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Chapter seven. Thank you to everyone who has come this far! We've still got a while to go!
And I apologise how long this chapter took, but I wanted to make sure I got it, and the next chapter, right.
Returning to the guild was done in a quiet affair. Alakazam was found waiting for them outside the boarder of the campsite and quickly warped them home. Sean especially was grateful for the quick exit, he felt eyes burning into his back, but glancing behind him afforded no answers.
"How was the adventure?" Alakazam asked after they appeared at the crossroads, but before an answer could be given he teleported away.
"He's a bit rude," Sean yawned. Now that all the excitement was over, he was tired. And sore. Sore everywhere. Even his tail hurt, the muscles at the root of his tail seemed oddly stretched out. "Hey, has my tail been doing stuff I didn't see?" he asked as they began the walk up the trial of infinite steps.
"It was going up a few times during weird moments," Corphish answered. "You didn't notice?"
"Not in the least. Tails are weird anyway."
"Mmph." Was Rai's contribution to the topic at hand.
Corphish, having the most legs, was the fastest and he was the one to stand over the grate. They were quickly let in by Diglett and Loudred.
They trudged down and down further until they were in the lowest level.
"Ah you three," Chatot said, spotting them. He hopped away from the pokémon he was talking to, Alakazam to the trio's annoyance, and looked them over. "How did you fare in the dungeon?" his voice was casual, too casual.
"We beat it," Corphish said, letting his body slump to the floor as his legs decided they didn't want to carry him anymore.
"We found the treasure," Rai added, slumping to his side.
"It was a Time Gear," Sean said, wobbling back and forth on his feet.
"A… A TIME GEAR!" Chatot screeched, flapping his wings furiously. "Well, well, well, well-well!"
"The guardian said Wigglytuff had already been there," Sean said, giving up and sitting down. "Guildmaster Wigglytuff I mean."
"Ah… pardon?" Chatot ceased his fluttering to blink at them instead. "The 'guardian' said the 'Guildmaster' had already 'been' there?"
Ignoring the odd choice of words to emphasize, the trio nodded.
"No." Chatot shook his head. "No-no-no. That cannot be right. It was the Guildmaster's plan to send you to the Boulder Quarry, overturning my own suggestions for an easier dungeon. If he already knew what was there…?" Trailing off he looked to Alakazam and then past him to Wigglytuff's chambers. "Stay here, I'll return shortly."
There was no argument there, the trio just laid in place as Alakazam stared at them until Chatot came hopping out. His wings were a little frazzled, to many startled flapping of the wings it seemed.
"Well, I have your answer," Chatot said, hopping to a stop. "Indeed, the Guildmaster has been to the chamber containing Boulder Quarry's Time Gear. Apparently before he was well known, before he even joined Team Charm." Chatot's eyes slid slightly at that mention before shaking it off. "In conference with the Guildmaster he confirmed that he remembered the Time Gear. Eventually," Chatot muttered under his breath, remembering just how many times he had to word the question before Wigglytuff would stop dancing.
"But you will be pleased to learn that this was exactly the Guildmaster's plan! By confirming the location of the Time Gear, confirming it is still there, we can send pokémon to guard it."
Of the trio, it was Sean who nodded. "We thought so too. Ditto, the guardian, said it'd be alright if the pokémon were careful." After a moment he added. "You need to walk through a wall that is in the middle of two path dungeons that just loop around. The rock wall is an illusion, or something."
"You have done very well," Chatot said, sparking some attention from the other two. "Even if this adventure was perhaps not what you were expecting, you still solved a puzzle only the Guildmaster had previously properly worked out. This is very impressive. And to find a Time Gear at this sensitive hour, currently that is worth more than another treasure."
Smiling through his eye, beaks didn't really convey emotions well, Chatot tipped his head to them. "I will alert Chimecho that you need some medical attention and I will inform Sunflora of her new task to be started tomorrow. That is all, you may rest now."
With that, Chatot hopped away, heading to the upper level to find Chimecho.
The rest of the day passed by in a blur for Rai and Sean, Corphish recovered better once he had food in him. Both were too exhausted to stay up and chat for a while like normal, just slumping into their beds and falling asleep.
Rai fell asleep easily and his light snores filled the room with a gentle ambiance. Sean, however, found himself waking back up. He was sore, he was exhausted, but his mind was running a thousand miles a minute.
Even as he turned one way, and another, no matter what he couldn't get comfortable enough to slip off into blissful unconsciousness.
With an irritated sigh, he stood up out of bed and creeped out of the room, Rai being too out of it to detect the door opening and closing.
Sean winced as he walked the hallway of the guild in silence. It was a little creepy, being out at this time of night, no one awake, seeing everything so still and silent.
The muscles in his legs burned as he walked, his lower back muscles twitched with pain, his tail flicked out, but the pain made him hiss out and he grabbed his tail, so he could relax it without the limb dragging against the ground.
"I don't think I've been alone for the entire time I've been here." Sean thought to himself as he walked. He decided not to go up a level, vague memories of where Chatot slept kept him from risking it. Instead he continued straight, passing the sentry post, Croagunk's swap shop and into the mess hall.
Once he was in there, Sean began pacing around the table. At first his thoughts were meandering and pointless, but as the pain began to lesson, the thoughts became more focused.
"Am I really in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon world?" He already believed of that fact, rational thought made it difficult to accept though. "Am I really stuck here forever is the real question." With the aches getting a bit much, he sat down where he was standing. There were no seats at the table after all.
"What happened to bring me here? What is my family doing? Did I die… or did I just disappear? I hope they're alright." Sniffling slightly as he thought of everyone he had left behind, Sean sank in on himself, fiddling with the Silver Bow he wore. "I miss them. I miss my friends, my family, my world. What about Glenn? How is he going to manage without me?"
He would have sat with those dark thoughts tormenting him until he fell asleep, if it wasn't for an interruption.
"Sean?" Rai's soft voice entered the mess hall and Sean shot up in surprise.
"Rai!" he gasped, quickly drying his eyes in the darkness. "What are you doing up?"
"I could say the same to you," Rai said, walking in. "I will actually. What are you doing up?"
