FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Among the wild forests and rolling meadows of the Grass Continent stood Cog Town. Like the namesake of the town, there were certain buildings within the town lined and dotted with moving cogs that served to power the workshops and machinery within. The streets were cobbled stone and pokemon from all over the region could be seen making their homes here. Common among the pokemon was a desire for innovation and to tinker around with technology and tools that could be considered interesting, unique, or sometimes extremely dangerous depending on the application. Rescue and exploration teams that formed and gathered here in Cog Town more often than not were testers for new gadgets. Often, new tech wouldn't be shared with the rest of the region, not because they jealously guarded their secrets, but rather because many of their innovations weren't necessarily safe to use. Wands and Orbs were fine and dandy, but there were always improvements to be made. Unfortunately, that desire to improve could also result in things being made worse rather than better, but at least the good intentions were there. Responsibility for how the end result affects the rest of the world is partially the responsibility of those who make it, and thus there is a certain care given to testing before mass release. Despite the occasional explosion or mishap, the pokemon who lived there had a passion that was unmatched and it translated into their teams as well who were eager to explore and help those who needed it. Inventors were often separated from the teams themselves as their interests simply didn't align most of the time, but there were some who felt that testing might give them a better grasp of their own products and that working with their testers may, in fact, be a boon and not a distraction.

Just at the edge of Cog Town, there was a home and workshop that housed a small team headed by an inventor. Out of the entrance came a Kecleon wearing a blue bandana around their neck with the usual green scales and yellow markings on their head and around their eyes. Their sharp azure eyes looked out toward the path leading out of town where the wilds awaited them. At their side, they wore a satchel and pinned to it was the badge of a rescue team.

Today, early in the morning when the sun was just barely out, Tellah had an important outing planned for her team. As an inventor, she prided herself on making new things that complimented her partners out in the field, and today she needed them to test her latest and greatest. Of course, there was a little danger involved in doing this, but she was absolutely sure that together as Team Twist she and her friends could handle anything that her genius brought, good or bad. Part of her was concerned that her friends would be annoyed that she had called them out for something other than a rescue mission or even something related to exploration. Maybe she could spin something to convince them. Either way, she was proud to know that her friends have her back.

When Tellah turned around she noticed that her team wasn't standing there with her and she huffed, cheeks puffing up before she called out, "Mino! Frae!"

The first to step out of the house to follow Tellah was Mino. She was a small grey-furred Minccino with purple eyes and a blue ribbon tied around her wrist. Normally, her eyes were more sparkly and her ears were a bit more perked up, but it was early enough in the morning that the lighting outside was still just a little bit blue from the darkness slowly being overtaken by sunshine and early enough that most were still asleep. Still, when the team leader called on her team, her team answered.

Mino yawned and waved off her loud partner, "Hush, hush. Frae should be out in a minute, just give him a moment. He was drooling, but said that he'd get up."

Just as Tellah was about to urge Mino to go inside and hurry their partner along, the Braixen stepped out in all of his glory. The vulpine pokemon had a mess of curled yellow fur with white fluff on his chest and black legs. His team ribbon was tied around his wrist and was blue just the same as the others, but he also wore a black fiddler's cap on his head with one purple eye peeking out from around drawn down cap.

"All right. I'm alive, I'm up. I'm here." He said with a yawn before continuing, "We have a mission? Some emergency? You better believe I'm...On it ugh...I'm tired."

The Braixen yawned again and leaned over Mino who squeaked and brought both paws up to try and keep Frae up, "Before he falls asleep again, can you tell us why you called us out so early in the morning Tellah?"

Now that her team was fully assembled, Tellah was beaming with pride and had both of her hands on her hips as she faced both of her friends who were both looking at her with what she assumed to be a mixture of curiosity and sleepiness. Sure they were tired and normally Tellah wouldn't wake them up this early, but she had something important to say and something important for the team to do.

Finally, she decided to spill the beans and explain what exactly that important thing was, "So, I don't have a mission or anything pressing that involves us rescuing a pokemon that is in danger." Frae groaned and before he could give her any lip she continued, "But! I have a device for us to test out in the field and I need you two to help me explore a new dungeon that came up recently. Today we'll be acting as explorers and charting out a new place. As you both know, dungeons change and shift in strange ways, but we'll at least get to know what the general layout is and that will be useful, won't it?"

Mino giggled, "You just want to test out a new toy! Why can't we test this one out on a mission? I'm sure there will be some at the board at the town square."

Tellah froze at that one and cleared her throat, searching for an appropriate answer before Frae sighed and butted in, "Because the device is too dangerous to risk having someone in danger with us."

