Hey, sorry about the wait, but it's time for a new chapter! Its full of adventure, intrigue, and most importantly, stuff! Gotta have that stuff. Plenty of stuff...Anyways, just read it ^_^'
Also, for any of you that haven't all ready, please read my one-shot. It's all right. But it needs more comments, so please, help a guy out?
The Gift
Chapter 10
All that Glitters is not Gold
April looked at me, confused. "But, isn't that a good thing? Why do you sound so worried?"
"Well, I wasn't able to before but I can now. It means something...something still happening with me. It's as if whatever changed me into this isn't finished." I was staring at my paws.
"You look like a normal Pachirisu to me though."
"No, not physically. It's messing with my head. If it can change how I read, who knows what else it could change. And that...scares me."
"Oh, I get it. Don't worry, Sparky. I'm sure everything is gonna work out fine. I promise!"
"Thanks, I guess. Hey, you really perked up, what's gotten into you?"
"Er...Well, I was mostly upset before because I had truly thought that everyone was gone. But seeing Spinda and the others made me happy again."
"And your house?"
"I guess I just let myself get carried away before. Truth be told, I had always planned on moving eventually. To Treasure City, in fact. It's the biggest city for hundreds and hundreds of miles. Salvage Springs was actually formed from adventurers from Treasure City that wanted to make a name for themselves without having to worry about competition. Anyway, it's really late, so we should find a place to stay. We're already at city gate, so maybe we can find an inn or something."
"I see." We started walking down the main street looking for an inn. "It's kind of neat that you've always wanted to live here. It's almost as if...it was always meant to happen."
"It really is something...Oh! Look, over there on the left!" April pointed at a tall white-washed building. It had a sign that glowed somehow with words written in PokePrint.
"'Treasure Hotel,'" I read. "Well, at least it's obvious. Not a very creative name though."
"Teehee! Sparky, it's the main hotel in town. Why need anything fancy in its name?"
Her giggle's back! "Well, I dunno. Eh, forget it. By the way...do we have any money?"
"Eep! Shoot, I have some with me, but I left the rest...in the bank. Which no longer exists..."
"Oh no. I wonder if they'll transfer the funds or something."
"Sparky, it doesn't work that way. It's not like it's insured or anything. Where'd you come out with that thought?"
"Um...I dunno. I don't even know why I suggested it. Maybe human banks work that way?"
"Maybe, but not Pokemon banks. We've never had to really worry about it, and there's no real way to transfer Poke easily. Once the money is gone, it's gone. Anyway, I should have enough on me for a room for us."
"It's going to suck having to make all that money up again."
"Yeah. It'll be rough for a while. But come on, we're a Salvaging Team! We'll make more money than I ever had!"
"That's the spirit, I guess. Well, there's no point in hanging outside the inn. The idea is to be in it, yes?"
"Teehee, Sparky, you make me laugh. Come on!"
There's that laugh again...Gosh dang it! Not again. This feeling is getting harder to ignore... April pulled me closer to the door and pushed it open. Inside was a building like I had never seen, or at least, from what I could remember.
The walls were solid and not made out of the thrown-together wood that I was used to seeing. Bright stones were set at intervals in the ceiling making the inside seem like daylight. The walls held some of these crystals as well as some carved statue decorations made to look like various Pokemon. The floor had some sort of red furry material covering it. My subconscious pulled up the word
carpet and I figured that must have been what it was called, though I'd have no idea how they would have made it.
To our left was a archway leading into another room. It had many tables and its own strange wall decorations. A restaurant maybe? A sign above the arch confirmed it. On the right side was another archway. The walls and floor in there had some sort of padding. Various stone, wooden, and metal objects littered the place. The sign for that arch read 'Gym'.
Directly across from us was a sort of desk with various papers thrown across it. Behind the desk was a black and white female Pokemon. She was smiling at us.
"Welcome to Treasure Hotel! I'm Gothitelle, how may I help you?" she spoke.
"Um, we were hoping to get a room for the night," April replied.
"Well, of course!" She wrote some things down with a black stick-like object. "Er, how tall are you?"
"About a foot, I guess," April answered.
That's an odd question, I thought.
"All right. You look about three or four inches taller than that, but it'd be the same size room anyways...and your friend is the same height, it seems." Gothitelle scribbled some more things down. "All right, that's that. Your room is down the hallway to the right, up the stairs, and it will be the third door on your left. Here is your key." Gothitelle handed April a small metallic rod with a groove on the end.
