The day was like any other for the guild. The sun was shining directly above, and the guild was heading out to do their jobs. Team Hodgepodge was given the day to do as they pleased, though Jake was unaware of this. Dragonite had plans for Jake that day.
The guild member's minds were at ease for some reason. Perhaps it was because their plans didn't involve killing him, so they didn't feel as guilty. Or, maybe it was because they didn't feel unjustified this time. After all, Jake had shown how dangerous he could be even without his powers by making it through that obstacle course.
Dragonite knew Jake needed to be watched if only to make sure he didn't plot something again. Thus, Dragonite forced Jake to begin training. It was for the sake of the world, after all. Getting back at Jake for his prior transgressions was merely a bonus. As a warm-up, Jake was to complete a lap around the track in less than one minute.
As Jake ran, a few things went through his mind. "Dragonite's doing this to spite me, isn't he?" he thought. Some more "colorful sentiments" came to mind as well.
Jake crossed the finish line, panting. Dragonite looked at the crude clock nearby before responding. "Your best lap was 4 minutes 47 seconds. You need to work harder." Jake fell to the ground, completely drained. Despite giving it his all, Jake could not accomplish Dragonite's task.
Dragonite looked down at Jake and shook his head in disappointment. "You've got a long way to go. I'll give you five minutes, and then I need you at the obstacle course."
Jake groaned but relented. He didn't have much choice. The thought of skipping the whole thing with his illusions came to mind. Though it'd be the easy way out, he knew he shouldn't. That would only cause problems in the long run.
An hour passed, and Jake stared in dread at the obstacle course before him, having learned just how grueling it was. He had already gone through it a dozen times without a break, and his legs shook, threatening to collapse at any moment.
Unfortunately, Jake knew he couldn't rest. Dragonite would force him to continue until his lungs collapsed. He could suspend Jake from guild work if he wasn't up to his standards. Even though the world depended on him, it was something Dragonite had the authority to do as his guildmaster.
Jake understood that keeping him away for his safety wasn't wrong, but he also knew Dragonite was looking for an excuse to stop him without killing him.
Jake was not as strong as any of the guild members, even if he would never admit it. Saya wasn't trained, yet was still stronger, faster, and more durable than he was. He had a long way to go before he reached an acceptable level for standard missions. If he had to save the world in this condition, the world would be in trouble.
"Alright, go again," Dragonite said to Jake. He hesitated, unsure how much more he could take, but he had to press on.
Jake took a deep breath, feeling the strain on his body as he accelerated. The obstacle course, while not lethal, was built to be as exhausting and arduous as possible.
The course consisted of a large set of stairs to climb, walls he had to scale and leap over, a rope ladder, and then a metal pole that he had to climb to reach a platform. Then he had to hop off it, and finally go across and under several wooden beams. Each time he finished, he had to turn around and do the course in reverse. To make matters worse, he'd be punished if caught using illusions to sidestep any obstacles. Of course, he still did when he believed Dragonite wasn't looking.
To most, it would be a challenge. However, with how small Jake's Zorua body was, a step was a wall, and a wall was a mountain. Jake doubted if this was helping him build muscle. Still, he wouldn't be surprised if he could grow muscular, with how cartoony everything could be. It was good for his stamina, at least.
Jake expected this training to get easier, faster than Dragonite anticipated. At least, he hoped it would.
Luckily, after twelve hours on this course, he was beginning to get the hang of things. Though he wasn't growing much stronger, he was getting comfortable moving as a quadruped. However, Jake knew Dragonite would only force him through increasingly challenging and tedious courses.
But, he figured out tricks to get around easier. His legs were too small to climb steps. However, with enough momentum, he could leap up them. Between things like that and clever use of illusions, Jake felt he was improving.
Despite these "shortcuts", Jake could barely move his legs and arms after the end. The world spun, his body throbbed, and his heart pounded in his ears.
