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Update: A little motivation goes a long way...complete revision
Warning: The next two chapters are long!
Old: In terms of Mimi, I change that bit so that he's with the Shy Squad. Thanks again, Aura and Sasha1001, for Guest Starring!

Chapter 5: The Boss of Crya Cave
*~Cyra Cave: Floor B1-B3~*
Cyra Cave. There's so much to say about it, but I feel like no matter what I say, it wouldn't be enough to describe it properly. The cave was like no other dungeon I've ever been to. It looked like...how can I put this...is if a "Dream" was an actual place you could go to.
On the First Floor, the interior of the first room had me looking around in awe. From the bubbles floating aimlessly, constantly appearing and reappearing elsewhere to the shiny pink and bluish glow illuminating the walls of the cave; it made me start questioning if I was actually awake. The walls itself were made out of pink, lavender, and blue crystals and the floor too had those colors, but was flat, smooth like marble, but polished flawlessly like a gem; nothing I've seen before. Looking up, streams of light that looked like the Northern Lights flowed across the ceiling. The lights looked almost like the ones usually seen around Blizzard Island, but the only difference was that these lights were close and extremely vivid. Continuing, I stumbled upon a room that had water, but oddly, the water was pinkish and shined brightly, reflecting the image of the room around it. I wasn't sure if it was drinkable so I left it alone and only looked at it and besides, we just melted some of the snow from the entrance for water...hmm?
Why didn't we just melt all the snow blocking the cave entrance so we could escape? You're joking, right?
First of all, yes, the snow that was blocking the entrance wasn't made of Nevermeltice; It was loose and for it to be top of the mountain, it had to have snowed up there, not existing since the island was first formed...but melting ALL of it? You do realize that it was a mountainside of snow and melting all of that would have floored the cave with ease, leaving us with no place to camp. Heck, we're not even going to talk about if a small amount of cold air were to touch the water. They don't call it "Blizzard Island" for nothin'. The air around the island is special and even so much as a breeze were to touch the water, it would immediately freeze and turn into snow or ice. I may love Ice and snow but I rather not be completely encased in it.
Anyways, according to Gwen, the cave's nickname was "The Cave of Dreams", which was more than fitting for its name. Although I only traveled through B1F-B3F, I could tell that each floor was unique in its own way, having several rooms per floor but some rooms would have bigger, more vibrant crystals while others would have different color water and etc. On top of this, the cave generated all kinds of items and seeds over a short amount of time; sometimes even in plain sight. On rare occasions, the cave would generate apples and other food items like gummies, but unlike other dungeons, they never go bad.
Gwen also mentioned that because of the unlimited food supplies and shelter from the cold, the Pokemon that resided there either never want to leave or pokemon getting lost here end up staying, especially the ones who have nothing to gain/lose in the outside world. Sadly, for such a beautiful place, Pokemon like Jigglypuff, Ralts, Jynxs, Azurill, Munnas, Espurrs/Meowstic, Komalas, etc who lived there were a bit more hostile than any other place due to it being such a highly prize area to live, especially if you knew how it worked. Although the cave only had 10 floors (the 10th being the boss room), the rooms were huge and there's a catch. Here's how the cave works and don't worry, I'll make this quick:
1) The First Floor is always the same
2) depending on how you move around the First Floor, the dungeon uses that to determine what the remaining floors will be like until the 10th Floor.
3) The 10th floor is also the same
and
4) If you knew how you got the floor you're in, you can go back by walking the same path in reverse.
So essentially, the dungeon was a big labyrinth or "maze", really.
By using everything Gwen told me, I was able to gather a lot of supplies, making rounds every now until I filled my bag and had enough food to help us survive for a long time. To be honest, I wasn't sure at the time how long we were in there. To me, it felt like a few days, but in our current situation, there was no way to tell.
Gwen usually laid down, staring at the campfire and not saying much except "I hope you brought an apple this time" (the nerve of that Glaceon...). As time went by, she attempted to stand from time to time and before I knew it, she was helping by gathering sticks and debris around the cave entrance. My arms and hands also recovered over time, but It still felt pretty sore so I must've done more damage than I thought.
Lying by the fire, Gwen took a glance at me, almost as if she was expecting me to say something typical but that wasn't the case. Instead, I stood up and examined both of my arms before brushing myself off and picking up my bag.
"Ready to leave?" I said looking at her.
At hearing this, she lifted up her head and looked at me. "You're serious? You're not joking around, are you?"
"No, I'm serious. Are you ready to go through the dungeon and find a way out?" I said as I crossed my arms. I could tell she was ready to get out, but wary for some reason.
"Hmm, alright. I feel a lot better than before so this shouldn't be too bad. Besides, it's only 10 floors," She said as she stood up from watching the fire, "But you do remember our deal, right?"
"Yeah, I remember," I said, rolling my eyes. Suddenly, I felt a paw hit the back of my leg, almost causing it to fold. (Queen snickers a little; Liloxi looks at him and he turns away trying to hide it.)
"Ow! wha-"
"Don't think I didn't see that. I held my end of the deal, now it's your turn," She huffed, walking past me and down into the first room. Grumbling, I followed her.
*~Cyra Cave: Floor B7(?)~*
From the moment we went down to the first floor, Pokemon attacked us right off the bat without warning. This typically happens during dungeon runs, but the way they were attacking us we as if they had a vendetta. Sure, it seemed a little odd, but I ignored, thinking very little of why-
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Queen: "Not surprised, you're usually oblivious."
Liloxi: (Sighs and looks up at the ceiling again) "I'm sorry, I'm doing my best and-
Queen: "I know, don't worry about it. besides, If you ever act oblivious, you know I'll point it out from now on.
Liloxi: "Thanks...but I still feel like there's something you're not telling me.
Queen: "I-u-uh...(Looks completely embarrassed) w-well, can say the same thing to you! You've been blocking some of your thought and feelings for years now. I'm curious..."
