Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity

Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Paradise

A sky of the darkest black covers my surroundings. Shadows stretch far and straggliest underneath the cold gleam of prickling stars. A moon is not present. Grass softly crunches from beneath my toes. Tall trees stand still as guards. Passing through them makes me feel the opposite though. The awkward webbing of a leaf brushes by m face; I immediately stiffen in response, my auburn eyes widened.

Wind ominously whistles betwixt the tree leaves and fronds of grass beneath me. For a brief flash the shadowy brown of a tree trunk has a pair of wide, bloodshot eyes and purple twist. I blink; any signs of ghosts have disappeared, almost as if I was dreaming.

Thud. I swipe a peek at my feet and find the reason they have started to throb once more. A gray rock. The sharp stab of pain brings my weariness along. I feel my ragged tail weigh me down. My whole frame gives off a wave of tire. My eyes waver, the mucky yellow ringlets twitching as my eyes attempt to close. But I find the energy to keep walking. Th-THUD, The rock goes. My body plummets into grass; I had the decency to trip over that shady rock again and crash.

...

The sensation of warm sunshine crawls over my dull scales. My eyes warily open to slits. The sky has morphed into an eggshell blue. A fat ball of yellow light glares down upon me. I take the time to stare at the glowing orb. BURN. I quickly blink over and over, blinding light forcing its way into my burned eyes. I cover the auburn slits and part my jaws to a silent moan. I did not know that would happen.

"Hey you!" A wet finger protrudes the green scales on my back. "Yeah you!" The finger digs into my scales painfully. "Are you dead or what?" The voice is feminine. It also carries an accent of the sea. She must be from somewhere around a large body of water. "Must I sit?"

I jump to my feet, my eyes widening. Don't sit on me! My mind screams. All I manage is to shakily rub my eyes and try not to step on my tail, with its scattered tendrils clotting around my tiny toes. I am fast; now on my feet, that thing won't be able to touch me. "Geez! I'm not gonna go and sit in ya! It was a joke!" The same voice squeaks in surprise.

My hands remove from rubbing at my eyes. I slowly blink, the sun splotches covering parts of my gaze gone. The character I see is bipedal, or two-legged, like me. Her round face is white, furry, and... wet. Nearly spilling with drops of water. Her oval eyes remind me of the rich blue to a clear river. Beneath the river-blue eyes are small, black freckles dotting her cheeks. A wide, muddy brown nose. She has a creepy smile on her face. Two, long ears the color of the deepest depths of a body of water slide out from her head, dangling past her shoulders. Her short body is oval-shaped, and starts at cuffing around her head in numerous circles. This is a tropical blue, like an ocean. The color is her whole body. White, wet arms come from her also. Her long, clumsy feet match her pigtails. A long, gridded tail ending in an arc is the same blue as her feet. The last addition to this Pokémon is a small, yellow scallop hanging to her chest. "What'cha staring at?" The oshawott breaks the silence.

I don't know how to respond. The otter responds to her words, leaving me no time to say anything if I had wanted to. "Well, I dunno about you, but I'm heading to Post Town! It's a nearby town that's where I'm moving to!" The oshawott flicks her deep blue tail to the side. "Anyways, I'm Zoey!"

"...Llana," My small, quiet voice responds. I blink at her, unsure what happens next.

Zoey the blue otter interrupts any chances for a silent moment again. "Hey, you're traveling... alone too," She mutters thoughtfully. "Wanna live with me? I'm making a place to stay, and nice Pokémon are welcome! You look nice, like, you're not gonna go and kill me nice!" I have no idea how to respond. My response turns out to be awkwardly shuffling the grass with my feet. "Okay you're coming!" Even though I hadn't responded, Zoey digs her white fingers into my arm and starts dragging me.

Water from her fingers chill my arm and soak the green scales that cover. I hide my flinch by coughing loudly, and hide my frail hacking by accidentally tripping over Zoey's large feet. Thankfully, the ignorant otter seems to make no notice of my debut.

