Kivara Starscrape Heaves

[canisaries]

"Right. Ben. Nice to meet you, Ben! Like my friend here says, let's get the hell outta here. Between the two— the three of us, I'm pretty sure we can handle anything we run into."

Even if her satchel had vanished, at least she still had those heat-rock gloves Steven gave her. She put a little juice into them, got them warming up. Yet another cold place, huh? She could handle it. It was fine.

"C'mon."

She hit the ground in a direction that looked vaguely promising, wondering under her breath whether this dungeon had any expectations of them, as the rifts so often did. Maybe... something to do with the constellations...?

Ben nodded and followed Laura.

---

It wasn't long before he found another out-of-place pokémon. Perhaps one of the more favourable possible Wayfarers to happen across – Andre Duval, the Deerling. Not a fighter, that one. More of... a listener? Perhaps.

"Hey, Andre," he called out, sotto voce. "Are you alright?"

Just like that, a greninja appeared. A greninja that... spoke in stilted Tohjoan. Or... some related language. But that wasn't the strangest thing - it was this greninja knowing who he was, when Andre didn't know him back.

Although... it wasn't ultimately that hard to come up with a good guess.

"I'm fine," Andre said in Tohjoan. Maybe it would be close enough. "Are you Matthias?" He paused. 'Matthias' sounded like a Borean name, and many Boreans spoke at least a little bit of... "Galarish? Do you speak Galarish?" he asked, still in Tohjoan. He had other questions considering all that he'd heard about this guy, but those could wait.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Ah... the language barrier. So, their autotranslation had failed. Well, at least Andre spoke a language he more or less understood. The language of the Commonwealth was similar enough that one surely had to be a dialect of the other, right?

"Aa, hai – I am Mattiasu, ðat's right. I speak... eh, little bit of ðis language, yeah. Sou sou— ðis language, 'Gararisshu', sound same-like Common to me. Close enough, ne?"

He sighed, and gave Andre a disarming smile. This was going to be rather more challenging than he'd hoped for, but it was hardly insurmountable. Frustrating, sure, but he could hardly be embarrassed to be getting by conversationally in his third or fourth language, when it was only lightly intelligible with this 'Galarish'. It was like speaking Lusitan in the Protectorate – or Nihonese in Tsainan.

"Listen – my position, it's same-like you, ne? We should... go togeðer, I think. Until we find some safe place, yeah?"

 

[canisaries]

"Aa, hai – I am Mattiasu, that's right. I speak... eh, little bit of this language, yeah. Sou sou— this language, 'Gararisshu', sound same-like Common to me. Close enough, ne?"

He sighed, and gave Andre a disarming smile.

"Yeah," Andre said. Hopefully it would be close enough. The last thing he needed right now was a disagreement caused by a misunderstanding.

"Listen – my position, it's same-like you, ne? We should... go together, I think. Until we find some safe place, yeah?"

So Matthias had also been flung to this place, presumably for the same reason as Andre. It clearly had something to do with those summoned to Forlas. If Betel was also unreachable, then...

Oh, no, please don't let this be yet another world.

Either way, he cleared his throat. Matthias was due for an answer. "Mm." Andre nodded. He looked around. "Any, uh, direction in mind?"

Was that too complicated an expression? He pointed a hoof to several directions with an inquiring 'hm?' for each one.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Matthias nodded, still maintaining his polite, easy smile. That was a terribly noncommittal-sounding reply, but, to be fair, Andre was a laconic fellow, was he not? Better brevity than ambiguity.

"Sure, sure. Let's go!"

The Greninja looked about himself, his eyes now better-adjusted to the environment. Those false-constellations... What an interesting distinguishing feature of this dungeon! It was easy to believe that they could be navigated by, possibly. He made a mental note of the ones above them in this particular area – there was one that looked rather like Regenia, the 'Bearer'. Associated with, among other things, speech. How delightfully ironic.

He gestured to what looked to be an opening to some other cavern.

"Andore-kun! Ðis way, ne?"

 

[canisaries]

"Andore-kun! This way, ne?"

"Yeah, looks good," Andre said and began walking in that direction. Soon after he did, he wondered what he should ask Matthias first. Andre had heard that Matthias had a bad habit of being cryptic, but this forced reduction of grammatical complexity could possibly work to mitigate that...

Better start by confirming assumptions. "Were you at the Mesa before you came here?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

He nodded. May as well make conversation and build rapport.

"Hai, sure. Sunrest Mesa, ne? And you were at ðe CDE, were you not? How did you find it, Andore-kun? Learn anyþing, sou sou, useful?"

 

[JFought]

"Regardless, let us cooperate so long as it serves us both. I will discover our way out of this place."

