Welcome to Gaia! ::

Veilmys would be there, waiting and ready to greet Viann with a smile and an outstretched ribbon. "Welcome back. You didn't have too much trouble finding it, I hope?" The comment might've seemed snarky or critical but the tone of voice was a heavy assurance that it was honest. When you really thought about it, actually, putting such a gaudily coloured bow directly against the most bland background in the area was probably intentional. It certainly stuck out against the rocks.

Once Veilmys had the bow in "hand", he would simply flip it over and place it on the floor before he set to work tugging at it ever-so-slightly to get a proper look at the back. He would be satisfied once he found a single brown thread going through the back, at which point he would nod and happily hand the bow back along with a simple voucher. "Congratulations! With this, you're an official member of the guild. When you're ready, head to the partner assignment office where you'll meet your partner and be supplied with the necessities."

Viann was now, fully and officially, a member of the guild.

Serrin & Client Eevee, Alto

There would be little fanfare waiting for Gale and Percy when they returned. Serrin would meet them when they returned. A brief summary would be exchanged at the Ivysaur's prompt and a proper one would have to be written up for his purview later on but in spite of the abridged nature of it Serrin would leave with a frown. Although they would find their reward of a Soothe Bell waiting for them when they returned to their team room, it wasn't until the next day that Serrin would actually see to them in person. The meeting would come in the morning with, surprisingly, little Alto wrapped in his vines and "hovering" about a foot off the ground with a bag in his mouth. "He's here to apologize."

Alto didn't seem terribly pleased about his situation but he wasn't entirely oppositional either. The bag dropped from his mouth with a heavy "thunk" and in a way that seemed almost practiced, though reasonably genuine, Alto apologized. "I'm very sorry for tricking you and lying to the guild in order to get them to do something for me."

"And..."

"My dad's really good at finding things, so we brought some stuff. You can have one of them, if you want."

"And the other two..."

"...Are going to the guild as an apology to the staff who spent their time on my mission."

"Good." Serrin let Alto down carefully and withdrew his vines. "Good job on your mission, you two. It wasn't your typical fare in more ways than one but in spite of it you did a decent job but, in the future, mind your client a bit better. They wouldn't be asking us for help if they were strong enough to risk being attacked." It was a soft warning rather than a reprimand and it was the only thing Serrin would speak of poorly before departing to leave Alto, Gale and Percy alone together.

The moment Alto was convinced that Serrin had left, he looked back to Gale and spoke in a much more earnest, if somewhat uneasy, tone. "You said that... maybe I haven't grown into my own person. I think you're right." Alto shifted slightly back and forth on his paws in a moment of silence before he continued. "I don't think I'm going to grow up if I stay with my parents. I need to do something in order to find out who I'm supposed to be, so..." Alto swallowed. "Can I join your team?"

The choice belonged entirely to Gale because god knows that Percy didn't have a choice in anything the team did.

Regardless, the mission was complete and team Amethyst had received both their rewards and recognition.

Mission Complete!
- 2 MP
- Soothe Bell
- ??? (Eevee Recruit)
Bonus!: Choice of: Small Nugget, Headbutt TM or Pursuit TM

Serrin, Rescue Leader

Serrin would arrive personally with help in tow from the mercenary section of the guild. He would stop to look at the Tyranitar for a moment before heading towards Skye and Quil. As he walked towards them, the group he had brought quickly set to work reinforcing the silk that was keeping the beast tied together. Some sort of dust was carefully spread over its face by a pokemon with a pinched nose. It wasn't quite clear what the guilds were going to do with it but it was very much clear that they were taking care of it.

