Chapter 5 - Let's Unite!

If I could soar the sky for hours

Just like a butterfly through flowers,

I'll come to see you

While I'm wearing a smile on my face.

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

Athleticism was never Shiron's strong point, even if someone's life depended on it. The more he ran into the village, the more he wanted to stop to breathe. Sadly, it wasn't really an option, considering the kidnapping.

"C'mon, you guys! W-We need to be quick!" Magnus said. Ironically, he was behind them, his spherical body making it harder to follow suit.

Nick nodded, sweat dripping from his cheeks. "Good thing Leaf Valley isn't dangerous… well, not too dangerous! But still… there's a timer, and it's running out!"

A timer? What're they talking about?

The trio stopped in the middle of the plaza, seeing a commotion ensuing, and a crowd gathering around Magnus' father. He set his sights on that area and ran, shoving aside some of the citizens in the way, while Shiron and Nick were behind him.

"Sonny!" Sandslash said, walking closer to his child and hugging him tightly. "Where have you been?! I was worried! A-And your brother…"

"We're here to help!" Shiron barged in, panting and clutching his scarf. His body shivered ever so slightly.

Sandslash managed to eye him, but kept hugging his son. "Hello! You must be the Marshtomp from yesterday. I'm sorry that this is how we met, but… you said you'll help?"

Next up was Nick, who put his goggles on. "Yup! We'll do our best to help! Even if it means wandering into a dungeon!"

"We will get your son back," Shiron added, an unusual, serious look on his face. "No matter what."

The four heard footsteps accompanied by the sound of leaves rustling—Terry and Liz had just arrived..

"Bold words, Marshtomp," she raised her head, cracking a small smile. "And I believe you will enjoy what I am here to say."

She then extended her arm, pointing towards Terry, who cleared his throat. "Rejoice! For the heir to the throne of Cydonia and I will lend our assistance!"

Terry gulped, clicking his fingers. "W-We wanna go with you guys! I have a brother too. Can't just stand by and let something like this happen, right?"

As they heard the words, Sandslash and Magnus pulled away, nodding repeatedly.

"By Arceus, please! Please save my son!"

Magnus rubbed the tears off his face. "Shiron, Nick… I'm counting on you guys!"

"The more, the merrier!" Nick nodded, looking at Shiron. "This will be your first venture into a dungeon. Are you ready?"

"I-I… I am! Let's do this!"

"Hmph. In the case you had refused, we would have proceeded regardless. But no matter…" Liz turned around. "Onwards, to Leaf Valley!"

Out of their view, a Golem listened to the conversation, but made no notion to join—merely observing, biting his lips, and grinning. That mission was theirs, after all.

They didn't take too long before storming out, following Nick's lead. Shiron still gulped, his body shivering. Pretending to be brave to Magnus and his father was one thing, but could he really save that child? Shiron only hoped he and the others were enough.

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

After leaving through the east exit, Shiron stopped to catch his breath, looking down. Soon, Nick joined him, followed by Terry. The only one that didn't stop was Liz, merely gazing at the three behind her.

"If you think we can rest, then you three—two, are useless. My sire and I can keep going, but can you?"

Shiron raised his head and panted, followed by a nod. "W-We can! No… we will! Magnus and his dad are counting on me…"

"Let's not overexert ourselves," Terry gulped, looking at Shiron and Nick. "But Liz has a point. We can't stay here for long."

The Riolu cracked a smile, raising his head as well. "Yeah!" Nick replied, a fierce glare in his eyes, his tail swishing. "Besides, it's not too far from Leaf Valley. We got this, y'all!"

Agreeing on their course of action, the quartet moved on to the road.

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

In a sharp contrast to the relatively modernized area of Thornwell, Shiron found that the road ahead was much more grassy and wild, causing him to remember some of Hoenn's routes with a twist.

The twist from the grassy routes he was used to were clusters of trees levitating in the air, expanding as far as his eyes could see. Mesmerized by that, he kept walking and checking the surroundings, even seeing patches of land that, like the trees, were also suspended. All of them were similar in elevation, and the distance between them was nothing longer than a jump.

