Chapter 11
"The first thing you need to do when preparing for the next day is to examine the options which are available to you."
The firelight which illuminated the cave's tunnels had already turned red for the night, but Scythe wasn't yet ready to let Team Ember sleep. As he had promised, Scythe needed to walk the new team through the process of choosing the next day's mission. With the help of Shander to deal with the paperwork, they presented Char and Saura with an array of job requests.
Blinking from the impending sleepiness, Char watched as Shander somehow held the papers between his claws and set them onto the floor. He still couldn't read the text, but tried to follow along as best as he could.
"So… I'm guessing you two always hang out together because Scythe can't do all of this on his own? Without having hands, I mean?" Saura asked curiously.
"About right," Shander responded, sliding his last paper into place. "Scythe has chosen me to be his hands. Although, it's been a little harder of a job ever since I evolved. And I keep telling this overgrown bug that all he needs is to grow up and get some pincers, and he wouldn't need me anymore."
"And I keep telling this overgrown mouse that pincers are pathetic excuses for weapons, and I have no intention of trading my blades for anything," Scythe said with a warm smile.
Char could tell that it was all just an excuse for these two Pokémon to spend time together, as they were obviously great friends. He knew they even shared their secrets with one another, most notably their quiet search for The Call. Char couldn't help but wonder just how Shander, out of all the other Pokémon in their elite resistance team, had won Scythe's favor as a close friend.
"Hey, Char!" Saura called playfully. "I don't have hands, either! Guess what your new job is?"
"Bag-carrier and official team scribe?" Char groaned sarcastically. "Oh, the humility… And I still don't even know how to read!"
"You will have to learn eventually," Shander said. "It's as vital a skill here as being able to talk. But in the meantime, if we pull a few strings, I bet we'd be able to get some of your papers transcribed to Unown-script… since Scythe tells me you know that language."
Ugh! Char grumbled to himself. Not this again! Did Scythe actually tell Shander that I'm a human? Does his whole team know? I don't want to talk about it right now…
"So… what are our options?" Char said quickly, trying to change the subject. "Do we get to choose where our destination is? Is that what these papers are about? You have to do this every day, don't you?"
"When you come to be on a… high-priority team such as Team Absolution or Team Remorse, then no, you don't choose missions each and every day," Scythe explained. "Our missions are long-term, sometimes taking months to complete. But our team holds a meeting each and every night, and we discuss the plans for the next day as a whole, how we will progress our efforts, and so on. But overall, we try to keep our jobs limited to only one or two larger campaigns at a time until they are done."
"Like Basin Canyon?" Saura blurted.
"…Yes, like that," Scythe said. "We understand our role to play in this division, so we try to take on the more dangerous and large-scale jobs that other teams will not. So, no, this list is not for us. This is actually a copy of the task list that the training teams receive."
"Wow, these jobs look really boring," Saura said as he skimmed over the paper. "Escort a family of Nidoran through Gulch Valley? Deliver a shipment of fruit to Sitrus City… Wait, why would a resistance team even be in charge of stuff like this?"
"You'd be surprised at the number of things we actually do to usurp the Master's influence," Shander said. "Delivering food lessens a city's dependence on the Master's suppliers, for instance. It's a very low-risk task as long as you evade detection."
"Hmmm," Saura hummed, not looking very impressed.
"Here's something else which may help you decide," Shander said, pulling a very large, rolled-up piece of paper from the burlap sack he'd hefted into the study-room.
Carefully laying the scroll on the bench and unrolling the rust-covered paper under his claws, Shander revealed something incredible: it was a colorful, comprehensive map of the entire Ambera region. Even by the light of the red-tinted flame on the ceiling, the individual cities and counties seemed to leap from the paper in an unbelievably vivid patchwork of color, all meticulously surrounded by all the descriptions and notes of each individual detail of terrain that could come in handy to a traveler. Char couldn't believe his eyes; the Ambera region was huge! It was a continent. The footprint-runes which labeled the map were tiny and mercilessly crammed together in places with many features, yet easy to see. It was quite a work of art. Shander used some clips to pin down the map to the sides of the table so it wouldn't go rolling itself up.
"The Map of Jirachi," Shander announced as he smoothed out the remaining wrinkles on the paper. "It's the most accurate map of Ambera ever to be drawn, and only the resistance forces have copies of it. Study it all you want, use it on missions, but please make sure it doesn't get lost or stolen!"
