SPENCER’S POV

It was as though an invisible pillow were being pressed against my face. I wheezed repeatedly, but it was not from exertion or lack of oxygen this time.

This Ariados was easily the size of a minivan, and as it clicked its mandibles against each other, I shivered and grimaced.

“Snap out of it, Spence!” I heard Calvin yell.

But I could barely hear him. I was too busy staring at that multicolored spider, with wings large enough to propel its body as high as the ceiling went.

I tried to remember what I knew about Ariados, but that memory was not forthcoming. If anything, my mind had been short-circuited by the sheer terror I experienced upon gazing into its soulless eyes.

“Run!” I yelled.

But there was nowhere to go. Even I knew this. I’d just shouted that word out of instinct, as if voicing it aloud would suddenly make it possible. It wouldn’t, and it wasn’t.

“Fight!” Enfield exclaimed, flapping his wings and lifting off from the cavern’s floor. It was then that a trace amount of hope returned.

All was not lost. With a winged creature on our team as well, we had a phantom of a chance against the Ariados. Maybe we could stun it long enough to rescue Marcus.

The Ariados inhaled powerfully, and it was suddenly as though I were tethered to the inside of its mouth. I could practically taste something deliciously sweet - was it cake?

No. It’s not real. The cake is a lie. So don’t be tempted!

I dug my heels into the sandy ground, shuffling forward without a destination in mind.

But it was no use. The spider was luring me closer and closer to its mandibles. If I didn’t do something fast, I would get ensnared in its pincers and chomped to bits. Or maybe I’d end up like Marcus, not that his fate was much better.

My eyelids were getting heavy, and I yawned. It would be nice to curl up on this sandy floor and rest for just a moment, wouldn’t it?

I was just starting to close my eyes when Calvin’s voice hit me like a pair of defibrillators.

“YOU IDIOT! DON’T SLEEP HERE! YOU’LL NEVER WAKE UP!”

That was about all it took for me to stay awake for the time being. Not only had Calvin’s shout jolted me, but I felt a literal jolt near my tail. Suddenly the suction from the Ariados’ mouth vanished, allowing me to wriggle out of this predicament.

“I’ve got him stunned!” Enfield shouted. “Sorry if I hit your tail, Spencer!”

“It’s fine,” I muttered through gritted teeth. It really wasn’t; bits of voltage curled their way up my body, and I hunched over in an effort to stay on my feet. But at least I managed to not scream.

“I’ll work on getting Marcus free!” Calvin announced. “You two keep this guy busy!”’

Keep this guy busy. More like, serve as bait for a trap. Or a chew toy.

“Can you shock it again, Enfield?” I asked our Emolga companion.

“It takes a lot to bring it down even for a few seconds” Enfield replied, surprisingly casually considering we were in the middle of a battle. “So no, not right now.”

Frustration set in, and in the words of that old ‘80s band, I saw red. Literally - the edges of my vision glowed scarlet. I huffed.

A torrent of flame hit the Ariados in the tail, and it began jumping up and down, creating miniature earthquakes every time it hit the ground. Each of these sent a jolt up my spine just like Enfield’s friendly fire.

“Now’s our chance!” Enfield shouted. “Seize it!”

I breathed yet more fire, this time hitting the spider right between the eyes. The eyes turned bright red as though the Ariados were suffering from pinkeye - it was certainly irritated enough to inhibit the spider’s vision.

As the creature spun around and around, hardly able to attack us, I sprinted to Calvin’s side. My fellow Litleo kept taking deep breaths and exhaling flames, but it wasn’t doing much to chisel through Marcus’ silken shackles. Calvin was panting, his legs shaking.

“Maybe it takes two?” I suggested.

“Whatever,” Calvin wheezed. “You don’t have - we don’t have too long!”

I tilted my head back and inhaled as much of the stale cavern air as I could through both my nose and mouth. I might have only one chance to get it right.

When I exhaled, I burned through some of the webbing. Not a majority of it, but I could tell that what remained was significantly weakened. The cocoon that enveloped Marcus had partly disappeared, that part of the webbing having fallen to the ground.

“Keep fighting the Ariados!” Calvin commanded. “I’ll do the rest!”

