And here comes a minor change! I hadn't originally planned on this, but I saw it in a manga adaptation of the game and just couldn't not have something similar, since I do need to start changing the plot around. A review reminded me how close I've been sticking to the original plot so far. ^^; Anyway! Here we go.
~X~X~X~
"Look, its Azurill and Marill again." Blaze said as they arrived on the other side of the bridge. The two water types were talking to a yellow and brown Pokémon, Drowzee.
"Yay!" Azurill cheered, jumping up and down cheerfully.
"Thank you!" Marill added with a grin.
"Please, it's nothing." Drowzee said. Team Star walked over to them.
"What's going on here?" Blaze asked, the three Pokémon turned around and looked at them.
"Oh! Hi!" Marill said. "You see, we lost an item a while ago, and it's a pretty important item to us. We've been looking for it for a long time now, and haven't found it yet..." Marill then gestured to Drowzee. "And then we met Mr. Drowzee, he said he thinks he's seen our item somewhere!"
"He even said he'd help us find it!" Azurill added with a grin.
"That's good for you!" Blaze smiled back. "Right, Gemma?" Gemma just nodded, inside not totally sure that the young brothers were making a good decision.
"Thank you Mr. Drowzee!" Azurill cheered again.
"Oh please... I'd have to have a cold heart not to help Children in Need." Drowzee said.
"I didn't know that charity was here." Gemma said, everyone looked at her. "Don't blame me, that was the Authoress." (I just couldn't stay away from my usual breaking the fourth wall! XD)
"Anyway, we better be on our way to search." Drowzee said. Both water types responded with a 'Yup!' and began to walk off. As Drowzee walked past Gemma, he bumped into her, making the Eevee stumble sideways, only just managing to keep herself from falling over.
"Hey!" Gemma exclaimed. Drowzee turned to her.
"Whoops! Excuse me, miss." He said, walking off soon after. Gemma then felt dizziness clouding her mind again.
"Gemma, you alright?" Blaze asked, Gemma nodded slightly. "That Drowzee sure was a nice Pokémon, with so many bad ones around its hard to find people who do good deeds." Gemma just nodded again before she saw the bright flash again.
Gemma could see Drowzee and Azurill standing in a mountainous area, seemingly high on the mountain. Azurill was shaking with fear and Drowzee didn't look anywhere near as friendly as he had seemed a moment ago.
"If you keep being so difficult, there will be big trouble for you!" Drowzee threatened.
"H-H-H... HELP!" Azurill screamed.
The light flashed again and Gemma found herself looking into a confused pair of eyes, making her jump back a foot.
"Blaze! Why so close?" She exclaimed.
"You spaced out, Gemma." Blaze said. "Again."
"Blaze, we might have a problem." Gemma said.
A short while later...
"Gemma... you do realise how impossible that is... right?" Blaze said. Gemma glared at him. "What? Its true! You're saying we should go after them because you saw Drowzee threatening Azurill... in a daydream."
"Are you calling me insane?" Gemma said. "Seriously, Blaze, why would I lie about something like this?"
"Did I say you were lying?" Blaze said. "I'm just saying, we can't just run off on some hunch."
"Fine then! I'll go on my bloody own!" Gemma yelled, storming off toward the crossroads.
"Hey! Gemma, you don't have your bad-... she's gone. Dammit..." Blaze said. "She'll be fine... I hope... wait, how does she even know where to go?"
Blaze, still worried about the quirky Eevee, walked back toward the guild. By the time he reached the crossroads Gemma had already left.
"You're ready then?" Bidoof said as Blaze walked over to him. "Huh, where's Gemma?"
"She... had something to do." Blaze said. Bidoof shrugged and turned to the outlaw board.
"Hmm, now which outlaw should you deal with?" he said to himself, Blaze looked over to board, and gasped. "Huh, what's wrong Blaze?" Bidoof asked when Blaze started shaking.
"Top left... it's that Drowzee! He's a wanted criminal!" Blaze exclaimed. "Gemma was right!" And then he ran out, leaving a very confused Bidoof in his wake.
"Now what's going on?"
~X~X~X~
"Marill!" Blaze exclaimed as he ran down the steps, seeing Marill standing with a panicked expression by the entrance to the many dungeons. "What's the matter? Where are Azurill and Drowzee?"
"About them...! After we left we all went searching for our item... but I got left behind when Mr. Drowzee took Azurill somewhere!" Marill said. "I called for them, but they didn't come back! I got scared..."
"Which way did they go?" Blaze asked in a hurry.
"Th-This way!" Marill said, running off, Blaze not far behind him.
After a while of running they arrived at a very mountainous area. Blaze looked up at the largest mountain there, Gemma had said it seemed like the two Pokémon had been high on a mountain, a very high mountain. This had to be the place.
"This is where you think they went?" Blaze asked, Marill nodding quickly afterwards. "Alright, I'm going up." Blaze added before running into the dungeon that lead to the peak.
Mt. Bristle 1F
"Okay, fight through all these floors... by myself... and find Drowzee and Azurill, and maybe Gemma if she somehow figured out where they are." Blaze said, finding himself facing a Machop. He used Ember a couple of times and then moved on when the fighting type fell unconscious.