A burning heat rose in his chest, quickly overpowering his exhaustion. Anger welled up and boiled over. Anger at himself for getting into this mess, at Dragonite for his cruelty, and even towards the world for keeping him there instead of letting him go home. But Jake did his best to ignore all that. There was no point in dwelling on it. He had to suck it up and deal with it.
Dragonite looked at Jake and sighed before shaking his head. He turned and silently exited the room, leaving Jake alone. Jake had given it his all and failed to meet Dragonite's expectations. "Of course, even if I did it faster than Nera, Dragonite would still be disappointed." Jake had to resist rolling his eyes.
Sweat drenched his fur, a feeling he hated. It made him feel twice as heavy. His white and red hair tuft draped over his face and into his eyes, stinging them. He shook his head to get it out, flinging sweat everywhere.
His body was stiff, his lungs burned, his bones felt bruised, and even his ears felt sore. Still, he had to get up; dinner would be soon. Groaning, Jake slowly stood up, nearly stumbling over a few times. His body cracked and popped. He was a sweaty, sore mess. But he couldn't let all that stop him. He was looking forward to a long bath after supper.
As usual, suppertime was quiet. No one had any reason to speak up, as no one wanted to talk about the day. Neither danger, adventure, nor treachery was worth discussing for the guild. There weren't many missions they couldn't handle, so the quietness didn't surprise Jake.
"Hey, Even?" Jake asked, breaking the silence. Jake swatted his hair tuft away from his eyes so he could properly look at the Eevee, but it fell in front again.
Even swallowed a bite of bread before looking at Jake, tilting his head. "Yes, Jake? What is it?"
Jake sighed before wiping the fur away from his eyes again, successfully this time. "Can you give me a few tips about keeping my fur clean and trimmed? It'd probably help if it wasn't constantly in my face. Also, it'll smell like rotting garbage soon, given how much of it there is. Pretty sure I have more fluff than flesh."
Even's eyes lit up, and a wide smile grew on his face. "Oh, sure!" Even stated cheerfully, "First, if we want to get that sweat out, I suggest this special shampoo I have that prevents-"
"This may be a better conversation for after dinner," Dragonite interrupted, looking back and forth between the two. He may have been smiling, but he couldn't hide the tired look on his face. Even blinked and nodded before looking away in embarrassment.
After that, the guild ate in relative peace, with nothing more heard besides the clinking of silverware, an occasional cough, belch, and "excuse me" afterward.
Once dinner was over, the guild filed out of the room and headed off to bed, except for Even and Jake. They instead headed to the bath, Even eager to show Jake his fur care routine. For half an hour, Even presented him with countless tubes, vials, and more before the duo eventually had to go to bed.
Afterward, as Jake laid in bed, he mulled over what Even had shown him. From the shampoo he uses, how best to remove dust and debris from a thick coat, brushing techniques, and much more, Jake was surprised Even had time to do anything but clean his fur.
While Jake didn't feel he needed to put that much effort into his hygiene, he knew it would and could be useful- it couldn't hurt to look more presentable around Dragonite. And what if he was asked on a date or something? While he didn't expect nor want to, he didn't think it was impossible.
Something about these creatures was impossibly adorable, even ones who wouldn't be considered cute by human standards, like Manny or Cofagrigus. It's like his mind was programmed to feel happy around them. His natural reaction to them was to smile and gush as though he were looking at a litter of puppies, even for Pokémon that others find disgusting, like Garbodor.
Of course, this only added to his body's growing romantic feelings towards the others on his team as puberty reared its head. He already knew how his body felt about Nera and Ray, and it didn't help his mind was endeared to them from their cuteness alone.
They both were genuinely attractive to him, a fact he hated but couldn't shake no matter how hard he tried. His teenage hormones drew him to them. To his adult mind, this was awful. He had been an adult for many years before he transformed, and he still viewed himself as one.
It was becoming distracting. Every time his body saw Ray or Nera laugh or smile, his body flooded with emotions. To make matters worse, they weren't even the same species. Jake still viewed himself as human, and he doubted that would change.
He couldn't ignore it much longer; he would have to discuss it with Seya, as awkward as that would be.
