Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: ''Five Phases'' Ch. 1

"Hey!"
"…"
"Hey, c'mon, answer me!"
"…"
"Wha…? C'mon, don't tell me I have to rely on somebody as lazy as this for help. WAKE UP!"
"…Nnnn…Huh?"
"Wow…you look hopeless with that face…"
"Wait…what? Who are you? Who turned out the lights!"
"Give it a rest, will ya? And there are no lights here, so just bear with me, this is very important."
"Ummm…a-alright…Who are you again?"
"Aaaarrghhh! Look, for simplicity's sake, I'm your conscience and you're dreaming. But I am going to be asking the questions. When we're done, maybe then you can ask me yours? Deal?"
"Ok. Fine by me…I guess. This is really weird."
"Fufufufu… you're saying this now. Anyway, here's my first question! If you find yourself eating in a restaurant but suddenly realize nobody else is there, what do you do?"
"That's an odd question. And if there's nobody there then where did I get the food fr-"
"Just answer the question!"
"Yeesh, ok, ok already. I'd probably just keep chowin' down 'til I was done. No harm in it."
"Good job! Ok, next one. The last cookie in the jar is yours, but your friend nabs it first. How do you react?"
"How dare they! I unleash my ultimate rage at the loss of my cookie!"
"Wow…you must really like cookies…"
"Snickerdoodles are my fave. How about your fa-"
"Question three! What do you do when you feel really happy?"
"I like dancing a lot. Especially upbeat dances."
"…Ok, guess that works. If you really like somebody and you want to reveal this to them, how do you go about doing it?"
"Hmmm, I'd hang out with them more often. Maybe play games, watch movies a bit. Then tell them sincerely how I feel."
"Awww…how sweet! Fifth question! Do you consider yourself genius?"
"Yes."
"No argument there. You spot an old, derelict ship on an island. What are your first thoughts?"
"My treasure senses are tingling... I say loot the sucker!"
"Boy, you're gonna fit this role perfectly if you have a knack for treasure hunting…"
"Huh?"
"Nothing, almost done! You're relaxing on a summer afternoon when your friend sprays you with the hose. Your reaction is…?"
"Kind of my friend to cool me off, but I retaliate with my armory of water balloons."
"Ok, last question. Do you believe in good and evil?"
"…"
"Hey, are you still awake?"
"Yes, and no. It's all from perspective. One's good could be another's evil, and vice versa."
"Hmmm…well said. I have to say, you fit the jolly type to a T! Go figure."
"One could say that…I guess."
"Ok, tell me if any of the following isn't true. You tend to buddy up well with people, always looking for a new friend. When nobody is around, you feel deprived of energy; dead even. You hate restriction of almost any kind unless you feel it is truly justified and or necessary. You enjoy expression, and even if it doesn't mesh with yours, you can tolerate and get along with a differing opinion. Plus, you like to dance randomly. If there is no music, you create your own. Like dancing, you're life is never at rest as you jump from one chapter to the next. You never EVER abandon your friends because you know how important friendship is, and most likely you have had an experience to where you can't ever let yourself not enjoy life."
"Who paid you to stalk me?"
"On top of it all, you have naïve innocence. No matter. From now on, you are the bearer of the title 'Third Phase'."
"Third Phase? What's tha-?"
"Sorry, I was wrong about the q&a period at the end. I look forward to meeting you one day, but you have to wake up now. So wake up! WAKE UP!"
________________________________________
The rustling of leaves accompanied the brisk breeze that blew across a golden plain. The tall grass, like long needles comprised of sunlight, bowed over and reared up again and again like an ocean of light. Nearby, a shimmering stream filled with clear water ran. Its flow cut through the plain, and the water gurgled, bubbled, and eddied along its way. From the creek, tall trees grew, sporting bright orange leaves and small blue fruits.

A lone being lay silent among the tall golden grass of the field, not stirring at all and apparently asleep. Eventually, its brow furrowed as if disturbed, and it opened its eyes slowly. It squinted then when it looked up into the sun. "Nggh…what a freaky dream…" the being said to himself with a low grumble. Propping himself up, the being looked around the field, though it didn't see much beyond the golden veil of the grass that stretched above his head.

