Hello, everyone, and welcome to Chapter 8! Went back to a small little chapter, but back to my roots as I've always enjoyed writing darker pieces. No Scarcrow Fanfiction is complete without someone dying almost immediately. Anywho, humor will return eventually, but for now enjoy this little chappie of mine. And pleeeease review, review, review or I'll send Thorn after ya. XP
Chapter 8
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Despaired silence hung thick in the air as the guild members were now all gathered back in the lower room of the building. All stood around the table, save for Kameron, who bobbed in his pool with tears running down his face. Duncan and Bendy had their noses drawn in a snarl, although their sadness was also visible to the naked eye. Todd was crying as he attended to the shoulder of a Raticate around the same age as Erin. His name was Ramirez, who was explaining what had happened.
Liza and Guildmaster Finnegan were the only two that remained completely calm, Liza having composed herself before she walked into the building.
He was staggering slightly. His right shoulder was glistening, wet with blood that was flowing through a deep gash that Todd was cleaning. "We w-were attacked as soon as we got there." He said shakily. "Thorn had already destroyed the village; he was waiting for Deputy Paulson."
"What do you mean, waiting?" Liza gasped. "Are you telling me Thorn knew you two were going to be at the village?" Smoke blew up from the front of Guildmaster Finnegan's face as she asked, thickening the air even further with the smell of a cigarette.
"From the way Thorn was talking, it was as though he was expecting us. Paulson immediately instructed me to round up what was left of the village…he couldn't get close to attacking Thorn, he was j-just too powerful. Deputy Paulson didn't back down, but it didn't matter." Ramirez paused to wheeze for breath. His wound was breathing heavily, with him trying to soak it up with a cloth. His eyes seemed distant, as though they remained focused on the horrors he saw.
"Paulson was barely alive before I ran. Thorn didn't even have a scratch on him…. I was too afraid to jump in to help him…. I've never seen someone so powerful." His breathing became too ragged with anxiety, and he remained silent furthermore.
Guildmaster Finnegan took a long drag as Todd started to give the Raticate a berry to help soothe him.
Bendy spoke up. "If only I had gone with him…we would have stood a chance." He growled, fury in his voice.
Guildmaster Finnegan gave him a steady glance in return. "Don' star' with tha', lad. Whu' happened when ye got there?" He demanded.
Bendy gave him a look before continuing. "Deputy Paulson was dead when we got there. As were thirty-two other Pokemon. He wasn't picky…" He broke off darkly, leaving the others to draw their own conclusions.
Guildmaster Finnegan took another drag. "I see…" He closed his eyes in thought for a moment, walking around the table and sitting in a chair. He clasped his hands together as though he was stuck in deep thought.
Duncan gritted his teeth. "We need to go out there now and find him." He snapped, although Erin faintly caught the sadness he tried to mask. "We can't let something that strong stay out there!"
"Relax, lad. Ye won' be able to 'rack anythin because of de rain." Guildmaster Finnegan pointed out, continuing as Duncan opened his mouth to argue. "Should be sunny 'omorrow, Liza and ye can go 'o de village and scou' de area. Ye are 'o call me immedia'ely if ye see him."
"It w-won't work, he did something." Ramirez interjected, drawing the attention back to him. "All of our gear stopped working in the village, almost like it was jammed."
Guildmaster Finnegan raised a brow. "Jammed? De stones?"
Ramirez didn't look up. "Yeah…they wouldn't react to anything. I don't know why, but when I tried to contact the guild, they wouldn't work properly."
Silence hung over the room once more as Todd finished wrapping up the Raticate's shoulder. Bendy, still visibly angry, stormed out of the room, slamming the door around him. Todd made a move to go after the upset Drapion, but was stopped by Liza's tail.
She used it to rub his arm gently. "Don't. You know how close those two were, Paulson was his mentor after all. He wanted to be with him and probably feels a lot of guilt. Give him a little time." She soothed him. Todd, finding sense in her words, only stared after his partner in helplessness.
Duncan, who was starting to crack from his tough exterior, sat on the edge of the pool and put his head in his paws. Kameron swam up to him and rubbed his flipper on Duncan's back to soothe the younger Pokemon.
Ramirez kept his unfocused gaze down. "I-I can't do this." He chattered. "I thought I was prepared…but not against something like that."
Guildmaster Finnegan put a hand on Ramirez's shoulder. "Ye 'ad 'o face somethin tha' could scare de braves' soul. I' 'akes a braver Pokemon 'o admi' when he's too scared." He comforted Ramirez. "I'm proud of ye for makin' i' dis far."
Erin watched the Guild take comfort in one another. She had not known Deputy Paulson personally like everyone else, but she couldn't help but feel moved as she watched the Guild mourn.
Guildmaster Finnegan glanced at her, as though reading her thoughts. "Liza, how did she do on her firs' mission?" He asked the Luxray.
Liza gave a sad smile, taking in the emotion of the moment. "She did well despite being vastly outnumbered. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to mentor her…I think she's got potential."
Guildmaster Finnegan simply nodded. "Good…. 'omorrow, lass, yer goin 'o be n yer own…Liza will 'rain ye when she can, bu' I will be needin' her more." His gaze wandered to the lion. "Because Liza will be de new depu'y."
Liza's eyes widened in shock. "What!?" She gasped, shocked. Duncan looked shocked as well, although pride shone in his eyes for his older sister as he shot her his own sad, but toothy smile.