Sean hesitated, waiting in silence as the shinx walked the moonlit room towards him. "I…" he trailed off, not able to admit it.
Rai came to a stop besides him and sat down. "Sit," he said, coaxing Sean back down.
They sat in silence for a minute, an hour, a day. Sean wasn't certain.
"Okay, not a day," he said to himself before sighing, he needed to talk.
"I'm just thinking."
"About what?"
"Stuff… stuff about where I came from."
"Do you remember anything?"
"A… a little," he said, it wasn't even a complete lie although the half-truth made him feel even more guilty. "I remember I had a family, and friends. I was pretty happy I think. They're a bit blurry though, I'm not sure if I remember my mother's voice." The truth was painful to speak aloud, every day Sean had lived as a pokémon, he was finding it more difficult to gather concrete facts about his life before it all.
He did remember something, he wasn't sure what exactly it was. A small song she sung him, the words were almost lost but he could remember how her humming felt. Safe, warm. "Deep in the woods, there was a fire..." Came to mind.
He still couldn't remember anything firsthand about the dark future, only what he remembered from the game.
A brief thought flitted through his head. "I wonder how I reacted when I arrived in the dark future? I must have still remembered everything. Is that why things are already different? I made a change in the future that is affecting the past? That's a weird thought. I wonder what Grovyle thought about me?"
"I don't remember my mother's voice," Rai said suddenly, catching Sean off guard. As the meowth looked to him curiously, Rai gave him a small, sad, smile. "But I remember how her voice felt to me. Safe. Warm. Loving. It's taken me a long time, but I think that's enough. It has to be enough."
Sean met the shinx's eyes for a moment and gave a small smile back. "I'll never forget that about my mother."
"Never ever." Rai nuzzled him for a moment, before pulling himself up. "Do you want to come to bed now? Or stay here a little longer?"
Sean swallowed, hoping he wasn't going to offend Rai. He wanted to say he'd come, but that'd be another lie. "Stay, I think. Just for a bit longer."
"Okay." Rai smiled and nuzzled him again. "I'm your friend okay? You've got me. Take all the time you need." With that he turned tail and crept out of the room.
Sean smiled after the shinx and sighed, leaning back. Part of him did feel better, not completely and not in all areas, but some measure of support simply felt nice. He didn't fall asleep in the mess hall, he did return to the room eventually and fell into a dreamless sleep.
"Ahem! As I was explaining." Once again, Chatot deviated from his routine. Some apprentices were getting worried about him. "There is a lake far to the east. There are many aspects of that lake that remain mysterious. We hope to unravel those mysteries."
Chatot threw up a wing as he continued with a pronounced chirp to his voice. "And so, our guild is planning to mount an expedition for the first time in a while!"
"An expedition you say?" Bidoof cheered. "Yes please. Yes sirree!"
"Oh my gosh!" Sunflora squealed, doing a twirl in all the excitement. "It's been a long time since we went on an expedition."
"But," Loudred began, at a reasonable level. "That means you are going to be picking members for the expedition from ALL OF US AGAIN! Right?"
"An expedition, I've only been able to watch the guild depart on those before." Rai hopped in place, sparking with excitement.
"Precisely," Chatot chirped. "We will depart in several days." He waited as the apprentices calmed down to continue. "Over these next few days we will choose the worthiest apprentices. The chosen few will form the expedition party."
The crowd fell into cheers again, even Sean couldn't stop himself from grinning even as the static from Rai began making his own fur stand up.
"Everyone work hard so that you may be chosen for the expedition. Sunflora stay back for a moment. That is all."
"Oh wow this is so exciting," Chimecho gushed.
"Yup-yup! I've yet to go on an expedition. I would surely love to go this time."
"Let's work at it to get picked as members!" Loudred roared right in Diglett's face.
"Right," Diglett replied, unphased by the volume. "I won't be a weak link."
"Hey-hey-hey-hey-hey!" Corphish seemed stuck on the 'hey'.
"Imagine going on that Sean?" Rai asked, forgetting all name niceties in the process. Thankfully everyone was far too excited to catch the mention of his name. "Do you think we could make it?"
Smiling confidently at his partner, Sean nodded. "We can definitely do it." In the back of his mind he thought over everything that had transpired with a satisfied expression.
"Thank goodness!" He cheered internally. "I haven't screwed everything up so hard we're not going to Fogbound Lake! Phew, things are going to be back on track." Feeling considerably better about everything, Sean recalled what was going to happen next. "Next up we've got… oh. Oh, that's not right. Is that right? Please tell me that is… isn't… Ah no… no!"
While Sean's mind fell to a trio of unpleasant figures, Chatot dismissed the crowd. "All right everyone, it's back to work as usual."
The thunderous. "HOORAY!" Did wipe Team Skull out of his head for a moment, but unfortunately that couldn't last very long. Rai, rushing upstairs after the crowd with Sean following him, would be met with a most unpleasant unsurprise.
"So today we are going to do the best missions possible!" Rai said as they entered the middle floor. "And we are going to start with-" he turned towards the regular job bulletin board, only to stop a pair of hovering pokémon. "Eh?"
Sean hissed reflexively. Simply spotting Koffing and Zubat brought a near-uncontrollable amount of anger in him and he nearly broke a rule and attacked them.
But he didn't, Rai pressed a paw against one of his feet, holding him in place, and brought him back to reality. "I-is that?" Rai whispered, and Sean nodded.
He took a deep breath, regretted it as Koffing's stench permeated even where he was standing, and chose to keep an eye out for the real issue. Skuntank.
Rai stared at the thieving pair in silence for a long moment. The stench Koffing brought with him had already drove the other apprentices to the other side of the room, and a few were staring over as Rai's expression twisted.
Sean yelped lightly as Rai began to spark, jolting his foot, and he realised he was going to have to return the earlier favour.
"Rai," he warned quietly. "Don't."
Rai hissed out an angry breath before closing his eyes and taking several deep breaths. Through his mouth of course, Koffing was still there.
Rai's near-hyperventilation caught Zubat's attention and he whispered something to Koffing.
