>CHAPTER 3
Cloak and Dagger
"This weird dream again..."
Alphonse sat atop an unknown bump in the surface. All of his senses were blurred, and he could hardly make out his surroundings. But he was content because deep down, he knew where he was, and he knew what would come next.
His sense of hearing would be the first thing to clarify within him, as he heard the roaring and crashing of waves. As the waves roared louder and louder, the raging of seawater would awaken his next two senses, that of taste and touch. A single great wave, the largest one yet judging by the sound, slammed into Alphonse, spiraling his body back in a torrential crash. Refusing to put up a fight as the waves carried him away, he lay motionless, as still as he could while he was being whipped about by the surges of water. Alphonse ricocheted between waves for what felt like hours.
Yet despite the strange and nerve-wracking sensations laid out before him, he remained stoic.
As the waves began to massively shrink in intensity, he slowly found himself drifting further out into the sea, up until he would bump his head on something.
"Easy there, I've got you," a sweet voice called out to Alphonse.
The voice was so sweet, it emitted a notable scent, one most akin to the smell of fresh strawberries.
While Alphonse basked in the calming lure of aromatherapy, he heard the gentle beating of wings and also could feel himself being lifted out of the water by two stubby arms.
"Now, what were you doing in that storm all by yourself, little one?" the sweet voice inquired.
Alphonse found his final sense, his sense of vision, come back to him as he rubbed his eyes and peered around unenthusiastically at his surroundings. He was atop a small wooden water vessel, in an endless green sea accompanied by an azure blue sky. He would've been totally alone if not for his rescuer, the Butterfree from his past dreams.
"If I knew, I'd tell you," Alphonse said plainly.
The Butterfree cocked her head and returned a concerned, albeit pained, look back at Alphonse.
"You're awfully nonchalant for someone who was adrift at sea."
"Mm. Sorry, it's just... I've relived this experience so many times, I'm not really fazed by it anymore," Alphonse said.
"You... 'relived' it? Like, you've been stranded out at sea by yourself multiple times?"
There was a notable concern threaded in the Butterfree's voice.
"Of course he has."
In that moment, Alphonse realized he and the Butterfree were no longer alone. Slowly turning around to look over his shoulder, Alphonse felt his heart sink into his stomach when he realized nobody else was there behind him.
"Who was that?" Alphonse said, projecting his voice higher.
As he began to look around, he noticed the Butterfree was no longer with him either.
"You're getting wise to the game, I see," the grim voice said tauntingly.
Now scrambling around frantically, Alphonse desperately continued searching for either the Butterfree or the owner of this new, strange voice. There was an anomaly in this dream suddenly, something Alphonse was not prepared for, and both he and the grim voice knew it.
"You think you can run from us, huh?"
After the uttering of those words, the ship suddenly went up in flames, causing Alphonse to nearly jump out of his skin from the drastic change in tone. He felt the lucidity he previously equipped fall from his grasp, and despite the erupting flames, he continued to search for any sign of company.
He panicked, crying out with anything he could utter, but despite his desire to rage, his mouth made no sounds whatsoever.
"Look to the edge."
Alphonse continued to weave and dash away from the erupting flames, but he felt his movement begin to slip with every motion he'd make. With nearly half the ship engulfed in fire, he began to rage even harder, still refusing to give up his search.
"WHERE ARE YOU?!" Alphonse screamed.
Alphonse's heart raced; he had regained his voice once more, but even then, something about it didn't feel right; it didn't feel like he had any control of it.
"Jump," the grim voice echoed.
"MOM!! DAD!!" Alphonse hollered.
After uttering his last words, a grand salvo of explosions rocked the boat, splitting it in two. He tumbled back into a wall, clinging on for dear life as the bigger shard of the ship split off and cannonballed into the ocean. The broken ship piece briefly submerged under the waves, extinguishing the flames engulfing it before resurfacing and allowing Alphonse to catch his breath. Hacking up a lung full of saltwater, he frantically felt about his body with his arms, making sure he wasn't wounded during the blast. Crawling over to the edge to get a look at his reflection, he peered into the water and was met with his reflection staring daggers back at him.
"Don't forget who you really are," Alphonse's reflection growled back at him.
Alphonse angrily began to punch at his reflection, trying to break it into pieces. But as Alphonse fought harder and harder, his reflection became even more distorted.
"That's right. Fight. Fight back," Alphonse's reflection said to him.
"The time for games is over. You must fight, or else—"
The grim voice was cut off by a sound that could only be described as static. Alphonse continued to punch away at the apparition, up until a great white light would flash before his eyes and cut short any feelings he had left.
With his heart beating fast, Alphonse shot up in a haze of sweat and confusion. Gasping for air, he moved his hands across his body and face, making sure that everything was still there.
"Hrgh... oh man..."
Focusing on his surroundings once more, he realized he was alone in his room, and judging by the sunbeams cracking through the window, it was already late in the morning. Carefully inspecting his cloak for any rips or tears he might've caused in his tossing and turning, he was relieved to find the cloak was still in one piece.
"That dream—no, that nightmare... what was that?"
Rather than psychoanalyze himself first thing in the morning, he chalked it off to some resurfacing childhood trauma, trauma that he had previously thought buried in the deepest recesses of his subconscious. Although the prospect of his past coming back to haunt him once more certainly rattled him, he did his best to pass it off, hoping it would just be a one-time thing.
