Chapter 16
The door closed behind Team Remorse as they returned to their private cave.
"I still don't understand," Scythe muttered to the group. "It just… doesn't make any sense. Why has intelligence done this to us?"
"It's a lie that makes sense to tell," the Crawdaunt said. "They didn't want the news of the Call to get out of hand, and now, they don't have to worry about it. It's a brilliant strategy… something you of all Pokémon should appreciate."
"Yes, I know that," Scythe said, staring at the floor. "But now, I can't help but wonder… has Intelligence ever lied to us before? I, for one, have trusted them unconditionally since our team was founded. Has it been a mistake?"
His words rang powerfully among the team. There was no response.
"Regardless," Scythe said suddenly, picking up his head and swinging a blade through the air, "This affair will… simmer. There will be no speaking of this to anyone. The last thing we need is to become an enemy of the Division. Raptor, you and Craw have your missions to do. I expect them to be done as usual."
"Of course," the Gabite said with a nod. "Though, you must excuse our… sloth. We had a long night."
"Ursa, Markov. Red Haven. Just like we discussed last night."
"No problem," the Feraligatr said. "Simple mission. We'll be back before lunch."
"Raon, I want you, Nidoroch, and Kyria to take the care of the Ravine Woodlands duty for today," Scythe said. "I have a feeling that mission isn't going to be a popular choice among the division."
"Sure thing," the Breloom said with a nod. Surprisingly, it was female.
"Marrow, you can hang around the base and give me a hand with the files," Scythe ordered. "In all the chaos, and without Shander here, I haven't finished with the records from yesterday. Intelligence will be wanting them as soon as possible."
"Lovely, paperwork!" the Marowak grunted.
"Good, now, be off," Scythe commanded, motioning to everyone. "Daemon and the others will be back this evening. Be prepared for the meeting."
Char and Saura watched as Team Remorse quickly dispersed to follow Scythe's orders.
"Oh, and you two," Scythe said, turning to Char and Saura. "No mission today. Stay at the base, get your rest. Oh, and just in case… try to keep a low profile. This isn't a day to be visiting with friends."
"Understood," Saura said.
"Oh, and just one more thing," Scythe said. "I also expect you two to be at the meeting tonight. When the torches turn red, make sure you are back here as soon as possible."
"I can't believe he wants us to attend the meeting," Saura sighed as he and Char wandered off to find ways to occupy themselves for the day. "It seems, you know, a little over our heads… But I guess he needs to train us like that…"
I know why he wants me to be at the meeting, Char determined. It's because this is all my fault in the first place. I'm the one who has the Call. Now, whether I like it or not, I've got to be involved in everything. And if this power can go off at any time, I've got to be ready for anything!
As they walked through the base that morning, Char noticed how a lot of the other Pokémon gave him suspicious looks. It was extremely unsettling. It made him want to crawl into a hole and cower there for hours on end.
"But, oh well, what can we do?" Saura wondered. "Actually, I'm surprised Scythe didn't say 'hey, two more stanzas!'"
"It's probably implied," Char speculated, trying to keep from making eye contact with anyone else "We can go and learn some more later today."
"Wow, this is pretty uncomfortable," Saura said quietly. "Everyone's just staring at us…"
"Yeah," Char said. "It's a shame Scythe took those mobile scarves away when we slept. I bet we could use them now."
"Hey, that's an idea!" Saura said. "Maybe we could buy some of our own! We might have money today from our first mission. Let's go to the treasury and check our account!"
… … …
Although it took a little work pushing through the morning crowds and standing in line, Char and Saura made it down to the treasury in one piece. Thankfully, most of the Pokémon were too preoccupied with getting ready for the day, forcing their way into and out of the cafeteria, to take much notice of them.
Surprisingly, the treasury was not at all crowded like the other locations on the floor. Only a few Pokémon lingered here and there, some holding big brown bags stuffed with something heavy. Gold? Char thought. Or… Poké, as Shander called it? I wonder why there aren't more Pokémon here. Isn't money something important to the division?
The lobby to the treasury was very ornate. The stone walls had been carved and colored to resemble bright red bricks. Four giant gold pillars were positioned near the corners of the room. In the center of the floor lay a huge red frilled rug laced with shiny, golden weavings of winged Pokémon. On the far end of the room, two giant rectangular windows were carved out of the wall.
"How can I help you?" asked a Persian on the other side as Char awkwardly approached the lower of the two windows.
