Chapter 8 Onward and Upward!
"Time to wake up!" Ginger declared into Charm and Tarra's room.

"Just five more minutes." Tarra muttered. Charm grinned.

"Tarra, wake up!" Ginger said softly into her ears.

"Go away..." she muttered. "I'll be up later..."

"Tarra, we can't slack off on our first official day of work."

"I can."

"WAKE UP TARRA!!!" Ginger practically yelled in her ear. Tarra jumped and Charm thought he could hear her heart racing. Ginger smiled. "I guess next time you'll get up."

"Stupid Pikachu." Tarra muttered under her breath as she sulked.

"Maybe you should go easy on her at night." Ginger whispered to Charm as they walked out of the room.

"I heard that!" Tarra turned around. "I just don't like to wake up before the sun!" She continued walking along. "So what are we doing today?"

"I have a whole bunch of wonder mail from clients at Drenched Bluff." Ginger said. They walked up the stairs to the upper plaza.

"I hate Drenched Bluff." Tarra stamped her foot.

"It's either that or Beach cave."

"Wait a minute." Charm said. "Didn't you say that there were hundreds of dungeons?"

"Yes."

"Then why can't we go into one of those?"

"Because you two might not be strong enough."

"I'm strong enough for anything!" Tarra declared confidently.

"No." Ginger objected. "It's too risky."

"It's risky? What about everything we've been through?" Charm argued. "I think we can handle a little bit more."

"Fine, but only because you two need to know that you have limits." She handed them a couple of envelopes. "You can go to Mt. Bristle, but promise me that if you run into trouble you'll get out of there."

"We promise." They said together, smiling wide.

"Hello!?" A voice echoed from the entrance of the guild.

"Kip!" Tarra exclaimed. "What are you doing up there?" She yelled up the stairs to the entrance where the Shinx was located.

Kip walked down the steps and into the plaza. "I know I was here just yesterday, but this place still amazes me. How can an open space like this underground not collapse?"

"It's cut into the stone of the cliff." Ginger replied. "It wouldn't collapse if a hundred Aagron jumped up and down on top of it." That still didn't seem to settle him.

"What's wrong?" Tarra asked, concerned.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just excited. My mother said that I could join the guild!"

"That's great!" Charm exclaimed. "Do you want to join our team or make a new one?"

"As much as I'd love to join your team, Charm, I can't. Face it, Bravery needs a rival and his name is Kip!" Kip smiled, showing his fangs off.

"I'm happy for you," Tarra said, a hint of disappointment in her voice, "but you'll need a partner to make a team, unless you want to go solo."

"I can handle solo." Kip said, a bit unsure of himself.

"Don't worry, you'll start in Beach Cave and work your way up." Ginger smiled. "These two are a badge level ahead of you, though, so get to work."

"Badge level?" Tarra and Charm looked at her confused.

"Didn't you two notice how your badge changed colors?"

"To tell you the truth, I thought it was rusting." Charm blushed, his scales turning redder on his cheeks.

"When you complete missions or wonder mail, your badge will get badge points and eventually go to the next level. Unfortunately I don't know the names of the levels so I'll call them by number." Ginger explained.

"Well pretty soon you'll be ten levels behind me!"

"You wish!" Tarra replied. "Charm and I are an inseparable combination of unstoppable fury and... um..." She blushed, turning purple. "Pst, Charm, what are you?"

"The one who keeps you out of trouble."

Everyone laughed except for Tarra. "Don't we have a job to do?"


"I didn't think it was that funny." Tarra griped as they appeared at Mt. Bristle. It had taken them longer than expected because Tarra was in such a bad mood after Charm's joke that she had to be dragged after they reached the surface.

"Now that we're out of sight, I think I know a way to make you feel better." Charm kissed her softly. She blushed.

"Shouldn't we get going?" She asked. For the first time Charm actually looked at Mt. Bristle. It was the tallest thing that he'd ever seen... or that he could remember. He pushed the thought of that empty, dark void in his memory away to focus at the task at hand. They started walking up the craggy surface of the mountain, avoiding anything that could make an avalanche. After a minute of walking, something leaped at Charm from on top of a rocky outcropping!

Tarra saw it leap but it was too late to warn him. Just as she thought it was about to hit, he suddenly turned around, releasing a mouthful of embers at the Pokémon. A crispy Spinarak dropped to the ground.

"We should keep moving." Charm suggested. Tarra pressed her body against his side as they walked.

"How did you do that?" Tarra asked.

"I don't know. It was like the time I caught the rock Jackie threw at me." they went over a steep slope. He suddenly stopped. "Move back down slowly." He whispered. Tarra saw the problem. In front of them was a large pile of apples with ten or twelve Spinarak guarding the tasty fruit.

Tarra backed up a bit too quickly, accidentally causing a large rock to tumble down the gentle slope of Mt. Bristle.

Every arachnid there shot webs at them immediately. Charm pushed Tarra down the steep slope they had crested and followed shortly. The string shots flying overhead missed their targets by far. Charm spotted a crack in the slope of the mountain and pushed Tarra inside. Before Going inside himself, he spotted a precariously perched, large rock.

