Notes: Still exploring Brine Cave. Also contains references to earlier events via flashbacks. Hey, if the game could use them so much...
Of all the...! He'd never thought Ichigo could be such a total brat...!
Exploring alone had its advantages. It wasn't optimal by any means, and he definitely wouldn't have chosen to fly solo if it hadn't been for that little temper tantrum she's just thrown, but it did mean he could set his own pace now and focus on finding the way down. While avoiding all of the cave's inhabitants was practically impossible, he could avoid engaging them and just keep moving forward. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to waste too much time wandering around before he tracked down those three.
Honestly! He didn't know who to be madder at -- Team Skull for being a bunch of lying, cheating, no-good, worthless, vile excuses for explorers... or Ichigo for being such a hot-headed, snappy, whiny little snot with the worst sense of timing. Why, if only she'd--!
...Grimacing, Chatot flapped his wings harder, preferring not to consider why his private rant collided with a metaphorical wall at that point. Despite that deterrence, however, he couldn't stop that thought from completing and correcting itself, unbidden and unwanted.
She had tried to warn him. Both of them had.
Not that it excused how she'd acted back there, of course...! No, that was just a side of her he'd never gotten a chance to see before, the vindictive little bully who just had to rub it in that he'd made a slight mistake -- who even resorted to violence when he wouldn't give in. If Laramie hadn't caught her wrist, she'd have flung a lot more than insults in his face.
And the insults were more than enough. Everything she'd said back there... His stomach was still twisting itself into knots over all that bile she'd spat. If he let himself dwell on it -- if he absorbed those words, if he took them to heart...
...They cut too close already. They didn't need further consideration.
But his thoughts betrayed him yet again, forcing him to recall what he'd rather keep buried. After all, it hadn't been all that long ago...
***
Everyone was staring.
Everyone's eyes were on him, for once; for once, the Guildmaster wasn't standing beside him, and that was the whole problem, wasn't it? The Guildmaster wasn't there, and while that should have meant there wouldn't be any distractions during the briefing, while that should have made this pre-exploration meeting just a tiny bit easier... That small benefit was more than negated by the fact that... well. He wasn't there.
And that meant he was in charge for the time being, until Wigglytuff finished whatever business had kept him away overnight and rendezvoused with the rest of them. A sure sign of just how much the Guildmaster trusted him -- no, trusted all of them to stay safe without his constant guidance -- not that he was normally the most hands-on Guildmaster, but...
But...
Everyone was staring at him.
Normally, he would have been glad for the attention. Normally, he would lead the apprentices in their morning cheers and send them on their way, or give them their instructions for the day before sending them off. He was trying to do that now, in fact, except... this time, they wouldn't disperse with a wave of his wing. This time, they were all going to be traveling together, moving en masse to their destination.
Brine Cave.
Was the Guildmaster already waiting there for them? Surely he hadn't gone in alone -- despite his quirks, if anyone knew the dangers of exploring alone, especially exploring there alone, it was Wigglytuff--!
Everyone was staring at him.
A quick scan of their faces revealed doubts. The recruits tended to be very easy to read; only Croagunk proved difficult to pin down, because that frog laughed at everything. Even now, he was quietly chortling to himself, and Chatot had no idea what that could mean...
But the others...
Ichigo was staring at him. Normally so bright and cheerful, she stood still and silent, save for the crackling fire topping her tail. Her expression... he couldn't quite read it, but she wasn't quite frowning. Or smiling. Or anything beyond... staring. Just... watching him.
Laramie, on the other hand, was frowning. And fidgeting, and looking generally uncomfortable. Those big red eyes were filled with worry, conflict, concern... an odd contrast with his partner's not-quite-glare. If he was able to read her mood, well, it wasn't really helping Chatot at all...
Bidoof looked just as conflicted, his broad face marred by a frown. In that, at least, he was a match for everyone else. Even Sunflora was frowning -- even Chimecho looked nervous, flitting about in place the way she was. And Loudred -- the very fact that he was quiet, just staring at him like that...!
Didn't they have any confidence in him at all?!
