Chapter 2: Team

Not long after her precious stone was taken from her, Belle and Darkness went in the beach cave to retrieve the stone from Skitty and Meowth. After witnessing the scene between them and Belle, Darkness couldn't help but feel something build up inside him. It was a feeling similar to integrity and being horny, but it was not entirely so. For all he knew, he never had to use the word 'justice' to resolve cases like these. He knew that using such word was rather noble, and he was not the type of guy to do so.

Inside, he knew that he had to help this busty Riolu in front of him, walking towards the inner areas of the cave. But he never knew why he had to. Would it bring him something more than he wanted? Does he expect a reward? Would it bring him contentment? Or is it just the feeling of kindness?

He smiled softly, remembering this trait he had. He is a very kind and helpful Darkrai. Kindness; a trait that grew inside of him, a pillar that stands strong, a feeling that never wavers. Maybe that's what driven him to help her.

In front of him walk Belle. Seeing how determined to retrieve her stolen treasure, he knew that those words she spoke outside the cave were just excuses not to be brave. When she's with him, these words have no meaning.

The cave was rather dark. Although there is little light that illuminates the inside, it was still hard to look around. Droplets of water echoes the inside, shattering the silence. It was not the only sound that breaks that barrier.

"Darkness?" Belle said. It was rather loud, not to mention in a cave invaded by complete silence. Belle looked at them with an apologizing look.

"What is it?" Darkness said, curious as to what she is about to say.

"You don't remember what happened to you back there on the beach, or even your name, but can you remember something from your past, like, where do you live, or something?" Belle asked. It was an odd question to begin with, but it didn't stop her curiosity to find out.

Darkness thought for a second or two, and seeing that remembering stuff from his past was too hard due to his amnesia, he didn't properly answer her question.

"I don't remember either..." Darkness said with a saddened tone. "But I do get fragments."He added.

"Fragments of what?" Belle asked once more.

"Fragments of... my home... my friends... But I can't remember each one of them." He answered.

After hearing his sad tone, she stopped asking. "... If it makes you uncomfortable, I'll stop asking..."

"N-no, that's fine." Darkness insisted. "To be honest, I would like to know it myself".

"But I can ask you the same question." Darkness said, to which Belle expressed a sad look. She had tried her best to erase her past in her mind yet this certain event she had experienced in the past was getting in her way. She knows everything about her past, but she would rather keep it to herself than to spread her word. Because, for all she knew, it would bring herself to danger.

"I'd... rather not talk about that... I'm sorry, Darkness." Belle said with a saddened tone as well. Hearing this, Darkness knew that it was a tragic past. He held back his curiosity to let her comfort in.

"That's fine." Darkness said softly.

Belle looked behind her and at Darkness. "Darkness, thank you." Belle said.

"For what?" Darkness asked in slight confusion, raising his left eyebrow.

"For coming with me. If you weren't here right now, I don't know how to cope with this situation I have." Belle said with sincerity.

Darkness had been thanked like this many times before, but this was one of those times when he felt great appreciation.

"No problem. I'm always here to help those in ne- Lookout!" Darkness shouted after seeing a surge of water heading towards them at their right. Darkness rushed towards Belle and ducked himself and her from the sudden attack.

After the waters have stopped, Darkness and Belle stood up,eyeing their front to see the source of the attack, only to see complete darkness.

"It's a Water Gun. And we can't argue that it came from a Water-Type Pokemon! This cave is a habitat of most Water Pokemon here!" Belle said.

Their sense of sight has adjusted, and they can barely see their surrounding area. After a moment, they realized that they are in a very large area of the cave, and they can hear a number of sounds surrounding them. Their sight was limited due to the little light illuminating the surrounding area.

Darkness decided to use flash. Light enveloped the area, and they saw a number of Water-Type Pokemon; Krabby, Shellder, Staryu, Corphish, Shellos, Panpour, and Clauncher. And they don't look very happy. Belle readied herself for the battle. Unfortunately, that would have to wait,as the Water Pokemon started rushing towards them to attack.

"Let's run!" Darkness shouted as he steps back.