"Woah-ho-ho, what do we have here?" Koffing chuckled as he floated on over.
"Heh, what's a wimp like you doing in here?" Zubat asked, as they circled Rai.
Sean dropped his eyes from the entry, it didn't matter when Skuntank was going to arrive when his friend was dealing with something right now.
"Back. Off." Sean growled, shoving Koffing back. A few whispers broke out from the other side of the room, but no one stepped forward.
"Woa-ho, big pokémon here," Koffing said, floating into Sean's space. "What gives you the right to say where I can float huh?"
"Give it back," Rai said, voice nearly imperceptible.
"What was that?" Zubat asked, leaning in.
"NOW!" Rai sparked with electricity, fury lighting his eyes up a cold, cerulean, blue as he held back the urge to just attack.
Zubat wisely gave him some space.
"Give what back?" Koffing asked.
"What are YOU even doing here, huh?" Zubat added.
"We're apprentices here at the guild," Sean said, civilly but still very cold.
Koffing and Zubat shared a surprised look, before they circled Sean.
"Come with us."
"Hey!" Sean tried to swat them off, Zubat brushed against his bow and he hissed at the bat.
Rai took a step forward, sparking harder as the pair tried to drag Sean off into a corner. He got an offended look from Zubat. "You'll get him back in a moment."
"What is someone like you doing at a guild?" Koffing demanded, once he had Sean cornered.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard him," Zubat said. "Why are you in the Wigglytuff Guild?"
"Wha?" Sean raised his paws in disbelief, he was pretty sure this wasn't how this was supposed to go. "I'm supporting my friend." Claws suddenly extending, he snatched Zubat by the neck and hissed. "And I want the Relic Fragment back."
"HEY!" Koffing headbutted Sean, only enough to make him release Zubat. "Keep your paws to yourself."
"Okay, that's enough." Sean pushed Koffing out of the way and stormed back over to Rai. He took a few deep breaths once he was no longer being breathed on by Koffing before spinning back to them. "Give back what you stole!"
He shouted this, catching everyone's attentions. Emboldened by Sean, Rai added to it. "Give me back my treasure you Poison-type sludge!"
Things may have gone well. Bidoof and Corphish, ready to back up their guildmates, came forward.
Right as Rai yelled this, however, three more pokémon entered the room.
Chatot and Sunflora, having sensed a disturbance, had made their way up, while Skuntank had just made his way down looking for his team.
"WHAT IS THIS?" Chatot screeched, hearing Rai's last three words. He came flapping over in a panicked fury right as Skuntank made eye-contact with Koffing.
"Chaw-haw, what is all this then?" he demanded, stomping over. The sheer smell he exuded made Bidoof and Corphish back off.
Sean, having heard Chatot, turned to the suddenly furious bird and felt a wave of relief.
"RAI!" Chatot yelled, diverting the shinx's attention from the pair too him. "WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?"
Sean's relief suddenly faded. Chatot as an ally was quite useful, as an enemy however.
"Back off from my buddies," Skuntank growled, storming up besides Chatot. The bird lost his voice as he took an accidental whiff of Skuntank and began doing his best to withhold gagging.
"You… YOU!" Rai's loss off confidence at Chatot suddenly thundered back. "I REMEMBER YOU!"
"And I've never seen YOU in my life," Skuntank said, far softer than Rai's emotional screaming. He glanced to Koffing and Zubat with concern. "Are you two alright?" he asked, Sean couldn't believe his ears.
"Y-yeah boss," Zubat said, Koffing seemingly unable to speak.
Sighing softly, Skuntank turned to Chatot. "Who are these two?" he asked. "Are they members of this guild?"
"Yes," Chatot said, still having trouble breathing this close to Skuntank. Despite Skuntank's smell, it was Chatot giving Rai the stink eye.
"We three came here hoping for no judgement simply because of our types," Skuntank said, and Sean realised what the devious pokémon was doing. "And my friends get verbally assaulted the minute I leave them alone? What were they doing that was so offensive, looking for jobs to help pokémon with?"
Skuntank turned to Rai, who's ears fell back under his gaze. "Tell me then. What did they do?"
"Th… they…" Rai glanced down, confidence losing him under so many eyes.
"They stole my friends' treasure," Sean said, answering for Rai. The shinx's head popped up and he stared at Sean in a form of confusion that made Sean's heart ache for him. "Chatot, don't listen to him. I was there, in the Beach Cave, those two." He pointed a claw at Koffing and Zubat. "Attacked Rai, took his treasure, and when we went to get it back, Skuntank came out of nowhere and knocked US out."
At this, Chatot's ever-burning rage wavered. He remembered overhearing Rai speak of a lost treasure, not how it was lost however.
He turned to Skuntank, who was looking most offended. "Is this true?" he asked, receiving an expression of offence with some buried hurt underneath.
"True? Of course not!" Skuntank shook his head and stepped forward, standing by Koffing and Zubat. "These two would never rob another pokémon, the idea that they would. Unthinkable. We haven't even been in the area for months. How would they have stolen it?"
Chatot mulled it all over. His instinct was to trust the apprentices, but he refused to judge another pokémon simply off what it was. He looked to Rai, angry tears had joined the corners of his eyes and Sean was rubbing a paw on his back.
"Do you have proof of this?" he eventually said, looking to Rai. The shinx's ears perked up and he opened his mouth, before hesitating.
He never showed anyone the Relic Fragment. It was something incredibly private to him, only for him. No one knew about it. Except his sister, who was far away now, and Sean.
He glanced to Sean, who was staring back, waiting. Their eyes met, and Sean's slowly widened, realising Rai had nothing.
"No," he said softly, shaking his head.
"Hmm." Chatot hummed. "How long ago did you lose this treasure?"
"About two weeks ago."
"We weren't here!" Koffing immediately said. "Like the boss said, haven't been here in months."
Sean glared at the trio, Koffing and Zubat shot him smug looks, Skuntank kept the kindly façade on though.
"Why didn't you alert the guild?" Chatot pressed. "Send up a report? Ask around? Simply report a missing treasure?"
