Chapter Text
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What Artemis needed was coffee. Thankfully, the luxury hotel had it in spades. After she and Silvally had shown off those strange bands the Muk tycoon had given them as thanks for picking up his son, they'd been whisked into pure luxury. Big walk-in showers, fluffy towels, complimentary dinner, and the one of the comfiest beds she's slept on. The ground was ruined for her now.
Not for Silvally though. Seeing as they were given Expedition Team rooms, four beds were set up in the corners of the room. Artemis, nestled into a pile of pillows and soft blankets, had woken up in the middle of the night when Silvally left his bed. Her "partner" had been tossing and turning for what appeared to be hours, based on the moonlight seeping in through the window. Eventually, Silvally gave up, yanked a blanket on to the floor, and curled up on top of it. He was asleep soon after.
The following morning the two were treated to a complimentary breakfast in the lobby. It was the first time in a while that Artemis had actually felt under-dressed for an occasion. All around her and Silvally were Pokémon with expensive hats or scarves, bowties and jewellery that looked more at home on a stolen item poster than it did around someone's neck or ankle. Their fur looked like silk with how it flowed, and scales glimmered like they'd been polished specifically for breakfast.
It didn't exactly help that she and Silvally were getting those weird, judging looks she hated. Luckily, they seemed to recognize Artemis after a few moments, but it didn't make things any less awkward.
That didn't stop them from enjoying the food, however. There were meats and fruits and eggs and breads, syrups and seasoning and jams to add to it all. Artemis very happily slathered Bluk and Pecha berry syrups on her food and indulged herself. Treats like this were few and far between, so she didn't feel guilty about adding a few calories. She had to tamp down the feeling of disappointment when she felt full entirely too soon. Now she understood why the wealthy Pokémon around her appeared to be rather... fluffy.
Silvally didn't seem to be holding back either, though he did fall into his slow and sedate pace, being polite and intentional with all his movements. He didn't stop after the first or second serving. By the third, Artemis was a little worried he was going to eat himself sick. By the fourth, she was jealous that he could continue to enjoy this fantastic food while she eyeballed it, wondering if maybe she could fit one last piece of toast. Eventually, he stopped, and pushed his half-finished plate away—it was the first time Artemis had seen him actually eat until he was full.
It was rather late in the morning by the time the duo finally left the hotel, not in any rush for today. All they had to do was swing by the police station to have a chat with Chief Alakazam, and then maybe take on a quick and easy mission just to occupy some time.
As Artemis and Silvally weaved their way through Pokémon towards the police station, the Ninetales' mood brightened. Here, in more business-oriented towns, explorers weren't quite as common as other Pokémon. Treasure Town had them in abundance, so once new civilians or workers grew acclimatized to them, they stopped being wowed unless someone important showed up. But, in Capim City, things were a little different. She revelled in the attention that everyday Pokémon gave her, doing double, and even triple-takes. Even though it was only a half-day's walk from Treasure Town, Pokémon didn't leave their hometowns often.
The only reason that Artemis wasn't being swarmed right now was because of Silvally. Even without all the rumours of him across the Grass Continent, he was still a large and intimidating Pokémon. Here, the townsfolk hadn't had the chance to learn that Silvally was gentle and kind, and not at all like others made him out to be. Maybe a few stories had reached here by now, which explained the general lack of panic, but Artemis didn't blame any of the townsfolk for giving them a wide berth.
Unfortunately, Artemis's good mood started to fall once the station came into sight. Honestly, she hadn't expected a review of everything so soon. It felt as if she hadn't even had a chance to really make progress with her 'task'. Really, what had she managed to accomplish? Silvally didn't panic at the sight of her anymore, and seemed comfortable around other Pokémon—at least enough to talk to some without prompting. That and, what, reading? What a huge accomplishment that was, it's not as if baby Pokémon learned that within the first few years of their lives. Was she failing her task? Not able to fix what she'd caused? Would this be her legacy? Failure to-
"There you two are." A mental voice danced inside Artemis's head. Silvally must have heard it too, if the way his ear twitched meant anything. "I'll be teleporting you into the building shortly."
Shortly was an understatement. Artemis barely had time to process what the voice said, before the whole world shifted around them. In both an instant and an eternity, they were spat out inside the police station, mid-stride, causing Silvally and Artemis to both stumble. Artemis bashed her nose into a large wooden desk, and she reeled back, clutching her snoot. Silvally also ran into the desk, a powerful forelimb causing the desk to skitter across the ground and hit the opposite wall.
"My apologies." The yellow, floating Pokémon popped into the room, hovering above the desk. A purple glow surrounded the displaced furniture and it lurched back into position. "Good morning, I hope your night was restful."
Artemis rubbed her nose and made a face, shaking her head with a huff. Silvally stepped back as well and sat down, reaching out with a talon to tentatively brush against the desk, as if giving a silent apology. Or, he was measuring how deep the new groove in the desk went.
"My apologies for hurrying this along, but I have a request for you two after the review," the Alakazam explained with a wave of a spoon. "I am also quite literally buried in paperwork in my office."
"That's fine, we understand," Artemis said. Silvally nodded along beside her. Internally, Artemis let out a sigh of relief. Maybe she wouldn't be grilled over her methods and-
"Artemis, I am now speaking directly to you." The voice was back in her head again, dancing along the outside of her mind. "Do not say your answers aloud. Think them clearly, and try to envision a memory you want to share."
That sounded simple enough. She just had to think about her answers carefully and not let her mind wander. It seemed to be doing that lately, and she couldn't exactly figure out why. Still, she just needed to focus. She's got this.
...
After a long moment of silence, she felt a prodding against her mind. "Please respond. I am only at surface level; I cannot read your mind."
"Oops!" Artemis's cheeks darkened. "Can you hear me now?"
"Yes," the Alakazam replied. The yellow humanoid floated a little closer on a cushion of psychic energy. "I'm going to ask you four questions, as that is all we have time for. Ready?"
"Yes," Artemis mentally replied.
"Good, that's one question." Artemis could feel the amusement from Chief Alakazam leaking through their mental connection. Her stress eased just a little, and she cracked a smile. "How do you think you are doing so far?"
"Good, I think," Artemis replied. She did her best to push forward thoughts of her instructing Silvally, and leading him through dungeons, or letting him lead. She brought up Silvally's rather sudden and explosive reaction to Artemis's touch within the guild, but very quickly smothered that with the memory of him allowing her to brush his fur, albeit with new gouges carved into the stone around the bath. Unfortunately, that stray thought of Silvally's reaction dragged her mind along, and before she even realized it, she had linked it up to Silvally's more sudden moments. The tension, and shaking, or how quickly his hackles raised, and he took a defensive stance, as if instinctual. Her mind dragged up the very recent memory of Silvally reared back on his hind legs, towering over herself and Team Dusk, wild and reactive eyes meeting hers and-
Artemis clamped down on that hard, thinking about darkness. Just an empty space, purging the thought from her mind.
"... I see." The police chief made a face Artemis couldn't place, but continued. "How do you think Silvally is doing so far?"
"Better than I thought," Artemis admitted. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He was just sitting quietly, within her reach if she decided to touch him, patiently waiting his turn. "He's adapted quickly and has-"
"Show me," the Alakazam interrupted.
