Chapter 3:
A Shadow falls on All of Us
"It is certain because it is impossible," Tertullian
"So Emerald, tell me, what do you think of Keski and Bolt?"
Emerald didn't respond to Majyk's question immediately, preferring to take a sip of tea first. They were in the top level of the Starchaser guildhall, which was smaller than the two below it and consisted of a single room: the Guildmaster's quarters. The only way into it was by levitating or by ladder. Flying wouldn't work as the angle necessary for a proper landing was next to impossible to achieve.
"I think they are decent Pokémon," she replied thoughtfully, "I scanned their minds. Their thoughts revealed nothing to be concerned about."
Majyk nodded, accepting her assessment. "Then the question becomes, what are we supposed to do with them?"
"Well, there's always a long list of chores that need doing," Emerald suggested, "Oh, and don't forget, today is the first day of self-defense class for the little ones. I believe we have fourteen or so signed up from around the town."
The alakazam chuckled. "That's right, it is today, isn't it? I'm not quite sure what I would do without you to remind me of these things, my dear," he said, "Who did you assign to lead it this year?"
Emerald smiled nervously. "Mendigo volunteered…"
The guildmaster looked alarmed. "Oh dear…please tell me you didn't let him…"
"No one else wanted the job…" Emerald replied apologetically.
"Well that is unusual…" Majyk said, disgruntled, "Usually Cyon and his sisters love teaching the children."
"Normally, that would be the case," Emerald said with a heavy sigh, "but this is the year we have Malik in the class."
Majyk blinked once, understanding entering his eyes. "Well, I suppose the children won't be too traumatized if we let Mendigo teach…"
Bolt languidly rolled over, enjoying his bed. It was warm and fairly soft. The feather-stuffed one at home was more comfortable, but he could get used to this for now.
He didn't want to get up yet, but he could tell just by listening that no one else was in the room, unless they were really good at holding their breath. That meant Keski had already risen, probably to find some spot to meditate in. He liked to do that, though he insisted that it was something all lucarios practiced. Bolt wasn't so sure. Why would an entire race like to sit around with their eyes closed for no other reason than to think? Bolt thought best when he was running. Well, either that or things would just randomly occur to him that often had nothing to do with the current situation, but were extremely helpful later on.
Something stirred by his ear, which for some reason was poking out from the blanket. He flicked it in annoyance, but it persisted. He huffed and rolled over, steadily drawing closer and closer to the point where he wouldn't be able to slip back into slumber. Then he heard a whisper and a chill went down his spine.
He shot upright, fur standing out at random angles with crackles of electricity running through it. He found himself staring right into a brown, husk-like thing that floated right above his head. He yelped in surprise and recoiled, landing on his back. A hollow-sounding chuckle came from the creature. It didn't strike Bolt like a real voice, more like an echo.
"Got you good," it said.
Bolt stared at it in apprehension. "W-what are you?"
"Aw come on, kid," the hollow creature said in an injured tone, "I'm a shedinja. Haven't you heard of my kind before."
"No, sorry…" Bolt answered apologetically. A heavy sigh came from the shedinja. Bolt tilted his head to the side, fear fading and being replaced with his usual curiosity. "Are you a member of the guild then?"
"Yep," the ghost-type answered, "I'm Mendigo. Well, that's what everyone calls me. I had another name, but lost it when I became this. Now I'm just an empty shell, a beggar of sorts. But hey, at least I'm not entirely dead!"
Bolt blinked in surprise. "Not…entirely? What is that supposed to mean?" His eyes examined the Pokémon before him. Even when it was talking, its body did not move. Bolt couldn't detect even a single twitch, even though it appeared to have arms. Not even its eyes so much as shifted. Its entire body shifted when it wanted to look at something directly.
"Well, when I evolved, I split in two," he said, "My other half got my body, but I got the personality. I think I got the better end of the deal. But, what you see here is all I got. I am literally an empty shell. One really good hit and I'm done for. So, I'm almost, but not quite, entirely dead."
Bolt tilted his head to the side. "And…why are you in my room?"
Even without the ability to actually smile, Mendigo's tone made it clear that is what he was doing. "Well! We're having breakfast! And the guildmaster wants you there because that's when we go over the day's schedule and…" He trailed off as Bolt darted out of the room, energized by the mention of food. "Well! I guess Stuffy and Sunsoarer are going to have competition for food this morning! Now…to prepare for Malik's arrival. Hmm…I suppose I will practice being creepy." He began floating slowly toward the door, absolutely silent. His blank eyes bored straight ahead, daring anyone to pass beneath his gaze. "Yep!" he said cheerfully to himself, "That should do it! Now I just need to hide in the rafters and surprise him."
