A/N: Heya, Candles from a few days after this was published, here. I just noticed that Volbeat and Illumise refer to the Hypno debacle as though it happened 'today'. It didn't, it happened the previous day. I am a goddamn idiot man, but I have fixed this. I hope and pray that this tiny edit doesn't trigger update alerts or anything. Sorry.

Calm ambience and hushed whispers filled the dim interior of the Shuck Shack, the usually bustling pub instead facing the dreary quiet of the early evening. The business was almost empty, save for a few Pokemon scattered across the myriad of tables, each gently nursing their own beverages as they drank the remainder of the day away.

Up on the stage, a Kricketune was producing a low, bassy thrum, filling the establishment with a soothing ambience. Shuckle shuffled slowly up and down behind the bar, polishing the glassware and chatting quietly with some of the patrons seated nearby. The atmosphere in the room was calm and sleepy, perfect for wasting a lazy day.

Although if there was one Pokemon who was certainly not calm in the slightest, it would be Saurton.

The grass-type sat at one end of a deep maroon booth, resting impatiently atop a set of cushions as he waited for Gastly and Honedge to arrive. A glass of sweet Pecha cider sat untouched in front of the nervous Pokemon, Saurton being far more focused on the goings on within the Shuck Shack, as his eyes darted fretfully between the other patrons and the door.

Saurton had spent the remainder of the previous day wandering aimlessly around the outskirts of Hope Village, barely noticing the passage of time as he absorbed himself in his own thoughts.

Even a series of unusual, distant rumblings hadn't broken the grass-type out of his stupor and, before he'd realised it, Saurton had found himself in the middle of Pokemon Plaza heading towards the Shuck Shack, where he now waited restlessly.

The door to the establishment suddenly swung open, a spear of light bursting through the entrance and painting the dark interior with a harsh brightness.

Saurton whipped his head towards this sudden intrusion, squinting his eyes against the sharp evening and taking in the sinister forms of Gastly and Honedge, who were floating in the doorway.

A scowl crossed the grass-type's features, as his gaze followed the two spirits making their way casually over towards the bar and having a short, whispered discussion with Shuckle.

Indecision suddenly gripped the young starter, before being swiftly crushed by his more cynical side.

'This is something that needs to happen.' Saurton thought to himself, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, before pulling his gaze from the duo and settling his eyes firmly on the drink in front of him, 'Besides, I'm only listening to what they have to say. I don't need to agree with them, or do anything they want me to.'

With a new resolve, Saurton sat up on his haunches a little straighter and waited patiently for the spirits to approach him.

Unfortunately, in taking his eyes from the two ghosts, Saurton failed to notice the large pouch of coins being discreetly passed between Gastly and Shuckle, as their hushed conversation came to a close.

After another minute of waiting, Gastly and Honedge floated into the other end of the booth where Saurton was seated, the grass-type's distasteful gaze following them until they came to a halt.

A tense staring contest followed for a long moment, before it was broken by Saurton;

"What was all that about!?" The Bulbasaur hissed, annoyance plain on his features, "You can phase through walls, you didn't have to be so conspicuous coming in! I thought this was supposed to be a discreet meeting!?"

The two ghosts glanced at each other for a second, unperturbed by the grass-type's outburst, before breaking into a light cackle.

"Why should we have to be discreet?" Gastly said, a mischievous grin spreading across its face, "After all, we're all just law-abiding Pokemon meeting for drinks, as friends tend to do."

"Unless you've managed to pick up a criminal record since we last spoke?" Honedge added, an expression of genuine mirth somehow visible on its imitation of a face, "I mean, with that work you did for Arcanine, it wouldn't surprise me."

The two spirits burst into a fit of sadistic giggles - Saurton's face flushing with a conflicted expression, halfway between anger and embarrassment.

"Look I didn't come here to be ridiculed or argue with the two of you." Saurton snarled, "Either say what you came here to say, or I'll drag the two of you back to the guild and claim the bounty."

"Easy there, hotshot." Honedge spoke, its tone taking a more serious edge, "We're just messing with you."

"Besides, weren't you listening?" Gastly interjected, its smile growing wide as it shot Saurton a wink, "There's no record of us as wanted Pokemon. Many thanks to yourself and Mudkip for not reporting us."

