Armaldo was greatly relieved when Team Celestial and Team Sunrise showed up the next day with Guildmaster Wigglytuff.
There was no Team Charm, however.
"I can only teleport so many people," Alakazam explained coolly. "The lovely ladies wanted to continue the exploration, discovering a second ruin past the exit of the Aegis Cave."
When Team Ion got up from bed, having enjoyed sleeping in their own beds again in a big fluffy pile, they took their time to wander out to the main foyer.
Where the whole guild had gathered.
Everyone was here. Team Sunrise, Team Celestial with Vigoroth, Wigglytuff, even Lucario and Scizor. Only Sunflora and Chatot were missing, but they were here in thought and spirit.
"Da-" Scout called, upon spotting Guardian but choked before he could finish the word, opting instead to run towards Team Sunrise. "Guys, you're back!"
Guardian teared up a little, but he didn't wish to make Scout uncomfortable and so he didn't make any indication he heard the first word and instead opened his arms, letting the tiny meowth jump onto a hand and scurry up his arm to his shoulder.
His eyes turned curiously to two pokemon he didn't recognise, having spotted Striker staring out the corner of his eye at a grovyle who was even more scarred than he was.
That took Scout by surprise. He himself had quite a few scars beneath his fur, everyone from the Dark Future did but Striker's were the most obvious against his scales. Where Striker looked like he had lived a life of constant struggle with the strength in his legs and scars across his chest and back, this other grovyle looked like he'd been tortured.
Rai and Mane came trotting over just behind him. Mane happily greeting Saniya. "Hey, bitch."
"WHAT'S UP, BITCH!?" Saniya squealed, delighted to see him and she flew in to lift him up in a body-shaking hug.
Rai flashed a smile at Sean who smiled and nodded back before Rai looked over to where Striker was looking. "I can't believe it, Braixen, Grovyle!"
"You know them?" Scout called from Guardian's shoulder.
"Who should do the introductions?" Guardian asked pleasantly, swivelling his body to the duo.
Braixen, smiling widely at seeing where Rai was standing giggled, "It's so good to see you, Shinx." Her eyes turned up to Mane in the air, he looked like he wanted to get down. "Good to see you too, Litleo. I heard you two made up."
"Yeah, we did," Mane said, tail giving a few flicks against Saniya until she just dropped him. He landed with an oof.
"This is Team Celestial!" Rai explained, beaming to absolutely everyone. "Remember? I told you about them."
Scout did remember, now that Rai had brought it up. He looked between the braixen and grovyle with new eyes and his gaze fell on Luno's.
Their eyes met for a long moment, a look that Scout couldn't discern in the grovyle's eyes before Luno's eyes narrowed slightly. He blinked and then nodded at him.
"Hello," Scout said, to both of them. "I'm, well, I'm Scout."
Braixen raised an eyebrow a moment as she glanced to Luno was a giggle escaping her mouth. "Oh yeah, heheh, it's nice to meet you Scout."
"Luno," Luno said plainly.
Vigoroth laughed and nudged him. "Mon, when you came about and told everyone your name," he said to Scout. "Gotta say, flashbacks. You're both pretty damn cool tho, more people should share their names, right? I'm Sol!"
Neither Team Sunrise nor Celestial cared much about names, but Rai looked scandalised and multiple apprentices began to laugh. Sol grinned widely, not caring and gave Chimecho an exaggerated wink.
"Sunflora would be fanning herself if she was here," Chimecho said with a giggle.
"Oooooh," Wigglytuff called, unable to contain himself as the new team and the old team interacted in front of his excited eyes. "I can't believe it! The gangs back together! AND IT'S FOR CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES COME ON!"
Saniya cheered. "I TAUGHT HIM THAT!"
The apprentices, all gathered together finally broke out into cheering.
"You passed the graduation exam!" Wigglytuff positively beamed and clapped a thunderous clap, shaking the air.
Scizor tossed sparkles into the air as the guild erupted into cheering. Lucario threw exactly one pawful and tried to walk off but he caught her and pulled her back to make her keep doing it.
"How did two sets of newcomers do it first?"
"Making us look bad, you guys."
"I'm so gosh darn happy for you!"
"Yeah, well we'll get there too."
"Hey! Don't forget us when you're exploring the whole wide world."
"And don't forget where you came from either!"
"Congratulations!" Wigglytuff cheered again. "The five of you have done it! You've passed the graduation exam!" He gave a genuine, exuberant cheer, not a hint of putting it on. Which was nice, his cheer hadn't seemed real for months now but he was buzzing with joy today. "You did it!"
"Always knew you could do it!"
"Shinx, Litleo, Meowth. There was never any doubt."
"Braixen and Grovyle, you went so damn far and still got it done!"
"I always knew you two were special stuff!"
"YEAH! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU TWO, I'VE MISSED YOU!" That was Sol.
"Look at Little Shinx now, he's all grown up!"
"Shinx! Shinx! Shinx!" This started a chant for Rai and his partners wasted no time in joining in.
Rai had a combined blush and smile and was tearing up a little.
"Y-you guys," he sniffled.
Guardian also burst into tears. "My boy," he sobbed and plucked Scout from his shoulder to cradle him. "I missed so much of your life because of my own selfish actions."
Scout was startled but he didn't jump. He hadn't lied to Lucario when he said he remembered who he was, really who he was. He remembered how much he had loved Guardian, but also how painful it was when he betrayed them. Not even a paradox could take that kind of memory away.
He was still willing to work on their relationship, though, and so he gave his hand a small hug back. "I'm happy to see you again," he said softly.
He slowly put Scout down, and something squeezed inside him when Scout didn't seem to want to be put down, but they did separate.
"Good to see you," Scout said, a little choked up.
Then Saniya was upon him, and the organisation fell apart. Lucario laughed at it, this happened quite a lot in her experience.
The apprentices began to talk about Team Ion's exploits as well as demanding stories from Team Celestial and what they had gotten up to doing on the Sand Continent.
"Looks like you got even more scars there, Grovyle. Where'd that one come from."
"Heatmor."
Luno's stories were very to the point, but Braixen was more than happy to tell a little more about it. "You mean a plasma lash that you cut through with your own body, bro?"
"THAT'S SO HARDCORE!" Sol yelled.
The stories went from Corphish bragging about knowing they were something special in the Limestone Quarry exploration ages back.
"Hey, you didn't see how much both of them could take and dish out even back then!"
To Striker telling the story of teaching Scout Night Slash. And also the story of reteaching him. "Even the first time he picked it up alright, took a while since he was so happy but negative emotion is easier and in large supply where we came from."
Bidoof talked about seeing them grow and improve as both explorers and pokémon, letting Team Celestial know a bit. "I reckon none of us really wanted to give Litleo a chance and we are a bit funny about Meowth at first too." Loudred had to clear his throat awkwardly. "But I reckon you've really come a long, long, way!"
Mane slithered up between Luno and Sol, giving both of them a very purposeful look neither of them understood. "So, have you caught up yet?"
"Yeah, we went through this epic dungeon with all those little letter guys! Haha, we beat up Regigigas!"
Mane raised an eyebrow. "Anything else?"