At that moment, Bolt skidded to a stop right in front of the mess hall counter, coming to rest in a sitting position. "HiI'mhungrydoyouhaveanyfoodthanks!" he said. Skipper stared over the counter at him, blinking in surprise. "Hey! I didn't see you last night!" Bolt observed.
"No ye didn't," Skipper replied, "So, ye be the jolteon that be staying with us then?" Bolt nodded eagerly. "And I gather that ye be hungry too, aye?" Bolt grinned and nodded fervently. "Well then, ye can have some o' this Oran Berry oatmeal. Tis' healthy for ye."
Bolt looked doubtful. "I don't really have hands or paws that can function as hands…"
"That be fine," Skipper said, waving his concern away as he ladled out a healthy portion of oatmeal, "I'll set it at your place for ye."
"Thanks!" Bolt said thankfully, "Um…so where do I want to sit…oh! There's Keski!" He darted over to where his travel companion sat and leapt onto the bench beside him. "Good morning!"
Keski started I surprise. "Ah! Oh, hey Bolt. You're up I see."
Bolt looked at him curiously. "You're awfully jumpy this morning. Normally, I can't scare you no matter what I try. Did something happen?"
"No…" Keski lied. Bolt frowned in confusion, but then Skipper arrived with his food and he forgot all about it, preferring to chow down. Skipper watched in amusement as the oatmeal disappeared in a matter of seconds.
"More please," Bolt requested politely.
"Sure thing," Skipper replied with a chuckle, taking the bowl back to refill it. However, a bell chimed from the head of the first long table and all the members of the Starchaser Guild immediately stopped what they were doing and turned their attention in the direction it had come from. Emerald stood there, holding a small service bell, and behind her Majyk floated. Bolt blinked, staring at him.
"Who is he?" he whispered to Keski.
"The guildmaster," Keski replied, "Now be quiet."
"Okay."
Majyk rose a bit higher in the air, allowing everyone to see him easily. "Good morning, everyone," he said, "I trust you all slept well." He received mixed responses from the assembly. "Ah, well then, you will all be grateful to know that today is not a terribly busy one for us. The only big event that I expect all of you to help with is preparations for the first day of defense class. Mendigo has volunteered to lead it this year, so he will be preparing for that. The rest of you are to listen to Cyon. He, Yuki, and Cia are in charge of setup. Also, we need to make a supply run down to the shopping district. Skipper has reported that the pantry is looking a little bare."
"Not that the rest of us would know!" Ryke called, "Since he never lets anyone else in there!"
Skipper glared at him. "Whenever I let one of ye rascals in, things go missin'!"
"Hey! That sort of rhymed!" Bolt said happily, drawing a wide variety of strange looks from the others. Keski sighed and put his head on the table.
"Bolt…please don't do that again when in a room full of other people," he muttered.
"Continuing!" Majyk said sharply, regaining everyone's attention, "Would anyone like to volunteer for shopping duty that does not already have a task?" Grinning, Stuffy and Sunsoarer raised their paws. "Very well. You two shall go." The dragon and giant gave each other a high-five. "But, if the cost of the food you bring home does not match how much money you spent, you will both be put on cleaning duty for the next month." Suddenly, the pair was not nearly as enthusiastic as before. "Now, as for the rest of you, once everything is ready for the class today, you are free to do as you see fit. Are there any questions?" Ryke raised a paw. "Yes, Ryke?"
"I heard Malik is in this year's class. Is that true?" he asked.
"Yes, in fact, he is," Majyk replied. Ryke grinned deviously. "And you are not to antagonize him!"
"Aw…" Ryke muttered, crossing his arms and sulking a bit.
"We do not need any more friction between us and the governor," Majyk said sternly, "If I hear of you causing trouble with him, there will be consequences. Understand?"
"Yes guildmaster…" Ryke grumbled.
"Good. Now, let's finish breakfast and get to work. Everyone arrives at noon, remember, so we must hurry."
Soon, breakfast was cleared away and Cyon was busy ordering everyone about, shifting the tables, moving the benches and chairs, hanging banners, and turning the main hall from a eating area into a wide, empty space where young Pokémon could practice their battle skills without fear of running into something. Then came the spreading of mats, removal of breakable objects, and giving the floor an extra sweeping so everything was nice and clean for the class. Learning that he was allowed to even assign Bolt and Keski various tasks inside the guild, the leader of Team Snowpaw instructed them to make and hang a large banner that would welcome the kits to the guild.
