Resignation Chapter 2
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Just like that, it all came to a halt. The two exhausted Pokemon panted in the darkness, both in some degree of disbelief after what just transpired. Many joked about something like this happening. The two of them always dismissed it, made it seem as though it would never happen, and yet, here they were.
With a parting kiss, Shroomsworth lifted himself off of PK with a huff. “How do you feel, Miss PK?” he asked in a whisper.
“Like I’ll die if anyone finds out we did this.” She hadn’t lost her sense of humor just because her fellow guild leader was charming, after all.
Neither had he, thankfully, as he responded with a gleeful chuckle, “I believe we share that sentiment. The common riff-raff doesn’t need to know. Perhaps you should go clean yourself up and re-accompany Sandy, in that case. I will tidy myself up shortly after.”
Shroomsworth reached down to help PK up and onto her feet. “I will continue to tell not a soul if you ever have the urge to visit me again, however,” he continued on in a tone of amusement, though quickly became serious, “... Thank you, for everything, madam.”
PK looked up at Shroomsworth, and the two of them smiled at each other. The dim light was just enough for both of them to tell as they parted ways.
“I really hope I don’t regret this...” PK whispered to herself as she snuck her way out to the HQ’s washroom to have a quick shower. She constantly ran what just happened through her head. Perhaps the greatest proof that there was no regret was the fact that it made her smile. It was a smile she wore even as she exited the washroom, clean as a whistle.
Shroomsworth was waiting outside as she exited. He gave her a quiet nod and a smile before taking his turn. With a knowing grin, she headed off to her room to finally get some rest, only to be met with an unfortunate sight.
There was Sandy, splayed in what could only be described as a pile of Pokedollars. All of the sorting they had done earlier was undone.
“Eugh...” PK quietly displayed her displeasure, but sought not to wake Sandy. She tried, at least.
The Kecleon unceremoniously flopped onto her soft mattress and pulled the cool sheets up over herself. It felt like a wave of exhaustion hit her all at once as soon as she was in her own nice, comfy, familiar bed, and she drifted right off to sleep, happy as can be.
Meanwhile, Shroomsworth had settled in for a second try at sleeping, himself. Something nagged at him, though. “I do hope there is no more trouble over all this...”
“... State your business, wretch.”
Merlot’s voice echoed lowly through her castle’s throne room. The Lugia was giving audience to a visitor of hers, and she was none too pleased about it. Even having her head maid and closest servant, Udon, accompanying her did little to keep her mood up.
The Sneasel cowered before her, only to be nudged by one of the two others behind him. “Uh... on behalf of the Slasher gang, we were sent to inform you--”
“Silence!” Merlot’s voice boomed, nearly flooring the Sneasels before her throne. It even startled the Dragonite next to her a little! “I will not accept you as some sort of messenger boy for that idiot. Fetch him to speak to me personally, if he wishes to take any of my time.”
The terrified Sneasels looked at each other in panic, then shoved the one in front, who stumbled forward a few steps. Looking up at the unamused Lugia, he attempted to reason with her, “B-but Lady Merlot, he is very busy, and--”
“Do not talk back to me!” Merlot shouted once again, causing the Sneasel that had spoken to her to run all the way behind one of his companions and hide behind him in fright. As quickly as she had become angered, Merlot took but a single sip from her glass of wine and calmed right down. “You would make ugly servants. If you do not leave, I will simply have Udon beat you for my amusement.”
The Dragonite next to Merlot flashed a wide grin at the three terrified Sneasels, cupping one of her paws and balling the other into a fist, connecting them together with a threatening smack.
That display was all the Sneasels needed to bolt right down the carpet that had lead them into Merlot’s throne room to begin with, exiting her castle post-haste.
The cloaked Lugia sighed, taking another sip of her wine before idly resting her cheek on one of her wings. “I really don’t understand my luck, Udon. My castle is surrounded by an entire forest full of Pokemon, and they’re all horrid and ugly. Good help is so hard to find, is it not?”
“Yes, mistress Merlot. Would you like me to prepare a warm bath for you to relax after this stress?” Udon was quick to offer the sorts of luxury she knew Merlot enjoyed.
