Chapter 10 Kizashi no Kurai

She hated this building. She didn't know why; she just did. It wasn't that it was an ugly, hideous blob of one, or that the shade of paint on its walls was the wrong color. She wasn't that picky; rather she enjoyed some parts of it, to a small extent. The fountains and theater in it were very beautiful and elaborate, and crowned with golden statues of ancient Pokemon who had revolutionized the world and made it a better place for them all to live in. Even though those parts of the building were off-limits to visitors, much less outsiders, she didn't care.

However, she had heard of some strange activity going on in a forest not too far from here; it was called "Treeshroud Forest." According to the rumors, if they were right, a few mysterious pokemon had been sighted deep inside the forest apparently doing some illicit activities like stealing ancient artifacts from an ancient temple that was located somewhere deep in the heart of the woods. She never dared to venture very far from her house, for that would make her Koori-kun very angry. She hated seeing him so angry.

Lately, the Totodile seemed to have become even more angry than usual. The hatred in his red orbs was becoming more frequent, and the number of bruises she had acquired on her body due to his roughness with her increased as well, and she knew it was only because-or due to one thing. Nida knew deep down, that he was right and that it was her fault that the Guild constantly nagged at him about getting rid of her since she wasn't a Guild member and was merely an outsider. Everything was all her fault, after all. The fact that she hated the Holy Wigglytuff Guild and all it stood for, the fact that she hated the Guildmaster and everyone there; was only one of the problems, but it was significant enough that she knew she had to stop these feelings, and she must confess to the Guildmaster, before he could get to her.

She eyed the symbol of the guild engraved on a plaque. It was red and black in color, and featured a red square that was chipped at the side, with an inverse lightning bolt encircling it. The lightning bolt was pure black, like dark skies, but there was a little dot in the center that was white. Above it were words engraved in a foreign language; words that were incomprehensible to her ears. However, some people could read the ancient language.

"Taciturnem, dolorum. Fulminatio scintillus, nonus arcansu fatalis ensemblus combatus nigritudus diabolum. Bellum letalis ante centurius, et esta bellum terrible to Dei lachyrate dolor lacrimas." An unfamiliar voice chanted. Nida turned and spotted a small gray mouse standing there, reading the text off of the stone. His ears were big and tipped with white, his eyes were brown and his bushy gray tail swung back and forth like a pendulum, counting down the time, counting down the time...slowly, slowly...

"What are you doing?" She asked, inwardly wondering just who he was.

The Minccino stumbled backwards in alarm, obviously having been caught unawares, and he fell into a bunch of pottery that was along the opposite wall, and broke them. The pottery fell and broke and instantly pieces of it went everywhere and dove into his fur like hailstones. He cried out in pain. Nida rushed to his side in desperation, hoping that it wasn't her fault that he was injured.

"Are you okay, sir?" She asked hurriedly, helping him to his feet. He stared at her in awe for a few moments, the curious look never leaving his intelligent face and then he spoke. He seemed to be in the process of rearranging his thoughts.

"...I-I'm fine. I was just so engrossed in that fascinating plaque over there. You see, I study stuff like this all the time. I'm an archaeologist for a scientific guild from far away." He explained monotonously, tripping through his sentences like a man does when speaking to a very pretty and attractive woman.

An archae-what? You mean...you speak that weird language?" Nida stuttered.

"Archaeologist. I study ancient cities, civilizations, Pokemon...you name it! This plaque is mysterious, yet fascinating. It talks about crying out in pain, and then nine fates come and battle an evil figure. I can't figure out what any of it means...I know it refers to nine Pokemon in general-but who should it refer to?" He trailed off.

"Your name is...?" She uttered.

"Mince. You are pretty, Miss Nida." He replied.

"You've heard of me?" She stuttered.

"Of course! You're an explorer at that guild, and you also happen to have a penchant for ancient things as well. I've seen you bringing in old rocks into here before because you often use dig in order to help you find them at the beach, right?" Mince guessed.

Nida's red eyes widened. "Wow! How could you tell that much by looking at me?"

"You're famous. Koori talks about you all the time." Mince responded airily. "He says you're difficult and stubborn at times, but that you're very cute and nice." He didn't even notice that Nida had stopped speaking. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing. Koori-kun's a little harsh at times, that's all." She lied, since no one would actually believe her if she told the truth about how he treated her. She was an outsider and no one liked outsiders.

"Right, he doesn't like your status as an outsider or whatever those sanctimonious fools say it is. I don't care about that nonsense, though. Inner character matters more. Speaking of which, I hear there's a new bunch of recruits at that kooky place, and that they're exploring some creepy place. I think it was called...Secret Forest." Mince said.

Nida's eyes widened. "They can't go there! That's where a group of thugs live! They're real mean and nasty!" She exclaimed.

"Which?"