Isidora almost wanted to roll her eyes. But bats are supposed to be like, cave experts, right? If anyone could, it would be him. Realizing that, she finally let go that breath of tension she'd been secretly holding. I really lucked out there, huh? I guess I'll thank Palkia for that one. "Lead the way," she gratefully offered.

She kept an eye on him in the air and followed him as closely as she could from the ground. "I forgot to mention, my name's Isidora," she said in a low voice, unsure if being too loud would throw off his navigation. "I've actually been stuck on this world for a while now; at least half a year. But this cave is new. It's all sort of a long story, if it's not too distracting to your whole echolocation thing."

Holding the conversation felt... odd. The situation still felt odd. Did Betel say something before everything went black? The memory was all a haze, like trying to remember what happened while you were drunk. More than anything, she remembered feeling hot. Did I suffer heat stroke in the middle of all that or something? She seemed to be fine now, aside from being a little tired...

If he was summoned here, maybe it was similar to how she was? "Though, I'm also curious how you got here. You didn't just, wake up here, did you?" she asked.

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Conversation is welcome, Isidora. I would be glad to hear your story – and it will not interfere with my echoes."

As to her question...

"I'm afraid so. I have a hazy intuition that I was answering some form of summons, and came to my sense convinced that my master had need of me... I will always answer such a call, but if I am to spend two seasons or more in a distant world as you have, I shall not be pleased. Our contract will merit review."

 

[canisaries]

"Hai, sure. Sunrest Mesa, ne? And you were at ðe CDE, were you not? How did you find it, Andore-kun? Learn anyþing, sou sou, useful?"

Ah. He knew, then. Or he was doing exactly the same thing as Andre - confirming. Well, if Matthias had graced him with confirmation, Andre supposed he could do the same. "Yes. CDE."

He considered what he was willing to divulge. Did Matthias know about Betel? Andre figured he should keep that to himself for now. Betel was a friend. Vulnerable, as he'd just learned. And Jesse Stranger in the cell... Andre didn't know much about him, but in case he was a friend, too, Andre shouldn't say anything about him. The rest, though? Neo? That bastard that dared to trick him? That seemed safe enough.

"Well, I didn't go anywhere that interesting, but the others... took a tour of their own," he said. "Found out about someone called Neo." He paused there to gauge Matthias' reaction, if it would reveal anything about Matthias' relationship to the zoroark.

 

[JFought]

"Conversation is welcome, Isidora. I would be glad to hear your story – and it will not interfere with my echoes."

"Well, a lot's happened. I should probably stick to the most relevant parts..."

Though before Isidora could focus on that, Malachai had answered her question. Contract? I can't tell if he's being figurative or literal. His continual mentioning of having a 'master,' too... It bothered her, and she knew why it bothered her, but she wasn't sure how to broach the topic. After meeting Laura, and after meeting Koamaru especially, it all felt so sensitive. Let's make sure I'm not making any assumptions first.

"But uh, this 'master' of yours," she started, transitioning away from her promise of story-time. "Why do you call them that? Are you their butler or somethin'?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Butler?"

Malachai halted his mid-air reconnaisance and whirled around to face Isidora.

"I am no household servant, Isidora. I am a dragon. I know that my appearance is... diminished... but in my true form I am a noivern – an Atlantic bluewing, no less – and it is my prerogative to select a master of my choosing. Our relationship is not menial, but one of martial study; it is that of instructor and disciple. I have solicited many masters in my time, and through their service to me I have become invincible in battle."

For all that the tiny bat talking about his invincibility might seem absurd, Malachai could not have been more sincere. From his inflection as he mentioned his subspecies, it was clear his previous body had been truly intimidating.

The noibat huffed irritably. "As I say – her obligations to me will need renegotiating if she truly has brought me here for an extended period."

He resumed scanning, and somehow managed to issue his sonar clicks in an offended tone. That degree of draconic pissiness took skill.

 

[Cresselia92]

Time seemed to flow much more slowly while the trio trekked through the dungeon, the minutes spent wandering feeling like hours. With fewer ways to communicate efficiently with his two companions, Silver focused most of his brainpower into one of the most productive activities he could think of: sulking.

Betel’s absence had cast a long shadow over his confidence and it was a glaring and painful reminder of his mistakes during the mission at the Congress. He still didn’t quite know where things went wrong, but it was partly definitely his fault.

I should have been faster.

I should have been stronger.

I should have been better.

And with some trepidation, he allowed the final unsavory thought to further crush his already troubled mind.

I should have been Hibiki…

As much as it pained to admit it, there was no doubt that the stupid kid would have succeeded where he had failed. After all, common people don’t become champions in both Kanto and Johto by being nothing. Hibiki was the hero, a pinnacle and inspiration for many future Trainers, while he was just a screw-up who pretended to be a hero.

You shouldn’t have picked me, Betel. I failed you, and you had to pay the price of my failure. What the hell happened to you…?

