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PMD: Mission 6, Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

Marcia rolled over in her bed on the floor, groaning as she realized the sun was up. How could anyone sleep on a floor like this? Marcia wanted to find the 'mon who decided cold stone floors were perfect for a living area and make them sleep a night on it. That would teach them.

After grumbling and complaining to herself about the floor, she stood on her hind paws and rubbed her eyes. The quilava took a few minutes to adjust to her surroundings, noting the one window in their cramped chambers. It was open, a breeze from outside ruffling the red drapes that hung by the sides of the window. She yawned, squeaking as she tested her vocal cords and cleared her throat. Feeling around her bed, she found the green leaf umbrella that a stranger had gifted her the earlier day. She picked it up and held it in front of her face, studying it. Who could've helped her yesterday? Everyone else was in the castle, or so she had thought. The question buzzed inside her head, refusing to leave. Ah well. She'd find out sooner or later, right?


The quilava fingered the handle of the umbrella, feeling its texture as she rose to her hind paws. She looked down at Zayn and giggled, placing the umbrella by the door- which wasn't far, due to the compactness of the room. She bent down and patted a paw on his head, right in between his cute, bunny-like ears.

"Heeeeey Zayn, time to wake up." Marcia grinned.

Zayn frolicked through meadows of green grass, spattered with dewdrops that tasted like candy. The hills rolled into the bright, blue sky and the sun winked at him as he pranced, spraying rays of sunlight on the zangoose. Zayn giggled girlishly, throwing seeds that he suddenly produced from his hands. They soared through the air, instantly growing into tall, sweet-smelling flora, waving in the slight, cool breeze. Zayn twirled through the forest of flowers, watching little bunearies scamper into his candyland. He picked one up and kissed it on the nose, smiling broadly as he said, "The world is beautiful! We can stay here forever and love each other always!"

The buneary kissed him on the cheek, then promptly evolved into a shapely lopunny. They pranced through the forest together. They got married, then they had little zanpunnies and as they sat under a full-moon, in the peak of their passionate love, the lopunny nuzzled his ear and said...

"ZAYN YOU LAZY PILE OF FUR GET UP BEFORE I SCORCH YOUR PELT OFF."

The drowsy zangoose bolted upright, shaking off his fantasies of flowers and zanpunnies. He rubbed his eye, then glared at Marcia, who grinned mischievously at him. "You're very funny." He grumbled, rubbing his face. "An absolute joker. You should be a comedian."

Marcia tapped her foot on the stone floor, impatient. "Well, you are a lazybones. Come on, let's see if Mike has anything for us today. They must need some help down in Tao with clean-up."

Marcia was right. Zayn had just felt so shaken by the destruction of Tao that he didn't even want to think about it. they would need to rebuild the shops, the homes, the fields... everything. It would be hard work and Marcia wouldn't let him rest or put it off any longer. He grunted as he got to his feet. "I'm up, I'm up."

Marcia waited a little longer as Zayn applied his warrior paint, checking his reflection in a bucket of water they'd been supplied with earlier. It was a little more messy than usual, but Marcia was just glad Zayn was consistently doing something instead of pretending the past never happened. Once Zayn had finished donning his make-up, she opened the narrow, creaky door to their chambers. Zayn squeezed out after her and she led the way to the main hall, where most of the bustle seemed to be happening. She winded down staircases, passed maids and servants and trudged down countless corridors until she and Zayn arrived in the main entrance hall.  The quilava looked around, searching for the familiar charmander with a hat.

"E-excuse me, but where's Mike?" She asked a nearby pokemon, which happened to be Winston, from Leavanny's shop.

"He's not here," Winston answered, a little sadly. "B-but me and Maple are looking for people who will help search the village for survivors..."

Marcia was stunned. Mike wasn't here? But... where was he? Marcia, becoming visibly flustered, spotted Maple nearby and pulled her over. "H-Hey Maple, where's Mike? Winston said he's gone..."

Maple narrowed her eyes and her cheeks puffed out in frustration. "That little baby, he ran off! Don't you worry, though. We're still the Rescuers and we're going to fix things up, even without my big brother!" Maple's voice seemed determined, which reassured Marcia a little.

