Team Bucket Brigade and the Quest for the Holy Pail

Episode 2/9: Rift Warrior

June 20th

It feels like it's been a year. Maybe more. I don't know, but after yesterday's entry I feel totally mind-fucked. Well, to begin: today's a new day on the Lapras Liner. Yesterday is when all the shit hit the fan, and by the time I managed to come back onboard, I was too exhausted and confused to write anything else except that little entry. Sue me. I'm doing it now, and I don't think even today will be enough.

Well, I want to avoid talking about yesterday's mess. So first, I guess, today. What happened today?

Nothing, really. We're still sailing to the Water Continent, still looking for the Holy Pail that Ruby told me about so I can evolve and not be stuck in this bucket as a limbless do-nothing fish. But the mood on the ship, well, it's definitely changed. I would've been surprised if everything was the same after what happened.

Well, shit. It looks like I'm back where I started with this. And my procrastination only lasted one paragraph, FUCK.

To start then:
Ruby said she wanted me to be as descriptive as possible with this, and to be honest I don't think my typical journal entries (once again, whatever snooping fuck you are that's reading this, ignore the bedazzled "DIARY" cover) are going to really do it justice. She wants details, to make sure the "Rift" stuff she stumbles into isn't just her. I owe her so much so I'll take my sweet precious time to write better, more detailed, etc.

I wonder if its because I'm human she thinks its different for me? Or maybe she just wants to know she's not going crazy. Because with what I saw, I can't blame her.

Well I've done my fair share of reading back from before I was turned into a limbless pellet-muncher, and NO, not just PMD fanfic. I'm talking about big names and actual published authors with REAL literary merit like J.K Rowling, B.D Sanderson, and J.F Christ.

(Wow I guess I have a thing for authors with two-initialed letters)

But to top them all off, I of course read H.P Lovecraft.

Well, some of his stuff. Actually not that much. I was mainly there for the cat and unfortunately there wasn't too much of that.

But that's not the point! My point with this little tirade is that considering the shit I saw and went through yesterday, I don't think my typical style is gonna cut it, not with what Ruby's asking of me (and boy do I owe her). So, I'll try my best to emulate that guy from here on out (plus it makes me sound smarterer and more sophisticated than before, which is great when I can go come and read up on all this once I become a HUMAN (or Mitotic, anything that's not this...)

Here goes:

It was a dark and stormy night.

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents.

Damn, and both of those would've worked perfectly, too.

Okay, well, third time's the charm:

I was thrown awake by slamming into the side of my bucket, and even if the impact didn't wake me up, the sheer sound of the CLUNK! sound I made amplified by the vibrations in the water surely (ugh) would have. I instinctively said how I feel every time I wake up in this body:
"Fuck me."

It took another rock of the boat, another impact of my head against the tiny bucket I called my home for me to feel my stomach get woozy. I mean, come on, right? You would think that the ONE benefit of being isekai'd into a FISH is that I would've lost my seasickness, but nope, once again I get screwed over. I surfaced, lifted myself over the side of my bucket, and heaved up yesterday's dinner. Sorry to yeoman Snivy that has to swab the deck, but I was NOT going to be swimming in throwup for the rest of the night.

As I was lifted over and trying to survive both expelling everything from within my guts while also trying to not gasp for breath, I happened to look up towards the door where I could see above-deck. A flash of thunder illuminated everything and showed that it was a, well, dark and stormy night.

Sue me for fucking plagiarism, that is the most straightforward way to describe it. Plus I'm pretty sure this guy is both back on Earth and long dead so it's not like the fucker can do much.

Sorry, need to write seriously, descriptively, whatever. For Ruby's sake. Continuing:
What I saw outside was a pretty strong wind rocking the ship back and forth. It was apparently enough to make me sick. Now that I was awake I could hear the finer details of what was occurring: the ringing of the ship's bell because of the rocking, the whooshing wind causing rain to fly almost sideways, and then the sound of thunder joined the lightning.

At first it wasn't too bad, a distant thunderclap which followed the lightning some five seconds after.

Then four seconds, then three seconds. I was just waiting and hoping it wouldn't get closer and louder. But then it didn't. Really, nothing happened for a good couple of seconds. It seemed that the ship had exited the storm. The rocking stopped, the world seemed more still.

