----------------------------------------

Due to Artemis's rather sticky situation, she wasn't able—or willing—to get the Escape Orb from her bag. She seemed almost locked in place, stunned by the unpleasant hug. Silvally grabbed his Escape Orb, stepped closer to the duo, and shattered it in his grip. He was very thankful that it worked a short distance from other Pokémon.

The Grimer was eyeing him up too.

Reality shifted and twisted and warped, the random, ever-changing nature of the Mystery Dungeon brought to heel under the power of the Orb. Everything seemed to grow fuzzy, blurring out of focus, and then…

They were out. The sharp quality of the world snapped back into focus. The outskirts of Treeshroud Forest stood before them once more, the sparse trees providing a scant amount of shade from the warm afternoon sun. The sounds around them were clear, not twisted by the Dungeon—leaves fluttered and shifted, and Pokémon calls could be heard in the distance.

Artemis and Silvally both took deep, greedy breaths, trying to purge that horrific smell. It wasn't working. It seemed to cling to the inside of the nose and stubbornly refused to do anything other than make each breath a chore. Still, it was far better than the Dungeon—the scent didn't have anywhere to get trapped.

Silvally took several steps back, attempting to distance himself from the nightmare-inducing creature that was still suctioned to Artemis. It somehow managed to hug her even closer, the living sludge nestling against her middle.

Artemis's tails spasmed so hard that bark on the tree beside her came flying off. The fur on her forelegs was plastered down, coated in a thick, slimy helping of the baby Grimer's mass. After several long, agonizing seconds, the Grimer started to pull away.

Silvally couldn't watch.

Those thick, disgusting strings of sludge connected Artemis to the small creature as it backed up. It held her fur in thick clumps, and plastered itself to her underside and legs, leaving thick webs of purple goop on the poor fox. They stretched out further and further as the small Pokémon pulled itself away, until they snapped, just swinging back down to splatter into Artemis's fur again.

Artemis doubled over, eyes clenched, and snapped her mouth shut. A muscle spasm worked over the fox, and her cheeks ballooned outward briefly. Her paws curled, claws sinking into the ground, and her ears folded back, flat against her skull.

"Thank you, pretty fox!" the Grimer cheered. It was definitely on the younger side, and couldn't have been more than a few years old. Its small stature, high voice, and happy demeanour all pointed to a lost child.

Artemis, still hunched over, faced the child. With her eyes closed and mouth held shut, she slowly nodded several times. That seemed to satisfy the child, who whirled around to face Silvally, its whole expression growing cheerful again, arms outstretched.

Oh no.

Silvally looked away from the charging Grimer and toward Artemis. The fox gave a strained swallow and let out a horrific wheeze, her whole body shuddering. She slowly turned to Silvally, her face locked into an expression that just screamed "Save yourself!"

That, or "Kill me please!" It was quite hard to tell.

The little Grimer was seconds away now, and Silvally really didn't want to wind up like Artemis. He sprang away from the child and landed on all fours. His claws and talons sank into the ground, giving him traction, ready to leap away again.

The baby Pokémon slid to a stop and seemed confused. It turned to Silvally again and started to come closer, slower this time, a curious little burble escaping the living sludge. It oozed its way through the grass, little arms out, reaching toward Silvally.

As he watched the Pokémon approach, the grass sizzling and melting away behind it, Silvally knew for certain he didn't want to touch the creature. However, when he took another step back, the Pokémon slowed further, and its expression fell. Now it seemed hesitant, the little Grimer wandering just a little closer.

It was still just a child.

Artemis was too busy to help him out. She scraped her forelegs against trees, rocks, and grass, doing her best to smear the disgusting goop away. Unfortunately, it seemed to be slathering further into her fur. Frustrated, she sprawled out on the grass and wriggled around, flailing a little, trying to de-slime herself. However, when she stood up, the only change was the purple goo spread more thinly over her underbelly and up her sides, complete with grass and leaves clinging to her.

Silvally heard the desperate little growling whine that slipped from the fox. She needed to clean herself off, he didn't want to suffer the same fate, and the child needed to be comforted.

Thinking quickly, Silvally crouched down, and then bounded to the side, staying just out of reach of the Grimer. He lowered himself down toward the grass and crept his way closer, almost within touching distance.

"Over here," Silvally said, encouraging the child closer.

Confused, it started to ooze its way forward, hopeful. Its arms reached out once again, coming closer to Silvally. With a push he sprang over the baby Grimer, the horrific smell assaulting him and making his eyes water. Despite that, he managed to land gracefully on the other side. A quick whirl had him facing the child, and he dropped into another crouch, just out of reach again.

"Over here," Silvally goaded, his tone a little lighter.

Immediately, the child's…face? Goo? Sludge lit up in a beaming smile, and it surged forward again, arms outstretched, chasing after Silvally. He replied with a soft growl, trying to keep it lighter, indicating play, not a threat. It seemed to work, and the Grimer giggled with excitement, moving faster.

Silvally bounded back and away again, just far enough to encourage the child to chase him. He took a step back, then another, and just before Grimer could reach him, he jumped over it, landing on the other side.

There was something odd about watching a pair of eyes emerge on the other side of the goo, and a mouth form beneath it. It didn't have to turn around, it just simply faced the other way. Silvally held back the instinctive urge to wince—he was definitely not one to comment on what a Pokémon looked like.

Silvally kept himself angled toward Artemis as he hopped back and forth, side to side, letting the small Grimer chase after him. He wasn't sure if it'd be insulted by watching its rescuer desperately trying to scrape the remnants of its hug off her body.

Not that it seemed to be working at all. If anything, Artemis seemed to just smear the gunk deeper into her fur. Her underbelly was just plastered against her now, and her front paws were covered in it.

Thankfully, the baby Grimer didn't hear the muffled wail of despair Artemis let out. The child also missed the twin streams of fire shooting from her nose to burn away the smell. No, the child was far too engrossed in playing a very one-sided game of tag with Silvally. And, other than the impending threat of being hugged, Silvally was enjoying it as well. His smile grew further with every giggle and laugh that escaped the child.

Silvally lost sight of Artemis after a minute of play, keeping the child distracted. Not that the little Grimer had any interest in going after the boring fox when there was a very excitable and playful Pokémon in front of him. The child seemed intent on catching Silvally and refused to quit.

It took a few minutes of hard… Gooping? Sliding? Sludging? Movement, to make the child start to slow down. Its mass inflated and deflated with each 'breath' it took. Though, once again, how that worked was a mystery. The Pokémon didn't even seem to have organs beyond eyes—not if the way it slid itself around Artemis's legs said anything, at least.

Another minute of play was all the Grimer could handle. It kind of just… sagged to the ground and slowly spread out, its eyes floating to the middle of its body to look upward. The grass sizzled and smoked around it, but the child didn't even seem to care. Or maybe it was used to it.

Or maybe it enjoyed causing torment to nature. Children were hard to understand—living goo was harder.

Silvally stepped forward, cautious, in case it was some ploy to finally catch him. When nothing happened, he crept a little closer, legs tense, ready to spring away in an instant. Other than a half-hearted little wave of a goopy-looking arm toward his general direction, the Grimer remained nothing more than a puddle on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Silvally asked. He breathed through his mouth—he could taste the smell, there was no hope—and loomed over the small Pokémon, blocking out the sun.

The Grimer gave an exhausted "mhm" and blinked up at him, one eye closing slower than the other. An arm formed from the goopy mass and reached up toward him, before falling back into the slime with a wet plop.

Satisfied, Silvally backed away and sat down. After a moment of thought he pulled an Oran berry from his bag. A gentle toss sent the berry in a lazy arc, the large berry bouncing off the ground. It rolled forward through the grass, coming to a stop just at the edge of the Grimer's sludge. The way the child slowly shifted its eyes to the berry was uncomfortably similar to how it looked at him earlier.

He didn't like that. Not at all.

The child oozed its way to the berry, and just… slid over it. The lump of Oran just seemed to melt away under the Pokémon's mass. Almost immediately the Grimer sprang upward, its body bouncing up and down from the sudden movement like a jittery flan.

Silvally couldn't help but smile at the sight of the beaming child.

Unfortunately, the moment wouldn't be able to last. Familiar footsteps caught his attention, and Silvally turned his back to the Grimer, facing the fox. He was expecting many things, like a somehow miraculously clean Artemis, or maybe a little success on the cleaning front. He wasn't expecting… that.

"Don't ask," Artemis bit out. "Let's just… Let's just go. Please."

Somehow, she looked even worse than before. Flecks of purple were in her tails now, the fluff on one of her cheeks was slicked straight back against her face, and, worst of all, was the fur on her head. It spiked upward, caked with purple gunk, in a straight ridge of fur all the way back, from her forehead to the base of her neck.

It was actually quite impressive.

Silvally blinked once, twice, and paused. He opened his mouth, then snapped it closed again. A talon raised, one of those fingers lifted, and then he stopped again. Questioning an angry fox was a bad idea.