Liloxi: "You've noticed for that long?"
Queen: Of course, I'm a Gardevoir after all. (Tries to look as noble as possible while saying it; Liloxi gives him an unamused look).
Liloxi: "Pleeease. That don't mean crap and you know i-"
(You clear your throat. Both of them look at you and laugh nervously.)
Heh, s-sorry about that. Now, where were we...
----------
The first 3 floors I was familiar with since I used them to gather supplies. When we reached the 4th, I noticed there were more rooms than before and the room also started to lose its bluish color. By the time we got to the 7th floor, it started to turn more into lavender. Also, It was definitely getting brighter...
"Well, we've made it this far and it's getting pretty bright in here," I said, looking around. "You would think it would get darker the further we go."
"That's because we're near the room where the artifact is located," She said as she made her way down through the halls and tunnels of the cave. "In fact, I think it may be on this floor."
"I thought you said that the artifact was on the 10th floor, not the 7th?"
"Yeah, it's on the 10th floor, but that floor doesn't play by the rules. There are times the 10th floor can show up in between floors, but if you happened to go through all 9 floors, the 10th one will always show up afterward.
"I wish I would've known that..." I said, stopping for a moment. Something came to mind.
"By the way, about the artifact...I think we should take it with us."
She stopped as well and narrowed her eyes. For some reason, unlike the other few times she looked at me, that time was very unsettling...
"And what makes you think I'll agree to that!"
"Think about it Gwen, this cave is completely blocked, there's no way of getting back in now, there's a weird pokemon looking for it. The only reason why I'm here in the first place is to take it back to the Guild where it's safe so no one would have to worry; It isn't for me.
Gwen's expression relaxed a bit, but it's hard to tell when you have two eyes glaring at you as if you're being hunted. Odd though, one of her eyes started shifting in color again when she did. I wanted to ask her about it, but...it wasn't a good time.
"Hmph, even I were to agree, there are a few problems with that," she said as she looked over at the next room. The entrance of the room had crystal formations similar to Crystal Crossing. I love that place...
"One: we don't have the key to get to the artifact properly without setting off any traps and Two: should I remind you that there's someone else in there guarding it?"
"Fair, but I can at least fix one of the problems," I said, as I took the key out of my bag and showed it to her. Immediately, she snatched the key and examined it. Her face completely shocked.
"What! H-How did you get this?!" She exclaimed, her voice was so loud that I'm pretty sure all of the Pokemon on the floor knew where we were...which was NOT a good thing.
"SHHH! not so loud! Are you trying to draw attention?!" I said in a hushed tone.
"We E-X-C-U-S-E me for not knowing this was a freakin' stealth mission! Where in the world did you get this key?!"
"It was a gift from the Mayor," I said, recalling back the conversation Wigglytuff, Chatot, and I had.
"Apparently the local gave it to him, but how they got it, I'm not sure..."
"That can't be possible. There's only one key. No local should have this key and the only Pokemon who probably would've had this is..." Her voice trailed off to a long silence, leaving me to just sit there, wait until she said something. After waiting a while, she finally looked up at me with a determined look in her eyes.
"We need to get that artifact and get out of here."
Hearing that made me so confused, I was even questioning if she actually said that or my ears were just playing tricks on me.
"Whoa wait, really?"
"Positive, and I think I know who gave your Mayor this key," She said, giving the key back to me. Quickly she headed towards the room.
"Even though you have the key, we still have that other problem to deal with..."
Suddenly she stopped in front of the large entrance, adorned with large, brightly-colored crystals that ranged from pink to lavender to even red. Through the entrance was a long, straight hallway with florescent crystal walls. They looked so smooth, it seemed as if someone just had polished them before we got there. The ceiling of the hallway was just as smooth and so was the floor but it had an interesting glow-effect to it, like a wave. A few times, I thought I heard humming coming from the other end...
"You knew the entrance was here, didn't you," I said, looking at her suspiciously.
"Yep, mainly because I heard the humming the moment we got down here, didn't you?" (Queen shook his head. "Nope, bet he didn't...H-HEY!"; Liloxi elbowed him.)
I looked at her with a slightly embarrassed look. "Not exactly, I was probably too busy looking around, but now I can definitely hear it now." (Queen: "Told you!"; Liloxi glares at him and Queens looked away, grinning)
"Well, what are those long ears good for?" she said, shaking her head.
"Anyways we need to hurry."
*~Cyra Cave Pit~*
At the other end of the hall, we came to a large room with huge red, pink, and lavender crystals arcing over the room. In the middle of the room were more giant red and pink crystals that seemed to have been less natural. With it, a throne was made, completely polished, doubling as a bed made perfect for any medium-size Pokemon.
Lying in it was a Pokemon that I was more than familiar with; a Sylveon, but like some Sylveons I knew, this one was also different. They were wearing a blood-red pendant around they're neck and their k-9s (or fangs in this case) were unusually large. In addition, all the blue fur that most Sylveons had was red, including their eyes, ears, feelers, ribbons, etc. their presence alone was unsettling, but I didn't know if it was an ability or the fact that they were giving us a creepy, yet playful smile as we entered.
The Sylveon continued humming despite being completely aware that we entered. It felt like she knew we were coming.
"Why, hello there Gwen, I was wondering when you would come and see me," The Sylveon giggled, their voice sounding as innocent as can be despite her serious and chilling tone. "Oh! It looks like you've brought someone with you. Is he your boyfriend? Always keeping secrets from me."
"Shut it, Kokoro," Gwen hissed. We just got there and her claws were already showing. I had a feeling she was already expecting a fight.
"He's not my boyfriend. I barely know him."
"Oh? Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't he the one who was taking care of you when you were laying there wounded at the entrance? Feeding you, bandaging you up~" She grinned, showing off her fangs. They were the size of a Golbat's fangs and glowing red. No move does that except for leech life so there was a chance she was either [Bug] or [Poison].
"How did you know about that?"
