No...not again,

Chimera lay motionless, eyes wide staring unto the Girafarig is his mind shouted accusations toward it's only occupant.

It's all over now. You ruined it, the things you said...badmouthing the one person you should have obeyed over all else. He's no doubt going to kick your ass to the curb now, unless...

Chimera's knees weakened, dropping him to the floor as he forced his gaze from Binair to the grassy ground.

"I am so sorry for all those horrible things I said to you. I-Uh...I lost my temper; it was unprofessional, disorderly, insolent, and plain stupid."

Binair gazed at the Bagon with an incredulous frown, "Chimer—"

"I should have known better," he continued, holding a melancholic tone Argon inwardly pondered as almost sounding rehearsed, "I shouldn't have disrespected what you said, please...it won't happen again."

Binair kept his dispassionate gaze, "Chim—"

"Please! You don't have to do this, I just need another chance. I'll do anything you ask to make this up, I promise I'll develop into a productive member of the guil—"

"Chimera!" Binair yelled, tail forming a scowl to match the one on his face. "The only thing you need to develop is a spine."

Ever so slowly, the Bagon lifted his head from the floor, "What? I don't understand."

"You're still in the guild, old chum," Binair replied, as if the conclusion was obvious, "only the most thick-skinned of Pokemon cannot tolerate debate from their own subordinates. Luckily for you, I am not one of them."

Binair peeked over to Argon, silently watching the entire episode, "He's not always like this, is he?"

Argon hesitated, lifting a paw up to scratch her back as she gazed upon her beseeching partner, "You've b-been a little...emotional since I met you, but no."

"Good," Binair said with a sideways glance towards the Bagon, "then there is room for improvement, and for Arceus's sake, on your feet!"

Chimera rose from his knees, adrenaline exiting his body in the form of relieved sighs, "A-Are you sure, not even gonna...dock my pay or something?"

"Yes," Binair replied with a prolonged sigh, "and I would recommend you stop suggesting ideas for your own punishment."

Faced with this news, Chimera's frozen continuance returned, lasting several seconds before a solitary giggle escaped from the side of the Bagon's mouth. A few seconds more, and the giggle had escalated until he was closing his eyes and cackling towards the ground.

"What's so funny?" Argon asked, "was there something important I missed, or—"

"It's nothing," Chimera puttered out in between prolonged laughter, "it's just, oh Arceus, I'm a fool."

Argon and Binair starred onward at the unhinged Bagon, creating a discomforting silence surrounding the group, only broken only by the sharp cough of the Girafarig as he opened his mouth,

"Well, now that the matter has been resolved, I presume that you two will be leaving for your first mission?"

"Uh..yeah," Argon piped in, "I was going to sign us up for a small resource recovery mission, we should be able to get back before sundown."

A scowl formed on Binair's face as he looked toward the Bagon, "Would you two be adamant for a more...well paying expedition?"

"I-I thought about it," Argon replied, arms crossed and feet beginning to tap as she turned to her partner, "b-but I figured that it would be best to start slow, after all, I'm not sure how capable you are at dungeoneering, Chimera."

"Well, I'm sure he could handle himself, especially when paired with someone as experienced as you, isn't that right?"

"Uh...yeah!" the Bagon replied, turning towards the Raichu to give his best attempt at a heroic stance. "I won't be a burden, you can count on that!"

After giving Chimera's eyes a search of confirmation, Argon turned back towards Binair, "Ok...I guess, what do you have in mind?"

Binair's mouth formed into a grin, Chimera able to confirm that his tail had taken up a similar expression, "An important retrieval exploration. My sources tell of an object of intense power, recently discovered to be hidden in an island just off the coast of Eastern Faire. Sail to this island, fight through the mystery dungeon to retrieve it and bring it back here."

"That'll likely take the entire day, if not more..." Argon whimpered, peeking at Chimera to see that a smile had taken the place of his former grimace, "n-never mind, tell me, how will we tell what this item looks like?"

"Let me just say it has a very distinctive pattern," Binair replied, "you'll know it when you see it."

Before Argon could object, Chimera quickly ran around the Girafarig to hang a hand over her shoulder, "I guess we should head out soon then, we're burning daylight!"

"Indeed, old chum, gather what equipment you need and head toward the docks, tell the captain of the WFS Draeck that I sent you. You'll need the location of course," the horns on Binair's head flashed a vibrant pink as a folded sheet of paper tucked in Argon's bag surfaced.

