Marie hated that stupid ring on her finger.
Every time she looked at it, she wanted to take it off and stomp on it until it shattered into a million pieces. In fact, she had done this at least once a day, every day, since she’d arrived in those ruins and taken the personality test administered by Lucas the Lucario.
But every time she tried to destroy the ring, it appeared back on her finger in exactly the same place it had been previously. Even if she took it off and threw it against the canyon wall (which, again, she tried many times), it returned to the sender. That didn’t mean it wasn’t somewhat cathartic to throw it away, though.
It was as though God, or Arceus, or whatever higher force(s) you believed in, had decided that Marie Emerson must not be allowed to get rid of the ring. It would linger on her finger for as long as it pleased, and only once that higher power decided to stop tormenting Marie would she be able to dispose of it.
Sophie had been seated next to Marie during the first banishment ceremony with Judd present. The lowest-scoring pair, Clancy Coventry and Brett Tolland, had been called up to have their torches snuffed. And Marie hadn’t been able to contain herself, at least not entirely.
Marie had gasped audibly, and many of those in her section had turned their heads toward her. Fortunately, she’d been able to mitigate the perception that the weekly ceremony had managed to shock her, but some of the damage had already been done. That was evidenced by Sophie’s first question upon their departure from the amphitheater.
“Why did you gasp, Marie?”
“What do you mean?” Marie replied.
Sophie raised an eyebrow. “You know exactly what I mean.”
“Quite frankly,” Marie told her, “it’s none of your business. I know you pride yourself on having access to information, but I’m not going to tell you why I gasped there.”
That shut Sophie up pretty quickly, which gave Marie more time to think about her performance at the ceremony. On some level, she knew that if she revealed why hearing the names of Clancy and Brett affected her so much, she’d never hear the end of it. It would become yet another front in the war of words between herself, Sophie, Jessica, and Judd.
Once the weekly ceremony was over, and the residents of Cabin Gemini had returned to their quarters, time slowed nearly to a halt. Upon arriving at Jet Force Isekai, Marie had evidently been stripped of any luxury items with which to pass the time (other than, of course, that cursed ring.) There were no books to read, no Internet to surf, not even a journal with which to record her thoughts. And when you had nothing but thoughts to keep you company, you felt more alone than ever.
That was the way Marie’s mood oscillated between two polar opposites. Sometimes, Marie felt well and truly alone, and the absence of anyone she’d known prior to her death a few weeks prior left a hole in her heart. (Judd would have said that this hole was shaped like Jesus Christ, but Marie wasn’t ready to leap for that invisible, intangible life ring just yet).
Other times, Marie wished she could have been alone. It would be better than being stuck in a cabin with three people who seemed to hate one another’s guts.
Had Marie possessed a sheet of paper, it would have taken several minutes to draw a diagram depicting the connections between the four of them. Nonetheless, the lack of writing materials didn’t stop her from picturing one.
Judd was annoying. According to Sophie, he stayed up for about an extra fifteen minutes each night praying to his God. Clearly, Judd got on Sophie’s nerves, and to some extent, Marie found him bothersome as well. But Judd probably wasn’t trying to bother her - he just kept clinging to his faith in a world he’d been unable to rise above.
Sophie, meanwhile, not only snapped at Judd on occasion for believing that Jesus would save him from his hardships, but seemed to have numerous questions for Marie. Not only was she curious about Clancy, but she also wanted to know what was with the ring on Marie’s finger. And Marie could respect curiosity to some extent, but those questions were just too painful to have answered on demand. All those questions were enough to drive Marie crazy if she let it.
Jessica complained endlessly. Every couple of hours, she’d mention how drafty and uncomfortable the stone cabin was, or how the bed made her back hurt, or even how she didn’t get any choice in terms of what she ate. She’d invariably turn up her nose whenever given a dish she didn’t love. The only thing she seemed to like was Marie. For whatever reason, Jessica’s eyes would light up whenever she got a chance to speak to Marie, as though she were positively thrilled to do so. Given how spoiled Jessica acted, however, these feelings were not mutual.
Marie just wanted to live her afterlife. She honestly hadn’t known what to expect upon losing her life, but if she’d been looking for paradise, she hadn’t found it. The aspects of Jet Force Isekai that bothered Jessica so much also took their toll on her. Her back ached every morning from sleeping on that cold, hard cot, and the food wasn’t exactly the sort you’d find in a Michelin-starred restaurant. Nobody in Cabin Gemini liked everything here, but only Jessica saw fit to voice aloud what all four of them were no doubt thinking.
