Chapter 18 – Unfortunate Circumstances

“Really starting to get sick of those jerks.” Rickety huffs in annoyance, making his way through the Amp Plains with Lexxi by his side, peering around corners for any Pokemon that might be guarding the way. “Are we really gonna have to keep dealing with them like this?”

“Let’s recap.” Lexxi follows along behind, tail puffed out, ready to attack at a moment’s notice. “They stole your necklace just because they could, they tried to ruin our mission at Apple Woods, they stalked us all the way to Fogbound Lake just so they could try to get back at us, and now this? I’d be more surprised if they give up at some point.”

Rickety lets out a groan to himself as they round the corner, keeping his guard up, sighing frustratingly as he stares at the ground. “Uurrghh, I knew I shouldn’t have have hit Chief, I knew doing that was a bad idea…”

“Rickety, come on, don’t blame yourself for this.” She stares up at him reassuringly. “You couldn’t have known what would happen. To be honest? I feel like they’d still find ways to mess with us even if you didn’t hit him, they just seem like those kinds of guys.” She gives a soft smile. “And besides, I still appreciate you standing up for me back there. “

Rickety stares back a bit uncomfortably, glancing away. “I dunno… The more I think back to it the worse I feel. I’ve never lashed out like that at anyone before.” He shakes his head, scrunching his eyes shut. “Sorry, I just don’t wanna think about it. We’ll give them what’s coming to them… Again.”

“It’ll be okay.” Lexxi gives Rickety a reassuring back on the back with her tail. “Try not to worry about it too much, alright, Rickety?”

Rickety’s smile slowly returns, scratching at the back of his head. “Alright.” He nods, peering around a corner again. “Oh! I think I see a cleari-“

CRASH! THOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!

The darkened sky brightly lights up the surrounding area with a flash of lightning, followed up by the intense rumbling of thunder. The ground even shakes a little bit from the volume, making a few small rocks tumble down the cliffsides. Rickety instinctively covers his ears while Lexxi’s ears pin down against her head.

“…We’ve been so determined so get back at Team Skull I hadn’t even realized how creepy this place actually is.” Lexxi says, slowly lifting her ears back up, peering around the area.

“All this lightning, yet not a drop of rain in sight.” Rickety slowly lets his guard back down, sighing as he shakes his head to clear his mind. “Whole place just seems weird when you really think about it. The sooner we’re out of here, the… Hey, wait!” His eyes widen as he spots something resting against a wall at the far end of the clearing. Some sort of bracelet with an aqua blue gem in the center.

Lexxi squints her eyes, taking a few steps forward to try and get a better look. “Is that the water float? Huh… They actually held true to their word.”

Rickety hums skeptically, bringing his guard back up. “It might still be a trap, Lexxi. Let’s not get-“

And then the area goes dark. The whole sky goes black, the surroundings just barely dim enough for them to still see. Through the darkness, they can hear a voice shouting at them from somewhere. “Who are you?! And why did you come here?! This is our territory!”

_{“Get to cover! Quick!”} Lexxi whisper-shouts to Rickety, the two of them immediately taking cover behind one of the lone rocks sprouting up from the ground. Their hearts are racing, breaths coming in quiet pants as their backs press against the rock.

“Oh, so you’re just going to hide like that? How cute.” The voice says, laughing out loud. “You know what? We’d appreciate if you kept doing that. We’ll just sneak up on you in the dark, find you and strike when you least expect it.”

“Hah!” Another voice seems to join in, this one much harsher in tone, more ferocious sounding. “Why even bother with searching? My eyes can pierce the dark without issue! See all there is to see! I can even see them hiding behind that rock right there! Let’s just run up and strike them right now!”

_{“This is bad this is bad this is baaaaaaaaaaaad.”} Rickety mutters worryingly to himself, body shaking a bit, trying to take deep breaths to calm himself down. “Alright, okay, we’ve… Dealt with worse, we took on Groudon- A fake Groudon but still a Groudon, we can do this. Right, Lexxi?”

Lexxi, though still trembling a bit herself, manages a smile and a nod for Rickety. “Yeah, we’ve got this in the bag. We can handle whatever they’ll throw at us.

The two step out from behind the rock and out into the open, their eyes trying to peer through the darkness, albeit to no avail. “Alright, come on out!” Rickety shouts, spreading his arms out. “Who are you?! Show yourself!”

