Tempus Labyrinth: Part 1

As usual, I woke up at the crack of dawn. Just as the sun peeked over the horizon, I struggled to pull myself out of bed, as I was tired due to a lack of sleep. The bed was really just a pile of cotton that the Chespin and Wooper team gave to me. The cotton used to be a pristine white but since then, it has been stained a yellowish-brown. The cotton had been flattened from a year and a half of wear, so there was little cushioning making it harder to get to sleep.

Off my wooden desk, I grabbed the Clover Badge and pinned it to my red-and-white checkered scarf. Before grabbing breakfast, I took one last look at the report book that Alakazam gave me. I had it opened to the “Tempus Labyrinth Dungeon” page. The book had no cover. It was all old barely legible reports, instructions, and testimonials on stained paper hole punched and bound together by string. Some of the pages in it were most likely centuries old. Alakazam is the only guy in the world with enough influence and connections to obtain this.

After a quick review of the dungeon report, I left my room and made my way down the spiraling stairs to the mess hall. I had to be quiet as many of the guild members don’t wake up until the sun is almost overhead.

I really wish the Pokémon here had more discipline. Many seemed more focused on their own interests and gratification rather than the actual purpose of an Exploration Guild, to explore and help Pokémon in need. Although, I can’t say that I am not using the guild to service my own goals. It just so happens that my goals and the stated purpose of an explorer’s guild align.

I made my way into the mess hall and went up to the counter to get my breakfast. The Munchlax named Beast did the cooking and for what it’s worth, his food was pretty good.

“Here you are, KFC,” he said, serving me a bowl of grits with a side of assorted berries.

“Thank you as always,” I responded.

The moment I turned around to head to my table, I heard a massive crash followed by a “DAMMIT, RONNIE! That’s the third time this week!”

I looked back over my shoulder to see a large pot on the floor with grits pouring out of it. The Numel looked dumbfounded and sputtered “WaSn’T Me, I sWeAr!” in his squeaky, cracking voice.

“Do you need any help cleaning up?” I asked.

“Nah, the only way Ronnie will learn is if he cleans the mess up himself,” Beast replied, throwing a rag at the Numel’s face.

I sensed another individual in the kitchen, and I thought I should probably say something, especially if this is the third time in a week. “I do not think Ronnie did it.”

“Oh? Who else would be dumb enough to spill an entire batch of grits all over the floor?” Beast scoffed.

“I don’t know,” I said sarcastically. “Probably, some ghost who thinks he is smart enough to pin the blame on Ronnie and get away with it.” I looked up. Sure enough I saw the glowing red eye of a Duskull staring right back at me.

Beast looked up, following my lead. Elm, knowing he was caught red handed, phased back into the ceiling. Beast growled, “He better be ready to pay an entire meal’s worth of food off.”

“Do you need me to get him for you?”

“No need, he’ll come back once he’s hungry enough.” Beast began to shoo me out of the kitchen. “Now move along before your food gets cold.”

I sat in my usual spot, the small table in the corner, to eat my breakfast. Compared to dinnertime, the mess hall was quiet mainly because most of the guild was still sleeping. Besides me, there was the Sceptile and Shinx team and Ross the Smeargle, who probably didn’t get any sleep. Around this time, Team Brave (Sneasel and Booker) would walk into the mess hall, but today was one of their off days. I would have liked to see them off as they are one of the few teams that actually strive to improve themselves.

I finished up my breakfast and mentally prepared myself for the journey I was about to endure. I entered the main lobby and was about to make a straight shot for the exit. I had one foot out the door before I hear, “Take him with you.”

I turned back around to see the Guildmaster, Lliam. Next to him was a Togetic rubbing his eyes, as if he was yanked out of bed only a moment ago.

Lliam was the Meowstic that ran the guild. On occasion, he asked me to do certain things for him, such as retrieving and orienting new members and sometimes running to the market to grab necessities and supplies. I felt somewhat uneasy around him at times, and he was who I pictured in my mind when I thought of people who are more focused on their own self interests.

I had seen the Togetic before, but I couldn’t recall if I had ever actually spoken to him. I believed he went by the name Toge and he has some history with the Dewott I’d fought. Toge did not look particularly special. In fact, he seemed to be one of the feebler guild members, if his aura was anything to go by.

“I can put together a training regimen with Toge later, but I am currently very busy,” I told the Guildmaster.

“No, that’s not what I said~,” Lliam responded in a condescending tone. “I said take him on your mission today.”

Toge greeted me, “Um, h-hi,” as Lliam nudged him forward.

“You don’t understand,” I attempted to explain. “Technically, I am not going on a mission today. However, the place I am going is quite dangerous. Toge will be a liability and, even worse, could get badly hurt. I beseech you to reconsider.”

Unmoved by my reasoning, Lliam reiterated, “Take him to Tempus Labyrinth with you. That’s an order, okay?”

How did he know that’s where I wanted to go? I didn’t tell anyone that was my plan, except Alakazam who approved of my trip. Could he have intercepted the letter? Maybe something else was at play, but I didn’t have time to dig for the answer. Begrudgingly, I accepted Lliam’s demand. “(I’ll have to think of this as extra training for myself,)” I thought.

The Guildmaster ran off leaving me with Toge. “Did you have breakfast, yet?” I asked.

Almost on cue, his stomach growled, and he looked down in embarrassment. “N-no…”

“(Dewgong is going to be very upset if I’m late, but I can’t have him come along on an empty stomach either.)” After giving the dilemma a moment of thought, I sighed, “Go eat and meet me back here in 30 minutes.”

After 20 minutes, the Togetic returned. “That was fast,” I remarked. “Are you ready to head out?”

“Wait, I n-need t-t-to get s-supplies,” said Toge, somewhat panicked.

I really disliked the idea of having items on this trip. The whole point was to fine tune my raw strength, and relying on items would defeat the whole purpose. However, Toge was a begrudging participant and if he had item, I would not have to babysit him as much. “Fine, you can bring items, just make it quick.”

“Alright, g-g-give me a m-moment,” Toge stuttered. He sped to the storage room and came back with a bag within a few minutes.

If there was one positive to this stuttering mess, it was that he was quick. “(Hopefully, his quickness translates to him being able to dodge attacks)”

“I-I th-think I-I’m r-ready.”

I left the guild hall and Toge followed suit. It was a bright sunny day in Capim Town and the townsfolk gave us the usual side-eye as Toge and I made our way down to the docks.

