Chapter 13 - Celebrity
"G'morning, Ziggy!" Sparks greeted as the groggy Buizel stumbled into the common room.
"Mornin'…" he murmured in reply.
Sparks watched as Ziggy slowly made his way over to the long table and sat down next to him. Though it looked like he was having trouble shaking off his sleepiness, he otherwise looked well. Sparks gave him a welcoming smile, hoping to start the day off bright and cheery. Ziggy answered with his typical little half-smile.
It was the last week of November. The increasingly ambiguous 'holiday season' would be starting soon. Christmas was just around the corner and the temperature continued to drop. As Radiant City was a coastal city, they typically didn't see much snow, and if they did it was usually in January or February. That didn't stop the temperature from plunging below zero, but thankfully it hadn't done so yet.
November had been a long, slow month. It had been quite some time since Ziggy's unfortunate incident in the marketplace. Though Ziggy had escaped from the situation physically unharmed, it had sadly dealt a heavy blow to his confidence. All the work the two of them had done to make him feel more comfortable in the public's eye and the push towards going outside had been shunted back to square one, and moving forward seemed to go even slower. Ziggy, thankfully, still felt very comfortable within the confines of the guild halls and was still good friends with Carmen and the active team.
The only real strides forward were when it started to rain more frequently. Eventually, Ziggy couldn't resist the weather's call and started standing out in the rain in the courtyard again. Ziggy still kept the hoodie he got from Kona in his room, and sometimes he would wear it indoors on days when he was feeling blue.
In the meantime, he had been working with Ziggy on his reading and writing skills, some social confidence-building with guildmembers, including some outside of the active team whom Ziggy hadn't met, and whatever else crossed his mind that he thought would be helpful. Ziggy had taken to really focusing on his chores and seemed to be trying really hard to earn his keep. It actually meant that Sparks was spending more time doing other errands and helping others out with missions more often than in the fall.
But, in the end, the prospect of simply going outside still terrified the Buizel. Sparks was really hoping to get Ziggy out the doors, even just a little bit, before the holiday season. He was determined not to let one single bad event keep Ziggy locked indoors for the rest of his life, no matter how bad the timing was.
"Sleepy, buddy?" he asked.
"Wus fur breakfast?" Ziggy mumbled.
Sparks chuckled and ruffled the fur on his head. He was happy that, aside from going outside, Ziggy was still trying to improve himself. He was putting in the effort. Sparks knew that, eventually and with his guiding paw, Ziggy could go outside again. Maybe, just, not to the marketplace this time.
It was early morning, so the members of the active team were all waking up and filling into the common room for breakfast. Presently, the door opened to reveal Rico and Terry entering the room. "Hey! There he is!" Sparks called out to them, "Terry the ass-kicker!"
Terry blushed and shot him a glare. "Shut up, Sparks!"
Sparks laughed and said, "No, but seriously. Congratulations on passing combat training."
"Th-thanks…" Terry muttered, rubbing his forepaws together awkwardly. He was then startled as Rico suddenly pulled him into a sideways hug.
"Terry and Rico just get better and better!" he proclaimed with a cheeky grin, "Now we can both fight off evil creatures from the depths of hell!"
"Rico, stop it…" Terry said, though he couldn't help smiling, "Combat training's just a precaution. I don't plan on getting into any fights if I can help it."
Rico just snickered and gave Terry a peck on the cheek. "That's why you're adorable…"
"You doing anything to celebrate?" Sparks asked.
"We are, actually," Rico replied, "Going out for ice cream after dinner."
"Ice cream? Any chance you could invite me, and probably about 10 others? You know how popular ice cream is around here."
Rico laughed and shook his head. "A third wheel is bad enough, buddy."
"Gotcha, gotcha," Sparks said with a chuckle.
One by one, the rest of the active team filed in until only Carmen and Liz were absent. Chatter began to arise about what the day would have in store for everyone. As usual, a delicious Liz breakfast was on everyone's mind, and it seemed the Miltank couldn't arrive fast enough.