I ran back to the main cavern to find that Enfield was still duking it out with this dungeon’s “boss”. Both of them were hovering about ten feet above the floor, spitting electricity and poison respectively at one another.

The pair seemed evenly matched for now; neither were landing many hits against the other. But I knew it couldn’t last. A seventeen-year-old flying squirrel is never going to win a fight against a spider the size of a car - that’s a damn fact.

Unless we got out of here first.

The Ariados spat some poisonous liquid at me, and I rolled over to avoid it…right into another puddle.

“Fuck!” I yelled, feeling the venom corrode my fur. The sensation was much like that of the Lycanroc saliva, only more of a “burn” than an itch.

Calvin swiveled around, but I could tell without even looking that his main focus was on Marcus. It would be best not to distract him, but I’d just broken that unspoken rule.

Enfield eventually shocked the Ariados again, sending the spider careening to the floor…right on top of me!

Right away I was stuck under the unconscious, venomous body. I was reminded of the parachute game I’d played in elementary school gym class, except this was no game. I tried to push the Ariados off me, but that spider weighed a ton. (Maybe multiple tons - literally. It’s a wonder I wasn’t crushed into a pancake!)

It took me a few minutes to crawl out, by which time my legs all ached like I’d just run a few miles. When I could see the cavern once more, I noticed that Calvin and Enfield stood over Marcus Riolu; Enfield’s legs were trembling, possibly from the effort of the move he’d used.

They didn’t seem too relieved to see me alive.

“Guys,” I mouthed with a smile. “Why are you so worried? I’m breathing.”

Calvin gave me a look that resembled a parent about to tell a child that their grandparent had passed away. This is what he said a few seconds later.

“I know, but Marcus isn’t.”

My mind, determined to be all-powerful and come up with an alternate explanation for what Calvin had said, decided to blurt out the following: “He’s not worried?”

“No” Enfield responded morosely. “He’s not breathing.”

My pulse quickened, my breath coming in short bursts. “But you know CPR, right? You can bring him back to life, can’t you?”

“I tried that already!” Calvin exclaimed. “But it didn’t work. I should have known it wouldn’t work!”

I pictured having to tell Stu that we hadn’t been able to save his son’s life, and right away I knew that wasn’t an option.

“There must be a way,” I muttered.

Calvin nodded grimly. “There might be. Have either of you heard of a sugar trap?”

I frowned. “Is it one of those fad diets that cuts your carbs to zero, but doesn’t work?”

Enfield narrowed his eyes. “Not funny, especially not now.”

“Well, based on the welts on Marcus’ body,” my fellow Litleo said, “it appears likely that this is what he fell victim to. Spiders lure their victims in with a sweet scent - but it’s saccharine. It’s a trap, in other words, but Marcus is just a kid.”

“Like a kid in a candy store?” I enquired.

Calvin nodded. “It lured him in, and he must’ve had no idea. The spider’s toxin renders the victim unconscious, then basically shuts down the whole nervous system - they can’t even breathe. It takes a major shock to wake them up before they’re digested like compost.”

I let that sink in. Then…

“Well, don’t just stand there!” Calvin bellowed. “Look through the dirt for an Escape Orb! That’s our ticket out of here and to a place where I can shock him!”

Enfield’s eyes lit up. “Would one of my attacks work?”

Calvin shook his head frantically. “More than that. Besides, you’re already exhausted! Look how jittery your legs are!”

Enfield evidently couldn’t argue with that, so he didn’t. The three of us saw a giant pile filled with sand and gemstones, which for all the world resembled a caricature of a pirate’s loot stash.

My eyes watered, soon itching as much as my chest, but I wouldn’t give up. I couldn’t give up, because that’s not what Stu would want.

About several minutes later, though, I had to admit that my resolve was wearing thin. The gems might have come in a variety of shapes and colors, but blue spheres didn’t seem to be one of them.

It sank in that if we couldn’t find an Escape Orb, we were condemned to die down here just like Marcus. The only difference was that at least his end would probably be faster.

You’re going to have to dig deep!

With that bit of inspiration, I began using both sets of legs to kick through the sand. The motion was more akin to swimming than digging, and eventually I kicked something backward.

“Ow!” Enfield squealed. “That sphere hit me right in the kisser!”