"That's some tall grass," he thought aloud. The being then did a retake as he realized the situation. "Wait…when did I come to a field?" he asked. "And…when did I fall asleep?" He took a little claw up to his head and scratched in thought, trying to remember anything that could help him out. Alas, nothing came to the poor thing. "Ahhh man…this is just weird." He said again to himself as he let his face fall into his claws and rubbed sleep from his eyes…

"Wha…? Huh!" He took his face out of his hands, or his would be hands. These were not hands, they were more like little blue stubs that had tiny fingers at the end. "Nope, this is just not real. Not real!" he assured himself, slightly frantic about this phenomenon. "I'm still dreaming! Right, I'll be waking up now." He closed his eyes, and opened them. He was still in the golden field.

"Wha?! Nononononono, no. This isn't happening!" Hearing running water, the being crashed through the brush until he came upon and tripped into the stream. If it weren't for his rush, he would have taken a moment and felt how soothing the cool water was on his body, and how humble and at home he felt in it. But he wasn't thinking that at the moment.

"Aggh! I'm wet! Ok, water! I need a reflection!" He climbed out of the water and found where the stream pooled, waiting for the ripple to disappear, glaring at it with ever growing impatience. This was rewarded with a shock that just about killed him. Because apparently, he was about a foot tall now, primarily blue, had an angular face with big eyes, and a large mouth with rows of fangs. On his chest was a light yellow pattern in the shape of a V. And, as he turned around slightly, he saw a red fin and line similar to a small scar and, to his ultimate dismay, a stubby little tail. He was, in all respects form wise, a Totodile.

There was a moment of pause and soft breathing before…

MEANWHILE!!!

A young Charmander traversed the sea of shining grass, unsure of his initial decision to come here. "Mmmm…I know that this place is dangerous, but…" he breathed in deeply. "If the mart in town doesn't have any, then this dungeon is the only local place to find Oran Berries." The Charmander walked along, making sure his tail didn't flick a spark onto a piece of grass. Arceus alone knew what would happen if a dungeon like this one caught fire.

Speaking of dungeon, it sure was weird. "I must have gone down three floors now, but each time there's still sun." He looked around again, and noticed he couldn't find the way he got onto this floor of the dungeon in the first place.

"Ohhh…now I don't know how to go back. I'm…lost…" The Charmander said this very subtly, realizing that he was now in a dire situation. The only way to get out of a mystery dungeon was to traverse it until the exit is found.

"Oh…no! Th-this isn't…ummm…oh man, I'm so screwed! How am I gonna get outta he-

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

The Charmander jumped about a foot in the air and even yelped a little in surprise at the terrified cry. "I guess I'm not the only one in here then…but it could also be a Forgotten. But…if it's a Forgotten…! But if it's not… But what if they're both…Ohhh…"The Charmander, remembering his duty and plucking up his courage, ran to the source of the scream.

"I'm coming to rescue you, hold on!" he yelled desperately as he wound through the grass. Finally bursting through the brush, the Charmander came upon quite a scene. Before him was a running creek, and beside it was a Totodile. A Totodile that looked completely out of his wits and was screaming directly into the water at the top of his lungs.

"Uhhh…hey there!" The Charmander said to the Totodile, hoping its weird nature didn't mean it was some feral Pokemon.

The Totodile, hearing a new voice, turned towards its owner. "A Ch-Charmander? Where's its trainer then? Or is it a wild one? Then who was tal-"

The Charmander cocked his head to one side in confusion. "I'm not wild, that's for sure. And by trainer, if you mean Squad leader, Reiki is ba-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUGGGGHHH! Talking Demon Charmander!" The Totodile yelled again, falling on his back and scuffling away to "safety," all the while pointing dramatically at the Charmander who was apparently very taken aback from the accusation.

"Oh…so…you think I'm a demon…huh?" the poor lizard said with his head hung low.