5F
"How many more floors can there be?" Blaze groaned as he battled another Starly. "Gee, this should not be taking so long... guess that's why you're supposed to go in teams of more than one..."
Peak
"Finally!" Blaze said as he walked up the last flight of stairs and felt wind from the mountain peak blowing in his face. He could hear a battle going on, and immediately sped up. Once he was on the top of the mountain he could see Gemma facing off against Drowzee, and she wasn't doing so well. Even with the Power Band, fighting alone wasn't easy.
"Hey!" Blaze called, making Gemma turn to look at him.
"Blaze?" She said, just managing to dodge another attack. "I could really do with some help, here!"
"I'm coming!" Blaze ran over, and as soon as he was in range used Ember on Drowzee. "You alright, Gemma?"
"Yeah, I'm surprised you came though." Gemma said as she used Tackle again.
"I saw Drowzee on the outlaw board... and I was worried about you anyway." Blaze said, using Scratch on the Drowzee before finding himself unable to use it. "Dammit! That was Disable!"
"Come on Blaze, we have to finish this guy off! Did you pick up any items that could be of use here?" Gemma asked as she jumped out of the way of a basic attack.
"Umm... here! An X-eye seed!" Blaze said, throwing a normal looking seed at the Hypnosis Pokémon, making him go a little loopy... He was saying things about seeing giant pink balloons, flying Phanpy and things like that. Blaze and Gemma sweatdropped. "Let's just finish this guy, Ember!"
"Tackle! (...again...)" Gemma ordered herself, both attacks hit Drowzee, and he finally collapsed, still going on about dumb things and singing... weird... X-eye seeds are only supposed to show illusions, not make you utterly insane...
Blaze rushed around the unconscious Pokémon and up to the shaking Azurill. "Are you alright? He didn't hurt you did he?"
"I'm OK." Azurill said. The young Pokémon was still shaking slightly from the encounter, but otherwise he didn't appear to be injured in any way.
"That's a relief." Gemma said. "I was worried as hell when I saw Drowzee threatening you."
"You're big brother is waiting, let's get you home." Blaze said.
~X~X~X~
Entrance to Mt. Bristle
"ZZZT! I'm Officer Magnezone, primary officer in these parts! ZZZT!" Magnezone said, loopy Drowzee standing behind him surrounded by Magnemite. "ZZZT! Thanks to you we have been able to arrest a wanted outlaw! ZZZT! We owe you great thanks for your cooperation! ZZZT!" He continued. "ZZZT! We will send the reward to your guild! ZZZT! This way! ZZZT!" And then they led Drowzee away.
"Azurill!" Marill's voice called, Azurill looked toward the path that lead back to Treasure Town and saw his elder brother standing there.
"Marill!" He said, running forward. Marill hugged his little brother. "Waah! It was so scary!"
"You okay, Azurill? Are you hurt?" Marill asked frantically.
"He's fine." Blaze said, taking a step forward. "Luckily Gemma got here before Drowzee did a thing." Gemma smiled at her partner.
"Really? Oh that's a relief..." Marill said. He then turned to Gemma. "Thank you!"
"No problem." Gemma said. "Thank Blaze too, I wouldn't have been able to finish off Drowzee without him."
"Thank you!" Azurill said happily. Blaze chuckled.
"We won't forget what you two have done for us." Marill said. "Thank you so much." He then looked to Azurill. "Come on Azurill, you too."
"Thank you very much!"
~X~X~X~
"Man it sucks that they take most of the profit..." Gemma said as she and Blaze stood chatting in the main area of the bottom floor of the guild.
"I know, but it is the rules, Gemma." Blaze replied. Gemma shrugged. "You did good today."
"Thanks, but as I said, I wouldn't have finished Drowzee off without your help." Gemma said. "One more disable and I wouldn't have been able to use Tackle. Then I woulda been stuffed, and you know it."
"Yeah, we all know it." Ricardo laughed as he walked past. Gemma stuck her tongue out playfully at him. Alex laughed too and grinned at Team Star, Eva was following not far behind but she just gave a polite nod to Blaze and ran after her teammates.
"Does she have something against me?" Gemma said. "Seriously."
"Give her time, Ricardo and Alex did say she took a while to warm up to strangers." Blaze said. "Anyway, they have the right idea, time to sleep."
"Y-..." But the Eevee was cut off when a loud crash of thunder echoed overhead. "-eah... Whoa that was some loud thunder."
"Yah, it was. We better get to sleep before the storm gets too loud." Blaze said, walking off. Gemma followed shortly after him, and as she left she was sure she could see two new Pokémon running down the ladders, but decided to leave it until the morning came. She guessed it was some guild members, duh, who else? (It is... no bad guys are sneaking into the guild, lol... yet... XD)
Gemma sat on her bed as soon as they arrived in their room, she noticed as she walked down how deceptively large the guild was. There were a lot of rooms, some she could see were currently empty, but there were things in there so she guessed some teams weren't at the guild at the moment.