Yeah, fuck you Kyogre.

Ever heard of the calm before the storm? That was it. One more flash of lightning and the thunder was right after it it, completely on top of us. The boom shook the water in my bucket, and while I was pretty sure I was the only one that was this sensitive to the sea to be thrown awake by the rocking, that thunderclap woke the rest of the ship's passengers and crew up, Ruby included.

All hell broke loose. The sound of the storm on top of us only intensified, the rocking got crazier. If you told me that Kyogre the all-mighty and all-annoying god of the sea was about to surface and drag us down to Davy Jones' locker with him, I would've shaken your hands (if I had any to begin with) and said my goodbyes. In fact, that's what some of the crew did. A bunch of sailors on the night shift took one peek outside and started praying to their retarded whale god, if you can believe it, as if he weren't the reason we were dealing with this in the first place.

Well fortunately, the first mate whipped those guys into shape and led them all upstairs, commanding the rest of the crew not on the night shift, which was basically those who were half-awake in their cots, to hurry up and join them.

The on-duty crew disappeared once they ran up the steps and slammed the door behind them. But the shouting and screaming for them to:
"Hoist the sails!"
"Weigh anchor!"
"Don't let up, lads!"
Only intensified as time went on, just like the storm did. It was clear there was a struggle, and Ruby, who was listening to this the whole time pretty silently stood up from her bunk that I was right next to. She looked at me, her eyes squinting with some sort of inner thought through the red domes over them, and said:
"You stay here, Shirley."

Thank you Ruby. I, the fish confined to a bucket, was going to willingly waltz up to the shitshow happening above us.

She wanted to, though. She told me to stay put, patted my head, and walked towards the stairs, trying to make herself not fall over because of the sheer amount of turbulence. At this point she was joining a crowd of other passengers and cowering crew who were peering by there, gathering the courage to go up and see what was happening above deck.

The first mate and master-at-arms, a Charmeleon by the name of Jack, slammed the door open, scurried down the steps, then closed it behind him. He hurried down with his tail ignited, giving the lower decks consistent light. I never would've thought a fire-type would've ever been a part of the crew of a wooden sailing ship, but I found out later that there are fireproofing techniques used. Hell, I even overheard the sailors talking about a whole pirate crew of fire-types that just burn down other ships, so I guess it was becoming commonplace now. So much for a world of happy-go-lucky fantasy creatures since it looks like Nintendo isn't immune to enshittification either.

It doesn't matter. Either way, he used his tail as a sort of barrier to block us in from proceeding up the stairs, and his face lit up in a sort of creepy, campfire-horror-story sort of way. He said, turning first to the crew:
"Crew! Hurry ya damn cowards. We need all paws and claws on deck!"

To the passengers he looked at and said:
"And you laddies stay down here, ya hear me? Let us crew take care of this storm and we'll be sailin' smooth after."

Another roar of thunder and blinding flash of lightning made us all jump, and he looked up, past us, and he frowned. Believe it or not, whatever stalker is reading my journal, I've never been the most empathetic kinda guy as a human, and I stopped giving even less of a shit when I became a fish. Going limbless not being able to breathe air does that to a man.

But jeez, the way he looked up like this was something he never saw before, that kinda fear of the unknown, I'll say that sent shivers down my spine. I'm pretty sure I still have one, at least.

More calls for help from above, and while he was looking up Ruby stepped forward and tried to get a look. Jack stopped her with his tail, the fire burning between the two and illuminating both their dead-serious faces. I recalled he took an especially significant liking to Ruby when we first boarded. She did her usual tricks, you know, midair somersaults, explaining what was kawaii and what wasn't, and he had just cheered and laughed her on with the rest of the crew. But now wasn't the time for fun, and he simply said:
"And especially no lassies. Sorry Miss Ruby, ya can't go up."

Ruby's eyes were unamused as she merely asked:
"This isn't a regular storm, is it?"

Jack merely sputtered something, but Ruby pressed again, but this time with worry in her voice:
"Tell me, is this storm different?"

This was a significant change of tone from the jolly Ruby that was aboard the ship a couple days ago, so maybe that's what flustered Jack enough to give up the news:
"It ain't like nothin' we've seen before, Ruby. Yer a fun lass and I don't want ya or none of the other passengers gettin' hurt. Stay put, will ya?"