All of the above came to a head on the fourth night after Judd’s first mission, with just three more days until his second Isekai journey (which would be Marie’s fifth). Judd and Sophie were at loggerheads again over how the former was supposedly trying to convert the latter to his faith. In weeks to come, Marie would not remember who started the argument, nor would she be able to come to a clear decision of who was in the wrong.
But as the pair shouted at one another, with sudden, loud noises bouncing against the cabin walls and echoing like cannon blasts, Marie curled into a ball and tried once more to drift off. Then, she came to an important realization.
Upon her arrival in these ruins, she (and presumably the other residents of Cabin Gemini) had been sorted based on a “compatibility index.” Whatever robot or AI system had implemented that index, however, had clearly been misprogrammed. In more casual terms, a human guessing that way might have been met with the jeering reply, “What are you smoking?”
In other words, although they’d been promised compatibility, it was hard to think of four young adults who would get along less.
----------------------------------------
Friday was almost a relief when it came.
Yes, it was the day when they would be tested once again and would need to earn their right to remain here. But at the same time, Friday also meant a reprieve from the monotony that was daily life in Cabin Gemini, for you could only bicker for so long.
After each member gave their individual interview with Lucas the Lucario (or one of the guildmistress’ other assistants, who were of the same species), the time came to head to breakfast. Marie found herself feeling oddly hopeful. She wanted to succeed, since she didn’t want to be sent Elsewhere, but she increasingly believed that it wouldn’t be the end of the world if they scored in the bottom three.
Why did she believe that? Simply put, if she ended up banished Elsewhere, at least she wouldn’t have to bicker with Judd, Sophie, and Jessica anymore. Besides, it was always nice to get a change of scenery.
The dining pavilion was practically teeming with activity. The tension in the air was so thick that even a chainsaw would not be sufficient to cut it. Although Marie had been present for four Isekai missions before today, there seemed to be a general sense that today’s tasks would be particularly challenging. (Was there any concrete evidence for that? No. Did people still believe it? Yes, just like Judd’s faith.)
Marie ate her Kalos toast daintily, careful not to spill any crumbs on her orange and purple uniform. Truth be told, the tracksuit was already rather dirty, but staying neat was just a force of habit by this point; that was why she forwent the syrup.
Once every plate was clean, Lucas snapped his claws yet again.
Marie’s heart skipped a beat, and she visibly flinched as that loud noise made itself heard. She tried to gain control of her breathing again, but she was failing miserably in that effort long before the slip of paper was placed in front of her stating who her partner would be.
Man, I wish I could journal on this paper. It’d be a place to put my thoughts down and actually admit the way I’ve been feeling ever since last week’s ceremony.
Of course, this was strictly prohibited, nor were there any instruments given that could possibly enable a violation of said rule. In any case, it did not matter, for as soon as Marie saw the name on her paper, her hair stood on end.
Judd Asgard - 2194.
Not only was she taking on a mission today, but she was doing it with the “help” of Judd. Judd, the man who preferred to pray his problems away rather than actually solving them! Judd was her partner!
An idea forced its way into her mind, which Marie tried to dismiss out of hand. What would I even gain from that? They’d probably punish me if they figured out I was trying such a thing, too.
No. I have to just deal with it.
Judd sat down next to her, brushing his dirty-blonde bangs out of his face, and the drinks were passed out to each of the residents in turn. The one set in front of Marie was cobalt blue and almost transparent, whereas Judd’s was bright yellow and totally opaque.
Marie grimaced. “Judd, this one is going to hurt.”
Judd frowned at her. “Why is that, Marie? Could it possibly hurt more than the Fire-type drink I had last week?”
“I’m afraid it can. Your drink is yellow, which means you’re going to become an Electric-type.”
Judd sighed, glancing apprehensively at the Dixie cup full of liquid. Based on the color alone, the drink might well have been lemonade, the perfect beverage with which to unwind after yard work on a hot summer day. It was the vise of many people in her former home state of South Carolina, who washed down their meals of biscuits-and-gravy or chicken-and-waffles with swigs of either the aforementioned lemonade or iced tea.
Of course, a sweet, tart treat this was not. Judd closed his mouth as though trying not to puke, then leaned back, opened wide, and tipped the yellow beverage down his throat. (During this time, Marie downed hers, which tasted just like regular water - she’d gotten off easy today. At least, for the time being).
Right after the last drop had passed his lips, Judd began convulsing in his seat. He grabbed the table, and Marie stood up for fear she was about to be electrocuted. The God-fearing young man writhed and moaned in plain agony, and although Marie might not have been a huge fan of Judd, she still didn’t relish hearing this suffering.
