The wind whipped through the jagged ridge like an open wound. Snow drifted down in slow spirals, carried by the thin air of the mountainside. Ahead, the black outline of the Cradle's rim rose into view—a crescent of cut stone and ancient ice, towering above the frozen horizon. Beyond it, faint motes of light shimmered in the clouds: Minior drifting lazily over the peaks, their shells glowing soft yellow to keep the darkness at bay.
Sleet slowed, nostrils flaring as his breath steamed into the cold. "Smell that?" he rumbled, voice muffled through the fur on his muzzle. "Hot stone from the vents." His tail wagged once before lowering again. "The storm hasn't reached us here yet either. That's... good news."
Behind him, the sled creaked as it cut through the powder. Yamri lay wrapped beneath a thick blanket, still unconscious, while Zeek trudged in the rear, dragging his paws along the slick trail. The Floatzel's fur bristled with frost despite his natural insulation. "Good news?" he muttered, forcing a grin. "I can't feel my tails anymore, Sleet. My tails. At this point, I think I'd rather the storm get it over with."
Raiya, perched on Sleet's back, gave a sharp snort. "Quit your whining. You can thaw it out when we get inside."
"Ha. You're assuming I'll still have it when we get there," he fired back, smirking just enough to hide the stiffness in his movements.
Rastor trudged up beside the sled, mane dusted with snow, eyes half-lidded and weary. "We've been out for too long," he murmured. "Feels like months."
"Almost was," Sleet said, his tone softening. "You'll get to nap soon enough."
"Good," Rastor yawned, "because I'm not dragging anyone else's half-frozen body through another blizzard."
Sleet barked out a short laugh, the sound echoing faintly through the narrow pass. The mood lightened just a little—there was a veil of relief spurred from being so close to their home again.
"Actually, I can't help thinking about it, but..." Sleet shook his head like a dog. "Do you guys remember that overwhelming weight in that dungeon?"
Raiya kicks her legs, "That oppressive feeling?"
The crew all nod in unison. "Tod once told me about a time when he battled against a pokemon whose very existence seemed to sap the strength from everyone around it. It was like 'breathing a heavy gas', he said. He called it Pressure. It forces you to use more energy than normal. It felt exactly like that in the dungeon. Only...magnified."
Sleet huffed. "A Pokémon that can do that just by existing? What do you think, Rastor? Some ancient Regice?"
"Or maybe," Zeek mused, a teasing note in his voice, "it was the mysterious creature we decided to drag back in our sled."
They all looked at the blanket-covered Mienshao. They burst into laughter. Even Raiya cracked a small, weary smile. It faded quickly upon giving it more thought. She shakes her head free from her doubts, resolute with her choice to bring the Mienshao with them.
The ice walls opened ahead, revealing the Cradle: a vast bowl carved from the remains of a dormant volcano. Its stone gates—half-carved, half-grown from natural snow—stood open, flanked by two fractured ice pillars that shimmered with stardust. The interior glowed dimly with heat from ancient magma vents that refused to die.
For a place meant to shelter life, it looked tired.
"Still standing," Sleet said, lowering his shoulders to ease Raiya off.
"Barely," Raiya muttered, taking in the sight. "But we're finally home."
Zeek stretched his arms, forcing a grin. "Sweet igloo my igloo." His voice quivered slightly. "I'd cry if I wasn't already frozen solid." He says, scratching his side.
They reached the gate without needing to announce themselves; the heavy slabs of ice parted at their approach, groaning open on buried hinges. Warm air spilled out, not at all comfortable, but enough to make the cold sting a little less.
Sleet lifted his nose again, taking in the scents that spilled from the Cradle's heart: smoke, dust, the faint tang of stardust burning in the vents. "This place is definitely still alive."
"Let's hope it stays that way," Raiya replied.
The team descended into the bowl, sled scraping over rough stone. Inside the Cradle, the light of the Minior reflected faintly off the walls. The main plaza lay empty, as usual—an open space Pokémon avoided unless necessary. Most preferred the safety of their caves carved along the rim. Only two structures stood apart from the mountain itself: the guildhall and the mess hall, linked by a narrow strip of icy ground that acted as a pathway of sorts. High above, a wide cave mouth yawned—the perch where Team Aether oversaw the Minior shifts and collected their precious dust.
It was to the guildhall that Team Haptic steered.
They hadn't even crossed halfway before a shout cut through the cold air.
"Raiya! Sleet! Rastor! Zeek!"
Two Pokémon immediately rushed toward them: Axl the Luxray, and Flicker the Braixen. The rest were focused on guild duties around the settlement.