"Uhhhh." Sol seemed to think about it for a moment. "Nope! How have you been, little guy? How's the whole wide world treating you?"
That got Mane to start talking about being on the road with Rai and Scout, with many, many, many innuendos.
Neither of them seemed to pick up anything he was laying down, but Mane couldn't help but enjoy talking about the adventure anyway.
Braixen was, at long last, able to draw herself into some girl-company.
"How have you been?" Chimecho asked seriously. "With just a boy for months?"
"I KNOW right?" Saniya too had joined their conversation. "What a sausage party this guild is, and one of our girls is GONE! ARMALDO YOU MASCULINE PRICK!"
"Well, pricks tend to be," Armaldo shot back without hesitation.
"DICK JOKES ARE NOT FUNNY WHEN YOU MAKE THEM!"
"It's been fine," Braixen answered, laughing softly at Saniya's antics. "Team Charm was a nice palette cleanse, I do wish B-, uh sorry, Sunflora was here I'd love to catch up with her. How about you? Two?"
"It's been an exciting year," Chimecho answered.
"I'll say!" Saniya laughed, almost sounding awkward. "Um, yeah, time went kaput for a bit and the world might be ending again buuut that's not important hahahaa, don't run away from me please." Saniya's eyes turned big and pleading.
Twila looked at this awkward little onion fairy and instantly felt years' worth of empathy hit her all at once. It wasn't a night to worry about the next genocidal plot, the night was for celebration. "Wanna talk about real stuff?"
"Yessss!" Saniya groaned, almost sagging to the floor. "I love you already."
And Scout, for the first time in quite a while, talked about Chatot.
"He was always looking out for me," Scout said, softly to Wigglytuff and anyone who was really listening. Guardian especially was paying attention. "Made sure I was alright, gave me warnings of trouble. I trusted him… I guess more than I trusted anyone really."
Guardian gave him a gentle stroke, the same way Scout always loved when he was younger. "I'm glad you had someone," he said softly. He understood, with the void left by his betrayal and Sean and Striker being young themselves, that Scout had seen in someone else what Guardian had left behind.
He certainly didn't hold anything against Chatot, he would have thanked him if he had the chance for caring for his son when he was unworthy too.
"Trill always did try to do that," Rhythm said, smiling softly. "He liked to pretend that he was just the bookkeeper and that I was the one looking after everyone, but… but he always was the kind to look after others. Since we, well, couldn't have children, I felt like he thought of the guild as his family. I do as well, but he was far better at it than me."
He gave Scout a hug. It was tight and warm and sad but not unhappy. "Now, let's get a move on!" He smiled, it was a genuinely happy one. "After all, Team Ion has graduated from the Wigglytuff Guild!"
Hearing this, Armaldo spoke up. "Following today, you will no longer be bound by the guild's regulations. With no quota you have to meet or distance you can't travel. You are free to operate entirely on your own, but with assistance from the guild if you ever ask for it."
"You'll receive some official paperwork from the federation soon," Wigglytuff sang, twirling around them. "Denoting your new position!"
"Does this mean we no longer have to give up 90% of our earnings?" Mane asked, coming back around as he saw Scout's shiny eyes.
"Nope," Wigglytuff replied. "That doesn't change."
"Of course," Mane sighed, rolling his eyes. Scout and Rai already knew that and didn't comment.
With Team Ion graduating, everyone was given a day off to celebrate the occasion as per Wigglytuff's orders. Armaldo hadn't done much the previous day to prepare for the party, but he had other concerns in his head.
"Ah… the last pokémon to graduate from here was Ponyta, now of Team Flame," Wigglytuff hummed later with both Ion and Celestial in attendance. "I hear he's doing well."
His air of contentment was not allowed to last, however. Now that the day was moving on and things were winding down, Armaldo pulled Wigglytuff into his chambers to talk.
"So," Wigglytuff said softly. "What's happened?"
"I have two pieces of bad news," Armaldo replied. "Team Ion reported back with a frightening revelation. Luminous Springs is active again, but the being that watches over it revealed a truth of the distortion that Scout told us of. It's not additive, each person doubles it. And apparently, Shinx also is causing distortion, I have no idea why. Perhaps just his excursion into Temporal Tower caused it."
Wigglytuff nodded. "The tower was collapsing, and he did mention that time briefly stopped entirely."
"That's the best guess I have."
"If that was the first thing you said, then you've got worse news don't you?" Wigglytuff knew Armaldo well. He was the kind to start bad and get worse.
"Team Go-Getters is missing," Armaldo groaned. "We received a request for help yesterday from Evertrail Town. They disappeared three days ago, four days now, in the Vastswallow Dungeon, a recent one that has appeared close to that town."
"Is that why Sunflora isn't here?" Wigglytuff asked, worry in his eyes.
Armaldo nodded. "I didn't know what to do at first. I would have preferred to send Team Sunrise, but another team showed up with them, Team Gazer. They offered to go, and I sent Sunflora with them."
"You think it's a trap then?" Wigglytuff asked.
"I couldn't discount the possibility. Even if it isn't, a dungeon that took them down is no small challenge."
Wigglytuff sighed and closed his eyes. "Remember when things were simple?" he asked, eyes still closed. "Time had been saved, we were healing."
Armaldo sat down by his old student. "Rhythm. I asked Team Charm to help because you are not okay."
Rhythm gave a brief, sad, laugh. "I knew you were cuddly under all that armour."
Armaldo snorted. "Hardly. I can't have you having a breakdown in the middle of mounting disaster."
"I'll be fine, teacher, friend," Rhythm replied, giving Armaldo a genuine smile. "Thank you for asking them and for letting me take Celestial and Sunrise. It helped me remember some things… why I used to love adventuring and exploring."
"Did you ever forget?" Armaldo asked.
"I suppose I must have," Rhythm replied, before nodding. "I miss them."
"Both of them?"
"Of course."
Armaldo was quiet. "If… if we were to find Soothe and there was no doubt that she was a Shadow Pokémon, you realise she would have to die?"
Rhythm was silent. "That doesn't really help, you know?"
"It's the truth," Armaldo barked and then sighed roughly, apolegetically. "You have to face it eventually."
Rhythm's eyes slid off him and to the floor. "When she first snapped. When she killed that pokémon and attacked Trill when he tried to stop her, I thought I would have to." His eyes were far away. "I had to knock Trill out. Soothe was always smart, smart and cunning and vicious in a fight. She never wanted to fight, though. Trill wanted to help, but he'd just get hurt in the process."
His paws traced the scar under his fur. "That's where that came from?" Armaldo asked, noticing. Rhythm had never told him where that scar came from.
"Yes." He nodded. "She stabbed me when I pulled Trill back. And for a moment, she was shocked. I know she was."
"Shocked that you'd risk yourself," came Armaldo's bitter words.
"Shocked that she'd stabbed me," Rhythm corrected, firm with what he knew in his heart. "I know you don't believe me. I know you think I'm naïve and you're right. I am."
"Admitting it is the first step," Armaldo grouched, knowing that wasn't true in this case. Rhythm smiled at him.
"If Soothe is a Shadow Pokémon," Rhythm said. "Then she has to be stopped. Entirely. I know that. I'm not stupid, no matter how much I wish I was. I know imprisonment isn't enough, I know what I mean when I say entirely I just have trouble saying it. Forgive me for something that soft."
