Merry late Christmas! (Or Hanukkah, or whatever else you celebrate.) I hope your holidays were as great as mine were!

I am super sorry for this late chapter; had a lot of stuff going on. But better late than never-here I am again with another chapter! I hope you like it!

Chapter 6: First Day on the Job

"'To anyone who may read this… Help! My friend, Fletchling, has gone missing! I remember we were both playing by Sage Forest, but then… she was gone! She's been missing for about three days, and I'm super worried! Please, help find Fletchling! I'll give you a hefty reward if you do! From, Clefairy.'"

Flygon read the note aloud, her eyes scanning the yellowed paper as she spoke. Jay couldn't hide his worry—he was still uncertain about the whole "exploring" business. He could feel his heart race as Flygon concluded.

Aria, on the other hand, looked almost bored. Her eager smile had faded into a frown, and she sighed, her tail drooping low to the ground.

"We're exploring Sage Forest? Oh, gee, that'll be fun. I've only been there forty times this month!" Aria hissed, her eyes narrowing.

"Aria! Don't be so disrespectful! Jay still needs to learn how to explore, and Sage Forest seems like a good place for him to start. There's more to an exploration team than you!" Flygon said, wagging a finger at the Skitty.

Jay felt himself flush; he didn't want to be called out as a weakling. It was true that he didn't know his way around the Pokémon world, but he didn't want that fact to be broadcasted to everyone in the guild.

"If you want more of a challenge, you can go explore Mt. Rumble. That'll definitely be challenging…" Flygon continued.

Aria paled and shuddered in place. "No," she said flatly. "Just… no."

"What's wrong with Mt. Rumble?" Jay asked.

"That's just it… we don't know. Supposedly, there's treasure on the top of the mountain… but it's guarded by a fierce beast. And the Pokémon that roam the rocky mountainside are nothing to sneeze at either… Even the most talented explorers can't hike up it without getting a beating!" Aria explained.

Flygon shot Jay's partner a glare, and she ceased her talking.

"I'm sorry I brought that up. I don't want to scare you on the first day…" Flygon apologized.

"Oh, it's fine," Jay said.

Even though he seemed rather nonchalant about it, his heart was racing and his eyes widened. Treasure? That sounds so much more like an explorer! Maybe someday we'll find that treasure and get rich and famous…

"Let's get back to business. I think this is a great job for you guys. All you have to do is find Fletchling—you'll recognize her when you see her. And Sage Forest isn't a very challenging mystery dungeon. You'll be fine!" Flygon said.

"And we'll get a reward—Poké!" Aria added.

Jay opened his mouth to inquire what Poké was, but Aria quickly answered before he could even say anything. "Poké is money. We use it to buy stuff. That's what's making up most of the weight in your bag," she explained.

Jay patted his bag and heard something jangle; he assumed this was the Poké. It was true that his bag seemed heavy, but not so much that it was weighing him down.

He couldn't help but wonder where he'd have to pay money… was there a shop or something around here? So far, he hadn't seen anything outside of the guild… And if there was a shop, what would it sell? Berries?

Fearing a sarcastic answer would be the reply he got, he avoided asking that question. Instead, he asked a simpler question: "How much Poké are we talking about here?"

"Let's see…" Flygon consulted the note, narrowing her eyes as she scanned the letters. "It looks like Clefairy is willing to pay up to 2,000 Poké for this job…" she replied.

"Whoa!" Jay's eyes lit up at the prospect of that much money. Although he didn't know much about the currency of this world, he could imply that 2,000 Poké would buy a lot. "That's a lot of money!" he said.

"Yeah… but we'll only get 200 Poké. The guild takes away 90 percent of our earnings… something about funding this place," Aria explained solemnly.

Jay slumped forward, his euphoria leaving him like air from a broken balloon. "Only 200 Poké?" he asked quietly.

"I'm very sorry… but how else would we keep this place up and running?" Flygon said.

Jay tried to glare at her, but he just sighed. There was no point in trying to argue out of this; he could tell Flygon wouldn't change her mind.

"Yeah. Especially in these times. Why, just a few weeks ago, a massive storm blew in and nearly tore the roof off! And there was that earthquake last year… and the Pokérus outbreak…" Flygon continued, her voice growing more somber as she spoke.

"The what?" Jay asked.

"Oh… never mind. Just talking to myself… The point is, we need money to keep a stable roof over your heads. Surely you understand…" Flygon said, though the misty look in her eyes indicated that her mind was somewhere else.

Jay wanted to know more about these events—he had no idea that there had been an earthquake. And what was this "Pokérus" outbreak Flygon spoke of?

I wish someone would give me a straight answer for once…

"I understand…" Jay replied, though he couldn't hide his grudging frown from the Guildmaster.

