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Clients: Togekiss & Happiny
Mission: It is far too depressing here. As the Queen Of All That Is Good I command that you take me there to solve this horrific problem. Oh, and bring along my servant too.
Dungeon: Foreboding Fields
Floors: Clients want to go to the last floor and make the dungeon happier.
Rewards: Soothe Bell + 1000PD

Verity the Eevee approached the entrance to the Foreboding Fields nervously. “I'm not sure about this...” she said with a shudder that sent ripples through her golden-brown fur.

“Oh, don't worry, it'll be fine,” her partner Yuki said, patting her on the back. “We don't have to go that deep. Although...” she said thoughtfully, staring at the dusty plain before them, “it'll be rather difficult to find flowers in this place. I mean, look at it! It's so... dry.”

“Right,” Verity said, staring ahead, reassured by the female Snorunt's lack of fear. She steeled her nerves. “Let's do this!” she exclaimed, plunging ahead. “That's the spirit!” cried Yuki, following her.

After a while of walking along the Fields, it was becoming clear that there wasn't much to see. “There are some flowers, at least, but I don't know whether you'd call them nice,” joked Yuki, indicating the dreary, wilted flowers off to their right. “Mm hmm,” said Verity absentmindedly. She stared at the brown sky above them. It was a dead sky, a sky of lost hopes.

She was lost in other such thoughts when there was movement in the higher grasses to their left. “What was that?” Verity declared in fright, jumping. “Um, I'm not sure,” said Yuki, equally afraid. They stood there for a few moments, and when nothing happened, they continued on their way.

“So, what drove you to join the Sun Guild, and a rescue team?” asked Yuki curiously, trotting forward from behind Verity to beside her. “Uh, I don't quite know. I guess...” said Verity thoughtfully, staring forward at a small hill in the distance. “I guess I just decided I wanted to bring sunlight to people, and to support Solaris.”

“Sunlight, huh? Is that why we're Team Nikko- or Team Sunlight?”

“Yeah, I guess so. See, once I accidentally got lost in the Warrior's Plateau. I was so scared- until a team came to rescue me. It was an Espeon, and a Pidgeotto. I was so glad to know I would be getting out. I never forgot how happy I was to be safe, and I decided that one day I'd save other Pokemon who were scared, or needed help, so that I could bring that same happiness- that happiness that felt like a ray of sunlight to me.”

“Wow,” said Yuki, staring at her. “That is so cool. Wish I had such a cool story.”

“Uh-huh? So what is your story?”

“Nothing much. I just like faraway places, and adventure, so I decided to join a rescue team. That's all.”

“That's not nothing! Wish I were as brave as you. I was terrified to come to the guild!”

“Hahaha, really?”

“Yeah!”

So engrossed were the two girls in talking that they didn't hear the rustling of grass as something approached. Eyes stared at the chattery girls from tall grass, shifting to follow them. And finally, it pounced. “Trike!” the Electrike roared, leaping from the grass.

“Eek!” the girls squealed simultaneously, leaping away from the other Pokemon.

They stared at it for a moment in shock and terror before relaxing. “Oh, its an Electrike,” said Yuki in relief. “You scared us.”

The Electrike stared at them angrily. “Trespassers! Trike! Electrike!”

“Trespassers?” said Yuki in confusion. “We're not trespassing, are we? We're sorry if we are.”

“Trespassers must die! Elec, elec, trike, electrike!”

“What?! Die!?” squealed Yuki.

Verity gasped. “I get it! I've read about this! Certain Pokemon, when they get lost in a dungeon like this one, will go mad and attack! They tend to not understand other Pokemon anymore! And they can't ever find a way out! Though I'm not sure whether that's good or bad...”

“No way!” said Yuki in disbelief. “We have to fight him?”

“Unfortunately, yes. It's the only way! But we don't have to kill him. If we knock him out, he'll leave us alone!”

“Argh... Okay!”

