Author's Note: Slightly mixed feelings on this chapter, to be honest. It feels a bit busy, but I couldn't figure out a good place to cut it. On the other hand, I do get to introduce a new character here, as well as make some kind of token explanation for the recruitment system. Blissey makes a reappearance, and I had some fun with the guild members here. Also, I get to make a horribly obvious shout out in the chapter title, so that's a thing.
Chapter Fourteen: Back to the Future
The first thing Claire noticed was that she was very warm, and next, that she was lying on something very comfortable… It didn't feel like she was in Crystal Cave anymore. When Claire opened her eyes, things were still blurry. It was obvious that she was in her room back at the guild, though, which was a relief.
"C-Claire?"
Felix's voice sounded groggy, and Claire rolled over to see the Chimchar on his usual bed beside hers. His eyes were only half-open, and his body was bruised in several places. Beyond him, Rin and Iris were stirring, but they weren't quite awake yet.
"How long have you been up?" Claire asked.
"J-just a few minutes…"
"I don't wanna get up yet…"
Iris muttered grumpily as she tried to sit up. Rin's eyes fluttered open as Iris crashed back down to the floor. She laid there blinking for a few seconds, finally sitting up with a bit more success.
"How long have we been here?" Iris groaned.
"They're awake, everybody!"
A loud shriek sounded from the doorway. Heliona was sitting there, and she gleefully spun around and darted down the hallway. The rest of the recruits stampeded in, with only a few phrases being understandable through the din.
"Not so loudly, Heliona!"
"It's ABOUT TIME you got up! It's been AGES!"
"Oh my gosh! This is so great!"
"Everyone, please back up and stop crowding the poor dears."
The guild's members sheepishly stepped aside as Blissey squeezed into the room. Sighing, the nurse gave a quick glance to Team Shadow, all of whom were still confused.
"You were out for a few days," she informed them. "I've been here checking up on you at Wigglytuff's request."
"A few days?" Claire repeated. "But that fight didn't even take very long. I didn't think we got hurt that badly…"
Blissey shook her head. "Most of your injuries weren't too bad, though you and Cubone had a few nasty gashes. Under normal circumstances, you'd probably be fine, but it sounds like that thief really caught you off guard… Oh, here, all of you need to drink this."
She handed each of them a small glass bottle. As Claire drank the medicine, she recognized it as the same mixture that Blissey had given her the day she'd joined the guild. She watched with interest as a few cuts on her chest glowed faintly. Unlike her scars, the marks from Grovyle's Leaf Blade attack healed up instantly.
Claire turned to her teammates, watching as they did as Blissey told. Iris winced as she swallowed her medicine—it was quite bitter, Claire admitted—but Iris proceeded to grin as the burns on her body disappeared. Felix and Rin looked more eager to drink their doses upon seeing Claire and Iris's results, and their injuries healed up just as quickly.
"All right," Blissey said with a smile, collecting the empty bottles. "I'll check back in another day or two, but I'll go ahead and stress how important it is for you to relax. See you again soon, dears!"
She turned around and pushed her cart out of the room, and the rattling was audible for a few seconds. After Blissey was gone, Heliona poked her head back into the room.
"Chatot wants you guys to come out into the main room," she said.
With that, the Vulpix bounded away. Claire rose to her feet and took a few wobbly steps, watching as Iris stood up with slightly more ease. Felix and Rin looked dizzier, with Felix clutching on to Claire's shoulder for support. Still, they managed to leave the room without incident, which Claire supposed was something.
The four of them shuffled down the residential hallway and into the basement's main room. When they arrived, the other recruits started cheering, but they gave Team Shadow more space this time. Chatot had a hint of concern on his face as they settled into their usual spots.
"Well, now that we have everyone…" Chatot started, his gaze lingering on Team Shadow. "The great Dusknoir wanted me to inform you that he's called a meeting in the town square, and he wanted as many of us as possible to attend. If Team Shadow is well enough, we should get over there as soon as—"
"Visitor detected! Visitor detected!"
"Not NOW, Diglett!" Loudred shouted towards the sentry grate. "This is IMPORTANT! Tell whoever it is to come back LATER!"
Diglett was apparently ignoring Loudred, however, as he could be vaguely heard conversing with whoever was outside. A few moments later, he spoke to the guild's members.
"But it's someone for Team Shadow…"
Chatot sighed. "Let them in, but tell them to make it quick!"