The Totodile paused his melodrama and noticed now that Charmander was beginning to cry.
"No, wait! Sorry, I didn't mean…well, I did. But I was just surprised you could talk!"

Charmander was sniffling and wiping tears from his eyes now before looking back at the Totodile. "sniff…What do you mean 'cuz I could talk'?" The Totodile acted dumbfounded.

"Because you're a Charmander, duh! Pokemon don't talk unless their psychic or somethin'. They just say their names over and over!"

Charmander blinked…and then bust up laughing until he was crying for that reason instead. "Hehehahahaha! That's the silliest thing I've ever heard. And how can you say that when you're a pokemon!"

Totodile frowned and did his best to cross his stubby little arms. "Because I'm not a pokemon, I'm a human. So I have an obvious explanation as to why. YOU, on the other hand, do not!"

Charmander smirked. "Uh-huh. Right, human. And I suppose that you're also here to grant me three wishes right?" He giggled at his own joke.

"Aha. Aha. Ahaaa, so funny," Totodile replied in deadpan. "But it's true, I'm a human, and…and…"

"And?" Charmander continued.

Totodile blinked. "And I don't remember anything. I don't remember…where I live. Or what day it is. Or how old I am…hhhh!" The Totodile stood upright with shock. "My name! I don't remember my name! Dangit, why can't I remember my own naaaaame!" With one final shout of rebellion against his cruel fate, the Totodile fell forward into the water, his head submerged in the stream.

The Charmander blinked in confusion and worry for the Totodile. Cautiously approaching him, Charmander pat Totodile on the back. "Well, one thing's for sure. You can't drown yourself because even if you were human you're not anymore. You're a water pokemon."

Bubbles rose to the surface in response, accompanied by a 'bubbly' moan. Totodile pulled his head out of the water.

"Yeah, well, might as well go with it for now," Totodile muttered. "I can't say I really know what to do anyway."

Charmander groaned. "You and me both, pal. I don't have any easy way out of this dungeon and so that means we have to get to the bottom of it in order to get out."

Totodile blinked as he tried to digest that he was in a dungeon. "Wait, we can't be in a dungeon. We're not underground!" Charmander shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, that's a mystery dungeon for you. I don't know about where you came from, but I've already gone down 3 flights of stairs to get to this floor."

Totodile's right eye twitched involuntarily. "Wha…? Ok, well then let's find the stairs back up out of here then." He suggested brightly.

Charmander shook his head. "Can't, they disappeared. So our only option is t-"

Charmander was cut short and both the little pokemon cringed with fear at the sound of a bellowing roar not to far off from them. Charmander's face grew terrified. "Oh no…Oh no, oh no, OH NO!"

Totodile looked back and forth between the lizard and the direction of the roar frantically. "Oh no what? Oh no WHAT?!"

Charmander barely got his response out between shaky breaths. "I-it's a F-Forgotten One! We have to get out of here bef-"

With hardly any warning beyond quick heavy thumps in the earth, the horrendous figure of a Rhydon burst through the tall grass and into the clearing surrounding the stream. It wouldn't have been quite horrendous really if it wasn't for its rabid looking state and the roars it kept producing. Its eyes glowed, shimmered even with a sense of black luster that was simply unnatural. Frothy drool spilled from its gaping maw, and the saliva coated the sharp fangs of the beast. It made them glisten sickeningly. It was quite the scary spectacle. And then it turned on the two pokemon that were invading its territory. It roared a final time before charging on them.

The Totodile cringed in fear. "That's it, I'm dead. Goodbye horrid world and cruel fate, you've done me in for good this time…" Charmander, now a little over his bit of fright, attempted to stand his ground. Before the Rhydon collided with both of them, he pushed Totodile out of the way and leaped into the air, landing on the monster's head. The Rhydon gave a surprised growl before twisting around, trying to see its opponent. Charmander hung on tight as it was flung about, but it managed to find a good hold before it raised its little clawed hand into the air. It glowed bright white and reflected the sunlight.

