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Sojaveña Wilds Silver Ravine Mystery Dungeon

Reader mode
“Our authority?” Archie asked. Somehow, he doubted the Zweilous meant the Rangers. But maybe if he played dumb on that front?

“You mean, the Shadow Pokemon, right?” The Oshawott continued, “Eyewitnesses reported attacks by frenzied Pokemon, the descriptions of whom matched the appearances of known missing Pokemon. The victims of the attacks could be friend, foe, or even a stranger entirely. The Rangers are investigating, but...”
 
Koa narrowed his eyes in thought. Alex worked for another authority...? And was he referring to Betel as their authority? It was hard to think of Betel that way when Betel wasn't even giving them concrete directives. "It does..." he began. His mind started to kick into overdrive. Did Alex somehow have a tie to that other voice from their dreams? The thought made him shudder inside. The second shadowy voice did not strike him as friendly.

His gaze shifted to Archie before he spoke. Bets to try and choose his words carefully. "Your authority? Are they trying to help these 'shadow pokemon' as well? If you are trying to help this world mantain balance our goals might be the same there but... how are you hoping to?" Something about the idea of mantaining balance felt a bit unnerving but maybe playing along would be best.
 
Quiet. The adults are talking.

And suddenly, Betel's words, whatever they were intended to be, went utterly silent. Betel was probably fine -- after all, they could still communicate with one another, they still felt a connection. And yet... they could not hear their guardian.

Something blocked their words. Something strong.

The voice that interrupted them sounded like Alex.

"We don't need him right now," Alex said slowly, shifting his feet on the ground.

A line in the soil formed like something burrowed beneath it. It formed a large circle around all of them, with Alex at the end of one part of the circle and the other end about twenty feet behind Koa and Archie. Like they were caged.

"You don't realize," Alex went on, "how vulnerable you are, do you? Taking a single, mysterious person out in the middle of nowhere... a Zweilous, no less, when you two haven't even grown out of your soft fur...

"Why do you always fall for it?" Alex inquired. Xander's head stared hungrily at both of them.
 
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Chills rippled through Koa. His mouth went dry for a moment and his brain blanked. His heartbeat, hammering erratically, drowned out everything. His gaze took in Xander's hungry look, the circle in the earth, and the unnerving absence of Betel's voice. And that they were far, very far from town. Get a grip. The words replayed in his head on repeat, but he still couldn't think of something to say or do. Whatever this was stronger than Betel and they probably couldn't even flee like he'd hoped.

Fight. Were they faster than Alex? Could they take him?

Koa squashed that instinct quickly. Starting a fight was stupid. He had to be smart. Logical. Practical. He glanced at Archie, a brief sense of guilt washing over him, even as another part of him was grateful. .

"So you mean us harm?" His voice felt hollow and his throat was dry. He swallowed. Be smart be smart be smart... "Because that would be pointless for you. It's not like nobody knows who we are or where we went. Hurting us would make it hard to do whatever it is you want to do. Everyone would start looking for you. It would be more practical to have a discussion instead of making an enemy." He tried his best to sound calm. Rational. Confident. Like he knew what he was doing. Instead of desperate and terrified and angry.

It only somewhat worked.
 
Archie took a half step back, pulling his scalchop from his coat pocket with one paw, as the other grabbed the folds of said garment and pulled them closed over his stomach wound. He was in no state to fight, even just walking all the way out here had invited spikes of pain to shoot up his torso once again. What could they do? They could try to run, unless this strange circle in the soil around them was some kind of trapping move. Did Zweilous have access to such a power? He didn’t know for sure.

Seemed like Koa was trying talking. Probably their best option. If they did run, maybe the Electrike could escape if Archie stayed behind to buy time. But, would Koa do something like that? Maybe if there was no other option? Archie wouldn’t, if their positions were switched. He didn’t think Koa had it in him to abandon a comrade, either.

“If there’s a chance that it could help someone, I’ll take on whatever personal risks I have to,” the Oshawott said, in response to the Zweilous’ taunting question. “But Koa’s right. We don’t have to be enemies. If you’re truly looking to maintain the balance of this world. If it wasn’t all a trick, then we want the same thing. If we’re neglecting something, it’s only because of ignorance, not malice.”
 
"Interesting..." Alex said to himself. "Even when you are faced with a completely unwinnable match... you don't back down. You refuse to so much as flinch, even as you're trembling underneath your fur..."

He took a single step forward. He was, unless they relocated, two steps away from them.

His tail flicked. The line in the ground erupted in a wall of black fire--it looked... solid. Like passing through would not be a trivial matter--let alone a painless one. The flames rumbled dully to fill in the silence they'd once enjoyed. That fire... that black fire...

Shadows. Unmistakably. And Alex wielded them effortlessly.

"I don't need to be your enemy," Alex said. "But what if I chose to be one anyway? What would you do? Fight, uselessly, until you lose a graceless loss... or surrender with dignity?"