"W-why?" Belle asked in dismay. She immediately had an ironic thought. Darkness gave her courage to fight, yet that person was a coward himself. But that thought didn't stay long as Darkness answer her question.

"It's like you said! This place is a habitat to Water-Type Pokemon. I don't want to fight innocent Pokemon who are only protecting this place!" This made Belle realized that he was truly a kind person. She can see it in his eyes and hear it in his tone that he is one. Never again would she think otherwise.

"Right! Let's go!" Belle said. Darkness and Belle began running from the raged Water Pokemon.

Echoes of heavy breathing can be heard from afar. The source of these sounds comes from Darkness and Belle running from the Water Pokemon. Little by little, the number of Pokemon chasing them decreases, as they think that they are too fast to catch up.

Once near enough, one of the Pokemon up front attacked with a powerful Water Gun towards Darkness and Belle. Ash knew that they would have to fight sometime soon.

Belle leaped up and shot a sphere made of positive aura towards the attack, canceling it out. A group of Shellder behind them fired a series of Water Pulses towards Darkness.

Hearing the sounds of circular water heading straight towards them, Darkness then uses dark pulse and due to the impact, the succeeding Water Pulses went out of track

The circular waters hit the walls and the ceilings, making them crumble as if they were unstable. Darkness and Belle stopped on their tracks as well as the Water Pokemon who were chasing after them, wondering what was going on at the moment. Moments later, the crumbling turned into a small earthquake, and boulders above started falling from the ceiling, blocking the path between the Darkness and Belle, and the Water Pokemon.

A moment of air was the time, and gasps for air can be heard from the two individuals. "Whew! That was a close one!" Darkness said, wiping sweat on his forehead from exhaustion.

"Yeah. But don't you think the boulders have..." Belle said, looking at the fallen boulder with guilty eyes.

"I just hope it didn't." Darkness said uncertainly.

Just then, Belle noticed another pathway to the left of them. She thought that they may have unnoticed this pathway while they were walking. The little light that was shrouding the area told her that.

"Hey, I didn't know there was a pathway here. Let's go here." Belle suggested.

They walked the dark pathway. After minutes of walking, they found a stairway down towards the pit of the cave.

"Do you think they're down there?" Darkness said.

"Well, if they know I'm going after them, they should be down there." Belle answered, and with Darkness, they walked down the stairs.

After minutes of trekking the dark pathways and floors, they have reached the pit of the cave. They are in a room filled with large boulders, a small platform filled with sand on the center of the room, and bright light illuminating from the crystal on the other end of the room. They also noticed the two ghastly cats on the other end of the sand platform with their backs against them. Maybe they are talking about the stone they just stolen.

Darkness and Belle neared the two, and as Belle took one step nearer, she said "Umm... Hey!", alerting the two individuals.

The two then faced them with annoyed looks to see who was disturbing them, but soon turned into a mocking expression, seeing as they were chased down by who they call a 'chicken'.

"Well, well. If it isn't our old friend; the big chicken." Meowth said belittling, making Belle step back a little from fear.

"Urk!" Belle grunted. But after a moment, her courage came back in an instant. She knew that Darkness was with her. That alone was enough to make her brave. She steps forward, and said, "Give me... Give me back what you stole from me!" She shouted, surprising the thieves.

"That's my personal treasure! It means everything to me!" Belle said. Darkness looked on the scene with eyes that seemed to admire Belle's courage.

"Treasure, you say?" Skitty said with an evil tone. "So this thing really is valuable, huh?" Skitty added, looking at the stone Meowth was holding.

"It could be worth more than we'd hoped for, I'd say." Meowth said. "We ought to try selling it. Who knows? It might get a good price! Hahaha! All the more reason not to give it back!" Meowth added.

"You can't!" Belle said in surprise. Surely, taking away her stone was enough, but selling it for a high price? That is just wicked.

"Hey, give that stone back to Belle!" Darkness joined the scene, stepping forward.

"Hmph! If you want to back that badly... Come and get it!" Skitty said.

Darkness said. "Belle, you ready?" Darkness said to his partner.

"Of course I am!" Belle said.