"Tarra, use water gun on that rock." She nodded, using her water gun perfectly. It tumbled down the hill, causing a second avalanche. Charm quickly fit into the rock as a mass of Spinarak started searching the area of the fallen rock.

Charm breathed a sigh of relief. He was worried that the Spinarak wouldn't take the bait. "Okay Tarra, let's quietly sneak out of here." They snuck out of the crack and up onto the same place where they had first seen the Spinarak, by the abandoned apple mountain.

Tarra smiled at him. "Ginger could use some apples to keep our supplies up..." they stuffed ten apples into the kit and quickly moved on. After a moment of hiking, the badge began to glow. They headed in the direction that it glowed brightest.

When Charm spotted the Slugma, he was relieved that nothing was around it. He ran to it, not realizing that he stepped on a Geodude. The Geodude was angry with Charm, not Tarra, so it was facing the Charmander, leaving its backside exposed to a water gun. Tarra blasted it hard, making it faint on the first shot.

"I don't understand why Ginger was so concerned for us."

"Let's not get cocky." Charm said as he transported the fainted Slugma back to Treasure Town. No sooner had the badge stopped glowing than it started again. It was faint, but readable. After a few moments, they came across a green Pokémon with a spike coming out of its head. It was larger than Charm on all fours. It was a Nidorina.

It sudden let loose a barrage of poison needles at them from its mouth in the form of poison sting. Charm dodged them, leaving Tarra to use mud slap to drown the needles' power. Charm scratched the Nidorina, dodging the scratch delivered by the target. Tarra tackled it, poisoning herself. The Nidorina cried in pain, using double kick to bat them away. Charm was fine with that. He used Ember to attack from afar as Tarra used water gun. It took effort, but the Nidorina fell.

They breathed sighs of relief, smiling at one another before hearing a squeak. It wasn't a squeaky cupboard squeak, it was an animal squeak. Charm whipped around to see a cowering Nidoran� (girl).

"Don't hurt me!" she squealed, cowering.

"We're not going to hurt anyone who we don't have to hurt." Charm smiled softly at the cowering Pokémon. She was about the size of Tarra. "We're a rescue team!"

"A rescue team?" She asked curiously.

"It's a team of explorers who save other Pokémon."

"Can I join?"

"Of course. What's your name?" Charm smiled. They had just recruited their first member!

"I'm Nia!" She stood up straight. "What do we do?"

"We're on a mission right now." Tarra said happily. "We need to find a Swablu. Which way, Charm?" she suddenly winced.

"Are you okay, Tarra?" Charm asked, concerned.

"I'm poisoned." She said. "But we need to save the client." She began walking in a strange way toward Charm. "Carry me." she smiled weakly

"I can't carry you." Charm said.

"I guess I'll be walking then." Tarra replied.

"We'd better hurry and find the Swablu." Nia said. "Something tells me she's serious about needing to save the client."

"Yeah she's got a hard head." Charm smiled.

"Ha ha, now let's get going, badge-boy."

Charm checked their direction and the three started walking toward the client.

"Welcome to team bravery, Nia. I'm Tarra and that's Charm." Tarra talked on the way to the client, filling Nia in on what they knew about exploring. When the Swablu was in their sights, they began to run... except Tarra. Her condition had worsened and she was limping now. Charm noticed and began to help her. Nia couldn't because she might worsen her condition if any of her spikes touched her.

The Swablu was also fainted. Charm touched the badge to its wing as soon as he arrived. The Swablu was transported to Treasure Town and Charm, Tarra, and Nia followed soon after.

Nia staggered as the environment she was in was suddenly altered.

"Hey... why are we in the Guild? I thought we get transported to the west plaza." Tarra murmured. She seemed completely healthy.

"Shh, Tarra." Charm shushed. He turned to the Slugma and Swablu. They were both fainted when they found them, but now they were awake and unscathed. Ginger was behind them.

"Are you the Pokémon that rescued us?" The Swablu asked.

"Yes." Tarra replied.

"We owe you for saving our lives but we don't own anything."

"That's alright. We're a rescue team. We save Pokémon for free." Charm replied happily.

"But there must be something we could do for you." The Slugma said.

"You could spread the word that Treasure Town has a new Guild." Tarra suggested. "We want everyone to know that they're safer now."

"We will." They promised and Ginger directed them to the stairs.

After they left Ginger turned to them. "You two have a new team member!" She smiled. She went to the Nidoran. "My name's Ginger. I work here. What's your name?"

"Nia." She replied.

"That fits. You're an official member of this guild now." She smiled somehow wider. "That reminds me; tomorrow Kip will start his exploring. I showed him where he'll be sleeping; I gave him a badge and kit, and told him that he'd start tomorrow."

"Who's Kip?"

"A member of the Firelight Guild. He's a Shinx."

