Becoming a Team: Dungeon 2: Digging Deeper

This tense stand-off lingered for far longer than Koji would have liked, his claws itching to do something as he studied the mysterious creature but still it only stood there. Until finally those button eyes seemed to blink and slowly it turned to shamble off back into the colorful hills it had come from. The meowth's ears flicked back at this continued lack of response and one paw partially raised to stop it before he simply shook his head. This place was weird enough and they didn't need unnecessary fights, especially this early into their investigation here.

Saba glanced over at him, clearly looking for some form of guidance or reassurance, before turning to follow the teddiursa's progress into the distance. "That was weird..."

Naia hummed a low agreement as she scanned the area again but still nothing else moved.

"Let's get this over with." Koji finally muttered, turning away from the path the plush creature had taken and continuing down a lined trail that led deeper into this strange place. He led his companions down the winding trail as it left the town far behind and wove through mock fields and forests, the bright colorful blocks creating strange shapes that did little to reflect the world outside. A train whistled somewhere to their left, the high-pitched sound echoing down from the towering hills, but otherwise the area remained as quiet as when they had first entered. Despite the appearance of a playful toybox it didn't seem like many actually frequented the dungeon, or at least the upper levels of it. Slowly the path led them into twisting coils of metal, the curling forms taking over the blocky shapes from before and muting the landscape into a dull gray hue.

"How deep do you think it goes?" Saba's voice was hushed as she and Naia shifted closer to his sides and the jungle gym dimmed whatever overhead light illuminated this place.

"Deeper than I care to venture..." The meowth's tail swished as the tangles grew thicker, the twisted metal pressing in around them before finally opening again to reveal a sprawling city ahead. The blocky shapes returning to build out a vast imitation of the city outside with smaller houses growing steadily larger until they reached a giant replica of the guild hall dominating the city center. The train track from the town before had also followed them, curving up into the hills along their left before crossing through the city ahead and winding down into the depths beyond.

Naia whistled softly at the sight, mimicking the train whistle from earlier as she watched the long locomotive pull into the station ahead. This area was much more lively than the upper reaches, toys and young 'mons of all kinds playing in little groups or rushing from one blocky building to another while a cluster of slightly older 'mons were racing around a makeshift track just outside the city confines.

"It looks busy." Saba's lower vine tip curled, poking at the strange material of the walkway as she scanned the city before them. "Do you think the missing kids are here?"

"Maye, maybe not..." Koji shrugged, letting his gaze drift over the different groupings dotting the city but other than the weird toy aesthetic and scarcity of adult 'mons nothing really seemed abnormal. The place still appeared peaceful and, if not for the oddity of the living toys, completely 'normal'. Despite this appearance though 'something' still felt off, not quite wrong but not really right either. "Let's split up and ask around, if they were here someone should know."

"Meet back here after?"

The meowth nodded, stretching as he stepped forward and eyed some of the larger toys lingering around the false guild hall. It seemed as good a place to start as any. He kept tabs on Saba stopping at the train station and Naia approaching the racing teenagers but soon focused on his own attempt at gathering information. Few of the toys actually spoke but they didn't give off the same uncanny feeling the teddiursa plush near the entrance had and there was something unnerving about that simple fact. Not that he was given much time to dwell on that as he padded from one group to another without much luck. None of the mons he spoke to even knew the missing kids and most simply shrugged before returning to their playtime with the toys.

"Any luck?" He muttered when he rejoined Saba by the jungle gym, his eyes trailing over the city one more time before settling on Naia now racing with the teenage 'mons by the track.

"Not really, the train conductor mentioned seeing one of the kids some weeks back but he'd refused to ride the train." The flower 'mon leaned against his side as she spoke, relaxing slightly as she followed his gaze down to the racetrack but didn't comment on Naia's fun. "There were some whispers of a creepy toy hanging out in the upper hills but no one really seemed to know anything about that either."

"Hmm..." Koji hummed, one ear flicking back as his thoughts drifted to the strange plush again but whatever the 'wrong' was down here it seemed unlikely they would find it today. Once the fusion rejoined them it would be time to head back to the surface and report, even if it seemed for now there was nothing to really report on.