The gate could be heard rattling faintly as it opened, and, before anyone had time to blink, a Glameow was sitting in front of the assembly. He instantly strode up to Team Shadow, purring as a grin spread over his face.
"Hey! You have no idea how long I've been waiting to see you!"
"Who are you, again?" Claire blinked. "You look kind of familiar, but…"
"Oh, I know," Iris cut in. "You were the one following us around in Crystal Crossing, and I kept backhanding you because I thought you were trying to attack us."
"How do you remember these things?" Claire shook her head, giggling.
"Here, let me see if I'm right."
Iris walked over to Glameow, inspecting him closely. Then, she abruptly swung the end of her arm into the poor Pokémon's face, and the recruits made various shocked expressions as Glameow tumbled over. Iris ignored this, looking up at the ceiling with a contemplative look on her face.
"Yeah, that was definitely you," Iris confirmed. "Your face feels the same."
"Iris!" Claire sighed, kneeling down to help Glameow up. "I'm sorry, that's just Iris for you. What is it you needed?"
"Well, at least we know Iris is really better," Felix muttered, sharing a resigned look with Rin.
"I was going to ask you if—"
Chatot cut him off. "Ask them later! We've wasted enough time, and we need to get over to the town square now!"
"You can come along with us if you want," Claire offered.
Glameow nodded as the recruits started filing over to the ladder. When they arrived outside, Claire smiled; knowing that she'd been unconscious for a few days made the fresh air a relief. She turned back to Glameow as they started walking down to the crossroads.
"So…my name's Bruce," he introduced. "I was watching you guys go through Crystal Crossing, and you looked pretty strong! I was really impressed, and…"
"How much did you see?" Claire winced. "Did you watch our battle with Grovyle?"
Bruce nodded again, and he surprisingly still looked excited.
"Yeah! Everyone knows what's going on, of course, but that's the first time I've actually seen someone put up a fight against Grovyle. You and Azelf sure managed to slow him down!"
Claire sighed in relief. "That makes me feel a little better, I guess…"
By that point, the guild's members had arrived in Treasure Town. Most of its main residents, as well as a few other rescue teams, had gathered there already. Dusknoir and the lake guardians were standing in front of them, and Mesprit quickly flipped around and looked at the approaching Pokémon.
"Oh! They're here, Dusknoir!" she called, waving eagerly.
"Very well," Dusknoir replied, pausing as the recruits settled into place. "Now, then… I'm assuming you all wish to hear what we've decided to do about Grovyle. However, there's something I need to tell to you first."
"What could be more important than that?" Vigoroth asked, his well-known impatience earning him a groan from the assembly.
Dusknoir observed the crowd for a few moments before answering. "Why he's doing this, naturally. Grovyle's ultimate goal is to paralyze the planet."
The silence that followed was so complete that one could have heard a pin drop.
"W-what does that even MEAN?" Loudred finally demanded. "And HOW do you KNOW that?"
"Paralysis of the planet would refer to time halting everywhere. Enough Time Gears get taken, and that's what will happen. Day and night don't pass properly, the wind stops… I'm aware this is hard to understand, but it would be difficult to fully describe unless it actually happens."
Dusknoir paused for a moment, and a few Pokémon laughed nervously. It was hard to tell if Dusknoir's last phrase had been a joke or not. Nevertheless, the mouth markings on Dusknoir's stomach curved upwards into something resembling a smirk, and Claire blinked in surprise. However, the expression was gone seconds later, and she wondered if she'd just imagined it.
"But how do you…?" Dugtrio started.
"Well, that part is simple enough…in comparison, anyway. Grovyle came here from the future to start his plans, and I'm here to stop him. I apologize for not telling you all this sooner, but—"
"Oh my gosh! Pokémon can come from the future?" Sunflora exclaimed.
Claire put her head in her paws as the assembled Pokémon started chattering in confusion. There was an odd tugging sensation in the back of her head, similar to the feeling she'd had at Fogbound Lake and the Northern Desert, but it was stronger this time. While she didn't know what either of those places had to do with her memory, she had even less of an idea why hearing about time travel would seem familiar.
The idea of a future that Dusknoir and Grovyle had come from didn't bother Claire so much in itself, she realized. That just made everything even weirder, though…
"Are you okay?"
Claire was shaken out of her thoughts when she heard Bruce's voice. The Glameow had seated himself to her left, and he was giving her a curious look. On her other side, Felix noticed that Claire had spaced out as well, and he looked just as confused.