Even after the Clover Guild’s official entrance into the Exploration Team Federation, the guild still maintained a poor reputation. When the guild received a mission request, it could go ignored for weeks at a time. On the off chance the mission request was accepted, the average Clover Guild team was more likely to fail the mission than not. In fact, the local newspaper also frequently reported on the shenanigans of the Clover Guild. The coverage was so negative that it seemed as if someone had been paying the paper to smear the Clover Guild. Surprisingly enough, this has worked out in my favor as the criminals I’ve faced let their guard down once they saw the Clover Badge on my scarf.

* * *

At the docks, Dewgong spotted me first and he did not look happy. Dewgong was a Federation Aquatic Transport Official. If we ever encountered a storm or rough waters, he would always pull through. He was faster than Lapras, but the rides were much bumpier. He had an outgoing personality and took great pride in his work. At the same time, he was very punctual and incredibly strict with regulations. Whenever I got a mission that took me off continent, Dewgong was who the Federation sent to transport me.

“Do you know how late you are?” Dewgong scowled.

“I apologize. I wanted to leave sooner, but Togetic needed to eat before we head off,” I explained.

Toge slightly bowed and gave Dewgong a meek, “S-sorry…”

I was certain that Dewgong was going to give Toge and I an earful about a surprise second passenger. However, as soon as Dewgong locked eyes with Toge, his scowl vanished, and his face lit up.

“O-oh, don’t worry about it! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day after all!”

It seemed that I had caught Dewgong in a good mood. I had no intention of questioning it either. The quieter the trip, the better.

Toge carefully landed himself onto his back and locked his arms around Dewgong.

Dewgong turn his head back and asked, “All cozy?”

“Oh… I’m v-very c-c-cozy,” Toge nodded.

I mounted Dewgong and wrapped my arms around Toge.

“Great!” Dewgong smiled. “Better hold on close and tight, we have a long and bumpy trip ahead of us. I wouldn’t want you to fall in, now.”

I shut my eyes, took a deep breath in, and focused on the noises of the ocean. It was peaceful for all of 30 seconds, because Dewgong began to speak to Toge. Dewgong bombarded Toge with a myriad of personal questions. Toge stuttered and stammered trying to answer one thing Dewgong asked. Tuning them out was a task I was not focused enough to achieve.

* * *

After 12 long hours of non-stop conversation, we finally arrived at the island. The second Dewgong parked himself onto the beach, I hoped off. I felt immense relief as the warm sand dug beneath my talons. The constant babbling wore me out more than keeping my hold on to Toge.

“Th-thank y-you… f-for the… uh… r-r-ride,” Toge said, leaping off Dewgong.

“It was no problem at all,” Dewgong replied, making a big, goofy smile at Toge. “If you ever need a ride again, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Dewgong wasn’t the type to offer rides to just anyone. Normally, he only offered his transport services, if it was an official mission mandated by the Federation. In fact, it took a lot of convincing (and Poké) for him to even agree to transport me here.

“Okay Combusken, down to serious business.” Dewgong’s tone was much more serious when chatting with me. “You didn’t tell me when you needed to be picked up.”

“Because I do not know how long this will take,” I explained. “I’ll meet you at this spot when we’re finished. You need to make a pass at this island once every 24 hours.”

“W-w-what?!” Toge shouted. “D-d-does th-that m-mean w-we c-c-could be h-here for weeks?”

“Possibly months… Why do you think I was so opposed to Lliam’s request to bring you along?”

Toge’s eyes were widened, and the corners of his mouth were quivering. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going on in his head. In hindsight, I should have realized Toge isn’t the type of guy to take news like this well.

“But… most Pokémon that able to complete the dungeon do it in just over a week,” I elaborated, trying my best to reassure Toge.

“It’s over a 6-hour trip to the nearest settlement, which means I have no choice but to wait around this island until you finish!” Dewgong yelled. “Besides you’re not the only one I have to transport on a regular basis, y’know.”

“I already cleared this trip with Alakazam, and he told me all your shifts would be covered,” I said. “If you think about it, this is like a paid vacation. You might as well enjoy it.”

Dewgong was still frustrated, but my rationale must have been good enough because he relented. “Is there anything else you need?”

“No, but thank you for helping me out. I bet it would have taken Lapras twice as long to get here.”

“You’re damn right,” Dewgong smirked as he dragged himself back into the water.

As the waves pulled Dewgong back into the sea, he turned to us. “See you later!” He shouted.

Toge lifted his arm up and gave him a wave goodbye.

The sun was barely over the horizon, so I decided to wait until tomorrow to enter the dungeon. “Come on,” I said to Toge. “We’d better set up camp.”

“R-r-right…”

We walked off the beach and found ourselves in a grassy plain. It was a mild temperature, and a weak wind blew on the grass. A few berry trees were scattered around the landscape, and they all appeared to be in healthy condition. We eventually stumbled upon a dead spot in the grass, perfect for a campsite.

“D-do y-you need a-any… uh… h-help setting u-up c-camp?”

“No, just wait here. I should be able to take care of everything,” I replied.

“Are you sure?” Because I-I c-can--”

“I said I can handle it!” I interrupted Toge.

I had no idea why I raised my voice at Toge or why I was so angry at his willingness to help. Regardless, my sudden outburst was loud enough to cause Toge to recoil. It was clear that he was only trying to put his best foot forward and be useful.

I took a deep breath and recollected myself. In a calm voice, “Sorry, I don’t know what came over me,” I attempted to explain. “If you can gather up two big piles of dry grass, I can collect the firewood”

Toge slightly tilted his head. “Wh-wh-what for?”

Surely, he must have been kidding. Was he really going to make me spell it out for him? “So… we can make hay beds, obviously.”

In an instant, Toge’s brow furled. “…Hay?” he said in a serious voice.

There was a brief moment of silence as I stared at him, confused at this sudden shift in tone. Before I could assess the situation further, Toge snapped back to his usual mild self. “O-oh.... I-I sh-should've p-packed b-bedrolls...” Toge began to shuffle around in his bag then pulled out 2 rolls of compressed cotton sheets. “W-we can… uh... sleep o-on th-these.”

“Oh!” I said surprised. “Way to think ahead. You can set those up and I’ll be back with the firewood.”

I ran to each of the trees and grabbed as much firewood as I could get my hands on. The amount of dry wood under the trees was meager, so it took a while until I was able to get an adequate amount for the night.

By the time I returned to the campsite, Toge was laying down on one of the bed rolls and eating a sitrus berry.

“Where did you get those?”

“I-I uh… p-packed th-them,” Toge said, opening his bag to revealing a handful of oran and sitrus berries and even a few occa, and chople berries.

I carefully leaned several of the smaller sticks I gathered onto each other in a cone formation. Then, I placed dry grass in the center of the structure. I held my claw out to the tinder and let out a small spark of aura. After the instantaneous blue flash subsided, the tinder was ignited. As I blew on the tinder, the smoldering flame grew larger and larger until it engulfed the entire campfire.

