Rescuers Mission 8 Present: Rescue Gunpowder

PMD-Explorers Mission 8 Prologue

Chill's back

Peter came out of the Spinda café rubbing his tummy. The Pikachu had a smile on the face and smacked his lips. It was a good day to start off; the sun was up and the warmth welcoming. He would probably be able to train with the master some more today. Things had been quiet lately and he knew that some good practice would do him good. Grabbing the strap of his explorer bag, he pranced to the dojo.

Not too far behind him was Ariett, flapping her wings just enough to remain airborne and humming until her gaze fell onto the nearby commotion, near the village's tree house.

Peter was wondering about new things he could learn today from the master when he felt something was wrong and stopped. He couldn't hear Ariett anymore, which was unusual of her. "Is something wrong?" He turned around to find Ariett pointing to a little crowd near the Rescuer's headquarters. Furrowing his brows, the Pikachu approached the group of Pokemon.

From where he was, he could not see much of what was going on, nor who was speaking, but his ears twitched when he could hear the voice of the speaker more clearly. His heartbeat picking up, he immediately squeezed his way through the crowd, getting closer to the speaker and gasped when he could finally match the voice with its owner.

"Stop asking everyone! Just stop! We need to just get going! Gunpowder's in trouble, c'mon!" the voice said. As if he said something forbidden, a roar of confused chatter spread among the crowd.

There was no doubt about it. That voice, he could have recognised it anywhere. In front of Peter, was the Minccino, identifiable by the typical large grey ears, fine and fluffy grey tail ending in white. The only thing that was off was the lack of shades. It was the first time he saw Chill without his shades on. From the bag he carried across his shoulder, he had probably been on a long trip. Beside him stood a Cubone, the very one he remembered seeing on his previous mission at Alomomola Bay. It was the second time seeing him, but he had no idea who he was, besides having the name 'Chex'.

"Uh... But Gunpowder's a Rogue... Do we really..." someone in the crowd said.

Ariett got near to Peter without any issues. The Pokemon around seemed to be concerned more about the situation than about her. "What's going on?" Ariett whispered to the Pikachu.

He whispered back to the Togetic, not wavering his eyes from Chill for a single moment. "This... the Minccino who's talking is Chill, he's a former guild leader and something's definitely up."

"What does that have to do with anything!?" Chill asked. "You don't just pick and choose who needs help! Dude, that's not cool!". He brought out a steel feather out of his bag, one which closely ressembled that of a Skarmory. "Time to haul tail, guys. Now! Chex, lead the way!"

"Squeak!"

"I wonder what's that thing he pulled out... Could that be a new artifact?" Peter asked.

"Who cares about it?" Ariett said, rolling her eyes. She turned round, floating away. "I don't like the sound of where it is going, but let me tell you— Hey!"

Peter was already on his way, following Chill who was heading towards Barty's bluff. As far as he knew, Gunpowder wasn't the weak type and this mission, should it be one, could be difficult. All the same, his determination as Rescuer wouldn't be deterred the least. Chill was right, a Rescuer doesn't choose who to help but helped whoever was in need.

He knew as well that Ariett, despite not wanting him to go on dangerous missions, cared about others and would most likely not ignore everything. It was one of the reasons she joined him after all, and he was right. It wasn't long until the sound of her wing beats could be heard from above.

Chill stopped by the side of Barty, who was already outside. The Drifblim seemed to be already aware of the situation, given the frown on his face.

Chex didn't waste any time; he was already in Barty's basket and was soon walking in circles in it.

The Minccino's tail twitched behind him, perhaps unconsiously. Anxiety didn't seem to spare him either. "Aw dang, this is all we were able to get? I hope this is gonna have to be enough, we'll have to make it be enough! Hang in there pirate dude!" The next moment, Chill was in Barty's basket.

That was the signal that prompted Peter to jump in too. He settled in one corner, the other two having been taken by Chill and Chex. The basket shook again, this time by a Heracross. As Peter looked up towards the Pokemon's face, he almost forgot about the mission. "Hey, if that's not Brock!"

The Heracross seemed taken aback, but he soon smiled. "Hi, sorry I didn't recognise you right away. I had to leave Rose and Huey out of this; I..." He looked down. "...wouldn't want them to get involved, so I didn't tell them where I was going. You won't tell them, will you?"

Peter nodded in silence. "I promise I won't." Knowing Huey, that Burmy would have come regardless of the risks. He was a bit like himself after all.

Ariett on the other hand hesitated. She hovered around Barty looking at the basket with a frown. "I... I think I'll just follow. There doesn't seem to me much room left for me."

Without any more delay, the Drifblim inflated and began his ascension. "Hang on tight!"

As if by magic, the winds picked up and blew from behind the rescuers, allowing Barty to speed up and match the wind's speed.

They were moving in a north-east direction at a decent speed and while they had to wait, Peter addressed Chill. "Um... Chill? What's wrong with Gunpowder?"

The Minccino took a moment before replying to take a deep breath. "We're headed to a cave system of some sort. Some burial ground? Chex wanted a bone, and he said that Gunpowder was going there fore devonshire... but didn't say for what. Something got Gunpowder, and Chex managed to escape in time to raise the call for alarm."

He turned around and stood on the tips of his feet to look down. "If it got Gunpowder, it's gonna be strong, since that pirate dude is pretty tough! Chex said we oughta not fight the baddie, because it felt like... a bad Devonshire? Never thought that little Rogue was particularly good, but I never thought he was bad... Creepy, yeah, and I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley, sure, Yeah..."

Chill spun back to face Peter. This time, his tone was more assertive. "I don't want any of you trying to fight whatever it is that's in the cave. If Chex is right, I don't think we'd be able to win. Going into the evil-Devonshire-cave-monster's lair just to fight it? No thanks, dudes. We're here to rescue someone, not become in need of rescue ourselves. I don't want anyone to get hurt. The guy's not gonna give Gunpowder up when we get there, but we just... we just need to be careful. I mean it, guys. Don't become a casualty when we get to the cave. We need to get in, get Gunpowder and get out. Being a hero isn't cool, it just gets people hurt."

Peter gulped. It was scary to think about some monster who trapped Gunpowder in a cave somewhere in the middle of corpses. The slightest thought of it send shivers down his spine. He just hoped that being careful would be enough and that there was still a chance to save Gunpowder.

Brock remained quiet, his eyes stern and thoughtful. Ariett was nearby, taking advantage of the wind to keep up with Barty. She seemed even more concerned than moments ago.