Chapter 49: Insurgency

  By the time Yuki reached the edge of Velari’s territory, her wings ached and her breath came sharp. The path had taken her through the entirety of the seemingly endless planes and now, suddenly, the world opened into pale stone cliffs and ribbons of crystal threading through the rock. The air thinned, cool and luminous. It was beautiful here.

  She wasn’t two steps past the first carved marker stone when two figures appeared from the slope ahead. A Tinkaton and a Garganacl. Both wore the same insignia etched in soft green crystal that was Velari’s crest if Yuki wasn't mistaken.

  "Traveler," the Tinkaton said, her voice clipped and precise. "State your name and purpose for coming here."

  Yuki straightened, brushing a bit of dust from her feathers. "I’m looking for someone," she said, careful but earnest. "A Pikachu named Auri. I have reasons to believe he came through here not long ago. I hoped you could offer some additional information."

  The two guards shared a look that wasn’t subtle at all. It was quick, but Yuki saw it, the flicker of recognition. They definitely knew exactly who she was talking about!

  "I’m sorry," said the Garganacl, his tone overly polite, like someone reading from a script. "Queen Velari's territory is currently under restricted access by decree of heir apparent Lira. No visitors are to enter. Especially not those from Newleaf Village."

  Yuki blinked. "How did you know I'm from newleaf Village?"

  "It was obvious," the Tinkaton replied. "Where else in the Umbral Abyss would a child like you live? And we’ve had… concerns about recent disturbances."

  Yuki let out a dry laugh that wasn’t funny. "I may be from Newleaf Village but I’m not part of any guard patrol or whatever you’re worried about. I’m just looking for my partner, that’s all!"

  "Regardless," the Garganacl said crisply, "our orders are absolute. No one crosses without permission."

  Yuki frowned, heat rising in her chest. "Then maybe make an exception! Just tell me if he’s actually here and safe!"

  "I can’t do that,” the Garganacl said quickly before noticing his blunder. "I mean we don't know anyone by that-"

  "So you have seen him!" she acused them with narrowed eyes.

  The Tinkaton’s mouth set into a hard line. "You’re mistaken."

  "I’m not mistaken!" Yuki shot back. "He’s in your territory, isn’t he!? He passed by at the very least! And that's why you have such weird orders!"

  "Enough!" the Tinkaton snapped. "We're not going against our orders! No matter what you say!"

  Yuki took a step closer, feathers flaring with the instinctive puff of challenge. "So you think I’m going to sit here and wait while you hide behind your orders to stop me from finding him!?"

  "Miss," the Garganacl said gently, "We will detain you if you force us to."

  Yuki's pulse thundered in her ears. She could feel every ounce of exhaustion and fear condensing into one sharp spark. Her mind came up with imaginary flashes of Auri, stumbling, hurt, afraid, still trying to be strong. The way he always tried to protect everyone except himself.

  With a deep breath Yuki got herself to calm down. Her eyes drifted past them, scanning the rocky landscape. She was strictly speaking still on Vian's territory, if on its very edges. She had been here before, when she had joined the guards on a small journey into Velari's territory. One of those happened every six months after all.

  She knew there was a Dungeon somewhere in the area. A low-level one, the only actually dangerous thing in it the Dungeon Boss. A Dungeon Boss that migh be able to distract the guards for a moment...

  Just like that a plan began to form in her mind. If she couldn’t talk her way in she’d simply make her own opening!

  Yuki took a step back, feigning defeat. "Right. I get it. Orders are orders. Guess there’s nothing I can do, huh?"

  The Tinkaton blinked, instantly suspicious. "Nothing that won’t get you arrested."

  Yuki’s beak curved into a smile, one that didn’t reach her eyes. "Oh, don’t worry! I wouldn’t dream of breaking any rules!"

  She turned, feathers ruffling as she walked away, her pace steady and unhurried. The guards watched her go, exchanging uncertain glances, waiting to see if she’d double back. She obviously didn’t. She just kept walking towards the cliff in the distance where the Dungeon should be.

  The Tinkaton frowned, watching her disappear into the distance. "Something about that smile…" she muttered.

