Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Protectors of the Crown- Chapter Two The First Quest
"You will? Amethyst! Thank you!" Onyx cried in relief; his eyes dazzling with happiness. "Onyx and Amethyst, Welcome to The Waterfall Guild!" Mei exclaimed happily. The Lopunny's expression remained frozen in its happy smile, but it was obvious that she was growing worried about the crashes coming from upstairs. "Mei... What about Scout..." The Staraptor squawked quietly. "Oh, no worries Avion. I've got it. And Shelly, please keep in contact with, you know, that guild. Thanks!" Mei gave a small bow before she hopped over to the long spiral stairs at the back of the circular room. "Follow me to my office; we can go deeper into detail there." Mei suggested as she started to climb the spiral stairs.
The guild was built within a large, pillar-like mound that rose straight up into the air. Somehow a river happened to find its way to this specific mound and fell down it, creating Lake Town's waterfall. The founders of The Waterfall guild carved out the inside of this mound so they could live inside of it. As Amethyst climbed up many rotations of stairs she was amazed by how neat everything was, for a cylinder made of dirt and stone. Each rotation of stairs had different accessories and items decorating them. The second floor, for example, had the same basic look as the first did; tightly clipped grass on the floor and solid dirt walls with wooden ring frames surrounding the whole base and ceiling of the room. Many windows streamed light in and despite the roar of the waterfall earlier the guild was quiet; with the exception of the occasional crashes and shouts. On this floor it seemed as if there was a table and a small oven with cabinets everywhere. 'The dining room.' Amethyst thought as she passed it feeling the nag if hunger in her stomach.
The third floor was very similar to the other two except there was a wooden counter with a large variety of treasures behind it. A small picture frame was among them displaying the vague drawing of a Lopunny, Garevoir and Medicham. In the corner there was a curtain of moss and vines that formed a cubby. 'That's probably where Mei sleeps.' Amethyst looked around the room studying the whole marvel. Mei hopped behind her wooden counter and sat down. "Please do come join me." The Lopunny invited watching Amethyst and Onyx as they simply started around her room; rooted to their spots. Amethyst shook herself out of her bedazzled state and eagerly padded up to the desk on the other side of Mei. Shortly Onyx followed her, but didn't seem to stop staring at the treasures behind Mei as she began to go over the guild entry requirements.
"To join us, you two need a Team Name. You do not need to make one up now just keep in mind that within two days of joining the guild you must have a name decided." Mei informed looking slightly annoyed that Onyx wouldn't keep his eyes on her. Amethyst glanced at her to-be-partner and gave a tiny sigh. She lightly tapped the Umbreon on his shoulder to gain his attention. Onyx -who wasn't expecting the attention grabber- jumped up slightly and gave an apologetic look to Mei. The Lopunny smiled and continued. "Now this isn't mandatory, but one of you can decide to be the Team leader and the other can be called the Team organizer. The Team ranking system makes it easier for clients to know who is the leader of a mission or expedition and it makes it easier for us to pass on information to you through you team organizer. The organizer also takes care of jobs such as keeping requests in check, prioritizing jobs, gathering needed supplies for a dungeon, and keeping track of your guild badges and guild rank. It's not the most fun of the two jobs, but every team who agreed to have an organizer became very successful very quickly."
"Well then perfect! We'll do the Team Ranks. I'll..." "Hold on, I'm not done yet." Mei interrupted Onyx with a small glare. "While most teams are successful, some don't like the system. Probably because the organizer is usually a ranged fighter and the leader is an up front fighter. The organizer is in charge of the map, compass and items, so they stay back out of the fight and only jump in when they have to. Some teams find that disregarding that generalized statement works, but most don't. Some teams get into a tight situation and think they have an item to squeeze out of it, but they accidentally broke their items during an easier fight." Mei added with a slight tone of regret lacing her voice. "Alright then. I'll be the Organizer and Onyx can be the Leader. I'm not very good with up close battles anyways." Amethyst replied calmly. 'I'm not good with fighting period.' She thought holding her face in the happy position to refrain from wincing at her thought. "Ok. Then Onyx will be the Leader of your Team and Amethyst will be the Organizer." Mei confirmed with a smile.
"Alrighty! That's all you need. Now I'll just give you your Team Bag... Oh wait. Did you decide on a team name yet?" The Lopunny asked scanning the room for a treasure chest that probably had their supplies in it. "Uhh, yes. If it's ok with Amethyst. I was thinking that Team Sunstorm had a nice ring to it, and it kind of sounds helpful and ferocious at the same time!" Onyx chirped happily as he presented his idea. However his face quickly fell and became more humble. "Only if Amethyst agrees. So what do you think?" Onyx inquired as Amethyst was put on the spot. "I think it's wonderful. Team Sunstorm it is Guildmaster Mei." Amethyst gave her own smile that reflected Onyx's. "Welcome to The Waterfall Guild Team Sunstorm!" Mei cried happily as she handed Amethyst the white explorers bag and a badge; she also gave a badge to Onyx. "I'll get Scout to show you to your rooms. Each member gets their own! Maybe keeping you guys company will save our base from him for just a few minutes." The Lopunny joked as she spoke into her gold framed badge.
In less than a minute the excited Furret dashed down to the third floor crashing nose first into the ground due to too much speed. "Y-yes Guildmaster Mei?" Scout asked while patting dust off his nose and red fringed fur. "I would like for you to show Team Sunstorm to their rooms. Amethyst is in 8a and Onyx is in 8b. Please... Please don't lead them into Avion's room like you did with Izzy when she joined..." Mei pleaded as she stared intently at Scout. Her tone was absolutely drenched in sincerity, but there was maybe a drop or two of sarcasm and strictness. Scout nodded vigorously and started to bound over to the stairs. "Lucky for you! You guys have the top floor!" Scout announced as they passed a large number 4 etched into the wall. "If you're brave enough you can scale the wall from the large window and up to Waterfall pond... Oops. Mei told me not to say that... Sorry!" Scout scratched his head as he continued to walk up the dirt and gravel spiral staircase.