"Not bad. It came up from the areas below?" Serrin got the abridged version of what had happened, the ending to which he nodded. If he recognized Skye, he didn't say anything about it. "Good job. Head home whenever you're ready and get yourself looked at when you return. But next time, run. It's the guild's job to take care of these things, not the rescuers. If you had been a little less lucky, they would have been the last ones you ever saved." Although his wording was hardly gentle, he didn't speak it as a scolding or a reprimand. It was a warning and a very important one at that. Skye should have run and come back with reinforcements. Whatever lives might have been lost had to be weighed against the lives Skye could save in the future and that was a heavy weight indeed.

Regardless of how Skye reacted to what she was reminded, she would receive her reward not long after from her Client. It was a Dazzling Gleam TM in addition to the promised PD. It was quite a rare and powerful TM, perhaps in recognition of how very dire the mission was.

Later on, well past the time at which Skye and Quil would return to the guild, they would be met by two waves of recruits. The latter would come bearing permission for Team Sunstrike to take a second recruit should they have opted to accept someone from the first.

The first group of arrivals would contain a number of familiar faces including Yuuna as well as her Sentret, Clefairy and Zigzagoon friends.

The second group of arrivals would be made up of pokemon that the team had never met before, but they were those who had heard of the team's exploits all the same. A Teddiursa, apparently a relative of the Ursaring, as well as a Sneasel, Bunnelby and Dedenne who had heard of the team's exploits.

It would be up to Sunstrike to reject or accept those that they wished to.

Mission Rewards!
- 2 MP
- 750 PD
- ??? TM (Dazzling Gleam)
- Recruit list as above
- Bonus! Second recruit list, as above.

It was time. In fact, it was well past time. Not one but two guild-wide missions had happened since they had joined the team, not to mention the lull prior to the first one that had been exacted by the social event. They had been members of the guild for far too long but in spite of that they had yet to do any actual work. The reasons for that were subtle and obvious, respectively; prior to a certain point, it had simply been a lack of trust. Tobias was... strange. Strange was putting it mildly. He had odd habits, his behaviour was incomprehensible and he was defiant enough that it was hard for Jessica to simply trust him to take orders. It's possible that he could have spurred them to undertake work himself, but he never did so. Eventually, the trust between the two formed into something much more tangible but it was before that that Tobias... “acquired' a certain small child. Balerd was undeniably the main problem. They couldn't simply leave an infant in the team room and while it was possible to have such things handled by guild staff, it wasn't the best of ideas to separate such a young child from their parental figure. Balerd was perceptive, but still incapable of such longterm and complex thinking. If Tobias was gone, Tobias was gone and that was a tragedy very much worth screaming and crying over. For the sake of emergencies this could be dealt with and in short periods of time it was fine but this was simply an unacceptable environment in which to undertake a mission.

Thankfully, Balerd did what all infants do: grow up. Time bequeathed a certain degree of understanding and linguistic skills upon the bird. Simple demands could now be voiced and ideas could be understood. If Tobias said “I will be back soon”, Balerd could understand that. Even more than that, Tobias had, somehow, met and made fast friends with another team who had similarly aged children of their own. Jessica had no idea how it had happened and Tobias was exceedingly abstruse in regards to what had happened, though he spoke candidly in stating that ,“One of them would rather give his life than allow harm” which was perhaps the most glowing recommendation that a babysitter could receive. And that was most certainly what they were going to be, because it was a great deal more sensible than simply leaving Balerd with guild staff.

Of course, Tobias's handling of Balerd as well as the nature of the previous guild-wide mission had done some decent things to deal with the former issue as well.

It was with this being the case that Team Robin set about the process of claiming their first real mission. Jessica declared her intent. Tobias agreed and Balerd was talked down quickly enough with the claim that they would “be back very soon.” The two left for the bulletin board, perused the missions available and came to a quick and easy agreement.

"They're coming for it--I know it! My precious gem... You have to make sure no one else finds it!"

