Sumi doesn’t show up for once in her life, and it has Meihua worried where she could have gone.
Art of Wandering quest for Tectonic Crusade ARPG
Characters: Meihua, AAA Battery
Warnings: N/A
Wordcount: 2,047
Vibe: i have no idea man. its silly
icant revise this rn bc migraine #yay
but! the funnies. language warning is there bc this is a group thing hi
these are fun guys i hope i can write more :3
“Sumi is stupid, but not that stupid.” Meihua said with a sigh.
“But… still…”
“Mm. It’s unlike her to be late. With how she was going on about the gemstones last time…” AAA replied, putting away the equipment that she had originally gotten out for Sumi electro-therapy session.
“Not my problem, though. Wouldn’t be surprised if she’s the type of lunatic who believes that those stones have some sort of mystical energy that can heal her.”
Meihua let out another sigh, this one a bit more frustrated.
“I’m about to make it your problem.”
“What?”
AAA cocked her head.
“If Sumi gets killed by some onix, falls down a spiky pit, gets lost and starves… WHATEVER she does, then you’re out of another paycheck.” Meihua said sharply.
“And I doubt there’s many more weirdos out here who fall into the niche of having poor blood flow as well as being superstitious. You’re already losing customers as the guilds are discovering more and more about medicine.”
“…God… damn it.” AAA groaned.
“I really, really hate that you’re right.”
AAA walked over to a couch, before slumping down onto it in defeat.
“But what the hell am I supposed to do? ALSO die in a cave? No thanks. Let a real rescue team deal with it.”
“The real rescue teams hate Sumi because they think she’s crazy, Triple. I doubt they’d go after her.”
“She is! They’re completely right!” AAA huffed in response.
Meihua gained a frustrated look, and walked over to the small studio’s door.
“Well, she’s still my friend. I’m not going to let her die like this.”
AAA jolted up, and wanted to respond – but by the time the words were at her mouth, Meihua had already stormed out of the studio.
—
Of course, they weren’t sure if it was actually Sumi. Word went from one pokemon to another, and whatever the exact incident was had telephoned into ‘a colorful normal-type pokemon hasn’t returned from the Rainbow Cave’.
But, even if Sumi was relatively disorganized… she was still always on time and never missed commitments.
So, connecting one and two together… Meihua was worried.
Rainbow cave, while dangerous, was still semi-popular as a tourist destination. Guided tours allowed those looking to see the sights to do so safely… but it was Monday, and as far as Meihua was aware, those tours didn’t run on Mondays. Besides, those tours never go beyond surface level into the cave… and knowing Sumi, she’d dive head-first into danger.
Meihua had never been too deep in any cave before. Nor did she have much training in combat. Being laughed out of a gym for her slow natural growth just once was more than enough for her to doubt her own abilities to a point of avoiding any training.
But Sumi was Meihua’s friend. And Meihua was Sumi’s only friend.
As expected, the entrance to the cave was deserted. No tours, no tourists, not even any wandering martial artists looking to train at the spot. Meihua was completely alone.
But, Meihua took a sharp inhale, gathered her strength, and pressed inside the cave.
Despite being… a cave, it was rather bright inside – thanks in part to the prismatic gemstones doing wonders at reflecting light around like mirrors.
It was quiet as well, and Meihua could hear her footsteps echo – but despite the noise, nobody seemed to bother her.
Though nerves had formed a lump in her throat, Meihua felt that she was at least safe enough to call out.
“S…Sumi? Suuuuuuumi?”
No response, even after waiting for the echoes of her voice to fade out.
Meihua sighed. She didn’t want to go deeper into the cave than she had to, lest she get lost herself.
Though, the bouncing light did seem to almost make a path – keeping her comfort in mind, Meihua thought it’d be best to stick to what was well-lit.
She continued to call out Sumi’s name, pausing after each time to listen.
Nothing.
More walking, more calling out, and yet Meihua felt she was getting absolutely nowhere.
If Sumi was deeper than this, she was probably already…
Meihua froze at a sudden noise. The light padding on footsteps, not too different from what a pokemon of Meihua’s sounded like.
“…Sumi?”
Though, this time, Meihua’s voice was quiet.
“God, THERE you are! I kept hearing you; Sumi, Sumi, Sumi – but now I found you!”
It was AAA.
“Wh… what?! What are you DOING here?” Meihua said with a gasp, jumping back a bit.
“Well, ok. I was thinking you’d be fine, right? You’re smart, you get shit done.” AAA huffed.
“But then I thought about it more, and I realized how screwed I’d be if you died on your own out here.”
“So you… decided to also risk your life in a deep cave?”
“Look! At least if we both die instead of just you, then I won’t have to worry about nobody being able to pick up takeout for me!”
Meihua chuckled a bit.
“Well, I’ll admit I was getting nervous from being alone, so you being here does help.”
“Assuming you haven’t found Sumi, though?” AAA asked.
“No… not even a hint.”
“Oh, well, I found something over on a darker path.” AAA said with a shrug.
“Red stuff splattered all over. Was a mess! Don’t think it came naturally.”
“E… EXCUSE ME?!” Meihua yelped, alarmed by how casually AAA stated her findings.
“Triple!! We need to investigate, NOW. Sumi could be in danger!!”
“Whatever you say – if we die, we die.”
Using a soft electric glow to see, Meihua and AAA strayed off the main path and into the darkness. And, there indeed was splattered red… something. It almost formed a path, and Meihua felt a bit nauseous thinking of what may be at the end of it.
“So,” AAA suddenly started, attempting to make casual conversation as they walked.