Taking his cloak and fastening it over his shoulders once more, he sauntered over to a small wooden bowl on the shelf and splashed some of the water from it across his face. Peering around the room, he noticed Bethel's bed was also suspiciously empty. Deciding he already had enough to panic about, he reasoned that she must've woken up and headed to breakfast again without him. However, it was certainly odd of her to let him sleep in without any of the usual interference. Shrugging nonchalantly, he gave one last splash of water across his face and walked towards the door, heading out into the hall.
He would come across two familiar faces as he walked down to the dining room, none other than Team Cozy's Chespin and Wooper.
"Morning, Wooper and Chespin," Alphonse said.
Wooper gradually turned around to return greetings, but after realizing the owner of the voice was Alphonse, his trademark smile lessened into a more neutral look.
"Hey, Alphonse!" Wooper said, albeit awkwardly. He definitely was not his usual chipper self.
On cue with his partner, Chespin turned around to face Alphonse, while also sporting a rather unenthusiastic expression.
"Hey," he said blankly.
"I was just headed down to get some breakfast. Erm, is everything alright?" Alphonse asked.
"We just came from there. Things were getting too rowdy, and we didn't want to stick around for that nonsense," Chespin said.
"I see... and you two wouldn't happen to know where Bethel is, would you?" Alphonse said.
Chespin glared.
"Yeah, she's already down there," Wooper replied.
"Could you, uh, remind me the way to the dining hall?" Alphonse said meekly.
Something was definitely up with these two, and he wanted to make sure he wasn't on their bad side.
Chespin and Wooper exchanged looks, whispered something to each other, and then turned to face Alphonse again.
"Fine. Walk with us, Al," Chespin said.
Alphonse walked through the halls of the guild behind Chespin and Wooper, surrounded in an air of awkwardness. Just when he was about to try and break the ice, Chespin stood at attention with a question.
"So Al, what's it like being an Abra now?"
Alphonse could tell from his phrasing and tone that the question was meant to expose him for the fraud he was. As if he didn't have enough anxieties to deal with, here came another: the fact that he and Bethel had only been living their little "former human" lie for almost a day, and it felt like everyone already knew they were full of themselves. As his anxiety began to be replaced by frustration and he felt himself clenching his fists, he tried to settle himself down as much as he could, refusing to admit defeat so soon.
"It's alright, I guess," Alphonse said as happily as he could.
"You don't miss having four legs?" Chespin said, staring Alphonse down.
"No. I mean, not really," Alphonse said.
And as quickly as the conversation started, it was over, as Chespin turned back to Wooper and began to whisper something to his friend. Alphonse's frustration doubled in intensity, as he tried to focus himself on something else to avoid eavesdropping. Despite trying to distract his mind with anything else, he found himself coming again and again to his nightmare, much to his dismay.
"Don't forget who you really are."
Alphonse growled at a volume that was a bit too loud, as Chespin and Wooper glanced at him briefly. Deciding that distracting himself with his thoughts wouldn't work either, he instead just tried to direct all his focus on moving his two feet forward. The walk to the dining room had never felt this long before, and as he shuffled forward, he felt himself overhearing a few words, specifically about him.
"But I thought he was a human! After all, Bethel told us they both were humans!" Wooper replied in a hushed tone.
"Well, we can't always trust first impressions," Chespin sighed.
"Great. Bethel's clearly up to no good again, and I probably look like a freak and a liar to these two," Alphonse thought.
"I always get myself into these situations, no matter how hard I try to avoid them. I guess it's just fate at this point."
"No matter how hard I prepare or try to be normal, I feel like I'm just going to get sent back to square one. Why do I even bother?"
Still trailing behind while lost in thought, Alphonse awkwardly bumped into the duo once they had stopped walking.
"O-oh, sorry," Alphonse said.
Chespin returned a puzzled look at Alphonse, and sighed. He could tell Alphonse's curiosity was getting the best of him, so he figured he might as well indulge the poor Abra.
"Y'know, lying about once being a human isn't going to work around a bunch of actual former humans."
Alphonse's heart sank, and his complexion flushed a sickly pale color.
"Count up another loss for that plan," he mumbled internally.
"You're not the first one here to lie about your past, neither. But maybe you should choose something a bit more... believable," Chespin frowned.
Before Alphonse could think up a proper reply to smooth things over, Chespin turned back to face the door to the mess hall.
Extending a hand towards the doorknob, Chespin gently cracked the door to the mess hall open. Immediately, Alphonse was met with a most peculiar scene; cheering, hooting, hollering, and all sorts of excitement. The three shuffled their way past the door into the food hall, observing a crowd that had begun to form around the center of the room. Alphonse's attention focused directly on the spectacle; there were Pokemon of all shapes and sizes crowded around in a circle. He observed a variety of species, including but not limited to a Torchic, a Phanpy, a Cyndaquil, a Sneasel with... something atop its head that Alphonse didn't recognize, a Vulpix, a Shinx, a lone Oshawott...
"We were enjoying a nice, quiet breakfast before things got out of hand. I don't suppose you could calm your partner down, could you?" Chespin inquired, regaining Alphonse's attention.
"Oh, erm, right—sure thing," Alphonse said.
Gently easing his way through the crowd, Alphonse shuffled about to get a closer look at what was going on at the heart of the commotion. Alphonse had no idea what to expect as he carefully moved around, except that Bethel was once again at the forefront of the trouble. He found himself distraught, wondering what she could possibly be up to this time, wondering how much trouble they'd probably end up getting in before the first twenty-four hours even passed by. But amidst all of his thoughts, nothing he could think up would prepare him for what he would end up seeing. It would shock him totally and make him wonder if he was still dreaming after all.
