Chapter 39 - Ziggy's Failure

Ziggy made his way into the common room, slightly out of breath but otherwise feeling fine. It was the tail-end of another day working for the guild, and Ziggy had been running for most of it. Recently, he had been getting a lot of assignments for delivery tasks. With his high speed, he was able to make deliveries across the city very quickly. It was also a pretty safe job since most folks, even if they didn't like his fur colour, didn't object to him simply giving them something they wanted and then leaving.

Simple as it was, it was pretty fulfilling work and it made him feel good about himself.

Most of the remaining active team was already in the room when he entered. Apparently everybody had gotten their work done fairly early today. He received plenty of waves and greetings as he entered.

Ziggy wandered over to the couch, planning to flop onto it and rest his muscles for a moment. He found Terry and Rico sitting on the other end of it, cuddling one another. "Hey, you two," he greeted them as he took a seat.

"Help," Rico droned sardonically, "He's been hugging me for like five hours and won't let go."

Terry snickered. "Today I learned 'minutes' are called 'hours' now. But don't tempt me, or I will hug you for five hours straight."

Ziggy laughed quietly at their antics. Just a week ago, the two had been planning their ceremony. Regrettably, the hope of having a nice and memorable ceremony within just a week was a bit too lofty of a goal. Instead, it had been moved to next week, though now the date was locked in for sure. Of course everyone on the team was invited, including those working for the recon squad, as well as Ziggy himself. He still didn't know what he was supposed to do at a big fancy ceremony like this one, and had been meaning to ask Sparks for a while but kept forgetting.

He then glanced across the room at the assembled members, noticing that a certain fiery-red Pokémon wasn't among them. Lupe wasn't here yet. She was supposed to come back this day or the next day, and it was looking like it would be the next.

However, he noticed that another Pokémon was also absent. "Where's Sparks?" he asked, turning to the couple.

Rico shrugged, or did his best with an Eevee constricting him, and Terry said, "Is he in his room?"

"I guess so," Ziggy agreed.

"Still?" Rico spoke up. The other two gave him questioning looks and he clarified. "He wasn't at breakfast, remember? I thought he was just sleeping in, but Danika said he was still in his room when we came back after lunch to pick up a second job."

Ziggy sat up straighter. "He's been in his room all day…?"

"I don't know. Maybe?" Rico replied, "We haven't seen him at all today."

"Is…Is he okay?" Ziggy asked, nervousness slipping into his tone.

"What do you mean?" Terry asked, "I'm sure he's fine. You know he has to stay in his room sometimes…"

Ziggy had already gotten up off of the couch. It was true that Sparks sometimes kept himself holed up in his room, which Ziggy knew was because of him dealing with something affecting his mental health. It usually resulted in him sleeping in and missing breakfast. However, Sparks usually didn't stay in his room the whole day, at least not without telling anybody first.

Terry tried to say something to him, but Ziggy was already running for the dorm rooms. He didn't hear anything anyone might have said to him, because his thoughts were overwhelmed by memories of what Danika had said yesterday. Images of Sparks, suffering a relapse all alone with nobody to help him, assaulted his mind.

He quickly ran up to the door to Sparks' room. However, he had enough sense of mind to realize that loudly barging into his room wouldn't do the Raichu any favours if he was relapsing. Ziggy took a breath to compose himself and then knocked on the door. "S-Sparks?" he called out. There was no immediate response, so Ziggy called out again louder.

What he heard next was a long, drawn-out moan of distress. The sound sent chills right up his spine. Ziggy's breath caught in his throat before he said, "Sparks, a-are you alright?" There was another groan that might have been Sparks saying something, but the door muffled it so Ziggy couldn't understand it. The Buizel gulped before saying, "I'm coming in! O-okay…?"

Ziggy tried the handle and was relieved to see that the door wasn't locked. He pushed it open as slowly as his panicked state could manage and peered into the room. The lights were out, casting dark shadows across the room. He immediately spotted Sparks, who was laying on his bed under multiple blankets. He had his eyes closed, but Ziggy could see distress in his expression.

"S…Sparks?" Ziggy spoke nervously as he stepped into the room.

Sparks grunted softly and pried one eye open. When he saw that Ziggy was in the room now, he finally spoke up. "Don't come closer…!"

Ziggy halted on the spot, surprised and confused by the harsh, scratchy sound to Sparks' voice. "Um…Sparks?" he asked gently, "Wh…What's wrong?" It then brought Ziggy both relief and even more confusion to see Sparks smile and chuckle softly.

"I'm sick."

A moment passed where neither of them spoke. "…Huh?" Ziggy eventually said, "Sick? From your…PTSD…?"

Sparks actually laughed at this, though his voice still sounded strained and scratchy. "No, buddy. I'm sick sick. I caught the flu or something."

Ziggy's eyes widened as he leaned in a little closer, only now noticing the reddish appearance of his nose, the rosy hue to his cheeks, and the fact that he was occasionally sniffling. Suddenly, an entire ton's worth of stress drained away from the poor Buizel. "Oh. Phew…" he said, relieved, "I…I thought it was…something worse."

"I woke up feeling like total crap this morning," Sparks explained, "but that happens from time to time with me anyway. Usually nightmares…" He fell silent for a moment, but then continued. "I thought I'd just rest and get a tiny bit more sleep, but I didn't feel any better. I just felt worse. You know I don't like to bother anyone when I'm…y'know, dealing with stuff in here, so I didn't tell anybody, but I didn't realize I was actually sick until a few hours ago…And then I fell asleep again."

"Oh dear…" Ziggy said. He was about to step closer so he could comfort his friend, but then remembered Sparks' instructions to stay away. "So…it's just the flu?"

"'Member, you got the flu right before spring? You stayed in bed for like three days and kept throwing up? I got somethin' similar. Might not be the same flu, but sure feels like it…"

"That sounds awful…"

Sparks frowned. "I'm sorry if I worried you, or anyone else. It just hit me hard and suddenly. Barely have the strength to get up and reach my badge. But don't worry, I'm not dying or anything."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Ziggy asked worriedly, "Can I get you anything? You probably haven't eaten at all today, have you?"

"I managed to choke down some crackers that I keep in my dresser," Sparks answered, "but I really don't wanna think about food right now…"

Ziggy frowned as he looked over at the comatose Raichu. He had the covers of his bed pulled right up to under his chin and was resting on two thick pillows, keeping his eyes closed for the most part. Yet, he was also sweating despite being under all those blankets. Sparks looked utterly miserable, but at least it was preferable to seeing him in a blind PTSD-related panic.

"I probably won't be able to do anythin' with you for a couple of days," Sparks said after a prolonged silence, "…Sorry."

"N-no, it's okay," Ziggy said with a shake of his head, "You just rest and feel better. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

Sparks chuckled hoarsely. "You sound nothing like the muddy Buizel I picked up off the street. It's amazing how far you've come…"

Ziggy blushed slightly under the praise. He briefly glanced down at the badge on his chest.

"The only thing I'm worried about is missing Rico and Terry's ceremony…" Sparks continued.

"That's not 'till next week," Ziggy remarked in surprise, "You're not gonna be out that long…are you?"

"Most likely not," Sparks replied, "but you never know…" He then groaned softly as a brief shiver ran through his body. He shifted slightly under the heavy covers.

"Do you want me to get Kandice?" Ziggy asked.

"…Yeah, I think so. That'd probably be for the best."

Ziggy nodded. "She's just out in the common room. I'll let her know."

"I appreciate it, bud… Now, you should get outta here before you catch it."

"Okay. Hope you feel better soon."


Ziggy watched the relatively small active team rush off to perform their duties. The next day had come and the early morning sun was just barely peeking in through the windows. With Sparks out sick and Lupe still not back yet, the group that Carmen addressed was almost frighteningly small.

That didn't affect their level of enthusiasm and eagerness, though. Hardly anything could affect that.

Once again, he waited patiently for Carmen to come over and tell him what he should be doing for today. Would it be an assignment, or just instructions to pick a job from the board? He was fine either way. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he felt like Pokémon were paying less and less attention to his fur colour these days.

