Explorers of Origin: A Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Fanfiction, Volume 2

Chapter 7: Dive to the Heart of Scarlet

Without proper reform, even the richest societies will fail.

Diving deep through eternal darkness, the seven heroes enter the Vortex Cell with full knowledge of their mission drilled within. As each teammate fell ever beyond, small circles of light began to materialize in their fields of vision. Hope, albeit minimal, began to spread amongst the group.

"Hey, Chesnaught, I see patches of light below! I think we may be on our way towards walkable terrain!"

"Here's hoping we do! Hang on tight, captain!"

Reporting the shining light glowing from further below, Mawile enhances her discipline, turning her focus to the landing. Centimeter by centimeter, the blobs morph themselves into long, wide passageways. Nothing was stopping them from a possible crash, but no other form of arrival exists in a place so empty like the Vortex Cell. The keen, stoic observation of the area remained installed inside Mawile's head as she and her teammates descended further and further down.

"Alright, guys, looks like we can indeed land here. Get your positioning ready!"

"Okay, dear! Call me if you need your metaphysical energy!"

"Please be careful, everyone!"

"We will, Meloetta! We'll make it in one piece!"

Confident in everyone's ability to land, Mawile rotates her lower body inward, straightening both legs to maintain balance. Making the read that they would touch ground soon, Chesnaught motions Espeon and Gardevoir to follow suit. Above them, Meloetta surveys the team's immediate surroundings for potential dangers.

One body at a time, the teammates slam their legs towards the walkable surface, slowly regaining their postures to minimize the recoil. Gardevoir and Espeon dodge this problem completely by gracefully tiptoeing their arrival, but not before gently placing Milotic's gargantuan structure on the supernatural ground gleaming with ethereal light.

"We're all here! Everyone's landed nicely, right?"

"A little too sudden for my liking. But I'm good. You, Mawile?"

"The landing was smooth for me, thankfully. These skirts help dissipate the thumping reactive force quite nicely."

"Consider ya'selves lucky I didn't crash onto the floor, Espeon. You and Gardevoir woulda been smacked upside y'all's heads!"

Both teammates giggle at Milotic's declaration, finding it somewhat adorable.

"Easy there, sweetheart! Why would I treat you like an ugly gold digger stepmother who doesn't care about her own child?"

"Even a mischievous cat like Espeon has enough discipline to handle big tasks. She IS royalty after all!"

"Huh... I had a feelin' she had status. Anyways, look around. This place is so damn dark. Where the hell's our target?"

"That's the tough part, Milotic. There isn't a location set in stone that leads to the Vortex Core. Both Salamence and Admiral Blastoise of the Néro division reported completely different layouts inside the Cells they entered, so don't expect anything standard."

"Well, shit. I guess we're on an expedition."

"Indeed. How's Sora, by the way? Has he finally woken up?"