Armaldo was quiet, waiting.
"But there is something different," Rhythm continued. "Scout doesn't know about her. She killed Darkrai. And somehow, someway, she's still alive despite the paradox. I don't think whatever is going on with her is as simple as we'd want it to be."
Armaldo sighed. "Questions like this never are simple," he admitted. "But there are simple answers."
"The simple answer isn't always the right one," Rhythm replied. "If I'm wrong, and I know there is a good chance I am, then yes, I know what has to be done. But if I'm right…?"
"What then?"
Rhythm closed his eyes. "I don't know," he admitted.
Armaldo came to his feet. "You'd better figure it out then," he said. "One way or another, you will have to do something about this."
Rhythm nodded, and Armaldo left the room.
There was one final thing to do to mark off Team Ion's graduation before the party.
Lucario tapped her Bone Rush on Croagunk's Swap Cauldron, calling for order.
Once things fell silent, not immediately, which almost pleased her. They were getting used to her presence, even if most of the guild still stared at her in reverence.
"Team Ion," Lucario said, giving Sean a grin and a wink. He suddenly looked very sorry for them. "It is time."
She strode forth and poled Scout in the belly with the end of her Bone Rush. "I've reunited with Carapace. I've knocked the angst out of Sean. Now it's time for my last little job."
"And… what is that?" Scout asked nervously. "You want to battle us, don't you?"
Lucario laughed. "I would destroy you. Nah, nah, I'll beat you up later. This is your night." She glanced over to Braixen and the other Grovyle, having noticed they kept their distance and avoided the spotlight. "And theirs too."
She opened her tiny little bag and drew out a bottle that was signfiicantly bigger than it was and planted it on the ground.
Cara, leaning against a wall, groaned loudly. "What is that?"
"One Look," Keira said smugly. Most of everyone took a step back. Only Scout, who didn't know, Croagunk, who looked interested, and both grovyle didn't move.
Instead, they were sharing more aggressive eye-contact while Keira began to explain. "This is aged forty fucking years." She shared a quick look with Cara. "So. Let's get wasted! Who wants to do shots?"
"Ooo ooo ooo!" Saniya said, raising her arms and bouncing in the air. "Can I do it!?"
"Sure, let chaos reign."
"WOO! Let's get drunk girls! And everyone else except for Sean!"
"Oh yeah," Keira said, smirking down at the kid she knew. "You're technically underage aren't you?"
"I'm, like, seventeen years old!" Sean retorted hotly, knowing that made him older than quite a few members of the guild. "Or something. I can drink it."
She poked him back when he tried to grab. "Get those sticky hands away from my booze."
"They're not sticky," Sean muttered, bone rush poking into his chin as he swiped at the air. "I will bite you."
"Fatherly one, control the child," Keira said, plucking Sean up and tossing him at Guardian, who caught him like a football. "Everyone else! Let's go wild!"
Guardian and Keira had an arm wrestling competition that went on until they broke the table underneath them. Striker was dared to kiss Saniya. Sean regaled Bidoof, Flaaffy, Marill, and Paras with exciting stories, and Team Ion spent the night laughing.
One Look was a drink so bitter it curled Striker's leaves but he refused to be outdone by Luno and the two drank more of it than they probably should have.
"Ookay, I'm cutting you two off," Keira said, snatching the bottle out of Striker's numb grip. "You are going to have such a hangover tomorrow."
"I'm fine," Striker said.
"You're on the floor," Keira responded.
"No," Striker replied. "You are on the ceiling."
Keira was not, in fact, on the ceiling.
She looked at Luno who, while wasn't flat on the ground like Striker, seemed to be focusing hard on staying in place. "So, what's your deal?" she asked.
"I want to fight you," Luno replied.
Twila, halfway across the room and absorbed in talking with the girls and Flaaffy, felt the fur on the back of her neck go up and she immediately spun around. To her horror, her brother was talking with The Legendary Lucario.
"Aa-!" she squeaked and ran over before Luno could do something terrible like challenge her to a fight.
"Hhhello," she said, racing into Luno's personal space and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Soorrrry about him, can't handle his liquor hahahaa, VIGOROTH WHERE ARE YOU!?" She spotted him doing a handstand to Loudred, Corphish, and Bidoof's amazement.
"Huh?" Sol fell on his face and then tumbled over into Loudred, knocking him over too. Loudred fell on Bidoof just because he could, not because he had to.
Keira looked at the braixen for a second before asking, "So, why wasn't I invited to the girl talk?" she asked.
Cara, walking by, said, "Because most people don't even realise."
"That's sexist!" Keira gasped. Raising her voice, she repeated. "CARA'S SEXIST! SPREAD IT AROUND!"
"...Who's Cara?" Flaaffy asked.
"SCIZOR IS CARA, SPREAD IT AROUND HE ASKED ME TOO!"
"DON'T DO THAT!" Cara shouted back, feeling hot under his shell. "She's crazy! Don't listen to her."
"I'm the Legendary Fucking Lucario, bitch. If I say do something, then do it!"
Cara poked her in the chest with a pincer. "You only use your political power for evil!"
"It's to inconvenience you with improper allegations about what you do at night," Keira retorted. "Or day, you do you, bud."
"That's evil to me."
As Keira was distracted, Twila began to drag the iron pillar that was her brother away. He was so rigid she was afraid he might crack apart if he was to move under his own power.
Keira, not being as distracted as she seemed, turned straight back to them. "Oi, oi, oi. Where you going? We were talking?"
"Oh. Um, sorry I thought you were talking with… Cara."
Keira smirked as Braixen used his name, to Cara's consternation, but she saw through it. "So, your bro wants a fight. It's fair enough, I'm going to fight Team Ion, so I can fight you guys next."
"You're fighting THE ledge herself?" Vigoroth barked, finally extracting himself from the tumble pile to help Braixen as she was shooting him several pleading looks. "Awesome! Can I j-" He saw Twila's expression screaming at him and stumbled over his words. "J-jjjjj-Juh… give me a moment."
Keira nodded and waited patiently.
Sol tried to think, but J was a hard letter to use and so he shrugged. "I dunno, jerk off?"
Twila might have lit him on fire had Keira not burst out laughing. "How drunk are you?"
"Not as drunk as Luno," Sol laughed back. He grinned at the grovyle who had a wild look in his eyes behind his placid expression. "You look like you're gonna keel over any second now."
"Mm," Luno hummed. "Ssssol. You want to fight?"
"Heck, yeah, dude!" Sol beamed. "It's been way too long since we battled it out!"
"Ahah," Twila forced out. "Mmaybe tomorrow when we're not so drunk?" She herself nearly stumbled, trying to hold Luno up as he was tilting and would just fall to the ground and then all bets would be off. "You won't even remember if you fight now."
"I always remember Sol fights," Luno said firmly. "He makes me bleed, I make him bleed too."
Twila always could see Keira's expression and noticed a curious expression beginning to make its way onto the lucario's face.
"Hookay, Sol can you help me carry him he's heavy."
"Too easy!" Sol said, stepping forward. With a frankly fluid motion, he swept Luno's legs out from under him and picked him up. Luno growled as his vision inverted a moment. "Hey, Ledge Luc, rain check on that fight? Someone needs to go to bed I think."