"I see..."

Zayn was still trying to grasp for the remnants of his fantastic dream when he saw his little Marcia visibly droop, like a flower without water. If she could, Zayn was certain she would've melted into a steaming quilava puddle on the floor. Zayn shook his head and patted Marcia lightly on her back. "Don't worry about it, Marcia. We can still help the village, and that's what matters, right?"

The girl looked up at him and nodded, smiling slightly. "You're right. Let's get going, then." She looked at Maple. "Where to, Maple?"

Maple waved a paw in a gesture for the Rescuers to follow her. "Come on, Winston!" She called and the skittish whimsicott walked behind Zayn as Marcia and Maple took the lead.

Zayn became instantly alert and cautious as the party traveled through the woods towards Tao. Zayn was glad they were taking the overground route instead of winding through twisted tunnels back to the firm. Zayn never felt entirely secure underground, especially with so little space. He needed to have room to stretch his claws and not hurt anyone, so subterranean environments were never for him. He took a breath of the fresh air, a hint of frost on the wind. Most of the snow must have melted by now, without Sorbet around to bring the cold weather. The buildings must be pretty banged up as well and the crops on the ranch might not be doing so swell- who could even tell what the surrounding wilderness would look like.

The devastation was worse than Zayn could've ever imagined: buildings in terrible disrepair, the Rescuers HQ in absolute ruin, the ground muddy and slick with melted snow. The only thing that could be worse than this disaster was his own burning village of Shirona. Zayn blinked and tried to let the destruction sink in. It was bad, yes, but they could rebuild. If Zayn knew anything about these Tao villagers, it was that they were tenacious. They'd never give up on their town.

"I never even thought it'd look so bad..." Marcia murmured, emotion filling her eyes. Zayn felt a stab of sympathy. It must be hitting Marcia pretty hard. She'd given her heart to Tao, and now it was in broken pieces. Zayn sighed and patted her shoulder.

"We'll get this place fixed up." Maple said, with obvious resolve.

Winston seemed worried, though, which gave Zayn mild concern. Did Winston really have what it took to be a Rescuer?

Zayn saw Marcia smile, though, and that was all that mattered. Soon, Maple and Winston were clearing a path through the wreckage. Marcia chipped in by causing small fires that ate up the broken planks and burnt the weeds that had moved in. Zayn lifted heavier obstacles as they made their way to each building. Once or twice, Zayn could've sworn he'd seen a gray figure out of the corner of his eye, but every time he took a double-take, it was gone. Could someone be following them? It made the zangoose uneasy, but he proceeded on searching the buildings for survivors.

"Alright, let's spread out so we cover more ground." Maple instructed, walking off toward Leavanny's Shop. Zayn saw Winston wave a short farewell to them before he nervously began his search near the law firm. Zayn gave Marcia an ear-twitch of farewell and trudged to the Rescuer's former HQ.

Marcia was left alone. It only took her a moment, however, to gather her bearings and scamper towards Missy's nursery. The disaster still left Marcia in shock. It was hard to remember what the village looked like when it was clean, bustling with busy pokemon. They lived peacefully here... and Sorbet had shattered it. Marcia was beginning to grow attached to the legendary pokemon, too! No one could have predicted the consequences. It was just... bad luck, she guessed. Or maybe they never really knew Sorbet.

The ghostly gray eevee watched the group of Tao villagers closely. It was easy to hide in the debris, but he nearly was spotted several times by the tall zangoose. It was clear he was a fierce and highly trained warrior, it would be difficult to confront him.

However, once the group separated, he didn't need to worry about the one-eyed zangoose. He'd approach the quilava and get the info he needed from her. Perhaps he could avoid contact with the zangoose altogether. The shiny eevee gathered himself, then stepped from behind a fallen signpost.

Marcia jumped, seeing a figure suddenly reveal himself. It was an eevee, a shiny one, with a cunning twinkle in his eye. Marcia stood on her hind legs so that she and the eevee- who also stood on his hind legs- could be eye-to eye. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" She questioned.

"Ah, allow me to expla-" The eevee began.