"Take this, you rock monster freak!" Charmander jutted his hand forward and it dug into the Rhydon's head. It cried in pain as rocky chips were shucked off by the attack. Charmander leapt off. He was still afraid, but he didn't really have any other choice in the matter than to fight. Forgotten One's were not understanding of reason.

Totodile had been watching this event with a slack jaw and awe in his heart. "How did you DO that?" he asked in amazement. Charmander didn't take much time to address his new fan.

"Look, if you can't fight, you need to get out of here!" Charmander warned Totodile as he turned his worked up gaze upon him. "My attack's won't hol-"

"Charmander, look out!"

Charmander turned his view back to the battle to see a stone drill thrusting directly towards him. Totodile watched the Horn Attack connect with the little lizard as it was picked off the ground and sent flying into the golden brush. He heard a heavy thump and another one after that, then silence. Until of course, the Rhydon roared and then began charging at him.

"Aaaah! Go away!" Totodile hopped out of the way. Though he wasn't used to this new body, it was definite that Totodiles are known for their 'fleet of feet'. He dashed away awkwardly from the Rhydon and into the brush before the rampaging beast had time to turn around. From there, he kept running as fast as possible, tripping occasionally from his inexperience with his newly acquired alien legs.

Totodile panted heavily, but he didn't feel tired as the adrenaline of coming an inch to losing his life was keeping him going. "This is insane! INSANE! There is no way that this is possible. And that poor Charmander..." Totodile looked around for the lizard. It was an intense attack and Totodile heard what sounded like bone cracking when it occurred. "Charmander! Where are you!"

Two weak coughs were heard to Totodile's right. He parted the grass and walked forward to find the little Charmander in a mangled heap on the ground, the tall grass matted down from his path of impact. Blood was pouring out of his mouth and a large gash on his chest, pooling around him. His eyes were unfocused and glassy. His chest was not only bloody and punctured, but also contorted with small bumps here and there hinting at a completely devastated rib cage. Most significant was his tail flame, which was nothing more than a small ember at the moment and diminishing to something smaller.

The sight was, to describe it with the utmost delicacy, grotesque.

Totodile rushed forward to him. "Oh my…no. Oh, no you don't! Don't die and leave me with that thing! Please, hold on Charmander!" The Charmander just coughed weakly before raising a weak arm to point behind the little croc. Totodile turned to see the Rhydon poised over the two. Totodile nearly flipped again, but then he quickly glanced down at his fallen ally and felt a sudden burst of rage.

"You… we were minding our own business and because of you…"

The Rhydon roared and pulled back its fist for another attack. "SHUT UP!" Totodile screamed, and with that scream and his open mouth, a sudden orb of brilliant azure light was conjured out of thin air, and a violent surge of water burst forth from it. It enveloped the whole body of the Rhydon, and it cried out in agony before being shoved away by the force of the stream. Totodile blinked in shear shock. 'Did I just use…Hydro Pump?" he asked himself in awe. The moment was broken by continued coughing and gurgling from Charmander.

Totodile dropped down and shook him violently. "No, don't go! Don't die please! Damnit, there has to be something I can do to help!" Charmander gave no response, his ragged breaths growing fainter and his eyes beginning to close. Totodile, sobbing now, closed his eyes as well. "Please," he begged, "don't die."

Unbeknownst to Totodile with his eyes closed, he began to glow blue and radiate arcs of moisture from him. They began to spin and give off a glowing blue mist around the two little pokemon. Totodile kept muttering, "Please don't die. Please, don't die…" Rustling in the grass signified that the Rhydon was beginning to return after all. Totodile opened his eyes and viewed the miraculous spectacle of the rings of water dancing around him. He was even more awed when he noticed that Charmander's breathing was beginning to even out and the bleeding had stopped. He was still wheezing sickly, however.

Totodile felt a rush of relief, but that was soon lost when he saw the Rhydon again. He tried to summon up the monstrous attack he performed before, but he couldn't feel it beginning to manifest.

"Damn, so this is how it's gonna end, huh?" The Rhydon's maw opened and a glowing orange light began to bathe the surrounding meadow. "Wow," Totodile said with mock humor. "If I didn't know what overkill was before, I have a feeling I will n- wha?"