"Oh! That's brave, for a chicken like you!" Skitty said mockingly.

"Urk!" Belle once again grunted from the disparaging comment. She felt a hand over her shoulders, and saw Darkness from behind. Reading his expression, she knew that it was reassurance, and told her to not be afraid because she was a person of a courageous heart. And Darkness was the only person who saw it in her.

"Let's beat them and get your stone back!" Darkness declared with a fearless expression.

"Right!" Belle responded, her frightfulness turned into fiery determination.

Seeing that they are against normal-Type Pokemon, Darkness was a little cautious as to the situation at hand.

Darkness and Belle, and Skitty and Meowth took in the tension of the atmosphere. The battle begins, and Darkness made the first move using dark pulse on skitty and knocking her out then Belle used aura sphere to take out meowth.

"We... We did it! We did it, Darkness! We beat them!" Belle said with great relief and hugged Darkness. Both Darkness and Belle are staring at their opponent with their eyes that seek the stone. Skitty and Meowth can't do anything but to admit defeat.

"Ugh... We got roughed up..." Skitty mumbled in anger.

"Blast it! How'd we get beaten by wimps like them?" Meowth said in disappointment. This was the first time he had tasted defeat delivered by Belle and Darkness. And to think that he was defeated by a coward like her! It was unforgivable!

Having no other option, they have no choice but to give back the stone.

"Bah! Here! Take it, then!" Skitty said, tossing the stone over to Belle. Belle caught her precious stone.

"My... My stone!" Belle said, looking at her precious treasure. For her, it had been too long for the stone to be away from her. She felt relieved that the stone wasn't damaged or cracked.

"Whoa-ho! Don't think you're so awesome! Your victory was a fluke!" Meowth said with a hint of anger in his voice.

"You just remember that, wimp!" Skitty said. After a one-sided exchange of words, both Skitty and Meowth ran towards the exit. Darkness and Belle stared at them for a moment. They had the feeling they would encounter them again in the near future.

Belle looked back at her precious stone. "My relic fragment... Thank goodness... I actually managed to get it back." Belle said.

"This happened only because of you, Darkness. Thank you so much!" Belle said with a smile.

Darkness scratched the back of his neck as if he was nervous of being thanked.

"No problem!" Darkness said with a thumbs-up.

"Well, now that we have my stone, let's get out of here." Belle suggested, and they went towards the exit of the cave.

As they reached the exit of the cave, they saw that the sun had fully set, and a single ray of sunlight can be seen far away into the vast ocean, shining its light one last time. It was minutes before night time. They stand at the soft sands of the Treasure Town beach as they looked on the beautiful moonlight as it shines its light down to the ocean below. Stars are more than enough to display a beautiful night.

"Darkness. I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me today." Belle said softly with her hand on his shoulder.

"If I can comment on what happened today, it was your courage that got your stone back. I did only half the job." Darkness said, scratching the back of his neck.

"But even so, you gave me the courage to fight. That too was part of your doing. So, thank you..." Belle said, looking at Darkness on her right with genuine eyes.

Belle took her stone out of her pocket and showed it to Darkness.

"Here's what they stole." Belle said, catching the attention of Darkness.

"It's a stone of some sort, but what is it exactly?" Darkness asked.

"This is a Relic Fragment... Well, at least, that's what I started calling it."

"But this Relic Fragment... It's my precious treasure."

"You see, I've always liked legends and lore. I always get so excited when I hear tales from the past!" Belle said while looking at her precious stone.

"Don't you feel the same way?" She said, looking at Darkness.

"Hidden troves full of treasure and strange relics, uncharted territories veiled in darkness, and new lands just waiting to be discovered!" She said, looking onto the vast ocean with eyes filled with excitement. Darkness could imagine the things she had spoken. That moment, he had felt something very familiar. Although he can't remember his reason why he was traveling that time, it was exactly the same feeling as he was getting right now. Treasures filled with gold and diamonds, unseen temples hiding its precious mysteries. It excites him just thinking about it.

"Such places must be full of gold and treasure!" Belle said.

"And history! Wouldn't be dramatic to make historic discoveries?" She added.

