It did hurt, but it didn’t make me pass out. I tried to observe the objects in the haze, to ascertain where we were, but nothing stood out. My sideways vantage point didn’t help either. I tried to just trust Boss. His grip around me felt secure. He followed the tether in his hand for some time. It normally would only take a minute to walk from the shopping district. I wasn’t sure how much time passed but eventually we started rising in elevation, the ground below turned to soil and I knew we were close to the tree.

“Who goes there?” I heard someone call. I couldn’t place the voice, but I was only semi conscious at the moment.

“Keep your wax lit, Lux. It’s me, and a few others.” Boss called out.

“Boss!!” Lux responded. The voice comforted me. Lux, a Lampent, one of my guildmates, was safe.

“Now help me with Thunderbutt here. He’s heavy.” I groaned at my nickname, I hated it. I sat on Ditz’s tail once, count it, once. Unfortunately, the name stuck. Boss knelt down and lowered me to the ground. I winced as I was set on my side.

“Ron,” He said to me and I looked into his eyes. “You did a great job, you can rest now.” I nodded once and he was gone with Kanga and Khan. I sighed out. Lux drifted into view. Her blue flame was unsteady, I know it was like that when she was worried or agitated, I imagine the current circumstances would understandably contribute to that mental state.

“Ron, how are you feeling?”

“Chest hurts, head hurts, legs hurt, everything hurts.” I said. She nodded as she looked up and down my body, I knew she was assessing my injuries. I figured a lot of them were internal but I knew the importance of the once over. I could be in shock and bleeding out for all I knew at the moment.

“Good news, nothing looks broken, bleeding, or boiling besides your sternum. Bad news, you're going to be in bed for the next few days.” She said.

“Well, could be worse.” I said.

“Turly, some of the others were not so lucky.” She said. My eyes went wide at that. Despite my pain, or perhaps in defiance of it, I rolled onto my feet

“Others?! How many are here?” I groaned out, as I walked up the hill.

“Hey, hey, hey! You sit still, you’re in no shape to be moving.”

“I can’t sit still.” I called back to her as I looked around at the crowd of people surrounding the tree. It was dark since the light orb had gone out. The sun seemed to be well and truly set also.

“Axe! Axe!” I called for my partner, “Are you here?”

“Hey! I said sit!” Lux said as she blocked my vision and gripped the sides of my head. I was tossed down and I squealed in pain as my chest hit the ground. “That’s what I was trying to avoid, you dummy! Axe isn’t here, but you're in no shape to go out and search for him. Sit still.” He’s not here, I hadn’t seen him since he ran off into the dust mist. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t move, this time for sure. ‘Axe, please be safe.’ I prayed.

“Ron!!” I heard Pat’s voice from my other side. My eyes widened, if he jumped on me, I was going to faint. Lux seemed to have the same thought and flew above my back.

“Pat! Do not jump on him, you hear me. He’s hurt. If you jump on him I won’t give you any treats!”

“I know that! I wasn’t going to jump on him.” He whined. Pat came into my field of vision. "Ron!" He said as he hugged my neck.

"Hey there, pal. You alright?" I asked him. He nodded into my shoulder, "that's good."

"I did it, Ron. I held the orb high, people showed up and I told them. I told them it was your light orb."

"I know, you did a fantastic job, Pat. There's a lot of Pokemon safe here because you signaled them."

"Axe came back once, but then he ran off again." He told me. At least I know he was okay for now.

"Thank you, Pat. I'm sure he's doing just fine."

"But the light's out and Ada showed up after them, how will he know where we are?" I didn't have an answer for that. I would hunker down and wait for the dust to settle rather than try and blindly find my way, but that was me. Axe was a Pokemon of action. He wouldn't sit still, he was probably wondering aimlessly. I sat and breathed for a minute, there was a disgusting smell in the air. It smelled like rotten eggs.

"Alright, Boomer's Guild roll call! Sound off!" I heard Boss's voice call out in the dark.

"Olivia!"

"Here!"

"Orlov!"

"Present!"

"Lux!"

"Over here Boss" she sounded above me.

"Ada!"

"I'm here."

"Ditz!"

"You call, I answer, Boss."

"Tim!" There was no answer. I thought about Ada. I'm sure she was still worried about him, I was too.

"Pat!"

"I'm over here!" He called from my side.

"Axe!" Another response of silence.

"Ron!" I didn't respond as much as tried to make a noise. I don't think it traveled very far.

"We've got him, Boss." Lux helped answer. I was the last in line. Boomer knew I was here, the other half of the roll call was letting the others know who was, or wasn’t, present.