Suddenly, a tall figure appeared before Totodile, covered in shadow as it eclipsed Totodile's view of the sun and the Rhydon's charged Hyper Beam. Totodile had no time to think before a blazing laser shot towards him. He screamed inaudibly above the roar of the technique, but to his surprise he felt no pain. A wall of blue surrounded the three beings, and all in the next moment Totodile saw the wall disappear, a sound akin to the unsheathing of a sword, huge chunks of rock fling through the air, and the sickening sound of punctured flesh and the pitiful cries of what must have been the Rhydon. And then, with the tall figure now picking him and Charmander up, Totodile fainted…no, really.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A young boy with brown hair and blue bangs dressed in an aqua jacket sat in the darkend lobby of the Pokecenter, fidgeting nervously. He had been there all day, waiting for some results, or a bit of news even. His parents had come to console with him, but they had left back for home now. He was 11, and they believed he could handle his own responsibilities as a trainer now. Besides, it was nigh on midnight. He sat on the couch and curled up into a ball, trying to cover up with one of the complementary blankets. He couldn't leave anyway. He wouldn't allow himself to. He started playing with his blue bangs. He got them dyed two days ago. He thought they were kinda cool.

The sound of large doors opening and closing and the click-clack of stilettos on tile floor echoed through the lobby. A woman wearing a nursing outfit, whose hair was done up in loops and dyed pink,  walked outside the reception desk and towards the boy. "Excuse me," she said approaching him, "are you Mr. Cadence Sullivan?"

The boy looked up. "Uh-huh, that's me. Is everything ok Nurse Joy?" Nurse Joy seemed anything but joyous, as she looked very solemn. She held out a hand to gesture to Cadence.

"Will you walk down the hall with me, we need to speak." Cadence looked from her hand to her face and back to the hand again before taking it and getting up. It felt really cold in the Pokemon Center, and the absence of light for the time of day didn't help this. Cadence found it justified to take the blanket with him and draped it over his shoulders like a cloak. The pair walked down the black corridors of the hospital.

"Please tell me everything is alright, Miss!" Nurse Joy retained her solemn face.

"It is my duty to inform you that the Totodile egg given to you has hatched, Cadence…" she said.
Cadence's face beamed. "Really? You mean it!?"

Nurse Joy nodded her head.

"Quite the pokemon, really. After inspection, it is a prime subject for a beginning partner, even capable of a move that is uncommon for its species. However…" Nurse Joy stopped walking and let her head fall forward.

Cadence, who was previously happy enough to dance, looked at her confusingly. "Nurse Joy, are you alright?"

Sorrowful sobs were heard from the nurse and little 'plip-plaps' sounded on the floor as she began to cry. "Cadence…the Totodile was dead upon the egg hatching. We don't know why…" Nurse Joy inhaled a shuddery breath and wiped tears from her eyes. "We don't know why, but it was still-born. There was nothing we could do to save it."

Cadence blinked in shock, refusing to accept the information whilst his face grew to reflect his mortified emotions. "No…no…" he mumbled under his breath.

"I'm sorry…Cadence…" Nurse Joy attempted to put a hand on his shoulder to console him, but Cadence then dropped to his knees. At first he sniffed and sobbed quietly, but this eventually progressed until he was bawling and then screaming with sorrow.

"No! It can't be!" he yelled out in blind rage and sadness "We were going to go on adventures! We were going to challenge the Champion! We were going to be best friends! Best Friends!"

Nurse Joy bent down to the boy and hugged him close, tears of her own flowing freely now as she did her best to be there for him. A place, in all rights, that belonged to the Totodile.
________________________________________
"Hey, little guy. Looks like you're finally coming around!"

Totodile moaned as somebody shook him gently. He opened his eyes slowly and looked up to see the one shaking him. The hand, or more correctly stated paw, belonged to a softly grinning Lucario. "There we are now!" he said, his smile growing brighter.

