Spice of Life: Choices, Choices.
 
Spice sat down at the table, and finally the last member of the Winners had joined the morning meeting. Cyn breathed in for a moment before looking at the pokemon gathered around the dining table, which was covered in plates of food. Every now and then a pokemon would eat some of what was in front of them, but most seemed to have their eyes on Cyn... how long had it been since their last meeting anyway?
 
“Hey everyone, thanks for getting up so early. Let's all work hard today.” Cyn began, sitting up a little so Rune and Malus could see her from the other end of the table, “We've got a lot on the agenda today... I think we all know the most important thing we need to discuss though.”
 
“What happened at the Waterfall Cave?” Rune asked, his black ears perking up as he glanced over at the Manectric next to him, “Volt told me all about it. It sounded pretty heavy.”
 
“The demands of the legendary were quite clear.” Volt added in, turning to look up the table at the Liepard and staring into her forest green eyes, “The Jera stones are clearly important to keeping a Mystery Dungeon together... we have one, and we must return it.”
 
“It's not even just the dungeon. The forest surrounding the Dark Woods entrance is way more dangerous than it used to be.” Rune chimed in, leaning forward on the table to ensure he had everyone's attention, “There used to be like, one Ursaring I'd have to dodge, now I'm getting maws coming at me left, right and centre.”
 
“You know you love it.” Malus chuckled. The Umbreon blushed and gave a little 'bree' in response, the Persian winked at him playfully before leaning back in his chair, “In case you all forgot, it's still Winter. Pokemon are probably just fighting over the scraps. I say we ignore it.”
 
“Even if Rune enjoys the hunt, it doesn't mean it's okay to let this slide.” Doc Leaf spoke up, tucking his ears back as he took a bite from one of the berries on his plate, “It's getting to the point where my patients need escorts just to get through the forest to my clinic... honestly, I might have to think about leaving the tree and setting up in town.”
 
“Okay, I get it, a lot of stuff is happening lately in the forest outside of Clearspring.” Cyn breathed out a sigh. She slumped back in her chair and ran her paw over her face, trying to calm herself down as she decided on how to word her response. “But, Malus is, for once, right. Food is scarce right now, who knows if Clearspring would survive if we took away the Rainbow Lense?”
 
“You can't seriously be considering keeping it.” Volt's eyes widened in outrage. He brought his paw down heavily on the table, causing the dishes to clatter, “You'd be damning the Dark Woods and all who live within it... Miss Cyn, I urge you to reconsider.”
 
“I'm sorry, my mind's made up.” the shiny Liepard said, shaking her head. “We're keeping the Rainbow Lense, at least until we can either get undeniable evidence that it's causing the problem in the Dark Woods, or until we're sure Clearspring can survive without the crops it produces.” she looked to Auric, “...The guild doesn't know we have one, do they?”
 
“No, they don't.” The Lucario replied stoically. “I don't like keeping secrets from my commanders, Cyn. Nothing bad would happen if they found out we had one of the Rainbow Lenses. They'd probably just want to ensure it was safe.”
 
“By which you mean they'd take it off us and parade us through the town as 'conspirators' whilst stripping us of our badges and ranking.” Cyn narrowed her eyes on the Lucario before shaking her head, “No thanks. I think I'll take my chances with keeping it a secret.”
 
“I don't like what the Rainbow Lense is doing to you either, Cyn.” Auric added to his previous statement, causing the Liepard to give him a confused glance, though most of the table looked on empathetically as the Lucario spoke, “You're becoming addicted to it's convenience. I know this is what you wanted, a way to get Reviver seeds with ease... but is this really the best way?”
 
“We're not having to go on missions every day, and we're not taking Reviver seeds from pokemon who actually need them to rescue others.” Cyn said with a little shrug, “I'd say we're being big damn heroes by keeping it.”
 
“I'm afraid the feeling isn't mutual.” Volt flicked his ears back. By this point sparks were jumping off his fur, and the unfortunate Umbreon sitting next to him had to lean away to avoid being hit by any... the Ninetales on his right had to keep patting his fur down as the electrical charge left it standing on end. “I've heard enough. Do you have any work for me today, Cyn?”
 
“Oh, right.” she blinked, “I was wondering if you could head around the Crazy Canyon today and make sure things are fine there. Try to get in touch with the tribe, see if they can tell us anything about their lense. Where they got it, how they're using it... that kind of stuff.” Cyn said, trying to get back on track. She could see the rage behind the Manectric's eyes, it was a fire she hadn't come to expect from him, “I was going to assign Rune and Typh to go along with you-”
 
“Rune, Typh. We're going.” Volt snapped as he stood up from the table and marched towards the door. The Umbreon and Swampert exchanged glances before quickly stuffing their faces with whatever was on their plates (and in Typh's case, whatever was on the plates nearby) and briskly following after the Manectric.
 