Unfortunately, that seemed to be all Ruby needed to hear. She said, stepping forward:
"I need to go up and see it. This might be my fault."

This change in demeanor definitely confused Jack as much as it first confused me. Ruby was either super happy and outgoing or just dead serious like she was then. "When I have to take care of business" is what she told me after when I asked why. That, paired with another even louder roar of thunder that almost deafened me, was enough for Ruby to quickly sidestep Jack and run up the stairs.

I saw her reach the last step right before the upper deck, slam open the door, and almost get blown away. If she didn't hold onto the railing with her claws, if she flew up instead of walking, she probably would have been gone for good.

She braced herself against the wind, using her wings as a shield against that and the sideways rain, and walked out of my sight. Needless to say the rest of the passengers and crew downstairs entered a commotion which was made worse by the door letting in rain and the fury of the storm. As for myself, I almost shit in my bucket seeing that and then witnessing Ruby disappear.

Jack tried to calm everyone down and made his way up to close the door, telling the crew to hurry up and quit stalling. Ruby beat him to it, closing it behind her. She was absolutely soaked. She buzzed her wings to get the water off and flung it everywhere. Jack stood kinda speechless and just stared at her as she hurried down past him. She turned to him and said:
"The wind is going backwards. Into the storm instead of away from it."

Jack didn't get it, and neither did anyone else. It was hard for everyone to speak over each other but Jack's voice won over everyone else's as he told everyone to shut up and then asked Ruby to repeat herself. She just said as she walked down the steps:
"The storm is pulling us in, right? The winds are going in reverse? Then this isn't a regular storm. This is caused by a Rift."

Jack said:
"Rift? Like those things croppin' up in Mystery Dungeons? Lass, there ain't no Mystery Dungeons here. Sure, we're only on this route because of reported pirate activity by our usual sailing path and we 'aven't sailed here in ages, but it's clear."

Ruby said:
"This isn't a typical Mystery Dungeon, it's a Rift-caused one. Meaning it can pop-up on its own and far, far worse... when was the last time a ship sailed this course?"

Jack took a moment or two to think:
"A couple of years, I reckon. But the last ship that left from Capim Town to Lively Town went through this route."

Ruby asked:
"Did you hear if the ship made it to port?"

Jack's tail flickered noticeably as he said:
"I wouldn't know."

That was enough. She asked:
"So no ships have come this way, meaning the Rift could be years old... and building up. Jack! Where is the Rift sealant?"

Jack sputtered that he didn't know that either, and Ruby asked him to remember, that it was by issue of the Federation that all sailing ships should carry an emergency bottle of the stuff. That seemed to jog his memory, and he once again asked us to not go up as he hurried down to the storage. In the meanwhile, Ruby looked over the now-alert pokemon and asked:
"Are there any Exploration Teams here? Crew trained for combat?"

Among those below deck, two pokemon raised their hands: a Floragato and a Torracat. I knew the two, and so did Ruby: the green cat was Mick, whose right, upstretched paw was wrapped in a pink cloth. The red cat was Rocky, who wore a bandana the color of Mick's fur. They were part of the crew, real broody types. Definitely brawlers judging off their looks, but not the type of disciplined combat Ruby was looking for. So it makes she said:
"I don't want ruffians, especially going into a Rift. You'd be more of a liability than help."

Rocky just scowled as Mick stood up and said, his smile from the days before gone:
"Now, please don't you be going and saying that. We're trained explorers, my brother and I. We were in a Guild, and honestly we wanna go back."

I made the mistake of not getting enough sleep to keep my mouth shut:
"'Brothers?' Either you're blind as shit or your mom cheated. You two aren't even from the same gen."

Ruby looked at me with a mixed glare of "please be quiet, Shirley" and "what the hell does 'gen' mean?" but while Rocky just shirked back a little, Mick stepped forward and said, his claws brandished:
"I wasn't speaking to you, Shirley, you asshole Feebas. I was talking to Ruby."

Thankfully Ruby interceded and said:
"Enough, both of you. Mick, you said you're were in a Guild? 'Go back?' Clarify for me."

