Chapter 14: From Bad to Worse

Martha shook her head in disbelief, "B-but, how?! The Time Gear that was at Fogbound Lake… Only we knew about it, right? So how could this happen?!"

There was a pause, and Martha said, "It couldn't be… that a member of the guild-"

"Martha, be reasonable," Nate interrupted. "There's no way that anyone here would reveal that secret." 'We knew where it was long before we got here,' he added mentally.

Martha turned to Nate, and then nodded, "You're right, Ian. Sorry."

Sunflora shook her head, "Well, it's no wonder that you'd leap to that conclusion! I mean, this horrible thing did happen right after our expedition."

Dusknoir spoke up, "Just one moment! I'm afraid I don't quite understand… There was a Time Gear at Fogbound Lake? I did not know that… Did I not hear quite a different tale about your recent expedition? I recall being told that your expedition to Fogbound Lake ended in failure."

Wigglytuff spoke up regretfully, "I apologize, great Dusknoir. We made a promise. So we couldn't tell even you, Dusknoir."

"Anyway…" Chatot spoke up. "A lone intruder slipped into Fogbound Lake… knocked out Uxie… and made off with the Time Gear."

Nate spoke, keeping the concern in his voice even though he knew the answer, "Is Uxie all right?!" Grovyle wouldn't kill without reason.

"Yes," Chatot answered, "Uxie is fine."

"He's under the protection of Magnezone's squad," Wigglytuff added. "No need to worry."

Martha let out a breath of relief, "Whew! I'm glad to hear that!"

"Wait, there's more," Chatot said. "According to Uxie's victim statement… The intruder's identity has been revealed."

Bidoof stepped forward, "Then fess up! What kind of critter are we dealing with?"

Chatot tilted his head, "There's already a wanted poster for the thief. See for yourselves."

"This Pokémon goes by the name of Grovyle…" Martha said, seeming to be focused on the poster.

Bidoof shook slightly, "Oof! That's one nasty piece of work!"

'We knew this would happen eventually, Grovyle…' Nate thought. 'That's why you had me stay here at the guild. Even if Dusknoir didn't show up, you had me here because others here trust me.' Nate shook his head, 'But I don't want their trust. In the end, it will be me betraying them in their minds.' Martha saw him shake his head, but she just chalked it up to disbelief that this could happen.

"This wanted poster just arrived," Chatot explained. Nate, Martha and Bidoof turned to Chatot as he continued, "It was issued based on Uxie's statement. It arrived as part of an all-points bulletin."

"Oh, that figures!" Bidoof exclaimed. "That's why all those Pelipper were flying around!"

Chatot nodded, "Officer Magnezone obviously doesn't want to see things worsen. They've put a remarkably high bounty on the thieving Grovyle."

Martha looked down, "We promised Uxie… We promised not to reveal the secret of Fogbound Lake. But then this happens…"

"We didn't leak the secret, but…" Sunflora said. "I'm ashamed to show my face in front of Uxie now!"

"Hey, hey!" Corphish shouted. "Here's what sticks in my craw! The view there has been ruined! And, hey, hey! I just can't forgive that!"

Suddenly, there was a growling coming from Wigglytuff as he looked down. Chimecho spoke up, "Hey! Guildmaster…!"

Everybody turned as his growling got louder, Chatot speaking worriedly, "G-G-Guildmaster!" The guild started to quake, as Wigglytuff started growling even louder.

"Urrrrrrrrr…! YOOM…TAH!"

There was the usual flash of light, and Wigglytuff looked serious for the first time that Nate had known him.

Everybody was stunned by the sudden change of expression, but Wigglytuff ignored it and shouted, "Everyone! We'll catch Grovyle! We'll catch that thief! I vow it upon the name of Wigglytuff's Guild!" He glanced at Chatot and said, "Chatot, if you will!"

Chatot stood at attention, "Y-yes!" He addressed the apprentices, "Okay, everyone! From here on out, we are putting our full focus on capturing Grovyle! Do your best to bring Grovyle to justice!"

As the other apprentices, including Martha, shouted their approval Nate remained quiet. It would be hard to keep up his act, but he would have to soldier on, or Dusknoir would capture both of them.

As if reacting to Nate's thoughts, Dusknoir spoke up. "Wigglytuff… I believe I understand the situation now. I will join in the guild's pursuit of Grovyle."