"Yeah, Claire," Felix added. "It's weird for you to space out during something important…"
"I'm fine." Claire shook her head; she still had a bit of a headache, though it was fading. "Let's pay attention!"
"…Grovyle will probably try to come back to my lake," Azelf was saying. "He was incredibly angry last time, so I wouldn't be surprised if he wants to try me again."
"So you think we should bait him to you," Uxie clarified. "It seems risky, but…"
"It's our best bet, if you think about it!" Mesprit interjected. "We'll be expecting him this time, so we'll be able to prepare better. Is that fine with you, Dusknoir?"
The Ghost-Type folded his arms, but he nodded eventually. "As Uxie said, this will be quite dangerous… If you three are up to it, however, I agree that this plan has its merits. I'll just have to insist that the four of us are the only ones involved."
"Hey, hey… That's disappointing," Corphish sighed.
"We do need your help, though!" Mesprit grinned. "You guys can spread the news for us! If Grovyle hears about it, he'll be even more likely to come back to Crystal Crossing."
"Indeed." Dusknoir looked back at the assembled Pokémon. "Is this clear to everyone?"
Cheers and cries of agreement rose from the group, and Dusknoir and the lake guardians nodded to each other. Dusknoir waved his arms broadly to regain everyone's attention.
"All right, then! We'll go on to Azelf's lake. Everyone, do your part!"
The crowd parted, talking excitedly as they tried to process everything they'd just heard. As the recruits formed a line back to the guild, Felix looked over at Claire again.
"Oh, this just makes the great Dusknoir even more amazing, doesn't it?" Felix grinned, though it faded after a moment. "What were you thinking about earlier? You missed some of what Dusknoir said…"
Claire shrugged. "I was just wondering about the future, I guess."
Rin nodded. "That makes sense. I wonder what the future is even like…"
"Yeah," Bruce agreed. "And I wonder what would happen if Grovyle's plan works. Do you think it would just…make the future become like that? Or would it disappear altogether and make a different one?"
"Who knows?" Iris shrugged. "Let's just leave this to Dusknoir and relax!"
Claire nodded. She was curious about what would (hypothetically) happen to the future as well, but there wasn't anything they could do about it for now. Besides, if Dusknoir's plan worked, they wouldn't have to worry about it anyway.
They arrived back at the guild shortly afterwards, and it took a few minutes for everyone to climb down the entrance ladder. Claire stopped in the middle of the second basement, waiting for Bruce to catch up as the recruits dispersed. She grinned and scratched the back of her head as the Glameow sat down in front of her.
"Okay, now you can tell us what you wanted to say earlier!"
"I was hoping I could join your team, if that's okay with you guys!"
"Um…" Claire looked over at Felix, Rin, and Iris. "Well, that would be nice, but we already have four members. I'm not sure if we can have more than that…"
"Of course you can!"
They suddenly heard Chimecho's voice, and Claire looked up in surprise. Chimecho had been a few feet away, talking to Sunflora, and she floated over to Team Shadow.
"Chatot recently put me in charge of organizing everyone's team registries," she explained. "If you already have four teammates and you want to add someone else, you just have to put them on standby!"
"Standby?" Felix repeated. "What does that mean?"
"Glameow could join your team, but in order for him to come on missions with you, someone else would have to stay at the guild," Chimecho elaborated. "So, if you were going somewhere and you knew that, say, Cacnea would be a disadvantage, she could stay here and Glameow could come along instead."
"That makes sense…" Claire mused. "Let's get Bruce registered, then!"
"Okay, let me find your list… Wait for me over there by the guildmaster's room!"
Team Shadow did as told while Chimecho floated into Wigglytuff's room. She came out a few minutes later, gripping the list by folding up the lower half of her body, and she set it down in front of Claire and Bruce.
"I just need you two to sign this for me, and it'll be official!"
Nodding, Claire and Bruce did as told, with Bruce holding the pen Chimecho had provided with the tip of his tail. Chimecho picked up the list again and headed back towards Wigglytuff's room.
"The guildmaster gave us the rest of the day off, so you can figure out the specifics tomorrow," Chimecho called as she went inside.
"That's rare," Iris commented. "You know Chatot probably didn't like that."
"It's definitely a good thing, though!" Claire grinned again, turning to Bruce. "Hey, let's show you around the guild!"
Bruce looked around eagerly. "All right! I can't wait to get started."
The next morning, everyone was refreshed and ready to get going. All the recruits had gathered in the meeting room, as usual, and Chatot was going over a report he'd gotten from Officer Magnezone.