Saurton balked slightly, mentally kicking himself for not following such an important procedure.

"Just listen to what the two of us have to say." Honedge continued, unperturbed, "I'm pretty sure that the two of us will be able to bring you around to our way of thinking."

Saurton broke his gaze from the two spirit Pokemon, instead focusing on the table, his expression turning weary.

"Well I suppose I've already come this far…" The grass-type muttered dejectedly, "Go on then."

Gastly's grin grew even wider, taking up almost the entirety of its body, as Honedge brought its voice down to a near-whisper:

"I suppose we should start at the beginning." The sword began, idly stroking the surface of the table with its long ribbon, "Gastly and I come from the far Northern reaches of the continent, from a land covered in ice and snow. It is an inhospitable place with no civilisation existing outside of small pockets of toughened and paranoid Pokemon."

Honedge's tone softened, a faraway look somehow appearing in the eyes upon its crossguard as it spoke of the past.

"This is where Gastly and I met." It continued, "Death and suffering are commonplace, up in those frozen wastes. For two ghost-types like us, it was a constant rush of energy, feasting on the spirits of wild and sentient Pokemon alike as they succumbed to the harsh environment. We were able to use the power that this brought us, to rob what few travellers were able to make it that far, amassing ourselves a pretty sizable nest egg."

Saurton shifted uncomfortably at the casual mention of their crimes.

"Yes, we were bandits." Honedge huffed, an irritated scowl flashing across its crossguard, "We did what we did to survive, don't act so uppity and surprised."

The ghost took a second to compose itself, while Gastly shot Saurton an insulted glare.

"Yes, we were crooks." Honedge continued, "This was until we-"

The story was cut off as two glasses of liquid were placed down in front of the spirits, each one with a long straw, allowing easy access for the armless Pokemon.

Saurton took a startled glance up at the intruder; none other than the owner of the establishment, Shuckle, an unreadable expression across their features as they avoided eye contact.

"Is everything alright with your drink, sir?" The bartender asked politely, using an appendage to fix their bowtie, "Only you haven't touched it since you arrived."

A scowl of annoyance crossed Saurton's features.

"Yes it's fine." The grass-type snapped rudely, "Thank you."

Shuckle bowed their head passively before ambling back towards the bar, followed by Saurton's frowning gaze.

'When did it get so empty in here?' The grass-type wondered for a moment.

The only customers left in the Shuck Shack besides themselves were a pair of Poochyena, who began what appeared to be a hushed argument with Shuckle, as the barkeep approached.

'Even Kricketune is gone.' Saurton noticed, his annoyed scowl being replaced by a concerned one, 'The evenings are normally quiet until later on, but this is a bit extreme…'

"Hey! You still there, buddy?"

Saurton was snapped out of his thoughts by Honedge, who was regarding him cooly, while Gastly simply slurped happily away at its drink - the spirit's trademark grin somehow remaining on its face despite the fact.

Saurton nodded slowly, fixing Gastly and Honedge with a suspicious gaze.

"Fantastic!" Honedge stated, either not noticing or not caring of Saurton's change in demeanour, "Where was I again?"

"We were living it large in the North." Gastly spoke up, its eyes fixing Saurton with a piercing stare, "You were about to mention our generous employer."

"Ah yes, that's right!" Honedge exclaimed, suddenly slamming its long ribbon on the table and causing Saurton to jump in surprise, before the sword dipped its voice into a low whisper, "So one day, Gastly and I are at our usual spot waiting for some rube to come by, when this Cofagrigus appears - and I mean appears! We looked away for a split second, and this great enormous sarcophagus just-"

The spiritual blade waved its sash in the air in exasperation, seemingly at a loss for words.

Saurton paled slightly.

"Is that the same one as-" The grass-type started, before being swiftly cut off.

"The very same." Honedge confirmed, sliding its untouched drink towards Gastly, who greedily snatched it up, "This is a big part of why we felt as though we could trust you. You know who we're dealing with here."

The two ghosts studied Saurton with a scrutinous gaze, the Bulbasaur squirming under their attention. Something deep inside of Saurton was screaming for him to run, that there was a horrible wrongness here.