"I sent some of my lackeys out to see what all that noise was outside. Apparently, they said they found the entrance blocked with you and him resting nearby. So! I went to see for myself and behold! There you two were.
"Lackeys?" Gwen questioned. "There was no one else at the entrance."
"Hehehe, you never thought to look up, did you?" They said, pointing up to the ceiling. Hanging off some of the crystals were a group of Crobat. Figures. Even in dead silence, you can't hear them.
I had them tell keep an eye on you two from time to time," She said, standing up from her bed-like throne.
"To be honest, I'm surprised you're even around anyone, seeing how you like to be alone. You sure he's not your boyfriend~?"
"Alright, I've had enough of you," Gwen said, her claws began glowing a bright blue. She was going to strike, but before she could get the chance, I step in front of her.
"Hold it for a moment," I said, stopping Gwen then turning to the Sylveon. "Look, I don't exactly know who you are-"
"Queen Kokoro," She said, cutting in.
"Alright, fine, 'Queen' Kokoro. But I just met Gwen and I'm married. We only came here for the artifact."
----------
Liloxi: ...uh, wait...what's wrong? Why are you making that face?
Queen: I don't think they knew you were married.
Liloxi: Weird. I thought I mentioned that.
(You ask him what he means by "were" and asked if they are still together.)
(...As soon as you asked, there was a long silence. Liloxi looks down at the floor, then stares out the window; Queen looks at him and frowns)
Liloxi: No...and I rather not talk about it. Just...some stuff happened, she left, and now I'm alone.
Queen: You're not alone. You'll never be alone.
(Queen grabs his hand; Liloxi glance over then look at Queen. They both look at each other for a bit before Liloxi looks away and laughs.)
Liloxi: You're not going to let me forget, are you?
Queen: Never.
Liloxi: ...Heh, okay, okay, let's finish this part up.
----------
"Sorry, but I can't let you take the artifact. It's too important to be in the hands of just -any- Pokemon," she said as she walked from in front her throne, towards us. "Regardless, it's quite challenging to get without the Key."
"Well, lucky for us, we have the key," I said, taking the key out and showing it to her.
"The artifact is in danger and we're taking it with us for safekeeping."
Hear that, she laughed as if it was the funniest thing on the planet.
"Safekeeping? HA! You don't know who I am, do you?" She snarled, her fangs dripping a red liquid; an unappealing sign of Leech Life ready to be used at it's full.
"I'm the -Owner- of this Cave! Like I would just let anyone take the artifact away from this place. Better yet, I would like to see you two try!"
With nothing more to say, she charged at us, laughing menacingly as we were not prepared; or at least I wasn't. Gwen quickly shoved me out the way and ran at Kokoro head-on. She was most likely itching to slash her with her glowing claws, but running up at Kokoro was immediately a bad idea.
While running, Kokoro held up her ribbons over her face and clusters of light began forming on them. Unaware (or just didn't care), Gwen leaped into the air and attempted to slash Kokoro before suddenly getting blasted straight back at me by a burst of light coming from Kokoro's Ribbons.
We both hit the polished floor (which was a much more unpleasant landing than the snow) and tumbled before hitting the wall. The Dazzling Gleam was apparently strong enough that it even caused some of the crystals around us to explode, sending shards and smoke into the air. Trying to fan the smoke away as we got up, there was giggling, followed by a horribly uncomfortable kiss on my ear. The feeling was not like how you'd expect. It was like a cactus stabbing into my ear but sucking the life right out of me.
My knees began wobbling, becoming unsteady as I was unable to feel my body. It wasn't the first time I've been hit with that move, but the only difference was that whatever she did to me made me, it felt as if toxins were spreading throughout my body. Without thinking, I gave her a swift kick, knocking her off my ear. I wasn't going to let some Toxic or a Draining Kiss stop me from fighting.
Seeing this as a good opportunity, Gwen lunged at her and attempted to chomp her with an Ice Fang as she slid back, but Kokoro spun around as if she knew exactly what Gwen was about to do and slaps her with an Iron Tail. You would think that would hurt, but Gwen just growled and (finally) started dodging Kokoro's Leech Life; chomping at Gwen repeatedly as she attempted to latch on to her.
"You've gotten better, Gwen." She chuckled, Changing from her Leech life to trying to slash at Gwen's face. He dodges started to become close-calls as she continued to keep Kokoro at bay.
"But you'll never be as good as me with those feral moves. No style, no grace. That's why you're still stuck guarding the entrance, which you did poorly seeing that there's nothing left to guard, hehehe~!"
"When I'm done with you, I'll be sending you to hell MYSELF!" Quickly Gwen latched onto one of Kokoro's ribbons, freezing it and fortunately making her flinch. That left her completely open. Recovered from flinch, Kokoro saw the opening and attempted to Crunch Gwen's neck despite Gwen still being latched onto her ribbon. Unsuccessful, Kokoro's Ribbon turned into solid Ice.
The moment Gwen released her grip, I took the opportunity to shoot an Ice beam before my legs caved in on itself, hitting Kokoro before she could react; very fortunate. The attack sent Kokoro flying backward into one of the crystals on her throne, breaking it. I was surprised that despite getting a clean hitting her, it didn't seem to do as much damage as I had hoped. standing up, she turned and looked at the broken piece of her throne and huffs.
"Great, now my throne is missing a piece," She pouted.
"That's going to be the least of your worries," Gwen growled.
"Yet another empty threat. I thought you were the one who was going to send me to hell," She said in a playful, yet cold manner. Unnervingly, she then slammed her frozen ribbon onto the polished floor, shattering the ice on it. It was incredibly bold of her to even do something like that since she could have possibly shattered her ribbon along with it...Which means she had the ability Thick Fat.
Her eyes and ribbons starting glistening like the crystals in the cave. At first, I thought she was going for another Dazzling Gleam, but then two shadowy orbs formed in front of her, each one being held up by her front ribbons.