He hadn't meant to ask, but the words came tumbling out anyway, much to his chagrin. Even as they stumbled to correct him, the specter of that silence hung heavy over them, though he shoved such thoughts to the back of his mind. No, their words didn't ring hollow -- it was all his imagination, right? And now wasn't the time to be wallowing in doubts -- the Guildmaster was counting on them! No, the Guildmaster was counting on him!
Ichigo stayed silent the whole time. She offered no comfort, no words of encouragement, hollow or otherwise. She simply stared.
***
That should have been a sign, Chatot decided -- but of what? That she didn't trust him? Or that she was still bitter? He'd suspected she was still a bit annoyed by her past failure, but--
--A walrein was sleeping right next to the tunnel leading north out of this chamber. Chatot paused, taking a moment to consider his options. Backtracking to take another path seemed practical, but there was also a chance of running into any wandering pokémon who'd picked up his trail. Maybe he could make his way over to the eastern exit without waking him... or would it be faster to just fly past and let the ice breaker wake up to an empty room?
...Prudence seemed best in this instance. Gingerly, Chatot made his way to the eastern side, watching the snoring walrus intently. Had he been traveling with anyone else, he might have seen fit to challenge the beast and drive him off, but as things stood, he needed to exercise extra caution.
Particularly since he hadn't brought any of his own supplies... A shameful oversight, certainly. But then again, he'd trusted Team Hanabi to handle those preparations; they needed more practice than he did, right...? And the Guildmaster had made clear before leaving that they were in charge of their little group -- Chatot was serving as their escort, not their leader.
He'd been respectful to them then, hadn't he? He'd gone along with their wishes, letting them wander wherever Ichigo led, even if it wasn't the most direct of paths... For some reason, she had a tendency to wander, and Laramie just tagged along behind her quietly. Not precisely the way he'd pictured their exploration to go, and certainly not the way he would have chosen, particularly given the importance of their mission, but...
But he'd gone along with it, hadn't he? Didn't that count for anything?
Apparently not. Apparently Ichigo had a faulty memory, recalling only whatever supported her nasty point-of-view. Just like before...
***
"...Wait."
She'd hardly spoken two words to him since they'd arrived, and now Ichigo's arm was being thrust in his face while she glared steadfastly towards the chamber before them. After a bit, she turned, muscling past him.
"C'mon. We'll find another way."
"What?!" From where they were standing, Chatot could see a few treasures scattered along the floor; right there was a Blue Gummi, and beyond that a small pile of Poké just waiting to be claimed...
"C'mon, bird."
Bird? Bird?! Not 'Chatot' or even 'sir', but 'BIRD'?! Choking on the sudden disrespect, Chatot drew himself up and 'harumphed' loudly.
"Honestly, we've been down all those paths already, so this is obviously our way forward..." he began, stepping into the open.
"You idiot!"
He wasn't entirely sure if that was the charmander; it sounded too harsh, too deep, and was partly drowned out by the skittering and snarling of wild pokémon clambering out of the water and out of their hidey-holes. Mostly kinglers and omanyte, from what he could see; he couldn't manage more than a quick scan of the rapidly-filling room before something slammed into him from behind and a disorienting flash engulfed him.
"Ichigo!"
How pleasant; Laramie might as well have screamed that directly into his ear. Trying to steady himself, he threw out a wing and immediately felt a wall; shaking his head cleared it enough that he could see that yes, he was indeed facing a wall. And Laramie was standing right next to him, though the bulbasaur was all but bouncing on his heels trying to see past him...
...Ah. Ichigo must have used a Switcher Orb. Which meant...
"Aaaugh!"
Not only was she already fighting, the charmander was clearly more than a little outmatched, to the point where she'd already backed up to stand before the tunnel where they were. And there she stood her ground, crouching into a defensive position, tail lashing wildly behind her. An omanyte to her right attempted to roll into her, only to be swatted aside and knocked into its buddy.
But with Ichigo standing right there, they couldn't squeeze past and help her...
"Ichigo! Move!"