It was a strange sort of request for a treasure hunter but it was more suitable than the alternatives. The strangeness of it, perhaps, was best explained by the various little bits ticked on the back: extremely urgent and overnight. A brief description noted the client's sapphire eyes. It was a dire emergency, or at least the client certainly thought that was the case. No matter how strange it was, it paid well and was ultimately much more appealing than the alternatives; they had little interest in babysitting some amateur “treasure hunters” and even less in pursuing pointless rumour. They retrieved the mission, confirmed it with the guild staff and went about their preparations. For Tobias, this simply meant seeing to it that Balerd was in good hands for the night. For Jessica, this meant retrieving her belt, adjusting the contents and then double-checking them to make sure things were fine. For an overnight stay in the Glitter Caves, she needed relatively little. She could pack lightly, since many of her tools would be useless in such an environment. She only needed food and some water to keep her going, as well as some basic supplies in order to rest at night. She suspected she would get very little rest but that was all the more reason to be prepared; little good rest was better than no rest at all. She packed extra for Tobias. Her last bit of preparation was to tie the green guild ribbon around her neck.

Once Tobias returned, the contents of each individual pouch were confirmed and the check list was gone over verbally. There was no point in preparedness if they failed to truly prepare and the best way to make sure that didn't happen was to have both of them contribute. Tobias fully agreed to what Jessica had prepared and he ultimately had nothing to add. He did, however, praise Jessica for her sense of caution and preparedness. Or at least as close as it got to praise with Tobias, “You are most prepared.”

He was hard to figure out. But that wouldn't stop them from departing. The client was waiting for them and they needed to be there.

-----

The Glitter Cave. It was a strange place, to put it mildly. In ages past, it had been a mine for precious things of great power. They were of the sort that brought out great changes in some and great power in others. They were gems and crystals that contained the raw essence of flame and thunder and they were extremely valuable because of it. In times past, the caves had supposedly been teeming with all varieties of creatures seeking out jewels for themselves, for loved ones and for profit. It had been a bustling area rife with uneasy peace and awkward agreements that bent at a whim.

Of course, it was all those things. That was far from the case now. The gems and crystals had been taken. What was once a natural resource of wealth and magical plunder had been stripped bear. The natural balance of the area had been disturbed, bringing about strange and chaotic results, for though the gems and crystals had been stripped from the walls the flawed and unusable stones had not. Energy still boiled within and, at times, lashed outwards. The caves had shifted greatly because of it, creating seemingly impossible tunnels and natural, dangerous traps. It was because of this that the occupants of the cave were so neutral in nature and it was because of this that Jessica watched her surroundings with care. The last thing she needed was to step into an area particularly afflicted by water without realizing it. Had she been something more removed from the raw elemental chaos, as Tobias and the natives were, she could have easily braved the risks. As a fire-type, such areas presented a great danger to her. It went without saying that she was prepared for such risks. She was prepared and she would succeed. It was her job.

The first problem was that they had to track down their conspicuously absent client. The appointed hour had come and past without their client showing up. The only company Team Robin received was the moonlight and the dull glow of the caves themselves. Jessica reached into one of the pouches and pulled out the notice. It seemed sincere and it was urgent. There was only one obvious conclusion to draw. “We're going to go look for the client. He probably got attacked.”

“Of course.” Tobias's agreement was readily given and sincere.

The caves greeted them dimly. The crystals within, however flawed, still glowed gently from the passive energy that filled the rock. The tunnel brightened and dimmed depending on the amount of energy available. Jessica's tail served as an excellent secondary source of light as the bright flames scattered against the flawed gems. She admired the light coming from her own tail. She was in top form; that was good, she needed to be. They could already hear stumbling and soft shuffling of foot against stone. The caves were alive in a way that they shouldn't have been. The sounds came from all directions at all intensities and in many numbers. There was seemingly no upward or downward limit. The only rule to them is that they were distant. Team Robin was safe, even if they were on edge.

Well, Jessica was. Tobias never seemed to be on edge.