The less ferocious sounding voice lets out a laugh. “My name is Manectric! The leader of these Electrike!”

“And I am Luxray!” The other voice shouts, much louder and more imposing, intimidating than the other. “The leader of the Luxio tribe!”

The sky crackles with lightning once again, lighting up the clearing and blowing away the darkness, but Rickety and Lexxi are met with a rather worrying and troublesome sight. Electrike and Luxio all surrounding them from seemingly every conceivable angle possible, with Manectric and Luxray at the forefront of their respective tribes.

Rickety and Lexxi stand back to back, their bodies tense, their expressions falling as they begin to realize the weight of the situation they’d just landed themselves in, surrounded by so many powerful Pokemon from all sides. It felt like a Monster House, but so, so much worse.

“Prepare to fight!” The Manectric shouts, his group of Electrike all beginning to rush towards Lexxi and Rickety.

“We’ll make you regret even thinking about coming here! Attack!” The Luxray shouts, him and all of his fellow Luxio pouncing towards the two.

---

“So that’s what happened to your Water Float?” The green Kecleon’s eyes go wide, stunned by tale. “What a cruel thing to do! And to such innocent young Pokemon like yourselves!”

“Mmhm…” Marill slowly nods in response, but his smile perks back up. “But that’s why Team Void are taking care of it! We know they’ve got this all under control!”

The purple Kecleon furrows his brows in thought, tapping at his chin. “Hmm… The name “Team Skull” sounds familiar.” He turns towards his brother, arching an eyebrow. “Haven’t we bartered with them a few times in the past?”

“I think I vaguely recall,” The green Kecleon responds. “They did seem like a rather brutish looking team, didn’t exactly give off the best vibes. To think that such Pokemon can stoop so low for reasons so petty…”

“Does something else seem to be the matter?” Dusknoir’s voice calls from across the bridge as he wanders over, tilting his head, eyebrow raised curiously. “I was just on my way to check out Sharpedo Bluff when I couldn’t help but overhear. Marill, Azurill, I thought you were off to the beach to find your Water Float.”

“Ah, Dusknoir!” The purple Kecleon leans over the counter to greet him. “We were just discussing that, actually. It seems the Water Float has been taken by a group of troublemakers.”

“It wasn’t a coincidence either, this was an act of malice.” The green Kecleon continues. “They stole the item knowing that Marill and Azurill had been looking for it! Ransom letter and everything!”

“Really?” Dusknoir’s eyebrow furrowing, scratching at his head in thought. “What would a couple of thugs want with a Water Float? Let alone just to mess with a couple of kids?”

“It seems like Team Void has run into them before. They knew who they were just from reading the letter!” Azurill explains. “Maybe they were trying to mess with them by messing with us too?”

“And they knew we wouldn’t be able to go to where they took the Water Float either. Water types can’t stay in Amp Plains for too long…”

Dusknoir’s eyes suddenly widen, quickly turning to the brothers. “Amp Plains? Team Void has gone to Amp Plains? But at this time of year…” Dusknoir’s expression suddenly turns grim with realization. “I have to go! Apologies for the abrupt departure!”

“Wha- Wait!” The green Kecleon shouts in confusion, but Dusknoir is already floating away by the time he manages to call out.

---

The Luxio and Electrike were absolutely relentless, swiping at Rickety and Lexxi as they fought fiercely to dodge and strike at the opportune times, with the tribes even trying to bite the two of them. Not to mention the constant electric type attacks that were constantly being thrown at them.

Rickety dodges out of the way of an incoming thundershock, the ground where he once stood becoming singed and burnt from the impact. “Uhh- Lexxi?! Maybe you might wanna try and singing a lullaby right now?!” He stammers, skirting around as much as he can, managing to strike an incoming Luxio just in time to knock it away.

“A bit too busy trying not to get electrocuted to death to thinking about singing, Rickety!” She shouts back, knocking away a Luxio and an Electrike with her tail, trying to fend off the oncoming swarm. It felt like it never ended, every time they took one out, another one would take its place.

Rickety was only just barely managing to defend himself, constantly putting up counters, trying to endure all the attacks being thrown his way and knocking back the Luxio and Electrike that kept coming after him. It’s during this, though, that he doesn’t realize that the Luxray is plotting something on the side.