"Bethel?!" Alphonse exclaimed.
He exclaimed in a volume slightly above his talking voice, but even if he had screamed, it would've been drowned out by the cheers and hollers that were now surrounding him at every angle.
There was Bethel, standing atop a long log bench, surrounded by various cups and kegs. Next to her stood a Totodile, who was also surrounded by several empty glasses, albeit not as many as Bethel. She stumbled about and cheered viciously along with the crowd, as the Totodile stared with admiration up at her while carefully gripping his glass.
"Th... that's another w-win for me!! Hahaha!! Now pay up!" Bethel slurred.
As she gave out her decree, several guild members reached into their satchels and placed piles of shiny Poke at her feet. Even the Totodile, who was beginning to have trouble standing himself, dropped a hefty portion of coins on the table.
"I... I'll say, B-beth... *hic*... It's not every day I meet someone who can out-drink me... " the Totodile slurred.
"W... what can I say... imfullasuprrises..." Bethel said.
"Beth, are you alright?!" Alphonse exclaimed, climbing up the table, narrowly catching Bethel before she fell over.
"...Al!!! Heyyyy sleepyhead... you're... finally awake..." Bethel drooled, looking up at Alphonse with big baby-doll eyes.
"Are you sick? Why are you acting like this all of a sudd-" Alphonse stopped himself.
Looking once more at the glasses and smelling the fruity scent on Bethel's breath, it quickly came apparent to him that Bethel had drunk herself pretty far down the bottle, as did the Totodile on her right.
"Beth, are you drunk!?"
"Ah cammon... we're just havin' sum fun, don't crash da party..." the Totodile sang.
He had also fallen over on his back, and his eyes were half closed, looking like he was about to pass out any second.
"Yuh... in fact, get another round goin', one for my *hic* partner ere!!!" Bethel said, rousing the crowd even further.
"Alright, that's enough fun for now, fufufu~"
A strange, droning tone that tickled the brainstem shook throughout the room. Everybody present immediately turned their attention off of Alphonse, Bethel, and Totodile and looked around for the source of the harsh noise. The noise originated from none other than the guildmaster, Lliam, who was glowing a violent bright blue.
"You're all making quite the commotion, and I don't foresee all of you sticking around to help clean up the mess, no?"
"Awh, Lliam... don't tell me you're crashin' th' party too..." the Totodile wept.
"Get ahold of yourself, you lush~" Lliam teased.
"As for you Bethel, I hope you intend to use some of that hard-earned Poke on extra cleaning supplies!"
"Psh... whatEVER..." Bethel snickered.
"Beth, you're so heavy... I've gotta let you down," Alphonse said in between breaths.
"Nah... lemme... let me drown... I wanna drink more..." Bethel said.
And before Alphonse could object further, his legs gave out, and both he and Bethel tumbled down off the table, as Alphonse hit his head squarely on the hard wooden floor, blacking out.
After some amount of time had passed, Alphonse would find himself waking up in what appeared to be the guild's medical wing. He slowly opened his eyes once more and steadily rose up from his prone position, getting a grasp of his surroundings once more. Before he could fully sit up, he felt a throbbing pain in his head, preventing him from moving further.
"Take it easy now; you took a pretty big fall, I hear," a soft voice called to him.
Alphonse looked to his left to see an Audino tenderly watching over him.
"My name is Kina. I'm the nurse here at the Guild. Can you tell me what your name is?" Kina the Audino said.
"Uhh, yeah... I'm Alphonse..." Alphonse mumbled.
"Ugh... my head..."
"Is that right?" Kina asked.
But she wasn't asking him; rather, she was asking the two Pokemon who stood in the entryway to the room, KFC and Lliam.
"Yes, that's his name," KFC said.
"Oh, good. And Alphonse, what season is it?" Kina asked.
"Summer..." Alphonse said awkwardly, as he awkwardly reacted to Lliam's and now KFC's presence.
"And how many fingers am I holding up?" Kina said.
"Two," Alphonse said.
"Great. I think we can rule out any chance of a concussion," Kira said happily.
"How about the other one?" Lliam asked.
Kina shook her head.
"She's still out cold. But all vital signs appear to be normal, and she was receptive to the medicine I administered. I think all she needs now is a nice long nap."
"Unfortunately for her, that won't be possible," Lliam frowned.
Lliam took a brief moment to ponder over the sleeping Bethel and then turned toward Alphonse.
"Well, so much for not needing any medical assistance like I requested, fufufu~" Lliam mocked.
"Guildmaster, I'm really sorry, I didn't expect—" Alphonse said, before being cut off by Lliam again.
"The little publicity stunt you two did was certainly effective, to put it lightly. You two are the topic of the morning. It definitely served as an interesting insight into our new arrivals, at least before tomorrow's formal introductions!" Lliam said.
"But regardless, it's about time you two get started with work!"
KFC nodded.
"You'll still be working with Toge today, after you two clean up the mess in the dining room."
"Can't escape janitor duty that easily..." Alphonse thought.
"No, you certainly can't~" Lliam sang.
Alphonse had briefly forgotten that Lliam could read minds. Doing as good of a job as he could to hide his further embarrassment, he decided to halt the internal monologuing for now.
"If you two need supplies, you already know who to ask," KFC said.
And with those parting words, the duo left back out the door into the hall, heading off to conduct their own tasks for the day.
Once the coast was clear, Alphonse slowly got up off his cot and sauntered over to Bethel, who was still fast asleep.