"Ginger, I have a question." Charm said. "When we were at Mt. Bristle, Tarra was poisoned, but when we came home, she was just fine. Why?"

"When the badge teleports a Pokémon, it fully heals the teleported Pokémon." Ginger explained. "When a Pokémon is poisoned, it should eat a Pecha Berry. It cures poison."

"I suffered when I could've just eaten a berry!" Tarra moped. "Why do we always seem to learn things AFTER we need it?"

"C'mon Tarra, didn't you say I needed to see Sharpedo Bluff? Nia can come with."

Tarra stopped moping. "Sure. It's got a beautiful view." She started strutting up the stairs.

If it hadn't sounded so cheesy, Charm would've complimented Tarra on having a beautiful view herself.

As they walked through town, it seemed like everything was brighter. A few Pokémon asked who the new member was. In Jamie the Dratini's case, she also thanked them for adding protection to Treasure Town.

Jackie just happened to see how popular Team Bravery was and it made him seething with jealousy. The Turtwig couldn't stand Tarra and Charm. Now that the whole town loved them and their new member, he was even angrier than before. He wanted to harm them, but last time he tried that, it hadn't worked so well. This time he'd plan ahead...

Tarra led Charm and Nia out of town by taking the east path off of the east plaza. She led them right to the edge of Sharpedo Bluff.

"Wow!" Charm and Nia said together. They could see for miles over the ocean, the water lit by the evening sun. Words were not worthy to describe the view. They would only put boundaries on how beautiful it really was. On the way back to the guild, they stopped at Kangaskhan storage to deposit whatever they didn't need. Charm reminded himself to give the apples from the Spinarak to Ginger. When they reached the guild, he did just that and Ginger was shocked when she heard how they had obtained them.

"I really didn't think you two were ready for Mt. Bristle. I guess I was wrong." She declared. Kip returned to the guild in time for the first supper in the mess hall. Tarra offered to help clean the plates they used. With her water gun, they would be done a lot sooner.

"This is where we'll be staying." Charm declared with a wave of his paw, revealing the room to Nia.

"It's huge!" She declared.

"That was what I thought, too." Charm said as he remembered that now that they had a new member, Tarra and he couldn't do anything without the other members knowing.

"Charm?" Nia asked.

"What?" He snapped out of his thoughts.

"Do I have to do anything as an... initiation?" She said, looking lower on his body.

Charm blushed as he realized that while he was thinking, his sheath had become hard. "Of course not." He replied quickly.

"Are you sure?" Nia stepped closer to him, still looking between his legs.

Charm backed up. "Yes."

"I wouldn't mind doing anything." She kept progressing and he kept backing up.

Charm's body wasn't exactly helping by letting out the very tip of his member. "It's not necessary." He said. Part of him wanted to go along with what the Nidoran wanted, but most of him was loyal to Tarra.

"You might not think you want it, but your body does." She said. Charm's penis was slowly coming out of its sheath. Charm's back hit the wall, and Nia took advantage of that. She quickly closed the gap between them. "You'll love this, I know you will." Nia declared confidently. She slowly licked the inch of his penis that was out.

Charm's body trembled in pleasure. Her tongue seemed different than Tarra's. His mind started to fog with lust, not caring whether it was Tarra or Nia delivering the pleasure. Her lick sped up his member's growth. Just as she started her second lick, Tarra came in.

When she saw them, her face was as surprised as Charm's. Nia was just as surprised as both of them and had removed her head from between Charm's legs. Charm was now free of her. He used this new freedom to run to Tarra who had started crying.

"Get away from me!" She ordered as Charm approached her, not having the willpower to carry out that order.

"Tarra, I love you. I didn't-" Charm hugged her.

"If you love me, why did I find you with another girl?" She was now angrier than she was sad.

"I didn't want her to. She wouldn't stop." Charm said.

"Sure she wouldn't." She tried to break free of his hug.

"Tarra, it's true." Nia said. She had walked up to them while they were talking. "I-I didn't know that you were his mate though, honest I didn't. I'm sorry." She hung her head.

Tarra looked at her suspiciously then looked into the sorry eyes of her real mate. She was still a little heart-broken, but she found it hard to be mad at someone forced into sex... "I guess I owe you an apology, Charm. I should've known that you'd never betray Me." she was released by Charm. She walked over to Nia. "It's okay Nia, you didn't know. How could you after all when the only Pokémon that knows we're mates is Ginger."

"Why do you keep your love a secret?" Nia asked, a little cheered up now.

"Because how would the town view us if they knew that their heroes were having sex?" She replied a bit too bluntly for Charm's taste. "You still seem a bit sad." She said, putting on a face that Charm only saw on her when they were mating. "I think I know a way to cheer you up." She whispered into Nia's ear for a moment, leaving Charm to wonder what his slut was up to.Chapter End Notes:Sorry about the cliff hanger. I wanted to upload this tonight so the next chapter would be all or mostly sex. I'm surprised I got this done so quick, too. In only a couple days, I've written nearly 3,000 words! anyway, reviews are accepted and expected