"And make it pretty!" he called after them as they went to go get the supplies from the second story.
"Pretty, eh? Right…" Keski muttered.
"Well, it won't be so bad, right?" Bolt asked. Keski growled in response. "Well, you'll never enjoy yourself with that attitude!" Bolt said with a huff. Keski rolled his eyes as they ascended the flight of stairs leading up.
The second story wasn't nearly as large as those below it, since the main hall was already two stories tall. There was a library, a few locked doors, and the supply room, which is where Bolt and Keski went to. They found the banner and the supplies right where Cyon had instructed them to look and spread the banner out on the ground. Then, they proceeded to stare at it blankly.
"So…" Keski began, "What are we supposed to write on it?"
"Um…" Bolt thought about it, "I have no idea…"
"Maybe we should just write 'Welcome'?" Keski suggested.
"No! That's too boring!" Bolt said indignantly, "It should at least be 'Welcome to the Starchaser Guild!' Oh wait, that's what the mural says already…" The lucario rolled his eyes.
"Let's just put 'Welcome to Defense Class'. That's what the guildmaster called it, so it makes sense that we should call it that," he reasoned. Bolt nodded in agreement.
"I'll hold it flat, you paint the words on," he said, "You dye your fur, so you're better with this stuff than I am."
Keski scoffed and knelt down, grabbing paint and a brush. "Yeah, we need to find better dye, by the way. I got hit by a stray water gun and some of it washed out last night. Had to hurry back downstairs before they noticed."
"Oh…" Bolt considered the matter. "Have you ever tried making your fur really turn color?"
"Bolt…that is pretty much impossible," Keski replied, beginning to paint the required words on the banner.
"Red! You could make it turn red! Then you'd be red and black instead of g-"
"I get it!" Keski snapped, "Now drop it, okay?!"
Bolt stepped back sharply, eyes wide. "S-sorry Keski…" he said, looking down with ears drooping.
Keski sighed heavily and patted Bolt's shoulder, getting a little blue paint on him. "I overreacted. Just please…this really isn't a joking matter. Not to me at least." Bolt nodded. "I really mean it, I don't want to hear any jokes about my fur, okay?"
"I promise," Bolt said with a sigh, "I'll just have to find a less serious way to push your buttons!"
Keski smirked. "Oh, believe me, you do that well enough already."
"Yay!" Bolt smiled, "So! Let's finish the banner now, okay?"
"You mean, let me finish the banner, right?"
"Yep!"
"Thought so."
Soon, the banner was painted and ready, but when they brought it back to Team Snowpaw Cyon almost fainted in horror. "No, no, no, no, NO!" he declared, "That will never do! Where did you learn to spell?"
"Um…" Keski scratched the back of his head, "Same place I learned how to fight?"
"Well it shows," Cyon sniffed, "Class is spelled C-L-A-S-S, not K-L-A-S. Maybe we should be putting you in school…" Keski growled in annoyance. "We need to redo it. Everything has to be absolutely perfect!"
In the background, Yuki muttered something along the lines of 'here we go again'.
"Hosting an event is a delicate affair," Cyon began seriously, "It takes dedication, foresight, and as much strength of will as stepping onto any battlefield! To truly be a good host, one cannot afford to settle for half-measures! We must strive to always show the world the best of what we are capable of. There is so much ugliness in this world and it is my mission to create more beauty for others to enjoy and be reminded that beauty does exist! I…"
"Thank you, Cyon," Yuki said, cutting him off, "Bolt, Keski, just go get another banner. Ryke! Mina! Come here a minute!" The riolu and zigzagoon immediately dropped what they were doing and scampered over. "You two will make a new banner, after Keski gets it. Put the same words on it as this one, but spell them correctly."
"Yuki!" Cyon declared indignantly, "I was just in the middle of talking!"
"Get to work," Yuki ordered them, "I'll deal with my brother…" With that, she clamped her jaws lightly on his ear and began leading him out of the room.
"Yuki! Ow! Stop it! Yuki! I demand you release me at once!"
Ryke saluted her receding form and grinned as he read the banner. "So…'Klas', eh?"
"Oh shut up…" Keski muttered, cheeks heating up, "I'll…go get another one." He made a quick exit.