"T-Team Skull."

Mince's eyebrow rose. "They're nothing but chickens. I scared them off before." He bragged arrogantly.

As Te and Koeda entered the woods with their new "slaves" Ran the Starly and Rena the Spinarak, they couldn't help but feel a sense of unease, somehow. It was as if something dangerous lurked there, watching...waiting...to ambush them and kill, kill...

"I don't like this place..." Te said, before shivering.

"Don't be so negative! Everything will be all right!" Koeda encouraged. He was bursting with anticipation at all of this. He was highly optimistic about the fact that he had gotten his own "slaves" to join him, but they weren't allowed to talk or act like they owned the place. Hibana had told him this.

Ran spoke up then. "I think...someone's watching us." She said timidly, a little perturbed by the strange pokemon she had met. They were nice enough, but they sounded mind-controlled and brainwashed, somehow. The young Starly didn't know enough about these Pokemon yet but she supposed she could stick with them.

Koeda glared at her. "Did I give you permission to speak, bird? You are not the boss here, so shut your beak!" He yelled, scaring Momo, who then unleashed her Wing Attack at him, which sent him reeling backwards.

Te threw Ember at Koeda. "What the hell's gotten into you? You've been acting weird ever since we joined that demented place! She's a Pokemon like us, now knock it off and leave her alone!" He screamed.

Koeda glared at him as well. "Oh, so you're saying you don't believe in the Guild's rules, then? They're a guide to everyday life, and everything in there is true, true, true!"

"No it isn't, you naive fool." Rena interjected. "Rena knows why you do this to yourself, that she does. She knows that you are a lonely pokemon who feels the need to belong somewhere. However, immersing yourself in darkness will do no good. Rena herself has experienced loneliness due to my family being killed by a guild." She trailed off, gazing at him sadly.

"What did you say? The Guild is true and everything in it is real! Outsiders have to obey a code-"

"THAT'S WRONG!" Rena screamed, causing Koeda to fall backwards in shock. "You're only lying to yourself, Koeda. This isn't right."

Te shivered. What was wrong with these creatures, anyway? Why were they so messed up and prone to fighting with one another?

"The only thing that isn't a lie, ho ho ho, is that you are all idiots!" A weird voice interjected.

All of them turned to see three figures. Zubat, Koffing, and a big black skunk with a long black and white tail stood there behind them with very nasty grins on their faces.

"You're the idiots who stole Lyle's toy!" Te exclaimed.

"Lyle? That little brat? Chaw haw haw haw, well he's gone. I heard the miserable little losers at the Guild got rid of him. Transported him somewhere, that's the news I heard. Are you guys part of their wimpy little crew?" The skunk asked.

"Yes, and we are proud to be part of the Guild!" Koeda cried.

"Yes, but he forced me into it!" Te echoed.

"Hey, losers. I see you idiots are annoying, so we figured it's about time we had some fun and beat you up." Zubat explained briefly.

"I don't approve of violence!" Ran interjected, flying at Zubat.

Zubat knocked her out with one blow. The unconscious Starly hit the ground in front of the other three stunned pokemon. All three of them gasped.

"Unfair advantage, isn't it, Chief? We're going to even it out, right?" Koffing asked.

"Chaw haw haw, you're right! We should give 'em the time of day! Smelly gas combo!"

Clouds of gas came and filled their lungs, and all three of them passed out cold.

"That was easy." Skuntank chuckled. "Those wimps didn't even fight back."

"Yeah, but we will!" A new voice uttered.

Surprised, Team Skull turned to see three figures standing there. One was a yellow mouse with pink cheeks, black and yellow pointed ears, and a black tail, the other was a pink mouse that had blue eyes and a spoon-shaped tail. The last was a Buizel. All three looked quite ticked off.

"Who the hell are you?" They demanded.

"We are...Team Unknown! We're here to kick your asses all the way to hell and back!" The Buizel exclaimed.

"Chaw haw haw, quite some ego you have, huh? We'll see how long that lasts, right, boys?" Skuntank scoffed.

Zubat turned pale upon seeing the Pichu emit sparks out of its body.

"Charge..." He cried, and released electricity. Right now, he was pumping up for his real attack...which would be atrocious to a flying type like Zubat. "Ready?" He asked Kentachi, who nodded.

"I'll stand back."

Shinichi then let loose with his "Shock Wave." All three Pokemon screamed as they were fried by lightning that hit all of them. Unfortunately, Shinichi also happened to receive some of his electricity back as well and he passed out then and there.

Team Skull was initially dazed by the sudden attack, so that gave Kentachi and Ran a distinct advantage. Kentachi then unleashed a Quick Attack on Koffing and Skuntank and then let loose with Water Gun on them! Momo used Psychic on Koffing, which promptly knocked him out and then used Metronome and randomly got Flamethrower, which rendered Skuntank and Zubat down for the count.