Wigglytuff smiled, but not as wide as he usually did. "Th-thank you, great Dusknoir!"

Bidoof smiled, "Golly! Having the great Dusknoir in our corner is mighty heartening!"

"Hey, hey! We're honored!" Corphish added.

Dusknoir waved his hand, "No, no! It's my honor entirely."

"At present, the Guildmaster and I shall confer!" Chatot called out. "We will devise a strategy for finding Grovyle. In the meantime! You should all start preparing to go on searches! Return here when you are ready to leave. Okay, everyone! Let's outdo ourselves!"

Nate forced himself to cheer, even though every fiber of his being wanted to retch at the thought of capturing Grovyle. He also forced his face to have the right mix of determination and excitement when Martha turned to him and said, "We should hurry and get ready, Ian! Let's start preparing with a visit to Treasure Town."

Their visit was brief, simply restocking their supplies and dropping off extra items. Along the way, they passed Team Flare, who was also getting ready to go searching for Grovyle.

Upon return to the guild, the other apprentices reported in shortly afterward. Chatot looked around to make sure that everyone was present, then spoke up, "First and foremost! This should go without saying… Grovyle appears wherever Time Gears are located. But where are the Time Gears? That is the question! But we have no answer. And, therefore, we have relied upon the great Dusknoir for ideas. Together, we've identified several locations where the Time Gears may be found. We ask that everyone split into groups and investigate each of these potential sites."

Wigglytuff handed Chatot a Wonder Map and Chatot opened it to point at different locations as he spoke. He turned to each of the Pokémon as he addressed them. "First, Loudred and Corphish! I'm assigning you to the Eastern Forest. That's the huge forest far to the east, of course." He said, pointing toward the top right corner of the identified area of the map.

"Got it!" Loudred nodded. Corphish added, "Hey, hey! We'll do our best!"

"Next, Bidoof, Dugtrio, and Sunflora! We'd like you to search Crystal Cave." Chatot said while pointing to a cave marked with blue crystals in the mountain region. Each of them offered their reply.

"Yup yup! Will do!"

"Understood."

"Oh my gosh! I'll search hard!"

Chatot turned to Nate and Martha, pointing to an arid region towards the north, right at the edge of the unidentified area, "And, finally, Ian and Martha! You two are assigned to the Northern Desert. The area on the map is obscured by clouds, but the dry terrain starts in this area here. That's why it's rumored that a vast desert extends from that point onward. We suspect that a Time Gear is hidden in the depths of the desert. That is where we're sending you to investigate."

Nate did what he did best when Chatot was talking. Stand there with a somewhat serious passive expression and nod at the right times. Meanwhile, Martha said, "Okay! We understand!"

"Um…" Diglett started. "What about me…?"

Chatot got back on topic, addressing the whole group again, "Diglett will remain at the guild. We can't very well leave the guild completely unattended."

"Croagunk and I are staying behind at the guild too," Chimecho added. "The work we do at the guild is important too. Let's make sure we keep up our good work!"

"Y-yes!" Diglett nodded.

Wigglytuff took over, saying, "Now, let's find the Time Gears, everyone! YOOM… TAH!"

"HOORAY!"

Everyone left, but Dusknoir approached Martha and Nate as they were getting ready to leave too, "The Northern Desert is not only wide and deep, it is raked by vicious sandstorms. Please, do take care!"

Nate nodded, "Thanks for the warning."

Martha turned to Nate and said, "Ian! Let's try our best!"

"Right," Nate said. "I hope the recruits haven't gone home yet." It was still only a little past noon when they had gotten back from Amp Plains, since they had left in the early morning.

"Come on, guys, lay off. He's obviously not up to anything."

The rest of the recruits turned to Martha, surprised at her presence and what she said. There had been mixed reactions among the recruits after Wattson's opening statement. Psymon and Tisha, who already knew, took it neutrally while not necessarily liking it, but knowing it was going to happen anyway. Regina, who had bad experiences with outlaws while on the team, was adamantly against him being with them. Yrja wasn't scared in the slightest, knowing that if he tried anything, "Ian," Martha and the police force would crash down on him like a horde of Golems. Maribel was of a similar mind, but she did, however, ask a lot of personal questions about what his work was, how outlaw hideouts were made, etc. etc. Martha actually had to break up the group since they were all crowded on one side of the table, except for Augustus, who was still in his seat, surprisingly.