Mina, the zigzagoon, suddenly spoke up. "Cia…do you have any idea where Cotton is? He should have been back before breakfast…"
Cia smiled sweetly and patted her on the head. "Don't worry. I'm sure he'll be just fine."
Sable leaned back and sighed contentedly, shaded by the broad leaf over his head and a cool drink in his claws. Beneath him, his current mode of transportation, a fit and relatively quick venusaur, trudged on through the hot sun wordlessly. Being a grass-type, it was probably rather enjoying leaving the confines of the capitol and getting out into the countryside. However, the third member of their party was not so happy.
"It's soooo hot!"
Sable sighed and looked down at his assistant, who was seated in direct sunlight on the venusaur's head. "Deal with it."
She looked back at him with pleading, watery eyes. "That shade sure looks nice…I bet you are very comfortable…"
Sable sighed. "Now Roxy…"
She huffed and turned her back to him again, arms crossed. "Don't you 'now Roxy me!' Sipping your drink and sitting in the shade while I'm frying my ears off…"
"Oh, I doubt that…" Sable rejoined, sipping the drink in question. She looked longingly at it.
"That sure looks tasty…" she said, hinting rather strongly at her desire for it.
"Yes, it is. Speaking of which, this one's almost empty. Do you think you could find the ingredients to make me another?" Sable requested, swishing the contents of the glass around.
She pouted. "Lord Saaaable…" she whined, "I'm melting out here…may I please at least come under the shade?"
The sableye rolled his jeweled eyes. "Fine…just don't get in my-" He nearly dropped his glass as the emolga suddenly appeared right next to him, eyes closed, paws behind her head, and legs crossed. She sighed happily. "-space…" Sable briefly considered shoving her off in retribution for this invasion of his personal space, but decided against it grudgingly. After all, she did belong to him, to his way of thinking at least. There was no point in abusing one of his own things, especially not such an able assistant and one so devoted to him. So, instead of pushing her away, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. She took this as a sign of affection and happily cuddled up against him, but he was just securing one more possession. Piece by piece, person by person, eventually the world would belong to him.
"Remind me, doll," he said off-handedly, "What's our ETA on getting to Seaside Crest again?"
"Four days," she replied, "I memorized your itinerary before we left. Desidu here can travel all day and night due to the energy he gets from the sun, and at a decent clip too. The only faster way would be by flying, but getting someone to take you all the way out to the edge of the empire would have cost a fortune."
"And it's not worth a fortune to arrive a day earlier…" Sable muttered.
"Exactly!" Roxy said perkily.
Overhead, there was a loud squawk and the beating of wings. Roxy temporarily disengaged herself from Sable's grip and peered out from under the venusaur's overhanging leaves. A pelipper was flying at max speed after them, a mail-bag clutched in its feet. Sable sat up as it landed on the venusaur's back, not that their transport cared. He was used to carrying other Pokémon by now. It paid him good money.
"Letter for Lord Sable," the pelipper declared, setting the bag down and pulling out a sealed envelope. Roxy took it and the bird was almost immediately back in the air, already off to its next delivery.
Sable took the letter from Roxy and opened it with a claw. There were only three lines of text written on it. It read, "Request processed and approved. Two subjects at your disposal. First attack has already been scheduled as per request. Have a nice day. –The Management." Sable grinned.
Roxy peered over his shoulder, reading it as well. "What's that mean?" she asked.
"Well, doll," he said, his grin spreading wider and becoming downright menacing, "let's just say I've set up a little…test to see if the good guildmaster really is a Sealbearer."
"Welcome to Defense School!" Cia said, standing outside the guild's main door and greeting the parents of the new students. She smiled and kept up a cheerful attitude for everyone entering. After all, first impressions were very important, especially when dealing with young ones. A happy attitude would do wonders to make them happy as well!
Inside, Emerald made sure everyone was signed in and ready to go. After that, she had the unenviable job of moving the kits into the next room while at the same time ushering the parents out the door. When Malik arrived, this already difficult task became almost insurmountable. The meowth insisted that his bodyguards needed to be with him at all times, making quite a scene. The pair of houndooms just rolled their eyes, used to this behavior by now. Fortunately, they didn't know or care about anyone from this town, so they didn't mind being seen as the little tyrant's lackeys. It paid good money.
Emerald, after taking several deep calming breaths, told the pair that they could take the day off and pick Malik up before dinner. Malik was about to protest, but one heart-stopping glare from the gardevoir made him rethink that and decide it wasn't worth it.
