Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Redemption and Revival

Chapter 4

Instead of another series of tunnels and rooms, they exit the stairs in a single large chamber. The walls, ceiling, and a part of the floor are covered in webbing, all of it narrowing the area to an almost den-like state. At the center of it, right in front of them, lies the culprit. He hasn't noticed them yet, his pink back to them.

Seeing that their appearance has gone undetected, Sparky glances to Ember and motions his head, suggesting they go forward. She nods, looking ahead and creeping along the ground. Her eyes peer around the chamber, trying to find her bag.

While nothing of interest appears to be on the floor, a look at the walls and ceiling reveals exactly what all that webbing is for. Attacked to the webs are all sorts of trinkets and items; berries and seeds like those found throughout the dungeon, bags likely stolen from various travelers, and several other odd or unrecognizable objects. On one wall, not too far from the floor, is Ember's own bag, still packed full.

She spots it, her eyes lighting up. Her attention soon falls back to the arachnid, eyes flicking between the two goals. Looking to her friend, she motions between the two, tilting her head at him.

Understanding her intentions, the Shinx looks between the two as well. He's about to move towards the bag, hoping to just get it and leave quickly, only for the Ariados to suddenly whirl around with a loud hiss, spotting them both.

"You followed me down here?" it growls, both angry and surprised. "So persistent..."

Ember hisses back, fire in her throat. "You stole from us, of course we'd follow! Now give it back!"

"Give me one good reason why I should listen to you," it replies smugly.

Riled up, the Fire-type replies with a growl. "Because I'm leaving here with it no matter the case. I don't care if I have to burn you to do it."

"Feisty...I like that." Ariados looks at the Shinx and narrows its eyes. "...you."

Sparky blinks, surprised at being addressed. "Huh?"

The Bug-type creeps closer towards him, causing him to back up. "I thought you looked familiar when I saw you...perhaps I was mistaken, but..." It shakes its head. "Never mind that. If you and your hotheaded friend here want your bag back, I'm not going to just hand it over. You'll have to take it from me."

Narrowing her eyes, the fire fox looks to Sparky. "You ready?"

The Shinx nods, still confused, but putting on a determined expression as well. "Ready."

Taking that as some sort of cue, Ariados hisses and charges at them, skittering quickly over to the Vulpix first and hurling itself at her. Yelping, she dives out of the way, paws skidding slightly on the dirt as she lands.

While the spider's attention is focused elsewhere, Sparky tries to tackle it from behind. He slams into it, only for it to shrug the attack off and turn around, shooting a large web at him. Sparky cries in surprise as the web covers him, trapping him against the ground.

"Sparky, duck!" Ember launches two shots of her namesake; one at the close backside of their foe, and the other at her trapped friend. The Shinx ducks as well as he can given the circumstance, and is rewarded with a slight warm feeling before the webs around him dissipate, letting him get back up.

Ariados, meanwhile, hisses in pain as it gets hit with the small flame aimed at it and promptly scurries to the wall, climbing up onto the ceiling and trying to launch similar sticky threads at the two intruders.

Staring upward, the Fire-type returns fire while dodging the threads. This doesn't exactly help her aim, but it isn't until she suddenly finds herself yanked back by one of her tails that she is concerned. She looks back, finding one end of the web on her tail while the other is in their foe's mouth. Grinning, Ariados yanks on the web, pulling Ember upwards to hang in the air. It keeps pulling, bringing her closer and closer with each tug.