And then, after what felt like a long time listening to the moans and groans all around the pavilion, the scene shifted. The pavilion disappeared, to be replaced by her instructions for this Isekai mission.
SYLLABUS FOR MISSION 5: DUNGEON DUO
YOU ARE: MARIE EMERSON (VAPOREON)
YOUR PARTNER IS: JUDD ASGARD (PICHU)
OBJECTIVES:
* INFILTRATE CAMERAN PALACE VIA DISGUISING YOURSELVES AS ASH KETCHUM AND LADY ILENE (10 POINTS EACH)
* SET OFF FIREWORKS TO CREATE A DISTRACTION AT THE FESTIVAL (20 POINTS)
* STEAL LUCARIO’S STAFF FROM THE TROPHY ROOM (20 POINTS)
* USE STAFF TO UNLOCK THE DUNGEON(15 POINTS)
* LOCATE SOBBLE IN DUNGEON (10 POINTS)
* EVACUATE SOBBLE FROM DUNGEON USING SECRET EXIT (15 POINTS)
SAY MISSION NAME TO CONTINUE.
Marie did not say the mission name at first, making sure she remembered every last detail of those instructions. Given that there were six objectives, and none of them were worth more than twenty points apiece, it seemed cruel of Toriel and Lucas (or maybe just fate ) to place her with someone so inexperienced.
And then she remembered: Maybe that isn’t so bad after all. Whatever happens, I can be at peace with it.
“Dungeon duo” Marie stated, and the black screen then vanished.
When she opened her eyes again, she found that she’d spawned as a quadrupedal creature beneath a starry night sky, apparently a Vaporeon. A Pichu appeared about twenty feet away - that was probably Judd. Equidistant between them were two sets of garments - a pink dress and tiara on one side, and a blue-and-black suit containing a spiky hat in the same color.
“Well then,” Judd stated. “Here we are. We’ve got some clothes down there.”
“Those must be the disguises” Marie stated. It was then that the perfect idea occurred to her: I’m not going to THROW this mission, but I’m also not going to try QUITE as hard as I possibly can. That’s a happy medium.
And, in the best interest of this “happy medium”, Marie voiced the following idea aloud. “Judd,” she said, “I think you should be Lady Ilene.”
The Pichu appeared apoplectic with rage. “ What are you suggesting?”
“They won’t suspect that we’re faking it if we make ourselves look like we’re different genders than we really are” Marie asserted. “I’ll be Lord Ketchum, and you can be Lady Ilene. And…”.
“So basically,” Judd responded testily, “we’re saying we should both cross-dress?”
Marie narrowed her eyes. “That is exactly what I am saying.”
Judd squirmed awkwardly on the cobblestone path. “I’m not sure I like that idea. I was always taught growing up that dressing as the opposite sex was immoral. That God didn’t intend it…”.
“I could care less what your God thinks about cross-dressing. Honestly, Judd, your God didn’t show up for you when you needed Him most, so his opinion only matters so much here.”
Judd didn’t respond, instead staring in horror at the dress. Clearly, something within the Pichu was incredibly resistant to putting on that pink article of clothing, and it wasn’t entirely rational.
“But..” he mumbled eventually.
“Judd,” Marie snapped, “ put on that damn dress.”
The Pichu snorted dryly, and a trace amount of electricity exited his nostrils like a sneeze. Judd grimaced right after that, as though the sneeze had caused him pain.
That’s right, Marie recalled. A Pichu is almost as dangerous to itself as it is to others.
Incredibly, Judd’s next act after glaring at Marie was to lift up the bottom of the dress and climb into it. After the dress was fixed around the Pichu’s body, Marie then placed the tiara atop his head.
“Oh my my, oh hell yes, look at Judd Asgard in his party dress!” Marie exclaimed, barely resisting the urge to fall into fits of laughter.
The Pichu did not seem amused. “Who is this disguise going to fool? Especially once I start tripping over the fabric?”
Marie shrugged as she donned the Ash Ketchum costume. “The syllabus said that we were supposed to dress for success, and the syllabus doesn’t lie. If it says we can disguise ourselves properly, then it’s clearly possible. They’re not going to set us something we can’t possibly do.”
Judd still didn’t appear happy, but he acquiesced soon afterward, evidently realizing there was no way out of this. He was already committed, unless he wanted to fail.
YOU don’t want to fail, Judd. But maybe I do.
“Okay,” he muttered, “so how do we get into the castle?”
“ Ilene, I think we’re supposed to set off the fireworks first” Marie stated in a lackluster imitation of Ash Ketchum’s voice from the Pokémon anime.