"Especially this particular copy," Scythe added. "This one even shows the locations of the division bases and the areas they're all responsible for. See this shading? That's where the Gold Division's jurisdiction lies. Past these lines, the Emerald Division is responsible for the area, and the Black Division down there. You can see all the cities inside of our area, and even the known mystery dungeons are marked."
"Hmm… what's this shaded area?" Char asked, pointing out a plot of land toward the center of the map that seemed to lie outside of all three jurisdictions.
"That… is where the Master's castle stands," Scythe told him, a hint of a shudder echoing through his deep voice. "No resistance teams go there, at least those who are not willing to risk everything. You'd risk giving away our locations, our plans, our missions… everything. In the history of the resistance forces, only four missions have required us to infiltrate the Master's residence. Only the most trustworthy and reliable teams are assigned to those tasks, and even so, it's never a pleasant occurrence."
"Scythe was on one," Shander noted. "It was only eight years ago, too…"
"Don't remind me," Scythe grumbled in annoyance. "I was only on that mission because I knew the territory personally. I barely even helped with the mission otherwise."
That's right, Char realized. Scythe once fought for the Master, didn't he? I keep forgetting that. Looking at him now, it's so hard to imagine…
"Anyway, back on track," Scythe said. "When you go over the list of tasks, make note of the areas you'll be required to visit to accomplish those tasks. Ask yourself: how far away is the destination? What roads should I take? What obstacles lie in the way? What mystery dungeons could I sneak through to evade detection from the Master's spies? What kind of Pokémon live in those territories, and how could I best deal with them? Which teammates could most help me with the mission? What tools would I have to lug all the way there in the bag?"
Saura looked over the list again, occasionally glancing at the different locations on the map. Char wanted to provide input, but still couldn't understand any of the symbols on the papers.
"How about this one?" Saura asked, pointing his paw to an area on the map. "It's close, it looks easy…"
"What is it?" Char asked. "What's the mission?"
"Ravine Woodlands. It's a sentry mission. It says… 'Ravine Woodlands is a medium-priority tactical region which must be regularly examined for enemy activity. This mission requires traveling to the aforementioned destination, preferably by way of the neighboring mystery dungeon to avoid detection, and spending no less than four hours policing the destination. If gathered enough reason to believe the destination is infested by or is being used as an enemy thoroughfare, do not engage in battle. Return immediately to the Division Headquarters and report the issue. Risk Level: D'"
"Hmm, that's a possibility…" Scythe hummed. "It's nearby, straightforward…"
"And it's another forest," Saura added. "Plant Pokémon should live there. Char and I should have no problem with those."
"Excellent point," Scythe said. "So, is that your choice?"
"What do you think, Char?" Saura said. "We'd only have to walk around and explore the woods for a few hours. Sound good to you?"
Char briefly considered the offer, and didn't see anything wrong with it—other than the possibility that it might be a little on the boring side. Or maybe not, Char considered. Fresh air, exercise, more experience against wild Pokémon… and maybe even another dungeon to crawl…
Char nodded in agreement.
"Great," Scythe said with a nod. "You've made a good choice based on your current abilities. That's the first step. For the next step… follow me."
… … …
Char and Saura followed Shander and Scythe out of the team's quarters and into the base's tunnels, which were barely even active at this time of the night. Before long, they found themselves taking a familiar path.
When Char stepped down from the staircase, he recognized the floor immediately.
"It's Kecleon's shop," Char noticed. "Are we going shopping for items?"
"We could go shopping at this time, yes," Scythe said, "But your Team Ember doesn't have any money yet, does it?"
"Uh… I guess not," Char said. "How do we get money, anyway?"
"There are various ways to get Poké," Shander explained. "The best way is to gather merchandise on your travels and sell them to Kecleon. He buys everything, and he can pay a real hefty sum if you give him something he really likes. But the way most of the resistance teams make a profit is by taking jobs that have bounties. The one you chose has a small bounty, if you hadn't noticed. The one you did earlier today with Scythe had a rather large one, though."
"Really?" Saura asked. "Do we get any money for it?"