Alex tilted his head left and grabbed at a string at the end of Xander's muzzle. He pulled it off, the muzzle falling to the ground.

Xander's mouth dribbled with black drool. It sizzled with Shadowy energy. When he breathed, a black mist came out freely.

"I want to hear you scream."
 
Shit. This was it then, wasn’t it? Those black flames… Could his water extinguish them? Even for just a moment? If so, maybe there was a chance Koa could break through and make a run for town. Or, was that too much to hope for?

The Oshawott flicked his scalchop out beside him, the Water Type energy of his Razor Shell erupting into existence. The move sputtered and spurted, and his arm shook from the effort to conjure it alone, but Archie leveled the blade at the approaching Zweilous all the same. The Pokemon wanted to hear them scream, did he? Well…

“I won’t give you the pleasure!” Archie spat.

Okay. Maybe if he grabbed Koa, and shot through the flames with his Aqua Jet? That could be something, maybe? He’d have to get them to the edge of the arena first, if he even wanted to try it.
 
Flames. Black fire. Surrounded, trapped and alone, far from help. Koa's legs locked. Anger and panic battle inside his chest and he could barely draw a breath. He let his anger win out. Clung to it like a drowning person to a life preserver. Let it blur out the terror that threatened to overwhelm him. You're dead. And you're going to get Archie killed. Idiot.

Beside him, he saw Archie draw his scalchop, ready to fight.

His lips curled and he bared his teeth, a low growl building his chest. "If you choose to be our enemy then you're the one starting a graceless fight." He let all his anger seep into his voice. "That's on you."

Determination and anger burned in him. He leveled his glare at Alex. "So no. I won't surrender. Or scream. Find someone else if you're that desperate."

At least if he died he'd go home... right? And at least he'd forget. He wanted to forget this.
 
The flames hummed, filling the air once again with their droning noise. The flames were notably cold, not hot. Would water work on cold flames?

"Neither of you. How... interesting. The sound of your tone... I'm sure your glares are fierce and fiery. It really does take me back..." He sighed, then shorted.

The flames died off.

The atmosphere... seemed to go back to normal, though they still could not hear Betel.

"Tell me," he said, calmly. "If I was truly an enemy..." He grasped the muzzle and swung it back onto Xander, who grumbled but didn't protest further.

"What would have happened?"
 
Koa continued glaring at Alex, still on high alert and ready to bolt. He half expected either the flames to return or Alex to switch moods and attack again. "Then at least I would've died without giving in to someone who could be an enemy or.. or getting turning into a shadow." The last few words tumbled out unexpectedly, but between the flames and the behaviour and what little they knew it was hard not to wonder if there was some kind of link.

"Threats of force won't make me surrender my principles."

Or you would have died.
 
The Oshawott slumped, releasing a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. The tip of his Razor Shell dug into the ground, before the energy blade dissipated entirely. He shot the Zweilous a glare, not that the Pokemon could’ve seen it, but then forced himself to stand up straight again. Treat this little misadventure like a lesson from his Branch Master back home, he told himself. Keep Alex talking, at the very least, while he took the time to think further about how they’d escape this situation, if need be.

“… We’d’ve been in trouble,” he admitted. “Even if we were at our peak strength, withdraw would’ve been the best option. Lose you in the twisting corridors of the dungeon, or slip past you and break for the exit and Frontier Town beyond.”

Showed him what he got for relying on Betel to be able to put out a call for backup. They hadn’t against The Wolf, and against Alex they well and truly couldn’t have. He should’ve thought harder before suggesting a meeting point.

“However. In my current injured state, withdraw would’ve been difficult, if not impossible,” the Oshawott continued. Blake would never have accepted an incomplete answer, so Alex wasn’t going to get one either. “At best, I may have created an opening to allow Koa to escape. At which point I would have been completely at your mercy. At worst, you’d’ve been able to easily kill us both.”
 
Alex nodded. "And this is why," he said, "your friend... the summoning of all of you... will need some retooling. So many reckless... headstrong spirits. I guess it's a matter of odds. Surely one of them will succeed, even if the others will eventually die."

He sighed. "I was chosen because I had strength... and I had experience."

A bolt of black lightning struck the ground between Koa and Archie. Some stray bolts seeped into their fur and then their skin. It was... cold.

"That kind of power," he explained, "is because someone chose carefully for who their representative would be... to get the job done. Yours... I think is desperate and inexperienced. Trying and perhaps ultimately failing..."

He paced, giving them a few extra steps of space.

"Not without some guidance. But it seems there is still more work to do. You are fighting forces of darkness and light while wielding neither. So. While I have... no interest in working directly with you, I'll at least offer that much. The power over darkness. In exchange... you will heed the warnings I will also be giving you. Is that fair?"
 
The bolt struck and Koa flinced and shivered, a brief panic rising in him. What was that? Had Alex done something? His gaze darted around, from where the bolt struck, to Archie, then Alex. Nothing felt different. His eyes tracked Alex as he paced, still wary. At least Betel had never been coy or deceptive with them. Alex had hardly given any information, yet spoke like he knew them.