“Gods damn it…” Silver whispered to himself, shaking his head miserably. He glanced up, hoping to not have attracted the other two’s attention, and once they picked another path, he silently went to carve an arrow on a pillar to let others know where they went. At least that was something anyone could have understood. He sighed, feeling some tension dissipating after the task. “…Hmph! It’s not like complaining is gonna fix anything. We gotta find Betel and see what to do about this whole mess.”

Silver doubted the others understood what he said (if they heard him), but at least that helped the Sneasel focus on their current situation, which allowed him to notice Laura observing the lights on the roof. At first he had assumed that was a simple Meowth quirk due to the species’ fascination with glowing coins, but perhaps there was something else? A detail she had mentioned at some point and that he hadn’t caught on? Or was it something else? Intuition, perhaps?

“Not… stars,” he muttered in his hesitant Galarish, staring at the shining twinkles. “But look, seem, um… Con-constellations! Maybe… directions! Compass! North light!”

Silver mentally face-palmed, suddenly wishing to crawl in a dark and deep hole. That was the best he could say?! Damn, he seriously needed to improve his Galarish…

 

[JFought]

He resumed scanning, and somehow managed to issue his sonar clicks in an offended tone.

Isidora's mouth slowly opened into a gape. I offended him anyway! She threw her paws behind her head and looked to the ceiling. "Okay, sorry I asked!" Then huffed. I guess I did make an assumption... It's not my fault he talks like he took classes.

The weavile stewed in her own annoyance for a while. He probably is a trainer's 'mon, though I dunno what's goin' on between 'em. And he's so sure we're gonna find her. Who's to say she's even here? His 'intuition,' apparently. I mean sure, that's all we've got to go on. And it's weird that he'd wake up here like that...

Thinking about the possibilities in detail caused a hazy memory to brush against the corners of her mind. It was... the red cyclizar who said something at the end there. Mass summoning, which, makes sense, and...?

"So," she spoke up again. "Your master, it sounds like you... respect her...?" (Did he??? It was hard to tell.) "What's she like?"

 

[canisaries]

“Not… stars,” he muttered in his hesitant Galarish, staring at the shining twinkles. “But look, seem, um… Con-constellations! Maybe… directions! Compass! North light!”

Silver mentally face-palmed, suddenly wishing to crawl in a dark and deep hole. That was the best he could say?! Damn, he seriously needed to improve his Galarish…

Ben looked up. The glowing moss did resemble a starry sky with constellations, but... how would that be meaningful?

He recalled what Laura said and mentally struck his forehead. Right. 'Supernatural'. But he'd better make sure.

"Do these... 'mystery dungeons' usually do stuff like that? Signs for people to read?" he asked Laura.

 

[Jackie Cat]

"So. Your master, it sounds like you... respect her...? What's she like?"

Malachai muttered something to himself, and banked to the right as he discovered a promising path through the caves.

"Of course," he replied. "I would hardly tolerate a master I did not respect. Although she is young, and has much to learn herself, she has tremendous promise as a trainer. Her tactics are sound, and her purpose is noble. We have won many victories together. And, of course, she listens to my counsel... and that of her other companions, I suppose."

The noibat clicked interrogatively into the darkness, seeking purposeful movement and other signs of sapient life.

"That being said, she is rather younger than I would generally prefer. I could hardly pass her up when the opportunity arrived, but she does try my patience nevertheless. She doubts herself, and she need not. Meek, when she should be confident. Ha. I will instill some pride in that girl before I am done with her, believe me."

Malachai detected something, and squeaked involuntarily with interest. Then he cleared his throat as if it had not just happened.

"This way. I believe I have found members of your party – species not likely to be local to this environment. Follow me, Isidora."

 

[JFought]

Yup, he meant trainer. Called it. The latest of many, according to him. Isidora couldn't imagine the circumstances that could lead to that happening. What happened to his previous trainers? Did they give him up? Did he simply leave them somehow? And how did he choose this one? Even if she were to compare the whole thing to choosing and studying under a master as he did, it didn't feel analogous to her when humans and Poké Balls were involved. Though she knew he'd disagree, given it sounded as if he had been actively seeking them out. I'm gonna need a lot of context if I ever want to understand this guy's perspective.

As for the trainer herself, his description almost sounded like...

"This way. I believe I have found members of your party – species not likely to be local to this environment. Follow me, Isidora."

She nodded back and kept his pace. If she's really here, hopefully we're about to find out. The pieces of what happened on the mesa were starting to put themselves together in Isidora's head, and she wasn't sure if she liked the picture being formed.

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Yes. CDE."

"Well, I didn't go anywhere that interesting, but the others... took a tour of their own. Found out about someone called Neo."

"Neo, huh?"

Matthias grinned, humourlessly. Now would have been such a fitting time to fully inform Andre's faction, and here he was, barely able to communicate with the fellow.