Judd rolled his eyes. “Okay, Ash.”
The fireworks weren’t difficult to find, and neither were the instructions on the boxes difficult to read. If Marie remembered correctly, the syllabus had not specified which fireworks needed to be set off. Might as well do all of them.
However, once the fuses had been lit, and the first fireworks began discharging into the starry night sky, exploding in a veritable rainbow of colors, Marie cringed. The key word there is exploding.
Judd seemed to notice it too. In his dress and tiara, he turned to face Marie. “What’s wrong?” he asked her.
Marie did not explain. As she turned away from the fireworks, she saw into the castle and noticed that throngs of party guests were making their way for the exit to watch said fireworks. In other words, she just couldn’t spill the beans to Judd right now.
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It’s not the worst thing if we fail, she reminded herself. It’s not the worst thing if we fail.
But she wouldn’t let them fail yet. In any case, Marie could not focus on such efforts, because it was hard enough to walk on her hind legs as a Vaporeon. She knew what moves she’d be able to use in this form - Tail Whip, Water Gun, etc., but none of them would help her move any more efficiently. So she had to do it the old-fashioned way.
Tracking trace amounts of water into the castle, the pair of Marie and Judd entered what looked like the ballroom. It was a very stately chamber with chandeliers, tables packed to the brim with every fancy dish you could imagine, and even a stage where the band Billy Talonflame were playing a song that seemed to be titled “Ghost Ship of Cannibal Rattatas.”
A Meowth sat alone at the nearest table; indeed, the catlike Pokémon was one of the few souls still inside the castle. But said Meowth did not seem to care that he was missing out on the fireworks as he chomped on a pair of Torchic drumsticks and patted his own belly contentedly. “Personally, I prefer dining to dancing,” he murmured.
Judd turned toward Marie. In what was plainly a crude imitation of a feminine voice, he said, “Shall we join in the dance, Sir Ash Ketchum?”
Marie recoiled at the suggestion even though she knew it was only a ploy. “I think not, Lady Ilene” she responded, looking at the Pichu in the pink dress. “My social stamina is wearing thin. I’m going up to my chambers.”
“Then allow me to come with you” Judd stated sweetly. His proverbial “mask” was clearly fading fast - even someone without much of an eye for detail would have spotted the difference between the Pichu and Lady Ilene if they thought about it for like five seconds.
Marie sighed. “Whatever the case, we need to locate Sir Aaron’s staff. It should be in the trophy room, correct?”
Judd nodded. By now any pretext of pretending to be a woman had been totally abandoned, and he spoke in his regular tone as he said this: “If I remember correctly from the movie my elementary school classmates talked about, it’s on the third floor.”
The movie. Marie had just enough presence of mind to realize that Judd spoke of Lucario And The Mystery of Mew. In fact, the pair were dressed as two characters from that very animated film right now! (Come to think of it, that raised the question of whether they were in the movie at this very moment - wasn’t this castle, Cameran Palace, exclusive to the anime?)
But Marie didn’t say any of that. They’d been given a cold, hard list of tasks, and they could not deviate from it.
The opulent stairways and corridors of Cameran Palace were virtually deserted; they had likely been declared off-limits to the partygoers, but Marie and Judd presumably looked the part of those exempt from these restrictions. However, finding the trophy room still took considerable trial and error, and with each missed turn, Marie felt a jolt of worry.
Any time now, someone might be lurking with a weapon. Maybe it’s the very staff we’re trying to find. Wouldn’t that be some cruel irony from the universe?
The trophy room was located near the third-floor balcony, and it extended three stories upward. A number of artifacts lay in glass display cases just like exhibits at a museum. In a way, given the plaques beneath each artifact describing what it was, this room was a museum.
Wow. This is the bracer Sir Aaron allegedly used hundreds of years ago. No, not “allegedly.” More like “assuredly.”
But Marie could not allow herself to become mesmerized by all the timeless pieces of handiwork present. She and Judd likely had very little time to find the staff and get to the castle’s dungeons before the guests re-entered. Their disguises were flimsy at best.
I was okay with us failing before we started this mission, and I still am. If we finish in the bottom three today, maybe it isn’t all bad.
Finally, they found the long, thin staff containing the gemstone at the end. The one Sir Aaron had trapped his Lucario inside centuries ago - indeed, that’s how the staff was labeled. Judd smirked. “Target acquired” he stated smugly.
“We can’t be so sure yet, Judd,” Marie stated. “There are a few staves here. What did the syllabus say?”