"Uh… hi," Char squeaked. "We're Team Ember. We want to see how much we have in our account."
"Of course," Said the Persian, lowering its head behind the wall and searching for something. "I believe I remember you. Scythe opened the account just earlier this week. Ah, here it is. Your account holds… twelve thousand, seven hundred and eighty-four Poké."
"W-what?" Saura cried. "Are you sure that's ours? We can't have that much money already! We only accomplished one mission!"
"Very well," The Persian sighed, reaching down below the wall again. "I will show you your statement. Here. Tell me if anything seems amiss, and we will try to look into it."
The Persian produced a neatly folded sheet of paper and slid it across the window to Char. Char opened it, but of course, he couldn't read a word. All he saw was a list of numbers. He handed it to Saura, who slapped it down onto the floor and stared intently at it.
"Uh…" Saura said, scanning the statement. "Here's where our account was opened, and it started out empty. And here's where our first bounty was awarded. Retrieved stolen goods. Reward: four thousand, five hundred Poké! Oh, but Scythe took away eighty percent, leaving us with only twelve hundred… And… wait, what? Another bounty?"
He re-read the line, tracing over it with his paw.
"Reported enemy activity in Ravine Woodlands? Reward: nine hundred Poké!"
"Wow, and I thought we aborted the mission because of the Scizor!" Char said, mouth agape. "I just assumed it was a failure!"
"I guess it was technically a success!" Saura said with a smile. "After all, we did exactly what the mission objectives said to do. Wow, that feels good to know! Oh, but Scythe still took some of the reward. We only got five hundred and forty."
"Then where did the extra money come from?" Char wondered. "That only accounts for about two thousand."
"Hold on, I'm still reading," Saura said. "W—wha?! Donations? We're getting donations from other teams? Seventy from Team Stripes, Five hundred from Team Absolution? Two hundred from Team Duskhunter? And… oh, wow."
"What?!" Char pleaded. "What is it?"
"It says… High Intelligence: monetary grant: ten thousand Poké! Char, we really are rich! High Intelligence gave us a ton of money! And… according to these records, it just happened less than a day ago. Wow! Char, I wonder, what can we buy with all this?"
But why did High Intelligence give us that money? Char wondered. To pay us off for lying?
"Let's go to Kecleon's!" Saura said eagerly. "Maybe we can buy one of those scarves. Or two!"
"Is everything alright?" The Persian asked, stepping up to the window again.
"Yeah, we're great!" Saura said. "Now, how do we… withdraw our money? We want to go shopping!"
"Oh, that's not necessary," Persian explained. "You don't need to withdraw money unless you plan on using it outside of the division's base. If you just want to buy something from Kecleon's, or if you want to transfer funds to a different team, it can all happen behind the scenes. Now, to prevent theft, Kecleon demands that you send him the money beforehand. So, if you'd like to buy something from him, you'll have to transfer your funds to his account. If you don't use all the funds, you can ask him to send back the remainder, or simply keep it there until you wish to purchase something else."
"Uh… okay," Saura said. "So… uh… can we do that?"
"Certainly," the Persian said, flipping through the papers beneath the window. "How much do you wish to spend at Kecleon's?"
"Uh, I don't know how much things cost," Saura said. "How about… five thousand? That should be enough to buy something, shouldn't it?"
"Five thousand it will be, then," the Persian said, scratching something onto a slip of paper with his front claw and sliding it to Char. "Here, take this receipt. Kecleon only checks his account in the morning, so you'll have to show this to him if you want to buy something."
"Thank you!" Saura said.
"It's our pleasure," Persian said kindly. "I look forward to helping you again, Team Ember."
Saura was beaming. "C'mon, Char. Let's go buy something!"
… … …
"FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND?"
"Yes," Kecleon said. "I'm so very sorry for the extravagant price, but you, sir, have very expensive tastes. Mobile scarves are among the rarest and most valuable items in the land, and I've only got one, and I refuse to part with it for less than that."
Saura was speechless, and Char was just a little bit disappointed. Casting a sad glance up at the green reptilian Pokémon before him, Saura gave a hopeless shrug.
Kecleon's shop was filled with Pokémon trying to stock up on supplies for the day's journeys, and Char and Saura had to stand in line for over half an hour just to get in the door. Kecleon himself spoke fast and with urgency, as if to move the two along and help other customers, but his friendly, polite demeanor never wavered. He let his brother, a pink-colored Kecleon, help the rest of the customers as he spoke with the Team Ember.