Axl bounded down the slope, sparks crackling faintly through her mane. Flicker followed closely behind. Axl collided with Rastor before he could brace, wrapping her forelegs around his neck. "You're back," she cried, rubbing his cheek with her own to create small sparks. "You were gone for too long! I missed you, my little sleepy head." She rubs her paw on his head, hugging him tightly.
Rastor's pragmatic demeanor melted instantly. He nuzzled her back, letting out the deepest sigh of affection he's ever given, "It was horrible! They made me walk all the way back home." He tucks his head into her chest like a baby, pretending to be hurt.
"My poor baby!" She lets him stay like that until he starts to snore.
Flicker, tiptoes herself next to Zeek. She could hear him trying to hide his labored breathing.
"Welcome home, Zeek..." She says, eagerly waiting for his attention.
Zeek lets his eyes travel across her body. He stands there almost dazed for a moment, scratching his side and trying to remember who he's about to address. "Oh hey Flick, haven't seen you in a bit."
"I hope your mission went well." She tilts her head. Standing closer now, she could feel a cool breeze coming from his body.
"Oh yeah, the mission. It's been going well but we're all exhausted." He replies, eyes almost shutting close.
"Hold on—what's that?" Axl halts their welcome, pulling herself from Rastor's grip. Her eyes scan their sled, looking through the containers and boxes. She points a paw at the poorly hidden blanket at the center, "Why are you hiding someone under there?"
Raiya's voice cut through the air, calm but commanding. "She's wounded." She stepped between Axl and the sled, her tone firm. "Get me someone who can handle first aid."
Flicker stepped closer, concern furrowing her brow looking at the bundle, then back at Raiya. "Um... I don't think that's necessary," she said softly.
Raiya turned, irritation flickering in her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"The Mienshao—she doesn't have any wounds," Flicker said, pointing. "Look for yourself."
Raiya pulled the blanket back, eyes narrowing. She had last seen the Mienshao beaten and bruised. Yamri's fur gleamed softly, unmarred. Not a single scar, not a hint of injury.
"What in the..." Sleet whispered.
"She's fine," Flicker confirmed. "No damage at all. Just asleep."
Raiya's jaw tightened, her usual cold composure had returned in full."Sleet, Rastor, Zeek—get her to my quarters. Then unload our cargo for storage after. I'll make the report."
Without another word, she turned toward the guildhall, kicking up snow behind her.
As Raiya strode toward the Guildhall, Sleet and Rastor began to move Yamri. Zeek, however, lagged behind, dragging the empty sled in the opposite direction toward the storage shack behind the guildhall.
"I'll catch up," Zeek called out, his voice a little too loud. "Gotta put this sled to bed."
Sleet and Rastor exchanged a small, worried glance, but their focus returned to their cargo.
The tunnels leading to the dorms glowed dimly with embedded crystal shards, casting dull light along the walls. The air was warmer here, alive with the soft hum of the Cradle's geothermal veins.
"I hate leaving Raiya to deal with the Guildmasters alone," Sleet confessed, his eyes clouded with concern. "I almost offered to give the report myself, almost."
Rastor, shifted the weight of Yamri on his back. "She's way too stubborn to let us do it now that she's decided on it. Besides, it looks like she needs to get something off her chest. We should just let her do whatever she wants for now."
Sleet Opened the door to their wing, holding it open for Rastor to walk through. Yamri's form is still and quiet as Rastor walks beside him, tail flicking.
"So," Rastor said finally, breaking the silence, "we really just brought back a stranger, huh?"
Sleet didn't look up, almost rolling his eyes. "You saw the state she was in. She's a pokemon in need of rescue isn't she? And we're a rescue team aren't we?"
"Still," Rastor muttered. "We've barely got space for ourselves. And food's always been thin here."
Sleet huffed. "Yeah, but you're forgetting—we can ration food, but we can't ration lives. That's the whole point of the Guild."
"That's the ideal," Rastor said dryly. "Reality's colder. Literally."
Sleet gave him a side glance. "You're only saying that because you're tired. You really think bringing her here was a mistake?" Sleet asked, eager to understand Rastor's perspective.
"I am tired," Rastor admitted, yawning. "Tired, hungry, and ready for a month-long nap...but no, I don't think it was a mistake." Rastor admitted. "The fact remains though. Bringing her back means more danger, more work, and less rest for us. That's the truth."
They reached Raiya's quarters—one of the deeper caves near the guildhall—Together, they lifted Yamri onto the bed. Sleet blinked. "She's... so warm. That's strange."