Judd frowned so powerfully that the tiara fell off his head. He didn’t bother picking it up. “I don’t remember,” he said.
Marie glared at her partner. “ You don’t remember? Is that just a ploy so that you can let Jesus take the wheel? Do you even care about success?”
The Pichu curved his mouth into a straight line. “Of course I care about success. I don’t want to be banished Elsewhere.”
I know you don’t. But maybe I do. Which is why I’m kind of conflicted about accusing you of not wanting to succeed.
Marie shook her head, which seemed to set Judd off. He turned his gaze toward the glass display case and let out an almighty electric sneeze.
Sparks cascaded out of Judd’s little Pichu nostrils and curled their way up the structure. For a moment, it looked like nothing was happening, and Marie wondered if nothing would happen, if the glass was just that strong.
And then, with an incredibly loud bang, the glass just shattered. The heaven-rending sound was enough to make Marie jump a good foot in the air, her Ash Ketchum costume swiftly falling off her Vaporeon body.
“Arceus, Marie!” Judd exclaimed. “You’re going to get us noticed!”
That’s pretty rich, coming from the guy who started that explosion in the first place. Even if it needed to happen for us to progress in the mission. Why am I looking at this like it’s a video game?
“Well, I guess we don’t need these disguises anymore” Marie said simply. “It would take time to put them on again. That’s time we don’t have.”
“Right” Judd muttered, though he seemed more than happy to do away with the dress. “I’ll grab the staff, and we’ll head to the dungeon.”
Just then, an alarm began blaring, which was all the incentive they needed to get out of there.
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The staff weighed Judd down to no small degree, and his stubby little Pichu arms whined in protest. Evidently this species wasn’t as strong as Fennekin.
Last week I literally carried 20 pounds of milk in my jaw. What’s so hard about this?
The alarm kept sounding like an ambulance siren, or the sound video games supposedly made when you were about to delete your save file and the game asked you to reconsider. (Don’t ask Judd how he knew that.)
He silently prayed as he carried the staff down the corridor, hoping none of the castle guards would show up to arrest their efforts. Please, my Lord, keep the guests just distracted enough for us to reach the dungeon.
“Where the hell is the dungeon?” Judd blurted out; the shout evidently startled Marie.
The Vaporeon glared at him. “It’s probably underground, so that’d be the basement!”
“I know that!” Judd exclaimed. “But where’s the entrance?”
“Trial and error, buddy” Marie muttered, in a tone suggesting she didn’t consider Judd her buddy in the slightest.
After a quick right turn in the labyrinthine palace, Judd and Marie were greeted by two palace guards in armor heading directly toward them. The Pichu’s heart stopped as he heard one of the guards bark, “He has the staff! After him!”
“Run!” Marie exclaimed, not that this was necessary. The pair bolted in the opposite direction and took a left turn this time, only to find what they’d been dreading most.
Another pair of palace guards carried swords, pointing these swords directly at the two intruders. Judd gulped.
Is this it? Is this really where the mission ends? If we can’t get into the dungeon, then we can get at most…sixty points? I’ll be sweating bullets at the amphitheater tonight, that’s for sure.
“Well, well, well,” one of the guards announced with an angry sort of grin. “Here we have our intruders. They seemed to have dressed as Lady Ilene and Ash Ketchum.”
Another guard laughed dryly. “How did they possibly think they could fool us, especially when the male dressed as Lady Ilene? That just doesn’t work, pal!”
Judd shot Marie a dirty look, but the Vaporeon didn’t seem to notice. Fear was very evident on her face, probably too much fear to notice a mere glare from her partner.
“Laios, this is no laughing matter!” another guard bellowed. “We’re going to get that staff back if it’s the last thing we do!”
We’re cornered. I won’t accept this. I CAN’T accept this. God wants me to succeed!
As the guards readied their swords and spears, Marie shouted one word that made no sense in the absence of context.
“Clancy!”
The guard identified as Laios snorted. “I don’t know who Clancy is. But if he’s dead, then you’ll be joining him soon!”
Oh yeah. Clancy was the guy evicted last week. Why would Marie shout his name now? Because she’s worried we’re about to join him Elsewhere?
Judd could not think of anything to do besides stabbing the staff right into the ground. He didn’t know what he expected to happen as a result - a force field, perhaps, to drive the guards away? That would only be a temporary solution, whereas the problem would remain permanent.
To his utter shock, however, the ground beneath him and Marie vanished, and the pair plummeted into darkness.
Fortunately, they didn’t fall far, and their landing was cushioned by a pile of pillows. The staff bounced off one of the pillows before landing on the ground, nearly decapitating Marie in the process.