Jake cracked his neck as he shifted around. "How does it even work, anyway? What happens with Pokemon in a relationship again? Something about eggs? Ugh, I should have paid more attention to Ayrill when she was teaching… I think it was that eggs sort of just appeared. But, that makes no sense. Ugh, it's cartoon logic, I shouldn't question it."
His mind was still muddled. Maybe he could force more protective feelings out instead of lovey-dovey ones? Invoke the power of friendship to save the day and act as a leader who helps dispense advice, basically being a "dad" to the group. To be someone who they can go to when they need help. If Dragonite wasn't going to, he could. So, why not?
'I could work with that,' Jake thought. He stirred a bit more, stretching his limbs. 'I often had to act like a dad at the toy store. It shouldn't be too different from that.'
Jake tried to relax. He tossed and turned, trying to focus on sleep and to get the uncomfortable feelings out of his head. Yet despite that, he couldn't ignore them.
With a huff and a groan, Jake sat up. He took a deep breath to empty his mind. But it didn't work, his mind kept drifting back to Nera and Ray. 'They have to be going through the same things, so what should I do if they ask me out?'
Jake mulled it over for a while before he found a good enough answer. If they tried anything, he had to ignore it. Maybe he could pretend to be oblivious? He could also confess and explain the situation, but that might make things more awkward. He needed to be their friend. Would they be less willing to work with him if he explained his reasoning? Maybe… He didn't know them well enough yet. Jake sighed before he laid down again. He turned himself over and focused on breathing, drifting off to sleep soon after.
Ray had spent that day training with Cole, who monitored and recorded his progress. Flames spewed out from a wall, bathing Ray in reds and oranges. Cole couldn't look directly at the fire, from the sheer brightness and his instincts shouting at him to avoid the fire. Despite this, Ray stared at the fire without care, letting it engulf him as he strolled through it. This was merely the first of many "obstacles" he was intended to face.
The Riolu stepped up to the next portion of the course. Gears clicked under the floors and behind the walls. Trapdoors and wall panels opened everywhere around him. Jagged spikes shot out, and several dozen arrows shot forward at blistering speeds, aiming to pierce the oblivious Riolu.
Any normal Pokémon would perish. Ray, however, was casually strolling through. Even Dragonite could not get through it the one time he tried; the only Pokémon who could get through was Team Hodgepodge.
Every member of the team had gotten through it at least once. Star blasted through the obstacles he could, and slammed his hands together, creating shockwaves to stop the others. Squared calculated when each trap would go off, evading them with surprising grace. Nera went through the course faster than the others could blink. Finally, when it came to Jake, his success was unexpected, or perhaps lucky. Regardless, it cemented how much Team Hodgepodge stood out, for better and worse.
Ray knew he could take his time and come out perfectly fine. Even though the point was to go through as fast as he could, Ray strutted through the arrows like a fashion model, even striking a few poses for an invisible crowd. Cole looked towards the ground, slowly shaking his head. It took a few more minutes of this before Ray exited. Walking over to Cole, he smirked before speaking, barely holding in a laugh. "So, how did I do?"
Cole took a deep breath before he responded. "Bad." Ray laughed and rolled his eyes. The Riolu felt he had done well. Heading to the beginning of the obstacle course, he prepared to go through it one more time, a wide smirk still on his face as he thought about how he would go through it this time.
"Cole only thought it was terrible because I wasn't taking it seriously. Why would I need to, anyway? It's not like this course is dangerous. Now, should I do it backward, or maybe…"
After a long sigh, the Treecko spoke up one more time. "Go." As soon as Cole said this, Ray skipped forward like he was frolicking through a field of flowers, an impish grin still stuck to his face.
Squared's day was unremarkable; The Porygon had spent the morning deciphering dozens of ancient tomes and translating ancient forgotten languages. In the afternoon, he restored centuries-old treasure maps, discovered evidence of civilizations long since forgotten, and even confirmed that the Sand Continent was once a vast jungle. It was all in a day's work, none of it surprising to him anymore. He could think as fast as Nera could run, so keeping his mind occupied was difficult. He had so much information, yet everything had become dull.