"I'm so very sorry," the Kecleon said again. "Perhaps I could interest you in something else? If stealth is what you seek, I have several of the fabled invisify orbs! Just activate one, and you'll be invisible for up to a whole hour! Only fifty thousand each!"
"No, thank you," Saura sighed. "We can't afford those, either. Eh, and here I thought we were rich… I guess we've got a long way to go."
"Do you have anything for beginning explorers?" Char asked, trying to lighten the mood. "Something cheap and useful, you know, for general purposes?"
"Oh, but of course!" Kecleon said, walking quickly to a nearby shelf of clothes. "I am made of that sort of merchandise! How about a Pecha scarf? Very popular with the new recruits!"
"What's it do?" Char asked.
"Prevents poisoning," Kecleon explained. "It's coated in a potent antidote made from Pecha Fruit. Wear one, and the antidote will constantly circulate through your system, rendering you as immune as a poison-based Pokémon!"
"That sounds like a really good idea," Char said. "I was poisoned once, it felt awful…"
"Well, with one of these, you'll never have to fear the poison ever again!" Kecleon said. "Or, how about this little item over here? The 'escape orb'! Incredibly vital for every Mystery Dungeon mission! Activate it within a dungeon, and it will instantly perform an unveiling, freeing you and all your allies from the dungeon's curse! This is the one thing you'll always want on hand, just in case something goes horribly wrong. Why, even the bravest and best of resistance teams bring one on every mission!"
Saura didn't look too impressed, but nodded kindly in reply. "What do you think?" he asked Char.
"We'll take them," Char decided. "One of those scarves and… three of those orbs."
"Very good!" Kecleon said with a smile. "The total will come to seven hundred Poké. You can take the items with you if you are in a hurry, or I can have them delivered to your storage later. It's your choice."
Saura requested the items be sent to storage, and Kecleon thanked them for their business and hurried to the next customer in line, apologizing for the wait. Team Ember left the shop feeling strangely unsatisfied.
"Just wait and see," Saura said. "We'll become so great, that one day, we'll buy that mobile scarf! Yeah! And a bunch of those invisible orbs, too!"
"Well, that was a good waste of an hour," Char groaned. "Now, I wonder if Domo's available? I'm starting to feel like some exercise…"
… … …
When Char and Saura entered the dojo, they were greeted by the sight of a mighty Charizard spewing flames into the air, lighting the torches to open for the day. Char was once again awed at the sight of his future form, and suddenly felt the desire to train rushing back to him. His heart melted at the thought of having wings, and the absolute freedom which came with them.
"Oh, early birds, are we?" Domo hummed upon seeing them. "Of course, we were all rudely awakened this morning… But anyway, congratulations, you're still my first visitors of the day! Come to practice?"
"Yeah," Saura said. "We're banned from doing missions today, and for another whole week, too. We're trying to find ways to keep busy."
"Well, I can keep you busy for a few hours," Domo said proudly. "If you must know, I've been training ceaselessly with my Charizard form for the past two days, all because of you! Are you ready to learn some more techniques?"
"You bet!" Char shouted.
In just a moment, Domo had finished lighting the torches and was now a perfect copy of Char, ready to begin the demonstration. Saura retreated from the platform, giving the two combatants some room…
"So, have you been practicing with your fire?" Domo asked. "You should have the hang of things by now. Have you learned how to summon it at will?"
"Mostly, yeah," Char answered, not fully honest. While he had been getting better at it, his fire had been weak at best, and he knew he still needed a lot of training if he wanted to fight with the best of Pokémon.
"Good," Domo said. "Now, I will teach you a couple advanced techniques you can perform by skillfully manipulating your fire. First… prepare your Ember for battle!"
Char tried to do as instructed. He recalled some of the more annoying memories he'd experienced over the past few days. He remembered the Chikorita in the ravine, how it so cleverly splashed him with water… just to annoy him…
…and the Scizor that would have effortlessly crushed his skull into pieces, had his trainer not been there to help him…
It worked. His fire rose to his aid, ready to be spewed forth.
"Is that all?" Domo asked. "How weak. You need lots more practice. When you're really serious about battle, your tail flame should grow larger than you are, and it should even change from red to blue, then from blue to white. Well, of course, that can't happen while you're in this base, but still. Your fire is inadequate."
Char looked back at his flame. It was now roughly half his size, and still didn't look too terribly violent. He felt a little ashamed of himself, but the desire to better himself only grew.