But… His curiosity was too great, and his mood after playing and exerting himself was too relaxed. He needed to know.

"How?" Silvally asked.

Artemis's eye twitched, and her tails gave an aggravated whirl behind her. Without a word, she raised one of her forelegs and splayed out her paw. That horrible gunk continued to ooze and cling to her, stringing between her toes.

Silvally's gaze shifted to the left, over her shoulder. Behind her was an absolute warzone between herself and the sludge. Purple was smeared across the trees, on rocks, and on the ground. Several fires burned across the grass and some trees, while patches of ice lay scattered across the ground.

Clearly, she'd lost that fight.

"Pretty fox!" Grimer popped up beside the duo.

Artemis sprang away in a manner that reminded Silvally of startled cat Pokémon. Legs splayed out in all directions, back arched, tails poofed to the limit. She landed and cleared her throat, immediately trying to restore her graceful image.

The mohawk, purple fur, and extremely fluffy tails didn't quite help.

"Are you gonna take me home?" the Grimer asked. It slid forward excitedly, its form wobbling about.

Artemis stepped forward and leaned closer to the child, flashing it a smile. "We are! Your dad is waiting at the guild for you." She took a couple steps back, and turned, pointing her nose in the direction of Treasure Town. "It's going to be a long walk. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yep! I don't have feet, so I won't get tired!" the Grimer cheered. It demonstrated this by lifting its goopy form. Well, it tried to. It struggled to show off the blatant lack of feet, with its sludge just pouring in to fill the mass that was removed. Silvally was sure the child fell over at least twice in the attempt, but there wasn't any way to tell. "See?"

They didn't see, for there was nothing to see.

"I see... That's pretty cool," Artemis said. Her eyes flicked to Silvally, and she subtly shook her head. "Ready to go?"

"Yup!"

Silvally took several measured steps back, placing himself behind the Grimer to keep an eye on things, and allowed Artemis to take point. The fire-ice fox glanced behind herself and couldn't help wincing, which went completely unnoticed by the baby Grimer—it was having the time of its life.

"We're on a adventure," the Grimer giggled.

"We are, just remember to stay with us, okay?" Artemis fixed the child with a look.

"Kay!"

And thus, they set off. The three Pokémon started their way across the open plains that lead toward Treasure Town. It would unfortunately be quite a long walk. Something that would take hours, even if they didn't stop. The Grimer was just a little too young to keep up with anything other than a meander forward, so they had to settle for a slower pace.

At least there was a breeze—it kept the smell to a minimum. The sun was warm, insects and birds flitted around, and it was altogether a rather pleasant time of the day.

So, they walked. And they strolled. And wandered, and stepped, and sauntered, and marched, and treaded. They padded forward, they shuffled, and they ambled. The three waddled, and moseyed, and trudged their way through the tall grass. One could describe Artemis's graceful movements as a sashay of sorts, while Grimer oozed along, and Silvally plodded along behind them. Their group shambled and toddled along, Treasure Town still hours away. They paraded their way through the grasslands, keeping pace with the child that sloshed its way along the open plains.

"My feet hurt!"

They stopped.

It had been ten minutes.

"I thought you didn't have feet?" Artemis asked.

"What feet?" Silvally asked at the same time.

Artemis turned around and tilted her head, gazing at the child. Silvally watched the little Grimer as well. The young Pokémon, meanwhile, glanced down at its… mass, and then turned its attention to Silvally. When there was nothing said by the fun and playful one of the pair, it turned to Artemis.

Still nothing.

…

"My feet hurt!" Grimer whined again.

Artemis huffed a sigh through her nose and nodded. "Alright, we'll take a short break and then keep going, okay?" She sat herself down rather forcefully and took a breath. Her gaze flicked down to her gooped fur, and she winced, turning her attention elsewhere.

Silvally did the same, taking a few steps away and watching another direction. He would keep watch while the kid recovered. Once they were going, he was going to see if he could entice the child to chase after him again. He knew it could go faster if it wanted to.

"Can… Can you carry me?"

…

"Pleeeaaassee?"

How living sludge managed to give them eyes as wide and soulful as it did would forever go down in the history books as one of the greatest mysteries to never be solved.

"Yeah, alright," Artemis huffed. Instead of approaching the little Pokémon, she merely turned to face it. A small pink platform bloomed into existence, flattening the grass beneath. "Hop on."

It was the Grimer's turn to look apprehensive. It slid forward and looked at the pink sheet, before curling in on itself and quickly backing away. Grimer shook its head and retreated further, nearly colliding with Silvally.

"Dad said stay away from glowy things. Said they hurt," the Grimer explained, shaking its 'head'. The movement just made the creature jiggle and ripple again, bouncing around like the boneless sludge it was.

"Oh, right, silly me." Artemis flashed the Pokémon a smile, though her tails thrashed against the ground hard enough to feel through the dirt. "Um…" Her eyes flicked to Silvally, and then back to the Grimer. "Sure thing! We just need to figure out how to do that, 'kay?"

"Okay!" Grimer perked up again, a big goopy smile on its face.

The smile on Artemis's face dropped once she was turned away from the Grimer. Silvally angled to meet her, measured steps carrying him toward a spot a short distance from the topic of conversation. The duo met up, angled away from the little Pokémon, a little closer than they normally stood with one another.

"Shit," Artemis huffed. Silvally had to agree. "Okay, what's the plan?" She glanced at Silvally, blinked, and nodded. "Right, sorry. Okay, so, Grimer won't get on the psychic platform."

Silvally nodded.

"And we can't just put them in one of our bags. It'll ruin everything in there."

Silvally nodded.

"I keep my bag full of supplies. Do you have enough room for it all?"

Silvally shook his head.

"Alright. Do you have any rope? We could make a sled from a tree, or with ice."

Silvally shook his head again.

"Crap. Can you do that type-shifting thing and make vines?"

And again.

"Fuck… One of us is going to have to carry Grimer then, aren't we?"

Silvally nodded.

"Right. Right, of course. Okay. This is fine. Definitely, totally, completely fine."

The way Artemis's ears folded back and her tails dropped told him that it was decidedly not fine. She had to have a thing about her fur and being clean. There was that mud trap that had dirtied her, and she'd been miserable all day. She was always careful about avoiding puddles and water when they were out. And now, with her reaction to getting Grimer goop in her fur… Well, it wasn't hard to make the connection.

Silvally clenched his jaw, an unpleasant resignation settling within him.

Artemis had been patient and kind today. She was acting out of character and it almost seemed to be actively trying to be nice. It was so weird, so not-Artemis, that Silvally occasionally thought that someone else took her place while he slept. The idea wasn't impossible either, considering the strange Pokémon he'd seen out in the wild. But he found it unlikely that this wasn't Artemis. She was just too… herself. He didn't think it possible to copy her Artemis-ness. She was just, apparently, trying to be nice.

He might as well return the favour and put a little more positivity between himself and Artemis's anger. In whatever weird, uncomfortable, unpleasant manner this would end up being. Already he was regretting the decision, and he hadn't even voiced it. But as a show of good faith, he was going to try.

Nothing was going to change unless he was willing to try.

"I'll do it," Silvally and Artemis said at the same time. They both blinked twice and tilted their heads in the same direction. Silvally's gaze flicked away, breaking the mirrored motions.

"What?" Artemis asked. One of her ears tilted to the side, and three of her tails gave a hesitant quiver.

"I'll do it." He grimaced as he said this, resigning himself to his fate.

"Oh, thank Arceus." Artemis let out a relieved sigh, and her mood visibly improved. Her tails flowed happily, her ears perked up, and she stood taller, more relaxed. Then, she paused. She blinked, and tilted her head, her excitement dying almost as quickly as it came. "Are… are you sure? You don't like being touched, and my fur is already ruined. It's really not a big deal…" Despite her words, her body didn't mirror the same sentiment. Artemis winced, and her tails fell. She probably didn't realize just how expressive she was with her body language.

"I'm sure." Silvally nodded. This is what he was trying to do anyway, right? Not aggravate her, follow the rules, and return the kindness that was shown to him. It made sense logically. That he hated being touched; the idea of that Grimer sitting on his back where he couldn't properly reach… It didn't matter, even though it made his skin crawl.

This was a child that needed to go home—he could put up with a little discomfort. It's not as if he was being forced to do it.

Silvally turned with Artemis, the two stepping closer to the Grimer, who, it turned out, could run just fine. Hissing trails of slime and dead grass looped around a nearby rock, and the child was laughing to itself the whole time, working on spreading the circle of death with each pass.

What a lovely child. And he'd offered to carry it.

Fun.

The walk back to the child felt like he was approaching his doom. His horrible, sticky, smelly doom.

Grimer lit up when it saw Artemis and Silvally approaching, ending its torture of the landscape. It sloshed and wobbled its way forward, far faster than the pace it had set during their walk.

Silvally eyed the sizzling grass and winced. This was going to suck.