Burying her irritation, Artemis let out a breath and tried to think of what would show progress. Silvally reading, for starters—he'd gone from not understanding the written runes to reading advanced children's books in a couple weeks. His reactions to the public were almost non-existent. She recalled how he tensed and was shaking while surrounded by Pokémon. Now he just walks right through, aware of his surroundings but no longer hesitating. There was also his willingness to talk to Pokémon now, and-
"That's all I need to see," the psychic-type once again interrupted. Arceus, Artemis hated that. It was rude and annoying and- "Intentional, Artemis. I was gauging your reaction to frustration, considering your history. You're making progress."
"Oh," Artemis breathed. That just sucked all the momentum out of her anger.
"One last question." There was a weight to it, and the importance of this, the feeling of this question, seemed to weigh down on Artemis's mind. "Do you trust him?"
"I mean, sure? We sleep in the same room, and I trust him not to kill me or run off. He's fine out of my sight if I need to deal with something, and-"
"That's not what I mean."
There was a little more pressure on Artemis's mind, and an image started to form. It was high up on a cliff-side, overlooking a rather vast and open canyon. Silvally was there, watching Artemis, his silver eyes boring into her. Artemis was... dangling from the cliff! Her claws struggled to find any traction in the rock, and she couldn't keep any ground. Her hind paws kicked at the air ineffectively, and in this moment, there was nothing she could do to save herself.
"Here, Silvally has a choice. He could do the obvious thing and save you, pull you back over the ledge to safety. Or… he could leave you. Continue on with his life, guilt free, as he had nothing to do with your death." Artemis sat in mid-air beside Alakazam, watching the vision take place from the outside. "Do you trust him to save you?"
"Of course I-" Artemis paused, mid reply. Did she trust him to do that? Would he? He'd have the opportunity to just be rid of her once and for all. He could go on his merry way, without her, and get a new partner to work with. He'd finish his sentence and go off to live his life in solitude away from people like Artemis who'd hurt him.
"I... It's not any different than a Mystery Dungeon," Artemis reasoned. "He could attack me there, leave me for wild Pokémon. He doesn't, and I trust him not to turn on me." Though attacking her in the dungeon came with the risk of her fighting back, injuring him, burning him. Here, there were no consequences to letting her die. He could just go. "Y... Yes. I think he's a good Pokémon, and would do the right thing."
"Hmm... Very well." The vision dissolved into ash and floated away into the depths of her mind. Suddenly, Artemis was back, sitting on the floor of this little side room with Silvally next to her. "Thank you for your honesty."
"No problem," Artemis said quietly, her mind a little frazzled from the experience. She turned to look at Silvally, only to glance away just as fast, only able to meet his gaze.
~{O}~{O}~{O}~
"I am now only speaking to you, Silvally." The voice of the Alakazam police chief flitted around his mind once again. "Do not say your answers aloud. Think them clearly, and try to envision a memory you want to share."
"Understood," Silvally thought, his head dipping in a small nod.
"Very good. I will ask you four questions, as we have limited time. Do not rush, just answer the questions normally." Alakazam met his gaze, and he watched her right back. "Ready?"
"I am."
"Good, that's the first question." The amusement from the Alakazam trickled through their mental connection. At least she seemed friendly. "How do you think you are doing so far?"
"As well as I can, given the circumstances." Silvally replied honestly. "Having a goal to work towards helps, such as re-learning the written language." Images flittered into his mind, intentionally selected, displaying him taking notes, reading, and discovering new uses of type-shifting to help with his tasks. "It's nice having Pokémon around who actually enjoy my presence—as far as I can tell, in any case." Thoughts of Lucario and Emerald and Leafeon and Kangaskhan came to mind, each one smiling. "I no longer feel like I will be attacked on sight, and I've slept soundly more often than not."
"Very interesting. Thank you for your honesty."
Everything mentioned was specifically chosen, displaying his progress and integration. Thoughts were intentionally kept from opinions on the Expedition Society, and Artemis, to avoid any unforeseen emotions or thoughts slipping by.
"How do you think Artemis is doing so far?"
Silvally's eye twitched.
"Artemis-" red eyes flashed, fire surrounding them- "is... doing a much better job than I initially believed she would. She has been patient-" waiting for his choices in the dungeons, or for him to choose a job on the boards- "and gentle-" the brush carefully working through his fur, and the soft voice when getting his attention- "and understanding. I... initially believed this would turn out worse..." -ire fire fire fire fire fire fire f- "I'm incredibly glad it hasn't."
"Tell me more." The Alakazam's tone was different—dismissive. "Changes in attitude, interactions, socialization, personality."
Silvally blinked at the change. "There was a significant change after the first two weeks. I believe it was just familiarization." Silvally wasn't going to mention that the change just so happened while Mew was around, he didn't want to jeopardize the whole thing. "She smiles more, and Leafeon mentioned there are more visits now, and-"
"Irrelevant." Again, the change in tone was back in full force. This had to be a test of some kind—to see how he would react to Pokémon being unfriendly or demanding. Maybe checking his suitability to society, or control over emotions? "Have there been any negative incidents I should know of?"
"Nothing of note," Silvally replied flatly. He wasn't going to mention the change after he'd smelled the salt from her tears that one afternoon. Or that he could tell she probably felt guilty about something—the quick glances and folded ears and droopy tails gave a lot away. And he wasn't going to mention he'd overheard conversations with Mew, or with Leafeon, that was private.
"Are you sure?" the Alakazam pressed.
"That was your fifth question," Silvally retorted. There was no point in bringing up anything negative and causing a significant issue with what was going on already. It was familiar, and not as uncomfortable as he'd been worried about. Though, whether or not that was a good thing was yet to be seen.
"... Very good," Chief Alakazam praised, all negative feelings from the connection melting away. "You caught on quickly. Just one more question. Do you trust her?"
Silvally's brief feeling of pride and smugness over reading the situation quickly faded. Did he trust her? Well...
"I trust her to do the right thing," Silvally answered after a brief pause. "She is moral, and will do what's best for the innocent Pokémon around her."
"That's not what I meant." The void of nothingness around them suddenly shifted, the ground cracking beneath his feet, and the world darkening around them. Slate grey walls formed out of thin air, towering above them, and closed in around them, quickly forming a claustrophobic cave that sent Silvally's heart racing. "What I mean is, if Artemis were given the opportunity to leave you behind, maybe trap you in a cave somewhere, would she? Of course, it wouldn't be by choice. Maybe an Earthquake destabilized the caverns, causing a collapse."
The psychic vision shook, and in moments, cracks raced up the walls, and chunks of the ceiling fell down. Silvally, of course, knew this wasn't real, but that didn't stop every muscle in his body from coiling as he did his absolute best to keep his composure.
"It would be a split-second decision, of course. Nothing that would be her fault, if asked. We know that, if possible, her pride and sense of duty would make her come to your aid. But if you were separated in the dungeon, perhaps? Barely able to hear one another, with maybe seconds before everything came crashing down. Do you believe she would come to your aid, or is wiping her paws of this responsibility too convenient given the situation?"
Silvally could barely think about what the Alakazam was saying. All his clear mindedness and careful thinking had vanished, replaced by just pure unadulterated terror, being trapped again, unable to escape. This time, though, someone could come looking for him.
But would she?