The snap of the door caused all three Pokemon to start, as their eyes were drawn towards the invasive brightness of the outside world.

There, framed in the entranceway, stood a Deerling. Its eyes grew wide as they panned around the interior of the pub, before the Pokemon turned and exited just as quickly as it had arrived.

Saurton's brow furrowed, worry building in his gut as he glanced around at the crushing stillness of the establishment around him. The two Poochyena who were still at the bar had stopped talking, and were instead sharing an unreadable look with one another, before they too stood up and quickly walked out of the building.

"I- I think I'd better get going…" Saurton muttered, his mouth suddenly feeling very dry, "I'm not sure I-"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Gastly suddenly snapped, floating to the other side of the booth alongside Saurton, effectively trapping the grass-type in, "We're nearly done with our story, just let old Honedge finish and then you can go on your way."

"Besides, if Shuckle's closing early then they'll kick us out." Honedge added, passing Gastly's drink over to where the ghost now rested, "We chose a public place specifically so you wouldn't feel so nervous, so how about it, hm?"

Saurton took a breath, trying and failing to calm his nerves as his eyes darted back and forth between the two spirits, before he let his gaze wander over towards Shuckle, who was carefully moving all of their glass bottles that were on display, safely into wooden cabinets.

'They won't try anything with another Pokemon around.' Saurton reasoned to himself, suppressing a shudder, 'Right…?'

With a slight shake of his head, the grass-type settled in closer and motioned for the sword to continue.

Honedge hummed slightly, gathering its thoughts before once again launching into the story:

"So Cofagrigus was standing in the middle of the snow, right?" The blade spoke, "Now Gastly and I, we were feeling confident. There hadn't been a Pokemon yet who we hadn't been able to beat, but this Cofagrigus is just standing there, unmoving."

Honedge brushed its ribbon thoughtfully along the table's surface, as Gastly took a long sip of its cider.

"I suppose that should've been a sign for us, that something was wrong." Honedge continued, its voice taking on an almost wistful edge, "But we felt so unstoppable, so powerful! Yveltal's wings, I would give anything to feel that way again!"

Honedge paused, taking note of the growing discomfort spreading across the Bulbasaur's features.

"Of course, Cofagrigus wiped us out immediately." The sword sighed, shifting slightly in its sheath, "Most Pokemon think that ghost-types are immortal - and while that's true in the physical sense, every single one of us can be banished into the spirit realm if we take too much damage. It's a hellish place, dark and barren. Once you've been there, you never want to return."

Honedge tapped its long strip of cloth absentmindedly on the edge of the table.

"We had to beg and grovel." It spat viciously, "We had to swear a vow of fealty to that overinflated tin can - an oath of eternal servitude to bow to every request, every whim that Cofagrigus had."

"Serious things too…" Gastly interjected quietly as it polished off the rest of its partner's drink, "These things are unbreakable…"

A flash of alarm quickly morphed across Honedge's crossguard, unnoticed by Saurton, before disappearing as fast as it arrived.

"Cofagrigus made us do all sorts of jobs for it, some violent and some not." Honedge continued, as though nothing had happened, "We know you can relate, facing a similar situation with your guildmaster. Of course we would never do these things voluntarily, our bandit days are long behind us and-"

Gastly let out a light cackle, drawing a vicious glare from Honedge and an alarmed glance from Saurton, who snapped out of his focus, becoming acutely aware of just how silent and oppressive the bar had become.

"I think I've heard enough." the grass-type spoke, a tremor in his voice as he started to shift, "This was nice and I'm sorry to hear about everything that's happened, but I think I'd better be-"

*CLUNK*

Saurton's heart leapt into his throat, the grass-type whipping his head towards the entrance, where Shuckle was standing - the bug-type retrieving an appendage from the now bolted door and shuffling silently past the congregation into a back room, refusing to meet the eyes of the terrified starter.

The bar had been cleared in its entirety, anything of any sort of value was long gone, stashed away in a safe space by the meticulous barkeep. Anything fragile that couldn't be stored away had been shunted into the back of the room, as far out of harm's way as possible in the enclosed space.

Saurton paled as it suddenly dawned on him just how much trouble he was in. For the third time in only a week, he had fallen headfirst into a crooked trap.