“Talk to him when he gets home, see if you can bring him over to our side.” Cyn told the Lucario before looking to the remaining members of her team, “The rest of you, check the job board and see what you can pick up. If you're feeling brave, go to the Dark Woods and scout around, tell any weaker pokemon there about Clearspring and that it's a safe place to evacuate to until this blows over.”
 
Three solid knocks came from the door, and all eyes in the room snapped over to it. Spice got up from the table and began to walk over to it curiously, “Who could that be? It's too early for any delivery.”
 
“It's probably Typh, asking if he can have some food for the road.” Malus suggested before smirking over at Leaf and climbing over the table towards him. “What do you think, Leaf? Seems like a perfect task for you.”
 
“Malus, down.” Auric spoke to him sharply. The Persian glared over at the Lucario before shuffling back into his seat, sulking like a spoilt child. The Ninetales simply shook his head at their antics before moving to answer the door.
 
He opened it to reveal another Persian with three Meowth behind him. Nature hadn't been as kind to this one as it had been to Malus, a scar covered one of his eyes, a wound which had turned the pupil of that eye a milky white. There was also a strange symbol on his gemstone, but such details eluded Spice as he recalled their last encounter, in which the Persian had taken him by surprise and struck him. A grin cracked onto the Ninetales face, “Kaiser! What an unexpected surprise.”
 
“Surprises are by definition 'unexpected', Spice.” Kaiser replied before putting on a smile as well to let the Ninetales know he meant no harm, “Is Cyn home? I need to talk to her.”
 
“Oh! ...I'll check.” the Ninetales replied in a sweet, 'I-hate-you-so-much' tone before closing the door in the Persian's face. He made his way back to the dining room, his tails swishing high behind him as he made his way through the door and sat at the table, continuing to eat. As he noticed the rest of the table awaiting the answer he simply cleared his throat, “Wrong house.”
 
“Wrong house? How did they manage to mistake the HQ for anything other than our HQ?” Cyn blinked in disbelief. Another loud knock came from the door, and her eyes narrowed on Spice, “Looks like we've got another visitor. I'll get this one.” she said, standing up from the table and making her way towards the front door.
 
“Cyn, wait!” Spice yiped, choking on a piece of toast as he did so. He coughed and gagged, holding his throat with one paw and reaching out towards the Liepard with the other. He let out another yipe as he felt a set of strong arms grip around his middle from behind and began to push down on his stomach, he'd have thanked Auric for trying to save his life if his attempts weren't holding him back from chasing after Cyn.
 
Finally the toast came free and the Ninetales with it. Spice dashed into the main room, not even stopping to thank the Lucario as he pursued the Liepard... though he arrived just in time to see her open the door and the scowl disappear from her face, being replaced with an expression of shock.
 
“Kaiser.” Cyn gasped, stepping back hurriedly as the Persian advanced into the room, flanked by his Meowth troupe. Her eyes widened in alarm as she looked between each pokemon before focusing on their leader again. “What are you doing here?”
 
“The Dark Woods have become too hostile for me or my men. Despite my best efforts, these three were all I could convince to leave.” Kaiser turned to look back at the Meowth following him before turning his attention to Cyn, “There's talk of sabotage about the mystery dungeon. Most pokemon seem to think this was a planned occurrence. Someone wanted the Dark Woods to become inhabitable.”
 
“Sabotage?” Cyn blinked, her heart couldn't make its mind up on whether it wanted to sink to her stomach or flutter out of her mouth. She tried to keep her calm, “Do they know who's behind it all?”
 
“No.” Kaiser replied, shaking his head. Cyn and Spice both withheld the urge to breathe out a collective sigh of relief, they'd have to do it when the Persian wasn't around. The cat sat back on his haunches, “We don't have much, but... I have no where else to turn. Please, if you could look into this and find out who was behind the destruction of my home, I would do anything you asked in return.”
 
“...Y-yeah, of course.” Cyn replied, giving a cautious glance back to Spice before moving forward and hugging the Persian, “Hey, if you need somewhere to stay...”
 
“I don't want to be any trouble. While myself and my team are here, please consider us part of yours.” Kaiser said, returning the hug briefly before stepping back and bowing. The three Meowth behind him bowed in unison, “We are at your disposal.”
 
“You don't need to be, really.” Cyn insisted, backing away as they all started bowing to her. Spice watched on curiously, though he quickly noticed that he was being joined in the doorway by the other members of the Winners. Cyn cleared her throat, “Kaiser, get up. Come into the dining room, we'll fix you all something to eat.”
 
“An ever gracious host... thanks, Cyn.” the Persian rumbled as he stood up, leading his men through to the dining room. The Winners parted to leave a path for the new arrivals, though once they had passed Leaf and Malus began to follow after them curiously.
 