"I need more alcohol," Keira declared, looking around for where the bottle had ended up. "To wash the memory of this sexual tension out, byyyye."
Sol's expression was innocently confused but then Luno was trying to bite him but he was so drunk he was biting the air before settling and went limp in Sol's arms.
Twila sighed in relief as her brother relaxed. "Thanks, Sol. I owe you one."
"Huh?" Sol asked, not paying attention. "Oh, right, cool."
Twila laughed a little, knowing Sol hadn't heard her at all. "Just carry him to our room, please."
As they stumbled off, Keira looked down at Striker trying to remember how to gravity. "You know your rival is a masochist, right?"
"Fffuck him," Striker slurred. "Thinking he's all BETTER than me."
"I dunno if that's what it is, chief," Keira said, looking around. "Aha, someone to pawn you off to. Oh, Dusknoir~"
Guardian floated over to guard Striker but found himself engrossed in a fascinating conversation with Carapace before long.
"Truly, the world has changed much," Guardian hummed approvingly. "I had researched as much as I could in the future, so I am blessed with a fairly comprehensive idea of the general development of the world since you have been gone!"
"Oh, can you help me then please?" Cara begged. "Lucario avoids people like they're plagued with some disease, so she doesn't much of anything about the politics of the world and what's going on."
"Ahh, I certainly can help you there!"
And with him distracted, Striker was free to figure out how to stand again and began to walk outside.
This was probably not a good idea considering he was very drunk and they were on a cliff, but he wasn't in the mindset of thinking things through at the moment.
He wanted fresh air and he would get it, as soon as he surmounted the sheer peaks separating him from the outside world.
After fifteen minutes of doing a one-minute task, he was outside.
In his intoxicated haze, he hadn't noticed someone else outside. As Striker took a long breath of the salty night air, he sensed something amiss.
He turned around.
"Scout," he said, remarkably level.
Evertrail Town wasn't far from Treasure Town. Where Team Ion had headed North when chasing Pyroar, Team Gazer and Sunflora were headed South East.
It was set to be a week-long trek to get there, and that was at a fast pace too. Still, there were other services available even outside the expensive teleporter.
Drifblim's Drift was a reasonably cheap service out at Feoira, a small town about a day's walk from Treasure Town.
They were already heading that way, so it worked out even better. Being contained in the basket the Drifblim carried wasn't exactly comfortable. Metang was a lot bigger than Beldum, and they had to adjust a few positions to allow them to float between Drifblim and the basket.
It all managed to work out well enough.
After another two days of travel, they were there.
"Thank you, Drifblim," Sunflora said, tipping the Ghost-type well for her swift flight. Not knowing how long this would take, Drifblim wouldn't be sticking around.
As she paid Drifblim, Team Gazer looked around. Evertrail Town was of a similar size to Treasure Town but wasn't located on the coast, there was a long winding river that cuts through the town at various intervals. The river was the ever-trail the town was named after and run calmly and deeply, providing water to all.
There were the classic shops shaped like the pokémon staffing them. A hawlucha training service, an exciting looking shop operated by a tired-old swalot. Even a large café that took up a good portion of the town square.
They weren't here to sightsee, however, and the four pokémon coming here had been to Evertrail Town before. They knew what they were doing and quickly headed into a quieter part of town.
The natu that was the town's representative of the Psychic Network needed a calm place to focus, and her cottage was blended in with trees, vines, flowers, and more natural growths. It was like a fantasy house, even a few mushrooms could be seen.
Beheeyem, the only one with proper hands, was the one to knock. A smart rap with a door knocker clanged out, and then a crash could be heard from inside.
"Oh dear," Sunflora said concerned as another crash came. Before they could consider just going in, a voice called to them.
"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I'll be there, be there, be there quick! Quick I will." A fluttery natu tossed the door open and began flittering around their heads.
"Oh, dear," she said. "Oh my. Oh gosh. You are here faster than I thought! This is fantastic, but I was not prepared, oh no!" She flew right back in, the door slamming shut in their faces.
More crashing. The door then opened again. "Oh dear, I just shut it on you. Come in, come in, come in!"
They, carefully, entered into what was less of a disaster zone than was expected. The room was actually rather neat, the crashing and banging came from wind chimes and a set of what could be nothing less than bongos.
She hopped back and forth on those bongos, bobbing her head. "I need to calm!" she said, fluttering up to a reinforced window and rapidly pecking it, giving off a very strange sound.
"Would you like us to come back later?" Beheeyem asked, very concerned.
"NO!" Natu shouted. "No-no-no-no-NO! You are early, this was not expected, but this is good. We have all been so worried. Team Go-Getters you see is so very strong and brave, but you surely know that. They were helping us recently, for no reward whatsoever, and then they disappeared into the new dungeon and haven't been seen since!"
She burst into tears. "I should have contacted someone immediately! But I waited! Waited! WAITED! Who knows what might have happened to them? We must go now, but not me. I cannot, I cannot, I cannot. I am far too weak, all I can do is call for help." She jumped on the bongos again. "The noise helps."
Maybe she was in a quiet part of town not because she needed quiet, but because the rest of the town did.
"Well, tell us what's going on and what we can do!" Beheeyem requested, Natu panicked.
"Oh my GOSH! The dungeon opened a few months ago, and at first, we weren't sure because it was so close to town and that someone could have been taken. Still, Aron showed up with his family, so we were confident it was okay, and no one had been taken. However, there are still so many feral's in there, who knows who might have been taken by its hungering maw that seeks only to consume our minds and souls and BODIES! We started going in, though, dungeons have such good resources, and this one had amazing apples and berries and scarves and, and, and… other things! But then everyone was getting hurt, and then Braviary went in, and he didn't come back out, and then Team Go-Getters showed up and then, and the-ah-enn…."
She burst into tears again. Beheeyem looked to the others, that was not helpful.
"Natu," Sunflora said, kneeling down as Natu hopped frantically back onto her bongos, playing an off-beat tune. "I need you to do something very important for me."
"What, what, what?" Natu shook.
"Just take a deep breath. Can you do that?"
"I-I-I-I."
"No words, just a deep breath."
"Can I keep hopping?"
"Of course."
Natu took a gulping breath. "Now hold it for a moment." She did. "Now let it out." She exhaled. "Good work, keep doing that until you can breathe normally, okay?"
Natu nodded frantically and took a great many breaths as Sunflora pulled Team Gazer back.
"You can't just demand things from someone so agitated," she said, kindly but also firmly. "She needs help too, it's not just Team Go-Getters."
"But this is taking so long." Beheeyem frowned.
"We've only been here a few minutes," Sunflora chastised. "And we got here early. I want to get going too, but you can't just shake someone down for information and then leave them behind."
"M-Miss Sunflora?" Natu called. "I think I can breathe again."
"Fantastic!" Sunflora beamed, turning away from Beheeyem immediately. She knelt back down to be eye-level with Natu. The anxious pokémon was still hopping, but not as frantically as before. "Okay, can I ask you for one more thing?"
"Y-You want to know everything? Natu asked nervously.