"I…" Rai trailed off. He had thought of it, but he had been unable to admit the existence of his treasure. It was special to him, he was sure it meant something, but had lost his nerve to report something he had no proof of ever owning, missing.
"I understand you may be upset then," Chatot said in a kindly, slightly patronizing, way that made Rai and Sean lose all hope. "But you cannot accuse other pokémon of misdeeds merely because of what they are. Sean." Chatot turned to him with a critical eye. "I would think better of you especially. Do your allotted tasks for the day, and do not bother this trio…?"
"Team Skull," Koffing said, receiving a brief, sharp, look from Skuntank.
"Team Skull at all. That is all."
"B-but Chatot sir!" Rai refused to let this go, standing up and stepping forward. "They STOLE my treasure."
"I will not hear this without concrete evidence!" Chatot snapped back, causing Rai to flinch. "Do your jobs if you want any chance of being selected for the guilds expedition."
With that he hopped away.
"Well, it seems we have all learned a lesson of not judging on appearances," Skuntank said grandly, receiving particularly dirty glares from Team Ion. "Chaw-haw-haw, come down you two. Let it go, you heard the bird." Skuntank's mind was running fast, he had clearly heard Chatot speak of an expedition and such a journey could be of great interest to him. "Come on you two," he said, walking forward.
"Heh-heh-heh, right away boss."
"Woah-ho, you're the best boss."
"Chaw-haw-haw, I already know that. Now, come on."
With that the stink began to fade, but the low mood Sean and Rai found themselves in would persist far longer.
Rai chose an outlaw to track down that day.
Sunflora and Loudred had discovered the Waterfall Cave a short time before Chatot had sent Team Ion to Boulder Quarry, the excitement of their discovery had brought a few pokémon around, as well as some pokémon fleeing the law.
Sean had been silently impressed with Rai, leaping right through the waterfall without hesitation. He thought he'd still be able to salvage the words he had planned for the occasion, but Rai was too worked up to doubt himself.
If Sean had thought the Drenched Bluff had been uncomfortable, the Waterfall Cave laughed at that. There was thankfully stone as the floor, but an unpleasant amount of mud and slime gooped up the area.
The obsessive-compulsive part of Sean wailed at having to track through it all. The rest of him was far more concerned for Rai to even take notice.
Given time to prepare, Sean could appear as a quick thinker and clever conversationalist. He spent most of his time not speaking to Rai simply thinking about possible things to say in the future.
As it turned out, however, the reality was not so easy to deal with.
He had thought, a little, on Team Skull's reappearance and had thought of a few things to say that'd hopefully lighten Rai's mood. Each time he turned to speak to Rai, however, he lost his nerve.
"Why did I think 'don't listen to them, they stink figuratively and literally' would be a funny thing to say?" Sean bemoaned, hating everything he had planned and throwing it all away in disgust. "Okay. Real people, real pokémon. It's not so cut and paste, but he's your friend. You don't have to say the perfect thing, alright? The perfect thing is not natural, it's not genuine, just… say… something."
While Sean continued to think away in a building panic, Rai continued crashing his way through the dungeon. On any other day he'd be delighted to be here, jumping through a waterfall, combing through an almost completely new area for discoveries no one had found yet.
But they were here on business. Weepinbell was here somewhere, the cowardly crook was known for ambushing pokémon and threatening to eat them if they didn't give him their belongings. No record ever stated he had followed through with such a threat, but Rai was determined to the outlaw to justice.
And if stunning a psyduck with Thundershock before knocking it out with a Quick Attack was therapeutic, then he wouldn't complain.
"So where do you think?" Sean started, gathering enough boldness to speak finally.
"Some corner," Rai answered, anticipating the rest of the question.
"Cool," Sean said. "Okay. Want to talk?"
"We've got a job to do here."
"Well we can talk about that." Sean hesitated. "Still, we've got time, want to talk-"
"No."
Sean sighed, this time a little frustrated. "Come on Rai, please don't shut me out like this."
Rai stopped and sat down, grimacing at the slickness of the ground. "Alright. What do YOU want to talk about?"
Sean paused, felt a flash of apprehension fly through his heart, before swallowing. "I'm not going to say, 'don't be angry'," he said, and Rai blinked. "I'm not going to tell you that you can't hate them for what they did, I hate them myself! But one thing I am going to tell you." Sean winced, it was sounding worse and worse as he went. "Uh… look, the kind of person, err pokémon, Skuntank is, is the kind that wants this kind of reaction."
Rai blinked again and frowned slightly, thankfully in thought rather than further anger. "What are you talking about? Angry because he made me look like a judgemental idiot in front of Chatot who didn't believe me or you?"
Sean nodded. "Yes, exactly. He's a… well, he's a troll." Sean waited, to see if that meant anything to Rai. It didn't. "He wants this kind of reaction from you, he wants to know he's got under your skin, fur, whatever. He wants to see he's bothering you, so he can use that against you. That's the kind of person he is."
"So… what?" Rai asked. "I have to just take it and feel nothing? Am I not supposed to be angry or something? He attacked us both AND stole my treasure. I can't not be upset about that? Do you get it?"
"I get it." Sean nodded, hoping he really did. "And you can be angry, upset, frustrated. You should be, really. Just…" Sean trailed off, realising he was going a bit too far into the wrong territory. "Be angry. Be angry in a dungeon, be angry in our room. Be angry when Skuntank, or Koffing and Zubat, or anyone else isn't around. But when Skuntank and the others come to bother us, pretend like you're not bothered. It's the big reaction he wants, if you don't play along, he'll get bored, he'll get frustrated. Try to ignore him, but don't just take everything lying down."
Nodding to himself, Sean offered an out. "Be angry. Here. Right now. Look at me and say what you'd like to say to Skuntank, what you can't say because Chatot was there, what you couldn't say because you were embarrassed to say it."
"I… what?" Rai cocked his head. "How and why would I do that? Pretend YOU'RE Skuntank, because quite frankly that'll be difficult. I like you, and you don't smell nearly as bad as him." Rai took a breath and frowned. "You do smell a bit though, haven't you been grooming or anything?"