As Amethyst followed Scout onto the floor 6, she studied the interior. Her eyes widened at what she saw; it was so different than the other floors. The shape was the same, but there was a large opening in the wall that had the wind blowing in; creating a nice breeze. Small pools of water dotted the dirt and cobblestone floor, surrounding the three rooms in the back in a globe-like shape. There were many flowers dotting the few grassy patches that popped up here and there. "Ok Sunstorm! These are your rooms!" Scout pointed to a room with a large entrance and feathers and another with a fossils dotting the exterior. "A-alright. Thank you Scout, but I really want you to stay here until I get settled; will you do that for me?" Amethyst pleaded not entirely sure that this was her room considering that it looked like someone else already resided in it; plus they were not on the top floor. She glanced at Onyx, who had a similar expression to hers on his face. Quickly the Espeon ducked into the large entrance way and instantly knew that she was dead.
Inside the room was marvelous to say the least. A large window made of glass displayed the low lying layer of clouds and brought lots of light into the room. It was very roomy and airy despite the amount of treasures that were scattered among the floor. A short mound of gems were piled up in the corner of the brightly lit room with a crafty nest residing at it's peak. In that nest was the Staraptor, Avion, staring at her with large, red eyes. "And why are you in my room visitor?" He asked swooping down from his perch and glaring at Amethyst. He landed maybe a foot away from her, but he still towered over the Espeon. "Oh, Staraptor, I'm sorry. Scout... He was showing us to our rooms..." Amethyst stuttered in discomfort. "Scout! Why have you led these new members to my room! Again! For the last time, MY room is on the sixth floor, not anyone else's!" She winced as the Staraptor raised his voice and stormed out of his room; his voice getting softer as he marched to the little main room that led to the bedrooms. Amethyst followed with an embarrassed look on her face, as did Onyx with an upset Shuckle close behind.
Shelly the Shuckle then led Onyx and Amethyst to their real rooms on the eighth floor. Despite her red fringed face, the Shuckle explained about how the rooms worked. "So when we register new members, we have a Pokemon go up into the new recruit's room and decorate it for them based on who they are. For example, Onyx, you're an Umbreon so there are preset room designs that we use for Umbreon who join the guild." Shelly explained passing the 7 mark on the wall. "It may seem as if we change the shape of the base as we go up, but the whole thing is just a perfect cylinder. The rooms are just formed in a way that it looks as if we added onto the spire. Your main room will be decorated based on the personalities of the Pokemon inhabiting it and their team name. Ah, speaking of which here we are." Shelly announced as they made their way up the last rotation of stairs. Amethyst -who thought this could not get any more spectacular- gazed in awe at Team Sunstorm's room.
The whole room was a clash between a pink-orange color and a black-purple color. Two small ponds of water were featured one on each side. A sun shaped pond sat on the pink-orange side and likewise the moon shaped on sat on the black-purple side. In between there was cobble stone leading to the back of the room with flowers dotting it's edges. At closer inspection, Amethyst noticed that the pink-orange color came from lightly tinted wood, and that's why the same homey feel stuck with the room. The windows in the room all streamed light on one particular spot in the room; the Sunstorm Guild badge etched into the cobblestone in full color. At the back of the room there were two more rooms; one with a sun over the hatch to get in and one with a moon. A few feet in to the left of the Sun room was a large window that looked like it could be pushed open. Amethyst started to get ideas, but then stopped at the thought of Scout, who said that Mei did not approve of climbing out. The last thing the Espeon noticed was a small desk-like piece of wood that was curved to fit the theme of the room. As Amethyst turned to thank Shelly, she noticed one more thing. There was a mailbox sitting near the stairs that wasn't noticeable when they walked in.
"Shelly! This is amazing! Thank you so much!" Amethyst gasped as she continued to take in the marvel of a room. "No problem! Dinner is in a long while so you could probably go adventuring. Don't worry, you won't miss dinner. If you don't come back in time to eat with us, dinner will be given to your rooms. Better thank Ringsta for all of this, the room decoration, and the food deal. You probably won't see her though... Or maybe you will." Shelly cringed for a moment causing Amethyst to wonder why such a generous Pokemon would be cringe-worthy. The Shuckle quickly waved a long yellow arm and scooted her way back down the stairs. "This... I have no words to describe this..." Onyx stuttered in awe. "Do you want to check out the rooms?" She asked once she couldn't take the urge to just dash into her room any longer. Amethyst took off without waiting for a reply. Swiftly she leaped through the hatch that had the sun displayed above it. Amethyst knew that Espeon are usually related to the sun, so she assumed this would be her room. As soon as she stepped foot into the room Amethyst knew that she needed to find Ringsta and hug her until she's blue of air deprivation.
After experiencing the main room, Amethyst's room looked pretty plain, but that's what was charming about it. The room was the exact same as the main room with only the pink-orange color manifesting in its walls. There was yet another window that let in rivers of light that shone on a perfectly sized -and comfortable looking even to a former human- nest right underneath the spot where most of the light was concentrated. Despite its cramped-looking exterior the sleeping area was surprisingly roomy. There was yet another small lake shaped like the sun. The biggest attention grabber were the large purple gems glowing in the sunlight. The Espeon bounded over to the large gems instantly and gazed up at them in awe. They were approximately three times her current hight; all set up in a perfect formation -one spurting straight up and the other two growing from each side diagonally. From the ceiling a team badge hung, it's normal rank gem in the center shining. Amethyst stopped staring to look back at her hatch which had a shadow on the other side; meaning Onyx was waiting for her.
She jumped through the hatch and smiled at a beaming Onyx. "As Team Sunstorm's first job, we are going to Wild Hills!" Onyx exclaimed happily, pulling a rolled up piece of parchment from his bag that was slung from his shoulder. With a nod of his head, the paper unfolded and Amethyst could read the neat handwriting on it. The paper was slightly yellowed around the edges which meant that this request was either very old or very important. Amethyst skimmed the request quickly, but all she cared about was the client -which was a Natu- and where they were heading. "What kind of Pokemon live in Wild Hills Onyx?" Amethyst questioned as the duo started towards the spiral stairs. "Wild Hills, let's see, I think lots of Electric and Grass type Pokemon live there, so we won't be too much at a disadvantage. Just watch out for Thunderwave, that may cause us trouble later if you are paralyzed." Onyx noted wincing at the fact that they had no items, specifically Cheri Berries, to heal them from the granted Paralysis that comes with that Dungeon.
