(Spark's POV)
I hopped off Lapras's back, quickly paid the fee, and dashed across the shore. I haven't seen her in so long! I can't wait to see how successful she is! I sure hope nothing terrible happened to her!
My heart was pounding as I raced through Hazy Pass. Part of me was eager to see my sister, but another part was worried about whether some madness happened here.
It wasn't long before I became a sweaty mess. "Ragged Mountains, that's pretty close to where they are if I remember it right!" I marched through the terrains.
It took me perhaps an hour to arrive at a small oasis. The greenish scenery and the beautiful view...and WHY IS A TOMBSTONE IN THE GRASS? My fur stood on the end, and a shiver ran down my spine just by looking at it. "Don't look at it, Spark! Just close your eyes and walk past it!"
A cute mushroom house came into view. I approached it and saw an elegant Ninetales wearing a light blue hat. Her fluffy fur bristled with the wind while she watered the flowers. She looks nice...snap out of it, Spark! You gotta get rid of your bad habit of staring at fluffy girls!
"Hello! Your hat looks nice!" I looked away while trying to not blush or stutter. Great, what kind of conversation starter is that, Spark? "Thank you for your compliment, mister! I'll be ready in a minute!" her voice seemed too familiar. "Sure! No problem!"
After a few minutes, she dropped her watering can and emerged from behind the bushes. "Hey..." my mind blanked out when I saw her elegant body. "Hey? That's all you're gonna say?" she questioned, obviously bewildered by my behavior. Shet! I've been staring for too long!
"U-um...miss, have you seen perhaps a Luxio around? Perhaps a Vulpix, too. I've heard that they live around here." a feeling of dread crept up my back as soon as the question left my mouth. Her face twisted slightly. "Seriously?"
"Um...did I do something wrong?" I couldn't help but ask despite feeling something heading south. "Are you stupid?" she asked. Crap. "Yes, I am. Is there something I should have noticed?" I couldn't react before her paw smacked me across the face. "Ow...that hurt. This pain certainly tells me something..."
"Spark, what's wrong with you? How have you not noticed who I am?" she yelled. "Ogh...nice to meet you, Icy. Congrats on evolving! Your parents will be so proud of you..." I rubbed my cheek. I was sure there'd be a pawprint if I looked at a mirror now.
"Yeah...sorry that I evolved without telling you. I didn't want to either, but some nerdy asshat had to touch me with a stone!" Icy growled in frustration. "Wow, that must have sucked," I said as I slowly returned to my senses after the slap. SMACK!
"OGH! What was that for?" I wailed, holding my other cheek. "For arriving so late! You said you'd be here as fast as possible!" she yelled. "Congratulations, you broke a new record!" a voice came from above the house. "Kuro! When did you get there?"
"Finished my part of the mission early. By the way, holy shit! What a god! Nobody's ever taken a punch from Icy and remained conscious, let alone two!" he exclaimed. "My body's here, but my brain is possibly dead..."
"Speaking of which...sorry...for a lot of things..." I mumbled. "Such as?" Icy growled. "The two things that you just slapped me for. I'm not telling you the third one unless you promise you won't smack me..." my cheeks still ached from the last two. SMACK! "Go ahead, you can say it now."
I blacked out.
"Yeah...I made the graduation thing too hard for them..." I got the words out of my mouth after waking up. "I guess they'll have to try again then. I'm not mad about Bakey failing the test, but Blossom might be angry about Matt failing it. Say, who did you find as your partners?"
"Let's not go into details. In short, they remind me of Carl and Frank from the tale of Sid the Slakoth." I replied shortly. "It's been so long since we read that! I don't remember much about it!" Icy sighed. "Of course you don't! You always fall asleep in the second chapter whenever it comes to reading!"
"It's not like you did much better! You'd always wake up in the morning drooling on your books!" Icy protested. "Wow, Icy! Does that mean you've already slept with someone? I didn't expect that!" Kuro shot me a smirk. "I-it's not what you think it is! We worked in the same team, that's all!"
"Hehe, seems like somemon's family came to visit!" a feminine voice came from behind. My jaws fell open when I saw what it was. "My girlfriend, jealous?" I ignored the Emolga. "Wow, you're quite the rare species, miss! I seldom see somemon taller than me!"
"I seldom meet someone who doesn't hit on me at first glance," she replied with a smile. "If you're looking for Blossom, she'll return soon!" she read my mind. "Well, that's another Legend to my list. I've met two of your kind on the Grass continent if you didn't know!"
Her eyes widened as she stared at me. "Did I say something wrong? Colbalion and Terrakion. They're pretty young right now! They seem only a few years old after their cycle of rebirth!" sweat ran down the sides of my face as I worried about getting slapped again.