Grinning, the Luxray’s body begins to crackle with electricty, quickly charging up as their body glows brightly. Suddenly, without warning, it unleashes a horrifically powerful thundershock at Rickety. Only able to just notice in the corner of his eye, Rickety can only watch as the bolt of lightning rushes in his direction, colliding with his chest and sending him flying into the rock wall.

Being struck with such a strong attack does a number on his body, stars dancing in his body as the jolts of electricty make him tense, neurons firing off, everything feeling painfully numb. He thinks he can hear Lexxi calling out for him in a panic, but his hearing is becoming too muffled to make anything out besides the roaring sounds of thunder soaring through the air.

His vision is going dark around the edges, his whole body feels so incredibly weak, he can’t even bring himself to move a muscle, his body still on fire from the shock of electricity he’d been struck with. He feels as though he’s on the verge of consciousness, so close to fainting. He can’t even bring himself to make any sort of pained noise.

Just as his vision is going dark, though, he sees his necklace beginning to glow again. What’s… Everything is slowing down again, slowing down to a crawl, and then to a complete halt, and then-

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.llaw kcor eht otni gniylf mih gnidnes dna tsehc sih htiw gnidilloc ,noitcerid sih ni sehsur gninthgil fo tlob eht sa hctaw ylno nac ytekciR ,eye sih fo renroc eht ni eciton tsuj ot elba ylnO .ytekciR ta kcohsrednuht lufrewop yllacifirroh a sehsaelnu ti ,gninraw tuohtiw ,ylnedduS .ylthgirb swolg ydob rieht sa pu gnigrahc ylkciuq ,ytcirtcele htiw elkcarc ot snigeb ydob s’yarxuL eht ,gninnirG

Rickety’s eyes widen as he suddenly feels like he’s snapped back into place. What just happened? Did that happen? He- He didn’t have a premonition like Lexxi did, right? No- No he remembers all of that. His necklace is still glowing faintly as he looks down at it, before the glow eventually fades away.

There’s no way.

He sees something in the corner of his eye. The Luxray is getting ready to strike him with a powerful Thunderbolt. But didn’t that just happen?

…It did. But then it didn’t.

Seizing the opportunity and trying his best not to question what just happened, Rickety manages to run towards the Luxray just as he’s launching the attack, dodging the Thunderbolt by sliding under it, and transitioning that into an equally fierce Force Palm right into the Luxray’s face, sending him knocked back and staggering him significantly.

The surprise of their leader getting struck is enough to briefly distract the Luxio, leaving Lexxi an opening to knock away a few remaining Luxio and Electrike, swiping her tail at the Manectric, who also seemed to be surprised by the blow Rickety had dealt, distracting him enough to leave an opening.

The two leaders really don’t seem to like this, exchanging glances at each other as their expressions suddenly turn much more furious as they turn back to face the Skitty and Riolu. “Enough of this!” The Luxray shouts, his paws planted firmly in the ground, charging up his electric energy once again.

“Daring to attempt to strike us down?! Take this!” The Manectric, thanks to his close proximity to the Luxray, is able to charge up his own electricity rather quickly, both of their bodies becoming enevloped in electric sparks.

Rickety and Lexxi barely have any time to cower or hide, the most they can do is hold each other for comfort, clutching each other closely, scrunching their eyes shut as a powerful, combined Thundershock comes hurtling their way-

“STOP!”

…Only for Dusknoir to swoop in in front of them and block the attack with his own body, seemingly being hardly effected by such a strong blow. Rickety and Lexxi slowly peek their eyes open, staring in awe at the ghost Pokemon towering over them, defending them.

“These two did not come here to make claims on your territory! You don’t have to strike them down! They may be tresspassing, sure, but it isn’t with ill will or malicious intent!”

“Who… Who are you?” The Manectric squints, still keeping himself on the offensive.

“Step out of the way, or you’ll be struck down as well!” The Luxray shouts, his body still crackling with electricity. “Our business is with them! Not with you!”

Dusknoir puts his arms up defensively, speaking in a firm, but calm tone of voice. “Please, hear me out. I know you’re all angry, you have every right to be, especially with what both of your tribes have gone through, all that you have suffered on these grounds. The hostility you harbor is natural and understandable.”

