There's not much to say. What could you really say to all that he's told you? Anything you can think of to say feels hollow and like it will fall flat. Your mind is too preoccupied with trying to organize all the information you'd just been given. The holes in all the stories you've heard have been filled and many of your lingering questions have been answered. You've heard Guzma's side of things and you feel better for it, even if some of what you feared was confirmed. Some part of you had hoped that the tales of Team Skull's wrongdoings had been exaggerated, but as it turns out, they really had stolen, vandalized, and terrorized Alola. They'd been so bad that they needed divine intervention from the Tapus. But how hard do you judge the man standing before you now for the man he once was?

It's unclear how long Guzma and Team Skull have been trapped here, but what is clear is what those years - and the guilt - have done to him. He's looking at you now, clearly trying to read you, but he doesn't seem able to. He looks tired, defeated, and even scared. Scared of how you'll react knowing that the rumors you've heard have been confirmed; of what you'll think of him now that you know of the events that have scarred him. For all the wealth and riches he grew up with, his life wasn't exactly charmed.

So what now then? Now that your curiosity has been satiated. What do you think of him? How do you feel? He seems to give up on trying to read you and looks at the ground. "If I could go back, there's so much I would change," he starts, and you can tell he's sincere. He's a far cry from the half-man, half-beast you'd met on the night you were corralled into Po Town.

"But I can't," he continues. "All I can say is, I'm not - I'm not the same person anymore. At least I hope I'm not." It's then you realize you've got a decision to make: Look beyond his past and continue down this road with your budding feelings for him, or leave. You don't know the Guzma that used to be. All you know is the one before you now. The one who started out gruff, but saved you when he barely knew you, and expected nothing in return. The one you've laughed with, and read with, and grow more anxious to know better each day. The guy with the crooked smile who hates whipped cream, but he likes you. And you really can't deny any longer how much you like him.

"I just thought you should know everything. And if it's too much; if all of it makes you want to leave, that's ok. I understand. I-" Words might be failing you, but your instincts aren't. You give in to what they tell you, hugging him, and he goes silent.

You feel him sigh against you as he relaxes into your embrace. The nervousness leaving him is almost palpable. You hold him tighter, hoping he can feel what it is you're trying to say.

The two of you stay there like that until you tell him, "Hey, it's ok, Big Bad Wolf."

There's a small rumble of laughter that you feel from his chest that's still pressed to you and you smile. It's always nice to hear him laugh.

"I get it, ya know," you continue. "I - I lost my parents too."

The two of you finally break apart and he looks at you, both curious and concerned. He knows of Tapu Village, Alana, and some minor details of your background, but this? This you hadn't brought up yet. It felt... difficult to do until now. "You ever heard of the International Police?"

Guzma nods so you continue. "My parents were both officers and they were part of something called the UB Task Force. I still don't know much about it; there was so much they weren't allowed to tell me. About three years ago, they were sent out to investigate and take down something they called an ultra beast. Apparently it was determined to go after my mom for whatever reason, and in the battle with it, they both were killed. I've heard of my mom referred to as a 'faller,' but no one ever explained what that means. There's a lot that the International Police wouldn't explain, and after my parents died, Interpol sorta disappeared from our lives. So it's just been me, Alana, and a bunch of questions that will never be answered."

It's maybe not as long and dramatic as his story, but now it's Guzma's turn to look at you and wonder what to say. You decide to brush it off. You'd long grown tired of looks of sympathy from everyone over your parents. At least in Tapu Village, those looks didn't last all that long anyway. The expressions had changed from concern to judgment over how you were raising Alana.

Alana. You look away from Guzma feeling a pang of guilt. You really did miss your little sister and you wonder how she's doing. Soon; soon you'd go back. You couldn't just stay here forever. Right? You also feel a little guilty for not being more concerned about Garret. But really, how concerned could he possibly be about you? Knowing him, probably not much. If nothing else, you decide that you need to end whatever is happening between the two of you when you get back. How much of seeing him was to earn the approval of the village anyway? Date the champion and maybe they wouldn't think you're doing so bad, right? You wonder then what the village would make of Guzma.

Whatever it is they would think, you come to the conclusion that it just doesn't matter. After all you've seen in Po Town; after all the impossibilities you've seen be possible, what some small-minded people some village think couldn't be that important. And to realize that, is freeing.

"Hey," Guzma says, bringing your attention back to him. He's looking at you so concerned. Right, you were talking about your parents. "I'm sorry," he tells you. You smile at him.