"Wait! Please wait!" Someone cried behind Amethyst's shoulder as she was about to exit the guild. The Espeon looked over her shoulder at the Emolga running towards them. Onyx paused and turned around to face the Flying/Electric type. "What do you need?" Onyx asked sweetly, but Amethyst could tell that he was just itching to get on with the adventure. "You're Team Sunstorm, right? Welcome to the guild! I'm Jay from Team Emolga Enforcers!" The Emolga puffed proudly. Judging from the looks of the Pikachu and Poocyena that were a few feet away, Amethyst highly doubted that their team name was Emolga Enforcers. "Anyways, I'm here to give you guys some berries for your first adventure. I've heard that you're next to broke, so I decided to be nice. Yes siree." Jay grinned as she held out a large basket of round blue berries. "Oran Berries!" Onyx gasped in surprise. Amethyst could tell why he was so amazed at them; there were absolutely tons of the tiny berries. "Thank you so much Jay!" The Umbreon thanked as he slipped the team bag off his shoulder and handed it to Amethyst. Then he carefully poured the berries into the white team bag -surprising Amethyst in the process.
The tall yellowed grass fell to the ground, blade by blade, as Team Sunstorm trudged their way through the Wild Hills. The sea of grass was surprisingly a Mystery Dungeon, yet Amethyst had not seen another Pokemon other than Onyx since they left Lake Town. "Onyx, are you sure we're in the right place? I saw the Mystery Dungeon warning, but I haven't seen a Pokemon for ages!" Amethyst noted as she trotted after Onyx. "I'm sure we're in the right place. There is no way we could have missed it. Besides, maybe it's nap time for these Pokemon?" Onyx joked as he too realized that the area was strangely isolated. Amethyst stopped dead. The ground started to rumble, quite softly at first, but it slowly grew in power and volume until Amethyst could see the clouds of dust rolling their way from across a nearby hill. "Bouffalant stampede!" Onyx cried as he spun on his heels and started dashing the other way. Amethyst flattened her ears in fear and swiftly followed her team leader though the tangled maze of grass. "Where do we go? There is no where to run here!" Amethyst called in panic as she scanned the area for a place to take shelter.
"Don't worry I see a rock we can hide under!" Onyx shouted back to her; the Bouffalant's stampede growing closer and closer by the instant. "Almost there!" Amethyst spotted it now; a large rock that stood out in the otherwise peaceful and desolate Mystery Dungeon. She could feel her lungs start to burn and her throat grew dry as she struggled to intake air. The pounding of her own paws on the ground was all she could hear in her head as Amethyst continued to dash through the hills; now running next to Onyx. He visibly grew concerned at her condition, for he knew that running was difficult and needed much more strength than walking did. "Come on, a little more!" Onyx urged his partner. The tall, brown rock was less than a few feet away now, but Amethyst could almost feel the hot breath of the Bouffalant on her neck. Then the impossible happened, Team Sunstorm slid underneath the rock.
Amethyst pressed back to the back of the rock base; her ears pinned in fear. The thousands of hooves from the stampede thundered in front of their vision and Amethyst was amazed that Onyx seemed unfazed by the whole situation. After maybe two or three long, excruciating minutes passed, the hooves of the Bouffalant died down, and only the stragglers of the herd were left dashing after their friends. "Onyx? Are they gone?" Amethyst whispered as she tried to sit up straight in the slightly cramped alcove. Suddenly the ground beneath her hind paws fell and the Espeon found herself scratching at the ground in front of her to prevent any further downfall into the small pit. "Amethyst! Are you ok?" Onyx asked as he reached over and helped her up out of the small hole. "I'm fine, thank you." She lied, knowing very well that she twisted her hind paw badly. "Why don't we go down there? Natu must have found shelter in that rampage." Onyx suggested; his red eyes glowing in the shade of the rock. The Umbreon took the lead, yowling triumphantly as he found something. "Look! It goes deeper than this!"
Amethyst padded after Onyx in the darkness of the tunnel. It was damp, dark, and cold but Umbreon illuminated the proximity of the area using his rings on his shoulders and flanks. She was partially glad that her partner could light the place up, but she was worried that this would make it easier for enemies to spot them. Amethyst started to hear voices, but Onyx didn't seem to recognize the sound. She gently prodded his tail with her paw and then signaled for him to be quiet. Onyx turned, his red eyes swimming in confusion, but he remained silent. Amethyst slowly padded forwards, and then back, and then forwards again. Finally she sat down and pressed her ear to the wall of the tunnel. Slowly the voices became more and more clear. "Where is he? You little Runt, you knew exactly where he is! Tell us!" A voice demanded so crisply and loudly that Amethyst was surprised that Onyx didn't seem to hear any of it. "It will cost you more to stay quiet than to just tell us. We promise to let you out quietly if you say where he is... Maybe with one or two scars to make sure that you stay quiet." Another hissed. Amethyst flicked her tail in warning as someone got closer, and Onyx stopped illuminating the tunnel.
A Pokemon grew closer to them as Amethyst removed her ear away from the wall. Even in the darkness the recognition of an enemy approaching was written all over Onyx's face. 'Ok, so this is a feature of the Team Leader that Mei told me about while you were gathering supplies earlier. I can only do it for a short time, and it sharply decreases my Special Attack, so watch my back. Your eyes are glowing, which probably means mine are too. The enemy is going to see us, so first just close your eyes. Espeon can read air shifts, meaning that you can tell where the enemy is purely based on air circulation.' Onyx's voice echoed in Amethyst's head as she did what he told her to. 'Telepathy? Now that is very interesting.' Amethyst thought as she stared to concentrate harder. Slowly a vague map of the air movement formed in her mind; showing Amethyst that their enemy was maybe one or two yards away by now. She swiftly and silently jumped onto the wall next to her enemy and then bounced behind him. Onyx must have closed his eyes as well because the comforting red glow dissipated when she flashed her eyes open for a moment. Their enemy was completely unaware of their presence which gave them the upper hand.
