Rest In Peace
Wooper and I find ourselves in the market of Capim Town, out on a little snack run during the late afternoon. The Gummi drinks I usually hide away in our room are nice, but today, I find myself craving some variety. Coming across a bakery, I look at the display shelf, wondering what I should get. The honey glazed donuts look tasty, but so does the fresh batch of sugar cookies. That large Nomel pie's no slouch, either. I feel my mouth start to water as I look at everything... would it really be so bad if I got a whole bunch of things for the two of us?
Before I can decide on anything however, I hear an unfamiliar voice call out amongst the crowd. “Team Cozy? Are you around here?”
Wooper whirls around, shouting, “Over here! We're over here!”
Turning around, I spot a black Pokemon walking towards us, looking like an enormous living plush. For a moment, I'm a little unnerved by the Banette's size, before reminding myself that Wooper and I are usually the short ones wherever we go. “Yeah, that'd be us. Who are you?” I ask.
The Banette begins speaking, her voice sounding a fair bit older than her appearance would suggest. “Oh, good, I found you two! Some odd Togetic at the guild said you two could help my son.”
“Anything you need help with, Team Cozy can handle!” Wooper proudly announces. “What happened to him? Did he go missing? We'll be right on the case!”
The Banette shakes her head. “He's safe at home right now, but he's had a lot of trouble sleeping lately. Once I told that Togetic about it, he started going on about how you two would be perfect for the job. He was a little... enthusiastic about you two. Would you please help us?”
“We can, but um...” I cast a glance back at the bakery, my snack run cut short before I could get anything. “Not to seem rude or anything, but what's the reward for it?”
Letting out a small sigh, the Banette says, “It's fine, I know guild teams don't work for free. I don't have much money due to having recently moved, but I can offer you some freshly-baked cookies once the job is done. It's an old family recipe that's to die for!”
“Cookies? Works for us,” I say. “I was gonna spend whatever money you were gonna offer on that anyways.”
“So we gotta help him get a good night's sleep?” Wooper asks. “We can do that for sure, lead the way!”
The sun starting to set, we follow the Banette out of town and down a long forest path, leading to a familiar looking run-down manor I can just make out between the trees. “Huh, I've been to that place before,” I say. “We helped out a Mismagius that was here once.”
“She's who I bought it from,” the Banette says. “Said it was haunted by a ghost, so we got quite the bargain on it, ohoho! The only ghost in that house right now is my son, but he's had a hard time getting used to his new home.”
“It isn't ACTUALLY haunted, right?” Wooper says curiously. “He's not being frightened by slamming doors or stuff like that?”
“Oh, not at all! That lady we bought it from was simply paranoid, my son is merely having trouble sleeping in a new place is all.”
“I can relate to that,” I say, remembering how rough it was sleeping for the first few weeks at the guild. “He's got a decent bed at least, I hope.”
“Why, of course. I'll never go back to rotten old hay, and neither will my son.”
“Now you're speaking my language!” I say. Looking forward, the old house is now plainly in view, the trees finally thinning out. Banette picks up the pace, beckoning for us to follow.
Despite the run-down exterior, the interior looks as though it's undergone some work. Soft carpets cover the wooden floorboards, the torn-up curtains I remember have been replaced, and new furniture's been brought in as well.
“Wow, this place looks way better than I remember!” Wooper exclaims.
“It needed some work, but I think we've managed well enough,” the Banette says softly.
Well, might as well get to work. “Where's your son?”
“He should be in his room. Come now, I'll lead you there.”
Wooper and I follow her, the floor creaking underneath us as she leads us down a hall. Knocking on a door, she says “Teru? You've got some guests tonight!”
A small, tired-sounding voice speaks out from within the room. “Okay... come in.”
Entering the kid's room, I find what looks to be a gray puppet with a small horn on its head. The first thing I notice is that Teru's laying in an honest-to-god bed, complete with a blanket as well! Both seeming as though they're handmade, but I certainly wouldn't mind having some of these for the guild! Aside from that, there's a few cushions here and there, as well as a few small plushes.
Looking at all this, there's only one question in my mind. Glancing back at Banette, I ask, “Do you knit?”
“It's been a hobby of mine for a few years now, dear. It's a useful skill, being able to mend tears in fabric and curtains and the like.”
If we didn't already have that super-special blanket, I'd be asking for a blanket as our reward instead! “Looks like some nice work, did you build the bed as well?”