"Huh…where…" Totodile looked around. He was apparently in a small alcove comprised completely of stone, yet there was a small stream of water that flowed out of the wall and into a moat that circled with the boarder of the cave and then out the entrance to the room. Totodile saw a hallway made of similar stone, and carved openings that showed a brilliant sunset over a coastal town. He rested upon a small bed of straw that was rather comfortable, if a little itchy albeit. Still, Totodile was beginning to not appreciate waking up in unfamiliar places.

"Where am I…Hhh! Charmander!" Totodile jolted up, despite feeling rather sore, and looked around wildly for the orange lizard. "He's seriously hurt! We have to help him, please, we have-"

"Shhhh…calm down, alright," the Lucario coaxed Totodile. "Everything's fine, alright? Don't worry about it."

"Bu-But there was a Rhydon! And he hit Charmander with his horn, and there was…there was…bloo-" Totodile ended his sentence to close his mouth, which prevented a small amount of bile from exiting out of his mouth. As he thought back on the spectacle, the body of Charmander after the attack was rather gruesome. He guessed it was because of the adrenaline that he didn't almost puke the first time he saw it.

The Lucario patted his paw on Totodile's shoulder. "Don't worry. If you're referring to the Charmander you were with before, named Kaim, he's being taken care of by our Healer Squad. Fortunately for you, he's the only one who needed stitching up." Totodile sighed heavily with relief; though it was obvious by his facial expression that he was still worried. The prospect of stitches was not very appealing either.

'This is all my fault,' Totodile thought to himself. 'I was a distraction. If only I wasn't in the way…'

"Don't worry, what happened wasn't you're fault ," the Lucario said.

Totodile looked up. "Did you… just read my mind?" he asked in amazement.

The Lucario shrugged his shoulders and smirked. "Meh, not exactly. Your aura, however, became riddled with pockets of guilt."

"Wow, that's incredible…" Totodile complimented. "I forgot Lucario's could read aura's like that." The Lucario nodded with a smug grin.

"Well, anyway!" the Lucario started up again, bringing Totodile back into focus. "Let's return to the subject of names! As I said, that Charmander you accompanied is named Kaim. He is one of my colleagues, and in all effects I might as well be his boss. Name's Lumen, and I lead the Guiding Light Exploration Guild."

Totodile finally began to smile a little himself, oddly comfortable given a situation he knew was anything but orthodox. Lumen's smile was bright and contagiously perky. "It's very nice to meet you, sir."

Lumen laughed heartily. "Please, no need to address me so formally!" he said jovially. "Only my colleagues need to do that…oh?" Lumen looked off in another direction. Cadence followed his gaze towards a spot where nothing was at until suddenly an Abra popped out of nowhere, levitating on the spot.

"Ah! He can Teleport!" Totodile said in shock. The Abra, choosing to ignore the painstakingly obvious comment, approached Lumen in mid levitation.

"Master Lumen, sir," he addressed with a curt nod, "Squad Leader Anastasia reports that the medical treatment of 3rd rank Kaim of Squad Wuji is finished."

Lumen grinned happily. "Ah, that is excellent news Tennor. I'll be paying a visit there soon with our young friend here. Thank you very much!" The Abra nodded slowly before popping back oit of existance.

"Well, why don't we head on over there now, hm?" Lumen asked Totodile, who nodded in agreement. The Lucario helped the small, blue crocodile to his feet and then continued to assist him in walking to the doorway.

"Oh yeah!" Lumen exclaimed, "I never asked for your name, how rude of me! Care to introduce yourself?"

The Totodile was set to give his answer when he remembered that he had forgotten it, ironically enough. "Sorry, but to be honest I don't remem-"

'No…there is a name I remember,' Totodile thought suddenly. 'At least, I think it's a name. Is it a name? Is it… my name?'

Lumen was beginning to read the croc's aura again and sensed great annoyance in a mist of confusion and loss. "Is everything alright?" he queried the Totodile.

"Yeah…sorry bout that!" came Totodile's now energetic reply. "My name…is Cadence, or… Cade for short."