'I'm going to use Iron Tail and you...well... Do something if you can. I'm going to try for a one hit knock out so he doesn't get a chance to warn anyone. I probably won't be able to do that without your help, so concentrate. On now... ready..." Amethyst braced herself, but then relaxed, knowing that bracing won't help her do anything. '...set...' She took in one silent, unsteady breath and focused. '...Now!' Amethyst's eyes flickered open and she released a beam of pink ask white from her head, most undoubtedly from the red gem on her forehead, and watched as the enemy jumped in surprise. Before he got a chance to yell for help, the enemy fell to the ground with a sickening thump. Onyx's red eyes started glowing once more and he softly lit the yellow rings again. On the ground a Scraggy was lying where the attacks hit. "So we got him. Scraggy huh?" Onyx whispered, leaning down to make sure that the Pokemon had fainted and wasn't faking it. Based on Onyx's convinced expression, the Scraggy wasn't faking it. Team Sunstorm silently padded down the way the enemy Scraggy came; using Amethyst's ears as a guide. Finally a small light could be seen and the duo peered into the large circular room with Pokemon threatening a smaller, much less fortunate, green Pokemon that was huddling in the corner out of fear.
Judging by Onyx's tense state, he was restraining himself. 'Please wait, I know it's hard to watch.' Amethyst thought; still feeling the effects of Telepathy. Two Banette, two Glaile, and one Scrafty loomed over the small green bird. "Natu!" Onyx gasped quietly. The Scrafty whipped his head around to stare at where Amethyst and Onyx were hiding, and started to grin evilly. "Maybe we should allow our friends to come join us." The Scrafty hissed, motioning for his partners to prepare for battle. Amethyst stared at Onyx silently; wondering what he was planning. The Umbreon drew a long, shaky breath and then grinned at Amethyst, flicking his tail to tell her to stay where she was. Onyx padded out into the clearing boldly and crouched in a battle stance. "Hello. My name is Onyx from there Waterfall Guild. My objective to make sure that the Natu comes back safely to the guild with me. Please step back from him and we can settle this peacefully." Onyx growled. He surprised Amethyst with his official tone and the fact that he left out the fact that he was part of Team Sunstorm. 'The enemy must know that there are two members in a team! He's trying to keep me out of it!' Amethyst thought shocked.
"I sense another. You are not alone, Onyx. I understand that this Natu here is your objective, but unfortunately I can't let you take him with you." The Scrafty hissed, making it clear that he was the leader here. "I'm going to ask one more time, please step away from Natu." Onyx repeated, tensing up more as he prepared to pounce. Amethyst glued her seat to the ground to prevent herself from leaping in and helping. 'Onyx, you're and idiot. Officially an idiot.' She thought to herself. Finally, the tense moment broke like paper would as a rock fell on top of it. Two Glalie, one Banette, and the Scrafty leaped towards Onyx simultaneously, but luckily he dodged and used Iron Tail on one of the Glalie. During this time period, Amethyst couldn't help but feel as if something was wrong, like a spot the difference puzzle and she couldn't think of anything different. Her eyes were still glued to the action as she peered out form behind the small ledge they were hiding before. Onyx had somehow defeated one Glalie and severely damaged the other with the Banette being his prime enemy at the moment. The Scrafty grinned evilly but simply dodged all of the attacks that were launched at him without sending his own attacks. Now she saw what was wrong. 'Where is the?...The other?...' The Espeon couldn't even finish her thoughts before she felt a pair of eyes burning into her back.
"Ow!" Amethyst screeched as she was thrown to the ground in the larger rock room. Standing over her was the other Banette, who snuck away when Onyx and Amethyst were concentrated on saving Natu. "Amethyst! That's cruel! You can't do that, she's not even part of this battle!" Onyx growled glaring with ferocity at the Scrafty. "Oh, but you're a rescue team. You pulled this upon her. Well, at least we've given you someone to fight with." The Scrafty sighed as if they should have been thanking him for pulling Amethyst into it. Onyx's gaze flicked from his opponents to a struggling Espeon as she tried to stand. The battle resumed as fast at it paused. Scrafty launched a High Jump Kick at Onyx, along with the two Banette who launched Confuse Ray. Onyx leaped to the side and grinned, but the Confuse Rays were speeding towards him. Suddenly Amethyst leaped in front of her partner and braced herself for a pounding headache. However, it never came. A small blue flim-like shield appeared right in front of the Espeon, and the Confuse Rays were stopped dead on its surface. Swiftly the Confuse Ray sped back to the dumbfounded Banette and physically made them confused.
"A Magic Bounce Espeon?" Scrafty exclaimed in his own confusion. "Why, that would be a great asset to our army! Come join us, and we will reward you well." He coaxed. However, without a threat looming over her, there was no reason to agree. Amethyst hurtled herself at the Scrafty, head butting him in the stomach and causing him to fly backwards. Onyx triumphantly Iron Tailed the two confused Banette and the last Glalie. Finally the battle was over, leaving a panting Espeon and a tired Umbreon. Natu, who hid once the battle begun, hopped out from behind a rock cautiously. "Are they gone?" The tiny bird asked quietly. "Nope, and they won't ever be so let's get out of here. Amethyst, eat one of those Oran Berries Jay gave us as we run. It'll help you make it." Onyx suggested, dashing out of the cavern and into the tunnels once more. As they were running, Amethyst stuck her nose into the bag on her shoulder and carefully pulled out and ate a blue berry. Strength pulsed through her and Team Sunstorm continued to run until they reached the Waterfall Guild.
Amethyst and Onyx, along with the Natu, padded up to Mei's office. The Lopunny was sitting behind her small desk on a pile of feathers examining and sorting a variety of berries. "Mei, we completed our mission!" Onyx chirped happily. The Natu gave a small happy squeak before hopping up to the Guildmaster. "Yes ma'am they did. I'd say they did a mighty fine job of it to." The Natu praised with a slight accent. "They did so well that I would like to help out your guild in return. I can use telepathy and communicate with Pokemon over large distances, unlike your badges there." The green bird commented, eyeing the badge on Mei's chest. "So I would like to help. Zee is my name. Nice to meet you." He finished. "Good job on completing your first quest Team Sunstorm. Go ahead and wash up for dinner, we'll call you done when we are ready." Mei praised as she dismissed the Espeon and Umbreon duo. One they reached the top floor, Amethyst heaved a large sigh. "Done! Done, we are done with today." She panted plopping down right where she was; on the floor. "Haha, well rest up. Tomorrow were out doing the same thing." Onyx joked, prodding the Espeon with his nose. "Oh Onyx, I made a grave mistake of joining if we are doing that every day." Amethyst joked back refusing to move. Subconsciously her eyes flicked closed and the Espeon fell into sleep.
