NOTE: A second chapter coming out this soon after the first isn't something those who know me are used to I bet, but hey, never a bad thing to get something a little early…(Okay, that's a lie, there are definitely bad ways to interpret that-)
With that said, last time we took a peak into the prologue. And now…Now's the time to actually see it through…
"Hello everyone! Sorry to keep you all waiting!"
Cheering rang out from a crowd as they huddled around a large, wooden stage. At the center of it stood a podium, a large, pink rabbit beaming down at them with his usual smile. To his left and right, his esteemed right-hands of his sacred guild; the very instructors responsible for the next generation of explorers. And just behind them, roughly a dozen or so folks of all shapes and sizes, faces full of pride and accomplishment.
Clearing his throat, the rabbit spoke, "As the guildmaster, I have many responsibilities. Maintaining and frequently ensuring the bullet and outlaw boards stays updated! Planning out expeditions to faraway lands! And of course, keeping my pals in check when they get big heads."
He cheekily nudged the parrot to his right, who blushed in embarrassment and quickly covered his face, much to the crowd's amusement.
"But more important than all of that…I look forward to training the very people who'll continue my legacy after I'm gone. Those who, through their various talents and fields, will make the world a better place! We've all seen our fair share of tragedy, folks. And we've endured! Not through selfish pursuits, but by working together!"
"That…Is my hope. That this guild's teaching be passed down from one to another, over and over, to help this world of ours stay afloat. I know it'll be hard…But we're taking greater steps with each passing day! And those behind me are living proof!"
Gesturing to the group in the back, all of which held their heads high. "When they entered my guild, they started out as mere rookies. And today…They'll leave as masters!" The crowd cheered, and he smiled. "Tomorrow, our next batch of potential rookies will be arriving…And I expect great things from them, just as I expected such from these masters before you!"
"So…Onward to a better tomorrow, I say! Onward…To a future of hope!"
CHAPTER #0
PROLOGUE: WELCOME TO THE GUILD!
"..."
"..."
"...Ugh...My head..."
The cloaked figure raised her head up from where she had been laying, only to feel a sudden rush of pain erupting throughout her body; her bones cracked, her arms were heavy, she had a pounding headache, her mouth was dry, and her body felt on the verge of giving in on itself. It felt like she had just been caught in a stampede. The fact she was even conscious at the moment felt like a miracle.
"Where...Where am I...?"
She looked up…And saw nothing. Utter darkness, surrounding her on all sides. She could only panic as she frantically looked around in a rush.
"W-What happened?!"
Pushing herself to her feet, she looked around in a panic. Holding her arms out, she called out, "Hello? Hello?! Can anybody hear me?!"
She took a step forward. Then another. And another. And she felt it; a wall! For a moment she internally celebrated the fact she wasn't truly lost in some sort of void, but such a victory was short-lived…
The wall…It was rocky, and as she hand across it, she could feel vines and moss inbetween the cracks. While it wasn't exactly the most pleasant texture, she stomped forward, keeping her hand attached (it spite of the creasing hiss that followed as she grinded them across it), intent on finding where the end of this room led.
And soon, she found just that. Another wall, right in front of her. Only…This one had a door. A wooden one…She reached out, and pushed it open.
The sudden flood of light blinded her momentarily. But soon, her eyes adjusted…And she was greeted by an unexpected sight.
It was a large room, with a grass-laid carpet covering the center of it. Two boards had been set up on opposite sides, and beside each of them, squared-off metal sheets, with what looked to be something bolted into them; in any normal room, however, they looked like where windows should be.
But the room was far from the most interesting thing there. No, rather…That was the roughly nineteen or people standing in front of her, each of whom directed their attention toward her as she entered.
Then, their voices began to follow through.
"Woah. Another girl!" A bulbed frog mused.
"Ah. So that makes twenty if I'm not mistaken…Do you think that's everyone?" A rock-carrying bug asked.
"Maybe…Seems like a round enough number. And something tells me any more than that probably woulda made that room a lot more cramped." An owl said.
"It was cramped enough; one of you jerks stepped on me when you were moving around!" A bee spat, sending a glare at those around them.
"Heh heh…Sorry again…" A bloomed ball of cotton laughed off, ignoring the bee's glare.
The cloaked figure seemed so…Confused. Who were these people? Why were they all here? And where was here, exactly?
A butterfly spoke up. "Well…Let's just run with the thought this is everybody, right? Because I got a question…Does anybody actually remember how they got here?"
She began to think back…And much to her horror, such a thought had completely alluded her. And based on the surprised looks on everyone else's faces…She may not be alone there.
"T-That's worrying…" A scale armored dragon whispered.
The butterfly nodded. "Then it's just as I expected…"
"I can think of something even more worrying" A goblin started, tapping their chin, then asking reluctantly, "…Does…Anybody remember their name?"
And like that, the silence permeated once more, such a disturbance lingering far longer. As far as the cloaked figure could say, she remembered her past well…But her name…What…What was her name? Did she have a name? S-She had to, right? But if she did then…Then…Why can't she remember?!
