For The Guild- Ch. 4

     The next few weeks seemed to confirm Chatot's worst fears. There was definitely somebody after the apprentices, as Bidoof's attack was only the beginning. A few days afterwards, Sunflora dragged Corphish back to the Guild in a terrible state, covered in burns and cuts. She was in hysterics, the only intelligible things to be heard from her being "Luxray," and "Attack". From what Chatot could gather, a Luxray had surprised them both and had brutally attacked Corphish before Sunflora could fight it off. Not long afterwards, Sunflora's luck ran out as she became the next victim. Loudred brought her back unconscious, demanding Pecha berries.

     "I SWEAR we were on our guard, Chatot!" he tried to explain to the furious Head of Intelligence as Sunflora was being treated. "But, this Ariados came out of nowhere! It just jumped down from the ceiling right on top of her! I dropped our bag and ran to help her…" he trailed off.

     Chatot felt his eye twitching irritably. "You DROPPED your bag?!"

     "It was weighing me down! I needed to get to her quickly! It was trying to tear her apart!" Loudred defended himself. "I was able to fight it off… Sunflora probably could have handled it if it hadn't snuck up on her… But she was poisoned badly. I went back to get something from the bag to help her, but… it was gone."

     "Gone! Because YOU left it unattended!" Chatot yelled furiously, throwing the blame on Loudred. This set Loudred off. He began shouting at full volume.

     "I HAD TO! YOU DIDN'T SEE WHAT IT WAS LIKE! YOU WEREN'T THERE! YOU'RE NEVER THERE!"

     At this, Chatot fell silent. What could he say to that? Loudred was… right. He never went on normal explorations. He only ever went on the Guild expeditions, and even then, he usually accompanied the Guildmaster. He was never with the apprentices. But what could he tell Loudred? It was embarrassing to admit that the reason he never went was because the Guildmaster had forbidden him from doing so. After all, whenever Chatot went on explorations, he had a nasty habit of… sacrificing himself for his teammates.

     His mind went back to the time he joined Team Shine in their exploration of Brine Cave on the Guildmaster's orders. He remembered seeing everything in slow motion: The Kabutops and Omastars descending from the ceiling, Team Shine's surprised faces, Kabutops's scythe slashing towards Morgan. He remembered dropping everything, forgetting all the precautions and rules he had drilled into the heads of Guild apprentices for years. All he could think of was protecting her. Even if that meant doing something incredibly stupid. He remembered taking the hit, the pain, the blood, the unconsciousness, the bandages, the recovery…

     He put his wing up to his chest, touching the still-visible scar. Loudred took notice, and his face suddenly went from contortions of rage to a look of understanding. After an awkward silence, they both mumbled apologies to each other and turned their attentions to Sunflora, who was now sleeping peacefully under the effects of Chimecho's careful healing.

     That night, it was unanimously decided that there would be no more explorations for a while. Even the Guildmaster agreed that something strange was going on, and it would be in the best interests of the Guild to lay low until they were sure it would be safe. The injured apprentices would have plenty of company while they recovered, as the remaining recruits were content to spend their time fussing over them. Meanwhile, Wigglytuff and Chatot sat together in the Guildmaster's chamber, trying to sort everything out.

     "Can I tell you my theory?" Chatot asked wearily. They had just spent an hour going over all the facts of the attacks. It was a different species of attacker each time (they assumed). The attacker always targeted just one of the apprentices at a time. They always caught them by surprise, seemingly as if they were lying in wait for them. They were vicious and brutal, but were easily fought off by the victim's partner, almost ensuring that the injured one would make it back to the Guild.

     Wigglytuff looked at his friend. He already had an idea of what he was going to say. "Of course, Chatot."