"—here," the Girafarig spoke, quill levitating out of his pack to meet the paper, "I'll mark it on your map."

Argon grabbed hold of the wonder-map, noticing that a seemingly random point off the eastern island's coast was marked with a small X.

"We should really get going then," she said, shuffling out of the Bagon's grasp, "I'd prefer if we're not trekking through a mystery dungeon after sundown."

With this, Argon turned, Chimera following her lead to walk toward the visible large cluster of vessels out in the distance. After a few steps, however, he stopped, turning his head back towards the Girafarig as he spoke,

"Binair...I'm sorry for the way I acted, few that I've known would so generously hand out this opportunity, thank you."

"No apology needed," Binair replied, his tail's roguish smile again glaring at the Bagon as he walked away, "I always protect my investments, and as I said, I look forward to our next game."

Chimera found himself beaming back at Girafarig's tail as the instruments of their game levitated into Binair's pack, "Yeah, so do I."

As Chimera followed Argon through the Pith Town harbor, he couldn't help but notice that the Raichu seemed unfazed by the excessive shouting between various ships and the olfactory overload of saltwater from the heavy breeze. A look from the Bagon towards the docks revealed vessels of all sizes jutting in between each-other like people in a crowded hallway. Before long, the duo arrived at a vessel fitting Binair's description: in between the dozens of crafts lying dormant in the harbor was a moderately sized ship, sapphire wooden planks making up the body creating a deep contrast against the faintly yellow stained sails hanging across the vessel's three masts. The most immediate draw of the vessel was it's figurehead statue: a large, serpentine dragon-like head, bright yellow eyelids bellow pink eyes creating an almost cartoonist appearance.

"Oi, ye coming aboard or what!"

Argon starred up at the startling yell, spotting it's source to be an imposing bipedal green snake, leaning over from the vessel with a disheveled scowl. On her head was a cocked hat, recognized by the Raichu as the same type worn by the commanding Kricketune.

"Well? Executive Officer Binairs paying a lot of poke to see ye two delivered somewhere, I could always wait here and collect the reward if you're so inclined."

"N-No, that won't be necessary," Argon hastily replied, walking with Chimera across the vessel's rickety gangplank.

"Better not be," the Servine continued, "would probably take five hours or more to to travel to that island he descried, would hate to spend it here doing jack all."

Now standing aboard the Draeck, Chimera followed Argon towards the Servine, instinctively reaching his hand out towards her before pulling it back, a memory of his last attempt at such a gesture still fresh in his mind.

"And your name is?" Chimera asked.

"Wendy," she replied, "Captain Wendy, to be clear."

The Servine turned around from the pair, taking her position at the helm in front of the dozen or so crew members scattered across the vessel as they set sail from the harbor.

"I'd recommend you find somewhere comfortable, we're in for a long trip. Below decks usually a nice spot, but a word to the wise, usually a
bunch of spare parts and tools lying with the cargo, a sharp wave can send one hurling towards ye if you're not careful."

Argon nodded at Wendy's warning, temptation to lower a hat over her eyes and sleep in the warm sun cut off as she recalled one of her original concerns.

"H-Hey, Chimera," Argon spoke, "don't take this the wrong way, but I was wondering if I could...test you on something,"

"Sure, what's the test?" the Bagon replied, "you won't find a better person to help you with doing your taxes, if that's what you want."

"No, it's not that, it's just...there's a fair amount of battling in my line of work. H-Had we been doing most other missions the biggest thing you'd have to worry about would be wild Shellos or Caterpie, but where we're going is a wildcard, I just wanted to see if you could defend yourself."

A bead of sweat began to form on Chimera's forehead, "Uh—Yeah, that's fair. I've got no problem showing you."

Argon gave a motioning wave toward the vessels stern, Chimera gazing past it to see that they were about a kilometer past the harbor.

"I-I guess we should start off with some of your elemental abilities," Argon said, motioning to a loose plank of wood floating behind the Draeck, "I believe your species should be able to breath embers, or some sort of blue fire, I think, could you demonstrate?"

Chimera nodded, exhaling quick, short breaths as he attempted to psyche himself up. He tightened his chest, feeling inside for any unique organ that would provide Argon's stated abilities. With no obvious answer, he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he opened his mouth in the direction of the driftwood target. The muscles in the back of the Bagon's throat waited expectantly for some substance to exhale, seconds passing as it became increasingly clear to the pair that none would come.