"Um, Kira, was it?" Alphonse asked.
"Yes, dear?" Kira said.
"She's okay, right? There's no harm in waking her up?" Alphonse said.
"She should be fine, yes. I gave her a blend of Heal Seed extract and purified water from the bay, so any lingering intoxication should be totally gone now. Can't say the same for her hangover though," Kira said.
"And with how Lliam and KFC explained things, it sounds like you two have a big day ahead of you. No rest for the wicked, huh?"
"Yeah, I'll say," Alphonse grumbled.
Rocking Bethel awake, he gradually moved her back and forth with more force until she opened her eyes.
"Up and at 'em, Beth. We've got a job to do."
"Ah... Al... ourgh, my head..." Bethel groaned.
"We don't have time for that right now," Alphonse said.
"C'mon, fun and games time is over. It's time to work."
"Jeez... can't I rest for a few more hours..." Bethel moaned.
"It feels like I got hit in the head with a boulder."
"Yeah, I know something about the sensation," Alphonse said, carefully rubbing the fresh bruise on his head.
Alphonse and Bethel slowly toured back down the stairs, arriving at the lower floor of the Clover Guild to reunite with Toge.
"Do we really have to do this now? Can't we go take a nap, or something, just for a little bit?" Bethel whined.
"I really don't have the patience for this right now, Bethel," Alphonse growled.
"Hmph, maybe some more rest would do you well too. You clearly woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Bethel spat.
The door to the storage closet cracked open, and out popped none other than Toge, ready to address his two apprentices on their chores for the day.
"G-good morning, you two," he said, smiling graciously.
"S-sounds like you've both had an e-eventful morning..."
After being met with an unenthusiastic grumble from both of them, he decided further pleasantries were no longer necessary and cut right down to business.
"F-first off, y-you two will clean up the dining hall... a-after that, I-I was planning on g-getting more c-cleaning supplies from the market in t-town..."
"Some fresh air would be nice," Bethel interrupted.
"We'll go into town for you, and then we can clean things up with some fresh new cleaning supplies."
Alphonse stared at Bethel, unsure of her angle at play.
"Th-that's very nice of you to offer..." Toge said, returning to his smile.
Reaching into his satchel, he pulled out a stack of Poke and a small brown sack, placing a handful of coins into the sack before handing it to Bethel.
"J-just mention my n-name and give them the P-Poke, and e-everything else should already be taken c-care of..."
Bethel smiled back and dizzily put the sack of Poke in her own bag. Her pouch jingled quite a bit as she rustled through it, and Alphonse noticed she certainly had gotten a good amount of funds from her little drinking binge earlier. He couldn't help but admire her craftiness, despite his still present frustrations.
"Well, we'll see you later," Bethel said with a twinkle in her eye as she stumbled off toward the stairs.
Alphonse paused, now alone with Toge, who had also begun to move on from the conversation. But before Toge would totally get engrossed in his own duties for the day, Alphonse requested his attention.
"Hey, Toge..."
Toge turned back around to face Alphonse, still meeting him with a shy smile.
"Y-yes?"
"What have you heard about me and Bethel?"
"O-oh... are you worried about e-everyone's reactions to this m-morning's uh... event? D-don't worry, most e-everyone thought it was f-funny... they're e-excited to see more of you t-two..." Toge reassured.
"I see. So it's 'normal' for humans to act like that?" Alphonse asked.
"W-well... it is here..." Toge sighed.
"...you believe I was once a human, right, Toge?" Alphonse said.
"U-uhm... sure... why w-wouldn't I?" Toge replied shyly.
Alphonse sighed once more and began to walk up the staircase himself.
"No reason. I'll see you around."
"A-Alphonse?" Toge inquired.
Unfortunately, his inquiry would fall upon deaf ears, as a troubled Alphonse continued to trudge up the stairs.
Catching up to Bethel, who had already stumbled out the entrance to the Clover Guild and now lazily hobbled along the dirt path into town, Alphonse tapped on her shoulder and called her name upon meeting her pace. Surprised by the gesture, she flipped about and arched herself up.
"Ah! Al, don't startle me like that..." Bethel groaned.
"I see you're still not at your usual level of alertness," Alphonse said disdainfully.
"Whatever, cry me a river," Bethel hissed.
"You clearly aren't your usual self either."
"I'm still having second thoughts about this whole human thing. I think more of the guild members are getting wise to our plot," Alphonse said.
"Al... I already told you, it's fine. Besides, we're not gonna convince everyone, as long as we have a few Pokemon on our side-"
"I don't want to stop at just a few," Alphonse barked.
"Jeez, if you're just going to cry and moan, then head back to the guild. I'll do things myself," Bethel shot back.
"Seriously, what's your issue?"
"I don't want to keep fooling others; I don't want to keep up all of these personas; I don't want—"
"You were more than fine with the idea yesterday," Bethel interrupted.
"Damn it, Bethel, I—"
"Don't forget who you really are."
Alphonse stopped dead in his tracks.
"...What?" Bethel prodded.
Alphonse knelt down on the ground, clutching his head.
"Who... who I really am... who I really am..." he raved to himself.
"AL!" Bethel growled, kneeling down next to him.
Alphonse began to rave more intensely and spazz about on the ground, vibrating intensely.
"I'm... I'm..."
"Al, stay with me! Do I need to get help? Al!?" Bethel yelped.