"That's what I always dreamed of. It always excites me." She said, her gaze back to Darkness.

"And it just so happened... that I found this Relic Fragment."

"Sure, it does look like junk, but take a closer look." Belle said, inviting Darkness to come closer to look at her stone.

The stone has an odd pattern engrave on it.

"Look there. See that strange pattern inscribed on it?"

"I've never seen a pattern like this. Do you think it has some meaning behind it? Darkness said.

"That's what I thought, and there must be some." Belle answered

"This Relic Fragment must be the key to legendary places! To areas where precious treasure lies!" Belle said with her eyes glassy once more.

"At least that's the feeling I get." She said, and brought back her stone into her pocket.

"That's why I want to join an exploration team. This fragment must fit into something... somewhere! I want to discover where that is."

"I want to solve the mystery of my Relic Fragment!" She declared.

"So earlier, I tried joining an exploration team as an apprentice... but I was too cowardly..." Belle said with a saddened tone.

"But what about you, Darkness? What are you going to do now?" Belle asked.

"You lost your memory, and somehow ended up where you don't know. Do you have any place where you can stay?" she asked.

"Uhh..." Darkness mumbled. Thinking that this place was knew to him, the places he knew before was far from what he sees in his surroundings. That alone tells him that he doesn't know where to go from here.

"If not, can I ask a big favor?" She asked.

"What is it?" Darkness asked.

"Would you form an exploration team with me? I think we could make a good exploration team together, Darkness." She said.

"So, will you do that with me? Please ? We will sleep in the same room" she asked with pleading eyes.

"Well, I..." Darkness mumbled, thinking on whether he should form a team with her or not. It was kind of out of the blue for him as Belle suddenly persuades him to join her. He felt something fishy from hearing her tone of her voice.

"Are you?..." Darkness said.

"Huh? Am I what?" Belle asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Are you trying to talk me into it?" Darkness said with eyes staring deep into her soul for answers. It was a rather comical move from Darkness. He had not been like this since whenever he had done this last time.

"W-what?! Talk you into it?! That thought never crossed my mind!" She said frantically, waving her hands side to side.

"Well, I'm a complete coward, honestly..." She said with a saddened tone once more.

"I mean, yes, I thought I could depend on you, Darkness..."

"But during that battle with those two earlier, having you there with me, I felt really brave. I think I could do anything as long as you're helping me, Darkness." Belle said sincerely, and felt her cheeks burn slightly.

"So come on, I'm begging you. Let's for an exploration team, you and me." Belle asked once more.

"It's true, that I have nowhere to go..." Darkness thought with her hand below his chin.

"I don't have any clue what I should do next either. I guess it wouldn't hurt to team up with Belle for now. Maybe I'll eventually discover who I am by hanging out with her. Ok! That's settled!" Darkness thought.

"Ok, I'll for an exploration team with you." Darkness said.

"Oh, really? You'll really form an exploration team with me?" Belle said, to which the Darkrai nodded in the affirmative.

"Yay! Thank you!" Belle said.

"We're going to be a great combination! Let's make this work!" She said.

"But first, we need to go to Guild Master's place and sign up as apprentices. That's where we can get the training to become proper exploration team." Belle said pointing at a building on top of the hill where she was lately.

"I think the training will be very tough, so let's give it our best shot!" She said. Darkness and Belle both threw their fist in the air, signifying a new team ready to be born in a world full of mysteries.

And so, Darkness and Belle formed an exploration team. This turned out to be their very first step into, many fantastic realms of adventures that awaited their arrival!

Granted with a gift of chance, Belle was finally able to form an exploration team, not to mention with a person she barely knew herself. She had achieved her longed goal; to explore places yet to be walked, discover many new things, and make history last more than a life-time.

As Darkness had thought recently, hanging out with Belle may be his calling right now. It was true that he doesn't know where to go at that point, or even call someone he knew. It was that point on that Darkness had broken his forgotten vow, a vow he secretly created from his anger towards a certain individual. He may not know it, but he will, in the right place and at the right time. But right now, the only thing he has to focus is learn how life is played in this world he had forgotten.