By the time I had finished building the campfire, Toge had eaten his berry and was about to take a bite of his second. “There’s a campfire going, and you’re still gonna eat those berries raw?” I asked.

Toge moved the berry away from his mouth and looked up at me in confusion, “Wh-wh-what do y-you m-mean?”

I gestured to the berries. “Give them here.”

Still hesitant, Toge handed over the bag of berries.

I shuffled around the bag and pulled out the a few of the berries. Then, I grabbed 2 small sticks from the firewood pile. I stabbed the berries with the stick, alternating between the oran, sitrus, occa, and chople types. I tossed one of the kebabs back to Toge and after fumbling with it for a moment, he managed to stabilize the kebab in his hands.

I moved the bedroll closer to the fire and held my kebab over it. Toge, realizing what I was doing, quickly followed suit.

I slowly rotated the berry kebab 6 inches away from the flame, until every side of the berries were perfectly darkened. At the same time, we both pulled our kebabs off the fire. Toge’s kebab had charred black spots and sides that looked almost uncooked.

Toge grimaced at his kebab before looking up at me then back down again. He closed his eyes before taking a bite. As he began to chew, his sour expression faded. “I-it’s good…” he remarked after swallowing.

I nodded in agreement while munching on my dinner. The sitrus berries smoothed out the spiciness of the occa and chople berries. “(I’ll remember this for next time,)” I thought.

By the time we finished our meals, the moon was already high in the sky. Aside from the wind and crackling and popping of the campfire, our environment was mostly silent. It was a nice change of pace from the general rowdiness of the guild.

Breaking the silence, Toge asked, “S-so… uh… wh-what is the d-dungeon we’re going t-to l-l-like? H-how b-big is it?”

If Toge was going to be stuck with me, then it would be best to explain everything I know about the labyrinth. The information I was able to decipher about the dungeon from the report was minimal as the ink on the report page was too faded to read. “The dungeon we’re going to is unique in the sense that it doesn’t have a true end. This dungeon is incredibly unstable. It has thousands of rooms that constantly move and shuffle around even with explorers inside. I read that each room of the dungeon moves independently through time. The exit is in the only room that stays constant. The room has a small pond of water that is said to connect you to your future. The report also mentioned something about using the dungeon to learn new moves, but the section of the report with the specifics wasn’t legible.”

Toge stared at me, trying to wrap his head around what I said. “D-does th-that mean the o-o-only way to f-find the e-exit is by ch-chance?”

“Sort of...” I explained. “My guess is the faster we move through the dungeon, the less time the dungeon has to move rooms around. Thus, the more likely we are to stumble upon the pond.”

Toge rifled through his bag and pulled out a wonder orb. “L-luckily, I-I p-packed some e-escape orbs, s-so uh… w-we won’t g-get trapped.”

“Unless it’s one of those dungeons where orbs don’t work,” I said.

“Th-th-those ex-exist?”

“Yeah, but they’re rare though. I’ve only seen a few of them in person,” I explained. “I don’t rely on items, so it never really impacted me too much. The worst part is being unable to use an escape orb to leave the dungeon instantly and having to carry the outlaw all the way back through the dungeon to the beginning.” I paused to let Toge ask more questions, but his silence indicated that he had nothing left to say on the matter. However, I had a question on my mind that was bugging me all day. “Now, I have a question to ask you. Why was Lliam so insistent that you come along with me on this trip? With all due respect, you don’t seem like someone who’s tough in a fight.”

“Th-that’s true. Wh-when it comes to a-a-actual c-combat, I’m not v- very st-strong… or uh… a-accurate. B-but, I’m okay at st-strategy and s-support. I-I d-don’t know wh-why Lliam o-o-ordered me to c-come on this tr-trip. M-maybe it was t-to be y-your back up or...”

Toge trailed off at the end, so I didn’t know what the other thing it could be was. However, if Lliam thought I needed back up then he was dead wrong. I had to be able to handle myself, and that was what this trip was supposed to prove. “I don’t need any help, but you’re still welcome to come along just stay out of my way when I fight. I’ve heard that there are several rooms where hundreds of powerful dungeon Pokémon congregate. One stray attack from them can put someone of your strength out of commission permanently.”

“R-r-really?” Toge quivered a little.

“Probably.” I answered, “Let’s just get some rest now so I actually have the strength to fight back.”

With nothing left to do for the night, I laid out on the bedroll and stared up at the stars, and Toge followed my lead.

* * *

In the morning, after packing up the campsite and taking a short walk, we arrived at a cave’s entrance. It was a cave made of dark gray stone and its walls had wave-like patterns that looped and twisted into each other. Sunlight barely penetrated the cave opening but I was able to make out that it had a sharp descent. It looked unnatural and was very off putting. Its appearance screamed, “Run Away!”

Toge was floating a bit behind me, he was grabbing his arm and staring at the ground. “Looks like the right place. The start of the dungeon should be inside,” I said. “Come on, the sooner we go in, the sooner we come out.”

Toge followed, apprehensively.

As we entered the cave, our explorers’ badges illuminated the interior. The walls of the cave also had vertical layers. The rock that made up the cave changed from dark gray to brown to dark red and even light green. Some spots were covered with lichen, while other parts were barren. What was particularly odd was the colors transitioned suddenly, but the wave-pattern was continuous.

The cave tunnel path was cut off abruptly by a giant open room with a large pit that encompassed the whole floor. The menacing aura the cave exuded was amplified a thousand-fold when staring into the dark abyss. I was itching to jump down there and fight whatever that dungeon threw at me.

I found my first foothold and just as I was about to start my climb down, I looked up. Toge did not move from his spot from the room’s entrance.

“What’s the hold up?” I asked, pulling myself back up onto the floor.

“I-I’m not g-g-going in th-there,” he replied. “Th-that l-looks… d-d-dangerous! B-besides, wh-what w-w-would b-be the p-p-point? It i-isn’t l-like you’re re-rescuing a-anyone.”

“You’re right. I’m not on any official mission. I’m only here because I want to get stronger.”

“Th-there ha-has to b-be a better w-way to… uh… train. Even I-I can t-t-tell th-that going d-d-down there is re-re-reckless and y-you’ll g-get hurt. Y-you kn-know th-the g-guild h-has a uh… d-dojo? Why n-n-not g-go th-there and-”

“Yes, I know the guild has a dojo. I built it and I’m there all the time. How would you know the guild has a dojo? You’re never there! Training like that can only get someone so far and, at my level, this is the next step. Not all of us have the luxury or desire of complacency and hiding behind others.” I stared back into the chasm. “I know the risks; but unlike you, I have a goal and I swore I’d see it through to the end no matter what it takes. While you--” Catching myself before I said anything a truly regret, I took a deep breath in and out.