"I..." Silvally did his best to form a clear thought, in between the mental mantra of 'it's not real it's not real it's not real it's not real'. "S-she... I-I don't-"
Everything in his mind-scape vanished with a whisper, the sounds, smells, memories of small rocks trickling down his back while he remained pinned under barely shifting rock, all of it disappeared. Silvally gasped, taking in a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and opened his eyes, finding himself back in the office. His talons gripped the floor beneath him hard enough to shatter the stone below, and he kept his eyes on the floor. The heat of Artemis's gaze was quite easily felt, he knew she was staring at him—he could tell she was angry, given the subtle swishing of fur on stone that he heard.
"Apologies, I must cut this short. The advance teams have arrived at the location of the anomaly." Alakazam's voice radiated in both of their minds again, and Silvally could feel calm and peace and a little regret pouring through to his side from the police chief. "A pack of wild Bidoof and Bibarel appear to have blocked off public access to the Luminous Spring, preventing Pokémon from evolving. Some of them, at least. They reported being chased away by Bidoof's once they started nearing the spring. In once case, someone mentioned something about an Alpha standing guard near a giant dam, though their recount of this is fuzzy. Brain damage is a fickle thing."
"That sounds... unusual," Artemis said. Silvally's heart skipped another beat.
"Indeed. All I ask is that you two go to the dam and drive out the Pokémon causing this. Without a leader, the remaining Bidoof should scatter. The advance team and another two groups in the area will distract the group to the best of their ability, leaving you two room to dismantle the dam." The police chief looked at Silvally, then to Artemis, fixing them both with a serious gaze. "Is this acceptable? If not, I do have another group who have volunteered to take the task. This would count towards your sentence, and there will be a generous reward as well."
"Sure, sounds simple enough," Artemis said. "Just chase off some ferals. Should be easy." The Ninetales' voice softened slightly as she turned to Silvally. "What do you think?"
Silvally sat there quietly. After several seconds, he nodded, not trusting his voice at the moment. His throat felt a little too tight, and he didn't know if he was capable of responding properly without giving anything away.
"Very good. I will teleport you both just outside the zone—to not draw attention, or have you stumble upon roaming sentries. Luminous Spring is where you should go—I would rather not drop you two in unprepared for what's there," Alakazam explained to them. "Are you ready?"
Silvally and Artemis had both brought their bags, expecting to head out right after this anyway. Silvally brought his mostly out of paranoia, so there was no risk that something was stolen. Artemis just seemed to do it out of habit more than anything.
"Ready," Artemis said. Silvally just nodded.
Chief Alakazam's eyes flashed pink, and with a disorienting twist of the world, Silvally and Artemis vanished with a loud pop of displaced air.
~{O}~{O}~{O}~
'Just outside the zone' wasn't as close as the police chief of Capim City implied. Mystifying Forest was the closest dungeon to Luminous Spring, and the two were forced to make a trek through it to reach their destination. Apparently, the Northern Desert approach and the Amp Plains direction were both being used as a distraction to draw whatever patrols exist northward.
Or, at least, that's how Silvally viewed it. The mountains to the east and west weren't exactly approachable, leaving just two generic directions. There was a problem though. Mystifying Forest was completely silent. Unlike the last few times Silvally had been through—on the run—it was empty. There were no wild Pokémon to approach them, as if everything had been driven from the area. Instead, the only thing of note was the berry bushes picked completely clean, and large swaths of the forest chopped down.
Teeth marks were visible on all the toppled trees, and there were even a few that had been recently felled, left abandoned by whatever had been dragging them. The grooves in the ground from having the trees dragged were still fresh.
Silvally paused, and stepped closer to the trees. There was something off about the teeth marks left behind. The small ones were easily explained, Bidoof could cut through a tree in seconds if they were so inclined. The large gouges though? A Bibarel wasn't something that left the dam for many things, preferring to stay and defend their home and territory—Silvally had one too many run ins with those while in the wilds.
So why would a Bibarel being doing menial work? There was no reason for the evolved Pokémon to be doing work of Bidoof. Not unless something made them. Maybe an alpha?
"That's not normal," Artemis voiced from behind him.
His heartbeat spiked, still somewhat anxious from the brief meeting with the Alakazam. The timing of it was... mildly inconvenient. Still, he had a job to do despite his fears being used for testing or whatever the goal was of the meeting. Artemis appeared to notice his apprehension, and her ears twitched backward. She retreated several steps, her tails swishing through the tall grass of the forest floor.
A deep inhale, and a long exhale. "No. Might be something big," Silvally explained after a moment.
"You think something forced the Bibarel to do work?" Artemis asked. "An Alpha, maybe?"
Silvally merely tilted his head, his version of a shrug. "Maybe."
The two continued through the dungeon, keeping their pace at a light jog. They couldn't exactly leave the Pokémon distracting the group of Bibarel and Bidoof fighting while they just wandered through the forest. Still, they couldn't afford to be exhausted by an all-out sprint without knowing what they were walking into.
As they made progress, Silvally's fur started to stand on end. The quiet atmosphere grew more and more oppressive as they neared what had to be the exit of the dungeon. Clearly, it was affecting Artemis as well—her tails fluffed out, and her hackles were raised, though there was no indication of anything even being wrong. After a short while, even the breeze causing the leaves above them to rustle died as well. All that was left was a stale silence that clung to every surface. Silvally and Artemis even slowed, just to prevent their steps through the grass to be anything louder than a whisper.
The dungeon around them appeared to be recovering, given the thin trees and stumps littering the areas around them. The deforestation was so thorough that a fog had settled in, the nature of the dungeon coming into play to obscure far off areas, allowing reality to shift unseen.
And still, there were no Pokémon. Nothing but a growing stillness that enveloped the Mystery Dungeon, and the feeling that something was breathing down your neck. Even the quiet crunch of grass beneath paws and talons felt far too loud.
Before long, they rounded a final corner, and the exit to the dungeon became visible. A month or two ago, finding the exit to a dungeon meant there were fewer places for Silvally to hide or run. Now, it meant getting out of the creepy forest and back into the normal world. Outside could be quiet, that was normal. Dungeons being so usually meant something was very wrong.
Artemis stepped through the shimmering hole in reality first, Silvally following behind. Just as he went to step through, Artemis reappeared, her front half sticking back into the dungeon. Silvally froze, suddenly face-to-face with the white-furred Ninetales, and his brain turned off. For just a few seconds he was trapped under her gaze, red eyes boring into him, his heart skipping a beat. Her lips moved but it was lost on him, the sound of his own heartbeat suddenly far too loud.
Then, he blinked, stepped back, and took a breath. "Sorry, I missed that," Silvally said. Sharp talons sank into the dirt below, grounding himself to reality, fighting off momentary flashes of red eyes and burning fire.
"There's some kind of wall in the way," Artemis repeated herself. She gestured with her head towards the other side of the exit. "Just give me a few seconds to take care of it." Her eyes lingered on Silvally for just a moment too long for his liking, and her ears twitched back. Artemis stepped back through the portal.
True to her word, Silvally heard a rather loud—muffled by the portal—crash, and the sound of wood splintering and cracking. Right after, the loud skittering sound of ice hitting ice rolled through, followed by a sudden crackling sound of fire. Then, silence.