Axe and Tim were still out there somewhere, but I was glad everyone else was okay.

"Corey, are all your birds present?" I heard him ask. I remembered finding her with her wing broken, if Olivia was here then she was probably getting treated right now. Someone else answered for her.

"Boss Boomer," I thought that was Sterling the Staravia, but I couldn't see him to confirm. He's Corey's second in command. "The town watch is all accounted for. With Kanga and Khan now here the only townsfolk unaccounted for is Kecleon.

"Thank you for the report. Listen up everyone, we have three unaccounted for. Let's establish who saw them last. Starting with Axe. Who knows what?"

"Pat, can you?" I asked him, I knew I couldn't shout in my state

"Boss!" He squealed while jumping up and down, "he was with Ron and me when the rock hit. He ran off and came back with Logan. He left right after."

"How long ago did he come back with Logan?"

"Umm, I don't know. Ada showed up right after."

"Ada here. I came right as the light orb flickered out. More than five but less than ten minutes ago"

"Not enough to go on. Moving on to Kecleon."

"Sir, I was with Kecleon when the explosion happened." I thought that was Bella the bellossom. "We were by the fountain, the blast knocked me high into the air and Sterling caught me. We came right to the orb once we spotted it."

I felt something crawl up my leg and I reflexively pulled it only to recognize the sensation of Olivia's vines. I turned to look and saw her off someways. Her network of vines were administering aid to half a dozen townfolk including Corey and Kanga. I calmed down as the vines spread around my body. I didn't know quite how it worked but some kind of spore or something that was put off by her roots and vines both aided in sensing injuries and energizing the body's natural recovery rate.

“The fountain, then the other side of town.” I heard Boss say. “Anyone else over on that side? Anyone know what the situation’s like?”

“Here, here, Boss! I was over there and boy, it’s not good. The meteor landed practically on top of little ol’ me. Tim was with me at the time, but the blast separated us. I was lost and couldn’t see him. Darker than the inside of my egg, it was. I headed for the light orb to meet up with everyone.” Ditz always had an.. interesting method of communicating. He sounded a lot perkier than I would expect from someone who almost got flattened by a space rock, but then again, he always sounded perky.

“So Tim and Kecleon were by the fountain last we know and there was enough time for Ditz to travel from there to here before the orb went out.” Boss summarized. “We can assume that either the two of them didn’t notice the light or weren’t able to make their way here, both worrying. Axe was mobile last we know but we’re unsure where he is now. He’s a lower priority.” I gritted my teeth in frustration, I followed the logic. I had come to the conclusion on my own as Pokemon were giving their testimony, but it still hurt. Calling Axe a lower priority when he was the one I was most worried about was hard to hear and harder to accept. ‘He’s fine, he’s Axe. He’s strong, he’s Axe.’ I told myself internally. The vines had been steadily spreading across my body. They receded from my limbs as soon as a main vine passed across my chest. Obviously, that’s where I was most injured. Vines wrapped around my body and slowly compressed together, like thousands of miniature Ekans using wrap on me. I grunted in pain as they constricted fully knowing that it was for the best. For some reason, the threads and foliage felt cool against my skin and I was thankful for the numbing sensation.

“Well, we need to head over there and look for them!” Ada piped up. “I can go, I’m feeling fine, Boss.”

“Negative.” Boss answered flatly.

“But why?” she countered.

“How would you get back here?”

“I have my silk, you and Ron followed it here. It can work again.”

“And how much silk do you have left?” Ada didn’t answer, there was a silence over the hill.

“Boss, I can’t just sit here. You’re the one that tells us we need to head into danger to rescue people. I’ll be fine, I’ll figure something else out!” She pleaded, I again wondered what was driving her so strongly after Tim. ‘Had I missed something since I left just this morning? Was it truly only this morning that I set off into the Mantle?’

“If you can figure it out there, you can figure it out here where it’s safe.” He sternly responded. “I won’t send anyone out there without a plan. You’re liable to just get lost yourself.” I heard his footfalls as he crunched over the seeds and soil. “I understand you’re worried, but panicked action is not what we need in a crisis. Seize control over your will, Ada. I doubt Tim would appreciate you getting hurt trying to save him.” Ada didn’t argue more, again a tense calm came over us. My breathing was getting easier as Olivia’s vines worked their magic. It got clearer to think as the pain ebbed away and I could finally put thoughts together, however I kept getting distracted by the horrendous scent of sulfur. ‘What is causing that? Can’t anyone else smell that?’ I lifted my head up off the ground and looked up into the tree. Most of the leaves that I had watched bloom into existence were gone, ripped off by the blastwave of the meteor. A few straggling seeds remained. My eyes shot open, blast seeds. Encapsulated explosives, they were loud, they were bright, and when used to fuel a fire Pokemon’s attacks, deadly. However, they could serve another purpose.

