Chp 9

	Mystic awoke first in the morning. She woke up quite early, jumping up from a nightmare. She quickly looked over to the blanket that covered her triangle. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was undisturbed. Her dream had been about someone breaking into their room and trying to steal it. Phantom had tried to protect her and got... She shook the thought out of her head. It was only a dream. She look at the curtain, but she could barely see a hint of light. Fairly confident that is was still early, she laid back down and returned to sleep. 

	"Hey, wake up sleepy head." 

	She opened her eyes to find Phantom prodding her ear. "What time is it?" She grumbled. 

	"Like noon. We got shit to do." 

	"Oh, I guess I'll get up." She got to her feet and let out a loud yawn. "I slept like crap." She slowly and stiffly walked over to the tub. She turned on the water and splashed it into her face. She winced and hissed loudly. "GAHH!" She nearly screamed, but chocked it down at the last moment. "That's cold!" 

	"Well duh. At least you're wide awake..." Phantom said nonchalantly. 

	"Shut up, you don't know how cold water feels, geez. Does dirt feel like that to you?" She complained while rubbing her face with her forepaws. 

	"Not really. Mud is annoying, but I think that's just because its icky." 

	She shook the remaining water from her face and turned the water back off. She went over the food basket, took a berry out and popped it in her mouth. "Okay, ready. Let's go." 

	"I already stocked up on stuff before I woke you, so we can go straight there."

	"And where is that?" 

	"Black Bleak Cave. We got a special request to rescue someone in there. I got a reviver seed just for them."

	"I would ask what that is, but I can assume from the name. Same for the cave, it sounds dark. Got anything more?" By now they were on the way out of the headquarters. 

	"Well, it is known for being pitch black, hence the name. It's also really-"

	He was cut short by a gust of wind and a thud as a charizard landed in front of them. Flare let out a menacing growl, looking at Mystic, before looking to Phantom. "You leavin' to do my job?"

	"Yea, we were just leaving." 

	Mystic looked over to him with a scowl. "That's right, so buzz off." She told Flare scornfully.

	"Watch it. I am the second strongest pokemon of any rescue team. Like me or not, show me some damn respect." Flare snorted, blowing a small puff of black smoke. He stepped around them, purposefully flapping a wing threateningly at Mystic as he passed. 

	Once he was gone, they started walking again. "So anyways," Phantom started. "The cave is known for being small, so only small pokemon like us can go in. That's why he asked us to do it." 

	"And when were you going to tell me that it was that prick that asked us to go?" She said angrily. 

	"I don't really see how it matters..."

	"Fuck him. Why should we help him after the way he treated us?"

	"Because we're a rescue team. It's our job to help anyone who needs it." He said proudly.

	"I guess, but there is something bugging me. Why did he ask us? He really seems to hate rookies like us so..." 

	"I've got two guesses. Most pokemon are too big to go there or maybe he just wants us to prove ourselves. I dunno', it's a job one way or the other."

+++

	A few hours later they arrived at the cave. Instead of being in the side of a mountain, it was a rocky outcropping that led deep down into the ground. 

	"This is it." Phantom said. "They say there is a portal to the afterlife here."

	"So, does that mean there'll be ghosts?!" Mystic said, visibly shaking.

	"Wow, you really don't like ghosts do you? It's just a legend. Sorry if I spooked you. We'll be fine."

BLACK BLEAK CAVE BF1

	They entered, the sunlight immediately fading away. They were quickly plunged into total darkness as they proceeded. 

	"I can't see a thing. Didn't you say you prepared for this?" Mystic whined. 

	"Yea, just let me..." The sound of him fiddling with the item box echoed into the distance. A couple seconds later, a brilliant flash shot out from him, illuminating the entire passage. The orb floated up from the box and rose. It dully impacted the ceiling, before moving back behind his left ear, where it remained floating, still giving off light. 

	"Cool! How the heck does that thing work like that?" Mystic said, totally awestruck. She couldn't help but stare at the bright ball, leaving spots in her eyes. 

	"I have no idea. It works and I'm fine with that." He looked up to see just how short the cave actually was. The rocky ceiling was only a few inches from his head. If there was a low hanging rock, he would have hurt himself. To either side, the walls were closer, more compact, than the usual passage ways they were used to. He shifted his stance before continuing on. 

	They had to duck and crawl a few times to proceed on, as the path widened and closed in randomly. 

