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Well, nobody else got the reference, but then again, it was really just for Z. and Z. alone. That was fine. What was less fine was Es the Rotom deciding to make fun of them. “Oh my god, read a…” No, hold on. “Go watch a…” They paused and realized that they weren’t actually sure what the reference was, just that it was one they’d made. The gap in their memory extended to that too. That was even more frustrating than the original slight, honestly, even if Z. still had to respond to it all the same. “Just get some culture into that traffic cone of a head, why don’t you?” they said as they ascended into the void waiting for them higher up the stairs. Unlike the previous black-fogged thresholds Z. had crossed so far in their new life as a Zorua, this one actually took a while to get through. It didn’t feel like Z. was moving at all, or perhaps they were moving but not under their own power. Perhaps that ambiguity was part of the point. Z. didn’t take too much stock in any of that, though, instead they spent the time trying to parse some of the more “out there” moments in a past hour that had already been pretty “out there.” They were a Zorua now. Sure, that was, like, the first coherent thought they’d had as soon as they woke up but that didn’t mean it hadn’t taken this long to actually process what that meant. Now there was a whole bunch of stuff they had to figure out about themselves all over again. The illusion thing was one such example. They hadn’t even thought of that as a thing they could do until they’d actually gone and done it, probably because they hadn’t internalized it, and still really hadn’t. It stood to reason that they “knew” some moves too, would they be able to use those when the chips came down? Then again, their brain certainly hadn’t rejected any of those ideas either, unlike the time, say, that Cubone tried to imply Z. was something they weren’t, so it wasn’t all bad. Of course, if they allowed themselves to have some fucking empathy (as they once told Summer, a phrase they then followed with “you ignominious twat”), that probably meant everyone else was going through something similar. And yeah, they’d seen some of that too. Since they were thinking about abilities, all those intrusive thoughts they’d been getting were probably the Noibat’s fault. Z. figured they’d probably have to push her to figure those out as well. Plus whatever was going on with Es, plus the Clobbopus getting stuck to a pillar like he did (no matter how funny it was in the moment)... Hopefully, they all knew this too, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The void finally dissipated, and despite, you know, making it up the stairs first, Z. still found themselves surrounded by everyone else, faced with a new set of twisting passages, all alike. The group was slightly less alone than they were on the previous floor, though. Someone was trying to make contact with them, to encourage them onwards and upwards. This would have been all well and good, though the sing-song musical way the voice in their head phrased themselves grated a bit. “That better not be you, ears,” Z. said. Noibat had proven she could joke, but there was a stark difference between puns and snarks and whatever this was if it was indeed a joke. “You heard the voice,” Hector said, though Z. wasn’t sure how he figured that out without, you know, asking about it. He went on to say the same stuff the other ex-mod had, all stuff that was barely worth listening to the first time, though at least he ended with something interesting. “I’ll take point,” he said, as he walked off and immediately into a wall. “Okay, counterpoint,” Z. said once they’d composed themself after a few quick chuckles. “I hear you. I see you. But why doesn’t someone who has figured out how to move properly go first?” They pushed through the crowd just in time to make it to the exit to their right, and, unlike Hector, managed to stop themselves before they hit the wall that appeared in the way. At least, they did for a moment, before six Hectors ran into Z. from behind and forced them into it face first. “Fatherfucker,” was Z.’s immediate reaction, both to the obvious stimuli and the immediate realization of the consequences of their actions, though, muffled by unidentifiable stone, it came out more like “Ffffkuh.” When they popped back out, they had more. “Yeah, changed my mind. Gonna stay as far away as possible. Give me a shout if something stupid happens again, I guess, but otherwise, yeah. Or don’t. Whatever.” The way left seemed to stretch onwards, winding around the corner and out of sight, an opportunity Z. relished, even as the sounds of movement up ahead grew more and more pronounced and the strange voice’s warning about hostile Pokémon came back to the forefront of Z.’s thoughts.

It took Hector a few moments to recover from the most extreme roller coaster ride of his life. He had only just managed to suppress the urge to throw up and climb back onto his feet—with some help from Chester that he was very thankful for—before they were all on the move once again. “Just call me Hector. Feels weird to go by a username when we can see each other,” he told the Chespin. Then, he organized himself into what was becoming standard marching formation, a tight-knit straight line headed by the Brass. “Right. Better hurry before they all kill each other or something.” So far he really felt like one of the only level-headed people in a room full of extreme impulse and hot tempers. He waddled forward into the next room. Cross met him at some point and took hold of a spike on the trooper bringing up the rear of the line. Hector had no idea how old the boy actually was, but it was apparent that he had probably lied about his age to get onto the forums. “Look, stairs. Just like Z. said,” he said to the Cubone. “Bet whatever’s up there is a step up from what we saw down here. Get it?” The soft metallic sound of the troop laughing filled the staircase as Hector guided Cross up. The next room was more of the same. Smaller, with a pool in front of them, but still very much a ruinous area with dim lightning. Nothing that different from what he had come to expect. What was strange was that he had expected to have to hustle to catch up to the others. Z. and the Clobbopus had both made it known they weren’t going to wait up for anyone, yet when he glanced around, they were still studying the room the same as he was. The change of heart was nice to see. He was going to speak up and thank the two when his mind was once again filled with someone else’s voice. Hello? Are you there? Can you hear me? The voice was cheerful and young. It reminded Hector of… of someone. He thought they might be important to him. He wasn’t sure. If you can hear me, I should tell you, you're in a mystery dungeon right now! A mystery dungeon is a strange and dangerous place filled with Pokémon who won't hesitate to attack you! You could say it's a side effect of the dungeon's power. You might have trouble adapting, but with your numbers, I think you'll be fine. I'll try to give you tips from my end as well, so good luck! If you can reach the end, there'll be a prize...maybe. ♪ They were inside a mystery dungeon. Apparently said dungeon was full of angry monsters that would attack them without hesitation, which was frightening, but at least they apparently had a guide watching over them. Can you hear me? …Who are you? Where are you? Did you bring us here? Hector fired a verbal onslaught of questions at the voice in his head. There was no response; either the voice couldn’t hear him or it chose not to answer him. That was frustrating but the implication that there was someone out there trying to help them still gave him renewed hope. Finally, they had a clue. All that he needed to do was keep pressing forward. “You heard the voice. There’s Pokémon in here that are going to attack us. I don’t have a reason to think they would lie about something like that so I’m just gonna take their word for it.” Hector glanced around at the others. “I’m not your boss here. I’m just another one of you guys, but I still think it’s important we stick together. None of us are gonna be that good at fighting right now, but we have an idea of our strengths and weaknesses. We’ve all played the games, right?” Hector H (the Brass) knocked his shield against his armor to prove his point. “I have armor and shields. I should be able to tank a few hits, just in case we get caught off guard, so I’m gonna take point. Not fully in control of all these, uh, bodies yet, but I can stand in front of things while you guys take them down.” Hector shuffled toward the front and started towards the bottom of the room. As he did, some of the troopers glanced at Z. and the Clobbopus in particular, though they addressed everyone. “I trust you all to have my back.” Then they all fell back into formation and marched forward, the Brass having lowered his shields to guard his face with some difficulty. Hector immediately bumped into a wall and stumbled backwards. "Good news. No bad guys this way," he said, backing up and steadying his balance. "Watch out for the wall though." Then he turned right and headed into the tunnel.