“Wait!” Cyn called out to them. The two pokemon glanced over their shoulders at her, and the Liepard quickly gestured for the group to gather. Once all four pokemon were within reaching distance she pulled them into a huddle, “Ground rules while guests are here. One, we don't talk about the Rainbow Lense. Two, we don't talk about the Jera Stone incident. Three, best behaviour.”
 
“Got it.” Malus replied, “I mean, skipping the last step.”
 
“Is this really necessary? Kaiser's helped us out in the past, he should know the truth.” Leaf spoke up.
 
“No, Kaiser cannot find out about what we did. He'd never forgive me.” Cyn tucked her ears back before tapping her paw on the floor anxiously, “We play it calm, we make up some crap to throw them off our trail and we get the Rainbow Lense back to the Dark Woods without them realizing it was us who took it in the first place.”
 
“Oh, so now you want to return it? I suppose the heart has a funny way of driving a pokemon.” Spice breathed out a sigh, “I suppose you think if you save the Dark Woods you'll have Kaiser falling at your paws.”
 
“You saw me just now, I don't want Kaiser falling at my paws again.” Cyn rolled her eyes with a blush, “It was... weird seeing him act like that. Still, it'll be good to have him around the base, maybe he can get us running more efficiently.”
 
“From what I recall from your report on the Corona incident, he's a skilled leader. He could provide some much needed counsel,” Auric added in, stroking his chin as he considered it, “But to not tell him the truth? It seems... unfair.”
 
“Oh my god, what do you pokemon want from me?” Cyn whined in a whisper, digging her claws into the fur on her head as she withheld her desire to hit their heads against each other, “Just please, go along with this. I've got this all under control, just trust me and, for once, do as you're told. Okay?”
 
“...Okay.” Leaf breathed out a sigh, “If it means that much to you, I won't tell him about the Rainbow Lense... I'll try to find out who knows about it and try to limit people spreading the information around, but after that I'm going to stay at the clinic and work on my patient.”
 
“The Meinshao from the Waterfall Cave?” Auric asked curiously, “She should be able to provide us with more information about the Jera stone, when she's well enough to talk.”
 
“Sounds good. Auric, I need you to check in with the Guild, find out what Mystery Dungeons they've recovered Rainbow Lenses from. I want to be sure we're right before we give ours back to the Dark Woods.” Cyn said, looking over at the Lucario, “Remember, subtlety. They don't know we have a Rainbow Lense, so don't let them know we have one... alright?”
 
“Very well. I should be able to have a letter sent out shortly, we'll have the report back from Virtue by the evening, provided they understand it's importance.” the Lucario nodded in response, “I must say, Cyn. This is the most confident I've ever seen you as a leader... which is strange, because I don't think I've ever seen you panicking this much.”
 
“I am not panicking!” she growled, causing the rest of the group to step back to avoid the expected flurry of claws. Cyn breathed out a sigh, trying to calm herself back down, “Spice, Malus and I are going to head into the Dark Woods. We should be able to find something else to blame on lack of food.”
 
“Are you out of your mind?” Spice gasped at the Liepard's suggestion, his tails twisting anxiously behind him, “We can't go in there. We're the ones who took it in the first place!”
 
“Took what?”
 
Cyn and Spice both froze as they heard the familiar voice. The group turned to see their Persian guest standing in the doorway, watching them all with a furrowed brow. “...I heard shouting. I thought you might need my help.”
 
“O-oh, no. We're fine.” Cyn replied, glancing at the others... though most avoided her gaze, the only one who looked back at her was Auric, and that was to give her a deep glare of 'tell him the truth'. The Liepard looked over to the Persian once again, “Spice was just saying that he took some pictures in the Dark Woods on a camera... he was worried that might have caused the trouble.”
 
“Pictures? I hope you at least got my good side.” Kaiser laughed. Cyn let out a forced laugh in unison, followed swiftly by the other Winners... including Spice himself. The Persian slowed to a chuckle and shook his head, “Ha, seriously though... not even five teams a day taking every berry they found could have caused this much upset. There's something more powerful at work here.”
 
“We'll find out what it is. We were actually just mounting a group to go into the Dark Woods now.” Cyn replied, looking to Spice and Malus, “Come on, guys. Let's go. Up and at 'em... Kaiser, why don't you stay here and get settled in? Get to know the town?”
 
“I'd rather be with you on this mission, Cyn. I know the Dark Woods better than anyone. I could get you through it much quicker.” the Persian replied as he moved to join the group. He turned his attention to Malus with a little smile, looking at him with his good eye. “That is, if there is room for two Persians in this team?”
 
“Room for one more, I always say.” Malus smirked, just wanting to see the look on Cyn's face. It had been well worth it, her expression was a mixture of dread and rage towards him... he'd probably be getting it later, but for now it was well worth the risk, “Come on, Cyn... 'Up and at 'em.'”
 