"Nevertheless, this will do for the first lesson," Domo barked. "Now, here's what I want you to do. I want you to spit a small ball of fire at me, just like you normally would to an enemy."
Char focused. He felt as the fire slowly rose up his throat. Soon, it teetered on the edge, the urge to spew it becoming unbearable…
"BUT!" Domo suddenly shouted. "Just before the fire leaves your mouth, I want you call it off! Hold it back! Cancel the attack at all costs! Understand? Now, go! Breathe! Prepare for the attack, then stop it!"
Ugh… this isn't going to be pleasant, Char thought, wanting badly to relieve himself of the pressure.
Char cringed. Finding a spark of courage, he took a deep breath—the deepest he could possibly manage—then let it out.
But at the last moment, Char shut his muzzle tight, preventing any fire from escaping. At once, tiny little flames burst from his nostrils, and a terrible pain shot through his throat and stomach like he was about to explode…
Char coughed. It wasn't a painless cough, but a cough that felt like a claw tearing through his chest. He simply could not hold it back. Immediately, another cough followed, then a third. Char dropped to the ground, tears streaming from his closed eyes, as his lungs erupted over and over with painful spasms…
"Char!" Saura cried. "Are you okay?"
Char heard the voice, but couldn't answer. Instead, he coughed again, releasing a long, whistling wheeze that squeezed his lungs for all they had.
With each violent exhale, another pitch-black could of smoke was released into the air. When Char was finally starting to recover and open his eyes, he noticed that he literally could not see two inches in front of his face.
"And that's it!" Domo exclaimed, trying to fan the smoke out of the way. "That technique is known as the Smoke Screen. With it, you can fill the air with smoke and reduce the accuracy of your enemy's attacks. Also, being a creature of fire, you have a distinct advantage in a room filled with smoke… as you can breathe it freely like air… but your opponent may not be so lucky."
"Does… -cough- does it… -cough, cough- always have to be this painful?" Char hacked.
"Of course not," Domo said. "As you train, you will learn to bring your fire up to just the right level, and hold back at just the right time to release the smoke without injuring your lungs. It takes practice, but trust me, it's a skill you really want to learn…"
As the smoke spread and filled the whole room, Saura started coughing as well. But the smoke cleared soon after as it hit the ghost-flames on the ceiling and walls, somehow getting filtered by them. In only a minute, the air was as clear as always.
"Next, I have another skill to teach you," Domo said after transforming into Charizard. "Ah, look. Your flame has even grown! I knew your first attempt at producing a smoke screen would leave you annoyed. Perfect! Now, the technique I am about to teach you is a difficult one, and will become mountains easier once you evolve, but with a little bit of effort, you can learn it as a Charmander. Now… ready your fire!"
He doesn't have to tell me that, Char thought, still trying to recover from the painful experience. He… he deserves a giant fireball to the face for making me do that. Yeah! I'll show him weak!
Char clenched his fists, trying to act as offended and vengeful as he could manage, to fuel his fire even further…
"Ready?" the Charizard growled. "This time, don't hold back! Release your fire with all your might!"
Once again, Char focused. His fire was so much more powerful this time, flowing easily like a river of lava within him as it oozed up into his throat.
"BUT!" Domo boomed. "When your lungs have completely deflated, do not cease your attack! Just keep pushing as hard as you can! Do you understand? Keep going, even when you think you are out of power!"
Char couldn't wait for Domo to finish talking. With a great fwoosh, he spewed fire at the Charizard's belly. And held.
Whoa! Char realized as the flames kept coming from his mouth. I didn't know I could do this! I'm… sustaining the flame! How long can I keep this up?
Soon, his lungs were completely empty, but Char kept on pushing. The flame didn't even waver. For the first time, Char realized that maybe his Ember wasn't even controlled by his lungs in the first place. He wondered if there was a different, unseen organ in his body responsible for the attack. As long as he kept his mouth open, the flames just kept on coming…
The Charizard suddenly leapt out of the way of the fire, and something incredible happened. Char saw his fire fly several feet across the room!
Upon seeing the power of his attack, Char had to finally cut himself short. He took a deep breath to recover from the imminent suffocation.
"And that technique has been dubbed 'The Flamethrower'!" Domo explained to the wide-eyed Charmander. "Its magnitude is limited only by the level of your Ember's arousal. Its duration is limited only by how long you can hold your breath. You cannot spew fire and inhale at the same time, you see. But your Ember is ceaseless, and once the attack has been triggered, it will not stop until you cut it off!"