"Whoa, that's how a dungeon entrance looks like?" Terry stepped in, walking next to Shiron and staring at the sight in front of them with sparkling eyes. "The outside world is so pretty!"

"It's not exactly the entrance, but the distortion is around here," Nick replied, biting his lower lip. "The actual entrance is a few feet ahead. Shouldn't take too long."

Liz nodded. Her plan was to handle the situation without actually venturing inside the dungeon, for the sake of Terry, and considering how he and the Marshtomp were looking around like kids next to a candy bar…

"Our best course of action is to reason with the kidnapper," she said, looking at Nick. "However, ransom is not an option, unless you and your friend have enough money?"

"I'm broke, and my allowance doesn't come until next week." Nick shrugged. "You do have a point. Reasoning would save us some trouble. Hm, what to do…"

Terry turned around and ran towards them, followed by Shiron. The rock-type sighed while eyeing the group. "I studied diplomacy, what if I take care of that? Me and Liz should be good enough for it."

Meanwhile, Shiron raised his left arm, a smile appearing in his face. "I-I have an idea! Me and Terry go talk, while L-Liz and Nick stay hidden, in case something goes awry. How about that?"

And all eyes were on him. Shiron gulped, tugging his scarf and looking down. "...Nevermind! Stupid idea, haha! Don't worry, you can ignore it…"

Instinctively, he closed his eyes, trembling. That was it, they'd yell at him and kick him out of the mission for sure!

"Your plan could work," Liz replied, pointing at Shiron with one of her flowers. "I'm impressed, Marshtomp."

"Great idea! Let's do it!" Nick nodded, showing off his fangs. "Just say the word and we'll be there to back you up!"

The grass-type bit her lip and shook her head. "However, I believe there is room for improvement."

"First, I do not wish to endanger my sire, so what do you think about being the only one there?"

"J-Just me?!"

"Perhaps you can serve as the distraction, and then me and Riolu will act?"

A grunt from the Tyrunt expressed just how much he hated that idea. He then walked next to Shiron. "I'm going with him! Liz, I can't be on the sidelines any longer!"

She glared at him. "Sire, I do not recommend it."

"Tough, because I'm going in anyway!"

Nick shrugged. "Let's get this over with. Liz, isn't it? We got this, lady. I'll protect your sire as well!"

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

Lo and behold, the Raticate was at what the duo assumed was the dungeon's entrance, holding the baby Sandshrew in his grasp. The rat tapped his foot on the ground repeatedly, getting more impatient by the second.

That was before he locked eyes with Shiron and Terry, who were slowly making their way towards him. Raising a brow, Raticate grasped the baby tighter.

"Who're you two? What're you doing here?!"

Shiron opened his mouth, but Terry was already in front of him, clearing his throat.

"We're here to negotiate! You're holding that child hostage, and his father asked us to come do something about it," Terry said, standing upright with a raised voice. In the moment he betrayed a composure befitting his royal status.

"Speak my language, please."

Shiron stepped in, fiddling with his fingers, his gills flopping down. "We wanna bring the kid back to his family, can we discuss any terms you may have? Like, I dunno, money?"

"Money's good," Raticate replied, taking a step back. "I want a thousand poké! Now!"

A thousand? It has to be a lot… Shiron looked at Terry, the dragon-type gasping in shock. Okay, it is a lot of money.

"W-We don't have a thousand!" the Marshtomp shouted, gulping. "Anything else you want? C-Cause we can give you lots of stuff! How about my scarf? I-It's made from Wooloo wool."

Raticate raised a brow. What was that child even talking about? Did he not have any idea of the situation?

Terry had a similar reaction. "Well, then how about this for a change: I'm the heir to the throne of Cydonia."

Blinking, Shiron looked at his friend. A prince? More importantly, he had an idea of what was about to happen, but still hoped that Terry wasn't suggesting—

"Now, what do you think about kidnapping a prince, eh? Sounds a lot more interesting, don't you think?"