Banette shakes her head. “Oh, no, my husband made that. Right now he's off on a little trip to buy some more things for our new home.” Turning to her son, she says, “Teru, these two are going to help you fall asleep, so be polite, now!”
“I will, Mom...” Teru still sounds very tired.
“As for you two,” Banette turns to us. “I'll be back with a few things that might help out.”
Once she leaves, I awkwardly look at Teru. “Uh... Hi, you can call me Chespin.” I was never the best with kids, hopefully this one's well-behaved.
“And I'm Wooper, and together we're Team Cozy of the Clover Guild!” Wooper proudly exclaims.
“Team... Cozy? Teru squints at us, saying, “You're from a guild? How many adventures have you gone on?”
“Oh, tons!” Wooper says.
“So... How are you two going to help me sleep?”
Remembering something from a long time ago, I reach into my bag, looking for a Frism. I was certain I had one loaded up with a song that put the listener to sleep, but... Nope, must have left it at the guild. “Hmm...” I think on it for a bit, then I remember something from when I was a kid. “Oh, I know! I can tell you some stories from the h- uh, I mean, some stories of places I've gone to!”
“Yeah,” Wooper says. “My dad always told me stories like that when I was little, and those always helped out!”
“Aren't you still little?” Teru says.
“That's beside the point,” I say.
Before I can say more, I hear a knock on the door, Banette walking in shortly after. She sets down two cups in front of Wooper and I, a straw resting in one of them. “I brewed some Cheri Tea for you two.”
“Thanks, ma'am!” Wooper exclaims.
“Thank you, we'll do our best to help Teru tonight.” I say.
With the kid's mom out of the room, I set some cushions down near a table, and open a nearby drawer looking for a blanket, finding a small one inside. Covering the two of us up, Wooper and I take a seat, taking small sips from the tea. The tea is hot and has a hint of spice, but both aren't uncomfortably so.
“So, Teru,” I say. “Are you comfy?” Seeing him nod, I continue. “Well, this is just one of the many adventures I've been on. One day, I woke up in the middle of nowhere, finding myself in an unfamiliar forest. A-”
Wooper interrupts with, “That's when you m-”
“No spoiling the story, Wooper.” Patting him on the head, I continue. “After wandering the woods for awhile, I came across a path leading through the plains. It didn't take long for me to come across somebody that needed my help! While asking him for information, he started talking about how the princess of the kingdom I found myself in had been whisked away by an evil warlock!”
“What does a warlock need with a princess?” Teru asks, letting out a yawn.
Finishing my tea, I continue my story. “He demanded that the king crown him the new ruler of the land in exchange for the princess's safe return.” I feel an odd chill overcome me out of nowhere, causing me to pull the blankets around me tighter. Letting out a loud yawn, I follow with, “The one I helped had been injured in his escape from the warlock's... underlings. Many had gone to fight the warlock, but none... returned...”
I feel something soft bump against my left side. Glancing over, I find that Wooper's fallen asleep, leaning against me! “See, it worked on... Wooper already...” My eyelids grow heavy, as though I've been awake for days. Maybe just closing them for a few seconds will be okay...
When I open my eyes again, I find myself sitting on the ground in the middle of a forest. Sunlight shines down through the tree leaves, and as I stand up, I'm struck by how familiar this all feels. Despite that, I'm unable to recall how I ended up out here. Looking around, I spot a small pond. “Maybe Wooper's there?” I think to myself, out loud. I walk over, peering inside but seeing nothing, not even my reflection.
No reflection? I'm not a vampire, and I can't remember how I got here, so... this must be a dream, right? Trying to test my theory out, I jump up as hard as I can in an attempt to fly, only to fall back down to the ground. Peering back into the water once more, I confirm that nothing reflects off the water. “I know that only happens in dreams...” I wonder aloud.
“Wooper? Are you here somewhere?” I call out.
I hear a soft voice speak up from some bushes. “Chespin?” The voice doesn't sound like Wooper, but it sounds a bit familiar. Approaching the bushes, I look inside and spot Teru!
“Teru?” I ask.
“Yeah... Where are we?” he asks.
“Looks like a forest,” I say. “Do you remember how we got here?”
“I don't. Last thing I remember, we were in my room.”