"…So we'll just have to wait for Dusknoir to come back." Chatot looked around at the recruits as he concluded the news. "In the meantime, let's get back to our regular work!"
"Yes, sir!"
As the guild members left the room to start their usual tasks, Claire turned to Bruce.
"Chatot usually has us look at the job requests listed on the bulletin boards upstairs, so let's—"
"Hey, Team Shadow?"
Diglett popped out of the ground nearby, cutting off Claire's sentence. He looked over at the sentry grate before continuing, making it obvious what he was going to ask.
"My dad asked me to cover the boards today, so could one of you help Loudred with sentry duty?"
"I will," Rin offered.
"Yeah, you're the best of us at sentry duty," Iris grumbled. "I'm not doing that."
Rin merely rolled her eyes as she walked over to the grate, deciding not to lecture Iris about her poor sentry scores. Diglett nodded before burrowing underground again.
"Thanks, Cubone!"
"Meet me at Spinda's Café when you get back, okay?"
"We will!" Claire called.
The rest of Team Shadow headed up the ladder and over to the bulletin boards. Team Lightning was already examining the outlaw board, so Claire walked over to the regular mission board. After scanning it for a few seconds, she pulled down two sheets of paper.
"It looks like there are two postings for Drenched Bluff today. There's an Eevee who needs help finding her friend Shellder, and a Quilava wants us to look for an item he lost," she read. "Does that sound good?"
Everyone nodded, and Claire tucked the requests into her treasure bag.
"Okay, let's just make a quick stop at the Kecleon Brothers' shop, and we'll be ready!"
"That went well!"
Claire grinned as Team Shadow arrived back at the guild with Shellder in tow. While they'd found him fairly late into the dungeon, the Quilava's lost Pecha Scarf hadn't been too hard to find. After that, they'd been able to turn their full attention to searching for the Water-Type, so things had balanced out after that.
Quilava had met up with them just outside the guild, and now they needed to find Eevee. As they entered the building and headed downstairs, they found Eevee waiting near the bulletin boards. She perked up upon seeing Shellder, bounding over to him.
"I was so worried, Gemma! Thanks so much for finding him. Here you go!"
Eevee handed Claire a pile of coins and an assortment of berries before she and Shellder left the guild. After Claire tucked the payment into her bag, she turned to Felix, Iris, and Bruce.
"Want to go on to the Café?"
"Of course!" Iris grinned. "It's been a while since we've had time to go."
The four of them promptly piled back outside. Claire stretched when she was out in the sunlight again, and they all headed down the stairs towards the crossroads. The café wasn't that far from the guild, but between everything that had happened lately, they just hadn't been able to make time to go.
Upon arriving at Spinda's Café, Claire noticed that it was unusually crowded. Iris managed to snag a table, and Felix and Bruce sat down with her as Claire went to order drinks. She handed Spinda the appropriate gummis for all five teammates and watched in amusement as he did his usual dance-and-stir routine. He set all the drinks on a tray, and Claire carefully balanced it as she walked back to Iris's table.
"So," she said, distributing the drinks and leaving room for Rin, "you caught on well today, Bruce."
"My parents always wanted me to be in an exploration team," Bruce explained. "My sisters and I would tag along on their trips sometimes."
Felix looked a little embarrassed. "Mine did too, but I was too scared to join the guild for a while… Maybe I wouldn't have been if they'd taken me out on explorations."
"Well, most of the time they'd have to get me out of trouble because I'd get distracted too easily. Today was fun, though, so I hope I get to come on explorations with you guys often!"
"We'll have to see if it's okay with Rin and Iris to swap out with you every once in a while," Claire replied. "I bet they'll always have something for you to do around the guild, though. Sentry duty is actually pretty fun, but…hey, where's Iris?"
It was at that point the three of them noticed that Iris had disappeared from the table. The fact that she hadn't added anything to the conversation should have tipped them off, in hindsight. Her cup was gone too, so that couldn't have been a good sign…
Claire noticed Iris standing over by Wynaut's prize drawing shop. One of the regular customers, Octillery, was buying a ticket, and Iris had just walked up to her. While the rest of Team Shadow couldn't hear Wynaut, they saw him shaking his head, and Octillery looked disappointment.
Iris took a sip of her drink, and then announced, "Hey, Octillery… I'll be your big win if you want—"
She was cut off by something ramming into her head, which caused her to drop her drink. The liquid splashed onto the floor as the projectile swerved back to the entrance. Nearly all the Pokémon at the bar looked up to see Rin standing at the entrance; the normally calm Cubone was giving Iris an impressive glare.