"A-All I remember was walking into the guild…Then suddenly I'm out cold," she whispered to herself.
"...Same happened to me…And if I had to guess, everybody else here?" The butterfly asked aloud.
A chorus of hums in agreement rang out, much to everyone's mutual displeasure.
"The Hell is going on?" A gorilla asked, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"Honestly, this is all simple poppycock, cause we got bigger problems if 'ya ask me!" A metal dinosaur spat. "Namely…How the Hell do we get outta here?!"
Eyes across the room bulged in fear at that thought, throwing their gazes about…And seeing that…Besides where they had entered from, there were no doors leaving the room!
"W-What?!" A mustelid screamed out in fear.
"G-Guys, c'mon! W-We ain't stuck…R-Right?" A skull-wearing lizard begged. "I-I mean…I could just burrow us out, right?! I-I'm ground-type and-"
"It's no good!" The rock-carrying bug shook his head, revealing a dent in the floor…That showed beneath the rock was a hard, steely wall of some sort, which he continuously stabbed at with his claws, making no dents.
"...Did anybody check the room further before we all left?" A centipede asked. "Like, scan the walls or anything and see if there was another door we all missed?"
"I did," a midnight colored cat responded, shaking their head, "but no luck. This was the only way out."
"Yeah…Yeah I expected as much," the centipede grumbled.
"Wait…So what does that mean?" A snake wondered, worry bursting through the loose gaps in her outward confidence.
"It means that for the moment…We're stuck here." A rabbit grunted.
"Precisely! At least for a moment…" An otter agreed, nodding to himself as he scanned the room.
"W-What?! No way, I can't be stuck here!" A gremlin said in fear. "I-I have so many gigs this week! I-I need to practice my new routines! I can't do that here!"
"Yes…Because your pointless party tricks are more important than starving to death," a fox said to herself, before smirking, "though at least we've got some bigger ones here…They'd make good meals…"
On cue, the gorilla and armored dragon cringed, sending glares her way as the fox snickered to herself.
All the while, the cloaked figure who had entered the room remained speechless, utterly clueless as to what to do… "I-I don't get it…One second I'm heading to Wigglytuff's guild…The next I'm here…This is…This is-"
Then suddenly, as if on cue, a…Drilling sound rang out. The group turned their attention toward the back of the room, confused. The sound only grew louder and louder…Until, suddenly, with an explosion of rocks, the back of the room popped open like a grape, the group bracing themselves as in an instant, what had been a completely sealed room, suddenly had a large hole that went to nowhere.
Everyone stared on…
"...T-The Hell?" The gorilla muttered.
"This whole scenario only manages to make me more curious by the moment," the otter said, tapping his chin.
"S-So…Uh…" the skull-wearer started, "what do we do?"
"Well, that's pretty obvious," the centipede grumbled, walking up to the hole and taking a look into it-
Only to jump back as suddenly, a long, wooden ladder suddenly spiked upward through it. The ladder smashed into the roof of the room, causing the ceiling to shake violently for a moment, before coming to a swift stop.
Everyone could only look on, the cat humming, "Does it…Want us to climb down?"
"Nuh uh, no way." The mustelid spat, huffing, "Nobody's that stupid-"
"Get me outta here!" The gremlin screamed as she pushed past them, pushing the mustelid to the ground before latching onto the ladder, practically crawling down it.
"H-Hey! Wait up! Y-You shouldn't separate from the group!" The frog screamed, giving chase.
And like that, with the floodgates open, one by one the group gave chase dropping down the ladder into the next room…
To which they were greeted by a far, far larger area; the stone walls were decorated with paintings and signs pointing every which way into different halls. The lighting of the room was…Off, tinted a faint green via the paper lamps hanging above. Several holes where windows should be were, once again, covered with thick sheets of metal.
Just ahead of the group, however, hanging loosely from the ceiling just in front of the large, central door before them, was a black banner with pink paint messily arranged into a message…
WELCOME ROOKIES!
And just like that, all the tension in the room seemed to give way into hollow relief, a wave of sighs ringing out.
"So…We really are at the guild?" The snake whispered, almost asking herself.
"Oh! Wait, I get it now! This was all part of orientation! They were just messing with us!" The gremlin exclaimed, laughing to themselves at the sort of cruel joke.
Similarly, the gorilla bellowed out a laugh himself. "Yeah, I knew it all along; glad you all figured it out though!" He either didn't notice, or didn't care, when a select few sent harsh glares his way for that little statement of his.
"So…What do we do now?" The goblin asked aloud.
"Well…I say we have a look around," the frog muttered, slowly stepping away from the group, "I mean…We're gonna be living here, right? May as well see what we're working with."
Everyone seemed to more or less agree with that statement, are at least parts of it. And as the frog walked away, soon the rest of the group began to disperse as well, wandering off down the various halls and toward different sections of the guild. Eventually…
One of the only ones who lingered was the cloaked girl, who tapped her hands nervously together as she glanced around nervously.
…
"...I…I should probably do something, shouldn't I?" She couldn't help but think.
"Something feel off to you too?"