Maybe the formation of the recon squad had put the fear of Nihilego back into everyone's minds. It was, after all, public knowledge that the Rescue Society had done this.

Ziggy didn't end up waiting much longer, as Carmen made her way over to him soon enough.

"Feeling okay?" she asked him.

"Huh?"

"You didn't catch anything from Sparks?"

Ziggy perked up in recognition. "Oh! No, I don't think so. I don't feel sick."

She nodded curtly and then said, "I have another 'speedy delivery' task for you. Though this one's a bit more involved; it'll take you out of the city."

"Out of the city?" Ziggy repeated curiously.

"To Shimmer Town," she further explained, "It's just south of the city. Technically it's a suburb and still falls under our guild's jurisdiction, but it takes just over an hour to get there by paw." She then smirked and said, "So, what do you think? About 10 minutes for you?"

Ziggy laughed at that. "Not quite that fast. If it's not too hilly, maybe 40 or 45 minutes?"

"I can't have anyone come with you, since we're short-staffed as it is, and nobody would be able to keep up with you anyway. You up for it?"

The Buizel hesitated for a moment. He had never ventured outside of the city on his own before. He had done about four or five small missions in neighbouring towns, though Sparks, Danika or Kona had been there for each of them. At first he was hesitant, but then he thought about it some more and wondered why he would need to be nervous. This would mean he could leave the anxiety-inducing streets of Radiant City, be by himself for a while as he crossed the fields, and then he would be in a smaller and hopefully nicer settlement.

"Sure!" he said once he'd decided, "Sounds fun, actually!"

Carmen nodded again, and then gestured for Ziggy to follow. She led him out the door and into the guild's entrance hall. Ziggy saw that there was a Pokémon seated on one of the chairs off to the side. It was a fairly unassuming Slakoth who was holding something in his claws. He slowly lifted his head once Carmen entered the room and looked up at her.

"This is Geoff," Carmen introduced him to Ziggy, "Today is the ceremony for his brother-in-law and his mate, and the ceremony is in Shimmer Town. Geoff, as part of his family's tradition, personally crafted the bangle for his brother to give to his fiancée."

Ziggy glanced down at the object in the Slakoth's claws, seeing it was a shiny bronze bangle that was a fair bit larger than the one Terry wore. He remembered what he had been told about the bangles; one Pokémon gives the bangle to the other when they propose, and then the other gives one back during the ceremony.

"A friend of Geoff's was supposed to deliver it to Shimmer Town," Carmen continued, "but something unexpected came up and they had to bail. Geoff doesn't have anyone else he can get to run the bangle over, and he can't afford to hire a transport Pokémon like a Rapidash. The ceremony's in a couple of hours, so it needs to get there quickly, and he's come to us for help."

"W-wait…" the Slakoth spoke up, his voice sounding very low and gravelly, "Who is this…?"

Carmen turned to regard him. "This is Ziggy. I'm assigning him to deliver your brother's bangle."

Geoff looked at Ziggy, aghast. "What? He can't…Why…Why him? I can't let someone like him handle this!"

Ziggy bit his tongue and stood his ground. By now, he had come to expect this sort of pushback. It had taken a long while, but he was finally starting to grow numb to it.

"You wanted this delivered as quickly as possible," Carmen countered, "If that's what you want, Ziggy is the one who will get it there faster than anyone else I have available."

Geoff frowned at her. "Don't you have, like, a Staraptor working here, or-?"

"All of our avian members are extremely busy and usually require advance notice for rapid deliveries," Carmen interjected, "If you want this delivered fast and immediately, Ziggy is your best option."

Ziggy saw the Slakoth look at him again. Then, he noticed Geoff's eyes shift downward slightly, and Ziggy recognized that his gaze was now lingering on his badge. He resisted the urge to puff out his chest slightly.

"…Fine," Geoff finally relented, "Fine. I'm sorry, Miss Guildmaster. I trust you."

'I'm still standing right here in front of you and I have ears too,' Ziggy said to himself silently, but otherwise retained a stoic outward look.

Carmen then instructed Ziggy to grab his backpack from his room, and the Buizel dutifully dashed off to retrieve it. Meanwhile, she would hammer out the remaining details with Geoff. When he returned, he saw that Carmen was now holding the bangle, while Geoff was off to the side still looking hesitant.

"It's durable," she said to him while he unzipped his backpack, "so don't worry about knocking it around while it's in there." Ziggy held open the pack and allowed Carmen to place it inside. "Once you leave the perimeter road, it's a straight shot to Shimmer Town so you won't get lost. When you're there, just look for the Vigoroth in the tuxedo."

Ziggy zipped up his backpack and slung it over and onto his back. There was also some bottled water inside, which he had grabbed from his room, and the combined weight wasn't much at all. The bangle was surprisingly heavy, at least compared to what he had expected, but ultimately it didn't weigh too much.

Carmen then reached into the fanny pack on her waist and pulled out a rolled up parchment. She unrolled it, revealing a map of Radiant City. "Here, I'll show you the road that leads out."


It ended up being quite a nice day for a run. The sun was out, though there were plenty of fluffy white clouds in the sky as well. The rays of the sun were warm on his fur, but there was still a cool breeze wafting through to balance it out.

Ziggy was having a blast. He couldn't remember the last time he'd gone for a long run like this. Now that his memories were back, he knew that he used to run laps around the island sometimes for fun. His parents would always time how long it took him to make a lap, and Ziggy had always tried to improve his own record.

With the pack strapped to his back, Ziggy was running on all fours down a straight and lonely dirt road that cut south through the fields. It was pretty flat the whole way, allowing him to really pour on the speed. He wasn't even halfway before he could already see the faint sight of the suburb in the distance.

Ziggy had belatedly realized that he hadn't actually run this much since Sparks had found him and taken him to the guild. In fact, the last time he had run nearly this much was when he had run away from Sparks after stealing his satchel. Ziggy chuckled to himself. It was nice to have finally gotten to a point where he could look back on that awful moment and laugh about it, and he knew Sparks felt the same way.

The feeling of his four paws dashing along the ground, pushing him forward faster and faster, was amazing. But, what also felt amazing was what he was doing and why. It was another important mission, a part of his job as a member of the Rescue Society, that Guildmaster Carmen trusted him to do. Before the guild, he had never once felt like his life held any value whatsoever. This one single mission was proof enough to change that mindset.

The remainder of the journey to the suburb passed by without incident. Ziggy was starting to pant by the end of it, but he didn't slow down. Before long, he was standing among the buildings located on the outskirts of Shimmer Town.

Ziggy had decided to stop here so he could get a drink of water. Even as a Water-Type, he knew how important it was to stay hydrated. After that, he would go and look for the recipient of this bangle. The Buizel let his eyes wander a bit as he removed his backpack and set it on the ground. He had never been here before, but it was a quaint town. It wasn't exactly a tiny hamlet like Sunshine Town where he had grown up, as it was big enough that it would take at least five minutes to get to the other side. There were Pokémon here and there going about their business. A lot of them were starting at this new, bright golden arrival to their town. However, oddly enough, their stares just felt different.

"Hopefully he's not too hard to find…" Ziggy commented to himself as he unscrewed the cap on the water bottle he had retrieved out of his bag. He then pressed the bottle to his lips, tipped his head back, and downed half of the bottle's contents. He only felt a little tired after his long run, but the refreshing drink of water was appreciated nonetheless.

Ziggy then spent another couple moments taking in his surroundings. The buildings here were, of course, much smaller than the massive towers of Radiant City. He could actually see the tops of them without having to strain his neck. Above the houses, the white fluffy clouds continued to lazily drift across the sky.

That's when Ziggy noticed something in the distance. Something caught his eye that stood out against the field of white clouds. It seemed indistinct at first, but in mere seconds it coalesced into something much more recognizable. Dark, thick, hazy clouds that seemed to be coming from somewhere on the other side of the town. In no time at all, the clouds grew thicker, darker, and much more plentiful.

Not clouds. Smoke.

Something was on fire.

In the distance, Ziggy heard a shriek. Someone could faintly be heard calling for help. A chill ran up Ziggy's spine as he realized there was trouble. Something very bad was happening. An instant later, the half-filled water bottle clattered to the ground, forgotten, as Ziggy dashed away down the streets.