“No, thank you. It would seem that band of misfits actually wants something from me. We’ll be likely to hear from them again soon, and if nothing else, I want some entertainment out of this.” Merlot explained, gazing at her wine glass as she gently swirled it about, watching the colored liquids sway against the sides as she waited to grant another audience.
“Ah, look who it is,” Merlot interrupted herself. She was speaking to a Dragonair, outfitted in frilled maid wear as all of her servants were. “Instruct the chefs to prepare the usual, Soba.” With a single clap of her wings, the Dragonair gave a single nod and slithered off to the castle’s kitchen.
A familiar Weavile approached Merlot’s throne, a fair bit more confident than the Sneasels that had preceded him. Of course, two of them were following him, as always. “I hear you don’t like my gang tryin’ to tell you stuff. Do you really need to waste both of our time like this?”
This disrespect angered Merlot. She stood from her seat, stepping forward and lowering her head level with Slasher’s, glowing eyes fixated on him. “I did not grant you audience to listen to you complain. State your business or die.” Her voice hissed and grumbled. She wasn’t kidding.
Despite that threat, Slasher seemed relatively calm, simply gazing right back at her as he shrugged his large claws into the air. “Fair enough. We found a dragon that escaped from your castle. How’s that for business?”
Merlot backed off somewhat. “Hmph.” She turned, cloak ruffling noisily in the air with the gesture as she walked back to her throne and settled into it once more. “Bring it to me.”
“That might be a problem,” Slasher went on to explain, “you see, it’s in the care of the Merchants’ Guild. They’re keeping it from you.” The way Slasher told it made the Sneasels behind him snicker quietly.
Merlot tilted her head up in a moment of thought. “Merchants’ Guild... oh!” A smile suddenly came over the Lugia’s face as she recalled past experiences. “That Breloom spoke of his status within it as he was paying his toll. He was quite easy to work with. Very charming and business-minded,” Merlot mused, pausing to take a sip of her red wine. “I do not believe he would steal from me. You are mistaken.”
Frustrated, Slasher stamped his clawed foot on the carpet. Its soft surface muted most of the noise the gesture would have made. “He tricked you! We saw it!” He had to convince her somehow. Things were personal, after the previous night.
Merlot calmly clapped her wings together again, which signaled Udon to lean in close at her side. “I am bored, and we dine shortly. Make them leave.”
As Udon began to approach, Slasher stood his ground. “You can’t just have your servants get rid of us! We’re trying to tell you something important! Don’t you care that you’ve been stolen from?!” he complained in his frustration.
An annoyed grumble sounded from behind Udon, which prompted her to step aside.
“I’ll tell you something important, gutter trash.” Merlot stood from her seat again, though she didn’t approach Slasher this time. “I am not intimidated by you backing yourself up with some pathetic gang. You cannot hope to do anything on your own. It is always ‘we’ or ‘us’ with you. I may have my servants, but I certainly do not rely on them to pull my weight as you do.”
This lecture made the Weavile rather upset, bringing him to bare his teeth as he clenched them together. “Are you callin’ me a coward?!” he growled through them.
“Yes,” Merlot replied calmly, “you are a coward. If you have some sort of agenda, deal with it yourself instead of throwing your weight around. Now, begone from my castle, and don’t come back.”
Merlot’s tone softened as she turned to the Dragonite, who was really quite tickled. She always seemed to be when Merlot was stern with someone. “Udon, escort them off the premises and join me in the dining room.”
With that, the Lugia exited her throne room.
“You heard the mistress. Leave, or I will bring the fury down upon you!” Udon stated. Her tone seemed so stern, like Merlot’s was, but soon enough, she couldn’t help giggling to herself. “Oh, I always wanted to say that!”
Slasher was livid. Being talked down to like that made him see red. He was inclined to attack the outfitted Dragonite in a fit of rage, when one of the Sneasels behind him tapped his shoulder.
“Boss, calm down. We should just go...” the Sneasel timidly suggested, only to have Slasher whip around and deliver a hook to the side of his face, flooring him.
After the display of anger, Slasher grumbled as he turned to exit the castle. The Sneasel that was still standing hurried to follow along, and the one that he floored pulled himself up with a pained groan, shooting a pitiful glance at Udon before jogging to catch up to the other two.
“What a jerk...” Udon commented under her breath, before leaving to join her mistress.
Meanwhile, dusk was falling in Tao Village once more...