"I… no?" The very thought of licking his fur made Sean cringe. But there had been no water areas around except one he didn't know how to bring up.
Now that they were in the Waterfall Cave, however… no, they couldn't go to the Hot Springs.
"I'll save that for another day," Sean thought, before replying to Rai.
"What did you want to say when Skuntank was saying all that stuff?" he asked. "Making you look like the bad guy. What did you WANT to say, but never would because it wouldn't help? Say them, right now, to me. Please?"
Rai was still wearing a dubious expression, but he slowly nodded anyway. "Uh… alright. I wanted to say he was lying and that those other two really did steal my Relic Fragment."
Sean nodded happily. Rai's words were detached, just a recounting, but he hoped he could dig a little deeper. "Good, good. Now, what did you want to say to Skuntank?"
"Skuntank…? I, uh… I don't know!"
"Rai," Sean said bluntly. "There is no judgement here. I want you to tell me, what you wouldn't say to him because it'd be rude, because Chatot and the others were there, even because I was there." He took a breath, Rai still looked uncomfortable, so he tried another avenue. "What I wanted to say to him was that he is a foul, disgusting, bully."
Rai blinked, not prepared for such blunt honesty.
"I wanted to call him a shitstain on society. Someone best off drowning in a swamp because the only thing he afforded to everyone else was a burden." Sean could feel himself blushing, and he fiddled with his Silver Bow in response, it wasn't in his own nature to speak so nastily about another. But Skuntank's actions had sparked something in him. He had been more concerned about how Rai was feeling, but now that he was thinking about he himself felt.
"I think he's pathetic. The kind of sad, spineless, piece of loose trash that is so aware of his own pitiful nature that the only way he can feel better about himself is to try and drag everyone else down to wallow in misery with him. Lonely, probably, but it doesn't excuse anything. Now." Sean took a breath. "That's what I wanted to say, but never would. What about you?"
Rai still hesitated, but Sean's own words, the admission, the equality he was affording him with this honesty, was too great to simply shun.
"I… I hate him," Rai admitted, ears falling flat. "I've never actually hated someone before. I don't even hate Koffing and Zubat, they were just following him. He was the real person who took my treasure, then attacked us both, then lied about it and made us both look biased against Poison-type pokémon. What kind of person does that? Even this Weepinbell we're chasing down, I think he's still probably a nicer person than Skuntank. At least he only threatens, Skuntank makes it personal. Y-you're right, he has to be someone really pathetic to even want to do this kind of thing. I mean, that was MY TREASURE!"
Rai's sudden shout echoed through the slimy halls of the Waterfall Cave, and Sean waited silently as Rai grew angry.
"How dare he take that from me? It's the only thing I have left of my parents and my family. It's the only thing that carried me through all these cold nights without my sister. It's the only thing that gave me the strength to continue on in this unfair world. It's the ONLY THING THAT GAVE ME HOPE AND HE THINKS HE CAN JUST TAKE IT FROM ME!?"
Rai breathed heavily, his fur sparked, and angry tears dripped down his nose. Sean took a careful step forward, then another. He could smell the ozone and saw his fur begin standing up but continued unmindful. He'd been zapped plenty of times.
Twitching only once at the loud zap that stung his paw, Sean ran his paw down Rai's back, flattening down his fur and picking up a lot of static along the way.
"Thanks," Rai said, pulling his head back up. "I think that actually helped. I'm still upset, but… it's nice to get it out."
"I'm glad." Sean smiled brightly, ignoring the tears for Rai's pride. "Sometimes you have to just say it, leaving the angry thoughts to boil over in your head can't be healthy. I would know, I'm sure."
Rai smiled back and shivered, letting the charge dissipate. "Okay, we should get going. Hopefully Weepinbell didn't hear that, or else we're going to have an interesting battle up ahead."
"Everyone! I have an announcement before we get to work."
With Loudred not having yelled quite as loud this morning, the apprentices were still blinking some sleep out of their eyes.
"Let me introduce our new allies." If Chatot was pained by the constant breaking of his opening routine, he was excellent at hiding it.
"Allies?" Corphish asked. "Hey-hey, are we getting new apprentices?"
"Golly I wonder what pokémon they are?" Bidoof wondered out loud.
"Oh my gosh! I can't wait to meet them."
"Hey! Over here please," Chatot called, looking all-the-while like he was hiding a frown.
What he couldn't hide, however, was the stench.
"Ugh what stinks?" Loudred moaned. Where the air had been crisp and pleasant not a few seconds before, this was almost too much.
"Oh my god," Sean moaned, feeling his stomach turn. "I don't do well with this is the morning."
Rai failed to comment, holding his breath desperately against the foul smell.
From the upper level descended a trio of figures. Sean's eyes were watering at this point, but he couldn't hide the groan of disappointment. Of all the changes that seemed to be happening, he'd be fine if this had been one of them.
Rai's fluff spikes momentarily, before the smell wilted him again.
"Oh golly, you have to be kidding me," Bidoof whimpered.
"Hey…"
"Oh dear, this is a bit much," Chimecho whispered, glancing about.
Even Croagunk was frowning.
Wigglytuff stepped to the side, standing more directly behind Chatot, to make room for the trio.
"These three are our new partners," Chatot said, performing an admirable attempt at sounding pleased about this.
"Woah-ho-ho, I'm Koffing," the floating gas bag said.
"Heh-heh-heh, Zubat here." He along with Wigglytuff, seemed the only ones not affected by the stench. "Glad to meet you all."
"And I'm Team Skull's leader," Skuntank said. "I'm Skuntank. Remember it." He glanced towards where Team Ion stood, meeting Sean's eyes for a moment. "Especially you two. Chaw-haw-haw."
Chatot glanced between the two teams and took a casual step forward. He appeared to be coming closer to the apprentices, but Sean noticed that he had positioned himself right in the line between himself and Skuntank.
"These three are not joining us as apprentices," Chatot said, voice perfectly level, even as a breath of relief swept through the guild. "They will be joining our expedition to lend us their strength."
"What?" Rai squeaked. It was hard to speak normally with the smell.