"Aria will help you if you have any more questions or concerns in the field. Exploring is rather tricky at first, but once you get out there and go for it, you'll find that it's almost second nature!" Flygon said, noticing Jay's apprehensive face.

"You can count on us, Guildmaster!" Aria said happily.

"Yeah…" Jay said unenthusiastically. He still wasn't entirely on board with the idea of exploring—although finding treasure did hold a certain thrill, he knew that they wouldn't get any treasure hunting missions for quite a while.

"Cheer up, Mr. Grumpypants! It'll be fun. A nice stroll through a sunny forest… what could possibly go wrong?" Aria said, shaking him on the shoulder to try and shake him out of his slump.

"That's what everyone says before something goes terribly wrong…" Jay mumbled.

"Let's just go," Aria said flatly. She began climbing up before Jay could say anything in response. In a few moments, her body had disappeared up the ladder.

He gave one last look to Flygon, who smiled and nodded encouragingly. Realizing that he had to follow his partner, he shuffled to the ladder and began to climb up it.

Sunlight shone in his face as he neared the top, and he had to resist the urge to close his eyes as he continued to scale the ladder. He grabbed onto the next rung and tried not to shake too much—he was still uncertain about climbing these peculiar structures. But despite his nervousness, he managed to reach the top of the ladder with fairly little trouble.

As he pulled himself up to the top floor, Jay had to take a moment for his eyes to adjust to the sun that was streaming in. He realized with faint surprise that he had never seen the sun—he had spent all his time in the dark guild belowground with only torches to light the way.

He set his feet on the ground and groaned, rubbing his eyes and blinking hard. Once the black spots had vanished from his eyesight, he got a good look at his new surroundings.

He was in a tent made of dark wool that blocked out most of the sunlight. The wool was decorated with strange, colorful patterns. The ground was made of hard, packed dirt with a few weeds poking up.

Aria was standing by a large opening near the front of the tent. Beyond the opening, Jay could see rolling hills covered in tall, green grass. In the distance, he could see a few trees poking up from the ground. The cloudless sky was bright blue and the sun was a white-hot ball.

Jay was strangely mesmerized by the serene view of the outside world. He could vaguely remember the world of humans—it was so industrialized, so gray compared to the world beyond the guild. Even the air seemed cleaner and easier to breathe.

"About time! You're really slow, you know," Aria said. Her voice snapped Jay out of his trance and brought him back to the present.

"Sorry. I was just trying not to fall down and hit my head on the ground. Please forgive me, Princess Aria," Jay retorted.

Aria sighed. "Whatever. We won't get anything accomplished if we just sit here and bicker. Let's go," she said.

Jay didn't have any qualms with this. He was starting to sweat under the heat of the sun and the heavy tent. He found this quite odd—it was only morning, yet the sun was searing hot.

Aria pranced out of the tent, her tail held high. Jay followed her, accidentally stubbing his toe on a pebble as he did so. He cursed but quickly regained his composure.

The sun was even hotter outside; indeed, it felt like he was burning to a crisp. Though the ground was soft and cool, he still felt like he was melting. Aria also seemed to be struggling under the heat, though perhaps not as much.

"Ugh… here we go again…" she mumbled.

"What?" Jay asked.

"The weather's been really out of whack lately. Some days, it's burning hot, while some days, it's pouring rain. It's weird. And pretty painful. It feels like I've got a huge blanket on. I'm burning up here!" Aria explained.

"Same here. I feel like my blood's boiling," Jay admitted.

"I feel ya, man. Maybe we'll stop by the river on our way back. The water there is especially refreshing," Aria said.

"No!" Jay said quickly. He did not want another near-fatal drowning accident… he had barely mastered walking; he wasn't sure if he even had the muscle tone for swimming.

"Yeah, you're right… We've got a job to do! Fletchling's out there all alone, and surely she's feeling the heat too! We need to rescue her!" Aria said, looking forward to the rolling hills.

Jay grunted in agreement, glad that Aria didn't ask about his brusque "no".

She began to trot forward again, but she didn't get too far before she whirled around to face Jay again. "Oh! I can't believe I almost forgot!" she cried.

The Totodile sighed. "What is it now?" he asked.

"Do you remember last night, when Flygon gave us those bandanas? We should equip them now. It'll free up some space in our bag, and let's face it: we'll look cooler with bandanas tied around our necks," Aria said.

Jay had almost forgotten about Flygon's gifts from the night before, but in the daylight, he suddenly remembered the Power Band and the Special Band the Guildmaster had gifted them. She had said they would be useful in the field… he could only hope she was true.

He fished the bandanas out of his Explorer Bag, and after a quick discussion with his partner, the two had suited up for exploration. Aria had received the red Power Band—he had to help her tie it around her neck—while he had the blue Special Band.