"Thanks! Come on Sparky, let's go check it out." We rounded the staircase and found our room. The door was flush with the wall and it had a small hole in the side of it, just off the ground. April inserted the key into the opening, jiggled it, and pulled it out. A small clicking noise sounded as she did that, and the door creaked open.
"Wow. All of this is very different than Salvage Springs. This is amazing!" This whole hotel had amazed me. I couldn't remember if I had seen something like this before, but it was certainly different than April's hometown.
"Oh yeah. See, Salvage Springs really isn't, er, wasn't the most advanced city. Anyways, what do you think of the room?"
I had thought April's house was nice. This, on the other hand, was just beautiful. The walls and the ceiling are styled just like the rest of the hotel, that is to say, wall decor, pretty light crystals, and red carpet. There were two small beds to the right of the room, at least, I thought they were beds. They were almost like a wooden boxes with a light furry material inside. They weren't anything like the piles of hay that we were used to sleeping on. There was even a small fireplace opposite the beds. The wood and fire rocks were even provided. Directly across from us was a nearly bare wall with a single window. It was open and the cool night air flowed through it.
"Wow...This room is really nice! And it's the perfect size for us too." I walked over and sat on the bed, which was only slightly longer than me with my tail stretched out.
"Um, of course it is. All Pokemon inns and hotels have different sized rooms for their customers. It only makes sense really."
That does
make sense. That's why Gothitelle had asked our height before. Why didn't I think of that? I stretched out over the covers and yawned. The bed was very comfy, almost like my tail. "Ah, this is much better than hay..."
April hopped onto her bed as well. "Mhmm. I've been in a few hotels like this. Now, don't get used to it, because I don't exactly have a lot of money left and this room a little pricey."
"Oh, that's right. So what are we going to do?"
"Well, we're a Salvaging team, remember? So we'll Salvage, teehee!"
"That's as a good idea as any. We've only ever done one Salvage, what kinda team would we be with only one under our belt?"
"Exactly. And if that's the case, we'd best get to sleep. We'll need our rest."
"Right. Okay then, good night, see you in the morning."
" 'Night," April yawned. She laid down flat on her front and quickly fell asleep. She must have been tired. I flattened myself out and tried to sleep, but I just couldn't get comfortable. I curled up on my tail like normal, and then I could finally sleep.
The dream I had that night was different than my normal dream. Everything was dark except two subjects. On the right was a Pachirisu. It was me, and yet, it wasn't me. On the left was a slightly tall teenage human.
Was that me? When I was a human? He looks very familiar. But I can't remember. The boy and the Pachirisu were arguing about something. I couldn't remember what they said though, because I forgot the words when I woke up. Just then, as soon as the Pachirisu began to growl in frustration, something woke me up quickly.
It was still night time, though the sky showed hints of orange at the horizon. A strong wind was blowing through the open window. Standing in the window was the silhouette of a slender humanoid Pokemon, only slightly taller than us, with a feather sticking out of its head. In it's claw was the Uxie's gold pin that I had rescued from the Mankey a while back! The Pokemon then jumped out of the window. I ran over and saw it hoping from rooftop to rooftop until it was out of view.
"Sparky? What's wrong?" a dreary April said.
"We've been robbed! A Pokemon came into our room and stole Uxie's gold thing! They took off and jumped out this window."
"Well, did you see who it was?"
"No, it was too dark. But I saw the shape. If I saw them again, I'd know who it was."
"That really stinks. But I guess we'll have to report it to the police tomorrow. It's still too early, and I'm still sleepy."
"Don't you even care?"
"Of course I do, Sparky, but I'm tired and the police aren't going to take a case this early."
"Grr, fine."
"I'm sorry Sparky, it's only until tomorrow." She laid back down.
I walked back to my bed and tried to go to sleep. After a little while I managed to, but I didn't dream anything.
When morning came, April was up before me and she was checking her purse. Apparently none of money was stolen, thankfully. She kept the purse on her at all times, so that's probably why. I slung the item bag over my shoulder, April closed the window and locked the door, and we left the hotel.
It was early morning and the sun was still hidden by the taller buildings. We didn't know where we were going, so we stopped a rather impatient Zigzagoon and asked him where the police station was. He directed us and hurried on his way.
We navigated wide, busy streets full of Pokemon rushing to work or other such places. We rushed through dark alleys home to less honorable Pokemon that, thankfully, left us alone. We passed empty lots that displayed various signs about construction. Treasure City was vast indeed.