The doors opened and everyone got excited, but there was audible disappointment when it was Carmen that stepped through instead of Liz. "Oh, I see the mutiny has started," she said dryly.
"You're not food," Shay quipped.
"When did I hire a bunch of Gulpin?" she asked as she took a seat near Sparks. When she noticed him she said, "Oh, hey. By the way, I think Dante will be in today."
Sparks looked back at her with interest. "Really? Today?"
"He said he was only two days out when he sent his last letter, and I got that yesterday, so he's probably either close to town or in town already."
"Nice! I look forward to it!"
When Sparks turned back to look at Ziggy, the Buizel was giving him a curious and slightly nervous look. "Who's…Dante?"
"Oh gosh, that's right," Sparks murmured, "You probably don't know who Dante is. Wow. Well, uh, why don't you come and meet him when he shows up?"
Ziggy's nervousness visibly increased. "H-huh?"
"Oh, don't worry, I promise you… He's as nice as I am…maybe even nicer. He's a very kind and gentle soul." Sparks chuckled and added, "Y'know, I think you'll like him."
"I will…?" Ziggy asked, his curiousness returning.
"Just a hunch…"
Their conversation came to an end because a moment later, Liz arrived bringing her much anticipated bounty of food. The team must have been particularly hungry, because her arrival was met with a loud cheer.
Sparks looked over at Ziggy once more, who was already focused on the food. In this aspect, Ziggy's progress was a bit paradoxical. While going outside and meeting strangers out in Radiant City was still, at the moment, a terrifying ordeal to him, Ziggy had actually been making good strides in meeting strangers who worked in the building. Sparks had been regularly taking him up to the second floor to meet with some of the Pokémon who worked up there, and it had gone fairly well.
So Sparks wondered how things would go over when he brought someone from the outside to the inside.
"Visitor in the main hall."
It was a few hours later, after the rest of the team had left to do missions out in the city, when Sparks heard the voice through his badge. He didn't immediately recognize the voice, so it wasn't one of the active team members. He stood up from the couch excitedly.
"Hey, Ziggy! That's probably him!"
Ziggy, who had been studying at the table, looked at him and said, "Huh?"
"Someone's at the door, and it's probably Dante. Let's go see him!"
"Uh…" Ziggy glanced around nervously for a moment as he put down his book, "I….uh…"
Sparks stood up and strode over to the Buizel. "I'll be with you, Ziggy, don't panic. I promise you'll like him. It's almost impossible not to! Haha…"
"We're…We're not going…outside, though, right?"
"No, bud. He's in the main hall. C'mon, buddy, follow me. You can hold my paw if you like, but let's not keep him waiting."
Ziggy gulped and wrung his paws nervously, but nodded a moment later. "A-all right…"
Then, they made their way over to the door that led to the main hall. Ziggy did decide to hold his paw, and Sparks could feel him hovering quite close to him, but he was glad that Ziggy was trying at least a little bit to be brave. Sparks was really confident that Ziggy would like Dante, though. He could almost guarantee it.
He led Ziggy through the door and the pair entered the grand entry hall. As they approached the base of the large staircase, Sparks was glancing around and looking for their visitor. It took him a moment to find him, standing off to the side and idly admiring a painting on the wall.
Sparks paused in mid-step. The one standing in the room was indeed a visitor, but it certainly wasn't Dante. The only thing this Pokémon and Dante had in common was the colour blue. Instead of his old friend, Sparks saw a tall, sleek, unfamiliar Pokémon with long limbs and an even longer tail. He was wearing a short white coat that only covered half of his torso.
The Inteleon noticed them and acknowledged them with a smile. "Ah! Hello, there," he greeted them.
"Good afternoon, sir," Sparks replied. Since this wasn't Dante, he immediately defaulted to his more professional manner to welcome this new guest, "Welcome to the Rescue Society. How may we help you?"
"Ah, yes…" the Inteleon said, seeming to hesitate slightly, "I…believe I am expected here… I do hope this is the right location. Ah, but no of course not, you just said its name…"
Sparks frowned, slightly confused. "I'm sorry… The Rescue Society is expecting you?"