She yelped at the voice, turning around to see…That centipede from earlier, an inquisitive glare on his face as he stared down the banner in suspicion. "Nothing about any of this makes sense…"
When next to her, she couldn't help but look over the man in awe; there was an unmistakable sort of intimidation factor to the guy. His body was long and strong, curved in such a way to hold his head high. His eyes were a cold, unfeeling yellow, while his body, segmented across its outer armor, was magenta and purple, showing off a pattern that almost looked to be toxic to the touch, certainly not helped by the various scars layering the outside of much of his body.
As much as she'd hate to say as much about anybody, let alone someone she just met…She didn't feel entirely safe around him. And based on the way he spoke, with that low, apathetic tone, he probably couldn't care less about how he came across to others anyway.
He continued to stare down that banner…That suddenly turned the glare onto her, "Hey. Didn't anybody ever tell you not to stare."
She cringed to herself, quickly bowing to the man and shaking her head in regret. "I-I'm sorry, sir! Didn't mean to offend you! I promise I'm not usually like-"
"Would you chill out already?! Sheesh…" He spat, one of his many moving up and palming his head as he let out a groan. "You're gonna give me a freaking headache acting like that."
Flinching, she turned away. "Sorry…"
An awkward silence lingered a moment, till eventually he scoffed, muttering, "Whatever. Even if I don't like it, the plant was probably right. Not exactly a bad idea to get an idea of my surroundings at least." He turned to leave, grunting out, "Later, freak."
As he began to leave, however, he couldn't help but notice how…Confused, and unsure the girl looked. He stared at her, then at the ground…Then groaned, "Hey." She looked back at him. "Stop lingering around here like you lost your head or something. This is the guild, that much is for sure, so…Go introduce yourself to everyone or something. Get your head out the gutter for a minute, you know? Especially if you're actually stuck living with these people."
"Was…He trying to comfort me, or is he just insulting me?" She thought to herself. Trying to think the best of him, she smiled, saying, "Thank you, mister…?"
He gave her a blunt glare. "We forgot our names, remember? I can't answer that."
"O-Oh…Sorry-"
"But we gotta call each other something, so…Let's go with the obvious," he then stated, "so…Call me Scolipede. And just for the record, don't get used to me being real talkative, alright?"
As he was about to turn and leave, however, he heard her say- "Wait…I-If you don't mind me asking...Why were you invited to the school?" He sent her a look, as she quickly explained, "Well...You know. Everybody who was invited her because of their success in a field of study...Right? Our talents are what helped us get into the school. So...Why were you invited?"
Silence…Then a groan. "I'm...Lucky…"
"...Lucky?"
"Yeah…Look," Scolipede grumbled, "this guild apparently invites some random schmuck every year to attend among the 'gifted'; their 'lucky break' or whatever. And I guess I was that guy…So yeah. I'm not here cause I'm anything like the rest of you. I just…I just got lucky." He narrowed his gaze, "Or as I was told in my invite...I'm the Luckster of the team. Really though, just seems like an empty label they slapped on to make me feel less sorry for myself."
Scolipede
Rookie-Rank Luckster
The lucky winner of the GRAND RAFFLE, an event that affords one random fellow the chance to go beyond the expectations set upon them, and become a true explorer!
Scolipede looked off, a frown on his face as he glared at the floor. He seemed…Disappointed.
She initially looked away, unsure how to respond…Before suddenly she found herself speaking with heart before her head. "...Well…What's wrong with that?!"
He looked up, confused at what the Hell she meant by that.
"Just because you got here by chance doesn't make the fact you are here any less meaningful!"
Scolipede looked…Less comforted than he did confused, utterly baffled by her words…Before scoffing. "Whatever." He lingered a moment…Then finally walked off. "Later."
As the centipede crawled away, she couldn't deny that the strange aura surrounding the man lingered for a moment after his exit.
"What a strange man…Can't help but worry though. He seemed so down on himself for how he got into this guild. That won't do him any good…At the end of the day, we're all here for a reason, after all…"
"..."
"We…We are all here for a reason…"
"..."
"A…Reason…"
A horrible realization came as she looked herself over. Pulling back her sun-bleached cloak, she looked down at her crimson shelled body, the hard metal exterior featuring minor scratches and dents. Her hands, more like claws, snapped shut, and her wings fluttered to a stop…
She thought…She thought back as hard as she could…
But it was all…Coming up blank…
…
Her invitation never told her why she had been invited her...
She...
She didn't know why she was here at all...
Scizor
Rookie-Rank ? ? ?
An enigma in the system. Lacks any and all knowledge of why or how she got where she is. Perhaps the reality of her life shall become known once enough time has passed?
CH2 NOTE: Well, that's a way to end off this chapter! Sorry again for a relatively shorter chapter, but really, this just didn't feel like the same tone as the next chapter in my eyes, so on it's own it shall stay. And besides…Pretty solid cliffhanger if you asked me.
So far we've properly met 2 of the 20 students. Next time, we'll be meeting 9 more, along with exploring some of what the guild has to offer…