After making all the winding turns, we arrived at a dull, gray building whose open doors were guarded by two short humanoid Pokemon. Pawniard, they were called. They nodded as we passed them. Inside was no more colorful then the outside. There were desks with a variety of Pokemon rummaging through papers. I was able to name off a Bisharp, some Riolu, Simisages and Simipours, as well as a dozen other Pokemon I couldn't name. Magnemite floated to and fro. The place was bustling.
In the center of the room ahead of us was a Lucario behind a large counter. He was having a serious conversation to a strange group of three Magnemite, all stuck together. April said it was called a Magneton. Huh.
Next to the desk was a board full of dark posters displaying cool looking Pokemon.
"That's the Wanted Board. It shows all the current un-captured criminals and their respective bounties. Teams of Pokemon, be them Rescue teams, Exploration teams, or even Salvaging teams, can go out and arrest the criminals and earn a reward from the Sheriff. Handling outlaws is tough, but the pay is good," April explained.
"Oh, maybe that Pokemon that robbed us will be on the board. I might be able to pick them out if I can see a picture." So April and I navigated over to the poster. I caught the Lucario eyeing us from behind the desk while we walked, but he soon returned his attention to the Magneton.
The board was full of nasty characters. There was a Metang, a Servine, a Zorua, and a couple others. But on the bottom right was a poster of a dark purple, almost black, humanoid Pokemon. She had a feather sticking out of her head and her glare was piercing, even if it was just a poster.
"That's it!
Sneasel. She's the thief!" I exclaimed.
"Hm. The poster says to give any information concerning her straight to the Sheriff. It doesn't say anything else."
"All right, I'll do just that." I walked over the counter, which was several inches taller than me. I frowned. Then I saw a little bell and rang it, figuring that's what I was supposed to do.
"Hm?" Lucario mumbled as he leaned over the counter to peer at us. "Oh, sorry, I realize the counter is a tad too high, heh heh. Come around the back if you need to speak with me."
We rounded the corner of the counter, then another and found an opening in the desk. Lucario finished his conversation with the Magneton, who floated over us and went on his(?) way. Lucario gave a friendly smile. "So, I am Sheriff Lucario. What is it that you need?"
"Um, I was kinda robbed by Sneasel. I was hoping you could help," I admitted.
"Sneasel? That shaky devil has been thieving things all over the city. She's strange though, she never takes any money, just some random object, usually gold or silver looking."
"Yeah, she took my gold pen thing. It belongs to a friend of ours. I was going to return it, but then it was stolen."
"I see. Well, think you can tell me anything about the robbery?"
"Not really, I was half awake at the time. It happened just before the crack of dawn. I barely caught sight of her as she jumped to another building's roof. She hopped from rooftop to rooftop for a while, then disappeared. She probably jumped into an alley or something."
"Uh-huh...And where did that all happen at?" Lucario was printing things on a page in a messy PokePrint scrawl.
"Treasure Hotel, just inside of town."
"Hm. Most of the sightings have been around the hotel. She must be staying somewhere near there. Well, it's not much to go off of, but if we see her or the pen, we'll let you know. Is that all right? I'm sorry I couldn't help you further."
"No, that's okay. Thanks anyways. I'll tell you if I see her again." We said our goodbyes and April and I left the building.
"Think I'll ever get the pen back? It was Uxie's..." I asked April.
"You should have more faith in the police force. Lucario may be nice, but he's no pushover."
"I know, it's just that--hey, wait a minute! Look, up there, on the roof across the street!" Across the street from us was Sneasel, smirking at us. I motioned to the Pawniard and they ran inside to get Lucario. Sneasel took off on the rooftops and April and I gave the chase. We didn't want to lose her, even if it was sure to be a trap. I followed on the ground, not taking my eyes off of the criminal. April was flying above her, in hot pursuit. It may not be her fight, necessarily, but April was determined to help.
In the process of trying to not lose my target, I ended up running into a poor Squirtle and knocked him right over. I quickly apologized, but the Sneasel was no where to be seen. I saw April rush into an alley from above, however, and so I followed.
"Eey-yaa!" April screamed. I grew wide-eyed and I turned the corner into the gap between the buildings.
In the darkness, three figures glared at me, including Sneasel. April was squirming while she was trapped by a long black tail that belonged to the figure in the middle. He spoke, and I was suddenly very angry.
"Hey Sparky, you don't mind if I take your sweetheart around town with me for a while, do ya? What, are you surprised to see me? Heh heh heh..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sooooo, whats gonna happen? Whose the bad Pokemon? Do you think that I don't think that you think that it's you-know-who? Did you follow that at all? Why do I always ask you stupid questions after every chapter? Guess we'll just have to wait until Chapter 11, right?
