my head like I’m trying to get something off it. “Alright, alright. I hear you. Enough mind-reading.” Hopper nods beside me, fluffing up his hair with his paws.

“Reading the minds of guests is bad form, you know.” The Rampardos’ polite sarcasm complements his sly smirk. “She does it to everyone. Hopefully that doesn’t scare you kids off.”

Again, why do we keep being called kids…

Younger than the rest of us.

“K-Knock it off!”

---

Some more idle chatter followed as we rode home, but I didn’t feel that one girl reading my mind after. For a moment I thought she may have been that weird voice from earlier, but I doubt it. She was very clearly a voice, while that sensation earlier just manifested itself in words. My head hurt like crazy before too, which wasn’t the case when this girl poked around in my head.

I hope I didn’t subconsciously call her pretty or anything. Mind-reading’s scary stuff. It’s a relief she’s a good guy.

We reunited with Rosemary and Samuel after landing and began walking home, but we’re interrupted by the booming voice of an Arcanine. “Ah! Earshot! Thorn! Spare a few moments?”

Eri’s whole body snaps towards him the moment he begins. “S-Sure thing, sir!”

“We produce detailed public reports of our official expeditions, and we’ll need to include what happened with your group. Normally we’d get this stuff from the two who accompanied you but, seeing as you were separated, we’ll need your own account today.”

Hold on, that reminds me. “Blitz, if you don’t mind my asking, what happened to those two anyway?”

“Sounds to me like they scrambled back to the Guild after you were separated. I’ll collect their stories later.” He waves a paw toward the Guild’s tent entrance. Tentrance? Nah, that’s stupid. “I’ll show you to my office. Ares will join us. Hopefully that’s alright.”

“No problem at all, sir!” Eri excitedly jogs back to the tent, looking back to the rest of us. “You two aren’t busy, right?” I guess she’d know that I’m available.

Rosemary raises her leaves behind her head and begins walking up. “Exhausted, but available. Come on, Samuel.”

He sighs, but follows his partner regardless. “I’m starving. Best be a good meal waiting for me after this.” Oh, brother. I never should’ve revealed that I can cook. As I whine internally, he glances over his shoulder at me. “Hopper? You coming?”

“Y-Yeah! Sorry, spaced out.”

Having three mouths to feed is a hassle. Hopefully Rosemary and Samuel have a good stock of ingredients.

---

Blitz leads us down a series of gigantic corridors, culminating in his office at the end of a hall. Decorations are sparse within. A pair of desks sit near a window overlooking East Radiant Forest. One desk is twice my height, while the other barely tops my eye level. Blitz and Ares even share an office? That’s so cute!

Ares is already seated at the lower desk when we walk in, and Blitz takes position at his in no time. Three large chairs are set up in front of the desk. Rosemary and Samuel each take one, so I guess Hopper and I are sharing the third. Plenty of room for both of us, thankfully.

“Thanks for making the time, kids! Sorry again for making you do this.”

“No problem at all, sir.” I give a slight bow from my chair.

Ares – who is interestingly wearing glasses – clears his throat. “A basic rundown of the day will do fine. Feel free to highlight anything remotely noteworthy.  I’ll stop you if we need some more info. Oh, and don’t worry if there’s any gaps, we’ll fill them in with Frankie and Colin’s story later.” So, their names are Frankie and Colin. Good to know.

---

“So these two Ferrothorn, and this Archeops…” Ares looks up from his notepad. “…they just attacked out of nowhere?”

I look to Eri nervously. Her face sours for a second, but she otherwise keeps her composure. “We, uh… Yeah. Unprompted. Hopper saw one about to attack Frankie, so he got the first hit.”

“Uh huh…” He scribbles something in. “What happened next?”

Again, Eri looks a little upset but presses on. “They, uh, they found this weird blue orb. It was just like one we’d seen a couple days prior. When Hopper got kidnapped in Shimmering Cave.”

“Right, I’d heard about that. Sorry to hear, by the way.” He turns his attention to me.

“Oh, uh…” I’m surprised they didn’t ask us about it sooner. Been a busy day, I suppose. “…thanks. I’m all good, though.”

He smiles, but that expression turns serious when he looks back to Eri. “That aside, please continue.”

She fiddles with her paws as she resumes the story. “It took us to this weird place where gravity made no sense. There were rock formations floating in space, and the whole place was covered in this endless purple haze. Oh, and I saw this serpent in the distance.”