"Oh, you'll see..." Gwen mumbled, coldly. Her eyes and diamond-shaded ribbons too began glowing, similar to the time we were fighting at the entrance of the cave. A familiar shaped orb also appeared in front of her, a bit larger than the one she used on me. The orb produced a frost-like mist that started to cover the floor with ice.
Without hesitation, Gwen hurled her Shadow Ball at Kokoro pre-maturely, in an attempt to catch Kokoro off guard, but all it did was make her chuckle.
"You wanna play that game, huh? So be it."
Infusing the light from her ribbons into both orbs, causing it to glow a lovely lavender, Kokoro tossed one of the orbs at the Gwen's Shadow Ball; both colliding into each other with insane force. The collision and friction between both of the attacks made the entire room shake, scaring off Kokoro's henchmen. However, despite Kokoro's Shadow Ball being small in size, it started slowly began pushing Gwen's back.
"Gwen, I really enjoyed playing, but this is the end of the line for you!" Kokoro then tossing the other Shadow Ball towards the mix. In a panic, I picked myself up off the ground and quickly ran to Gwen, pushing her out the way right before the Shadow Ball collided with the first one. As soon as I did, the second Shadow Ball fused with the first and instantly tore through Gwen's shadow ball and through me, slamming me into the wall. Bewildered, Gwen ran to me.
"Y-You idiot! why did you do that?!" she said, checking to see how much damage it did. Visibly, I knew she wasn't going to find anything, but I could tell she saw in a lot of pain. Angrily, she barred her fangs at Kokoro.
"Huh, never expected that to happen," Kokoro said, making another Shadow Ball.
"But no matter, I'll finish you off with ease."
"Alright, that's enough," A voice said.
Before Kokoro could stop her self, she threw the Shadow Ball at Gwen, only to be swatted away by a Froslass as she appeared in front of Gwen.
"J-Jazz?!" Kokoro Said, completely stunned.
"How did you get here?!"
"Did you forget who owns this Island?" Jazz said, crossing her arms. "I know a lot more about this cave than you do."
Turning around, she hovers over to me with a concerned look "Lilo! goodness, are you alright?"
"Y-yes, I'm fine. You know this isn't the first time I took a hit like this."
"Just stubborn as ever, I see. But that one had me worried," she said, as she checked me,
"Still, It's so good to see you again!"
Unable to contain the happiness under her worried look, she hugged me tight, causing me to wince. For a ghost, she has always been quite strong.
"Ow! please, that hurts even more!" I said, cringing as the pain rippled through my body.
"Right, sorry!" She laughed, loosening her grip.
"I've been watching you and Gwen the moment you reached the Island."
"What? you mean you've been watching us the whole time, even after our fight in front of the cave? but...how?!" Gwen questioned, her confused expression was just about the same as Kokoro.
"Yes, well, I do wander around the Island from time to time, you should know this. It's especially hard to miss with all the explosions and the avalanche, really."
"It's...something Mum does on a daily basis," I said, looking back at her.
"Wait 'Mum'? Jazz, you know this Pokemon?" Kokoro asked, pointing at me.
"You do know that he was attempting to take the artifact."
"Well, of course I know who he is Kokoro. He's my son!" She said, smiling brightly."
"YOUR SON?! How! Just...how..." she said, trying to understand how that's possible.
"It's a long story, all you need to know is that raised him since he was a baby."
"So you basically adopted him?" She said, looking at me again.
"Something like that," Jazz chuckled, "but yes, I already know he's here for the artifact and I trust him with it more than anyone. So if you may, Kokoro, they have a mission to complete.
"Oh...Alright then, the door is over there." Kokoro sighed, pointing behind the throne.
Unable to move my legs, I handed Gwen the key, at which she went and opened the door. Inside was the artifact, a unique-shaped relic that was resting on a crystal stand. The artifact was the shape of a cube but had interesting patterns on it. It shimmered with all kinds of colors, which seems to literally flow right out of the cube. It was a pretty amazing artifact to look at.
Taking it, Gwen held it with care as if it was made of glass before suddenly shoving it to Kokoro, who was then holding it with her ribbons.
"Hold that would ya?" She said as she made her way over to me and proceed to lift me off the ground. Despite somehow managing to do it, her legs were shaking from the weight of holding me...or the fact that she wasn't used to standing on her hind legs
"Alright, can get him out of here now?"
"Of course, his badge should work now but before we leave, I ran into a couple of Pokemon here who can help," Jazz said, as she then makes her way over towards the entrance.
"Before I went back to the cave to look you two, I ran into some Pokemon that was wandering the Island. They told me they were looking for Lilo here and said they were sent to come to find him. You guys can come in now!"
On queue, three familiar Pokemon walked in. The Shy Squad
"Aura! Chikky! Mimi!" I said, smiling weakly. "What are you two doing here?"
"Pumpkin sent us to come look for you," Aura said, floating over to me in her bubble.
"We were all worried something might've happened to you since you've been gone for more than a week."
"A WEEK?!" I shouted, almost knocking both me and Gwen to the ground. "But I thought I was only gone for only 3 days!"
"Heh...More like 10," Chikky said meekly. "That's why we-"
"Are we going to sit here and chitchat or are we going to get him some help!?" Gwen interrupted. She was on the verge of dropping me.
"R-right! Sorry! L-let's get him back to the guild" Chikky said, scrambling over to me.
"Mind If I tag along?" Kokoro said, walking over to us.
"And why should we allow you to do that?" Gwen growled.
"It's alright Gwen, she can come," I said. "The more the merrier, especially since she has some connection to Mum here."
"Tck...Fine, but if she tries something, I'll end her on the spot." Gwen huffed.
"Oh Gwen, you know you enjoy my company." Kokoro teased, walking past her.
"besides~ I can tell you about the artifact, more than anyone."
"Better yet, you can kiss my a-"
"Alright, that's enough you two. lets' get out of here."
Taking out my badge, I held it up high, causing a beam of light to teleport us out of the dungeon.