Artemis poked her head through the portal of the dungeon again, just her muzzle visible this time. "Alright, there's a path now. Let's go. Just watch your head." And just like that, she disappeared behind the shimmering veil of the exit once more.
Silvally took another breath, waited several seconds, before following. Stepping through the shimmering portal, he recoiled as he stepped into icy water. On the other side of the dungeon exit was what used to be a wooden barricade. Thick slabs of ice displaced the wood, shattering it and freezing it in place. Through the ice was a melted tunnel, with small flames flickering on the grass beyond, the source of the melted water. Artemis's tails were barely visible through the tunnel, which was a little short for Silvally.
The chimera Pokémon took a moment to take in the barricade. Thick logs were layered in a staggered pattern, with rocks, twigs, and moss jammed in between to stabilize it. What used to be a rather sturdy wall was now what looked like moments from collapsing, thanks to Artemis blowing apart the wall with ice, and punching a hole through it with fire.
Silvally looked at the hole at chest height, and ducked his head, folding his feathers down as far as possible. He pushed his head close, and paused. He just wasn't going to fit. Well, he could, but it would involve a lot of struggling and squeezing and putting himself intentionally in incredibly cramped and closed quarters. That wasn't going to happen.
"What's wrong?" Artemis asked from the other side. "I made sure it was wide enough. I even put out the fire- oop." She caught herself, and what Silvally could see of her tails wilted. "If you go back into the dungeon I can take it down."
"It's alright," Silvally told her. He withdrew his head from the hole and rolled his shoulders, flexing his talons in preparation. "Stand back." The energy inside rolled and shifted, and he took a breath, before tightening his hold on the chaotic power within him. The soft grass, the cool water, the clean air, and even the brief amount of sunlight drew his focus. Silvally's fur took on a greenish hue, soft like fresh grass, and his eyes, tail, talons, and feathers all shifted to a bright fresh green.
Rearing back, Silvally planted his talons on the wooden wall and gripped it tight. Following Leafeon's prior instructions, he pushed some of his energy out, feeding small vines into the wood before him and the ground below. Within seconds, the vines had hold of the surfaces and began writhing forward, sinking into the wood, weaving between the logs, growing thicker. Loud creaks and groans from the wood sounded, and the wet ground below him started to dry up. Healthy and heavy logs dried out and shrank, creating gaps in the dense wood, while the roots under his paws spread further and deeper, winding up his legs to hold him in place. Silvally took a breath, and then heaved, rolling his shoulders to the side and ripping the wall at an angle.
The barrier collapsed around him with loud cracks of fallen trees, leaving Silvally standing in the middle of a ring of dried out logs. The ground below was now dry, and thick roots bulged the soil. Artemis stood across from him, her eyes wide, looking at the destruction. Then...
"Was that really necessary?" She huffed. Her tails gave an irritated flick, and she glanced around the forest, ensuring they hadn't attracted unwanted attention.
"Sorry," came the immediate reply, though he refrained from mentioning she hadn't been much quieter. Silvally winced both from drawing Artemis's ire, and because he had to physically rip the roots and vines from his talons and paws, snapping them at the base. His grasp on his energy faded, returning to the standard chaotic neutral.
"It's alright, let's just get going."
Artemis turned and started her way down what looked to be a well-worn path, and Silvally followed, gingerly stepping over the fallen logs. The path wound lazily through the woods, the trees surprisingly unscathed. It would have looked almost normal, had it not been for the sharpened wooden spikes buried in the ground, pointing towards the direction of the mystery dungeon.
Silvally frowned. There was a frightening amount of intelligence on display for what should be a group of ferals. Still, there was nothing indicating Pokémon were near them. No glimpses of Butterfree and Kakuna, or Pidgey and Swellow flitting about the canopy. It was just... silent.
Artemis and Silvally plodded along, still with no sign of their target. Silvally kept his ears perked, and his eyes scanned their surroundings, feeling the sensation of eyes all over him. It sent a shiver up his spine, with no control on his part.
Rounding another corner, the pair came face-to-face with their first sign of something. It was... another wall. It was thicker and taller than the last, with very clear attempts at bracing made on the outside. The path through it was just a large circular doorway, big enough for even Silvally to walk through it with only some minor crouching on his part.
What related to the Bidoof line would need to be that big? Maybe they'd somehow convinced a large dragon-type to guard them? Or maybe this was because of a different species altogether.
On the other side of the rather thick wooden wall, was a large clearing, stripped bare of any greenery. It was just compact dirt, and on the other side of the clearing, a towering structure—a Bibarel dam. Silvally's jaw dropped. There was actual structural engineering at play—scaffolding scaled up the side of the wall, in the middle of what appeared to be adding more to the top layers. There were what appeared to be crude stairs and rough ramps leading in and out of the dam. Thick wooden supports tied together with vines and branches braced the side of the structure.
"Woah." Artemis stopped dead in her tracks, and craned her head back. "This is, um... wow."
Silvally had to agree. He stepped to the side to avoid running into the stunned Ninetales, and moved closer. It looked closer to a fortress than something meant to store water—the rampart-like structures at the top seemed to suggest as much, as did the small shuttered windows lining the walls.
"So, how do we want to deal with this?" Artemis asked. She turned to look at Silvally, and a nervous grin took place on her muzzle. "It is made of wood..." she hinted, wincing a little at the implication. "I've done it a few times. We can lure the Bidoof and Bibarel out with fire, and when they try to put it out, we can drive them off. I can extinguish it after."
It wasn't the worst idea, as much as he hated to admit it. Though that would introduce the risk of an out-of-control wildfire considering the sheer amount of lumber and other flammable material. They'd need to come back with a good number of water-type Pokémon if things got out of control. Burning down a forest and endangering wild Pokémon wasn't something he enjoyed.
"Let's scout first," Silvally finally said. "We need the leader." He let out a relieved sigh when Artemis nodded. He felt it was lingering guilt that made her agree.
The plan lasted all of two-and-a-half seconds. A small Bidoof charged from the bushes crying bloody murder, its' tiny claws skittering across the packed dirt. Its' cry was high-pitched and relatively quiet considering its' size, but the glowing teeth bared at Artemis and Silvally were far from underwhelming.
Artemis glanced at Silvally, blinked, and turned back to watch the advancing Pokémon. It wasn't much effort for Silvally to deal with the Pokémon—it charged toward him, considering he was larger and therefore the biggest threat in a feral's eyes. Silvally merely raised a talon and stopped the Bidoof in its tracks with a dull smack of thick fur on scaled talons. The feral chittered and bit at Silvally's taking swipes at him with glowing claws.
He gave it a few seconds to calm down, the Pokémon kicking up a cloud of dust from trying to run through Silvally's talon. Stoppable force met immovable object. Silvally took a breath, and his type shifted, a dull orange taking over his feathers and tail. With the fighting-type energy enhancing his strength, Silvally's talons clamped down around the Bidoof's face, reducing the angry squeals to muffled screaming.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Artemis step around to get a better look, and she chuckled.
Careful with his sharp claws, he picked up the Bidoof. It squeaked and thrashed in his grip, writhing in the air, doing its absolute best to escape the iron-grip. Without a word Silvally walked toward the tree line, leaving behind a laughing Artemis. Upon reaching the trees, Silvally reared back on his hind legs, pulled his foreleg back, and hurled the Bidoof into the trees. It flew through the forest shrieking, its little limbs flailing about as it flipped end over end through the air. His aim was true, and the Pokémon landed upside-down in a bush.