"You know, ðat guy, he is ðe real power in ðe CDE, yeah? Offworlder – same-like you and me, Andore-kun."

He sniffed, looking away.

"He is a... skin-changer. Zoroark, I þink. Director Parallax is just Neo by an unlike name, ne? Maybe you know ðis already, aha."

Doubtless, Andre would have run into him recently enough.

 

[Jackie Cat]

“Not… stars,” he muttered in his hesitant Galarish, staring at the shining twinkles. “But look, seem, um… Con-constellations! Maybe… directions! Compass! North light!”

"Do these... 'mystery dungeons' usually do stuff like that? Signs for people to read?" he asked Laura.

Laura grinned despite herself at Silver's enthused observations. He seemed pretty embarrassed at himself, but she was honestly impressed at how well he was doing.

She shrugged in Ben's direction. "Each dungeon is different. Sometimes they seem to 'want something' from you. I guess I've paid a little attention to stargazing the last few months, since, like, barely any light pollution means the night sky is pretty beautiful compared to back home..."

She examined the cave roof more closely. It was an easy one – the Compass. That was the 'direction' constellation, a cluster with a distant endpoint, like an arrow.

"I think, uh. Maybe it's pointing us this way? This one's kindof a navigation one, I think."

As she stepped forward, a fluttering creature flew past her face – practically brushed her whiskers! "Fuck," she yelped in a tiny voice.

Then more wingbeats, coming behind the thing. Howls, what now?

"Someone there?" she called, hesitantly.

 

[JFought]

Isidora heard a call up ahead. She couldn't parse the words, but the voice was unmistakable. She swiftly turned the corner ahead and found a couple familiar faces, including one she surprised herself with how relieved she was to see.

"Laura?!" Isidora rushed forward and doubled over in front of the group, panting after exerting herself more than she probably should have while still winded. "You did end up here!" she exclaimed between breaths. She looked over the other two, and gave the fake-sneasel a small wave. "Silver's here too, and-" Then paused on the teddiursa. "Who's this guy?"

As the weavile stood tall and brought her gaze back to Laura, she found herself looking down in a way she hadn't before, and it suddenly occurred to her that the last time they saw each other, she was still a sneasel. She placed her claws over her chest. "Oh right, I evolved. It's me, Isidora! Bet you don't recognize me how I... usually..."

She trailed off, and her eyes widened as she realized. "Wait, can any of you understand me?"

 

[Cresselia92]

When that flying thing passed by Laura, Silver grew immediately alert. Footsteps echoing from around the corner quickly followed — something or someone was approaching!

Silver lowered his head and clicked his claws together to judge his current fighting condition. Still not enough venom for a full-on brawl, but he might have been able to stun a predator for a few seconds, if necessary.

And then, the newcomer showed up: a female Weavile, judging by the size of her feathers. His wariness and tension were replaced by surprise when she spoke to them.

~ Laurel-Plant?! ~

“Isidora…?” he sputtered, his surprised glare turning into agape shock.

He could actually sorta understand what she was saying?! Her language was a bit different from Nyula’s Sneasel-speech, since it had a slightly lower pitch and a wider range of sophisticated vocalizations, but the basic structure was still there. Did he… seriously have a better time deciphering a Pokémon language than another human language?

This day keeps getting weirder and weirder!

Silver fidgeted a bit on his spot when Isidora addressed him, feeling some unease creeping on his bones, then gratefulness flooded in when she directed her attention to the others. They had never smoothed things out in all those months, hadn’t they?

~ Wait, can any of you understand me? ~

…Can they?

Silver glanced at the Meowth and Teddiursa. There was a chance that the bear could understand and reply in his Ursa-speech, but both his companions had been speaking Galarish all this time. What if they were both as language-deaf as he was with them?

It seemed like he had to be some sort of inaccurate translator, which was going to be very awkward, and—oh, forget the unease! If they wanted to get outta that dungeon, they needed to coordinate and communicate.

Silver cleared his throat and waved his own hand at Isidora with his claws retracted. ~ Hello Gift-of-Isis! I can understand a little. Sneaky-Weasel partner taught me things, ~ he whistled and huffed, flashing a bashful grin. He thought of the hiss and gesture Nyula used whenever they discussed his potential evolution, and Silver flicked his featherless ear with a claw. ~ Gained-feathers? Congratulations! ~

The Sneasel glanced at the Teddiursa. He recalled hearing ‘Ben’ being thrown a few times, so that probably was his name. Now, to translate it to Sneasel-speech…

~ This is Son-of-Right-Hand. Found him here. Lost like us. He used to be an Ursa-Ring, I believe. ~ Then, he focused on Laura and switched to his broken Galarish. “Rora! Other Sneasel from team! Now Weavile!”