“Sorry!” I yelped, but I wasn’t apologetic for long. That’s because I realized what word the Emolga had used.

“There it is!” Calvin exclaimed. “About time, too, I don’t know how much of it Marcus has before the toxins take over!”

On that comforting note, Enfield (now missing a fang, which I figured he’d never forgive me for) held up the blue sphere. Sure enough, it was an Escape Orb. Relief, even jubilation, flooded my bloodstream.

But I had to keep it in check. We hadn’t saved Marcus yet. Our job wasn’t complete yet.

The three of us got in a circle and joined paws with Marcus and each other. This way, we’d all be teleported out of the dungeon at once. “Can I do the honors?” I asked. “I’m the one who found the orb.”

“I think not,” Enfield lisped. “I sacrificed a fang for it. I should be the one to do it!”

Since Enfield and I couldn’t agree, Calvin stepped forcefully on the Escape Orb, which shattered at the slightest force. The cavern vanished all around us.

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

Seconds later, the midday sun came into view, and I gulped in an effort to stop myself from losing my last meal. (The sensation of having the air squeezed out of your lungs that came with teleportation was something I’d gotten used to. But that didn’t make it any more pleasant - it only gave it the illusion of being so).

I fell to the ground, trying to shake the dizziness, but Calvin remained on his feet, his tail wagging vigorously.

“Is there a pool of water nearby?” he asked frantically.

I frowned. “What do you think? We’re in the middle of a mining ground!”

“There’s got to be a river somewhere that I can stick Marcus in!” my fellow Litleo yelled. “Because that’s what it takes to wake him up!”

Enfield narrowed his eyes. “Running water can revive someone who’s been caught in a sugar trap?”

Calvin nodded. “Yes! Now stop questioning me! Enfield, fly up there and see if you spot a spring!”

The Emolga barely hesitated; it seemed he’d accepted that Calvin meant business. And when Calvin meant business, there was no questioning him. It was his way or the highway, and the highway had just left town.

Enfield took off from the ground, rising twenty feet, thirty feet, fifty feet. Eventually he was above the rim of the valley, more than several stories up there, and I saw him point in a direction perpendicular to the sun. (For what it’s worth, it seemed to be roughly midday).

“There’s a river that way!”

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“All right, Spencer!” Calvin exclaimed. “Will you help me drag Marcus along? I don’t have the strength to do it alone!”

Again, there was no point in declining his offer. He was going to get his way, whether you liked it or not.

So I grabbed the Riolu’s legs, while Calvin took his head. It occurred to me that this was hardly the most dignified way to transport Marcus to the river, but did that really matter?

“This is giving me flashbacks,” Calvin muttered once we’d made it about fifty yards. “Except that time, I at least had a sled.”

I wracked my brain - what was he referring to? Did I even want to know?

I must’ve been staring pretty hard, because my fellow Litleo sighed. “I’m talking about when I fished you out of that avalanche last month. Had to get the blacksmith to put you on a sled, remember?”

Blushing, I muttered “Don’t remind me.”

“Whatever” Calvin stated. “Hopefully the river’s pretty close by - it can’t be too far, since Enfield wasn’t that high up when he pointed at it.”

Well, that turned out to be wishful thinking. After five more minutes, I felt as though I were breathing through a straw, the third time in seemingly as many hours that I gasped for air. (Of course, in reality it had been more hours than that).

“We’re getting close, Spencer,” Calvin insisted. “Don’t let up now. He’s counting on us.”

But much like the spider’s cloyingly sweet breath, the prospect of giving up and leaving Marcus here was tempting. It was his own fault, after all, that he’d fallen into that situation to begin with!

He’s just a kid, Spencer. When you were a kid in a candy store, could you have said no without lots of self-control? Not likely.

Calvin’s voice rang out in my mind, and not for the first time, I resolved to get to the bottom of why it was present. But I couldn’t worry about that now, as much as my chest burned (and itched) from the trek.

The trickling of the river was music to my ears. It meant we could finally set Marcus down on the bank - at least, that’s what I thought we could do.

Imagine my surprise when Calvin glared at me. “Our job isn’t done yet, Spence.”

I rolled my eyes. “Cal…what are we about to do?”