That's when the Dreams began.
"You will? Amethyst! Thank you!" Onyx cried in relief; his eyes dazzling with happiness. "Onyx and Amethyst, Welcome to The Waterfall Guild!" Mei exclaimed happily. The Lopunny's expression remained frozen in its happy smile, but it was obvious that she was growing worried about the crashes coming from upstairs. "Mei... What about Scout..." The Staraptor squawked quietly. "Oh, no worries Avion. I've got it. And Shelly, please keep in contact with, you know, that guild. Thanks!" Mei gave a small bow before she hopped over to the long spiral stairs at the back of the circular room. "Follow me to my office; we can go deeper into detail there." Mei suggested as she started to climb the spiral stairs.
The guild was built within a large, pillar-like mound that rose straight up into the air. Somehow a river happened to find its way to this specific mound and fell down it, creating Lake Town's waterfall. The founders of The Waterfall guild carved out the inside of this mound so they could live inside of it. As Amethyst climbed up many rotations of stairs she was amazed by how neat everything was, for a cylinder made of dirt and stone. Each rotation of stairs had different accessories and items decorating them. The second floor, for example, had the same basic look as the first did; tightly clipped grass on the floor and solid dirt walls with wooden ring frames surrounding the whole base and ceiling of the room. Many windows streamed light in and despite the roar of the waterfall earlier the guild was quiet; with the exception of the occasional crashes and shouts. On this floor it seemed as if there was a table and a small oven with cabinets everywhere. 'The dining room.' Amethyst thought as she passed it feeling the nag if hunger in her stomach.
The third floor was very similar to the other two except there was a wooden counter with a large variety of treasures behind it. A small picture frame was among them displaying the vague drawing of a Lopunny, Garevoir and Medicham. In the corner there was a curtain of moss and vines that formed a cubby. 'That's probably where Mei sleeps.' Amethyst looked around the room studying the whole marvel. Mei hopped behind her wooden counter and sat down. "Please do come join me." The Lopunny invited watching Amethyst and Onyx as they simply started around her room; rooted to their spots. Amethyst shook herself out of her bedazzled state and eagerly padded up to the desk on the other side of Mei. Shortly Onyx followed her, but didn't seem to stop staring at the treasures behind Mei as she began to go over the guild entry requirements.
"To join us, you two need a Team Name. You do not need to make one up now just keep in mind that within two days of joining the guild you must have a name decided." Mei informed looking slightly annoyed that Onyx wouldn't keep his eyes on her. Amethyst glanced at her to-be-partner and gave a tiny sigh. She lightly tapped the Umbreon on his shoulder to gain his attention. Onyx -who wasn't expecting the attention grabber- jumped up slightly and gave an apologetic look to Mei. The Lopunny smiled and continued. "Now this isn't mandatory, but one of you can decide to be the Team leader and the other can be called the Team organizer. The Team ranking system makes it easier for clients to know who is the leader of a mission or expedition and it makes it easier for us to pass on information to you through you team organizer. The organizer also takes care of jobs such as keeping requests in check, prioritizing jobs, gathering needed supplies for a dungeon, and keeping track of your guild badges and guild rank. It's not the most fun of the two jobs, but every team who agreed to have an organizer became very successful very quickly."
"Well then perfect! We'll do the Team Ranks. I'll..." "Hold on, I'm not done yet." Mei interrupted Onyx with a small glare. "While most teams are successful, some don't like the system. Probably because the organizer is usually a ranged fighter and the leader is an up front fighter. The organizer is in charge of the map, compass and items, so they stay back out of the fight and only jump in when they have to. Some teams find that disregarding that generalized statement works, but most don't. Some teams get into a tight situation and think they have an item to squeeze out of it, but they accidentally broke their items during an easier fight." Mei added with a slight tone of regret lacing her voice. "Alright then. I'll be the Organizer and Onyx can be the Leader. I'm not very good with up close battles anyways." Amethyst replied calmly. 'I'm not good with fighting period.' She thought holding her face in the happy position to refrain from wincing at her thought. "Ok. Then Onyx will be the Leader of your Team and Amethyst will be the Organizer." Mei confirmed with a smile.
"Alrighty! That's all you need. Now I'll just give you your Team Bag... Oh wait. Did you decide on a team name yet?" The Lopunny asked scanning the room for a treasure chest that probably had their supplies in it. "Uhh, yes. If it's ok with Amethyst. I was thinking that Team Sunstorm had a nice ring to it, and it kind of sounds helpful and ferocious at the same time!" Onyx chirped happily as he presented his idea. However his face quickly fell and became more humble. "Only if Amethyst agrees. So what do you think?" Onyx inquired as Amethyst was put on the spot. "I think it's wonderful. Team Sunstorm it is Guildmaster Mei." Amethyst gave her own smile that reflected Onyx's. "Welcome to The Waterfall Guild Team Sunstorm!" Mei cried happily as she handed Amethyst the white explorers bag and a badge; she also gave a badge to Onyx. "I'll get Scout to show you to your rooms. Each member gets their own! Maybe keeping you guys company will save our base from him for just a few minutes." The Lopunny joked as she spoke into her gold framed badge.
In less than a minute the excited Furret dashed down to the third floor crashing nose first into the ground due to too much speed. "Y-yes Guildmaster Mei?" Scout asked while patting dust off his nose and red fringed fur. "I would like for you to show Team Sunstorm to their rooms. Amethyst is in 8a and Onyx is in 8b. Please... Please don't lead them into Avion's room like you did with Izzy when she joined..." Mei pleaded as she stared intently at Scout. Her tone was absolutely drenched in sincerity, but there was maybe a drop or two of sarcasm and strictness. Scout nodded vigorously and started to bound over to the stairs. "Lucky for you! You guys have the top floor!" Scout announced as they passed a large number 4 etched into the wall. "If you're brave enough you can scale the wall from the large window and up to Waterfall pond... Oops. Mei told me not to say that... Sorry!" Scout scratched his head as he continued to walk up the dirt and gravel spiral staircase.
