Sorry for the lateness! Here is your promised chapter! Man, I really need to pick up the slack. Only one chapter a week? That's pathetic!
Anyways, review and critique and enjoy the chapter!
"Waaaaahhhhhh!"
Flame's cries echoed through the dark tunnel, bouncing off the walls and amplifying as they tumbled down the rapid black river. It was a struggle for Julia to even keep their heads up – both hers and Flame's, since the moment they were in the water, he became totally helpless. Water forced its way into her throat and she gagged, her eyes shutting tightly. If she weren't fighting so hard for her life, she would have yelled at Flame to shut up. Constant bombardment by those loud screams made it feel like her brain was repeatedly striking against her skull.
Although it felt like they were falling through the darkness for an eternity, it was less than a minute before the river spat the two out onto a muddy cavern floor. All that could be heard was coughing and sputtering until Flame and Julia finally managed to catch their breaths and look around. Like the last cave they were in, there was light from the small, bubbling pools of lava scattered around the fringes. This one, however, was wetter; hard-packed dirt transformed into mud by the spray from the river. Some of the water had formed a shallow pool in the ground, which Flame instantly ran to.
"What are you doing?" Julia inquired, watching in confusion as he hopped right in and began covering himself in water.
"We're filthy, Julia!" he explained, focussing on cleaning his light coloured stomach fur. "You look ridiculous!"
Julia looked down at her body and realized, with a start, that he was right. Mud ran down all the way from her chin to her haunches, and when she took a step forward, mud squelched between her toes. Giggling in horror, she followed suit in getting into that pool and scrubbing herself as best she could. A bit of water splashed onto Flame from her frantic washing and he splashed her back. Soon, they were shoving water at each other, laughing like lunatics.
It's better to be wet and having fun than dry and bored to tears! she figured, spitting out a mouthful of water.
After they were both tired out, they trekked out of the pool and onto the driest patch of ground they could find to shake off. Flame then led Julia out through a gap in the wall and they continued on their way.
It wasn't long before Julia was yawning and she became aware of being too exhausted to even keep her ears lifted up. It was likely night outside, she realized. And sleep was dragging along slowly behind her, enticing her to give in to it.
"Flame," she began, stifling another yawn, "how 'bout we call it quits for the night and go to sleep?"
"Uh, sure, why not?" Flame mumbled, staggering a little. He must be tired, too, figured Julia.
It was evident that they were also too tired to even care about where they slept or how comfortable they were, so they just flopped up against the tunnel wall, side-by-side, with their heavy heads resting against each other. By now, Julia thought nothing of this; they were close friends, so a little intimacy was to be expected. She fell asleep immediately.
Flame, however, did not. He could hear Julia's breathing as it slowed, felt her heart pulsing in time with his. Soon, his was beating faster. Geez, I'm so pathetic, he groaned. Here we are – she's fast asleep, and I can't even calm down. We're friends – that's all we are, that's all that we'll ever be. And yet...
His eyes closed halfway, then he carefully reached out with a paw to slowly and gently stroke her cheek. Tears began to gather in his eyes and he blinked furiously, blushing to himself. Damn it, Flame, what are you crying about?! Nothing's wrong! Or maybe... A realization came to him and he became redder in the face. I'm not – ! No, that can't be it! I only like her as a friend! I only can like her as a friend, because someday, she'll recover her memory and go home...
He didn't want to think about that. Desperately, he tried to push the thought away, but it pulled back at him and trapped him. Suddenly, that was all he could think about and he resignedly accepted that he wasn't going to get much sleep. Sure enough, the moment his pulse finally slowed and his eyes closed, Julia stirred beside him, rubbing her eyes with a paw.
"'Morning, Flame. I think." He muttered a 'good morning' back to her, but she didn't move anymore.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" she whispered, her eyes wide. "Did I wake you?" Flame began to object, but she was silent again, still against him. "I'll just sit here awhile for you," she decided, putting her paw into his. Red exploded over Flame's face and he willed the blush to go away. Julia giggled at him, and Flame began to panic. Oh, Arceus, she knows now, doesn't she?!
To his surprise, she just snuggled into him more, her eyes closed. While that was comforting, it only caused him to continue to freak out, now even worse than before. As if I'm going to be able to get to sleep now!
Miraculously, he slowly began to calm down and when his eyes opened again, he felt refreshed and ready for the rest of the walk. That was, until he remembered what had just happened.
"You good?" Julia's voice made Flame jolt, and he quickly stood up.
"Yep, all good!" He knew that he was red-faced again. "Thanks for waiting for me, Julia! Shall we keep going now?" Julia stood as well, stretching out her legs, then followed him. Silence rested on their backs like a blanket, but Flame's mind, being the scumbag that it was, decided to turn the quiet between them into an awkward and uncomfortable pause. Flame did everything he could do stop feeling that way by tossing Julia an apple, stopping from time to time to look at a section of the floor or wall, or picking at his fur, but he could not shake off the feeling of needing to say something to her.