“You’re in luck! 5 Poke. They’re on sale.”
PK handed an Aspear berry over her stall to a sniffling Piplup, who immediately began chewing on it as she deposited the money on the counter and walked off toward the Rescuers’ treehouse. It was shaping up to be a cold night, so they were likely to be holing up in there for warmth.
Oh, things went so smoothly today! Not only was PK in a good mood after the previous night, but she was making a killing on Aspear berries today. Many Pokemon were coming down with the sniffles, and those did the trick! She hated to admit that she had the same ailment after an earlier excursion into the Icy Cave, but they worked just as well for her, and the Merchants had a lot of them to spare!
“Hm... I think I need to restock,” the purple Kecleon mused aloud as she peered under her stall. No more Aspear berries down there. Everyone was snatching them up like hot-cakes! Her head popped back up from behind the stall, only to be met with an odd sight.
A Sneasel was approaching PK’s store. It had a standard, green guild scarf... wrapped over its eyes. The cloth dangled down over his nose as he outstretched his arms, feeling his way around. “Hello! I’m just another Rescuer, here to b-- aagh!”
His dialogue was cut short as he took a turn and smashed head-first into the side of the Merchants’ HQ. A rather klutzy maneuver, to say the least.
PK sighed and folded her arms as she watched the ‘blind’ Sneasel stumble closer to her stall, holding his paws against his pained, covered nose. “This is stupid...” she muttered, leaning over the counter top and forcefully tugging the scarf down to the Sneasel’s neck. “Oh... ew...”
He had quite a shiner close to his eye. Someone socked him real good prior.
“Oh, um... please don’t hurt me!” the Sneasel begged and cowered, going so far as to crouch and cover his feathered head.
“Eh..?” PK hadn’t quite pieced anything together until that point. After all, there were honest Sneasels living in Tao Village. However, she spotted a familiar bruise on the back of the Sneasel’s head, now that he was crouching. Her eyes widened.
“You... you were following Slasher around!” she exclaimed. “I gave you that bruise!”
The Sneasel looked up rather timidly, still crouching with some degree of fear. “I know... please don’t hit me again, I’ll leave!”
PK sighed, stepping out from behind her stall and approaching the cowering Sneasel, who only cowered further, as though he could just curl up and disappear if he wanted it enough. “Jeez... just tell me what you want, alright? It had better be good.”
The Sneasel peeked up at PK through one of his claws. “I... th-they came here... I did too. And...” His voice sounded not only timid, but young. How odd.
PK’s impatience was beginning to show as she tapped her foot. “Spit it out!”
Intimidated, the young Sneasel shook somewhat. “He made me... distract you! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!!” He began to sob mid-sentence, crouched upon the ground.
“Distract me..? … No!” PK immediately dashed past the crying Sneasel into the HQ as fast as her legs could possibly carry her, zooming past several Merchant teams who were trying to warm up and relax. They were allowed to use the HQ lobby and public quarters for such things, after all.
“Madam?!” Shroomsworth turned his head with surprise as PK ran right past him, almost startling him enough to make him ruin the piles of neatly-sorted Pokedollars he had put together. He had taken it upon himself to do all of the counting he was responsible for the previous day. However, something seemed urgent, prompting him to stand and quickly hurry behind PK.
The two Pokemon approached the door to PK’s quarters, which PK herself threw open as quickly as she could.
No one was there. The only window in the room was neatly cut open, as if by precise movements by a razor-sharp claw. They must have hardly made a sound as they broke in.
“Sandy..!” PK began looking all over her room in disbelief. Surely she had fought back! Maybe she hid somewhere! “If Merlot took you back, I’ll beat her stupid face in!”
It was a sad sight, indeed. Shroomsworth moved to comfort PK in her loss, when he felt an odd tugging on his tail, turning about to see a green-scarfed Sneasel with a bruised, tear-stained face.
“They’re not takin’ her to Merlot. They’re takin’ her to the top of a waterfall in the forest.”
Shroomsworth leaned his head in close, staring him down. The Sneasel seemed quite quick to rat out his fellow gang members, which aroused all sorts of suspicions.
“Why are you telling me this, hm? A trap, perhaps? You ruffians are certainly not above that, eh wot?” Shroomsworth kept his eye on the Sneasel. He didn’t even seem to be insulted by what was said to him, like others in the gang likely would have been. Rather, he seemed intimidated. Curious.