“Follow me if you want,” I said. “But don’t try to hold me back.” Without any more hesitation or delay, I leapt into the pit.

As I fell, it felt like time was coming to a stop and the menacing aura the pit was exuding vanished. The badge’s luminosity wasn’t strong enough to see the sides of the cave walls. Other than the feeling of gravity pulling me down, there was nothing to touch, see, smell, or hear. It was nearly complete sensory deprivation. It was calming in a way, but the anticipation of what I may hit at the bottom overshowed that.

At least the fall gave me a bit of time to think about my blow up at Toge. He spoke as if he knew more about training and fighting than me but had no credibility to back that up. I didn’t know what he went through with Dewott, but I did know that I had never seen Toge train and that I could have crippled him with a single strike. Toge was either arrogant or naïve; only time would tell which one he was.

After what felt like an eternity, I noticed a blue light rapidly approaching. I began to charge aura into my feet. However, as the blue light got closer, I noticed it was a pool of water. As fast as I could, dissipated the aura and I straightened my arms and clasped my hands together then dove into the water hands and headfirst.

The force of the fall must have submerged me several into the saltwater. Even though I was still a little disoriented, I managed to find my way back to the water’s surface. I treaded the water and looked around until I spotted an opening with light. I climbed out of the water and made my way towards the exit.

As my eyes adjusted to the sudden change in light, I noticed I was in what appeared to be a brackish marshland. I looked up and saw the blue sky. “(What is this place?),” I thought. I had fallen for miles into the world’s center, yet I could see the sky, clouds, and even the sun. I knew this dungeon was unique, but I never expected it to be like this.

The air felt incredibly thick, and it was even a little difficult to breathe. Actually, my entire body felt slightly heavier. I didn’t even have a moment to acclimate before I was struck with a several large rocks. I stumbled back and faced the direction of the attack. An Armaldo stared back at me and screeched. I rushed toward the Armaldo as it began another onslaught of rock blasts. I weaved left and right to avoid the attack, but the soft mud made it hard to move and slowed me down quite a bit. Due to this, I was grazed by a single rock as I closed in for a sky uppercut.

My attack landed but something was off. Instead of a devastating uppercut, I only dealt a small scratch. I jumped back just before Armaldo could cut me down with his claw. I first believed that this Armaldo was naturally extremely durable.

“(I just need to boost my attack,)” I thought. I attempted to produce a swords dance but instead I became more focused. “(Was that… focus energy?)”

“Damn, that’s not right either!” I shouted in frustration. “(Okay, last try!)”

Armaldo blasted rocks at me once again, determined not to budge from his spot. As I moved in, I jumped off one of the rocks mid-air. I fell toward Armaldo and aimed to split his skull with an aerial ace. I just growled instead. Readjusting my leg and orientation in midair within a split second was no easy feat. However, I managed to land an aura-imbued axe kick. I bounced off Armaldo, and he stumbled back even flailing his claws to prevent himself from falling.

Armaldo regained his balance and readied himself for another bout. With no other alternative, I put my hands on my right side and charged up a swirling blue ball of energy into my hands. In the same instant that Armaldo launched another rock blast, I fired off my aura sphere. The aura sphere detonated as it collided with Armaldo’s rock, shattering it to pieces. Before the debris could settle, I closed in.

I lunged out of the dust cloud with my wrists together and my open palms aimed directly at Armaldo’s head. A blue flash followed by a large explosion emanated from my palms. The force of the attack was too much for the dungeon construct to handle thus Armaldo vanished, leaving behind a light gray disk.

I picked the disk off the ground. It was a TM. They came in several different colors, and each color was associated with a different type of move. Light gray TMs indicated that the move learned from it was normal type.

According to the report, the whole point of this dungeon was to let it give you moves. It wasn’t like the dungeon was conscious or anything, but rather using the randomness and spontaneity of the dungeon to guide your future.

“(Hmm…)” I thought. “(If the dungeon wants me to have this move, then who am I to decline?)”

I pressed the disk against my head, letting its energy course through my blood. The color drained from the disk, leaving it a dark blue.

As I used the move, someone came dashing into the room. It was Toge, and he looked frantic. “Wh-wh-where a-are you, KFC?!”

I honestly thought Toge wasn’t going to show up, but it seemed he had a stronger will than he let on. “Over here!” I shouted back.

As soon as Toge heard my voice, he rushed toward me… then, clean through my fake image.
When Toge made contact, my double vanished.

I came up behind Toge and tapped him on his arm.

“AIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!” Toge shouted.

“HA!” I couldn’t help but laugh at his over-the-top reaction. “It’s just me.”

Toge turned around to face me, and he breathed a large sigh of relief. “Wh-wh-what w-was th-that? And P-please, d-don’t d-do that a-a-again.”

“That was a new move I got. It’s called double team,” I explained. “It’s a move that uses speed to create a mirror image of the user.”

It was a move that almost anyone can learn, but it relied on trickery and indirect fighting methods to be effective, which was not my style. I wondered if there was a way to adapt it.

I looked back at Toge. “I’m surprised you showed up. I was sure you were going to wait by the beach and have Dewgong take you home.”

“I c-couldn’t do th-that. I w-w-was w-worried,” Toge said softly.

“Well, I’m sure I’ll be fine.” I scanned the surroundings and spotted a path that led deeper into the dungeon. Then, I noticed Toge’s bag, and it looked surprisingly empty. Toge seemed like the type to hyper fixate on items. “Did you use all your items trying to find me?” I asked curiously.

“W-w-what do y-you me--” Toge pushed his bag into his body. As the bag’s fabric gave way without any resistance, his aura flared, and panic swept across his face. “MY S-S-STUFF!!!” He screamed. “WHERE DID IT GO-- AHH IT'S A NO CARRY-IN DUNGEON! I'M USELESS!” Toge frantically looked left and right in a vain attempt to locate his missing items.

“GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF!” I shouted. Toge seemed to snap to his senses, as his aura cooled. Toge took a deep breath in and out.

“Are you calm now?” I asked.

Toge nodded, “Y-yes… s-s-sorry about th-that it’s j-just my f-first time in a no c-carry-in d-dungeon…”

“It’s alright…” I explained. “I think the best course of action is for you to stay by my side for the duration of our trip. I can do the fighting. While I keep the dungeon Pokémon distracted, can you scour the rooms for items to build back up your supply. However, if you find any TMs, let me know.”

“O-okay, that s-seems re-reasonable, b-b-but w-why do y-you w-w-want T-TMs?”