Mick rubbed the scar that ran across his eye as he said:
"We were once in a guild before we had to... leave. Team Wildcats. We had no more money after the guild went bust so we tried to get over to the Water Continent for work. We snuck onto the ship and, well..."

Ruby asked:
"How long have you been impressed?"

Mick sighed:
"Two more voyages until we pay off our debt. Before we're free to become Explorers again."

Ruby contemplated this for a moment and said:
"Alright. You'll come with me. I need whatever help I can get. Were you two trained on Rifts? I don't know if the Federation got to your guild in time when they were doing their rounds."

Rocky nodded silently, his tail flicking side to side, but Mick spoke for them both:
"We never experienced one, but we know the procedures. How to find 'em. Something will be out of place, something... otherworldly. Open the cap, release the stuff in the bottle, and everything returns to normal. Is this really a Rift?"

Ruby just nodded as an answer, her attention quickly shifting to the flame that appeared from the bowels of the ship. It was Jack, with a bottle of Rift sealant in hand. He looked at the bottle then at Ruby and said:
"So you're a Fed, Ruby? I've heard of the Clover Guild every time we made port in Capim. A buncha' nobodies, ruffians who don't know right from wrong, they are. You can't possibly be one of that lot since you know what ya say. That and this whole change o' tone ya got."

Ruby seemed sad at this and answered, but not before giving me a sideways glance:
"I'm... with Clover Guild, yes. But I was part of the Federation first."

At this Jack handed the bottle to Ruby:
"Well, yer' fun for a Fed, miss. I can see why you're with a Guild now, though by the Lord o' the Basin am I glad you can still remember yer' old ways."

Ruby grabbed it and put it beside her cot, where she began to pilfer through her belongings. She said:
"I'm fun when I'm allowed to be, Jack. Not in a time of crisis. Mick and Rocky, here, your crew... I need them to come along. They're former Explorers and impressing them is legal based on what I heard they did, but right now the Rift takes priority. I need them and anyone else trained for combat."

Jack was about to raise an objection but a wave struck the ship, nearly tossing everyone to the floor. He barely held on, and he just growled:
"If you're really a Fed, if ya really know what you're doin', then you'll have my help. The rest of the crew, though, they can't fight for their lives. 'Sides, it's my job to make sure no one gets hurt."

She turned and asked if there was anyone else there that had experience with Mystery Dungeons, and a Vikavolt, a really big bug in the back, said:
"If there's a need back home I'll volunteer for a rescue, but I'm freelance, not a part of the ETF."

Ruby eyed her up and down and said:
"How many rescues?"

Vikavolt glowed bright:
"Almost a dozen. All successful."

Ruby smiled a little:
"That's good, then. We'll need all the help we can get, even if you're not Federation, just as long as you're clearly experienced. You, Jack, Team Wildcats: get yourselves prepared to enter a Mystery Dungeon, and bring as much as you can carry, Escape Orbs especially."

Ruby then asked for help from other passengers to help her put on her armor, what she had spent this whole time pulling out from her luggage. I was just stuck in my bucket as I watched Ruby affix the heirloom chestplate to her body and had other passengers tie the straps on her back. That secured it while also giving her wings room to flap. Once that was done, she carefully pulled out her two bracers which had a Haxorus horn affixed to each one. She carefully slid one up her right arm, then did the same with her left. When she was done and stood up straight, ready to go.

Safe to say she looked really fucking awesome.

Even the other passengers were in awe, and they were silent as she grabbed a satchel and attached it to the side of her armor, on the waist, then did the same for the other. One was a trio of Escape Orbs she stored away and the Rift sealant, and the other had a variety of berries. She was about to go up alongside Vikavolt, Jack, and Team Wildcats, but she stopped and looked at me. She gazed at me for a good moment of two before she finally said:
"Before I go, there's something I need you to do for me Shirley."

I must've stared at her with a really retarded fish face since she almost giggled, but she contained it. This was, after all, a very dangerous situation. One that I really didn't want to be a part of. So I of course said:
"Ruby, I don't want to have anything to do with this."

She frowned and lifted my bucket up. I didn't have much a choice but she reassured me:
"I can't have you going in, either. I need to protect you right now. I just need to see if you can make sense of any of this."

I said:
"This Rift stuff? Ruby I don't know a single fucking thing about it."