With a gulp, the grass-type turned slowly back towards the ghosts, eyes wide with fear as two spirits simply stared at him in silence, Gastly's grin now wider than ever. The silence was cut by the sound of Shuckle's back room locking, leaving Saurton, Gastly and Honedge as the only Pokemon in the now desolate establishment.

Saurton swallowed nervously, his mouth suddenly feeling like sandpaper as his wide eyes flicked back and forth between his two adversaries.

"We aren't going to hurt you, Bulbasaur." Honedge suddenly spoke, its voice eerily calm, "But we can't risk anyone else hearing this next part of the conversation."

"Something about being discreet." Gastly interjected with a harsh cackle, "I thought this was what you wanted?"

Saurton merely glanced back and forth between the two ghosts, fear overriding each and every one of his senses in the moment.

"We have killed Pokemon." Honedge stated plainly, ignoring the grass-type's terror, "Absorption of their souls makes ghost-types stronger. We have absolutely no regrets in that regard and will likely do it again."

The ethereal sword focused on Saurton for a long, silent moment as the grass-type writhed with displeasure.

"We apologise for leading you here under false pretences." Honedge continued, as Gastly laughed softly, "However everything we've said up to this point has been completely true - we are servants to Cofagrigus against our will. We and we alone understand what you're going through."

Honedge shifted slightly, leaning its body forwards and adjusting its blade in its sheath, causing Saurton to flinch involuntarily.

Gastly cackled, before summoning a small tendril of dark energy and using it to drag Saurton's untouched drink towards itself, plucking a straw from one of the now empty glasses.

"The truth of the matter is that you can't trust the guild. They're rotten at every level." Honedge said slowly, letting each word sink in fully, "While we grow stronger from the death of individuals, too much death at once actually has the opposite effect, draining us and banishing us to the spirit realm."

"Like bursting an overinflated Jigglypuff." Gastly added, letting the morbid image play out in the terrified Saurton's mind.

"Exactly like that." Honedge confirmed, carefully thinking out its next words, "Now, we and Cofagrigus have discovered a plot headed up by that Giratina-damned guildmaster of yours. Aggron plans to reignite a dormant volcano in order to harvest the precious crystals which will form when it erupts."

Saurton's face somehow lost even more colour.

"Now I'm sure I don't need to explain to you the type of damage and chaos it will cause." Honedge continued, "If it were only Aggron involved, then we and our boss would be able to stop this disaster, however most of the guild is in on it."

Saurton reeled back in shock, the sting of betrayal still throbbing freshly within him.

"And as much as we're tempted to let it play out," The sword continued, its sash now gripping tightly onto the edge of the table, "if only so our benevolent employer would take a long vacation in the spirit realm, we have to worry about our own safety as well. This is why we-"

"Wh- Who else?" The Saurton managed to splutter, cutting off the ghost mid-sentence, "Who else is involved?"

"So he hasn't lost the ability to speak, after all." Gastly cackled maliciously, earning a pointed glare from its bladed counterpart.

Honedge took a long, quiet look at the starter Pokemon, before shuffling slightly. The air in front of it rippled and distorted slightly, before the ghost lifted its ribbon from the table, the fabric disappearing inside of the newly-formed dimensional rift and reappearing a moment later gripping a folded piece of paper.

"See for yourself. You're the only one we can trust with this." Honedge stated plainly, throwing a list down in front of the beleaguered Saurton.

Saurton cast a cautious glance towards the ghosts, before unfolding the parchment gently with his vines, and taking a long read:

'Identified Culprits:', The list began:

'Aggron

Flygon

Volbeat

Illumise

Machoke

Whismur (suspected)

Chingling

Voltorb

Salandit (suspected)'

Saurton reached the end of list, disbelief plain on his features. There, underlined and circled at the bottom of the page was a name he had been dreading to see.

'Mudkip'

Saurton opened and closed his mouth, unable to speak, as tears began to well in his eyes and stream openly down the grass-type's face.

"I know it isn't what you want to hear." Honedge stated, the two ghosts looking at Saurton with excited gazes, "But each and every one of these Pokemon wants you dead. By being on a team with Mudkip, you are a potential thorn in the side for any of their future operations."