"Of course you will," Scythe said. "I've even taken the liberty of opening your account down at the treasury. The reward will get deposited into your new account sometime tomorrow morning after the records are examined. But, since you're still training, I'm going to go ahead and take eighty percent of your profit from your mission yesterday. That can be incentive for you to learn how to operate on your own."
"Oh…" Saura said, slightly dashed.
"But," Scythe continued, "since you're going to do even more of your own work tomorrow, I'll drop that to sixty percent for your next reward. And when your training is done and you are operating on your own, you will be allowed to keep all the money you earn – save for the tax which the Division itself takes from you, of course."
"So, you're going with us again?" Char asked, already knowing the answer.
"Of course," Scythe said. "I'm going to come with you on your missions until I'm comfortable that you've learned the basics."
"Don't you think Daemon would disagree with that?" Char asked, curious as to the answer he'd receive.
"Of course he would," Scythe said, not skipping a beat. "Daemon is Daemon."
Scythe kept walking as if nothing had been said, but Shander couldn't hold back a grin at the comment.
"But no, we're not going to Kecleon's tonight," Scythe said as they passed right by the store entrance. "There's no use buying things we already have. We're going to pay a visit to the storage room."
… … …
Char followed Scythe into the storage area lobby. It was completely empty. There was a counter separating the entrance of the room from the back, like most shops would have, but the counter was completely barren, and there was nothing behind it but a bare wall. There was no Pokémon to be seen, and not even a door or window to suggest there was an area in back where Pokémon could have been busy working.
"Um…" Saura said. "Are you sure this is the right place? It doesn't look like anything's here."
"Ha, haha. That's what I said, too, the first time I came," Shander laughed. "You'll see here in a moment."
Char waited for a while, not knowing what to expect. Then, suddenly, a Gengar stepped out from the solid stone wall, startling Char to bits.
"Heya," the Gengar said, jumping up to the top of the counter. "What can I do for 'ya tonight, Scythe? Ah, and Team Ember's here too, huh?"
"This is Morrik," Scythe introduced. "He's in charge of storage. When he carries something, he can take it through the wall with him, and he can keep all your valuables back there in completely isolated cracks in the earth. Somehow, he keeps track of who owns it all."
" 'S not that hard," Morrik scoffed.
"Before you head out on a mission, always make sure you have what you need, and keep the rest in storage," Scythe explained. "If you drop something in a mystery dungeon, you usually can't go back for it. It's lost forever, unless you're willing to scavenge the dungeon again or hire another team to do it for you. So, you should only take with you the things that you need, and give the rest to Morrik."
"I see…" Saura said.
"Now, usually, when you do this, you've got to know already what you're going to ask Morrik for," Scythe told Char and Saura. "To figure that out, you've got to do more research on the destination and the route you'll take to get there. For example, if you're going into a place with poisonous Pokémon, you make sure to take pecha fruit. But today, just this once, I'm going to do it for you. And since you have no supplies of your own yet, I'll lend you some of mine…"
… … …
Ten minutes later, Char awkwardly stumbled out of the storage area holding an absolutely stuffed bag full of supplies.
"That should do it," Scythe said cheerfully. "Congratulations, you two! You're all prepared for your journey tomorrow! All that's left to do now is to get a good night's rest. But I have to warn you, this process won't always be this easy. As you learn how to be a resistance team, it'll get a little more complicated. But we'll show you everything you need to know when the time comes. For example, normally, when you decide on a mission, the first thing you need to do is go down to Registration and tell them so that other teams won't take the same mission. Training teams can usually skip that step, though."
Char was barely even listening. He was too occupied with trying to carry the bulging bag and stay standing at the same time. It was really heavy.
Thump. Overcome by the bag's weight, Char tripped over his own feet and landed face-down on the floor. He released a muffled whimper as he tried to get up.
"Careful," Scythe said nonchalantly. "You've got to pace yourself. Lift from the knees! You've got a long way to carry that thing tomorrow!"
As Saura helped Char up, Scythe effortlessly stole the bag and slung it onto his own shoulder.
"I'm joking, of course," Scythe said with his smile. "I'll carry it. I'm just going to be watching you two, anyway."
… … …
Later that night, Char sat awake in Scythe's room. He knew he was supposed to be resting up for the next day's mission, but instead, he stayed awake and stared at his tail flame, the only active light source left in the room. All the other spirit-torches had been somehow disabled. It burned an unusually deep shade of red due to the color-flame spell which affected all of the fire in the complex.