With little choice otherwise, the two of them simply walked. The sound wasn't coming from just one direction and it wasn't close, so pursuing it was fairly pointless. The noise seemed to slip closer and further at random. Instead of hopelessly pursuing it, they simply continued down the paths. It was as the crystals around them dimmed that they ran into the first pokemon they would meet. A random Sableye tumbled through the ceiling and landed unceremoniously on its face in front of them. Jessica reached out, “Hey, are you alright?”

But the Sableye quickly got up to his feet, looked about and then ran off only to slip through a dim wall. He wasn't their client, not with his eyes so red. They couldn't find him, so they continued down the path until Jessica let out a sigh. “Lets turn around. If he heads for the entrance he's not going to find us this far down and I'd rather not get lost.”

Tobias nodded. “I agree.”

They wouldn't make it anywhere near the entrance, not on that night. As the pair headed back up towards the entrance, the sounds would grow louder. And louder. And louder. They soft pitter-patter and rushing would turn into a stampede and it became abundantly clear that it was headed straight for them. Jessica looked around quickly, narrowing down the options available. They could run, but if worst came to worst Tobias could probably carry her much faster than anything that chased them so there was no point in fleeing so soon. There were no side passages they could immediately break into, so there was no way to let it pass them by. There wasn't much of a choice other than to wait for it and to run if needbe.

And run they did. Jessica backed up slightly to give herself as long and as clear a path as possible to see whatever it was coming. Tobias followed suit and the two waited until the first head popped into view. The wonderfully blue eyes filled in any blanks in an instant. His expression was frantic, his gait was exhausted and rushed. Every face after the first was little more than a mess against the rest of the crowd. There was easily several dozen Sableye chasing after their client. Jessica and Tobias turned in unison and began to run slowly in the same direction as their client, allowing him to catch up once he overcame the hesitation of getting near strangers. He looked quickly at both Tobias and Jessica as he approached them, somewhat relieved to see them.

“We're the guild members here for your mission. What the hell is going on?” Jessica looked back at the pursuers. Eyes aside, they didn't look all that different from the client. Their pace was hurried and each step they took expressed an exhaustion that was beaten out only by the desperation on their faces. Outpacing them was pretty easy; they were just too tired to run very fast.

That wasn't quite the case for their client who had been running for longer than any single one of his pursuers. With shaky hands and shaky arms, he stumbled slightly sideways to get closer to Jessica and he quickly shoved a gem into her hands. “Take this, keep it safe. Don't let them take it. I'll find you when I can.”

Just as suddenly as they had all met, they broke off from one another. The Sableye took a sharp and sudden turn into another passage and much of the crowd turned off with him. A few of the sharper sort kept after Jessica and Tobias, but after she passed the gem to Tobias they quickly outran the remaining pursuers. A few turns later and she was comfortable enough to come to a stop. There was movement but it was distant and unfocused. They were safe for the time being, safe enough at least for Jessica to turn to Tobias. “Give it back, I want to take a look at it.”

Tobias, somewhat regretfully, spat the gem out onto his hands and wiped it off before handing it to Jessica. She curled her tail around to bring proper light to the gem she held in her hand. It was a bit smaller than the size of her fist, or more simply said it was huge. It was beautiful to boot. God, it was beautiful. It sparkled wonderfully and it was seemingly without flaw. Rotating the gem caused it to shift gently between blue and violet, depending on how the light struck it. It was easily worth a house. Tobias stared at it just as intently as Jessica did and spoke only in a whisper, “How wonderful.”

“It's not ours.” Jessica shook her head. No matter how much it was worth, those kinds of things were just dreams. They had been entrusted with it. She was tempted to double back and leave the caves in an effort to escape the wandering Sableye, but she had a strong feeling that that wouldn't be possible. They had heard movement from the moment they entered. There was a good chance that they had been expected and that their client had been cut off trying to get to them. That left them with only one choice: stay in the cave, guard the gem, meet up with the client later. They were prepared for it and they had known it was coming. The mission was marked overnight for a reason.