Aria struck a pose and grinned, her tail held up in the air. "Sweet! I feel stronger already!" she said happily.

Jay was mildly surprised to find that she was right; upon tying the bandana around his neck, he found that he felt slightly less duck-footed. His head didn't seem as heavy and he moved with ease. He felt like he could run a mile and back.

"And we've even got Explorer Badges—see that little white thing?" Aria pointed out.

Twisting his head, he found that a small, barely-visible white badge had been tacked on his scarf. He hadn't noticed it when he had first put his bandana on, but now it seemed more prominent than ever.

"Only exploration teams get these. When we've completed a mission, we can just tap these badges and teleport right back to the guild! Very nice shortcut, if I do say so myself," Aria explained.

"That's freaky," Jay said, wondering how such a tiny badge could teleport them all the way back to the guild just by touch.

"I'm not complaining. Normal explorers have to walk back to the guild at night… can you imagine that? You've completed a super difficult mission, and you have to walk to get back home?! No thanks!" Aria rambled.

Jay wiped his brow and sighed as he looked up. The sun was blazing brighter than ever, and the heat was really starting to get to him. A dip in the river suddenly didn't seem so bad.

"Let's just get going. It's crazy hot here, and I want to get this over with as soon as possible!" Jay said.

"Ah… yes. Sorry…" Aria smiled sheepishly. "Sage Forest is just up ahead. Just keep walking; you'll see it in no time! Lead on!"

Jay still didn't feel comfortable being the leader, but he was so anxious to get going that he didn't even bother to argue.

He took the lead and began walking forward, feeling the ground steadily rise up below him. Although the hill wasn't particularly tall, each step seemed more painful than the last. He was breathless in only a few moments.

His partner, on the other hand, was just fine. Even though she had said she was hot earlier, she certainly wasn't showing it. Even though she was walking, she seemed so much faster than Jay was.

"C'mon, slowpoke! You can do better than that!" Aria said as she danced ahead.

Jay didn't respond; he was channeling all his energy into putting one foot in front of the other. He was wheezing and out of breath by the time he crested the hill.

When he reached the top of the hill, he couldn't help but be amazed by what was sprawling out below him.

A massive forest spread for what seemed like miles. Trees of varying heights sprouted from the green grass, their leaves rustling slightly in the warm breeze. A few yards downhill, a gurgling stream snaked across the grass. Reeds and cattails grew in profuse on the riverbanks.

Jay began the climb down the hill without a word to Aria, who was drifting a few feet behind him. He could only assume the trees were Sage Forest; based on the vague directions he had been given, this was his destination. Going downhill was a lot easier than hiking up; gravity assisted in his descent, and when he reached the river, he almost felt relaxed.

Almost.

The river was no more than a few inches deep, but to him, it felt like several miles deep. He still held a small phobia of water and rivers, which he thought was ridiculous—how could he drown in a few inches of water?

Something caught his eye. A few feet away, he noticed that the reeds had been moved. The growth of reeds had been parted and somewhat flattened, like something had once been resting there.

"Don't look so nervous, dude! The water's only a few inches deep. C'mon!"

Jay snapped out of his thoughts and found that Aria had skipped across the river. She was curled up by a patch of reeds and licked her paws, which were rather wet from bouncing across the stream.

He took a deep breath, looking at the crystalline water. It was so clear that he could see every tiny pebble resting under the water's surface. The soft gurgle of the current put him at ease.

What the heck? I may as well…

He stepped into the water and quickly realized that he had been all worked up about nothing. The stream was very cold and stung a bit, but it was still a great difference from the blazing sun above. A sudden burst of energy shot through his body, and he felt like he could jump up and do a flip.

"See? There's nothing to worry about. Now, hurry up and get out of the water! We've got exploring to do!" Aria said.

Jay grinned sheepishly and made his way to the opposite side, the slight current posing no problem to him. He pulled himself to shore and shook the water off his body. He cracked his knuckles and smiled; this time a real smile.

"Whoo! That was cool!" Jay cheered.

"I'm sure it was," Aria said.

Jay wanted to jump back into the stream again; the sun was starting to burn him again. But Sage Forest was so close… surely the shade of the countless trees would provide some relief from the sun…

Before he knew it, he was streaking down the hill like there was a fire behind him. He felt… excited. Exploring finally meant something to him. He didn't know what it was, but he felt truly glad to be part of an exploration team.

Aria raced alongside him, her tiny legs working hard to propel her forward. She grinned, showing her sharp teeth.

"That's the spirit, tiger!" she cried.

The two explorers broke into the forest, and as Jay hoped, the canopy above provided welcome relief. The trees were of varying height, but most of them were much taller than Jay. A few shrubs poked up from the ground, and he could vaguely hear the gurgle of a stream and the chirrup of birds.