“Hooray...” Cyn replied unconvincingly, smiling awkwardly between the three males that made up her team. She looked to Auric for help, but he was already gone, as was the doctor. She was glad that they'd be getting their work done... now she just had to find something in the Dark Woods to cover her ass with. The four pokemon geared up and prepared to move, leaving the Meowth behind to get settled in their new accommodation.
 
* * *
 
The first step was always the hardest. The four pokemon stood at the marker that revealed the entry of the Dark Woods, one more step and they would be whisked away on an adventure. They would disappear from the forest and enter the Mystery Dungeon, and once in they would need to rely on their badges to get back out.
 
It was an E rank dungeon, or at at least it was months ago when the most dangerous pokemon in it was a single, seldom-seen Ursaring. Now the dangers that laid within had become a common topic in Clearspring. Arboks, Fearow, Beedrill. There was nothing in there that hadn't evolved... nothing could survive without evolving anymore, and what didn't evolve quickly become food for the pokemon that did.
 
“Are you alright?” Kaiser asked, moving up to the Liepard's side, “If you want to have more time to prepare, we can spend the day gathering information in Clearspring instead. I'm certain that someone there would know about recent adventure team activities in the Dark Woods.”
 
“No, I think this is the best course.” Cyn lied. Spice tucked his ears back and glanced over at Malus, wondering how far their leader would go just to cover her own tracks. He began to wonder if there was a reason she had taken her two least favourite members of the team along for the ride into the most dangerous dungeon they had ever encountered. “Could you lead though? You know the place better.”
 
“I know it like the back of my paw.” The Persian replied with a chuckle before turning back to the other two, “Let's move out, soldiers. Single file behind me, no funny business. You screw around on my watch and you're going to have more than the mystery dungeon to worry about.” he told them in a loud, affirmative voice. The two males quickly leaped into place behind Cyn, Malus lead the back while Spice kept himself in the middle. Kaiser turned into the dungeon and pointed ahead with his paw, “Forward march!”
 
The group followed after Kaiser as he lead them, unable to hesitate even a moment out of fear of losing the pacing. Cyn had never seen Spice or Malus better behaved, but then she felt a little silly herself walking in a straight line rather than as a group... still, from what Auric told her, this was the adventuring team standard, and from what she was seeing with Kaiser, the military standard too.
 
They barely even noticed as they entered the Mystery Dungeon, though the first tip was the various items left around. Torn scarves and goggles were left hanging off bushes, or laying abandoned in the middle of the large rooms. Malus flipped down his X-Ray Specs and began to look around curiously, “Items and P, far as the eye can see.”
 
“But no berries or seeds.” Spice added in, looking around their immediate area. He recalled his previous visits to the Dark Woods, there was always plenty of berries, sometimes even apples if he needed a quick snack. But this time there were none, and as far as he could tell the only Reviver seeds in the dungeon were the ones that the group held. He had insisted on two each, but Cyn had haggled him down to one each and an extra in storage... from the way the fur on the back of her neck stood on end, he wondered if she regretted it now.
 
Kaiser stepped away from the group briefly and picked up a crudely made slingshot, his eyes drifted to the forest ahead of him. “Mystery dungeons shows us that the control we believe we have is purely illusory, and that every moment we teeter on chaos and oblivion.” he mused.
 
“It must have belonged to one of his men.” Spice whispered to the others. Cyn nodded solemnly and stepped forward, putting her paw on Kaiser's shoulder to comfort him. He turned to look at her with his good eye and smiled as best he could.
 
“There'll be a time for mourning later.” he told them, putting the slingshot into his bag before nodding ahead, “Come on. We'll check in on my camp, see if anyone is still there.”
 
The group continued for a while, stepping cautiously on the snowy ground. The Dark Woods had been hit by the Winter chill even harder than the forest that surrounded it. The trees were bare, their branches hanging dead and their buds awaiting for Spring to reawaken them. The first floor was vacant from what the Winners could tell, and by the time they had found the path to the next level they had gathered around 1000p in golden, drool-covered coins. They had also found a few scarves and goggles, but no one on the team felt right taking them, let alone wearing them.
 
“Just where is your camp set up anyway? I imagine it must be difficult having a home in a place that constantly changes.” Spice spoke up as he trotted along, his purple eyes constantly watching the bushes.
 
“It's hard to say... the clearings stay the same, but the paths that connect them and the floors they're on change.” Kaiser explained with a shrug, “So long as we were all back at the camp at nightfall, we'd be together when the sun came up. The 'tiles' would shift, but the team would all be on the same place, therefore we'd never lose each-other.”
 
“So the whole world just... shifts around here? Doesn't that get nauseating?” Malus blinked, trying to wrap his head around it, “I mean, if your camp is getting flung through the air while it's being connected to other clearings-”
 
“It's quite immediate, actually.” Kaiser interrupted him with a little smile, “You sometimes wake in the night to a rumble, and you realize that the shift has been made for the day... actually, that's the best time to scout the floor and leave...” he paused, his eyes pinning to a nearby tree. He ran over towards it and pressed his paws against the trunk, his smile widened as he pointed at the bark, “Trail markings! we're on the right track, we just need to follow these and we'll be there in no time.”
 