“There's no chance you'll swallow this?”

Tobias shook his head. “Oh no, I am most skilled at holding things within my cheeks. It will be quite safe.” Jessica stared for a moment, hoping in the back of her mind that Tobias was being honest as he shoved the gemstone back into his mouth.

With that done... Well, they had to figure out what to do. It wasn't as simple as it sounded. They needed to stay in the caves, probably until the next day. Since they had shaken off their pursuers, they were fine for the time being but that wouldn't be the case forever. The fact that they were the new target would probably spread the moment their client was found without the gem. They had no understanding of the cave systems, they had no map, they had no contacts and they didn't really have a way of telling the time. The only thing they had was time, time to better their situation before they were being pursued and before they were found.

Well... no matter how she looked at it, their current spot was far from ideal. The tunnel they had turned into had too many openings. It was fairly tall and wide, with strange crystals jutting from the walls and open passageways along the walls. It was a good place to get ambushed. She gently shifted back and forth from foot to foot as she thought. ...It's smooth. Jessica dropped to her hands and felt the stone below her. It was smooth, but only near the middle. The edges were still bumpy and relatively uneven. She couldn't see it in the dim lighting, but she could just barely feel it. She was on a well-worn path, or at least what passed for “well-worn” in a cave. “Come on, we're going this way.”

Jessica started down the path. It winded, turned and occasionally broke off into smaller tunnels. Every turn, she would have to take a few steps back and feel carefully along the floor in order to figure out which way the path had gone. It was an easy process and the only length in it was in Jessica's strides as she walked down the path quickly. There wasn't time to waste, the longer she waited the more likely they were to be attacked without finding anything to work with.

The tunnel remained slim and narrow but it suddenly sloped downwards and opened up into an artificially made cavern. Pokemon were moving about freely and simple homes had been erected within the open area. There were more than just a few pokemon moving about, it was definitely a small civilization in its own right. It was also one they weren't going to get into, judging by the grumpy looking Snubbull who was standing right at the edge of the path. He was a guard if his words, “No entry!” were any indicator.

Jessica stared. She hadn't even gotten a chance to talk before being yelled at. It didn't put her in an exactly... good mood but she was at least willing to feign courtesy in order to get what she needed. “We're guild members, we were just looking--”

“No entry!” The Snubbull repeated his shout, this time with a growl.

Jessica bit her tongue but started again. “We just need a little help making our way around the--”

“No entry! Not until the festival starts! Come back tomorrow!”

“Festival? What festival? Does this have something to do with the Sableye running--”

The Snubbull once again began to shout his by-now signature phrase, except he himself was the one that was cut off this time. “Oh calm your s**t Greg. They're obviously lost.”

The slightly grey Poochyena that popped up behind “Greg” was seemingly only slightly more welcome and the two quickly began squabbling. “No outsiders!”

“Greg, they're not trying to get in. They're trying to get some help.”

“They can get it somewhere else! No entry, the elders said so!”

The Poochyena sighed. “Greg, they're not trying to get in. Calm down.” The Poochyena looked away from Greg and towards Jessica and Tobias. “Lemme guess. You're the pair that Jer' hired? He's a Sableye with blue eyes. You've still got his rock? It's blue-violet, yeah?”

Tobias looked at Jessica who, after taking the moment to try to analyze the Poochyena, nodded. Tobias promptly reached into his mouth and pulled the gem out of his cheek and held it up for a moment before quickly shoving it back in.

“See? They're just here because they're lost. They're not here to take any of the rocks, calm the hell down.”

Greg snorted. “Then they don't need in! No entry!”

The Poochyena rolled his eyes. “Fine Greg, whatever. I'll help them myself.” The Poochyena stepped past both Greg and team Robin. “Lets go, I'll help you out. Greg's stuck too far up his own a*****e to let you in.” Greg snorted in defiance of the label but he didn't move or act as the now-trio headed in the opposite direction of the village. “Anyways...” The Poochyena started talking after they were far enough away to be out of earshot. “My name's Joshua. You?”

