HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYBODY! I hope 2015 is treating you all well! And if it isn't going so good for you, well... you've got 360 days to turn it around!

My new year's resolution? This year, I'm gonna resolve to update this thing faster... I just hope I can stick to it. Yeah...

Anyway, enough blabber. I'm sure you're all ready to see my first chapter posted in 2015. And here it is!

Chapter 7: Haxorus's Guild

Jay wasn't as lithe as Aria, and when he tried to run through the bush, he ended up falling flat on his face. He grunted and pushed himself off the ground as he spit a leaf out of his mouth. When he got to his feet again, he pushed through the shrub and found Aria hiding.

She was holed up behind a tall bush, her ears perked up and her tail low. She peered through the leaves and grumbled something to herself; though Jay couldn't hear it, he was sure that it wasn't a very nice word.

"What are you hiding from?" Jay asked.

Aria's head snapped back with surprising speed. Though her eyes were narrowed and her fangs were bared, her face was pale and sweat was coating her forehead.

"Shush! You're gonna alert them!" she hissed.

"Who?" he asked.

"Get down and don't say another word. I'll explain everything later, I promise. But now we've gotta rescue Fletchling," Aria whispered.

"What are you—"

"SHUSH!" Aria whispered as loud as she dared. "Get down!"

Jay figured it was no use prying answers from her; from what little she had told him, Fletchling was in trouble. He didn't want to jeopardize the success of their first mission, so he obeyed her and got down on his belly.

He crawled forward, trying to make as little sound as possible. The rocks and leaves on the forest floor dragged across his belly, but he kept his complaints to himself as he crawled next to Aria.

"Look through the bush… you'll see it," she whispered.

"Um… okay," Jay whispered. He was still uncertain about the whole thing, but he followed her orders and squinted his eyes, looking through the leaves and twigs.

His jaw dropped when he saw what was on the other side.

A huge building made of stone and metal was built in a clearing of the forest. It was more of a castle than anything, and it was much larger than even Flygon's Guild. Two spires were climbing up from the ground. A rough iron portcullis barred entry to the mysterious castle.

It looked rather run down; a few cracks were breaking through the walls and the spire on the right looked ready to collapse. However, despite the deformities in the building, it still looked inhabitable and relatively new.

But the strangest thing about the castle wasn't even visible. The building seemed to emit a strange, eerie aura, like a haunted house. Jay felt a shiver go down his spine as he stuttered to form a word.

"What the—what is that?!" Jay gasped once he had regained his ability to speak.

"Haxorus's Guild," Aria whispered.
"There are other guilds?" Jay asked.

"Of course! Did you really think Flygon's Guild was the center of the universe?" Aria snapped.

"Sorry!" Jay replied.

"Never mind," Aria whispered.

She inched forward, narrowing her eyes and keeping her back low to the ground. She looked through the bushes and cursed, not pleased with what she saw.

"Fletchling's right there! Oh no, this isn't good…" Aria said, her voice bordering on panic.

"What's so bad about Haxorus's Guild? I mean, it looks kinda intimidating, but…" Jay said.

"Not all guilds are nice and fluffy and full of smiles. Some of 'em are guilds of criminals. They spend all their time training thieves and outlaws… and this is one of them," Aria said shortly.

Jay was mildly surprised; although he knew there were bound to be criminals in the world, he hadn't expected entire guilds dedicated to training crooks. As he stared at the guild, he couldn't help but think of beehives: festering colonies full of creatures that could kill you in minutes.

"But wait… you said Fletchling's there?" Jay asked.

"Just look!" Aria hissed.

Surprised by her ferocity, Jay peered through the shrubbery. He could barely see the small outline of a gray and orange bird pecking at the ground. He recognized it as a Fletchling.

Fletchling looked like she had been through a lot. Even from a distance, Jay could see that she was out of breath. Lacerations dotted her body, and one of her wings was bent at a funny angle.