As Amethyst followed Scout onto the floor 6, she studied the interior. Her eyes widened at what she saw; it was so different than the other floors. The shape was the same, but there was a large opening in the wall that had the wind blowing in; creating a nice breeze. Small pools of water dotted the dirt and cobblestone floor, surrounding the three rooms in the back in a globe-like shape. There were many flowers dotting the few grassy patches that popped up here and there. "Ok Sunstorm! These are your rooms!" Scout pointed to a room with a large entrance and feathers and another with a fossils dotting the exterior. "A-alright. Thank you Scout, but I really want you to stay here until I get settled; will you do that for me?" Amethyst pleaded not entirely sure that this was her room considering that it looked like someone else already resided in it; plus they were not on the top floor. She glanced at Onyx, who had a similar expression to hers on his face. Quickly the Espeon ducked into the large entrance way and instantly knew that she was dead.
Inside the room was marvelous to say the least. A large window made of glass displayed the low lying layer of clouds and brought lots of light into the room. It was very roomy and airy despite the amount of treasures that were scattered among the floor. A short mound of gems were piled up in the corner of the brightly lit room with a crafty nest residing at it's peak. In that nest was the Staraptor, Avion, staring at her with large, red eyes. "And why are you in my room visitor?" He asked swooping down from his perch and glaring at Amethyst. He landed maybe a foot away from her, but he still towered over the Espeon. "Oh, Staraptor, I'm sorry. Scout... He was showing us to our rooms..." Amethyst stuttered in discomfort. "Scout! Why have you led these new members to my room! Again! For the last time, MY room is on the sixth floor, not anyone else's!" She winced as the Staraptor raised his voice and stormed out of his room; his voice getting softer as he marched to the little main room that led to the bedrooms. Amethyst followed with an embarrassed look on her face, as did Onyx with an upset Shuckle close behind.
Shelly the Shuckle then led Onyx and Amethyst to their real rooms on the eighth floor. Despite her red fringed face, the Shuckle explained about how the rooms worked. "So when we register new members, we have a Pokemon go up into the new recruit's room and decorate it for them based on who they are. For example, Onyx, you're an Umbreon so there are preset room designs that we use for Umbreon who join the guild." Shelly explained passing the 7 mark on the wall. "It may seem as if we change the shape of the base as we go up, but the whole thing is just a perfect cylinder. The rooms are just formed in a way that it looks as if we added onto the spire. Your main room will be decorated based on the personalities of the Pokemon inhabiting it and their team name. Ah, speaking of which here we are." Shelly announced as they made their way up the last rotation of stairs. Amethyst -who thought this could not get any more spectacular- gazed in awe at Team Sunstorm's room.
The whole room was a clash between a pink-orange color and a black-purple color. Two small ponds of water were featured one on each side. A sun shaped pond sat on the pink-orange side and likewise the moon shaped on sat on the black-purple side. In between there was cobble stone leading to the back of the room with flowers dotting it's edges. At closer inspection, Amethyst noticed that the pink-orange color came from lightly tinted wood, and that's why the same homey feel stuck with the room. The windows in the room all streamed light on one particular spot in the room; the Sunstorm Guild badge etched into the cobblestone in full color. At the back of the room there were two more rooms; one with a sun over the hatch to get in and one with a moon. A few feet in to the left of the Sun room was a large window that looked like it could be pushed open. Amethyst started to get ideas, but then stopped at the thought of Scout, who said that Mei did not approve of climbing out. The last thing the Espeon noticed was a small desk-like piece of wood that was curved to fit the theme of the room. As Amethyst turned to thank Shelly, she noticed one more thing. There was a mailbox sitting near the stairs that wasn't noticeable when they walked in.
"Shelly! This is amazing! Thank you so much!" Amethyst gasped as she continued to take in the marvel of a room. "No problem! Dinner is in a long while so you could probably go adventuring. Don't worry, you won't miss dinner. If you don't come back in time to eat with us, dinner will be given to your rooms. Better thank Ringsta for all of this, the room decoration, and the food deal. You probably won't see her though... Or maybe you will." Shelly cringed for a moment causing Amethyst to wonder why such a generous Pokemon would be cringe-worthy. The Shuckle quickly waved a long yellow arm and scooted her way back down the stairs. "This... I have no words to describe this..." Onyx stuttered in awe. "Do you want to check out the rooms?" She asked once she couldn't take the urge to just dash into her room any longer. Amethyst took off without waiting for a reply. Swiftly she leaped through the hatch that had the sun displayed above it. Amethyst knew that Espeon are usually related to the sun, so she assumed this would be her room. As soon as she stepped foot into the room Amethyst knew that she needed to find Ringsta and hug her until she's blue of air deprivation.
After experiencing the main room, Amethyst's room looked pretty plain, but that's what was charming about it. The room was the exact same as the main room with only the pink-orange color manifesting in its walls. There was yet another window that let in rivers of light that shone on a perfectly sized -and comfortable looking even to a former human- nest right underneath the spot where most of the light was concentrated. Despite its cramped-looking exterior the sleeping area was surprisingly roomy. There was yet another small lake shaped like the sun. The biggest attention grabber were the large purple gems glowing in the sunlight. The Espeon bounded over to the large gems instantly and gazed up at them in awe. They were approximately three times her current hight; all set up in a perfect formation -one spurting straight up and the other two growing from each side diagonally. From the ceiling a team badge hung, it's normal rank gem in the center shining. Amethyst stopped staring to look back at her hatch which had a shadow on the other side; meaning Onyx was waiting for her.
She jumped through the hatch and smiled at a beaming Onyx. "As Team Sunstorm's first job, we are going to Wild Hills!" Onyx exclaimed happily, pulling a rolled up piece of parchment from his bag that was slung from his shoulder. With a nod of his head, the paper unfolded and Amethyst could read the neat handwriting on it. The paper was slightly yellowed around the edges which meant that this request was either very old or very important. Amethyst skimmed the request quickly, but all she cared about was the client -which was a Natu- and where they were heading. "What kind of Pokemon live in Wild Hills Onyx?" Amethyst questioned as the duo started towards the spiral stairs. "Wild Hills, let's see, I think lots of Electric and Grass type Pokemon live there, so we won't be too much at a disadvantage. Just watch out for Thunderwave, that may cause us trouble later if you are paralyzed." Onyx noted wincing at the fact that they had no items, specifically Cheri Berries, to heal them from the granted Paralysis that comes with that Dungeon.