“Jessica. He's Tobias. We're team Robin. Mind explaining what's going on?” She wasn't quite sure how to handle the Poochyena yet. They weren't exactly a trustworthy species and there was always the chance that he was just leading them into a trap. He knew who they were which meant he held equally great capacity to help or harm them. It was still worth it. If he tried something, they could handle it. If he helped them, then they had gained something they couldn't otherwise.

“Yeah, no problem.” Joshua calmly lead the way through tunnels and turns as they talked. “So, simple version, you got caught up in a wedding ceremony.” “A wedding?” “Yeah. Long and short of it, when the princess hits the age for marriage she's dropped on the highest bidder. Whoever can bring the best gem gets her, no questions asked. Her birthday is tomorrow. Whoever can bring the best rock after dawn breaks gets her hand and becomes the crown prince. There's no rules on it, so the night before is a huge frenzy. Apparently a couple of people die every year. It's a real pain in the a**. It tanks the city for about a month while things get back to normal. Or so I've heard anyways, I was pretty young the last time it happened. Anyways, everyone agreed that no foreigners are allowed in the City during the last week, Sableye included. A couple of generations ago there was a huge rampage when people went hunting for gems, and each other, in the city.”

So it's a wedding ceremony. The Sableye would stop pursuing them if they lost the gem, which was good. What was less good is that if they tried to hold onto it while being swarmed they could get killed if they were careless. They would have to be careful. Facts and tunnels were nestled firmly in Jessica's mind as she considered what to do. She wasn't about to get lost. “Where are we headed?”

“The empty tunnels. They've been mined out. We're less likely to run into anyone there, it should be a good place to hole up for now.” Joshua yawned lazily, apparently not taking this seriously at all. Jessica nodded, since at the very least it made sense. “Anyways, if you can stick it out until day breaks you should be fine. The sunlight will work its way down the junk crystals, so when it gets real bright you'll know. When it's too close to the deadline, most of them will probably just try their luck with what they have instead of keeping on you. Well, you'll lose too if you're too slow, since she'll only wait about an hour to receive the best available. If you're late, she'll take somebody else.”

They were on a time limit, too. Great—just what she wanted, a time limit. It was a time limit she had no way to fulfill since she didn't even know where to go at the time. They needed to hide, but they needed to find a way back... It was a problem. They also only had one source of information, which was even worse. All it took was a mistake or a lie on Joshua's part and they were screwed. Jessica disliked the situation, to put it mildly. “Any advice on finding our way to the princess?”

“Nah, you're pretty much screwed there.” Well that was... blunt. “I'll probably bail in an hour or two, I'm mostly just helping out. I'd rather not get caught up in things when it gets bad. But advice...” Joshua paused in thought before continuing. “You're less likely to get found in dark areas but less likely to be ambushed in bright ones. They can move through the rocks but the energy in the walls messes them up. Their home is in the brighter areas, so the brighter it gets the more likely they are to be nearby but the less likely they are to be able to pop out of a wall.” Joshua's speech lapsed. Jessica was going to prompt him to say more but he looked like he had something on his mind; he did. “I scratch your back, you scratch mine. Do me a favour, look after Jer'. He's a good guy, really eager. He's also not exactly the... sharpest tool in the shed, if you know what I mean. Even if you guys pull through for him, this isn't gonna end the best for him. Lets just say uh... Well, I'm a pretty open guy when it comes to the ladies but I wouldn't touch the princess and it's not because she's a Sableye or because she's a princess.” Jessica looked at him with renewed curiousity and lessened caution. Her opinion of him had changed quite a bit, he seemed like a decent guy. It all seemed a little too heartfelt to be a con. “Well... Lets just say you'll understand if you meet her. Words won't do it justice.”