"Now...let's take these two back to their little club." Kentachi remarked, before enlisting his friends' help in trying to pick up all of the team me ers, and taking them back. Eventually they found a female Chimecho who seemed insistent that she would make up some good homes for the Spinarak and Starly to live in separate from the guild, and that they could not help.

"Why can't they live with the Guild?" He asked curiously.

"It's just not allowed. I can't get much simpler than that, can I? Now, please, hand them to me." Chimecho insisted gratingly, her patience with these infuriating outsiders running low.

"Okay."

The next morning, the Guild was startled to find two Pokemon, their own, Tepig and Snivy, knocked out on the stairs. The other two had returned to their native homes (provided by Chimecho) to await further orders. Chatot was furious at the fact that they had failed a simple mission-and refused to hear any excuses.

"We're sorry!" Te exclaimed. "We were knocked out-"

WHAM!

He didn't expect to receive a blow in the face. Blood dripped down from his face as Te fell over, gasping for breath. When he looked up, he was startled to find Tim standing over him, holding a bloody log in his arms, and he did not look happy; rather he looked stern and unrelenting like a cruel judge of doom. "You heretic."

"How did you-" Te gasped.

"Koeda told me." He replied simply.

"Koeda...why?" Te uttered, feeling appalled at the way his friend had sold him out. He had thought that their friendship was genuine, but apparently it wasn't. He glanced to his friend for help.

Koeda stared at him coldly. "The Wigglytuff Guild does not approve of heretics and traitors who poison our faith with lies and deceit. You ought to be ashamed of yourself for harboring such ill thoughts." He spat harshly, and then he turned his back on Te, who stared at him in bewilderment.

Before he could open his mouth to explain, the world froze.

Suddenly, time froze. Te was left standing, but Koeda, Tim, and the others were all unmoving. He tried to open his mouth to speak-but found he couldn't. Somehow, he was unable to speak.

He saw a battlefield. There was blood everywhere. Dead pokemon lay at his feet; male Pokemon, females and their offspring, all of them hopelessly dead. He saw a Chikorita with its stomach torn open. Dried blood covered its arms and legs, which were lifeless stumps. Its eyes, (which seemed to cry out for help no matter how many times one looked at it) were impossible to not look away from.

Te felt the urge to vomit come over him, but he sucked it in and continued walking. Eventually, he spotted a field that lay ahead of him. Two figures were fighting there, both still alive, and covered with blood.

He saw that a Floatzel with a strange scar on its head was the main fighter. His paws were stained with blood, and it seemed the amount only increased no matter how much he looked. Suddenly, a piercing cry startled both of the two warriors.

"STOP!" A young voice cried, and a little Cleffa came running at the Floatzel, who merely rolled his eyes and raised his sword. The Cleffa...was cut in half. One part of it fell to the ground. The other landed near a ghost pokemon, whose stomach opened up and sucked the cadaver in.

"You've stained your hands with blood, you traitor. Yet, you still dare oppose me with those foolish ideals of yours?" The cold, cruel voice remarked.

"Your reign won't last forever. Someone will come and take you down. A human..."

"Hah, that human? They're no threat to me! I killed that human before it could do anything! You're too late, Kentachi, too late, to do anything of the sort. The world is already messed up." The ghost bellowed, and then it laughed; a deep, cruel laugh that seemed to fit a monster. A cruel, hideous monster.

Suddenly, he was moving again. Tim was staring at him in wonder. "You...were talking to yourself." He muttered.

Everyone gasped before they started murmuring among themselves.

"This is wonderful! Rather than doubt us, it seems the Guildmaster has blessed him with the most sacred gift of all-the ability to keep in touch with his true self!" Chatot exclaimed, and suddenly everyone started clapping and cheering enthusiastically.

"Gee, pardner, I didn't think you could get to that level so easily." Bidoof said sheepishly.

"Oh my god, you are so cool! Can I have your autograph?" Sunflora screamed.

"Hey, hey, give him some room!" Corphish cried.

Chimecho came over to Chatot's side. "Some outsiders are...causing a problem outside Treasure Town. They say we haven't let their son talk to them or send them letters at all-and they said the only reason they'd let us keep him is if we give them any money we promised to lend them. What should we do?" She asked.

The response was simple. "Let the Guildmaster deal with it, and...if they resist, transport them!" He whispered icily, his voice no longer sounding like that of a bird but a demon.

The room grew silent as everyone seemed to have heard those formidable words, and all of them pressed together, not sure what to do or say at the time. Bidoof stood in front of Tim and Pure and Pearl and reassured them while they shivered and cried, saying that it had to be a bad thing in order for Chatot to get this angry.

"But...that's a little...too harsh." Chimecho stuttered. "I don't want to..."