A few of the pillows had the face of a grinning, abundantly mustached man on them and were labeled as “My Pillow”, whatever that meant. But Judd wouldn’t question that, not when he and Marie were still alive.
“That was… wow ” Judd mouthed. “We survived!”
Marie glanced up at wherever they’d fallen from. The pathway had evidently been sealed - the corridor in which they’d been cornered was no longer visible.
“However we ended up here,” she muttered, “we’re probably not leaving the same way we came.”
“We can worry about that later,” Judd stated. “We’re in the dungeon. That’s another fifteen points for us, isn’t it?”
“Well, yes, if we did it perfectly” Marie replied. “But now we have to find Sobble and the secret exit.”
There was only one path leading away from the pillow pile, which opened onto a cavernous, dimly lit room with many yellow stripes providing the main source of illumination. The Vaporeon and Pichu followed this corridor into said room, upon which the door sealed shut behind them.
Marie flinched again, and then the Vaporeon curled up into a ball at the sight of the lines of electricity, clicking against one another with metallic popping sounds that occasionally reached a crescendo.
“I’m in my element here,” Judd said. “I’m an Electric-type, and this looks like an electric maze.”
But Marie still cowered before the walls of said electric maze, and it was then that Judd realized what frightened her so much.
“Oh wait,” he remarked softly. “You’re a Water-type, aren’t you?”
Marie didn’t even need to nod for the Pichu to remember that water and electricity were an incredibly dangerous combination. There was a reason electrical appliances came with warnings telling you not to use them near a sink or bathtub. Come to think of it, that was probably why they’d set a Vaporeon up with a Pichu - water is an excellent conductor of electricity.
Judd comforted himself, and tried to comfort Marie, by telling her this: “We’re at Jet Force Isekai. They’re not going to give us an impossible task.”
Marie shivered, flinching every few seconds at each crescendo. “Says who?”
“You told me that at the start of the mission” Judd told her. “And growing up in the church, I was taught that every lock has a key that will open it.”
“I don’t follow.”
“If there’s a need or desire for something,” the Pichu replied, “then there’s a way to make it happen. That’s why I believe in our ability to achieve salvation through Christ, not that there aren’t other reasons too.”
Marie briefly turned toward Judd and away from her fear. “That’s a silly argument. If I want to be able to fly, that doesn’t mean I suddenly have wings.”
Judd frowned, somehow certain that Marie had been thinking of a different example for her argument. But he didn’t pry.
“Look, Marie, what matters now is getting through this electric maze and finding Sobble. Crying won’t help you accomplish that.”
The Vaporeon briefly looked up from the floor, then returned to her cowering position. Judd stared at Marie, dumbfounded.
“How could you choke right now?” Judd asked, using a term often employed in the NFL (which governed America’s favorite team sport) when a player had a free touchdown or field goal and still managed to screw it up.
Marie was practically convulsing on the ground, so the Pichu reached out an arm to try and pull the Vaporeon to her feet.
“If I let you give up, we both fail. And I don’t plan on failing. Trust me, you’ve been through tougher times.”
“I know it’s not rational,” Marie mouthed softly, “but you just don’t understand. You can’t understand.”
“I know what a phobia is,” Judd replied. “And I’m going to help you through this. You just need to trust you when I say it’ll be alright.”
“Do you promise?” the Vaporeon stated in a far more conciliatory tone than Judd was used to hearing from her.
“I promise,” Judd stated. “In fact, I might swear by the Bible on it just to show how sincere I am.”
“That means nothing to me, but okay,” Marie muttered. “I’ll stand up.”
My Lord, please give Marie the strength to complete this challenge and rescue Sobble.
No answer from the big man upstairs was forthcoming, not that Judd had expected one. In the grand scheme of things, God surely had far more important matters to attend to.
With that, the pair began shuffling their way through the maze. The yellow electric currents that comprised the highly effective walls were transparent, making it difficult at times to know when they were at a dead end. Additionally, the staff Judd carried like a walking stick might well be an effective conduit for the sparks, so he kept it as far away from the walls as he could.
Every time the popping sounds got louder, Marie gasped. More than once, she froze up and didn’t move again for almost a minute, as Judd tried incessantly to galvanize her into action.
“There’s no pressure here, Marie,” Judd insisted. “It’s just like the hedge maze at the apple orchard. You know, that all-American ritual. Maybe there’ll be some cider donuts waiting for us at the end.”
Marie grunted at that, and Judd realized that maybe tempting Marie with a promise so clearly false was likely not the best move. But he could not invent a time machine and go to the past to redress that error - that was God’s job.
