The Fish of Many Tantrums Part 2

   In a few short moments, the duo began their descent into the dungeon, Zach taking the lead and sliding down the (rather rickety) ladder. Upon hitting the bottom, the Zangoose backed up and held his arms out, grabbing the small Ralts and softly placing her on the ground. A plunger suddenly smacked into Zach's head, the Zangoose jerking back from the blow.

   Dianna spun to face the attacker, using Psychic to block a second plunger as it almost came down on her head. In the torchlight of the room, the Barboach calmly stared at the Ralts. "No trespassin'," the little fish growled as he pushed a little harder on the handle of his makeshift weapon. With minimal effort, Dianna still kept the tool from coming down on her, staring back at the fish, unamused. She suddenly thrust one of her arms forward, sending another wall of Psychic hurdling into the fish, causing him to slide to the far end of the room and smack into the wall, knocking him out.

   Zach pushed himself off the ladder and back by Dianna. "What a start, huh?" the young Ralts said, earning a nod from Zach. The Ralts then looked around the little room. In the light from the various torches, Dianna saw two doors and an ore of Spoolstone.

   Zach crouched down and whispered to Dianna, "Listen, let's try and get this done quickly, I know how you can get with small spaces." the Ralts nodded in agreement. "Okay, so how 'bout you go right, and I'll grab that Spoolstone and head left, sound good?"

   "Okidoki, No-ear!" Dianna exclaimed, running to the aforementioned door. Zach trotted to the ore, readying himself. As soon as he was close he punched the larger stone, breaking it down into manageable pieces. Zach grabbed the largest piece he could then entered the doorway.

   In this next room, lit by holes in the ceiling spilling in light, he could smell wet earth, wondering where it was coming from. He didn't think about it long as he saw a large, lumbering mass slowly waddling towards him. The Barboach was breathing rather heavily, seemingly having rushed. "Err, I think I'll just move on, leave y-" he couldn't finish as the log of a fish suddenly rammed into his head, toppling him over.

   In her room, light spilled in from a single large hole in the center of the ceiling, the length of the shaft, she noticed, implying that Dianna was far underground. The light let her see various holes in the ground, the origin of which even she couldn't guess. She paid little mind to them anyways, crossing over them with small platforms of Psychic energy. She made her way to another ore of Spoolstone first, in the left wall from where she entered. Upon reaching it she created another platform above her head. thrusting her arm forward, the platform crashed through the ore. The Ralts picked up the largest piece she saw and looked around the room, finding nothing more of interest. With a shrug she walked to the other side of the room, where the next door led to the next room.

   The fish rolled across the stone floor, Zach having blocked another Take Down. The gluttonous Barboach turned back to Zach, seemingly on the point of passing out from exhaustion, and spit a brown ball at Zach, hitting his gut as Protect went down. Zach backed up at the attack, but otherwise seemed fine. The Barboach stared at him for awhile, a little unfocused as the fish's sight was starting to swirl and fade, then began to slowly push towards Zach. The Zangoose unknowingly moved in front of and stopped at one of the three doors in the room.

   On the other side of this very door, a smaller barboach with a broom was leaning against the door, listening to the events on the other end. This Barboach ended up being bowled over and almost crushed as the log, or Barboach, crashed through the door. Zach stepped over the remains of the door looking down at the now unconscious larger fish, not seeing that a second one was under them. He walked into the room while keeping his focus on the fish, turning just at the moment he walked head-first into a stalactite.

   Dianna could hear a small clinking noise coming from behind the next door. She pushed it open slowly, now hearing a gentle whistling coming from the room. She noticed that the whistle and the clinks seemed to be creating a tune of sorts. She pushed the door open fully, being greeted by an archway that was spilling light into the room. She couldn't quite discern what was beyond the archway, but she knew she would soon, paying little mind to it as well and sitting on the surprisingly warm floor, listening to the makeshift tune.

   Behind the wall beside her, another 'mon was chipping away at the wall with a makeshift pickaxe (consisting of a broom handle, a 'modified' paperweight, and cloth from a coat) while a small bug whistled atop her head. "Almos' there, I feel it," the ghost whispered to herself. She slowed down her strikes a little, instead making stronger swings at the wall. Eventually a small hole formed in the wall, silencing both her and the Joltik. The Banette held the pickaxe ready for another strike, then with a growl she swung as hard as she could.

   Dianna looked around the room, a little sad that the makeshift tune had stopped. She stood up, about to head back to the entrance if not for the sudden piece of the wall that fell to the ground beside her. She stayed still, watching the wall beside her for anything else that might happen. She heard a quiet growl, immediately followed by the wall breaking open and the Banette stumbling out. The Ralts gasped and fell down in surprise. The other 'mons turned to face her, and Dianna recognized who smashed through the wall. "Carrie?"

   The Joltik atop Carrie's head hopped forward and exclaimed, "Mama!"

   "Kyle!?"

   Zachary walked around the various silvery stones in the room, many of which appeared to have crashed into the stone ground instead of having formed naturally. He ducked under the last of them, opening a door from the uncomfortable position. A dim blue light shone in. Zach quickly went in and stood, looking around the rounded room. The light was from a bright blue orb at the center of this room, suspended in the air by it's own force, apparently.