Careful maneuvering of his talons and a toss of his head freed his Treasure Bag, allowing it to hit the ground with a thud. Silvally glanced at Artemis, and then at the child, before slowly, hesitantly, lowering himself to the ground. The grass against his middle was somewhat soothing, and the familiar feel of dirt in his talons helped.

"Okay, we figured it out," Artemis said, stepping forward to meet the little Grimer—and placing herself between it and Silvally. It slowed its charge, and slid to a halt, looking between the duo. "He's going to carry you, but you need to go slow, and you can't move around too much. Okay?"

"'Kay!" The Grimer ignored Artemis entirely and oozed forward at a terrifying rate of speed.

Silvally braced himself. Hopefully, this wouldn't be like last time when one was actively trying to eat him. Artemis seemed… fine. So, it stood to reason he would be too. It would just take a lot of baths in the river, and scrape himself raw on trees to remove everything. He took a breath, preparing himself for the contact.

It was for the lost kid. He was going to take it home. He was going to help. It was the right thing to do.

He was expecting something more solid than gooey. But instead, what hit him felt like a living pile of snot. It sank into his fur and oozed its way across his skin, the sickeningly warm goop spreading its way across his back, growing heavier with each moment. It snaked its way up his body, crawling along his spine, and spread out further.

Silvally did his absolute best to remain still, though he couldn't help the little jolt forward and the barely restrained gag. His stomach was doing its best to simultaneously keep everything clamped down, and expel it fast enough to make a Rapidash jealous.

"I know," Artemis whispered, standing in front of him. She grimaced in what Silvally hoped was sympathy, and not because it felt like that disgustingly warm goo was oozing its way down his sides.

"'Kay! I'm ready!" the Grimer exclaimed. It gave an excited little wiggle on top of Silvally, sinking into his fur, and really making sure it was settled into place.

That single motion was almost enough to make him break right then and there.

Silvally wasn't ready for this trip. Not at all.

~{O}~{O}~{O}~

It turned out Grimer was a talker when they got going. It didn't seem to grasp the concept that, when Pokémon were sprinting across the landscape and breathing heavily, they didn't really have the air to waste on idle conversation. That didn't seem to stop the child though, who kept babbling on and on about various adventures and trips its dad went on, all the places and Pokémon they'd met. That, and whatever else seemed to catch its attention for more than two seconds.

Like that bird.

And that funny rock.

Oh, and that cloud that looked just like his dad, hat and all.

Grimer was just like any other excitable child—this one just had the consistency of a thick sneeze and loved physical contact. Clearly, this was a creation pulled straight from Artemis's worst nightmares.

By the time they'd reached the guild, Artemis and Silvally were just tired and miserable. She was pretty sure the Grimer had poisoned them, but it was impossible to tell when they just felt sick and gross already. Her fur was a mess, her nose simply hurt, and all dignity she'd had was lost as soon as she stepped into the guild.

The stunned looks and the laughter they were met with didn't help Artemis's mood. However, when the smell of Grimer washed over the amused Pokémon, her attitude improved.

Slightly.

Several Pokémon immediately keeled over and gagged, while others turned tail and booked it into the open air, or dove out a window.

She'd caused her fair share of Pokémon to go through windows before. This was the first time she didn't have to touch- Wait, no, there was that one with Psychic. Aaanndd that other one when she grinned a little too wide and the poor criminal damn near pissed itself. This was the first time she didn't even need to scare a Pokémon to leap out of a window, however. She could start a new tally with that specification now.

The walk to Wigglytuff's office was met with horrified stares and a very clear and empty path straight down, which was appreciated. Artemis didn't need anyone else seeing her like this. She had appearances to keep, dammit.

Silvally wasn't faring much better. She'd noticed that he was closer to her now and hadn't even realized he was within touching distance of her tails. The poor guy looked downright miserable. His eyes were half-shut, his ears had fallen flat, and his crest and tail were pretty droopy. Then there was his fur… Oh Arceus, his fur. It was caked down, almost his entire back covered in the Grimer slime because it wouldn't stop moving. It dripped down his sides, coated his belly, and oozed down his legs. It looked like some even managed to get onto his head feathers, his cheek, and his tail.

Artemis knew she wouldn't have been able to stand that for a second, let alone almost an hour. It was damn impressive.

As they walked down the stairs the familiar, annoying chuckle of Toxicroak met her ears. Artemis shot him a scathing look, to which he only raised his hands and closed his mouth, still laughing quietly. Of course, it had to be Toxicroak. He was going to torment her about this every time they talked, she knew it.

A huff of steamy breath escaped her nose, and she turned her attention to the Guildmaster's door. The psychic energy that coated the doors was punctuated with a sharp growl, and she shoved them open, frustration coming to the forefront.

Silvally must be exhausted, he didn't even flinch.

The inside of Wigglytuff's office never really changed. Jagged walls, creeping vines, a mix of grass and rock as the flooring, and, most importantly, open windows. Not that they were helping all that much. It seemed as though anything even remotely enclosed wound up trapping the smell.

Chatot, that cheeky little fuck, was very happily watching the proceedings near the windows. Or, he was. When Artemis opened the doors Chatot jumped, and his eyes widened as if he hadn't been expecting them.

Wigglytuff seemed as though he didn't even care about the revolting smell radiating from the large Muk in his office.

As for Artemis and Silvally? Well, Artemis had gone nose-blind at some point, and all that she could smell was pain. Maybe a little blood. Idly, she swiped a tail across her nose and found that if she was bleeding, it was internal—where the blood was supposed to be. At least there wasn't anything else she needed to clean from her fur.

Silvally didn't react when they walked into the room either. He was likely just as numb to everything as she was. Maybe worse off, considering his passenger, and the way he seemed to be struggling forward.

"Ah! There you are! You two are the fastest yet, I'm very impressed. I wasn't expecting you for another six hours at least!" The Muk seemed to be rather jovial, his voice accentuated by bubbling and burbling—almost as if he was partially submerged when talking. The Pokémon appeared to be well off, if the clothing he wore meant anything. Somehow, the white button-up shirt stayed clean on him, and the monocle remained affixed to his face despite the rolling goo. Even the fancy top hat he wore was spotless, sitting on that shifting pile of sludge like it belonged.

Artemis glanced down at her ruined fur, and her internal temperature spiked. That wasn't fair, not in the slightest. She wanted forever clean fur…

"Daddy!" the Grimer child exclaimed. "I missed you!" It slid off Silvally's back and splattered on the ground, sending another heavy splash of goop onto Silvally and Artemis. They didn't flinch. A little bit even landed on Wigglytuff's foot, but other than a little twitch of his eye, he didn't react.

"Kastur Nidor Foetidus the Third, did you make them carry you all the way back?" At those words, the Grimer flinched, and a sheepish look crossed its face. "We talked about this. If you want to play out there, you need to walk back. That's poor manners. I will not raise a lazy child."

Fucking what? Play!?

"Sorry, Daddy…" the Grimer, Kastur, murmured. It slid its way forward, angled down a little, looking at the floor.

"No, don't apologize to me. Apologize to the lovely Pokémon that brought you back. You know you could have poisoned them, or accidentally melted their skin."

It knew? Wait, melted their skin!?

Artemis glanced at Silvally.

"I, uh… Sorry, Miss Pretty Fox. Sorry Mister Explorer." The Grimer looked up at the two of them, its expression hopeful. It even had its 'hands' clasped, looking at them with wide eyes. A Grimer begging for forgiveness was not an endearing sight.

"Mhm," Artemis hummed. She didn't trust herself to say anything else. She could feel the steam starting to wisp off her fur, and felt her paws growing warm.

"I'm terribly sorry, Artemis, Silvally. Kastur knows it shouldn't be asking for rides. I personally know just how difficult it is to work grime out of fur coats. Why, I even had to make my own cleaning solution for it. Terrible hassle, really. But, it kickstarted my business." The father of the nightmare child slid forward and picked up the Grimer, holding it upright. "And you. What happened to your clothes? Did you eat them again?"

"… Maybe?"

"That's the third set this month. What am I going to do with you?"

"Let me not wear them?" Kastur asked hopefully.

"We talked about this. We need to be upstanding members of the community and set a good example. Can you imagine what folks would say if you were running around in the nude? It would tarnish our image."

Artemis blinked. Her tails thrashed. Her claws sank into the solid stone below and carved out grooves with a horrendous screech. She didn't move and tried to remain composed. The steam rolling off her body and the smoke from her back paws setting the grass on fire announced her mood exceptionally well.

Apparently, the Muk didn't notice, or perhaps didn't care, that Artemis was nearly frothing at the mouth. He seemed content explaining to his child the perils of high society and the importance of one's appearance.

Right in front of them. The two Pokémon his child had covered in potentially acidic goo. The one that had ruined her fur after she spent so much time cleaning the mud out of it.

Artemis's eye twitched, and her paw sank into the stone floor, melted stone planting a permanent reminder of her fury in the Guildmaster's floor.