Adventuring was not his style, but at least it provided something to keep his mind occupied. There was so much to keep track of on an adventure; it was far more stimulating than looking at an eight-thousand-year-old map for the nine-thousandth time. He barely even thought about these old relics and books at the guild.
The Porygon set down a faded and torn page from some ancient book, mind drifting to his predecessor. "Ayrill had to know every last piece of information I had, yet she had not told anyone else. No doubt it was to make it easier for her to hide. She could spy on the guild and occasionally "discover" the location of some ancient relic to keep her job and build their trust in her. How much knowledge was lost because it would bring them too close to Hoopa? How much history did we lose simply to their scheming?"
A surge of anger rushed through him. The very idea made his blood boil. Or, perhaps 'made his circuits melt' would be more accurate…? His circuits sparked and heated in anger.
Squared took a deep breath, before huffing out hot air. Anger would get him nowhere. Using psionic powers, he lifted an ancient stone tablet to study it. 'Coordinates to ancient ruins on the Air continent? Seems like it,' he thought. It was worth sending the information over, at the least.
Squared closed his eyes for a moment. He couldn't focus on the tasks in front of him.
His mind kept going back to the events thirteen years prior. Much of this information could have remained lost forever if not for Jake. For that alone, he owed Jake so much.
That wasn't even mentioning the sacrifice he made for the team. He gave them all a childhood, one he never could have imagined. Ray, Nera, and even Star going around taking on missions, playing with other kids, and having so much fun? It was thanks to Jake that they got to experience any of that. They owed him for the memories and their growth into who they were now.
Jake's actions may have been rash; he wouldn't deny that. However, that is in hindsight, so there was no use thinking about it. Squared knew the other guild members didn't quite see it that way, and he also understood their point. Jake was a lot; his unpredictability made his intentions hard to pin down. However, despite his hastiness, Jake wanted what was best for them, Squared was confident of that.
Squared sighed, his mind running a million terabytes a second as billions of thoughts ran through his mind. The Porygon wanted the best for his friends. However, he didn't want to disrespect the guild, either. The guild raised them as family, after all.
Putting all that out of his mind, he looked over at a map on a table. He studied it before concluding it was an ancient map of the water continent, likely from an era before sea travel was known, at least 150,000 years prior. Resolving to keep himself distracted with work, Squared carried on with this mundane day of groundbreaking discovery…
Star had walked several miles, far past the savannas of Sand Central. He arrived at the mesas where, recently, they had located an outlaw hideout and captured them. Wandering into the base, he looked at the empty, abandoned room. He stood in the doorway, glaring at the dented metal door he had flung off the hinges. It was hard not to notice. The sunlight leaked from behind him, acting like a spotlight, making it stand out further. His fists clenched as he headed toward it.
The longer Star stared at it, the angrier he grew. He leaped into the air before slamming onto the door, creating another dent. However, a surge of pain shot through his fist. He inhaled sharply and winced before rubbing his fist. The feeling only made his stomach burn. His eyes narrowed as his blood boiled with rage.
"Use Ray as a battering ram? Dig through the rock? Didn't want to insult my intelligence?" Star growled as he punched the buckled door on the ground, more pain shooting up his arm. The Larvitar grimaced, wincing somewhat as something in him burned even more.
He wailed on the door, his fists rapidly striking and bending it. All he could hear was the clanging and groaning of the metal. The blows sent shockwaves rumbling the room, threatening to collapse the sandstone on top of him.
Searing pain shot through his arms, but he ignored it, too consumed by anger and adrenaline to care. "They made me look like an idiot! Jake's been back for a day, and already he's pissed me off! Who does he think he is?"
His mind went blank as he continued to punch the door. He screamed and grunted, pounding it into a hunk of warped scrap metal. When he was done, he picked it up and chucked it, the door slamming against the back wall and embedding itself deep in the sandstone, revealing the back room.