With that crisis averted and no more Pokémon immediately entering, Emerald took a moment to sit down and clear her mind. Taking deep, slow breaths, she closed her eyes and quickly regained her sense of stability and equilibrium.
"Hey Emerald!"
She looked up and smiled. "Kachi! Well, welcome! Nice to have you here."
The pikachu grinned and indicated the pichu beside him. "Oh, I'm not staying. Meadow is. You remember meeting Meadow, right?"
"Of course!" Emerald said, kneeling down so she wasn't towering over the diminutive mouse. "How are you doing? Is Kachi being a good big brother?"
She giggled and grinned up at her. "Yep! Big brother likes my food! Is Uncle Skipper here? I want to learn how to make more food! Then I can help him feel better because he works so hard all day!"
Emerald beamed down at her. "I'm sure he will love to! But right now you're going to learn how to battle. Cooking comes afterwards, okay?"
"Okay," Meadow agreed with a nod of her head. She trundled off into the main hall, singing a childish tune.
Emerald smiled. "Your sister is very cute."
"Isn't she?" Kachi agreed enthusiastically, "I'm so proud of her! She has to be the best little sister ever! I love her so much it's almost like she's my own daughter sometimes!"
"Yes, I'm sure you do," Emerald said, laughing.
"Well, I don't really have time to stay and visit, unfortunately," Kachi said, "We got a report this morning about something strange in the woods to the east of town."
"That's where Cotton is," Emerald said, "Is it something serious? Something the guild needs to be involved in?"
"Not yet. Just a few skittish farmers," Kachi replied, "If it turns into something we need help on, I'll come tell you."
"Okay! Well, the class is done right before dinner, but I assume Meadow will be staying a bit longer to learn from Skipper. You're welcome to join us for dinner, if you want."
"That sounds pretty good, actually!" Kachi said, pleased, "I think I'll take you up on that offer. See you then!"
"See you."
And with that, the police officer was gone. One quick check over the list of attending Pokémon later, Emerald realized that everyone who had been signed up was present and waiting for their instructor to appear.
Fourteen kits of various species, Malik among them, stood in the main hall of the Starchase Guild, looking around. The other members of Team Snowpaw had welcomed them in and instructed them to wait until Mendigo showed up. Unfortunately for them, the ghostly exoskeleton had not yet arrived. They quickly became bored and began finding their own amusements, like exploring the room and finding that the doors to most of the more sensitive areas were barred.
Malik did not join in. He was by far the oldest there, almost an adolescent, and was not happy about it, though all the kits were old enough to take a few hits without the danger newborns had of serious injury. Governor Jasper had for the longest time insisted that fighting was beneath him, but a conversation with a visiting relative, who told dreadful stories about the rich being attacked by bandits or worse, rebels, had convinced him that Malik needed to know how to defend himself. Even Jasper himself was brushing off his rusty battle skills. However, none of this served to improve his son's mood or attitude.
That's when the wooden plates began rattling in the sink.
All conversation came to a screeching halt as all heads turned toward the sound. But there was nothing visible that could possibly be creating the disturbance. The kits exchanged wide eyed glances, which were quickly joined by small whimpers when the sound of howling wind entered the room.
Malik scoffed aloud, though to be honest he was a little put on edge by the effects. Then he turned around and found himself face to face with a dead-eyed husk floating in mid-air.
"Boo," it said.
Malik's eyes went wide, his whiskers stood on end, his fur suddenly fluffed out, and he yowled in surprise, backpedalling quickly. He stumbled and fell on his tail, much to the thing's amusement. Hearty laughter poured from it, causing Malik to glare spitefully when he realized he'd been tricked.
"Hello kiddies! I'm Mendigo and I'll be your teacher for the day!" the shell said, still cackling, "Today, your parents and other guardians have signed you over to me and given me permission to injure you in small amounts. For training purposes of course. Now, will I abuse this freedom? Not unless you tick me off!" He laughed. "Now today you will not be fighting each other but discovering what techniques you can currently use!" Suddenly, Malik, recovered from his fright, leapt at Mendigo and swiped angrily at him with his claws, but they just passed right through. "I see Malik has already gotten a head start! Excellent! Now let's begin."