"Kuro, sorry, but it's time for me to get packed," the Virizion said to the Emolga. "Sure, no problem! Just come back as soon as you can!" Kuro waved her goodbye as she walked away. "I didn't just...break your team, right?" I asked. "No worries, she's tough. Still, not tougher than me,"
"Kuro! Icy! Have you seen Duff around here?" I could recognize that energetic voice anywhere. "I'm coming, Sis!" I exclaimed and ran in her direction. "Big bro?" she shouted back. I wanted to tackle her to the ground and hug her as tight as I could, but she beat me to it. "I missed you, Sis!"
"Seems like you've been eating well here!" I commented on her belly. "That's the first positive comment I've heard about her eating habits," Kuro grumbled. "Oh yeah, I thought you had another member. Where is he?"
"......"
An eerie silence ran through us as they all stared at me. "Nobody told you, huh?" Kuro was apparently irritated. "Way to go, Spark, you should have kept quiet," Icy glared blades at me. "Oh...crap, don't tell me..."
"Calm down, everymon! We still have each other! With the Bittercold destroyed, we still need to stick to our goal! To make the world better for everymon! Randy must be watching up there!" Blossom waved at the sky as her misty gaze concentrated on the clouds.
"S-sis! I-I'm so sorry!" I apologized. "Yeah, of course, you're-Stop it, Kuro. He had to go, and there wasn't anything we could do about it," my sister was obviously trying to hold back her tears. "Spark, things may not have happened the way you expected, but one way or another, he's gone,"
They then briefly explained an unbelievable story of how they saved the world. Coming from my sister, I had to believe it. "I'm sure you've seen a small tombstone on your way here. Nobody's under it. It serves as a reminder of our friendship. All of his stuff is buried beneath."
"This reminds me of how strange this is. Randy isn't the guy who'd tell Hekno to keep his stuff. He's the kind of guy who would want to distribute it to everyone after he departed, but why did Hekno insist on doing that?" Kuro wondered aloud.
"Speaking of which, it's strange how everymon's gone missing," Icy muttered. "Hekno never showed up after that final night. Urias and Esmeralda vanished into the woods after telling us about trying to find some Entercard remains. Even Boros disappeared."
"No need to mind, Icy! I'm sure everymon's got something important to do!" Blossom said with a grin. After all the chaos she went through, even with a large portion of her mane torn off, she still smiled as brightly as before. "I'm quite concerned about Azumarill. He's been working his butt off since Boros vanished without a trace!"
"We gotta get him to relax sometimes. Posting all those requests must be a tiring job!" Blossom said with a sigh. "Thinking about all those wordy requests is already making me sleepy!" she continued. "At least Kano seems to be having a great time chewing through all the food Ivy treated him," Icy sighed. "I don't understand everything, but okay."
"Holy shit! I forgot about the poke' I owe Swanya! Where'd that stupid ass dragon go? He said he'd be paying for his meal! Don't tell me he ditched me!" Kuro exclaimed. "Sis, as you see right now, don't lend money to strangers..." I whispered in her ear. "Says the mon who lends poke' to his guildmates to buy supplies and forgets to ask for the poke' back all the time,"
Later, a Hydreigon levitated toward us with a Dunsparce bouncing beside him. The two seemed engaged in some private topic, which I didn't eavesdrop on. The rest of the team greeted them as I studied the look of Hydreigon. It turned out they were part of the team as well.
The day went on fast. I planned on staying for a few days, and Blossom offered me to sleep at their house. I couldn't get used to sleeping on such a big bed, especially with two girls beside me.
Restless, I quietly got out of bed and took a walk outside. When I padded out, a Quagsire and...Hekno from earlier seemed to be talking about something, along with a vague mon with red fur standing beside them. I blinked, trying to identify its species...they were gone.
Strange, I'm sure I saw a mon standing near them. Perhaps it was me seeing things again like always. Maybe it was caused by the sleepiness from traveling without a good bed. It wasn't like I could sleep with two girls in the same bed. "Eavesdropping is awful, Spark! Don't do it!"
I did it.
I crouched behind the plants in the yard, listening to their discussion. "Just like always, Sir! You're always two steps ahead of everymon else!" Hekno said with three smiles. "Hmm...if I were smarter, mmm...I could have made things much easier, hmmm...?"
Made things easier? What things?
"What's your plan about, Sir Boros?" Hekno questioned. Sir Boros? I've heard of that name! Isn't he the one who... "Hmm...I do have two in mind. Mmm... It wouldn't be fair if you didn't get what you deserved, hmmm...?" Boros replied. What who deserved? Are they gonna beat someone up?
"I-I...asking about...how to...not how to..." My fur stood on the end when I heard that voice. Who said that? Where? How? "Hmm...don't be hasty. Mmm...we'll figure out a way. It might not work how you want, but it'll do the trick, hmmm...?"