I searched the ground near me for a seed, sniffing it out. I dug a small hole after the scent and pulled out an intact seed. The taste was disgusting, another reminder that I hate seeds.

“Pwat.” I called with the seed between my lips. The Patrat turned to me and noticed the thing in my mouth. I placed it in his hands. “Give that to Lux.” I commanded him. He looked confused, but did as I asked.

“Lux, Ron wanted me to give this to you.” I heard from him as he climbed on my back. I hoped Lux would understand what I was asking her.

“Boss!! We can light another signal!” Lux shouted out. I smiled to myself.

“What are you thinking, Lux?” he responded.

“This!” All of a sudden the area was bathed in a brilliant blue light. I lit up the faces of my guildmates as they all looked over at us. Most of them recoiled as the light stung their pupils, I had to close my own as well. Little fwoops of miniature explosions permeated the space.

“Well, that’s a Manly flame, Lux. Can you sustain it?” Boss asked.

“I need more blast seeds, but as long as I have a pile of those I can keep it going as long as I need to.”

“The tree dropped them on us before.” I called out. “There should be tons around us.”

“Guild, find me every seed you can. Lux, get up in the tree. Pat, you pass them up to her.” He took charge immediately, I admired his flexible thinking. I went on a few missions with him when I first joined up as he showed me the ropes of being in a rescue guild. I wished that I had appreciated the wisdom that only experience can give you back then. “Ada, you have the best night vision of all of us. Go find our missing members. We’ll keep the light on.”

“Yes, Boss!” She responded before I heard her skitter off into the darkness. Around me bodies were moving. Lux, and the source of the light, rose into the sky. Bodies moved left and right, everyone picking up dirt and grabbing piles of seeds to place at the bottom of the tree. As they moved, shadows danced and swayed. They moved in harmony with each other, I shuffled to get my feet under me. My guild needed me, this wasn’t time to sit on my ass. Unfortunately, my body had other ideas. My muscles couldn’t even lift me up any more. I wasn’t finding purchase in the dirt. ‘Come on, come on’ I tried to will myself. ‘They need me.’

“You stay put, dear.” A kind, but stern voice commanded me. I looked up at Olivia as she glided her way over to me.

“Ma’am, I want to help.” I pleaded again, trying to stand and failing.

“You have helped plenty, we’ll do what needs to be done. You rest and recover. You are the most injured and exhausted of our guild currently and it would do us no good to see you hurt yourself further.”

“Ma’am, I can do it. I can help.” I begged. Her branch rested on my head, a comfortable weight to remind me that I was to sit and heal.

“Ron, we’re your guildmates. You must trust us, we’ll do what needs to be done.” ‘Then why don't you trust me?’ I wanted to ask her, but her tone and expression told me that now was not the time to argue with her. I sighed in defeat.

“Very well,” I admitted. She pet my head softly.

“I hear you were instrumental in saving Kanga, she’s been thanking you ever since she was put into my care. She and Corey have been very vocal about it, Corey even required me to administer a sedative.”

“It’s no big deal, I’m a rescuer.” I said, deflecting the praise like I’ve been taught from my guildmates. She pursed her lips in response.

“While I understand Boomer’s insistence on forgoing praise, I feel the need to remind you and the others of one key part of being rescuers.”

“What is that, ma’am?” I asked, genuinely curious as to the answer she would give.

“Whether or not it’s a 'big deal' to us, remember what it means to those we rescue.” I swallowed. The intensity with which she delivered that line. I honestly never thought about it from the other side before. What did it mean to them? Being alone, trapped, hurt, in the dark, scared. It reminded me of my first few minutes in this world, how disoriented and terrified I was. How it felt when Axe found me, calmed me down and convinced me that everything would be okay.

"It seems you understand what I'm saying."

"I think so, ma'am."

"Don't forget young man. Sometimes being a rescuer means letting your charges thank you. Some rescues are greater than the lives we save."

"You mean Khan." I concluded.

"I do. Rescuing Kanga in turn rescued Khan. There's no dutiful mother that would value their own safety over that of their children and no mothers in the world are more dutiful than Kangaskhan, but you saved Kanga from having to consider that choice and also saved Khan from losing her mother, and lastly you saved me from losing my treasured friend. I know Kanga better than anyone here in town, I'm well aware that her desire to express her gratitude will be immeasurable. Some heroic acts, Young Ron, require us to accept and acknowledge appreciation."