“Grab his legs and dip them in the river” my fellow Litleo stated, as casually as a parent might advise their hungry child to grab an apple from the fridge.

“But it’s so cold!” I exclaimed. “Isn’t he going to get hypothermia?”

“Better than the alternative!”

“Fair enough” I replied, before realizing that this would require me to get in the river as well. I still remembered my disastrous attempt at fishing and how it had ended with an unplanned swim and a drastic decrease in dignity.

I placed the tip of my paw in the river and instantly recoiled. The water was so cold that it produced a burning sensation on that part of my body. I grimaced.

“Mon up, Spence!” I heard Calvin bellow.

I laughed humorlessly. “Did you just say…”.

“Yes, I did. Get in the water - we have to revive Marcus, remember?”

“Right,” I sighed. After all, thinking too much about the task at hand wouldn’t make it any more pleasant. Better to just get it over with.

I took another step into the river until I was up to my ankles. But I knew, without even having to hear it from my teammate, that I’d have to go a lot deeper into the rapids in order to achieve our goal.

Calvin was already up to his chest in the river, grasping the dreadlock-like organs that adorned the Riolu’s head. “Grab his legs,” he instructed me.

“I can’t do that from here” I mumbled. (In hindsight, I think I can admit that I was trying to talk my way out of this job. Knowing what I know now, can you blame me?)

“Then jump further in!” Calvin exclaimed.

I knew he was right, but it still took a lot of courage to swim to a deeper part of the river and grab Marcus’ legs. I gasped as the water drenched my chest; it might have relieved the Lycanroc-induced rash, but it was so cold.

“Okay,” Calvin muttered. “Now we have to hold him under.”

I gasped. “Under? As in, under the water?”

Calvin nodded gravely. “It takes a major shock to wake someone from a sugar trap. And as I alluded to earlier, you’re not going to achieve that with one of Enfield’s Electric attacks. You almost have to drown them in order to save them.”

I gulped. “That sounds so…”.

“Fucked up?” Calvin offered. “Yeah, it is fucked up, but so is this world. But do as you’re told, and we can save Marcus’ life! We can bring him back to Whitehall and get our just reward!”

“It’s just so irresponsible. They always tell you - the lifeguards at the town pool, that is - that you must not play rough in the pool, that holding someone else below the surface is dangerous!”

“In case you haven’t noticed, Spence, this isn’t your town pool! This is the wild! We do things differently here!”

With a great sigh, I used all my strength to push the unconscious Riolu’s legs beneath the water’s surface. As I did so, I saw more of the grisly markings on his fur and gasped at just how unsightly the welts were.

What had he done to deserve them? The short answer was nothing - like a moth drawn to a flame, or like a kid in a candy store, he’d given in to temptation, which happens to the best of us. Except that his mistake might end up being fatal.

“Spencer!” Calvin barked. “Lower his feet further, or else he’s just going to float upward!”

Snapped out of my reverie, I saw that my fellow Litleo was holding Marcus’ head beneath the surface. Some bubbles were coming out of the Riolu’s snout, as though he were struggling beneath the surface, attempting in vain to acquire air once more.

“For how long?” I wheezed. Marcus was heavier than I’d expected, but also more buoyant. In other words, holding him in this position was taking quite a bit of force.

“A minute!” Calvin exclaimed.

“A whole minute?” I bellowed. “Calvin, a minute sounds like too long!”

“I know what I’m doing,” my teammate asserted. “A Riolu can hold its breath underwater for approximately two minutes, just like a human can. But this is to make him breathe again!”

Those sixty seconds felt like sixty minutes. Every so often, I’d glance at Calvin like a student checking the clock to see how much longer they have in class, but my teammate would just glare at me, so I’d look away.

Calvin knows what he’s doing, I recited internally. He’s not going to kill Marcus. I have to trust him.

But as I heard the Riolu’s limbs thrashing beneath the surface, I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Calvin was wrong this time. Maybe almost drowning someone in an effort to save their life is a reckless act rather than a required one. Perhaps this would only make sure he was dead.

“Okay, now!” Calvin finally yelled after an eternity, and I let go of Marcus’ legs. At the same time, my teammate released the head, allowing the Riolu to float to the surface of the river.