It was exactly what he feared. Shiron was about to protest, when he was interrupted by a loud laugh coming from Raticate.

"A prince? In that shithole of a village? Nah. Don't believe you," so he said, though once Raticate took a peek at the cape Terry was wearing, his eyes widened in realization. "...Oh. You're a prince?! What're you doing in that place anyway?"

"Long story," Terry rolled his eyes. "Are you going to kidnap me or not? Not like we have all the time in the world."

"Terry, is that a good idea…?" Shiron asked, tugging his scarf.

Raticate, meanwhile, felt a leaf fall on his nose. He sneezed and looked up to see many more leaves falling.

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

It wasn't long until he found himself dodging the strike of a Roselia, only having enough time to step back and hold the baby, who began crying at that point.

"Release the child." Liz said, producing sharp thorns on her roses. "Or I will be forced to take him myself."

"Where did you even come from, Liz?" the dragon tilted his head.

Nick came afterwards, putting his goggles on and striking a battle pose. "We hid in a few bushes!"

"Tsc," Raticate snarled, looking at the baby. "It was all your plan, eh? Tricking me to get this kid back! Well, I ain't givin' him back anytime soon!"

Shiron clenched his fists and frowned. "You're outnumbered! S-Surrender is your only option. C'mon, do what's best for you! We don't even need to fight!"

The cries from the small Sandshrew only got louder, causing Raticate to cringe. Now was the time to reconsider his options. One: escape to the dungeon and hope those kids got lost inside. Two: try to fight them off. A bad choice, but the baby could still be used as leverage.

Leverage… was the best choice he could take. Raticate lowered his head just a bit, showing off the big teeth he had. "G-Get any closer and I'll eat him!"

A wall of silence appeared between all of them. Shiron raised his arm. "Uh, what? It's a baby. You can't eat a baby."

"I'm a criminal, for crying out loud! You think I care?!"

"Disgusting," Liz raised her head, one of her roses touched the ground. "And yet, it fits you like a glove. But not to worry, I have already discovered the route to victory!"

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Raticate blinked. "What're you—"

Vines protruded from the ground in front of Raticate and managed to snag the baby out of his hands in a second. It didn't end there, as the rat slashed off the vines, leaving the kid in the air.

Shiron, though not the first one to notice it, was the closest and could react properly. He did so by running as fast as he could, managing to catch the Sandshrew in his belly just in time.

Right then was when Raticate knew his plan was foiled, and the remaining Pokémon were arresting him. Or worse. His mind went into overdrive, thinking, planning something to get out of that mess.

Trembling more, he looked at Shiron. He and the baby were both ground-types, so there was something he could do… a final gambit to take. Electricity crackled around his body as he launched a shock wave towards Shiron.

Not fast enough to react, he yelped, getting hit. The attack didn't hurt him at all, but it scared him enough to drop the baby. Raticate then grabbed the child and chuckled.

"S-Shiron! Are you alright?!" Nick barged in, standing close to his friend.

"You idiots! He has the child!" Liz protested, ready to fight, but stood there so as to not hurt the baby.

"Heh…" Raticate still trembled, looking back. The dungeon was very close. One of the floating islands was very close, a small jump was all it took him to get there.

So it was exactly what he did.

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

Shiron stood up, panting heavily and looking at the valley, gulping. It was his fault. He got hit by the attack, and now the Raticate escaped. Magnus… Magnus would hate him now! No, that wasn't as important as the baby being kidnapped. An uneasiness in his stomach made the Marshtomp frown and tremble. What could he do?! Nothing, that's what.

Useless. Useless. That's all I'll ever be! I couldn't even save him! Why am I so… awful? The worst person to ever exist, that's me. I-It's always gonna be, Shiron thought about the vast void next to him, and how easy it'd be to just let it all go and—

"Hey Shiron, c'mon! We gotta go after him!" Nick brought him to his senses by clapping next to his face. The sensors on his face twitched slightly. "Don't go around sulking, even I could feel it a mile away, and that's saying something!"