Sunflora shook her head. "No, that's too much. Let's just focus on one small thing. Can you tell us what kind of pokémon are found in the Vastswallow Dungeon?"
"I-I-I can," she said. "Y-yes, I can. I can. I… okay, um. You f-find plenty of Psychic pokémon like m-me." Tears welled up in her eyes and a few dropped.
"Easy there," Sunflora soothed. "Remember to breathe."
Natu took a few breaths. "Um, G-Grass-type's as well. And I think, I think there was also; there was also Rock and Poison. That was the most… common types, I've heard."
"Thank you." Sunflora nodded. "That will help a lot. Could you show us where the marketplace is?"
Beheeyem frowned but Sunflora shot him a dangerous look that dared him to interrupt.
"I-I-I can tell you where it is," Natu replied, shivering. "I don't deal well with crowds."
"That'll be just as helpful." Sunflora smiled, and Natu gave them some directions.
"One last thing," Sunflora asked, pulling out the map she owned. "Could you show me where the dungeon is? This is my older map, so Vastswallow hasn't been added to this yet."
"I… I can show you where that is," Natu said, squeaking softly. "It's not far from here, and it doesn't go through town. I-If you come back after your shopping trip, I can show you. Unless you would prefer to…."
"That'd be incredible," Sunflora replied. "We will come back. Thank you, Natu."
She gave Team Gazer a Look, but she didn't need to. They gave thanks as well and parted to do some preparation for the dungeon.
Sunflora was the type to focus on defensive preparations. So she equipped everyone with some choice items, two brought with her and two bought for Team Gazer members.
With the mention of poison, she gave herself a pecha scarf, she always carried one with her along with her sun scarf she got for beating those silly haunters. But there was not going to be a Fire-type presence in the following dungeon, so the Pecha Scarf was the choice.
Beheeyem got a defence scarf while Electrike and Metang got power bands. With the squad equipped she made sure to stock up on healing items.
As she got her things, Team Gazer mainly focused on offensive presence. Disabling seeds, and a few of the blast variety were their top picks.
Soon enough, they re-joined and headed back to Natu. She was actually waiting for them on her roof, shivering slightly in the wind but holding firm.
"I don't know what to call the four of you," she called as they approached. "I am so sorry for not asking."
"We are Team Gazer!" Beheeyem said, and they posed.
"I'm not a part of their team," Sunflora said, rather dryly at that. "Just helping. I'm part of the Wigglytuff Guild, you can just call me Sunflora."
Natu fluttered around Sunflora as she began to lead them. "Vastswallow is a short walk out of town. I almost want to move, since my home is so much closer to it than others, but there really isn't any place elsewhere I can shift too so I have to deal with it."
"I imagine being so close is making you nervous?" Sunflora asked.
"Yes. Can you tell?"
"Just a little. But I do think you're quite brave."
Natu blushed at the compliment. "Y-you are the brave ones. No one enters the dungeon anymore since our strongest three, Simisage, Liepard, and Dragonair couldn't get through to find Team Go-Getters. N-not to imply you can't, I am confident in you four."
"Declaration: You don't know us."
"I-I know more than you may think," Natu replied. "I asked Chimecho, and she had many, many, many, good things to say about Sunflora."
"And us?" Electrike asked.
"You… are treasure hunters?"
Beheeyem deflated, but Electrike was delighted. "Yes!"
They left the town, following a recently carved-out trail to find the entrance to the dungeon.
"This IS close to town," Sunflora gasped. They were only about a ten-minute walk from Natu's home, no wonder she was so anxious. Ferals weren't exactly known to leave dungeons, but it did happen on occasion, and the results were rarely pretty.
"Y-yes, it's okay though," Natu said, shaking badly enough she couldn't fly and had to perch on Sunflora's head. "I-I hope you d-don't mind me?"
"Of course not," Sunflora replied, making sure to hold steady. She didn't step closer to the dungeon. "But I don't imagine you want to come in with us?" she joked.
"N-not with four of you already," Natu managed to joke back, but she was still shaking. "I… I'll wait f-for you."
"At your house," Sunflora said, with a hint of sternness. "It's close by that we can get to you quickly if you need help."
Natu hesitated. "Uh…"
"Natu. I don't want you to hurt yourself doing this," Sunflora said, reaching up to pull Natu into her leafy arms. "We'll find Team Go-Getters and get to you as soon as possible. You just be ready to get someone from town when we arrive, okay?"
"Okay," Natu said, and Sunflora watched her fly, a little clumsily, out of her arms. She fluttered to a tree branch and perched, turning back. "G-g-good luck."
She received four nods, and she watched them enter the dungeon before returning to her home.
Vastswallow Dungeon was no joke.
Right from the first four steps into the dungeon, when the air behind them began to blur before they were even in the dungeon proper, they were attacked.
Four pokémon met four ferals and fought them off.
"Good lord," Sunflora gasped. "They almost left the dungeon!"
"Declaration: This is going to be a difficult challenge."
"I've got the healing items," Sunflora assured. She and Beheeyem had bags, twice the space.
The walls of the dungeon were a mix of twisted wood and stone, the occasional branch poked out stubbornly from the warping effects of the dungeon. The sky was uncovered, but the branches of countless trees blotted out the most of it.
Still, that familiar look of roiling red clouds was almost a comfort except when it wasn't, which was always.
Team Gazer had been a little insulted at Armaldo insisting on sending an apprentice with them. They were a fully-fledged team, even if they didn't actually need to go through a guild to get their qualification.
Sunflora, however, was a massive help. Her Petal Dance was impressively strong, and she was capable of tying up multiple enemies with grass and vines she summoned from the ground.
Made them easy pickings for Electrike and Metang. Metang was enjoying themselves. They were already testing out new and exciting moves that weren't Take Down and savouring in the crushing strength they had.
"Declaration: I am mighty."
Beheeyem clapped, and Electrike stamped his feet excitedly.
"We're doing well, but let's just have a snack," Sunflora advised, pulling out some apples. They were no argument there until she also handed out an oran each.
"We don't need this," Beheeyem protested. Sunflora popped hers in her mouth regardless. "Sunflora!"
She swallowed. "This dungeon is full-on," she pointed out. There were attacked in every room. "We're handling it now, but all this incidental damage is stacking up."
"We've handled worse places with fewer items," Beheeyem protested. "Don't waste our healing items."
"If you don't want to, I'm not making you," Sunflora said. "I bought these, and I'm happy for you to get some energy back. If not I'll just save them."
"I'll save them," Beheeyem said, placing his and his teammates' berries in his bag. Electrike didn't like the food being taken almost literally out of his mouth and shocked Beheeyem lightly.
"I want it."
"You can have when you need it," Beheeyem snapped.
Sunflora rolled her eyes. "You don't need to tough everything out."
"I'm not doing that," Beheeyem retorted, getting up. "Maybe you were taught one way, but we've worked another. Frivolously using oran's is just asking for disaster later on. It's better to have them and not need them then need them and not have them."
"Fair enough," Sunflora said, opening her bag. "I have an entire bushel of them, though." Well over ten oran's were shown before she closed her bag. "I wouldn't just toss them back without a thought. You may not be hurt yet, but you are getting tired."
"That's what the apples are for."