What am I eavesdropping on? "Hmm... the first way is mmm...to convince Hekno's masters to give you a proper body, hmmm...?" Boros spoke. I-is this necromancy? Oh no...what have I heard? Or are they gonna possess somemon?
My head was buzzing with a million thoughts. What am I supposed to do? A Quagsire with those powers? How am I supposed to tell everymon about that? They're all gonna think I'm an idiot! "I'm into that if it works, but I thought they made it clear they weren't willing to oblige?"
I could hear the voice completely this time.
"Hmm... the second way is to question Palkia. The cycle of space and time will soon cause a crack between space and time. Mmm...it is said whoever enters it will see the mons they've known, at the cost of risking their lives, hmmm...? Mmmm... Only those who are determined will succeed in crossing the twisted dimensions, hmmmm...?"
"Details...it cost?"
"Hmm...you don't have to worry, she's your best friend. She's mmm...more determined than you know, hmmm...?" Boros said, expression unchanging. "I...how to thank..."
"Hmm...I made a promise. Mmm...I don't break promises, hmmm...? Though I'm not mmmm...sure what you'll experience. Don't let your resolve wavor, hmmmm...?" Boros said and looked in my direction. I have no idea what's going on, but they didn't see me, did they?
"Hmm...I know you've been crouching here the whole time. Mmm...your tail glows in the darkness, hmmm...?" the words made me jump as a chill ran down my spine. How strong was this guy? "No need to worry, Spark! You're not in trouble...or perhaps you are..." Hekno said and looked at Boros.
"Hmm...finally found somemon who has mmm...worse eavesdropping skills than you do, hmmm...?" Boros said the air next to him. "Can you please tell me what you were talking about?" I questioned. "I can't let you do what you want if it risks endangering anymon else!"
"Can you see?" Hekno shot a glance at me, eyes wide. "See what? We're the only three here! Or is there a fourth mon?" I tilted my head. "Hmm...seems like you mmm...don't know about it yet, hmmm...?" Boros said with his unchanging face. "Please don't look at me like that, Sir! Your eyes are giving me the creeps!"
"Hmm...I can consider telling you about what we were discussing. You're mmm...sleep-deprived, hmmm...?" Boros questioned. "Yeah, I haven't slept well in...please don't change the topic! What were you discussing?" I asked. "Hmm...I'll tell you in a few seconds. Let me mmm...do this first, hmmm...?"
He stretched his flippers and opened his mouth. "You're gonna yawn first? What's that supposed to do?" I questioned cluelessly. When I heard the yawn, my eyelids heavied, and I felt extremely exhausted. My legs crumpled, and I was sound asleep before I knew it.
(Blossom's POV)
'Big bro, wake up! It's morning! Stop sleeping, sleepyhead!' I yelled. No reaction. He still lay on the bed in a drooling mess. "He must have been tired from all that traveling," Icy sighed, failing to wake him up. "Aww, he's gonna miss out on all the sightseeing!"
We soon met the others at the request board. It was strange how my brother overslept. He had done it before, but he was usually easy to wake. Ivy seemed like she wanted to ask him something. Everything seemed normal and at peace after the Bittercold was destroyed.
Mons were helping each other in the town, unlike before. Ivy briefly confessed about making Kano cry in a conversation last night. She still wasn't used to Randy's absence, stating that watching him trying to sneak out at night was fun. It was more fun to see him getting caught.
It was crazy how one mon could change everything. I missed him, but thinking about it, perhaps being in the human world was better than staying with us. "Blossom, you've been staring at the sky!" Kuro's voice snapped me back to reality. "Sorry!"
"Still thinking about him, aren't you?" I looked at the ground as Duff sighed. "It'll take a bit to get used to, but I'm sure it'll pass!" I told the others. "Blossom, can we have a small talk? There's something I need to ask you," Kuro said in my ear. I nodded. "I'm teaming up with Kuro today! You three can decide on your team!"
"Okay, now here's the thing..." Kuro took a deep breath after we were alone. "Have you seen Hekno? Today's the deadline for paying my bill at Swanya's, and Hekno hasn't shown up! At this point, I'm done!" Kuro exclaimed frantically. "Why aren't you trying to find him then?"
"He doesn't have a residence! I've searched everywhere in town! He's nowhere to be seen! I look to the west, and he's not there!" "That's true," a familiar voice spoke with a full mouth. "I looked toward the east, and he's nowhere there!" he put his paws on his head. "Yep," his fail was so huge a facepaw wouldn't suffice.
"At this point, Swanya is never gonna let me in, and I'll never be able to have her delicious meals again!" he wailed. "Oh, that would truly be awful!" a black form descended behind him. I faceplanted. Couldn't believe he was stupid enough not to look upward.
"AH! What are you-where the HELL have you been?" Kuro yelled, waving his tiny fists. "Swanya makes the best food in the world! It would be a shame if we couldn't go there again!" Hekno exclaimed. "Did we agree to pay the bill or not, Hekno?!"
