Chapter Text
“Help! Oh, what to do, what to do- somebody, help!”
These are not words that one wakes up to very often. But they are words that definitely wake one up. Panic surges through them, as they open their eyes and try to leap to their feet. Key word- try. The world is bright and sharp, sharper than it had been at it's sharpest before (before?) and the air tastes overwhelmingly of plants and grass. It might be a bit more than the air, they realize, spitting a bit of grass out of their mouth and lifting their hand up to brush the last bits off their tongue.
Their now very, very suspiciously orange hand. That has claws on it. It’s a far cry from what they looked like before (what did they look like before? all they know is- not this) and the sounds of a continued conversation draws their attention again.
“Miss Butterfree, please- where did you say your son was again? I didn’t-”
“He’s LOST! The forest- it became a mystery dungeon right before my eyes, crevasses spreading like broken veins and he was walking besides me, just walking, we’ve walked that way a dozen times before but he-”
They managed to sit up fully, their eyes finally starting to adjust to the light- and their ears to the noise. Whatever was going on with their body, they could deal with it later. Someone (wasn't Butterfree an odd name?) needed help, and they might be lost too, but they didn't think they were a child. Maybe. Probably?
Turning too fast seemed like a bad idea when the world kept turning even after they’d stopped. They were so much closer to the ground now, and walking was- surprisingly difficult. Their center of gravity was lower than ever before, and- that was definitely a tail. They’d never had a tail before. That was new. Was it cold here?
They lifted their head up after brushing some grass off, and froze when they saw a Totodile and an actual Butterfree in front of them. And not in front and down- genuinely in front, a few paces yes, but at eye level- the Butterfree was even a bit higher because it was flying.
What?
They didn't say anything, just kept staring, blinking a few times to try to wipe the sleep from their mind. Surely this was a hallucination of some kind? But no, the Totodile stayed there, paws held up in some sort of placating way towards the Butterfree, who was fluttering through the air so fast that scales were drifting off of her wings.
“Miss Butterfree, please be carefu- augh!” A particularly large clump of scales hit the Totodile right in the face, sending some sort of weird spark across their body, starting up an intermittent twitch. “You just paralyzed me. Please calm down or it will take. Even longer. To be able to rescue him.”
Butterfree gasped, holding her own paws up to her mouth in shock. “Oh, no! I’m so sorry- here, have a cheri berry, what else did you need to know? About my son?”
Totodile took the berry and ate it gratefully, glad to be able to open their mouth fully once again. “Thank you. Where, exactly, did you last see your son?”
Butterfree nods. “Tiny Woods. It-” She interrupts herself, not continuing her train of thought when she looks towards the third person present. “Who are you?”
They shrug, deciding that they may as well act as though what they saw was real. What was the alternative? “I don’t know. I just woke up here.”
The Totodile jumps and turns to look at them. “Well, Mon Charmander, I can help you after I hel-”
“Sorry, did you just call me a Charmander?”
Totodile stares at them. It blinks. “...Yes? You are a Charmander? I mean, unless you're a Ditto, a Mew, or an illusionist.”
They look down at their orange, clawed hands. “That explains so much. I was a human until just a few minutes ago.”
Totodile nods. “Okay. We can discuss that when I get back, Mon Charmander, please stay with Miss Butterfree here.”
Charmander thinks about this for a moment. Then they point directly at Totodile. “Nope! I’m coming with you to help!”
“Do you even know how to fight in a dungeon?”
Charmander shakes their head, grinning. “Nope! I’m still learning to walk. But! What better way to learn than on the job? C’mon, let's go.”
They start marching off in the direction behind Butterfree.
“That's the wrong way.” Totodile calls after them.
Charmander turns around and gestures for Totodile to lead the way. Totodile sighs, tells Butterfree to stay there, and then leads the way.
Charmander can already tell that this is the start of a long friendship.