Jay slowed down to a jog; his burst of energy was starting to wear off. A cramp was starting to form in his side, and walking became painful again. Aria screeched to a stop beside him.

"Alright. So far, we haven't met any wild Pokémon… I can't say I'm surprised. Only a few Pokémon live around here, and most of them aren't violent unless you disturb their homes. There are a couple of weirdos, but for the most part, there's nothing to be afraid of," Aria said.

"But what would I do if we did meet a wild Pokémon? I don't want to kill anyone," Jay said, his voice tinged with concern.

"Pokémon attacks are actually rarely deadly. There are a few powerful ones that can kill you, and if a group of angry Pokémon attacked us, we'd be pretty much dead… but not here. That sort of stuff only happens when you become big and famous," Aria said.

"Right…"

Jay was still apprehensive about battling, but as it turned out, he didn't have to worry about anything. They didn't meet any hostile Pokémon; in fact, the only Pokémon they saw was a Pidgey flittering around in the canopy. It looked like it was minding its own business, so Aria and Jay left it alone.

"Maybe tomorrow we'll come here so you can practice your moves on someone. Maybe you can beat up a bush or something…" Aria mused as the Pidgey flitted away.

About an hour passed, and the forest was still deceptively calm. The only sounds that could be heard were the twitter of bird Pokémon and the crunch of leaves beneath their own feet. Occasionally, Aria would suddenly sit completely still and perk up her ears, but she'd quickly resume her quiet walking.

"What are you doing that for?" Jay asked.

"Oh… it's nothing. I keep thinking I hear that Fletchling calling, but it's just my imagination…"

Aria averted her gaze, and Jay felt an all-too-familiar feeing descend upon him: the feeling that his partner was hiding something from him.

"You can tell me anything, you know," he pressed.

"You're right… For example, I can tell you that there's nothing bothering me, and I can tell you to shut up, and I can tell you that if you don't shut up, I'm gonna chase you up a tree and take away your Explorer Badge," Aria retorted.

Jay put his hands up in the air, shocked by the sudden shift in mood. "Sorry… Just curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat… or in this case, the Totodile," Aria replied. She gave him a teasing smile and twitched her tail back and forth. Jay decided to let the subject drop.

Another half hour passed with no conversation and no sign of Fletchling. Jay found that they had accidentally doubled back on a path they had taken earlier. One time, they spent ten minutes following a rustling noise, thinking it was Fletchling… just to find a clueless Rattata foraging in the scrubs.

"Ugh… This is taking forever! Why won't that stupid Fletchling just come out?!" Jay complained aloud.

Suddenly, a gray and red blur shot past Jay's face, letting loose a shrill cry as it did so. There was a chirp, a rustle, and another sharp cry, then the forest went silent.

Aria slapped herself on the head, letting loose a long and painful sigh. "Great job, genius."

"What? What did I do?" Jay asked.

"That was a Fletchling… and you scared it off! If you say something like that, they're gonna think you're a kidnapper!" Aria cried indignantly.

"I didn't know Fletchling was right there!" Jay responded, holding his hands up in defense.

Aria suddenly perked up, resuming the stiff posture. Her tail twitched nervously and her ears swiveled. Jay listened carefully but could not figure out what was so interesting. All he heard was the trill of a bird—possibly Fletchling.

"No… no no no no no… please, dear Arceus no…" Aria breathed.

Confusion began to set in on Jay, but on top of that, fear. He didn't know why Aria was acting this way, but he could tell that whatever had her on edge was not good…

"Did I really mess up that badly?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes. No. I don't care. We've got much bigger problems… If they see her… oh Arceus, why? This is the first day on the job…!" Aria said, though it was clear that she wasn't paying that much attention to her partner.

"Can you please tell me what you're going on about?!" Jay demanded.

"I promise, I'll tell you everything later. But we've gotta go now. Fletchling's in trouble!" Aria said urgently as she paced back and forth.

She darted away, vanishing into the green bushes.

Jay began to wrestle with emotions: confusion, anger, and most prominently, fear. Aria was a pretty brave Pokémon from what he had seen; if something had gotten her spooked, he was in no hurry to meet it.

Oh, just stuff it. Who said being an explorer was gonna be easy? Jay chided himself.

He slapped himself across the face and shook his head, putting on his battle face and preparing to meet whatever was beyond the bushes. Then he dove in after Aria.

XxX

And that's a wrap, folks! Sorry if Aria's behavior is a bit weird, with her licking her paws and stuff. I'm trying to model her behavior after real life cats. So if she starts licking her paws or chasing her tail, don't be surprised... my cats do it all the time!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to review!