“It's gotta be a dream.” Looking around, I can't help but feel like we're being watched. “Looks like I got you to sleep after all, huh?”
“Well... I don't feel tired anymore.” Teru says. “But how do we wake up? Usually when I notice I'm dreaming, I wake up.”
“And when I notice I'm dreaming, I can usually do anything. But it still seems like I'm limited by what I can actually do,” I say. “So... I dunno, I guess just follow me and let's see what happens? I gotta find Wooper, after all!”
With that, the two of us venture through the forest, searching for Wooper. I call out his name as loud as I can, but I never get a response. I try to keep myself from worrying about him too much. After all, he's right next to me in the waking world, right? Still, having this kid tagging along isn't very reassuring.
As the trees begin to thin out, I spot a cobblestone path stretching out over the plains and hills, ending at what looks like a town off in the distance. “Alright, there definitely wasn't a path like this leading to Capim,” I say out loud.
“Wooper could be in that town,” Teru says.
“There's no telling what's in that town, Teru. Something about it feels a bit familiar, however...”
Over the next hill, I see a sight that makes me gasp. On the ground lies a pretty beat up looking Meowth, an open bag lying next to him.
“Someone's hurt!” Teru says.
Remembering earlier, I say, “Wait, this is just a dream, remember?”
“But maybe he knows something?” Teru asks. “Remember your story? What's happened so far reminds me of how it started.”
Hold on... “That's right! Well, it couldn't hurt to check on him.”
As we approach the Meowth, I wonder about what will come next. This kid thinks it's a story of an adventure I actually went on, but I was really just making it up as I went! Not knowing how he'll react, I nudge him lightly, saying, “Hey, are you okay? Who did this to you?”
In a pained voice, he says, “Ugh... An evil Pokemon... a very bad one... Who h-hurt many things that are good... Kidnapped the princess...”
Thinking he's speaking strangely, I ask him, “C'mon, I need more to go off of! Did they have a na-”
I'm cut off by a booming voice rolling over the hills! Looking around for the source of the voice, I can barely make out a tower off in the distance, a red sky directly over it. “Ahahaha! Just another victim of the Lord of Darkness, he was! Just try and stop me, IF you can!” With a laugh, the voice echos off into the distance.
I look back at Teru, who look a little scared. “Uhh... That wasn't part of my story at all!”
“Th-the Lord of Darkness?!” With a shaky voice, Teru continues with, “H-he's the one from my nightmares!”
“You've met him before?” I ask. “What's he look like?”
“I don't know, I've never gotten a good look at him in those nightmares... What are we going to do?!”
“The same thing Wooper and I do to all the bad guys,” I say. “We're gonna lay the smackdown on him!” Smacking the ground with a vine for emphasis, I continue with, “But we gotta find Wooper first, he can't be too far away.”
Teru looks back at the Meowth with a worried glance. “What about him, Chespin?”
I shrug, saying, “It's a dream, it'll be fine. Probably.”
Teru and I start down the road once again, and it's not long before I hear a familiar voice call out from nearby. “Chespin? Teru? Is that really you guys?” Looking towards the voice, I spot Wooper peeking out from a pond.
I wave Wooper over, saying, “Hey, about time we found you! So uh, I think we're stuck in a shared dream. One that seems like it's taking after that story I was telling, but... I think there's someone messing with the dream. There's stuff going on that definitely wasn't going to be in my story.”
“How are we gonna wake up?” Wooper asks.
“I'm hoping that if we beat up the guy that's screwing with things, that'll let us wake up for real,” I say. “But we're going to need to get some supplies before we're ready to fight that crook. Our bag didn't come with us.”
The three of us get back to walking towards the unknown village. The fields feel unusually quiet, making things feel pretty creepy. I look off in the distance, and there's an odd mist on the horizon, concealing anything that isn't the town or the tower. As we near the town, I'm wishing I told some story that had a gun in it so I could just shoot the bad guy and be done with it.
We finally enter the town, the streets being eerily quiet. The houses and buildings all look as though they'd be right at place in a medieval village. “What gives?” I ask. “This place is supposed to be busy at this time of day, but instead it looks like a ghost town!”
The second I finish my sentence, I hear a series of loud laughs echo throughout the empty streets. “How right you are!” “This is our turf now!” “They're too scared to leave their houses, hee-hee!” A trio of Duskull fly out from the alleyways and begin to circle around us.