"Wait! Please wait!" Someone cried behind Amethyst's shoulder as she was about to exit the guild. The Espeon looked over her shoulder at the Emolga running towards them. Onyx paused and turned around to face the Flying/Electric type. "What do you need?" Onyx asked sweetly, but Amethyst could tell that he was just itching to get on with the adventure. "You're Team Sunstorm, right? Welcome to the guild! I'm Jay from Team Emolga Enforcers!" The Emolga puffed proudly. Judging from the looks of the Pikachu and Poocyena that were a few feet away, Amethyst highly doubted that their team name was Emolga Enforcers. "Anyways, I'm here to give you guys some berries for your first adventure. I've heard that you're next to broke, so I decided to be nice. Yes siree." Jay grinned as she held out a large basket of round blue berries. "Oran Berries!" Onyx gasped in surprise. Amethyst could tell why he was so amazed at them; there were absolutely tons of the tiny berries. "Thank you so much Jay!" The Umbreon thanked as he slipped the team bag off his shoulder and handed it to Amethyst. Then he carefully poured the berries into the white team bag -surprising Amethyst in the process.
The tall yellowed grass fell to the ground, blade by blade, as Team Sunstorm trudged their way through the Wild Hills. The sea of grass was surprisingly a Mystery Dungeon, yet Amethyst had not seen another Pokemon other than Onyx since they left Lake Town. "Onyx, are you sure we're in the right place? I saw the Mystery Dungeon warning, but I haven't seen a Pokemon for ages!" Amethyst noted as she trotted after Onyx. "I'm sure we're in the right place. There is no way we could have missed it. Besides, maybe it's nap time for these Pokemon?" Onyx joked as he too realized that the area was strangely isolated. Amethyst stopped dead. The ground started to rumble, quite softly at first, but it slowly grew in power and volume until Amethyst could see the clouds of dust rolling their way from across a nearby hill. "Bouffalant stampede!" Onyx cried as he spun on his heels and started dashing the other way. Amethyst flattened her ears in fear and swiftly followed her team leader though the tangled maze of grass. "Where do we go? There is no where to run here!" Amethyst called in panic as she scanned the area for a place to take shelter.
"Don't worry I see a rock we can hide under!" Onyx shouted back to her; the Bouffalant's stampede growing closer and closer by the instant. "Almost there!" Amethyst spotted it now; a large rock that stood out in the otherwise peaceful and desolate Mystery Dungeon. She could feel her lungs start to burn and her throat grew dry as she struggled to intake air. The pounding of her own paws on the ground was all she could hear in her head as Amethyst continued to dash through the hills; now running next to Onyx. He visibly grew concerned at her condition, for he knew that running was difficult and needed much more strength than walking did. "Come on, a little more!" Onyx urged his partner. The tall, brown rock was less than a few feet away now, but Amethyst could almost feel the hot breath of the Bouffalant on her neck. Then the impossible happened, Team Sunstorm slid underneath the rock.
Amethyst pressed back to the back of the rock base; her ears pinned in fear. The thousands of hooves from the stampede thundered in front of their vision and Amethyst was amazed that Onyx seemed unfazed by the whole situation. After maybe two or three long, excruciating minutes passed, the hooves of the Bouffalant died down, and only the stragglers of the herd were left dashing after their friends. "Onyx? Are they gone?" Amethyst whispered as she tried to sit up straight in the slightly cramped alcove. Suddenly the ground beneath her hind paws fell and the Espeon found herself scratching at the ground in front of her to prevent any further downfall into the small pit. "Amethyst! Are you ok?" Onyx asked as he reached over and helped her up out of the small hole. "I'm fine, thank you." She lied, knowing very well that she twisted her hind paw badly. "Why don't we go down there? Natu must have found shelter in that rampage." Onyx suggested; his red eyes glowing in the shade of the rock. The Umbreon took the lead, yowling triumphantly as he found something. "Look! It goes deeper than this!"
Amethyst padded after Onyx in the darkness of the tunnel. It was damp, dark, and cold but Umbreon illuminated the proximity of the area using his rings on his shoulders and flanks. She was partially glad that her partner could light the place up, but she was worried that this would make it easier for enemies to spot them. Amethyst started to hear voices, but Onyx didn't seem to recognize the sound. She gently prodded his tail with her paw and then signaled for him to be quiet. Onyx turned, his red eyes swimming in confusion, but he remained silent. Amethyst slowly padded forwards, and then back, and then forwards again. Finally she sat down and pressed her ear to the wall of the tunnel. Slowly the voices became more and more clear. "Where is he? You little Runt, you knew exactly where he is! Tell us!" A voice demanded so crisply and loudly that Amethyst was surprised that Onyx didn't seem to hear any of it. "It will cost you more to stay quiet than to just tell us. We promise to let you out quietly if you say where he is... Maybe with one or two scars to make sure that you stay quiet." Another hissed. Amethyst flicked her tail in warning as someone got closer, and Onyx stopped illuminating the tunnel.
A Pokemon grew closer to them as Amethyst removed her ear away from the wall. Even in the darkness the recognition of an enemy approaching was written all over Onyx's face. 'Ok, so this is a feature of the Team Leader that Mei told me about while you were gathering supplies earlier. I can only do it for a short time, and it sharply decreases my Special Attack, so watch my back. Your eyes are glowing, which probably means mine are too. The enemy is going to see us, so first just close your eyes. Espeon can read air shifts, meaning that you can tell where the enemy is purely based on air circulation.' Onyx's voice echoed in Amethyst's head as she did what he told her to. 'Telepathy? Now that is very interesting.' Amethyst thought as she stared to concentrate harder. Slowly a vague map of the air movement formed in her mind; showing Amethyst that their enemy was maybe one or two yards away by now. She swiftly and silently jumped onto the wall next to her enemy and then bounced behind him. Onyx must have closed his eyes as well because the comforting red glow dissipated when she flashed her eyes open for a moment. Their enemy was completely unaware of their presence which gave them the upper hand.