"Yes, quite so… Although, erm…" Trailing off, the Inteleon definitely appeared hesitant about whatever he was trying to say. Sparks was about to press him further when suddenly there was a voice from the top of the staircase.
"Oh! Dr. Hilo!"
Sparks, as well as the Inteleon, turned to see a fretful Danika at the top of the stairs.
"Oh my goodness, Dr. Hilo! I am so sorry. I forgot that you were coming in today." Danika then proceeded to rush down the stairs so she could join the group, panting slightly as she approached.
"You must be Miss Danika," the Inteleon greeted with a subtle bow of his head.
"Yes," Danika said with a smile, "Yes, that would be me. Just 'Danika' is fine, though."
"Of course. My apologies."
Danika then turned to Sparks and said, "Sparks, this is Dr. Konala Hilo. He and his company have agreed to work with us on, uh, the project you and I were working on previously."
Sparks' ears perked up as the puzzle pieces fell into place. "Oh! Oh, I see."
Dr. Hilo chuckled and said, "Ah, yes! Yes, of course! You must be Raz then! Danika mentioned to me that you were 'in the know' about what is going on, so I suppose that's all in order then." He then extended a paw and said, "Pleased to meet you. I am Dr. Konala Hilo, head researcher, team leader and project manager at Jiuji Laboratories."
Sparks returned the pawshake and said, "Nice to meet you. You can just call me 'Sparks'."
"Sparks, then," Dr. Hilo said with a polite nod, "Pleasure to meet you as well."
The Inteleon then turned to Danika once more and began to discuss how excited he and his company were to start working with her, so Sparks took the opportunity to check on Ziggy. He could feel that the little Buizel's paws hadn't stopped hugging his side, so he knew Ziggy hadn't run and hid somewhere. Sparks turned around to find Ziggy nervously shielding himself behind the Raichu's body, looking up at him in confusion.
Sparks knelt down and said, "Sorry, it wasn't him. Dante's not here yet. This is somebody else."
Ziggy looked into his eyes for a moment, but then they shifted to looking over Sparks' shoulder. Sparks knew that Ziggy was raptly watching the Inteleon, and he could see the fear in Ziggy's eyes. The Buizel was breathing quietly but very quickly, and Sparks could tell that he was trying hard to keep himself from panicking.
"You don't have to stick around," Sparks said with a comforting smile, "You can go back into the common room if you want. This was my mistake."
Ziggy's eyes flitted around nervously for a moment, and then he eventually nodded. "O-okay…" he whispered softly. He seemed unwilling to leave Sparks' side, so the Raichu decided to lead him over to the door.
"I won't be long out here," Sparks said to him.
"Is he…" Ziggy murmured, looking over Sparks' shoulder again, "Is he…coming in here…?"
Sparks also glanced over his shoulder. Dr. Hilo and Danika were still conversing. "No, I don't think so," Sparks answered, "I think he's going up to Danika's office."
"Oh…Okay…"
Sparks turned to look at Ziggy again and let him through the door. "You gonna be okay in here?"
"Um…Yeah…"
"All right."
Sparks gave the Buizel one last friendly smile and then shut the door. He then made his way back over to where the Inteleon and Sneasel were standing.
Dr. Hilo saw him approach and turned his attention over to him. "My, my… Who was that? Guild project? Didn't expect to see one of those around here…"
"What?" Sparks furrowed his brow and gave the Inteleon a puzzled look. "You mean the Buizel? He's a friend of the guild and he's living here with us for the moment…" His expression hardened and he added, "That was an…interesting choice of language there."
The Inteleon looked equally as puzzled for a brief moment, but then softly gasped. "Oh! Oh dear, I just realized what I said. I am so sorry. You must forgive my slip of the tongue. That was not what I intended by that…" He looked embarrassed and scratched the back of his head. "I come from a rather…upscale family, let's just say. I grew up around Pokémon who acted in a certain way and, well, old habits can die hard sometimes…"
Sparks studied him for a moment, and decided he accepted his explanation. It was definitely not unheard of to pick up bad habits from one's parents. "Oh, okay," he said, "Just try to be careful around him, okay? He's sensitive to that kind of stuff."