Rastor's eyes glowed faintly, his x-ray vision activating for a brief moment. "Looks like more than heat. Axl and I can see it. There's a strange energy coiling around her veins. It's radiating through her body."
Sleet stepped back, uneasy. "Guess Raiya was right to bring her in after all."
"Or wrong," Rastor muttered, covering her with a blanket. "Let's hope it's the former."
They stood for a long moment in silence, listening to her steady breathing, before turning to leave.
Raiya stomped down the Guildhall corridor. Her pace was quick, purposeful, and filled with a simmering contempt. She didn't bother announcing herself; before her fist could connect with the wood to interject her fury into it, the door creaked open, revealing Nuvor and Aeska, nearly slamming it against the wall. At her best restrained, she swung the door the rest of the way, slamming them into the walls anyway.
Aeska hovered near the far side of the chamber, her crescent form glowing faintly. "Must you barge in like a barbarian?" she sniffed.
Raiya brushed past her without so much as a glance. "I report to the Guild, not its ornaments."
Nuvor turned from the central table, his rocky body glistened with an artificial sunlight. "That's enough," he said gently. "Raiya, you've returned safely. I trust your mission was successful?"
Raiya folded her arms. "If by successful you mean pointless and nearly suicidal—sure." Her gaze slid to Aeska, sharp as a blade. "The storm hasn't moved. Your 'investigation' risked four lives for nothing."
Aeska's tone soured. "You forget yourself, Lucario. Your rudeness is inexcusable, Raiya! Your team's charter is a privilege, not a right! And you speak of pointlessness when the stardust we gave you for the mission was nearly all we had. This is a blatant disregard for our dwindling supplies! We act for the survival of the Cradle. If you'd returned sooner—"
Raiya finally fixed her gaze on Aeska, a sneer twisting her lips. "I am well aware of your supply issues, Aeska. I am also aware that you are no longer fit to hold your station. If you hadn't sent Tod—"
"Tod would never treat his superiors with such disrespect!" Aeska snapped, using the name of Raiya's deceased mentor as a weapon.
That was the line. Raiya's built-up anger erupted in a low, dangerous growl. "You will shut your mouth, Aeska, before you truly regret it." She leaned forward, her eyes blazing. "You used Tod. You overworked him and his team. You sent them on dangerous missions constantly and paid them in less stardust than every other team who does nothing but eat and take up space! That was the folly of your leadership then, and it is the folly of your leadership now!"
"Enough!" Nuvor's voice boomed as his body flared with energy. Ancient Power surged through the room, shaking the walls and sending a deep tremor through the floor. The air stilled immediately.
When the rumble faded, Raiya exhaled slowly, steadying her stance. "I am here to report," she said, tone clipped. "that we found something in a dungeon. A Mienshao—with an extraordinary aura unlike anything I've ever sensed."
"Well throw it out!" Aeska demanded. "We barely have the food to keep our current population fed."
Nuvor addressed Raiya. "Clarify for me, Lucario."
"Her body is producing a potent energy. The whole way here, that Mienshao produced enough heat for me to feel it on my neck. It's burning up the very cold around her," Raiya said.
Aeska scoffed. "There's no way that's true. The only pokemon who are capable of burning through this cold would be a constellation, and they're all dead. A threat to our sanctuary if you ask me."
"She's no threat," Raiya snapped back. "And no one else is left out there to take her in." She points her paw through the window, out to the open mountain range.
That silenced them both for a moment.
Nuvor sighed. "How did you know?"
"I can feel up to 10 miles away now. Chica's gone, isn't it?" Raiya wipes her chin, challenging them both with a glare. "Sending a Pokemon away from here right now would be like sending them to their death."
Nuvor's gaze fell for a moment, "You're right. Chica was entirely consumed by Kyurem's influence. Our last contact was two days ago."
There was a heavy moment of silence in between their exchange.
Aeska refuses to chime in any longer. The way Nuvor's eyes squinted told her that his mind was already made up. "Okay, we'll make do." He surrenders.
The Cradle's twilight deepened. The Minior above flickered faintly, their light pale and distant. Behind the guildhall, Zeek strained to drag the empty sled back into its shed, his breath coming ragged and uneven.
"Need a hand?" came a familiar voice.
He looked up to see Flicker standing in the snow, her eyes soft and hopeful. "You look worse than usual," she said with a nervous laugh. "Want me to warm you up?"
Zeek chuckled weakly. "And you're still the cutest little thing... It's okay, Flick. I'm just tired from the cold. Depression's not good for the joints, you see." he groans as he continues to tug on the sled.