"Ah..."
"Don't 'AH' me! It's YOUR fault that I can't show my face there again! Where the fuck did you go? You heartless ahole?!"
"Huh?"
"If Swanya never lets me eat there again, I'll blame you forever!" Kuro yelled with his sniffling voice. "Sorry, I didn't mean to do so. I got some more important business to investigate!" he apologized. "Investigate?"
"Yeah, I was so concentrated. Because of that, I forgot about the unpaid bill," Hekno confessed. "So you DID fucking forget!" Kuro raged. Hekno didn't seem threatened, popping another berry into his center-mouth. "Aww...I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd be that mad. Please forgive me."
Kuro didn't seem to forgive him.
"I'll just go there in a minute. Could you please tell everymon to go to the inn?" Hekno asked. "The whole team? Wait...don't tell me...are you planning on borrowing poke' from everymon to pay the bill?" Kuro exclaimed. "Of course not. There's something I must tell everymon, especially you, Blossom!"
"What? Me?"
After a short escort mission, I gathered everymon I could find to the inn. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Hekno, are you telling the truth? Is there really a way to let him stay?" I questioned eagerly. "If we are lucky, Palkia may allow one to stay,"
"But if he doesn't?" Ivy questioned. "Then you'll have to convince them. I've asked my master if they were willing. Their answer was a firm 'no' when asking if they could make a new Randy with their power. I don't want to be caught disobeying their orders."
"How did this all happen in the first place?" Icy asked. "Duff asked me if there was a way to...you know? He wanted to 'do a little something' for the team," Hekno replied. We all looked at Duff. "I...only did what I think I could. Hekno was the one who called him here, so there must be a way to do it again, right?"
"How are we supposed to do this then?" Kuro questioned. "There's a place called the Cave of Universal Order. It's a place where you can gaze at the universe in a balanced state. And if you made a sincere wish at that place while the balance is moderate, the wish will come true." Hekno replied.
"I've never heard of such a place," Icy exchanged glances with me. "Neither have I. Does this place even exist?" I questioned. "Pardon me, but I just came here for breakfast..." a voice interrupted. "Big bro?" I exclaimed. "Morning, Sis. I missed breakfast, didn't I?"
"From what I've read from folklore, that place is called the Worldcore...if such a place even exists. It's a dangerous place that only opens during a period when space and time are distorted to a certain degree. The destruction of the Bittercold you told me about would certainly be enough to open it,"
"Spark, you know about that place?" Icy questioned. "I've only heard of it from the myths. But another thing I've heard of..." My brother glared at Hekno. "Is that if you fail to get out before the portal collapses on itself, you will be forever trapped in the spatial flow, battling until your defeat, getting rewinded, then continuing again. Battle until you lose the determination to continue and dissipate."
"Hekno, is this true?" Duff questioned. "Unfortunately, yes. But fortunately, Blossom is very determined. Aside from what Spark just said, when mons who don't have spatial power enter, the balance will slowly be upset, so I suggest only one mon going in at a time,"
There was a moment of silence before any of us said anything.
"So we're risking a life to get another?" Icy broke the silence. "If only one mon is going, we all know who it is," Kuro looked at me. "..." I couldn't think of anything to say. He risked his life to save mine countless times. I was definitely willing to do the same for him...but...
"Blossom, what's the matter?" Ivy asked. "Of course I'm willing, but...I'm not sure if...I'm not sure if this is the right idea. Randy told me he'd be staying with me together, but wouldn't that mean giving up everything in the human world? Everything he's been with all those years?"
"I'd be willing to give up a promise if it means making somemon else happier. Of course, I'd be glad to meet Randy again, but what if he can't return to the human world afterward? What if he doesn't want to come here?"
"Blossom, do you know Randy's final wish before he left?" Hekno brushed off my tears with one of his heads. "He wanted to stay here. He liked this place a lot more than his old world. He was willing to give up what he had. All that to stay with you, Blossom..."
I looked at him with a teary gaze. "Are you sure you're going, Sis?" Spark asked. "Yes, Big bro. I'm going, and you're not gonna stop me." his eyes narrowed as he looked at me. "That's the sister I've known!" he exclaimed, hugged me tightly, and burst into a teary mess.
"Wow, I thought Icy was the crybaby," Kuro said with a grin, ducking from a punch toward his head. "Blossom, if you're going there, it doesn't mean we can't accompany you to the entrance!" Icy said with a smile. "Don't leave me out! As the voice of life, I'm going too!" Hekno smiled.
"Alright, it's settled then. Ivy, Duff, and Kuro, stay at our base since I'm not sure how long we'll be absent. Icy, you're coming with me, and so are you, Hekno, and Big bro! We're departing now!"