The Kecleon scoffed, scales on her cheeks flushing a light hue of pink, "I'd like to think that my inventions are perfectly safe and sound to use. They're both gifts for you two mind you! But..." She then coughed and looked down at the ground, "Frae isn't wrong. I'd rather not have something happen on an actual important mission which is why I called you both out from sleep so early. When we get back I promise to get us some berry shakes or something or other to make up for my transgression. Another thing is that I just wanted this to be us out here instead of it being purely about work, these are gifts after all."

An arm was placed around her shoulder which paused her rambling as she realized it might be a bit much. She looked to see that Frae was standing at her side with a small smile, "C'mon...You know that we're a team for a reason. Getting to test your junk is pretty fun, even if it does scare the fur off of my back sometimes. Besides, if this is something special then I'm much more excited than scared."

A small touch at her other side brought her attention to see Mino hugging her, paw stroking her stomach while the small rodent pokemon spoke, "Yeah! Your stuff might be crazy and sometimes blow up, but we choose to get in on it, besides, its fun hanging out with you."

Tellah felt mist threatening her eyes as tears began to form, but instead of bawling like a fool and making herself look bad, she put both of her arms out and squeezed her friends tight, "Right! Well! My offer of berry shakes when we get back still stands."

With a cheer, the three separated from their embrace and made way for their destination. During their walk out of Cog Town. Tellah pulled the map from her satchel while her friends were walking at her sides peeking over at what she was doing. Extending the map of the region she looked at the forests detailed around and near Cog Town. With her eyes, Tellah traced a path leading up to a grotto tucked between the trees that marked the deep forest nearby.

When she saw that her friends were looking at the map she smiled and tapped the location with one claw, "Right here is where we're heading. There's a hole in the ground that leads to a new dungeon. Opened up pretty recently too! Not sure if an Exadrill did it or some other sort of ground pokemon, or if it was some sort of seismic activity. Either way, it is someplace new and someplace that we can do some useful field work while testing my masterpieces. I doubt that anyone will bother us here too, so it is perfect for a bit of privacy."

Mino tilted her head, "Hm, you haven't even been to this place? How do you know what you have will work here and just what will we be testing?"

Tellah shrugged, "Any place will do that is pretty empty. I mean, I'm unsure if this dungeon will be empty. At the very least, we'll be far away from any peaceful pokemon that can count as collateral and what I have for you two, well, all I'll say is that it should be a big ol' power boost."

"If they work." Frae quipped.

Tellah scowled, "If they work you say. I'm positive that they'll work! I haven't ever tested them, but they're both fairly simple devices that I wanted to...Well, they're gifts more than anything really." She then sighed with her eyes buried on the map before grumbling, "I really do help they'll work."

Confidence was always coming and going in fits and spurts for Tellah. There were moments where she believed without a doubt that all of her work was perfect. Others times doubt crept up on her like some sort of strange nightmare and it choked her. It was a simple joke, a tease, she knew that, but still, she couldn't help but let that little doubt that Frae had planted begin to grow. She felt shadows creeping up her leg, cold specters that made her steps slower and her focus slowly wane. Part of her wanted to turn away now and hide the items she had created, but a strong grip on her shoulder brought her back to reality.

She turned her head and blinked, to see Frae looking at her with a small smile, "Breath a little Tellah."

Taking a deep breath, then another she nodded and focused on that instead of her intrusive thoughts. When she felt somewhat normal again she rolled up the map and set it in her bag while mumbling, "Sorry about that. I just had a little lapse in confidence, but I'm back, I'm fine."

Mino chimed in from the side, "You sure? We could do this another day if you're not comfortable. If something goes wrong you shouldn't be in a mood where you'll take it real bad."

Tellah sighed, "If something goes wrong then I'll accept responsibility."

The paw on her shoulder squeezed again, firm but assuring as Frae spoke, "That's exactly what we mean though. We know what we're getting into."

Mino reached up and swatted Tellah's thigh hard enough to make her wince and nearly stumbled while the short rodent pokemon spoke, "Sure as the sun above us we know what we're getting into! If something happens it is just as much our fault as yours, besides, you made these special for us! I'm excited just to see what these things are and if they don't work I'll be excited to see them complete!"

Tellah felt the mist forming in her eyes again but kept again managed to choke down those happy tears, "Ugh, you guys are idiots! You might actually hurt yourselves here from my stupid gift and you're acting like...Like it doesn't matter at all. We won't even profit from this, even if it does work! And yet, you two are willing to come out here with me. You two are absolutely insane, no doubts about it."