"Staying here will do no good," Liz took a deep breath and eyed the two. "We need to move. Now that they are within the area of the dungeon, it is only a matter of time before they succumb."

"Succumb… to what?" Shiron asked, the somber expression on Liz's face giving an idea of the answer.

Terry was the one to reply, frowning. "They become ferals. If we don't hurry, even the baby will…"

Shiron was taken aback by that revelation. By ferals, did they mean wild Pokémon? Oh. Oh no. That settled things. Swallowing all his self-doubt for the moment, Shiron clenched both fists.

"...Right. I'm gonna save him, whatever it takes!" he said. Even if it kills me…

Nick agreed, gazing at the valley as far as he could. Still, Raticate was nowhere to be seen, which only meant trouble, especially if the dungeon decided to rearrange itself soon.

"Okay, I don't know how long we have 'til that thing gets randomized again, so I say we go now," the Riolu stated, electing one of Shiron's arms being raised, as if to ask a question. "...Dungeons are wacky. The distortion inside causes it to reform, so every time you walk inside, it won't be the same as last time."

…I'll add that to the list of things that just happen in this world, Shiron sighed. I'm still curious. Guess experience will be my teacher.

With that revelation in mind, Shiron followed the other three as they jumped on to one of the islands.

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

A strong gale was the first of many things Shiron noticed, from how much it made his scarf slap his face as he fell towards the grassy floor. The second thing was that his descent was very, very slow. It took almost half a minute just to get to the floor.

Finally, the third thing was one of the trees shaking wildly. Leaves fell off, along with a strange-looking orb. It was blue, almost glassy. Before he could touch it, an Aipom climbed out, grabbing the orb with its tail. It screeched, gnawing on the glass, only to grunt in pain and back away.

Nick focused, his aura sensors twitching. He ran ahead, a whitish glow around his body while the grass on the ground was shaken away from the speed. Nick then aimed at the Aipom, before punching it in the jaw and launching it towards the neighboring island.

He took a deep breath and rubbed the sweat off his head, before chuckling. If that was the level of the ferals nearby, the dungeon will be easy!

Sadly, it didn't end there, as a Hoothoot flew towards Nick, only to be met by a slash coming from Terry's tail that knocked it out. The bird crashed into the trunk of the tree, causing a few berries to be thrown next to it.

…Okay. What the hell was that? They did it so fast! Whoa. Just… whoa, Shiron rubbed his eyes and walked next to the Hoothoot to grab the blue berry. An Oran, he mused.

"Did you check that out? That's how you fight, Shiron!" Nick cheered. "Next time I wanna see what you got."

"And what's that glass thingy for?"

Terry put it in his jaw carefully so as to not break it, while Nick thought of an answer.

"Basically anything. There's a lot of types of those orbs, and when you break one of 'em, something happens."

"Oh, that's cool."

Back to the main issue: Shiron had no idea how to use moves like them. He was hoping to just wing it when the time was right, or maybe not have to at all! Either way, he was planning on doing his best to help the others, knowing how to fight or not.

"Hmph," the Roselia whispered, yanking the orb out of Terry's jaw and walking towards the edge of the island. "Stop acting like children. Grab as many berries as you can, we are leaving."

"I'm a little hungry, can I eat some of them?" Terry asked—no, pleaded, giving her puppy eyes.

"...You may eat a couple."

"Yay!" the dragon chirped, munching on the berry and swallowing it in a single gulp.

"Alright," Nick's expression turned serious. "...I think we have rested enough. Time to go."

Shiron gulped again. Whoever he was facing next better be some weak Pokémon, like a Bidoof or something. With that in mind, they moved on to the next island.

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

Lady luck didn't shine for him. As soon as they landed, a Sunkern hopped towards Shiron, screeching at him. The Marshtomp looked back at his team, sweat dripping from his face. None of them were moving. Instead, they were enjoying the fight about to break out.