Saurton froze, his expression morphing from open distraught, to something more thoughtful.

"Now all we need you to do is distract the guild tomorrow." Honedge continued, oblivious to the shift, "Make up something - an emergency or something - it doesn't matter, so long as the guild is far away from the town tomorrow. We and Cofagrigus will then sneak in and wreck Aggron's plans while there's no resistance."

"You get to be a hero, without a single drop of blood on your hands." Gastly exclaimed triumphantly, downing the rest of Saurton's drink with a flourish.

"They… all want me dead…?" Saurton asked slowly, turning his gaze pointedly towards each of the ghosts, "All of them on this list?"

"Each and every one of them!" Honedge confirmed, a smug expression somehow appearing on the lifeless weapon, "They'll gain your trust and then cut you down when you're most vulnerable!"

"Even though we can't break our own chains, we'll still help you shatter yours!" Gastly affirmed, drawing an annoyed glare from its partner.

Saurton turned back towards the list once more, studying it carefully for a long moment, before once again looking up at the two ghosts.

"You must have made a mistake then." The grass-type stated plainly, "Flygon doesn't belong here. She saved my life when I was tied up and helpless in Bellossom's house, Mudkip would have been the only witness if she'd decided to kill me, and he's on the list too."

Saurton shook his head, failing to notice the alarmed look shared between the two spirits.

"She can't be in on this plot, I'm certain of it." Saurton muttered, glancing over the list again, "If we tell her about this, she can help stop it. If there's one Pokemon on the continent who can challenge Aggron, it's her."

The grass-type turned his tear-stained visage up towards the two ghosts, suddenly becoming aware of the tension which had appeared between the two of them.

"I really wish the boss would give us all the details before sending us to do this sort of thing…" Honedge muttered, drawing a bob of approval from the now stone-faced Gastly before the sword's expression took on an annoyed visage, "This is why I told you to keep your big mouth shut, Gastly. If you'd just sat there silently, we'd be fine. But no, you just had to mention the oath being unbreakable."

Saurton flicked his eyes between the two spirits, his guard suddenly raising once more.

"What are you talking about?" The grass-type said, concern lacing his every word, "What does the oath matter? We'll need Flygon's strength if we want to get rid of Aggron altogether, so if you've made a mistake…"

"Don't pin this on me, you rejected Qwilfish!" Gastly spat back, ignoring the starter Pokemon, "If you hadn't messed up your little list then we wouldn't be having this problem, would we?"

"The list?" Saurton muttered, before the pieces clicked and realisation quickly spread across his features. Even while knowing that he was in a trap, he'd still let his guard down and almost been suckered in again.

"I-" The grass-type began to speak, before Honedge burst out of its sheath, blade stabbing firmly into the table in front of its gaseous partner.

"Who are you calling Qwilfish?" The sword jeered, "You're just a Voltorb without the electricity!"

"Oh real good comeback, Honedge." Gastly mocked, its smile disappearing as a scowl crossed its features, "I'm so wounded. You really showed me with that one."

Saurton flicked his gaze between the two bickering ghosts, trying to inch silently further into the booth as he searched desperately for a way out. With a careful step, the grass-type clambered onto the table, attempting to manoeuvre to the now empty side of the booth where Honedge's now unoccupied scabbard sat.

An empty glass was suddenly thrown from one end of the table to the other by the bickering spirits, shattering against the wall and causing Saurton to let out an involuntary yelp.

With a start, the two ghosts stopped their argument, turning to face the starter. Honedge pulled itself out of the table, floating into the air and levelling its blade firmly at the grass-type.

"We almost lost our cool there." Honedge remarked, its tone taking on a steely edge, "I'm sorry, Bulbasaur, I really am. But if I had hands, they'd be tied. We can't let you leave."

"We tried our best, Honedge." Gastly agreed, a hardness in its eyes, "I suppose we'll have to do this the old fashioned way, though it's going to be an awful lot of hassle."

Saurton took a breath, trying to calm the tremor in his body as he prepared himself for a fight.

The two ghosts shared a glance.

"Plan B?" Gastly muttered.

"Plan B." Honedge confirmed.

Saurton braced himself for an attack, positioning his vines in a defencive stance as he eyed the two ghosts warily.