It continued to thrash and kick and flail, unable to do anything more than wriggle violently in place.
Artemis just laughed harder, doubling over. She wiped the tears from her eyes with one of her tails, calming herself with a few breaths. Silvally couldn't help smiling just a little at the situation—he hadn't wanted to hurt the small Pokémon after all.
"Ha... Good aim." Artemis let out a sigh. "Okay, let's get to the top and start-"
A twig snapped in the bushes to the side. Both Silvally and Artemis perked their ears, their gazes jolting to the source of the sound. Silvally started to back up, trying to get distance from the natural cover the forest provided, and he heard Artemis doing the same.
Without warning, a massive boulder careened from the forest. The Rollout attack shot towards Artemis from the opposite side, moving so fast she had no time to think. It was pure instinct that saved her, the hybrid Ninetales springing straight up, leaping over the attack, her tails just dusting over the top. Silvally wasn't quite as lucky—he was lined up with the move, their attacker clearly intending to strike both of them in one blow.
However, when faced with a head-on Rollout attack, there was a significant difference between now and when he'd first been evading capture: he wasn't being attacked from multiple sides, and he didn't have a broken leg.
Silvally reared back, and dropped forward, fighting-type energy coursing through him as his talons caught the attack. The rapidly spinning boulder shuddered, and it spun faster against his grasp, trying to force its way through him. He tightened his grip, and the rocks making up the attack began to crumble, shattering the protection for the Bibarel inside. Compared to the previous Rollout he'd faced, this one was laughable.
With a growl, Silvally tensed his legs and whirled around, launching the Bibarel covered in rock straight at the large wooden dam. The Pokémon hit the structure with a thunderous impact, causing stone and wood to explode outward. A visible ripple rolled up the wall, causing the structure of the dam to shift and creak.
Once again, Silvally was thoroughly amazed at the healing properties of the Sitrus Tea. Moving like this before had caused him aches and pains that lingered for days after. Now? Now he felt as if he could tear apart the dam piece by piece if he had the time to do so. He felt great.
What wasn't great was the sound of angry wild Pokémon all around them. Growls rattled through the dam he'd struck, and Silvally thought that maybe aiming for the most solid structure wasn't the best idea.
Glowing eyes blinked into existence, peering at them through the darkness of the forest. Several rather large Bibarel clambered through some of the holes in the dam above the ground, and dropped with a solid thud, the ground shaking a little with each hit. They were large, almost as tall as Silvally, with red glowing eyes.
Alpha Pokémon.
"Well... That sucks." Artemis backed toward Silvally, the duo moving towards the middle of the clearing. She still kept her distance, not allowing a single hair on her tails to contact him. "So much for stealth... We're going to have to fight."
"I know," Silvally replied. He was hoping he wouldn't have to hurt the wild Pokémon too much, but-
"Are you going to be okay with fire?" Artemis asked suddenly. "I don't know if we can hold back this time."
No.
"Yes." They didn't really have a choice. He was fine with it if it was at a distance, but they would be in very close proximity. He'd have to distract himself some how.
"Alright. We need a distraction. I want to set fire to the center of the dam, maybe find the leader, and then help you clear them out."
A distraction would have been nice—something to occupy the attention from the advancing hoard of Bidoof. The smaller Pokémon crept toward them, teeth glowing and claws growing longer. The Bibarel by the dam were content to sit back and watch.
Luckily for Silvally and Artemis, a distraction came stumbling out of the bushes. Covered in leaves, and with a very blatant imprint of Silvally's talon on its' face, was the small Bidoof he'd thrown. It shook itself and charged forward, racing through the rest of the hoard. It was clearly ready for revenge.
Silvally frowned, and glanced around, a plan forming rapidly. "Go in three seconds," he said quietly to Artemis. She merely nodded, and a purplish haze gathered around her legs.
One...
Silvally took a breath, and the power of Agility thrummed through him, causing everything around him to feel sluggish. Then, he did it again, and again, the speed-boosting power draining his energy, enhancing his body.
Two...
The surprisingly persistent Bidoof broke from the ranks of its fellow ferals and charged, kicking up dust as it skittered forward. One moment Silvally was there staring it down, and the next, he lunged. He was on the Pokémon in an instant, using the momentum from his assault to slide through the dirt, his back half already to the side of the approaching Bidoof. The same talon clamped over the rodent's face, lined up with the previous talon marks, and Silvally tensed, planting his back legs and wheeling around, firing the Bidoof straight at the largest Alpha Bibarel by the dam.
Three!
The small Pokémon launched forward with a crack of sound, and streaked through the air, the force of the throw causing dust to billow up. The skull of the Bidoof hit the Alpha with a sickening crack at speeds that made a Quick Attack look lazy. The battlefield seemed to freeze, allowing every Pokémon to watch the Bidoof rag-doll through the air, end over end, disappearing into the dam through one of the windows high up.
The alpha Pokémon who'd been struck gave an angry growl, its eyes narrowing. It stood on its hind legs and took a step forward, and then another... before falling flat on its face. The unconscious Pokémon landed on some of the smaller ones, causing a trio of muffled squeaks to sound out. The other Bibarel blinked. They looked up at Silvally, then down to their leader.
Up at Silvally.
Down at their leader.
"Well, that works!" Artemis leapt forward at that instant, taking advantage of the stunned battlefield. She planted her paws on the head of a Bidoof and sprang off, sending the Pokémon tumbling into the crowd. Her jaws parted and, mid-flip, let out a burst of ice that formed a solid wall through the ranks of the Pokémon. She used various enemies as stepping stones, blurring over the battlefield under the power of Agility, and vanished through the entrance of the dam.
The hoard of over-confident rodents charged forward, aiming for the single Pokémon they had a hope to even reach. Seeing as he was surrounded, Silvally had to rely on group-tactics instead of his usual one-on-one style of overwhelming someone. He took a long, deep breath, clean forest air filling his lungs… and let out a horrific screech. The Metal Sound tore at his vocal cords and made his throat ache, the unnatural sound of metal on metal exploding outward.
The Bidoof stumbled and dropped to the ground, their paws flying up to their ears, or they whipped their heads side-to-side to get rid of the pain. All that managed to do was cause multiple Pokémon to headbutt one another. Even the Bibarel at the back of the group winced, reeling from the awful sound, and pawed at their ears.
Silvally tensed, and shot forward, talons and paws kicking up dust as he barrelled through the staggered Pokémon. With the Quick Attack fuelled by layers of Agility, his weight and momentum threw a number of Bidoof in all directions. The few Bibarel visibly faltered, suddenly much closer to Silvally than they wanted to be.
This close to three alpha Pokémon, Silvally's muscles quivered, and his instincts soared. It wasn't fear that made his body twitchy, at least not fear of the other Pokémon. There was a reason Silvally chose to run more often than not. He wasn't afraid of fighting—quite the opposite.
He was really good at it. Not from any training, though he had practiced from time to time. It was his body guiding his actions, almost before he could even think of it. What he really worried about was going too far. But, this close to powerful Pokémon, surrounded, and without many options, Silvally let his control slip just a little.