"U-Uh, any help, guys?"

"I did say the next one was yours," Nick shrugged.

"Use one of your moves, Marshtomp. Preferably one that isn't ground-type or water-type."

"Cool, but I don't know any of my moves!" he protested, only to be met by stern looks. "I mean… maybe Mud Shot? Seriously, I don't know!"

The Sunkern hopped closer, Shiron noticed. He fell on his rear, looking at the tiny grass-type slowly creeping in. It was impressive, really. Something that tiny was making his body scream to run away. More sweat dripped, and his eyes focused on that thing. That thing about to hit him. If he was still human, maybe it wouldn't hurt so badly, but now? As a Marshtomp, he didn't know what was going to happen, nor how much it'd hurt.

Except… he didn't want to run away, or at least the conscious part of him didn't want to. Shiron trembled, his focus getting more intense. A move. He had to use a move, any move. Otherwise he'd lose that fight.

Putting in the effort to stand up, Shiron took in a deep breath and focused. He pictured himself inside that river from before, the current of water surrounding his entire body, the gills twitching from the vibrations. Then, he opened his mouth, straightening himself and roaring, ready to launch the most simple move he could: Water Gun.

…

…

Nothing. Not even a drip. Nada. All it accomplished was making him flush his cheeks and cover his face with the scarf. Still, the Sunkern was hopping, only a few inches away.

Oh, for crying out loud! I'm such an idiot. Why'd I think that was gonna work?!

Gosh, what would the others even think about this?! Shiron trembled at the thought.

"Pitiful," Liz stated, sighing. "How you managed to evolve is a mystery to me, albeit one I am not interested in discovering. Sire, would you like to try?"

"Sure," Terry nodded, walking towards the Sunkern. He opened his jaw and bit it, shaking his head while still holding the feral Sunkern, until he threw it away. "Well, this wasn't as hard as you made it look, Shiron."

"...A little anticlimactic, if you ask me." Nick deadpanned. Shrugging it off, he ran to the edge of the island, jumping off to the next one, followed by Terry and Liz.

Shiron, on the other hand, took a few more minutes, but eventually jumped as well. All things considered, nobody commented all that much about his predicament. Which was good.

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

As the team moved forward, they dealt with the other islands the same way, with Shiron only managing to hit a single punch on the way, much to the annoyance of Liz and a chuckle coming from Nick.

Eventually, they landed on a different patch of land. Larger, and with a waterfall running on the other side, ending on a small lake. From where the water was flowing, though? Nobody knew.

And, of course, their prize: Raticate, standing next to where the lake was and drinking as much water as he could. The baby was being held by the rat's tail and cried as loudly as he was capable of.

"We… have arrived!" Shiron said, flopping his body on the ground and panting. "F-Finally, I was getting so tired of fighting…"

"Aw, is the child not ready for fights yet?" Liz managed to sound both angry and sarcastic at once as she rolled her eyes towards him. "Grow up. The fight is not over."

"Should be pretty quick," Nick pointed out, grinning.

"Focus, guys." Terry added.

Their chat didn't go unnoticed, Raticate soon turned to face them and screeched, his fur standing on end.

"What the hell?! How'd you all get here? You followed me?!"

"Of course. You made it easy for us," Liz raised her head with a smirk. "Now, now. I suggest you release the baby. For your own best."

"Hah! You can't fight me as long as I have this baby with me!" Raticate replied with a smirk of his own.

Shiron heard the words ringing around him, realizing how serious that entire situation was. How one false step and someone was going to die. It made his heart palpitate.

I need… I need to do something. Xerneas gave me this chance, I'm not wasting it!

"Coward…" Shiron stood up, still panting. He clenched his left fist and snarled. "Your type is just the worst! How can you do such a thing?!"

"If you want to stop me, just try! I'll throw this baby off the cliff if I have to!"