You appreciate that he seems to want to comfort you, but you're feeling so ready to move on from all the sadness now. You're not sure how much longer you'll stay here, but you feel determined to make the rest of your stay happy. "So, when's the last time you went outside? You know, for fun."

He had hemmed and hawed about it, especially with how close it was getting to dusk, but she sure was persistent. They're in the dining hall now, and she's still trying to convince him.

"Seriously, when's the last time you actually had fun? At all."

He scratches at his undercut, staring off and thinking. "Uh, well."

"See? You don't even remember!"

"Hey! I have fun! With, uh, with you," he says, his cheeks coloring slightly.

She laughs. "Cute, but maybe not quite what I mean."

Plumeria and Liam are, of course, no help.

"Yeah! Come out with us tonight!" Liam adds.

Plumeria smiles at him. "Some fresh air probably would be good for you."

Guzma groans and rolls his eyes.

She'd asked him why exactly he refused to go outside anyway, and truthfully, he couldn't quite explain it. He supposed that it was perhaps a self-imposed punishment; some guilt that had driven him to sequester himself and by this point it's almost a fear. Sure, he hadn't thought much about it when he'd charged out to save her, but to go back out by choice when he doesn't have to? That fills him with unease.

She backs off a bit when she realizes this, clearly not wanting to force him to do anything he's not ready for. She doesn't bring it up again until it's just the two of them in his room. "Are you afraid to go out?" she asks, trying to confirm her suspicions.

"No. I mean - no, not afraid. I just-"

She laughs and takes one of his hands. "Oh, right, Big Bad Wolf's afraid of nothing, huh?"

He smirks at her and takes a step closer, giving her hand a slight squeeze. "Nope, nothing at all."

"Wanna prove it?" It's her turn to move in and now they're mere inches from one another.

Guzma reaches up and tucks a few strands of hair behind her ear, his eyes locked on hers. They're so close now; all he'd have to do is lean down a bit. He desperately wants to and it feels like there's some kind of magnetic pull drawing them closer...

But then his eyes go to the window. The sun is just about set. He's going to transform any second. He gently breaks away from her, disappointment flaring in his chest. She looks confused, so he nods to the window. "Mind turning around for a second?"

Her eyes light up in understanding and she turns around so he can strip off his clothes - no point in ruining them. He feels the tingling that's always accompanied the start of the transformation. A moment later and what was once hands are paws, and what was once skin is now blue-green fur. He sighs. Yet another moment the curse has taken from him.

She turns back around when he tells her it's alright. "So," she says. "We going out, or what?"

He's not sure what she actually intends to do outside, especially what would be "fun." He feels very self-conscious and a little exposed as they stand in the entrance way. Since the two of them him had started growing closer, he hates the transformations at night even more, even though he now has someone to talk to. When he's a man, it's easier to imagine that she could want him in the same way he wants her. But this form is another story. It's as if all he's done wrong has come to the surface and has manifested itself as fur, claws, and teeth. He doesn't feel like anything but a monster in front of her at night. True, she might not shy away from him or suddenly avoid him once he's transformed, but like the kiss that was interrupted, it certainly puts a damper on things. The more he longs for something more with her, the more his transformations feel like a hindrance. This is not the way he wants her to see him. He thinks of Comfey upstairs and feels a flicker of despair at the thought of this being permanent.

The door's opened and they're standing in front of it. Outside all of Team Skull, now Lycanrocs, are running about in the rain that never stops. Plumeria and Liam stand outside waiting to see if he'll actually come out.

He's surprised she's not trying to do more to protect herself from the rain. She'd gotten no umbrella or anything. "Aren't you - aren't you worried about getting sick?" he asks her in his rough, growling voice that always comes after the transformation.

She shrugs. "Eh, Alola's not exactly cold. Little rain never hurt no one." She turns to him. "You coming?"

He knows there's nothing to be afraid of, but that doesn't stop him from feeling it. He wants nothing more than to sulk in his room, and wait for morning, but then she takes his paw and holds his arm. It's the most she's touched him in this form since she'd bandaged him. She doesn't hesitate or shudder away, which makes him relax, and take a step outside the door.

It's so different from when he had run out after her. That had been so sudden and quick that there wasn't time to process everything or notice what was around him. Po Town was still quite pretty in its own way he realized. The street lamps light up the scene in front of him, casting a warm, yellow glow on everything, including all the graffiti. The purples, yellows, greens, and oranges of the paint look almost celebratory right now. Puddles have gathered from the rain and Lycanrocs are splashing in them, chasing one another about. The night is warm, wet, and strangely welcoming.