"Ugh… Char, are you alright?" Saura asked groggily, noticing his friend's wide-open eyes. "Having trouble sleeping or something?"
"No…" Char said simply.
"Then why don't you rest?" Saura croaked. "I don't want you collapsing on us tomorrow—"
Suddenly and soundlessly, Char's tail flame flickered. It re-lit itself almost immediately, but now was bright blue! The base-wide spell had been activated, changing the color of every flame to indicate that, for the seven darkest hours of the night, it was not safe to travel outside.
"Whoa…" Saura gasped. "That's… weird."
"Yeah, that is," Char said, running his claws through the blue fire. "I just wanted to stay up and see that happen. I'll go to sleep now…"
"Good night, Char…" Saura sighed, closing his eyes again.
Char imagined the Watchers and recalled everything he'd been told about them. It made a shiver run down his spine knowing that the wicked ghosts were now unleashed across Ambera, doing whatever it was that they did. He knew for certain that he never wanted to see them with his own eyes.
"Well, Dialga, I'm still here," Char whispered to nobody as he situated himself on the floor for sleeping. "Any time you'd like to come and let me know what's going on, I'd appreciate it…"
Thus ended a very, very long day for Team Ember… but it was nothing compared to the next one which loomed on the horizon.
… … …
"Get up!"
Char blinked repeatedly. He'd been awake just moments ago, and he was sure that his tail had still been blue. Had Scythe been waiting for the precise moment the fire would change back?
"No sleeping in today!" Scythe called, nudging them both. "Let's be off! The day will not wait for us!"
Char nodded and stretched as he rolled into a sitting position. Through his blurred eyes, he saw that Scythe was already holding their bag of supplies and ready to embark.
Wow, he just keeps getting more zealous each time I see him, Char said as he rubbed his eyes. Maybe he's not taking it easy on us after all.
Scythe lit the room's torches to make it impossible to fall back asleep, and he had both Char and Saura on their feet within five minutes.
… … …
"Good to see you awake at this hour," a familiar voice said as the group ventured down the team's hallway.
Char cringed. It was Daemon again. He and two other members of Team Remorse, Shander and an Exploud, stood at the side of the hall.
"Good morning, Team Ember," the hound said condescendingly. "Having a little trouble waking up?"
"Good morning, Daemon," Saura said obstinately.
"Scythe, the team has sorely missed you at Basin Canyon lately," Daemon said pointedly, turning a disgusted look at the bag of supplies he carried. "Do you think you'll be returning any time soon?"
"I think the rest of the team knows what they're doing," Scythe said, obviously trying to evade him and get out the door. "I'm confident there won't be any problems until settlement."
"If you keep this up, you won't be ready for settlement," Daemon reminded him. "We need you at the Canyon, not running around with these children! Otherwise, this could all turn into one big mistake. Finish up with them and get back to the task at hand! If it takes too long, dumping them into a training team would be the only acceptable solution."
"Wow, he even insults Pokémon who are standing in the same room," Saura hissed to Char.
"Understood," Scythe said. "But that will not be necessary. You seem to have things well under control at the moment. And, like I said before, I will review your logs, and I will come to the settlement. Now, are we going to waste any more time standing around and talking, or do we have missions to accomplish?"
Daemon bit his tongue and turned toward the door.
"Let's move it," he barked to his teammates. "Nidoroch's team needs to be relieved as soon as possible, and we need four more tunnels cleared out by the end of the day. Oh, and Team Ember?"
"Y-yes?" Char squeaked.
"Have good luck on your mission."
He and the team hustled down the hallway and out of sight.
"Wow, he said something nice…?" Saura said with fake surprise. "Never thought I'd see that happen."
"'Good luck' is his favorite insult," Scythe told him, leading them down the hall. "Daemon constantly likes to remind everyone that winning has nothing to do with luck, and that only the amateur need to rely on it. As he likes to say… 'To the skilled, luck is nothing but a minor convenience.'"
… … …
The group took the western entrance, the same way they'd entered the base on the very first day they arrived. Just like the previous morning, they were joined by other teams on their way out for the day, but many less Pokémon than usual; after all, these were the true early birds, the Pokémon who jumped at the crack of the dawn to begin their missions. Not very many teams were up to the challenge of awaking quite this early. It hadn't even been fifteen minutes since the torches changed from blue to orange.