Snarling more, Shiron took a single step forward. His body trembled more, and a fierce gaze could be seen in his eyes. "Guys. I'll fight this one myself!"

"Huh?" Terry blinked. "B-But… can you fight? For real?"

In a rare display of kindness, Liz frowned, a soft look on her face. "Marshtomp, stop it. We have the numbers, the three of us. You do not need to fight!"

"Let him," Nick said, arms crossed. "If he needs help, we'll help."

Hearing that was enough of an approval for Shiron to run, before jumping and trying to land a punch on Raticate. He could do it! Just a punch or two, judging from his feats of strength earlier on.

A failed attempt, as he simply landed behind Raticate, falling inside the lake. In fact, the criminal hardly moved or tried to dodge.

"...Whoa, I've seen toddlers do better than y—"

The sharp sounds of leaves splitting in half got Raticate's attention, and the sight only made it worse; four Riolu were circling around him, running to attack.

"D-Double T—" another vine yanked the baby off of him and sure enough, Raticate got punched right in the face, throwing him backwards.

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

Not before he fought back by unleashing a nearby shock wave that destroyed the copies, leaving only the real deal. Nick grunted—the electricity that pulsed through his body shocked him to the point he was having trouble moving.

"Hah! Not so tough now, are you?" Raticate recomposed, standing on all fours and grinning, exposing his buck teeth.

Terry frowned and ran towards Raticate, but due to his small legs, he was taking some time to get there, giving the rat enough time to react. Said reaction was a metallic glow around his tail, followed by him swishing around and hitting the fossil Pokémon. The impact caused Terry to cringe and stumble back, panting.

"Shiron, if you could please help us out here…" he asked, shaking his head and straightening his position. "We need help!"

"He is right!" Liz's grasp on the baby got tighter. "I cannot fight in this condition, and Riolu is paralyzed. You need to do something!"

Raticate turned around to face Shiron, who was still next to the lake. Their eyes locked, none of them said a single word. But Shiron could tell what his intention was, obviously. To attack him.

"Why, why, since none of you bothered to do anything, I'll just deal with your friend there!"

Letting it happen was out of the question, simple as that. Shiron clenched his fists, grasping a patch of dirt and grass while his body shook. Unknown to him, the water next to him started to flow out of the lake and wrapped around his left arm.

"You make me sick, kidnapping someone, trying to kill them… I can't just stand by and do nothing! Even if it kills me, even if I can't do a damn thing, I'll still try anyway! Because that's who I am!"

"I'd sure as hell would like to see that!"

Grunting, the Marshtomp dashed as fast as he could, and it didn't take him long to get near Raticate, the grin on the rat's face making him cringe in disgust. Shiron tried to land a punch, only for Raticate to dodge.

"I'm not giving up… I can't give up! You're going down!" Shiron roared, swishing his arm faster than he thought possible, the water on his left arm almost looking like it was in the shape of a drill, although much more amorphous.

The punch connected right into Raticate's face, and he screamed, before being thrown into the ground with incredible force, generating a few cracks under him. Shiron immediately stepped back, falling on his butt and panting as the water dropped to the ground.

"W-What just happened?"

Nick rushed as much as his paralyzed body could towards his friend. "I'll do you one better, what move was that? Not Water Gun, not Aqua Tail… it looked like, I dunno, something!"

"It looked like Liquidation," Liz concluded, putting Sandslash in one of her arms and wrapping vines around Raticate with the other. "But that is odd. Marshtomp are not capable of learning such a move."

"Maybe he's special or something?" Terry tilted his head. Whatever the case was, it didn't really matter, they won. All that was left was to escape the dungeon. While carrying a baby. And a Raticate. Oh boy.

"I'm pretty sure I ain't special. The opposite of that, if I'm being honest," Shiron took Nick's paw and stood up. "Also, Terry's right. Gotta go home, right? I'll take care of Raticate, I'm the strongest here anyway."

Everyone turned their eyes to him.

"...Physically stronger."