"Of course, of course. I am so sorry. I rarely ever get the chance to even interact with Pokémon like him in my line of work. Please give him a sincere apology on my behalf when you next see him."
Sparks nodded. "I will."
"So, Dr. Hilo," Danika cut in, "As I was saying, Sparks and I have made pretty much zero headway with this. Do you really think your company can figure out this mystery?"
"Well, I do not know for sure. That is the beauty and the curse of science, is it not? However, I can promise you that we will try our best. Believe you me, I too am thirsty for the answers that this object holds in secrecy…"
"Perhaps we should just go take a look, then?" Danika suggested.
"Yes, that sounds like a capital idea."
"Can I tag along?" Sparks asked, "Or am I still locked behind non-disclosure stuff?"
"Oh, it shouldn't be a problem," Dr. Hilo said, "You were working on this formerly so you already know everything that's already known about this. I doubt I'll come up with the answer upon simply laying eyes on it."
The three Pokémon then made their way up to Danika's office, with her and Sparks leading the way while the Inteleon followed dutifully behind them. He had a very professional outward appearance, even down to the way he walked, making him appear more like a bureaucrat than a scientist. Yet, Sparks did not get much of an air of superiority that usually accompanies such an outward appearance. Dr. Hilo seemed outgoing and personable, at least from the short time Sparks had known him.
Soon enough, the group was in Danika's office. Sparks closed the door behind them while Danika turned on the lights. Dr. Hilo's attention was immediately drawn to Danika's computer.
"You have one too, I see!" he said.
"Oh? You have one?" Danika asked.
"Indeed, our laboratory signed up as an early adopter. I must say, though, yours seems more advanced. They are fascinating creations, are they not?"
Thankfully, Danika made her way over towards the safe resting in the corner of the room before she could geek out about her computer. Sparks and Dr. Hilo remained a fair distance back and allowed the Sneasel to carefully input the safe's combination. Sparks had become all too familiar with what resided inside, but the Inteleon next to him watched with rapt attention.
Danika released the lock a moment later and opened the safe's door, allowing the very faint blue glow from within to leak out. Danika then stepped to the side, gesturing for Dr. Hilo to get a closer look.
As the Inteleon got closer and knelt down, Sparks once again regarded the small object. It was about the size and shape of a small rock, but its colour was an off-putting mix of dark blue and black. It glowed dimly with a blue hue that was strangely lighter than the shade of blue on the object itself. It was smooth, like obsidian, and from certain angles it almost seemed translucent. Every so often, the glow would get marginally brighter for about a second before dimming back to its prior state.
Until today, only three Pokémon in the guild knew of this thing's existence; himself, Danika and Carmen. Sparks had been the one to find it initially. He had been out on a walk in the woods outside of the city on one of his days off. He had actually fallen asleep at the base of a tree after he had stopped to take a rest. When he was stirred from his nap and started walking again, he found it about 20 metres away from where he had been sleeping, just lying on the ground. There had been nothing else unusual in the area.
"My word…" Dr. Hilo whispered softly, "What an extraordinary thing you've discovered…"
"You can pick it up if you want to," Danika informed him, "We've tested it as best we can, and it's safe to handle directly."
"Truly?" Dr. Hilo replied, shooting Danika a surprised look. When she nodded, he turned back to the safe and gently reached in to pick up the object.
"The only thing we know for sure about this rock is that it's not a rock," Sparks said, "The consistency is off, but just slightly, and obviously you can visually see that it looks unusual. Its weight does not seem to match its mass. There are some very, very minute electrical readings coming off of this, though not even strong enough for a Magnemite to pick up on if you were to walk past one with this in your pocket."
Dr. Hilo was turning the rock over and examining it closely from all side. "This is truly fascinating," he said, a hint of reverence in his voice, "Truly fascinating! This is much more interesting than I was expecting."
"There's also…" Danika spoke up, "unconfirmed reports of it…vibrating."
"What do you mean, 'vibrating'?"