The trip there took us about 2 days. Thankfully, the terrain wasn't as harsh as the Great Glacier. Traveling on flat ground made it a much easier job. It would have saved us some time if we had the Entercards, but we got there nonetheless.
Before us was a massive cave...it didn't exactly look like a cave. The dark area inside the cave was glowing with blue and purple hues. "This cave looks like the mouth of a Muk! This doesn't give me a good feeling," Spark described. "And aside from that, something big is coming!"
We hid in the bushes as an eerie noise of rapid spinning approached. A massive white mon landed in front of the cave. "Right, he has to be here too. We should try to ask them nicely," Spark suggested. "Big bro, you're gonna ask that thing?" I questioned. "O-on second thought, perhaps i-it's not such a good idea...but what other choice do we have?"
"I'll ask them then. Big bro, Icy, Hekno, I'm glad you came here with me, but from now on, it's gonna be my own challenge!" I announced to them. My brother seemed tempted to stop me, but Icy put a paw on his. "Your challenge...good luck then!" Hekno smiled.
I hugged Spark tightly. "Big bro, you're the second-best brother I've had. I'll see you later!" I whispered. "Was I that bad of a brother?" he whined but hugged me back. "See you later, that's a promise!"
I then turned to hug Icy. "Icy, you're the best friend ever! If I don't come back, you're the leader!" I said in her ear. "Don't say that, Blossom! Don't say that! I know you will!" she said through sobs. "Alright, now it's time for me to go!"
"Hello there! You're Palkia, right?" I called the beast. He glared back at me. He's bigger when close up. "You are...?" "My name is Blossom! I'm the leader of an Adventurer team! I'm here because I wish to enter the Worldcore!" I said sternly. "Ah, so that's who he referred to!"
"Excuse me? Who are you talking about?" I asked. Did somemon know I was coming? "Normally, if somemon wanted to enter the core, they would have to defeat me in a battle. Last night, your Quagsire friend came here to tell me about it. He forced...ahem, talked me into letting you in by doing this!"
Palkia extended his wings. The left half of his wings were broken, broken in the way that half of each was missing. I put a paw before my mouth in astonishment. "What's up with mortals nowadays? Ungrateful mobs, we were the mons who created them!" he complained and sat down. "Go ahead. I assume you know the risks..."
He stopped in the middle of the sentence. "Palkia, what's wrong?" I asked, and then his shoulders began to glow. "I sense a powerful dark presence approaching...I don't remember letting anymon in," Palkia seemed confused. His shoulder glowed even brighter. "Sis! Get out of the way!"
Spark rushed out from the bushes, grabbed me by the neck, and ran back into the bushes. That hurt. "HEY! Spark! That HURT!" I yelled at him, and a green glow shot out of the cave. Palkia's hands glowed bright pink and slashed at the flying green object. Upon contact, whatever it was exploded into fiery smoke and landed in the distant east.
"Hmph, perhaps I missed a random grass type who wandered in," Palkia snorted. Just as Palkia let his guard down, the cave glowed bright purple. Whatever emerged was pitch black. I couldn't see what it was before it raised a claw into the air, forming an orb of darkness and smashing it on the ground. "Sis!"
I was thrown out of the way by a massive Discharge just when the orb exploded. The sphere extended into a ball of total darkness. Icy, my brother and Palkia were all enveloped by the dark. By the time the black hue was clear, they all lay on the ground, unconscious.
"Big bro? Big bro! Icy! You alright?" I exclaimed and hurried toward them. Great. Whatever that was didn't hurt them. All it did was put them into a deep sleep. "Wow, Big bro, you're in a pretty convenient posture next to Icy. Well, doesn't hurt if I have some fun before leaving!"
It took me a few minutes to be satisfied with my own work. I stepped toward the cave entrance. "I'm ready to go in, Rands. I hope you are, too!" I muttered and made contact with the glowing mixture.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself in corridors made of weird energy. The ground below me was solid, but when I reached toward the wall, my paw started aching. The pain felt like spraining a paw. I stepped back, and where my claws penetrated was solid again. "Wow, seems like something Urias would be interested in."
As soon as that thought came afloat, the vague form of a quadrupedal formed in front of me. Upon closer look, the figure looked just like Urias. He had the same lab equipment, a nerdy look, and even smelled like him. "Urias, is that you? What are you doing here?"
The shadow responded by forming a dark sphere before the ring on his forehead. "What are you doing?" I exclaimed as he shot the ball at me. Dodging the attack, where I stood crumbled into nothing. This place really isn't made for attacks.
Urias let out a feral growl, preparing his next attack. I fled in the opposite direction, trying to get as far from his as possible. Two more familiar forms emerged before me. "Kuro? Duff? What's happening?"
Kuro sent a wave of Air Slashes at me while Duff shot toward me using Hyper Drill. The walls hit by the Air Slashes were destroyed and left hollow. Dodging Duff's attack, the ground where he struck vanished, and he fell into the hole. "Duff! No!"