Rickety and Lexxi slowly back away from Dusknoir and the two tribe leaders, putting some room between them, staying silent while Dusknoir continues to work things out.

“The Amp Plains are your haven, a place where you can feel safe, without harm, a place you can find solace. On behalf of these unwitting trespassers, I offer the sincerest apology I can muster. We only have one thing we must do here, and we promise to leave as soon as we’re done. Please, Manectric, Luxray, believe me.”

“…You seem to know much about us, whoever you are.” Manectric hums, letting his guard down the slightest bit. “You make the claim they mean no harm…”

“Give us one good reason why we should trust you.” The Luxray still stands firm, eyes narrowed fiercely at Dusknoir. “Did they not just spend the last several minutes fighting with us? Trying to tear us down? Why should we think they had no malice?”

“I can assure you they were only acting in self defense. They meant no harm coming here.” Dusknoir responds.

The Luxray scoffs. “Likely story. We should just-“

“Luxray.” Manectric interrupts, stepping closer towards Luxray. “I’m sure he’s telling the truth. Look at them.” He points over to Lexxi and Rickety, who are still holding each other close. “They don’t look like they want to fight any more. Our tribes have already sustained enough damage. Perhaps it’s best we listen.”

Luxray’s gaze narrows at the Skitty and Riolu, staring them down for a while, squinting at them. Eventually, he huffs, turning his gaze back to Dusknoir. “Very well! We’ll take your word for it. We’ll allow you some time to do whatever it is you need to do, but we expect you to be gone by the time we return.”

The Luxray and Manectric share an understanding glance with each other, their gazes turning towards that of their respective tribes. “Come.” They say in unison, making their way out of the clearing, with their tribes following right behind them.

As the three are finally left alone in peace, Lexxi and Rickety both let out an exhausted sigh of relief, standing back up and staring up at Dusknoir. “Thank you so much, Dusknoir.” Rickety sighs, shuffling awkwardly in place. “I didn’t think we were gonna make it out of there.”

Lexxi nods in response, fur still standing on end. “You saved us. We really owe you one.” She glances behind her, watching as the last of the Luxio and Electrike make their way out of the clearing. “Who were they, though?”

“Luxray and Manectric.” Dusknoir begins to explain. “Leaders of nomadic tribes who are always on the move. They try to find places that are hospitable for their groups, often coming to seek refuge here during this time of year, and the Amp Plains, with its constant thunderstorms, is perfect for their Electric typing.”

“But even with their great strength in numbers, they were still attacked and suffered heavy casualties in the past.” He continues. “They’re very defensive and territorial, and don’t often take too kindly to visitors or trespassers. It’s become an instinctive reaction among their groups to attack on sight, in fear of being attacked themselves.”

“Oh…” Lexxi’s ears droop, her expression falling a bit. “I kinda feel bad for attacking them now.”

“It makes sense.” Rickety nods, an uncomfortable expression on his face. “It explains why they were so willing to get the jump on us even though we didn’t do anything wrong.”

“…The Water Float! We still gotta get the Water Float!” Lexxi exclaims, ears perking back up, peering behind Dusknoir. “Is it still there?” She wanders around him, making her way to the edge of the clearing, to which, thankfully, the Water Float was still sitting where it was, miraculously undamaged by the massive fight. “Oh thank gosh…”

Rickety and Dusknoir follow up behind her as she picks it up. “This is the Water Float, right, Dusknoir?” Rickety asks, glancing up at him. “We’ve never seen one before, just have to make sure before, you know.”

Dusknoir nods his head confidently. “Unmistakably, this is definitely a Water Float.”

“Let’s go home and return it to Azurill and Marill, right away!” Lexxi claims, smiling.

“There’s just one more thing we need to take care of first…” Rickety’s brows furrow, slowly turning around back to the clearing. “Alright, show’s over. Come out, we know you’re there.”

A brief silence overcomes the clearing, then a series of quiet, disgruntled groans can be heard. Out from the shadows of one of the cliffsides walks out a Zubat, a Koffing and a Skuntank, all with rather frustrated expressions painted on their faces. “Ya knew it was us, eh?”

“The ‘chaw-haw-haw’ in the letter kinda made it obvious.” Lexxi states flatly, eyes narrowed. Dusknoir stares quietly, eye glancing between Lexxi, Rickety and the group before them.