“It’s called divination. I’m gonna let the dungeon decide my fate. I’ve tried traditional approaches to achieve more strength for so long, but something tells me that a big shake up is just what I need. It didn’t take any mind reading tricks to tell that Toge thought I was crazy. “Also, my moves are kind of scrambled.”

“S-scrambled?”

“Earlier I tried to use aerial ace, but all I did was growl.” I clarified.

“Th-that’s odd… u-unless--” Toge’s aura charged, indicating he was trying to fire a move.

Nothing appeared to have happened though. I looked at Toge again. “(He looks… cute…)” I blushed. “(GAH! What the hell am I thinking?!)” I violently shake my head to regain my composure.

Flustered, Toge sputtered, “Ah… I’m s-s-sorry! Th-that was meant to b-b-be s-safeguard.” Toge sighed, “L-let me t-try something e-else.” Toge opened his mouth and let out a large growl.

“Th-that was s-supposed to be y-yawn,” Toge explained.

Finally, Toge wagged his finger. An unexpected, giant gust of wind came forth blowing me back a couple yards.

“S-sorry, again!” Toge’s face went bright red.

“It’s fine,” I said before Toge had another panic attack. “It’ll take more than that to take me out.”

“A-at least, metronome still w-works. So, I’m c-c-currently working with ch-charm, gr-growl, a-and metronome. B-but I-I’d hardly call m-metronome r-r-reliable. Wh-what m-moves do y-you have?”

“I can use double team, growl, and focus energy.”

I could see the anxiety induced sweat drops developing on his face. “Wh-wh-what? H-how c-can you p-p-possibly hope t-t-to f-fight w-w-without d-d-damaging m-moves?!”

“It’ll be tough.” I admitted. “But I still have my aura.” I cracked a small smile. In truth, I was very excited to see what fights and challenges this place had to offer.

I began to venture toward the tunnel on the other side of the room that descended deeper into the dungeon.

After a long stretch of tunnel, we arrived in the next room, an arid desert. The dry winds picked up sand and tumbleweeds blew in the distance. Dunes and mounds of sand were scattered as far as I could see. It was hard to imagine that a room could be this big in a mystery dungeon. I had never seen anything like it. This room was far from desolate though; the dungeon Pokémon littered every part of the room. I knew this was going to be fun.

I sped toward the nearest enemies and got the attention of three of them: a Vibrava, a Krookodile, and a Cacturne. The Krookodile barreled toward me with his jaw wide open, ready to bite down and tear me to shreds. His teeth were unkempt and tinted yellow but appeared razor sharp. The Vibrava vigorously flaps his wings in my direction producing a massive uproar. I tried to put my guard up, but the piercing sound forced me to cover my ears with my claws. From a distance, Cacturne flung the sharp pins on her arms right at me.

Without the use of my arms, I couldn’t properly counter the Krookodile’s impending onslaught. However, if I tried to dodge back, I’d expose myself even more to Cacturne’s pin missiles. Vibrava’s uproar is the biggest problem, so he needed to be taken down first. Krookodile’s large body blocked me from a direct approach.

“(If only I could distract the Krookodile for a split second!)” I thought. “(Oh wait!)” If I was not forced to cover my ears, I’d have slapped myself in the face. My timing had to be absolutely perfect. I dodged backward and immediately used double team. Krookodile’s jaw crunched my illusion and Cacturne’s pin missiles stabbed Krookodile’s snout. I jumped onto Krookodile’s head using it as a launching pad to ascend further into the air. While in flight I aimed my talons at Vibrava. Krookodile winced in pain and wiped off the pins embedded into his face. Vibrava shattered as my kick ripped a hole clean through his body.

The moment I uncovered my ears, my right arm was filled with Cacturne’s small needles. The pins began to dig deeper into my flesh, giving me a burning sensation. “(Damn, I forgot to distract Cacturne.)”

The pins worked their way into my muscle fibers causing severe sharp pain when I attempted to move my arm. At least I still had my left arm to work with. Krookodile was able to shake off Cacturne’s pins likely due to his thick and sturdy skin. Next, I had to get rid of Cacturne.

I covered my body in concentrated aura and locked onto Cacturne. Krookodile charged at me yet again although his jaw was not as wide open as it once was. My superior mobility allowed me to side-step Krookodile as Cacturne raised her arm toward me. Cacturne fired her pins which gave off a small amount of aura. I had just enough skill to dodge them while I closed in on Cacturne. Once I got close enough to her, I collected the concentrated aura surrounding my body into my left hand. She tried to strike me with her arm, but it was too late. Before her hit could land, I detonated the concentrated aura. Cacturne had vanished, but her needles remained in my right arm. I could sense Krookodile coming from behind me and created another double team illusion to throw him off. This time he tried to smack the illusion with his tail. This left his head open to be struck by an aura sphere. In that instant, Krookodile was defeated.

Toge had caught up with me moments before I finished this bout. He stared at the needles in my arm. “Th-that looks painful. Maybe I can find some oran berries to--”

“No thanks.” I interrupted. “I don’t need your help.”

After roughly a minute, the needles in my arm finally dissolved. It left my right arm a little sore, but I could move it again. “See? The problem solved itself,” I explained to Toge. “No items necessary.”

“(That was a great warm up.)” There were so many more Pokémon to fight that my heartbeat sped up in anticipation of the excitement. “Now, where was I?” A hundred yards away I spotted several more dungeon Pokémon. I sprinted towards them looking for another challenge.

I must have fought the dungeon constructs for hours. I felt myself dive deeper into the battle rhythm. My attacks became sharper, faster, and more precise. Using aura skills as my only means to attack drained my stamina much faster than anticipated. But I forced myself to keep going; my spirit was burning too bright to slow down. It had been so long since I had let go. There was no greater mission and nobody to save and I got to enjoy myself to the fullest. By the time I finally spotted an exit, I couldn’t see any enemies around me… or Toge.

“Crap! Toge!!!!” I shouted. I was too focused on fighting to not even notice that Toge was no longer by my side. He could have gotten hurt or killed. I had to go back for him. My body was too tired to sense Toge’s aura, meaning I had to track him the old-fashioned way.

I traveled several miles back on a nearly empty stomach before I heard a familiar scream.

“AIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!”

It sounded like he was being attacked by a gang of vicious dungeon Pokémon. By this point I had recovered enough strength to sprint toward his cry. In the distance, I spotted Toge on the ground next to a sizeable bolder partially buried in the sand.

Panting heavily, I rushed to Toge’s side. “Are you.. ha… okay? Ha… What happened?” I asked worriedly.