Though the door was wrecked beyond recognition, Star's anger remained as strong as it had been. His hands throbbed, pulsing in pain, but he didn't show it. His mind was blank, not thinking about what he was doing. Eventually, his anger began to die down, though the warmth persisted.
After he exited, he turned and looked at the room one last time. He scowled, snarled, and screamed. He raised his foot before slamming it down with an earthshaking stomp, causing the damaged wall separating the two rooms to crumble.
The ceiling cracked and collapsed, burying the base under several tons of sandstone. Star stood back, inspecting his work. With a nod and huff, he turned before heading back home. Though he did his best to not think about what happened the previous day, his fists were still clenched as he walked.
Nera's day was spent talking with her friends, as normal teenagers would. A Kirlia, a Machop, Nera, and a Murkrow sat on the floor in the Kirlia's house; the topics of conversation varied from school and hobbies, and the current discussion was, of course, boys.
"It's a bit tough to find a guy who's not too frail for me," The Machop didn't seem
too disappointed, however. It was like they were stating a fact. Regardless,
the Murkrow spoke up.
"I'm sure you'll find someone, someday." The Murkrow consoled, putting a wing on
their shoulder.
The Machop let out a hearty laugh. "Eh, I know. I'm not too worried."
The other three giggled. Then the Kirlia looked to Nera. "By the way, Nera, what do you think about Jake? We know how you feel about the others, but what about your newest addition?"
The Buneary blinked in surprise. Her mouth fell open as she began to stammer. "He's, er, not a new addition. H-he was on the team before, and he's j-just a friend."
The Machop smiled and gently elbowed Nera's ribs. "A boyfriend?"
The others laughed. Nera looked to the ground and rubbed where her friend had elbowed her. "Ow, Chippele! That hurt! And, n-no, it's not like that between us!"
The Murkrow rolled her eyes and smirked. "Just because you're not dating doesn't
mean you don't like him."
Nera's face reddened, bright enough to show her embarrassment through her fur. She tried to think of a response. "I, uh, er…"
She couldn't deny it, she thought Jake was cute, though she would never admit it.
"He's… friendly, outgoing, confident, small and cute. I want to hug and squeeze him, just, aaaah, he's adorable!" She looked away. Her face was like a Tamato berry, round and vibrant red.
Chipelle chuckled. "I can't say I blame ya, he's a real cutie; small, fluffy, and seems friendly." She turned to the Kirlia. "He's almost your type, Kia."
The Kirlia blushed a bit before shaking her head. "I mean, you're not wrong. Still, from what Nera said, I think Murie would like him more."
Murie placed her wing under her chin, seemingly unperturbed by Kia's remark. "Maybe..."
Everyone laughed for several moments.. Once everyone stopped laughing, the Machop spoke again.
"Watch out, Nera! If you don't date them, Murie might." The Machop taunted. Nera stammered but couldn't respond.
Kia patted Nera on the shoulder before rubbing it gently. "Don't worry, Nera. Murie wouldn't, I'm certain."
Murie nodded, silently giving her a caring smile. Nera looked at the floor, still blushing. "Th-thank you- Wait, I mean, no! I don't-!"
Chippele cackled. "Maybe we shouldn't tease ya, I'm sure it's difficult enough to focus on your job when you have to work with so many cute boys."
Nera's face turned an even brighter crimson. Her thoughts were conflicted- she did find Star and Jake attractive, but she knew getting together with either could cause issues. Love could distract her at a critical moment. She had to focus on saving the world! But she knew Star liked her, and she could tell Jake did as well, even though he seemed a bit distracted.
Nera sighed a bit as she thought. "Maybe he didn't know how he felt? I mean, humans could be different when it comes to romance. Maybe they had some weird dance they had to do, like Ludicolo? Or maybe they express it differently?"
"Hello? Nera? Are you there?" Chippele questioned, waving an arm in front of her face. Nera blinked. She hadn't realized she was staring off into space.
The Buneary shook her head before looking up at her friends. "O-oh? Sorry, I was, er, lost in thought."