A mother trapped under rubble, her daughter missing, alone. I shivered trying to sympathize with what that would be like and what she was feeling while Boss and I worked to save her. 'What would she think if she knew I wanted to give up on her?' I asked myself. I didn't contemplate that line of thought further. A kiss to my forehead brought my thoughts back to the here and now.

"Do not fret too much tonight, dear. Kanga, Khan, Corey, and yourself are all safe because of your actions, you don't need to consider anything beyond that at the moment." She advised as she stood back to her full height.

"Yes, Ma'am. I understand." I said. She turned and headed back to the others that she needed to care for, I was left with my thoughts. Next to Boss was a moderate pile of seeds, Pat was diligently grabbing a few and moving them up the tree where Lux was. From down here I noticed the strain on her face as she blazed with light. Since I'm not a fire type, I couldn't quite understand the internal feeling she was going through, but she once tried to explain that her flame is just another part of her body. She can bend and manipulate it at will like I can an arm, but to burn at the intensity she's been going for as long as she needs to, I had to imagine there was fatigue associated with it.

“One run-by delivery for Thunderbutt, coming in hot. Bon appetit!” I only had a moment to blink as a streak as dark as night and fast as light buzzed within inches of me. In its wake was the smell of roasted fruit. I looked between my forearms and saw a steaming apple coated in a sticky amber sauce. The aroma of apple and caramel touched my nose. The effect was immediate. My empty pit of a stomach growled and my mouth salivated.

“Ditz?” I looked after him. The Slandit carried an armful of fruit and streaked towards where the townfolk gathered and were huddling together for comfort. He turned to wink back at me but didn’t stop to talk further. I watched from afar as he personally placed a fruit in front of each Pokemon there. Their faces lit up as he provided them sustenance for the body and humor for the soul. Our guild’s chef, Ditz, the oddest Pokemon I knew.

I munched into the apple delight, I wanted to savor it but wasn’t mentally or physically capable. The treat was gone in seconds, the sticky texture and taste of the caramel permeated throughout my mouth. I licked my teeth and lips. The sensation of something in my stomach was a heaven sent miracle. I was so out of it with how hectic it has been here to recognize that I hadn’t eaten a proper meal since before leaving for the Mantle this morning. Longer, successful expeditions always felt more rewarding when I came back to a guild-cooked meal.

Our well-oiled machine of a guild was running on all cylinders, well most cylinders. We were still missing two crucial gears somewhere out there in the void. ‘They’re safe. They’re strong. We’re all strong. They’ll be walking up this hill any-’

“I see someone!” I heard Pat’s call from the tree. I, and a couple dozen pairs of eyes, looked upon him. He was pointing off into the night. I followed his hand. The gloom was fading, dust must have been settling enough to increase our visibility, however I couldn’t see what Pat was pointing out. His eyesight was leagues ahead of my own and I’m sure my exhaustion was a contributing factor. The haze parted and eventually a bulbous shadow materialized from the nebulous air. Yellow and purple legs skittered into view. A red thorax, sharp pincers, a grey leg, a bulbous nose. Ada and Tim. I smiled as they came into view.

“Olivia! Tim needs you!” Ada shouted as she dashed straight to our matriarch. I got a look at Tim as she eased the unconscious Timburr to the ground gently, he had a rather wicked looking bump on the side of his head. It was purple and bruised, he likely suffered it in the impact. Which also meant that he’s been in serious condition since the start of this crisis. I hissed in apprehension. Olivia was next to her in a second,  roots creeping up his back and past his neck.

“Ada, status report.” Boss asked her from across the hill.

“Boss! I found Tim, Axe, and Kecleon!” ‘Axe! He’s safe!’ I thought. “Tim’s condition was the most critical and I was the fastest. Axe followed behind with Kecleon, he had, well, gotten lost in the dust without the light orb as a landmark.” I groaned to myself. ‘I knew it. Axe, you idiot.’

“How far out were they?”

“Umm…” Ada hesitated.

“Ada.” Boss sternly commanded, “How far?”

“The Post Office, thereabouts.” She answered. I groaned again, that was in the exact opposite direction of where we were from the fountain area. I had no idea how he would have gotten that turned around, but I guess that didn’t matter at the moment. He was found, he’s safe. ‘Legends above, thank you.’ I prayed silently to myself. Boss growled low and slow. I could tell he was frustrated beyond measure at Axe but at the moment he needed to maintain calm and coolheaded. A brief glance at my guildmates and I knew they also recognized the telltale signs of Boss’ anger.