The instant that Nate and Martha arrived, he got up and walked over, pointing to Nate. "You. Me. Outside. Now."

Martha sighed, "Augustus, can't it wait? We have a really important-"

"No, it's fine, Martha," Nate interrupted. "He's waited all this time to take out his frustration on me instead of bothering Wattson. After all, it was my idea to have him join, so it was very mature to leave Wattson alone."

The implications did not go unnoticed by the other recruits, some feeling shame for their actions and feelings against the former henchman. Nate continued, "Fill in the rest of them on the current situation. I'll have my talk with Augustus and fill him in on the way back." Turning to Augustus, he smiled, "Would you mind if we took this somewhere private? I'd rather not make a scene."

Augustus grunted and started walking out of the café, Nate following behind. Martha sighed and began briefing the remaining recruits.

Augustus wound up choosing the beach as their meeting place since the crossroads were already occupied with some of the Pokémon from Wigglytuff's Guild. Once there, he turned around and took a deep breath with a look of anger on his face.

As Augustus spent the next five minutes chastising Nate for letting someone like Wattson go unpunished and even letting him get protection with their own team, Nate calmly let him vent everything out.

"Even though he's powerless without his gang, he shouldn't be allowed to walk free from his crimes!" Augustus ranted. "Are you out of your mind?! Don'tcha realize that, if he still had his gang, he would've happily continued being an outlaw?!"

"But he doesn't," Nate countered. "Also, the information he offered the police will put away many more dangerous outlaws."

"Assuming it's correct!" Augustus huffed.

Nate shook his head, "If he was lying, he wouldn't have wanted the band representing his probation, or to stick around. He'd go into hiding."

"Why accept him?" Augustus asked, not deterred. "Why not leave him to the police? What does he have to offer, really? He's an Electric-type that can learn fighting moves! He'd be just a copy of you!"

"Wrong," Nate said. "Given enough time to train, he'll grow stronger and surpass me."

Augustus was stopped short by that clarification. Had he heard that right? Hesitantly he asked with a laugh, "Oi, have you got all your orbs in your bag? You're acting like he's your replacement."

Nate continued looking at him seriously.

"So we have to take a trip to the Northern Desert to search for a Time Gear," Martha finished.

Psymon raised his hand, "If it's sandstorms you'll be traveling through, I'll tag along! My Cloud Nine will make this much easier!"

Martha looked over, "Are you sure that you're all right to go on? You just got back from a mission this morning."

Psymon downed the rest of his Apple Juice in one gulp and put the glass back down. "I'll always be ready to help!"

Martha nodded and then muttered to herself, "Now, let's see… a desert. Water-types wouldn't ordinarily survive, but some hardy Grass-types might. They're strong against Ground-types, so it would be easy for them to live there. So Maribel, Regina, Augustus or Yrja would be able to come along as the fourth member."

She got into deeper thought. 'But Ground-types typically learn Rollout too, and all of them are weak to that. Also, Maribel, Regina and Augustus rely on close-quarters for combat, so it would be best to have another long-distance fighter.'

Having only paused for a brief moment, she said, "Yrja, you've been training the past few days while we were out, right?"

Yrja nodded, "Yes, Chad has been helping me learn to fight, and I've learned two new Ice-type moves."

Martha nodded, "Then you'll be good against both Ground-types and Grass-types, and you'll be far enough away that they won't be able to get to you with Rollout easily. Well, with that settled, all we have to do is wait for-"

"Me?"

The team turned and saw Nate back at the entrance with Augustus behind him. Nate walked up and took his seat next to Martha as Augustus went around the table back to his place and climbed into his chair.

Nate turned to Martha, "So, who are we taking to the Northern Desert?"

"Oh, uh, Psymon and Yrja," Martha answered. "Cloud Nine will cancel out the sandstorm's effect on us, and Yrja's ice moves will work against the Ground-type Pokémon and I have a suspicion that there will be some Grass-type Pokémon too, so she'll cover that as well."

Nate thought about it and then nodded, "And her long distance fighting style will help her avoid Ground-types' typical Rollout attack. Well done, Martha, very well thought out. Shall we get going right away, then?"

Martha nodded, "Right!" She turned to Psymon and Yrja and said, "We've already stocked up on supplies, so we'll be leaving right away. Let's go!"