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

Update: A little motivation goes a long way...complete revision
Warning: The next two chapters are long!
Old: In terms of Mimi, I change that bit so that he's with the Shy Squad. Thanks again, Aura and Sasha1001, for Guest Starring!

Chapter 5: The Boss of Crya Cave
*~Cyra Cave: Floor B1-B3~*
Cyra Cave. There's so much to say about it, but I feel like no matter what I say, it wouldn't be enough to describe it properly. The cave was like no other dungeon I've ever been to. It looked like...how can I put this...is if a "Dream" was an actual place you could go to.
On the First Floor, the interior of the first room had me looking around in awe. From the bubbles floating aimlessly, constantly appearing and reappearing elsewhere to the shiny pink and bluish glow illuminating the walls of the cave; it made me start questioning if I was actually awake. The walls itself were made out of pink, lavender, and blue crystals and the floor too had those colors, but was flat, smooth like marble, but polished flawlessly like a gem; nothing I've seen before. Looking up, streams of light that looked like the Northern Lights flowed across the ceiling. The lights looked almost like the ones usually seen around Blizzard Island, but the only difference was that these lights were close and extremely vivid. Continuing, I stumbled upon a room that had water, but oddly, the water was pinkish and shined brightly, reflecting the image of the room around it. I wasn't sure if it was drinkable so I left it alone and only looked at it and besides, we just melted some of the snow from the entrance for water...hmm?
Why didn't we just melt all the snow blocking the cave entrance so we could escape? You're joking, right?
First of all, yes, the snow that was blocking the entrance wasn't made of Nevermeltice; It was loose and for it to be top of the mountain, it had to have snowed up there, not existing since the island was first formed...but melting ALL of it? You do realize that it was a mountainside of snow and melting all of that would have floored the cave with ease, leaving us with no place to camp. Heck, we're not even going to talk about if a small amount of cold air were to touch the water. They don't call it "Blizzard Island" for nothin'. The air around the island is special and even so much as a breeze were to touch the water, it would immediately freeze and turn into snow or ice. I may love Ice and snow but I rather not be completely encased in it.
Anyways, according to Gwen, the cave's nickname was "The Cave of Dreams", which was more than fitting for its name. Although I only traveled through B1F-B3F, I could tell that each floor was unique in its own way, having several rooms per floor but some rooms would have bigger, more vibrant crystals while others would have different color water and etc. On top of this, the cave generated all kinds of items and seeds over a short amount of time; sometimes even in plain sight. On rare occasions, the cave would generate apples and other food items like gummies, but unlike other dungeons, they never go bad.
Gwen also mentioned that because of the unlimited food supplies and shelter from the cold, the Pokemon that resided there either never want to leave or pokemon getting lost here end up staying, especially the ones who have nothing to gain/lose in the outside world. Sadly, for such a beautiful place, Pokemon like Jigglypuff, Ralts, Jynxs, Azurill, Munnas, Espurrs/Meowstic, Komalas, etc who lived there were a bit more hostile than any other place due to it being such a highly prize area to live, especially if you knew how it worked. Although the cave only had 10 floors (the 10th being the boss room), the rooms were huge and there's a catch. Here's how the cave works and don't worry, I'll make this quick:
1) The First Floor is always the same
2) depending on how you move around the First Floor, the dungeon uses that to determine what the remaining floors will be like until the 10th Floor.
3) The 10th floor is also the same
and
4) If you knew how you got the floor you're in, you can go back by walking the same path in reverse.
So essentially, the dungeon was a big labyrinth or "maze", really.
By using everything Gwen told me, I was able to gather a lot of supplies, making rounds every now until I filled my bag and had enough food to help us survive for a long time. To be honest, I wasn't sure at the time how long we were in there. To me, it felt like a few days, but in our current situation, there was no way to tell.
Gwen usually laid down, staring at the campfire and not saying much except "I hope you brought an apple this time" (the nerve of that Glaceon...). As time went by, she attempted to stand from time to time and before I knew it, she was helping by gathering sticks and debris around the cave entrance. My arms and hands also recovered over time, but It still felt pretty sore so I must've done more damage than I thought.
Lying by the fire, Gwen took a glance at me, almost as if she was expecting me to say something typical but that wasn't the case. Instead, I stood up and examined both of my arms before brushing myself off and picking up my bag.
"Ready to leave?" I said looking at her.
At hearing this, she lifted up her head and looked at me. "You're serious? You're not joking around, are you?"
"No, I'm serious. Are you ready to go through the dungeon and find a way out?" I said as I crossed my arms. I could tell she was ready to get out, but wary for some reason.
"Hmm, alright. I feel a lot better than before so this shouldn't be too bad. Besides, it's only 10 floors," She said as she stood up from watching the fire, "But you do remember our deal, right?"
"Yeah, I remember," I said, rolling my eyes. Suddenly, I felt a paw hit the back of my leg, almost causing it to fold. (Queen snickers a little; Liloxi looks at him and he turns away trying to hide it.)
"Ow! wha-"
"Don't think I didn't see that. I held my end of the deal, now it's your turn," She huffed, walking past me and down into the first room. Grumbling, I followed her.
*~Cyra Cave: Floor B7(?)~*
From the moment we went down to the first floor, Pokemon attacked us right off the bat without warning. This typically happens during dungeon runs, but the way they were attacking us we as if they had a vendetta. Sure, it seemed a little odd, but I ignored, thinking very little of why-
----------
Queen: "Not surprised, you're usually oblivious."
Liloxi: (Sighs and looks up at the ceiling again) "I'm sorry, I'm doing my best and-
Queen: "I know, don't worry about it. besides, If you ever act oblivious, you know I'll point it out from now on.
Liloxi: "Thanks...but I still feel like there's something you're not telling me.
Queen: "I-u-uh...(Looks completely embarrassed) w-well, can say the same thing to you! You've been blocking some of your thought and feelings for years now. I'm curious..."