“And he’s mobile, heading here?” He asked.

“Oh, it’s Axe. Guy was single handedly carrying both Tim and Kecleon on his back and still looked like he could take on a monster trap on his own. He’ll be here soon.

“Was Kecleon injured?”

“Well, I don’t think seriously. Visually, I couldn’t see anything. But, I mean, it’s Kecleon, Boss.” I snickered at that and immediately regretted it as my chest flared in pain in response to the motion. I had forgotten that I was injured because of Olivia’s roots.

Kecleon was notoriously hypochondriac. They couldn’t go three days without posting a job to our bulletin board for Olivia to check them for some disease they were certain they had. They never had any disease, they were in the peak of health, still they posted requests. Olivia’s response to each one was the same. ‘Can you walk? Yes. Can you breathe through your nose? Yes. Then stop talking, go home, and call me when you have an emergency.’ I’ve always known Olivia to have practically infinite patience. Kecleon was one Pokemon that I’ve seen her snap at.

“Understood. Olivia, how’s our Tim?” Boss moved on.

“Unconscious, but stable. Tim’s durable skull seems to have absorbed quite a bit of impact. The bruising looks painful, but only surface level. I’m wary of potential concussion, and will continue to monitor.”

“Good.” Boss walked off towards the pathway down the hill, he stood at attention, arms crossed, his back to all of us. He was stark still and kept his vigil into the night, a leader awaiting the return of his missing soldier. There was a strength in his pose. I felt it in my bones from across the way. I wanted to join him. Orlov stomped and stood at attention next to him, following his gaze out into nothing. Ditz joined them next, then Pat. Lux remained suspended in the tree, her lantern bright. Olivia remained with Tim, but Ada went to go stand with the vigil. Their backs were to me, to the rest of us that sat under the tree. I yearned to go, but I still couldn’t stand. I wanted to greet my friend, my partner. To hold him again when I knew he was safe. But it stayed beyond my reach. The weakness would not abate, no matter how the ferocity of my mental struggle. I was too hurt, hungry, and held down. ‘Axe…’

I heard them before too long. It started as a soft murmur in the stillness of the night, but it was persistent. I couldn’t understand what they were saying but I knew it was an argument. The two tones constantly going back and forth with each other. Snapping quickly. I looked between the limbs of my guildmates, they mostly stood still. Except for Pat, his tail twitched happily up and down. He must have spotted them and was trying his best to keep calm with the rest of the guild. I smiled at the scene, ‘Thank you, Pat. Thank you for letting me know he’s okay.’

The argument eventually became intelligible. “..blasted fool. I keep telling you to carry me more smoothly. You’re exacerbating my internal bleeding and tendonitis. If I have to endure too much more of this I’ll be permanently disabled. You hear me, you hard headed buffoon?” Kecleon.

“And I told you 14 Frackin’ times, you money-grubbing, Poke stealing ass of a merchant. You have neither internal bleeding or tendonitis, there’s not a damn thing wrong with your legs. You want a smoother journey, get off my back, literally, and walk your own happy tail the rest of the way.” Axe!

“Bah, it would be just my luck that I’d be stuck with you as my rescuer. I should have demanded that Ada take me with her instead. I’d be at the hill by now getting healed by Ms. Olivia and not losing brain cells attempting to communicate with a punch-happy beast such as yourself.”

“Kecleon, get over it! Tim was by far more hurt than you considering he was, you know, UNCONSCIOUS! Which is what I should have knocked you to ages ago! Then I’d be spared from your Frackin’ yelling directly into my ear!”

“And I keep telling you that- Boss Boomer!!”

“Boss! Guys!”

“You two alright?” Boss asked. I heard a brief shuffle and then saw Kecleon run up the hill and past the line of my guildmates, completely uninjured, unhampered, unhinged. It looked like they briefly were searching for Olivia before sprinting off towards her. In a flash, Kecleon was trapped in vines. They gasped aloud and a seed was stuffed into their open mouth. In a second, their eyes shut and they slumped to sleep. Sleep seeds, aggressive but effective. I looked back towards my guild, between the legs of my crew. I couldn’t see his face, but his legs walked towards the wall of warriors awaiting him.

“Guess I’m the last one left?” he said to them.

“Yes, but you’re here now. Good work out there.” Boss said.

“Yes, sir!”

“Now, that you’re safe.” He popped his knuckles, I heard the sound from yards away. I cringed. “What. Were you doing. Heading to the Post Office?” Each phrase was accented by another crack.