"Someone was in this room," Sparks explained, "besides the two of us, and they heard it 'buzzing' against the side of the safe. However, neither of us heard it because we weren't paying attention, it did nothing when we examined it a second later, and it hasn't done anything like that since."
"I see…" Dr. Hilo mused, "Unfortunate that such a phenomenon cannot be reliably verified, but quite intriguing if true…"
"So, Doctor," Danika said, "do you have any initial observations?"
The Inteleon studied the rock for a few more moments before turning to the other two and saying, "In my scientific opinion…I haven't the foggiest." He laughed and added, "This truly is unlike anything I have ever seen, but I am eager to study it further."
"You think your team will be a good fit for this task?"
"Oh, unquestionably! These are the sorts of unknown things Jiuji specializes in. We take the unknown and make it known!"
Danika smiled and nodded. "Hopefully that'll work out then. I'm dying to know what this is, but we just don't have enough resources here to get any answers."
"I will be certain to speak with your guildmaster later today and draw up the necessary contracts," Dr. Hilo said, "I am quite keen on starting to research this oddity."
"Sounds good," Danika replied, "She told me she'd contact me the moment she has some free time."
"Now then," Dr. Hilo continued, "Obviously I do not have clearance to take this with me back to the labs at this time, but would you mind if I remained here for a moment to observe it some more. Perhaps, take some notes?"
Sparks watched the two Pokémon converse excitedly for a few moments more. After a while, it became evident to him that he didn't have much more to contribute to the conversation. He eventually decided to politely excuse himself so that he could go back and make sure Ziggy was all right. Danika and the doctor both bid him farewell as he left.
Thankfully, Ziggy was doing okay once he had gotten back downstairs. The meeting with the Inteleon had shaken him a little, but not too badly.
It was a few hours later when Dante actually did arrive.
Sparks had found himself sitting on the couch in the common room, joined only by Terry and Rico who were sitting at the table talking. It was still an hour before dinner, and they were the only ones who had come back early. Once Dr. Hilo had finally left, Danika had whisked Ziggy away to do some more sorting for her.
Nobody had even announced his presence at the door this time. Sparks had simply heard the common room door open, followed by a familiar voice saying, "Hello? Anybody home?"
Sparks whipped his head around, saw who was at the door, and smiled brightly. "Dante!"
The visitor turned to regard him, and a warm, nostalgic smile graced his lips. "Sparky boy, as I live and breathe! What a pleasure to see you again, my friend!"
"Oh good heavens, it's been too long. Good to see you as well," Sparks said with a laugh.
The Lucario opened the door and fully stepped into the room. Dante looked as if he had stepped right out of one of his postcards. His blue eyes, unusual for a Lucario, were complimented by his inviting and friendly smile.
But his most striking features were what he was wearing. Tied around his neck was a short garment resembling a cape, though it only went down to just below his shoulders. It was tattered and torn in places, but still bore its strong colours. Around his neck was a necklace with a distinctly familiar design. And most noticeable of all, was the sheathed sword attached to the belt on his waist.
Dante strode over towards him, and Sparks stood up to meet him. They looked at each other as fond memories returned to Sparks' mind, and then they promptly embraced one another in a warm hug. Sparks was careful to avoid Dante's pesky chest spike as he did so.
"It has been an age, my old friend," Dante said.
"It's wonderful to see you. I've missed you."
The hug ended and both stepped back. Sparks looked up at Dante and couldn't help but smile. It had been at least a couple of years since he had seen Dante in the flesh. "What have you been up to?" Sparks asked him with a bit of a cheeky smile, "Saved any princesses from evil Dragonite?"
Dante crossed his forelimbs and said, "Excuse you. One of my best friends happens to be a Dragonite."
Both of them laughed at the joke. Sparks then leaned to the side to look behind Dante, noticing that Terry and Rico were both frozen in place as they stared at the Lucario. Rico, in particular, looked especially awed.
"Dante," he said, gesturing to the two younger Pokémon, "These are two of our newest recruits, Rico and Terry."
The Lucario turned around to regard them and gave them both his award-winning smile. "Hello, Rico. Hello, Terry. It is a pleasure to meet the both of you."