About ten feet below them, Bolt and Keski were hard at work at another job: cleaning the floor. Keski was sweeping while Bolt was mopping up afterwards. He was particularly creative in the way he accomplished this task, dipping the large rag in the bucket using his teeth and rubbing it along the floor with his front paws. How they had received this task was a bit of a long story. The short version was that Cyon had struggled to find something more for them to do and ended up just assigning them to cleaning duty.
Not surprisingly, Keski was the first to finish his assigned task, due to his greater sense of focus. He set the broom aside and sat down with a sigh. "This reminds me of doing chores for your dad…" he grumbled, not terribly annoyed, more like minorly inconvenienced.
"Yeah, but he has us wash the entire battle arena…" Bolt sighed, "This is much easier! And shorter."
"Yeah, no joke!" Keski said under his breath, "Well, at least it is cool down here…"
"Yep!" Bolt said cheerfully, "We're underground, so it's bound to be cooler! Unless it's raining outside. Then it could very well be colder out there than down here. And if it was raining, there might be lightning! I like lightning! It makes me feel like I could take on Lady Ho-Oh herself!"
Keski smirked. "Until she incinerates you as a heretic for daring to attack her." He chuckled. "Though to be honest, everyone else would probably stop you before you even reached her."
"Yeah…" Bolt said with a shrug, "And Dad would probably not be too happy either…" He trailed off, a thoughtful expression on his face. "When do you think Lt. Cascade will be able to confirm our identities?"
"I don't know, Bolt. It's been years since I visited the mainland," Keski replied, "And I never visited the Seafoam Empire before, so I have no idea what their laws are like and how long things take."
"Oh…" Bolt said, downcast, "I hope Mist is okay…"
The lucario tensed. "I'm sure she'll be fine," Keski assured him, not very convincingly, "After all, what could happen to a lone eevee? It's not like anyone would attack her or…enslave her…or…um…" He gulped, seeing Bolt's horrified expression. "I'll shut up now…"
"You think someone would attack her?!" he demanded, forgetting the mop and running over toward him, "We have to get out of here now! We have to find her and save her!"
"We can't!" Keski countered, "Remember what Emerald did to us? If we try to leave, they will track us down and bring us back! And probably lock us up! Then, we won't be able to continue looking for Mist for…years, I should think!"
Bolt's eyes filled with pain and tears. "B-b-but what if she needs us now?" he asked accusingly.
"Then there really is nothing we can do…" Keski sighed. Bolt was devastated and slowly fell to the ground, tears falling from his eyes. "I-I'm sorry but that's the truth…even if we weren't prisoners of a sort, we still have no idea where she is. If she needs us right now, we have no chance of helping her." He shifted awkwardly, knowing this was not helping Bolt at all. "Look…the best thing we can do right now is exactly what we are doing: keeping a low profile and out of trouble. If the time comes to fight and raise hell, I'll be right there alongside you. But there is no way that the two of us alone could evade and escape an entire guild that practically has a homing beacon implanted in each of our skulls!"
"W-what's a homing beacon?" Bolt asked, sniffing.
"Metal device. Keeps track of the location of whatever it is planted to," Keski said, waving it aside, "And while the Starchaser Guild doesn't have any of those, two powerful psychics are just as good if not better." Bolt stared up at him, bewildered, scared for his sister, and confused as to what he felt he should do. "…" Sighing, Keski knelt and pulled him into a hug. "Just be patient. I'm sure everything will work out here in the end."
"O-okay…" Bolt consented, giving him a friendly nuzzle, "Thanks Keski…you're a great friend."
Keski smiled. "You know what? I say we take a break and get a drink."
Bolt smiled weakly. "Sounds good," he said, regaining some of his former spirits. He rose and trotted toward the stairwell, leaving Keski a little ways behind.
"Note to self…" the lucario muttered, "Don't mention my personal fears to Bolt…"
He sighed and made to follow the young jolteon. However, he had only gone a few steps when he heard a voice behind him. "Well that was very touching. Your friendship is quite noble. I'm impressed."
He turned and saw Medi standing in the doorway, arms crossed and examining their work on cleaning the floor with a critical eye. "Your cleaning skills, however, leave something to be desired…" she mused, "Eh, nobody's perfect. Being a true friend is more important anyway, wouldn't you say?"