As they were leaving, Martha took a look at how quiet Augustus was, and then whispered to Nate, "Ian, what did you say to him?"

"I told him something to put things into perspective for him," Nate answered with a shrug.

Martha nodded, "So you told him why you let Wattson on the team?"

"…Yes."

It was a somewhat lengthy trip to the desert, the day trickling into late afternoon as Team Rapid made their way to the other side of the inlet and continued north, following the Wonder Map as they went further north.

Yrja and Martha started panting slightly as the air got dryer. Psymon was perfectly fine because of his Damp ability. Nate didn't mind it too much, because the constant heat on his face was a reminder of what he was fighting for. There was no sun where he came from. It was just perpetual darkness. Even if the heat was somewhat unpleasant to Nate, it was a small price to pay for having everything else that came with the sun.

Soon, they arrived at the entrance and Martha spoke up, "Here we are. If Dusknoir's theory is right, a Time Gear should be here somewhere, which means we might find Grovyle here."

"But where should we even start looking?" Yrja asked.

Martha shrugged, "Not sure. Perhaps we should start by going as far as we can."

"Then I'll whip up the Cloud Nine!" Psymon enthused. He rubbed his hands together, and some of the water on his skin started forming into a small cloud around his hands. Soon after it formed, he held it up and blew on it, spreading pieces over the rest of the squad, covering each of them in a white vapor-like barrier. After Psymon was satisfied with his work, he held the cloud close to him and the rest of it formed a barrier around his body.

Martha looked at the barrier around her as she said, "That's a neat ability, Psymon!"

"Yes," Yrja agreed. "When I learn Hail, this will be good for having the rest of the team not hurt."

Nate decided to cut in, since they were burning daylight. "All right, you can discuss tactics when we get back, or tomorrow. Let's go."

Martha nodded, focusing back on their assignment, "Ian has a point. We should get going before it gets dark."

"Right!" Both of the recruits said.

Team Rapid made their way into the dungeon, the rocky plateaus changing to suit a mystery dungeon. Sand was blowing everywhere in a vicious sandstorm, but the misty barrier around them inexplicably kept all sand away from them. It even seemed to filter it out of the air they breathed, luckily enough. All along the dungeon, Psymon seemed very pleased to be of such a big help.

Along the way, they met and defeated an Aron who then offered to join their team. Martha thought about it and then decided to let her join, since the only two that had advantage against Ice-types – but only through moves, not type – were "Ian" and Wattson. Plus, her steel armor showed that she could take a beating. Nate didn't care. All types were covered – even if some were only by a single teammate – so any more additions were all on Martha.

With the Aron, now dubbed Ferra, being sent back to Treasure Town, Team Rapid continued their exploration. Psymon and Yrja's assistance made the exploration through the desert practically a cakewalk in Nate's opinion. Even with the sand blowing around them still, there was no hardship since the cloud barrier diverted all of it away from their bodies.

Another request to join their team came on the ninth floor, from a Trapinch. Martha dismissed him, saying that they already had a Ground-type teammate, but the Trapinch wasn't deterred.

"Can't you see I'm an investment?" the Trapinch aggressively challenged. "Once I evolve, I'll be a speedy Dragon-type too!"

Martha thought about it. On the one hand, it was always good to have extra help, and a Dragon-type could certainly be a useful addition. On the other, they already had quite a few recruits, and they weren't exactly hurting for type coverage. They had Ground-type moves with "Ian's" Dig and Tisha's Bone Club. And Dragon-type moves were only good against other dragons, and they had Yrja's Ice-type moves. Then again, while Dragon wasn't good against anything new, it wasn't bad against anything but Steel-types…

"Martha," Nate gently reminded, "we have a schedule to keep. Is he in or not?"

Looking to the sun nearing the western horizon, Martha decided that they could always use the extra hand. Besides, they already had Regina, who was also counting on her ability to contribute coming in once she evolved. What was one more proficient in waiting?

Martha agreed and the Trapinch was nicknamed Tempest and he was warped back to the guild as well. As Team Rapid resumed their journey, Martha inwardly noted that they would probably need a bigger table to hold their morning briefings.

The rest of the exploration passed without much event. Once they reached the farthest part of the Northern Desert, they came into a clearing that had several pools of quicksand, one larger than the others in the center. Marth yelped in surprise and stopped before the team could come any closer.