Both of her partners simply chuckled, but they didn't say anything further to let their support and love sink in. Tellah slowly returned to feeling confident about her work and reassured that her friends were here to help. After a few moments of feeling confident again, she felt herself brighten up further and further the more she focused on her destination. If her items didn't work then she would just have to fix them and of course, she knew that her partners were willing to test it out, and in fact, more than willing. She had to remind herself that Frae and Mino wanted to do this kind of thing and they weren't the sort to be dragged along for things they didn't want to do. With confidence renewed, the trio continued on toward the dungeon.

Their destination was a hole in the ground that lead down into a dungeon. It had opened due to some sort of underground activity that split open the earth revealing what was underneath. No one knew who had built the dungeons in this world or what their function was, but they existed as places removed from time and space. Often times, the area that the dungeon was found in wasn't necessarily what the dungeon itself was going to look like. They were often full of pokemon that were up to no good. Some of those pokemon had grown mad or corrupted from being down in those dungeons for so long, and others were just plain nasty types who enjoyed waiting for some poor victim to pass on by. Someone wandering into a dungeon or being taken there by force would have a hard time coming out of it if they weren't prepared, and that was where teams came in. Of course, dungeons were also the perfect place to test all manner of new things that were potentially dangerous.

The area surrounding the hole was covered in the usual trees with firm branches dotted with leaves that together formed the canopy above. Vines and brush covered the edges of the hole and Team Twist stood at the edge looking down, all three having second thoughts about their testing location.

As they looked down into the hole, Tellah cleared her throat, "Right. Here it is. There are reports of a dungeon just down this hole. As you can see, there are some sturdy vines over there which we can use to climb down and uh, explore." Frae and Mino looked at one another before shrugging. They both moved to take their positions by the vine, Mino opting to take hold of the length of green before tugging on it to test it. Just as she was about to descend, Tellah coughed, "Wait. You two are just gonna go just like that? No qualms? No complaints? This place is dangerous and unknown, you two could at least take some precautions and preparations before we descend."

Both nodded and Frae replied, "Yup, we're rescuers right? Exploring new and dangerous places shouldn't be that hard. Besides, we've got each other if something goes wrong and our badges."

Frae pulled his hat up to show that he had his badge pinned up inside of the hat, and Mino beamed, "I stuffed my badge in your bag so we'll all be fine. One badge is enough to get us all out anyway if we're smart about it."

Tellah frowned, "I guess so. Ugh, I'm always just so nervous right before the dismount. I've even sat out on missions because I'm worried, but that just makes me even more worried." With a scowl, she looked over at the hole and found herself feeling dumb for being the only one to be so frightened, "Out of my way."

Frustrated with her show of cowardice in the face of her friend's bravery, she waved Mino and Frae off to lower herself onto the vine and slowly start descending into the hole. Her mind focusing on her breathing and her fears carefully tucked away at the back of her head where they belonged. Mino and Frae soon followed without a word. The sun illuminated their descent, but the further down they went, the more the darkness seemed to encroach as if reaching out toward the sun. At some point during their descent, they were swallowed by darkness and could only see the light above them. They were left with no other option but to keep going down or retreat.

Tellah wished she had been the last one down instead the first one. She couldn't suggest going back up without looking like a coward, but at the same time, it unnerved her to no end that she was just hanging there by a leafy thread waiting to fall down to what could be her death. There were so many unknown variables with adventuring that made her wish that she had just stayed home tinkering rather than deciding to become a rescuer. She should have kept to financing and selling her inventions and maybe even running a general store like other Kecleons, but here she was down in some sort of dark place descending into a dungeon that could be anything. When she reached the bottom, it could be a lake of fire waiting for her, or an actual lake, or something else. Even with those thoughts circling her mind, she realized that she had very little choice in continuing.

Tellah flinched as she felt her legs brush against what felt like leaves. She kept going down and shuddered and she closed her eyes as she felt the leaves pass along her head. What felt like the warmth of light pressed against her eyes and she slowly opened them what she saw was breathtaking.

Tellah had just breached the canopy made up of a single tree's great branches that extended into a massive chamber. From where she was hanging she could see stairs leading down into what she assumed was more of the dungeon, but where she was seemed so beautiful and serene. The large tree sank its roots into a large lake that ended at a rocky shore and everything was lit by gemstones that were glowing various colors all around. When she realized she was holding her friends from seeing this magnificence, she slid down the vine all the way and just stood there gaping at the sights before her. The team soon followed and when they saw what she had first seen, they too stood there next to her staring at the massive tree in awe.

