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The first thing Lina noticed was the pounding in her head.
“Urrrghhh…”
She lay on the cold earth, a breeze fluttering over her gently.
The second thing she noticed, as she staggered to her feet, was that she had paws.
“Huh? What- What’s this?”
From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a fluffy yellow-and-orange tail. She spun around for a look, to little success. Strangely, her motions came as easily as any other, despite the fact that she very much shouldn’t have paws.
The third thing she noticed was that the cool breeze came from the flapping wings of a huge purple butterfly hovering over her.
“You’re awake! Are you okay, miss?”
To the surprise of both parties, Lina shot a small fireball at the insect from her mouth, which came just as instinctually. The butterfly dodged swiftly, with panic in her compound eyes.
“Hey! I’m sorry for startling you! I was looking for my son Caterpie, and I found you unconscious out here!”
Lina took a moment to process the situation. She was found knocked out in the woods, and she was clearly some sort of magic animal. Well, wasn’t that just great?
“Who’re you,” Lina snarled. It was the only thing she could think to say.
“Oh, I’m sorry! My name is Butterfree,” the bug chittered. “What about you?”
“My name is Lina Inverse. I’m a human being, but I seem to have been turned into something completely different.”
Butterfree tilted her head, puzzled.
“A human being, you say? I’m not sure what that means, but you seem like a totally normal Fennekin to me!”
“A what?”
“Oh, dear. You seem very confused… You must have taken some serious damage. Have you perhaps lost your memory?”
Lina blinked. Well, she did remember traveling with Gourry, but she certainly didn’t remember anything between that and her current situation.
“Some of it.”
Butterfree frowned.
“Oh dear, oh dear… I think it would be best to get you into town as soon as possible, but I need to find my sweet little Caterpie… What to do, what to do…?”
Lina watched as she fluttered frantically from left to right. She couldn’t help but feel bad for the creature.
“Hey, listen… Maybe I could help you?”
Butterfree’s eyes went wide.
“Are you sure? You must have gotten pretty banged up earlier… Plus, I’ve looked everywhere, and… I’m worried he may have gotten lost in Tiny Woods.”
“Tiny Woods? Pfft, sounds like a breeze!”
“I have to warn you, though… If you go into Tiny Woods, I won’t be able to follow you. It’s crawling with terrifying, bug-eating Pidgey, you see?”
“Now, listen,” Lina scoffed. “If you’re going to make ME do all the work, there’d better be something in it for me.”
“Please! I’ll do anything,” pled Butterfree. “I’ll give you anything you want, just return my sweet Caterpie to me!”
Lina grinned. She didn’t actually know what this Butterfree had to offer, but hey, she wasn’t going to provide any services for free!
“Alright, then! Lead me to these Tiny Woods!”
----------
“This… Isn’t very tiny,” Lina marveled. The woods in front of her were so thick and dark, it looked more like she was entering a cave than a forest.
“It’s actually quite small for a mystery dungeon,” Butterfree responded as though it were nothing.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Oh! I forgot you had lost your memory… Do you not know what a mystery dungeon is?”
Lina shook her head. “Never heard of ‘em.”
“Mystery dungeons used to be far more common. They’re huge mazes with multiple floors, and their layout seems to change every time you enter them. The Pokemon inside are frenzied and aggressive, but luckily, Tiny Woods only has a few floors.”
“What?! You expect me to deal with that on my own?!”
A drop of sweat rolled down Butterfree’s face.
“Well, yes, but it should be easy for you! Almost all the Pokemon in Tiny Woods are weak to fire, so they shouldn’t give you too much trouble…!”
“Fine, then,” Lina sighed. “Again, I’d better be getting something good for this.”
“I can’t possibly match the value of my dear sweet Caterpie’s safety, but I’ll still reward you handsomely!”
“What does your Caterpie look like, anyway? Like a caterpillar, I bet…”
“He’s long and green, with a yellow tummy, four little legs, and red antennae!”
“Ah… Like a swallowtail?”
“...a what?”
“Oh, never mind. I’ll just… Be going.”
Without leaving time for any other awkward idle chitchat, Lina stepped into the woods and was engulfed in darkness… At least, from Butterfree’s view. Though it looked pitch black from the outside, the inside was speckled with sunshine that trickled through the leaves above. Looking back, she couldn’t see the exit at all, as if it had suddenly disappeared the moment she entered. Which totally wasn’t disconcerting at all.
As she took a few steps into the woods, Lina was quickly approached by a little red caterpillar. Well, it wasn’t all that little- it was almost as large as she was, to her disgust.
“Uhh, hey, little guy!”
