"Sis, s-should we stop doing this?"
"Why? If you want to rest, just say so. I can finish the rest myself."
Inside Team Omnipotent Traveler's base, Riolu and Mawile are digging through the walls for expansion. It had been about a week since the two joined the team.
With everyone's effort, the team base had expanded to accommodate enough space for two more rooms: the sleeping quarters and the assembly hall/living room. And right now, they are on their way to digging for the dining room.
"It's not that. I mean, do you think we should stop our revenge and get back to Gramps and the others?"
Riolu asked as he scraped the walls with his hands. According to Dante, they couldn't take off or dig through all at once as it could cause the wall to collapse. Every 5 meters, they had to set up a long, rectangular metallic construct to keep the foundation stable.
"Revenge? What are yo- Ahem! I mean…why should we stop now? They've already begun to trust us. Just follow my plan little Riolu, we'll have our revenge in no time!"
Mawile laughed a little awkwardly while staring at Riolu. She almost forgot the excuse she gave to fool her stupid brother into helping her escape.
"But sis, don't you think we're being too much? You said you plan to charm the leader and then lead him into a trap. I mean, I think it's bad that they knocked us out before, b-but, I don't think they deserve what we're going to do."
Riolu's face scrunched and his hands subconsciously exerted more force than necessary. A large piece of earth was dug away from the wall, causing the little blue canine to come to his senses.
"Hey! Careful! It'll be your fault if Dan got disappointed in us!"
Mawile hurriedly came to Riolu's side. She looked at the wall before sighing in relief when she found it wasn't destabilized. They just needed to dig around the sides to flatten it.
She turned to Riolu, who had his ears flopped against his head, and felt a headache.
When she had been convincing him about the plan, she said things like: boiling Dante and others in scalding water, tricking them into eating blast seeds, poisoning them, etc. all to incite him into cooperating with her. But now, it seems no longer necessary.
"…little Riolu, I will be honest with you. I have no plans on going back to that dungeon. I like it here. Outside."
Riolu stared at his elder sister, his eyebrows furrowed.
"But, you said we'd return home together after taking revenge?"
"I mean, it's not like I'll 'never' never return. I'll still visit Gramps and the others from time to time, but I want to stay here. With the team."
Riolu tilted his head, processing what his sister meant by her words. Then, his eyes widened.
"You, you, youuu..!!!"
"What about me?"
"You tricked me! Again! You didn't want to have revenge on them from the beginning. You wanted to join them!"
Riolu's face turned purple as he stared at his evil sister. He knew something was fishy when she told him not to tell Gramps and the others about their plan!
"Hoho, that's right. I don't want to stay in that boring dungeon all day. Look! Every day, we get to explore new places here. We even saw one of the Legendary Pokemon in Gramp's story!"
Riolu gazed at the earnest look on his sister's face. Ever since they were little, he knew just how much she yearned for the outside. Back then, he prevented her from achieving it, scared because of the stories Gramps told them about the outside Pokemon.
However, thinking about their journey to reach Treasure Town and the honest Pokemon they met, as well as their adventures with Dante, Pikachu, Azumarill, and Ursaring, Riolu began to waver. Is forcing her to stay home really for her own good?
"Little Riolu, I know you dislike the outside world. If you really don't want to stay with me, then we can tell Dan. I'm sure he'd understand and even escort you back home."
Mawile's words interrupted Riolu from his contemplation. He hesitated. To be honest, after getting used to the outside, he found that it was not much different from the dungeon. There were even things he only got to experience here.
If sis wants to stay, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to accompany her?
Riolu had just opened his mouth when he stopped. Looking at his sister, a question popped up in his mind. If she didn't want to exact revenge in the first place, then why is she acting so close to Dante?
"Sis, tell me honestly. What are your intentions with the leader?"
Riolu narrowed his eyes, watching his sister's reaction very closely. However, it seems Mawile had no intention of hiding it from her brother. She blushed as she held her cheeks, squirming in place and saying.
"Of course, I want to bear an egg with Dan."
"Huh? Who wants to bear whom?"
Mawile's breath was caught in her throat. Her head stiffly turned, and she saw Dante, Pikachu, Azumarill, and Ursaring standing at the base's entrance.
"D-D-D-Dan! What a coincidence!"
"Coincidence? Meeting at our base?"
Dante walked over, a complicated expression on his face. They had just finished giving the eggs to Chansey, and he was still having mixed emotions learning the eggs he chose had twins. And right after, he arrived just in time to hear Mawile's confession.
He looked at the blushing cream-colored Pokemon. Thinking of their previous interactions, Dante had the urge to facepalm.
In hindsight, it was all so obvious. The hugs, her tackles, the way she latches onto his every word. Because of his mentality, Dante never even considered the fact that she was romantically interested in him.
And now he was suddenly faced with this situation, and by a team member no less. He needs time. Time to think about how to reject her without causing any drama.
Fortunately, a suitable excuse was right in front of him.
"What happened to the wall? Didn't I say we need to dig only a little at a time?"
Dante frowned, bypassing the two newcomers and arriving in front of the hole to inspect it.
"That's Riolu's fault! Don't worry about it Dan, we'll fix it in no time."
Mawile followed and stood beside Dante, her hand patting her chest in guarantee. Meanwhile; her huge jaw clamped Riolu as she dragged him to work with her.
"Alright, come enter the sleeping quarters after you two are done. There's something we need to talk about."
"Sure~ we'll definitely follow!"
Dante nodded expressionlessly and entered the room with Pikachu and the others.
"Pfft. Hahahaha!"
As soon as they closed the door, Pikachu rolled around the floor, banging his fist and laughing hysterically. Azumarill was also chuckling at the side.
"Is there something funny?"
Ursaring scratched his head, looking confusedly at his two big brothers.
"It's nothing. Just your two big brothers getting jealous that girls like me more than them."
"Haha, sorry, Dan. It's just, hahaha!"
Pikachu was trying to catch his breath to say something, but the words kept being interrupted by his laugh.
"What are you gonna do, Dan? Tell her you already have a girlfriend?"
Azumarill was able to maintain his composure more than Pikachu. He stared at Dante with a curious look in his eyes, wondering how he would resolve Mawile's unintentional confession.
"That's what I want to think about. Let me be for a few minutes."
Dante ignored the three and walked to a corner of the room to contemplate.
From their previous interactions, he knew Riolu was just getting dragged along according to Mawile's whims. This means that he most likely joined because of his sister's persuasion. This also means that if Mawile left, he would definitely follow her.
"Ugh."
Dante banged his head against the wall. Sighing for the nth time.
Is this what Chatot meant? About team dynamics becoming chaotic due to the addition of team members?
Remembering the colorful bird's words when he applied for Azumarill to join, Dante really wished he could go and consult him right now. But he knew that was a bad decision. After all, he would then have to explain to him why he can't accept Mawile and that would require divulging his human identity.
Dante stopped banging his head against the wall. It was time. Even through Pikachu's chatter, he could hear the footsteps of Riolu and Mawile outside the room.
It seems there are only two choices. It's either he continues to hide the truth, or tell them. And Dante knew he couldn't keep the truth forever if he wanted to use them in the human world.
During the more than a week they'd been together, he believed enough trust had formed between himself and the two newcomers.
So to reject Mawile without causing dissatisfaction, Dante decided to show them his identity. Hopefully, that will be enough to discourage the chompy Pokemon.
A/N: Holy Week is finally over! I just got home from the province today. Hopefully, that means returning to the regular update schedule time.