True to the definition of this word, the maze was rather confusing. After a while, Judd felt certain that they’d returned to the same position that they’d been in twice before.
“I don’t know where Sobble might be,” he mouthed. “Would he be in the center?”
“Why don’t you ask your God for help?” Marie snapped. “I’m sure He’d be more than willing to volunteer that information.”
Judd grimaced at that retort, for it was clearly sarcasm. Clearly, Marie had disrespected his faith on purpose, which seemed to run counter to their goal of working together. But then, last week’s mission had placed fire with ice; was water with electricity that much of a stretch?
After doubling back on themselves numerous times, the pair reached what was clearly the central podium of the maze. In the middle of this podium, there sat a creature resembling an overgrown blue and yellow tadpole. A Sobble.
The Sobble’s eyes were closed, and Judd could not tell whether the creature was asleep, unconscious, or just too frightened to view his surroundings. Nonetheless, the Pichu tapped the creature on the shoulder.
“It’ll be okay” the Pichu assured the Sobble, fervently hoping he could keep this promise. “We’ll get you out of here. There’s a secret entrance somewhere.”
“Hey, Judd,” Marie noted, “saying the secret entrance is somewhere might not be the most reassuring way to word things.”
“Right, sorry” Judd told the Sobble. “We’ll take you out of here and get you somewhere safe. Come here, Marie.”
The Vaporeon frowned. “Is that really necessary?”
“Well, we probably both have to be together to figure this out. Two minds are better than one, or so they say.”
Marie snorted. “You might think that,” she began weakly, still shivering, “but all you have to do is stab that staff into the ground. You just did it not long ago!”
Oh yeah, he thought. I did.
Both Judd and Marie grabbed one hand of the Sobble (who didn’t stir as a result, indicating he was either deeply asleep or unconscious), and Judd drove the staff home like a hammer pounding a nail. Sure enough, the electric labyrinth was no more.
Seconds later, the trio found themselves in the castle’s courtyard. For whatever reason, there were no guards visible, but that hardly reassured Judd. If he’d been in charge in the immediate aftermath of the castle being stormed by a pair of disguised intruders, he would have stationed guards everywhere for several days. Since Judd hardly wanted to be caught, he was very grateful that the staff of Cameran Palace had made such an oversight.
“What are we going to do with the Sobble?” Judd wondered aloud. “We can’t just leave him sleeping here. Should we take him to the nearest town?”
Marie narrowed her eyes. “What is the nearest town to Cameran Palace, anyway?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s right, Judd! You don’t know!”
Judd gasped. “Are you telling me I’m an ignorant simpleton who can’t be bothered to do the tiniest bit of research?”
“No!” Marie exclaimed. “Well, sometimes you are! But in this case, our task was just to rescue Sobble! Besides, you can’t put yourself in jeopardy all for the sake of this mission!”
“I thought that if we died in these missions, we just failed the mission! I didn’t know we died for real!”
“Failing the mission is still bad enough, because some think Elsewhere is a fate worse than death!”
“Whatever” Judd muttered. “We need to go back to the pavilion, don’t we?”
“Yes” Marie responded, her voice quaking. The Vaporeon panted heavily as she spoke the necessary phrase to reenter the ruins of Jet Force Isekai. “Dungeon duo” she mouthed breathlessly.
Just like that, the Vaporeon vanished into thin air, with no evidence whatsoever to indicate she’d been at Cameran Palace in the first place. And then Judd sighed, looking at the poor sleeping Sobble and wondering if they’d truly done the little tadpole-like creature a favor.
But he could not abandon Marie. “Dungeon duo” he said with a sigh.
The black results screen appeared in front of Judd’s face, along with the blocky white text that read as follows:
MISSION 2: DUNGEON DUO
YOU WERE: JUDD ASGARD (PICHU)
YOUR PARTNER WAS: MARIE EMERSON (VAPOREON)
OBJECTIVE 1: 18 OF 20 POINTS (2 POINTS DEDUCTED FOR LOSING DISGUISES IN TROPHY ROOM)
OBJECTIVE 2: 20 OF 20 POINTS - PERFECT!
OBJECTIVE 3: 18 OF 20 POINTS (2 POINTS DEDUCTED FOR SETTING OFF ALARM)
OBJECTIVE 4: 13 OF 15 POINTS (2 POINTS DEDUCTED FOR BEING CAUGHT)
OBJECTIVE 5: 10 OF 10 POINTS - PERFECT!
OBJECTIVE 6: 10 OF 10 POINTS - PERFECT!