Nevertheless, as Char munched on a big green apple he'd pulled from Scythe's bag, he started to recognize some of the other faces which followed him. Apparently, Saura did as well.
"Hey, is that Taka?" Saura said in surprise. "Wow, she's up really early!"
Char turned to look, and sure enough, Taka was following along behind him, along with a Shinx and a Zangoose.
"Hey, look! It's Scythe with Team Peanuts!" the Shinx crowed.
"Team Ember, you moron," Taka rebuked. "They changed their name. Learn how to read the news."
"Oh… they did? I liked Team Peanuts better," the cub replied, cocking his head.
The little Shinx scampered toward Char, its teammates unenthusiastically following behind.
"Hey, Taka," Saura said. "Do you training teams usually get up at the crack of dawn like this?"
"Lately, yeah," Taka said. "It's mostly Ray's fault. He says he's training to be on Team Remorse, but he just wakes everyone else up with him."
"Good for him!" Scythe cheered. "We could certainly use energy like his on the team. It's hard enough getting half the team awake on time."
"So, where are you guys headed?" Saura asked. "Anywhere interesting?"
"Hardly," Taka said, rolling her eyes. "It's a four-hour sentry mission at Ravine Woodlands. About as dull as they come."
"Wait… that sounds familiar," Char said. "That's…"
"Hey! That's the same place we're going!" Saura cried. "Does this mean we'll all get to stick together?"
"Hmm, I wonder how this managed to happen," Scythe said. "Perhaps a mix-up at the registry. Hmm. A group of six is really pushing it, but… since this is a training mission, and such a low risk, I don't see why not."
"Wow!" The Shinx cheered, leaping excitedly into the air. "We're going on a mission with Scythe? For four whole hours? This is awesome! This'll be the best mission ever!"
"It'll sure make things a little more interesting than they were going to be," Taka said. "It's hard to be bored when you've got so many Pokémon to talk to. Oh, by the way, this is Zachel." She gestured to the Zangoose. "She's from Team Carrier, but she's tagging along with us because she got stuck going to the same destination."
"Morning," Zachel replied with a wink. She was carrying the bag for the rest of the group.
"And this little guy is Leo," Taka said, indicating the Shinx. "He's just a little spark of energy. Just like Ray. I guess it's an electric-type thing."
"It's an honor!" Leo yelped. "I can't wait to tell Ray that I was practically on Team Remorse for the day! He'll be so jealous!"
Wow, this might be really fun! Char thought to himself as he took another bite of his breakfast.
Great Flatlands
Like always, the group was due for a long walk. After they'd braved the ridiculously long staircase, said "hi" to Gate the Haunter, and set foot onto the Great Flatlands, it seemed like one big hike into the middle of nowhere. The sun was barely just peeking over the horizon at that point, leaving the terrain practically as dark as night. The speck of sunlight was, apparently, enough to ward the Watchers off. Char shivered a little; the fresh morning air was a little chilly today.
He found it amusing how all three of the trainees instantly shut their mouths whenever Scythe said a word.
"So, Team Ember," Scythe said. "Which way do we go? This is your mission, after all."
"Um…" Saura said, looking in all directions. "I thought I knew… It was to the south-west. But… this place looks all the same to me! How can you tell which way to go?"
"Even we know this one!" Taka said with some pride. "Saura, look. In a place like this, finding the directions is as easy as reading a compass. See the sun? The sun's in the east right now, so south-west would be that way."
"Oh, right, I should have known that," Saura said. "But yeah… we go south-west, we find the Etcher Ravine, and we follow it south. That should take us right into the Woodlands."
"Sounds like a plan," Scythe said. "And we always have a map if we get lost. Now, one other thing: are we going through the mystery dungeon, or around it?"
"We were going to go around it," Taka said, "but now that we have you guys, we could go either way."
"Yeah, let's go through it!" Leo suggested. "There's no way we can lose today! Not with Scythe and Team Ember here!"
"Well, Char?" Saura said. "What do you think?"
Char couldn't agree more. Soon, it was decided: they'd all brave the Etcher Ravine mystery dungeon.