Chatot side-eyed Rai. "Now, now," he said, a note of warning in his voice. Chatot half turned to check on Wigglytuff, the Fairy-type happily smiling away. Breathing his own sigh of relief, Chatot continued. "Anyway, the Guildmaster has made his decision. He has decided that having this trio take part will make us stronger on the expedition."
The apprentices exchanged a few looks, but no one was going to speak against Wigglytuff's decisions.
"However," Chatot began with a note of regret in his voice. "It would be impossible to coordinate teamwork if we were to all start working together on the day. Therefor the Guildmaster has decided this trio shall live with us for the next few days. Thought it will be only for a short while." Chatot emphasized several words as he raised his voice, quelling any discontent among the guild. "I ask everyone to treat our guests with hospitality."
Several expressions were shared. They were hearing Chatot's words, but…
"Doesn't Chatot think something stinks about this?" Loudred mumbled, under his breath for once in his life. "Literally? How will Sunflora manage when she gets back?"
"I sure hope this expedition ends soon, yup-yup."
"Why is this happening? What did I do to deserve this?" Rai growled.
"Okay everyone," Chatot said brightly, loudly, pretending nothing was just said. "Let's get down to work!"
"…hooray."
Chatot flinched. "What's this?" he asked, almost desperately. "Where's your usual spirit?"
A few pokémon exchanged glances, no one eager to say it first.
Loudred, brash and impulsive as he is, was the first to speak.
"You've gotta be KIDDING!" Loudred's usual volume was back, for once everyone was grateful as all the attention went to him. "This stinks. Chatot! How do you expect us to be cheerful when…?"
Something shook.
"U-uh?"
"Yoom…" The Guildmaster's voice seemed to come from all directions as the whole guild shuddered again.
Everyone, the apprentices, Chatot, Team Skull, all turned as Wigglytuff began to shake hard. He curled slightly as sheer power began to build.
"Yoom."
"No!" Chatot screeched as everyone took a step back. "The Guildmaster! His rage is building."
"YOOOOOOM."
"If the Guildmaster get's angry, the results will be horrific!"
"Holy crap, shit, hell, ass, AH!" Sean was nearly blown away by the sheer terror that gripped the guild as it felt like the entire world was going to shake itself to pieces.
"Everyone! Come on! Be cheerful! Even if it hurts!" Chatot's panic was intense, but he was the only individual even able to stand as Wigglytuff's rage began knocking everyone back.
"Alright! Everyone! Let's get down to work!"
"HOORAY!"
Even Koffing and Zubat joined in on the thunderous exclamation of joy and energy.
The shaking stopped.
Everyone picked themselves up from the floor, Koffing and Zubat as well as they had been knocked out of the air by the shockwaves. Only Skuntank and Chatot had emerged from that unshook, even if Skuntank still had to pick himself off the ground.
Humming a merry tune, Wigglytuff drifted back into his room.
Quickly, not wanting to displease the pink terror, the apprentices booked it to their stations. Team Ion remained behind, still recovering from that intense experience. Chatot remained as well, as Team Skull had yet to leave themselves.
"Chaw-haw-haw," Skuntank laughed. "Glad to be here." With a lingering glance at Team Ion, he turned tail and Koffing and Zubat quickly joined him, snickering to themselves.
"Urk." Rai sounded as he glared at the disappearing trio. "They are up to something."
"Definitely," Sean agreed, already knowing the truth of it. "We'll have to be careful around them."
"Ah, you two." Chatot had watched Team Skull leave with a vigilant eye before noticing they were still there. "Take care of the jobs on the boards today alright?" he asked, overly cheerful. "We're counting on you."
Rai nodded and began trotting his way up to the second floor. Sean dawdled behind him, letting him go ahead.
With the size of the room, Loudred and Croagunk were likely too far away to eavesdrop anything.
"Chatot sir?" Sean asked, feeling more nervous than he had expected at talking to Chatot alone.
Chatot turned to him. "Yes?"
Sean opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He was still blinking a few times and his heart was pounding. His eyes automatically kept flicking to the Guildmaster's Chambers without any control, even as he tried to focus on Chatot the instincts that came with this body kept telling him 'Danger Do Not Lose Sight'.
Chatot noticed where his eyes were going and gave a soft sigh. "Do not worry Meowth, the Guildmaster is… sensitive at times. He only wants everyone to be happy."
Sean swallowed what was building up in his mouth and nodded. "I get that. It's just…" he glanced back to where Rai and Team Skull had gone and suddenly regretted leaving him to go ahead. He fiddled with his bow uncomfortably. "Why does he trust Team Skull?" It was something Sean never really got. From a game standpoint he understood Wigglytuff was naïve, but he also knew he was much smarter than he looked.
"The Guildmaster believes in everyone," Chatot answered. "And you should have no doubt in his decisions, he would not put the guild at any risk."
"I understand," Sean said, not really. What Chatot said was two different things. "Do you trust them?" Unable to help himself, Sean said. "Because Rai's not making it up. They did take his Relic Fragment."
"Meowth," Chatot said warningly.
"Why would he make it up?" he asked hotly. "Why would I make it up?"
"Enough," Chatot said sharply. "You cannot prove it; you cannot sway the Guildmaster without enraging him. Let it go."
Sean huffed, but took a breath to compose himself. "My apologies," he said stiffly. "But, well… do you believe me? Are you just following W-The Guildmaster?"
"…Go do your work Sean," Chatot said, turning away. He hopped into the Guildmaster's Chambers, leaving Sean to make his way to Rai. Unsatisfied.
He entered the second floor to find a stand-off of sorts. Rai, Bidoof, and Corphish were on the side of the outlaw notice board, while Team Skull lurked on the side of the job bulletin board.
He cast a dark look at the whispering trio before making his way to Rai. "This stinks," he said lightly as he stepped up to the shinx. "And I don't even have a nose!"
It felt like a victory when Rai's lips twitched into an amused grin. The smell was really bad, but he was getting used to it.
"I have to get used to it." Sean thought as Rai picked a job. "For a few days at least."