As she crouched next to Alphonse, who had begun to now violently writhe on the floor, she gently embraced him, at the same time holding him tight and trying to keep him steady. Now firmly within her grasp, Alphonse's spazzing began to settle down a few notches as he blankly stared at Bethel's concerned gaze. After a tense few minutes, his jittering ceased, and he looked back up at Bethel before rising back off the ground and out of her grasp. Refusing to meet eye contact with her, he stared up at the blue sky above.
Bethel flashed a sobered look of grave concern at Alphonse.
"Are you okay?"
"Please, say something."
"I'm... sorry. I was lost in thought," Alphonse said bleakly.
"Al, I've seen you lost in thought. That wasn't it," Bethel said.
"Seriously, what's up?"
"It's..."
Visions of harsh ocean waves crashed against Alphonse's mind.
"It's nothing. We've got work to do."
Robotically, Alphonse continued walking down the path without so much as a word.
"...Al... why can't you just open up..." Bethel sighed.
Wearily, she followed cautiously behind him, making sure he wouldn't fall over again.
Without uttering another word on the journey down into town, Alphonse and Bethel reached their destination, a small general store filled with all sorts of bits and baubles on its many shelves. Still not totally recovered from the incident on the way there, Bethel cautiously walked up to the counter and cleared her throat to gain the attention of the clerk, a small and kindly old Mr. Mime.
"Good day, lass. May I help you with something?" the Mr. Mime inquired.
"We're here to pick up some cleaning supplies for a 'Toge'," Bethel explained.
As she dug into her satchel, she pulled out the sack of Poke that Toge had given her. Staring at the sack and measuring its contents with her thrifty gaze, she opted to pull a few more handfuls of Poke from her bag before she was interrupted by the clerk.
"Oh, that won't be necessary. Toge is one of my most esteemed customers; I can just put it on his tab," the Mr. Mime said with a tender smile.
"In that case..." Bethel smirked.
But before she finished her sentence, she looked behind herself at Alphonse, who was still mute, only slightly lucid, and grappling with his inner thoughts. Her smirk turned to a frown as she turned away hastily and pulled the Poke in her bag back out, placing it graciously on the counter next to the portion Toge had given her.
"Never mind. It's okay; he gave me these to give to you."
"Oh, what a kind soul he is," the Mr. Mime said.
"Will that be all today?"
Bethel looked once again at Alphonse, hoping he'd interject, but was met with total silence. Thinking a moment on her own, she casually followed with her request.
"I don't suppose you have any medicine or spicy berry juice?"
"As a matter of fact, miss, we do," the Mr. Mime said.
"Any preference?"
"Liechi," Bethel said.
"Two, please."
"You've got it. I'll be back in just a moment with everything," the Mr. Mime assured.
"And a stack of paper and writing materials," Alphonse said.
Bethel and the Mr. Mime stared cautiously at the previously silent Alphonse. Then the Mr Mime nodded gracefully before turning his back to check his ledger placed behind him.
Alphonse and Bethel exchanged curious looks with one another, only breaking eye contact when the Mr Mime rose up from behind his kiosk and walked off into a backroom. The two sat silently in a tense air, albeit not as tense as the walk on the way to the shop.
"I'm-" Alphonse piped up as Bethel perked her ears forward.
A thud was heard on the counter as a nicely wrapped bag had appeared along with the humble shopkeeper, who carefully counted the Poke before him.
"Oh, you're a bit short on funds, ma'am," the Mr. Mime said.
Bethel reached back into her bag, pulling out the last of the Poke she had made in her earlier escapades.
"This should cover it," she said.
"Mmm... still a bit short, I'd have to put back the papers," the Mr. Mime sighed.
"Fine," Alphonse said.
The Mr. Mime flashed a pained look, having a sudden change of heart.
"Ah, whatever... it's just a few hundred Poke less. And besides, any friend of Toge's is a friend of mine. Consider us even."
Bethel stood shocked at the gesture of goodwill, and her expression melted into a warm smile.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it," the Mr. Mime said, smiling back.
The shopkeeper then handed the bag of cleaning supplies, papers, and pencils to Bethel, who took them cautiously and fastened them alongside her. Leaving the two juices on the counter, Alphonse opted then to take each juice, grasping them tightly in his hands.
"You two have a grand day, and give Toge my regards," the shopkeep smiled.
"You too," Bethel said for the duo as they left out the door. The chimes on the door gave a nice "jingle" as they passed through them.
Sensing Alphonse was dutifully following behind her without any sense of direction on his own, Bethel took the opportunity to wind down a longer road into town, ascending a few bridges placed between the tree stump buildings of Capim Town. As they climbed higher and higher across the rooftops, Alphonse suddenly got wise to the game.
"This isn't the way back to the guild," he said.
"I know. Just keep following me," Bethel said.
Alphonse nodded wistfully and continued to follow Bethel up a spiral staircase placed alongside one of the stumps. After ascending the staircase and coming atop what seemed to be one of the higher-up buildings in town, she gently placed the bag of supplies down and sat over the edge of the roof, patting the ground next to her to instruct Alphonse to sit as well. He obeyed.
The two sat over the edge of the roof, gazing at the azure blue sky above and the crowds of Pokemon going about their daily routines below. Bethel nudged Alphonse as to instruct him to pass her the juice, to which he did. Taking out a medical powder from the bag as well, she began to sprinkle it into her juice before exhaling and taking a long sip. After smacking her lips audibly, hoping Alphonse would speak up in the interim, she opted to take matters into her own paws.
"Have you ever been Pokewatching before?" Bethel asked.
Alphonse turned slowly to her.
"Pokewatching?"
