Maybe The Real Treasure Is The Friends We Made Along The Way

First topic message reminder :

Truth be told, Darcy hated sand, and it was rare for her to say she hated anything. The way the small grains of sand seemed to sneak into her fur and in between her toes, causing her whole paw - No, her whole leg, really, to feel scratchy and itchy and strange. Not to mention the fact that sometimes she sunk into the sand. And it was hot, and her paws always felt like they were burning. Maybe they were. Should she get them checked out once she was back in town? Probably. The Skitty sighed, her ears twitching as she found herself wishing she was a fire-type for the millionth time that day.  

Panting, the kitten Pokemon clambered up to the top of the dune she currently found herself situated on. Squinting, she could make out green in the distance. Green! She had... Frankly, no clue where she was at this point. She'd lost her map hours ago, shortly after entering the desert. Some feral sandshrew had found it fit to attack her, and while it hadn't presented much of a physical threat, it did find a way to run off with her map.

At the very least, her bottles of water were intact. Things could've been much worse then they were. That was the bright side of everything, huh?

"But none of that matters now!" Darcy cried out into the searing hot desert. She began to trot down, picking up speed the more she ran, more than eager to get out of the searing hot, grainy sand, away from the burning sensation that plagued her paws, away from everything about the desert, and to finally spend some time in the grass again. And water! There had to be water, right? Fresh water!

Of course, in her haste to get to to the oasis, Darcy forgot just how finicky sand could be. Her front legs slid out from under her as a wave of loose sand gave out from under her feet. Suddenly, Darcy found herself rolling, tumbling down the sand dune, her cries of surprise (And more than a bit of pain. Why was it so hot?) swallowed by the sand. She was swallowing sand. It had gotten into her mouth.

This was not a happy moment.

Darcy spat out the sound, her eyes shut tightly to prevent any of the heated grains from entering her eyes. Finally, she found herself able to speak again. She was rolling a lot, wasn't she? "SANDVALANCHE!" She found herself crying out, the phrase being the only word of warning she could think of in her head. There were other words. But for some reason, she found herself doubting that Owowowowhothothothelpmeplease would make suitable words of warning to anyone below her.

Finally, she came to a stop. It'd be alright if she took a second by herself, right? At least she was at the bottom of the dune now. Closer to the oasis. Even if she did feel like her whole body was on fire.

Arceus, Darcy hated sand.

Darcy followed behind Phosphor, trotting along with all the grace of a newborn. She stepped on tails, bumped into bodies, and tripped over her own four paws every few seconds. Nonetheless, she offered loud apologies as she went, and that meant it was quite alright, didn't it? The Skitty tuned out any sounds of the Ralts' or Lilligant's conversation, instead closing her eyes as she basked in the moment. To think, she was graduating soon! She hadn't had the best grades, but as her parents had always told her, what mattered was that she'd done her best. And she'd even got some spending money for her efforts!

"Ehehehe..." The Skitty giggled to herself, turning to count the coin in her bag. She'd have to thank Mum later... But for now, it was spending time! "Heya, Vixen, ya think they got any of 'em big 'ol plush toys the arts and crafts class were making a couple months ago? I can getcha one, if ya'd like?!" She asked, bounding up and down with a severe excess of energy.  A plush to take home would be great! One for each of her siblings! But - Wait, did she have enough money for all of them?

Her train of thought was interrupted by a large, imposing Haunter. He loomed over her, as well as the other three, but in particular, Phosphor. Well, that was just mean. He was the shortest one here! ...She supposed the school was stepping up security, huh? Everyone knew there was only one set of master keys, and for some reason, they hadn't seen fit to give the teachers their own pair. So the graduating class had locked every classroom door at last year's ball. And then they'd stolen the master key, and tossed it into a nearby river.

She hadn't been a part of it. But, to be fair, it had been hilarious. So she supposed it was only natural the principal wanted to kill any fun this time around.

...Vixen had mentioned treasure. Was that code for this year's senior prank...? It had to be! She couldn't... remember her role, really, but getting this guy off of the other's back was the best she could do, right? This security guard was lame. Was he picking on Phosphor just cause he was the shortest? Rude, too.

"OHARCEUSITSTANNERFROMHOMEROOM!!!!" Darcy cried out, with no prior warning or anticipation, pointing a paw at an unfortunate Ralts behind the Haunter. The fear was tangible in her voice, and not fake in the slightest. The Ampharos had been terrifying in Gym class. A nice guy! But once she'd been matched up with him in a mock sparring match, and she'd lasted all of eight seconds...  