"Hey, Gemma?" Blaze said. Gemma snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at her partner. "It was storming like this the night before I met you, down at the beach. Do you remember anything before you woke up? Anything at all?"
"No... I don't remember anything more... all I know is I was human, and I'm blind in this covered eye." Gemma replied.
"Wonder why... maybe something happened to that eye? And that's why its covered?" Blaze suggested. The Fox like Pokémon shrugged. "Ah well. We need to be up early again tomorrow, we better get some sleep."
Gemma nodded, laying her head down on her paws. Blaze lay on his own bed, closing his eyes. Gemma groaned as droplets of water blew into the room through the window, since there was nothing other than the bamboo looking bars. It was making it very hard to go to sleep.
"Hey, you awake, Gemma?" Blaze said. Gemma flicked him with her tail again. "Ow, I'll take that as a yes. I've been thinking it over since it happened... that strange daydream you had... maybe it has to do with you personally, Gemma."
"Huh?"
"That's just my personal opinion, I sure don't know any other Eevee who dreams of the future. And never of a Pokémon who was a human either. That's why I think those two things are connected."
"Or I could just be strange."
"You are strange, we all know that." Blaze laughed, this earned him another, more playful, flick. "And... you know... Chatot said earlier, remember? Time is getting messed up bit by bit, all over the world, and no one seems to know why... but people think it might be to do with the Time Gears.
"They say Time Gears are hidden in secret places all over the world... like in a forest... or a lake in an underground cavern... I even heard of one being on an altar hidden in a volcano. At the centre of each area, is something known as a Time Gear. Time Gears have a very important function. They keep time flowing in the region it is in..."
~X~X~X~
A dark shadow can be seen running through a long path in a forest, thunder and lightning still crashing above the trees and rain pouring down on the shadow as it speeds ahead.
"But... what happens if a region loses it's Time Gear? I don't really know the answer to that question."
The shadow continued to run until it reached an small area with a clearing in the trees. There was a strange item floating in the air, surrounded by a strange pattern of lights. The item itself was the shape of a snowflake, but a strange bluey/greeny colour.
"But my guess is if a Time Gear is removed... the flow of time in that region will probably stop too."
The Dark figure moved closer to the item.
"That's why everyone knows not to mess with the Time Gears. Everyone has long been certain a disaster would strike. So everyone stays away from the Time Gears and doesn't tamper with them. Even the most hardened criminal wouldn't dare disturbing them."
"Do my eyes deceive me? Could it be...? Yes! It is!" A voice said, obviously coming from the strange shadowed figure of a Pokémon. A flash of lightning revealed a green body for a moment. "I've finally found it! A Time Gear! But... this is only the first of many." It continued. "I'm continuing the job... just like you asked..." it then muttered, before making a sudden move.
~X~X~X~
"Wah!" Gemma screamed, her legs making her stand automatically again. She was sweating, and her face seemed that little bit more pale. Her eyes were panicked and teary, her body shaking. Blaze groggily sat up, looking at his partner again, much like the previous night. "B-Blaze..."
"What's wrong, another nightmare?" Blaze asked, moving closer to her. Gemma nodded, and then shook her head. "Which is it, yes or no?"
"It was, but it was the same nightmare..." Gemma said, stepping closer to Blaze. The chimp easily got the hint and hugged her. "T-Thanks..."
"Wanna talk about it, Gemma?" Blaze asked. Gemma shook her head. "Okay, if you're ever ready to tell me then say."
"I will..." Gemma promised, Blaze rubbed her back slightly, and Gemma soon found herself calming down. "Thanks pal."
"No problem, Gemma. If this nightmare carries on, we might have to tell someone, ya know." Blaze said.
"And make them think I'm completely insane? No thanks." Gemma said, moving back from Blaze and sitting back on her bed. "Go back to sleep, Blaze. I'll be fine." She added, laying her head on her paws and closing her eyes. Once Blaze could hear her small snores again he gently rubbed her back, making her seem to relax more. Blaze was glad she seemed to be a heavy sleeper, because if she wasn't then this would be very embarrassing. Very, very embarrassing.
Before long he too fell asleep, hand still rested on his partner's back.
~X~X~X~
But not everyone in the Pokémon World slept so easily that night...
"Where could she be...? I would have thought she could have found me by now." A Pokémon said, the species hidden by the shadows of the cave he was in. "Then again, a human is easily noticed, she would have to be careful."
A flash of lightening illuminated the shadow for a second, showing a green colour. The shadow's arm was out in front of him, and he seemed to be looking at something in his palm.
"One down... four to go. And then the mission will be almost complete... but I must remember to go back for Mei's birthday... even, even if she isn't back then." An audible sigh was heard. "Now I'm speaking to myself... I need rest, that's it. Just need some rest."
~X~X~X~
How was that? Plot changes beginning soon, I'm gonna skip some things too, and maybe add in extra Dimensional Screams to make up for any I miss. I have two teams of my own to add, and a team from someone else too. If I update too fast, though, I might run out of chapters sooner than expected, because this will go faster than the game without all the random game days in there. Ah well, it may take longer than I feel it will... R&R!