I kept running. I slowed down as soon as I lost Kuro, panting. It was quiet. Too quiet. When I decided to look at my surroundings, somemon shot down from the walls and pinned me on the ground. I couldn't believe who I was seeing, but how?
Standing before me was the mon who vanished for years. The lizard growled at me as I stared at him in disbelief. He pounced. He extended his Leaf Blades into glowing scythes and rushed toward me. I closed my eyes and attacked him with a Thunder Shock. He decomposed into a black mist.
"I think I know what's going on. All these mons are those in my memory. So, to see him again, I'll get past them all!" I declared and turned around. "I won't achieve anything by running around. Time to face my memories head-on!"
Another Thunder Shock destroyed the fake brother before me. I muttered to myself, hoping my real brother wouldn't figure out that I didn't even consider twice before attacking him. The more I fought, the more familiar mons showed up.
After what felt like forever, everymon I remembered had shown up before my eyes, all except one. "Randy, if you're there, I wish to meet you now!" I announced. As if responding to my call, a gleaming orb of light appeared before me and floated farther into the abyss.
Calling his name, I ran after the glowing orb. Soon, I found myself before a broken cliff. The light stopped beside me. As if reading my thoughts, several pillars rose from the ground alongside a tablet in the middle.
"If you get past this point, destiny awaits. Failing the challenge means your souls will forever linger in the void. Do you still wish to proceed?" the tablet pronounced itself in an eerie way. "Yes," I said after taking in a deep breath. "Do you wish to proceed?"
The question echoed and repeated itself. "I said yes!" I shouted, but it didn't respond. I couldn't figure out the problem, and then it hit me. "Randy, are you unwilling to accept the challenge? If you prefer to stay in the human world, I respect your idea, but if you still doubt my resolve now, it means that you haven't learned anything during your stay!"
"Yes..."
My eyes widened at the familiar voice, and the floating light slowly expanded into a firm object. Spikes formed a circle around the two of us. I didn't plan on fleeing anyway. Immediately after, the light materialized into a Lycanrock and manifested before me. "Randy, it's you!"
"Arrwoooo!"
(battle start)
Something wasn't right.
"Randy?" I shouted. The hound ignored my call and slowly walked toward me. Barbed stones formed around his body and pointed at me. "Rands! What do you think you're doing?" I shouted and attempted to dodge. I couldn't evade it completely, and some stones punctured my skin.
"This isn't Randy...or perhaps it is. It's how you remember him. This is a battle between us that nobody's gonna interrupt!" I told myself, enduring the pain and resuming the battle position.
I gathered my strength and shot an electric beam at the sky. Thunder crashed down from the sky and struck my opponent. I winced at his pained howl. "Neither of us should hold back, Blossom!" I told myself as Randy threw a boulder at me.
I destroyed the boulder using a Thunder Shock. Shaking the debris off my face, I couldn't evade his next attack. His Fire Punch slammed into the side of my face and sent me sliding to the wall.
Whining from the pain, I got up immediately and ran away with a Quick Attack when a Rock Tomb almost crushed me. Changing the route and running toward him, I prepared a Spark as electricity bristled under my fur. Randy stood his ground.
I crashed into him with my attack. He grunted but took the attack. I then struck him with a Double Kick. He endured it again, and his body started to glow red. "Uh-oh-"
He struck me in the stomach using a Counter. The air was knocked out of my lungs, and I tumbled backward, coughing. Large boulders formed above me and crashed down. I saw the attack and tried to dodge it with another Quick Attack. It didn't work this time.
My hind paws were covered by the large stones, and I could feel something was definitely broken. Randy raised his paw and struck the ground. A line of spikes came crashing toward me. I closed my eyes and tensed my muscles.
"Ugh... ugh..."
Blood trickled out of my mouth. Randy fell to the ground, punching the ground with his paws as he crawled toward me. I felt my sight blurring and the sounds growing distant as warm liquid dampened my fur. He couldn't seem to talk, but he grabbed my paw.
His paw felt so warm.
"It's okay, Rands...it's okay..." I said faintly. Strangely, it didn't hurt as much anymore as everything grew foggier. Even with my vague sight, I could tell. Below the feral surface, perhaps he couldn't talk, but he was there. "Seems like you won...Rands..."
I opened my eyes again. I was back at where I stood before the battle. I felt my stomach. The wound where I got impaled by Randy's Stone Edge was gone. The identical process repeated before the fight, and once again, Randy aimed his stones at me.
This was gonna be a tough battle.
The attacks repeated themselves. This time, instead of using Double Kick after my Spark, I struck him with a Shock Wave. He was knocked off his feet and fell backward. I shot electricity at the murky sky. Randy threw a rock above him to block the incoming Thunder.