Instead of finding Toge, beaten, battered, and surrounded by a vicious hoard ready to strike him down with a final blow to his head, neck, or any other vital weak point… Toge was alone with his bag and items scattered all over the sand. Several items seemed to be organized into piles. Apples, a few berries, seeds, and a couple scarves.

“N-no, I-I tr-tried t-to uh… p-pick up th-this b-bl-blast seed… b-but I-I tripped a-and m-my i-items f-f-flew o-out e-e-everywhere.” Toge stammered throwing the blast seed into his seed pile. “They’re all out of place!” Toge cried.

“At least, you aren’t hurt…” I pointed to the direction over my shoulder, “By the way, I found the exit over that way. So, lets get a move on, there’s no reason to stay here longer than we already have.”

“G-g-ive me a m-moment… I n-n-need to fi-finish s-sorting m-my things…”

“Is it really that important?” I asked sarcastically. “Just stuff everything in your bag and go.”

"Is it really that important?! What if you go to grab a blast seed and throw a reviver seed instead?! What if you're trying to grab an Oran Berry and you accidentally crush an orb?! What if you get jumped, and in the 0.05 seconds you have to react to grab something from your bag, you spend 0.05 seconds trying to remember where you put the wand you need?! Now you only have 0.05 seconds to react, and you'll likely waste around 0.049 seconds rummaging through your DISGRACE of a bag trying to find what you need! Now you only have 0.001 seconds!!!"

"I don't carry a bag, Toge." I replied bluntly. I was a bit taken aback by Toge’s sudden outburst, it was like I flipped a switch in his head or something.

“O-oh uh… r-right…” Toge meekly muttered under his breath, back to his usual self. “But m-maybe you sh-should rest for a m-minute. Y-you look e-exhausted.”

“That’s because I’ve been using nothing but aura to fight for the past several hours.”

“S-so, while I-I s-sort my th-things and take a-a sh-short br- break.”

I felt my knees begin to shake from exhaustion, so I relented, “If it is really that important to you, I can rest while you organize…”

* * *

After backtracking to the room’s exit, we scoured the dungeon for what seemed like a day or two. It was difficult to keep track of time in the dungeon, since the sun always remained fixed in the same spot overhead. Some rooms were sprawling forests, and some were cramped caves that we had to squeeze through. Luckily, some of the rooms contained food, mostly berries and apples. I fought through countless dungeon Pokémon, while Toge collected a variety of items. However, we hadn’t found any more TMs since I fell down here.

There was usually a long cave tunnel connecting the dungeon rooms. Dungeon Pokémon did not seem to appear in them. Aside from the strange swirling patterns on the walls, the tunnels were empty and had the same markings as the ones near the dungeon’s entrance. Resting in these tunnels would have been ideal, except the noises the tunnel made were unsettling. It sounded as if large rocks were being slammed together, and there were times where I thought I heard screaming too. I concluded that spending as little time in the tunnels as possible was for the best.

Next, we came across was a large icy cavern room.. The cave winds howled. The icy cold gusts blew against my feathers making them stand up on end. The floor in the room ended abruptly, leaving a deep pit. Looking down, I saw the bottom was filled with stalagmites covered in ice. There were two exits on the other side of the chasm. I could barely stand in one spot without slipping because the ice slanted down toward the pit.

Unlike Toge, I couldn’t fly, and the pit was too wide to jump over. “Dang, it’s a dead end, looks like we’re gonna have to find a different route.”

I began to step back toward the entrance until Toge spoke up. “Th-there is an-another o-option… I-I c-could always uh…” After a brief pause, Toge squeaked out, “…c-carry y-you.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You have the body strength for that?”

“I-I can l-lift m-many of th-the b-b-bulky b-boxes in th-the st-st-storeroom when I uh… o-organize…” he answered back. “Y-you don’t a-a-appear to be h-heavier than th-th-them.”

I was skeptical. Toge had bags under his eyes and was dangling his arms and legs, but he was still floating. I scratched my chin. “(Going back might be impossible since this is the only room I’ve seen with more than one exit. Meaning even if we went back to the first room, we would still be stuck. My only option is to… rely on Toge.)” I clenched my fist. The idea that I would be completely helpless without Toge’s assistance frustrated me to no end. This was all the more reason I needed to push myself even harder on this trip. How can I possibly help others, if I couldn’t even help myself?

With no other option at my disposal, I gave a faux smile at Toge, “Alright, Toge. Let’s try it!”

Toge returned a nervous smile back.

I grabbed Toge’s feet with both of my hands and we approached the very edge of the pit. “Give me a second, and I can give us a head start.”

I’d never tried using this skill while running. I took several steps back from the edge and built up the concentrated aura in my legs and feet as much as I could. Still hanging onto Toge, I sprinted toward the pit and slid on the ice that slanted down to build up my momentum even further. As we approached the edge, I pushed the aura out of my feet as quickly as I could. A blue flash came from my talons and in an instant, we were soaring high above the icy death trap.

My heart was racing, I wasn’t entirely sure that’d work. Luckily, I had gotten better at using aura burst with my feet, but I had not been able use it while moving until now. My feet still sting from that launch, though. I have to figure out some way in the future to guard against the recoil.

Since the launch, our forward momentum had slowed quite considerably. We were only about a third of the way across the gap when we reached the apex of our height. Toge finally began to flap his wings. Toge descended a little, but he was slowly flying us forward.

“(I was quite surprised how well Toge was hanging in there. Could this be what humans call ‘tard strength’? I wonder if I could learn that skill.)”

After a few minutes, Toge had flown us another third closer to the other side. However, he appeared to be struggling now. His eyes were tightly shut, and our speed slowed to a crawl. Toge’s altitude suddenly dropped.

“Come on, don’t give in yet!” I shouted. “Just a little farther!”

Toge began to pant heavily and flapped his wings as hard as he could. He was putting all his strength into a final burst. We were moving forward at a swifter pace; however, we were rapidly descending. Before I knew it, we were below the opening of the pit.

“Go up! Go up!” I repeated. It could have been the rushing wind or his exhaustion causing him not to react to my cries.

In less than 10 seconds, we were going to crash into the side of the chasm’s wall which would be followed by a fall and the creation of an avian kebab. We had to gain altitude and fast. My arms were still gripped around Toge’s ankles. All I had left to use were my feet.

In an act of pure desperation, I built up the aura in my legs again. I didn’t have any time or stamina to focus the energy. The bright blue swirling aura spilled out of my feet in one disorganized burst.

“Ouch!” I yelped from the recoil.

We were inches from face planting into the wall, as we shot up several feet all at once. We rose just enough that with my left claw I was able to dig into the edge of the pit and fling Toge onto the top of the shaft. I managed to pull myself up to see that Toge had passed out.