"That's awesome!" Char yelped once he regained his breath. "But… it's tiring!"
"Yes, indeed, it is tiring to use your fire," the Charizard said. "That's why you would normally just use the basic Ember attack when your enemy is weak, to conserve strength. Also, once you evolve, your body will become greater and stronger, able to withstand much more exertion than now, and your lungs will be able to hold more air. Your fire attacks will become… truly devastating."
The more Char thought about it, the more he couldn't wait to become Charizard. His mind drifted back to that feral-shard that he'd held a few days earlier, and wondered if it were still in storage.
"Now, just between you and me, when you evolve into Charmeleon, come see me immediately," Domo hissed. "I don't yet have a Charmeleon transformation."
"Wow, Domo!" Saura cried in amazement, approaching the Charizard. "Got any new techniques to show me?"
"Sorry, Saura," Domo said, shaking his head. "Like I said, I've been spending all my time as Charizard lately. But I promise, next time, I will be prepared with new techniques for you."
"Aww, okay," Saura said.
"Well, that's all I have to show you at the moment," Domo said. "Practice these new techniques well. If you use them properly, you might one day find yourself undefeatable!"
"Oh, we will!" Saura said happily. "I'll make sure Char gets plenty of practice. Just make sure you have those lessons ready for me!"
The lesson coming to an end, Char and Saura bowed to their combat trainer. Char started to experience the twinges of a feeling he never thought he'd have: true self-confidence. Using these new attacks, he knew he could count on himself to perform well in battle. It was a very pleasant, invigorating feeling. He wished for nothing but more of it.
"Glad I could help!" Domo shouted as they started to leave. "See you later, Team Peanuts!"
Char and Saura stopped in their tracks. They turned around oddly to see the Charizard with a gleaming smile on his face.
"What?" Saura blurted.
"Team Peanuts," the Charizard repeated, smiling even wider.
"You know we changed our name, right?" Char said.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know," the Charizard said, a slight giggle sneaking its way into his voice. "But… I just can't help but laugh whenever I hear that name. It's a shame you abandoned it when you did. Team Peanuts! Truly, a brilliant name!"
To Char's surprise, Domo began to chuckle.
As he did, parts of his Charizard body started to glow bright white, as if it were transforming, yet trying to resist the process. Its legs wobbled, growing and shrinking in size, and its wings and arms briefly turned the color of purple. Its face distorted and flattened, becoming a weird, almost nightmare-inducing blob of flesh.
"Right, Ditto can't hold their forms when they're laughing," Saura said to Char, rolling his eyes. "But seriously, I still don't see what's so great about that name. Why'd everyone like it? It's the worst team name there could ever be!"
Domo soon composed himself, and was able to revert back to his Charizard form. He concentrated and was able to keep from laughing, yet the smile stayed stuck to his face.
"You have to understand something," the Charizard said. "I don't know if you've realized it yet, but life on the resistance force is brutal. Every day we wake up, we have to cope with the fact that we chose this as our vocation, to fight as soldiers in a never-ending war against impossible odds. Pokémon die every day in defiance of the Master. And for what? They'll never know. We'll never know. There may come a day when the Master will finally fall. We'll never see it. And it's not going to be my doing, or yours, but the work of the truly great ones like Scythe. We're all just here to support them, really, doing our little parts to keep the world running… And every day, we have to just keep getting up and doing it again, and finding ways to… keep smiling."
"…Oh," Saura said. "So… it was good, because… everyone laughed at it?"
"It put a smile on everyone's face, yes," the Charizard said warmly. "And it made us laugh. You have to understand, we weren't laughing at you, but with you. Knowing that you chose that sort of name made us all respect you ever the more, and it gave us a little bit of joy as we went through our day. I, for one, pictured you becoming a great team such as Team Remorse, and keeping the name; that would have taught the Master to mess with peanuts!"
"Well, for the record, we didn't choose the name in the first place," Saura said flatly. "The secretary did, because we couldn't think of one."
"Ah, of course," the Charizard said, trying to hold back another laughing fit. "I suspected as much. You see, this sort of thing has happened before… Jay has a knack for making the best names. Several years ago, she registered a… a… 'Team Dumb Bunny'…"
That was it; he couldn't take any more. Domo erupted into laughter again, causing entire chunks of his form to fade into a purplish ooze. Char had to look away; watching involuntary transformation made his stomach retch.
"Well, let's go find something else to do," Saura suggested, rolling his eyes again at the Ditto.