The odd Sneasel looked away, reaching up to wipe his eyes with the back of his paws. “He hit me, right in the face. I didn’t even do noth-- ahh!”
The story was cut short as PK marched right up to the Sneasel and grabbed him by the scarf, roughly tugging him face-to-face with her. “Show us where they went. Now!” she grumbled angrily, staring the Sneasel down to the point that he almost began sobbing again.
A familiar red claw gently placed itself on PK’s shoulder, drawing her attention up to Shroomsworth. “Miss PK, please... I believe he’s just a child. Do ease up on him.”
It was true. Everything from the tone of the Sneasel’s voice, to his actions screamed that he was rather young. With an agitated sigh, PK’s claws released the Sneasel’s scarf. “Sorry...” Her tone was begrudging, though not toward him. He was giving them a lead, at least.
Shroomsworth looked on with a relieved smile. Things could easily have gotten out of hand if she had scared him away. “Thank you, madam. Now...” He turned to the Sneasel, speaking in the gentlest tone he could muster, “will you please lead us to this waterfall? It is very important to us. Sandy is one of our own.”
The Sneasel gazed up at Shroomsworth for a moment, then twiddled his claws together as he looked away. “I dunno if that’s a good idea... they won’t like you bein’ there...”
“Do I look like I care?! We have to find Sandy now!” PK exclaimed. She held more concern than anything else. If they weren’t taking Sandy to Merlot... who knows what they’d do with her.
Just as Shroomsworth was about to speak up, the Sneasel did first. “I’m gonna show you! Just... lemme do it, okay?” His voice was shaky and tense from stress. It was hard to fake that sort of thing, and of course, harder to fake his bruises.
He started off from the HQ entryway, leaving Shroomsworth and PK to peer at each other with concern before cautiously following along.
Once again, it was dark outside. Not only that, but there wasn’t so much in the way of moonlight, this time as ominous clouds rumbled overhead. It was likely to begin a heavy, cold rain before their return. It couldn’t be avoided, though. Sandy needed their help.
“This is ridiculous! It’s even darker than last night!” PK exclaimed as the three quickly made their way into and through the forest. “Are you sure you know where you’re going?!”
The Sneasel briefly turned his head, so as not to distract himself from his path. His eyes fixated on PK. They held not an ounce of frustration for the way she had been speaking to him. “Yeah, boss showed me how to work the forest.”
The more he talked, the more he seemed like a poster child for corrupted innocence. Slasher must have taken him on as a close apprentice of sorts, if he was allowing him to follow so closely despite his young age.
“Absolutely vile...” Shroomsworth thought to himself as they carefully made their way through the cold darkness of the forest. This Sneasel was likely manipulated even more than he was. He couldn’t help but relate.
“Young lad, what did you say your name was?” the Breloom spoke up from behind. They weren’t quite moving so briskly that conversing wasn’t an option. They had a ways to go, and pacing was key.
It was an odd question to hear. The Sneasel was silent for a moment, letting the fact that anyone was so interested in him sink in for a moment. “Rhodes, sir.” It seemed appropriate to address the Breloom as such, with the refined way he carried himself!
“Ah. A fine name! If you don’t mind my asking... what is your relation with Slasher?” Shroomsworth had a genuine interest in this. This Sneasel didn’t seem like the type that would knowingly aid in ruining his guild leadership. Surely he must have had some good reason for following Slasher around.
“Oh... um, he calls me a bodyguard! I protect him, and stuff.” Rhodes didn’t even flinch at admitting such a thing, as though it were completely natural. He just kept leading them through the darkness, always checking his surroundings as though he were a skilled pathfinder.
“Bodyguard..?” PK really didn’t understand it. Sure, a young Sneasel wasn’t much different in stature from an old one, but surely Slasher would choose more experienced and worldly Sneasels to accompany him personally. “So you were there to protect him when I... we... ah...”
It was true. The realization hit her that she had socked a juvenile Sneasel unconscious. She didn’t know at the time, and it may not have been avoidable if she wanted to help Shroomsworth. But, still...
“Madam.”
PK perked up out of her train of thought, looking in Shroomsworth’s direction. He was peeking right back at her through his monocle as they walked, and he didn’t look happy.