"Your actions don't exactly give me confidence that you're perfect for the job either," he replied stiffly. "I can't agree to help without knowing more about you. Or what you claim to stand for. You had your chance to test us, and you seem to know about us, so I think its fair we should be allowed to ask a few questions if you want us to heed your warnings." He dug his claws into the dirt, forcing himself not to back away or waver.
 
Archie stumbled, back and to the side a bit, almost losing his balance from the surprise of the bolt hitting in front of them. He saw the jolts of electricity jump to his fur and sink into him. But instead of feeling shocked – an especially unpleasant experience for a Water Type like himself – it felt more like his blood had frozen solid. He shivered and gasped, but just as quickly as it began the feeling passed. He glanced at Koa, caught the Electrike’s eye, and then turned to look back at Alex.

“Information is all we’ve been asking for,” the Oshawott nodded, “What was that, just now? What did you do?”
 
"...I didn't... strike too close, did I?" Alex asked, briefly looking concerned. "...I assumed you were not there. I was demonstrating my power over Shadow."

Xander muttered something that sounded like an insult to his lesser half.

Alex grunted. "Whatever. My warnings were more practical anyway. I didn't ask for you to help me... only heed my warnings. Practical ones when dealing with enemies in unknown territory...

"In any case... What questions did you have? Who I work for?" He bowed his head, thoughtful. "...I work for the organic source of Shadows in this world. A natural presence, not one for destruction, but balance against light. Certain organizations that have invaded this world... are trying to twist and corrupt that power for their own gain. It's in my best interest to stop them, and I'm sure you as well, even if we will be going at it from different angles.

"But there is a secret to how to counter it. It's not very intuitive... If you want to resist the corruption of that dark force... you must claim it for yourself."
 
A demonstration!? As if they needed one after those bizarre dark flames! It was already quite clear that Alex was a Shadow Pokemon. But, the Oshawott tried to hold his tongue. If he was anything like The Wolf, they wanted to keep Alex as calm as possible for as long as possible. He didn’t seem the sort to anger easily, but that just meant it would be all the more explosive when he did… Speaking of The Wolf, if Alex was willing to answer questions…

“Does the name Seth Lycas mean anything to you?” He asked. Archie did feel a little bad revealing Wes’s secret, even if only obliquely, but they were now on their second fully lucid Pokemon capable of controlling the Shadow, and this one was talking about things like embracing the darkness to control the darkness and fighting on behalf of natural darkness as the counterpart to light and artificial darkness alike.
 
Koa narrowed his eyes. He was about to accuse Alex that that was quite obviously a lie, given he'd navigated with perfect accuracy the whole time they'd been watching him. Then Archie broke in. Still suspicious, he held his tongue, turning to Archie. Seth Lycas..? Who was that?

Still, this organic source of shadow was news. "Thanks, thats a good start," he replied. Despite his cool tone he sort of meant it. That was... a lot to think about. And wielding shadow? That sounded even riskier. Until now he'd thought about the shadows more akin to a disease. But it was somehow natural to the world?

He considered for a moment before speaking."If you're telling us the truth about shadows, then what of pokemon like Drapion, driven into a frenzy? Or other shadows we've encountered? And the stories of thinking pokemon kidnapped and seemingly overtaken by shadows?"
 
"Seth Lycas..." Alex repeated the name. Xander seemed pensive as well. At the same time, both shook their heads. "No. That doesn't sound familiar to me. And for that Drapion... A mindless, stray Shadow Pokemon. Aimless and in need of a commander. Shadows... eat at the mind until all that is left are primal violence and your innermost thoughts. If you do not control it... or, at least localize it..." He jerked his head at Xander. "It will consume you. Shadows are not something to use lightly. Poor control... and it will digest your spirit into nothing but a hollow echo of what you used to be. Stressful environments, a lack of willpower... anything that erodes the psyche... Shadows fill in the cracks.

"I've heard about those kidnapped Pokemon. I've been trying to look into it... but finding leads has not been the best. Even my power isn't enough for a direct dive into that facility your group found. Not yet."
 
So, wielding Shadow powers would, in fact, eat away at someone’s psyche. It sounded like the ultimate double edged sword. Why would anyone willingly choose to use it, then? Was the power that great that it was worth the trade off? How long did the average Pokemon have before they were eroded away to nothing? Not everyone had a second head they could localize the infection to!

Alex also professed ignorance on the subject of Seth, at least, under that name. So, if they were telling the truth, the Zweilous and Lycanroc likely weren’t working together all that closely, if at all. And while Seth wasn’t the sort to willingly work with anyone, Alex’s power to shut down Betel’s communication had made the Oshawott wonder if the Zweilous was the Shadow Voice in Seth’s head. But if that were the case, surely the Zweilous would know at least that much about his pawn?

“… What about The Wolf?” Archie asked, “He seems to think he’s on much the same quest as you are.”
 
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