"Hello…" Terry mumbled softly.
Rico spoke a bit more directly. "Are you…really Dante? The Dante?"
Dante chuckled softly and said, "Just 'Dante' is fine enough."
"Whoa…"
"Oh!" Sparks piped up, "That reminds me. Excuse me for a moment, I promised her…" He then tapped his badge, which lit up, and said, "Hey, Danika? He's here."
The Sneasel's voice immediately replied. "He is? Awesome! I'll be done in just a couple of minutes and we'll be down."
Dante glanced down at Sparks' badge. The same design was featured on his necklace. "Another new recruit?"
"No, she's been around for a fair bit. She's just never got the chance to meet you," Sparks explained. He then laughed once more and said, "It's strange…I feel 20 years younger when you're here. It feels just like old times…"
"It is good to be back within these walls," Dante said with a nod, "I do wish I could find the time to visit more often…"
"Ah, but then Pokémon wouldn't have as many tales of dashing, daring Dante to tell…"
"Sparks, please…"
"Oh, don't be so modest…"
Dante and Sparks spent a couple of minutes reminiscing and catching up with one another. Sparks took notice of a couple small scars that hadn't been on the Lucario before but, as usual, they only added to Dante's good looks.
When the door opened again soon after, Sparks turned around and expected to see Danika. Instead, he saw a nervous little face peering through.
"Hey buddy," he said, walking over and approaching Ziggy, "Where's Danika?"
Ziggy hesitated for a moment before looking up at him and saying, "She…had to do something…She'll be a minute…" His eyes then went right back to where he had been looking before; right at the newcomer in the room.
Dante had turned to look at him as well and had a surprised but still friendly look on his face. He silently waved while remaining where he stood.
"Ziggy," Sparks said, "This is my old friend Dante…"
Ziggy didn't reply. He didn't say a word. Sparks regarded him with interest, as the Buizel was wearing an expression he wasn't sure he had ever seen before. Ziggy's eyes were open wide and his mouth was hanging open just slightly. What struck Sparks was that there was very little fear to be seen in Ziggy's eyes. Perhaps even none at all. Ziggy remained frozen on the spot and unable to say anything, but it seemed like it wasn't because of his nerves.
"C'mon," Sparks chuckled, "I wanna go introduce you to him." He used his paw to gently open the door the rest of the way, nearly causing Ziggy to lose his balance. When the Buizel finally looked at him again, Sparks reached out to take his paw so he could lead him into the room.
Dante squatted down low to the ground as Sparks and Ziggy approached, so that he was more at eye level with the Buizel. "This is Ziggy," Sparks said, introducing him, "He's a good friend of mine and he's been staying with us at the guild for a couple months now. I've been working closely with him during that time."
"Hello, Ziggy," Dante said in the warmest, friendliest voice he could muster, "Pleasure to meet you as well."
"H…" Ziggy stammered. He still had that same look on his face. Sparks could see his eyes tracing across Dante's features, looking at his cape, his eyes, his scars, and especially his sword. "H…Hi…"
Dante chuckled. "A little shy, huh? That's just fine. I've met a lot of shy Pokémon, and they're usually the nicest and sweetest ones. And Sparks said you're friends with him? Well, any friend of Sparks is a friend of mine."
Ziggy's eyes got just a little wider. "F…Friend…?"
"Sure! You seem like a nice fellow."
Sparks looked at Ziggy, and saw that same frozen, almost awe-struck look in his eyes. He wondered if perhaps Ziggy had never seen a Lucario before. As a species they were relatively uncommon.
Before the interaction could go any further, though, everyone was alerted to the sound of the door opening again. Dante glanced upwards, and a big grin appeared on his muzzle when he saw who it was. "My, my, look who it is!" he said, "Guildmaster Carmen! What an honour!"
The Braixen seemed pleasantly surprised to see Dante and gave him a warm, welcoming smile. "Dante, my friend. So good to see you again."
Dante stood up and walked over to her. "You have certainly come a long way from the tiny little Fennekin we once knew."