The caterpillar immediately spat a stream of sticky silk at her, causing Lina to cry out in alarm.
“Ew, ew, ew! Hey, listen-”
Not listening at all, the bug lept at Lina, hitting her with its whole body. Immediately having enough, Lina spat a fireball at it. The larva was scorched and fell over. It didn’t seem dead… But it also sure as hell didn’t seem like it would get back up any time soon.
Lina shuddered, shaking the web of silk off her fur.
“This might have been a mistake.”
----------
Gourry had been looking at his reflection in the water for several minutes now. He wasn’t at all sure what had happened, but he’d just woken up in the middle of a forest, feeling very small and dizzy. The sound of water had called to him, but when he peered into the pool, the face that stared back at him wasn’t his own.
He tilted his head left and right, opening his mouth, winking, and making the silliest faces he could muster. All his actions were mirrored by the beady-eyed face of a white-and-blue otter. Confused and frustrated, he swung at the surface of the water, only to notice he had a little white paw. He stared at it for a moment, before peering down at the rest of his body: light blue, with darker webbed feet.
Gourry pondered for a beat, then proceeded to give up and decide he was probably dreaming or something.
“Heh, neat.”
Perfectly content with his conclusion, he turned away and strutted off through a path in the forest.
Shortly after wandering off, he encountered a big butterfly, flapping around anxiously. A branch snapped underfoot, and the butterfly turned around, alerted to his presence.
“Who’s there?”
Gourry waved, which seemed to reassure the startled butterfly.
“Uh, hi! I’m Gourry Gabriev, the traveling swordsman!”
“Oh, I’m sorry for snapping at you, mister. I’m just… A bundle of nerves at the moment, is all.”
He tilted his head curiously.
“What seems to be the problem, miss butterfly?”
“It’s pronounced Butterfree, but you see, I’ve been looking for my son Caterpie all day! A sweet young Fennekin volunteered to look for him in Tiny Woods, and I have complete faith in her return, but I can’t help but be anxious…”
“Should I help?”
Butterfree looked alarmed.
“Tiny Woods is full of grass-types. It would be quite dangerous for an Oshawott like you to go in there alone!”
“I bet I can handle some grass, no problem!”
“Well, if you insist… I would really appreciate the help.”
“Alright, then!”
With all the recklessness of a runaway train, Gourry scampered into the dark woods, only to stumble down an unexpected incline.
“...ow.”
Gourry rubbed his head. Somehow the tumble hadn’t woken him from his dream, which was a bit concerning, he had to admit. However, he refused to worry about it too much, and instead worried about getting back on his feet and brushing dirt and grass off his fur.
As he trekked onwards, Gourry kicked something. Looking down, he saw a large red caterpillar-like creature laying on the ground, covered in soot.
“Hey, you! Are you okay?”
He gently nudged the caterpillar, which responded with only a slight chitter.
“Oh, geez… There must be something real scary out here.”
As if on queue, a seed-like creature hopped towards him. Startled, he reached towards his stomach and grabbed a large shell that was on his tummy. Without thinking, he swiped the edge of the shell at the black-and-yellow monster.
“Oh, huh! Didn’t know I could do that!”
Unfortunately, though, the swipe didn’t do much of anything. With a rustle of leaves, the seed wrapped its thin roots around Gourry, sapping his energy. Gourry flailed around until the plant lost its hold. As soon as he was freed, he came up with a fool-proof plan- to run right the hell away. Dashing as fast as he could from the threat, Gourry felt quite confident in his strategy. He also felt several thuds as he tumbled down a set of stairs that, for some reason, were directly in the middle of a clearing.
Not his lucky day, huh?
----------
Lina was feeling pretty confident in her abilities.
Tiny Woods was full of huge insects and strange seed-like creatures, all of which went down easily. It was a bit gross, sure, but no challenge. There were also some big birds that gave her some trouble, but they weren’t too bad. All in all, this “mystery dungeon” wasn’t as bad as that Butterfree lady had made it out to be. There were even some cool berries and shiny coins lying around on the ground!
Walking down a new flight of stairs, Lina found herself in a bright, sunny clearing. Was this the end of the dungeon? That was a piece of cake! But where was that Caterpie?
She peered around the clearing until she picked up a quiet whimpering noise from behind a thick bush. She scampered over to investigate, and sure enough, there was a well-hidden green caterpillar coiled up among the leaves.
“Hey, kid! Are you Caterpie?”
The larva nodded, watery-eyed. Lina gave him a reassuring smile.
“The name’s Lina. Your mother sent me to search for you- she’s been worried sick!”
“Oh? You- You came to rescue me?”
