TAMA - CHAPTER FOUR - THE GATEKEEPERS
Loudred screaming. Guildmemebers bizarre morning ritual chanting. Chatot's debriefing. Maxie was beginning to see things fall into a pattern - and not a pattern he liked very much. The red-head yawned into the sleeve of his coat, trying not to look as exhausted as he felt.
"Rough night?" Archie asked. He nearly sounded sympathetic, and Maxie might have been inclined to believe he was asking out of the goodness of his heart (hah!), were it not for that superior smirk ever-present on his face.
"Shut up," Maxie replied eloquently. Archie was right whether he knew it or not. Maxie had dreamed - the first time he'd had a dream while in this bizarre dream-world. It hadn't been pretty. He didn't remember much about it, but it had woken him up in the dead of night in a cold sweat. Whatever it was, it was bordering on terrifying, and he hoped he wouldn't have to face it again.
"HEY! NEWBIES!" Loudred's voice cut through Chatot's usual speech of "Go arrest criminals and bring back money!" "We need your HELP!"
"Oh, it seems you'll be taking over Diglett's duty today." Chatot said, wincing at the horrid loud sound of Loudred's voice. "Don't worry about jobs for today, then. Just focus on Loudred's instructions~" With that, the bird Pokemon turned and entered Wigglytuff's room. Archie made some crack about what they were doing behind closed doors, but Maxie had stopped paying attention to his partner.
Loudred and Diglett waited over by a hole in the ground. A long vine led into the pitch-black underground. Evidently this part wasn't built into the side of a cliff like the rest of the guild. "About TIME!" Loudred yelled.
"I'm really sorry, but I have something else to do today." Diglett said, and burrowed off. Maxie was slightly more disturbed by the fact that no one seemed to be bothered by the fact that a little kid was burrowing his way underground.
"So what are we doin'?" Archie asked Loudred. "What do you guys do every day anyway?"
"Sentry duty!" The loud Pokemon pointed down the hole in explanation. "Just get down there and follow the path. Eventually you'll be underneath that grate outside the entrance to the guild. GOT IT?"
"Uh, yeah, sure." Archie pushed Maxie toward the hole. "Well? After you."
"Coward," Maxie grunted and carefully made his way down into the darkness, using the vine for a guide. It certainly wasn't easy getting down there, and the only light that came was from the hole leading up to the guild.
"Good!" Even Loudred's voice was dulled by the earth between them. "Now just keep going toward the light! Let me know when you're in position!"
Maxie attempted to move forward, only to run straight into a wall. Of course it wouldn't be a straight line, that would make too much sense. Frowning, he held his hands out against the wall, attempting to find his way by touch alone. Behind him he could hear Archie swear several times before suddenly a bright light illuminated the pitch-black. "There we go!" Archie held up a small blue orb. "Luminous Orb," He explained on seeing Maxie's curious look. "I picked one up in the last dungeon."
"Convenient," Maxie nodded. With the orb in hand, the two managed to make their way through the twists and turns that ran beneath the guild. Finally they saw some natural - albeit dim - sunlight coming in from above. "Here we are." Maxie climbed up and craned his neck back to look upwards.
"Oh, so this is how they figure out who to let in the guild. Remember when they couldn't tell what your footprint was?"
"Yes. I'm still wearing boots, you know." Maxie stated sarcastically.
Archie waved the comment off. "Well this is how they do it. I'm guessing we just look at the footprint and tell Loudred whose it is."
"That's RIGHT!" Loudred shouted from somewhere within the guild. "Just give me the Pokemon and I'll determine whether or not they're SAFE!"
"That seems stupid." Maxie remarked. "How can you tell whether a Pokemon is good or not just by the footprint?" Archie shrugged in response, but Loudred was already shouting that visitors were allowed in.
The work day went by quickly. There weren't many Pokemon entering the guild that day. Though Archie and Maxie bickered over every single footprint they saw, they did eventually manage to get them all right. By the end of the day, when they were allowed to return inside, the Luminous Orb had long since run out of power, the two had already argued about everything under the sun, and both were covered in dirt. Maxie looked even more displeased about it than Archie.
Ding, ding, ding! "Alright everyone, dinner's on!" Chimeco called happily from the dining room. Immediately all the guild members charged in, with Maxie and Archie trailing behind.
"Oh BOY, chow-time!"
"I'm so hungry, yup yup!"
"Eek! Thank you so much, Chimeco!"
They all dove in as if they didn't posess any manners, which made even Archie look like a gentleman in comparison. Maxie would have taken his food and left had it not been for the fact that he had no way to carry all of it. Chimeco was a good chef, he'd admit that much.