"Trust me, you will do it. It is an order, and you will cleanse their tainted blood, won't you?" He asked darkly, staring at her eyes. Chimecho felt a strange sensation come over her.

"I guess so. I'll go transport them." Chimecho replied mutely. She turned and floated out the door like a lifeless ghost drifting in a vast world of nothingness.

Koeda stared after them. "What does it mean...to be transported?" He asked.

"It is not fit, nor is it time to discuss what it really means. Just fear it if you hear it. Put fear into your heart and obey the Guildmaster and all will be well." He spoke, his tongue spewing twisted lies. "To all of you, the children of the Guildmaster...I would like it if all of you would listen to the speech that I am about to deliver."

No one spoke, all looking anxious.

"What happened?" Te asked.

He pulled out a piece of paper, and began reading from it:

"To all those who are the Holy Children of I, the One Devoted Savior of Pokemon-kind, Guildmaster Wigglytuff, I am very pleased with many of you and your kind regards for me-and the need to help Pokemon everywhere know how great it is to be our servants. I am very happy with the new recruits, but I wish to explain some of the issues we are now facing in person. However, I have fallen ill with a terrible illness due to encounters with the great evil and poison known as the "outsiders." I believe that the "slaves" that Koeda and Te have acquired caused me to fall gravely ill and that is their sin for not washing their hands before touching my pure hands! Chatot will kindly explain most of the following issues that I have deemed most important!

Signed,

Holy Guildmaster Wigglytuff

He finished, and then he cleared his throat. "Here are the new decrees that The Great Guildmaster has asked me to inform you all of! First, the major issue that has been concerning us all is the constant entry and re-entry of outsiders and team members' slaves! You all know that that is illegal and a clear infraction of the rules.."

His gaze landed on two of the others. He looked furiously at them as he spoke.

"Diglett and Loudred! You are all given the very important responsibility of protecting the Guildmaster and his beloved servants from the filthy germs that are present in the outside atmosphere...and YOU FAILED! YOU BECAME LAZY...AND NOW THE GUILDMASTER IS SICK! WHAT DO YOU TWO REBELS HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELVES?"

"I AM SORRY, SIR CHATOT, BUT WE DID NOT KNOW ANY BETTER. A STUPID OUTSIDER HAS FORCED HIMSELF INSIDE AROUND TWO TIMES IN THE PAST FEW DAYS, AND ONCE HE KNOCKED BOTH OF US OUT BEFORE WE KNEW IT!" Loudred boomed.

"QUIET! I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO IS ALLOWED TO YELL! KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN, LOUDRED!" Chatot squawked. "You know what the punishment is for backtalk...two days out in the outsider's town!"

Everyone gasped.

"Why go this far?" Pure cried. "It was only a minor rule."

"Desperate measures are necessary in desperate times, Pure. Let me inform you of a new rule to be put in place-all guild members must be screened before stepping outside of this guild or inside-for the safety of the Guildmaster, do not allow any more outsiders to come in here without authorization! We shall hire a cop in here at all times to monitor them for suspicious activity." Chatot explained.

"Next, on to the other concern I have been having lately...the amount of outsiders seems to be increasing. You two have team members, right?" Chatot said coldly, staring straight at Te and Koeda. "Te and Koeda...explain to us why you allowed an outsider to save your team after you were attacked by some! Your teammates in there acted rationally and weren't uppity in any way...were they?"

"Well, Te started calling this place demented and said that I've been acting weird. He also told me to stop teaching one of our team members how to be in its place." Koeda said.

"Is this true?" Chatot asked dangerously. "This is heresy, and you must not engage in this kind of activity around team members. They are a lesser race than we are, and much more dangerous. They are capable of the most insidious of actions, good or ill, and can justify it at any cost. They only care about getting their own way. You must take caution around them, Te. Besides that, you are going to be punished as well for blasphemy. Trust me, they are stupid, ill-informed creatures, unlike us civilized Pokemon. You can never trust them."

Everyone cheered, even at the idea of Te being outcasted.

"B-Blasphemy? That's preposterous!" Tim exclaimed.

"He deserves it. He is an outsider himself. You should not have trusted him in the first place. They are incapable of any good feelings." Hibana added.

"SILENCE! I AND I ALONE ADMINISTER THE PUNISHMENTS! THIS IS NOT A SOCIAL FORUM, THEREFORE YOU MUST NOT OPEN YOUR MOUTHS AGAIN UNLESS I SAY SO!" Chatot screamed. "Your punishment...is to be shunned from our place for two months. You will not interact with us, nor anyone here. You will live separately."

"This is unfair! I didn't-"

"Of course it's unfair! I'd expect nothing less from the kooky idiots who run this place!" Kentachi exclaimed, having brought down the door.

"Who the hell are you?" Chatot asked.

"Kentachi. A member of an independent rescue team who has come to enlighten you all."