… … …
When Team Ember decided to head for the mess hall for lunch, they were surprised to find it still pretty full, even though it was long past time for all the teams to be busy with their daily activities…
It's because of the ban, Char realized. These are all training teams who can't be on missions today. Just like us.
"Hey, I wonder if Team Stripes is here," Char wondered. "Maybe we could—"
"No, no," Saura said quickly. "Remember what Scythe said. No conversing with friends today."
Right, Char remembered. I almost forgot—we're still in the center of a huge controversy. Don't want to attract attention until this all blows over.
So, without saying a word to anyone else, Char went to go stand in line. Thankfully, the Pokémon around him seemed friendly to him, greeting him only with respectful smiles. He wondered if it was because they were all children on training teams who didn't quite comprehend the gravity of the mood that day.
"Everyone likes lunch!" the Bellossom cheered as it passed Char a tray of food and drinks. "Lots of mouths to feed today! Enjoy your food!"
Applesauce? Char wondered, looking at the food.
Without incident, Char gathered enough food for himself and Saura and returned to their table, one positioned inconspicuously in the room's far corner.
"How are you supposed to eat this without getting it all over you?" Char wondered, setting the food down and staring at the big mountain of golden substance in the middle of his plate.
"What's wrong with getting it all over you?" Saura asked. "That's normally what happens when you eat…"
Char crossed his arms. "Well, where I come from, that's considered rude," he said. "Humans have these things called—"
"Hey, guys!"
Char turned to see three Pokémon quickly approaching their table. It was Team Stripes. Ray, Taka, and a Meowth surrounded them, and Leo quickly brought up the rear.
Great, Char thought, his stomach upturned. Okay, nothing bad will happen if we don't say anything stupid. Just be friendly...
"Hi, Ray," Saura said, clearly with the same uncertainty as Char. "How's your day going?"
"Boring!" Taka answered, sitting down to the table. "I can't believe we're stuck at the base for a whole twelve days. This is going to be a long two weeks… It's hard to find ways to keep yourself busy."
"We know," Char said. "We've been trying all morning."
"Did you really see the Scizor?!" Ray asked excitedly. "What was he like? Did Scythe battle him? I still can't believe I wasn't there! I would have given anything for just one day out with Scythe like that!"
"Raaay!" the little Shinx whined. "We were there too, remember? We told you about this ten times!"
"Yeah, he never gets tired of hearing the story," Taka said, rolling her eyes. "And he's also never going to forgive himself for passing off the Ravine Woodlands duty to me."
"Well, I think you're lucky you weren't there," Saura said. "Scythe says we could have died."
"Nah, I really doubt it," Ray said. "Not with Scythe there with you. I still wish I was there."
At a pause in the conversation, Char took the opportunity to start on his food. Hesitantly, he lowered his mouth down to the plate and ate like an animal, getting the sweet, sticky substance all over his muzzle. When he looked up, he was surprised that none of the other Pokémon thought weird of the behavior. He wiped his mouth with his arm.
"So… guys," Ray said, lowering his voice. "Is it true? Do you have the Call?"
A lump formed in Char's throat. This was exactly the sort of thing Scythe didn't want happening.
"Uh, we don't really know," Saura lied. "I just thought it was an earthquake."
"Eathquake, shmeathquake!" the Meowth spoke. "Have you seen High Intelligence lately? They've been going nuts!"
"He's right," Taka said. "I heard that High Intelligence has been acting really weird ever since the big night last night. Even Dr. Orde really isn't himself today. We're starting to think the whole earthquake thing was just a cover-up."
"Uh, well, there's really no way we can tell for sure," Char said. "I mean, Scythe thinks it's the Call, but… well, it's not like we can tell what it was. We were asleep!"
"Then it has to be the Call!" Ray said. "Scythe's instincts are never wrong. That's why you're with him in the first place! He knew it from the moment he first brought you here."
Saura cast a mean glance at Char. Char bit his tongue.
"Hey, you two," Ray said quickly. "You know, you don't have to worry about us, right? We're on your side. We're not going to go blabbing your secret to everyone. That's not what friends do."
"Yeah! My lips are sealed!" Leo proclaimed.
"Our lips are all sealed," Ray said with a nod. "But… it's crazy. I've just been thinking about this all day… I think that big things are about to happen here. It'll be a real honor to be witnessing it."
Char's tongue was tied in many knots; he had no idea what to say. All he knew was that it was going to be a long two weeks.