This didn't convince her, and as she hoisted me by the bucket and walked up the stairs, she took a deep breath and I held mine, and she opened the door.

It was like if hell was water instead of fire. I saw the crew running around, fighting the wind to hold the ropes for the sails, some others trying to use their water-type abilities to summon waves to push the ship away from the typhoon, and a bunch of Pokemon struggling to drop the anchor to stop us from getting pulled in. It seemed like something was missing, that something should've been there to see, but from where the thunder manifested from and where the wisps of wind were being pulled into, I saw nothing.

Somehow over all the chaos I heard Ruby mutter:
"Do you see anything?"

I obviously told her no.

She asked another question, pressing me as she positioned me towards the invisible center:
"Do you feel anything? Some sort of connection?"

I answered accordingly:
"Aside from this fucking storm's weird winds pulling me in? No, I don't, Ruby. Please get me the fuck out of this mess."

She gave me a look as if she was doubting me but she still held my bucket close when the ship lurched again towards the storm. It was because of that I heard her mutter:
"If you say so, Shirley."

I shrugged my fins because that was all I could do. Did she want me to lie?

I don't know why but she seemed disappointed I couldn't see anything. Or feel anything relating to the Rift, but what could I do? At that moment Team Wildcats struggled their way to the upper deck and Jack and Vikavolt appeared beside them. Ruby asked:
"Are we all ready to go?"

The storm was really bad but I guess they managed to hear her well enough over the commotion because I saw them nod. She put the bucket that held me down and motioned to a someone part of the crew to get me and put me below deck.

The world's stupidest and ugliest Panpour approached and picked me up, so I could see Ruby go. She looked over the edge of the ship and took in a deep breath before she said:
"We have to go overboard. I'll see you there."

Then she looked at me and with a look of mixed empathy for me having to go through this alongside, for some reason, spite, she said:
"I'll be back, Shirley. I need you to make notes on all this even if you say you don't see it. I want to know. Be detailed, please."

I was pretty speechless so all I could do was a retarded fish bob up and down in my bucket, and with that she closed her eyes and did a dive overboard.

No one did anything for a moment, even though Jack stood forward and leaned over the railing, still making sure to not let him get thrown overboard because of the storm, but it was the Rocky the Torracat, the fucking FIRE TYPE, that just walked over, tightened his bandanna one last time, and jumped off. Then his partner Mick, after quickly tightening his watchstraps, followed also. Then so did Jack and Vikavolt, each taking a wild leap overboard.

The dumbass Panpour that was holding my bucket decided that it would be a good idea to peer overboard and, to be fair, I was pretty curious if they disappeared or if their corpses were floating in the water. I would've been tempted to straight up take my chances in the ocean and live where I was meant to live instead of in a bucket, but the foaming and wild waters made me quickly reconsider that.

Well, there was no trace of any of them to be found, but there was still a storm going on. So with my luck a huge wave crashed into the ship and Panpour lost his grip on my bucket. It spilled over, and so did the very unlucky contents of it. Great.

Falling overboard into the ocean, with the storm raging on above me, I felt like I was in one of those cheesy movie montages where the guy narrates:
"So I bet you're wondering how I ended up here."

To be fair I did fall in slo-mo, it felt like, but that was all I could think. I couldn't contemplate anything else because I hit the water immediately and while initially I could still make out the ship above illuminated by the lightning and felt the water on my scales (which was way more pleasant than I thought) my vision darkened and I rapidly felt nothing.
----- Fucking dungeon whiplash. I don't know if it was the Rift or not or if it was because the dungeon was in the ocean since this was my first time going into one at all, but it felt like I was getting tossed around more than a girl at a frat party.

I mean I was just getting tumbled and struck by cold water until my vision magically parted and I found myself in a big ass empty room.

Detailed. Right.

The room I regained consciousness in was clearly underwater. Honestly, it was more like a cave. You see, the first thing I noticed once I regained my bearings was the walls and ceilings were all coral, just tons of it enveloping everything. There were little bits of holes in the walls, here and there, and I swam to it and peered through, trying to see what lie beyond.

There were a variety of different pokemon there, in the water beyond the coral, swimming everywhere beyond the reef, but they all seemed... different? They just swam forward and had an empty, blank looking stare. That also sent a shiver down my spine, the empty-headed fish mons that seemed like a wall decoration.

