Chapter 11
By the time I had returned back to my room, Zyla and Zazz were asleep. Zyla had moved her bed closer to mine, which I bet took some work because the bed was misshapen and lopsided. Either way, the fennekin slept without sign of nightmares. Zazz was the same. Though, by the shaking of his tail, one could only assume he was having a good dream. Thank goodness, I told myself. The last thing we needed was one of them falling prey to what Chappy had encountered.
I walked up to my bed and plopped down amongst the fluff. It was soft and warm. Probably because Zyla was unbelievably warm next to me. It was like sleeping next to a heater. Relieved that I wouldn't spend the night alone, I curled up next to her and and tucked my tail over my nose. The two of them breathing soothed me. Without even realizing it, I was asleep.
The morning came almost too soon. Sounds of pokemon walking around the guild had already woken Zyla, so when she stood up, I lost my source of heat. I opened my eyes softly. Zazz was up, too, but he had already left. An early riser, then. Maybe back in my world I was just the same. After a bit of thought, however, I deemed that thought a lie.
Zyla nudged my side. "Zakuro, time to get up. They have breakfast here, too."
Alright. Now that was something I would definitely get up for. Zyla helped me to my feet. Ow, my paws were sore from the day before. Hopefully we didn't have to go anywhere else anywhere soon. Thunder Peak had been an adventure already. Maybe Zazz would make it so the three of us could take the day off.
Zyla and I trudged our way out of Zazz's abnormally dark room. It was annoying to be blinded right when we walked out of his room. How much did dark pokemon need to be in the dark? Maybe the room's light could be rearranged. Now that Zazz had roommates, we talk to him about changing it.
Zyla and I started up the ladder. When we were at the top, yet again, we were one of the last people at the table. The weight of what had happened the night before didn't hit me until I caught sight of Chappy, awake and clean, at the other end of the table. He caught sight of me and blinked. Maybe he was just as surprised as well. What kind of new guild recruit saved him from nightmares you couldn't wake from by jumping into his dream?
Oh, right. Me.
Zazz greeted us when we approached our spots. "Good morning, slakoths. You ready for another day of adventuring." Oh great. So we were adventuring. And just when I wanted to sleep more.
"Where are we going today?" Zyla asked, taking her seat. "Just doing some missions?"
"Dunno yet," he replied, leaning to keep meeting her eyes when I had taken my seat as well. I yawned and rested my chin on the table. What kind of jobs could you do here? Maybe guilds in this world were like police stations, keeping the peace and helping the public. "We can pick one later on."
The table was all seated now. The same pokemon I had seen before were talking idly. They didn't even seem to remember what Taillow had talked about the day before. I was probably right. The time gear thing hadn't been too big of a deal, or else they'd be in complete chaos. I sighed. It was like I was the only one worried. Not about the time gear thing, but the Chappy thing. There were so many questions spinning around my head I hadn't noticed that the table had gone quiet and Coco had drawn everyone's attention until Zazz nudged me with his elbow.
"Everyone," the wigglytuff spoke. "You heard the news yesterday. Great Forest has been frozen in time because the time gear has been stolen. Chappy and I have agreed that it is our duty as a guild to find out who is behind this. So, two teams will be sent to the forest in order to investigate!" The guild cheered.
Hm. A trip to the Great Forest. Must be quite the trip. I wondered what the place looked like up close. Maybe like the forest in Chappy's dream.
...
You know, now that I thought about it, that might be exactly what it looks like now.
That fact concerned me slightly.
"Alright, everyone, Chappy are going to speak one last time while you eat." Coco and Chappy stood, bowed in dismissal, and waddled their way off to their office. The closed the door tightly behind them.
Shoot, I had completely missed the pokemon handing me food again. They must be pretty good at blending in with the crowd, because there weren't any pokemon in the room that weren't seated. That didn't matter now. I had a delicious plate full of food in front of me, and I wasn't going to waste time to devour it.
Halfway through my meal, a bunnelby on my side of the table started speaking up.
"You think they're deciding which teams to go out to the Great Forest?" Her voice carried all the way to the other side of the table.
"Without a doubt," Taillow stated. She licked her beak, wiping the remainder of the meal off. "They're probably going to send one of the more powerful teams. Who knows what's out there now? It could be filled with a bunch of dangerous pokemon. Or worse, the pokemon that took the time gear."
"They wouldn't stay there," a hoothoot disagreed. "Think about it, if you stole something that valuable, would you stay there? No, they took off and ran."
"But who are they sending?" Taillow asked. "There's a lot of strong teams in this guild. Who do you think can take on something dangerous?"
"Well, Topsy's team has been here the longest." The spewpa who had spoken the day before shivered. "They are pretty powerful…. I can't imagine that Coco wouldn't send them." Topsy, having heard them, smiled.
"Now, now," she assured. "Just because we've been here the longest doesn't mean we're the most powerful. I'm sure there's plenty of capable teams in the guild." The silence that followed was doubtful.