"Well, I suppose we should be off." The Muk turned himself around to face Wigglytuff. "It was lovely catching up with you, Guildmaster. You as well, Specialist Chatot. You two are wonderful company as always, and I'll make sure to send a little extra something on the next shipment." The Muk turned to face Silvally and Artemis, giving them a big, goopy smile. "And you two! I must thank you again for retrieving my child in such a quick manner. Chatot always picks the best Pokémon for the job."

…

Artemis slowly turned her head, shifting to the right, eyes sweeping to the aforementioned Pokémon. Chatot let out a startled squawk when their eyes met, and hopped back toward the window.

"Yep! Chatot is super smart!" Wigglytuff finally spoke up. Artemis had forgotten he was there. He just stood there. Smiling. Staring. "He's the best."

"Indeed. Again, I'm terribly sorry for the shenanigans my child caused. I'll be sure to include extra compensation and leave it with Miss Kangaskhan at the Depot. As for your fur, the water in the bath hall should be more than capable of removing the grime, I made sure of that. Though…" The Muk squinted, the sludge covering part of his monocle as he did. "I believe I have several sets of Loppe's Finest Brushes that went unpaid on this shipment. I think you might put them to good use—I'll leave a set at the Depot as well. Do you have a team name I should address everything to?"

"A-actually, Mr. Foetidus," Chatot spoke up, "Artemis is just paired with the outlaw to ensure he completes his community service." The bird seemed to pause and realize how bad that sounded. His eyes widened and his wings flapped several times. "N-Not that your child was in any danger! Artemis is a skilled explorer and the outlaw is perfectly docile! In fact, many town residents witnessed-"

"I trust your judgement, Chatot, you haven't failed me yet." The Muk, Mr. Foetidus, looked at Silvally again. "Besides, no bad Pokémon would willingly carry my child for as long as he did."

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Chatot seemed to preen at that, standing taller, a satisfied look on his beak. Artemis could feel her anger slowly fading away—or maybe it was just boiling away with the melted rock beneath her paws.

Something bothered her though. Nothing about the apparently wealthy business Pokémon who seemed fine dropping his kid off in a mystery dungeon to 'play.' No, something about what Chatot said irked her, and she couldn't figure out why. It itched at the back of her mind and pulled at that immense guilt just barely concealed by her annoyance.

"Artemis, Silvally," Mr. Foetidus gained their attention. "If you ever find yourselves tiring of exploration work, come see me in Sahara City, or ask for me at one of my inns. I would be more than happy to hire upstanding Pokémon like yourselves."

Artemis was caught off guard, confusion swirling in her mind. She didn't plan on quitting exploration work ever, but now this random Pokémon was offering to hire them? After one job? Granted, it was a rough job, and rather personal to him, but still. Were all rich Pokémon this odd?

Silvally looked just as confused. Even in his exhausted state, his ears stood taller, and he took a half-step back. He seemed unsure, and Artemis couldn't blame him. This whole thing was just weird. She had questions.

Her eyes shifted back to Chatot. She knew just who to ask.

"We'll have to take our leave now. Kastur needs clothing and its Skuntank tablets. I think this batch was the best yet. Not too shabby if I do say so myself." A literal bubbly laugh oozed from the Pokémon, deep and jovial.

"I'll come with you!" Wigglytuff spoke up. "I don't want to say goodbye just yet."

"Very well, your company is always appreciated. Come along, Kastur, we're going back to the boats."

The Muk and Wigglytuff made their way between Artemis and Silvally, moving for the open doors. Kastur, the Grimer, sludged its way along as well, following behind the two adults. It waved goodbye to both Artemis and Silvally—it was endearing, in a way. If a demon-child could be endearing, that is.

And they left Chatot behind.

Artemis grinned, her tails giving a predatory flick.

"Wh- Wait! G-Guildmaster, I'd like to come too!" Chatot squawked and tried to make his way forward.

Artemis fanned out her tails, blocking the doors and preventing the bird from leaving. Silvally stood on the other side, unintentionally blocking the other half of the exit. He didn't seem to be trying to stop the bird. Instead, Chatot appeared wary of approaching him.

"It's okay, Chatot! You can keep our other friends company," Wigglytuff said. "I'm sure they have a bunch of questions. You're the best at explaining things. You can help them!" There was a subtle, playful lilt to his voice that hadn't been there before.

Artemis glanced back through the gap in her tails and looked at the retreating form of Wigglytuff. He was walking backwards, watching the proceedings take place. Artemis couldn't be sure, but his smile looked ever-so-slightly wider than before.

"Wait! Guildmaster! D-don't leave me here!"

…

There was no response from Wigglytuff.

Artemis's gaze snapped forward.

Chatot fluttered his wings and took several large hops back, making his way across the room at a rather impressive speed. Unfortunately, he wasn't faster than Artemis's Ice Beam. A stream of ice shot out and covered one window. Chatot made a desperate lunge for the other window, but that too was covered in seconds.

Despite her exhaustion, and her immense desire to just put this all behind her and go clean up, something felt off about all of this. Intentional. Especially because it was Chatot who gave them the request.

"Where are you going?" Artemis asked. "Aren't you going to answer our questions?" She stalked forward, her fangs glimmering with cold, each breath out turning to a thick fog that dispersed along the rocky floor.

She'd keep the theatrics down for Silvally. Scaring him was the last thing she wanted to do right now—Arceus knew he was already traumatized enough. That, and she didn't really have the energy to play things up anyway.

No, terror was only for Chatot.

"Wait! Wait, Artemis. H-hold on a second." Chatot hopped back into a corner, and looked around, eyes glancing up at the ceiling. His wings spread, attempting to fly over her and make his escape.

Not gonna happen.

A lance of ice raced out of her jaws and caught Chatot in the leg, freezing him to the ground. He flailed and flapped and squawked in outrage—and likely fear—while trying his best to escape. He wasn't having any luck though; the ice didn't budge.

Chatot was stuck.

Artemis put on a tired smile and sat down in front of the bird. Just a nice smile. A calm smile. A look that radiated pure malice and contempt for the Pokémon in front of her, thinly pasted over with a quirk of her lips and a little squint of her eyes. That was all the effort she was going to put into it.

"N-now Artemis, there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for all this!" Chatot struggled some more, even trying to beat his wings against the ice to free himself. He still wasn't having any luck. "I, er, I can explain!"

"Then start," she ordered.

"W-well, Mr. Foetidus is a close friend and partner of the guild. H-he's rather important, and ships a lot to and from Treasure Town."

"Mhm. I figured that part out already." Artemis leaned in a little closer and huffed, a puff of steam escaping her nose and blowing into Chatot's face, causing the bird to flinch. "Why was his kid out there?"

"He just came back from a delivery to Shaymin Village. He always leaves his child in that forest."

"Why?"

"He told me Kastur gets bored on the long trip! And! There's no danger because it's impossible to concentrate enough to use Psychic. H-He and his child consume Skuntank tablets, it makes their odour overwhelming." Chatot had long stopped trying to escape now. He stood as still as he could, answering the questions to the best of his ability. At least until the ice melted—she had time.

"We noticed," Artemis growled. "You said it was urgent. Explain."

"It was! Mr. Foetidus needs to leave by sunset. It was much less time than we usually have to retrieve his child. You were clearly the best choice for it! You're significantly faster and more skilled than the recruits! Than all the Pokémon who reside in the guild!"

Artemis narrowed her eyes. He was trying to flatter her. She knew he wanted her to relax and let him go. There was another thing. His eyes. Chatot was trying far too hard to maintain eye contact—it was intentional. He was getting uncomfortable. With the windows blocked, there was no fresh air, and Chatot was starting to find this out the hard way.

"You're hiding something." Artemis huffed another breath of steam at Chatot, making the bird splutter. "Let's just get this over with."

"Wh-what!? I would never! That's the whole truth-"

"Chatot."

"…"

Artemis leaned in closer, nose-to-beak with the aging bird. Sharp, narrow, blazing red eyes were locked onto his, and there was nowhere else for Chatot to look.

She growled. "Talk."

"… Alright! Fine! I… I was hoping you would be stuck babysitting the child for a few hours! That's all!"

"Why?" Artemis pulled back, sitting upright once more.

"Why!? You, you foisted the responsibility of babysitting the outlaw onto me, and took off! I have much more important things to do than that." Chatot huffed and glared up at Artemis. "I was hoping you would be stuck with a talkative child for several hours. The foul smell was just extra punishment. I didn't intend for… this." He gestured toward Artemis's fur.

…

Artemis stood up and turned away, her tails a flurry of movement, battering Chatot several times over as she stepped away.

"Wait, what!? Th-That's it?" Chatot asked. "You're not mad?"

"Nope," Artemis said.

She walked back to the door and glanced at Silvally, the poor guy still just covered in slowly drying grime. He didn't seem to be in pain, just exhausted and done with the day. He watched everything quietly, a neutral expression on his face. That or he was too tired to care.

She'd make this quick. After all, her fur was already a mess, a little more wouldn't hurt. Not much, at least.

"Well, that's very mature of you. I'm surprised, hehe! I thought you'd-" One of Artemis's tails snaked out, dipping itself into the puddle of sludge left behind. "Wh-what are you doing?" Chatot visibly grew nervous.