  The Garganacl tilted his head. "Should we… follow her?"

  "No," Tinkaton sighed, already regretting it. "We have a border to protect," Yuki heard the guard saying before they left her hearing range. It took less than half an hour for her to reach the entrance of the Dungeon. It was called Glittering Grotto if she remembered correctly.

  As always it was instantly noticeable when she got close to the actual Dungeon. The air seemed to shimmer faintly, the stony surface everywhere glowing very softly with pink and gold hues, reflecting off the moisture that dripped from the ceiling in slow rhythmic beats.

  Without looking back Yuki strode over the Dungeon threshold, knowing that for her there was no way back. She would find Auri even if it meant taking on an entire Dungeon for him! Once inside, she slowed just enough to catch her breath quickly.

  "Okay, Yuki, in, out, no unnecessary heroics, risks, or distractions. You go in, you grab the Dungeon Core, and you run hoping you're faster than whatever decides to follow you," she muttered to herself. Her voice echoed strangely, bouncing through the stony glittering corridors. She straightened, rolling her shoulders as her feathers caught the glint of light.

  The first chamber in front of her opened wide, a shallow basin where tiny crystal shards floated in the air, lazily circling the center. Yuki ducked behind a stalagmite, peeking around just long enough to spot the first sign of life. If you could call a Dungeon Pokemon a living being, that is. Either way it was a Dungeon Sableye, seemingly staring at the wall without doing anything at all. She didn’t really want to fight. Not here, not now. But she was ready if it came to that.

  She slipped forward, talons light, weaving between stone pillars without being noticed. The Duneon Sableye twitched its head, eyes flashing violet, but Yuki froze. For a moment, nothing moved but the slow drift of dust motes. Then the Dungeon Pokemon lost interest and went back to staring at the wall.

  "Still got it," she whispered, flashing herself a grin as she slinked on.

  The further she went, the warmer the air grew. Not hot, but not the cold she would've expected from a cave system like this one. With a shrug she decided to table it under Dungeon shenanigans. Maybe the Dungeon had mutated somewhat since she had last been here and gained a little fire-type energy. It didn't really matter.

  The next passage twisted into a narrow tunnel lined with rose-colored quartz. The reflections turned her into dozens of Yuki’s, each with that same fierce spark in their eyes. She tried not to look too long, the countless reflections making her feel somewhat dizzy. Halfway through, she heard footsteps, soft but deliberate. She froze again, pressing against the wall. From the shadows ahead stepped a Dungeon Tinkaton, dragging her massive hammer lazily behind it.

  "Oh come on!" Yuki muttered. "How likely was it for me to run into another one of those after I just had a run-in with that guard?"

  The Dungeon Tinkaton paused and seemingly sniffed the air while searchingly looking around.

  Yuki's eyes darted around the area, searching for a way out that preferably wouldn't alarm the entire Dungeon. She could do that on her way out. Luckily her gaze landed on a small cluster of floating gems near the ceiling, and that gaave her an idea.

  She took a deep breath, braced herself and leapt past the Dungeon Tinkaton for the floating gems. Her wing-feathers brushed the crystals, scattering them in a flash of refracted light that burst through the tunnel like a mini-sunburst. The Dungeon Tinkaton swung its hammer up to hit her but missed by a wide margin. By the time its vision cleared, the tunnel was empty.

  Yuki meanwhile landed around the bend, shaking her head with a grin. "I definitely got quite a bit better at sneaking around since I tried to spy after Auri a few months ago."

  The atmosphere shifted again as she went deeper. Crystals grew denser, their colors darkening into richer ambers and reds. She passed through a hollow archway where vines of golden ore twisted together like roots. A Dungeon Florges floated near the far end of the chamber, eyes empty, looking like a silent sentinel. Which it probably was for the Dungeon.

  Yuki crouched behind a stalactite and quickly checked for other Dungeon Pokemon around. She didn't see any so she slowly edged closer, step by careful step, until the Dungeon Florges suddenly turned its head into her rough direction, eyes glowing faintly blue. For one horrifying second, Yuki thought she was caught. But then the Dungeon Pokemon's gaze simply moved on without noticing her.