"Yes…" Keski replied, "I guess so…"
Medi chuckled. "Oh you're so cute. Of course it is! You see, that's what we are at the Starchaser Guild: true friends." She paused, letting that hang in the air for a moment. "However, there is…one member who no one knows at all." She nodded toward the door with the name 'Shadow' written above it. "That guy. Or girl. No one's seen whatever it is. All we know is that the hardest, most difficult assignments we get, even the ones that require travelling all the way across the continent, are always given to it. You know, those ridiculously insane ones, like eliminating dark guilds. And it always completes them. By itself. Then, it returns here with the reward in the dead of night, visits the guildmaster, and is immediately assigned another. The odd thing is that it's not even registered as an official member, so no one outside the guild even knows it exists. But the reward money it brings in, that's how we keep this place running, see. There really aren't all that many jobs for a full-blown guild out in this side of the empire, even though the guild pre-dates the town itself…"
"Your point?" Keski asked bluntly.
She cleared her throat. "My point is that I'm a bit…curious about it. Best the rest of us can guess, it's some sort of insanely powerful zoroark. I was wondering if, you being a lucario and all, you could keep a watchful eye out for any suspicious presences. I'd pay you, of course. I heard about your fine and thought you might want a little something to help pay it off. So…do we have a deal?"
Keski considered it carefully. Something about Medi made him cautious, but he and Bolt did need to find ways to earn money. In the end, he nodded. "Yes, we have a deal."
She grinned. "Excellent. I'll be on my way then." She sauntered past him, reaching out to brush his side with her claw. "See you later," she said with a slightly sultry tone. Keski watched her warily as she made her way down the hall and to the upstairs. After he felt she had gone a sufficient distance ahead as to make another encounter unlikely, he followed at a brisk pace.
The moment he reached the ground floor, he was greeted by the sight of Bolt under a mound of kits, squealing and laughing as they climbed over him. The jolteon caught sight of Keski and grinned. "Hi Keski!" he called, "They tackled me when they discovered I was a criminal. And look! It's Kachi's little sister, Meadow!"
Keski blinked blankly, not quite sure what to make of the spectacle before him. An oddish poked his leg with one of the leaves on its head, drawing his attention.
"Excuse me mister," the plant asked politely, "But are you a criminal too?"
Keski sighed. "Well, I guess that's what you could call it…"
Suddenly he found himself gang-tackled to the ground by twelve young Pokémon. They cheered. "We caught another one!"
"Good job, kids!" Mendigo called, a grin evident in his voice even if it wasn't on his face, "Don't let him go now! He's the worse one!"
While that was going on, a marill approached Bolt shyly, fore-paws behind her back. "Hello, mister…" she said, scuffing the floor with her foot, "You may not remember me, but you burst into my uncle's store yesterday…"
Bolt beamed at her. "Yep! I remember! I was going to ask if you had any food to share, but then…well, things got out of hand…"
She nodded. "Well…my uncle says you probably saved us, so we wanted you to have this…" From behind her back, she produced a slip of paper. Bolt looked at it curiously, taking it and spreading it out before him.
"A coupon good for any one item at the general store. Still think I do price-gouging?" he read. A smile broke out on his face. "Tell him I was only trying to distract the other two! His fruit was actually some of the cheapest we've come across. And I'm sure it's delicious!"
She smiled happily and went away to join the others 'attacking' Keski. Out of the corner of his eye, Bolt saw Malik glaring at him and smiled back at him. The meowth huffed and quickly looked away.
"Alright, alright," Mendigo called, "That's a long enough break, I think. Everyone line back up and leave the nice lucario alone." Obediently, the students clambered off him and formed a line. "Now, that was a pretty good show of tackling, but it needs a little work. The trick is to keep your body loose. Let's practice on these pillows over here."
Keski sat up, recovering from being attacked so suddenly. Bolt strolled on over to him, sat down, and turned to watch the kits train. A big smile crossed his face. "I remember when Dad did that with me. He had to be careful not to step on me because I was so small compared to him."
The lucario's expression was unreadable. "My father never did that…he sent me away to learn how to fight."
Bolt glanced over at him. "You know, you never did tell us much about your family. What was life like for you before you washed up on the beach that day? The day Dad, Mist, and I found you?"
Keski's expression became distant, almost cold. "Nothing worth speaking of," he replied. Bolt was tempted to press for more details, but Keski's expression warned him not to. He clamped his mouth shut and just sat beside him, saying nothing.
The front door slammed. Emerald strode in, a frantic look on her face. "Medi!" she called urgently, "Where are you? We need you. NOW!"
The weavile materialized from the second-story stairwell. "What? What's the matter? Did something happen?"