It became obvious that she'd just used Bonemerang, and she sighed as she walked over to Iris. Rin silently grabbed her by the shoulder and dragged her back over to Team Shadow's table, with Iris protesting all the way.
"Come on, Rin! Why do you have to be such a killjoy all the time? I was just having some fun… What are you even doing here?"
"Dugtrio actually got back to work, so Diglett went back to sentry duty and let me leave early," Rin explained, looking more at the rest of the team despite the fact that Iris had spoken. "Thanks for ordering my drink, Claire. How did it go today?"
As Rin took a sip of her drink, Claire giggled at Iris's sulky expression. She then turned back to Rin, launching into an animated discussion of some of the items they'd picked up at Craggy Coast as Bruce excitedly filled in smaller details.
"Hey, hey! I wish there was some way to find out when the great Dusknoir will be back…"
Later that night, most of the guild's recruits had once again piled into the room shared by Bidoof, Loudred, and Corphish. They were discussing the current situation with Crystal Cave, and Corphish had an unusually worried look on his face as he spoke.
"Oof… How long you reckon it'll take for Grovyle to hear the rumors, anyway?" Bidoof wondered.
"Oh, my gosh! You aren't doubting the great Dusknoir's plan, are you?" Sunflora demanded, waving her leaves around in distress.
"Golly, Sunflora! Of course not!"
"You know what would be totally awesome?" Heliona interrupted. "If Claire could just get one of her visions right now! It would be like, 'Whoosh! In exactly two days…' and then—"
"It doesn't work like that, exactly," Claire cut in, but she was trying not to laugh.
"Is she always like that?" Bruce asked.
"Yes." Sydney rolled his eyes. "Unfortunately."
"Actually, she wasn't quite so hyper before we met you, Sydney," Leon said.
"Great, so it's my fault she's that way?"
"Hey!" Heliona objected.
Chatot suddenly poked his head into the room, but he didn't look angry this time. Lately, he'd been allowing the recruits to have these get-togethers, though he cut them off at whatever time he deemed appropriate. It was usually early, of course, but no one could complain; it was surprising enough that he'd even allowed the meetings at all.
"Get on to bed now! We'll need to be up as early as usual tomorrow to see if there's any news from the great Dusknoir."
"Yes, sir…"
Everyone sighed and reluctantly went to their rooms as Chatot left. It would probably take them a long time to fall asleep, even if they'd been allowed to stay up later. The anticipation alone was enough to keep them up for a while.
Claire forced her eyes shut as she lay down. She was admittedly jealous of the fact that Bruce fell asleep instantly; he was snoring lightly a few seconds later. Rolling over, Claire tried to get herself comfortable. Worrying wouldn't help, and she wanted to be able to pay attention if they did hear anything. It was with that thought that she finally dozed off.
"Well, as it stands…" Chatot winced the next morning. "At the moment, I haven't heard anything…"
"Officer Magnezone is here!"
Diglett's voice echoed up through the sentry grate. After a few seconds of muffled conversation, Diglett began speaking audibly again.
"Grovyle's been caught! Dusknoir wants us to meet him up at the town square!"
Chatot squawked. "What? Already? Everyone, get out there at once!"
The recruits immediately poured outside, cheering. True, they had just been hoping that Grovyle would be captured soon, but some of them—Heliona in particular—seemed adamant that their discussion had helped Dusknoir's plan succeed so quickly.
As they assembled in Treasure Town, many of them jumped at the sight in front of them. A large, dark portal was positioned between Electivire's link shop and Duskull's bank. Officer Magnezone and a few of his Magnemite assistants were hovering in front of it, preventing the town's residents from getting too close. When he saw the guild members approaching, he paused to explain the situation.
"Bzzt! Dusknoir called that a Dimensional Hole," he announced. "He says it will take him and Grovyle back to the future."
"Where's the great Dusknoir now, friendly friend?" Wigglytuff wondered.
"He'll be here shortly," Magnezone answered. "He just came to get the Dimensional Hole ready, and then he went to get Grovyle. Bzzt! Some of Dusknoir's subordinates were escorting Grovyle here."
As if on cue, Dusknoir himself became visible at the edge of the square. He was floating somberly towards them with several Sableye in tow. The Sableye formed a circle around Grovyle, and the Grass-Type had his wrists and mouth bound. Behind them were Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf, who were sharing pleased looks.
