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Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Worlds

Chapter 8

"Me?" Moto retreats from the fox, bumping the back of his head on the tree trunk. "What do you mean 'me'?"

Lance motions toward the map. "Exactly that. You're what makes it so important."

Moto swallows. "But what does that mean?"

"It means..." Lance places his paw on the map where a section of the far western mountains is circled. Next to it is the writing. "This map was meant for you."

Shaking his head, Moto continues to stare at his friend. "I don't understand."

"Look here," Lance says, pointing at the writing. "Can you read it?"

"No."

"It's human writing."

Moto does a double-take, then stares at Lance again. "It's what?"

The fox nods. "Human writing." He looks down at the letters. "My dad taught me how to read it. Well, sorta. I'm pretty slow at it, but I can do it. Usually," he adds with a shrug.

Moto gets to his feet, his legs shaking. Viggy stands up as well and peers over the fox's shoulder as Moto speaks. "What...what's it say..?" Moto's gaze remains on the letters as he takes a shaky step forward. His heart begins pounding in his chest. What...is this..? Why am I feeling like this?

Lance reads the words aloud, sounding out the letters first. "Come...home...Moto."

Moto stands frozen in place as Lance turns to looks at him. "No...no..." Moto says, shaking his head.

"There's more..." Lance swallows, and using a claw, pulls away the small curved piece of metal stuck to the map in the upper left corner. With it comes a small square object with an image on it. He slides it in front of Moto.

"What's that?" Moto asks, pointing at the object with one hand and covering his mouth with the other. His mouth becomes dry, and he can hear the beating of his heart in his ears.

Lance swallows again. Viggy rubs Moto's back with his hand and kneels down beside him as the fox continues. "It's called a picture. Humans used to use it to capture an image. Sort of like memories. So they can look at them again later." The fox uses his claw to point at the hairless figures in the picture. "You can guess what these are, I'm sure."

Moto nods. "H-humans...right?" His entire body trembles as he stares at the image of the three humans and the blue and gold colored Pokémon.

"Yes, they are." Lance says. "They match what my dad described to me." Lance tilts his head upward slightly, looking at Moto with just his eyes. "I get the feeling this is more than familiar to you..." he adds, placing his paw on Moto's shoulder.

"It's not..." Moto says with a sniffle. "I don't know any of them." He slumps backward onto his rump and picks up the picture, staring deeply at the two taller humans in it. He sniffles as tears begin to well up in his eyes. "Why am I crying?!" He draws in a quivering breath and wipes his eyes with his forearm.

"Moto...I think they're your parents."

"I don't know any of them! I've never seen a human before!" Moto breaths come in rapid, stuttered bursts.

Viggy continues to rub Moto's back as Lance pulls him into a short hug. The fox then looks into Moto's eyes. Moto's gaze does not leave the image.

"Moto...I'm sorry...I didn't want to upset you...but I thought it was best that you know the truth." Lance squeezes Moto's shoulder gently with the digits in his paw. "Or at least, what I 'think' is the truth..." He shrugs again before locking eyes with Moto. "If...and I mean 'IF' there's a connection between what you're feeling and this picture...it could be unconscious. This...picture...it obviously means SOMETHING to you, or you wouldn't be responding like this. You just can't remember for whatever reason."

"It... There isn't. I don't know them. I don't want to!"

Lance holds him firm. "Moto, look at the younger one. The human in the front next to the Pokémon. What do you see?"

Moto draws in a shaky breath, but looks at the picture again. "He's wearing a scarf."

"He's wearing 'your' scarf, Moto." The fox slips his claw into the knot of Moto's scarf and loosens it, then holds it out in front of him, the cloth draping down either side of his paw.

Moto looks between the scarf and the one in the picture. "No, it's just a coincidence!" he says, his voice trembling. Distant images flash in his mind, blurred figures and memories of battle. He shakes his head and covers his eyes with both hands. "I don't know them! I don't!"