The two were suddenly interrupted by a flailing magikarp, splashing from a deep puddle near Missy's nursery. The fish-pokemon thrashed and soaked Marcia, leaping on her from behind. Marcia squeaked in surprise, stumbling forward and falling into the strange eevee. The eevee was as equally surprised and the pokemon tumbled until they stopped a short distance away from the nursery. Marcia looked down at the eevee, her cheeks red. "Oh! I'm so sorry..." She picked herself up, immediately dusting the stranger off. "Are you hurt?"

The eevee's ear twitched and he tried to smile pleasantly, but it was obvious he was irritated. Foolish fish! How could it have ruined his formal demeanor at a time like that? Now it had gone and made him look like an idiot. This wasn't off to a great start...

"I'm fine, I'm fine." The eevee replied, brushing the quilava off and sighing. "Now... as I was say-"

"You don't look like you're from around here." Marcia chirped, cutting the stranger off- to his obvious frustration. "My name's Marcia! I'm part of the Rescuers. What's your name?" Marcia offered a paw in greeting, smiling like an idiot.

Oh well. Might as well play along. "My name is Solace." He answered curtly, shaking her paw briefly.

"Solace, hm? That's an interesting name." Marcia grinned. "Well, Sol, how long have you been around? Tao's a bit of a mess now, but you should head over to Castle Draclugia! By the way, have you seen anyone else around here? We're looking for survivors in the village. Things were a bit crazy earlier, but at least things have calmed down a bit. It'll be great once we have this place up and running again!"

By the ages, did this girl ever take a breath?

"Ahem, sorry, but I haven't seen anyone else besides th-" Solace was interrupted by the flopping magikarp, which flipped into his lap and flailed uncontrollably. Again, he was cut-off!

Marcia giggled and grabbed the fish, carrying it over to the deep puddle where it originally was. "You look a bit flustered, you alright?" Marcia snorted and blew a small, controlled fire, using the signpost as fuel. "There, you can dry yourself on that." She smiled.

Solace gave up. There was no way he would be able to get a word in edgewise with this girl. "Thank you..." He sat by the flames and began drying his damp fur. While he methodically dried himself, the quilava sat across from him, watching him intently. The girlish innocence and idiocy of the girl had him fascinated, but utterly confused. He was sure he could learn her life's story by asking only a few questions, but that wasn't what confused him. Perhaps it was that she was the kindest, most open soul he'd met on his travels.

"Oh, by the way, when you get the chance, I'd like my umbrella returned to me." He mentioned to Marcia, not even looking up at her.

Marcia gaped. "You're the one who helped me?! Wow! I-I can't thank you enough! I never would've found those rascals on my own... thank you, Sol!"

"It's Solace."

Marcia gleefully ignored him, to Solace's irritation, and asked another question. "So, why are you here?"

Well, maybe because you fell on me and got be drenched and set up a fire to dry myself at and I don't have the heart to crush your innocent face and leave you.

"I'm just a humble traveler. I'm seeking something that I've searched for most of my life." He answered vaguely.

"What is that?" Marcia asked.

"I may tell you, one day, but not now." Solace politely refused.

"I understand. Zayn's like that too. He's all serious and quiet and loves to do things his own way. He's a bit thick, but he's got enough heart." Marcia reflected.

Sure, tell me like I care.

But he was starting to care. He was involved in Marcia's life now, whether he liked it or not. Tao was a village with a story that he was too curious about to leave unknown. He had tried for so long to keep short ties with everyone around him, leaving him free to roam for his one desire. Now his previous way of life was shattered by this pokemon. What a bother friendships were...

Solace sighed. "Why... why don't you show me Castle Draclugia yourself? Introduce me to your friends."

Marcia's eyes lit up like fireflies. "Really?! But... what about your journey?"

"It's been awhile since I had a rest. This is as good a place as any to settle for awhile." Solace admitted, knowing he was only making it harder for him to ever leave, now. Dammit, why'd he have to care about friends?

Marcia's eyes glittered. Without another word she grabbed Sol's paw and the flailing magikarp and dragged them off through the ruined village. "I'm so glad! I can't WAIT until you meet Zayn!"
Phew. That took awhile!

Application: [link]

Chapter 1: [link]
Chapter 2: Here!
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