“I’m kind of shocked I hadn’t heard of this place earlier. I mean, it’s pretty, right?”
“…You really never leave the house, Triple.” Meihua said softly.
“I mean, ok, yeah, whatever – I read the news though! I talk with neighbors once a week, maybe! A place like this seems like it’d be a hot location!”
The sharp edge to AAA’s voice echoed off the cavern walls, but this time, instead of fading away into silence, it was interrupted.
“QUIET.”
It wasn’t a voice that either Meihua or AAA knew – it was gritty and sounded old.
Regardless, the two’s expressions quickly became terrified upon learning they were no longer alone.
There was a pause after the voice rattled through the duo, before the loud sound of shifting rocks could be heard.
“You know what! Maybe we should go!” AAA proclaimed, promptly turning around and breaking into a sprint – not even waiting for Meihua to catch up.
But AAA’s sprint was short lived, as she tripped and fell over a uniform row of rocks that was in her way.
…Though, they weren’t just rocks. Once AAA was able to pick herself up, the rocks slinked away, and the sound of shifting rocks got louder.
And now, AAA had nowhere else to run. The serpentine creature had coiled the perimeter around her, and was now staring her down head-on.
“YOU TALK TOO MUCH.”
The booming voice belonged to none other than a steelix, who’s body was covered in a good amount of wear. AAA was frozen.
She couldn’t run, because he had blocked off her exits.
She couldn’t fight, because a ground type meant her attacks would be useless.
AAA was just about to accept her fate, but…
“Hey! Leave her alone! I’m the one you’re after!”
The old steelix slowly turned his head around, facing the voice – as it seemed he had forgotten about Meihua.
“EXCUSE ME?” the old man asked, red eyes piercing through the darkness.
“I’m the one who first came here, and I’m the reason she’s here!” Meihua huffed, pointing at AAA.
“If you want to mess with her, then you’re going to have to get through me, first!”
Meihua assumed a martial arts stance, though she was visibly shaky from the nerves.
There was a pause, and for a moment, it was dead silent.
The silence was nerve wracking, but thankfully, the old steelix finally broke it… with a laugh.
The laugh echoed so loud that the cave itself felt like it was rumbling, and Meihua struggled to keep her stance.
“YOUNG PEOPLE ARE HILARIOUS,” the steelix said, finally catching his breath.
“I’D LOVE TO PLAY, BUT I’M UNFORTUNATELY STILL BUSY WITH MY ART LESSONS.”
“…What?” AAA muttered, a confused look across her face.
“WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE?” he replied, in a stark change of tone.
Meihua and AAA made eye contact, and gave each other a mutual confused shrug.
“…Sure?” Meihua said, wondering what he could have meant.
“RIGHT, THIS WAY.” the old steelix said with a nod, slinking deeper into the cave.
Though hesitant and rattled, AAA grabbed Meihua’s hand, and the two of those followed the old steelix deeper into the cave.
They were walking for a few minutes, the path of red still present… until, suddenly, a light could be seen in the distance. The light grew stronger, and…
“Oh, there you are!” greeted a smeargle covered in red paint.
“It looks like you found whoever was causing all the noise, huh?”
A colorful… normal-type pokemon…
Ah.
“YES, YOUNG PEOPLE ARE QUITE THE BLABBERMOUTHS.” the old man said with another cave-shaking laugh.
The smeargle laughed along, before extending a paint-covered hand to the two friends – which AAA refused to shake.
“Nice to ‘meetcha!” the smeargle said, smiling.
“I originally came here for some mural practice, but this old guy here was interested! So I decided to give him some cave painting 101, in exchange for some delicious rare cave berries and fresh spring water while I stay!”
“I… see.” Meihua said, baffled.
“What’s the deal with the red stuff then??” AAA chimed in.
“Oh! I tripped and made a big mess while I was mixing some more cave paint.” the smeargle laughed off.
“I guess it would be kind of freaky, seeing it completely out of context in the dark? I didn’t realize it’d look a lot like blood…”
“Yea, no SHIT!” AAA huffed.
Meihua sighed, as the old steelix laughed over AAA’S frustration.
“Anyways…” Meihua started.
“There… were reports in the city that people were worried about you being gone, I think.”
“Dang, I guess that would make sense. I only told people I’d be gone for a day trip…” the smeargle sighed.
“But, you can let them know I’m alright! The big guy is making sure I’m eating fine and safe from any aggressive pokemon, so I’m alright to stay for as long as he’s willing to learn!”
Then, almost as if a lightbulb went off above the Smeargles head – they signaled for Meihua and AAA to stand by.
A few rocky thuds later, and they returned with a chunk of rock, painted with interesting looking prehistoric-style artwork, and adorned with two signatures.
“In case they won’t believe you, show anyone who’s worried this collab piece!” they said proudly.
“It shouldn’t be too heavy.”
Meihua nodded, and was handed the chunk – which was indeed much lighter than she expected.
There wasn’t much else left to be said, so the two friends were waved off by the steelix and smeargle as they made their way out of the cave.
Making their way to the central library, Meihua and AAA were able to successfully inform the worried party that Smeargle was alright and would be back soon. In thanks, the two were shocked to receive a reward ‘for their bravery’.
The sun was setting as the two made their way back to the studio.
“Man, if this can get us paid… we should do this more! I mean, scary for a bit, sure, but that was totally underwhelming! We could be rich if more stuff like this crops up!” AAA said with a snicker.
“I suppose so!” Meihua said with a smile – she was just happy it was able to be resolved peacefully.
As the two entered the studio, Meihua flinched from remembering something critical.
If it wasn’t Sumi who was lost in the cave… then were was she?
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