  Yuki didn’t waste the chance. She slipped past, nearly tripping over her own legs as she did. By the time she reached the deeper tunnels, the type energy in the air around her got ever denser. The ground hummed faintly under her talons, the glow of the crystals forming subtle patterns on the walls. Slowly but surely she was gettin close to the Dungeon Core.

  The tunnel opened up ahead into a massive dome, made more out of crystal than of stone. The glow here was stronger as well, gold and pink so dark it almost looked crimson bleeding into one another. She could see the rippling shimmer of energy at the far end, suspended in midair. Her heart leapt into her throat.

  "That’s it. That must be the Core room. That means facing down a Dungeon boss alone," she said with a sigh. Still, there was no turning around and so she crept forward, one cautious step at a time. The air grew denser, charged with power that made the tips of her feathers prickle. Every sound seemed magnified, echoing through the surroundings.

  Yuki stopped at the archway leading into the Dungeon room. She swallowed hard, her gaze remaining locked on the glow ahead. This was it. No more running, no more jokes. Whatever she found in that chamber would change everything. The time to go all in had come, to hopefully take that Dungeon Core successfully.

  Her talons clicked softly against the crystalline stone floor as she finally entered the Core room, truning around the final corner. The floor dipped slightly towards the center where a faintly glowing seemingly natural stone pedestal sat, and atop it lay the Dungeon Core.

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  It looked small enough to be held in one of her talons if she wanted to, if barely. It was crystalline and faintly translucent with light swirling inside it like drifting mist, pulsing gently with every beat of the Dungeon’s life. It would’ve been beautiful if it weren't that dangerous of an object, and she was here to steal it.

  Yuki stepped forward quietly, eyes adjusting to the glow, only to instantly freeze again as she spotted the Dungeon Boss. It was a massive Golem, easily three times her height, that stood beside the pedestal like a sentinel carved into the stone itself. Its body seemed half-merged with the cavern wall, cracks of glowing energy tracing along its arms and chest. Its eyes were shut, but she knew better than to take that as rest. Dungeon Pokemon didn't actually sleep or rest after all.

  She lowered herself instinctively, feathers flattening against her body. Her heart thudded in her chest, every instinct urging her to back away. But she forced herself forward, each step measured. Then she suddenly darted forward, across the cavern, each step a light tap against the polished stone. The pedestal rose in front of her like a spotlight in the center of a stage. The Dungeon Core lay on it. She reached out, talons trembling-

  The Dungeon Golem’s eyes snapped open. Yuki lunged, her talons closing around the Core. The moment she touched it, the pulse inside the stone stuttered, and the entire chamber brightened with a sudden, violent flash. The gentle hum in the walls pitched upward, turning into a shudder. The Dungeon’s heartbeat practically stopped, before evrything burst into motion.

  The Dungeon Boss roared, a deep resonating sound that tore through the cavern and sent cracks spidering through the ceiling. It tore free of the wall in a shower of rubble, landing heavily on both feet as the ground trembled. Dust rained down from above. The Core pulsed frantically in Yuki’s claws, as if trying to escape. She shoved it into her satchel, cinched the flap tight, and sprinted for the opposite side of the cavern just as the Golem charged.

  Its fist slammed down with a [Smack Down], right into the spot she had stood moments before, stone shards erupting outward like shrapnel. Yuki ducked instinctively, tucking her head as the debris zipped past. Her ears rang from the impact, the vibration shaking through her bones.

  A second [Smack Down] followed, this one angled to cut her off. She skidded sideways, talons scraping hard against the glowing floor. [Overheat] flared instinctively in her chest and she spat a burst onto the ground, not at the Boss, but at the rubble it was about to step on. The sudden heat caused the stones to fracture under its weight, throwing off its footing just enough for her to dart past its leg and to evade an [Heavy Slam].

  The Golem roared again, furious. The exit tunnel was ahead, and Yuki picked up her pace even more. She was constantly burning through type energy by using [Flame Charge] and [Quick Attack] without breaks to speed herself up as much as possible and she already saw it burning through her reserve. But she shoud have enough to get out of the Dungeon first!