"My friends," Dusknoir proclaimed. "I bring you Grovyle the thief. I couldn't have done it without the cooperation of the lake guardians…or without your help as well."
The gathered Pokémon applauded, and the mouth on Dusknoir's stomach slanted upwards into a grin. He paused before gesturing towards Grovyle and the Sableye.
"It's time for us to send Grovyle back to the future we came from, where he can be properly punished for his crimes—"
Grovyle shook his head rapidly, causing the leaf on his head to sway back and forth. He made several muffled sounds, trying to object. One of the Sableye silenced him with a quick slash.
Claire looked at Grovyle curiously. He didn't seem angry, like she would've expected; instead, he almost seemed desperate. Grovyle noticed Claire was staring at him, and he met her eyes. Claire's heart raced; Grovyle's eyes were wide, begging her to do something. Not to mention she was getting that distinctly familiar feeling again…
"…and I am just as disappointed as you are that I must return to the future as well!"
Claire's attention snapped back to Dusknoir when she realized he'd been speaking the whole time she'd been looking at Grovyle. All of the other Pokémon had upset looks on their faces, but they perked up as the Sableye started pushing Grovyle towards the Dimensional Hole. Although he struggled, there wasn't much he could do with his claws tied behind his back, so it didn't take long for the Sableye to shove him into the portal. They jumped in after him, and Dusknoir started moving towards it was well.
"Thank you for everything, great Dusknoir!"
"We owe you so much!"
"Oh, there's no need to thank me," Dusknoir replied, turning around. "I truly couldn't have done it without you, and especially not without Team Shadow! May I see you all up here for a moment, please?"
Bruce blinked and whispered to Claire, "Should I come up, too?"
"Well, you just joined us, so…I'm not really sure," she answered.
"I guess I'll stay here, then."
Claire smiled at him before heading over to Dusknoir with Felix, Rin, and Iris. Felix looked shaken at the idea of saying goodbye to Dusknoir, and Rin and Iris both wore forlorn expressions as well. Dusknoir swept them closer to him, holding two of them with each arm.
"I-I can't believe this is really goodbye," Felix sniffled.
"Don't be upset… I was telling the truth when I said I couldn't have done this without you… Which is why this is not goodbye for us!"
Dusknoir suddenly flung himself backwards into the portal, clinging to them more tightly. The last thing Claire heard was the stunned shouting of the town's Pokémon before the spinning portal made her too dizzy to stay conscious.
Claire awoke to a pounding headache. She tried to sit up, but she wobbled as her headache worsened. It took a few seconds for her vision to focus, and she mewed in surprise when she got a clear look of the room she was in. It was completely made of stone, and there were no windows anywhere. The only light came from a few torches in the distance, and bars covered the only exit. It looked like a prison of some sort, but why were they there?
Claire shook her head when she noticed Felix stirring next to her. After sitting up groggily, the Chimchar's eyes widened when he got a good look at their cell. He instantly clung to Claire's arm, his breath coming out in ragged gasps.
"W-what happened?" he squeaked. "Where are we?"
"What do you think, Felix?"
On the other side of the room, Iris was already standing up, and Rin was quiet but awake. Iris walked over to the bars and attempted to loosen the door. It didn't budge, and Iris sat down with a scowl.
"I've been trying that for…I don't know how long."
"You're taking this pretty well…" Claire noted. "I mean, we don't even know where—"
"Well, Dusknoir said he was going to the future, right? That's got to be where we are. Provided he was telling the truth, anyway."
Rin nodded; clearly, they'd been discussing it while Claire and Felix were unconscious. Felix's eyes widened further.
"But why would he take us here? How are we supposed to get back? What if—"
The door rattled open, interrupting Felix. A large group of Sableye was standing there, their eyes reflecting the light from the torches a few of them were holding. One of them stepped forward, giving them a toothy smirk.
"All right, we're not gonna let you make this difficult."
He beckoned to a couple of the others and then tossed them blindfolds. Immediately, Iris tried to strike one of them with a Pin Missile, but she was treated to a Scratch for her trouble. The Sableye she'd attacked forced the blindfold over her face as the others turned to the rest of Team Shadow.
Felix and Rin shuffled backwards as Claire tried to launch off a Thunderbolt. The Sableye were far too quick, however. Two of them jumped on each teammate, tightly securing the blindfolds before they had time to react.