“The Arbok?”

“No, no. Something way bigger, with tendrils. And it was floating around freely.”

The Guildmaster and Vice-Guildmaster lock eyes, allowing nervous and confused expressions to take both of their faces. “Sorry, back up a second.” He focuses back on Eri. “How did you get there? Did the orb just warp you there?”

Eri jolts up in our seat. “Oh, sorry, I should’ve explained that. It kicked up this dark wind that took us there. Oh, and it was just us four. Frankie and Colin got left behind.”

That confused look remains. “Did you do something to activate it…?”

“We, uh…” Her eyes drop to her feet. “I… dropped it… It broke open and brought us there.”

This development doesn’t seem to please him. “That… is an important detail. You dropped an expedition finding?”

“Sorry…”

I raise my paw to interject, but Eri’s tail lowers it in a flash. She’s just gonna let those two get away with this?

Ares sighs as he jots down a few more notes. “Alright, so you broke the orb and got teleported away. What next?”

I turn to my partner and whisper. “Come on, we should tell them.”

“No, it’s fine. Don’t want to waste their time…”

“He said to be detailed. This is an important detail, right?”

“Hopper, please, it’s okay.”

I don’t want to make her mad but… I can’t take this crap anymore! “What’s stopping you? Aren’t you upse-”

Blitz stamps a paw to his desk. “Don’t skimp on details. You’ve clearly got something to say, so out with it.” His usual friendliness is absent.

“N-No, sorry, we’re just talking about… uh… our plans for dinner.”

“Eri.” He stares at her sternly, causing even my fur to stand on end. “Come on, talk to us.”

“I… It’s not…”

I take hold of her paw, prompting her to turn my way. Tears well up beneath her eyes, and she looks generally overwhelmed.

All I can do is be supportive. I nod at her with a smile. “I’m here for you, ‘kay?”

Her jaw hangs open. Once she registers what I said, she wipes her eyes and nods. She takes a deep breath in, and then a deep breath out. I don’t release her paw. “Colin threw the orb at me, and I messed up the catch. It’s still my fault, but…”

“Are you sure that’s the whole thing?” Ares writes something in the margins of his notes.

“Yeah, are you sure?” Rosemary leans over to get a look at Eri.

My grip tightens.

“They… had been really rude to us. I got kinda confrontational about it, which is my fault, but they were looking down on us the whole time. They said that if I wanted to make it into the Guild someday, I’d just do what they say.” The mist in her eyes parts, giving way to determination. “A-And the wild Ferrothorn and Archeops that attacked us… they only came because they started yelling! They wanted us to get attacked because I got cocky!”

Everyone freezes when Blitz stands up. He steps around the desk and stops before Eri. “Thanks for coming forward. We’ll talk to them about it, so you don’t need to say anything else if you don’t want to.” His paw descends upon her head, petting her hair. “Demeaning behavior is unacceptable in my Guild. They’re our newest recruits, so I’ll make sure they are familiar with our expected conduct. I apologize for all of this. It’s my failing as Guildmaster.”

“T-Thank you… I’m sorry…”

“Don’t apologize. Continue when you’re ready.”

I bump shoulders with her and smile, which she returns. It’s strained, but genuine. With her paw still in mine, I speak up. “Since we were all separated, I’ll start with what happened on my end.”

---

The four of us took turns explaining our perspectives all the way through the fight with the Arbok.

“Hmm…” Ares skims through his notes as he speaks. “Yeah, this should be good enough for our report. Anything else you didn’t mention?”

“No, that should be everything.” I’ve thankfully recovered from my little episode. “Sorry for holding out on you earlier.” I turn my attention to Hopper and shake his paw. “You got anything?”

Our eyes meet. He looks surprised, and it seems like he has something on his mind, but even so… “No, I think I’m good.” Those purple eyes blink as he turns back to Ares.

Hopper’s eyes…

“Oh! Oh oh oh! I just remembered!” I turn to my partner and shake his arm with both paws. “We should tell them about that thing! The thing with your eyes!”

His head tilts as he responds. “My eyes? What’re you… Oh, ohhhhhhh. Yeah, that’s pretty important.”

Ares readies his pencil. “Well? What happened to your eyes?”