"Yeah. Just sitting from a vantage point, getting a good look at the surroundings, as well as the Pokemon running along them, going about their lives, without a clue that anyone else is watching them."
"Can't say I have," Alphonse sighed.
"I used to do it with the gang all the time. Granted, a lot of it was to scope out potential targets for theft, but even back then sometimes we'd do it just for the love of the activity," Bethel admitted.
Alphonse stared blankly at her while refusing to take a sip from his juice.
"Whenever I was stressed, anxious, troubled... they'd take me up to do some Pokewatching. Heck, when I was younger, and I couldn't really stand on two legs or get a good view of things, Del would prop me up over his shoulders and point things out to me..." she sighed.
Alphonse looked at Bethel, who was no longer looking at him but was rather looking at a small crowd of Pokemon below down on the street.
"Anyway, I guess it's something I've come to enjoy and appreciate over the years. The monotony of day-to-day life... I guess I never would've thought it to be anything other than boring. But hey, all those Pokemon down there in town and back at the Clover Guild... they seem complacent enough with it, and I guess that's okay, huh?"
Trying to match Bethel's focus, he managed to pinpoint the exact group of Pokemon his friend Bethel was looking at; it was a small family of four, a Nidoking, a Nidoqueen, and their two energetic children, bouncing along the ground as they took in the sights and sounds of Capim Town in their own way.
Alphonse, as if on cue, suddenly realized the gravity of the situation around him.
"Don't forget who you REALLY are."
The voice beckoned to him again. Although it was noticeably different this time, it was more... focused than before.
Alphonse took that focus to heart, but instead of using it to delve deeper into his psyche, he turned to face Bethel, still affixed with the family of Pokemon below. Discerning it to be rude to break her fixation with the happy Pokemon family below her, he instead opted to take a healthy swig of the berry juice that he had still held in his hand.
"...AGH! P'tew!"
After his spit take, Bethel's focus broke as well, as she jerked her head towards Alphonse's direction. As Alphonse began to rub his tongue with his claws, trying to scrape off the taste of hot spices assaulting his taste buds, she began to giggle softly. Her giggling attracted Alphonse back into her direction, as he too began to crack a smile while his face flushed red.
"How the heck do you drink this stuff? It's awful!" he laughed.
"Hey, I thought you were a tough guy, not a little wimp!" she laughed back.
"I'm tough, but I'll never be tough enough to handle a food palette like yours, I suppose," Alphonse said.
"Oh, YOU'RE tough?" Bethel chortled.
"Plenty," Alphonse assured.
Bethel extended a paw toward him.
"I betcha can't wrestle my arm down, tough guy."
Alphonse extended his arm into hers and firmly grasped it.
"Try me."
On command, Bethel's eyes glittered, and she slammed his arm down onto the floor without so much as a second thought.
"Hey, I wasn't ready! You're supposed to count down!" Alphonse chuckled.
"Ah, quit your yapping. You lost, fair and square," Bethel said, rising up on two legs to flex a gallant pose.
Alphonse also sat up from the edge, noticing Bethel had turned her back to him and begun to walk back towards the descending staircase. Seizing his opportunity, he set his juice down and playfully tackled her, causing her to hiss and yowl as the two tumbled around, trying to pin down one another. Unfortunately for Bethel, she was still holding her drink, which had spilled out all over the floor upon being attacked. After a good thirty seconds of struggling, Bethel once again emerged on top.
"Hahahaha, even with a surprise attack like that, you're still lying on the ground like a little weakling!" she cheered.
"Ah, whatever!" Alphonse laughed.
"Now, as a reward to me and punishment for spilling my juice, I get to finish yours, and you get to carry the supplies back," she smiled.
"Fat chance," Alphonse said.
"Well, then I guess we'll be here all night," Bethel said, refusing to unpin Alphonse.
"Fine, fine, I concede. That juice was nasty, anyway," Alphonse said.
Smiling, Bethel carefully lifted her pin on Alphonse and rolled to the side, brushing herself off and bringing the bag of supplies to Alphonse.
"If I were really evil, I would've forced you to drink the rest while I watched in delight. Lucky for you, I was feeling particularly nice," she smirked.
"Yeah, yeah..." Alphonse said playfully as he lugged the bag of supplies over his shoulder.
"Alright, lead the way, Beth. That dining room isn't gonna clean itself."
"If only it did, huh..." Bethel smiled.
After a few hours, including the journey back to the Clover Guild, the duo had cleaned up the dining hall, leaving it in even better shape than before. As they exhaled heavily from exhaustion and admired their work, they relaxed next to each other, greatly enjoying one another's company.
"Not bad for a couple of novice janitors," Alphonse wisecracked.
"I mean, have you ever heard of a professional janitor?" Bethel laughed.
"No, but I think we may be the first," Alphonse laughed back.
As they continued their laughter, unaware of anything but one another, their celebrations were suddenly interrupted by the rhythm of four sets of feet, ten in total, carefully walking along the floor.
"What are you rabble-rousers giggling about?" laughed a sturdy voice. It was a Totodile, the same one from earlier that day. Behind him was the rest of the gang, Cyndaquil, Phanpy, and Torchic.
"It was probably some sort of inside joke," Torchic deduced.
"Sorry to interrupt you two so abruptly; we were walking through the hall when we heard you two."
"We figured we'd stop by to see what was going on and say hello; hope you two don't mind," Phanpy said.
Alphonse and Bethel turned towards their new company, slowly easing into a more serious, yet lighthearted tone.