He was saved by the path opening up after a few hours into a larger cavern that was filled with the dripping noises of water falling to the ground. There was something different about this cavern, though. It was brighter, for one thing, for no apparent reason. It was also filled with crystals.
"Woah..." he and Julia breathed in unison. Spikes of crystal poked out from the edges of the cave in every direction, gleaming in pastel hues of pink and blue. The real showstopper, however, was the massive crystal standing at the far end of the room. It was twice Flame's height and almost shone. The violet gem glimmered in Flame's eyes and he looked to his partner.
"This is it! This is Blackfire Crater's treasure!" he exclaimed, grinning. "We made it, Julia!"
"And it was totally worth it to go through this whole cave system," Julia agreed, taking a few enchanted steps forwards. Then her eyes focussed on the wall and she frowned. "Flame, what does that say? Can you read it?"
Flame followed her gaze and noticed words, crudely carved into the rock face. He approached it, curiousity pulling him forward, then he stopped. For a moment, he was confused. For another, he was disappointed. Then, for a few days, he was positively enraged.
The words read: 'Wigglytuff and Chatot were here!'
"W-Wigglytuff and Chatot were here," he read, then repeated for confirmation, "Wigglytuff and Chatot were here. Wigglytuff and Chatot were here." For a second, he was silent, the drips of water the loudest sounds in the cavern.
"FUCK!"
They were here already. They hadn't just tested the water to see if it was safe, they actually went through the caves. It made sense. This entire journey hadn't been a waste; it was a prank. No wonder Chatot had seemed so upbeat and cheerful on the send-off.
"Gods dammit!" he raged, his back exploding into fire. "Fucking hell!"
"Flame, calm down!" Julia pleaded, running to him and putting a paw on his shoulder. "I mean, it's not all that bad – "
"All that way!" Flame interrupted furiously. "All that way for nothing! Hours of just walking, with not a single fucking Pokémon to even fight, and it's not even that fucking bad?! Why are you so calm, anyways?"
Julia looked awkward as she replied, "Well, when I banged my head on that stalactite, I had a vision of Wigglytuff and Chatot hitting it as well, so I kind of already knew."
"You knew and you didn't tell me?!"
"I'm sorry! I thought that maybe they couldn't figure out how to go on past the river – "
"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" screeched Flame. "Do I not matter so much to you that you would just let me go stupidly on? What am I to you, dirt?!"
The torn expression on Julia's face nearly broke Flame's heart – nearly. He stormed over to the crystal and punched it as hard as he could. His paw exploded in pain, but something else took over his mind. The crystal had moved backwards and clicked into place. A distant, ominous rumbling started up and grew frighteningly loud and near in seconds.
Flame backed away and tried to look for an escape, but it was too late. The wall above the crystal burst open and tonnes of destructively powerful water flooded into the room. In an instant, Flame was caught up in the stream and was thrust, wailing, into a newly-opened hole in the floor. If the previous tumble down the river was bad, this was the behemoth of cruel. Currents within the flood tumbled Flame from side to side, kicking out all of his air and grinding him against the walls. He couldn't see Julia, but he suddenly felt the urge to hug her and apologize over and over. We can't die when that was the last thing I said to her!
Then he was flying through the open air, high above the ground. It was all too much for him. He blacked out.
"Flame," Julia whimpered, "wake up."
Flame blinked his eyes open and had to squint in the bright light. His partner leaned low over him, terrified eyes wide. Then, her expression melted into one of relief and she sat back. Suddenly, Flame became aware that he was floating in a warm pool of water. He bobbed upright and took in his surroundings.
He and Julia were in a hot spring surrounded by other Pokémon, who looked on at him in concern. Outside of the hot spring was a thick forest with bird Pokémon flying overhead. They were outside.
"Finally!" he gasped, grinning about. Then, remembering an amendment he needed to make, squeezed Julia tightly. "I'm glad that's over! But where are we?"
"You must be members of Wigglytuff's Guild," said a mellow, crinkled voice. Flame and Julia turned to see an old Torkoal, who gazed on with a smile.
"Y-yeah," Flame replied, staring. "How did you – ?"
"Ever since a Wigglytuff and a Chatot blasted up through here about six years ago, other Pokémon have followed suit, all claiming to be from Wigglytuff's Guild." Torkoal let out a raspy laugh and continued, "Those two have a sense of humour, it seems. Even though when they first escaped from the Blackfire Tunnels, they were anything but thrilled, they seem to enjoy forcing others to go through their same torment."
"So it's a running gag, then," Julia mused, looking at Flame. Then to Torkoal, she asked, "How do we get back to the Guild?"
"It's not a long walk in that direction," Torkoal explained, pointing, "but you must be weary from that trek. Rest for a while in the hot springs!"