The nearest Bibarel stood no chance. Despite standing at nearly Silvally's height and almost matching his weight, it made no difference. A powerful talon clamped over the alpha's jaw and forced it shut, causing the panicked attempt at some sort of water-type move to sputter and fade. Silvally's other talon grasped it by its chest fur, and he wrenched to the side, tearing the large Pokémon off its feet and slamming it into the next alpha Bibarel. The two tumbled backwards, tripping over the third that'd been knocked unconscious from the earlier throw.
The low growl of a Bidoof behind Silvally was all the warning he needed. His hind leg snapped out and hit the much smaller Pokémon with a sickening crunch, kicking it backwards into the hoard of rodents. Still, that did little to hamper the approaching Pokémon, and the Alpha's were struggling to their feet.
New tactic then.
An agility-enhanced Quick Attack isn't something most Pokémon can fend off, let alone see. One moment Silvally was there, glaring at the smaller Pokémon, and was gone the next. His paws and talons tore into the ground and he launched himself at the wall of the dam, using his grip strength to run up the side, and leap off halfway up. The Pokémon on the ground only managed to see chunks of wood fall from the dam, and a shadow flit to the middle of the battlefield.
Energy gathered in his talons causing them to glow white, and he hurtled toward the ground. Silvally hit with the force of a meteor, the energy in his talons dispersing outward into the forest floor. The ground cratered and exploded. Bidoof and non-alpha Bibarel were sent flying as slabs of solid stone shattered and forced the Pokémon in all directions.
A cloud of dust billowed up from the hit, obscuring Silvally from the Pokémon on the outskirts who'd avoided the worst of the attack. Through the dust, there was the barest flicker of yellow, before Silvally burst from the dust-cover, punching a hole in the dust like it had been a solid wall. Lightning crackled over his fur, feathers and eyes glowing an electric yellow.
Closed talons caught staggered Pokémon in the ribs or clocked them in the jaw, sending them reeling. Flashes of light burst from each impact as he jolted from Pokémon to Pokémon, leaving them quivering in place, electricity crackling over their bodies.
Silvally's fur stood on end, and he dropped to the ground, flattening his feathers to his head. A thin beam of pressurized water shot overhead, clearing the battlefield, and hit a tree. Bark was stripped from the surface and wood splintered outward, the water-type attack punching a hole clean through the tree.
Once it was clear, Silvally turned his gaze toward his attacker. The alpha Pokémon met his gaze with an angry scowl, and it was matched by the two recovered alpha Bibarel at its side. That bravado quickly died as Silvally pushed himself upright once more, his narrowed eyes locked on the large Bibarel.
Silvally took a step forward.
Three Alpha Pokémon stepped back.
~{O}~{O}~{O}~
Artemis staggered as the whole structure of the dam shook, and heard one of the walls close to Silvally give in. She hoped he was alright. Unfortunately, she had to get deeper into the dam—besides, he was almost as skilled as she was, and plenty strong. He could handle himself.
She was more worried about what caused alpha Pokémon to work together. Two could be explainable—mated pairs occasionally happen in the wild. But three? Unheard of. This kind of coordination and defence was because of something else entirely. Especially in an area frequented by Pokémon from the cities as much as this spring was. Normally, alphas took over an area a fair distance from civilization.
No, there was something else going on.
A trail of frozen Bibarel and Bidoof were left behind as Artemis progressed through the fortress-like dam. She had time to set it on fire later, right now she needed to find-
Her paws clenched, and she darted to the side, ducking around a corner as something absolutely massive lumbered by. A deep chittering growl rattled the walls, the sound vibrating in Artemis's chest. Heavy steps splintered logs like toothpicks with every move.
There was something different about the Pokémon in the middle of the dam. It radiated a sort of presence that was clearly different from a normal intimidating aura or some sort of move meant to unnerve people. It was like there was too much energy inside it, leaking out into the air. There was no way it could have gotten in here—the dam would have had to been built around the creature.
Slowly, Artemis peered around the corner.
In the center of a large hollow chamber was a Pokémon that Artemis had never seen before. It looked like a Bibarel, but was decidedly not. It was too big, with massive teeth that could cut down trees in a single bite, and claws as large as a Honedge. Twin Bibarel tails flicked and swayed with every step, and the thick fur around its body shifted and moved like a layer of armour over the Pokémon.
It was, for all intents and purposes, a monster.
Artemis had never seen anything like it-
She caught sight of the creature's eye, and froze. It was a thin red slit, almost shimmering with power. Unnatural.
She'd seen it. Once. When she was but a Vulpix, ages ago, in her home village...
She'd just settled in under the shade of a tree, having finally escaped the bullies. She was faster than them, she had to be, and managed to get to a nice spot to have a nap. Within seconds of closing her eyes, the ground shook, and the Vulpix jolted upright.
Was it just from a dream?
The ground rattled again. Leaves from the tree above her flittered down, landing on the grass with a grace she wished she had. It wasn't a dream then. She sat and turned her gaze, looking down at the Ninetales village nestled into the mountain from her perch up on the small hill. Pokémon below began to move, curious, with perked ears and swishing tails, wondering what in the world was causing such a racket.
Her gaze was drawn to the entrance of the village where the trees swayed violently, as if something was shoving them to the side. Those thick trees were always nice protection from the feral Pokémon of the wilds. Now, they were obscuring whatever it was that was approaching. All she could see was the occasional flash of dull green, or hints of black, blending in almost too well with the woods.
Then, it stopped. She perked up, and stood on her hind legs, trying to get a good look at what was happening at the entrance of her village.
Something shifted, and she staggered, feeling as if all the air had been sucked from her lungs. She gasped, trying to draw in a breath, but it was no match for whatever it was that was stealing the air. The trees all bent toward the front gates, and several bird Pokémon fell from the sky, the wind currents changing direction.
The air stilled, and she managed to draw in a breath, sucking it down greedily. So stunned by the sudden shift, she barely noticed the slowly growing whine of something emanating from the gates of the village. It took several seconds for her to properly notice the sound—she was distracted by the red glow visible through the trees, growing brighter and brighter and-
Suddenly, the sun wasn't the brightest thing in the world. The Vulpix fell backwards as a wall of heat and light exploded forth, the sound alone enough to send her reeling. Pure energy screamed forth with the power of a thousand Flamethrowers, causing the very air to boil, enough energy packed into it to cause lances of plasma to spark on the fringes of the attack, striking whatever it could reach.
The Vulpix rolled to her side, just enough to turn her gaze towards the village, blinking the stars from her eyes. Her ears were ringing, but she didn't need to hear to know that the Pokémon below were screaming.
A strip had been carved out of the village. There was just... nothing. It'd punched a hole into the side of the mountain, and turned a row of houses into not more than a red trench of boiling rock. The trees around her burst into flames from the heat radiating outward, and the grass wilted and died in seconds.
The creature that caused the damage staggered forward, clearing the trees as it fell to all fours. It looked like a Tyranitar, something she'd studied extensively in school, but... it also wasn't. It was too big. Too armoured. There were too many spikes and the thing looked almost unnatural, as if its back had split open. It was like comparing a Larvitar to a Tyranitar, if a Tyranitar were a first-stage Pokémon. This was something else entirely, as if it had somehow evolved for a third time.
She was too stunned to even notice her mother racing up to her, and barely registered the feeling of her scruff being yanked, pulling her off her paws. While being carried away, she could only focus on the unnatural thin slits of red that were the creature's eyes. They glowed with power and anger.