Ziggy darted down the streets, trying his best to follow where the smoke was coming from, and he saw that other residents were noticing the dark plume as well. There were worried glances and gasps of fear. The distant sound of a commotion could be heard just barely, growing louder as Ziggy drew closer. He passed alongside the heart of the town, shortening the assumed five minute trip down to just three, until he reached the area on the outskirts where houses were farther apart from each other.

When he finally rounded the corner of a particular street, he saw it at last. One of the town's houses, resting on a tiny hill at the edge of the suburb, was engulfed in flames. The entire building was alit, from bottom to top, in a brilliant orange blaze. Ziggy kept running forward until he was in front of the burning building, and then finally skidded to a stop.

Ziggy looked up at the building, which now had a massive black cloud of smog above it, in stunned silence. A numb feeling started to overcome him, as his mind was assaulted by horrific memories. He saw, in vivid detail, the burning buildings of Dewdrop Island as his family made their frantic escape. It was exactly the same, just on a smaller scale. The brilliant yet terrifying display, the rush of unpleasant heat, and the horrendous roaring noises. For a brief moment, Ziggy found himself back on that dreadful day that he never wanted to repeat ever again.

"Guild!"

The sudden shout violently snapped him out of his trance, causing him to shake his head. He looked to the side and saw a panicked Mawile running towards him while pointing at his badge.

"Thank Arceus you're here!" she exclaimed, "Please! Please, help! You gotta do something!"

Her words quickly jolted Ziggy back to reality. "Ah! Y-yes, right!" He spent a moment digging into his jumbled mind to remember exactly what he had been taught, and then practically smacked his paw against his badge. "Alert! Alert!" he called out, "Emergency! Building on fire! Request firefighting services and backup immediately!" He then whipped his head around frantically, looking for a street sign. "Stardust Road near Zirco Lane in Shimmer Town!"

A quickly shouted "Copy!" was all he received in response, but Ziggy knew to expect that. He had declared the emergency, so now all the focus at the other end would go towards coordinating help. A shiver ran up Ziggy's spine as he thought about the fact that he'd just called in his first real emergency. This was the kind of stuff, according to Sparks, that couldn't really be trained; unexpected hazards.

Other guildmembers would be here as soon as they could, including members of their firefight division, but Shimmer Town was a fair distance away from the guild itself. Ziggy dashed forward a few metres closer to the burning house and studied it. He thought about trying to use his Water attacks to put out the fire, but he wasn't sure he would be able to do very much on his own. There was a small crowd of frightened onlookers, but he was the only Water-Type among them.

The Mawile from before ran up to him and roughly grabbed his shoulder. "What are you doing?" she shouted, "You're a Water-Type, aren't you? You have to help them!"

Ziggy looked at her in both fright and confusion. "Wh-what…?"

Even if she hadn't said anything else, the look of sheer terror in her eyes would have told Ziggy the whole story.

"There's a family trapped inside!"

Ziggy felt his blood run cold, a wild contrast to the heat that surrounded him. He whipped his head around and looked at the building again, focusing on the windows and the doors. He couldn't see anything, but the house was two storeys tall.

The Mawile continued to shout at him. "I heard them cry for help just before you got here! Please, they need help! They're a family of Grass-Types!"

Ziggy took a shaky step back and looked up at the house. The angry flames roared, charring the wood and threatening to burn the entire thing to the ground at any moment. More brief flashbacks of the burning Dewdrop Island filled his mind, but he fought them off. There were Pokémon inside this building, Grass-Types who were especially vulnerable to the fire and who definitely wouldn't be able to get out on their own.

The cacophony of sounds from the blaze were loud, but Ziggy could have sworn that he just barely heard a cry of distress.

A second later, Ziggy dropped to all fours and ran towards the house's front door. He stopped a few feet away, already cringing from the waves of heat bursting outwards. Then, he took a deep breath, held it and concentrated, and then unleashed a Water Gun attack directly at the door. It was a nice, steady stream of water that quickly doused the house's front entrance, just as Angelo had taught him. When he stopped, the flames surrounding the door itself had been put out.

Then, without a second thought, Ziggy grit his teeth in determination and dashed forward. He let out a growl of determination and shoulder-checked the door as hard as he could. He'd been hoping it would open for him, but instead it shattered into splinters. He ended up haphazardly lying in a pile of broken wood, some of it cutting into his skin.

It was at this moment that the reality of what had just happened sank in. He had just willingly thrown himself into the heart of a burning building. His eyes went wide and he scrambled to stand up, realizing that he might have just gone completely insane. He was now surrounded by hungry orange flames, and an unbearable heat threatened to consume him.

Before he even had a chance to panic at his tremendous lapse in judgement, he suddenly doubled over and started coughing. He landed on all fours and continued coughing hoarsely for a few seconds. When he finally stopped, it still felt like he couldn't breathe properly. Ziggy glanced upwards and saw a thick cloud of black smoke that was completely obscuring the ceiling, and he realized he had just breathed that tar directly into his lungs.

"Stay low. Stay on all fours…" he murmured to himself, and was then shocked at the hoarse sound of his own voice. He vaguely remembered something someone had said about staying low to the ground if there was an indoor fire, because the smoke would rise up. Maybe it had come from his parents, or maybe even his school.

Now that his breathing was at least somewhat under control, Ziggy's focus went back to the insane decision he had made to put himself in this situation. There was deadly fire everywhere, the ground felt hot under his paws, it was hard to breathe, and his eyes were already stinging as if he had sand in them. Ziggy knew he was in grave danger, and if he didn't do something about it then he was going to die.

Then he heard a scream. A high-pitched, feminine-sounding scream of terror that was nearly muffled by the loud sounds of the inferno.

The family. There was a family of Pokémon trapped inside. Suddenly, Ziggy's thoughts of escaping completely vanished.

He opened his mouth to shout 'Hello?' but instead another couple of hoarse coughs came out. He tried again, and this time managed to successfully shout. His voice didn't sound at all like his own, but he just hoped it was loud enough.

"Help!"

Ziggy's head snapped towards a certain direction. He took a few careful steps forward into the room, tilting his head to peek around a corner. Through the doorway, which was now lacking a door, where he had heard the scream come from, Ziggy saw the bottom of a set of stairs. The family was on the upper floor. That was probably part of the reason why they were trapped.

Though he swallowed nervously and had to keep himself from quivering in fear, Ziggy summoned up all the bravery he could possibly find within him. There were Pokémon upstairs who needed his help.

Firstly, Ziggy faced the doorway in question and unleashed another small Water Gun to douse some of the flames before it and around it. He had no hope of putting out this fire, obviously, or even just putting out the fire in a single room. Making a path through the fire, though, would be good enough. Hopefully.

Ziggy then zipped through the door and faced the set of stairs leading up to the second floor. His expression fell, however, when he saw the state that they were in. The fire had already taken its toll on the staircase, and most of the stairs in the middle had burned away and collapsed. There was now just two stairs at the bottom, two and a half at the top, and a massive hole full of burning wood in the middle.

This was the only way up that he could see, which didn't leave him with many options. Panic was still creeping in, and Ziggy was trying so hard to fight it off. He had been repeatedly taught that the best way to keep from panicking was to take a slow, deep breath. Doing that now would just suffocate him.

Ziggy sprayed another Water Gun at the stairs, dousing any flames that were occupying it. He studied the obstacle in front of him for a moment, growing increasingly worried that he wouldn't be able to get upstairs and save the family.

Then, an epiphany. He had done this before. Many times, in fact, he had done this or at least something similar. This was something that should come easily to him. All he had to do was pretend an angry market stall owner was chasing after him.

Suddenly filled with bravery and confidence, Ziggy dashed towards the stairs and hopped onto the two intact ones at the bottom. He glanced up and saw that, while the stairs in the middle were gone, the banister with the railing was still connected. It remained, looking like a jagged set of teeth on a giant comb, precariously linking the two parts of the staircase.

