Disillusionment

Chatot came to me, late in the evening. It had been nearly a month since Grovyle had been captured. The Time Gears had been returned and everything was back to normal. Everything, that is, except Team Calliope. But they would be coming back soon, wouldn't they? Dusknoir wouldn't be needing them too much longer.

"Guildmaster, I wish to speak with you, please," Chatot said.

"Sure!" I replied cheerfully, bouncing the Perfect Apple I had gotten earlier on my head and spinning around. It's always helped me listen and think, and sometimes, to stay awake.

"It's about Team Calliope," He said, and his voice was hesitant.

"Okay!" I hummed, spinning around and around. Team Calliope were still new, but they were already really good explorers, and good friends too. It made perfect sense to me that Dusknoir might need such friends in the future, to help take care of that nasty Grovyle for good. And since we were all friends, we shared and helped each other, right?

"S-so..." Chatot began awkwardly.

"Don't be so nervous!" I chided him, "There's nothing to be worried about!"

He took a deep breath. "Well... first of all, I would like to remind you that Team Calliope has been gone a month."

"What about it? They'll be back soon, right?"

"Well... urk...." I saw him wince in one of the flashes of him I saw as I span around and around, "I'd also like to remind you of the nature of where they are. The future is a place that is completely inaccessible place. We cannot even begin to fathom how we could reach such a place."

"Dusknoir will send them back," I replied simply.

"Yes, but" Chatot's voice became more and more harried, despite my earlier scolding, "Surely, time travel implies that Dusknoir could send them back at any time he so chose, easily within minutes of their disappearing, or a week at most, and yet he hasn't. Why would he cause the Guild unecassary stress and inconvenicne? There is no logical explanation. Therefore, we can assume that..." he stopped suddenly, his voice seeming to fail him. Then he took a deep breath and stammered quickly, "G-guildmaster... I think... it may be time... to consider the possibility that they may not... may not be coming... coming back."

The Perfect Apple fell off my head, but for the first time that I could remember, I didn't run after it.

"Oh."

Miranda, and Chlora. Two of my friends. Guild apprentices. Never coming back.

No, I told myself, Nononononooooo!

I didn't want to believe it. They... they were friends. Friendly friends! Why would they go away and never come back?! Why wouldn't Dusknoir send them back?! They had to come back! There had to be some way we could make sure they came back!

I began to sniffle, then to wail as the idea that they were gone seemed to become more and more real. Gone. Forever. Chatot fluttered around in panic, "G-guildmaster! Please! Please don't- Please don't get upset!!" But in the end, seeing that his words did nothing, he turned away and covered his ears.

I cried and cried and cried, as everything just disintegrated around me.

One of the harder chapters to edit. A very hard character to get into the head of...

In other news, everything's set and ready to roll. The rest of this fic will be up before the night is out! 8D