Reaching down, Lance picks up the picture again between two claws and shows him the back of it. "It says 'We Love You, Moto.' It's your name."

"Ursaring gave me that name! Not these...these humans!" Moto stands up, pushing the two Pokémon away from him as tears stream down his cheeks. His head begins throbbing as more blurred images cross his memory. "I don't know them!"

Lance sighs. "You must have at one time. It's your name written on it. It's your scarf the boy is wearing in it. Moto..." Lance swallows.

Moto glares at him. "Don't say it..!"

The fox lowers his head, folding his ears backward as he looks up at Moto with just his eyes. "I think you used to be human."

Moto's heart sinks into his stomach. The world around him starts to spin as he swallows down the bile rising up in his throat. "No..! No I'm not a human! I'm a Pokémon! I always have been!"

"Moto, please..." Lance reaches out to him.

Stepping out of reach, Moto shakes his head at the fox. "I'm not a human! I'm a Totodile!"

Lance steps forward. "Moto..."

"NO!" Moto shakes his head again, his eyes clenched shut. "No, stay away from me," he yells, pushing the fox away from him. Before Lance can say anything else, Moto turns and flees through the opening of the shelter, running as fast as his legs will take him.

"Moto, wait!" he hears Lance calling to him.

"Go away!" Moto yells back. "Just leave me alone!" He continues running until his lungs feel as though they're on fire, and he comes to a halt beside a large bush. He can hear Lance's voice calling for him. Quickly looking around, he spots a space under the bush large enough for him to crawl under, and he hides inside. His breathing is still rapid as he clutches his chest. It feels tight inside his rib cage and his chin begins to quiver. A new set of tears burst from his eyes. He trembles as he breathes in, trying to fight them away, but the sobs win the battle. He curls his legs up and folds his arms in front of him. He buries his face in the crook of his arms and repeats to himself he isn't human again and again. "I...I can't be..! I'd remember! I'm a Totodile, not one of those 'creatures'..!"

The more he fights away the tears, the faster and harder they come. His chin quivers so strongly that he's unable to speak any further, incapable of doing anything but sit and in the bush. He breathes heavily through his nose and bites down on his arm, muffling his sobs as tears of fear and confusion flow freely, dripping into the dirt beneath him.

---

"Motooo! Moootooo!" Lance calls out. "Damn it..! Where is he?" He turns around to face Viggy. "You find anything?"

Viggy shakes his head and shrugs.

As the electric fox continues to search and call for Moto, Viggy can see him going slower than when they were walking back from the cabin. The Jolteon is limping on his broken leg, his face scrunching with every step. _Figy berry is wearing off._Viggy stands up and clicks his claws together.

Lance turns toward him again. "Find something?"

Viggy shakes his head but points at the fox's leg.

"What about it? It's broken. Of course it hurts."

Curling his lip, Viggy points at Lance and motions back toward the shelter.

"No." Lance curls his nose as he steps again, drawing in a hissing breath. "We need to find Moto."

Viggy folds his arms and raises a brow at him. He motions toward the sky with head. They've been looking for Moto since he ran off after dusk, and the moon is now glowing behind the cloud cover. The smell of rain is in the air.

Lance nods to him. "There's a storm coming. All the more reason to find him. They scare the hell out of him."

Shaking his head, Viggy points at the fox's cast. He then points up again, and with both hands, wiggles his claws as he brings them back down. Pointing at the cast again, he then picks up a leaf off the ground and tears it apart.

Lance stares at him for a moment. "You mean to tell me this thing falls apart if it gets wet?" Viggy nods at him, and Lance sighs. "I'd stay dry from the rain with the Weather Band on, but I guess it doesn't do me much good if I step into a puddle or something..." He lets out a grumbling huff. "Fine, you win. Just make sure you find him."

Viggy nods once more.

"And no tricks." Lance narrows his eyes at him. Viggy shakes his head rapidly. Lance nods once. "Good. And..." He sucks in a long breath. "Thanks." Without another word, the fox turns and heads back in the direction of the shelter.