Completely ignoring him, Ichigo opted for a wide slash, leading with her claws before swiping her tail at the kingler and omanyte ahead of her. While this successfully warded three of them off, two breaking away for a desperate retreat, the two water-types flanking her took advantage of her temporary distraction to get some free strikes in. A well-aimed water gun at her backside made her screech, then whirl to face the offender, flames already building in her mouth.
"Ichigo!"
Laramie prodded Chatot from behind, trying to nose past him for a better look at the carnage. Not that there was much point in letting him past; the grass-type would've had a better shot at taking down the hordes, but if Ichigo wasn't willing to move... or didn't have a place to move herself, given how others pressed in to take the place of their fallen brethren.
Bravely as she fought, she was still outmatched -- the best counter for a bad matchup was experience, and she was still only an apprentice, after all. But his breath still hitched when two bubblebeams washed over her, one after another, and she screamed -- a horrible, shrill, strangled thing -- before collapsing.
His heart jumped as a sunburst of light erupted around her -- then she lurched to her feet, snarling. As she launched another gout of flame, a small, cracked seed fell beside her, barely noticeable. Chatot only happened to spot it because of how closely he was watching.
A Reviver Seed. Of course. She must have been expecting to face water-types here and planned accordingly.
Still, that didn't explain her remarkably poor strategy when it came to this Monster House. Why wouldn't she let any of her friends join the fight? If only she'd given them a chance to enter, that seed might not have been wasted...
But she didn't move. Only when all of the wild pokémon had been driven off did she step forward, and even then she hardly acknowledged them. Instead, she immediately went to collect the candy and money littering the room, barely even acknowledging how Laramie scampered to her side.
"Are you okay?" Already digging through their satchel, the bulbasaur added, "Do you need any Orans, or..."
"I'm fine." Shallow scratches covered her arms, chest and side, and her breathing was still ragged, winding down along with the adrenaline, yet she still smiled and shook her head, denying any offers of help.
...Just what exactly was wrong with her?!
"You should be more careful!" he informed her, fluttering his wings for emphasis. "You can't just take on the world alone, you know!"
"......"
His only reward for that advice? A blank, cold stare, just like the one she'd given him back at the guild. Then she returned to gathering up the spoils from her battle, without so much as another glance his way before heading towards the exit. Only Laramie looked between them, concerned, before bounding off after his partner.
***
She didn't listen.
Had she ever listened? The only time he could actually recall her obviously heeding his words was back when they'd first joined the guild. Back then, she'd paid close attention to his instructions, all wide-eyed innocence and oh-so-very eager to please... So why, exactly, had that changed? Pinning it on the Perfect Apples seemed too simple, somehow... too easy. Surely there was more to it; surely it wasn't just the silly apples that turned her from a cheerful apprentice to a cynical, hateful child...
...Besides, even if that was the case, he mused while descending the stairs, it wouldn't be so simple to fix. Not after how she'd acted back there.
If she'd asked for a nice, private apology after they'd finished their business here, back in the safety and security of the guild, then he would've gladly given it to her. In fact, she likely wouldn't have needed to ask -- all he needed was a bit of time to absorb his mistake, and he would've corrected it on his own. But she hadn't given him the chance. It was just all "RAWR GROVEL BEFORE ME YOU STUPID BIRD RAWR SNARL SPIT!"
...Okay, he knew that was probably exaggerating a little. He didn't particularly need the memory of Laramie's torn expression to pop back up right now.
But she'd been so rude--! If only...
"......uuuughh..."
Startled, Chatot hurried towards the groaning, and quickly discovered the source: three unpleasantly familiar pokémon. Not long before, he would have been glad to see them -- even welcomed them warmly, just as he had just recently. Now he would have been glad to see them, but for very different reasons...
...If not for their wounds.
Something -- someone? -- had given the poisonous trio a thorough work-over, leaving all three in bad shape. Koffing lay half-deflated, leaning heavily on his bad side... but Chatot could still see the puncture wounds, and the edge of at least one of the gashes that had stolen away his air and left him grounded. Zubat was hardly better; a particularly deep slash threatened to detach his right wing if he so much as twitched it wrong, so it lay useless beside him. And as for their leader... Skuntank's thick fur made it difficult to judge how severe his injuries were, but the massive skunk was lying very, very still.