  Behind her, the Dungeon Boss barreled forward, each step shaking loose more debris. It wasn’t throwing random attacks anymore, it was hunting her, adapting its aim, trying to crush her with [Rock Throws] and [Rock Blasts] before she could reach open ground.

  Another roar echoed through the twisting cavern, but Yuki didn't look back. Instead she finally dove into the exit passage, feeling the air shift as a massive stone arm swept by just behind her. The Dungeon Boss’s [Hammer Arm] smashed into the tunnel’s entrance, collapsing half of it in a spray of dust and shards.

  Yuki scrambled to her feet, coughing, and pushed deeper into the narrowing corridor. But with the Dungeon Core taken out of the Core room by her and its normal energy flow broken, the Dungeon was starting to collapse violently.

  The moment she entered the passage, the walls distorted, cracks racing across the surface. Segments of the floor buckled upward, streams of wild type energy flickered uncontrollably across the ceiling gaps like small energy discharges. She felt the Dungeon Core through her satchel, rhythmic pulses slamming against her ribs in uneven beats. It reacted to the Dungeon Boss’s anger, to the Dungeon’s destabilization, to the raw chaos burning through the structure now that its heart had been stolen.

  A crash thundered behind her, the Golem forcing its way into the tunnel despite its massive size. The noise rumbled like an avalanche, shaking dust and loose stones around her.

  Yuki simply continued to run as quickly as possible. Her breaths came sharp but controlled, the way she’d trained. She didn’t let panic in. Panic would lead to sloppiness and hesitation. Hesitation here would get her crushed under several tons of stone or trampled by a stampede of Dungeon Pokemon, however weak they individually were!

  A side tunnel collapsed just ahead of her, blocking off potential reinforcements, but from the echoing cries around her, not all the resident Dungeon Pokemon were trapped. Rhyhorn hoofbeats thundered on stone somewhere nearby, the chaotic rhythm bouncing between the warped walls. A squad of Roggenrola clattered through a side opening, rolling uncontrollably as the terrain shifted beneath them. Clefairy cries overlapped with distressed snarls from deeper in the maze.

  Yuki dodged left as a sudden [Fissure] cracked across her path. She leapt over it, talons barely catching the opposite side before she pushed forward again. Hot air blasted past her as another section of wall split open, releasing a wave of Dungeon Pokemon trying to hunt her down.

  She stopped barely in time to not run face-first into a [Rock Slide] when the ground shook violently. The Dungeon Golem was closing in again! And it was furious!

  Yuki pushed herself harder, talons scraping painfully as she forced her legs to move even faster. She leapt over a fallen slab, ducked under a jutting rock spine, dodged a shower of debris. But the Dungeon wasn't done collapsing.

  A section of ceiling gave way ahead of her, collapsing in a heavy cascade. Yuki slid to a stop, feathers bristling. There was no time to look for another route with the Dungeon Boss right behind her! Quickly she sprinted directly towards the falling debris. Uncle Kaen and the other guards had drilled that lesson into her again and again. Being fast and ebing strong won't matter if you're not smart as well. In the end, everything comes down to impeecable timing!

  Stone slabs crashed down in a sequence, one on the left, one on the right, one dead center. Yuki dove between the last two, slipping through the momentary gap before it closed. A cloud of dust burst behind her and a section of the tunnel sealed shut. A muffled impact boomed from the other side, the Dungeon Boss hitting the blockage. It was decidedly not stopeed but it was momentarily slowed down.

  By now the exit of the Dungeon was close, she could already feel fresh air stirring faintly from far ahead. The tunnel widened, though not evenly. Ragged openings had formed along the sides where collapsing walls gave way, revealing glimpses of other destabilizing corridors.

  That’s when the next wave hit. A group of Rhyhorns barreled across her path, all stampeding towards her. Their heavy bodies rattled the ground so hard it almost knocked her off her feet. She had to zigzag between them, every dodge judged to the centimeter. Another Roggenrola toppled from above with a [Tackle], missing her by inches. Yuki knew she was caught in the middle of a stampede.