Jay felt a tinge of sadness in his heart. Fletchling looked so young, so powerless, like a child that had lost her mother. Outlined against the massive castle, she looked even more pathetic. He wanted to go out there, pick her up, tell her everything was going to be okay…

"If Fletchling stays out there for much longer, the Pokémon inside are bound to notice her. And they aren't the ones to take you in and nurse you back to health… ooh, what do we do?" Aria said, grinding her teeth in frustration.

"Why don't we just go out there and grab her?" Jay asked.

"Yeah… no. You were the one who scared her away. If you start coming at her, she'll fly away for sure! Plus, you might be noticed…" Aria said.

Jay hesitated. "That's a good point… but what else are we going to do?" he responded.

"Get her over here! Duh!" Aria said.

Jay sighed, feeling stupid that he hadn't thought about that earlier. It was a lot less risky than charging in head-on…

"But how?" he asked.

"Like this!"

Aria stood up, peeking her head over the bush. "Psst!" she whispered.

Fletchling turned around, looking rather alarmed by the mystery voice. "Wah! W-who's there?! I-I'm not afraid of you!" Her voice was rather squeaky and tremulous, possibly owing to her youth and fear.

"Don't worry, Fletchling. I'm a friend!" Aria assured her.

The tiny bird hopped back a few inches. She stared into Aria's eyes, still looking quite fearful. "My mama told me to never talk to strangers!" she squeaked.

"We're here to help you, though! We don't wanna hurt you!" Aria said sincerely.

Fletchling tilted her head in curiosity.

"We're explorers from Flygon's Guild. Your friend, Clefairy… She told us you got lost here, and we wanted to help her! We're gonna take you home… all you need to do is come here. We'll help you," Aria said.

Fletchling got a strange look in her eyes at the mention of Clefairy. Jay grinned inwardly; he could tell that the mention of her friend was enough to win her over.

Finally… we're almost done with this stinking mission! I'm hungry.

"C-Clefairy?" Fletchling squeaked. "M-my friend is looking for… me?"

"Yes. If you just come here, we can take you out of here! We could take you back home… Clefairy is worried sick about you!" Aria said.

Fletchling looked at the group for a few tense seconds. She looked at the various cuts on her body, wincing in pain as she tried to move her bent wing. She glanced back at Haxorus's Guild and shook her head, and finally, she began to hop forward to the group.

Her movements were clunky and awkward, and as she neared the bush, Aria climbed across and knelt down on the ground. Fletchling hopped up her tail and onto her back, settling down behind her neck.

At this point, Jay decided to reveal himself, despite knowing that Fletchling would undoubtedly be terrified. Sure enough, as he emerged from behind the bush, the young bird let loose a shrill chirp and nearly toppled off Aria's back.

"Wah! You're the meanie from earlier! Get away from me, meanie-pants!" Fletchling cried.

"Hey, kid…" Jay approached the trembling creature and ignored the harsh look he received from Aria. "I'm really sorry for scaring you earlier. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings at all… I'm with her. I wanna help you get home," he said.

Fletchling still looked terrified, but less so as Jay held out his hand for a high-five. "I won't ever be mean to you again. I promise."

After a moment's hesitation, she held out her good wing and grinned, chirping a cheerful note. "It's okay. You're here to rescue me, and I'm super happy for that! Thank you soooo much!"

Jay slapped her feathered wing, taking care to not hit her too hard. The young bird hit his hand back with a bright grin on her face.

"Ahem!"

Aria cleared her throat after the two had finished high-fiving. "If you two are finished yakking it up, we've gotta get back to the guild! Clefairy's waiting for you, little one!" she said, looking at Fletchling with a smile.

"Oh! I can't wait to see Clefairy again! I was super scared when I lost her, you know! But now, when I get back, I can tell her all about my wonderful adventures out here! Ooh, I'm so glad you guys found me!" Fletchling squeaked.

Aria laughed. "It was our pleasure," she said.

"But I don't want to go all the way through the forest again…" Fletchling said.

