"Thank you for rescuing me," said the charmeleon. "Here's your reward, as promised."
Robin reached out his hand to take the 6000P from their client, and began dividing it up for the guild's share. Ever since he awoke in this world as a Treecko, this was how the majority of his days played out. He and his partner, a Torchic named Cinder, would accept rescue and arrest missions from the guild and carry them out, trying to help as many Pokemon as they could each day. Years passed since they saved the world from Darkrai, and their adventures had taken them to every corner of the world. It was simple work on the surface, but Robin enjoyed it. He had no memory of his time as a human in the future anyway, so he couldn't see it as a loss at this point.
"Thank you," Cinder said. She gave the charmeleon a warm smile. "Just be careful in the future. Zero Isle is dangerous, even for the most experienced exploration teams."
"Yes, I'll try to prepare more before I attempt the dungeon again," said the charmeleon, scratching the back of his head with a nervous smile on his face. "Thanks again," he said as he turned and made his way to the exit.
"Ah, perfect timing you two," came the sing-song voice of Chatot, the second-in-command of the guild. Robin looked up from his counting to see the parrot pokemon approaching them from the same ladder.
"Yep, I've just finished divvying up the guild's share for you," said Robin, giving the majority of their reward to Chatot who stashed it in his own bag.
"Chatot, can I ask you something?" asked Cinder.
"Of course. What is it?"
"The guild has been taking a larger share of the reward recently. It seems like about a month now since you informed us of the increase. Can you tell us more about what the change in the rate is for?"
"Oh yes, I never did properly explain," he said. "I must apologize, things have been very busy lately, partially thanks to the increase in funding we have now. Will you both follow me to the guild-master's chamber?"
Robin and Cinder exchanged curious looks, but followed Chatot to the basement floor.
They entered Wigglytuff's room, and Chatot shut the door behind them. Wigglytuff was nowhere to be found. "Looks like the guildmaster is still on his trip, huh?" said Cinder.
"That's right," said Chatot, moving to the center of the room where Wigglytuff usually stood for meetings. "This is related to the increase in the guild's share, you see. Please, have a seat."
All three Pokemon sat down, and Robin and Cinder listened intently as Chatot explained.
"The guildmaster has been visiting the Water Continent over the last week. He's checking on an old friend of his, a pokemon called Ampharos."
"Ampharos?" asked Cinder.
"Indeed. He is the chief of the Expedition Society, a group responsible for charting and maintaining the map of our world, as well as rescuing Pokemon in need. They are similar to how we operate in many regards."
Chatot continued. "They are investigating the case of a missing comrade of theirs, one who is in a similar situation to Robin here."
Similar… to me? thought Robin.
"How's that?" asked Cinder, tilting her head. "Do you mean another Treecko like Robin?"
"Close, but not exactly. Ampharaos' comrade is also a human that became a Pokemon."
"What?!" asked Robin and Cinder in unison.
"But, how is that possible?" asked Cinder.
"I'm unclear on the details, and I would say it was impossible were it not for Robin's existence in our time. However, according to the guildmaster, Ampharos is trustworthy. He would not share such information if he didn't truly believe it himself. So, the guildmaster journeyed to the Water Continent to meet with Ampharos and discuss the situation. After careful deliberation, the Expedition society mounted a search and rescue operation, and they enlisted the help of third parties such as our guild and other organizations in an attempt to locate their missing teammate, though to date they have been unsuccessful. Obviously such endeavors require a substantial sum of money, so the guildmaster offered to share some of our resources."
Chatot visibly cringed. "That being said, the guildmaster's generosity may have been too much for our coffers to take. We're sending weekly payments to the Expedition Society, nearly faster than we can gather income. If it weren't for your team's contributions, we would nearly be broke."
"Yikes," said Cinder. "I guess that explains it."
"Yeah. Thanks, Chatot," said Robin.
A knock suddenly rang out from the door. "Come in," said Chatot, and the door swung open, revealing Chimeco.
"Chatot, Team Cold-Spicy, I have a message for you all."
"For us?" asked Cinder. The three pokemon stood up, and Chatot waved Chimeco inside.
"It's from a member of the Expedition Society, a pokemon called Dedenne. The guildmaster is requesting Robin and Cinder's presence at the Expedition Society headquarters as soon as possible."
Robin and Cinder exchanged a nervous glance. "Welp, that's some timing," said Robin with a shrug.
"I hope everything's okay," said Cinder. "Chatot?" she asked.
"Go ahead, I'll take you off of active duty with Chimeco later," he said. "I will manage your team members in your absence."
"Thanks," said Cinder with a smile. "Come on, Robin. We need to prepare quickly and get moving."
"Right," he agreed. "Thanks for the message, Chimeco. Let them know we're on the way."
"Of course," she said. "You two be careful. I've asked Bidoof to check with Lapras, so he should be able to ferry you to the Water Continent safely."
And so…
Robin and Cinder packed their things and met with Lapras at dusk.