Emerald swallowed. "It's Cotton…Cotton and Slicer. They're back but…they've been attacked. We need you to come now!" With a worried expression on her face, Medi wordlessly ran through the room and out the door. The kits began talking in hushed, scared tones. "Mendigo," Emerald called, "Try to keep them calm. Play a game. Do something, but keep them inside. There's a very dangerous Pokémon on the loose."
Mendigo made a sound like clearing his throat. "Everyone! Let's go downstairs! We have a small pool down there. It's in the same room as the baths, but it's a lot more fun! Come on now! Hurry, follow me!" The bewildered and somewhat frightened kits slowly obeyed his commands, filing down into the basement.
Emerald beckoned Bolt and Keski over. "You two…stay here. If something does try to break in, defend the guild." She turned to leave.
"We want to help!" Bolt proclaimed, following her.
"I can't ask you to do that," Emerald replied, "It would be irresponsible to ask strangers to do such a thing." She opened the guild's main door, revealing a disturbing scene. Most of the guild was crowded around three Pokémon, a jumpluff, a ledian, and a kabutops. All three were seriously injured and only the kabutops was conscious. Medi was hurriedly tending to them, tearing strips of cloth with her long claws and binding them in place while ordering the bystanders to feed them medicine and make sure they kept breathing.
Master Majyk was there, floating close by the heavily-breathing kabutops' head. One of the Shellfish Pokémon's legs was bent at an awkward angle and the exoskeleton of his left arm was crushed right by the elbow joint. "Slicer…" Majyk said, voice solemn, "what happened to you all?"
The kabutops gasped, gritting his jaw against a wave of pain. "Attacked…in forest. Cotton was hit first…picked him up and ran to town…Officer Astro tried to stop attacker at North Gate…failed, but it did not enter town. It's still out there…somewhere…" Slicer's eyes became unfocused and his head drooped, clearly on the brink of losing consciousness.
Medi frowned, bending over the ledian and pulling out a black spike from just below his eye. "An inch higher and Astro would be blinded in one eye now, so that's fortunate," she mused, "but I have no idea what sort of Pokémon this came from. I've never seen anything like this before."
"Slicer, please, one last question," Majyk pressed, reviving the kaputops slightly, "What…sort of Pokémon was your attacker?"
"C-cacturne…" That was the last word Slicer said before slipping into unconsciousness. Medi quickly came over and checked his vitals, giving off a sigh of relief.
"Of the three of them, he's the most well off…" she informed Majyk, "His thick shell protected most of his organ from damage and, even if he loses the arm, it will grow back. No worries there. Cotton is the one I'm most concerned about. But anyway, we should get them inside. Don't need to start a general panic."
"Quite right…" Majyk agreed. A soft glow surrounded the three, lifting them into the air, "Come, Medi, let us get them safely settled." He turned to everyone else. "Our next course of action is to send out search parties looking for this…cacturne. I want Team Firestrike and Team Snowpaw on this one since they should both have the advantage. Send Ryke and Mina down to the police and tell them what's happened. When Stuffy and Sunsoarer get back, send Stuffy to the North Gate and have Sunsoarer watch from the skies. Everyone else is to stay on alert. Understood?"
"Yes, guildmaster!"
"Good, then there is no time to lose! Get going!" Majyk ordered. The guild scattered, performing whatever task had been set to them. Teams Firestrike and Snowpaw raced to the North Gate, taunting the other that they would be the one to capture the criminal. Ryke and Mina dashed off toward the police station, going full-tilt. Emerald's eyes glowed as she reached out for Stuffy and Sunsoarer's minds, hoping to get them back faster.
Keski bowed politely to Majyk as he passed. "Guildmaster," he began, "Is there anything we can do?"
Majyk, though in a hurry, briefly considered it. "Just be ready with the rest of the guild in case we need you," he said. Keski nodded and stepped back, allowing him unrestricted passage into the main hall. Bolt sat down and sighed, staring at the mural in the entryway.
"And now," Keski muttered, "We hurry up and wait."
Just outside of town, hidden in woods to the east, the cacturne in question crouched, watching the North Gate from a distance. If anyone were to look in his direction, the only thing they would see is malevolent, glowing yellow eyes in the shadows staring hungrily at them. "Heh, heh, heh…" It grinned when the six Pokémon that made up the Starchaser Guild's rival teams exited the town. "Just as I expected…"
He raised one of his arms, aiming it at them. A dark-violet mist flowed from the spines on his arm, swirling together and solidifying on his palm into a dark spike. "Let's see if I can't pick a few of them off before they get close…"