"Ah, it's nothing. We're just, uh, admiring our work, I suppose," Alphonse said.
"Lemme guess, you 'jannies' do it for free?" Totodile said, smiling wide.
"Well, we are working for free, unfortunately... but we won't say no to a tip for a job well done," Bethel smirked.
"Yeah, right," Totodile chuckled.
"Oh, if it's a tip you want..." Cyndaquil began to smirk before he was collectively cut off by the rest of his peers.
"Uh, Totodile, I presume?" Alphonse asked. "What's a 'jannie'?"
The four shot a puzzled look at Alphonse. As Totodile and Cyndaquil were about to give equally ludicrous responses to the question, they were stopped by Torchic and Phanpy. As the collective took a moment to observe Alphonse's expression and tone, they realized he was actually being genuine.
"...You don't know?" Phanpy said, mouth agape.
"Nope," Alphonse replied.
"So, you're one of those former humans that are just clueless about 'internet culture' or something?" Torchic said, raising an eyebrow.
"We never were humans," Bethel admitted.
Alphonse and the four others shot forth explosive expressions of shock at Bethel's sudden admission.
"...No joke? You're actually serious?" Torchic said.
Alphonse stood by Bethel, mouth agape, totally unable to find any words to reply with.
"No joke," Bethel said.
"I don't know what you've heard about us, but whatever it was, it was probably false."
"You're the one who told everyone here that you were both humans, last I heard," Phanpy said.
"Ah, that was just a joke," Bethel sighed.
"So, you two actually are just natives with an equally strange sense of humor?" Torchic said.
Alphonse was still speechless.
"Exactly," Bethel assured.
"We're sorry to deceive—we just figured it would be a better way to fit in with the crowd here than not."
"I see," Phanpy said, curling his trunk.
"Well, you two are odd, especially for natives, but I suppose that'll fit you right in here."
"And you did a good job cleaning things up, no matter what you two are," Torchic smiled.
Alphonse and Bethel smiled back, albeit awkwardly.
"Tell you what, wait right here. I've got something I can give you as a welcome present."
With that, Totodile wandered off back into the kitchen, leaving the two alone with Phanpy, Torchic, and Cyndaquil.
"So..." Cyndaquil said, breaking the ice.
"A couple of good-looking Pokemon like yourself... what brings you here to our humble little pile?"
Unwise to his advances, Alphonse answered for the duo.
"Just doing some soul searching, trying to find our way, the usual stuff."
Cyndaquil swaggered over to Alphonse, giving him an ocular pat down that felt a bit... too intense.
"Whatever you're looking for... I'd love to help you find it. After all, a couple of closed-eyed gentlemen definitely gotta stick together in more ways than one, am I right?"
Alphonse cringed a bit, not totally grasping what the Cyndaquil was putting out. But what he did grasp, he would be quick to let go.
"Don't sweat him; he's always like this," Phanpy sighed as he pulled Cyndaquil back with his trunk.
"Unfortunately," Torchic added on with a sigh.
Just as an awkward laughter had begun to fill the room, a loud crash was heard from within the kitchen, as well as a moan of pain.
"Everything alright in there?" Phanpy called out to Totodile.
"Ah, yeah... just, uh, slipped a bit... ow..." Totodile moaned.
"We'll be right back," Torchic sighed.
As the two began to depart towards the kitchen to help out Totodile, they also dragged Cyndaquil along, who had refused to let up "eye contact" between himself and Alphonse. Alphonse shuddered at the scene, feeling a great sense of relief to have been separated from that bizarre Cyndaquil. Once the coast was clear, he turned back towards Bethel.
"...You actually told him the truth," Alphonse stammered.
"Al, there are several things I wish for you," Bethel sighed.
Alphonse returned an anxious look at his partner.
"One of the wishes is that one day, you'll actually listen to what I say, without trying to question things," she said.
"We don't need everyone to think we used to be humans, remember? So long as the Pokemon that we need to think that DO think that, we'll still be in the clear."
"Are you just saying that, or are you actually coming around to telling the truth?" Alphonse stammered.
Bethel let out a guffaw.
"Don't get smart with me, Al."
Before long, the four oddballs would return from the kitchen, as Totodile carried an uncorked glass bottle with him. The label read... something that neither Alphonse nor Bethel could make out.
"Consider this a consolation prize for our little bet earlier," Totodile said with a smirk.
Carefully passing the bottle to Bethel, she took it gracefully from his grasp, bringing it up to her face to take a nice whiff of the aroma of the alcohol. It was pleasant, with notes of apples, tannins, and hickory.
"Thanks, uh... Totodile. Right?" Bethel said.
"That's right," Totodile said.
"I see Totodile is happy to have a new drinking buddy," Phanpy smiled.
"I'm more surprised he's sharing one of his favorite brews," Torchic exclaimed.
"Ah, cool it, you guys," Totodile grinned.
"Ah, isn't that sweet to see... in fact... it's got me filling up all warm inside, too," Cyndaquil blushed.
"Shut up, Cyndaquil. Let's actually keep our introduction to these two positive. There's no room here for any of your freakiness," Torchic frowned.
"I'm just full of lovin'; since when is that a crime..." Cyndaquil moaned.
After she spent some time wafting the scent, she took an attentive, yet hearty chug. The taste was definitely to her liking, even if it was a bit dry. Offering a swig to Alphonse, who kindly refused and instructed her to have as much as she wanted, she took one last sip before handing it back to Totodile.
"That's a great cider," Bethel smiled.