Verity stared at the Electrike for a brief moment before leaping forward in a Tackle attack. He leapt aside and Howled. Yuki stared at him with guilt on her face before using Powder Snow. Verity used Sand Attack so that he wouldn't hit them with his new strength before a quick Tail Whip. Whipping his head around, he fired off Thunder Wave a few times, hitting Verity and paralyzing her. Blinking the sand from his eyes, he used Leer on her. Yuki, noting that he would be more affected by a physical attack due to the Tail Whip, ran towards him and used Bite before he could hit her friend. Verity, recovering, used a final Tackle. The Electrike slumped to the ground with eyes closed after standing on wobbling legs for a few moments.

“We did it!” the girls cheered, jumping up and down. Movement caught Verity's eye and she turned to look at the Electrike. He was standing up feebly, looking at them with a new respect in his eyes. “Strong... Elec...” he muttered. “S-st-strong... Electrike... I leave now... Trike, trike.”

Verity nodded at him. “We won't kill you. Though why you'd want to kill us is beyond me.”

He gave her a blank look before nodding to her and moving slowly off into the grass.

“Wow. It seemed he really didn't understand much of what you said...” said Yuki softly, staring at the place where he had vanished into the dead grass. “It's kind of sad, isn't it? To not be able to understand other Pokemon, and to be stuck here...”

“Yeah. It is sad,” Verity said. “But probably not to them. To them, it's life. I don't think they know how much they've lost.”

“So, basically, it's sad?”

Verity laughed softly at her friend's stubbornness. “Yeah. Let's keep moving.”

As they started walking again, Yuki sighed. “How on earth are we supposed to find flowers- in this place? It's so... dead,” she said, rephrasing what she said before they entered.

“I know,” said Verity. “But, we were sent here to find some, so, we will.”

“Uh-huh. How did that Bellossom even know there are some here?”

“Well, she's a Bellossom. They're part flower or something. Anyways, I'm pretty sure she knows what she's talking about.”

“Okay,” said Yuki uncertainly.

After a while of moving along through the brown of the Foreboding Fields, there came a hissing from the grass. The girls froze as an Ekans came sliding out. “Ekansss... Trespassersss...”

“Another one?!” exclaimed Yuki. “How many are there!?”

“A lot,” Verity said grimly. Directing her words to the Ekans, she said, “We mean no harm. But if we must fight, then fight we will.”

“Fiiigght... Ekanssss...” hissed the Ekans, coiling itself for a strike.

“Great. Fight it is!” declared Yuki, sending out a Powder Snow. The Ekans hissed and lunged for her, coiling around her in a Wrap. “Ow- ow- ow!” Yuki exclaimed. Verity used Tackle on the Ekans and followed it up with Helping Hand. Sensing her new strength, Yuki used Bite on the Ekans' tail- hard. The Ekans yelped and dropped her, staring crossly at her before hissing and using Poison Sting. Yuki gasped and dodged it nervously. The last thing she wanted was to be poisoned on her first mission. As the Ekans lunged for a Bite, Yuki used Double Team and the attack went right through one of her many images. The Ekans stared around, startled, and Verity used Tail Whip and Tackle on him. Yuki materialized from her Double Team and used Leer before Bite. The combined attacks proved to be too much for the Ekans, and his head swayed around feebly before he lunged one more time at Yuki, falling short and relaxing with his eyes closed on the ground.

Verity sighed. “I warned him,” she said tiredly, and giggled. Yuki laughed a little, too, and they turned to look at the Ekans as he got up, shaking his head. “Huurrt... Ekansss... Strong... Leave... Sss ekansss...” he said, slithering off into the grass.

“Again, I'm struck by how sad it is,” stated Yuki.

“Me too,” replied Verity as they continued moving.

The Foreboding Fields... Not the nicest name. It was a field of death, and crazed Pokemon. High grass rose on either side, and the occasional gust of dusty, dry wind blew along lazily. Verity shook the dust from her gold-tinted pelt as one such gust finished. It was near silent, though faint rustlings could be heard.

“Gosh, it's creepy out here,” said Yuki, breaking the silence.

“Yeah, it is... Hehe...” said Verity.