"Why would I be mad?" Artemis turned around and gestured with her tail, the end dripping with that horrible sludge. "Accidents happen."

"N-Now you stop right there. Don't come any closer!" Chatot started to panic, flapping and fluttering desperately, tugging at his frozen leg with all his strength.

But Artemis prowled closer.

And closer.

Her claws clicked on the stone as she approached. If she had more energy, she'd have layered on the theatrics to really make Chatot squirm. Her other tails dragged behind her, while the one remained poised, ready to strike.

"Stop this instant! I'm warning you! If you-"

Artemis mustered up enough energy to snap her tail forward with perfect accuracy, striking Chatot on the beak—right in front of the little spot where he breathed through his nose. It was just a dab, spread out so that there was no risk of it dripping.

"Oops." She flashed him a smile. Artemis wiped her tail on the ground near Chatot, making sure there was no mercy.

Chatot's eyes widened and he flailed, trying to hold his breath. Artemis just fixed him with a stare and took several steps back. She waited, watching the bird slowly lose to the natural urge to breathe. Chatot tried to wipe it away with his wings, but it just smeared into his feathers and over more of his beak.

There was no escape from his punishment.

Then, Chatot took a deep, desperate breath. His eyes widened further, and he reeled back as if he'd been punched, a sickly gag and gasp escaping the bird.

"You'll get used to it. The ice will melt in…" Artemis leaned in, and blew a frosty breath over the chunk of ice, causing it to grow, encasing Chatot's other leg as well. "A few hours," she said, quoting his earlier words.

Chatot heaved, trying to struggle against the ice to the best of his abilities between disgusting gags and gasps. "Artemis, you- I'm going to-" he paused to hold back his lunch again, a sickly wet sound escaping him.

Artemis just walked away. There was no more need to torment the bird, she'd had her revenge and Chatot was going to suffer the fate he tried to trick her and Silvally into. Yet, somehow, the two of them still had it worse than Chatot did.

Though she was immensely satisfied that she'd turned the tables on Chatot, it did little to stem her bubbling anger. Having her fur ruined and dealing with all this because someone let their kid play in a Mystery Dungeon? Risking poison and actual harm because a child didn't want to walk? The sneaky little ploy Chatot played out? If she weren't so tired she'd be furious.

"Let's go get cleaned up," Artemis huffed. She walked closer to Silvally and paused at their established distance.

A shallow nod was his only response.

Artemis was starting to regret not going straight to get the gunk washed off of them. Sure, she felt gross and angry and awful, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She figured that Silvally would feel the same. After all, he wasn't in pain or anything, so that whole 'melting skin' thing wasn't a concern. They were just gross and tired and miserable.

"Come on. We're taking the rest of the day off. Maybe tomorrow too." Artemis stepped around the remnants of the sludge and left Wigglytuff's office. The heavy, familiar, inconsistent sound of Silvally's walk met her ears, following behind her.

Now she was looking forward to a nice long soak. Just let her mind go blank for a little while, destress, and stop worrying about all this for a few hours. She'd had enough of everything for today.

If anything else tried to stop her from cleaning off, she was going to lose it.

As an afterthought, Artemis closed Wigglytuff's doors. The loud thud covered Chatots's sickened noises and frustrated shouts, leaving nothing but blissful silence.

~{O}~{O}~{O}~

They'd managed to secure themselves a spot in the back corner of the bath hall, in one of those smaller water basins separated from the central pool. It mimicked the appearance of a hot spring Silvally had stumbled upon once, though it was far more advanced. At least the rocks around it offered some measure of privacy, as did the isolated corner.

If he were in a better state of mind, he might have been looking into how it all worked. What the giant metal container on the ceiling was, where the water came from, why it never seemed to stop flowing, and how it didn't overflow. As it was, Silvally was barely coherent enough to even think.

All of his concentration was put into making sure he didn't fall over. The walls spun around him wildly, lurching in a new direction every time his eyes shifted. His talons and paws felt as if they were falling through the floor—it looked much closer than it actually was and rippled as much as the water did.

"Fucking- No one cleans out these shitty brushes."

Artemis's words caught his attention, and Silvally glanced at her. He immediately regretted it, the walls lurching and the floor threatening to buck him to the side. Widening his stance, he took a breath, doing his best to just remain upright.

"Whatever, I'm sick of this." Artemis moved away from the wall containing a variety of brushes and cleaning supplies—every side pool had its own section—and hurled the various cleaning instruments into the water. Her Treasure Bag fell to the floor with a dull thump, and she seemed to be fiddling with a lever of some kind. Apparently, she was satisfied, and she leapt into the pool with a tremendous splash. It took several long seconds for her to resurface.

"Oh, Arceus…" she purred. "Fuck yes. Finally." Artemis dunked herself under the water again and came up soaked, fur plastered to her body, and a satisfied smile on her face. "I can already feel my fur coming loose." Her tails floated up and around in the water, a fluffy-looking cloud surrounding her.

Silvally followed suit as quickly as he dared, dropping the bag from his jaws, which hit the floor with a much louder thud. Hopefully, he didn't dent the floor. Careful steps turned him toward what he believed to be the stairs that lead into the basin and tentatively lowered a talon in, trying to feel out the step beneath the surface of the water.

"It's not hot," Artemis spoke up, noticing his careful movements. Silvally only nodded, not even looking at her, focusing on finding that small ledge.

He managed to get one talon in the water, and then slowly, hesitantly, the other. Thankfully, Artemis had taken the opposite side of the basin for herself, giving him plenty of room along the rocks. Silvally almost tripped trying to find the next step, the rocky surface hidden beneath layers of his spinning vision and the sloshing water.

With effort, stumbling, and extreme concentration, Silvally managed to step into the water. Almost immediately a cloud of purple started to bubble up around his legs, and a sharp, uncomfortable tingling sensation worked its way under his fur, scraping along his skin. It felt like a burn that only became apparent when the grime came loose. He winced, but otherwise remained still, just standing in the chest-deep water. Despite the pain, it felt nice.

Unfortunately, his back remained uncovered, so he had to awkwardly crouch down to let the water work up and over his fur. As he started to bend his legs that sharp tingling sensation sprang up again, much more intense, shooting up his spine like a lightning bolt. He spasmed, and the world spun and the water shifted and his body ached and he felt gross and sore and sick and uncomfortable. The wash of sensations bowled over him and he stumbled, taking a few steps to keep from falling into the water.

Artemis was too busy dragging her claws through her tails to notice anything, her own cloud of purple managing to wisp away. She was already brightening up, and her ears lazed back, relaxed—completely lost in her own world.

Silvally, nauseous and dizzy, waded through the water, clambering up onto one of the shallow ledges still partially submerged. A talon sloshed out onto the dry rocks, trying to ground himself from the sensation of water flowing around him, rocking back and forth in ripples, brushing through his fur. Slowly, shakily, he lowered himself, laying down so that the water only washed over his ribs. He closed his eyes, a swirling mix of colour blooming behind them, and laid his head on the comparatively cool rocks around the edge.

Half-submerged, he laid there, trying to remain composed. He was poisoned, he had to be. There was no other reason why he was so drained, sick, and exhausted. Everything was too hot, and too cold at the same time. His skin ached, and even though the water was slowly wicking away the grime from his lower half, he felt disgusting—inside and out.

He was never touching a Grimer again.

"C'mon, you should clean up. You don't want that drying in your fur," Artemis said. She had to be referring to the upper half of his back—he'd only briefly managed to wet it. He'd get there, just… not right now.

A muffled affirmative slipped through his closed mouth, and one of his ears flicked. He mentally sorted through what he had in his Treasure Bag that might help. He didn't have any of those seeds that seemed to heal everything, and he hadn't found a Pecha berry recently. Maybe the last Oran berry might help.

Asking Artemis if she had anything felt as if he'd be crossing a line. He was supposed to prove he could handle himself, right? A little poison wouldn't stop him from doing that. Asking for help, while she had to make sure he could function on his own, would prove him incapable. He might not ever be able to get out of this situation if he failed.

"Hey, are you okay? Are you even listening?"

Silvally replied with a nod. Well, he tried to. The slight motion had his sense of balance thrown off entirely and his dizziness spiked again. Luckily, he was laying down, so there wasn't anywhere to fall. The world swayed dangerously with the movement, and deep breaths were the only thing preventing him from being sick.

He needed that Oran berry.

Sharp talons scraped along the stone and managed to catch the strap to his bag, dragging it toward him. It took some effort but he managed to work his talon in and grab the berry. It was a struggle to force himself to swallow it. Even the taste of something on his tongue added to the overwhelming array of sensations that pushed him toward the edge.

A small boost of energy surged through him, dulling the dizziness and working some strength back into his limbs. The painful stinging wherever the water washed over newly cleaned fur eased. He took a longer, deeper breath, growing a little more relaxed. Hesitantly, he opened his eyes, relieved that everything had stopped spinning. At least, for now. If he turned too quickly the walls twisted unpleasantly.