Jessica nodded, having decided to trust Joshua for the time being. “I'll do what I can. I can't promise you anything but I'll do what I can.”

Joshua nodded in return. “Thanks. I'll stick around as long as it's safe. I'll see if I can find you in the morning but no guarantees, these tunnels are pretty complicated.”

Jessica went over what she knew in her mind, having settled on trusting the Poochyena enough to leave the navigation to him. If he was lying to them it probably wasn't about the situation which just meant that they were safe if they could make it through the night. They had enough food to last them a little bit. They just needed to run into somebody to get help if they were really lost. Other than that, dark areas were good to hide in but light areas were good to run towards. Ditching the gem, or making it seem like they had, was a good idea as an absolute last resort. If they tossed it and surrendered to any other Sableye they ran into they would be ignored since there was no point in harassing them for a gem they didn't have. Most likely, they'd be being pursued fairly soon. It was just a guess, but there was a fair chance a lot of the Sableye had collapsed by now. The late risers who were hoping to snatch the gem up at the last moment would be moving soon and not long after that the ones who had failed before would be stirring again with renewed vigor. This was their last chance to hide and prepare.

Joshua came to a slow stop. Jessica's tail had become the only meaningful source of light in the tunnel. The crystals around them were barely active and the complete lack of sunlight meant they were deprived of the energy that coursed through the stone during the day. It was as dark as it got. “We're here. They're not gonna look here until they get desperate.”

Alright... It was time to plan. They were in a fairly large area with lots of branching paths which was no good, it was too easy to find them. Jessica took her tail in hand and looked down each of the passageways until she finally settled on one after seeing a sizable rock that had been left behind. The tunnel walls were covered in a faint moss and, fortunately, it didn't dead-end so they could retreat in either direction if needed. Jessica placed her hand against the rock and felt along it slowly, carefully.

“What's up?”

“Quiet. I need to focus.” Joshua closed his mouth and Jessica began to breathe slowly and deeply. She felt out the shape of the boulder, closed her eyes and stepped back. Utter silence settled into the area until Jessica raised her fists. Silence brought about questions that were silenced quickly as faint flickers of orange and green gathered around Jessica's hands. They slowly became brighter and more constant until the flicker had turned into a constant glow and it was at that point that she lunged forward. Her arm straightened, her shoulder shifted forward and her entire body turned with the punch as her foot scraped the floor.

Joshua whistled. “Damn.”

The awe in Tobias's voice showed that he was no less surprised. “Oh my.”

The energy gathered around Jessica's fist had shot into the rock and spread through it, causing the entire boulder to crumble into pieces. Each piece was about the size of her hand which was perfect. “Tobias, scatter these on both sides of the tunnel. Leave a path through the middle that's clear.”

“Alright.” Tobias quickly set to fulfilling Jessica's request without any annoyance or questions in spite of the seemingly mundane and pointless nature of the task. It left her scratching her head and feeling a little bad. When they had met, she had thought he would bring her nothing but trouble. Even going into the mission, she was somewhat apprehensive about his... unpredictable nature. In spite of that, he had been nothing but helpful and obedient. If it had been a better place or a better time, she would have asked but it was neither.

Jessica reached towards her belt and began to pull out supplies. Food, water and her blanket. It wasn't exactly a glamorous meal, being nothing more than salted and pressed fruit, but the bars were convenient to transport and a good source of energy. “Tobias.” Jessica held out a bar which Tobias simply grabbed with his mouth and set to eating. “What about you, Joshua?”

“I'll pass.” Joshua yawned widely. “I'm gonna nap.”

“Alright.” Jessica was planning to do the same herself. “Tobias, can you keep watch?”

Tobias twisted around to face Jessica. “Hm... I believe I will tire in a few hours. I will most likely not be able to stay ahead of the Sableye without rest, but for now I am well.”

...It wasn't an ideal answer but it was as good a one as she could hope for. “Wake me up in a little if anything happens or if you start to feel tired.” Jessica wrapped the blanket around her body, leaned against the wall and nodded off into a somewhat uncomfortable rest.