When the initial daze of seeing so amazing began to wear off, Tellah spoke up, "Right. So, this will be a perfect testing ground so long as we do nothing to disrupt the tree, so uh, this means we will be facing away from the tree and toward the rocky walls."

She began to fish through her bag searching for the items that had taken with her for this test along with the gadgets themselves. While she continued to search she heard Mino chime in, "Soooo...Are we not actually gonna go into the dungeon proper? I mean, this place is great and all, but shouldn't we test out some power boosting stuff on actual baddies instead of, ya know, just the air."

Telleh shook her head. She was focused now and in a certain mode of thinking that had her fixated on completing the test. From her satchel, she pulled free a stone ring with a red gem at the center and a collar. Both of her friends looked at one another while she stepped toward each. First, she secured the collar around Mino's neck very gingerly and gave her a pat on the head before moving around behind Frae. She took hold of the stick in his tail and yanked it out without asking and without caring about his huffing and puffing. Carefully she slid the ring up the stick until it was secured near the end of the little cross-section. When she was done she held it aloft to check her handy work before offering it.

Frae raised a brow and took the stick gingerly before she stepped to the side and pointed at the wall, "Right! So, I've given both of you upgrades to your natural abilities. Casting fire type abilities will be enhanced and Mino's voice attacks will be enhanced. I uh, can't really work with psychic attacks right now because to be honest because I'm trying to figure out how to link up machines and psychic energy which is tougher than I thought, anyway, which one of you wants to try to blast one of those crystals on the wall first?"

Mino waved and hopped up, "OH! If I can break one of these things then I can probably break anyone that stands in my way so I am absolutely going first!"

The small Minccino cleared her throat and with a smile took a deep breath in before opening her mouth wide to let out a shrill single note. At the same moment, Tellah remembered that she had brought earplugs for this specific test, but it was far too late. The note became a singular and physical wave that traveled forward and struck the crystal with such force that it shattered on impact, but at the same time a shockwave had erupted from the source of the sound.

Both Frae and Tellah were on their rears, each holding their ears, heads spinning. Tellah shook her head until the ringing stopped and she could hear the sound of Mino hopping up and down and cheering, "Ahahah, wow! That actually worked?! It better than worked! I destroyed that thing! Imagine what I'll do to pokemon with this thing haha! Baddies beware!"

Tellah spoke loudly due to some latent ringing still left in her ears, "Yes, very good, just uh, lower the volume a little to control the power. You want to incapacitate not destroy." She then looked over at Frae, "Frae! Why don't you give your fire a shot?"

Frae's ears flicked up, "What?!"

Tellah groaned before yelling, "YOUR TURN TO TEST!"

Frae blinked before grinning and standing up. He held up his stick like a magic wand and pointed it toward a different crystal. Flames gathered around Frae surrounded by purple light. Those flames that appeared orange suddenly turned white hot and began to rage as soon as he let them loose. All three hit the crystal at the same time and they all heard a sound like a sizzling skillet. When the steam settled the crystal had been melted.

All three blinked and surprisingly enough, Tellah was the first to exclaim, "They both worked! They both worked and they work so well! B-but, wait!" She turned to both of her friends, "Tell me something, how do you two feel? How would you feel usually after using those moves?"

Frae rubbed his chin and set his stick back in the fur of his tail, "Hm...I feel like I used a bigger move for sure, but I was pumping a lot of energy into it. More than usual to try and get some sort of result."

Mino nodded, "Same here. I feel like I need a drink of water too and I really gave it my all with that."

Tellah started to jot down notes, "Hmmm...We'll do more field testing another time, but I think that how much you put into it, you'll get a backlash of double the amount. Meaning, if you use your strongest moves you can expect to feel exhausted, but maybe I can mitigate that? Also...Maybe tone down the power a little."

While she was muttering to herself, she didn't notice her friends coming up on her. Both of them took a side and hugged her. She felt her cheeks burn with heat as a kiss was planted on one of her cheeks and the other at her side. Both Mino and Frae at the same time said with a chuckle, "Thank you Tellah."

Tellah beamed and embrace both of her friends, "No need to thank me." She said in an almost motherly tone, "You'll thank me by working bounties and jobs for the materials I used for those new gadgets." Both of her partners blinked and looked at her before she giggled, "These things don't come cheap after all!"

And with that said, the test had been a success. Adjustments needed to be made to the power, but other than that nothing explosive or too terrible happened. All in all, it was a victorious day for Team Twist.