"You what?!" Riolu cringes. Mana was right, the wrath of Chatot is more terrifying than the wrath of Wigglytuff. Chatot flutters about, flying back and forth. He could feel his feathers plucking off of him, could feel himself molting just by being around these two rookies. How? How could they have possibly failed at such a easy mission? Wait, was it because it was easy that they just shirked? No...well, I could believe Riolu doing that, but Mana? Impossible!
"W-well, the thing is-" Riolu bites back a yelp when Mana kicks him hard. Chatot isn't paying attention as he rambles on and on about how the Guildmaster will be displeased and the consequences of what will come after he finds out...
"...and I can't even think about that horrific sight! You two! There is no excuse for your actions and because I assigned this as top priority, I am ashamed of your actions or lack of actions. As punishment, both of you will go without dinner tonight. You are not to enter the dining hall and right now, I do not wish to see you. Go to your room and stay there until I tell you otherwise." Riolu walks to their room and Mana turns to follow.
"Aaahhh I can't believe this! It wasn't even our fault and why didn't you let me tell him?" Riolu whines. Mana sighs loudly, not ready to deal with it now. She looks at him and says, "I told you before. Chatot won't believe any bad mouthing about Team Skull. They've wormed their way into the guild putting on nice guy acts, so when it comes to choosing to believe a rookie team and an actual exploration team, who do you think Chatot will choose? Look, just be glad we're only getting away with no dinner. He could've done much worse," Mana says, curling up on her bed and facing the window.
"Ch-Chatot!" Riolu yelps, turning to glance at Mana's back. She couldn't possibly be asleep already? He turns back to look at Chatot, his legs starting to shake under his glare.
"This will be the last time I come here. You two are going to explain to the Guildmaster why there are no apples for him," Chatot's voice carries into the hall. Riolu drags Mana out of bed, out of her comfortable straw bed. She sniffles sadly, wanting to curl back to sleep but Riolu's paw drags her away from their room. Without knocking, Chatot enters Wigglytuff's office and both pokemon stare down at Mana and Riolu. Before anything can be said, a cough surprises everyone and a familiar voice drifts into the room.
"Keh, so this is where everyone went? If I'd known, I would've brought you this perfect apple sooner," Skuntank says. Everyone turns around to see Team Skull with a handful of perfect apples. Zubat and Koffing push past Riolu and Mana to make way for their chief as he places the apples in front of Wigglytuff.
"W-Where did you get these? I-I thought...?" Chatot looks over at the rookies who decide that now is a good time to avoid eye contact. Skuntank chuckles, also glancing over at the pipsqueaks. "Keh, we were strolling the woods and we saw a tree growing some perfect apples. We heard the Guildmaster loved them and decided to give it to him as a token of our newfound friendship. I didn't see any other pokemon there except us of course. I wouldn't have minded helping out these rookies on their mission," Skuntank smiles evilly at Mana and Riolu. Zubat and Koffing nod, agreeing with their Chief. Chatot takes turns glaring at the rookies and thanking Team Skull for their admirable behavior. Finally, Chatot sends Riolu and Mana back to their rooms while he and Wigglytuff speak to Skuntank and his team.
"I know I sound annoying, but I'm really hungry Mana. My stomach feels so empty. I feel like I could start eating myself in my sleep." "Tomorrow's a new day. We'll grab something to eat before starting on our missions, but in order to do that, we need to get some rest," Mana whispers to Riolu. He lies on his back and closes his eyes.
"Thanks, Mana and...goodnight." It doesn't take long for Riolu to conk out and Mana is now the only one awake. She makes herself comfortable, but just as she closes her eyes, she hears movement. Her head perks up and she listens carefully. Another small sound and then some voices lurk in the shadows. Mana quietly walks around Riolu and sneaks past the hallway. She stops when she hears the voices coming closer.
"Keh, I didn't think it'd be so easy to fool 'The Great Wigglytuff'. What's so great about him anyways? He's a baby who sulks after a stupid apple and here I was waitin' for his power or somethin'." Another voice pipes in, "Aww but Chief, why're we even here in the first place? Shouldn't we be grabbing the treasure before them?" "Keh, you need to think outside the box. By sneakin' in here and gettin' close to the Guildmaster, we'll be journeying with them." Skuntank chuckles quietly and Mana steps back in the shadows, holding her breath.
"Once we get what we came for, we'll knock out these weaklings and scram. No one'll see it comin' and even if those pipsqueaks do, who's gonna believe 'em?" The three dark outlines move away from Mana and she starts breathing again. I knew it. I knew they were planning something. It's true that no one will believe us, so then what am I supposed to do about them? Should I even tell Riolu about this? No, I can't tell him. He'll be on alert and we'll somehow end up in trouble again...
Mana lies back down and closes her eyes. As much as she wants to tell Riolu what she heard, she decides to keep it to herself. Finally, her guilt subsides and she falls asleep.