Ziggy called on all of his expertise; everything he had learned from his days as a thief. The best way to escape from the eyes of the public was to go somewhere they couldn't, and that usually meant going up by whatever means possible. He grunted as he leapt off the second step and wrapped his forepaws around the banister. It made a groaning sound under his weight, which gave him a fright, but it held solidly for the moment.

He then carefully placed his hind paws on the columns hanging under the railing and pushed himself upwards, using his forepaws on the railing to guide himself up. It was too thin and precarious to stand on top, but Ziggy just moved quickly and swiftly along the vertical railing using all four of his limbs and even his tail to keep himself from falling.

It came naturally to him. He wasn't even scared of falling.

Near the top, Ziggy spotted a crack in the railing and realized he probably shouldn't go any further. He set his sights on the bottom of the top three remaining steps, adjusted himself on his awkward hanging position, and then pushed off of the railing in a grand leap. He fell just slightly short, ending up grabbing onto the step with only his forepaws and leaving his hind paws dangling.

Crack!

Ziggy's eyes shot open in panic. He quickly scrambled to pull himself up and then desperately leapt for the next two stairs. The bottom stair crumbled under him the moment his paws left it behind. Ziggy cried out in both panic and relief, and then hoisted himself up the last stair. His heart hammered painfully in his chest, but he was now standing on the second floor. He took a minute to catch his breath.

Then he started coughing again.

He crouched low to the ground, seeing that the smoke was rising to the roof of this level as well. His throat was burning as if he'd just eaten a Touga Berry. His chest hurt and his eyes stung even more. He again realized just how much danger he'd put himself in, but he knew he couldn't think about that now.

"Where are you?" he called out as loudly as he could muster in a very scratchy, rough voice.

"In here!"

Ziggy turned to his left, seeing a medium-sized hallway with one door on either side and a third door at the end. All three were closed, but he'd heard the voice come from the door at the end. The hallway, of course, was utterly consumed in flames. To make matters worse, though, some sort of dresser or shelving unit had tipped over and was now blocking the door, which of course was closed.

He groaned in distress, knowing he didn't have much time left. The hallway wasn't terribly long, but it would take a lot of time and effort to put out all of the fire in the way. Not to mention he would somehow have to move the dresser aside and get the door open, assuming it would open without any issue. The whole building could collapse in that time, for all he knew.

Ziggy gulped as he decided what the best course of action would be. He knew it was what he had to do, but the idea was no less terrifying. It was probably his only option, considering he likely couldn't turn back and escape on his own even if he wanted to at this point. Ziggy faced the hallway and then carefully took a few steps back to give himself some room. Without the ability to take a breath to calm himself, his nerves were completely shot. It was only the thought of the family on the other side of the door that kept him moving.

"Please work…" he whispered to himself before crouching down on his legs like coiled up springs. He prepared himself as if he was about to start running, which wasn't too far from the truth. It took a lot of willpower to psyche himself up, but finally he sprang forward. Before his paws even touched the ground, he unleashed a wide spray of water in front of him.

Then, using his trademark speed, Ziggy ran straight through the sheet of water he'd just sprayed, and then just kept on running. The water swirled around him as he ran, hugging his body but not touching it, until it looked like he was surrounded by a transparent drill made out of water. He dashed down the hallway, fire getting doused by the water along the way, and then braced himself as he ran straight into the dresser that was blocking the way.

With the power of his Aqua Jet, Ziggy successfully smashed right through the dresser, reducing it to rubble, and then kept on going right through the closed door. He burst into the room in a shower of splintered wood, leaving behind a perfect Buizel-sized hole. Ziggy landed in a heap on the floor, spilling a fair bit of blood as sharp wood from both obstacles dug into his skin. He groaned softly as the water splashed down around him in a small puddle.

At least it worked.

Ziggy groaned in exertion as he pushed himself up off the floor, only vaguely aware that he'd heard screaming after he'd smashed his way into the room. He felt a sharp stinging in many places on his body, no doubt where all of his new scrapes and cuts were. He had already been feeling queasy from all of the smoke, so he had to fight really hard to control his nausea and keep from throwing up. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and then spent another 30 seconds coughing once again.

When he finally got to his paws and looked up, he saw that he was in another room that was fully engulfed in flames. Some of the fire was uncomfortably close to him, and he realized some of that stinging he was feeling might have actually been burning. In fact, yes; his fur was definitely burning. That hurt quite a bit. He needed to fix this immediately.

Ziggy lifted his head up and unleashed another wide spray of water from his mouth, though this time aiming it straight up. The water spread out around him, reaching both near and far. Water Sport was the one move he had known since his cubhood, and Angelo had helped him make it stronger and more useful. Droplets of water fell all around him, dampening the area and putting out flames that were nearby. He kept the move going for as long as he could. It looked almost like there were a tiny rain cloud in the room, putting out most of the fires that were away from the walls and edges of the room.

Finally, Ziggy started grossly coughing and he could spray water no more. He'd reached his limit, but at least the immediate area was no longer threatening to burn him alive. His own fur was damp from the Water Sport as well, though it was very quickly drying in the heat. Ziggy groaned in distress. His stomach felt awful, his throat was burning even more now, and his head was a total mess. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this bad.

When he lifted his gaze again, this time without the immediate threat of fire, it only took him a few seconds to find what he had ultimately been looking for. Off to the side, cowering together under a low table of some sort that seemed to be made of something that wasn't wood, was the family he had been looking for. A terrified, soot-covered family of three consisting of a Leafeon, a Servine, and a little tiny Snivy.

There was still plenty of smoke in the room, so Ziggy crawled low along the ground to reach the Grass-types. He couldn't help wincing in pain as he went. They all watched him approach, a mix of hope and terror in their eyes. Ziggy belatedly realized that maybe they wouldn't even be able to see his fur colour amidst the inferno.

"Th-th-thank heavens you're here!" the Servine shouted.

Ziggy got right up close to them, mostly to avoid the fire, and coughed again before wheezing out, "Are you okay?"

"N-no!" the Servine said, shaking her head, "Amit broke his leg!" She pointed over at the Leafeon, who was laying with one of his hind legs stretched out. Ziggy could see dried blood amidst the charred fur.

The Leafeon, apparently named Amit, said, "We can't get out. We're trapped up here. Can you get them out?" His voice was strained, like he was struggling not to groan in pain through every word. Ziggy took note of the fact that the leaves on all three Pokémon had been burned away, leaving only black charred remains behind.

"Uhh…" Ziggy said shakily, wracking his brain for what to do next. He turned around and looked at the room, noting for the first time what his Water Sport had done. The floor was cleared of flames, but that was it unfortunately. Fire still clung to the walls, the furniture, and the ceiling. The door he'd smashed through somehow remained standing, with only a hole in its lower half providing a way out.

Ziggy bit his lip. He could probably get the three Pokémon through the hole and down the hallway, but getting them back down the stairs would be a problem. He figured none of them would be as agile as he was, they had a type disadvantage, and the father's leg was broken. Not to mention, using Water Sport had made him cough profusely, and Ziggy knew from Angelo's teachings that it meant he was overusing his Water attacks.

Before he could come up with a plan, there was a horrible crashing noise. The whole house shuddered, and then a second later there was a massive, deafening CRASH. Dust filled the room for a minute as Ziggy shielded his eyes. Hot splinters hit him as there was more terrible crumbling noises. When he finally dared to open his eyes, his heart nearly stopped.

Part of the roof had collapsed. There was now a huge pile of rubble, including one huge beam from the ceiling, on the floor. As the luck of the universe would have it, the rubble was blocking the door. The pile was huge and it was actively burning. The door was now out of the question completely.

Despite the inferno, Ziggy's blood turned to ice. He stared for a moment, eyes wide, as he once again saw visions of his past. Memories of the exact same thing happening in his old house. He still remembered being the tiny, terrified little Buizel who could only watch as a huge beam from the ceiling crashed down and blocked the door. There was no escape then, leaving Ziggy to do nothing more than watch the flames creep in closer.

The scream of the little Snivy was what shook Ziggy out of his trance. He turned back to the family, seeing their terrified, hopeless faces. Ziggy shook his head and forced himself to focus. These Pokémon needed his help, and they needed it now. If he didn't do something, they were all going to die.