“I told ya you shouldn’t’ve put that in the letter, Chief!” The Zubat snides, wings flapping irritatedly.

_{“Shut up.”} Chief growls. _{“Just shut up.}

“…You expected this to happen, didn’t you?” Dusknoir squints at Team Skull, hands clenching into fists. “You knew Team Void would run into an encounter with Luxray and Manectric’s tribes, knowing a fight would break out between all of them.

“Well of course!” The Koffing exclaims. “The brats’ve been a thorn in our sides for too long, and we was hopin’ they’d take care of ’em for us, at least enough for us to wipe the floor with ’em after they were done.”

Lexxi blinks in surprise, her tail puffing up as her demeanor changes. “You were trying to get us killed?!”

“After everything the two of you little punks have done to us?! Yeah, the two of yous deserve it!” Chief barks back taking a step forward. “Things were so close to workin’ out for us, too!”

“And then Mr. Cyclops here just had to get involved and swoop in to save the day.” Zubat huffs.

“Perhaps we should settle this.” Dusknoir says, his gaze narrowing. “If you wish to try anything else.”

“Pffuh.” Chief huffs. “Naw. We ain’t wastin’ our time here anymore. We’re done. Team Void? Maybe? You too? Naw, to heck with yous. We’re leavin’.” He gestures to Koffing and Zubat to follow him out, stomping on the way out.

“Your faces are going to look good on wanted posters.” Dusknoir continues, his voice lowering. “If I were any of you, I’d run.“

Chief looks back at Dusknoir, looking genuinely worried as his complexion goes rather pale _{“Aw, crud.”} He mutters, picking up his pace quickly. “Let’s vamoose, boys!” He shouts as they all run away from sight.

“And never come back!” Rickety shouts after them.

Dusknoir’s brow furrows as he glances at the two. “Just how long have you been dealing with those scoundrels, anyway?”

“Way too long.” Lexxi responds, sighing as she stuffs the Water Float away in the wonder bag. “Anyway… Let’s go home.”

---

Finally back at Kecleon’s Shop, Azurill and Marill are finally reunited with their Water Float. “Oh, thank you!” Azurill bounces happily on his tail as he holds the Water Float closely to him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you SO much! I was starting to think we’d never get our Water Float back!”

Marill nods happily, relieved and finally able to relax. “First, saving Azurill, and now getting back our Water Float. I don’t think we could possibly repay you enough for all you’ve done for us.”

“It’s nothing, really.” Lexxi chuckles softly to herself, tail swishing back and forth behind her. “We’re just doing what we do.”

“If you wanna thank anybody, you should be thanking Dusknoir!” Rickety exclaims, his tail swishing behind him as well. “We wouldn’t even be standing here right now if it weren’t for him!”

Azurill and Marill both hobble on in front of Dusknoir, bowing their heads gratefully. “Thank you too, great Dusknoir! Thanks for everything!”

“Heh, please, it’s no trouble at all.” He responds, rubbing at the back of his head. “I’m very happy for both of you though, truly.”

“There he goes again, being all humble and modest about everything.” The purple Kecleon says as he leans over the counter. “If that isn’t just like the great Dusknoir.”

“We can’t forget how superb Team Void has been, either!” The green Kecleon follows up. “They’ve been on the case so efficiently! First, rushing over to save Azurill from Drowzee, and now this!”

“Heh… I wish it were that simple.” Lexxi chuckles awkwardly. “Whole reason we even managed to get there in time and understood what was happening was because of this vision I had. That’s why we even knew where they were in the first place.”

“…I beg your pardon?” Dusknoir’s attention is peaked, leaning down towards Lexxi. “A vision, you say? Like a premonition?”

“Huh?” Lexxi’s ears flick, turning around to face Dusknoir. She glances back at Rickety, who seems just as curious as she does, before turning back around to Dusknoir. “Well… I guess? Sometimes, when I touch something- or somebody, for that matter, I get all dizzy and my vision goes blank. I’ll see or hear something in my mind, though it’s never clear whether it’s the future or past…”

Dusknoir’s eye immediately widens in surprise, his body going rather rigid, for a ghost, anyway. “Why that’s!… That’s the Dimensional Scream!”