Whether he still needed stress relief, Sean had almost felt bad for Weepinbell yesterday, or just because Team Skull was loitering around the other board, Rai chose another outlaw to track down this day.
Once he handed it to Sean, the meowth grew a little concerned.
"Uh this is a…" he hesitated, glancing back towards Team Skull. "A golbat."
"Yeah?" Rai asked, looking completely innocent. "Got to bring felons to justice and all that."
"Hmm." Sean decided not to make a fuss or point any claws. Nodding, he decided that this was fine.
Smiling, almost scarily, Rai began leading their way out of the guild.
"OH, MY GOOOOOSSSSSHHHH!"
Only for the entire guild to shake all over again. Sunflora had been absent during dinner last night as well as not present during Wigglytuff's episode.
Chatot had sent her to stand guard for the Time Gear first, trusting her as one of the most reliable pokémon in the guild.
Her voice had been caught by Diglett even before she arrived at the grate and had Loudred open up the guild to save her time. Fortunate, since she hadn't been planning on stopping.
"EVERYONE!" Sunflora screeched as she threw herself into the guild and down the incline to get to the second floor those few milliseconds faster. "THE TIME GEAR IS GOOOOONNNE!"
The tinkling of a broken window was completely missed due to the ringing in everyone's ears.
Gasping for breath, Sunflora fell to her leafy hands and shook. Her scream brought everyone to the second level of the guild.
Diglett and Dugtrio emerged from the ground on each of her sides and Sunflora grabbed a hold of Dugtrio and began to cry. Loudred and Croagunk came rushing up from below a few seconds before Chatot and Wigglytuff emerged as well.
Chimecho, the most immune to high voices, rushed to Sunflora's side and wrapped herself around Sunflora, easing her off the choking Dugtrio and letting her cry into her.
"Sunflora," Wigglytuff said, voice soft yet audible to everyone in the room. Even with their ears ringing.
The Guildmaster knelt by Sunflora and patted her on the back. He nodded to Chimecho and she stayed wrapped around Sunflora as she cried her eyes out.
"Breathe Sunflora, breath," Wigglytuff urged gently. "Take a deep breath… there we go. Let it out, breathe." He continued coaxing her for a minute, letting Sunflora regain control of herself naturally.
Once she was cried out, he pulled her up. "Friendly friend. Have a hug." He wrapped her in a soft, warm, hug and Sunflora finally relaxed.
"It was terrifying," Sunflora whispered, still in Wigglytuff's embrace. "Everything in the deeper dungeon was just… wrong. Nothing moved, there was no sound, so many pokémon were frozen, unable to move, unable to live or die. I hope they aren't aware of what happened to them."
She whimpered and choked out a sob when Loudred came up and patted her on the back.
"I got to the end of the dungeon, just hoping. But… but…" she gave a keening sound, grating on the ears but filled with terrified emotion. "Ditto. It was… it was…"
"Shh-shh-shh," Wigglytuff whispered. "Take your time Sunflora."
She took a shuddering breath before continuing. "Ditto looked like it had gone through a horrible fight and was… w-was trying to drag themselves out of the cavern. But, they were frozen, their face… they were so scared, they knew what was happening and couldn't save themselves."
Sunflora sobbed in Wigglytuff's arms, before being transferred to Loudred and Corphish, with Chimecho still wrapped around her, as Wigglytuff pulled Chatot down a level to speak with him alone.
Sean and Rai came up to the group hug that Sunflora was in the middle of, not sure what to say or do. They were still getting to know the other apprentices, it felt wrong to join in on the hug as if they weren't.
"Grovyle was there," Sean thought to himself as he watched Sunflora sadly. "I saw him. How didn't it click in my mind?"
At one point, Team Skull slunk past and went down a level. With their taint gone, Rai and Sean ended up wandering to the job bulletin board and selected a different job to do. Neither was in the mood for a fight with this sobering news.
"Alright, everyone." Chatot had returned without being spotted, receiving a few glances his way. "Loudred, Chimecho, bring Sunflora to her room. Everyone else, you should continue your work. We'll take care of her, but we can't let our work stop even now. Especially now. Continue helping, doing good, we'll find a way to fix this situation."
He waited until the group had given Sunflora another hug or three each before leading Loudred and Chimecho down.
He emerged right as soon as he was confident they could make it to her room.
"Okay, Rai." The shinx's ears flicked when he realised Chatot had called him.
Stumbling over as quickly as he could. "Yes?"
"Loudred will be taking care of Sunflora today, leaving him unable to perform his duties. So, your task for the day is to take over as the gatekeeper. Alright?"
"Yes! Of course." Rai glanced back to Sean, who was watching with a concerned look. "What about Sean? I don't know how he'll manage in a dungeon alone…"
"Not a problem," Chatot said, gesturing for Sean to approach. "You two work well as a team, this task is something that can be done as just the one, however. So, Meowth, if you would be able to spend your day sorting through the food stocks? With Chimecho also… anyway, take note of what is in good supply and what needs refilling and make your way to the market to obtain what needs to be restocked, alright?"
"Right!"
"Good." Chatot nodded and led them downstairs. He gave a few words to Rai as he showed him the pully, it was thankfully something a quadruped could manage, as well as the current list of outlaws and suspicious pokémon to bar from entering.
Team Skull lurked in a whole different corner now, trying to cosy up to Wigglytuff, as Chatot finished his explanation.
Afterwards he showed Sean into the dining room and all the way to the back where a door laid. "In here," he said, oddly quietly, following Sean into the stockroom.
"Okay," Sean said, looking around. It smelled pleasant in the room, there were a few windows leading out to the sea that allowed light in. "Where should I…?"
"Be careful," Chatot said as the door closed behind him, giving them privacy.
"Pardon?" Sean said.
"Rumour spreads very quickly around here Sean," Chatot said seriously. "I trust you and Rai, I can see you a noble hearted pokémon, but not all will see that."
"I… what?" His paw came up to touch his bow, he'd found himself touching it when bored or nervous. It was calming in a way.
"You were the last to leave, the last to see that Time Gear, and with the guardian lost to the frozen time, if pokémon learn of you being the last there. They are going to suspect you."