Another bright light started to build, and this time she heard her mother's scream.
And the world went white.
Artemis let out a shaky breath, and ducked back around the corner, barely avoiding the monster's sight. Her tails were still, and she took a deep, quiet breath through her nose, and exhaled from her mouth, steam rolling from her jaws. Her paws flexed, shaking out her legs to get feeling back into them.
Well, she'd found the cause of everything. This had to be why the alpha Pokémon were working together. They were taking orders. This... whatever the monstrous Bibarel was, clearly was in charge.
Artemis ducked down and looked between a few cracks in one of the walls, a small gap present between the logs. The creature looked to be pawing at its head, its limbs shaking as it moved. There were visible wet tracks under its eyes and soaking its fur, even as it gave angry and deep growls and chitters. She could hear Pokémon responding to its commands in the floor above, the ones not fighting instead scrambling around the dam.
She had to deal with this.
The smart thing to do would be to go back and get reinforcements. This thing was clearly dangerous. However, as she watched it, Artemis's concern began to waver. Yes, it was related to the thing that'd wiped out her village twenty years ago. However, the longer she watched it, the more confident she felt. It was clearly low on energy and exhausted, given by the way it staggered around and dragged its tails on the ground. Its fur was matted—it didn't even have the strength or energy to take care of itself. It continued to shake and paw at its head, before suddenly wrenching its arms down to its sides.
Artemis could deal with it. She'd dealt with worse enemies before... probably. She just had to be strategic.
She took a breath, and exhaled, her core heating, while her fur began cooling, forming little ice crystals. Steam started to pour from her body and crept across the floor of the dam, seeping into the chamber and filling the halls. With quick little bursts of energy Artemis darted around the circular chamber, causing her steam to flood the area. Soon enough, a thick blanket of white filled the air, twice as tall as she was.
The mutated Bibarel had stopped stomping around, clearly noticing the fog filling up the chamber. It let out a low chitter that rattled the room, and its tails flicked, causing steam to waft higher into the air. Artemis could hear the Pokémon inside the dam responding to the call, and she knew she'd have to hurry.
Artemis's Agility-enhanced Quick Attack allowed her to shoot from each entrance to the chamber with barely a whisper, disturbing the steam and causing it to swirl ever higher. She paused at each hallway leading out, rapidly forming barriers of solid ice, before shooting towards the next one. In less than twenty seconds every path in or out had been sealed.
Now she just had to deal with that.
The mutant Bibarel swiped its claws into the mist, gouging out grooves in the floor without effort. Its tails moved up and down, stirring up the steam, forcing Artemis to produce more just to keep her cover up. The last thing she needed was to be spotted by this thing.
Another deep, angry growling chitter rumbled from the Pokémon's chest, and several of the ice barriers shook, muffled sounds coming from the other side. She was running out of time.
Artemis padded forward into the main chamber, her ears perked as she listened to the Pokémon take a few steps. Following the edge of the room, she managed to get behind the creature undetected. With a deep breath, and a tug on the ice-type energy inside her, she exhaled a steady stream of pure ice. A sheer ice slick formed on the floor, but she quickly had to abandon the task. A large set of claws swiped slowly through the mist toward her, and she dropped to the floor, the claws just barely grazing through her fur.
The Bibarel-thing was getting worked up and angrier. It would have to be good enough.
Artemis pushed herself upright and darted around the Pokémon, which lumbered toward her trap. It wouldn't be enough; she needed to catch it off guard. She steeled herself, and took a breath.
"Hey!" she shouted, her voice piercing the mist. The creature whipped around, and Artemis was momentarily caught off guard by just how fast the thing moved, causing all the mist around it to get pushed to the outskirts of the room. She kept her jaws closed as she pulled on the fire-type energy inside her, causing more steam to roll off her body.
Those red slits locked onto her, and Artemis felt her hackles raise. Flickers of that afternoon back at her village danced around her mind, and for the first time since she'd partnered up with Silvally, allowed her emotions to come forth intentionally. No slips, or cracks in her facade—just intentional anger at the creature. A burning hatred that she'd buried deep inside for criminals and monstrous beings came boiling to the surface.
The Bibarel took a lumbering step forward and raised an arm, intent on ripping her to shreds.
Then she parted her jaws. A tight lance of flame screamed from her jaws in an extremely concentrated spiral of near-solid fire, rocketing toward the creature's face. She hit it head on, and the Pokémon bellowed in pain, thrashing its head and swiping at the air, its instincts to being blinded taking over. She kept up the stream of fire, watching it splash over the Pokémon's muzzle and set fire to its fur, as well as the dam above it. The mutated Bibarel took a step back, as she'd planned, and it slipped on the ice slick.
Artemis leapt back as the Pokémon crashed to the floor, splintering logs and sending wood shrapnel skittering over the ice she'd left. She wasted no time, and launched a beam of ice at the Pokémon's forearms, taking advantage of its blindness. Within seconds the limb was encased in ice and frozen to the ground, and Artemis moved to the other one, trapping it as well.
The Pokémon hissed and growled and thrashed, but having over a ton of ice pinning each arm down tended to make it difficult to move. Artemis padded quietly across the floor, attempting to get a better angle to entrap its legs.
That plan was quickly abandoned when the Pokémon gave a grunt of effort and strained, muscles quivering as it started to twist itself. It lifted one of its arms, causing the logs beneath to be ripped from the floor of the dam. It hadn't even put its arm down before Artemis felt her instincts scream, and she zipped away from her position with a burst of energy. A solid column of water errupted from the evolved Bibarel's maw with intense pressure, carving straight through the floor and walls, punching out the side of the dam. Its weighted arm landed on the floor with a ground-shaking thud, and it whipped its head to the side, pumping the pressurized beam of water in a large and quick arc, shredding through the walls like they were paper.
She needed a new plan. Artemis glanced around, hoping there was something she could use. There wasn't, not really. All that existed was wood, chunks of ice, and fire clinging to the walls and roof.
... That might do.
Artemis darted around behind the Pokémon and took a breath, pulling power from her core and rapidly cooling her fur and heating her skin. She kept it contained, patient as the blinded Bibarel struggled to free itself, barely able to lift its arms to crawl around. She waited, and waited, until she felt the build-up become unstable.
Artemis let go.
Boiling water vapour erupted from her body and washed over the Bibarel-like creature in a wave of pain. It arched and flailed, body reacting to suddenly being covered head to toe in hyper-heated water vapour and unable to escape. The room rapidly filled with a dense fog again, and Artemis vanished into the thick of it.
Frustrated, in pain, and more than a little angry, the Bibarel thrashed and tossed its head, allowing another high-pressure torrent of water to rocket out. Just what Artemis wanted. She followed the path of the frustrated Pokémon, darting over to the newly formed holes in the walls and covering them with ice. The dam was quickly becoming unstable, those heavy jets of water tearing straight through to the outside.
Back and forth she went, building up her little ice supports, until she heard one of them crack. A majority of the inner walls of the dam were now nothing more than ice, and Artemis knew she'd won. She bounded her way through the dwindling steam, and ducked into one of the halls surrounding the chamber. The Bidoof and Bibarel had long since stopped trying to enter, likely scared off by the deadly water shredding their dam, or the furious sounds of their leader.