Marcus opened his eyes, sputtering and coughing up water. Gasping in order to suck in as much air as possible, the Riolu looked at me with an expression that toed the line between angry and grateful.

“What the -” he rasped, his teeth chattering.

Calvin offered Marcus a drink from his canteen. “It’s okay, Marcus. You’re safe now.”

I half-expected there to be a plot twist here, such as the Riolu exclaiming loudly that his name was not, in fact, Marcus. Maybe we’d almost drowned this poor kid for no reward whatsoever!

I mean, we still saved a life today. I guess in that respect, it is worth it.

But that twist did not come to be. The Riolu kept gasping for air, then glanced down at his body (which still contained the numerous unsightly blemishes all over his bright blue fur.)

“What happened to me?” the Riolu asked in a tone that betrayed bewilderment. “I was exploring that cave like I want to do when I grow up, and…”.

“You shouldn’t want to grow up too fast” Enfield responded, and it was only then that I noticed him swooping in out of nowhere. “Trust me, it’s not worth it.”

“But I should be a mighty Lucario by now!” Marcus exclaimed. “I mean, I’m twelve - isn’t eleven the age of reason?”

We three members of Team Earthlink looked at each other, then at the Riolu we’d just rescued. And then I did something I’m not proud of.

I lashed out.

“Marcus,” I seethed, “you shouldn’t just go into a mystery dungeon like that! Especially when it’s called the Pit of 100,000 Spiders!”

“Thought it was a joke!” Marcus exclaimed. “A game!”

“This is no game, kid!” I exclaimed. “Not only did you almost get yourself killed, but you made your father worry himself sick! I bet the whole town’s on edge because he barged in on a town meeting!”

Marcus frowned. “Why would he do that?”

“To look for you!” I bellowed over Calvin’s objections. “He wanted to make sure you were safe and sound, but in order for us to do that, we had to risk our own lives!”

I noticed that water was starting to fall down Marcus’ face; this was not river water, but rather water from his eyes - tears. Exactly how I could tell this, don’t ask me.

The Riolu’s teeth were chattering, and it was only then that I realized what I’d just done.

I’d torn into this kid for the crime of curiosity. Yes, he’d been reckless too, but lots of people (and Pokémon) are reckless at age twelve.

Right before Marcus began to flat-out bawl, I cleared my throat.

“Look, I’m sorry I yelled” I said. “It’s just…Marcus, you weren’t breathing. We had to bail you out of a sugar trap.”

By now Marcus was shivering noticeably. “A sugar trap? Is that why it smelled so sweet in there? Did it just lure me in like that?”

Calvin nodded. “Curiosity didn’t kill any cats today, but it almost killed a Riolu. Be grateful that we found you in time.”

“I…I am” the Riolu mumbled. “Now get me outta here! I’m cold and soaked and I just wanna be home!”

“That sounds like a good idea!” Enfield proclaimed. “Are you able to walk back? We used an Escape Orb to get you out of the dungeon, but…”.

“I don’t know,” Marcus admitted, taking Calvin’s paw and pulling himself into a standing position. “My leg hurts.”

Calvin nodded gravely. “I was afraid of this happening. Of course, it’s a small price to pay if he’s still alive, but…”.

The Riolu blushed. “Don’t talk about me as though I’m not there!”

“Of course not, of course not,” Calvin replied. “But sugar traps can weaken the legs of those lucky enough to survive their clutches. This disability is temporary, but it still requires you to move the muscle - at least, that’ll help him get over it faster.”

Marcus stared at Calvin again as he was helped out of the river and onto the snowy bank. The sun remained almost directly overhead, so we had a few hours before it got dark.

In a perfect world, I’d like to get back to Whitehall before sunset. We’re less likely to come into contact with any Lycanroc that way.

“Why do I have to move my leg?” Marcus complained. “It hurts.”

“I know it hurts,” Calvin replied. “But you need to work the toxins out one way or another. It’s just like how they tell you to move your arm after you get a flu shot so that it doesn’t get as sore.”

The Riolu grumbled a bit, but he didn’t say anything more. Calvin, on the other hand, wasn’t done.

“Besides, we can’t carry you all the way back to the village, especially with the water weight. And moving is the best way to stave off hypothermia after dunking you in the river.” My fellow Litleo briefly explained why this action had been necessary.