  She dropped low and darted between legs, hooves, rolling rocks, and panicked cries, weaving her way through with speed born from desperation. A shadow loomed over her, another Roggenrola rolling rapidly down a slope of fractured stone. She kicked off the ground, jumping right over it, landing hard but stable on the shifting terrain.

  She stumbled as a Rhyhorn clipped her side, nearly sending her into the wall. A second later, the floor cracked apart where she would have landed. She quickly forced herself upright and kept going while the tunnel sloped upward. A sliver of daylight shone ahead, shaky and flickering, framed by the unstable exit. Yuki felt her lungs burning, sweat matting her feathers as she threw herself toward the surface.

  Behind her, the sound of crushing stone grew louder again. The Dungeon Boss was clearly accelerating with [Rock Polish], closing in on her once more. Meanwhile the stampede funneled through the opening, bursting into the outside world. Yuki pushed through the crowd, scraping her talons on stone for every bit of grip she could get.

  The roar behind her shook the entire tunnel, the Dungeon Pokemon only being seconds away. So she lunged, bursting out of the Dungeon as daylight hit her eyes before she skidded to a halt outside of the Dungeon.

  The Dungeon Golem appeared at the exit as well but hesitated. Dungeon Bosses normally didn't leave their Dungeon, but Yuki needed this one to. So she took out the Dungeon Core out of her satchel and [Scratched] it, which did the trick.

  The Dungeon Boss let out a furious bellow, eyes burning with cold, implacable rage, before charging. Yuki instantly bolted again towards where she knew Velari's territory was.

  Her talons hammered against the rocky ground as she bolted uphill toward Velari’s border. The wind whipped through her feathers. Dust plumed behind her with every frantic step. She dodged a rolling Dungeon Boldore that nearly flattened her and slid around a stumbling not Dungeon Carbink that had no idea what was happening. Not that she blamed it, whatever it even did outside of Velari's territory. Behind her, the Dungeon Boss smashed through a boulder that had been sitting peacefully against the cliffside for what was probably centuries.

  "Sorry!" Yuki yelled back on instinct, then immediately regretted wasting the breath.

  The territory border lay right ahead now. The guards were already scrambling in alarm, their silhouettes darting back and forth as the ground began vibrating under the stampede.

  The first guard, a Granbull, pointed down the slope. "Incoming! Wait what is that-!? Back up, back up!" it shouted. Another guard, the Tinkaton from earlier, spun in place in pure panic, failing to look remotely authoritative. From the cliff above, a Rampardos sentry peered down, eyes wide.

  Yuki couldn’t help it, the sheer chaos and absurdity of the situation almost made her laugh. Not the 'haha this is funny' kind. More the 'yup, this is absolutely my life now' kind. Either way she abused the sudden chaos and confusion ruthlessly.

  The moment the guards broke formation to brace for the stampede, she veered hard left, hugging the cliff edge where the path narrowed and dipped under a jagged overhang. Dust clouds burst behind her as Dungeon Pokemon thundered past, ignoring her completely in their frenzy even though she was the one holding onto the Dungeon Core. The Dungeon Boss however wasn't fooled that easily.

  The Dungeon Golem's roar exploded across the cliffs, shaking loose chips of crystal that rained down around her. Two guards screamed as they backed away, type energy at the ready, trying to contain the outpouring of Dungeon Pokemon streaming onto their land. The whole formation fell into disarray, shouting orders, calling for reinforcements, and dodging frenzied Dungeon residents barreling past them.

  Yuki skimmed along the outer slope, feathers pressed tight against her body as she searched for the turn-off she remembered glimpsing earlier. The cliff path forked, the main slope leading to the guarded checkpoint, and a thinner, sharper path slipping behind a jagged curtain of stone. Too narrow for a patrol or a Dungeon Boss, but perfect for a small Torchic like her!

  A rock shattered under the Dungeon Golem’s step not twenty meters behind her. So Yuki didn't think. She just turned, squeezing between the two crystal spires marking the tight entrance. The narrow tunnel swallowed her at once, the world compressing into cool crystal reflections and muffled echoes.