Many onlookers in the crowd turned to look at both her, and the poor Ralts. She even seemed a tiny bit younger than Darcy, and incredibly, incredibly confused, timidly explaining her name was Estelle, actually, but that wasn't what mattered. (Sorry, Estelle.)

What mattered was that it had worked! In surprise, or perhaps fear? (Tanner could totally kick this guys' butt.) The Haunter turned to look at whoever she was pointing at. And then she took her chance! She ran past him, and the Cherubi (She hadn't even noticed it. Good thing it'd been distracted too.) stumbling forward as fast as her legs could take her, weaving into the crowd, stepping on tails and bumping into bodies all along the way.

"Catch me if you caaaaaaaaaaAAAAN!!" She cried out, the child-like joy palpable in her voice. She was almost always the perfect child, so what was the harm in letting just a tiny bit of chaos out? She was gone from this school in a couple weeks anyways!

"Plush toys, hmm...?" She had been told they didn't suit her status, but... she was her own pokemon now, wasn't she? Yes! She could have plushies if she so pleased! Vixen twirled with a faint laugh. "Yes, Darcy, that sounds delightful." What a thoughtful date she had picked for herself! The treasure hunter was smiling ear to ear, a melodic laugh escaping her. Why had she been worried in the first place?

Ah. That was right. The guards. And the king.

Phosphor would argue that to say it "worked" was very generous. More generous than he was capable of being. He could only watch in slack-jawed horror as the dance floor turned into complete and utter chaos, the shocked Haunter floating after the Skitty as quickly as he was able. The feline could quite easily outpace him, however, leaving a rather frustrated looking guard nearby.

Okay. Nope. He couldn't do this. "I'm not with her." Phosphor protested, pointing at the Skitty. This was, apparently, enough to get the Cherubi guard off his back. She, too, hopped after Darcy, shouting for the Skitty to come back.

"Thank you, Feline... your sacrifice will not be in vain." Vixen vowed, a hand over her heart. Now! While the guards were distracted, it was time to seize the treasure! If she remembered correctly, it should be.. right over... here!

Right where the Pyroar's paw was.

Oh dear.

Her joy fled from her all too quickly, a familiar demon staring her dead in the eyes. "WHAT is the meaning of this?!" He roared, all eyes drifting to the bejeweled Pyroar, decked in tacky gold and silver jewelry, complete with a crown upon his head. Vixen fell silent. Dead silent. "Enough of this disturbance! Two thousand poke on each of their heads!"

Hungry-eyed guards and guests alike began to turn to them as the ballroom erupted into what Phosphor could only describe as unfiltered chaos. He'd just wanted some answers! How had this happened? And somehow it wasn't even Vixen's fault! Zacian save him. Maybe literally, this time.

"Ah... my dear comrades, it seems it's time to run!"


Phosphor's Energy: 19
(20 - 1 from burn = 19)
(4/5 pages of burn left.)

Venusian carried out 5 launched of one Paradox Woods :

, , , ,

Venusian carried out 5 launched of one Echo World :

, , , ,

As Darcy dashed and flit between the clusters of bodies, tails, and garments, she found herself wondering what, exactly, had possessed her to pull such a stunt. Arceus, she'd have a lot of explaining to do to Ma and Pa when she got home. How would she even start? The spirit of... Something. Had possessed her. Mischief? Fun? Boredom?

In the midst of her thoughts, the first sign that something was amiss came in the form of a harsh, furious voice that was distinctly not the Principal's. For one, it sounded completely different. Second, 'Two thousand Poke on each of their heads' did not sound like school board approved disciplinary action.

Suddenly, the Skitty became distinctly aware that she had ditched the only people she knew in this whole place. Hungry eyes turned to her, as she realized that she had surrounded herself. Why had she stopped? "E-Erm... I'll... I-It was... just a prank...?" She suggested, before someone struck her over the head with... something. Was that a stick? She was too pained to be insulted. The kitten pokemon fell flat on the ground, groaning, as she felt someone drag her away by her tail. Didn't they know that hurt? Still, it's not like there was much she could actually do about it.

She struggled, but ultimately failed, to maintain consciousness. Her last thought, before completely blacking out, was that she probably wasn't going to go to detention.