I was licking my plate clean again when Coco and Chappy emerged. The whole guild dropped their plates on the table and turned to them. I was a little late to follow, but no one noticed. Zazz rolled his eyes at me, though.
Coco sat on her end of the table, Chappy at her side. The smile on her face was wide as ever. Chappy, however, looked doubtful. Had she picked someone he didn't agree with? Or he was just worried about the teams in general. It's not everyday someone steals a time gear. There were high stakes in this mission.
"Topsy's and Zazz's team will be going to the Great Forest." Chappy froze. It wasn't quite the way he had expected her to say it. But, now that it was out there, everyone's jaw had already dropped, as well as my own. The only ones who didn't seem surprised were Topsy and Zazz. They bowed their heads in agreement.
Wait.
What?
Zyla and I had barely been here a day and they're already sending us out on dangerous missions? Sure, Zazz gave us quite the handicap, but he'd just be lugging us around like two suitcases full of rocks. They were joking, they had to be joking. Yet when I waited for them to shout, "HA! Surprise! You guys suck too much to go!" the realization that what she said was serious sunk in.
I was now wide awake. Wide awake, tired, and terrified.
"C-Coco, you must be joking?" A nearby pokemon laughed a nervous, robotic laugh. "Zazz, now I agree with you about him, but his team? They're new. They look like great pokemon and all but, Great Forest? I mean… Great Forest? Great Forest? That seems a little ridiculous." Zyla didn't mind that the porygon had pointed out the obvious, she looked straight up concerned that Coco and Chappy had picked her in the first place. As each and every set of eyes rested on her and me, I felt her fur warm in stagefright. I pressed up against her softly.
"They are more than capable, capable!" Coco assured with a wide smile. "And with Zazz leading them, they will be great, great!"
Now I was convinced that this wasn't a joke. Zyla, sensing it as well, pressed closer against me. Zazz and Topsy stood from their seats, bowing their heads. What was this? Were they saying their final goodbyes? Oh, great. The Great Forest was going to be a complete nightmare.
"It is an honor," Topsy said, her tail likewise bowing. Zazz tried to mimic the motion of her tail, but when his just shook, he stilled it.
"Thank you, guild master." He lifted his head. His purple eyes were nearly burning in determination. "We will bring back whatever we can."
The guild paused. I'm pretty sure this is the moment where everyone started applauding the chosen groups. But they wasn't going to happen. Coco had chosen two newbies to go out on a dangerous mission when there was an entire guild of capable pokemon sitting before her. It wasn't hate, just complete surprise. I forced myself not to avert my gaze from Coco. If anyone met my eyes, I knew it would be awkward. Zyla was following my example, trembling.
When everyone had finished their seemingly ceaseless staring, Coco stood. "Well, everyone!" She struck a pose. "Get to work! We have a busy day ahead of us! Let's go! Go, guild, go!" The first couple of seconds after she spoke, the pokemon before her didn't look willing to move. As soon as Topsy and Zazz turned to their teams, however, they all stood and left. None of them looked back at us as they left. It was a little disturbing, it felt like we were suddenly outcasts. Zazz and Topsy were completely numb to this. Even Dua, who had at first seemed surprised, was back to her always-calm state. Theo had an unusual look in his eyes that switched from hostility towards Zyla and I to confusion. Trust me, bud, I told myself, I'm just as shocked as you are.
Topsy, Dua, and Theo came over to our side to the table. Topsy looked determined as she spoke. "You two ready for your first real adventure?" First? Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. Seeing my name on a stone foretelling that I would save this backwards world was first. This'll make my second, and I hoped to arceus that it was going to be a bit milder.
But then again, what part of my life at this point was mild?
"We're ready, but…" Zyla was trying to put her thoughts into words. Luckily our good friend Theo had plenty to say, the majority exactly what needed to be said.
"Why do they get to come?!" His voice probably carried to the other room, but there was no sign of any pokemon coming back to watch, so they let him blow his top. "They're completely new! They've only gone on one mission! Zazz should just tag along with us! Why would the guild master choose them?!" It stung a bit, but I was getting used to Theo. He was the type you just ignore and more on.
"Coco talked to Zazz and I this morning," Topsy said in her calming voice. "She said that Zyla and Zakuro are plenty capable of handling themselves." Coco? Recommending Zyla and I? Oh Arceus, she thinks I'm a top notch pokemon because I saved Chappy. It was cool and all, but sending a us to do this… I wasn't quite sure what the wigglytuff on her mind. "And when has she ever been wrong about anything? Not once." Theo crossed his arms. He wanted to protest, but he just mumbled under his breath.
Charming.
"What do you think?" Zazz asked Zyla and I. Horrible, I told him mentally. Completely insane. Crazy. Bizarre. Suicidal. All-around a big no go. But you know, when you're asked by the guild master and have the support of the leader of your team, what can you say? None of what I had in mind, that was sure.