TOTAL SCORE: 94 OF 100 POINTS - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Judd found himself smiling widely from ear to ear. They’d been given a mission considerably more complex than the one he’d received last week. And not only had he and Marie passed, fulfilling all the objectives, but Judd himself had come away with an even higher score than he’d had on “Don’t Buy The Farm”. For that, he had to hold his head high.
Once the black screen faded, however, Judd wasn’t smiling anymore.
He opened his eyes to find himself back in the dining pavilion. However, the air was thick with worry, which made no sense to Judd. He’d just blazed through his second Isekai adventure with flying colors, even if it had cost him some masculinity.
And then he saw that those who had also “woken up” from their simulation were all gazing squarely in one direction: At him.
Or rather, not at Judd, but instead at the young-woman-who-would-not-grow-old next to him. Marie Emerson, the elegant lady whom many Southern men no doubt wished to date, lay sitting and trembling on the ground.
“Marie, are you okay?” Judd gasped. She was clearly conscious, as evidenced by how much she was fidgeting, but the way she was almost convulsing made him worry.
Marie did not reply, instead facing the ground as she pulled herself into something akin to the “Downward Dog” yoga position. For a moment, Judd was convinced she would throw up, then collapse to the ground in a heap.
Both of those things did in fact happen, but not before Lucas the Lucario came rushing over to her side. “Marie!” he exclaimed. “What’s going on?”
Tears were filling the young woman’s eyes as Lucas rolled her onto her back. Now Marie faced the Lucario, and she was plainly distraught about something.
“Answer me, dammit!” Lucas bellowed, which elicited more than a few gasps from the rest of the audience.
“That is no way to speak to her!” announced a familiar voice from about ten yards away. Its bearer was a tall, curly-haired young man whom Judd knew immediately as Michael I.Z.A. “Mizar” Rainsford.
Mizar galloped to Marie’s side. The distraught young lady did not acknowledge him, but Mizar didn’t seem to care about that. He was furious with Lucas.
“You shouldn’t dismiss her fear like that!” Mizar all but shouted.
“She has to get over it,” the Lucario stated bluntly. “This wasn’t the first difficult mission she faced, and it certainly won’t be the last. Unless she wants to volunteer to leave in someone else’s place, that is.”
“Don’t put that in the air,” Mizar snapped. Looking right in Marie’s eyes, he stated “She belongs here as surely as I do.”
“Wait,” Judd asked. “What’s going on?”
Mizar looked up from Marie to address the question. “She’s having a panic attack. I’ll admit that without knowing what your mission entailed, I can’t be sure what caused it. But I am sure of one thing.”
Lucas shot Mizar a dirty look. “What’s that?”
“Talking about Marie as though she isn’t there, or dismissing what she’s going through, is highly disrespectful!” Mizar bellowed. “Trauma is something that has to be respected, even if you haven’t experienced it yourself. Especially if you haven’t!”
“Well, there’s no room to think about the past right now,” Lucas stated. “Quite frankly, the past is a weakness. The past will eat you alive if you let it.”
“She needs help,” Mizar stated. “She needs someone to listen to her, someone to tell her that her fears are valid.”
Marie’s nose was now thick with snot, her face drenched with tears. “I just…those sounds brought me back…CLANCY!”
There’s that name again. Clancy. Why does Marie keep mentioning the first person to get their torch snuffed since I arrived here?
“We’ll take her back to her cabin,” Lucas stated. “I would tell her to get a therapist, honey, but there are no therapists here at Jet Force Isekai. Down here you need to take care of your own feelings, thank you very much.”
“That’s just wrong,” Judd mouthed. “That is so wrong…”.
As Mizar helped Marie stand up and began leading her back to Cabin Gemini, Lucas narrowed his eyes at Judd. “Is that something you learned at church, Judd? Did your God tell you what’s right or wrong? If you need God to tell you right from wrong, then are you truly a moral creature?”
That question was akin to a stab right through the ribcage, puncturing Judd’s ribs, lung, and heart. It felt violating, like it was forcing itself upon Judd and taking away a central part of who he was.
“It doesn’t matter,” Judd replied through gritted teeth. Then, before he could stop himself, he said this: “Marie’s not a loser or sucker for having a panic attack. You’re the loser, Lucas. You’re the sucker.”
As soon as those words left his lips, Judd knew he would pay dearly for daring to utter them. He did not yet know how he would pay, just that Toriel et al had numerous ways to make him suffer for that wrong and would spare no mercy when they employed them. But that was okay, because Judd would do what was right, not what he was told.