I ran toward him using Quick Attack, channeling energy into my fangs. Randy quickly sat up and charged at me as well. My eyes widened when the stone on his forehead turned silver. It was too late to stop the attack.
One of my teeth fell out of my mouth as the attacks collided. I stumbled backward and felt my mouth with a paw. My fur was drenched by blood. Randy didn't waste time. His paws began to glow as he ran toward me with Fire Punch.
I tried to block his attack using a Double Kick. The attacks collided, and I was bounced backward. Awaiting me was an invisible rock behind me. SMACK! I rubbed my head dizzily. The Randy I knew wouldn't use such a dirty move in a battle like this.
Randy wasted no time. He ran toward me and struck me with Fire Punch after Fire Punch until I was gasping for breath on the ground, scorch marks covering my body. A flaming bite on my neck and a few of his foggy sobs sent me back to where I stood before the battle.
A few battles happened afterward. I lost, battled, and lost again. I was beginning to understand why everymon lost hope at the end of this dungeon. Their opponents had the looks of the ones they cared about but with the strength of their nightmares.
Strangely, the more I lost, the more I wanted to battle him. He was fighting fiercely, but I knew who was inside. If I was in danger, they would have defended me as vigorously, wouldn't they? Despite losing and losing again, I smiled through the pain.
"It's okay, Randy! It doesn't hurt as much as you think it does!" After so much practice, I dodged his next attack easily. From the looks he showed when I lost, he didn't want to do this anymore. He no longer wanted to fight. "You have to trust me, Rands! You can't give up!"
Using a Quick Attack to dodge the spikes from his Stone Edge, I Bit him and tossed him aside. "Rands, if you give up now, all of this will mean nothing! If you give up now, we'll both be stuck here!" I shouted, preparing my next attack.
I slid between his legs and tripped him over with Double Kick as he tried to unleash the strength he absorbed from my last Spark. I struck him with a Thunder Shock, still trying not to hurt him badly. He swung another Fire Punch at me, which I dodged easily.
I could tell from his attacks that he was getting tired. He attacked slower and slower until the point where I pounced onto him and Bit his shoulder, Discharging directly onto him. He let out a final groan and collapsed.
(end of the battle)
"Rands! You alright?"
He looked at me with his tired eyes, smiling. "How many times was this? Twenty? Thirty?" he muttered faintly. "Doesn't matter, Rands! You're you again!" I hugged him as tears of joy streamed down my cheeks. "I...feel like I'm fading, you know what I mean, Blossom?"
"Wait! No...no! Don't, Rands!" I pleaded. "Never knew I was this powerful, thank you, Blossom...I almost lost my will and gave in...it hurts on the inside, you know? Every time I struck you, I could only watch as my body moved on its own, trying to kill you...but no matter what, you refused to fight me at your fullest..."
"Don't discredit yourself for being too strong, Randy! Or are you trying to show off?" I forced a smile, but my face stiffened as his body started to pale. "Don't worry, Blossom...I'll join you soon enough. You can leave now," he muttered as the ground began to rumble.
"No! Rands! You can't leave me again!" I wailed as the stone pillars cracked and crumbled. The ground shook below as it crumbled further. "Go...Blossom, Go!" he shouted and grabbed me. I felt the muscles tense on his arm. "Guess I had the strength for one last move..."
He threw me out of the altar, which had its walls crumbled. I shouted his name as the cliff we stood on crumbled and fell into a bottomless abyss. "Was I...not determined enough? Was my resolve not strong enough?"
(Sparks POV)
I couldn't be more embarrassed when I woke up. Not only was I knocked out by a single attack, but when I woke, I was lying on Icy's unconscious body...and even drooled on her. "I gotta be careful when cleaning this! I can't let her see me like this!"
Cleaning most of my drool off her neck fluff, now I couldn't get the stupid blush off my face. How was I supposed to explain this? More importantly, what happened? We were knocked out one minute ago, and the next moment, we woke up in her garden.
I tried to think of answers. I couldn't think of any. How did we get here? Were we carried back by the rest of our team? Had we been out for that long? But I was pretty heavy. How would they have carried me back? Deciding not to think further, I checked my explorer pack.
Nothing seemed missing, so I planned to return to the Worldcore for answers. I vaguely recalled a light blue eye in the middle of the dark cloud before I lost consciousness. The thought of that blue eye gave me the creeps just by imagining it.
For whatever reason, my mind told me to visit the stone tablet before departing. "Well...hello..." I spoke to it. "I heard you were an awesome team member...such a pity that I never got to meet you..."
"I hope wherever you are, you're having a great time...or perhaps, if my sister succeeds, I hope I can see you as soon as possible!" I said to the stone tablet.
My ears perked up when I heard something. It sounded like a groan. As I wondered whether I was hearing things, I heard it again. A faint groan. I looked around, but nobody seemed to be around me. All I noticed was how swiftly the sky darkened.