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

The way back was, as expected, calmer. Other than the occasional crying of the baby accompanied by a rumbling stomach, the team didn't encounter any issues.

That is, up until Liz had to shut Raticate up by wrapping his snout in vines, not that anyone with her complained. Shiron did think about commenting on that particular thing, but she was scary, and could very well kick his ass if she wanted to.

Not enough time passed until Nick could see the outlines of a very familiar Quilladin. He motioned to the others to pick up their pace, the team running towards the entrance.

"Nick, Shiron!" Magnus waved, though his eyes quickly looked at the Sandshrew, tears rolling down. "Y-You guys did it! Y-You really did it! My brother… h-he's back!"

"We helped too, you know." Terry grumbled, only to be met by a powerful hug coming from Magnus. "O-Oh, uh, you're welcome!"

Liz split the two apart and pouted. "As you plebeians might say, it was a piece of cake. Being grateful is only natural."

Magnus picked his brother from Liz's arms and enveloped the Sandshrew in another hug, and both siblings started to cry as they embraced.

"Just ignore her," Nick sighed, picking up the vines trapping Raticate as he walked closer to the city. Before entering, however, he turned back. "I'm gonna go deal with this Raticate. Put him up for good in jail. See you guys at the festival?"

"Yay! Of course!" Terry's tail wagged and he ran into the town.

"S-Sire, wait for me!" Liz blinked, running behind the Tyrunt.

Now only Shiron and Magnus were left. The Marshtomp tugged his scarf and covered his mouth, gulping. Something sounded odd about staying alone with the chef.

"Thanks, Shiron." the Quilladin said, smiling. "I can't repay you enough. But I sure can try. If you need anything, let me know."

Kindness. Gosh, it still sounded so weird when someone showed that to him.

"I don't think you should thank me, I didn't do much. Everyone else did much more than me. All I did was like… punch that guy. Really hard."

"Sure you did more than that," Magnus and the baby chuckled. "Hey, that was your first dungeon, right? I've never been in one, can you tell me about it? I'd love to hear!"

"Hm? Yeah, it was. Very trippy, almost felt like I was drunk…"

"I'll tell you what," the Quilladin stepped closer. "There's a lot of stuff I need to do today, but I should be free. Do you wanna… I dunno, hang out? Or something like that."

"Hang out…?" Shiron pulled down the scarf, now showing his face. His smiling face. "Of course!"

"Great! Let's get back to the village, I'm sure dad is gonna Bewear-hug you, so be prepared for that."

A small chuckle came out of the Marshtomp's face as he entered the village alongside Magnus.

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

After things calmed down, if only for a bit, Shiron walked to the beach where he first appeared, both because it was the first step on this world and because the ocean made him happy.

I dunno if you can hear me, Xerneas, but, uh, thanks?

Even when talking to himself Shiron managed to make things so awkward. He grumbled and continued with his thoughts.

Thanks for the opportunity. I helped someone today, so maybe there is something good about me. Maybe.

Steps creeped close to him, while his gills twitched. "Heya, you guys."

Nick was the first to sit down, dipping his toes in the cold water. "That was a good mission. We couldn't have done it without you."

"...And somehow, I still doubt that," Liz remained up, arms crossed. "However, you did good, and for that, I applaud you, Marshtomp."

"We should do it more often," Terry sat as well, tail thumping behind him. "If you want us to, of course. Liz gave this idea. We should—"

"It was your idea, Sire."

"Whatever. We want to create a team with you guys," he said, grinning proudly. "Always heard about rescue teams, exploration teams, societies… point is: can we form one?"

"That's cool and all, and also exactly what I had in mind!" Nick laid on the sand, cracking a smile. "I wanna make a team with all four of us." he eyed Shiron, grin turning wider and tail starting to wag. "Shiron, you've been awfully quiet. What's your thoughts on this one?"

Yeah, he was quiet. Shiron closed his eyes, thinking. No, calling it thinking would be exaggerating, because the truth was that he had the answer already.

"...I'm in! Let's do it!"