“W-what do we do?!” Teru says, worried.
“Well, we gotta fight 'em, obviously!” I say. “What do you got?”
“I don't have much...” Teru mutters.
“You gotta give it your best shot!” Wooper says, readying himself for a battle. “Anything will work!”
Grabbing Wooper in my vines, I take aim at the Duskull gang. “You guys picked the wrong day to get in our way! Fire at will, Wooper!”
Wooper fires off a series of water blasts as I aim him at the ghosts, landing shots on two of them. As they recoil from the hit, I see Teru getting targeted by the remaining Duskull.
“Sorry Wooper, I gotta focus on protecting the kid!” Dropping him, I rush over to guard Teru before the Duskull can hurt him. “Teru, try whatever you can manage on him!”
“It's not much, but...” Teru's eyes begin to glow with an eerie light. With a small shout, a ray of light shoots towards our enemy. Upon taking a closer look, I see that the Duskull looks unharmed! Before I can complain, the Duskull starts to move drunkenly around in the air, seeming to have a hard time focusing on us. Seeing a ball of dark energy forming in its hands, I rush to protect Teru, but the Duskull shoots his attack at his own allies!
“What are you doing, you moron?!” one of the Duskull yells. “You knocked out one of our own!”
While the sober one is distracted, Wooper shoots him with a jet of water, knocking him out.
“Ugh... everything's spinning...” the confused ghost moans. “Just gonna... rest a bit, forget it.” He slumps down to the ground, conscious but unwilling to fight anymore.
“Did we win?” Teru asks tentatively.
“Yep!” Wooper says triumphantly. “Easy peasy, right Chespin?”
Nodding, I say, “Those guys didn't do much at all, thankfully. That reminds me, can you do that attack they were doing, Teru?”
Teru shakes his head, saying, “I tried to learn it before, but I couldn't do it.”
“You'll be able to do it, just keep working at it!” Wooper says.
Turning my focus towards our next objective, I say, “We should probably hurry and get those supplies so we can beat up the bigger bad guys.”
The three of us enter the nearby general store. The wooden floorboards creak as we walk around, looking around the interior. “We need a bag to hold everything in, at the very least.” I say.
“Do we need food if this is a dream?” Teru asks.
“We're gonna need some tools to fight the bad guy! Maybe one of those wands could work?” Wooper says. Spotting a far-off shelf, he says, “There's a bunch of stuff over there that looks good!”
Wooper runs over to the back wall as Teru and I follow behind. Looking up, I see the shelf has a vast assortment of bags, satchels, and pouches. “There's a bunch of bags here,” I say. “No tools or wands here”
“But I just saw a bunch of wands there! I can see them right now!” Wooper exclaims.
Taking another look, I see that the shelf now has wands of all sorts. “What the...”
“You're both wrong, there's a bunch of Gummis and berries there.” Teru mutters.
A third glance shows that Teru is telling the truth, as the shelf now has more varieties of berries than I've seen in my life! Scratching the back of my head, I say, “What's going on?”
“It's a dream, Chespin! Maybe that's messing with it?” Wooper says.
“Hmm...” I think about it for a little bit. “The shelf changed whenever one of us said anything. Um... Scarves?” Right before my eyes, the food begins to shapeshift, morphing into several bundles of scarves.
“Does this mean we can get anything we can imagine here?” Teru asks.
“Oh man, if that's the case, I've got plenty of things I can pick up here.” I say. “So if we need to fight some evil guy, then we need a powerful weapon. Shelf, show me a gun!”
The scarves on the shelf begin to change form, becoming... a small plastic water gun.
“Woah, what's that?!” Wooper says. “Is it a really powerful weapon from the hu-”
“Shhh, Teru's here, Wooper! He doesn't need to know about that.” Continuing, I say, “All this thing does is lightly squirt water at stuff.” I pick it up and shoot it at Wooper, a tiny amount of water lightly hitting him.
“That's it?” Wooper says. “What's that gonna do?”
“Nothing. It's just a toy. Even if I had a fire hose, it wouldn't be anywhere near as good at shooting water as you are.” Thinking of another option, I say, “Uh, can the shelf show us a sword?”
The scarves morph into the shape of a large sword in a scabbard, a long blue cloth coming out of the hilt. “Aw yeah, now we're talking!” I grab the scabbard in my vines, unsheathing the blade and holding it up high in my hands. “I've always wanted to use one of these!”