The two broke into nervous laughter before falling silent again, striding along through the grass. Verity stared at the ground, at the grass, at the sky, anything in front of her just to make it a goal to reach. The drabness of the place was getting to her. She wished for the faintest hint of green, of life. The sooner they found the flowers, the better.

And then, the faintest whiff of fresh scent came to her. She sniffed again. Indeed, a fresh, perfumed scent, the scent of flowers!

“Do you smell it too?” she asked Yuki in astonishment. “What? The smell of dead grass? Yeah, I do.”

“No, no, the scent of flowers! Fresh flowers!”

“Wow! Really? You can smell way better than me, so maybe that's why I can't smell them!”

“Uh-huh!”

They sprinted forward. “There they are!” Verity exclaimed, indicating the brightly colored flowers ahead of them. But, as they skidded to a halt...

“Oh, no!” Yuki exclaimed, staring at the flowers as they wilted before their eyes.

“It's the ground. It doesn't have enough nutrients,” said Verity, sniffing at said ground. “If we picked them in time, we'd be all set.”

“Okay, so basically be faster?”

“Um, and be lucky...”

“Yeah, real lucky.”

They sighed and kept moving, now glancing around more frequently as they kept an eye out for the slightest splotch of color. Verity sniffed the air as well, as smell was what had first alerted them to the flowers' presence.

After several more encounters with flowers, each time being the same as the first, they heard rustling, and a Spearow came trotting out of the grass.

Yuki sighed as she stared at it. “Here we go again...” she said.

“Spearow!” was all the Spearow said before launching herself at the girls for a Peck. “Split up!” declared Verity, and the two dove apart. The Spearow got up, ruffled her feathers, and puffed herself up intimidatingly. “Row! Spearow! Spear spear!” she cawed and flapped over to Verity, using Fury Attack to hit her repeatedly while holding on with her claws. “Ow, ow ow!” cried Verity as the Spearow's beak hit her over and over and her claws dug in. Yuki used Powder Snow to distract the Spearow from her partner. It worked, and the Spearow released Verity, and turned to Yuki with a Leer. Yuki gulped as it began to fly towards her in an Aerial Ace. Yuki barely evaded with a Double Team. “Man, she's strong! For a little Spearow, that is...” muttered Yuki as Verity came to stand beside her while the Spearow prepared her next attack. “Yeah. Listen, I've got an idea. You know your Double Team? Do you think you could make all your Double Team clones move at once?”

“Um, yes, why?”

“Well, listen, I'll be bait. I'll let her hit me, then you surround her with a circular Double Team, and you rotate around quickly. It ought to confuse her some, because she'll have no idea where you are. Then I'll run out of the circle and run along with you, concealing myself. I'll jump in and out of the circle, hitting her as I do. She should be unable to hit us because- oh, no, here she comes! Get ready!”

Verity made herself run away as Yuki dove aside. The Spearow hit her with the Aerial Ace, then blinked in confusion at the sudden circle of Snorunts around her. She was even more shocked when she noticed that her prey was gone. Suddenly, Verity came diving out of the circle in a Tackle, hitting her and then running back away. The Spearow attempted to follow her, but Yuki blocked her from doing so. Bewildered by the movement of the many Snorunt around her, and the inability to see her chosen target, the Spearow was hit again by the Tackle. Verity continued to dive in and out a few more times, and the Spearow got weaker and weaker, cawing at her as she vanished once again. One more hit, and the Spearow was unable to get back up, and fainted.

“Yes!” declared the duo, high fiving delightedly.

The Spearow stood and stared at them. She seemed to be considering something. “Spearow?” she cawed softly, cocking her head. “What?” said Yuki. “We don't understand.”

“Row... Spearow... Flo- flo- er- Floer...”

“Floer? What?” said Yuki in confusion.

“Flower?” asked Verity gently.

“Fl- Flow- er...” said the Spearow, beckoning them to follow her.

Verity and Yuki exchanged glances, then followed the little Spearow through the grass as it cawed thoughtfully. Then the grass opened up to a clearing, and in the center, were a few, delicate flowers, newly grown. Verity gasped and ran towards them, nipping off the stems. Yuki turned to look at the Spearow. “How'd you know we were looking for flowers? And how'd you know these were here?”