"Careful, there's quicksand here," she warned. The rest of the squad stopped and looked around the clearing. She looked around, "I think we've reached the deepest part of the dungeon, but we haven't seen anything that hints to hiding a Time Gear."

Nate said nothing. He knew that they were standing right over the Time Gear, figuratively and literally, but either Martha would find it herself, or not at all. He wanted to avoid direct confrontation with Grovyle if he could help it. Whether he was here or not, finding a Time Gear would mean staying here to guard it. That would lead to encountering Grovyle.

Yrja sighed, "So we made this trip for nothing?"

"Not for nothing," Psymon said, choosing to be optimistic. "We got two new recruits out of the experience."

"Still," Nate said, keeping his voice even, "since this seems to be a dead end, it appears this mission was a failure." He knew precisely where to go, but he figured fixating on the mission's success or failure was an "Ian" thing to do, given his past interactions with the rest of the team.

Martha shook her head, "Yes, that's a bit disappointing… Oh well, nothing we can really do about it. We'll get back to the guild and report what we found. Ian, if you would?"

Nate nodded and took the Escape Orb he always kept stocked in the Treasure Bag.

When everybody had reported their findings, Martha spoke up in shock.

"W-what…?! Nobody found anything…?"

Dugtrio's three heads spoke in unison, "Disappointing."

"That's what happened, alright!" Sunflora added.

Corphish spoke up, "Hey, hey! We went out to the Eastern Forest, just like we were told! But, hey! There's nothing really there but the forest!"

"And as for Crystal Cave," Bidoof said while looking at something in his paw, "yup yup, it was chock-full of crystals! Mighty pretty cave, I tell you! It was so pretty that I just couldn't help… helping myself to a crystal."

Sunflora and Dugtrio turned to Bidoof and saw the blue-green crystal in his paw. Sunflora leaned closer, "Ooh! When did you pick that up? I was with you the whole time! I never noticed!"

"Bidoof…" Dugtrio began in a low tone, seeming very cross. "Our objective was to find a Time Gear. We all failed to achieve our objective… But you had the nerve to collect a souvenir, totally unrelated to the mission… Who do you think you are?!"

Bidoof cringed and apologized. Meanwhile, Nate looked down at the blue gem necklace Martha had gotten made for him. 'I guess you have to succeed in a mission to earn a souvenir.' Jokes aside, he realized that Bidoof's crystal was a new factor. He would have to think on this later tonight.

Chatot turned to Dusknoir, "Dusknoir, sir, I regret to say it. Our search efforts ended fruitlessly."

In response, Dusknoir scratched the side of his head, "Ah, this is vexing. I thought the search locations we chose held promise. I blame my lack of knowledge. I am truly chastened."

"My goodness, no! You mustn't blame yourself!" Chatot exclaimed. "Why it was only thanks to your vast knowledge that we came up with our plan, Dusknoir!"

'He did the same thing I did and picked up a few books, Chatot,' Nate internally commented. He was really getting sick of having to watch Dusknoir play everybody around him, and being able to do nothing about it. Nate wanted nothing more than to confront Dusknoir and see if a ghost could handle 100,000 volts to the head. (AN: Thunderbolt's Japanese name translates to "100,000 volts.")

Nate mercilessly squashed that thought and focused back on the conversation. At that moment, Dusknoir said, "Let us reconsider our plan. We'll devise a different strategy tomorrow!"

Chatot nodded with a smile, "Yes, let's do that! And may we find success together!" Turning to the rest of the guild, Chatot said, "That's how it stands, everyone! That's enough work for today. Rest up! Prepare for tomorrow!"

"UNDERSTOOD!" everyone responded.

After dinner that night, Martha bid Nate good night, leaving him some time with his thoughts.

'That crystal. If I don't nip that route in the bud, there'll almost certainly be trouble. With how Martha thinks the situation is, she could reveal my Dimensional Scream ability if push comes to shove. Tomorrow I'll nudge her towards going to Crystal Cave. With her seemingly innate desire to touch things, like in Waterfall Cave and on the expedition, she'll probably figure out the secret to go to the lower part of the cave. But on the subject of crystals…'

Nate grabbed the oval-cut gem that was hanging on the silk thread around his neck and looked at it as the moonlight from the open window caused it to sparkle. Martha used her purple gem necklace to have somewhere to attach her Explorer Badge, but Nate kept his pinned to the Treasure Bag. As Nate stared at the resplendent gem, his thoughts were on anything but its beauty.