Viggy stays and keeps looking, checking under every bush and behind every rock. As the storm continues to roll in, lightning flashes in the sky in the distance, the sound of thunder reaches his ears and a chill breeze begins to blow and slowly grows stronger. If I could call... Viggy sighs.

The distant thunder grows louder as Viggy continues to search. The flashing in the night sky lights up the forest in short bursts. A long flicker of light is followed by a tremendous boom, forcing Viggy to cover his ears as he instinctively ducks for cover. He huddles beside a tree and waits for the thunderous echo to dissipate.

It's then he hears a soft whimpering nearby. Tilting his head toward the sound, he crawls slowly in its direction. He arrives at a large bush. He lowers his head to peek beneath it when another crash sounds overhead.

"AAH!!" a voice inside screams and is followed by panicked whimpering.

Viggy lifts the base of the bush, revealing the Totodile.

"GAH! DON'T EAT ME!!!"

Viggy cocks his head to the side.

Moto pauses and finally looks up. He blinks and shakes his head. "Viggy!" In an instant, the Totodile latches onto him. "Viggy! Take me back! I don't want to be out here anymore!" Moto buries his face into Viggy's chest.

With a small smile, Viggy holds the small crocodile close. When he feels the trembling reptile settle, he gently pulls away and looks down at him. Moto meets his gaze after a moment, and Viggy motions with head back out the way he came from.

"Yes please," Moto says with a short nod, and the pair then crawl their way back out from under the bush.

Viggy leads them back toward the shelter with Moto jumping and clinging to him with every thunderclap. After several instances of this, Viggy scoops up the shaking water type into his arms, and Moto simply curls into a quivering ball of blue scales.

As they're walking back, it finally begins to rain. It's gentle at first, but before long it becomes a downpour, and Viggy is forced to take shelter under a large tree. He sets his friend down beneath it and gathers several branches laying on the ground nearby, and fashions a small cover to deflect the rain away from them. He has to hold it, but it will keep them mostly dry.

Moto huddles up against Viggy when he sits down beside him, still jumping at every bolt of lightning. Viggy wraps one arm around him and holds the covering above them with the other.

"I'm sorry, Viggy," Moto whimpers after a long silence, and Viggy squeezes him gently. "I ran away cause I was scared. It's what I always do when I'm scared. I either run, or freeze up." Moto nuzzles in against him further. "I wish Lance was here..."

With a short nod, Viggy squeezes him once more as the rain continues to pour all around them.

---

"Heheheheh... Look'it 'em." Krookodile peeks his head up from the tunnel he dug out.

"What about them?" A smaller crocodile pops up beside him. "They're just sitting there."

Krookodile laughs at his son. "That's me point. Just wait'n to be plucked, all alone in the rain." He steals a glance at his son, the lips of his long, wide snout curled back in disgust as the coal black eyes masked in equally black scales looks around at the rain surrounding them. "All right. G'it around 'em to the othah side and wait f'er my signal. You'll know it when you see it."

"But dad, it's raining. Shouldn't we wai-OW!" he yelps as Krookodile backhands him.

"G'it goin'!" Krookodile orders again.

Holding his hand to his cheek, the younger crocodile nods and digs his way underground once more.

Krookodile watches his son a moment longer. The boy is shorter and leaner than he is, but the same basic features are present. The short-spread shoulders perched atop a teardrop shaped waistline, with short, stocky legs to carry his weight. Instead of red, the younger ground type is brown all over with black stripes across the shoulders and waistline. His back is one long black blanket with three small, fin-like spines lining it on each side, and four more running along the length of the top of his tail. "The boy's stupid, but he's one good look'in lad," he reminds himself as his son's figure disappears into the newly formed tunnel.

"Now then." Krookodile cracks his neck and rolls his shoulders. "Time to go an' say hello."