“Evidently she'd been watching us. And she must have seen these when she flew up after that Aerial Ace. Maybe that's what took her so long.”

“Wow, that's really nice of her.”

“Yes.”

Yuki turned to the Spearow, who was smiling. “Thank you!” she said clearly.

The Spearow nodded, her grin growing. “W-well... co...”

“Welcome?”

“W-w-wel-come. Wel-come.”

“I've got them. Yuki, could you hold them?” asked Verity, trotting over with the red and white flowers.

“Sure,” said Yuki, taking them.

“Thanks for all your help!” Verity called back to the Spearow as it awkwardly waved its wing like it had never waved goodbye before.

“Alright. We've done it,” Verity said happily. “Yeah! We've done our first mission!” proclaimed Yuki in delight. And with thoughts of that helpful Spearow, the two exited the Foreboding Fields.

"Oh, it's you!" Verity exclaimed delightedly, looking at the Electrike and Spearow. "It's good to see you two. And you..." Verity said, looking at the Spearow. "Thank you for your help back there. Of course you can join." She nodded to the Electrike. "You put up a good fight, as well. But we'd prefer this Spearow on our team. Right, Yuki?" said Verity, looking at Yuki. "Yeah," Yuki said. She turned to the Bellossom. "Sorry, but this Spearow did us a big favor. But thanks for the seeds and the TM," she said with a smile as Verity took the bag into her teeth.

If you're sensitive to blood/gore/death, I seriously suggest you avoid this one!

Puer woke up from a rather relaxing afternoon nap. Sometimes it was nice to sleep a bit after lunch. He looked around the room; Tolin and Serrin were gone. Albus was sitting on a chair in a distant corner reading a book. He'd been kicked out of his room after Laura joined the team and was now unhappily residing with the rest of the group. “Do you know where Tolin's at?” “Dunno, I think he took Serrin out earlier. He's probably at the cafe or something.” “...Alright.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Steven examined the board carefully as he tossed his leek from hand to hand. He'd finally managed to get it organized, for the most part. When Solaris decided to abolish rank, the Farfetch'd had to reorganize the entire board. Multiple times, in fact; it was hard trying to create a functional organization system out of nothing. He had finally settled by categorizing the missions with loose type left to right and danger from top to bottom. That way the easier requests would move from the left—missions like “find my necklace” and “deliver this” in benign areas—to harder missions like “Defeat this pokemon” on the right. The more dangerous they were, the higher they went. He was satisfied with the system since it helped keep the dangerous ones out of the hands of inexperienced teams. Everyone approached the Bulletin Board from the left, and typically only evolved pokemon could reach the higher ones.

The slight crinkle of paper being handled caught his attention to the side. One of the sheets had fallen from the bottom left and was immediately crumpled by a vine. Some Bulbasaur had caught it... he was just a kid by the look's of it. He placed it on the floor in front of him and smoothed it out carefully to read. With a nod and a happy little blurb—how old was he?—he held up the mission. Well, it wasn't anything dangerous. It was some silly request from the “queen of all that is good” over in the Foreboding Fields. The damn thing came in every week even though he'd sent a “please stop sending requests” letter a long time ago.

And, well... he had a badge. It would be fine, right? Yeah. Steven gave a quick nod. “It should be fine. Go ahead.”

The Bulbasaur cracked a wide grin and walked off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Ekans quietly slipped between flowers and grass as he followed pace with the Bulbasaur. He wasn't fond of plants, but he was hungry enough that he didn't care. “Ssssss...” He would need a better place to strike. The Bulbasaur was smart; he was avoiding the taller patches of grass. If he tried to strike now he'd end up with a fight he didn't want.

So, he followed the Bulbasaur. He kept a parallel course about three meters away; plenty far to stay out of sight, but still close enough to keep an eye on his target. He curled around flowers in his slow, relentless pursuit. Sooner or later there would be a moment of weakness, and that would be when he would strike.