And he would probably die right along with them.

"O-okay! Okay!" he said hurriedly, "D-don't panic. Let me figure something out. Ummm…"

Turning around again, Ziggy quickly surveyed the room. There were no windows in this room, so that was out of the question. Despite the fire, none of the walls had collapsed to reveal an escape route. Dread began to set in as Ziggy realized that he and the other Pokémon were now trapped in this room.

There was another loud crashing sound as more of the roof collapsed on the other side of the room. Ziggy winced and grit his teeth, though at least this time no massive beams fell down. He looked up and saw the pile of rubble this had caused, but his eyes lit up when he saw something else. It was hard to see through the thick smoke, but Ziggy could see daylight. This new hole in the ceiling led to the outside, presumably to the roof. As if the heavens had heard his calls, an escape route had been found.

However, Ziggy still wasn't sure what to do. Sure there was now a hole out of this burning room, but it was up on the ceiling. He looked over and saw that if he used both the pile of rubble, the nearby bookcase, and maybe even some of the damaged wood hanging down from the hole, he could pull himself up and out. But how would he get the others out?

"Mister, please!" Amit shouted, causing Ziggy to turn back to him. The Buizel was stunned for a moment when he saw the sad, pleading look in the Leafeon's eyes. "Please, just…get my daughter to safety. Do whatever you need to do. Just please…save her."

Ziggy glanced down at the Snivy, who was clinging to her mother and looking up at him with big traumatized eyes. She was a bit bigger than Zuri was, but she looked to be about the same weight. If Ziggy could manage to climb up a rope and out of a hole in the earth with a Nidoran, maybe it wasn't so out of the question to get this Snivy up onto the roof.

A wave of painful heat swept over him, and Ziggy realized he didn't have time to think. He just needed to do this, and do it now. He crawled over towards the Snivy and lowered his head even more so he could look her in the eyes. "H-hello, sweetie," he said to her in as calm of a voice as he could muster, "What's your name?"

She gulped and then murmured, "D-Diya…"

"Okay, Diya. I'm gonna…get you out of here," Ziggy continued, "I need you to climb up on my back and hold onto this ring around my neck, okay?"

Diya's eyes shifted to his ring for a moment. "W…Won't that…hurt?" she asked.

There was a quick but loud crashing sound from behind them, and Ziggy grit his teeth as a spike of panic hit him. "Yes! It'll hurt! Just do it anyway!"

The Servine, spurred on by the noise, struggled to her feet and picked Diya up. She lifted her daughter up and placed her onto Ziggy's back. He felt her small hands grab onto his ring, and Ziggy adjusted to her weight. He'd guessed right; she weighed about the same as Zuri.

"Okay, now hold on tight!" Ziggy commanded, "Don't worry about hurting me, just hold on as tight as you can and don't let go." Then, without waiting for her response, Ziggy began to quickly crawl his way under the smoke over to the new pile of debris under the hole.

"M…Mommy!" Diya cried out in distress.

Ziggy paused for a moment and looked back. Amit and the Servine were sitting huddled together under the table, looking over sadly yet hopefully. Ziggy saw that furniture behind the table was much more on fire than it had been when he'd first arrived. They wouldn't be safe under that table for much longer. He thought about their words. They wanted Ziggy to focus on rescuing Diya so she would be safe, even though they knew they would be left behind.

He felt a heavy lump in his throat, suffering more images of his past flashing before his eyes. He then grit his teeth and growled softly in determination. Diya's parents weren't going to die today. He wouldn't be rescuing an orphan today. Not if he could help it. "I'll be right back…" he whispered.

Now that he'd made a promise to himself, Ziggy instead focused on the Snivy on his back. He was at the pile of debris in seconds, and looked up towards the hole in the roof while considering his options. He ran ideas through his head at rapid speed, again harkening back to his days as a thief when he needed to make decisions like this quickly lest he be caught.

He only stood still for a couple more seconds, and then leapt up like he was spring-loaded. Diya cried out in surprise but thankfully kept holding on tight. Ziggy deftly hopped onto the pile and then jumped right for the nearby bookcase. He grabbed onto one of the shelves and quickly hauled himself up on top of it. Parts of the bookcase were burning, so he vacated it as quickly as he could. Next he turned around in a complete 180 and leapt up towards the hole in the roof. It was too high up for him to reach, but that was okay because he instead grabbed onto a long piece of ceiling strut that was hanging down. It swung slightly under his weight but felt sturdy enough. Then, like climbing a rope in gym class, Ziggy pulled himself up the strut and scrambled up into the hole.

He wasn't quite on the roof yet, and Ziggy figured he was in an attic of some sort now. The ceiling was low and this place was even more choked with black smoke than anywhere else. Ziggy just held his breath and jumped up for the hole up above, grabbing onto its edges. He hissed as the sharp edges dug into his paws but he didn't let go. With a grunt of strength, Ziggy finally hauled himself up and out of the raging inferno.

Ziggy, along with his Snivy passenger, now found themselves on the roof of the house. It was relatively flat and the fire hadn't quite reached this high yet, though Ziggy could see orange flames peeking around the edges. He'd gotten out of the burning building, but now what? It was too far to safely jump down to the ground, especially with a frightened cub hanging onto him. Ziggy briefly glanced back at her, and saw that she simply had her eyes clenched shut with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Umm…" Ziggy murmured. What to do? Should he try to jump to one of the neighbouring buildings? Those were probably too far away. Could he climb down somewhere, maybe in a place that the fire hadn't touched yet? Nothing he thought of seemed safe enough, and fear began to creep in as Ziggy wondered if he'd just made a big mistake.

"Ziggy!"

It was a complete shock to hear his name. Ziggy gasped, and then immediately regretted that action as he started coughing again. Through teary eyes, he looked around for the source of the voice. He found it a moment later, speeding through the air towards him.

It was the Talonflame who had helped fight back against the not-Nihilego creature, whom Ziggy had since learned was named Ramon. The Flying-type was zooming through the air towards him, and ended up hovering before him moments later.

"Ziggy, what the hell…?!" Ramon blurted. He was looking down at the Buizel with a disturbed look for some reason.

"Thank Arceus you're here," Ziggy rasped out.

"I was just delivering something to Jiuji Labs for the guild and was passing by when I saw the smoke. But…what are you doing?"

"Quick!" Ziggy shouted, "Take her down where it's safe. Her leaves got burned so she needs help."

Ramon nodded. "Right. There's a doctor's office just down the street I can take her to until paramedics arrive." The Talonflame then hovered in closer, and reached out for the Snivy with his talons. Ziggy winced and shielded himself from the ashes and smoke that were stirred up by Ramon's flapping wings, but it couldn't be helped.

Diya let out a terrified scream and grabbed onto Ziggy's neck ring even tighter.

"Ghk!" Ziggy gagged slightly and then spoke in a strained voice. "Diya, he won't hurt you! He's going to get you away from all this fire!" He could feel that Ramon had grabbed her with his talons and was trying to lift her off of his back. "Please, let go!" he shouted.

Ziggy wasn't sure if she actually chose to let go or simply lost her grip, but soon the burden was off of his back and he could breathe again. Ramon didn't stick around and immediately started flying away from the burning house. Ziggy saw that he had one talon fully enclosed around Diya's entire body. If he didn't know and trust Ramon, it would have been a shocking sight.

"Stay right there!" Ramon shouted as he departed, "I'll come back for you as soon as I can!"

Only a second passed of Ziggy watching the two fly away before he immediately turned on his paws and zipped back over to the hole. "Can't do it," he said out loud in response to Ramon's instruction, even though the Talonflame was gone.

Ziggy crept up to the hole and looked down into it. Smoke was billowing out of it like a chimney, greatly obscuring his vision, but he could still see just barely enough. Without hesitation, he dove right in. He fell straight through the attic and then grabbed onto that hanging ceiling beam to catch himself. From there, he carefully but quickly jumped the rest of the way down onto the floor. His ankles protested the landing from such a height, but he ignored the pain.

When he ran back over to the table from before, Ziggy saw a heartbreaking sight. Amit and the Snivy's mother were huddled together, gently resting their foreheads against each other's, with their eyes closed in resignation. Tears streamed down the faces of two Pokémon who were just waiting to die.