Only an attack never came.

Gastly's eyes suddenly lit up and began glowing. They seemed to emanate a bizarre, purple energy, writhing and twisting and beckoning and calling and whispering and commanding.

Saurton's vines became limp, as he fell firmly under the effects of the hypnosis, his expression becoming blank and glassy.

"Bulbasaur." Gastly commanded, its words laced with an otherworldly power, "We need you to distract the guild tomorrow. They must be away from Hope Village."

The ghost paused for a second, considering its next words.

"You will take us to the guild with you." Gastly continued, pulses of energy radiating off of its body, "Once there, you will formally remove Mudkip from your rescue team and replace him with the two of us. You will never stray from my side, not for a single instant."

Saurton nodded blankly, the move's effects having taken complete control of the hapless grass-type.

"I hope you're able to stay awake for the next twenty-four hours, Gastly." Honedge muttered, taking a wary glance at the captured rescuer, "If your concentration breaks for even an instant, then we're going to have a lot of trouble. I don't really feel like a fight with the entire guild…"

Gastly said nothing, focus etched plainly onto its features, as it stared unblinking at the puppeted form of Saurton.

"We'll go now, Bulbasaur." The gaseous ball instructed, moving to float behind the grass-type, "Take us to the guild."

Without another word, the three Pokemon slunk silently out of a back door and into the late evening darkness, leaving the empty and barren Shuck Shack behind them.

"You want to kick Mudkip off of your team?"

Illumise gestured between the three Pokemon in front of her, a critical look in her eye.

"And you want to replace him with these two?"

Gastly whispered something indecipherable, before Saurton gave a stiff nod to the bug-type in front of them.

Gastly, Honedge and Saurton had made their way into the mess hall - and temporary reception bay - where the three of them now stood in front of the requisitioned table which acted as a desk for the guild's reception team.

Illumise looked slowly between the assembled group, her gaze lingering carefully on Gastly and Saurton.

"I see…" The bug-type muttered, before giving a small shrug and sifting through a stack of papers, producing an odd-looking form and passing it over the table. "Bulbasaur will need to sign this."

Gastly muttered something else and, after a short moment, Saurton approached the desk with jerky movements, dipping his foreleg in ink and planting a footprint signature on the paperwork.

"Not the fastest I've ever seen a rescue team collapse." Illumise remarked casually, sorting through a large pile of documents with a practised ease and producing a number of other forms, "Though you do manage to take third place, Bulbasaur."

The bug-type produced a rubber stamp, quickly marking a number of papers with an official-looking seal, before stopping to shoot a tired glare at Volbeat, who was swiftly approaching the receptionist's temporary station, expertly weaving through the small dinnertime crowd with a tray full of fruits in his hands.

Volbeat shot a quizzical glance at the three Pokemon in front of the desk, who were waiting with a quiet patience for the forms to be returned to them.

"Wow." The red bug remarked nonchalantly, picking up a small slice of apple from the tray and munching on it, before offering the platter to his partner, "They aren't being subtle even a little, are they Illumise?"

Illumise rolled her eyes, taking a piece of fruit with one hand while continuing to flick through documents with the other - both bugs ignoring the panicked expression on Honedge, while Gastly remained totally focused on Saurton.

"Just go with it, Volbeat." Illumise muttered irately, " We've already broken up one hypnosis crowd recently. This could turn out to be the best entertainment in weeks, and frankly I'm not in the mood to break up whatever crazy nonsense is happening here. They're at least not causing as much of a fuss as that Hypno did."

Volbeat gave a concessionary shrug, before taking a seat alongside his partner and eying the event with a curious gleam in his eyes.

"I could set up your interview with the guildmaster right away." Illumise remarked, an amused glint appearing in her eyes as Honedge shuffled uncomfortably, "Though I'm guessing you won't be around long, unless Gastly is doped up on enough max elixir to kill a Snorlax."

Volbeat gave an amused snort, spraying chewed flecks of fruit across the desk and earning an irritated glare from his colleague.

"I'll streamline this for you though," Illumise said, fixing a visibly panicking Honedge, a trancelike Saurton, and a deeply concentrating Gastly with a weary look. "Just because I'm curious to see where this goes, I'll give you both a day of free reign. Don't do anything too crazy though, or I'll have to set Flygon and the Guildmaster after you."