The ever-observant hunter noticed a figure skipping along in the distance. It hopped from tree to tree carefully with slight bursts from it's wings. It had to be a local, probably a Spearow from the size. “Ssssssssstupid birds...” They always hunted the same things as he. Hell, they'd even tried to hunt him; at least the bigger ones had. The Fearow pretty much ruled the plains. There were a few types and groups that could stand up to them, but there was nothing that preyed on them.

The distinct flutter of leaves signalled the departure of the Spearow. The thin branch it had been sitting on was left shaking violently, it's leaves catching the wind. What a stupid predator. It's take-off had been so violent and ear-catching that even the unobservant Bulbasaur had noticed it. The plant simply stared at the Spearow as it flew down towards him at increasing speeds. Wasn't he going to try and attack...?

The Crunch!that punctuated the Spearow's assault was answer enough. It fell to a crumpled heap on the ground. The force had caused it's beak to press back into it's face, tearing up skin and letting blood flow freely. The Ekans laughed quietly under his breath. “Heh, sssssstupid bird hit a barrier.” The Bulbasaur walked off. He was either unaware of the damage he did or he just didn't care.

The Ekans' tongue shot out slightly. “Well... I've alwayssss preferred meat to plants.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Servant! Servaaaaaaaaaaaaant!” He sighed. What did she want now...? He turned to face the “throne” of dying grass and dead flowers. “Yes, mistress?” The small Happiny shaked her “scepter” violently, causing the plastic marbles inside to rattle. “Why is this place still so dreary!? I sent a request to the guild ages ago! Why has no one arrived!?” The Togekiss sighed. “I have no doubt the guild will deal with our request as soon as possible. Politics have been complicated as of late. I imagine their top teams are simply busy at the moment.” The little pink fluffball shook her rattle to punctuate her words. “Nonsense! I demand that you send a letter to their king immediately! As fellow royalty, he should respect my requests!”

He sighed. This happened every week. Why couldn't she just realize that no one cared? The foreboding fields were worthless to the kingdom, as was the word of the “queen of all that is good”. There wasn't a chance in the seven hells that anyone would actually bother. “Very well, mistress. I will send another letter to the office of the Guild of the Sun requesting that they prioritize the issue.”

He was startled to find a Bulbasaur sitting directly behind him. It stared up at him with a stupid grin devoid of any cognitive thought. That was strange, though... Bulbasaur weren't native to this area and no one ever wandered into the foreboding fields. “...? May I help you?” The small creature promptly turned around and waved the back of his bulb in the Togekiss's face. It... had an explorer's badge tied to the back? And the rank... Knight!?

“Mistress, it appears the guild has responded to our pleas. They've sent a knight.” For all the good a Bulbasaur would do in curing the impossible. Nothing would make this place any nicer. “Excellent, bring him this way at once!”

The Bulbasaur stepped under him and moved towards the “queen” and sat himself down in front of her. “Wonderful! Tell me your name, sir Knight!” Sir Knight stared back at her blankly for a moment before barking out a single word. “Serrin!” She nodded back happily. “Wonderful! Sir Serrin, I charge you with the task of bringing back joy to these fields! Take my servant with you and he shall aid you in your quest.”

The Bulbasaur grinned stupidly as the Togekiss looked back and forth between the two. “Mistress, are you sure this is a good idea? Surely a knight is capable of handling himself.” She let on a wide smile. “Nonsense, William! You know the plains well. I'm sure your help will be invaluable to Sir Serrin.”

He sighed. “Very well.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A pair of eyes observed the group closely from a far-off tree. The intense gaze rested on the Togekiss. It was a gaze of hatred; a gaze one gives to an enemy most foul, a rival most vile and an insurmountable foe. The Togekiss had been a thorn in his side since he was born. Nothing in the fields could top the creature; it was too fast, too strong. Many had tried to attack it. None had succeeded.

He watched silently as the Bulbasaur walked off with the Togekiss floating idly behind him. A grin hinged on the corner of his beak. He might not be able to beat that Togekiss, but the little Happiny he so fiercely protected was something else entirely...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Sir Serrin, are you sure this is the best way to go? There's nothing over here.” In spite of William's continued protests, the Bulbasaur showed little sign of stopping. He would occasionally pause and glance about before sniffing at the ground slightly and adjusting himself with a slight turn. Other than that, it was if he were simply wandering aimlessly. He moved through dead flowers and around half-dead trees to hop over a small creek, only to continue forwards.