Murie smirked. "No two guesses as to what you were thinking of."
"Stooooop!" Nera whimpered like a newborn Lillipup.
Kia snapped her fingers before raising her hand in objection. "Alright, I think that's enough of that." The others looked at the Kirlia and nodded.
Nera's shoulders drooped. "Thank you," she squeaked.
There was so much she wanted to say. How she felt, why she thought it wasn't right, and to so many people, her friends, Star, Jake... But she couldn't; she didn't have the courage. What could she say?
She might hurt her friends if she chose one or the other. Would it hurt more if she chose neither? What if they rejected her anyway? She had so many questions. There were so many possible outcomes, but none of them felt right.
A thought popped into her head. 'How would the others handle this?' Squared would think things through and choose as objectively as possible. Neither Star nor Ray would care much, right? Ray would move on, at least. As for Jake? He would follow his heart, be disappointed if it failed, and move on eventually, right?
'Right?'
Nera let out a quiet sigh. "Why can't I be more like them? They are all brave, smart, dependable, and capable. I'm fast, that's it. Squared was smart, even before getting his powers, Star is cool and strong, Ray is unabashed and doesn't let things bother him, and Jake is creative and can think on his feet. Compared to them, I have nothing."
Kia frowned, sensing Nera's emotions. She reached around her for a hug. "You'll be alright, Nera."
Nera's eyes welled up. She wanted to believe that. There was so much to do now, more than ever. She barely had time to hang out with her friends anymore, and the stress was taking its toll. Day after day, their lives consisted of going on missions, training, fighting outlaws, and more training. They barely had time to relax these last few years. Even before Jake returned, they had so much to do.
Murie and Chippele looked at their friend. The concern for their friend was obvious. All they could do was console her and hope that was enough. Nera's thoughts drifted again.
How would she handle it? 'It feels bad, but I have to pretend not to notice how they feel... No, I should focus on being friends until the world is saved. Yeah, when the world has been saved, then I can focus on romance,' She nodded slightly, having made up her mind. 'It wouldn't be ideal, but the others would understand. …Right?'
Dragonite awoke that day feeling quite well, all things considered. He should have had a lot on his mind, but for some reason, nothing troubled him. 'Not that I'll complain,' he thought, before shrugging.
Taking a deep breath, he mulled over the plans for the day. After traveling for hours in the desert, Team Hodgepodge had earned a day to rest. However, in that evaluation, he didn't include Jake.
He still needed to get Jake up to an acceptable standard for an explorer. Jake was strong when he had a child's body, at least compared to someone that age. Now, however, time had caught up to him. He wasn't trained, so he was a liability to his team and the world.
It didn't take Dragonite long to set up an obstacle course, consisting of walls and other structures Jake could barely scale. He knew the Zorua would use his illusions to cheat. That wasn't too much of an issue if it didn't interfere with his training.
'Half of guild training is honing the body, and the other half sharpening the mind. I'll say no illusions, but knowing how to be sly will be good practice,' Dragonite reasoned. He wanted to be sure Jake was in better shape, that was the main goal. If he was actually going through the course, he could accept it.
The time came for breakfast in the mess hall, and Dragonite indulged himself a bit, eating quite a hearty breakfast. The meal went by quickly, though the smell of Oran pancakes lingered some time afterward. Getting up and out of his seat, he made his way out of the dining hall.
As Dragonite turned, heading toward the second floor, he was met with Jake looking up at him. Dragonite glared back at him with a stern expression. Jake, knowing what was coming, sighed before the two headed down to the obstacle course. Before the course, Dragonite decided to have Jake run laps around the track as a warm-up.
Dragonite watched Jake run the track, noting that Jake failed to meet the average time for his team. 'Even discounting Nera, he's too slow. The running will help his body with some of the rigors of exploring, but he still needs to do better. He's not giving it one hundred percent, either. Does he suspect there was more to his training than just the track?' Dragonite wondered. 'That wouldn't surprise me. Jake has been away from training for a long time, he probably figured I'd be putting him through a lot more training today.'