"You certainly have good taste," Totodile said, smiling back.
"Welcome aboard."
With those kind words, Totodile took a chug from the bottle himself before disappearing back into the kitchen.
"We'll see you around," Torchic said.
"Indeed. If you ever need anything, just ask for Team Misfits. That's us," Phanpy assured.
"...Anything.... at all..." Cyndaquil whispered sensually.
After Totodile had finished securing the bottle back into its cabinet, he met up with the rest of Team Misfits as they exchanged one last "see you around" with Alphonse and Bethel before promptly heading back out into the hallway.
"I never pegged you for a drinker," Alphonse admitted.
"Eh, I always was curious when I saw Del and his buddies doing it, so as soon as I got the opportunity to, I seized it," Bethel said.
"Del was always trying to keep me from getting into it, but he can't exactly control EVERYTHING I do, especially not here, haha."
"I'm not judging; Lazlo certainly was a drinker too," Alphonse chuckled.
"Speaking of which..."
Bethel turned to face Alphonse, sensing some much-needed exposition coming from the Abra at long last.
"I miss the old man. Besides, I don't think I mentioned, but he wants me to write to him. A pen pal, of sorts," Alphonse said.
"That's why I got that paper at the market. And thanks, by the way, for covering that. You didn't have to do that."
"It's no sweat," Bethel said.
"I think that's a good idea. The pen pal thing, I mean."
"Me too. Thanks, Bethel," Alphonse grinned.
"And, uh..."
"Hm?"
"I'm sorry for how I acted today. I was out of line," Alphonse shyly said.
"You're fine, Al. I know I don't make it easy for you either," Bethel said.
"It wasn't you. It's me."
"Truth be told, I've been having... dreams."
"Dreams? Like aspirations?" Bethel asked.
"Nah, like when you're sleeping. I've had this strange, reoccurring dream lately. Something about a boat and a Butterfree, and the ocean," Alphonse admitted.
"I've been having them for a long time, come to think of it. But I was on a dry spell for a while. I didn't have them again until..."
"..."
Bethel patiently waited for an explanation.
"...Until I met you."
"Really?" Bethel said, with concern in her voice.
"Really. I don't know why I keep having them, but it just feels... really familiar. Like, it was more than a dream," Alphonse said.
"But that's not the worst part—last night, I had that dream again, but it sort of... twisted. Twisted into something even worse."
Bethel expressed a worried look at her partner and friend Alphonse.
"I hope it's just a one-time thing, but I really couldn't get it out of my mind today," Alphonse said.
"Wow. Well, I hope it was too..." Bethel said.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that. That's... rough, to put it plainly."
"But hey, you're awake now, and you've got me and the guild to deal with. So no sense in letting it get you down further, right?"
"Right," Alphonse smiled triumphantly.
"I'm glad you told the truth," Bethel shyly said.
"...so am I," Alphonse admitted.
"Alright, that's enough sappiness for now. Let's go report to Toge and close out the day. We've still got plenty of time before dinner; maybe we can go back to Capim Town and grab something small to eat. Maybe we can even do some more Pokewatching," Bethel said.
"That's a great idea," Alphonse said.
"Right behind you."
"I-I just got d-done inspecting the dining room... j-job well done... great work, you t-two!" Toge said.
"And you got all the s-supplies, too! Th-thank you so much!!"
"Don't mention it," Bethel said.
"Also, the shopkeeper said hello and sent his best wishes," Alphonse said.
"H-he's a swell guy. Thanks for th-that."
As Toge turned around to continue organizing the shelves, he was met with a query that had him reface the two.
"About earlier, Toge..." Alphonse said.
"...Y-yes?" Toge said.
Alphonse looked to Bethel, who nodded approvingly.
"I just, uh... hope I haven't done anything to upset you. Or deceive you," he said.
"N-no? Y-you're fine, Al... don't worry," Toge said.
"Baby steps," Bethel whispered to Alphonse.
"S-so... are you t-two excited for tomorrow? S-standing up in fr-front of the guild and addressing yourselves?" Toge asked.
"We-we've got some Pokemon coming in that aren't usually always in the guild to see y-you guys... you've certainly attracted a cr-crowd... I know I'd be n-nervous..."
Alphonse and Bethel exchanged looks.
"I think we'll be just fine," Bethel said.
"Likewise," Alphonse said.
"G-great... we-well, I-I can't wait to hear more... a-and I'll be ro-rooting for you two..." Toge smiled.
"W-well... since you guys cleaned up so fast and so well, I s-suppose you can take an extended lunch break... just be back here before dinner, o-okay?"
"You've got it," Bethel said.
"Right. We'll be there," Alphonse said.
"Great. D-dismissed," Toge said.
And with those parting words, the three split up, all eager to return to their own devices. Toge would continue organizing everything in the guild to be in tip-top shape, and Alphonse and Bethel would go take in more of the sights and sounds of Capim Town.
Things had proved not to be as typical or restful as they had expected, even in the first three days of being there. But they both found themselves thinking that if they could keep each other in line, then things would prove to be manageable, or even better yet, conquerable. After all, they had a big introduction ahead of them tomorrow, they figured, so everything up until now was just a sort of trial run. The moment of truth was yet to come, but even though they still had fear in their hearts for the unknown, they knew, deep down, that things would smooth out in the end. Just like the trail that delivered them to Capim Town and the Clover Guild, there were bumps and winding turns, but even after all of those there would always be a straight, soft, and narrow road.
Ch. 4 (COMING SOON) <- Ch. 2