“That's great, maybe we'll be able to convince some more to leave.” Cyn beamed. If nothing else, saving his men might get Kaiser's mind off of finding the cause of the famine. Kaiser simply nodded and continued to lead the group along, not even flinching as a wild Tyranitar leaped out of a nearby bush, stepped on a trap and was instantly warped away. The rest of the team stared in disbelief, though the Persian simply looked over his shoulder as if to ask why they had stopped.
 
“Don't step there.” he told them with a little grin before kicking some snow back onto the stone trap to conceal it again, “That one must have been set up by one of my guys. They're damn good at making these traps.”
 
“How did you know it was there?” the Ninetales asked, his eyes turning to Malus, “Even Malus' X-Ray Specs weren't able to pick up on the trap.”
 
“You need Goggle Specs for that, and those things look stupid as hell.” the Persian replied, his ears perking as he looked over his shoulder, “I think I saw a couple back there, but no one wanted to get drool on their face, so I guess we had to pass over them.”
 
“Regardless,” Kaiser spoke up, getting back on track as he turned to Spice to answer his question, “When my team set up traps, we mark them on the nearest trail mark. Helps us know what to look out for.” he turned his eyes ahead, “They... set up quite a few traps along this path, I imagine they must be running low on supplies to make them. Everyone just stay behind me and you won't step on any.”
 
“Sounds good.” Cyn agreed, following after the Persian before glancing over her shoulder to the other two. It seemed they were willing to stay in line, either due to fear of Kaiser's backlash if they didn't, or fear of stepping on one of the traps. Her eyes scanned the snow as they walked, every now and then the Persian leading the group would stop and take a few steps to the left or right, though the group continued in single file.
 
As they were walking the traps became more apparent. There were markings in the snow designed to show the keen observer what was hidden there, just as there were markings on the traps themselves. An 'X' for a Seal trap, a swirl for a Confuse trap. Her ears perked as she noticed one she hadn't seen before, it appeared to be a flower. “Hey, what's this?” she asked, her paw hovering over the symbol, only to suddenly get shoved down onto it as Malus walked into her, having not expected her to stop.
 
She got a crash-course in the trap's effects as the snow parted away and a nozzle sprayed sweet-smelling liquid up at her, drenching her head to toe as the scent filled her nostrils. She gagged and reared back, avoiding the rest of the spray as it came down over the snow instead. “What the heck was that?”
 
The Persian moved over and sniffed her briefly, purring at first before frowning as he got his mind back on track. “Sweet scent. Damn, I thought I told them not to plant those. It's far too dangerous these days.” Kaiser growled. The bushes around them rustled as wild pokemon began to emerge from them, drawn by the delicious scents coming off the Liepard. The cat lowered himself, his tail flicking out behind him to ensure no pokemon snuck up on him.”This doesn't look good, we're outnumbered.”
 
“And surrounded.” Malus added, noting the pokemon coming from both ends of the path towards them. He pulled down his x-ray specs to confirm another theory, “We've got more coming in... damn, every pokemon on this floor must want a piece of Cyn.” he muttered before turning to his teammates. “If we don't move fast, this place is going to turn into a monster house.”
 
“Where are we supposed to go?” Spice asked, glancing over his shoulder as he saw a familiar Muk crawling towards him, its putrid tongue hanging from its mouth hungrily. It seemed to have remembered how good he had tasted the last time. The Ninetales turned to face it and began to rapidly back-step to keep his distance from it, “Ah, no! Stay back! Back I say!”
 
“Watch your footing!” Kaiser yelled, though the warning came too late. The Ninetales' back-right foot sank into the snowy floor with a low click, followed by a rapid whir as a gust kicked up underneath him. He let out a cry of terror as he was launched through the air by the gust trap, sending him hurtling in an arc towards the Muk, which opened its mouth to accept its airborne meal.
 
Spice closed his eyes as he prepared for impact, only to find himself stopped abruptly and swinging back and forth. As he opened his eyes again he found his tails caught up in a sticky web hanging off a tree, and the rest of him dangling just out of the poison-type's reach. He breathed out a sigh of relief, though as he heard the ominous chittering coming from the tree the web was attached to he gulped nervously. “L-little help?” he called to the others, starting to kick his legs in an attempt to get himself free.
 
“Little busy!” Cyn called back, firing a shadow ball towards a Bedrill to knock it out of the air before launching another to knock it out. The three felines found themselves back to back as the wild pokemon loomed around them. They were mostly bug and poison types; Parasects, Sevipers, Durants. It seemed like the sweet scent trap had managed to unify the starving pokemon with one common goal; to eat the intruders. The Liepard pinned her ears back and narrowed her eyes before reaching towards her badge, “Kaiser, there's no way we can take this many pokemon, we've got to warp out.”
 
