Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Broken Ideals

Chapter 42: To Repay You

Chapter 42

To Repay You

"I find it somewhat amusing that we are leaving this Fellowship so soon despite the large effort we put into joining such Fellowship."

Novus chuckled as he, Terron, and Zekra walked out of the Fellowship base the next dawn. From what they had calculated, it would take the rest of the day to arrive at Erebus Woods. Flying thousands of miles, even when using Zekra's swiftest form, would take at least a dozen hours to reach. It was best if they left as early as possible.

"Well, our goal is to get information," Terron said with a shrug. "So it's just what we need to do. Honestly I'm just thankful we're moving so quickly. And hey, we might find ourselves back here after this is all over, if we don't get the answers we need. Hopefully that won't be the case."

"Yes, hopefully," Novus replied.

Stepping into the sunlight, the team paused to admire the morning sky. A thin blanket of clouds heralded the dawning sun, streaked with shades of orange and red as they fanned the rays of light upon the retreating darkness, chasing it away further with every passing moment. A speck of the sun peeked over the horizon, its light glinting upon the river's surface.

"I really hope this isn't the last sunrise we see," Zekra uttered to herself.

Terron looked over at Zekra to find that she wasn't watching the sunrise. Instead, she was glancing at her feet, wearing a troubled frown. It didn't take very long for Terron to understand what was going through her mind. It seemed that a night's rest had not cured her of her dread. Though his own unease crept its way through his heart as he thought, he refused to let it weaken the assuring smile he gave the Zorua.

"We'll be okay," he said. "And hey, maybe we won't even have to go into Erebus Woods. Maybe we can accomplish the mission from the outside."

"Yeah, right," Zekra bitterly replied. "The forest grabs you and pulls you in, remember? If we're going to be doing something to Erebus Woods, I'm sure we're going in. There's no other way it's gonna happen. And we're going to end up as monsters. Just like everyone else I ever knew. And I don't want to be a monster..."

"You'll be fine, Zekra," Terron said yet again. "I promise, you will. I won't let anything happen to you. That plagued part of you isn't going to get worse."

"Really?" Zekra replied flatly, staring straight at the ground and yanking a tuft of grass from the ground with her paws. "Is that what your voice of reason is telling you?"

Terron didn't quite know how to answer that. He grasped for a reply, but fell into silence instead.

"I wonder what is keeping that Greninja," Novus replied, breaking the awkward silence. "He's the only thing keeping us from leaving. Ah, it is rather tiresome to have to tolerate his disappearances in the morning, never knowing when he will return. Speaking of which, I have been thinking about his behavior yesterday. It was rather... disturbing, in all honesty. I am sure you know what I'm talking about."

"Yeah, it really was," Terron said reluctantly. "I mean, he pretty much snapped the second he saw those Sableye. I really thought he was going to attack us after he was done slaughtering those things."

Novus's frown grew deeper.

"The Sableye the mercenary insisted on killing... he was referring to the plagued Sableye, wasn't he?" he then asked.

"I think so," Terron nodded. "Can't think of any other Sableye he'd be talking about."

"Hmm, I wonder what the plagued Sableye did to him," Novus pondered. "I have seen many Pokémon who have held such powerful grudges against others, but it seemed the mercenary took one step above and beyond petty vengeance. When he was but reminded of the Sableye's existence, he seemed to completely lose all rationality and revert to some primal state. He demonstrated a bloodlust rivaling that of the Plagued Ones, even. I cannot help but wonder... what could have possibly happened that could cause someone to become like that? What could the Sableye have possibly done to trigger such a reaction?"