"Grr..."
It was even louder this time, and the groans seemed to come from below. But it's nighttime...and there's nothing under me, what's making that noise? A chill ran down my spine as I looked at the tablet. "Oh no...it's nighttime...I'm imagining this, right? It's nighttime! And they told me-"
A little bit of soil loosened before me. It seemed like something was pushing its way out! "Don't think about this, Spark...it's all a dream, you've been reading too many horror stories before bedtime, and-" My eyes almost popped out of my sockets when a white paw covered in dirt emerged.
I stared in horror as the paw emerged from the ground, then an arm, then the head... The sharp red glare of the Midnight Lycanrock looked directly at my eyes as his dirty form climbed out from under the tombstone. "AAAAHHHH DOG! ZOMBIE DOG!"
I fainted.
I woke up when something tugged on my mane. I almost fainted again when I saw who it was. "AAAHHHH! LEAVE ME ALONE!" I screamed as the Lycanrock opened his mouth. His sharp white fangs reflected the moonlight. "DON'T BITE ME! I DON'T WANNA TURN INTO A HUMAN!" I shut my eyes, screamed, and curled into a ball.
He spat out a chunk of dirt.
"Dude, what's wrong with you?" he said with a hoarse voice and coughing a few times. "A-aren't you gonna bite me?" I squeaked, still unwilling to uncurl myself. "Da hell would I want to do that?" he asked. "Lycanrocks biting other mons and making them turn into humans! Especially zombie ones! Have you never heard of that?"
"What. The. Ballz."
"Anyway...I'm not gonna do that. Could you please...spare me a little water?" he questioned. I quickly gave him my sachet. "Thanks," he said, brushing off more dirt. "I'm gonna have a word with whoever had the idea to make me a tombstone and bury my equipment down there!"
"It's all muddy! Gross..." the Lycanrock whined as he grabbed a dirty adventurer suit from where he dug out. "Are you...who I think you are?" I questioned. "Randal Silverwood, Randy for short. You're Spark, right? Blossom's brother?"
I nodded. My heart was still thumping from what I experienced just now. "Well, no offense, but from my impression of you last night, I didn't expect you to freak out so much," he muttered, putting on his dirty equipment. "Wait, if you're here, that means..."
"Yeah, your sister. She did it. You won't forgive me if I tell you what I did to her when she tried to get me back," he replied. "I'm so proud of her!" I exclaimed. "But even though she did it, I'm not sure if she made it. I plan on taking what I have and finding her right now."
"I planned on doing the same. We set out as a team, but Icy and I were knocked out before we knew what happened." I confessed. "Well, I may or may not have seen what happened there...but he's the one who shall not be named in your world, isn't he?"
"What's that supposed to mean? And you were with us all this time?" I asked curiously. "Yeah, Hekno tricked me that I'd have to return to the human world. The truth is, removing my physical form was enough to convince Palkia everyone had left. I've lingered around Hekno ever since.
"I don't get it, but what are we waiting for? Let's go and find Blossom!" I urged. "When I was around Hekno, I got bored and thought about several places in my adventure where we could have done better. Do you happen to have an Escape Orb? That should teleport you...or us if I hold onto you to the last dungeon you've been through,"
"Last dungeon entrance? I think the last dungeon I've been through was...Windy Shoreline...you're so fricking smart!" I exclaimed in disbelief. "Nah, just had a few more near-death experiences for me to dream about ways to escape quickly."
A moment after smashing an Escape Orb, we were transported to the Windy Shoreline. The two of us fought our way through the dungeon. By the time we reached the end of the dungeon, the sky was completely dark.
When we arrived at the Worldcore, nobody was there. The ground around the core was too hard to leave footprints, but I could still smell my sister's scent. The two of us decided to split up and look for traces of her in the nearby forest.
"Hey, Spark!" Randy's voice called from afar. "Randy! You found something?" I shouted. "Something...and some things..." he pointed at the ground. Corroded leaves left a trail in the dirt, while a few tree trunks were marked with toothmarks. "I guess she's okay! Leaving bite barks on trees is Hekno's way of marking waypoints."
"Even though I can't see her now, I'm glad she's fine..." I let out a sigh of relief. "Anyway, do you have any idea what left these? I found these footprints as well! They're quite concerning!" Randy pointed at the bushes. "How can footprints be concerning?"
"Holy moley..."
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That's the end of this chapter, and I hope you guys enjoyed it! Thanks for reading all the way here! Sorry if this chapter is too short. This chapter and the next chapter were originally going to be one chapter, but I decided it would be too long. By the way, thanks for the long wait! My school schedule has been even busier in college. Again, the next chapter may be delayed, but I'll try to post it ASAP. That's all I have to say, cya next time!
2023/11/10 9:17 p.m. gmt+8