"It'll be great," Zyla said, half excited, half terrified. "But I'd like to stay close. If Zakuro and I get lose there, it might be the end." I agreed. None of that Scooby Doo let's-split-up-gang kind of crap. This was real life. Real life to pokemon.
"We never split up unless it is an emergency," Topsy assured. "If worse comes to worse, use your badge." Her eyes swept over Theo and Dua. The two of nodded once. "I suppose it is time to leave. Zazz and I know the way, so don't stray too far behind." The remainder of us nodded.
The guild was easy to leave. When it came to getting out of the town, that was a whole different story. Zazz had insisted on picking up items for the road. Topsy agreed and, long story short, Zyla, Dua, Theo and I were stuck sitting in the center of town waiting for them to figure out what to buy. This is worse than boys taking their shopaholic girlfriends to the mall. These two had only bought one oran berry and were in a heated debate about how much more to buy. Something told me this had happened before because Dua and Theo had brought little books to read.
Wonder where they got those, I found myself idly thinking. A pokemon print shop? For some reason, the image of that didn't fit well in my head. Ugh… how much longer were they going to take?
Someone bumped into me, hard. I was about to see who it was until I felt the bag on my left shoulder shift slightly. A tiny hand snuck in and out of it, taking with it a small amount of the currency they used in this world. My impulses took over. I grabbed the hand just as it was about to pocket the change. A surprised-looking pansear flinched at my glower.
"O-o-oh my…" he whispered. A reddish color that matched the crazy hairdo on his head blossomed on his cheeks. I glowered harder, daring him to talk. He started shivering in my grasp, suddenly desperate to get away. Dua and Theo, who had put down their items to catch the commotion, blinked in surprise. Even Zyla, who had been taking a light nap, lifted her head in my direction. Topsy and Zazz were too busy debating whether the price of a certain pecha berry was too low or high depending on a bruise on one of the sides of it. "I… I didn't mean-"
"If you didn't mean to," I interrupted in a menacingly low voice, "then you wouldn't have even tried in the first place." He flinched. It was like my words had dealt a physical blow on him. Good. I had this guy terrified. Now that he was under my control, he willingly dropped the coins he had taken into my palm. Without looking away, I placed the coins back in my bag. "What's your business sticking your hands in other people's pockets?"
"I… I um…" He dropped his gaze to the ground. "I'm hungry, so I thought if I tried… if I tried to get some cash..." Hungry? What, did he have enough food to buy himself something? He didn't seem like a very seasoned criminal, though. Anyone could tell that they were being robbed. There was no stealth and no thought process behind it. He had to have gotten his skills from a cereal box.
I was about to call him out for lying until his stomach growled, loudly. It lasted quite a while. It was like his body was already beginning to digest itself from the inside out. Ok, so this guy was hungry. He wasn't an experienced crook, either.
He was telling the truth.
I sighed out my nose. "Don't move." The pansear did as told. Now the little guy was looking nervous. I dug through my bag, sifting through the junk we had. Paperwork that showed proof of becoming a team, small pebbles that had it had caught during our last adventure, our badge…. There it was: the apple that had come with our starter kit. I held it out to him. He took it. At first, he was ready to take a bite out of it, but he stopped. The pansear scanned me. "No, I didn't poison it. I'm not too familiar with pokemon that keep poisoned apples in their bags to give to random people."
"You… Why?" He seemed more than surprised. What? Did I give him a brick of gold? Was there some sort of custom to giving pokemon apples on the street? I didn't think that was the case.
"You're hungry, right? No one should ever go hungry." I snorted. "Eat that and promise me you won't ever steal, or try to steal, again, alright?" Pansear looked down to the apple in his hands, to me, then back to the apple.
"Wow. Thank you, Ms. Shinx!" I opened my mouth to correct him, but he was already off, hopping away while taking massive bites out of the apple. Pokemon nearby who had been paying attention followed the primate with their eyes. It was unusual to see pokemon happy about being handed an apple, I guess. No skin off my bones. I didn't care what they thought.
"Zakuro, you're so nice!" Zyla nudged me. Oh, I nearly forgot that Pansear had already skipped off. No need to keep looking then. "Not many people give away free stuff. You're one of a kind!"
"I hope you don't mind that I gave him our apple," I replied quietly. Zyla laughed.
"Of course! If I had been in the same situation, I would've done the same! Don't worry about it!" She laughed again. She was genuinely happy. What had made her so bright and awake all of a sudden? Surely no one would get that happy over just giving away an apple.
…
Well… she and others had mentioned how much harder the people in the pokemon world were lately. Maybe what I just did… maybe it was completely unusual. Was it really a rare sight? Wow, this place really needed some help.
"You four ready?" Zazz asked, Topsy on his tail. "We finally got everything that we need."
"Yep!" Zyla hopped up to him. "We're ready for the road!"
Team Dream Was Assigned A Mission!
Zakuro And Zyla Are Nervous!
Pansear Used Thief!
Zakuro Is Immune!
Saving Game…
Game Saved!