He directs his full attention to Ares and Blitz. “While I was talking to Eri, I felt this weird voice in my head. It was telling me that I was about to be attacked, and told me to run.” Woah, he didn’t tell me about that part.

“A voice, huh? Telepathy perhaps?”

“No, not telepathy. And maybe ‘voice’ is the wrong word. It was hard for me to tell in the moment, but I think it was, like, every one of my senses shouting out to me. Like some weird hyperawareness. ‘A voice’ was just how my brain made sense of all that information, I guess.”

I grip his paw. “And you said something about your head, right?”

“Yeah. My head hurt like hell at first. Sensory overload, maybe?”

The pair before us return their attention to one another, again wearing those perplexed looks. Ares’ eyes drift to us as he speaks. “And your eyes… were red?”

“It was like a weird red overlay, yeah. Sorta transparent-y.” I answer the question for him. I’m the one who saw, after all.

The Absol’s eyes return to his partner. “Blitz, you think it could be…?”

“…Terastalization? Yeah, sounds pretty similar.”

“Terastabawhat now?” Hopper’s infamously poor hearing is giving me second-hand embarrassment.

Blitz chuckles at his misunderstanding. “Terastalization, son. It’s a phenomenon where a Pokémon assumes a new type, and they usually become capable of some unusual stuff. Your description fits the bill well enough.”

“The question is what type. Psychic, perhaps?” Ares fervently scribbles in his notes.

“Psychic is likely, but why would Psychic give him red eyes?”

“Do you have a better guess?”

The Guildmaster gives a hearty laugh. “Can’t say I do. The type is usually obvious. Maybe you weren’t all the way there? Not a ton of people report Terastalizing, so it’s possible that your transformation was somehow incomplete.”

Hopper slumps back in our chair. “Was hoping for a more satisfying answer…”

“Suppose you’ll just have to wait until it happens again. Then maybe you’ll get the full picture!” Blitz’s optimism is no doubt part of his universal appeal. The stories don’t do him justice.

“In any case…” Ares shuffles his papers, using the table to get them all in order. “…is that the end of your report?”

“Nothing else from me.” Samuel leans back in his seat.

“Me neither.” Rosemary sounds more serious than usual.

“Not that I can remember…” A non-committal answer you’d expect of Hopper.

That’s pretty much everything, but there’s one more thing bothering me…

“Eri?” Ares lowers his glasses while he looks at me. “Anything to add?”

It might be a little irrelevant, but I may as well shoot. “Yeah, just one more thing. When we were in Shimmering Cave a couple weeks ago, that Aipom kid said he saw a huge Pokémon before we rescued him. Not the Aggron, though. I think he called it long, and said it was slithering around. This was all before the shifting terrain, too. I think you can tell where I’m going with this.”

“The same Pokémon, hm? I suppose it makes sense that wilds would stay the same between shifts, just not something we’d considered.” He flips back through his papers and begins scribbling something in. “Excellent observation. We’ll keep it in mind.”

Vice Guildmaster Ares just said I made an ‘excellent observation’. Hoo boy. Don’t let it go to your head, Eri. You’re better than that. Or are you…?

Blitz stamps a paw to his desk, drawing our attention. Ares remains occupied with his paperwork. “Thanks again for taking the time, kids. You gave us a lot to work with! And we apologize again for the behavior of some of our members. We will make sure the issue is dealt with.”

‘Dealing with the issue’ sounds pretty imposing, coming from one of Blitz’s physique. As much as I can’t stand those two, I hope Blitz’s punishment is, uh, non-violent.

“P-Please don’t apologize, sir! I appreciate your kindness!” I bow as best I can from my seat.

“Just doing my job. Now, before you go…” He pulls out a few drawers in his desk, eventually revealing a large pouch. “…this should cover all four of you. I trust you can distribute it equally.”

Samuel’s eyes seem to bulge out of their sockets. “That’s… a lot…”

“That’s a Guild salary for you…” I step closer to the desk and prepare to retrieve the pouch, but on closer inspection I realize it’s not a one-mon job. I nervously turn back to Hopper. “Uh, I might need your help lifting this.”

---

After such an exciting day, the group requested a pizza for dinner. We had plenty of spinach and mushrooms leftover, so I opted for them as toppings. Reactions to the decision were… mixed… so we agreed to split the pie, keeping one half plain. Rosemary and Samuel respectfully stuck with the plain slices, leaving Eri and I with four spinach and mushroom slices between us. I only had room for one, so Eri happily dug in on the remaining trio of slices.