I inhaled a deep breath while I took in the whole thing, then I realized I wasn't in water, just an empty room with air.

I panicked for a moment and tried to swim though the wall only to realize that I couldn't bypass the jagged corals. Thankfully, two things struck me: I could breath despite the room being filled with air and I could also somehow swim through it. Mystery Dungeon-fuckery, I guess

But the fact was that I could "swim" and breathe in air while I was here. I was so elated I started to swim in circles and take in deep breathes. I think for the first time I was in this world I let out a laugh, completely forgetting what was happening on the ship and where I was.

My mistake. I heard a growl and turned towards it. It was a Barraskewda, and it had a very different expression from the fish pokemon on the "outside." It didn't have an empty look exactly, but it definitely seemed like it had no higher thought aside from a desire to attack me.

I distinctly recall its eyes widening in recognition when it spotted me and it let out some guttural cry. It swam through the air just like I did (so of COURSE the one upside for me being in a Dungeon is immediately used against me).

Even though I have been in a bucket since I got here, Ruby didn't seem to understand that just sitting there doesn't let me swim so I'm terrible at it. Right before we left for the Holy Pail she signed me up for some swimming contest and I had to hide in the infirmary. It was a good spot too since the only person who discovered me before Ruby was Toge. And do NOT ask about the bullshit acrobatics I had to pull to end up in that hiding spot. Anyways, me trying to dodge the attack was pointless but I tried.

Tried is the key word. I was hit square in my side by a tackle. I spun around and used my water gun, but this was a fellow fish, you see. So it just tanked it and attacked me again. I ate that attack too.

Now I was getting desperate. I wasn't in any state to fight back. So I tried to run. SWIM. I tried to swim away, but it wasn't enough to compete against the dungeon feral. I tried to escape that room and went into a passage that was basically the same design except the water and the invisible walls were much, much closer. I cried for help as I did so, hoping Ruby was somewhere nearby.

I couldn't dodge when it caught up to me. It tackled me and threw me to the ground and I looked back, stunned, floundering like a goddamn fish. It floated above me and looked down at me menacingly. I was about to find out firsthand what a fish eating another one felt like, but then I heard a familiar voice call out:
"Shirley!"

Both me and the Barraskewda turned to look. Why the fish did that like in the movies instead of just killing me and then turning around I have no idea, but he did and it saved my life, for better or for worse.

Ruby was standing there, in the passage, looking about as dumbfounded as me. Her antennae were pointed and alert, and I could see from behind her I saw Mick and Rocky peering at us.

All I could do was gasp out:
"Help!"

Ruby was too shocked to move, seeing me down there in a Rift, but thankfully Mick and Rocky didn't know me well enough to think me that me being in a Mystery Dungeon was a Rift-trick or ditto or whatever.

The duo rushed forward, Rocky shooting bursts of flame like super mario found a fire flower. The barrage of embers bounced on the floor a few times before they struck the Barraskewda. Rocky's attacks hardly did anything except leave a few scorch marks on its side, but that was enough for it to train its attention on him. Him and his partner, that is, since Rocky was already rushing forward past Mick, towards the dungeon mon.

Like spiderman making web come out of his forearms, two vines appeared from his wrists. He grabbed them at their bases and struck the Barraswkeda with them, giving it a mighty lashing until it disappeared in a huff of smoke.

Rocky and Mick both approached me, and though it looked like Mick didn't want to help me up, a nudge from Rocky made him offer me a hand.

I used my fin to take it, though in all honestly I probably could've righted myself up on my own because of the strangeness of the Mystery Dungeon. Once I was up I was just floating in the air, at Mick's eye level.

He just stared at me and I stared at him and said:
"Are you gonna eat me since you're a cat or something?"

He just scoffed and was replaced by Ruby who flew over to me, grabbed me with her claws, and said as she hugged me:
"Shirley, what are you doing here? I told you to stay on the ship! It's dangerous here."

I said:
"I know, Ruby. That stupid water monkey threw me overboard. I wound up here. Is... is this the dungeon? It looks like a regular one, just how other guildmembers would describe it. Just rooms and winding passages. Ferals, too."