The two trainees exchanged glances, then grinned and relaxed. Despite all the water Flame had had to be doused in lately, this seemed like a fitting reward for keeping his sanity. For nearly another hour, they floated in the springs, completely tranquil and at ease, until their hunger forced them to leave.
Flame's anger smouldered within him like a burning coal on the walk back, the fire within him only becoming greater. Finally, when they returned to find the entire guild there to welcome them back with grinning faces, it burst into a raging firestorm. His steps forward were slow, calculated; he noticed Chatot tense in anticipation of any attack Flame might hurl at them, but he was unable to hold back a grin. Behind him, Flame was aware of Julia, coming in close to him, possibly hoping to stop him from doing anything violent.
All of his tension was finally released. His paw came up, then down across Chatot's face with the force of a Giga Impact. The guild gasped collectively, but when Chatot glanced up from the slap, he broke into hysterical laughter, shielding his face with his wings.
Flame stared at him in disbelief. He had just slapped Chatot, the most feared Pokémon in the Guild – and likely the most powerful, too – and his punishment was...being laughed at?
The Guildmaster beamed at Chatot, then also started laughing. Soon, the two were sprawled on the ground, tears streaming from their eyes and their laughter uncontrollable. It was bizarre enough to see Wigglytuff laugh like an idiot, but Chatot?! Flame could not get that past his brain.
"Alright Chatot, what gives?" Flame demanded at last. "What's so gods-damned funny?"
Chatot began to reply, but was halted by another bout of laughter. Then, almost as one, he and Wigglytuff righted themselves, collected smiles on their faces. Holy shit, Flame gaped, what the hell is wrong with these two?!
"Do beg our pardons," Chatot said, clearing his throat, "but I – we – got a little nostalgic from that." He lowered his head slightly, his eyes closed. "You obviously are aware of the fact that, yes, we have already been through Blackfire Crater. The first time Wigglytuff and I went through, it was no less frustrating to be swept out of the cave after hours of walking through barren darkness and finally discovering a room full of precious crystals. It had been my fault that we failed, and right after we were blasted out of the room..." He paused, and glanced at Wigglytuff. Wigglytuff cheerfully continued for him, "I hit him, just like you did, Flame. And that was how we became best friends!"
Everyone but Chatot and Wigglytuff were left in stunned silence. Then, Loudred roared, "You did WHAT?!"
Without paying any mind to what Loudred just said, Wigglytuff addressed, "Now that Flame and Julia have returned safely and as disheartened as we intended, let's go back to our regular duties!"
"That is my line!" squawked Chatot brightly, then led the way back into the tent with Wigglytuff joyfully in tow. For another moment, all others were still unable to do anything but watch them leave and try to process what had just happened.
"Wigglytuff slapped Chatot?"
"Eek! I didn't know he had that in him!"
"And that's how they became best friends, hey hey?!"
"By golly, what a story!"
"That's ENOUGH, guys! We'd BETTER listen to what the Guildmaster SAID or else we'll likely get our BUTTS kicked!"
That effectively got everyone moving and they pelted into the tent, suddenly in realization that Wigglytuff was, indeed, capable of random acts of violence. Flame still couldn't believe that he himself had the guts to slap Chatot, but the thought that Wigglytuff would really do that to his close friend was outlandish! However, it did explain why they both started laughing so much.
A paw rested on Flame's back and Julia was suddenly nudging him towards the tent.
"We may have gotten pranked, but we'll still get in trouble if we're caught shirking our work!" She grinned up at him, and he rolled his eyes before walking along himself.
The light of the full moon streamed in through the windows, illuminating a single figure. Chatot gazed outside through the bars, his head raised. As much as he loved the Guild, it was also his cage. Within it he was trapped, all of his joy restricted to few occasions, such as the Blackfire Crater pranks and watching the other Guild members interact with each other – their friendships, their overcoming of hard times...
And yet he knew that he was free to go at any time, but a promise held him back, a promise that he made long ago before he even knew that he and Wigglytuff were going to end up here; a promise that he intended to keep.
He whistled a few minor notes, his tail instinctively swinging back and forth in time. Finally, he turned away from the window and hopped resignedly over to the ladder.
A figure slipped silently through the dripping cave, weaving in and out of boulders with practiced precision. He dashed a short way before abruptly stopping and ducking, listening for the sound of another Pokémon. Luckily for him, he was completely alone in the cavern.
Straightening up, he strode towards the glow. The time had come. His purpose would be fulfilled. The glow beckoned to him, as if it was daring him to come and get it.
A smirk appeared on his face, then he continued forwards. The first time he had done this, in Treeshroud Forest, he was afraid that someone might be lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce on him. He was not yet used to working alone. But now, he knew.
The second time gear was his.
Hmm, another Chatot moment? I wonder what's going on with that guy...
Thanks for reading!