It’s no fair that they make me cook and clean. Samuel said something about it being our substitute for rent, but I think he’s just lazy. Eri was repulsed by the idea of cleaning up, so here I am. At least it’s close to where I sleep, so I can just pass out after.

My thoughts of rest are interrupted by gentle steps descending the stairs.

“Hopper? You awake?” The speaker reaches the floor and finds me in the kitchen. “Ah, um, sorry for leaving you with so many dishes.”

“Don’t mention it.” Not only in the sense of ‘oh, it’s okay, I’ll handle it!’ but also literally do not mention it unless you’re gonna help. “You need something, Eri? I thought you’d be in bed by now.”

My visitor can be heard stepping back and screeching a chair along the floor. “I can wait until you’re done. Just wanted to chat.”

The courtesy is appreciated, but having something to pass the time would be preferred. Hold up. Idea. “Wanna chat over dishes? I rinse, you dry?”

She giggles. “Guess that’s fair. I should’ve offered.” That was surprisingly easy. She pulls a small stool to my right and steps up.

“So, what’s on your mind?” I scrub the plate in my paw before handing it off to her.

She takes it in both paws. “Don’t you remember? You promised me a vent session earlier.” Her tail rises on her right. She passes a rag to it and begins drying with both paws and her tail. That mound of fluff can do it all.

“Oh yeah. About the jerks, right? Fire when ready.”

She mumbles gibberish for a second. “Bleh. Just thinking about those two has my mind all foggy. ‘Bleh’ is all I’ve got.”

“They are quite ‘bleh’. Are you feeling better than before?”

“Yeah, I think so. Before they had me all sad but now they’ve got me more…” Her drying speeds up. “…mad.”

Kinda scary. “Valid. They had me so pissed off. I wonder what Blitz has in store for them.”

She returns to normal drying speed as I hand her a glass. “I dunno, I kinda hope this all just blows over. Last thing we need is more opps.”

“Welcome to the opp-having club. Population: Team Earshot.”

“Because we’re just so hateable.”

“Total menaces, you and I.”

She sets the glass down and retrieves a bowl. “We should revise our slogan to be more meanspirited. Change our name, too.”

“Team Skullshot.”

A burst of laughter nearly causes her to drop the bowl. “Holy shit. That sounds like a band I would listen to in high school.” I pass a whisk to her.

“What kind of band names themselves that?”

“Heavy metal.”

“You’re into that stuff? Grandpa used to say it’s crap.” We only really listened to classical and jazz stuff. The only glimpses I’ve gotten of other genres are when he’d flip past them on the radio, usually followed by a potshot at the music taste of the youngsters.

“Dude, I was sooooooooo into ‘that stuff’. That’s what growing up with a bunch of brothers will do to you.” She chuckles under her breath. “Dad was indifferent, but Mom hated it. She’s trying to protect my little sister from the horrors of metal. We should totally go to a record shop after work sometime!”

“Grandpa would never forgive you if you played any metal in our house.”

She lets out an exaggerated gulp. “Guess we’ll have to make the most of our time living with Rosemary and Samuel. I’ve actually been wanting to get her into metal, so it works out well.” She puts the whisk on the counter and awaits the next dish.

“Eri.”

“Hm?”

We both turn to each other for the first time all conversation. It’s funny, I’m already used to being above her eye level, but the stool evens us out. It feels weird, but kind of refreshing.

I smile at her. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

She looks embarrassed for a moment but recovers quickly. With a smile of her own, she responds. “Thanks… You helped a lot. Here I thought I was gonna rant about those idiots, but instead you just got me talking about metal…”

“Don’t worry, I feel the same way about them. They were being super lame, and you’d better not take any of that crap they said to heart! Guys like them… like Vincent… they’re all about getting in your head.”

She smiles awkwardly. “I would hug you, but both of our paws are super wet.”

Now I’m the one feeling embarrassed. “R-Right. Mind helping me with the rest of these?”

Her paws slam on the counter. “Lay it on me! And allow me to give you a primer in metalology so you’re prepared for our record shop trip!”

Can’t say any of this is what I expected tonight, but it’s fine. As long as Eri’s feeling well, I’m happy. “Hopefully there’s no pop quiz waiting for me this time.”