	"What the..." Phantom muttered quietly. Up ahead, he saw something. His pace slowed down, and he adopted a lower stance, almost stalking forward. Mystic copied him, not asking any questions. As they got closer, he spotted a few pokemon lying in the hallway, four geodude, all lying face down. They closed in slowly, trying to remain silent. Once they were five feet away, he began to get curious. They should have spotted him by now. He held his paw out to the side, signaling her to stay put. He closed the gap, and reached out, lightly touching the boulder like pokemon. 

	"Are they dead? They aren't moving..." She asked.

	"No, they're breathing. I think they're unconscious. Let's take advantage of it and get a move on." They carefully climbed over them, continuing further down the path. They continued walking for what seemed like an eternity, with no turns and no rooms. 

	"Kehehe..." A faint laugh echoed towards them. 

	"Did you hear that?" Phantom asked. She nodded and they assumed a sneaking speed, ears perked for further sound. 

	"I know, I know. You really didn't need to come rescue me." A masculine voice said.

	"NO!" A feminine voice shouted. "You don't know! You keep doing this and screwing everything up. You just keep making more trouble, so stop rushing off ahead." 

	"She's right." A different voice said, this one masculine. 

	"And you shut up too!" The female yelled. "You're just as bad. Just because it doesn't go wrong as often doesn't make it not a problem." A smack echoed down the passage. 

	"Ow, damn girl. Calm down." The second male complained. 

	"Kehehehehe." The first one started laughing again before a second smack sounded out.

	"Shut it, somebody's coming." The female said. 

	Phantom knew it was only a matter of time until they spotted his light. "Get ready. I think they're setting up an ambush." They proceeded ahead carefully, eyes peeled for anything up ahead. 

	They went on for about twenty seconds before anything happened. A chill shot through Mystic's body as a sloppy lick went down her back, stopping at the base of her tails. Her fur stood on end and she looked around frantically for the source. Phantom looked back. "What's up?" 

	"Something licked me! I'm still wet!" She screamed out. 

	He turned around and looked at her. He could plainly see her fur sticking up in a line down her back. A moment later, he felt a hand, with three fingers, grip his balls tightly for a moment before letting go. "Nice package~" A female voice whispered into his ear. His head shot over to look for the source, but his head smacked into the rock wall. 

	"Whoever's there, come out!" Phantom yelled. Between them, a purple figure rose out of the floor. They both leaped back in surprise, before taking aggressive stances, prepping sparks and flames. 

	"Relax. I'm not your enemy. You two look like a rescue team. Am I right?" The gengar asked. 

	"Yeah..." Phantom said cautiously. 

	"Great. So are we. So you can help us and we can both get out of here." He let out a chuckle. Phantom noticed that his blob like body was mostly in the floor, only his upper half sticking out. "Come on out guys."

	From the wall next to Mystic, a banette stuck his head out. Next to Phantom, a mismagius emerged partially. 

	"So, how 'bout it? Wanna team up?" Gengar asked. 

	"Sure, why not. Why are you here?" Phantom responded. 

	"And how are you doing that?" Mystic questioned, pointed to their bodies sticking out of the wall. 

	"Well we're ghost types. Anyways, we're here to get an item from the end of this cave. It's tiring to faze through walls, but we can't proceed any further without doing it. You two look small enough so we'd appreciate the help." Mismagius explained. 

	"Alright, let's go." Phantom said, turning and beginning to walk. 

	"We'll just stay in the wall. It's easier that way. If something attacks, we'll back you up." Banette told them before all three vanished. 

	"So, that's what ghosts are like?" Mystic asked Phantom. 

	"Yep. Not so scary right? They're just known for being a bit mischievous."

	"Yea, I feel much better."

	They continued down the path without encountering any further resistance. After a long time, the path finally began to widen. They emerged into a large cavern. The ceiling and other walls were so distant that the orb's light did not illuminate them. Just ahead of them was a massive hole, dropping straight down into the earth. Phantom stepped closer, peering down into the pit. He could swear he saw something glimmer down there. Behind him, the three ghosts stepped into the open.

	"Let us, darling." Mismagius said. All three flew forward and down into the pit. A short while later, they flew back up. The mismagius was holding a large golden object. While it was colored gold, it appeared to have a crystalline surface. "Got it!" She cheered in a singsong voice. 

	"What is that thing?" Phantom asked. Just after he did, a purple vortex erupted from the crystal, quickly growing and consuming all five pokemon. 