After that, it was time to go. Enfield retrieved the satchel, which was still waiting near the pit’s entrance, then flew back toward us. When the Emolga returned, he was, surprisingly, panting.

“That looked so easy, though!” I exclaimed.

“Trust me, it’s not. Flying burns more calories than you’d think - it’s the ultimate workout for all parts of your body. I’m famished now.”

“Well, there’s a bowl of Mom’s synthetic meatball soup with your name on it,” Calvin replied.

Enfield rolled his eyes, as if to say: Yeah, if I can get there. But he stiffened up a bit, as though there were dark undertones to Calvin’s promise that he didn’t want to speak about.

We trekked through the forest for a number of hours, during which time I waited with bated breath for feral Pokémon to exit the greenery and bear down on us. With Marcus in tow, we couldn’t move as fast as before - he’d grabbed a fallen branch to use as a walking stick.

For whatever reason, though, we did not encounter any enemies in the woods. Maybe they’d elected to take pity on Marcus, figuring he’d suffered enough as it was. Or maybe it was just sheer dumb luck that none of them sprang out and bared their fangs at us. I highly doubted that in our current, sleep-deprived state, monsters would be quaking in their boots at Team Earthlink of all things.

By the time we arrived back in Whitehall, it was well after sunset. Most of the villagers had retreated into their own homes, perhaps enjoying an evening by the fireplace or turning in for an early bedtime. Marcus smiled broadly as we arrived at Frala’s house.

“Are you going to let me stay?” Marcus enquired.

“With us, you mean?” I asked the Riolu.

Marcus nodded.

“I mean…why? You said you wanted to go home, and if you could walk for several hours through the woods, several meaning seven of course…”.

The Riolu scratched his dreadlock-like organs. When he grew older and evolved, an opportunity we had bought him today, these organs would also mature into the sensors that Lucario used to detect aura. But for now they hung from his head, more or less for cosmetic purposes.

“Several means seven?”

Calvin huffed as if to say, Here we go again.

“Whatever” I muttered. “The point is, I’m sure your father will be overjoyed to see you, as will the rest of the village. But we should probably get inside - it’s pretty late, is it not?”

“How should I know?” Marcus asked.

“Look at the sky, silly,” Calvin replied. “It’s just as useful as a watch if you know what to look for.”

With that, we bade goodbye to Marcus Riolu, who then left to be with his father. Tomorrow morning, we figured, Stu would deposit a handsome sum of money into our account at the bank (an underground complex far more spacious than anybody had any business building in such a sleepy little village). We’d use that money to purchase more goods, perhaps even an apartment eventually, but definitely plenty of Escape Orbs. After all, it’s better to be safe with a little than scared with a lot.

Even so, I felt like a millionaire when we entered the living room. Despite the late hour, Frala was still up, tending to the fire while slurping her famous meatball soup. (I’d neglected to ask Marcus if he wanted any. His own parents would probably feed him anyway, but it probably would have been nicer to ask at least).

“Team Earthlink has returned” the lioness remarked with the slightest smile. “Did you find him?”

She hardly needed to pose this question, for the answer became pretty obvious with how widely I grinned.

“Wonderful,” Frala replied. “Well, I’ve kept some soup and hot chocolate for you three, so make yourselves at home.”

“We are home,” Calvin pointed out.

“I suppose you are, for the time being. Either way, enjoy your dinner, and then it’s right to bed with you three.”

We ate in silence, probably because there was nothing to be said. The itching sensation on my chest had subsided considerably, now not much worse than your average chest cold. And this meatball soup was exactly what you ate when you were mildly ill, wasn’t it?

“Okay. Go to bed” Frala ordered.

Go directly to bed. Do not pass Go. Do not collect 200 P. Frala may not have stated that out loud, but she’d implied it, and that was enough to get the point across.

I wasn’t going to complain either. Like a dutiful young Litleo, I crawled onto my mattress and closed my eyes.

Yes, I missed home. But it was just like Calvin had told me: This place was home. Even if I someday found my way back to my birth family, it would always be home.

That was my last thought before I sank into a peaceful slumber.

My sleep, however, might have been far less peaceful if I’d known what events were transpiring in the resort city where I’d taken my last vacation - a vacation I had yet to return from.