"Hey!" Ziggy shouted, which startled the both of them.

"…What?" Amit blurted in confusion.

"Your turn!" Ziggy demanded while pointing at the Leafeon, "Your leg's broken so we need to-"

"No!" Amit shouted, shaking his head, "Take her!"

"Wh-what?" the Servine exclaimed, looking up at her mate in shock.

"Prisha, don't argue!" Amit shouted at her, "He's insane for coming back to get us, but if only one of us can get out it has to be you."

"Amit, no!"

Ziggy shook his head and dashed towards them. There wasn't time for this. He squatted down in front of the Servine and exclaimed, "Get on! Hold on tight!"

The Servine, Prisha, started to say something again in protest, but then let out a cry of surprise as Amit reached over with his paw and pushed her onto Ziggy's back. He let out an 'oof' as her weight fell upon him.

"Sorry," Amit said to him.

"A-Amit!" Prisha cried out.

"I'm saving the both of you!" Ziggy proclaimed with as much determination as he could muster, "Stop arguing! I'm coming back for him. Just-" Before he could say anything else, though, he was struck by another coughing fit.

When he looked up again, he saw the stern face of the Leafeon staring down at him. "Don't be a fool," he said, "Do not come back for me." He then closed his eyes and simply said, "Save yourself."

Ziggy coughed roughly and simply said, "Not happening." He then turned and ran, knowing time was quickly running out, with the Servine clinging to his back. She was obviously heavier than her daughter had been, but it was still nothing too taxing for Ziggy to carry. The hardest part would be pulling himself up from the hanging beam, but running and climbing with her hanging on was fine.

He soon made quick work of repeating the leap from the rubble pile to the book shelf. Then he looked at the hanging beam and prepared himself for the challenge. He just tried to think back to his youthful days. He had once managed to successfully steal an entire sack full of Watmel Berries and had climbed up and over a wall with them to avoid being caught. This was going to be hard, but it wasn't something he couldn't do.

With a mighty leap, he grabbed onto the hanging beam and held on as tightly as he could. He felt the extra weight of Prisha cause him to swing, but he didn't fall. He thought he might have heard a cracking sound, but there was so much chaotic noise around him that he couldn't be sure. He didn't want to stick around and find out, and so started pulling himself up the beam. He groaned from the strain, but didn't stop.

Soon enough, to his immense relief, he was one hop away from being back on the roof. He looked up at the hole, only to see Ramon peeking in from above. "There you are!" he shouted incredulously, "What the hell are you doing?"

Ziggy ignored him and jumped up onto the roof. The rough edges dug into his paws some more, but he and Prisha were now out of the inferno. Ziggy proceeded to cough profusely again, and just gave Ramon a facial expression to convey his request.

Ramon shook his head. "Hang on, miss. I'm gonna take you down to where it's safe. Don't mind my claws, I won't hurtcha." He flapped into the air and grabbed onto the Servine in the same way he'd grabbed the little Snivy, only this time with both talons. "Now wait for me this time!" Ramon then shouted to Ziggy, "I know you're a lot bigger but I can carry you down just fine once I'm done with her."

The Talonflame flew off before Ziggy even had a chance to tell him there was still a Pokémon inside. He sat there for a brief moment, thinking perhaps he should wait for Ramon. It was getting harder and harder to breathe, even out here in the relatively cleaner air. His throat burned and ached, and he was starting to feel weak.

Then, there was a loud smashing sound from somewhere within the house. Ziggy perked up in fright and glanced back at the hole. The house was falling apart. The fire was eating it from the inside out. It wouldn't be much longer before the whole thing collapsed.

And the father would die.

A surge of powerful emotions rushed through Ziggy's whole body. His mind was assaulted by more flashbacks. He remembered being on his mother's back, reaching out his paw uselessly and crying out for his father. The moment his father had been taken from this world.

Ziggy scrambled to his paws and jumped right back into the hole.

He hopped down and practically slid down the hanging beam like it was a firefighter's pole. When he landed back in the room, he realized that the fire was growing more intense and it was starting to consume this room. The heat and embers stung his eyes, the smoke was thicker, and pretty much all of the benefits from his Water Sport were gone now. The flames were creeping back in. He crawled forward a bit, struggling to try and see the Leafeon.

He saw Amit a moment later, who was just laying on the ground with his eyes closed and a pained grimace on his face. Ziggy quickly crawled over to him, fighting off the urge to cough and failing multiple times. Amit heard him coughing and opened up just one eye to look at him in disbelief. "Y…You…" Amit wheezed.

Ziggy didn't care to hear what he said. He was already trying to think of how to get Amit out to safety. The Leafeon was not only larger than his mate and daughter, but he was undoubtedly heavier too. His broken leg meant that he wouldn't be able to do much of anything on his own; Ziggy would have to carry him just like the other two.

He quickly crawled over and wiggled his way underneath Amit, hoisting him up onto his back. Amit let out cries of pain, no doubt from his broken leg, but Ziggy didn't have the luxury to be careful. He groaned once he felt just how heavy Amit was on his back. He could stand up and carry the Leafeon, but it was hard to do so.

That was the moment dread started to finally sink in. Ziggy began to realize he might have made a grave mistake. Using his acrobatic thievery skills to leap through the air and climb up a hanging beam were no problem with a Snivy or Servine on his back. With a big Leafeon, though, Ziggy wasn't even sure he would be able to jump in the first place.

Regardless of this, Ziggy made his way back over to the rubble pile under the hole. He tried standing up on his hind legs to climb up, but even this was too taxing with Amit on his back. He called back for Amit to hold onto his ring tight, but Amit didn't respond. Ziggy looked over his shoulder and saw that Amit had passed out, further complicating measures.

As he coughed even more, Ziggy just reasoned that he would have to come up with another solution. There had to be some way to get the father out safely so he could see his daughter again. Ziggy wracked his brain for ideas, but his thought process was becoming muddled. His vision became blurry for a moment, and afterwards he found himself sprawled out on the ground.

Ziggy realized he'd briefly passed out. The fumes were getting to him. Everything hurt, his fur was charred, and he couldn't breathe. Amit was on his back passed out, his leaves all burned off, and wouldn't survive unless he did something.

Maybe he could use his Water Gun to propel Amit up through the hole and out onto the roof. Much like he'd done to save that one cub from the not-Nihilego. Fire was closing in anyway. He should put it out. Ziggy tried to prepare a Water Gun and unleashed the spray of water from his mouth. It lasted only two seconds before sputtering out, and Ziggy nearly vomited from the strain.

Water attacks were out of the picture. Ziggy had used up all of his strength. Though he tried desperately to think of a solution, his weary brain was clouded and jumbled. He had no ideas left. Ziggy found he couldn't even stand up now.

He'd failed. Amit was going to die in the inferno.

Darkness began clouding his vision as a tear rolled down his cheek. All he could think of as his consciousness slowly slipped away was that he had failed.


"Ziggy! Wake up!"

Ziggy's eyes shot wide open and he loudly gasped. He immediately regretted this as he was sent into a painful coughing spree. He curled over onto his side and spent about a minute hacking up one of his lungs.

"Try to sit up," a commanding voice instructed him, "Breathe as much fresh air as you can."

"Eugh…" Ziggy groaned, and then tried to force himself to sit up. His eyes were tearing up and his throat hurt like hell, but eventually the nonstop coughing ceased and he managed to breathe. He felt a paw patting him on the back. Wait no, that wasn't a paw…It was a wing.

With bleary, slightly-unfocused eyes, Ziggy glanced up and saw Ramon standing over him. He had a slightly charred appearance, as if he'd fallen into a pile of soot, but otherwise looked no worse for the wear. Ziggy tried to talk to him, but a few more coughs came out instead.

"You're gonna be coughing for a while," Ramon commented in an even tone, "Breathed in a lot of smoke."

The mention of smoke woke up Ziggy's mind and he remembered everything about the burning building and the trapped family. He frantically looked around and eventually saw the house in question about a block and a half away. It was still smoldering, but there were now multiple streams of water being directed at it from a multitude of Pokémon both on the ground, in the air, and even on nearby buildings. The firefighting squad had finally arrived.