“And leave a man behind? I don't think so.” Kaiser replied, glancing up at the Ninetales briefly to confirm his suspicion. Despite his best attempts, Spice couldn't seem to reach his badge. If they left, it'd be without one of their team. An Ariados began to descend down the tree, chittering away as it drew closer to the pokemon that had been flung into its trap. It began to gather up his tails and bind them together with its web, leaving the Ninetales whimpering and yelping in terror and disgust.
 
“I think I've got an idea.” Malus told the others, glancing down at the many symbols at their paws. The wild pokemon hadn't quite reached the traps yet, though it wouldn't be long until they did so. “Kaiser, how exactly do your guys make these traps?”
 
“Are you serious? We don't have time for a lesson in trap design!” Cyn snapped at the Persian, though as Malus fired off a bright red laser from his gemstone and knocked down another of the approaching pokemon, her eyes widened, “Oh yeah, Bug-types are weak to Power Gem.” she gasped, at least that was one of their problems temporarily taken care of, “Think you can keep it up?”
 
“Long enough to get an answer.” The Persian replied lowly, firing off another beam to knock a Durant onto its back and trip the pokemon behind it. He began to use his tail to swat at Kaiser's face, trying to get his attention. “Kaiser! How. Do. The. Traps. Work?” he asked, swatting his face on each word to ensure the pokemon was paying attention.
 
“Cut that out.” the cat growled, snapping at his tail. As Malus retreated it away, the older Persian began to look over the battlefield, focusing specifically on the traps on the floor. “We get orbs and seeds that have similar effects to the natural mystery dungeon tiles, then bury them and put plates on-top of them. When a pokemon steps on the plate, it shatters the Orb or seed and activates its effects.” he explained quickly before lunging out and swiping at a Seviper as it neared him, knocking it to the ground before swiping at it a few more times to ensure it didn't get back up, “Hff. S-some require specific parts, like the sweet scent trap and the gust trap, we can usually scavenge those parts from existing traps-”
 
“Yeah yeah, whatever. So what you're saying is most of these traps have orbs and seeds under them?” Malus replied as he used his paw to uncover one of the nearby ones, depicting what appeared to be a Electrode. He dug his claws under it and pried it open, grunting at how heavy the stone plate was. He pulled it aside just in time to see the Parasect's pincers inches from his face, and he nimbly leaped back to avoid them and launched it back with a blast from his power gem. With the pokemon out of the way the cat could look down at the rewards of his efforts; a pile of blast seeds, about ten in total.
 
With a smirk the cat carefully removed them from the hole before immediately spinning around and launching one towards the trapped Ninetales, or more specifically the Ariados that was currently looming over him. It struck the spider's back and burst into a cloud of flames, causing the bug type to shriek and lose its grip of both the vulpine and the web. It tumbled down towards the Muk below and struggled in its mouth as the slimy pokemon rapidly engulfed it, using its hands to force the bug-type into its mouth. Spice winced and looked away, “I-I'm still stuck up here.” he reminded them before starting to struggle in his bindings once more. The Ariados had cocooned most of his body, if Malus hadn't attacked when he had it would have gotten his head too.
 
“We'll get you free in a sec. Good thinking, Malus.” Cyn said, a little surprised to find herself giving the Persian encouragement for once. She didn't have time to think about it though, there were still plenty of pokemon to deal with and traps to disarm. Malus began to throw blast seed after blast seed towards the pokemon coming from the south and with each explosion the crowd grew less determined to reach their meals. As the Persian threw his last seed the pokemon turned tail and ran, though just as Cyn was preparing to celebrate their victory she turned back to the northern path to see Kaiser grappling with a Seviper. It had him pinned to the ground, and the cat was struggling to hold back its jaws as they opened wide to inject the poison dripping from its fangs into his neck.
 
“Kaiser!” she gasped, moving to assist him before noticing the crowd of pokemon moving towards them from behind the Seviper. Even if she managed to rescue the Persian, she wouldn't be able to do it before the others reached them. The gentle whirring of the gust trap reached her ears amongst the chaotic growling and snarling of the pokemon, and she quickly moved back and began to heave it up.
 
It was heavy, much heavier than she had expected it to be. The trap had detected her and began to charge up, sending a powerful gust blowing against her fur. Putting all her might into hauling the contraption she finally pulled the trap out of the ground and onto its side. It was then she realized that it wasn't just a stone plate, but an entire mechanical unit, powered by what appeared to be a battery in the hole she had left by moving it.
 
The fan continued to blow a torrent of air, though now that it was on its side she could direct it as she pleased. She tugged it around to face the Seviper pinning her companion, and the blast of air sent it flying backwards towards the crowd of pokemon, causing them to topple over each other and struggle to push the writhing serpent out of the way. Kaiser dug his claws into the ground, trying desperately to keep himself in place against the heavy wind of the machine, “Turn it off!” he yelled over the gust.
 
