“Huh?” A Zangoose scuffed frantically at the cave’s dirt floor. “I know I left the stuff here!” She punched and scratched at the stony clay ground.

A Seviper slithered in behind her, his hands clasped behind his back. “Perhaps the firestorm drove people here and they took the items for their needs. Also, those items weren’t really ours anyhow, Joulesss.” He sounded soft and calm, his forked tongue flicking as it carried the ‘s.’

“Uuugh… I guess so…” she huffed while scratching at the fur on her neck. “Still, it kinda sucks…” Joule crossed her big fluffy arms. “So… What now? That village is in ruins and our—er the stuff is gone!”

The Seviper pondered over a corner, flicking his tongue. He followed the scent to the cave entrance, his head tilting towards the forest. “Perhaps the survivors who took shelter here went to the town of farming fields.”

Joule scoffed. “But we just came from there, Vito! That dumb frog turned you away because of your poison!” Her fur flared on her neck and shoulders.

Vito sighed as he arranged himself into a coil. “We’ll have to pass through again. I’m sure we’ll find a place to settle.” He patted Joule’s shoulder. 

“Man… what if there’s more firestorms or other crazy stuff in this region? Is it the end of the world or something?” Joule held her head as if it would pop off her shoulders and run away.

“Calm down Joules.” Vito put both his hands on her shoulders. “Because of the disaster, I’m sure other people are struggling the same way as us, or worse.”

Joule let out a long sigh. “Yeah, you're right…” she let her arms swing at her sides for a bit. “Should we… actually go there and maybe see what happened?” 

His tongue flicked in thought. “I’m not sure what we would gain from that. I feel we should find a spot to properly settle ourselves before exploring again.” Vito rubbed his arm.

“But we could find out why that firestorm happened! Maybe we can chase down whoever did it and stop them!” Joule raised her fists, her fur flaring again.

Vito sighed wearily, shaking his head. “I feel like this is beyond us—” He suddenly tensed. Joule caught on almost immediately with him, her large pointed ears flicking and swiveling.

Both of them could tell that people were approaching, the crowd’s footsteps picked up from Vito’s bodily sense and Joule’s sharp ears. They quickly hid by the cave entrance while getting a view of the passing group. The sun was starting to rise, giving enough light on the path, but the leader’s light was still on, fading between different colors. 

Who the heck is that dude with the glowing light? Why do the people look sorta dead? Joule wondered as she squinted at the black-clothed figure. Ugh… I feel dizzy… She tightly closed her eyes after looking at the leader’s oddly colored light for a moment.

Vito’s tongue was flicking constantly, mostly picking up the burnt scent from the crowd’s clothing. The snake’s eyes were nowhere near as good as his partner, but he could ‘taste’ strange and warbly waves around the leader as everyone passed.

The two waited until the group disappeared into the forest. The morning sun was slightly obscured behind thin clouds on the horizon, bathing the land in soft, gentle light. As the two stepped out, the clouds cleared, highlighting Joule’s red marked white fur, and Vito’s smooth vibrant purple scales jeweled with gold accents. 

“That was… really weird,” Joule puffed out with agitation.

“...Yes it was very strange,” Vito sighed as he settled into a coil, tucking away his poisonous tail blade. “I wonder if that darkly clothed person is part of a group that caused the distruction…”

“We should follow that guy and question him!” Joule growled, her hidden claws starting to peek out from on top of her wrists, “Ugh, but what if they’re going back to that farming place with that stupid frog…” She rubbed her head with her hands, stretching out her exasperated expression as she dragged her hands down her face.

“Perhapssss that is the best spot to go next then. I also want to know what happened.” Vito patted Joule’s fluffy shoulders before reaching down to hold her hand. Joule’s foul mood seemed to evaporate as she clasped the snake’s hand back. 

“Ok, let’s give that frog a piece of our minds… and my fists!” The Zangoose declared with a big mischievous grin as she strode towards the forest, dragging Vito along. “Ahh hah… maybe don’t include the fists…” Vito laughed nervously as he slithered to keep up.

From an elevated cavern carved into the head of a small mountain, another darkly clad figure laid prone on her front while surveying the far off area below with a high tech pair of binoculars. The figure traced her zoomed gaze along the path that led from the ruined village to the forest’s edge at the base of the mountain. 

She had almost made her way through the forest  when the village was still ablaze, the rain starting after she climbed to her vantage point. She could only see the flames through her binoculars, but no sign of the teams she had messaged. She waited for hours in the nighttime storm but got no response. This would explain the continuous tingling sting that went through her distinctive curved horn. It had nearly given her a headache when she had the dreaded feeling of an approaching disaster.

She stared at her tablet, where her many messages still went unanswered. She had sent inquiries every fifteen minutes at first, then spread out to about half hour intervals. As irritating as her stinging horn was, it justified her concerns when Terra and Hydra were both radio silent.

She rubbed her forehead with a tired sigh before giving another sweep through her scope down the path. The sun was barely coming up, improving visibility. She flinched as she caught sight of a light orb leading a small group away from the ruins. She zoomed in more, recognizing the dark figure leading the group of sooty, blank-eyed survivors. 

She lowered her scope, her eyes burning with disbelief through her  cloth face mask.

Why didn’t he answer? Where are the other members?

Anger and worry roiled through her mind as she quickly packed her equipment away, taking out an Oran berry for breakfast as she left.