"Wh…Where's…?" Ziggy rasped, looking up at Ramon and then at his surroundings. He saw that he was sitting by the side of the road, there were onlookers all over the place who were still focused on the burning house, until he finally noticed a Blissey a short distance away. She was holding up her arms and casting something that Ziggy recognized as a Heal Pulse.

Huddled below her, under some blankets and receiving the Heal Pulse, was the family of Grass-Types. All three of them, even Amit the Leafeon. They were safe. They were all alive.

"Ziggy."

He started slightly, and then turned to look up at Ramon again. The Talonflame was looking down at him with a piercing gaze, which he immediately wilted under. "Y…Yeah…?"

"Tell me," Ramon said evenly, "What Type of Pokémon am I?"

"Uhm…" Ziggy murmured, confused by the sudden question, "Flying and…Fire?"

"Do you know what benefits come with being a Fire-Type Pokémon?" he asked, his voice raising slightly.

After a moment, Ziggy shrunk down even more as he realized what Ramon was getting at. "I…I guess…?"

"Are you aware that the feathers of a Talonflame are fireproof?"

Ziggy winced like a scolded cub. "N-no…I wasn't…"

"Even so," Ramon said, now leveling a stern glare down at the nervous Buizel, "I do hope you realize what an incredibly, unbelievably foolish thing it was that you just did. There was no reason to put yourself in so much mortal danger like that. Once the Snivy was safe, I could have flown right into that inferno and suffered not much more than a few light burns."

By now, Ziggy was just looking down at the road. "I didn't…think of that…" he said softly, "At the time, I didn't think of that at all. I just…"

"You 'just' nearly died," Ramon interrupted, "If I hadn't come in after you and found you passed out on the floor, you wouldn't be sitting here right now."

An icy chill ran up his spine. So he had indeed passed out in the middle of the burning house, probably from inhaling so much smoke, and Ramon had carried him out. He briefly glanced over in the direction of the Blissey. At least Ramon got Amit out too.

"You're a bronze-level member of the guild," Ramon continued in that same stern tone, "You need to be smarter than this. You have to use your brain."

Ziggy frowned and hung his head. "I-I'm sorry…" Silence followed but for the sound of rushing water as the blaze was slowly extinguished. Besides the sting of being reprimanded, he also still felt physically awful after his ordeal. His breaths were still raspy and he was slowly starting to notice a dull, burning ache across most of his body. With his head hung low, he was able to notice the small burns and charred fur that covered his body.

He heard Ramon sigh. "I'm sorry for being so strict," he said, "I don't mean to make you feel bad. While it was very foolish, what you just did was also very brave and selfless. Your intent was very noble, and that's something to be appreciated. Besides, it is fair to consider rushing into the building before you were aware that I was around."

Ramon then placed a wing gently on Ziggy's back. "Truth be told, you did help out today. Your use of Water Sport probably prevented any of them from getting third-degree burns, and the fact that you found where they were in the house sped up the rescue operation. In fact, most of the room was smoldering by the time I found you with the father in the middle of the room, so even that probably saved him from getting terribly burned…"

Ziggy slowly lifted his head and glanced up at the Talonflame.

"Sorry for yelling," Ramon said, "Don't be ashamed of what you did today. Be proud of your bravery, but when you have backupuse it. Recklessness hardly ever ends well."

"I…" Ziggy murmured, though he could barely be heard with his scratchy voice. He cleared his throat, but then winced as it caused him a moment of pain.

Ramon patted him on the back a few times. "Probably shouldn't talk too much for a bit. Give your throat a rest. Once we get everything settled here, I can fly you back to the guild."

Ziggy nodded, and then a little smile graced his muzzle. "Thanks…" he whispered.

"Relax here and get some rest," Ramon instructed him, "Wave at the Blissey if you need anything or if you start to feel worse. I've already contacted the guild and told them what happened, so all your friends know you're okay. Don't waste your breath by calling them until you feel better." Then, the Talonflame ran off down the street towards where the firefighting effort was taking place.

Ziggy sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. He tried to take Ramon's advice and get some good breaths of fresh air. He definitely felt run-down and almost wished he could lie down and take a nap, but decided he probably shouldn't. Without much else to occupy his thoughts, Ziggy's mind was filled with vivid images of what had just happened. He easily recalled the startling images of being surrounded by fire on all sides as the building burned down around him.

Slowly those images morphed into similar images of another burning house. Ziggy frowned and shivered at the memories of the fire on Dewdrop Island. Ramon was right in that he had recklessly endangered himself by not thinking straight in a terrifying situation. Even so, however, it paled in comparison to the horrifying inferno that had consumed the island he had once called home.

Those vivid memories were probably what had compelled him to jump into the burning building in the first place.

When Ziggy next opened his eyes, he found himself looking in a particular direction and he realized he would have to disobey more of Ramon's directions. Even though he felt wobbly on his paws, Ziggy stood up and slowly walked across the street.

"You guys okay?" he whispered out in his raspy voice, and briefly wondered how long he would be sounding like this.

The three Grass-types, who had been looking away, all snapped their gazes up to him in surprise. They all looked incredibly run-down, covered in soot, ash and burns. The charred remains of the leaves on their tails, the mother's back, and the father's ears gave them a very strange, damaged appearance. The little Snivy was trembling and looked like she was barely holding back tears. Ziggy realized with a pang of pity that she was probably going to be traumatized by this event for a long, long time.

"Y…You…" Amit whispered.

"Glad you're all safe…" Ziggy said to them.

Still they just looked up at him with wide open eyes. "You…saved us," Prisha said in a shaky voice, "You saved our lives…All of our lives…"

Ziggy managed a weak, tired smile.

"I…I can't believe…" Prisha murmured, "You were so brave…" The Servine was giving Ziggy a look that he had honestly never been given before; a look of reverence.

"Brave and foolish…" Amit cut in, "but still very brave…" The Leafeon glanced at the smoldering house for a moment and then sighed softly. "We lost our house and everything in it…but thanks to you, we're all still here."

"How…H-how can we ever repay you…?" Prisha asked.

"Don't worry about it," Ziggy replied, "I'm not gonna make you pay me when you just lost everything."

He then noticed the two parents were eyeing him more closely. He felt a brief jolt of nausea leap up his throat when he thought they were noticing the colour of his fur. Thankfully, those fears were quelled when Amit asked, "Are you okay?" Ziggy realized they were looking at his burns, not his fur.

"I think so," he answered, "We've got a wonderful nurse back at the guild."

Amit briefly glanced at his badge. "So…you really work for the Rescue Society, huh?"

Ziggy forced himself not to frown. Okay, maybe they were looking at his fur a little. "Yes I do," he replied, and enjoyed the brief rush of pride he felt from saying that.

"S-sorry," Amit then said, "Didn't mean for that to sound so rude. I just didn't think you really worked for them because you're…" The pause that Amit took made Ziggy's anxiety spike. "...young."

"O-oh…! Um, yeah, I guess so… They told me that they like to wait until recruits are 18, but it's not a rule or anything…"

"I didn't think they'd send someone so young to something like this. Are you on the firefighting team at such a young age?"

Ziggy perked up slightly as he realized where the confusion lay. "Ohhh, no. No, no, I wasn't sent. I was just in the area when I saw the smoke and came over to help. I was actually here on…" His voice trailed off as his eyes slowly opened wide. "…another job."

A small but poignant sense of dread seeped in as Ziggy realized something. In all of the chaos and confusion, Ziggy had completely forgotten the reason he was even in Shimmer Town to begin with. He glanced back over to where he had been sitting a moment ago, but there was nothing there. Where was his pack?

Where was the bangle?

A wave of self-disappointment washed over him and he sulked on the spot. He had lost the bangle. The very important symbol of two Pokémon's love that he had been entrusted with. The entire purpose of the job he had been assigned. Even if he went back to where he'd dropped it, he was sure it wouldn't be there anymore. A shiny, expensive bangle like that wouldn't last long out in the open before someone stole it.

Ziggy sighed in shame and bit his lip in anxiety.