"That was good," Archie remarked as they exited the dining room ten minutes later. "But we're gonna need to do something about these clothes." He tugged on his t-shirt in explanation. Maxie nodded grimly. He didn't have any other clothes in this world - nor had he seen anyone else wear anything differently. "C'mon, we'll have to wash down by the beach - the river's too far from here for a quick trip. So're the hot springs."
"Hot springs?" Maxie asked curiously.
"Yeah, they're not all they're cracked up to be. Always full of old Fire and Ground-type Pokemon."
Maxie wondered if that was supposed to be a stab at him. He had trained both Fire and Ground-types. But Archie wasn't giving him that smirk at the moment, so he let it go. The two quickly made their way down to the beach and Archie shamelessly ripped off his clothes.
"Do you mind!?" Maxie asked, horrified.
"No, do you?" Archie shrugged and dumped his shirt and shorts unceremoniously into the ocean waves. "What's that look for anyway?"
"D-don't get any ideas!" Maxie stabbed a finger in his direction. He channeled embarassment into rage, something he was quite good at. "I don't want you staring at me!"
"I don't see why I'd want to, but okay." Archie shrugged again and removed his clothes from the water, shaking both out and examining them. The dirt was (mostly) gone and he began to wring them out, turning so his back was to Maxie.
Flushing - and very glad it was too dark to see it - Maxie removed his own coat. Thankfully his pants hadn't gotten much dirt on them, and he opted to stand in the waves to get the dirt off of them. It was so humiliating to be undressing in front of his sworn enemy, even if Archie actually wasn't looking and making him feel even more uncomfortable for once-- "I saw that! Turn back around this instant!"
Archie merely laughed at him.
It wouldn't take long for them to return to the guild with soaking wet clothes, but at least they were clean. The guild was locked up behind them, with Chatot muttering something darkly about how they shouldn't be out so late, that they could get kidnapped by Ghost Pokemon (Maxie doubted that). They returned to their room and Archie flopped down on his cot right away. "Well, that was... interesting." He finally offered.
"Terribly droll, more like it."
"Hah! I won't deny that." The Wartortle folded his arms behind his head and shut his eyes. "G'night, Maxie."
"Night, Archie." A moment of silence and then, "I'm still not forgiving you for looking."
"You're such a prude."
« FIRST | ← BACK | NEXT → | LAST »
"Rough night?" Archie asked. He nearly sounded sympathetic, and Maxie might have been inclined to believe he was asking out of the goodness of his heart (hah!), were it not for that superior smirk ever-present on his face.
"Shut up," Maxie replied eloquently. Archie was right whether he knew it or not. Maxie had dreamed - the first time he'd had a dream while in this bizarre dream-world. It hadn't been pretty. He didn't remember much about it, but it had woken him up in the dead of night in a cold sweat. Whatever it was, it was bordering on terrifying, and he hoped he wouldn't have to face it again.
"HEY! NEWBIES!" Loudred's voice cut through Chatot's usual speech of "Go arrest criminals and bring back money!" "We need your HELP!"
"Oh, it seems you'll be taking over Diglett's duty today." Chatot said, wincing at the horrid loud sound of Loudred's voice. "Don't worry about jobs for today, then. Just focus on Loudred's instructions~" With that, the bird Pokemon turned and entered Wigglytuff's room. Archie made some crack about what they were doing behind closed doors, but Maxie had stopped paying attention to his partner.
Loudred and Diglett waited over by a hole in the ground. A long vine led into the pitch-black underground. Evidently this part wasn't built into the side of a cliff like the rest of the guild. "About TIME!" Loudred yelled.
"I'm really sorry, but I have something else to do today." Diglett said, and burrowed off. Maxie was slightly more disturbed by the fact that no one seemed to be bothered by the fact that a little kid was burrowing his way underground.
"So what are we doin'?" Archie asked Loudred. "What do you guys do every day anyway?"
"Sentry duty!" The loud Pokemon pointed down the hole in explanation. "Just get down there and follow the path. Eventually you'll be underneath that grate outside the entrance to the guild. GOT IT?"
"Uh, yeah, sure." Archie pushed Maxie toward the hole. "Well? After you."
"Coward," Maxie grunted and carefully made his way down into the darkness, using the vine for a guide. It certainly wasn't easy getting down there, and the only light that came was from the hole leading up to the guild.
"Good!" Even Loudred's voice was dulled by the earth between them. "Now just keep going toward the light! Let me know when you're in position!"