"Good… because we won't!" Aria said, nodding at Jay's Explorer Badge.

He brought his hand up to his small white pin and touched it lightly with his finger. Aria did the same. Fletchling held on as tight as she could with her wings.

Before Jay could blink, a pillar of bright yellow light descended upon him. He squeezed his eyes shut, the glow temporarily blinding him. He let out a slight yelp as he felt his feet leave the solid ground, and then everything went black.

XxX

Haxorus sighed, shaking his head and pacing back and forth. He wiped a drop of sweat off his brow and had the sudden instinct to punch a wall.

"Gah… o' course she has ta have the final word. That 'lil hothead… I wish I could slice 'er arms off!" he grumbled. He kicked a pebble and watched it skitter across his spacious office.

He continued to sulk for a few minutes, grumbling curses under his breath and lashing out at the empty air around him. But he quickly regained his professional attitude when he heard a frantic knock on his door.

He sighed again, not wanting anything to do with his crazy apprentices. Best-case scenario, it would probably be Snover wondering where the bathrooms were…

"Sir! Sir! I need to speak with you!"

Much to Haxorus's relief, the voice did not belong to Snover, but instead belonged to Primeape, his second-in-command. Primeape was irritable and always ready to pick a battle, but that made him a very good fighter.

Haxorus opened the door, and sure enough, Primeape was there. He was pacing back and forth and looked incredibly anxious for something.

"What is it?" Haxorus demanded.

"It's terrible! Terrible, I tell you…" Primeape said breathlessly.

"Well?! What is it?!" Haxorus demanded, louder this time.

"Oh—! I'm sorry, sir. Forgive me…"

A harsh look from the Guildmaster silenced the hyper monkey immediately.

"Uh, yes… The guards say they've spotted her outside…" Primeape continued shiftily.

"Who're ya talking about?!" Haxorus demanded.

"Aria, sir! They said Aria was just outside our humble guild…" Primeape spat out.

Haxorus cursed. This bit of news did nothing to help his already sour mood. He wanted to lash out at Primeape, but he didn't for fear of enraging his assistant. He knew that wouldn't be a pretty sight.

"She gone?" he asked, his voice a deadly calm.

"Pardon?" Primeape asked.

"Is she gone?" Haxorus repeated, his voice rising in irritation.

"Yes. The guards say that she interacted with an injured Fletchling and eventually teleported back home… They also say that there was another Pokémon with her. A Totodile," Primeape said.

Haxorus growled but remained collected. "Did either o' them make any threats 'gainst us?" he asked.

"Er… no sir. Not that we know," Primeape said.

Haxorus didn't respond right away. His mouth began to twist into a deep frown, and Primeape felt a pang of worry. Although it wasn't in his nature to be afraid, he knew the Guildmaster could and would go crazy if displeased.

He attempted to subvert this with his next words: "It just burns me up to know that little brat is still out there! I would've thought she would be long gone by now…" He smiled awkwardly, and when Haxorus didn't smile back, he flinched away, knowing the worst was coming.

"Thank ya for that bit o' information. I'd 'preciate it if ya don't tell anyone else 'bout this. Don' wanna raise a panic. Jus' tell the guards… tell 'em that if they see anythin' funny, they need ta report it ta me. Good?" Haxorus said after a lengthy pause.

Primeape sighed in relief, glad that Haxorus wasn't going to punish him. "G-good," he replied.

Haxorus glared at him for a few seconds, and Primeape cowered in fear, worried that he was about to lash out at him. However, he didn't resort to violence and instead barked "Well?! Get out! Go tell 'em!"

Primeape squeaked and scrambled off, slamming the door behind him. It closed with a resounding boom that hurt the Guildmaster's eardrums.

Haxorus sighed again, tenderly rubbing his ears. "Gah… this day keeps on gettin' worse an' worse…" he mumbled.