...Had...
...Had Ichigo done this? Could Team Hanabi have gotten ahead of himself somehow, caught up with Team Skull, and... and ravaged them this way?
"...It... It serves you right, you scalawags!" Forcing down any semblance of concern, Chatot straightened -- he couldn't show sympathy. Not to these three. If Ichigo had taken her pound of flesh out of their thieving hides, t-then...
"...Ch..." A yellowed, red-rimmed eye cracked open and fixed upon him, and a hoarse laugh rattled from Skuntank's throat. "...Cha...aw-haw... C...come to mock us... bird?"
"B-be quiet!" The anger swelled up on its own now, and Chatot let that venom drip from his tone as he spat, "After all you've done... The way you abused my trust!"
"...Your... trust...?"
The dark-type's body shook with poorly contained laughter... no, that was wrong. He wasn't trying to hide his amusement at all. It was just that his wounds made laughing painful... but that wasn't going to stop him from mocking the parrot.
"Al... Always about you, isn't it...? Ch-chaw-haw... haw..."
"......" Ruffling his feathers, Chatot opened his beak to spit out a scathing retort... but nothing came. The words didn't die on his tongue so much as he couldn't think of the perfect way to respond. Before anything good came to mind, another strained chuckle reached his ears.
"...Whoa... ho-ho...! H-he was the only o-one w... who actually trusted us, r-right... Boss?"
"Y-yeah... No-one else... O-only him..."
"Chaw-haw-haw! H-him and Wigglytuff! Thanks to that Perfect Apple..."
"...Th-that apple..." Chatot almost cursed; to finally find his voice only to echo that! "That was..."
"D-doubt it was half as good as all the others, though," piped Zubat. "I mean, it was one of the smaller ones..."
"W-whoa-ho...hoo...! Food's always b-better when you sneak it!"
"That's right! We never did thank your guild for the wonderful feast we gave ourselves!"
"......" Chatot's head was spinning. He needed a moment -- a wall or a stone he could steady himself against. But there weren't any nearby, and to move to one -- to seek one out would be showing weakness. Would let them know just how much their taunts affected him.
"Two feasts, in fact! First in your larder, then at Apple Woods while waiting for those weaklings to show up!" Skuntank's grin was pained, but his voice was almost purely gleeful as he declared, "The looks on their hapless faces when they saw us...! And then..."
He trailed off into a hacking fit, but plastered another wicked smirk onto his face before finishing "Then you did all the rest. T... thanks so much."
"......"
He couldn't stop shaking. And his voice was betraying him again -- his throat had managed to dry out despite the bile threatening to rise instead of the perfect retort, and he couldn't think... didn't know what to say. How could they... how could they...?!
"W-we should've done more during our li... our little expedition together. M...maybe taken out that stuttering Corphish after he led us to that s-statue... Or gotten that stupid beaver or the shrieking flower alone and..."
"S-stop! Don't..." Hissing through his beak, he snapped, "Don't threaten our precious apprentices!"
"Ch... chh. D-don't make me laugh... Weaklings, all of 'em."
"They're not weak!" An edge of vindictive glee crept into his tone as he added, "After all, it's clear Team Hanabi wiped out the lot of you, so..."
"Haaaa...Hanabi? Ch-chaw-haw... T... This wasn't them."
"...What?" Blinking rapidly, Chatot protested, "But..."
And then he remembered.
How could he have forgotten?! In all the fuss, between finding out the truth about Team Skull, Ichigo's accusations, and all the rest, he'd -- he'd actually forgotten that...
...He...
He had to clear the way.
He had to make sure -- if Team Hanabi had gotten ahead of him, then--!
"...H...hey...!"
But Skuntank's protest fell on deaf ears as Chatot took off deeper into the heart of Brine Cave, no longer having any time to waste on the skunk or his lackies. Much more pressing matters lay at hand...