After waiting five minutes for Jake to recover, Dragonite headed over to the obstacle course, tapping his chin as he thought about the Zorua's progress.
'Jake lacks both speed and stamina, and he's still tripping over his paws. Physical strength seems below average. Will need to work on that as well. Overall, he's average for his age and size, but that isn't enough for an explorer. It's certainly not enough for Team Hodgepodge.' As he finished his assessment, Jake walked up to him. Dragonite nodded before pointing to the obstacle course, gesturing for him to begin the next part of his training.
As Jake ran up its stairs, crossed its beams, and scaled its wall, Dragonite noted a few things. Jake didn't seem to be cheating excessively. There were a few moments he couldn't see Jake fully, which made him suspicious. However, Jake legitimately seemed to attempt the course, though he wasn't going through quickly.
'He's trying to conserve stamina. Not a bad idea, for the moment. He also seems to be prioritizing his agility as well. Given Jake was tripping over his paws less than an hour ago, that's not a bad idea either. Seems he's as aware of his faults as I am. That just means he's intentionally ignoring when he's going too far.` Dragonite frowned at this.
At the end of the training, Dragonite watched Jake fall to the ground, drenched in sweat. He was surprised Jake went through it. 'He's not familiar enough with that body, there's no way Jake could fake that level of exhaustion.` Dragonite was almost impressed, though he didn't show it. Instead, he looked toward Jake one last time, before he turned and left.
Dinner was quiet, except when Jake asked Even for tips on cleaning his fur. That was odd to Dragonite. 'What could be going through his head? He's right that Even would be able to help with his fur, but with Jake, anything could be some plot of his. He'd better not be trying to butter up to Even.`
He looked over to Cole on the opposite side of the table, who seemed equally as concerned. No doubt Cole would be listening in while they talked. He would leave it to them, then. Dinner continued after that, going the same as every other had. Afterward, with their bellies full and warm, everyone headed to bed. Down the stairs, and into the darkness of his room, Dragonite let out a quiet yawn as he stretched his legs.
Laying in his bed, Dragonite felt unusually content. The night was calm, and his mind and heart felt more at ease than at any point in the past year. He couldn't let his guard down, however. There was still so much at stake. With a sigh, Dragonite stared at the ceiling, listening to the water rushing within the walls around him.
A smile crept onto Dragonite's face. Things finally felt alright for the first time since Jake rejoined Team Hodgepodge. Dragonite slowly fell into a blissful sleep, though as he drifted off, he was unaware of the quiet music that began playing in his room…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ AUTHORS NOTES _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Chapter 15, only took almost a year! Sorry about that. So, some good news and bad news. The bad news is it may be several more years before I post the next chapter. The good news is why: I'm going to be reworking this fic. I'm going to keep a lot of the same plot points, but I'll be shortening the chapters, splitting them, and extending parts to help the story feel less cluttered in the early chapters.
Of course, since I'm splitting the chapters, I can't post it to . It will be posted to Archive of Our Own. Look for "TheTrueInsaneGamer". That's going to be the "definitive" version of sorts. Of course, once I finish with the first arc, the first 12 chapters, then I will post to both. The first 12 chapters on this site will remain as is, at least for the time being. I might go back and do some grammar and spellchecking, but otherwise, it won't get the same treatment.
But, yeah, I'll be updating the story, I wanted to get this chapter done first, so it can end on a fairly round number. Feels better than Chapter 14, anyway. So, in a year or three or however long, I will return, but I'll be posting the definitive version on another site for a time.
That isn't to say I will be completely inactive. If I get bored of the rework or need a break, I have many fics that I can work on here. It's a new day for the Great Cliché Adventure, a new chapter has begun!
Also, I have abandoned my personal rule of "must be at least 7000 words". It's a bit too long for chapters, for the readers, and for me, making things way too "bleurgh" and bloated.
I'd like to thank "DaGamestar" for helping Beta Read this chapter. You really helped speed things up so much, thank you!