"Does your throat feel better?" Kandice asked.

"Kind of…" Ziggy replied, his voice still sounding raspy. He was back within the comforting walls of the Rescue Society's headquarters, seated in Kandice's little medical office behind the stairs. Once Ramon had finally flown him back, the Audino had immediately confiscated his entire being and ushered him into her office before he could even speak to anyone.

He appreciated it, though. She was working very hard to heal the results of his smoke inhalation.

"You shouldn't talk too much for the next couple days," she said, "Or at the very least, don't raise your voice. It's going to bother you for a bit, but with the berries I gave you and my Heal Pulse it should get better."

"Yeah, Ramon told me that."

"Do any of your burns still hurt?"

Ziggy shook his head. "No. That stuff you gave me really helps. I just hate how…goopy it feels."

Kandice tittered softly. "Rawst salve really works wonders. I'm glad we have someone here who knows how to make it. Much more effective than just eating a Rawst Berry." She then sat down at her desk and scribbled a few things onto a clipboard. "Let's give it a couple more minutes, and then I'm going to listen to your chest again."

"Okay," Ziggy said with a nod. He glanced down at himself, noticing the charred fur that still remained in multiple smoky patches across his body. The Rawst salve was healing some of it, along with his actual burns, but some of it would just stay burned and would have to be cut off. At least he wouldn't have to shave any part of himself. He'd had quite enough experience with shaving fur for his lifetime.

"So the engaged Pokémon wasn't mad?" Kandice spoke up.

Ziggy smiled softly, feeling a sense of relief. "He was in the crowd watching the fire," he explained, "He saw Ramon carrying me out, he heard what I'd done, and he was just glad that everybody was safe. He was so relieved that nobody had…died in the fire that he didn't care, and he said his fiancée wouldn't care either. His brother-in-law will make a new one."

"That's good to hear," Kandice commented.

"Yeah…I still feel bad that I lost it, though."

"Losing a mate's bangle, even a lovingly paw-crafted one, is worth saving three lives."

Ziggy immediately blushed. "I…I only saved tw-"

"Oh boy," Kandice interrupted him with an odd smile on her face, "It's gonna be an interesting show when I finally let you out to see your friends if you're saying stuff like that…"

"Wha…?" Ziggy just gave her a confused look.

"All right," Kandice said suddenly as she hopped up from her chair, "Let's have a listen."

Ziggy nodded and leaned back slightly on his forepaws so that his chest was exposed. He allowed the Audino to lean in and rest her ear right against his ribs, and followed her directions to breathe in and out. It was a slightly uncomfortable position to be in, but Ziggy really liked hugs already so it wasn't too bad for him.

"Okay!" she said as she moved back, "Sounds pretty good, considering how much gunk you breathed in. Just come see me twice a day for a while to make sure it's healing properly. I'm also giving you three days off to recover. Don't let mean ol' Carmen give you any missions until you feel better."

"You can do that?" Ziggy asked in surprise.

Kandice giggled melodically. "Sure can!"

Moments later, Kandice was escorting Ziggy out of her office and into the common room, just in case he inexplicably passed out or something. On the other side of the door, they were greeted with a bunch of familiar smiling faces.

"Ziggy!" a chorus of voices rang out.

The Buizel in question could only smile tiredly as he walked over to the long table where they were all gathered. Liz, Danika, Kona and Akash were all there. To his surprise, there was also a familiar Sylveon with them.

"Jules, what're you doing here?" Ziggy asked once he was sat down.

"Stopped by for super-secret-special-agent job stuff. Totally classified," he replied with a smirk and a wink, "Decided to hang out for a bit after hearing about what you did. And good thing I did too; wow, your fur is a mess. I'm gonna have to break out my best brushes for you, kiddo."

"Forget that!" Kona interjected, "Ziggy, how are you feeling? Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine, Kona. Thank you…" Ziggy said.

The Dewott was frowning in concern. "Are you sure? You don't sound too good…"

"He'll get his voice back before long," Kandice informed him, "Just a byproduct of smoke inhalation."

"Oh, well okay then…" Kona said, "My gosh, Ziggy, I can't believe it. I was gonna ask if they were telling the truth and you really did rush into a burning building, but…" He paused and gestured to Ziggy's charred fur. "Obviously they were…"

"Boy, Ziggy," Danika spoke up, "You know, a lot of us were expecting wonderful things from you, but this is just amazing."

Ziggy was blushing heavily and shrinking in on himself from all of the praise. "I-i-it's n-not that big of a deal…" he murmured.

"It is absolutely a big deal!" Danika countered, "What you did was so brave and selfless. Everyone here is very proud of you." There was another small chorus of voices as the others all agreed.

Jules chuckled. "Sparky's gonna flip when you go talk to him. Make sure he doesn't hug you or you'll get sick."

Kona nodded. "It was wonderful Rescue Society work you did today, Ziggy. You should feel very proud of yourself."

"Ziggy!" a loud voice then called out from across the room. Everyone turned to see that Carmen had entered the room and was purposefully striding over to them. "Congratulations, Ziggy," she said once she had reached them, "You failed your mission!"

At first he felt a spike of panic, but this turned to confusion when he saw that Carmen was smiling brightly and had said those words in such an upbeat manner. "Um…S-sorry…?"

"You failed it in the most spectacular and ultimately correct way possible," she continued, "You'd be surprised how many newer recruits stick to the stipulations of their assignment super rigidly, to the point that they overlook common sense. Around here, you know a member is a true member of the Rescue Society once they say 'Forget this job, something's more important right now.'"

Ziggy just blinked. "Uh…"

"So, good job!" she said with an even bigger smile, "Every day, I tell the active team to 'do some good today'. You've done that in spades today. You've done the Rescue Society proud."

It took another moment for the meaning behind Carmen's words, and the fact that she wasn't actually upset with him, to fully sink in. This only caused Ziggy to blush even more and squirm in his seat. All of these Pokémon were praising him so much. He felt like he didn't deserve this much praise, especially since Ramon had had to save his sorry butt.

"I…I just did what I had to do…" he muttered, "I couldn't just…let them die."

Ziggy jumped slightly in surprise when Kona leaned over to give him a small hug from behind. "I always figured you were the humble type," he said, "It's okay to feel proud of yourself. If nothing else, be proud of how brave you were today. Braver than anything I've ever seen you do before."

"Careful of his burns," Kandice warned.

"Right, sorry," Kona quickly apologized and moved back from the hug.

"You'll have to tell us all about it once your voice gets better," Akash commented. The Deerling was looking at him with a very impressed expression. Ziggy wondered if it was because it had been Grass-Type Pokémon he had saved.

Ziggy just glanced down at the table, smiling but still feeling embarrassed by the attention. "I'm just happy they're all safe…"

A moment later, there was the sound of a door opening. "Um…Excuse me, everyone!"

Ziggy and the rest of the Pokémon turned towards the sound of the voice. Rico had just entered the room from the dorms and was standing in front of the slightly ajar door.

"Oh! Hey, Ziggy!" the Riolu said once he noticed the Buizel among the group, "I didn't know you were back, sorry! Heard you did some really awesome stuff!"

Ziggy just blushed yet again and gave the Riolu a wave.

Rico cleared his throat, and Ziggy noticed that he seemed slightly nervous or apprehensive about something. "I'd love to have a chat with you about it after," Rico spoke, "but right now, could I please have everyone's attention?"

The others shared a glance, with everyone looking mildly confused.

"So, uh…" Rico said, and then glanced towards the door to the dorms. "Obviously," he said as a familiar Eevee stepped out and walked up next to him, "you've all met my fiancée, Terry." The Eevee in question leaned in to give Rico a quick peck on the cheek.

There were quiet rumbles of agreement from the crowd to the strange statement.

Rico cleared his throat again. "Well…I'd also like to introduce you all…" He trailed off, and then a moment later someone else stepped through the door. Ziggy looked over in surprise to see Lupe, the Vulpix who had been noticeably absent from the building for quite some time. She was smiling demurely as she walked up and stood on Rico's other side. Then, to everyone's complete surprise, she also leaned in and kissed Rico on the cheek.

"…to my girlfriend."