"You're surrounded, so trying to escape would be pointless," the first Sableye went on. "Wheh-heh… Not that you'd be able to figure out how to get out of here, anyway…"
Iris grumbled audibly as the Sableye shoved them along. Claire, on the other hand, remained silent; she was too busy wondering why the place felt familiar… At the moment, it was a pretty vague feeling, but it was there. Again, the fact that she was in the future didn't bother her so much, but rather, the fact she felt like she'd been there before.
After what felt like ages, Claire heard a door slamming shut, and one of the Sableye shoved her into a curved stone surface. Another Sableye shoved Felix next to her while a third bound them to the pillar with a rope. She could hear Rin and Iris getting the same treatment a few feet away from them, and after they were secure, the Sableye removed the blindfolds.
The room they were in now was almost as nondescript as the cell they'd just left. The Sableye scurried out as Claire took in their surroundings. They were tied to large pillars, and there were several more columns around the room. It was so large that the back of the room faded into darkness, but it was mostly empty.
After a few seconds, Claire noticed a figure near the door. A Misdreavus was lurking there, smirking as she looked from pillar to pillar. As the Ghost-Type's eyes flickered past Claire and Felix, Claire noticed that there was someone bound to the next pillar…Grovyle. He growled at the Misdreavus, and Claire tilted her head to the side in confusion. When she looked back near the door, however, the Misdreavus had vanished.
"Listen, you four," he muttered. "I don't know what you might have done to make Dusknoir angry with you, but—"
"The great Dusknoir would never be angry with us," Felix said weakly, his voice quivering.
"Right. Why else would you be here in the stockades, then?"
"Stockades? So you're saying were going to be executed?" Iris demanded.
"Unless I can get you to cooperate with me, yes."
"No! I'd n-never cooperate with…with a criminal like you, Grovyle!" Felix protested.
"You'd rather die?"
Grovyle's voice had a hint of dark amusement to it, and Felix started trembling. Meanwhile, an idea was rapidly forming in Claire's mind.
"He'd have the Sableye do it, right?" she asked.
Felix and Rin gasped in surprise. Grovyle looked stunned as well, as if he hadn't expected any of them to listen to him. He nodded soon enough, though.
"That's right. You catch on quickly. Their claws are perfect for this kind of thing."
"So…what if we got them to slash the ropes somehow?"
"Even if it's just a bit, that would loosen the ropes enough for us to get out," Iris finished, easily catching Claire's idea.
"That's perfect," Grovyle approved.
As if on cue, the door at the front of the room opened. Dusknoir entered, surrounded by another large group of Sableye. He looked at his five captives silently, then turned to the Sableye and snapped his fingers.
The Sableye darted forward, claws raised. Claire hissed as one of them slashed into her face, feeling blood trickling into her fur.
"H-hang on," Grovyle growled. "Shift slightly…"
Claire shrunk down, trying to get her head closer to the ropes. The Sableye didn't seem to notice, and his claws nicked the top of the rope as he slashed at her again. He stepped back, inhaling sharply when he realized what he'd done. The one attacking Felix didn't catch his partner's mistake, and he inadvertently cut a portion of the rope as well.
"Now!" Grovyle shouted.
Struggling against the ropes, Claire loosened them enough that she could slash at them herself. She and Felix tumbled to the floor as Grovyle, Rin, and Iris managed to remove their ropes as well. The Sableye collectively paused in surprise before slashing at them again.
Claire shot a Thunderbolt at the one in front of her. The rest of the group followed her lead, launching attacks of their own. Dusknoir's voice was audible in the background, calling for more Sableye.
"Cover your eyes and hold onto each other!"
Grovyle's voice rang out suddenly. Felix grabbed Claire's arm; Rin clung to Iris as the Cacnea reached over to Claire. Then, Grovyle pulled an orb out of his bag and flung it to the ground, causing a near-blinding light to fill the room.
Claire heard the sound of claws digging into the ground as the Sableye scurried around in confusion. The next thing she knew, the five of them were sitting in a rather large hole, with Grovyle flinging dirt back up over them. The light must have faded soon afterwards, as she could hear Dusknoir's muffled commands to search for them.
The Sableye's footsteps faded away after several minutes, and once Dusknoir's voice was no longer audible, Grovyle cautiously pulled at the ground above them. Peering back into the room, he gestured to Team Shadow, and they climbed back up after him.
"If you want to get out of here, you're going to have to follow me," he said. Felix started to protest, but Grovyle cut him off. "We have to be quick about this. There's no time for disagreements! It's a matter of life or death."