"Well, duh, sis. Was there really any doubt?" He asked, standing and giving her a side hug.
Todd pulled both in for a giant hug, picking them off of the ground.
Even Kameron smiled again. "He's right, you more than deserve it, girl. I know Bendy would secretly agree as well." He said sadly. "Deputy Paulson would too." Erin couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Liza as her eyes, along with mostly everyone else's, were still dull with grief over their lost guild mate. As much as Erin knew Liza wanted to be deputy, she doubted it was like this.
As the four conversed, Guildmaster Finnegan glanced at the Snivy. "Wha' do ye say, lass? I warne' ye earlier….I can' garan'ee yer safe'y. Even someone as s'rong as Paulson can be overwhelmed." His eyes suddenly flashed a sadness for the first time. "He was my depu'y since de Guild was born, ye know." He emphasized.
Erin took a breath, admittedly feeling shaken by the events that had just happened. Again, while she didn't know Paulson personally, she did very much know of his legendary strength. The fact that he was beaten so easily just seemed preposterous to her.
Still…she clenched her fists as she glanced upwards at Liza, who had given her so much confidence today. She expected a strong student….and Erin was going to give her that.
Erin met her Guildmaster's eyes firmly. "I can't let Liza, or any of you down." She replied. "I'm ready for it all."
Guildmaster Finnegan chuckled as he put his cigarette out on the table, standing to start heading towards his office. "Very well, Win'ers….then I shall wa'ch yer progress closely…"
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"HI YA. HI YA." Karl's burst of yells echoed as he shuffled down a back road darkened by the buildings, blocking the moonlight that would have illuminated his path. He was in the edge of the city now which was lined with a wooden fence on the far side. Axl had dropped him off a short while ago, with the path to Karl's home only being a short walk away. A small meadow that led to the dark forest was visible in the darkness. Despite appearing spooky at night, it offered a familiar sense of home for Karl as the woods near the fence served as a common play area for him.
Karl continued to swing his wooden sword at imaginary enemies as determinedly as though they were real, his bandanna swinging wildly all of the while. He went to take another swing before his stomach gave a very audible growl. Rubbing it in discern, he sighed sadly as hunger started to creep in once more.
"I knew I should've got the Rice Bowl as well…. I guess this is it…" He complained dramatically, looking around in search of anything to eat. Luckily for him, he passed a collection of garbage cans which to his delight had the leftovers of a restaurant he knew was nearby. Sitting by the trash can, he pulled out a handful of items that looked edible.
As he munched on a half-eaten apple, he overheard a conversation from the other side of the fence.
The voice held a deep growl to it. "What do you mean I can't rampage yet?" It sounded annoyed and angry. "The deputy didn't put up a fight, the guild is nothing to me." Karl had to stop himself from yelling in shock.
What did he mean by that? Deputy…like Deputy Paulson?
Another voice, calmer, spoke up. "We still have two very big issues. The Guildmaster himself is still a powerhouse, the three of us together might end up dying against just him."
A third voice, much higher pitched, raised. "They also have the Levin siblings; some say Liza is even stronger than the deputy." Karl didn't like the sound of this voice…it sounded very annoying.
"Besides…if we attack now, we also have the police force, mystery guilds, rangers…. Do you really want to take on the strength of all that at once, because I'm not sticking around for that. Even someone as strong as you should know that you're outnumbered." The calmer voice spoke again.
"Coward." The growl replied begrudgingly.
"Perhaps, but I'm thinking of the long game. Think of the marked users you'd be putting in danger by attacking randomly. I know you refuse to hurt a fellow Hazaranmon." The scarier voice made a huff as though he agreed with the calmer voice. "Just follow the plan, next we will take out Liza and the Guildmater himself. Our little spy just left and is on his way now to give us more information about the next step. You'll probably need to stay the night here tomorrow, Gurbo."
The high-pitched voice groaned. "But I want to go back with you guys." He whined.
"No. It's going to be a sunny day tomorrow which is a potential issue. According to him, Duncan Levin is incapable of tracking anything in the rain, which is where we will need you. You could probably make it rain over Peridot City's entire region if you wanted."
The scary voice spoke up. "Hopefully this little rat of ours speeds up the process, I'm itching for more blood."
"A whole village wasn't enough for you?"
"Heh…that's just a precursor for what's to come…"
Karl's eyes widened in shock as he overheard their conversation. He gripped his sword in fear as his breathing started to pick up.
I-I got to do something. They're going to hurt everyone…
Gripping his sword, he gulped. This was his time to show he deserved to be in the Guild. A wooden door that broke the long line of wooden fence invited him over. Taking a breath, he kicked it open.
"H-hold it! Foul heathens, I won't l-let-" He lost his voice as time almost seemed to stand still. The monster that appeared on the front of every newspaper was grinning maniacally in front of him, being even larger than Karl ever thought he could. He dropped his sword as fear rooted him in place, his bravery completely evaporated.
Thorn turned his head, spotting the much smaller Munchlax. "Well, what do we have here? A little young to have a death wish, aren't you?"
An Octillery was in front of him, his eyes widening. "Eeek, we've been caught! Call the bodyguards!" His eyes shot open as he realized his own blunder. "Wait, that's our job!
He couldn't see the third Pokemon, only a pair of bright golden eyes that appeared between the other two, padding his way over. "Arceus, you two are overreacting to a child." He sneered. "Leave him to me, you both are way too loud. Besides…he'll be here in moments, so we'll let him decide this kid's fate..."