I was panting heavily as I had used up most of my energy in that last burst. We needed a place to rest as soon as possible. Unfortunately, if we attempted to recover in this room, we’d probably freeze to death.

It felt as if thousands of pins were stabbing my feet as I tried to stand. My legs were covered in dark blotches from the bruising and the internal bleeding. I slowly made my way toward Toge and picked him up off the floor. It took all my strength to prevent my legs from buckling.

I picked the left exit, since it was closest to us. As I stepped inside the tunnel, I thought I had heard Toge whisper “…stop…” but he was out cold. So, I continued into the tunnel.

It took some time until I had traversed deep enough into the tunnel that I could see the next room’s entrance. Just as I noticed the entrance of the next room, I heard a loud smash behind me. Instinctively looking over my shoulder, I saw the tunnel was sealing itself.

“You have got to be kidding me! Another death trap, so soon?!” I yelled in frustration. I had no choice but to run for it. Somewhat fortunately, my legs were under so much stress that they had gone numb. I sprinted towards the room as fast as my feet could carry me, but the tunnel’s collapse was closing in.

Once again, I threw Toge to safety, allowing me to move a little faster. However, the tunnel collapse was picking up speed too. I did not have enough energy left to use aura burst with my feet again, and even if I did the damage would be so immense that I’d be permanently crippled. I was only a few feet away from the tunnel exit but seconds way away from getting flattened like a pancake. I needed a way to boost my speed if only for a fraction of a second.

Rocks crashed down, and the tunnel collapsed, crushing a Combusken into viscous paste. But I survived, unharmed. Diving into the small room, I landed limply on the polished marble floor next to Toge. The tunnel was sealed and there were no other exits, but we were both alive.

I couldn’t believe that worked. I had used double team not to leave behind an image of my body, but rather to push myself forward a few feet nearly instantaneously. The applications of double team were much more versatile than I had originally thought.

My vision was beginning to blur but the room we were in looked incredibly fancy with polished marble floors and symbols on the wall. The room was about the same size as a two Pokémon dorm room back at the guildhall. No enemies were around either.

I passed out.

* * *

I don’t know how long I was out for, but when I came to, I saw Toge sitting in a corner munching on an apple. He didn’t seem to be injured at all other than the bandage on his head but that had always been there.

Toge made eye contact with me, finally aware that I woke up. “O-oh… y-you’re a-awake…” he said.

As a fully regained my senses, I began to notice the throbbing pain in my legs. Instinctively, I touched them, and they were incredibly warm. My legs were bandaged with assorted scarves. The injuries felt significantly less severe than what I had expected.

“… W-when y-you were a-asleep, I b-bandaged your l-legs and f-fed you… o-oran berries,” Toge muttered.

Was I really so weak that I needed someone to treat me in a dungeon? I was upset to say the least. The idea that I needed a crutch to stand a chance in this place was infuriating; it meant I had to rely on a cheap trick rather than my own strength. Nothing felt worse to me than staring down my own limitations.

I couldn’t afford to rely on others either. But, looking back at this trip, that’s all I’ve been doing. I relied on Toge for the food and the bedrolls at the camp, I relied on Toge to fly across the pit, and I relied on him to treat my self-inflicted wounds.

I must have been scowling because Toge appeared more concerned than usual. “Uh… a-are you al-alright?”

“I’m fine!” I snapped.

My sudden outburst caused Toge to jerk back.

Catching myself before succumbing to my frustration, I reiterated in a calmer tone, “I’m fine…”

Still feeling the effects of my injuries, I pulled myself up. I limped around the room trying to make sense of it. I had never seen a dungeon room look like this. It looked like a room that had been crafted by a real person, not a dungeon. The floor, ceiling, and walls were made of white marble tiles.

The far wall had a strange design. There were six vertical depressions lined up next to each other, with columns of black tiles jutting out of the wall between each recess. They were all linked by a horizontal slot running along the top. White tiles were set in the first five recesses, filling them all the way to the top, but the sixth was empty. On the floor of the first 5 depressions was a brown floor tile, and each one had a different symbol. Each white tile also had a symbol, but they did not all match the floor tile below the column they were currently in. I wondered if the tiles had to be rearranged to match the floor tiles, or something of that nature. Sure enough, it looked like the white tiles could slide around through the slots, but they could not be removed. That would make it harder to rearrange them, since only the tile on top of each recess could be moved."

This room had one glaring issue, there was no exit. So, Toge and I were trapped until the dungeon let us out or… we did something.

“This is a giant puzzle room!” I exclaimed.

“Y-yeah, I-I know” Toge responded. After swallowing the last bite of his apple, he leapt up and flew over to me. “It’s a s-sorting p-puzzle. Y-you’re supposed to p-put every t-tile with th-the m-matching column. I tr-tried to do it while you were u-un-unconscious but uh… the t-tiles were too he-heavy.” Toge pointed to one of the tiles. “Y-you… you c-can sl-slide them to other c-columns. I-if we work to-together than---”

I held up my hand and cut Toge off, “It’s fine, I can solve it, myself. You already put in enough effort, so just rest.”

“A-are you sure? S-sorting and o-organizing is what I do best.” Toge asked.

“I said I don’t need your help!” I repeated.

I needed to be able to do things like this myself. I stared intently at the puzzle before me. I tried to visualize in my mind where to slide the pieces. There were so many different possible ways I could move the pieces that thinking about every step needed to sort the tiles before even moving a single one proved to be pointless.

I wanted to complete the left most row first, so I decided to focus on that. My first thought was to take every symbol that did not match with the first column and move it as far right as possible. I quickly ran into issues with this first attempt. I couldn’t fill any one row up too much and I couldn’t move more than one tile at a time. Several of the symbol tiles that matched with the left most column symbols would get blocked by being under too many of the other symbol tiles.

After an hour or so of effort, I believed that maybe I had started with the wrong column. This time I tried to start with the right most column since it was closest to the empty column. This proved less effective than starting with the left most column since it made every tile too clustered together to move anything around in a meaningful way. Eventually I decided to start with the middle column and try to move the tiles based on what side of the middle column they belonged on. I ended up completing the middle column. However, when a column fully fills up, it blocks the path needed to move the symbols to the other side.

I had spent hours trying to solve this puzzle to no avail. As Toge mentioned before, they were indeed heavy. My muscles were finally getting sore. Under normal circumstances, I could have tried for longer, but my legs had not fully recovered. I had no choice but to take a break.

I sat against the wall next to Toge. He had been taking a nap while waiting for me to solve the puzzle.

I groaned, “There has to be some trick, something I was missing.” I had gone through some of the most rigorous training imaginable. I simply could not accept being stumped by a mere puzzle. I was ready to tear my feathers out.