Liloxi: "You've noticed for that long?"
Queen: Of course, I'm a Gardevoir after all. (Tries to look as noble as possible while saying it; Liloxi gives him an unamused look).
Liloxi: "Pleeease. That don't mean crap and you know i-"
(You clear your throat. Both of them look at you and laugh nervously.)
Heh, s-sorry about that. Now, where were we...
----------
The first 3 floors I was familiar with since I used them to gather supplies. When we reached the 4th, I noticed there were more rooms than before and the room also started to lose its bluish color. By the time we got to the 7th floor, it started to turn more into lavender. Also, It was definitely getting brighter...
"Well, we've made it this far and it's getting pretty bright in here," I said, looking around. "You would think it would get darker the further we go."
"That's because we're near the room where the artifact is located," She said as she made her way down through the halls and tunnels of the cave. "In fact, I think it may be on this floor."
"I thought you said that the artifact was on the 10th floor, not the 7th?"
"Yeah, it's on the 10th floor, but that floor doesn't play by the rules. There are times the 10th floor can show up in between floors, but if you happened to go through all 9 floors, the 10th one will always show up afterward.
"I wish I would've known that..." I said, stopping for a moment. Something came to mind.
"By the way, about the artifact...I think we should take it with us."
She stopped as well and narrowed her eyes. For some reason, unlike the other few times she looked at me, that time was very unsettling...
"And what makes you think I'll agree to that!"
"Think about it Gwen, this cave is completely blocked, there's no way of getting back in now, there's a weird pokemon looking for it. The only reason why I'm here in the first place is to take it back to the Guild where it's safe so no one would have to worry; It isn't for me.
Gwen's expression relaxed a bit, but it's hard to tell when you have two eyes glaring at you as if you're being hunted. Odd though, one of her eyes started shifting in color again when she did. I wanted to ask her about it, but...it wasn't a good time.
"Hmph, even I were to agree, there are a few problems with that," she said as she looked over at the next room. The entrance of the room had crystal formations similar to Crystal Crossing. I love that place...
"One: we don't have the key to get to the artifact properly without setting off any traps and Two: should I remind you that there's someone else in there guarding it?"
"Fair, but I can at least fix one of the problems," I said, as I took the key out of my bag and showed it to her. Immediately, she snatched the key and examined it. Her face completely shocked.
"What! H-How did you get this?!" She exclaimed, her voice was so loud that I'm pretty sure all of the Pokemon on the floor knew where we were...which was NOT a good thing.
"SHHH! not so loud! Are you trying to draw attention?!" I said in a hushed tone.
"We E-X-C-U-S-E me for not knowing this was a freakin' stealth mission! Where in the world did you get this key?!"
"It was a gift from the Mayor," I said, recalling back the conversation Wigglytuff, Chatot, and I had.
"Apparently the local gave it to him, but how they got it, I'm not sure..."
"That can't be possible. There's only one key. No local should have this key and the only Pokemon who probably would've had this is..." Her voice trailed off to a long silence, leaving me to just sit there, wait until she said something. After waiting a while, she finally looked up at me with a determined look in her eyes.
"We need to get that artifact and get out of here."
Hearing that made me so confused, I was even questioning if she actually said that or my ears were just playing tricks on me.
"Whoa wait, really?"
"Positive, and I think I know who gave your Mayor this key," She said, giving the key back to me. Quickly she headed towards the room.
"Even though you have the key, we still have that other problem to deal with..."
Suddenly she stopped in front of the large entrance, adorned with large, brightly-colored crystals that ranged from pink to lavender to even red. Through the entrance was a long, straight hallway with florescent crystal walls. They looked so smooth, it seemed as if someone just had polished them before we got there. The ceiling of the hallway was just as smooth and so was the floor but it had an interesting glow-effect to it, like a wave. A few times, I thought I heard humming coming from the other end...
"You knew the entrance was here, didn't you," I said, looking at her suspiciously.
"Yep, mainly because I heard the humming the moment we got down here, didn't you?" (Queen shook his head. "Nope, bet he didn't...H-HEY!"; Liloxi elbowed him.)
I looked at her with a slightly embarrassed look. "Not exactly, I was probably too busy looking around, but now I can definitely hear it now." (Queen: "Told you!"; Liloxi glares at him and Queens looked away, grinning)
"Well, what are those long ears good for?" she said, shaking her head.
"Anyways we need to hurry."
*~Cyra Cave Pit~*
At the other end of the hall, we came to a large room with huge red, pink, and lavender crystals arcing over the room. In the middle of the room were more giant red and pink crystals that seemed to have been less natural. With it, a throne was made, completely polished, doubling as a bed made perfect for any medium-size Pokemon.
Lying in it was a Pokemon that I was more than familiar with; a Sylveon, but like some Sylveons I knew, this one was also different. They were wearing a blood-red pendant around they're neck and their k-9s (or fangs in this case) were unusually large. In addition, all the blue fur that most Sylveons had was red, including their eyes, ears, feelers, ribbons, etc. their presence alone was unsettling, but I didn't know if it was an ability or the fact that they were giving us a creepy, yet playful smile as we entered.
The Sylveon continued humming despite being completely aware that we entered. It felt like she knew we were coming.
"Why, hello there Gwen, I was wondering when you would come and see me," The Sylveon giggled, their voice sounding as innocent as can be despite her serious and chilling tone. "Oh! It looks like you've brought someone with you. Is he your boyfriend? Always keeping secrets from me."
"Shut it, Kokoro," Gwen hissed. We just got there and her claws were already showing. I had a feeling she was already expecting a fight.
"He's not my boyfriend. I barely know him."
"Oh? Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't he the one who was taking care of you when you were laying there wounded at the entrance? Feeding you, bandaging you up~" She grinned, showing off her fangs. They were the size of a Golbat's fangs and glowing red. No move does that except for leech life so there was a chance she was either [Bug] or [Poison].
"How did you know about that?"