"Maybe if I were to evolve right in front of you, you'd finally see my feminine charm." She strikes a pose, then Flicker tilts her head, smile faltering. "But yeah, I get it," she murmured. "It's been hard lately. Mika went missing two days ago. She left her sewing kit behind and everything. It's been... really hard without you guys."
Zeek's head snapped up. "Team Haptic is the only true rescue team in the Cradle. We're the only pokemon who can survive outside of this place. While everyone has a part to play to keep this community running, Mika's role was more than essential. Mika's the only Leavanny on this side of the planet; she's the only one who can stabilize the stardust that's woven into our coats and cold resistant gear. The only defense against the cold on the outside of the Cradle, now lost in who knows where. That would explain why it's much colder here. Her disappearance means real trouble for the entire mountain.
Thoughts flow through Zeek's mind, causing his heart to race. "Why didn't anyone—" he started, his voice a strained whisper.
Suddenly, a sensation unlike anything he had ever known—a blinding, sharp gust of cold wind—shot through his limbs. His vision dissolved into pinpricks of light. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he collapsed with a heavy thud into the snow.
Flicker stared down, thinking he was joking, a sick reaction to the news. "Zeek? That's not funny, get up!" she cried. When he didn't stir, she rushed over to him. Franticity flooded her eyes as she began calling his name and struggling to flip his body over.
Then her breath hitched. "Zeek!" she screamed, His fur was glazed in ice, breath shallow, skin rigid to the touch. Panic tore through her chest.
Sleet and Rastor turned the corner from the living quarters having finished their task. They saw Flicker hauling Zeek on her back headed to the guildhall, sobbing loudly.
They rushed over. "What in the world happened?" Rastor demanded, helping to hoist Zeek's limp body over his own.
Flicker sobbed, biting her lip. "I don't know! He just... fell!"
Sleet leaned in, his acute sense of smell working frantically. "He smells like he's drying up," he noted with alarm. Then, as his naturally hot body came into contact with Zeek's, a grim realization hit him. "Rastor, his fur is frozen! He's ice-cold!"
Rastor's eyes flared gold, his X-ray vision activating. "In the dungeon, the frost rot! He must have gotten a cut somehow." He scanned his body again and pinpointed the long and deep gash hidden under his fur. Rastor clicked his tongue, "There! He's got a large wound on the left side of his chest."
Picking up their pace, they hurry to find their team leader.
They burst into the Guildmasters' Quarters, nearly ripping the door from its hinges. "Raiya! It's Zeek!"
Nuvor and Aeska rose instantly.
"Get him onto the table!" Nuvor and Raiya commanded in unison.
Aeska merely floated herself out of the way, not lending any support.
Nuvor began an examination, his face grim. "The effects of Frosting... Stage one is an incessant tingle, an insatiable itch. But Zeek has already reached Stage Two: the freezing and shattering of the muscles." He shook his head. "The next stage is certainly death."
Raiya flinches a the word. Unable to help her friend with her strength, she pleaded with Nuvor, her voice raw. "I know you both must know someone, get a doctor here. Now! Please!"
Rastor, Sleet, and the distraught Flicker joined her in pleading with the Guildmasters.
Aeska and Nuvor debated in quick, hushed tones. "The only Pokémon who can even cure Frosting is Mr. Mire," Nuvor said, spinning his rocky body as they spoke.
"We can't afford him, he's known to charge a large amount of stardust for a simple examination." Aeska's voice was shrill. She spent no effort in hiding her non-preference.
Nuvor floated silently, pondering the path to resolving their new plight.
"We can't possibly pay him, brother!" Aeska stressed, looking out at the settlement. "The Minior are bringing back less stardust each day, and our reserves are nearly depleted."
Flicker, still sobbing, stepped forward, offering her only solace. "I'll pay! I have a small stash of stardust saved! It's enough for any fee!"
Raiya, her heart in her throat, quickly followed. "We will, too. Team Haptic will cover the rest."
With this sudden injection of funds, and the mounting pressure, Nuvor and Aeska relented. "Very well," Nuvor finally gave in. "We will contact Mr. Mire immediately." He looked at Raiya, his expression becoming focused. "But in exchange for the Guild's effort and the use of the Minior for the emergency summons, I wish to speak with the Mienshao that was brought here from the dungeon. She is the price."
Raiya looked down at her collapsed friend, then back at Nuvor's determined face. "I reluctantly agree, Guildmaster," she finally said, ending the conflict and sealing Yamri's fate.