“Y-you s-seem to not b-be making much p-p-progress. A-are you s-sure y-you don’t w-want h-help?” a voice asked interrupting my frustration.

“Hell, no,” I exclaimed.

“W-why a-are you s-s-so r-reluctant to accept my he-he-help?”

“I need to be able to do this myself… I can’t afford to rely on others…”

“Wh-why n-not? Whether y-you like it or not we-we’re a-a t-t-team! So, let m-me h-help.” Toge held out his hand.

I slapped his hand out of my face. “What if you weren’t here?!”

“I-I’m s-s-sure with en-enough time y-you could s-solve it but—"

“Just forget it…” I sighed. “You wouldn’t understand what it’s like to be a pillar. I need to be able to do everything on my own.” I tightly clenched the scarf wrapped around my neck. “I’ll need to fill the void he left.” My heart sank as I recalled the memories of my dear friend. A tear even welled up in my eye before I quickly wiped it away. “He always knew what to do and I want to carry on his spirit.”

“P-Pillar?”

“It’s my responsibility to be someone that everyone can rely on. I need to be a pillar to support the world and be the one to solve the world’s problems. After all… it’s the least I can do to make amends…”

“… M-m-make amends, for what? I-I don’t r-recall you doing a-anything w-wrong. In fact, y-you’re uh… o-one of th-the m-most noble members o-of the g-guild. Y-you don’t h-have anything to b-be s-sorry for.”

“My family has terrorized the Water Continent for well over a century. They’ve burned several villages and forests, destroyed countless lives, and even slaughtered thousands of their own kin. No matter how much I give, I’ll never be able to resolve myself of my inherent sin. However, that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try. I plan to stop my family, but I need to get stronger to do that. Do you understand now?”

Toge was silent for a brief moment trying to formulate what he might say next. “I-I d-don’t e-entirely get it,” He admitted. Toge glanced down at his bag. “B-But I do un-understand what i-it-it’s like wanting to b-b-be there for s-someone… and b-b-being u-unable to be-help them and w-wanting t-to st-stop their ch-chaos.”

Toge’s aura exuded a deep melancholy. It felt out of place like it came from a deep attachment to someone or something. Maybe, Toge related more to me than I thought.

When Toge looked back up at me, he smiled. His were fists tightened and his aura was bursting with determination. “Th-think o-of the p-puzzle l-like uh… f-fighting...”

“Huh? What do you mean?” I asked.

“You pr-probably didn’t s-s-start off kn-knowing how to f-fight,” Toge explained intently concentrating on his words. “Y-you learned b-by ex-example, copying o-others. Then, a-adapted to your own st-style.”

“That’s not untrue…”

“I-I th-think I c-c-can sh-show you the t-trick to s-solving it. Then, you sh-should b-be able to d-do it in the f-future a-and develop y-your own m-mindset.”

“I guess when you put it like that…” Toge made a convincing argument. I mean it was the way I trained the other guild members. Although, I was much more used to being thrown into the deep end. At the same time, we could starve or run out of air if we stay in this room too long. If there were puzzles back at the guild hall, I could even train on those. “Alright, show me how it’s done.”

I waited for Toge to start on the puzzle but all he did was stare at me confused. After a minute of awkward silence, Toge opened his mouth. “Uhh… I-I’m still n-not st-strong enough t-t-to move th-those t-tiles.”

I scratched the back of my head. “Oh… yeah, right.”

I moved up in front of the puzzle and Toge began to give me instruction.

“S-so the uh… trick to s-sorting is to s-sort e-everything simultaneously. Y-you c-can’t j-just pick one th-thing to s-sort at a time.” Toge stared at the puzzle for only a couple seconds before he spoke up again and pointed at the tiles. “M-m-move th-that tile to the first column. N-now t-take th-that second p-p-piece and move i-it to th-the sixth c-column for l-later. N-next, t-take th-the tile from the t-top of the f-f-fourth c-column and m-move it to the f-fifth column.”

As Toge guided my movements I took notice of a pattern he was using to choose what pieces to move and where to take them. I was starting to piece together the method to Toge’s solutions. I realized that Toge was not thinking about the top tiles on each stack, but rather the bottom pieces. By carefully moving the top tiles out of the way he exposed the bottom most tiles and put those in the correct column. He was solving the puzzle in reverse to how I tried.

Toge’s method proved to be most effective as before I knew it, we had finished the sorting puzzle. Every symbol was in the right column.

“Good job, Toge.” I said and gave him a pat on the back.

“Th-th-thank y-you…” he whispered.

We waited for the door to open or appear. And we waited… and we waited some more… Finally, I piped up, “I think there’s an issue. This dungeon may be strange, but I’m certain the door should have appeared by now.”

Toge glared back at the puzzle and muttered under his breath, “I-I th-think I s-s-solved it… u-unless…” Toge’s eyes lit up as a sudden wave of realization smacked him across the face.

“Did you figure something out?” I asked.

Toge nodded in excitement. “Th-there a-are pieces m-missing! L-look a-at th-the second, th-third, and f-fourth columns. They a-all h-have 4 t-t-tiles in th-them but the f-first and fifth c-c-columns have 5 t-tiles and g-g-go a-all the w-way to the c-ceiling.”

“Oh, I see what you mean…”

“B-but that m-means we h-have to l-locate the other tiles. Y-y-yet w-we’re trapped in th-this r-room.” I could hear a panic begin to develop in Toge’s voice.

I tilted my head at Toge and pointed to the symbols on the ground and said, “What do you mean we need to locate other symbols? We already have them on the floor.”

Toge stared at me, equally confused. “B-b-but a-aren’t th-those f-f-fixed to th-the floor? Y-y-you c-can’t r-temove th-them.”

I walked up to the tile in front of the second column and jammed my claws in between the cracks of symbol tile. With all strength left in my legs, I lifted up and the ground eventually gave way causing the tile to slip free (and me to fall on my ass). “Looks like it came out just fine to me.” I said to Toge with a smile.

After pulling out the floor tiles associated with the third and fourth columns. I punched every piece into the appropriate column. As I finished punching in the last tile, the entire room began to shake. Toge and I turned around and the wall pulled apart revealing an exit.

“I-I cannot believe that w-w-worked.” Toge face palmed. “Th-that is so retarded… fucking Layton t-tier b-bullshit…” He mumbled.

“No time like the present… let’s get a move on.” I was happy that I had solved the puzzle.

Before going too deep into the new tunnel, I heard the grating sound of stones scraping. In the corner of my eye, I saw a pedestal move slightly back. On it was a purple TM.

“(Finally, I am making progress.)”

[END OF PART 1]