"I sent some of my lackeys out to see what all that noise was outside. Apparently, they said they found the entrance blocked with you and him resting nearby. So! I went to see for myself and behold! There you two were.
"Lackeys?" Gwen questioned. "There was no one else at the entrance."
"Hehehe, you never thought to look up, did you?" They said, pointing up to the ceiling. Hanging off some of the crystals were a group of Crobat. Figures. Even in dead silence, you can't hear them.
I had them tell keep an eye on you two from time to time," She said, standing up from her bed-like throne.
"To be honest, I'm surprised you're even around anyone, seeing how you like to be alone. You sure he's not your boyfriend~?"
"Alright, I've had enough of you," Gwen said, her claws began glowing a bright blue. She was going to strike, but before she could get the chance, I step in front of her.
"Hold it for a moment," I said, stopping Gwen then turning to the Sylveon. "Look, I don't exactly know who you are-"
"Queen Kokoro," She said, cutting in.
"Alright, fine, 'Queen' Kokoro. But I just met Gwen and I'm married. We only came here for the artifact."
----------
Liloxi: ...uh, wait...what's wrong? Why are you making that face?
Queen: I don't think they knew you were married.
Liloxi: Weird. I thought I mentioned that.
(You ask him what he means by "were" and asked if they are still together.)
(...As soon as you asked, there was a long silence. Liloxi looks down at the floor, then stares out the window; Queen looks at him and frowns)
Liloxi: No...and I rather not talk about it. Just...some stuff happened, she left, and now I'm alone.
Queen: You're not alone. You'll never be alone.
(Queen grabs his hand; Liloxi glance over then look at Queen. They both look at each other for a bit before Liloxi looks away and laughs.)
Liloxi: You're not going to let me forget, are you?
Queen: Never.
Liloxi: ...Heh, okay, okay, let's finish this part up.
----------
"Sorry, but I can't let you take the artifact. It's too important to be in the hands of just -any- Pokemon," she said as she walked from in front her throne, towards us. "Regardless, it's quite challenging to get without the Key."
"Well, lucky for us, we have the key," I said, taking the key out and showing it to her.
"The artifact is in danger and we're taking it with us for safekeeping."
Hear that, she laughed as if it was the funniest thing on the planet.
"Safekeeping? HA! You don't know who I am, do you?" She snarled, her fangs dripping a red liquid; an unappealing sign of Leech Life ready to be used at it's full.
"I'm the -Owner- of this Cave! Like I would just let anyone take the artifact away from this place. Better yet, I would like to see you two try!"
With nothing more to say, she charged at us, laughing menacingly as we were not prepared; or at least I wasn't. Gwen quickly shoved me out the way and ran at Kokoro head-on. She was most likely itching to slash her with her glowing claws, but running up at Kokoro was immediately a bad idea.
While running, Kokoro held up her ribbons over her face and clusters of light began forming on them. Unaware (or just didn't care), Gwen leaped into the air and attempted to slash Kokoro before suddenly getting blasted straight back at me by a burst of light coming from Kokoro's Ribbons.
We both hit the polished floor (which was a much more unpleasant landing than the snow) and tumbled before hitting the wall. The Dazzling Gleam was apparently strong enough that it even caused some of the crystals around us to explode, sending shards and smoke into the air. Trying to fan the smoke away as we got up, there was giggling, followed by a horribly uncomfortable kiss on my ear. The feeling was not like how you'd expect. It was like a cactus stabbing into my ear but sucking the life right out of me.
My knees began wobbling, becoming unsteady as I was unable to feel my body. It wasn't the first time I've been hit with that move, but the only difference was that whatever she did to me made me, it felt as if toxins were spreading throughout my body. Without thinking, I gave her a swift kick, knocking her off my ear. I wasn't going to let some Toxic or a Draining Kiss stop me from fighting.
Seeing this as a good opportunity, Gwen lunged at her and attempted to chomp her with an Ice Fang as she slid back, but Kokoro spun around as if she knew exactly what Gwen was about to do and slaps her with an Iron Tail. You would think that would hurt, but Gwen just growled and (finally) started dodging Kokoro's Leech Life; chomping at Gwen repeatedly as she attempted to latch on to her.
"You've gotten better, Gwen." She chuckled, Changing from her Leech life to trying to slash at Gwen's face. He dodges started to become close-calls as she continued to keep Kokoro at bay.
"But you'll never be as good as me with those feral moves. No style, no grace. That's why you're still stuck guarding the entrance, which you did poorly seeing that there's nothing left to guard, hehehe~!"
"When I'm done with you, I'll be sending you to hell MYSELF!" Quickly Gwen latched onto one of Kokoro's ribbons, freezing it and fortunately making her flinch. That left her completely open. Recovered from flinch, Kokoro saw the opening and attempted to Crunch Gwen's neck despite Gwen still being latched onto her ribbon. Unsuccessful, Kokoro's Ribbon turned into solid Ice.
The moment Gwen released her grip, I took the opportunity to shoot an Ice beam before my legs caved in on itself, hitting Kokoro before she could react; very fortunate. The attack sent Kokoro flying backward into one of the crystals on her throne, breaking it. I was surprised that despite getting a clean hitting her, it didn't seem to do as much damage as I had hoped. standing up, she turned and looked at the broken piece of her throne and huffs.
"Great, now my throne is missing a piece," She pouted.
"That's going to be the least of your worries," Gwen growled.
"Yet another empty threat. I thought you were the one who was going to send me to hell," She said in a playful, yet cold manner. Unnervingly, she then slammed her frozen ribbon onto the polished floor, shattering the ice on it. It was incredibly bold of her to even do something like that since she could have possibly shattered her ribbon along with it...Which means she had the ability Thick Fat.
Her eyes and ribbons starting glistening like the crystals in the cave. At first, I thought she was going for another Dazzling Gleam, but then two shadowy orbs formed in front of her, each one being held up by her front ribbons.