XxX

Jay and Aria turned to the ladder and watched as Clefairy clambered down. She looked like a pink blob, but she certainly wasn't the strangest Pokémon Jay had seen. She clutched a small leather pouch in her left hand, and due to this, climbing down the ladder was a bit of a challenge.

She reached the bottom of the ladder, and before she could even turn around, Fletchling left Aria's side and fluttered towards her friend.

"Clefairy!" she chirped happily.

"Fletchling!" Clefairy cried.

The pink Pokémon grabbed Fletchling in her arms and gave her a big hug. When Fletchling broke free, she flew around her friend's head and eventually perched on her head. Clefairy looked up and smiled, not at all bothered by the bird's sharp talons.

"Glad to see you're back together again!" Aria said, grinning at the two youngsters.

"We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, though!" Fletchling said.

"I just can't thank you enough! I—when Fletchling was gone, I couldn't sleep; I was too worried… but I can sleep soundly now that she's here again! I'm so happy… Thank you!" Clefairy gushed. She ended her sentence with a smile.

"I'm super glad I'm back! It was really boring out there all alone. It would've been so much better if you were there too!" Fletchling chirped.

Clefairy shook her head. "Ah… it's good to see you haven't changed," she said.

Flygon turned to Jay and Aria, a smile on her face. "You two did great! I told you it would be a good first day!" she congratulated.

Aria blushed. "Aw shucks… You're embarrassing me!" she said.

"Don't be so modest! You helped my friend… and that's all that matters! An act like that definitely deserves a reward!" Clefairy said.

She handed Jay the pouch she had been holding onto. He could hear the jangle of coins, and he smiled, knowing this was their promised reward. He eagerly reached out, but before he could grab it, Flygon intercepted.

"Ahem… I'll just be taking this," she said, holding out her hands.

Jay was at first confused—why would the Guildmaster take their reward? But then he remembered: the guild would take ninety percent of their earnings to keep up with funding.

Clefairy looked rather flustered, but she gave Flygon the pouch. She flashed an apologetic smile at Team River Song, shrugging. Aria nodded and gave her a tight grin.

Flygon began to dig around in the bag, and after a few moments, she fished out a small handful of coins and presented it to Jay. "Here you go—200 Poké. Once again, I'm sorry I had to take most of your reward away; you truly did a good job, but…" she said.

"It's okay. As long as I have a nice roof over my head, I'm fine!" Aria piped.

"Yeah," Jay agreed, though he was still somewhat resentful.

"Anyway, we've gotta go. We have a lot of catching up to do! Thanks again for your help, and have a good day!" Clefairy said.

"Ooh, yes! I've gotta tell you all about my adventures in Sage Forest! It was really scary at first, and it was still really scary, but then when they rescued me, I was all like, 'Woo hoo!' But before then, I was all 'oh, I hope Clefairy hasn't forgotten about me', and then—oh, there was this really scary castle, and then I was almost attacked by a Caterpie, and then—" Fletchling began to go off on a tangent, but she was swiftly interrupted by Clefairy.

"Let's get you back home. I'm sure your mother is very worried about you," she put in.

"Oh! Of course!" Fletchling beamed at the exploration team. Jay grinned back, hoping that his sharp teeth didn't look too intimidating. The young bird didn't seem scared by Jay's maw any more. "Bye, guys! See you around!"

Fletchling flew up the hole and perched on the top rung of the ladder while Clefairy struggled to climb up. But in a few moments, the two had left the guild.

"Great job, you guys!" Flygon said once Clefairy and Fletchling were gone. "I can tell you're gonna grow up to be great… I mean, it's only the first day and you've already figured out the tricks of the trade!" she continued.

"Thank you, Guildmaster," Aria said with a nod.

"You're the ones I should be thanking. It just warms my heart when I see two Pokémon reunited again…" Flygon said.

Jay shifted in place, feeling rather uncomfortable with the whole conversation. "Er… sorry to interrupt, but what do we do when we come back from our exploration?" he asked.