"Alright, fine just drop the matter."
Beheeyem grumbled but did so, and they continued.
Vileplume. Onix. Even xatu were faced in this twisty turny dungeon. There were a lot of corridors that looped around to rooms they had already fought in and had new ferals to face.
That was the worst part. The constant attacks were bad enough but needing to go through them multiple times was what was really dragging them down.
Sunflora handed out sitrus berries later, and Beheeyem choked it down without much comment. It was Team Gazer who needed oran's first, but Sunflora quickly followed when a surprise Sludge Bomb nearly knocked her out.
Thankfully her scarf was blocking other effects as Poison-type pokémon were becoming more common. Even toxtricity were turning up.
"This is a nightmare of a dungeon!" Beheeyem gasped after he took a combined Thunderbolt/Boomburst attack.
Metang cleaned up the offending pokémon who struck their beloved leader.
But even they were showing wear and tear, scratched and dins all over their metal body.
Sunflora and Electrike were panting a bit. Both of them attacked more at range than close up, so did Beheeyem but he seemed to be a popular target for the ferals. But this largely-distance fighting style had kept them fairly okay.
Electrike still would run into the fray with Metang, though.
"How far have we gone?" Electrike groaned, twenty-minute later.
"Nowhere, it seems," Sunflora sighed as they entered another recognisable room.
"What IS this place?" Beheeyem growled, slamming his fist against a wall. The wood splintered. He blinked.
He glanced at the crack and spoke up. "Uh… guys?"
They looked as well as he floated back, pointing a flashing finger and blasted a beam of Psychic Energy at it. The wood shattered. Dungeon walls do not break so easily.
It revealed… nothing: just sap and a broken tree.
"The walls are fragile," Sunflora said, but as they spoke, the wall was regrowing. Vines were slipping down, the bark was emerging, and in a minute the wall was unremarkable again.
"So. That's what's going on," Beheeyem said, holding his forehead. "The pathway is in a wall, isn't it?"
"That or Team Go-Getters is," Electrike said cheerfully.
"Let's not think like that," Sunflora said, shivering, "and let's keep going."
They tested the walls with their attacks as much as they tested their moves on the ferals. Little was uncovered, but the occasional item was handy.
Eventually, they rounded a corner again and were back to where they were. "Okay," Sunflora said. "Let's turn around and go back that way."
"Why?" Beheeyem said, but they were already turning.
"Let's rip that entire corridor apart," Sunflora growled. "It's the one, I just… even if it isn't, I want to break it."
She had no complaints at all, and they tore up the walls of the walls until.
"Uh, guys?" Electrike called, peering through a hole he'd made. "We haven't seen any other paths before, have we?"
Everyone ran, or floated, to him, and together they pulled the wall down, bark splintering and falling to a dusty heap.
"You were right," Beheeyem said. Sunflora beamed. There was a path hidden by the wall here.
"Let's go," Sunflora said and dashed in first, Team Gazer followed, and they ran a straight line for an awfully long time.
Something so straight and long was bound to have a monster somewhere.
And there was.
A thunderous roar shook the walls before the ceiling behind them caved in and descended an aggron.
It roared something terrifying and then slammed into them.
Even her scarf couldn't entirely stop that amount of poison directly in her, and she sagged in Beheeyem's grip. He panicked and tried to blast it with Psychic, but its durable metal deflected the erratic blast.
Metang flew forth. "Declaration!" they cried, slamming into Aggron. "RUN!"
Beheeyem began to pull Sunflora away as Electrike tried to shock it, but his attack was ineffective. Metang was tossed against the wall, smashing through it and the walls began to reform around them, taking them in even as they struggled.
"Cobalt!" Volt cried and changed his target from Aggron to the wall.
Doing so left him wide open, and he was side smacked by the beast's heavy tail and sent crashing into a wall. His attack had freed Cobalt, however, and the metang slammed the spike of their nose into Aggron's head.
The metal spike wasn't enough to break through the armour, but it did jar it, and Cobalt plucked Volt off the ground. With their teammate on the line and Beheeyem also saving Sunflora, Cobalt just turned and began to float as fast as they could.
Aggron charged after them, picking up speed shockingly fast. "Not getting away," he growled.
"You can TALK?" Sunflora shrieked, realising this was definitely, absolutely, not a mere feral.
A typhoon of petals blasted it in the face and Aggron recoiled as Sunflora and Beheeyem charged back. Beheeyem pulled his teammates forth with Psychic as Sunflora called dozens of vines from everywhere. The ground, the walls, even the roof, and dragged Aggron into the grasping embrace of the dungeon even as it thrashed at the snare.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he repeated, struggling in the vines, tearing through them with an arm and raising it. An orb was clasped.
Electrike struck it head on with a Thunderbolt, blasting it into dust.
"Take THAT, asshole!" Electrike managed, standing on wobbly legs.
Aggron growled, sagging in the vines in defeat. His tail drooped, grazing the floor.
It was Sunflora who realised what was coming first. "WATCH-"
Aggron forced and Earthquake down. The initial shockwave sent everyone careening and Metang losing their electromagnetic levitation. Aggron tore free entirely and snatched another orb out.
With Electrike definitively down now, Aggron sneered at them and activated. "A smart explorer keeps a backup," he said as the orb refracted violently. Beheeyem threw himself forwards and flung his arms out, calling out a telekinetic scream that rebounded countless times off the walls.
The effect of the orb clashed with his attack and everything turned to a blitzkrieg of colour before it all went dark.
"Ooough, am I blind?" Sunflora asked, picking herself out of the rubble.
"I don't think so," Beheeyem grunted, struggling to brace himself on his arms. "I think we need to go."
"Wait," Sunflora said, grabbing his arm. "No. No. We came this far, we can't quit now."
"You're injured, we're all injured, just some berries isn't undoing all that," Beheeyem protested. "Damn, Electrike, Metang, status check!"
"Declaration: Here," Metang said, voice warped and staticky. They braced heavily on the ground, shielding Electrike with their arms. He was still out.
Sunflora braced herself and stood up. "Beheeyem, take your team. I can keep going."
"Now who's being irresponsible? Again," he added.
Sunflora took a bite of an oran. "Me. But we're not stopping. Come on. I think that was an escape orb, Aggron's gone."
"What if there's someone else," Beheeyem protested. "If we beat him after an ambush, there's no way he could have taken out Team Go-Getters himself."
"Maybe," Sunflora said. "But that doesn't mean there's still someone else here. We have to look."
Beheeyem looked to Metang who floated out jerkily. "Statement: I have Electrike, we must be near the end of the dungeon, ready an escape orb but we should continue on."
Beheeyem flashed Electrike a concerned look but eventually nodded and Team Gazer joined Sunflora.
There was no rest of the dungeon, thankfully. As they exited the long corridor of horrors, they walked into a clearing as the walls of the dungeon changed.
Not as uniform or as unsettling, just tightly packed trees.
And lying in a ray of sunlight, was Team Go-Getters lying motionless on the ground.
"Oh my gosh!" Sunflora yelled, stumbling as she tried to run forward, but she still wasn't well.
Beheeyem rushed to back her up, gripping an orb tightly in his hand while Metang began to scan their surroundings.
They reached the three and took stock.