The sword shakes in my grasp before shooting into the air. To my surprise, it begins to speak! “How dare you! I was taking a nap before you decided to try swinging me around.”
Dumbfounded, I say, “Umm... uh, sorry? We need a weapon, a-”
“Not my problem. Find one that isn't trying to sleep.” The sword grabs the scabbard out of my vines with its cloth, sheaths itself, and goes back to rest on the shelf.
Putting my hand to my face, I say, “That's not the kind of sword I had in mind...”
“You mean you weren't thinking about a Honedge?” Wooper asks.
“Yeah, my mom would tell me stories about those,” Teru says.
“Not even in a dream can I swing a sword around,” I grumble. “Maybe it has to be something all three of us know in the same way? Well, we still need bags, so... bags!”
To my delight, the rude Honedge's form shifts into the pile of pouches from earlier. Grabbing a few off the shelf, I say, “Alright, we got that. Everyone, think about Blast Seeds!” Right on cue, the rest of the bags become Blast Seeds. What's more, the bags I grabbed remain bags! “Now this I can work with!” I sweep most of the pile into my newly-acquired bags.
“We got it worked out now!” Wooper exclaims. “Let's get some scarves!”
I grab the newly-reformed scarves, all colored red and orange, and tie one onto each of us.
“Wonder Gummis?” Teru questions.
“Now that's what I'm talkin' about, kid!” I grab all the Wonder Gummis we can hold and stuff them in our bag, but not before chomping down on one of them, the incredible flavor of caramel cheesecake gushing out of the treat. Holding out a Gummi for each of my companions, I say “The taste of these things is definitely real, eat up!”
Wooper eats his Gummi in a hurry. “We got more of these things than I've ever seen in one place!”
Teru slowly eats his, saying, “It tastes like the cookies Mom makes...”
“Now that we've got our supplies, where's... the shopkeeper?” I look around, not seeing any. “Oh well, it's a dream, so I guess that means it's free! Quick, let's get outta here before some more weird stuff happens.”
As I turn around, I come face to face with another Duskull! Unlike the others, this one wears a headband. “Halt! Taking without paying is a crime!”
“W-we need to fight the bad guy...” Teru mutters.
“Hey, you look kinda familiar!” Wooper says.
“You'd better pay or e-uh, what?” The Duskull recoils ever so slightly at Wooper's words. “No, I'm just a normal ol' Duskull! Yep, that's me, haha...”
Wooper throws me a knowing look before saying, “Well Mister Duskull, we need these supplies! We also want to get some lamp oil, rope, and bombs too.”
“You want it? It's yours, my friend! As long as you have enough rubies!” The Duskull quickly realizes what he just said, and begins to stutter in a panic. “U-uh, m-me? No way! I don't know anybody n-named E-Elm!!”
“Elm,” I say. “Why are you in this dream? Did you follow us out of town?”
“Uhhh... OHLOOKATTHETIMEIGOTTAGO!” In a panic, he flees through a wall, phasing through it.
“Works every time, Chespin!” Wooper says, smiling.
“What just happened?” Teru says, confused.
“It's a long story. One you wouldn't really get, trust us. Maybe now we can get a move on and take this evil guy down.”
The three of us leave the town behind, the dark tower looming on the horizon. Teru hangs behind Wooper and I, and when I look back at him, he looks very nervous.
“Everything okay, kid?” I ask.
Teru looks down at the ground. “I dunno about this... can't I just wait in the town for you two to beat him up?”
Wooper shakes his head. “No, we gotta protect you! Who knows what might happen if you're left alone?”
I think for a little bit. Maybe talking will help calm him down? “Hey uh, what's this Darkness guy like, anyways?”
“I'll be having a dream, and then h-he'll just come out of nowhere and mess with it!”
Now where have I heard that before? “What's he do?” I ask.
Teru continues, saying, “He'll jump out of nowhere to scare me, grab me so I can't get away, and... then he lets out a horrible laugh!”
“That's terrible!” Wooper says.
“That's why we gotta stick by you,” I say. Seeing that Teru looks even more scared now, I try to help him feel better about it. “You know... There's nothing wrong with being scared. Even the bravest out there have their own fears. I was actually scared of something for a long time.” As if to match my thoughts, the path we walk begins to grow colder, before I see a Cryogonal staring us down from afar!