Did he have any idea where he was going? He didn't seem to. William paid careful attention to each turn as it was made; it was almost as if they were moving in a circle. Did this Bulbasaur have a clue as to what he was doing? For that matter, how old was he? He certainly didn't seem to be very mature. He hadn't even spoken besides the one instance of his name.

The flapping of heavy wings tore him from his thoughts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ohh, what's taking them so long?” The small Happiny shook her sceptre slightly in her hands. They'd been gone for forever! When were they coming back!? These fields certainly weren't looking any happier!

She hardly noticed the heavy flapping of the wings behind her. The slick, smooth beak that caught her and held her tightly; painfully. She began to scream. “Ahhhhh! Let me down! Let me go!” The bird was silent in response. “Please! I beg you! As the Queen of All that is Good, let me go!”

The Fearow ignored her plight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

William smashed into another Spearow, sending it sailing through the air into an unconscious heap. “Worthless vultures.” The flock had come down on them at about ten strong. Nine of them littered the ground as the tenth fled back into the forest. They had no doubt seen the Bulbasaur as an easy target. Not that that seemed to be an inaccurate assumption; Serrin hadn't done anything during the entire fight. He had hardly taken notice in them besides a benign curiousity.

Not that it stopped him from marching right off as soon as the fight was done. William zoomed ahead of the Bulbasaur in order to stop him. “Really, now! Sir Serrin, are you certain you know what we're doing?” The Bulbasaur nodded happily, proclaiming, “This way!” and started marching off in a completely different direction from the one he was heading in previously.

William spent the next ten minutes considering just turning around and heading back to his mistress. It was dangerous to leave her alone, even if it had only been about thirty minutes. He was surprised when a flash of pink was swung in front of his eyes. The bulbasaur had one of his vines wrapped around... a flower? And a living, vibrant one at that. The open petals seemed to glow a magnificent shade of pink. It was... pleasantly surprising. It clashed so strongly against the dreary mix of brown and green of dirt and dying grass, but it was beautiful in it's own right. Serrin was smiling widely.

“Yes. This will do wonderfully.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Queen held her eyes shut tightly. This was all a bad dream, right? Any moment now she would awaken to William telling her that she had overslept and that breakfast was long since ready.

She was relieved to feel the solid ground below her. Had it really been all a dream? Had she woken up from the nightmare? As her eyelids flitted open, it became painfully obvious she hadn't.

She sat in a Fearow's nest. She sat surrounded by Spearow smaller than herself. The large, menacing Fearow sat above her, guaranteeing no chance of escape.

Her voice choked out between sobs. “Mo...mmy! Daddy! Will...iam!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no.” William darted about the area the girl had so questionably dubbed her “throne room”. She was nowhere to be found. The Queen was absent from her station.

His attention was pulled to Serrin by a quick guttural noise. He zoomed over to find the bulbasaur carefully examining a very smooth rock. A rattle laid just a ways away, further towards the forest. They were the ones mistress always carried.

There wasn't a moment to waste. William flew into the forest with his ears praying for the slightest cry of his mistress. Serrin tore into the forest behind him at extraordinary speeds for such a small body. The wind carried not the hopeful cries of a Happiny, but the joyous squawk of Spearow and the faint scent of blood.

The Fearow stood on the branch above as it watched it's children. William wasted no time. A forced motion with his wing shot forth a blade of air which cut down the branch bearing the nest. Spearow hopped out as they flapped their wings against the force of gravity. A small, pink ball tumbled out of the nest as it hit the ground. William's scream of rage echoed off the trees. “LEAVE! LEAVE ME AT ONCE!”

The Fearow would have none of it. An angry cry acted as a precursor to a take-off. William tensed for a fight when he noticed the pair of vines crawling up. They slipped around the Fearow's neck and then tightened, their full force pulling the bird down. It's long neck acted as a sort of weakpoint; even the slightest pull could tear it down. The bird crashed down beside Serrin, who promptly turned over and shot a puff of sleep powder into it's face.