"Wh-what?! What do you mean we're not going? I thought you said me and Mana were chosen to be on this expedition!" "Originally, that was the plan. However, with your recent failure hanging above you, it's definitely possible you two will be staying here during the expedition." Riolu takes a step back, refusing to hear any of this. All of their hard work gone to waste because of Team Skull? Is this punishment?
"That was one failure! We captured Drowzee and Kabuto and Corsola and helped a lot more pokemon. We had more successes then failures and not getting those apples was the only failure we have on our record. Why are you only focused on that?" Mana watches Riolu plead with Chatot, wishing she could say something to help defend themselves, but there are no words. To be honest, she's given up hope that they'll ever be picked.
"...want to discuss this any further. I've said all I came to say, so you two get back to work and no more questions." "But wait! Hold on, you never answered my ques...tion. Gahh! This stinks," Riolu stomps his foot down and crosses his arms, watching Chatot leave. Mana comes up to him and sighs.
"Come on, we should listen to Chatot or he'll scold us for slacking off." "M-Mana, why aren't you angry or...or something? You were looking forward to this trip as much as I was, but you-" "Look, keeping the guildmaster happy more important than our other jobs and we failed to keep him happy by giving him perfect apples. What do you want me to do? It doesn't matter what we say or do, as long as Chatot believes that we can't follow a simple order, then there's nothing we can do to get on that expedition team. I'm sorry for snapping. It's just... Let's go look for some jobs." Mana walks away from Riolu, heading up the ladder first. Riolu sighs, realizing that his friend is right and climbs up the ladder after her. They pick out a few jobs and discuss them together, avoiding the subject of the expedition. Mana heads out first, but Riolu heads back to his room to grab their bag. He adjusts it, but stops when he hears Chatot's voice.
"Remember that this is your last chance to make a good impression to both the Guildmaster and I. This may be your last chance and we will be looking forward to choosing many of you. Now then, on to more important things..." Riolu manages to make it up the ladder without being seen and heads out of the guild. Mana doesn't see him, but he calls out to her, keeping what he heard a secret. In a few days, they'll announce whose going. If I tell Mana, then I might be getting her hopes up for nothing and she'll be really down. But if I don't tell her... Oohh! I've never kept a secret from her at all! I feel so guilty just thinking about it. But it's probably nothing anyways, so I shouldn't be feeling bad about keeping this from her. It's not like Chatot's lecture was important or anything. After convincing himself that there was nothing to worry about, Riolu walks with Mana to their destination. They make small talk, laughing and giggling about the nonsense being said. Mana keeps last night a secret from Riolu and Riolu keeps what he heard from Chatot hidden from her.
Mana stops at the market and buys an orange gummy and an apple. She pays for them and waves at the Kecleon. Hurrying to catch up to Riolu, she hands him the apple and the gummy. "W-wow, thank you so much, Mana! B-but umm...what about you?" Mana smiles at her friend and explains that she had already eaten while waiting for Riolu. While Riolu digs in to his meal, Mana's stomach lets out a small growl, protesting. She knew it was wrong to lie to Riolu, but she was worried about Riolu more than she was about herself. The two pokemon walk down the road, and turn towards the dirt road where their destination lies ahead.
Mana and Riolu come back from their missions, visiting Kangaskhan and Duskull. They chat with a few other pokemon before heading back to the guild. Riolu sets down their bag in the room and head into the dining hall where everyone is gathered. Avoiding Chatot's evil glare, they sit down and stare down at their dinner while Chatot continues where he left off.
"Ahem. Anyway, tomorrow morning, I will announce who is going to the expedition. Remember that all of you are not going, so please do not make a fuss," Chatot looks over at Riolu, who is trying very hard not to make eye contact. "Well then, what are you waiting for? Eat up!"
Riolu turns over, mumbling something about apples while Mana looks out the window. As much she hates to admit it, the thought of not going on the expedition upsets her. Riolu was looking forward to it, but even if he says he's okay, I know he'll be crushed if he can't go. Mana sighs, looking out at the full moon. If only she could have a vision about who is going on that exploration, then she wouldn't be feeling so troubled. If I could only see a small part of the future, just a small part then I'll be happy. I don't care if I'm not chosen, but Riolu really wants to be a part of it... please please choose him for the mission. It's the only thing I'm asking... Mana drifts off to sleep.
Around the same time, a pokemon rustles through the branches until he comes across a secret path. He moves into the clearing and smiles. In front of him, only a few feet away, another time gear glows. The water surrounding the gear sparkles, complimenting the beauty and power it holds. The pokemon takes a small step forward, his eyes glued to the bright object.
"She was right, it's been here all along. I can't believe it; the second time gear and it hasn't been moved at all," The pokemon whispers, disbelief and shock clear in his voice. I shouldn't be surprised; she did say that no one ever goes near here because of the legend of the time gears. But still...
"Still, this makes everything much easier to handle," The pokemon finishes his own thought, moving closer to the gear. As gently as he can manage, he reaches for the gear. Handling it with care, he wastes no time and scurries off to the next place. Just three more time gears left and then...