Maxie attempted to move forward, only to run straight into a wall. Of course it wouldn't be a straight line, that would make too much sense. Frowning, he held his hands out against the wall, attempting to find his way by touch alone. Behind him he could hear Archie swear several times before suddenly a bright light illuminated the pitch-black. "There we go!" Archie held up a small blue orb. "Luminous Orb," He explained on seeing Maxie's curious look. "I picked one up in the last dungeon."
"Convenient," Maxie nodded. With the orb in hand, the two managed to make their way through the twists and turns that ran beneath the guild. Finally they saw some natural - albeit dim - sunlight coming in from above. "Here we are." Maxie climbed up and craned his neck back to look upwards.
"Oh, so this is how they figure out who to let in the guild. Remember when they couldn't tell what your footprint was?"
"Yes. I'm still wearing boots, you know." Maxie stated sarcastically.
Archie waved the comment off. "Well this is how they do it. I'm guessing we just look at the footprint and tell Loudred whose it is."
"That's RIGHT!" Loudred shouted from somewhere within the guild. "Just give me the Pokemon and I'll determine whether or not they're SAFE!"
"That seems stupid." Maxie remarked. "How can you tell whether a Pokemon is good or not just by the footprint?" Archie shrugged in response, but Loudred was already shouting that visitors were allowed in.
The work day went by quickly. There weren't many Pokemon entering the guild that day. Though Archie and Maxie bickered over every single footprint they saw, they did eventually manage to get them all right. By the end of the day, when they were allowed to return inside, the Luminous Orb had long since run out of power, the two had already argued about everything under the sun, and both were covered in dirt. Maxie looked even more displeased about it than Archie.
Ding, ding, ding! "Alright everyone, dinner's on!" Chimeco called happily from the dining room. Immediately all the guild members charged in, with Maxie and Archie trailing behind.
"Oh BOY, chow-time!"
"I'm so hungry, yup yup!"
"Eek! Thank you so much, Chimeco!"
They all dove in as if they didn't posess any manners, which made even Archie look like a gentleman in comparison. Maxie would have taken his food and left had it not been for the fact that he had no way to carry all of it. Chimeco was a good chef, he'd admit that much.
"That was good," Archie remarked as they exited the dining room ten minutes later. "But we're gonna need to do something about these clothes." He tugged on his t-shirt in explanation. Maxie nodded grimly. He didn't have any other clothes in this world - nor had he seen anyone else wear anything differently. "C'mon, we'll have to wash down by the beach - the river's too far from here for a quick trip. So're the hot springs."
"Hot springs?" Maxie asked curiously.
"Yeah, they're not all they're cracked up to be. Always full of old Fire and Ground-type Pokemon."
Maxie wondered if that was supposed to be a stab at him. He had trained both Fire and Ground-types. But Archie wasn't giving him that smirk at the moment, so he let it go. The two quickly made their way down to the beach and Archie shamelessly ripped off his clothes.
"Do you mind!?" Maxie asked, horrified.
"No, do you?" Archie shrugged and dumped his shirt and shorts unceremoniously into the ocean waves. "What's that look for anyway?"
"D-don't get any ideas!" Maxie stabbed a finger in his direction. He channeled embarassment into rage, something he was quite good at. "I don't want you staring at me!"
"I don't see why I'd want to, but okay." Archie shrugged again and removed his clothes from the water, shaking both out and examining them. The dirt was (mostly) gone and he began to wring them out, turning so his back was to Maxie.
Flushing - and very glad it was too dark to see it - Maxie removed his own coat. Thankfully his pants hadn't gotten much dirt on them, and he opted to stand in the waves to get the dirt off of them. It was so humiliating to be undressing in front of his sworn enemy, even if Archie actually wasn't looking and making him feel even more uncomfortable for once-- "I saw that! Turn back around this instant!"
Archie merely laughed at him.
It wouldn't take long for them to return to the guild with soaking wet clothes, but at least they were clean. The guild was locked up behind them, with Chatot muttering something darkly about how they shouldn't be out so late, that they could get kidnapped by Ghost Pokemon (Maxie doubted that). They returned to their room and Archie flopped down on his cot right away. "Well, that was... interesting." He finally offered.
"Terribly droll, more like it."
"Hah! I won't deny that." The Wartortle folded his arms behind his head and shut his eyes. "G'night, Maxie."
"Night, Archie." A moment of silence and then, "I'm still not forgiving you for looking."
"You're such a prude."
« FIRST | ← BACK | NEXT → | LAST »