   Zach observed it, mesmerised. He became aware of various whispers that were getting louder as he looked at the orb. He turned away from the orb to try and find the source of the whispers, noticing his shadow. It appeared as if pieces of it were being blown away by a non existent wind, yet still retained mass. The Zangoose felt as if it was staring back at him, especially when it stayed exactly the same with his every movement. His shadow started to warp, quickly morphing into shapes of various 'mons. Charizard... Kirlia... Meowstic... Sylveon... Gengar... Pangoro... Ralts... Banette... Frillish?

   The shadow stopped at the form of Frillish, and at that moment the whispers became louder, and though he still couldn't quite make out what was being said, he could hear the mocking tone in them now. The shadow seemed to grow, Zach could swear it came off the wall and moved towards him. He closed his eyes as his paws were engulfed in flames. He thrust his fiery claw forward, and just like that the whispers fell silent. He opened his eyes and looked at his shadow. It still appeared to be blowing away, but Zach sighed in relief when it followed his movements.

   The Joltik hopped off the Banette's head and ran to Dianna, hopping into her arms. Carrie nervously stared at the young Ralts, saying, "So, ah...how are ya, Dianna?"

   Dianna glared at the ghost and exclaimed, "Carrie, what the fuck!?"

   Carrie flinched slightly, then answered, "The li'l bug helped me get away from the guard, or whateva those two were." She reached up to the place where her hat used to be, instead grabbing thin air, then dropped her arm to her side.

   Dianna's expression softened. She stood and walked to Carrie, patting her arm and telling her, "Let's just...head back to the entrance and wait for Zachy, you can come back to our house and recuperate, okay?" The Banette looked down at the child, then nodded with a smile. Dianna turned back to the door she came in through, Kyle still in her arms, and began to go back, Carrie following close behind.

   Zachary leaned over the Barboach that was lying on the ground in the room, another larger one. It didn't even appear to be breathing. He went to poke the fish, jumping slightly when his finger went through the fish's body. Suddenly it began to turn completely dark grey, and then seemed to melt into the shadow below it, the shadow going into the orb at the room's center. Zach watched the event in awe, then quickly turned and made his way to the next door.

   The next room was pitch-black, hauntingly quiet as well. Zach tried to look around from his spot at the door. A sudden flash of light threw off his vision, and the next thing he knew he was knocked to the ground by a heavy blubbery mass and pinned down by criss-crossed stones. As his vision began to fade back to normal, he saw various Barboach lined up on either side of him, leading to a Whiscash with a strange crown on his dorsal fin and a small cart to move around in. The larger fish was being pushed towards the Zangoose, glaring down at him.

   "I see they sent someone down here against better judgement. What right do you have being down here?" Wussy asked the trapped 'mon.

   Zachary stared back calmly, replying, "The right of having a business opportunity deal for you, if you're Wussy that is." The fish nodded. "Good, now then, I hear tell that a certain otter is the reason behind this trouble, correct?" The fish's expression turned to suspicion, then he nodded again. "Well now, he's not part of the people who handle our town's econimic business, being part of a guild that's more about moving forward and exploring, whether or not peace remains through it," the Barboach had started to pull the stones away from Zach, listening intently, "so why not speak to people much more professional in this regard, maybe get some goods for you and your people...hm?" Zach was now sitting on the ground, smiling slightly towards Wussy.

   The large fish regarded regarded Zach with the same suspicious look, then stated, "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, and come along to speak to your associates."

   "My what now?"

   "Leaders."

   "Oh, great!" The Zangoose stood up and held his hand out for a handshake.

   Wussy shook his head and told Zach, "Just lead the way. And here," he handed a bit of Meatroot over to Zach, "for the hassle."

   Carrie sighed, holding her head in her hand. "So, those guys weren't part of the guard, then?" Both her and Dianna were sitting on either side of the ladder back to the Andalusst entrance, Kyle still in Dianna's arms.

   Dianna shook her head, saying, "If they were, they would have taken you to the town's jail, not an out-of-town shack."

   "So what exactly were they gonna do with me?" 

   The question was left unanswered as a Zangoose and Whiscash came through the left-side door. Zachary went wide-eyed upon seeing Carrie, jaw dropping. The ghost smiled and hopped up, running to Zach and hugging him. "Ca-c-how-you-wha?" he stuttered.

   The Banette snickered and said, "It's a loooong story, and I'll tell ya later, but for now can we jus' go? I really need a bath and bed...maybe some waffles?"

   The Zangoose nodded, grinning at the ghost. The Whiscash ahem-ed and loudly said, "I believe we have a meeting to attend to."

   The ghost looked over to the fish, asking, "Who dat?"

   Zach softly pushed Carrie back and began to walk to the ladder. "He's the reason we're in the dungeon, we're bringing him back to town with us."

   "Ohhh."

   Zachary grabbed the ladder and began to ascend, Dianna following behind him. Carrie let Wussy go up the ladder (somehow) before climbing out herself.