Cyn did so immediately by grabbing the wire leading to the battery and yanking it out. The fan slowly died down, its whirring noise gradually becoming lower as the gust died down. Kaiser collapsed against the ground, laughing with relief as he rolled onto his back, only to see the Ninetales above him finally get free from the web and fall on-top of him.
 
“Watch the floor, alright? Let's try to avoid setting off any more traps.” Malus told Cyn, grinning a little as he finally had a reason to lecture her. The Liepard just rolled her eyes as the two of them moved to join the other two, but of course they still had to deal with the oncoming horde of pokemon. The Persian narrowed his eyes and reached for his badge, “What's the plan, Cyn? Bail?”
 
Cyn tucked her ears back. All she wanted to do was leave, it was far too dangerous for the team to stay. But they hadn't completed their mission, they hadn't even managed to track down Kaiser's team. She turned to look at the Persian as he got to his feet, trying to find the best way to break the news to him. “...Kaiser?”
 
“We don't have the supplies to get through this dungeon, Cyn. We'd be crazy to stay here.” The Persian replied, turning his good eye towards the pokemon at the end of the path. “My boys are smart, they'll be alright... as for finding out what caused this whole mess, that can wait for another day. One where we're prepared to get to the Giver statue.”
 
“The Giver statue?” Spice asked curiously, though he seemed to be distracted by the sticky webbing still clinging to his tails. He rapidly pawed at it before raising them up and shaking them about, trying to get them free, but to no avail. He'd be stuck like that until he got home and took a bath.
 
“The statue of Cresselia at the centre of this dungeon, it's said to be a place of power.” the Persian explained, looking down the path to keep an eye on the advancing horde, “It's the one unchanging spot in the whole of the Dark Woods. No matter what happens, pokemon who sleep there will wake up there, and it's got paths that lead to other parts of the Dark Woods too... heck, you can even get out of the Woods from there.”
 
“Nice story, Kaiser.” Malus rolled his eyes before checking the reflection in his badge, subtly hinting that it was time for them to go. “Care to run that by us one more time? Don't spare any details, alright? I figure we've got at least another minute before we're ripped apart by wild pokemon.” he offered sarcastically.
 
“Spice asked a question, and I answered it.” Kaiser replied, looking at the Persian with both his good eye and the milky-white eye. It seemed like a good way to make pokemon uncomfortable, and Malus was no exception. He recoiled and turned away from his gaze, leaving Kaiser to continue his explanation, “The Giver statue guards the treasure of the Dark Woods, a mysterious crystal ball. Thing must be worth a fortune... only seen it once though, and that was a while back.”
 
“Do the locals say anything about the crystal?” Cyn asked warily, trying desperately to avoid giving herself away, “...Do they know anything about what it does? What kind of powers it has?”
 
“Some say it can bring the dead to life, some say it can provide food even when there's no seeds in the ground.” Kaiser shook his head, “Looks like it was all baloney though. Pokemon put their trust in a damn crystal and now they're paying for it.”
 
“Y-yeah.” Cyn tucked her ears back, her voice faltering. Kaiser seemed to pick up on it, his eye shot to her and seemed to stare at her for the longest time. The Liepard turned to avoid his gaze- no, that would be too suspicious. She turned and looked him in the eye instead, “I need a decision, Kaiser... are we staying, or are we going?”
 
“We don't have a lot of time to decide!” Spice warned them as he looked up the path. The pokemon were rapidly starting to gain momentum, those that tripped were left behind while the stronger, faster pokemon lead the charge, their claws and fangs ready to sink into the rescue team pokemon.
 
“Alright, let's go.” Kaiser replied, breathing out a defeated sigh as he did so. Cyn felt guilty as she watched his expression drop, it was hard disappointing him... but it would have been so much harder to tell him the truth. She took her badge from her bag and raised it up, pointing it to the Persian and warping him out first. Lights shone around her as Malus and Spice left the dungeon, using their own badges to warp out. She turned to face the oncoming horde of pokemon, racing towards her. For a moment she wanted to stay, finally get what was coming to her... what she deserved.
 
Her badge shone brightly, and the light quickly engulfed her and took her out of the dungeon before the pokemon were within five feet of her. As she warped she could hear their roars of outrage as they turned on each other, the traps left by Kaiser's Meowth team activating and exploding amongst the tumult.
 
She was just glad she couldn't see it.
 
* * *
 
Cyn sat in her room, resting on the bed next to a half-empty box of chocolates. It had been a long day, and she had hoped that indulging in her favourite treat would pick up her spirits, but the memories of the adventure continued to echo in her mind. As her door open she sat up, trying to make herself more alert. “Hey, could you maybe knock first?”
 