Illumise shook her head, taking another small slice of fruit from the tray as she studied a document in front of her.

"Aggron nearly tore the head off of a Pokemon yesterday." She mentioned casually, suppressing a smirk as the ghosts squirmed, "He would've managed it too, if they hadn't teleported away. He's not a fan of other Pokemon undermining his authority, especially via hypnosis."

The blue bug flipped through some more papers as Honedge shuffled nervously back and forth, before she produced a small blank piece, scrawling away on it for a few seconds.

"We could end up suspended for this, Illumise." Volbeat remarked casually, popping a juicy berry into his mouth, "All that mandatory time off of work… I can't imagine a worse fate."

Volbeat gave a dramatic sigh, leaning forwards onto the desk, while Illumise shook her head in mock sadness.

"Luckily you're completely blameless in this." The blue insect said forlornly, reaching into a new stack of papers, "So you'll be heroically taking double shifts while I'm serving my terrible punishment."

Volbeat suddenly bolted upright, a determined expression painted across his features.

"I simply can't let you suffer such a fate then." The bug-type declared, pointing an accusatory arm towards Gastly and Honedge - the latter of which was nervously flicking their gaze between the two bugs, with a mixture of panic and confusion.

"I would never allow the integrity of our bright and noble establishment to come under threat!" Volbeat continued, placing a hand over his heart, "I must prevent this tragedy and arrest these two evildoers!"

Honedge glanced around fearfully, the receptionist's tirade drawing a few curious glances from the other Pokemon present within the mess hall.

Volbeat then suddenly slumped back into his chair, snacking away on the fruit as though nothing had happened.

"Damn." Illumise muttered, sliding Saurton's form over to her partner, which the red bug quickly signed, "It sure is a shame you failed to apprehend these dastardly outlaws. They'll surely have to suspend you for negligence if it ever comes to light."

Illumise shook her head with a disappointed look in her eyes, before finally passing a small slip of paper across the desk to a baffled Honedge, who took the offered document in its ribbon.

"That's an interview slot for two o'clock tomorrow afternoon, if you decide to stop being evil and join the guild for real." The receptionist explained, before a mischievous smirk flashed across her features, "We've also taken the liberty of adding the two of you to the outlaw database, signed and confirmed by three guild members, as is protocol."

Illumise placed the form originally signed by Saurton in front of the group, the words 'Outlaw Registration' written in clear footprint runes at the top. Honedge bristled nervously in its sheath while, for the first time, Gastly flinched - the faint purple aura of hypnosis flickering for a moment, before it once again solidified.

"I thought it would make things a little more interesting." Illumise mentioned casually, placing the form in a small stack of other papers, "It'll take us a few minutes to draw up good portraits of the two of you, but after that they'll be copied and placed on the job board."

Volbeat let out a snicker of approval, staring gleefully at the terrified expression somehow appearing on the crossguard of the reanimated sword.

"I'd recommend keeping a low profile." The bug-type jeered, taking a celebratory piece of fruit from the platter, "Have fun!"

With those parting words, Volbeat handed a blank wanted poster to his partner, keeping one for himself as the two quickly started sketching the ghosts.

Illumise let a smile creep onto her face as she noticed the two spirits flee out of the mess hall and towards the barracks, Bulbasaur in tow.

'A job well done.' The bug-type thought to herself contentedly, before hurriedly starting to draw the gaseous form of Gastly.

A/N: Well well well, its finally happened. The meeting with Gastly and Honedge. This has gone through quite a few rewrites, but I think I'm happy with how it turned out. I struggled for a very long time with figuring out how to get them all into the guild though, truthfully I'm not particularly happy with the receptionist's scene, but I think its in character for them to not care about whatever nonsense shenanigans are going on, so long as they don't cause too much damage lmao.

It is going to be an absolute nightmare to write any future scenes that contain hypnotised Saurton lmao. I wish I had made my in-universe hypnosis laws more lenient, but such is the fate of all who don't think properly about how one part of their story will effect the other. Very sad.

Anyhoo, I'll see you all in the next instalment.

Stay safe

- Candlewick