---

The rain continues to fall all around Moto and his friend. Moto continues to jump and whimper with every flash of lightning. Huddled beneath the set of branches protecting them from the rain, Moto can feel Viggy's head slowly turning side to side. Must be keeping an eye out.

Another flash and a crack of thunder booms nearby, nearly causing Moto to jump into the sloth's lap. He shivers, his body chilled, his scales damp, and a knot has taken hold of his stomach with the overwhelming fear.

Moto looks up as Viggy shakes him. The sloth motions out away from the tree, and Moto follows his gaze. A flash of lightning highlights a silhouette walking through the trees. "Is that Lance?"

The sloth shakes his head and rises to his feet. Moto swallows, standing as well and continuing to squint in the direction of the figure. The lightning flashes again. The figure is larger now, closer. "Umm...Is it coming toward us..?"

Viggy puts his palm to Moto's chest and steps in front of him.

"Viggy..?" Moto gulps as the sloth takes a defensive stance. Another bolt of lightning lights up the area, and Moto can clearly make out the image of a large red and black crocodile with a white chest and wide head running toward them.

"FOUND YOU YA' LIT'LE RUNT! NOW C'MERE!" The red and black crocodile bares his fangs in a wide grin as he charges toward them.

Moto's heart wrenches in his throat. His body tenses completely, his legs refusing to move no matter how much he tries to tell them to. He can only stand there frozen, staring with wide eyes and holding his breath as the beast rushes toward them. This is it...I'm done for...Lance, I'm so-

_ _ He is suddenly shoved aside, and he looks up to see Viggy pointing away from them. Swallowing, Moto gets to his feet. "No. I'm not going to let you fight my battles alone. I'm not going to let anyone fight my battles for me ever again!" Lightning flashes all around them, the thunder that follows pounding in Moto's ears. He shakes his head at the sound. I can't be afraid now. Viggy needs me. Lance needs me.

"Ha ha ha haaaa! Should'a run while you 'ad the chance, runt!" The crocodile is intercepted by Viggy, who blocks his attack with his clawed hand. The momentum of the crocodile's bull rush carries them forward, and Moto dives to the side to avoid them as Viggy is slammed into a tree.

The crocodile rears back for an attack on Viggy while he's stunned. Moto sucks in a deep breath, his chest puffing out in response. As his enemy's fist comes forward, Moto shoots a spout of water from his maw, blasting the crocodile in the face and forcing him backward.

The crocodile stumbles but remains standing. He stares at Moto for a moment, then throws his head back and laughs. "So the runt has some fight in 'im after all! Well then," he says, cracking his neck with a twist of his head, "let's just see how much, eh?"

Moto gulps, but stands his ground. "I'm not running away this time." He sucks in a breath once more. As the red crocodile starts to run toward him, Moto again gets shoved to the side, his Water Gun spraying onto the ground harmlessly.

He spins around. Viggy is getting to his feet beside him and standing where he just was is a small doll which disappears a moment later with a white puff of smoke. There above the spot is a second crocodile. Shorter than the first one, this second crocodile is brown with black stripes, and black mask which hides the outline of its eyes. Overall its body is more slender, with longer arms and a longer, more flexible tail.

It turns to face Moto and Viggy, and the red one walks up and stands beside it.

"Well, now it's a fair fight, would'n ya' say?" The red crocodile laughs again as he and his companion take a stance.

Moto looks up at Viggy. The sloth wipes his brow with his forearm. The expression is blank, and Moto can only hope that it is because the sloth is focused rather than what Moto fears is hopelessness. Swallowing, Moto turns his gaze back to the two crocodiles before him, then leans toward his friend and whispers. "If you have a plan, Viggy, now's the time."

Rain continues to pour all around them, lightning strikes light up the sky and the forest in all directions in random bursts. The thunder echoes in Moto's ears, causing them to ring so loudly he can't hear his own heartbeat. His breathing starts to come quickly, and he forces down the knot forming in his throat with a gulp. Stay focused...