'Someday soon, I'll have to get rid of this,' Nate concluded. Not because he wanted to, but it was a fact. The last thing he needed on his true mission was sentiment. Leaving the necklace where it was for now, Nate decided to go to sleep. He would need all his wits about him tomorrow.

He had strings to pull, disclosure to avoid and a despised enemy to keep in the dark.

The next morning, both Nate and Martha woke up to go to the morning address. After the morning cheers, Chatot cleared his throat before addressing the apprentices.

"Presently, the great Dusknoir and I are working out a new strategy. While we develop this strategy… We ask you to search for the Time Gears on your own initiative. That is all. All right, everyone! Work hard again today!"

"HOORAY!"

Martha looked a little bit disappointed that there were no new leads. Turning to Nate, she asked, "Well, we're supposed to search on our own today, Ian. Any ideas?"

'Too easy.'

Crossing his arms and pretending to think about it, Nate said, "Well, the Eastern Forest is out of the question, since it's too far away to explore in one day. But how about we try looking around Crystal Cave?"

Martha tilted her head in confusion, "Crystal Cave? But Bidoof, Sunflora and Dugtrio were there just yesterday and they found nothing."

"A second opinion is never a bad thing," Nate countered. "And it's not like we have any other leads. Who knows? Maybe we'll find something they didn't, like how you found the Drought Stone on the expedition."

"You're saying we might get lucky?" Martha said.

Nate shrugged, "Luck is a part of skill too. Anyway, do you have any other ideas besides searching the whole continent?"

Martha looked down. They really had no better options. She nodded and said, "We'll find one of the apprentices that was there yesterday and ask them where Crystal Cave was."

"I saw Chatot pointing at the map," Nate decided to cut in as he took out the Wonder Map. "He was pointing in the center, towards the north, so I'd bet…" Nate pretended to glance around the central region drawing itself on the parchment and pointed at Crystal Cave, "…I think this one's it. The one north of Apple Woods."

Martha looked at the illustration on the map. The tiny red stone cave had crystals on top of and surrounding it. She nodded, "Seems as good a guess as any."

"But," Nate added, "we don't know what'll be there, so we'd better do some more training at Marowak Dojo before going."

With their course of action decided for the day, they left the guild and Martha was thinking about who they should take to Crystal Cave.

"If it's a cave, it'll have primarily Rock-types, we should take Tisha and Ferra," Martha said. "You can handle any Water-types that might be there, and-"

"No."

Martha turned to Nate, stunned at the rejection of her strategy. Nate turned to her and explained, "Bear in mind that we'll be going through the cave, but we'll also be running the risk of meeting Grovyle himself. A Ground-type like Tisha would be slaughtered. And while Ferra's steel armor resists Grass-type moves, bear in mind that her special defense is very weak. One move that isn't physical and she could be in real trouble. I'll handle the Water-types of the cave, but we need recruits that are strong against Rock, Ground, and Grass-types."

While Martha nodded and absorbed the information, thinking of a new strategy, Nate was internally seething at his situation. He couldn't just let a slip like that go; otherwise it would look suspicious since he was supposed to be working to catch Grovyle too. Having to help Martha optimize their squad to take down his best friend made him want to bash his head against a tree. His only solace was the fact that it would all be to change history.

'It will all be worth it in the end,' Nate mentally assured himself. 'History will be changed; the planet's paralysis will be averted. It's all for the mission, it's all for the mission…'

Nate was still mentally chanting that phrase like a mantra to compose himself when Martha got his attention. Shoving his mental inhibitions down, he turned with a neutral expression, "Yes?"

"You're right, Ian," Martha said. "Even if we make it to the cave, it'll all be for nothing if we don't have a squad that can take on Grovyle. We'll take Augustus and Yrja. It'll be pretty risky going through the cave, but it'll be better for facing off against Grovyle."

Not trusting himself to speak, Nate just nodded in response.

My gosh, I'm so sorry that it's been so long since I updated, that the chapter was shorter, and I'm even more sorry that this will be the last chapter that I'll be posting. I'll write when I can, but these chapters are very long, so it'll probably take a month-and-a-half to two months to get to post another chapter, betareading and updating Kid Icarus: Wings of Nature notwithstanding. I'll see you all when I see you all.