"Hey, quit ignoring me and talk. What's going on?" Artemis's tone was sharper, and the water seemed to be getting warmer as it flowed toward his end. She was getting angry. It was the tone of her voice. The splashing as her tails shifted around. The steamy heat that started to rise from the water on her side.

"… Poisoned," he spit out, nervous. His gaze flicked toward her, and his heart skipped a beat. He wrenched his eyes away, unable to meet her angry red gaze. He hadn't meant to make her upset. It wasn't on purpose. Not to the extent that she was. He was trying so hard to do this right and to keep her anger at bay.

Why couldn't he get this right?

"What?!" she barked. It was too loud. "Why didn't you say something?"

Silvally could hear the water around her starting to sizzle, the heat radiating outward, making his skin crawl. He didn't respond, choosing to remain quiet. Apparently, Artemis didn't like that answer, and her tails thrashed in the water, making small waves that washed over him. It lapped further up his sides, causing stinging pain to radiate from the unwashed areas on his back.

"You have to tell me this shit! How the fuck am I supposed to help if you can't tell me something's wrong?"

Silvally flinched, folded his ears back, and clenched his jaw. Sharp talons curled into the rocks with a screech, and his hackles tried to raise. Instead of raised fur, all he got for his trouble was pain shooting up his spine, his fur still glued down from the Grimer sludge.

His heart rate spiked. He was too warm. Each breath only brought in hot, humid air that stuck to his lungs. His mind raced, thoughts a desperate swirl to try and sort out this mess. He'd messed up and needed to fix it. How? What did he do wrong? How could he fix it?

He couldn't think. Artemis's ire caused his thoughts to slip away as he grasped at them for answers. He knew he wasn't in danger but his body screamed otherwise. His instincts told him there was a threat nearby—that he wasn't safe.

"Sorry," Silvally forced out, his voice shaky. It was a chore, fighting through the dry feeling in his mouth and the trembling muscles as adrenaline flooded his system. Not saying anything had just upset her, so he had to try something, anything else.

"Sorry? Sorry isn't going to cut it if you collapse and I have to drag your ass to the hospital," she snapped.

Silvally flinched. The thought of dozens of hands and paws and strangers around him made everything so much worse. All of them touching him, moving him around, poking and prodding and pulling and inspecting. He'd be too weak to prevent any of it from happening.

"Sorry isn't going to convince wild Pokémon or criminals to let you live!"

His ears folded back, and he tried to keep calm. He swore his heartbeat was audible through the whole room. It had to be. It was too fast. Too loud. Too much.

"What are you going to do out there when you collapse on your own? It doesn't matter how tough you are, how fast, or how much you practice. One wrong move and that's it!" There was an odd lilt to her voice, something deep creeping out in her words.

The water sloshed again, creeping up a little higher on his back, another jolt of pain shooting through him. Artemis was coming closer. The water heated further, and he could see the steam wisping by him. He could hear the water bubbling around her, boiling from her anger.

She was close. Too close. Too angry. Silvally whirled around to face her, eyes wide.

"You need to-" Their eyes met and Artemis staggered, pulling back. She paused for a moment, before she grit her teeth, trying to continue her tirade. "You need to tell me when…" Artemis blinked and took a breath.

Silvally had to look away. He locked his eyes onto the rocks just past the Ninetales, keeping her in his peripheral. Looking at her head on made his whole body numb. He wanted to run, or hide, or do anything to separate himself from her, and it was all he could do to shove that desperate urge down into the depths of his mind.

"W-wait, no, I… I didn't-" Artemis pulled back and the temperature around her plummeted as fast as her anger. "No, no, no... Shit! I'm sorry, I-" She stumbled a little on the uneven surface and backed herself away further. One of her paws raised, almost trying to reach out to Silvally, before she froze, and withdrew as if burned. "I'm… I- Shit, I just… I-I didn't mean to." Her ears were flat against her head, and her tails had stopped floating, tucked down beneath the water. "Look, I just… I-I didn't mean… Fuck!"

Silvally closed his eyes and turned away. Now that he knew Artemis wasn't coming closer, he could focus. He set his jaw on the edge of the rocks and breathed deeply through his nose—or as deeply as he could. His chest was too tight, lungs burning, heart sucking up oxygen greedily to fuel his mind and body. He still couldn't smell anything, it all just burned and ached. Still, it was something to focus on. Talons held the rocky outside firmly, keeping him settled from the stormy typhoon of thoughts and fears in his mind.

A metal clasp snapped open, and Silvally glanced at it. Artemis's bag was surrounded by a pink glow and upended itself. Dozens of seeds, berries, orbs, and other small pieces fell to the floor, the entire contents spilling out. The bag fell soon after, landing atop the pile.

The psychic glow switched to encase a single seed from the pile, and it lurched forward. The small object skittered across the rocks and semi-smooth floor, directly toward him. Silvally flinched away, looking down as the tiny object came to a halt beside his talon.

"Here—a Heal Seed," Artemis murmured. "It's not as good as a Pecha, but it'll help. I hope." She sounded further away now, and there wasn't any sound of water moving from her side of the basin.

A shaky talon clamped down around the seed, and Silvally ate it without a second thought. Immediately a soothing feeling radiated outward from his core. It eased his nausea and made the world stop twisting at the edge of his vision. His heart rate slowed drastically, and his muscles stopped twitching. It felt as if it had just applied the reset button to his entire body, and he was left just feeling sore and a little drained. It was as if nothing had even happened, and he let out a sigh.

All the stress, all the adrenaline, the fear, confusion, overwhelming feelings cluttering his mind… All gone. Replaced with cool, calming logic and reason.

"Thanks." Silvally brought his other foreleg back into the water, and shifted to the side, wincing at the stabbing feeling seeping under his fur.

His gaze fell on Artemis, which was easy now that she wasn't angry at him. She was looking at him out of the corner of her eye, hunched over a little, her paws working over her tails in a slow, distracted fashion. His eyes met hers and, surprisingly, she flinched away, turning her gaze to the water instead. With flat ears and her fur plastered to her, she looked smaller than usual. That massive, constant presence of pride and power fizzled away into nothing, leaving a small, anxious fox sitting in the water.

Now that Silvally could stand without losing his balance, he shuffled his way off the shallow stone ledge. He stood up and took a breath, preparing himself for the coming pain. Slowly, he lowered himself into the water, clenching his jaw as it started to work its way up his back. He hissed through his teeth, but continued, pushing himself until he was submerged up to his jaw. The water worked through his fur and ate at the grime, lifting it away, causing a cloud of purple to bleed from his body and disappear into a little gap in the rocks.

Looking closely, he thought he could see a few spots that were a much deeper purple, but it was difficult to tell.

"Are you okay?" Artemis asked at his soft hiss of pain. Silvally looked at her again, only for her to turn away and avoid his gaze, lowering herself in the water a little more. "Sorry, I… Never mind."

She seemed to feel bad for her outburst. Not that what she said was exactly wrong, at least he didn't think it was. It made sense, and it kept them safe—so they didn't go into anything unprepared. He didn't think it was a big deal overall, but… What would he do if Artemis was hiding that she was sick, and collapsed? He couldn't just leave her there, and protecting someone from ferals was so much harder than just keeping himself safe. And that would involve having to get close—maybe even carry her back.

He didn't think he'd be able to handle that. How ironic that would be? If it came down to it, the subject of his nightmares would carry him back to get help, while he couldn't bring himself to come close to her.

Clearly, keeping secrets like being ill was just detrimental. It was an unnecessary risk. She wanted him to talk, and she didn't seem upset that he was poisoned, so much as he didn't tell her he was. That made sense to him, at least. It was something he understood.

"… It stings." The confession came after several long seconds of awkward silence.

Artemis's ears twitched upward slightly, but she didn't look at him. "Oh," she replied. "Do… You don't need to go to the hospital, right?"

"No."

"Okay."

…

The outburst of anger seemed to have done something to Artemis. It almost seemed as if she felt bad about it—ashamed of herself. Of course, he still couldn't ask, it was too personal, and might set her off again. Not that he blamed her for being snappy with the day they'd had, nor the frustration toward Chatot and his 'revenge' of sorts. He felt a touch annoyed as well, though he was just unhappy that the whole thing was preventable in the first place.

Silvally, as terrified as he was of an angry Artemis, wasn't nearly as threatened when she was actively trying to be nice. Or, at the very least, not being hostile. It was weird and different, but… Maybe that's what he needed. Something different to the usual terror-inducing fox. He preferred it to the angry tension from the first week, at least. The constant conversation seemed to be helping—he didn't jump when she talked.

… Most of the time.

And, if she wasn't willing or able to talk, well... He was the one who had to show he could integrate into society—not that he planned to—and that involved getting along with people. And talking. Far too much of it. He steeled himself for a potential outburst and took a few breaths to settle the rising prickles of fear.