"Time's up, runt!" The red crocodile charges at them once again, the smaller brown one following alongside him. The red croc pulls back a fist and opens it, the claws at the end of his fingers glowing a bright purple as the brown crocodile hunches down and bares his fangs, the canine teeth on top and bottom both erupting into a black aura.

They cross paths, the taller of the two coming for Moto and swiping at him with his glowing claws. Moto jumps up and over the blow, pulls in a quick breath and sprays him with Water Gun from above. He can't see his opponent through the spray, then suddenly a flash of lightning strikes nearby. The boom forces Moto to stop his attack, his body again locking up. The instant the spray is gone, a set of glowing purple claws slash at the bandages around his chest, reopening the wounds he'd suffered from Sceptile. He slams into the ground and gasps for air as the wind is knocked out of him.

When his breath returns, Moto screams from the stabbing pain of the freshly opened wounds. The falling rain washes away the blood as quickly as it is seeping out of his chest. After several deep breaths, Moto finally opens his eyes, and they go wide as another flash of lightning reveals the red crocodile standing over him, his foot raised above his head.

His attacker has a wide grin on his face as he glares down at Moto. "Nighty night, runt."

Moto closes his eyes tight, waiting for the blow. "Good-bye, Lance..." he utters under his breath.

"G-OOF!"

Moto flinches, pulling his arms up in front of his face.

Nothing.

He slowly opens one eye and peers out between his arms. Scrambling to get to their feet is the pair of crocodiles, the brown one on top struggling for footing with the red one trying to push him off.

"What-?" As Moto lowers his arms to get a better look, he is scooped up by Viggy, who then starts running in the opposite direction away from their attackers. Soon he loses sight of them, and the pain in his chest begins to take over once more. He clamps his maw shut as a scream threatens to force its way out of him. The constant jostling as Viggy carries him sends him into a fit of pain. Black and white spots cloud his vision as they run, even with his eyes closed. His breath comes short, the pain increases, and he can no longer hold it back. He again calls out, and Viggy pulls him into his chest and muffles the sound. The world spins all around Moto and everything becomes fuzzy. Then without warning, everything becomes dark.

---

"Get...OFF ME!!" Krookodile gets a firm hold of his son's shoulder and throws him aside with a thud. "Where are they?!" He stomps from side to side, his gaze scanning over the area. "GraaaAAAH!!!" He turns to face his son who is just getting to his feet. "You made me lose 'im!" He rears back and then slams the smaller crocodile in the face with his fist.

The smaller crocodile stumbles backward and falls to the ground once more, clutching his face with both hands. "I-I'm sorry!" he says through stuttered breaths.

"What did I tell you? WHAT DID I TELL YOU?!" Krookodile stomps toward him again, the ground shaking slightly beneath his feet with each step. "I TOLD you to keep that damned sloth BUSY till I got away with the runt, and you couldn't even make it a few breath's time? Another blink of an eye and I'd've had that Totodile halfway back to Sceptile by now. But no. You went and screwed it all up AGAIN!" He pulls his hand across his chest to backhand the boy again, but stops.

"Wait..." He shakes a finger at him and turns to the side. "No, we can use this."

The younger crocodile lets out a relieved sigh, his shoulders sagging. He takes a few deep breaths. "How's that, dad?" he asks finally.

Krookodile continues waving a claw at the boy, still not looking at him. "We track Vigroth again, but this time, let 'im lead us to where that Jolteon is hide'n too. Then we c'n take 'em all in."

His son stands up and uses the rain to wash away the mud on the bottom of his tail. "So, how do we follow him?"

"Same way we did before. Listen from underground."

"But it's raining. We wouldn't be able to hear anything."

"When it STOPS raining, you idiot!" Krookodile smacks the boy across the face with the back of his hand. "Now start digging." Before his son can reply, Krookodile jumps into the air and dives into the mud, drilling his way underground while closing the hole up behind him. It's not for several moments that he can finally feel his son tunneling along behind him.