Argon spoke up, "Chimera, are you alrigh—"

"Yes," he interjected, "I'm...fine, just need a few seconds."

He pounded his chest twice, in an attempt to give his lizard-like body more of an inclination to fulfill it's desired purpose, before trying again. Again, the jaw opened towards the floating plank released nothing but hot air.

The pattern continued, scowl on the Bagon's forehead becoming increasingly clear every time his scaly snout would open towards the vibrant hew of the increasingly shrinking harbor in the distance.

On what she assumed was Chimera's dozenth attempt, Argon piped up, "Well, maybe you're more of a physical attacker? I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a headbutt from you, for what it's worth."

Chimera threw his arms to the ground and turned towards the bow, "I should be able to do this! Everything I need is right here, I can control my arms and my legs, I don't see why this should be any different. I don't...maybe you're right, unless—"

"Argon, would you be willing to battle me right now?"

"Battle you?" Argon questioned, "I-It seems a bit early to be sparring, don't you think?"

"I know, I know," Chimera quickly replied, "but I think I know why I can't exhale fire right now. It must be something in the mind, I've found that if I'm put in stressful situations, I'm able to do things I thought I couldn't before. If I'm in danger, my brain will...sort itself out, survival instincts and all that."

Argon starred back with a blank expression, "You're probably one of the more out there Pokemon I've met, but if you think it will help."

She turned back towards the Servine, "Captain Wendy, do you mind if we—"

"As long as ye don't damage the ship or crew, ye should be fine," Wendy replied with a dismissive wave of a vine, attention taken up concentrating on a large map.

With this, Argon and Chimera took their positions, standing at the center of the modestly sized ship about ten feet away from each other.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Argon asked, "I'll...try to take it easy on you."

"I'd appreciate it more if you didn't," Chimera replied firmly, "think of me as someone you have to defeat, like an enemy Pokemon in a dungeon. If my theory is correct, that's the only way this is going to work."

The Bagon gave a short breath, before charging at the Raichu head first, eye's pointed straight towards the vessel's floor.

Argon waited, Chimera's stone forehead nearly on top of her before she jolted to the right, scurrying to the other side of the vessel as he turned around to meet her.

"N-Not a bad attack," Argon commented, "but you should keep your head up before you hit them, it's easy to dodge if you know they can't see you."

Chimera nodded, eyes opening in shock as he noticed faint sparks begin to emanate from the Raichu's cheeks. Immediately, a short burst of electricity launched from Argon's tail, the Bagon just able to dive out of the way behind a large barrel as the wood plank where he was previously standing adsorbed the jolt. Chimera got up and rested his back behind the barrel, a glance to his left revealing a blue turtle tightening a corner rigging looking toward the Bagon with an incredulous stare.

Chimera glared back at the Wartortle dismissively, before hearing a voice from Argon's location,

"Pretty good reflexes, now you'll have to either close the gap or use one of your breath attacks."

The latter option seeming the better one, Chimera peeked his head from the barrel and opened his jaw, slamming his first to the ground when, again, nothing came out.

"Argon, I appreciate your advice, but this will only work if I'm an danger, you can't hold back."

Argon's voice cracked, "But wha—"

"But nothing!" Chimera interjected, "I'm not your partner, I'm your enemy, for my sake please act like it."

Chimera charged, hurling towards the Raichu with fangs bared. Argon had no trouble avoiding the Bagon's bites, every dodge drawing an increasingly feral roar of rage. After another lunge sent the Chimera stumbling past Argon a couple feet, he turned towards the ground, mind creating imaginary of a humongous blue and red dragon spitting flames towards the helpless Pokemon below. With a stern scowl, he turned his face back towards Argon, belching a soul shattering scream as he commanded every part of his lizard-like frame into launching blue fire at the Raichu before him.

After a few seconds, he opened his eyes, finding that the only thing that had damaged Argon was his own bad breath.

"Chimera, do you want to sto—"

"HIT ME!" the Bagon roared, "I CAN TAKE IT."

Argon only sighed, sparks in her cheeks being matched by a ball of electricity forming around her left arm. In one swift motion, she darted forward, Chimera not even having time to react before he was sent careening across the vessel by Argon's fist. He hit the Draek's floor with a thud, sliding across the wooden planks until the back of his head slammed into the below deck hatch, forcing it open.

Wendy's voice reverberated through the entire ship, "Oi, Raichu, what just happened?"

Argon stood with an all too familiar frozen stare, "I...I knocked him out."