Meanwhile, at the Expedition Society…
A lone mudkip sat in his dark room, trying not to cry. Splash still couldn't believe it. Alex is gone, he thought. She's gone, and I couldn't save her.
Splash spent the past few weeks beating himself up, replaying the scenario in his head hundreds of times.
Floor 91 of Destiny Tower. The final stretch. Alex and Splash had journeyed here many times, but could never quite complete the difficult dungeon. The pokemon here were brutally tough, and they'd collected their fair share of bumps and bruises before.
This time would be different. They had an in-depth and well thought out plan for budgeting their resources and traversing safely through the dungeon. It took longer, but if the legends about the treasure at the end were true, it would be well worth the struggle.
"Take this, Aura Sphere!" shouted Alex. The little riolu leapt into the air and dove down into the musharna they'd been battling. It howled in pain and let out a burst of its pink mist, then ran off through the nearby hall.
"Nice one, Alex," said Splash, walking over to her. The mist faded, but Splash kept his distance.
"Don't stand in that too long," he cautioned. "Remember last time? You were asleep for a few days."
Alex didn't respond. She stood completely still as the last of the mist harmlessly dispersed. Splash paused for a moment, then continued approaching her. "Come on, this is no time for jokes, Alex," he chuckled nervously. "We're almost to the end. Don't get careless now."
He stopped in front of her. He couldn't quite see her eyes, so he knelt down and craned his neck up.
Splash froze. Alex's blue eyes were wide and shaking. She didn't seem to be breathing either.
"Alex?" asked Splash. "Alex, are you okay?" He tried to put a paw on her leg to get her attention, but the riolu didn't react. "Alex?!"
Alex suddenly let out a cry and dropped to one knee, gasping for breath. "Alex, what's wrong?!" Splash was panicking now.
"I- I don't know," she managed. "My chest… it burns…" She coughed again and nearly dropped to the floor. Splash caught her, and dragged her over to the wall to prop her up.
"Hold on!" he begged, dropping his bag and digging for his Expedition Society badge. "I can get us out of here."
Alex put a hand on his shoulder. "No," she gasped. "We're almost to the top. We can't stop now."
Splash hesitated. He took a slow step back to try and give Alex some space, but her wheezing continued.
"Please, Alex," said Splash. "We can try again another time. You don't have to push yourself like this. If something is wrong, we can-"
"I said NO!" she snapped at him, leading to another coughing fit.
That's when she started glowing.
Faint, wispy golden lights began radiating from Alex as she leaned against the stone. Her breathing began to relax as the glow intensified.
"Uh…" started Splash. "Alex, you're glowing."
"I'm… what?" she sighed. The riolu pressed her back to the wall and staggered to her feet. Her eyes fluttered open, and when she looked down, her hands and feet were fading away.
Her eyes snapped open wide, and she started to panic. Her breathing picked up again as the effect spread. In a matter of moments, she was standing on nothing. Her legs were gone, and her vision was blurring.
Splash could do nothing but watch as his best friend slowly faded in front of him. The last he saw of her, she was reaching a hand out to him with tears in her eyes, shouting, "Splash, help!"
And then she was gone.
Splash rolled over in his bed, failing to hold back more tears.
"Splash?" He knew that voice. It was Buizel, the pokemon responsible for underwater expeditions and charting the seas. "Can I come in?"
Splash didn't respond. He buried himself deeper in his blankets, trying to make himself as small as possible.
"Look, I know you're going through a lot right now," said Buizel. "I've got some news for you. It might help."
Splash's heart skipped a beat. For a moment, he dared to hope it was something about Alex, and that she'd been found. He dashed that hope from his heart the moment he recognized it. It was pointless to hope anymore.
"You remember that guildmaster the chief asked to come here?" continued Buizel. "Wigglytuff, I think? Anyway, he's called some members of their guild to visit. They should be arriving in the next few days."
There was a pause, but Splash stayed silent.
"And he claims one of them used to be a human, like Alex."
Splash froze. His silent tears stopped for a moment. He fought through his exhaustion and slowly stood up, letting the blankets fall away. He started at Buizel with puffy eyes.
Buizel's face fell. "Look, I don't want to give you false hope, but Wigglytuff believes that if you meet with this pokemon, we may be able to find out what happened to Alex."
Splash hung his head. He didn't know what to think. He had been so paralyzed by sadness, drowning in his own tears, and it felt like a stranger just tossed him a rope to try and pull him out.
"Thank you, Buizel," he finally said, letting himself collapse back into his bed.
"You're welcome," said Buizel, smiling to his comrade. "We're not giving up the search. I know it's been almost a month, but we're still searching. We'll find her. I'm sure of it."
Splash listened to Buizel pad away down the hall, and tried to settle back in. What should I do? he thought. What am I supposed to think?
A/N: Wow I haven't posted here for a decade. Anyway, got this idea after replaying the Mystery Dungeon games and thought it'd be fun. Please let me know what you think!