“Was it that Cryogonal you were scared of?” Teru asks.
I feel a rush of anger at seeing my enemy, but strangely, it fades very quickly, leaving me feeling unusually calm. “I won't get into the nasty details, but it was a... very unpleasant experience the first time I met it. It led to me being scared of anything to do with ice. I still don't LIKE ice, but... I think I've gotten past it now.”
“How did you get over it?” Teru inquires.
“I had help from some friends. Friends that helped me see that it wasn't something I needed to panic over. Also, beating up the Cryogonal helped out with that. Kinda like this.” Grabbing Wooper in my vines, I say, “Ready... aim... FIRE!”
Wooper shoots a Hydro Pump right at the Cryogonal, the force of his attack sending me sliding backwards a little. His attack hits home, shattering the evil snowflake. “Bullseye!” Wooper exclaims. With the Cryogonal gone, warmth returns to the area.
“Cool...” Teru says.
Setting Wooper down, I say, “Anyways, I guess what I'm saying is, that guy might be really scary for you, but he'll be a lot less scary once you confront him.”
“But um... I can't really fight, remember?” Teru mutters. “My mom only just started trying to teach me this one thing.”
“You should show us!” Wooper says.
“Okay, but it's really pretty much nothing...” Teru clenches his eyes shut, and a tiny ball of darkness begins to form at the tip of his horn. With a small shout, he bobs his head forward, shooting it towards the horizon. As it flies off, Teru takes a deep breath, opening his eyes to say,“See? It's tiny.”
“You just gotta keep practicing, Teru!” Wooper says. “Next thing you know, you'll be shooting Shadow Balls like it's nothing!”
“It takes a lot out of me to do just that,” Teru says, looking a bit disappointed.
I let out a vine, idling waving it around. “If you keep at it it'll get a lot easier. Trust me, if anybody knows how hard that stuff can be, it's me. I didn't know what in the world I was doing at first, and I didn't know anybody I could get help from for it. I'm sure your mom'll be a good teacher for you!”
Teru nods. “I try my best to learn from her. But... how come your mom didn't help you out?”
Unable to think up a convincing lie, I say, “Uh... it's a long story, maybe I'll tell you some other time. We really should keep moving so we can beat this guy up though.”
Finally, the three of us stand at the base of the tower. It is a dark-purple color, with red clouds swirling above. I can hear lightning strikes in the distance.
“Well, here we are,” I say. “No sense waiting around, let's go beat him up!”
“O-okay...” Looking over at Teru, I can see him shivering.
“Teru, it'll be okay,” I say. “We outnumber him, and we'll protect you, alright?”
I push the doors to the tower open, wind rushing past us as we walk in. The lobby is dimly lit, and Wooper takes the lead, beginning to glow a soft blue. Pillars stretch from floor to ceiling, and I can make out paintings on the far wall. As I step closer, it's hard to tell what they're paintings of. A dark, starry sky? Or just some idiot smearing paint on a canvas at random? Near the paintings, a set of stone stairs rise upward.
“Looks like a lot of climbing,” I say. “Ready?”
Teru still hangs near the door, saying, “Even if you say it's okay... Who knows what'll be up there?”
“I know what'll help!” Wooper says as he begins to climb the stairs. “Teru, what sorta things do you like doing?”
Teru slowly follows, keeping between Wooper and I. “Um, sometimes my mom takes me into town. We'll end up looking around for someone who seems to be scheming something, or someone who looks jealous. She says feeding on those sorts of bad thoughts will help me grow.”
“Bad thoughts help you grow?” I say, confused.
Teru shakes his head. “It's the bad thoughts of others that does it. She says when I do that, it helps me and the one with those thoughts.”
“I think I've heard of that,” Wooper says. “Like you're feeding on people's bad emotions to help them as well as yourself?”
Teru nods. “Mhmm. The ones who want revenge feel the best to feed from. I actually... um, nevermind.”
“What's wrong?” I ask.
Teru looks away from me. “When you saw that Cryogonal... I felt a lot of... hostility? I think that's what Mom calls it. So I kind of... fed a bit from that.”
“That was you?!” I say, surprised. “You're the reason I felt oddly calm after seeing it?”
“You're not angry, are you?” Teru asks.
“Oh, not at all,” I say. “It's just what Shuppets do, right? Besides, it did kinda help.”