Ruby sighed and said:
"For now, yes. The only difference I've noticed is that everyone that came here was scattered. I found myself in a Monster House and had to fight my way out. I'm glad it was me and not Jack or Vikavolt. I found them in a connecting room and had them stay by the stairs while I searched for the Wildcats."

Mick declared:
"And thank goodness you did! If not for us being nearby, Shirley here would've been fish-food."

I rolled my eyes:
"Thanks, I guess."

Ruby quickly rummaged through her bags and pulled out an escape orb, then cursed as she pulled out a second. Both were cracked, apparently from a Monster House she had found herself in. The third one she had was undamaged. She turned to Mick and Rocky and asked:
"Did you manage to pack any Escape Orbs? I need to get Shirley out of here."

Mick shrugged as it was Rocky who had their items. He knelt and opened their bag, then shook his head and said with a surprisingly soft and quiet voice:
"Sorry, no. This is what I gathered. This one is a Petrify Orb, and the other is a... uh..."

Mick grabbed it from Rocky and said:
"This is a Luminous Orb. Might be better if you carried it, Ruby."

Ruby, though clearly bothered there was no easy way out for me, nodded in agreement said:
"Alright. I'll see if Jack or Vikavolt packed any."

Ruby didn't have to carry me in her arms since I could finally swim, so I don't know if it was out of habit or to protect me, but I was in her arms, trying not to get cut by the huge blades on her wrists as we walked through the dungeon and regrouped with Vikavolt and Jack. Ruby was far from happy when Jack said:
"None of our supplies had Escape Orbs. We wouldn't be able to teleport anywhere nearby if we capsized, anyways."

Jack puffed up his chest and added:
"Not that we would ever abandon ship. We're proud sailors for the Federation. We'd never abandon our duties."

Ruby shook her head and said:
"I believe you, but the lack of Escape Orbs is... very bad. Well, I have only the one, and I'd rather save it for an emergency if we can't seal the Rift."

Everyone understood and prepared themselves one last time before they proceeded up the stairs. Jack ate a few berries and stoked the flame at the end of his tail. Vikavolt stretched her wings and shot a few bolts of electricity to make sure she was ready to combat. Mick and Rocky, in some sort of grounding ritual, tightened their bandana and wriststraps again, like they did on the ship, though this time they did it more purposefully, slowly. instead of quickly.

Then they ascended, each pokemon disappearing one at a time. Before it was our turn I whispered to Ruby, who had just finished tightening her armor:
"But wouldn't the ship still be caught by the storm? How would we escape that?"

Ruby frowned:
"I can still fly and I have a Mobile Orb in my bag that should let me overcome the winds. Orbs usually only work in dungeons and against ferals, but since the storm is Rift-affected it should still work."

I didn't understand so I asked:
"Yeah, but what about the ship?"

Ruby dodged my question and said with a hush:
"I can carry you."

My mouth went agape like a fish:
"And leave everyone else to die?"

Ruby looked forward, not at me but instead up at the stairs where the other four had disappeared, going further into the Mystery Dungeon:
"I have a greater mission than just this. If we have to sacrifice a few to save many, we'll do that."

I was a little stunned to hear Ruby talk like this:
"What kind of talk is this? All for the Holy Pail? Is it really that important that we get this artifact and I can evolve? Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be living in a bucket all my life. But that's batshit insane."

Ruby was momentarily stunned, as if she forgot about the Holy Pail, but then again it was probably because I was showing the slightest bit of empathy for someone else. Like, I know I can be a little heartless sometimes, but I don't think being surprised Ruby would leave a whole ship of pokemon to perish is out-of-character for me. Still, she just said:
"It... It's a discussion for another time. Okay Shirley?"

I just sighed as Ruby hoisted us up the stairs and said:
"Sure, Ruby. Just don't let me die before then."

Ruby frowned at my joke and replied right before everything faded to nothingness as we advanced to the next floor of this Rift-induced Mystery Dungeon:
"That's the plan, Shirley."

-----

God this is exhausting. Especially knowing I have to write the rest of the dungeon. Not gonna do it today, sorry. I have one more day at sea before arriving in the Water Continent. I'll finish describing everything that happened yesterday tomorrow. I would pinky-promise to myself and you, whatever bastard is snooping through my journal but I have no pinky.
Fuck my stupid fish life.