     Chatot wasted no time in laying his theory out in detail. "It was Mr. Mime and Ditto! They want the Guild, and they'll play dirty to get it. Ditto knew we wouldn't sell the Guild. That's not really why it came here. It was scoping us out! It was checking out all the apprentices, figuring out who was affiliated with us… Then, they cornered them. Either they hired different Pokémon to attack our recruits each time or… it was all Ditto," Chatot said, suddenly having a spurt of brilliance. "Ditto could easily have transformed into different Pokémon each time, making sure that our injured recruits would make it back here… to serve as a warning. They want to scare us into giving them the Guild. I'm sure of it. It's just like Mr. Mime."

     Wigglytuff considered this for a few moments before offering his opinion. "That… does seem to fit. But are you certain that Mr. Mime and Ditto would do something so terrible?"

     Chatot nodded grimly. "Guildmaster… You remember what they were like back then. How can you still doubt the fact that they're evil? They've been our rivals since we started exploring! They ALWAYS played dirty! I know you just want to be friends with them… but… it's just not going to happen, Guildmaster. Some Pokémon don't WANT to be friends. They just want riches. And they'll do anything to get them. They're smart, Guildmaster. Even I have to admit that. They're going to use your friendliness against you. They're… manipulative. …Do you understand what I'm saying?" Chatot looked pleadingly up at Wigglytuff. He'd been trying to explain this to him for years. Hopefully, he would listen this time. "You have to trust me," he implored.

     He was surprised when Wigglytuff smiled at him. "Of course I trust you, Chatot. You have the safety of the apprentices and the Guild in mind. If you really think this is all a plan to take over the Guild… I believe you. What should we do?" His face suddenly became solemn.

     Chatot was relieved that the Guildmaster had finally accepted the truth, but he wasn't quite sure what to do now. "I suppose we'll just wait and see what they do next. But we can't give in to them."