The massive Pokémon lay panting in the middle of the room, still pinned by the slabs of ice coating its forearms, and struggled to stand, its legs and feet covered in horrible burns. All that was holding up the central structure of the dam at this point was a few logs and slowly melting ice pillars.
Artemis swiped her tails across the floor of the dam, leaving behind flickering streaks of flame. A quick glance inside the chamber showed fire climbing up the walls of the dam, spreading outward, the roof filling with smoke. Burning chunks of wood fell to the floor, setting more wood alight.
Time to go!
Artemis, somewhat exhausted from straining herself, pulled on her fire-type energy once more. Her fur caught fire, and her body became wreathed in flames. Artemis angled herself towards one of the ice barricades she'd made, crouched, and slammed herself into it, shattering the ice and setting the surrounding walls on fire. A series of Quick Attacks had her jolting from hallway to hallway, leaving fire behind her as she moved, until she finally reached the entrance of the dam.
The hybrid Ninetales let out a tired huff and allowed her fire-type energy to fizzle out, and she stepped out. It was only a matter of time now until the dam collapsed, and she still had to help Silvally with the group of ferals.
... Or she would have, had there been any left to deal with. Artemis looked over the remains of the clearing with wide eyes, the area looking more like a turf battle between Pokémon packs than the doing of one Pokémon. But, Silvally sat in the middle, breathing heavier than normal, surrounded by the unconscious forms of three very bruised and damaged alpha Bibarel, and a hoard of Bidoof in various stages of staggering to their paws and fleeing.
"Wow," Artemis managed with a tired huff. "Are you okay?" Her ears flicked back as the crackling sound of fire grew louder behind her, and logs shifted and creaked dangerously. Loud thuds and bangs rattled the structure, and Artemis hopped forward to avoid any potential falling debris. "I thought this would have taken you longer."
Artemis faltered as Silvally's gaze snapped toward her, and he froze. Instead, a noticeable tremor caused him to shake. The crackling of fire behind her grew louder, as did the heavy thuds of falling logs. Silvally seemed to shrink in on himself, crest flattening against his head, and ears folding back. His pupils turned to thin slits, and his talons turned a ground below him to powder.
It took Artemis several seconds to connect just why Silvally was suddenly so... not himself. The thudding and crashing behind her caused Artemis to turn her head, taking in the sight of the dam in a full blaze. Fire danced up the sides and smoke poured into the sky, the scene bright enough to cast a shadow in front of her in broad daylight.
Her tails fell flat, and it suddenly became rather difficult to form words. Of course this would happen now, of all times. Artemis turned back to Silvally and opened her mouth, only to find herself unable to find anything to say. Still frazzled by her encounter with that thing, and dealing with the whiplash of a problem that she'd caused, she was at a loss for words.
"I-I..." Artemis took a hesitant step forward. She fought back the urge to growl at something, anger at herself and this situation and over trauma and the whole job and the unfairness and cruelty of everything just a swirling mess without a proper outlet. It was all flattened by concern and shame, compressed in a tight ball, causing her heart to thump noisily. "I'm not- You're okay. I promise I won't hurt-"
It wasn't her heart thumping.
Artemis managed to turn her head at the last second, just in time to watch that monstrous Bibarel crash through the dam with a tortured screech. The wall exploded outward, sending flaming logs and embers straight at the two. The fiery remnants of the wall caught Artemis in the side, and knocked her off her paws, sending her straight into Silvally. The duo fell to the dirt in a messy tangle of limbs and embers.
That last hit seemed to have destabilized the dam, and the overwhelming sound of the structure collapsing muffled everything else. Artemis barely heard Silvally screech and thrash beneath her, though she certainly felt his hind leg kicking her in the ribs, his sharp claws tearing gouges into her fur and sending her halfway across the clearing with a single kick. The blinded, fire-coated Bibarel only managed to take a step forward, before the weight of dozens of trees collapsed on it. It was buried with a sickening crunch and a burst of flame, sending chunks of wood skittering over the ground.
Pushing a paw against her side, Artemis took a moment to just lay there. She focused on the pile of what used to be the dam, and where the monstrous thing was buried. It was the burning sensation in her lungs that reminded her to breathe. Still, she waited, watching the pyre for... something.
...
Nothing moved. Artemis let out a relieved sigh, and grimaced, a flash of pain working up her side. Removing her paw, she found blood coating her paw and seeping into her fur, leaving it a deep reddish colour. Instinctively, she flared her ice-type energy and rapidly cooled her body, slowing the flow of blood in an instant.
Hesitantly, she turned her attention to Silvally. He didn't appear to be doing much better, his limbs trembling with what had to be exhaustion and fear. Little cuts and scrapes oozed blood, and there was a rather sizable chunk taken out of his thigh. It didn't seem to be bothering him, however. His gaze was hollow, focused somewhere between Artemis and the inferno that used to be the dam, keeping both in his line of sight at all times.
Somehow, at this moment, the ground was the comfiest surface Artemis had laid on in a while. She laid back down and frowned, her tails giving an irritated flick as she gazed at the flames reaching toward the sky. "Fuck."
~{O}~{O}~{O}~
The plan had been perfect. Taking command of an alpha Bibarel should have been enough—it was immune to ghost-type attacks. Additionally, it was a water-type, it could have easily swam all the way to Ghost Island and still had the energy to crawl through every single level of the dungeon. Even better, the Bibarel had a pack, and neighbouring ones to control and intimidate into following orders.
Now, the plan was ruined. How curious that she of all Pokémon would be the one to stop it. Her parents would be proud, no doubt. Keeping them contained was proving more annoying than anticipated. Controlling that Bibarel should have been child's play, strong-willed alpha or not.
The not-air around the entity shuddered, and the world around it warped and twisted into impossible shapes that would have broken the minds of lesser Pokémon.
Those two, the Heroes of the Past, held information that was sorely needed. Otherwise, they'd have been ripped limb from limb two years ago for daring to interfere. They'd stopped the possession of the Key, and managed to let it wake up, effectively locking its mind away. The finish had been within reach, and those two had ruined it.
Maybe... maybe it was time to let them go. Let them lead the way to the Remnants instead of hunting them down. It was a risk, but it was one that had to be taken. The Mystery Dungeons had become more stable with each Remnant destroyed. The world was almost whole.
If a Bibarel could partially resist possession, then those two had to go—they took up enough energy to make full control impossible.
A minor setback.
It was inevitable that the Orb would return, and once it did, the restrictions would finally be lifted. All that was needed was a Pokémon unstable enough to be possessed. One that could handle the worst Ghost Island had to offer, and strong enough to survive the Evolution.
Thankfully, it looked like Arceus wasn't paying attention this time. There, on the outskirts of Treasure Town, was a perfect candidate. A Houndoom.
Even if the Heroes were released into a dungeon somewhere, the Pokémon would be impossible to force into submission. The Houndoom just needed a little push, a small breach in focus, and then possession could occur.
The dimension seemed to ripple and distort around the being as a multi-reality-layered chuckle rolled from its everything. Arceus would be proven wrong, again, and the world would finally heal from those that broke it in the first place. No more Mystery Dungeons, no more suffering. Just peace, and safe living. Stability.
Pokémon had suffered enough. It was almost time. The extinction of humanity was close.