+++

	Phantom blinked his eyes in confusion, finding himself in a very strange place. The dirt below him was oddly colored, almost orange. Above him, the sky consisted of a slowly swirling purple vortex. He looked around, finding himself on a small floating platform. In the distance, he could see more, floating in odd directions. One was even upside down. 

	He jumped when a loud roar suddenly pierced the silence. It was an eerie cry, almost sounding hollow. The sound faded away, leaving him in total silence again. His body quivered with a chill. Whatever that was, he did not want to find it. He did not see Mystic here, so his goal became very clear.

	He wandered over to one edge, looking at closest floating island. Seeing no feasible way to get to it, he decided to experiment. He took a pebble in paw, and threw it. Halfway through the air, it shifted its downward arc, instead flying straight and hitting the island. He gulped, and leapt into the air.

	He flailed wildly for a moment, before he felt gravity shift, instead focusing to the new island, causing him to fall straight at it. It had been at a 90 degree angle from the previous one, but with the new perspective, he felt as if he was on solid ground. He decided not to think about it much, for his own sanity. 

	While he was looking for the next spot to jump from, he heard a few explosions and that same ghostly roar. He looked around worriedly, but the smoke rising from the distance was too far away to see the cause. As he watched the plume rise, it shifted and warped, tracing strange lines in the sky as it was thrown around by the shifting gravity. He forced his fear down and began to hop from island to island, hurrying to reach Mystic. When he was only one jump away from the smoking area, having just performed a 180 degree flip in gravity, he saw them. 

	The three ghost types they had arrived with were lying on the ground, in a smoking crater. He took a soaring leap and landed next to them. "Are you guys okay?!" He asked. 

	"Get out of here, kid. We fucked up. We did bad. Kehehehe." The gengar said with a wheezy, very weak sounding laugh, that ended with a pained coughing fit. "Find some way out of here. And take this." He pulled out the golden crystal and handed it to Phantom. "Give it to Flare." He explained, while Phantom stored it away. 

	"I can't leave yet. I have to find my friend." 

	"Just leave her. That monster will kill you both if you don't get out now." 

	"What monster? That thing that keeps roaring?" 

	"Yes... Giratina, the renegade. Please, somebody has to survive." Gengar collapsed back down, lying flat on his back.

	"But... where even are we?" Phantom asked. A few seconds later, he received no response. He grimaced and climbed back out of the pit. As he got out, another roar echoed through the dead landscape. Suddenly, a beam of shimmering purple blasted through the sky. It was massive, a house sized wave of energy, tearing through the sky. It kept going into the vortex shaped sky, until it got too far away to see. "Wow..." He muttered. 

	Now knowing the treat they faced, he hurried off. He hopped several islands, trying to spot her or hear her, or anything. Eventually, he saw an island with a large waterfall raining down into a lake below. If she was up there, she wouldn't be able to get down... It was a better bet than wandering around. He got to the lake, and began to swim in it. Once he got to the waterfall, he started to swim up it. Gravity seemed to fade away entirely, allowing him to swim straight up as if it was a gentle river. He eventually reach the top, cresting over the edge of the island. He was panting heavily from the lengthy swim. He stumbled out of the water and shook his fur dry. 

	"Phantom, is that you?" Mystic asked. 

	He bolted up straight, scanning the small island for her. There were some rocks, rubble, dead plants, a small pond that was the source of the waterfall, and little else. The water seemingly had no source, flowing out from nowhere. 

	"Please say something..." She begged. 

	"Yea, it's me. Where are you?" 

	A pile of rubble shook, and moved, allowing her to step out from hiding. "I hid once that thing flew by. Do you have a way out?" 

	"I got an escape orb." He dashed over to her, fiddled through the bag, and pulled it out. Before they could both place their paws on it, a gigantic dragon rose from below the island, staring right at them. It's grey and black skin was adorned with a golden trim. It let out its echoing roar and its mouth guard split. A massive beam shot out right at them just as they vanished from sight. 

	Phantom opened his clenched eyes a few seconds later to find themselves in front of the headquarters. "That was too close." He said weakly. He collapsed and rolled over to his side, trying to catch his breath. She was in similar shape. 

	"Get up." A voice said from above them. Flare swooped out of the sky and landed in front of them. "I've been waiting. Where are my companions?" 

	"They... We were attacked. They didn't make it..."

	"Damn!" He growled. "Did you get the package?!" 