  The roar outside shook the walls, but the passage held. The Dungeon Boss couldn’t follow, for it was far too large. And by the time it would manage the guards would've subjugated the incursion in its entirety!

  Yuki stumbled deeper inside, her breath hitching as the adrenaline finally caught up. Her chest felt tight and her legs wobbled. Even her type energy reserve was more than three quarters emptied! She reached a point where the tunnel widened just enough to sit, and she let her back slide down the wall until she dropped onto her haunches.

  Her lungs heaved and her heartbeat thudded in her ears. The satchel strap dug into her chest feathers, still heavy with the stolen Dungeon Core atop all the other supplies.

  Outside, distant shouts echoed from the guards, orders yelled over stampede noise, questions shouted without answers, the sound of at least one guard tripping over a fleeing Rhyhorn. The whole border was an absolute mess.

  "Congratulations, Yuki," she muttered to herself between gasps. "You really outdid yourself with this one. New record for 'most chaos caused in under aminute'… And Elder Gorun just told me he thinks I can be a responsible Pokemon when giving me the rescue badges."

  The tunnel ceiling shimmered with soft crystal light, reflecting her ragged breathing back at her in faint glows. She let her head rest against the stone, forcing herself to breathe slowly until her pulse stopped pounding. Then she pulled the satchel into her lap and opened it.

  The Dungeon Core glowed faintly inside, no longer frantic, its pulse slow and rhythmic again. Almost like it was… calming down. Or maybe just slowly but surely turning inart. That was more likely to be the case, now that she thought about it. Its pink-and-gold light reflected off Yuki’s eyes, making her expression shift into something softer. A mix of awe, exhaustion and dread really.

  "I literally just caused a border incident," she whispered, staring at the Dungeon Core as if it might argue back. "An actual border incident. For one Pikachu."

  The light pulsed once, bright and warm. Her sigh came out half laugh, half groan.

  "…You’re welcome, Auri," she said quietly. "Try not to be mad that I.... did all that," she said while waving one wing weakly at the tunnel entrance behind her. "At the very least no one should've come to harm. The Dungeon really wasn't strong and all of these people are trained guards. The only Pokemon I would worry about would be that lone Rocara outside of Velari's territory but even that one looked like it easily got away."

  The echoes of chaos were fading now, the thunder of hooves, the crashing of rocks, the cries of Dungeon Pokemon dispersing into Velari’s territory. The sentries would be busy for a long time, probably all night. Reinforcements would come in as well, reports would have to be written. A bunch of blame would probably be thrown around as well.

  And Yuki? She’d slipped right through the cracks and with that knowledge she closed the satchel again and pulled it tight against her chest, feathers smoothing down.

  The Dungeon Core was hers now, or rather, temporarily in her possession. She didn’t know what she’d do with it yet. She didn’t even know what the consequences were going to look like. But she knew she wasn’t giving it back to anyone until she found Auri and made sure he wasn’t hurt. Everything else could wait.

  She stuffed the Dungeon Core back into her back before pushing herself onto her feet again, legs still trembling slightly but steady enough to move. Her voice came out softer now, the bravado stripped away in the empty quiet of the passage. "Hang on, Auri," she whispered into the crystal-lined dark. "Okay? I’m coming."

  And with that, she walked deeper into Velari’s territory, the last echoes of chaos fading behind her like distant thunder.

  Torchic (Yuki) – Level 18 (Evolution Requirements Not Met, Stat Boost Applied)

  Ability: Speed Boost

  Battle Nature: Hasty

  Stats:

  TE Pool (Health/AP): 88

  Attack: 52

  Ranged Attack: 52

  Defense: 60

  Speed: 45

  Total: 297 (Strength Level: Teenager)

  Moves:

  Close Combat Moves: [Scratch], [Quick Attack], [Feint], [Fire Spin], [Flame Charge], [Aerial Ace], [Counter], [Slash]

  Ranged Combat Moves: [Ember], [Sand Attack], [Overheat]

  Utility Moves: [Growl], [Detect], [Dig]