"Well, if you get back early enough, you'll have some free time before dinner. You can do pretty much whatever—wander around, talk with the others. Just stay within the guild," Flygon explained.

Jay looked around at all his fellow apprentices. Some were milling around, others were talking quietly amongst themselves. He watched as Nidorino climbed down to the bottom floor, his blue skin glistening slightly in the torchlight, and he realized he hadn't even spoken to most of the apprentices.

"Great. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna be downstairs talking with the others… You coming, Aria?" Jay made his way to the ladder, beckoning for his partner to follow him.

"Ah… I'll be there in a little while. I… just want to talk to the Guildmaster about something… You go right ahead. Don't wait for me," Aria said. Her gaze fell to the floor and she pawed nervously in place.

Jay sighed. "I wish you wouldn't be so secretive," he grumbled.

"I wish you wouldn't be so grouchy," Aria retorted.

"I wish you weren't so—"

"STOP!"

Before Jay could respond with an equally snarky comment, the Guildmaster interrupted them with a demanding cry. The other Pokémon wandering around stopped in their tracks and looked to Flygon, their eyes wide. Flygon dismissed them with a wave of her hand, but she continued to eye Team River Song with a fierce look.

"If there's one thing I can't stand, it's arguments among team members. Communication is a very important part of being in a team, and if you guys are always arguing, you'll never get far in life," Flygon said, her voice firm but holding a kinder edge.

Aria looked down, her eyes holding great shame. Her cheeks colored and she struggled to breathe, and Jay realized that she was on the verge of tears.

"I'm… sorry… I don't… I didn't…" she choked, ending her sentence with a sniffle.

"You can tell Jay anything you tell me. Trust is also an essential part of being an explorer: you should be able to tell your teammates anything. You shouldn't be keeping secrets unless you absolutely need to," Flygon said.

Aria sniffed again, bringing up a paw to wipe her eyes. Jay patted her on the back, and even though his gesture was kind, she flinched away.

"I… I'm fine! I get it… thanks. I'm fine now. I-I'm okay…!" she said, though it was clear from her tone of voice that she wasn't okay at all.

Jay wanted to do more to help her. He wanted to give her a hug, dry her tears, do something so his partner wouldn't be so sad…

Just then, a warm feeling fluttered in his heart. It was something he had only felt once before: back when they were rescuing Fletchling from Sage Forest, he had felt it in his heart… He was not used to this feeling; just a day ago, he was completely shut off from the rest of the strange world.

But now… I want—no, I need to help…

He smiled to himself. Maybe this will all turn out okay in the end.

"Well, now that we're past that… Aria, my dear, what was it that you'd like to tell me about?" Flygon said after a moment's pause.

"Oh… never mind. I don't want to worry you about something as silly as that…" She laughed sheepishly and faced the ground in embarrassment.

"Are you sure? You can tell me anything. I always have time for you," Flygon pressed.

Aria rubbed her stomach and looked around. "Oh, I'm really hungry. Exploring can really work up an appetite! Are you hungry, Jay?" she asked.

Even without her prompting, Jay would've agreed with her. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, even though he had a bag full of berries and apples. "I'm not hungry… I'm starving!" he said.

"Great, because I think dinner's almost ready! Let's go… I don't wanna miss it!" she said.

Aria didn't even turn around to say goodbye to the confused Guildmaster. She scrambled to the ladder, keeping her eyes averted.

Jay gave a confused look to Flygon, who simply sighed and shook her head. Then he followed his partner down the ladder, trying to ignore the tears dripping from her eyes.

XxX

Bet you weren't expecting that, were you? Haxorus's Guild... what dark secrets lie in that place? Could it be Arcanine and his buddies? Could it be some other terrible criminals? Could it be that month-old sushi that we left in the fridge by accident?!

I guess we'll find out later!

Also, to those that are wondering... Team Aura and Team Blaze will be returning in this story. They may not be as involved as last time, but I can assure you that they will come back. And who knows? I may even bring back a few more familiar faces!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to review, and happy new year again!