"Chatot, we didn't-"
"I know you didn't. But when no one knows who did, they are going to look at the stranger and the most recent."
Chatot sighed, looking from left to right. "The guild has a tab with the Kecleon Brothers, so go through them if at all possible when restocking. That is all."
Chatot turned to hop and leave but hesitated half way. Turning back, he said. "Is there anything you know? Anything that you may have thought unnecessary to tell? Anything you suspect but didn't want to say?"
Sean hesitated, torn between truth and lies.
"Th-there was more than us who found the Time Gear," Sean said, tripping over his words slightly. "We didn't mention it before, because… I don't know. Team Gazer, Beheeyem, Manetric, not… Electrike and Beldum."
"They also found the Time Gear?" Chatot said sharply.
"Y-yeah." Ears drooping, Sean looked away from Chatot. "They got tricked along with us by Ditto to fight each other. And when I showed everyone Ditto was responsible, Ditto showed us all the Time Gear."
"Team Gazer…" Chatot muttered.
"But I don't think they did this!" Sean said quickly, returning Chatot's gaze to him. "They didn't seem the type, and we all promised not to say anything. I don't think they would have broken it."
Chatot stared at him for a moment. "Why do you think that?" he asked seriously.
Sean was flatfooted. Of all the things he expected Chatot to say, that wasn't it. "Uh…"
"Why do you give these pokémon your stamp of belief Sean?"
"I just… they… they just reminded me a bit of Rai and I. They didn't steal the Time Gear, I can't ever see them doing that."
He hoped at least.
Chatot raised his head at him for a long moment before shrugging. "You believe they couldn't have let the tiniest thing slip? You did, in the end, tell the guild."
"We got permission from Ditto," Sean insisted.
"Alright, look." Chatot held up a wing. "We need to find this Team Gazer and see if they have any idea. They may have let something slip and we need to know if and where and who."
"Yeah, okay." Sean nodded.
"Is there anything else?" Chatot asked, waiting patiently. Sean shook his head after waiting for what he hoped was the appropriate amount of time, feeling guilt claw at him yet again as he lied once more.
"Alright. Do your work here, and do not worry." Chatot switched from serious back to pleasant in an instant, making it almost difficult for Sean to believe that conversation had just happened. "The expedition will still be going along. Work hard and you may be picked! That is all."
Chatot turned and hopped out of the storeroom, closing it softly behind him. Sean sighed, rubbing his face as he tried to bury the constant bad taste lying was leaving in his mouth.
"I almost wish I wasn't good at lying when I need to." Sean thought as he began looking through the guild's food stocks, taking note of seven magnificent Perfect Apples.
Figuring out what needed to be replaced wasn't difficult. But without a way to write anything down, Sean needed to rely on his memory.
Deciding that he couldn't hope to make just the one journey, he decided to memorize a few items, retrieve them, then figure out what ones he had to memorize next.
Rai smiled at him when he told the shinx he was going into town and the guild gate was opened for him without trouble.
As Sean left the guild, it struck him that he'd never left the guild along. He glanced back at the blank eyes of the wigglytuff that loomed over the entire guild, knowing that Rai was still in there. He passed a bisharp on the way down and made his way into Treasure Town.
"This feels so weird," Sean thought to himself, looking around Treasure Town completely alone. "I don't have Rai to stop me from making a fool of myself. Oh boy, let's do this!"
Without someone to talk to, Sean just let his mind wander. Sunflora's news had shook everyone, her reaction especially had drawn attention, but Sean could at least feel comforted that things were still going as they should be.
So, it wasn't the Time Gear or Grovyle that his mind focused on, instead Team Skull stuck in his thoughts like a tumour.
"It's shocking just how much changes when it's not a game." Sean considered as he went. "I didn't like them before, but hey the music was fun and Skuntank is… something not completely terrible in the end. But, oough, I can't believe how much I hate them here and now."
It wasn't common for Sean to hate, so it wasn't the most enjoyable experience. His mind worked feverishly, trying to remember all the mischief Team Skull caused throughout the story.
Sean snapped out of it by the time he spotted the twin kecleon and made his way through the transaction smoothly.
For the first run he acquired a bushel of apples. A handful of mixed berries. A type of grain he wasn't sure existed in any world. And a set of seeds.
Even that amount was almost too much for him to carry.
"Wish I was taller," Sean laughed to the Kecleon Brothers and they chuckled as well as he stumbled off, arms filled with the items. "Never thought I'd think that again," Sean muttered once he was clear. "I was tall enough."
Diglett quickly called his name and Rai immediately opened the gate, Sean staggering into the guild with the last push to go.
The items weren't particularly heavy, but so many of them over such a distance was wearing thin even on his surprisingly strong arms.
He spent a little time resting in the storeroom before putting the items away and then walking all the way back into town to do it again.
All the while, he thought and thought about Team Skull.
He had a good idea on what they were going to do next and had caught Skuntank's eye as he left the second time, the trio having chosen to leave for the day themselves.
If he walked a little quicker into town, then that had nothing to do with Team Skull out and about.
With his arms so sore after the first trip, Sean decided to spread out the remaining items and made the journey four times in total, collecting all the items that seemed to need a refill. It wasn't the most thrilling of work, Sean surprised he preferred the danger of the dungeons, but it had to be done.
The food made him hungry though. It still unnerved him slightly just how thin his body was, some weight had been put to hide a few of those ribs sticking out, but he restrained the desire to snatch something.
Chatot would know, Sean was sure.
An idea began to take root in his mind. A small plan that would do little more than spite Skuntank, but the idea of doing so thrilled Sean far too much to let go.
On one final trip into Treasure Town to top up a few baskets, Sean spotted someone, and the plan fell into place.
So plans change, as we know them too. I originally was writing one massive chapter, but then it started to go a little too long. I decided it was getting a bit much and decided to split it into two chapters. So the glorious moment I've been planning for a while? Not happening in this chapter. It does, however, occur in the next chapter! And that chapter is mostly finished too! I'll just be touching it up a bit here and then and will be releasing it soon. I hope you are eager ;D