After a few more seconds of climbing stairs, Teru says, “So... What do you two like to do?”
“I like to go swimming!” Wooper cheerfully exclaims. As he speaks, a small pond begins to form on a new floor of the tower. He hops into the pond, swimming in circles. “It feels good and it's pretty relaxing, too!”
“I wonder what doing it is like,” Teru says.
“Come give it a try!” Wooper says.
“I can't swim. I don't have any way to move around in water.” Teru says.
“Oh, well maybe when you're older!” Wooper hops out of the water, joining us once again.
Looking to kill more time on the thankfully uneventful climb, I say, “As for me, I really like sunlight. Going out in it really energizes me. Being surrounded by stuff like flowers and trees also feels pretty good to me now.” The next floor begins to form into a sunny garden, with plenty of berry plants dotting the scene.
Hanging off to the side, Teru says, “I like hiding in the dark more than being in the light. It feels better.”
Well, that's not surprising, considering... “You should give it a go some day. Even if you end up not liking it, what harm could it do?”
Hopping up the stairs ahead of us, Wooper calls back to us, saying, “Hey guys, I think this is the top floor!”
I look Teru in the eyes, saying, “You'll be okay, we'll make sure of it, alright kid? Just stay behind us and we'll handle it.”
Stepping onto the final floor, I take a look around. Just like the first floor, large pillars on the sides of the room reach from floor to ceiling. A fancy-looking chandelier hangs from the high ceiling, and purple tapestries hang from the walls. A dark red carpet stretches from where we stand, stopping at a black throne on the far end of the room. Behind the throne is a massive stained glass window depicting what looks like... the short journey we've been on in this dream?
“Woah! I've never seen anything like that window!” Wooper exclaims. “It looks so cool!”
“Even where I come from, those sorts of windows are almost never that big,” I say.
Teru speaks up, saying, “Where were you from?”
“Uhh... It's a long story,” I say.
Before any of us can say anything else, a voice cackles from afar. “How silly of him to act like being from the human world is still a secret!” A ball of shadows starts to form above the throne, taking the shape of a Haunter.
“I-It's him!” Teru cries out.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask. “Why do you torment Teru?”
The Haunter simply laughs. “Why does anyone do anything that's fun?”
“You can't bully a little kid in his dreams for fun!” Wooper shouts, shooting a blast of water at him!
Haunter sinks through the floor, narrowly dodging the attack. “Missed me!” He throws one of his disembodied hands forward in an attempt to grab Wooper, who leaps out of the way.
I turn to Teru, saying, “Try to do that confuse thingy on him while he's focused on Wooper!”
As Teru nervously launches a Confuse Ray, I dig through my bag, looking for something to use. I feel my hand close around an assortment of Blast Seeds, which I quickly dig out. I start chucking them towards the Haunter, most of them barely missing. At least one hits a pillar, causing the ground to shake as it crumbles to the floor. Finally, one of the seeds hits home, sending Haunter reeling!
“Got him!” I shout. Wooper quickly follows up with another shot of water, striking him before he can recover.
The Haunter brings his hands to his face. “Urgh... Lucky shot. But it'll be your last!”
He throws one hand forward, but I leap out of the way just in time. I don't get much time to celebrate over it, because I hear a shout from the other end of the room! “Urk... Chespin, he got me!” The Haunter's got Wooper in his grasp!
The surprise is enough opportunity for Haunter to get the drop on me, and I soon find myself caught too! I feel the warmth start to leave my body as I try to bash the hand with my vines, but to no avail. “T-Teru! You gotta fight him!” I shout.
“But I can't!” Teru says.
The Haunter cackles loudly as it makes faces at Teru “What's wrong? Can't shoot one of those Shadow Balls your mother's tried so hard to teach you about? I guess you don't want to save your friends after all!”
“You gotta try it!” Wooper shouts.
I struggle against the Haunter's grip, accomplishing little. “Ugh... If I could just get free I'd give you such a thrashing!” Hating how helpless I feel right now, all I want is to punch him right in his stupid face.
I see Teru shudder before a look of anger flashes across his face. “I-If you won't leave us alone... I'll make you!” Dark energy begins to concentrate around his horn, forming into a large ball. With a cry, Teru launches it right at the Haunter! The Shadow Ball flies directly into his mouth, causing him to sputter and spit as he's sent reeling from the hit.
