a loud squawk ripped through the air before a mandibuzz landed on a rock nearby, eyeing danny intently, as though he were a scrap of meat.

”betty, be nice,” roach called ahead, boots scrunching in snow at a leisurely pace.

he still made no effort to hurry up once he'd made himself known. his cubone waddled along beside him without difficulty.

eventually, he asked, ”how’s it goin’?”

DANNY HALL

☉

recently promoted rocket elite danny hall still jumps at the loud squawk, caught off guard as he turns to eye the mandibuzz. he brings a hand to his chest, exhaling once roach's voice follows.

"shit—that scared me."

buggy turns with its entire body, swiveling in place to look at danny, then back at the mandibuzz, confused.

"it's fine, buggy. they're friends."

danny meets roach halfway. no idea why, though, as they're meant to go in the other direction. being polite, perhaps?

"good, good! i'm danny, and this is buggy."

the heracross nods; its horn bumping into the ground.

virgil roach
mission!

☉

betty’s head turned at nearly a ninety-degree angle, unblinking eyes not leaving him even as he left in the other direction towards her trainer.

roach looked vaguely confused as danny approached, but nodding.

”good t’meetchya. i’m roach. this’s boomer. your new friend over there’s betty.”

well. now that introductions were done…

he gave a lightly sweeping gesture back in the direction danny had just come from.

”shall we?”

DANNY HALL

☉

when the heracross rises back up from its nod, it carries with it bits of dirt, scattering it across its back as it turns to look at danny.

"hello, roach, boomer, betty."

with a nod, danny turns as well, following the sweeping gesture as he starts walking. never one to enjoy the silence with a stranger, danny looks to fill the void with small talk.

"you, uh — you do this often?"

virgil roach
mission!

☉

boomer looked up at danny from his mother’s skull, greeting, ’bone.’ betty, however, had fallen quiet since her initial squawk, still waiting for them at the cave’s entrance.

“yeuh—well, kinda.” roach nodded as they walked. ”i like to come out ‘ere ‘n find me lil shit sometimes.” he reached into his pocket and pulled a cigar pick made of ivory and inlaid with a massive ruby. ”shit like this.”

he pocketed it again and shrugged. ”hobbies aside, though, i ain’t ever excavated nothin’ fer them, no. this’a be a first.”

DANNY HALL

☉

the ivory catches his attention but the massive ruby is what holds it. his eyes widen slightly, almost in awe.

"you found that here? it looks really cool."

he rummages through his pocket, pulling out a gem that looks small in comparison. tiny, rather.

"best thing i found here was this. it ain't much, but i like it."

the emerald gem glistens before being pocketed.

"think we'll find something good today?"

virgil roach
mission!

☉

”thank you. it’s my pride and joy.”

he looked over at the glimmering emerald with approval. ”oh, that’s nice. good find, good find.”

of finding anything, roach drawled, ”well, i sure as shit hope so, danny. this place’s cold as hell. worth it, but it ain’t make no sense.”

they were nearing the mouth of the cave, and the mandibuzz still seemed fixated on danny.

DANNY HALL

☉

"i, uh, came prepared."

he looks over to the heracross who takes it as its cue to shrug off the backpack, unzipping it to reveal a few pickaxes; enough for the both of them and more.

"i think that's what we're doing, right? mining for gems?"

virgil roach
mission!

☉

”oh. ‘preciate it, danny.

he reached in to grab one, and swung it over his shoulder as they reached the mouth of the cave.

”ahh, not exactly. we got somethin’ else we’re lookin’ for too.” the artifact, deep within the cave. Maybe it belonged to santa, but roach didn’t know about that stuff. ”but we can mine on the way, can’t we?”

DANNY HALL

☉

"somethin' else, huh..."

he wonders what it could be. an artifact worth millions? gems? fossils? the possibilities excite him, and he finds himself gripping onto the handle of his pickaxe tighter in anticipation.

"let's mine on the way. sounds fun."

past the mouth of the cave, they venture in, ready to explore. what awaits them?

virgil roach
mission!

☉

”mmhm.”

roach wasn’t entirely sure what it was, he just knew they’d know it when they saw it. some kind of relic that would surely go into someone’s art collection, instead of a museum. or maybe it’d have some wild, dangerous power that rocket would utilize for their nefarious deeds. the amount of mega stones they’d gotten their hands on made them a force to be reckoned with.

the cave was quiet, and roach didn’t stop near the entrance. a floodlight came out of his pack, and he suppressed the rubber button with a click, filling the darkness with a white-yellow glow. the tail-end of several zubat could be seen fleeing deeper.

“where’d ya find yer emerald?”

DANNY HALL

☉

danny blinks, eyes adjusting to the sudden white-yellow glow of roach's floodlight.

"that's useful."

his heracross gives a thumbs-up as it heads further ahead, straying a bit away from the group to explore on its own.

"a bit deeper in, towards the left. i just kept hacking away at a wall 'til something popped out."

looking around, danny asks:

"where do you wanna mine?"

virgil roach
mission!

☉

floodlight?

”kinda a bitch to haul around, y’know, but it gets the job done.” hard to find a battery for, though.

the mandibuzz which had been perched at the mouth of the cave had flown in, a gust of cool air sent towards them as she swooped past to settle onto another stone raised from the floor. after some shuffling around in place, she settled, and her eyes, again, found danny.

meanwhile, cubone followed after the heracross, and roach was nodding, paying no mind to the odd behavior of his bird.

”solid approach.” he didn’t know any other strategy. ”wherever’s fine, then, i s’pose.”

and the light was set down, a pick-axe soon swinging into sediment.

DANNY HALL

☉