Zoey's iron grip releases. I sigh, slowly flexing where she had clamped me. "Meet Ragged Mountain!" Her shrill voice makes me snap my gaze past her white head and to the large opening in front. It's a small, dark, gaping whole. Surrounding the small opening- what I will be stuck going through- is a white/gray, tall hill. It's appearance reminds me of a shrunken mountain, which explains the name of the dungeon.

I almost wish I never met Zoey, and wouldn't have to get holed up into that uncomfortable looking space. But I would be alone. And I want to follow this mammal to some point. Instead, I swallow my doubts and glance at Zoey carefully. Her river-blue eyes shine with excitement. This may as well all end in tears. I take in a deep breath, and slowly walk inside the hole of the mountain. Squeaky steps behind me signal the otter's arrival.

Dark. This "Ragged Mountain” is nearly without light. Long shadows cast over the dark pathway leading forewords. Further out stands a crack in the path. A large fissure of lost earth, perhaps. I can see this far because there are holes in the tops of the hill. But I cannot cross nonetheless. As a grass reptile, I don't own wings. Nor could my loud travel companion. I turn around to take a glance at her, but the water type has seemingly disappeared.

"Llana! Seriously! Haven't you ever heard of Ragged Mountain? The Mystery Dungeon?" The squeaky voice seems to echo off the walls. I turn around slowly, but catch no sight of the otter. "Have you been living under a rock? The safety protocol people -stands for HAPPI or something- live in the area and they sent their bird Pokémon to warn everyone of the damage done here! I mean everyone. So we have to take this passage duh!" I locate where the voice has come from. A shallow entrance, appearing more than slightly unstable, has been dug into my right side of the wall. An oval pair of blue eyes peers out at me from there. "Hurry up or the Pokémon will find me!" She shrieks mockingly.

My cheeks flush. Of course I don't know there is a fissure.. here, I think. Wherever we are heading, I nervously walk over to the opening. Small pebbles scatter from the top of the carved roof. Something gives off a rotten stench. I get the feeling this opening is not safe. Not very safe, at least. I muster the courage to ask Zoey why don't we turn around, but she beats me to the question.

"Ugh, something stinks in here!" She wails, her white paw partly covering her muddy brown nose. "Yuck! I wish we could go around, but that earthquake cut all around Post Town- that's the place we're headed," The immature oshawott snorts. "Post Town of Truught sure was a wreck after the mess, but we must have gotten here in good time. I mean, the passage is done!" I quietly nod to Zoey, but start to zone out. The walkway is pitch black. Footsteps. I hear scattered movements from the cave's passage. A shiver wracks my spine.

Something hard and cold knocks into me. My feet threaten to trip over air. A gasp echoes over the passage in a high voice. My voice. As instinct shouts, a vine shoots out from my yellow, curvy shoulder and binds the cold creature. A clang, vibrations sent scurrying up my vine and jolting me. Zoey must have tackled into the creature, because she lets out a squeal of joy when another jolt rocks the Pokémon.

I allow the flimsy vine to tighten, remembering Gerald's words. Always use attacks. Always use strong moves only. That is the way of a fight, His words echo in my mind. The body slides limp in my grasp. I remember where I am and quickly release the Pokémon. "Huh," Zoey's voice. "It's a klink. He's some steel type for sure, and feels like a gear. Klink it is! Come on Llana we have to get to the exit," Zoey's words pile on top of each other. I slowly blink, attempting to decipher her meaning. She must want to go now.

I can see a large accumulation of brightness ahead. And color, first a small pinprick of light. Walking further brings it out. As my feet wear on, the makings of more grass show: texture of green fronds, shaking ever so slightly to the wind. "Faster Llana! Or Quagsire will kill me!" ...Who is Quagsire? No matter; Zoey digs her fingers into my left arm this time, and start the slow progress of dragging me once more. I attempt to shake her grip off, but her nails only scrabble into my arm further. I bite my tongue to stop a cry of pain and close my eyes. What has happened?