"Oh, you'll see..." Gwen mumbled, coldly. Her eyes and diamond-shaded ribbons too began glowing, similar to the time we were fighting at the entrance of the cave. A familiar shaped orb also appeared in front of her, a bit larger than the one she used on me. The orb produced a frost-like mist that started to cover the floor with ice.
Without hesitation, Gwen hurled her Shadow Ball at Kokoro pre-maturely, in an attempt to catch Kokoro off guard, but all it did was make her chuckle.
"You wanna play that game, huh? So be it."
Infusing the light from her ribbons into both orbs, causing it to glow a lovely lavender, Kokoro tossed one of the orbs at the Gwen's Shadow Ball; both colliding into each other with insane force. The collision and friction between both of the attacks made the entire room shake, scaring off Kokoro's henchmen. However, despite Kokoro's Shadow Ball being small in size, it started slowly began pushing Gwen's back.
"Gwen, I really enjoyed playing, but this is the end of the line for you!" Kokoro then tossing the other Shadow Ball towards the mix. In a panic, I picked myself up off the ground and quickly ran to Gwen, pushing her out the way right before the Shadow Ball collided with the first one. As soon as I did, the second Shadow Ball fused with the first and instantly tore through Gwen's shadow ball and through me, slamming me into the wall. Bewildered, Gwen ran to me.
"Y-You idiot! why did you do that?!" she said, checking to see how much damage it did. Visibly, I knew she wasn't going to find anything, but I could tell she saw in a lot of pain. Angrily, she barred her fangs at Kokoro.
"Huh, never expected that to happen," Kokoro said, making another Shadow Ball.
"But no matter, I'll finish you off with ease."
"Alright, that's enough," A voice said.
Before Kokoro could stop her self, she threw the Shadow Ball at Gwen, only to be swatted away by a Froslass as she appeared in front of Gwen.
"J-Jazz?!" Kokoro Said, completely stunned.
"How did you get here?!"
"Did you forget who owns this Island?" Jazz said, crossing her arms. "I know a lot more about this cave than you do."
Turning around, she hovers over to me with a concerned look "Lilo! goodness, are you alright?"
"Y-yes, I'm fine. You know this isn't the first time I took a hit like this."
"Just stubborn as ever, I see. But that one had me worried," she said, as she checked me,
"Still, It's so good to see you again!"
Unable to contain the happiness under her worried look, she hugged me tight, causing me to wince. For a ghost, she has always been quite strong.
"Ow! please, that hurts even more!" I said, cringing as the pain rippled through my body.
"Right, sorry!" She laughed, loosening her grip.
"I've been watching you and Gwen the moment you reached the Island."
"What? you mean you've been watching us the whole time, even after our fight in front of the cave? but...how?!" Gwen questioned, her confused expression was just about the same as Kokoro.
"Yes, well, I do wander around the Island from time to time, you should know this. It's especially hard to miss with all the explosions and the avalanche, really."
"It's...something Mum does on a daily basis," I said, looking back at her.
"Wait 'Mum'? Jazz, you know this Pokemon?" Kokoro asked, pointing at me.
"You do know that he was attempting to take the artifact."
"Well, of course I know who he is Kokoro. He's my son!" She said, smiling brightly."
"YOUR SON?! How! Just...how..." she said, trying to understand how that's possible.
"It's a long story, all you need to know is that raised him since he was a baby."
"So you basically adopted him?" She said, looking at me again.
"Something like that," Jazz chuckled, "but yes, I already know he's here for the artifact and I trust him with it more than anyone. So if you may, Kokoro, they have a mission to complete.
"Oh...Alright then, the door is over there." Kokoro sighed, pointing behind the throne.
Unable to move my legs, I handed Gwen the key, at which she went and opened the door. Inside was the artifact, a unique-shaped relic that was resting on a crystal stand. The artifact was the shape of a cube but had interesting patterns on it. It shimmered with all kinds of colors, which seems to literally flow right out of the cube. It was a pretty amazing artifact to look at.
Taking it, Gwen held it with care as if it was made of glass before suddenly shoving it to Kokoro, who was then holding it with her ribbons.
"Hold that would ya?" She said as she made her way over to me and proceed to lift me off the ground. Despite somehow managing to do it, her legs were shaking from the weight of holding me...or the fact that she wasn't used to standing on her hind legs
"Alright, can get him out of here now?"
"Of course, his badge should work now but before we leave, I ran into a couple of Pokemon here who can help," Jazz said, as she then makes her way over towards the entrance.
"Before I went back to the cave to look you two, I ran into some Pokemon that was wandering the Island. They told me they were looking for Lilo here and said they were sent to come to find him. You guys can come in now!"
On queue, three familiar Pokemon walked in. The Shy Squad
"Aura! Chikky! Mimi!" I said, smiling weakly. "What are you two doing here?"
"Pumpkin sent us to come look for you," Aura said, floating over to me in her bubble.
"We were all worried something might've happened to you since you've been gone for more than a week."
"A WEEK?!" I shouted, almost knocking both me and Gwen to the ground. "But I thought I was only gone for only 3 days!"
"Heh...More like 10," Chikky said meekly. "That's why we-"
"Are we going to sit here and chitchat or are we going to get him some help!?" Gwen interrupted. She was on the verge of dropping me.
"R-right! Sorry! L-let's get him back to the guild" Chikky said, scrambling over to me.
"Mind If I tag along?" Kokoro said, walking over to us.
"And why should we allow you to do that?" Gwen growled.
"It's alright Gwen, she can come," I said. "The more the merrier, especially since she has some connection to Mum here."
"Tck...Fine, but if she tries something, I'll end her on the spot." Gwen huffed.
"Oh Gwen, you know you enjoy my company." Kokoro teased, walking past her.
"besides~ I can tell you about the artifact, more than anyone."
"Better yet, you can kiss my a-"
"Alright, that's enough you two. lets' get out of here."
Taking out my badge, I held it up high, causing a beam of light to teleport us out of the dungeon.