Charizard's tail flame was still lit, but it was sparking and feeble. It was barely a flame, more like a lit matchstick, but it was burning.
Wartortle's skin was dehydrated, cracked, and leathery, but Beheeyem could feel a small puff of air coming out of his nose.
Chikorita was burned from laying in the sun for who knows how long but was also likely the one in the best state. Her head leaf had curled, but she had photosynthesised. They were all so dry, however, and none of their breaths was deep and long, but soft and weak.
Beheeyem reached them after Sunflora, shakily asking, "A-are they?"
"They're alive," she breathed. "They're just… unconscious." She stepped in between the three, looking around in concern.
"They don't look hurt," Sunflora said, kneeling down to feel Chikorita. No signs of battle, even considering how well pokémon healed there should be something. They were just… asleep.
"Get close, I have the orb," Beheeyem said, and Sunflora quickly complied. She extended an Ingrain vine network to connect to all of Team Go-Getters and Beheeyem activated it, depositing them on the outside of the dungeon.
Electrike would have been fantastic to rush off to alert Natu if he were conscious, instead they had to find a way to tie Chikorita and Wartortle to Metang while Beheeyem lifted Charizard in the gentlest Psychic he could manage.
With that, the trek was on. Electrike eventually regained consciousness but he wasn't in a good state to go running off alone and so they had to stick together still.
Team Go-Getters was dying. It must have been days since any of them had eaten or drunk anything. Chikorita's photosynthesis, Wartortle's natural hydration, and Charizard's size and lack of the need to eat and drink often was all that kept them stable up to here.
They needed help, but thankfully they were about to get it.
Electrike eventually gained the energy to go off ahead and they were later met with numerous pokémon. They were able to carry Team Go-Getters back into town and to the town healer, an audino.
Sunflora was also taken in, but she insisted she was fine and just needed to sleep the damage off. A few hours later, she had an update to give. To Team Gazer, Natu, as well as the town leader, a stout abomasnow.
"Chikorita and Wartortle are stable," Audino explained to the nervous pokémon. "Both are malnourished and dehydrated, but between photosynthesis and Wartortle's inner water, they should be fine. Charizard is in a much more severe state, not having the same physical capability. His body has been burning fat and muscle, however, to keep itself going."
"He's burning muscle?" Electrike asked, literally imagining Charizard's tail flame doing that.
"Yes, as he didn't have much fat, to begin with. With no water as well and no way to get it, he's in a severely dehydrated state. I've been trickling water into their mouths, and they're swallowing."
"There's something else," Abomasnow said, seeing Audino's hesitance in speaking.
"The three are not waking up," she said, troubled. "At first I thought that made sense, but I had to draw blood and barely even a twitch from any of them. I mashed up chesto berries to give to Chikorita and Wartortle, and they swallowed but… neither has woken up."
She glanced back through the door where her patients lay. "And they've begun to twitch and moan in their sleep. It appears they are all having a nightmare. It may simply be their bodies panicking under this stress but… they had no signs of injury besides what could be explained by a dungeon trek. Nothing to suggest they could have been defeated. It looks to me as if this is not a natural sleep."
"You think someone did this to them?" Abomasnow demanded. "Team Go-Getters? Who would attack them? Who could attack them and actually succeed!?"
"I don't know," she snapped back. "And don't raise your voice at me, Abomasnow. I don't know. I do want to ask you to get Bellossom. I haven't been able to rouse them, but perhaps her Aromatherapy could?"
Abomasnow nodded, standing. "Very well, I'll retrieve her immediately. If there's nothing else…?"
"Thank you."
Abomasnow left in a hurry, and Audino sighed and turned to the remaining pokémon. "You've done well to find them, thank you. I can treat you now."
"Oh, I'm fine," Beheeyem said, raising an arm. "Focus on Electrike, he was knocked out and then ran to town. We've had berries, we're just resting we don't want to trouble you."
She smiled, and her hands lit up. "It's no trouble, just a small thing." She waved some pleasant energy over them, then she took Electrike aside.
Before she could, Natu hopped up. "M-Miss Audino," Natu said. "I-is there anything else before I contact Ch-Chimecho?"
Audino shook her head. "Until Team Go-Getters wakes up we'll keep them here. It might be dangerous to move them, especially if they are a target… if they are…" She looked troubled. "Perhaps ask the guild to send someone to help us guard?"
Beheeyem raised his arm. "Not to intrude, but… we could remain here to keep you safe," he offered. She blinked in surprise at him.
"You'd do that for us?"
Beheeyem thumped his chest. "But of course. We may be treasure hunters as our focus, but the rescue is just as important. We found Team Go-Getters, we assure you we can keep you and them safe!"
Audino smiled. "Thank you then. It makes me feel better to know that."
They preened, and Natu excused herself to let the guild know what was going on. Team Go-Getters had been found, but they were not out of the woods yet. They were asleep… and were not waking up.
Curious.
Scout looked up from where he was sitting, a shadow across his face as he observed the unsteady grovyle. "Striker."
Striker made his way, carefully as it was dark, to where Scout was sitting, the meowth blending in with the darkness aside from his eyes and forehead charm.
He came to a stop in front of Scout, significantly taller than the meowth, and they stared at each other. There was a gravestone near Scout and Striker realised where Scout was sitting.
"Are you okay?" Scout asked, frowning slightly. "You seem…very drunk."
"Got to be," Striker mumbled. "Can I sit down?"
"Go ahead." They were near the cliff's edge, so Scout was going to suggest that anyway. He didn't want Striker to lose his balance and fall into the ocean.
After Striker sat, they fell into a very awkward silence. They had not been alone together since that conversation from some weeks past and hadn't seen much of each other at all.
Few things had stung quite like that conversation.
"What do you want, Striker?" Scout asked tiredly, as the grovyle was not speaking. Staring blankly at the ground wasn't getting them anywhere.
"I want to…talk."
Why? About what? Scout settled on. "Then talk."
Striker stared at him like he'd asked him to speak the moon language of the moon clefairy. He opened his mouth, and air came out with no words.
Scout was not in the mood to be interrupted where he was reflecting and didn't have patience for this. "Striker…what do you want?"
"I just want to talk."
"About what?"
"Us," Striker said, heat entering his voice for a moment out of frustration. "I…ugh. I don't know how to even begin, alright."
Scout waited, tilting his head slowly. "What kind of talk is this?" he asked lowly. "Is something going on?"
"No," Striker growled. "No, I just…want to make things right between us."
It was uncontrollable, but Scout couldn't hold the expression of disbelief across his face.
"Don't give me that look!"
"Sorry, it's just… I didn't think you really wanted to."
"I said I would try," Striker said slowly. "And, then you were gone for a while. So, I let myself think a bit…"
Scout took a breath, feeling a little hope let itself be known. "Alright," he said. "I'm willing to try if you are."
It was a vague statement, somewhat passive-aggressive, and all that they needed to say to assure everyone else things were worked out between them.
Striker very almost agreed as well.
"No," he said softly. "No," he repeated, more aggressively. "That's not…fixing the issue. It's just what we did before, ignoring it."
Now that, that got a reaction out of Scout. He blinked, a flicker of something brighter touched his eyes, and he swallowed. "What kinds of things is Azumarill having you do?"