-----

When the trio of Team Robin and their client made their way into the Main Hall they would find Barcel awaiting them, the Empoleon's arms crossed and his expression one of mild impatience--in other words, exactly what was to be expected of the aged Treasure Hunter Head. "You're back then," he remarked without pretense, "If I recall your mission was supposed to be an overnight one. Did it really take you that long to get back?" Barcel had been awaiting their arrival for a little over an hour now, and he hated to be kept waiting. Waving an arm dismissively before anyone could answer him, the Empoleon stared down at Sableye accompanying Team Robin expectantly. "You. Did these two perform their job to your satisfaction?"

Jeremiah answered without hesitation. "Absolutely. They did all I asked them to and more."

Barcel stared at the Sableye a moment longer before giving a gruff nod. "Right then." Turning back to the members of Team Robin, the Empoleon gave them a grudging smile. "Your client's satisfied, and that's enough for me. You two are still rookies and it shows, but you've done your job well. I'm sure after a few more missions you'll be a force to be reckoned with." That was about the closest thing to praise Barcel could be expected to give, and that was what Team Robin got. If they hadn't managed to get a whole faction of the Glitter Cave's Sableye monarchy angry with the Guild he might have been a bit more impressed, but as things stood currently he had some reports and apologies to be writing--a task which he hated almost more than he hated being pulled away from his smithing for any reason other than Armageddon. Without another word the Empoleon deposited the sack he held into Jeremiah's hands before he turned and strode off down the hall, leaving Jessica and Tobias alone with their client yet again.

Jeremiah turned to the pair after a long pause and offered a tentative smile. "Thanks again for everything," he said, gratitude bleeding into the words and through his lovely blue eyes. "I hope this is enough to compensate you for everything you've done for me." He handed over the bag containing the rewards to them with a nod and then turned to leave. "I'll, ah, be back later with a little something extra." With that, the Sableye slipped off out the door leaving Jessica and Tobias alone with their rewards and one another's company.

Later that evening Team Robin would receive a knock at the door, presumably from Jeremiah with the "extra" that he'd promised. When it was opened, they would find the Sableye as expected carrying something in his hands, but also a familiar Snubbull and...oh god was that a Carbink? It was quickly revealed that the trio each wanted to join the Team for their own reasons (most of which had to do with a decree from the Sableye monarchy forbidding any Pokemon other than Sableye from living in their area of Glitter cave--apparently Tobias had left quite the impression behind him). Unfortunately the Team could only take one, and that Pokemon had to be a proper member, not just a possession of one of the two ball-lovers of the group: it would be a difficult choice, but a decision would have to be made.

Rewards:
-4 MP (Trial Ticket Bonus)
-Star Piece
-700 PD
-Shadow Sneak TM
-Sableye, Snubbull, or Carbink Recruit

Treasure Hunter Bonus:
-Much like Jessica, Jeremiah was prepared for his sleepless night with food to keep his energy up; unlike a Charmander's however, the Sableye's diet consists mostly of gemstones. He happened to have a few left over when they reached the Guild, which he promptly offered to Team Robin in gratitude for their services to him! The stones weren't terribly valuable, seeing as it would be a waste to eat the most precious gems, but altogether they possessed a value of 800PD.

((Nicely done Cy! I really like what you did with this one (though I'm a sucker for lovely rocks and minerals so I was bound to like it) and how much more of Jessica's character was revealed throughout it. Your environment was creative and the Sableye culture was interesting (though it was rather strange that a Snubbull and Poochyena had anything to do with it and I would have liked to know more about that). You had a few moments of awkward language here and there but altogether it was very solid and quite good. The clever ways that you incorporated the moves were exceptionally well done as one last note: I loved both the Focus Punch and the Charm moments, they were very cinematic and felt quite important and relevant to the characters.))