“I believe the wretched Weavile’s idea of a ‘bodyguard’ is a body to throw in front of himself when things go wrong.” Shroomsworth frowned and shook his head in disappointment. “The fiend uses children as a shield.”
“What?!” PK simply looked disgusted. It made sense, now that she thought about it. How could he do that?!
Rhodes turned his head, attempting to explain away the accusation as well as his younger mind could. “He can’t really help it... lots of us aren’t real old or anything. When someone in the gang gets older, he... um, well, he makes them leave... we don’t see them anymore.”
There was a brief silence. There was a lot of thinking to do after a statement like that, particularly for Shroomsworth.
It was always thought that the Slasher gang was a bunch of Sneasels who just followed their leader because they were petty thugs just like him. No one could have guessed it was like this. It was hard to tell their age without interacting with one of them at length, yet they usually just stuck to the forest and only socialized with each other.
“I’m sorry I hit you.” It was the only thing PK could think of to say. She couldn’t bear the thought of being as bad as him, or anywhere near it. To even consider that she could have no remorse over it. Sure, they were helping him shake down Shroomsworth before, but they didn’t know any better.
Though it was too dark to see well, Shroomsworth smiled wide. It was a heartwarming thing to hear. Though she was often rambunctious and playful and it was part of her overall charm, it was nice to see PK’s caring side. He turned his head forward again with a nod, though it was likely unseen. “Yes, dear boy. We would not have harmed you if we had known.”
“... Thanks...” It was weird. As far back as he could remember, Rhodes had never been apologized to in his life. He could only remember being ‘shown the ropes’ by the boss, and being praised. Slasher outright called him better than the others, because he always listened. He never talked back, and always looked out for his boss like he was told to.
And yet, Slasher struck him. That Dragonite who had never seen him before looked more concerned for him than the Weavile did after they left the castle. It made him confused. Made him feel sick to his stomach. This is what he got after he tried to be the best bodyguard he could be.
A mild sniffle was heard, but the Sneasel didn’t stop, reaching up to grasp his scarf and wipe it over his eyes, drying the forming tears so he could continue to lead the two Merchants through the dark forest. They seemed pretty smart. Maybe they’d know what to do.
Rolling thunder rumbled overhead. The three looked up, but only the Sneasel could make anything out.
“It’s snowing...” It was just barely visible to him through the small gaps within the tree leaves, but it was unmistakable.
Just hearing the mention of snow made PK shiver. It was cold, and the last thing she wanted was to be reminded of that fact. “Ugh... let’s hurry up! I don’t wanna be out here without any Aspear berries...”
Soon enough, an unmistakable rushing noise could be heard in the distance.
“We’re really close... they probably know we’re here already,” Rhodes warned. They were usually pretty keen on sensing trespassers. It was how they’d find them and shake them down.
Sure enough, the clear, flowing water could be both seen and heard through the wooded forest. The mild shine of the water seemed to illuminate things ever so slightly, though with such little moonlight, it wasn’t much help.
To the immediate right of their approach, the river quickly converted into rapids, leading to an eventual minor clearing and cutoff as it dropped off of a cliff into a waterfall.
Shroomsworth and PK could only make out silhouettes, but what Rhodes saw seemed to upset him greatly, as he immediately began rushing along the side of the river to the cliff’s edge.
“Don’t do it!” The Sneasel witnessed several of his brethren hefting an unconscious Sandy. It took several of them to lift her, but they managed.
As the two Merchants approached, they could make out what was going on, thanks to there being little tree coverage near the cliff. Several Sneasels were preparing to heave the poor Deino off of the side of the waterfall!
“No! Put her down!” PK yelled aloud, rushing forward and almost shoving Rhodes out of the way. Her approach frightened the Sneasels, causing them to harmlessly drop Sandy upon the ground and back away. The jarring impact managed to stir her half-awake, though it wasn’t easy for anyone else to tell.
“Miss PK, do be careful! This is very unsafe!” Shroomsworth called out, being the last to approach. He didn’t like how close they all were to this cliff. Something wasn’t right.
With all the excitement, no one paid much heed to the freely-falling snowflakes. They were only in a small clearing, but that was enough for them all to feel the little frozen, crystallized droplets slowly drifting down onto them. It hadn’t been going on long enough to collect on the ground.