“Of course I did! Come on, follow me- I’ll get you home safe and sound, okay?”
Tentatively, Caterpie crawled out and took a place behind Lina. He should be safe and sound there, but Lina couldn’t at all shake the feeling of being watched. She heard a flapping noise, and she turned around just quickly enough to see a much larger bird swooping down at Caterpie! Acting fast, she spat a fireball at the bird. It winced and trailed off course, but it shook off the attack and flew back into the air, fixed on Lina and Caterpie.
“Caterpie! Stay behind me, alright?”
Lina stood in front of Caterpie defensively, fur bristled, paws spread wide. She stared at the bird directly, fangs bared, when suddenly-
“Hey, what’s going on here?”
She recognized that voice.
Even the giant enemy sparrow turned in surprise at the interloper- a white and blue otter, wielding a scallop in his little paw. The bird chattered furiously, presumably cursing the ones who dared to stand between it and its lunch. In response, the oddly familiar otter spat a jet of water at its face. He then turned back to Lina and Caterpie.
“Hey, you! Run and get Cattery back to his mom, okay? I’ll fend off this guy for you!”
Lina would have argued, but with the young bug’s safety at stake- as well as the promise of a reward- she simply nodded, picking up Caterpie gently with her jaws and getting out of dodge. Which really made her wish she had hands, because as soon as her thoughts had caught up with her actions, the thought of having a bug in her mouth made her feel very, very sick. Yuck.
----------
After a long uphill trek, Lina dropped Caterpie on the ground in front of her. She then proceeded to drop to the ground herself, out of breath.
“Mama Butterfree?”
Caterpie crawled towards his mother, who immediately darted back towards him, picking him up in her little arms.
“Caterpie! Oh, I’ve missed you so much! I’m so glad you’re safe!”
She seemed to give him a kiss, but really, Lina couldn’t tell how those creatures’ mouths worked at all. She then fluttered to Lina, looking concerned.
“Miss Lina? Are you alright?”
“Fine,” Lina wheezed. “Just tired.”
Butterfree kicked up a light breeze. Lina sighed in relief at the cool air.
“Thank you so, so much for rescuing Caterpie! I can’t possibly thank you enough!”
“It was nothing,” she huffed, rolling comfortably onto her back.
“I do hope the other Pokemon who volunteered to help is okay, though… He’s a water-type, so he’s quite vulnerable to grass-type attacks.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Oh, you see, while you were away, an Oshawott came by and offered to help look for Caterpie. I warned him that it was dangerous, but he insisted he’d go in anyway.”
“I may have seen him. Caterpie and I were attacked by a large bird on our way out, but an otter-looking fellow burst in to distract it. He told me to make sure Caterpie made it back to you, so I assume he was with you?”
“Yes, yes, must have been him!”
Lina scratched a paw on the ground, a bit nervous to ask her next question.
“He reminds me a lot of somebody I know. Something about the voice, and the way he carries himself… Did you happen to get a name from him?”
“Of course! He had a rather unusual name, like you… Gourry, I think it was?”
----------
“YES! I KNEW it!” Lina jumped for joy, her tail wagging enthusiastically. “I could recognize that idiot from a mile away!”
Butterfree tilted her head. “You know this Pokemon?”
“Know him? We’ve been traveling together for years now!”
“Oh? Are the two of you a rescue team, perhaps?”
“Nope, just a couple of treasure-hunters!”
“Interesting… Oh!” Butterfree flew upwards, looking towards the patch of woods that Lina came out from. “It looks like he made it out!”
Lina dashed to see. Sure enough, downhill was that same weird otter, making his way up to meet the strange insect family. Overjoyed, Lina began running down the hill, picking up an alarming amount of speed. Gourry tried to turn and flee, but he was no match for the fluffy fox, and was knocked down by her critically-enthusiastic greeting.
“Gourry!”
“Wh- Lina?”
Slowly, Gourry stood back up, wobbling dizzily.
“Hah, I knew it was you!”
“Wouldn’t have known it was you if it weren’t for the extreme violence,” Gourry muttered, rubbing his head. “Here I was thinking you were a hot babe.”
Lina didn’t appreciate his clever callback, and she purposefully tackled him. Gourry, already exhausted, fell right down again.
“Ow, ow, ow, hey, careful!”
With a huff, Lina grabbed her companion by the scruff of the neck and began dragging him back uphill.
“What are you doing, Lina? Hey, I’m supposed to be the one who carries you!”
“You’re a mess, Gourry.”
“I’ll be more of a mess if you get grass stains all over me! Lemme go!”
Lina didn’t listen to his pleas whatsoever.