Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rising Spirits

Chapter 5, Part 2 - Dead-Eyed Samurai

Gargantuan walls of stone practically crushed the members of Team Spirit in their attempts to navigate the Heavenpeak Labyrinth. The maze was so chock full of branching paths, diverging crossroads, and dead ends to the point where even Trevor struggled to map out the dungeon's layout in his head. The labyrinth's confusing nature, in addition to the swaths of powerful crawlers which inhabited it, gradually took its toll on the team's morale as they ventured onwards.

"aaaAAAUGH, where is this guy?!" Aiden groaned upon landing a finishing blow on an aggressive, blank-eyed Swellow after it had managed to inflict her arms with a myriad of small cuts, "Are Silver Rank dungeons really this much more annoying?!" She turned towards Trevor. "Have you managed to find any trace of our outlaw, Treph?"

"N-no, not yet," Trevor panted, slumping over one of the maze's sandstone walls exhaustedly, "Ugh, there hasn't been trace of the guy in over an hour!"

"Y'know," Aiden mumbled while tugging at her ears in frustration, "For a big ol' pile of rocks with a bunch of glowing rocks strapped to him, he's a pretty hard guy to find."

"You're telling me," murmured a deep voice from behind her.

With a surprised yelp, Aiden spun around to find Rin's dark, lifeless pupils staring into her. Aiden's yellow eyes burned with annoyance. "W-where the heck did you come from?!"

"Just got here," Rin responded calmly, "I've been trying to find that outlaw for a while now, yet it seems that I'm no closer to finding him than I was an hour ago. I eventually planned to let you two find the outlaw for me, but that obviously won't work considering you're just as lost as I am." The Dewott heaved a deep sigh. "This is getting boring. I'm starting to think this gig isn't worth the reward..."

After some deliberation, Trevor built up the resolve to tentatively speak up. "Excuse me... Rin, was it? Would you... maybe like to team up with us for now?"

Aiden snapped her head towards Trevor with an astonished expression, then began shaking her head rapidly in a desperate attempt to dissuade Trevor. Rin, by contrast, merely scoffed. "And why would I do that?"

"Well, you said it yourself, didn't you?" Trevor responded, "We're all having a tough time finding this outlaw on our own. Maybe, if we all team up, we'll be able to make this mission go by easier. Strength in numbers, right?"

"And what if I just run off and take the reward myself? In fact, why shouldn't I just mug you both and take all of your money right now?"

"You're not going to do that."

"Oh yeah?" Rin gave a smug, condescending grin. "Why?"

"Because of this." Trevor opened his mouth to reveal a black, gnarled blast seed resting snugly between his fangs. "This Blast Seed's been in here throughout this entire conversation. I'm sure you know what'll happen when I bite into it." The Mewoth's black eyes briefly glinted in intensity. "Make one wrong move, and I'll make sure you regret it."

Both Rin and Aiden stood with dumbstruck expressions, both pairs of eyes wide in surprise.

"You're not like any Pokémon I've ever seen," an intrigued Rin suddenly declared with a chuckle, "Alright, I'll play your little game for now. We'll find that outlaw together- it'll be more interesting this way."

With that, Rin joined Team Spirit as they continued their seemingly never-ending search.

"How'd you end up in a team like the Supernovas?" Aiden suddenly asked as the trio continue to slog onwards, "You've seen what Alpha's like, haven't you?"

Rin rolled his eyes. "Ugh, who cares anymore? It's not as if I work with him anymore."

"Don't you know what he did to Cody?! The way he treated him even though he's just a kid?!" Aiden continued to insist despite Trevor's subtle indications for her to stop, "How could you ever consider siding with a guy like that, don't you have any sense of-"