     Wigglytuff nodded. "That's right. We'll do everything we can to protect the Guild and our recruits. We won't let them have it."

~~~

     "Footprint detected!" Diglett's voice rang out from the sentry tunnel. It was the next morning, and everybody was very subdued due to the lack of exploring. Everyone perked up at the idea of a visitor. Hopefully it would be somebody interesting.

     "Who is it?" Loudred shouted.

     "The footprint is… Mr. Mime's."

     Chatot suddenly felt ice-cold. I knew it, he thought, horrified. Quickly, he whipped around to see the Guildmaster with an uncharacteristically grim look on his face.

     "Come on, Chatot. Let's go see what he wants," Wigglytuff said, his normally childish voice full of authority. Chatot didn't dare disobey. They made their way up to the top floor of the Guild and exited the tent to meet their visitor.

     Unlike the rest of his species, Mr. Mime didn't look funny. He looked intimidating. Maybe it was the plain fedora perched on his head that made you wary of him, or maybe it was the constant look on his face that let you know he could kill you any time he wanted to. While Chatot could easily face Ditto with scorn, he could barely bring himself to look at Mr. Mime. Truth be told, he was absolutely terrified of him. He hid himself behind Wigglytuff as the normally cheerful Pokémon greeted the visitor with distain that Chatot had never heard in his voice before.

     "Hello, Mr. Mime. You want something." Once again, Wigglytuff was not asking a question.

     Mr. Mime took the fedora off his head and held it with both hands, trying to look respectable. However, the smirk on his face took away from the effect. "Hello, Wigglytuff. I assume you know why I'm here."

     "I have a bit of an idea."

     "I was wondering if you'd reconsider taking me up on my offer. I've heard that your apprentices have suffered some… casualties lately," Mr. Mime said, relishing in the moment.

     Oh, like you don't know exactly what happened to them, Chatot thought angrily. He would have said this out loud to Ditto, but he was far too intimidated by Mr. Mime to be disrespectful. The Guildmaster, however, had no trouble standing up to him.

     "Some of them have been hurt pretty badly. But we're taking special precautions now. Nobody else will get hurt," Wigglytuff said confidently. At this, a most unpleasant grin made its way across Mr. Mime's face.

     "Ah, but you see… that's the problem. I don't think you have what it takes to run this Guild efficiently. Too many of your apprentices are suffering extreme injuries. One would think that you're not… preparing them well enough. Some might think this would be enough to… take away your authority."

     Chatot felt stunned. No. They wouldn't… surely this whole thing was just leverage… They wouldn't actually try to obtain the Guild… through legal action?

     Mr. Mime continued when neither Wigglytuff nor Chatot said anything. "You see, I've been gravely concerned for the welfare of your young apprentices-" Codswallop, Chatot thought, "- and I feel that Ditto and I might be more suitable leaders than those who would willingly allow such young Pokémon to fend for themselves without the proper training."

     Chatot finally found his voice, although it didn't come out as forceful and confident as he had hoped. "We give our apprentices plenty of training! They know how to take care of themselves! Our apprentices are outstanding!" He felt his knees shaking as Mr. Mime looked condescendingly down on him.

     "Oh, but I don't think so. And unfortunately, neither do the authorities."

     "Y-you… went to the authorities?" Chatot asked disbelievingly. Mr. Mime nodded.

     "Of course I did. The Exploration Federation seemed to feel the same way I did. I couldn't let something like this continue. More young innocent Pokémon could get hurt. Or worse." Chatot understood that to be a threat. He silently hated himself for recoiling and sliding back behind Wigglytuff, who had decided to speak again.

     "I can't let you take over, Mr. Mime. This is our Guild."

     But Mr. Mime didn't look discouraged in the slightest. He smiled widely as he said, "But it's mine, now." He looked behind him and nodded his head, signaling several Pokémon out from various hiding places. Chatot recognized Ditto, Officer Magnezone, and several Magnemite deputies. No… This can't be happening.

     Mr. Mime looked at the Guild leaders. "It's been decided by the Exploration Federation. I'll be taking the Guild either way. So you can give it to me willingly, or the law enforcement will make you give it to me." He looked back down at Chatot. "Where's the deed, Chatot?"

     As he looked up at Mr. Mime, demanding the deed to his home, his one true place, the place where his family lived, he felt all his fear drain away. Anger replaced it. "You'll get the deed to this Guild when you pry it from my cold dead wings."

     This passionate statement didn't appear to impress Mr. Mime. He simply shrugged and said, "Very well, then." He turned to Officer Magnezone. "Officer, if you would." Magnezone and a few Magnemite deputies started moving towards them. Neither Wigglytuff nor Chatot backed down an inch.

     "Are you really not going to cooperate? That's a crime you know. Are you really prepared to resist the police?" Mr. Mime asked them, obviously overjoyed at the scene. Ditto stood behind him, grinning wider than ever before. Chatot felt conflicted. He couldn't just step aside and let them take the Guild… but he couldn't resist the authorities either. They would go to jail. He quickly tried to make up his mind.

     But Wigglytuff made the decision for him.

     "YOOM-TAH!"

     Wigglytuff's Hyper Voice came suddenly and ferociously, knocking everyone over. They were in for it now. Attacking officers… That was definitely enough to put them in jail. Chatot had no choice but to join the Guildmaster in their last stand. Defending the Guild.

     It didn't last long. Mr. Mime's psychic powers suppressed their abilities long enough for Magnezone and his deputies to overpower and restrain them. Wigglytuff looked sadly at the officer they had cooperated with on so many occasions. Magnezone seemed apologetic, but he had to do his duty. Chatot couldn't believe this was happening. Everything he had ever loved was affiliated with the Guild. It was his home, the only place he ever felt he belonged. And it was being taken away from him.

     The Guild members had heard the commotion and had run outside to investigate. They stood in uncomprehending horror, watching their leaders being dragged away in restraints. Mr. Mime and Ditto stood to the side, watching the scene with triumphant delight. The sight was too much for Chatot to bear, and he instead settled his gaze upon Wigglytuff beside him. He couldn't comprehend the look on his face… couldn't tell whether it was sad, angry, or determined. Then, Wigglytuff looked over at Chatot.

     They shared a look of comradeship. If anything, at least they were going out together.