“I'm sorry.” Auric apologized, bowing his head before lifting up his hand, revealing the wad of papers held in it. “I thought you would want to know what I had found in my research today.”
 
“Sure, let's hear it.” Cyn replied, sitting up straight to show she was paying attention before patting the bed with her paw to invite the Lucario to sit down. Perhaps today wouldn't have been a total loss after all.
 
“It's... inconclusive.” Auric began. The Liepard visibly sank at the news, her tail curled around her front and she began to twist it anxiously with her paws. The Lucario rested a hand on her shoulder as he flipped through the pages of the reports. Hastily scrawled notes, charts and graphs, there were some illustrations too. “Some mystery dungeons have become more dangerous after removing their Rainbow Lense, others have not. All we've really succeeded in doing is getting a list of dungeons the Guild's lenses have been sourced from.”
 
“And the Dark Woods isn't on the list.” Cyn breathed out a sigh of relief. It was good to know the guild wasn't aware that mystery dungeon had lost its lense, but the list was up to date enough to mention the Waterfall Cave's lense had been taken by a rogue pokemon. She began to check the records, looking at the names of the mystery dungeons before finally she turned to Auric. “Can you get us Rank B missions?”
 
“I don't see why not... even if your team isn't recognized as being strong enough, that won't stop you from taking anything below Rank A.” Auric replied with a nod, “I really must press the Guild to move you up a badge rank, The Winners have been on quite a few missions now.”
 
“We'll figure that out later.” Cyn waved her paw dismissively before pointing to one of the names on the list, “See if you can get us a mission in Sharpstone Gorge. It lost its Rainbow Lense but is somehow staying pretty calm.” her green eyes locked onto his, “I want to find out why.”
 
“Very well. I'll try to find something that will take you down a few floors, though even if you succeed, you'll want to continue to the centre of the dungeon.” the Lucario nodded in understanding, “From what I've read, a rainbow lense has always been found at the very centre of the dungeon... whether that be the bottom or top depends on its geography.”
 
“Thanks Auric, and thanks for keeping this under-wraps. I know all this sneaking around isn't really your style.” the Liepard replied, tucking her ears back as she recalled their conversation that morning. Of course, that had reminded her of another matter she'd have to attend to, “Is Volt still mad at me?”
 
“He's struggling to understand why you wouldn't return the lense immediately, knowing the risk of keeping it. You must understand he comes from a tribe that relies on the lense to feed them... this is quite a personal matter for him.” Auric explained, putting the reports to one side before turning to face the pokemon. “Give him some space, he'll come to you when he's ready. Alternatively, do the right thing and return the lense to the Dark Woods at once.”
 
“It's going to be harder than I thought returning the lense to the Dark Woods. That place is a monster house.” Cyn sighed and shook her head, “But I messed up, and we need to fix this... I just don't know how we'll make it to centre of the dungeon to put it back.”
 
“What about your friend Kaiser? Doesn't he know the layout of the dungeon?” Auric asked, perking his ears, “He could guide you through hidden or lesser-known paths. You'd be able to avoid a great deal of pokemon.”
 
 “I don't want him to know I'm behind this. He'd never forgive me.” Cyn sank against her bed, sprawling out over it before rolling onto her back and holding her head with her forepaws, “I don't know what to do. With Kaiser staying here, I can't even get a moment to plan how I'm going to pull this off.” she looked up at the Lucario, “At this point, I'm wondering if I should just follow in my father's footsteps and skip town, never to be seen again.”
 
“And yet you're staying.” The Lucario replied, giving her a warm smile as he patted her back. Cyn went to respond, but before she could her door flew open and Leaf charged into the room, looking as though he had just run a marathon. Auric's eyes snapped to the Leafeon and he immediately got up from the bed, “Are you quite alright, doctor?”
 
“*Pant* It's my patient... *Pant*... she's...” the Leafeon stammered between heavy breaths.
 
“Dead?” Cyn's eyes widened in alarm, expecting more bad news after everything that had happened today. She pounced off the bed and moved to the Leafeon's side to comfort him, though the doctor pushed her away with his paw.
 
“No, no, she's alive. She's just...” Leaf began, stopping for a moment to catch his breath as the other two pokemon looked at each other in confusion. Once his heart had stopped racing he looked up at the Liepard, “You're going to want to see this... Mina's awake, but...” he shook his head, trying to find the words.
 
“But what?” Auric prompted him.
 
“She says she's met Legendary pokemon. She says she knows... Articuno.. Ho-oh...” the Leafeon mumbled breathlessly before collapsing against Cyn to rest after his long run. It seemed running from the clinic to the HQ was enough to knock the grass-type out cold, though his words left Auric and Cyn unsure of what to say to each other. If there was a pokemon in Clearspring saying she had met legendary pokemon, it might be one more set of eyes to hide the Rainbow Lense from.
 
...only this set of eyes was staying in the clinic they were keeping the lense in.