Another scream from William had the Spearow fleeing as quickly as they could. His gaze and his attention refocused on the Happiny lying on the ground. He turned her over gingerly and began to cry. One eye was wide open, frozen in a perpetual state of terror. The other lay closed, the eyelid drooping inwards for lack of anything to stop it. Her “ponytail” was gone; ripped off entirely at the base. Her stomach had been pecked open. Blood leaked slowly from the fresh wounds that covered her body. “Mistress... Mistress Elizabeth...”

His tears turned to rage as he faced the unconscious Fearow. Life was too good for it. A slight, methodical rustling of his wings was accompanied by a dim glow as the ice shaped around the Fearow. He'd been hoping for something a bit more violent, but it would have to do. He began to glow a deep, azure blue before his entire body crashed into the ground with a jolt.

The Fearow wouldn't be doing anything anymore.

He looked back to face his mistress to find that Serrin had dug a hole. It was hardly deep, but it was large enough to fit something small. His gaze turned from the hole to Elizabeth and then to William. Tears welled in his eyes as he nodded. “Please.” The small Bulbasaur returned the grim nod and carefully, gingerly placed her in the hole. He brushed the dirt back over the hole.

The boy moved back towards the nest. His vines moved about as they grabbed something from the ground. He returned with the small, precious pink flower. The small bit of joy he had managed to scavenge from the field. He placed it quite simply on the freshly turned earth.

“Thank you.” Tears streamed down his face. “Thank you so much. I'm sure she would have loved it.” Serrin's bulb let a small puff of powder loose which calmly settled on the grave. A small amount entered the Togekiss's mouth as he breathed it. It burned against his skin. Serrin closed his eyes and touched his head to the ground in front of the grave.

And with that, he was off. “Ah! Please, wait. I must reward you for what you've done. I'm sure she would have wanted it.” Serrin turned and nodded. “And... I must thank you myself. I'm not so naive as to blame you for what happened. You had only the best of intentions.”

William led his younger companion back to the “throne”, which he promptly blew away. A small bell lay inside. “She always insisted we keep the reward close in case someone came. She wanted to make sure we could fairly compensate any who helped us.” He looked down at it sadly. “Thank you.”

Serrin nodded.

"Shoo, you. This isn't the place to get an easy meal." William nudged the Ekans off (which was quite a feat for the floating servant) until it took it's own stride and left. William returned to gazing awkwardly at Serrin, who simply gazed back. It was quite some time before he finally spoke in a quiet but dignified tone. "I have nowhere else to go."

Serrin's mouth curved into a smile--not one of necessarily "joy", but one of friendly understanding. He opened the door in front of him and turned on his heel to face William expectantly. A voice chimed from inside of the room. "Serrin, you're back." The elderly Scyther came to the door and looked at William carefully. "Please, come in and tell me what happened." William nodded woefully. "Of course."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tolin quietly sipped his tea as the Togekiss related his tale. From his birth and adolescence to his protection of Elizabeth and her death. He did, indeed, have nowhere else to go; the field had been his life... And no longer could he bare the place.

"If you want to join the team, that would be fine." William shook away the tears; the end of his tale had been a painful one to recount. "Thank you, Tolin." Tolin shook his head. "Nonsense. I wouldn't turn you onto the streets with nowhere to go. So long as you're willing to function as a member of the team, I have no objection to you staying."

"Of course, I wouldn't dream of staying for free. Though... I wish to make somewhat of a greedy request. The Soothe Bell that was offered as a reward... I would like it back." His eyes turned downwards to avoid Tolin's gaze. "...It's all I have of her." Tolin gave his wordless assent amidst a sip of tea. "Thank you. At the very least, I must repay your companion for what he did. For one so young, he was quite mature." Serrin spoke in the most sagely tone the young body could handle. "Not young. Ooooolld." Tolin chuckled, as if privy to some inside joke no one else would understand.

"Welcome to the team, William."