With that, Grovyle darted towards the still-open doors, Claire scurried after him, and the rest of the team followed her. Claire lost track of all the turns they took, too preoccupied with keeping up with Grovyle's fast pace. Felix and Rin were wheezing by the time they reached the final hallway, but they couldn't stop.
When they got outside, Team Shadow stumbled to a halt. The sky was a dull, dark blue-gray, with no sun in sight, and black clouds loomed overhead. Twisted trees cast long, sinister shadows while branches and boulders floated in mid-air.
"What…what is this?" Felix choked.
"We've got to get further away before I can explain," Grovyle answered.
"But…I'm so…tired," Felix panted.
"It's just a bit further. Hurry up!"
Claire offered Felix her paw as she followed Grovyle. They reached a small alcove, and Team Shadow instantly sank to the ground. Grovyle carefully peered around the cliff wall before turning back to the others.
"Is this really the future?" Claire asked.
Grovyle merely nodded in response. Honestly, there wasn't much else he could do—and they'd all suspected it already. Still, that silent little nod somehow made it seem worse than a vocal response would have.
Rin looked around slowly. "So…why is it like this?"
"I don't think you all trust me enough for me to go into a full explanation," Grovyle responded curtly. "But I will say that it would be pointless to wait until morning to get going. There's no such thing as 'morning' here anymore."
"Wait, are you saying time's stopped?" Felix tilted his head to the side. "This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't stolen the Time Gears!"
Grovyle rested his forehead in his claw and closed his eyes. When he went on, it was clear he was trying very hard not to snap at Felix.
"Don't tell me you still believe Dusknoir's claims that I'm the villain. He just tried to have you killed, and you really trust him? I only took four Time Gears; that's not enough for the whole planet to be like this."
"Then what did happen?" Iris demanded.
Grovyle looked them over carefully, as if he was considering telling them. Before he could say anything, Felix stood up shakily and started walking in the direction they'd just come from.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Grovyle shot Felix a glare, causing him to freeze in his tracks. Turning around, Felix answered him nervously.
"I-I'm going to go ask Dusknoir."
Grovyle took a few deep breaths before replying, "Fine. You think that's going to work? I'm leaving."
As Grovyle turned around, Felix called desperately, "Wait! You're not going to show us the way again?"
He was met with silence as Grovyle dashed away as quickly as ever. Felix sank back down to the ground, trembling again. For a few seconds, he was silent, and his voice shook when he finally spoke up again.
"W-what are we supposed to do?"
A heavy silence sank over the team. Claire tugged on the edge of her scarf as she attempted to think of a way to salvage the situation. There wasn't much they could do, really. She was still processing the whole situation, but…there was one consistent thought lingering in the back of her mind.
"I think we should go after Grovyle," she said quietly.
"What? Why?" Felix cried.
"Well, he did save our lives back there," Claire explained. "And… he probably knows some way to get back. I mean, he came to our time somehow, right?"
Rin and Iris shared a hesitant look, but then they nodded. How they actually felt about Grovyle was unclear, but…they must have realized they had few other options. Felix looked between his three teammates frantically, and he shook his head in response.
"No way! I can't follow Grovyle. I'm going back there."
"But Felix," Claire tried. "I don't think Dusknoir will listen to us right now."
"He's better than Grovyle—"
He was cut off by a swift Needle Arm from Iris. Rin reached out and grabbed Felix as he tumbled over, giving Iris a surprisingly cool look. Despite having agreed with Claire, it was obvious she didn't approve the strike at Felix, either.
"Get yourself together!" Iris snapped. "Listen to your leader! Right now, Grovyle is our only chance to get back. We don't know anyone here besides him and Dusknoir, and Grovyle isn't trying to kill us at the moment. What part of that do you not get?"
Felix held the side of his face as a large bruise formed on his cheek. His breath came out in small huffs, and his eyes were wide and watering slightly. Still, Iris's rant seemed to have done the trick, as he swallowed and nodded a second later.
"All right." Iris sighed and glanced over at Claire. "Now get up and let's go. Claire? Is that okay?"
Claire nodded silently, still surprised at Iris's outburst. She couldn't deny that they needed to get moving, though. Slowly, she stood up and glanced at the trail leading ahead of them. There was a cave up ahead, and they'd have to hurry if they didn't want the Sableye to catch up to them while they were wandering around in there.
"We can do this. Just stay together, okay?" she said softly.
The group proceeded in silence, the stifling atmosphere spurring them to walk as quickly as possible.