His hold on me loosens, causing me to fall to the floor. I quickly stand back up and, hoping to make the most of the chance, I throw another Blast Seed at the Haunter! The explosion sends him flying backwards, shattering the stained glass window as he lets out a yell that gradually grows quieter and quieter until he's out of sight!
“We did it!” Wooper shouts.
“You did great, Teru,” I say. “Maybe someday you'll go on some more adventures of your own, huh?”
“I um, couldn't have done it without you,” Teru says shyly. “The things you said, the emotions I felt coming off of you... I guess I fed off it a little.”
“Sounds like something that can really come in handy.” I can't help but wonder how strong this kid would get from feeding off the emotions of the guild.
Wooper speaks up, saying, “Guys? The walls!” I look around, and I notice them beginning to disappear!
“What's happening?” Teru asks, sounding worried.
“I don't know!” I shout. Slowly, more and more of the scene begins to vanish. The pillars, the broken window, the floor, and even Wooper and Teru! For a split second before everything turns to nothingness, I feel an odd sense of clarity. Oh yeah, that's right, I'm in a dream! My head starts to feel a little funny as the last of the dream world vanishes.
I open my eyes to find myself back in Teru's bedroom, the sun shining through the window. Wooper is slumped over next to me, and at some point during the night, a red knitted blanket had been put over the two of us. As I rub the sleepiness out of my eyes, the other two begin to stir awake.
“Mmm... I'm back home?” Teru mumbles. He turns his head to look at me, and says, “You both are still here, too. Did you two... have the same dream?”
Wooper sits more upright, letting out a big yawn. “Aaahhhh, morning... Was it a dream about fighting a bad ghost?”
“It was!” Teru says, surprised. “What about you, Chespin?” Seeing me nod, he says, “So we were really all there?”
“About as much as a shared dream can count for that,” I say. “The story I had in mind for you last night didn't go exactly like that, but I hope that dream was good enough.”
“I've never gone on an adventure before,” Teru says, floating up out of his bed. “But even if that dream was scary sometimes, it was fun.”
I hear a soft knock at Teru's door, followed by Banette opening it. The smell of some sort of cooking wafts into the bedroom. “Good morning, you three. Teru, how did you sleep?”
“Better than I have in awhile!” Teru smiles.
“I'm glad to hear Team Cozy lived up to their name,” Banette says. “Teru, I've made your favorite for breakfast. Better get it while it's fresh.”
“Ooh, dango time!” Teru floats out of the room to get breakfast.
Banette looks at Wooper and I, saying, “You two did a good job, I haven't seen him this chipper in the morning in some time. Come have some breakfast before you go, I've got some cookies baking right now that'll be finished by the time you're done eating.”
Wooper and I follow her to the kitchen. I can feel heat coming off of the nearby oven as I take a look around. It looks pretty rustic, but definitely has a cozy feel to it. The dining table has a blue and white plaid tablecloth atop it, with a small flowerpot in the center.
The two of us take a seat as Teru floats on the other end of the table. Banette lays out some plates, each holding several skewered balls of some sort of dough with an unknown syrup drizzled over them. While Banette helps her son eat, I help Wooper with them as well, taking a small bite of my own. The dough is a lot chewier than I had expected, but not bad at all. I don't know what kind of syrup this is, but it's pretty good.
“Hey Mom,” Teru says. “Can we explore a dungeon someday?”
“Oh, where's this coming from?” Banette says.
“I think someone got inspired by the story we told him last night,” I say.
“He could be pretty good at it!” Wooper says.
“Well, I suppose once your father returns the three of us can give it a try, Teru.” Banette pats Teru on the head lightly, smiling.
On our way out of the house, Banette hands me a large box of freshly-baked cookies. On the road back into town, I try one. Oatmeal cookies? Well, they're not my first choice, but these taste pretty good.
“Hey Chespin,” Wooper says. “What's that paper in your bag?”
I take a look in the bag, finding a paper that I don't recall being there before. “Huh? What's this?” Taking it out, I find that it's a letter. The handwriting is scratchy, but I manage to make out the writing.
Dear Team Cozy
Thank you for a fun night! It's been awhile since I've run across a dream as interesting as that. Sorry I was so hard on the kid, I was only trying to help him grow stronger, but maybe I went too far before. I'll make sure his dreams are free of nightmares from now on.
P.S. Those Blast Seeds hurt!