"Talk about why I feel the way I feel about things," Striker admitted. "It's not easy to do, even with Azumarill. She has me talk about the things that make me feel, and then we talk about why."
Scout girded himself and swallowed. "Alright." He could guess where this was going. "That night? Me threatening Sean?"
"That's exactly it," Striker said, voice breaking into a darker growl for a moment. Even so long after it happened, Striker still looked furious at the mere reminder of it. But he composed himself. "I…." He sighed heavily. "I understand that I am difficult when it comes to matters of Sean."
"Which I understand," Scout said, both of them still restrained. "It was a stupid thing." In ways even he didn't want to admit to himself.
"And that moment shattered my perception of you," Striker continued. "You stopped being Scout to me then."
"I'm still Scout," Scout said. And sometimes he almost believed that.
"Yes. You are," Striker agreed, nodding. "But you still don't act like you are." He closed his eyes. "I see you threatening Sean like that, and that was just something you'd never do. It broke my trust in you."
Scout felt prickling up his back and a feeling of rising anticipation in his chest. Was he going to do it? Say why he really did that?
He swallowed. The words were not coming. "I've apologised for that. To you and Sean."
"It doesn't mean I can forget what you did," Striker said, and that snapped the fraying thread.
Scout too had been drinking a bit this night, not as much as Striker but enough to loosen his tightly-wound secrets.
"Well, maybe I can't forgive you either!" Scout said, raising his voice, and it carried in the quiet night.
Striker stared at him. "What?"
Scout couldn't take it back now, so…he just went on with it. "You…you nearly killed Rai," he said quietly but very firmly. Striker's expression turned painful, and Scout swallowed. "Underground Cave. Mesprit. You slashed Rai. He nearly died."
"I… I didn't mean… it was a reflex."
"Yes," Scout said. "It was. He attacked you from behind, so you reacted instinctively. I could let that go like it didn't matter because it was an accident…but then you took the Time Gear anyway. You didn't give us any way to get out, being injured and exhausted. If Mesprit hadn't sacrificed herself getting us out, we would have been frozen! And IF you had still somehow saved time after that, we would have unfrozen, no one around, the teleporter gone, and Rai would. Have. Bled. OUT!"
Scout was shaking now. "There. There. THERE! Happy Striker? You want to know what happened that night? I made a mistake, a stupid mistake, out of instinct because everyone was fighting, and I just wanted it to stop. BUT! I would NEVER have cut Sean, no matter what happened. But you would have killed Rai."
Nothing but the crashing of waves.
"…Have you told anyone about this?"
Scout blinked away stinging tears. "No." No one, not even Rai or Mane.
Striker swallowed. He couldn't believe this…Scout had felt this way.
"Why would you…just why?"
"I don't know!" Scout said. "After you cut Rai, everything just went red. I wasn't thinking. Just like that night. We both didn't think, we both made mistakes…and we both can't forgive each other for them."
"It's not just that the mistake was made," Striker said. "It's what it did. I don't understand why; why would you do it? Even on reflex. You targeted him."
"Striker, stop."
"No, we're talking, so we are going to talk. Stop trying to deflect, Scout. We all know you do it when you have something more to say!"
"I said stop!"
"Tell me!" Striker demanded, grabbing Scout by the arms, and squeezing.
"Stop trying to antagonise me!" Scout yelled back, wriggling out of Striker's grip. He was let go. "I know what you're doing. You're trying to push this into a fight. Well, I'm not fighting you!"
"A fight would solve it," Striker growled, squeezing his eyes shut. "We fight, we draw, we understand each other again."
"Grow up," Scout snapped back. "Even if that would do it, I'm not interested in fighting you. Why now, Striker? Why NOW? Of all times, of all days, you do this now?"
"I wasn't ready."
"What changed that?"
"I don't know. Time fixes things."
"Time sure fixed this, now hasn't it? We come out of our room today and you don't even look at me. We haven't spoken all day, you've spoken around me, to Rai and Mane, but never to me. So what has this fixed?"
Despite his words, a smile struck Striker's face like a jagged scar. "Yes. So, let's keep going." Scout narrowed his eyes at him. "You know, for a long time, I had become convinced you weren't even Scout."
Scout didn't flinch; he'd suffered this all before. "Well, I am."
"The Scout that I knew would never try and hurt others. Everything was for the mission, but you never had that until Guardian betrayed us."
"Fine, if you're going to bring up old stuff, I will too! You forgave Guardian, and he did FAR worse than me."
"I didn't see him do it."
"How in the FUCK does that matter?" Scout shouted. "Guardian had Sean on an execution platform to have his soul ripped out. I put my claws to his neck for a moment. Guardian was going to end the world, and I was trying to stop my friends from fighting each other. I agree Guardian deserves to be forgiven for all that, but why shouldn't I be as well?"
"I didn't SEE him do it."
"I don't understand, Striker."
Striker scoffed and spun around wobbly, almost looking like he was going to stomp off. He re-evaluated and turned back. "You don't act like yourself anymore, and you don't even care!"
"FUCK YOU, STRIKER! I never stopped thinking about the idea I might have killed and replaced Scout's mind like this until recently. But it's NOT TRUE, and I don't NEED you making me doubt myself all the time!"
"Why do you doubt yourself, then?" Striker demanded. "If it might not be true. Scout did not KNOW the things you know."
"I. Don't. Know."
"That's not good enough!" Striker growled. "Stop avoiding the question."
"Avoiding? YOU came here to pick a fight."
"I still think we should fight for real," Striker said, raising his arms and his leaves flashed. "I want to see how strong you've become."
Scout was unimpressed. "I'm not fighting you, Striker."
"Just because you'll lose doesn't mean it won't be useful."
"Taunting isn't going to help."
"Pokémon talk through actions, Scout!" Striker's voice was raising, breaking. "I would have thought you would have remembered this by now."
"Why do you want to fight so much? Do you want to hurt me that much?"
"NO! But this is the only way."
"Only way to WHAT?"
"For me, to be honest." Striker raised his leaves; they glowed green. "Brace yourself, Scout."
"I am not doing it."
"DO IT!"
"Fine, then HIT ME!" Scout yelled, raising himself up and storming forward, away from the cliff to turn around. "DO IT, STRIKER!" He opened his arms as if he was asking for a hug. Or a slash to the chest.
Striker's arms blazed with green.
Scout stared him down, green met hazel.
Before Striker could attack, however, Scout's eyes flicked upwards. A frown taking his expression, just slightly, as a distant light splashed over their bodies. Striker was confused, his arms lost their glow as his expression turned to confusion as he looked behind him. "What is…?"
Materialising from a collapsing rip in space above their sky was a behemoth of white and pink, glowing pearls shining with spatial power.
Palkia roared. "DIE CORRUPTORS!" And flung an arm down.
A disc of pink caused space to collapse in on itself as it flew down in a death arc. Scout, horrified and frozen up, failed to move.
Striker, however.
"MOVE!" Striker screamed, launching himself forth and tackling Scout off the cliff as Palkia's attack struck the earth.
And burst the cliff entirely, the guild tilting back before crashing with the crumbling earth towards the ocean.
Palkia. What are you doing?