"… Are you okay?" He was just returning the favour from earlier. Ask questions, and make sure she was alright. She'd done the same in the café, and now she was the one visibly uncomfortable, so it wasn't a weird escalation on his part. Just logic—meet the levels of kindness he was being shown and return them.

The swishing and rippling of water from Artemis's side stopped. He didn't look, but he heard her take a breath, and try to say something, only to pause. She seemed to struggle with her words, and Silvally just listened, focusing on her words instead of the jolts of pain growing as the sludge was pulled from his fur, exposing what had to be raw skin beneath.

"I'm… I feel gross. And I'm tired. A little angry that Chatot gave us the job, and pissed about the kid being left in the dungeon. That's not right." She let the words flow, and Silvally listened. "That and the fur thing. The little shit knew too, and still did it. Kids..." Artemis let out a little laugh that trailed off into a sigh. Her attention shifted back to her tails, and one of the brushes drifted toward her, using her psychic abilities to clean her fur.

Silvally, content with the more natural end to the conversation, returned to cleaning out his fur. He curled around, using his talons to rake through his fur in firm, steady strokes. Sharp claws caught against his raw, sensitive skin, and he winced, trying his best to reach what he could. Unfortunately, he wound up scratching a little too deep sometimes, drawing blood. It stung even more, the water and purple goo mixing and rubbing against the scrapes.

Minutes passed by like this, Silvally doing his best to not carve up his body beneath his fur too badly. Unfortunately, his body composition made it difficult to reach much more than his ribs and lower back. When he wasn't able to get further with his talons, he resorted to scratching at the back of his neck and between his shoulders with a hind leg.

He hissed through his teeth, the uncoordinated swipes digging into his skin. Still, he persisted—there wasn't any way he'd be able to wait for the rest of this to just flake off his fur, and it itched as much as it burned. A few scratches were okay, he'd heal.

It felt like he was making progress if the growing pool of dark purple drifting up in the water was any indication. Sure, it hurt, but the water started to soothe the pain, and-

"Hey, stop! You're bleeding!"

Artemis's voice snapped him out of it, and he looked down at the water to find that, yes, there was red mixing in with the purple. It wasn't a terribly concerning amount, but it was noticeable, especially with the few clumps of fur that had caught and been torn out.

"Just use the brushes," Artemis huffed. She made it sound like the simplest thing in the world.

"I can't reach," he replied, standing to demonstrate that his body was not a freakish boneless construct. Unfortunately, things like his ribs, shoulders, and spine got in the way of folding himself in half.

"Arceus, of course," she huffed. She didn't seem to be mad at him, so much as frustrated with things growing difficult throughout the day. Her now-clean tails thrashed in the water, and her eyes narrowed, looking at him, and then away to what they had available.

Silvally tentatively grabbed for one of the long-handled brushes and attempted to move his talons in a way to reach. Unfortunately, they didn't bend that way, and he managed to get slightly further with the brush than his talons, and much less effectively. He moved for something else, a kind of brush with a strap on it that looked like it would secure itself to a Pokémon's back paw. It didn't fit, his paws were wider than the strap could possibly hold.

A huff of annoyance slipped free, and he flicked his talon, sending the small object skipping across the surface of the water, which hit the rocks with a clack. Nothing else supplied would work, he could tell just by looking at them. So, out of options, Silvally dunked himself under the water and awkwardly maneuvered himself around, pressing his back against the rocks to scrape whatever he could off.

It wasn't working.

"Do you…" Artemis trailed off for a moment. She shook her head, and gave a loud huff, steeling herself. "Fuck it. Do you want help?" She continued before Silvally could do more than look at her in surprise. "I won't touch you! I'm going to stay over here. I'll just use Psychic to move the brushes. Only the spots you can't reach, that's it."

Silvally's ears flicked back and forth, concern and confusion and all sorts of odd emotions spiking within. The idea of her getting close made his anxiety creep upward, already imagining those claws and teeth and-

He took a breath. He shoved all that panic and fear to the back of his mind, in that little corner where he'd ideally forget about it soon. All that mattered was what made sense.

Silvally couldn't get that spot between his shoulders and down his back. He could always do what he'd done before and scrape himself against rocks and trees—make himself bleed to come clean. It would take a few days but it was doable.

Or… he could let someone hyper-fixated on the cleanliness of her fur help. She wouldn't even come close, so there was no risk of biting or scratching. Idly, he thought of the fire or ice she could hurl at him, but banished those thoughts. If Artemis wanted to hurt him, she would have done so in the dungeons when they were alone. Yet, here he was. After all these days and all those chances, still burn-free, unfrozen, and safe.

He could be uncomfortable and feel gross for days and scrape himself bloody several times to clean off. Or… he could suffer through a few minutes of discomfort and it'll be over with.

There was only one choice. He might hate the idea and everything about it, but, logically, this was the best decision. Relying on his emotions to make choices just led to mistakes.

"I…" Despite his reasoning, he found it difficult to force out the words. They stuck to his tongue and refused to leave, as if he was moments away from inviting danger. "… Okay. Yes," he finally managed. After a moment he tacked on a little "Please," just to be polite.

It seemed as if Artemis wasn't expecting that—her ears shot straight up in surprise. She looked stunned, which seemed to be happening more and more often whenever he would do something a little different. He didn't have to like it; he was still going to adapt to his environment. Living and working in a collaborative environment like this called for some changes. Uncomfortable ones.

"Oh, I, uh, I didn't think you actually would. Shit. Okay." Artemis shook her head and focused, ears tilting forward, her full concentration on him.

He didn't like that at all.

"Alright, I need you to turn around. I'll stay right here and do my thing. You just… breathe, I guess?"

That was easier said than done. Even as he sloshed his way around and sat upright, talons on that shallow stone shelf, he found his chest was growing tighter. Water shifted around behind him, and he tensed, talons scratching the rock. The anticipation was killing him.

Artemis whispered to herself; the sound barely audible. "Alright, Artemis, you can do this. Don't fuck this up." Silvally just managed to catch the words, before she spoke to him directly. "Your fur is much more wiry than mine, so it's going to take me a second to get this right. Just tell me to stop, and I'll drop everything. Okay?"

Silvally nodded and looked forward. He just had to think about something else to distract himself. He glanced down to watch all that water flow into the rocks, and, if he looked closely, a metal mesh behind it all. His interest piqued, he leaned in and-

A small wash of water slid its way down his neck, between his shoulders, and down his spine. He tensed, and shuddered, before forcing himself to relax as a pressure formed at the back of his neck. Something worked its way down his back. It threaded through his fur, snaked down between his shoulders, and about halfway down his spine. He jolted in surprise and took a breath.

He hated this. He wanted it to stop. It was too close and risky and violating and awful. But… It was only a few minutes. A few minutes of adrenaline-fuelled anxiety, but it was the best way to do this. He could do it.

Maybe.

"While I do this, why don't you get the gunk out of your feathers." Another slow, steady work of that brush glided down between his shoulders. A few clumps of fur tugged and pulled as the brush slid down, but it was relatively painless.

Her words caught his attention. Silvally was certain he didn't have any in his feathers, the child remained on his back the whole time. Still, he couldn't exactly see them. A tentative talon reached up, his body twitching again as the brush made another pass, and worked his talons about his feathered crest.

There was nothing there. He tried again, and then a third time, really making sure his talons slid along the feathers. Nothing. He said as much to Artemis. Another sluice of water cut through his fur, the water around him much less purple.

"No, really. Your feathers are purple. You got a little on your cheek too. And tail," she explained.

Silvally blinked. Cheek, feathers and tail? He looked down at the water and squinted, focusing on his rippling reflection.

He had purple eyes.

He'd type-shifted. When did he do that? Why did he do that? How? Was it during the trip? He'd figured Artemis would have commented on it. Then again, they were both just miserable, and Artemis was barely holding herself back from throttling the Muk businessman. She'd clearly had other things on her mind.

Silvally took another breath, and relaxed, releasing a tension in his core he wasn't aware he was holding. He felt the familiar change of a type-shift adjust the energy within him. That sick feeling that had been creeping around inside him, making him feel warm and gross, just melted away. What replaced it was a numb, sickly feeling throughout his fur, everywhere the Grimer had touched. He felt raw, itchy, almost like he'd gotten a chemical burn.

The brush stopped against one of his shoulders, the sharp points digging into his skin. A little shift forward alleviated that, and the brushing continued a moment later.

"How do you do that? The whole… changing your type thing," Artemis asked. The question was accompanied by a slow stream of water trickling down the back of his neck, and another slow brush through his fur.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I just focus." A sigh slipped from him as the brush made another slow, steady pass through his fur. It was oddly pleasant now that he wasn't stressed over it. He hated the sensation of being touched as much as he seemed to crave it. He allowed himself to relax into it just a bit more.

"That's… really fucking weird, I'm going to be honest," Artemis said. "I've never seen an ability like that. Well…" The brush worked steadily through his fur in lazy, smooth strokes, in an almost distracted fashion. "There are Kecleon. I've seen them change their type, but it isn't intentional. Yours is different."