'I'm going to use Iron Tail and you...well... Do something if you can. I'm going to try for a one hit knock out so he doesn't get a chance to warn anyone. I probably won't be able to do that without your help, so concentrate. On now... ready..." Amethyst braced herself, but then relaxed, knowing that bracing won't help her do anything. '...set...' She took in one silent, unsteady breath and focused. '...Now!' Amethyst's eyes flickered open and she released a beam of pink ask white from her head, most undoubtedly from the red gem on her forehead, and watched as the enemy jumped in surprise. Before he got a chance to yell for help, the enemy fell to the ground with a sickening thump. Onyx's red eyes started glowing once more and he softly lit the yellow rings again. On the ground a Scraggy was lying where the attacks hit. "So we got him. Scraggy huh?" Onyx whispered, leaning down to make sure that the Pokemon had fainted and wasn't faking it. Based on Onyx's convinced expression, the Scraggy wasn't faking it. Team Sunstorm silently padded down the way the enemy Scraggy came; using Amethyst's ears as a guide. Finally a small light could be seen and the duo peered into the large circular room with Pokemon threatening a smaller, much less fortunate, green Pokemon that was huddling in the corner out of fear.
Judging by Onyx's tense state, he was restraining himself. 'Please wait, I know it's hard to watch.' Amethyst thought; still feeling the effects of Telepathy. Two Banette, two Glaile, and one Scrafty loomed over the small green bird. "Natu!" Onyx gasped quietly. The Scrafty whipped his head around to stare at where Amethyst and Onyx were hiding, and started to grin evilly. "Maybe we should allow our friends to come join us." The Scrafty hissed, motioning for his partners to prepare for battle. Amethyst stared at Onyx silently; wondering what he was planning. The Umbreon drew a long, shaky breath and then grinned at Amethyst, flicking his tail to tell her to stay where she was. Onyx padded out into the clearing boldly and crouched in a battle stance. "Hello. My name is Onyx from there Waterfall Guild. My objective to make sure that the Natu comes back safely to the guild with me. Please step back from him and we can settle this peacefully." Onyx growled. He surprised Amethyst with his official tone and the fact that he left out the fact that he was part of Team Sunstorm. 'The enemy must know that there are two members in a team! He's trying to keep me out of it!' Amethyst thought shocked.
"I sense another. You are not alone, Onyx. I understand that this Natu here is your objective, but unfortunately I can't let you take him with you." The Scrafty hissed, making it clear that he was the leader here. "I'm going to ask one more time, please step away from Natu." Onyx repeated, tensing up more as he prepared to pounce. Amethyst glued her seat to the ground to prevent herself from leaping in and helping. 'Onyx, you're and idiot. Officially an idiot.' She thought to herself. Finally, the tense moment broke like paper would as a rock fell on top of it. Two Glalie, one Banette, and the Scrafty leaped towards Onyx simultaneously, but luckily he dodged and used Iron Tail on one of the Glalie. During this time period, Amethyst couldn't help but feel as if something was wrong, like a spot the difference puzzle and she couldn't think of anything different. Her eyes were still glued to the action as she peered out form behind the small ledge they were hiding before. Onyx had somehow defeated one Glalie and severely damaged the other with the Banette being his prime enemy at the moment. The Scrafty grinned evilly but simply dodged all of the attacks that were launched at him without sending his own attacks. Now she saw what was wrong. 'Where is the?...The other?...' The Espeon couldn't even finish her thoughts before she felt a pair of eyes burning into her back.
"Ow!" Amethyst screeched as she was thrown to the ground in the larger rock room. Standing over her was the other Banette, who snuck away when Onyx and Amethyst were concentrated on saving Natu. "Amethyst! That's cruel! You can't do that, she's not even part of this battle!" Onyx growled glaring with ferocity at the Scrafty. "Oh, but you're a rescue team. You pulled this upon her. Well, at least we've given you someone to fight with." The Scrafty sighed as if they should have been thanking him for pulling Amethyst into it. Onyx's gaze flicked from his opponents to a struggling Espeon as she tried to stand. The battle resumed as fast at it paused. Scrafty launched a High Jump Kick at Onyx, along with the two Banette who launched Confuse Ray. Onyx leaped to the side and grinned, but the Confuse Rays were speeding towards him. Suddenly Amethyst leaped in front of her partner and braced herself for a pounding headache. However, it never came. A small blue flim-like shield appeared right in front of the Espeon, and the Confuse Rays were stopped dead on its surface. Swiftly the Confuse Ray sped back to the dumbfounded Banette and physically made them confused.
"A Magic Bounce Espeon?" Scrafty exclaimed in his own confusion. "Why, that would be a great asset to our army! Come join us, and we will reward you well." He coaxed. However, without a threat looming over her, there was no reason to agree. Amethyst hurtled herself at the Scrafty, head butting him in the stomach and causing him to fly backwards. Onyx triumphantly Iron Tailed the two confused Banette and the last Glalie. Finally the battle was over, leaving a panting Espeon and a tired Umbreon. Natu, who hid once the battle begun, hopped out from behind a rock cautiously. "Are they gone?" The tiny bird asked quietly. "Nope, and they won't ever be so let's get out of here. Amethyst, eat one of those Oran Berries Jay gave us as we run. It'll help you make it." Onyx suggested, dashing out of the cavern and into the tunnels once more. As they were running, Amethyst stuck her nose into the bag on her shoulder and carefully pulled out and ate a blue berry. Strength pulsed through her and Team Sunstorm continued to run until they reached the Waterfall Guild.
Amethyst and Onyx, along with the Natu, padded up to Mei's office. The Lopunny was sitting behind her small desk on a pile of feathers examining and sorting a variety of berries. "Mei, we completed our mission!" Onyx chirped happily. The Natu gave a small happy squeak before hopping up to the Guildmaster. "Yes ma'am they did. I'd say they did a mighty fine job of it to." The Natu praised with a slight accent. "They did so well that I would like to help out your guild in return. I can use telepathy and communicate with Pokemon over large distances, unlike your badges there." The green bird commented, eyeing the badge on Mei's chest. "So I would like to help. Zee is my name. Nice to meet you." He finished. "Good job on completing your first quest Team Sunstorm. Go ahead and wash up for dinner, we'll call you done when we are ready." Mei praised as she dismissed the Espeon and Umbreon duo. One they reached the top floor, Amethyst heaved a large sigh. "Done! Done, we are done with today." She panted plopping down right where she was; on the floor. "Haha, well rest up. Tomorrow were out doing the same thing." Onyx joked, prodding the Espeon with his nose. "Oh Onyx, I made a grave mistake of joining if we are doing that every day." Amethyst joked back refusing to move. Subconsciously her eyes flicked closed and the Espeon fell into sleep.
That's when the Dreams began.