The rain falling on him is starting to soak his fur. He looks to where her arm is resting on his, and then to her. She's got her head thrown back and her eyes closed, feeling the rain landing on her face. Her other hand is raised up with her palm stretched out. She lowers her head, and looks back at him, catching him staring at her, and smiles. Her hair is getting wet and sticking to the sides of her face. She lets go of his arm and suddenly jumps in a puddle near them, splashing him with rainwater and snapping him out of his revere.

"Hey!" he yells. "We weren't getting wet enough?"

"Nope!" she laughs.

He cautiously takes another step forward. Liam and Plumeria run by on either side of him, obviously excited. Liam takes a giant leap into the puddle, splashing both him and her. She raises her arms up against the spray, giggling.

Liam continues to leap about in the puddle, kicking up water in all directions. "Alright! Alright!" Guzma yells at the Lycanroc, but he takes off again when Guzma gets close to him. He watches Liam and Plumeria chase each other across Po Town. There was definitely something about being Lycanrocs that changed them. They remembered events that happen at night, and are still very much themselves, but there's an added layer of wildness to them that Guzma doesn't quite share. He feels a little jealous that they're able to find joy while in these forms.

She jumps in another puddle beside him. "You gonna just keep huffing and puffing?"

He looks down, finds a puddle, and carefully puts a paw in it. Then he raises it back up and stomps it down, splashing her.

She laughs, splashes him back, and then takes off, jumping in puddles across the town, as Lycanrocs bound along beside her. He watches them all run and bounce around, as if they couldn't care less about anything else in the world right now. Why can't he find it in himself to join them?

He's splashed again and turns to see Plumeria standing in her vacated puddle.

"You too, huh?" he asks her.

She responds by giving a short bark.

Both Liam and her run by again, making sure not to miss any puddles on their way. They run circles around Guzma and he watches them feeling something build within him. He has to admit that it's kind of nice to see her having so much fun. And if he sets aside his jealousy, it was good to see the grunts enjoying themselves too. Maybe he was being too uptight. Maybe if he just...

He feels incredibly silly at first, but as she and Liam take back off into the town, he starts to run after them. Then, that fear of looking ridiculous melts away and all he can feel is the freeing sensation of wind whipping through his fur and the rain hitting his face as he catches up to her and leaps into a puddle. She yells in surprise and laughs, and he grins toothily at her.

And that was all it took. They all run about together through the town, laughing, carrying on, splashing, and forgetting about all that is so terrible about the curse for a while.

They stay out most of the night, sitting and talking by the empty pool that's half full of rain water when running about becomes tiring. Guzma has to admit, it was indeed the most fun night he'd had in a very long time. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt that worry free. As dawn creeps up, the Lycanrocs begin to filter into the mansion. They decide to go inside too, now exhausted and hungry.

She gets up from the pool saying, "Right, gotta get back inside before your 'unexpected benefit' happens."

He huffs. "Thought you called it a disadvantage."

"Oh, did I say that? Really?" she says sarcastically as they go through the mansion door.

"Yep. Sure did. Cut me pretty deep too."

"Well next time I'll treat your nakedness as the benefit it clearly is," she laughs.

"Hey, here's hoping," Guzma mutters.

She grins at him "What was that?"

"Nothing."

She bumps him with her shoulder and then they part ways to shower and change. Guzma can't keep the smile off his face as he makes his way back to his room. Maybe, just maybe, there was some hope.

But if there is hope, maybe it's also time to do something more, but what? He, Plumeria, and Liam are talking in his room now. He hadn't mentioned too much about her to them, not wanting to get them too excited about anything, but now he needed advice. He feels a bit immature talking it out like this; like a bunch of highschoolers planning out the next move on his crush.

"We have a party!" Liam suggests. "You know, like we used to, boss."

Plumeria considers this a moment. "It's true we haven't done that in a while. Could be good for morale anyway." She always did have a habit of putting the grunts first.

Liam elbows him. "And good for making a move, huh?"

"How did I know you were going to suggest a party," Guzma says.

Liam shrugs. "What can I say? I miss 'em. Come on, boss! I'll even handle the decorations and shit!"

"We do this, and you gotta make a move on Ethan," Guzma tells him, raising an eyebrow.

Ethan's face falls. "This ain't about gettin' me laid, this is about gettin' you laid."

Guzma crosses his arms. "Those are my stipulations."

"You're both ridiculous," Plumeria tells them.

Liam looks unsure.

Guzma holds a hand out to him. "Deal?"

Liam hesitates, then shakes Guzma's hand. "Fine, you got it, boss."

Plumeria stands up. "Great, now that we've got that settled, looks like we've got a party to plan."