As the initial shock wore off, the other Sneasels approached Rhodes angrily. “What’s the big idea? You know boss wants ‘em all gone!” The Sneasel couldn’t help but shout so he could be heard above the rapids.
The statement was enough to make Shroomsworth scoff as he leaned down, attempting to awake Sandy.
PK also looked her over as thoroughly as she could manage in the snowy dark. It was important to make sure she was alright! Luckily, she was completely uninjured. Just a bit later, and that may not have been the case.
“Where are we? Near water?” The Deino was out like a light that entire time. She didn’t even know she had been kidnapped! She lifted her head tiredly, as though she had just awoken from a really deep nap.
“Yeah... we’re going home now...” PK turned to the Sneasels, since they were actually somewhat visible now. They might be young, but that didn’t make them exempt from her anger when they were ready to basically carry out murder. “You should be ashamed! You would have killed her!”
Most of the present Sneasels looked confused at the accusation, as though that never occurred to them. Were they really so brainwashed?
Rhodes had at least a vague understanding of what they were going through. “Boss isn’t always right... I think we shouldn’t listen to him anymore!” He attempted to talk some sense into the other Sneasels, who seemed outright scared at those very words. Questioning Slasher appeared to be highly discouraged among them.
Suddenly clearing his throat, Shroomsworth stood upright before Sandy and turned about, peering down at the shorter Sneasels. “Do you know why you never see your older brethren again?!” he asked with purpose. He had a very good idea of what was going on here.
Every Sneasel, even Rhodes, simply looked confused. Some shook their heads, some shrugged blankly.
“When one of you becomes mature enough to oppose his position as your leader, he exe-- agh!”
In the blink of an eye, a dark blur rushed out from the top of the nearest tree. Any rustling it had caused within the leaves beforehand was masked by the sound of rushing rapids. The blur collided directly against Shroomsworth’s chest, knocking the breath out of him.
With the ‘blur’ having come to a stop against the Breloom, it could be correctly identified as Slasher himself. The heavy impact sent Shroomsworth tumbling backwards with him, and the two rolled back off of the cliff, claws attempting to latch onto one another before the impact of rolling down the rocky incline separated them, leaving them to fall into the mist of the waterfall’s destination.
It had happened too fast for anyone to react. PK and Rhodes both ran desperately to the cliff’s edge and looked over it. It was too dark and foggy below to see anything.
“Shroomy!” PK yelled out, hearing her own voice echo into the lower cliff area. After that, only silence. She could feel her eyes tearing up as she turned and grasped Rhodes by the scarf in her frustration and sadness. “How could you set us up like this?! He liked you!”
She was met with equally tearful eyes. The poor Sneasel was confused. “I-I didn’t know about this! He only told me about taking the Deino here, I swear!”
The other Sneasels looked on in shock. They’d just seen their own leader practically commit suicide! In truth, he hadn’t told any of them he’d even be there, much less that he would pull such a sudden attack. It was somewhat scary to think that they might have no more leadership.
PK felt lost. She wanted someone to blame, to exact revenge on, but the only someone wasn’t here. He was gone, and so was Shroomsworth. She let go of Rhodes’s scarf and simply sat down. It felt like all she could do right now was sob openly in the cold, dark night. That is, until a familiar, blue face nudged in against her arm.
“We should go down there and see if he’s okay.” Sandy always had a way of being strangely direct about these things. Perhaps not actually seeing it was helpful in giving her a different perspective.
It made sense. It was hopeful. They had to try.
PK sniffled once more, then wiped her teary eyes, standing back up and facing the group of young Slasher gangers. “Is there a path down..?” Upon being met with silent disbelief, she asked again, louder and with some of her frustration returning, “is there a path down?! Come on!”
In the face of a dire situation, most of the Sneasels just continued to be lost. It’s as though they were explicitly directed not to think on their own. Their weakness was so great that they began to disperse in a panic, fleeing into the dark woods where they felt most comfortable.
All of them except Rhodes. He stopped his sniffling and approached PK. Despite his wounded face and confusion over his leader, he looked quite confident. “I know the way around... follow me close though, okay?”
The young Sneasel quickly began rushing upriver, prompting Sandy and PK to follow him. For better or for worse, they were going to find Shroomsworth.