“The… What?” Lexxi blinks a few times, staring up at him in wonder. “You mean you know what it is, Dusknoir?! If that’s the case, then… We have so much more we need to ask you!”

---

“…So you woke up right here, huh?” Dusknoir asks inquisitively, the sounds of waves washing up on the beach the only noise in the area, Rickety and Lexxi standing beside each other in anticipation.

Lexxi nods her head in response. “Right here, exactly.”

“I found her laying on the beach, totally unconscious.” Rickety explains, leaning forward a bit. “I don’t know how long she’d been laying there for, she was already there when I got here.”

Dusknoir hums curiously, scratching at his chin. “And then you’d regained consciousness, although you’d lost your memory.”

Lexxi nods in response once again. “Everything but my name and the memory of being a human, yeah.” She looks down at the sand. “Every time I try to think back to before I was a Pokemon just makes my head feel all fuzzy and hurt.”

Dusknoir’s eye widens again, leaning closer. “A human, you say?” His gaze returns to Lexxi, studying her curiously, examining her closely. “That’s… Fascinating! You would never have given me that impression! You appear to be a Pokemon in every conceivable way!”

“Hey, I’m just as confused as you are! I don’t understand either!” Lexxi exclaims, rubbing at the back of her head. “I guess that means even you’re not sure how it could’ve happened, huh?” She sighs disappointedly. “I guess we’re still stuck at square one…”

Dusknoir furrows his brow, mumbling to himself. “A human.. With the Dimensional Scream…” He returns his attention back to Lexxi. “You said you at least remember your name, right? I don’t believe I ever got your name.”

“Lexxi.” She responds. “My name is Lexxi.”

“…Ah.” Dusknoir’s body goes rigid once again, seeming rather stiff and tense, slowly glancing away off into the distance. “I see… So you’re Lexxi…”

“Huh?” Rickety tilts his head curiously, arching an eyebrow. “Does that name mean anything to you, Dusknoir?”

Dusknoir stays silent for a few moments, staring out into the water as the sun begins to set on the horizon. “…No.” His eye squints a bit. “The name means nothing to me, unfortunately.”

Lexxi can swear that just for the briefest of moments, the mouth on Dusknoir’s stomach seems to curl up into the faintest smile. Did… Did she see that just now? No, surely she must be imagining things, right?

Dusknoir finally returns his attention to Team Void, body seeming to loosen up again. “I’m truly sorry I couldn’t offer any assistance in learning who you are, but I do at least know of the ability that Lexxi possesses.”

“You called it the Dimensional Scream, right?” Rickety asks curiously. “How does it work, exactly?”

“Even though I know of it, my knowledge of it is still rather limited. How one learns such an ability is unknown, perhaps they’re born with it, perhaps something awakens within them. But regardless, sounds and images slice across the boundaries of time, breaching objects and into Pokemon, into their minds, allowing them to see something related to the past, or that of the future… I’m afraid I know nothing more of it, though.”

Lexxi glances down at the ground, down at her little stubby paws. “Well.. It’s something, at least. Thank you anyway, Dusknoir. We really appreciate it.”

“…Perhaps we could become friends.” Dusknoir offers. “To help unravel the mystery of why you became a Pokemon. I’d be more than willing to offer my assistance!”

Lexxi gasps, turning her attention back to Dusknoir. “You would?!”

“But of course!” He chuckles. “Truth be told, I can’t help but scratch that itch knowing there’s something I don’t know.”

“That’s incredible!” Rickety exclaims, practically bouncing in place. “Isn’t this great, Lexxi-“

Rickety is interrupted when the shadow of a Pelipper flies overhead.

And then another.

And another.

The three of them all look up and see that the sky is full of Pelippers, all flying off in different directions in a hurry, some of them even panicking. Rickety stares up confusedly, his expression becoming a little nervous. “There aren’t usually this many Pelippers in the air…”

“Rickety?” Lexxi’s ears droop against her head, scooting closer to him. “What’s going on?”

“Guuuuuuuuuuuuuyyyyyyssssssss!” Another voice shouts for them across the beach, their direction turning to the source, seeing a Bidoof hurriedly making his way over towards them, practically collapsing into the sand when he finally catches up with them.

“Bungie?” Lexxi steps closer. “What’s happening?”

Bungies manages to stand back up, panic stricken in his eyes. “You all need to come back to the guild! Now!”