"How different?" Silvally asked. He allowed his eyelids to slip closed, shifting himself just slightly to get the brush to work along another portion of his back. It was, somehow, really nice. The water was warm, his mind was busy, and spots he didn't know were itchy were being tended to.

"Well, Kecleon only changes when they're hit by a type-energy from the outside. It's kinda like camouflage but for attacks. Keeps them safer if the next hit is the same type," Artemis explained. She gave a thoughtful hum and used her Psychic to scoop up more water, allowing it to trickle through Silvally's fur, followed by another series of slow, smooth brush strokes. "You seem to pick whatever type you want, whenever you want to."

Silvally turned his head to look at Artemis, acknowledging her words with a slight nod. Curling around a little bit more, he craned his neck so he could look at his fur. He was spotless. Yet, Artemis continued her slow, distracted brushing, as if not paying attention.

Her eyes met his. She looked down at the brush still working through his fur, then back to him. Her ears, once relaxed, folded back in embarrassment, and the brush immediately dropped. It hit the water with a little splash and drifted away from him.

"Oh, uh, right. Sorry. I'm done. You're all good." Artemis let out a small laugh.

"Thank you."

Artemis hummed a reply, remaining in her spot while Silvally clambered up onto the stone shelf and sprawled across it. Now that the two were finished, there wasn't much else to do. He and Artemis just kind of looked at one another, the silence growing louder between the two.

Silvally broke eye contact first, not just because he was uncomfortable, but because he felt something tap against his side. It was one of the brushes.

"How did you do it?" Silvally asked, the thought springing to mind. He didn't know what came over him, but it was too late to back out now. "With the brush," he added. A talon wrapped around the small tool and he tossed it back into the middle of the water. The two watched it bob to the surface, floating amidst the other items.

"I guess… same as you. I just have to focus," Artemis explained. The brush glowed once more and drifted into the air, dripping water. "It's not easy to do, I had to practice a lot. Most Ninetales can't even do it." Pride laced her voice with that comment, and a little grin split her lips. "I kind of think about how I'd hold it, how hard I would have to, and try to make sure I'm not lifting with too much force. It takes a lot of concentration, at least, for me."

The two blinked, and glanced at one another, before turning back to the brush.

"Huh, maybe that smelly psycho and his kid were right. I know I wouldn't have been able to concentrate with how the dungeon was. And, if I lived in there, I'd want to get the fuck away from that kid too." Artemis huffed in amusement, allowing the brush to drop into the water again. "Hey, about the type-changing thing. Can you do any type, or is there a limit?"

"I don't know," Silvally admitted. He took a moment to think. "I can do… five. No, six now." If his regular typing counted, he still had Fighting, Electric, Flying, Water, and now Poison. Idly, he wondered if it had to do with exposure to some specific energy or natural element.

"I wonder if it's because the smelly little gremlin was on your back for so long."

Silvally couldn't help the huff of laughter that escaped him, genuinely not expecting that comment. The corner of his mouth quirked up in a smile, drawing Artemis's attention as much as the laugh.

"What's so funny?" She tilted her head to the side, ears perking up. "I'm being honest. Maybe that's part of it."

"Had the same thought." He wasn't going to tell her that she put it in much more entertaining terms. She'd either laugh or get angry, and the chance wasn't exactly worth it. Still, she smiled just a little bit.

She wasn't so terrifying with a smile.

"I… I don't know if this will help, but I have to think of how something feels to use ice or fire. Or at least if I have to use them together, or one after another."

Silvally was interested now. "It's like that," he replied. "Kind of." His mind stilled and he thought of the vastness of the ocean. The way water felt, and how it flowed and moved. The fluid, shifting state as it sought to wear away at impossibly strong structures through time. He felt that familiar tug, and that odd shift in his body, the energy running through him more like a stream, mimicking water. He opened his eyes and looked at his fur, which had taken on a slightly blue hue.

"So how did you do that? What did you think of or feel?" Artemis asked.

"Water."

…

Artemis blinked and rolled her eyes hard enough that Silvally swore he felt it. "I never would have guessed." She huffed through her nose and shook her head. "Okay, fine. That's on me. Can you do the poison one again?"

Silvally was invested now, his mind whirring, focusing on the odd aspects of his ability that he never really took into consideration. Curious, he tried to concentrate. What would poison feel like?

He pictured that horrible, awful sludge of Muks and Grimers. He thought of the horrible sizzling of Croagunk's poisoned claws dripping on the floor. Reminded himself of that awful, dizzying, gross feeling that made his insides feel warm and unsettled.

He nearly gagged for all this effort, the thought of all that combined made him ill.

"Hey, you did it," Artemis said. "How do you feel?"

His energy had changed to a thick, roiling, warm feeling in his core. It was a heavy yet free-flowing fluid that snaked about, ready to eat away at anything living, or make someone feel so awful they could barely function.

As for how he felt…

"Sick," Silvally admitted. He quickly shifted himself back, grimacing at the sickening feeling of something hot and revolting clinging to the back of his tongue. Rolling his tongue from his mouth, he gently scraped his talons against it, trying in vain to get rid of the taste.

Artemis just laughed at his misfortune.

~{O}~{O}~{O}~

Unbeknownst to the two of them, they had been drawing attention as they went about their business. The occasional glances from guild Pokémon were nothing to be worried about—they all returned to their own groups and conversations, though one or two did glare before turning back.

But there was someone else who saw everything that happened. He'd just come back with his team from their toughest mission yet, and honestly, he was feeling pretty good about himself. His team had done an amazing job and had followed his orders flawlessly.

Well, when they listened to his orders, that is. But! When they listened to him, they were flawless! He was very proud of them all.

Unfortunately, even though the rest of his team was just as proud and excited about finding someone's lost Pecha berry in a pretty tricky dungeon… He'd stepped in a mud trap. He didn't mind at all! It was just the mark of a good explorer putting in hard work. Getting grimy and gross was always part of the job!

The rest of the team didn't think so. They'd kicked him from their room and told him to go clean up. They just didn't know how to have proper fun like he did, they were too picky about their fur. A silly thing in his opinion. Why bother when it was going to get dirty again anyway. Not bathing saved time for more missions!

Yet, as the fantastic team leader he was, he listened to his teammates and went to the bath hall. He fully intended to clean up and look his absolute best, just for his team! Truly, he was the best team leader.

That plan was shattered when he walked through the door. Immediately his ears perked up, and he heard the sound of his idol.

She was in here at the same time as him! Maybe he'd have the chance to talk to her and regale her with the stories of his—and his team's—amazing adventure. Or, even more scandalously… Maybe they'd share a bath!

His cheeks flushed at the thought, and his tail wagged rapidly.

But… He couldn't see her. He looked around, trying his best to look inconspicuous. His team told him it made him look 'completely conspicuous' but he didn't buy it. They didn't appreciate his natural acting talents. Also, he didn't know what 'conspicuous' meant but it sounded worse than his word, so clearly it was the bad one.

His eyes roamed the bath hall—no it's not weird, shut up—and he blinked. There was the former outlaw! Mr. Silvally, probably. That sounded right. And, if he was around, that meant Artemis had to be nearby. After all, she was forced to watch him because he used to be a Bad Pokémon, and now he was a good guy. And what better teacher to be a hero than the best one in the whole world?

So, he walked closer, and closer, coming up to the edge of a pool.

One that was on the opposite side of the hall. This was close enough to spy on them though.

"Can I help ya, kid?" The bath occupier asked.

"Nope," he replied. He had to ignore the weird looks he was getting, he had to focus.

So, focus he did. He looked and watched and very quickly realized… She was brushing him! And they were talking! And… and now Mr. Silvally was showing off a bunch of different colour changes.

And she liked it!

Growlithe felt his blood run cold. This couldn't be possible. It shouldn't be possible. Artemis was supposed to watch over the Bad Pokémon and make sure he turned good. They weren't supposed to be friends! But… friends didn't brush each other's fur or laugh or change colours around each other!

After all, whenever he turned red there were some serious feelings every single time.

But now, because Artemis was stuck… babysitting a fully grown Pokémon—which wasn't at all impressive, he shouldn't have been a criminal in the first place—Growlithe was losing his chance! He'd even confessed his feelings—through a very shaky and quiet voice—and even though she didn't respond he was certain she'd heard him. She was cool like that.

His team heard him and laughed. Well, Eevee laughed. The others kinda snickered, but they were much more polite about it.

Growlithe took a step back, conveniently ignoring the team of four Pokémon about three steps to the right that were sitting in a circle, brushing each other's fur, and laughing. That didn't count. Those were friends, not a clear almost-couple flirting with each other.

With a growing pit in his stomach, Growlithe turned and ran from the bath hall. He needed to go talk to his team! They needed a new plan. Their hardest mission ever was today, and that definitely wasn't enough. He was falling behind, and they weren't doing things that were impressive enough to catch the attention of top-ranked explorers.

Team Floof needed to be recognized, and do something that really stood out. But first, they needed to train, and train hard. Today would be a walk in the park compared to what tomorrow would bring.

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