	"Yes." Phantom said, popping open the box. When he did, the crystal rolled out and onto the ground. 

	"Ah, the Griseous orb. Thank you. At least their deaths were not in vain." Flare said, picking it up. He took to the sky again. "Talk to Marie about your reward." He yelled down at them as he flew away. 

	"That was too close." Mystic said through her labored breathing. He was also still lying on the ground, trying to calm his racing heart. "I'm pretty sure we're still alive." He said, patting his face. Once he caught his breath, he got up and went over to her. He licked her ear and helped her up. "Let's go get our reward. Better be good..."

	"Then, I'm taking a long bath." She muttered as they started moving. 

	They headed straight for Marie's room. "Yes? Ah, it's you two. I trust Flare sent you." She reached under her desk and took out a sack. She jiggled it, making the coins inside jingle. "All yours. And, I received orders from above to promote you to gold rank." 

	"Flare put us up two ranks?!" They both exclaimed.

	"No. The order came from Hunter. I have no idea why, but I know better than to question him." She leaned over and dropped the small bag in front of them. "Enjoy your funds. If you ever need extra cash, Flare always is looking for help with his archeology."

	Phantom took the top of the sack in his mouth and they left. From the heft of it, there was lots of poke inside. A short while later, they arrived back at their room. Mystic made a beeline for the tub and started the water, allowing it to warm. Phantom sat down on his bed and opened up their reward. Inside was a large pile of coins, but lying on top of it, was a tiny object, almost the size of a sticker. It was yellow and shaped like a star. Next to it was a note, saying "Put me on your badge, I will help you." 

	"Cool," Phantom said to get her attention. "Flare must not be so bad. Check this thing out." He said, while attaching the button to his rescue badge. It had an adhesive back, once again like a sticker, but it had more bulk to it. "It doesn't say what it does though. Oh yea, now that we're gold rank, we can teleport straight to dungeons."

	"Great. Walking around all the time kinda sucks." She turned back and dipped her paw in the water, a chill running through her body. "Wanna join me?"

	"Sure." He left the bag, removed both his badge and ribbon, and hopped into the tub. It wasn't cold, but not hot either. A short while later, it warmed enough, and she got in too. 

	"I was really planning on doing it tonight, you know. But close calls aren't very sexy."

	"Yea... I'm still shook up. Speaking of ruined times, what are you planning with that thing?" He asked, flicking an ear to the hidden triangle on the other side of the room. 

	"I dunno, it's cool. I mean, how often do you find something from space?"

	"It could be really valuable." He said, a twinkle in his eyes.

	"No, it's my treasure." She said defensively. 

	"Maybe we should buy a safe then. I wouldn't trust the bank with something like that, and leaving it here alone isn't a good idea."

	"That does sound good." She dunk her head down, shook it under the water for a moment and surfaced. "I still don't trust Flare. He told me it was a friend of his that wanted us to do the job. Then he tells you to go rescue his friends, and then we get an artifact for him. And why would he ask us? It makes no sense. I don't buy the convenience thing." 

	"I'm starting to feel that way too. Rescue teams aren't supposed to do their own jobs, especially paying for them. A pokemon in such a high place should be helping people, so why is he hunting artifacts?"

	"Exactly! Promise me you won't let him boss us around anymore." She begged. 

	"Alright." They fell silent for a little bit, until she splashed some water at him with a mischievous smile. He returned the favor, leading to a splash fight, getting water everywhere. They eventually stopped when neither could stop laughing. His laugh was suddenly interrupted by a colossal yawn. "I'm dead tired..." He muttered, getting out of the tub and drying off. When he turned to go to his bed, there was a splash and he was pounced from behind. 

	He squirmed weakly, as he felt Mystic's breath on his head. She leaned down and gently nibbled on one ear. "I think I need someone to cuddle with tonight." She whispered. 

	"All right, just get off, your still soaked!" He whined, trying to wriggle out from under her dripping fur. She relented and allowed him his freedom. He dashed out from under her, dried off again, and lied down on his bed. Once she was dry, she dragged her bed over next to his and joined him. 

	She got onto the joined cloth padding and got close to him, pressing into his fur. He briefly got up, causing her to open her mouth to complain, but once he flipped off the light and came back, she stopped. He returned to where he had been, with their fur intermingling. He lied down, belly down and a few moments later, he felt one of her paws wrap around his back, and her tails drape over the both of them, forming a comfortable warm blanket.