"Dante, stop. It's nothing that special…" She laughed softly and gave him a quick hug. "And please, just call me Carmen."
"Oh but it is very special. Words cannot express how proud I am of what you have accomplished. It takes a special kind of Pokémon to become a guildmaster…"
Sparks watched Dante and Carmen start to catch up with one another, when he felt a paw poking him in the side.
"Um…Sparks…?" Ziggy whispered.
Sparks turned his attention down to the Buizel and said, "What's up?"
"Who…Who is that…?"
"That's Dante. He used to be a member of this guild a long while ago, back when he was just a Riolu. That was way back before Carmen was the guildmaster."
"How do you know him?"
"He was part of the guild when I joined," Sparks explained, "We weren't guild partners, but we did spend a lot of time together and go on a lot of missions together. It was a time when both of us were just looking for a close friend."
"Yeah?"
"Mhm… He's had an…interesting past. He's not exactly like you and me. But anyway, he's since moved on to much bigger and better things, since he left the guild…"
"Like what…?" Ziggy asked.
"Well, Dante's a little famous. Most Pokémon known him better as 'Dante the Wanderer'…or, in some circles, 'Dashing Dante'. Although, he doesn't like that one, heh heh…"
Ziggy was glancing over at Dante again.
"He used to be a guildmember alongside me," Sparks explained, "But now he wanders the world, seeing the sights and making legends. He's accomplished things that we here at the guild could only dream of. He's taken down monstrous, gigantic foes, rescued Pokémon from certain death, and brought an end to turmoils. He's…a hero."
Dante and Carmen were laughing about something. At one point, Dante briefly glanced over and locked eyes with Ziggy, flashing him a quick, friendly smile. Ziggy actually perked up when he did. Sparks saw his tail lift off the ground, almost as if he were about to wag it.
"He's…He's got a…sword…!" Ziggy whispered.
"Yes, he does. Dante is an extremely skilled swordmaster. It is a very uncommon skill hardly practiced by anybody, but Dante took an interest of it from a very young age. With that sword, he's been able to fend off, and even fell, foes four times his size."
"G-goodness…" Ziggy murmured.
"You should see him use it! It's like a magic show!"
Sparks then noticed that he and Ziggy had been joined by Terry and Rico. "Sparks…" Rico whispered, "That's…really Dante? The one who climbed all the way to the top of Mt. Blizzard to rescue that whole group of stranded hikers?"
"Yup," Sparks said.
"Whoa…" Rico murmured, and Sparks could see stars in his eyes, "That's awesome! Dante's here in the guild! He looks so cool!"
"He's a celebrity!" Terry gushed, "There's a celebrity in the guild!"
"Ever since I was a little cub," Rico said, "I've always wanted to grow up to be just like him…"
"So cool…" Terry said.
"So cool!" Rico concurred.
"Yeah…cool…"
All three heads turned to look at Ziggy, who promptly flushed in embarrassment and looked away.
"Seems like you like him," Sparks said with a chuckle, "You're usually a bit more skittish around strangers…"
Ziggy brought his paws up to his muzzle for a second to hide his embarrassed face. When he peeked between his paws a moment later and saw Sparks was still looking at him, he reluctantly dropped them. "K-kinda…" he murmured.
"Ah, I don't really blame you. Dante's very charismatic. It's why he's always fighting off admirers."
"I heard that," Dante said. Sparks hadn't noticed him finish talking to Carmen and walk over to them again. He took notice of the Eevee and Riolu standing next to Sparks, and leaned down to talk to them. "Well, well, I see the guild didn't wait very long to replace me," he said with a hearty laugh.
It took a moment for Rico to realize what Dante had meant. "Ah! Uh, I-I-I'm not trying to replace you, Dante."
"Calm down, I was just joking," Dante said, "In truth, it makes me happy to see that this guild is in good paws with another brave, young Riolu on the scene."
Rico's eyes practically glowed. If a light from the heavens had shone down on him in that moment, it would not have looked out of place. "I…Wow, um…T-thank you!"
"How old are you, son?" Dante asked him.
"I turned 18 this summer," Rico answered.
"Ah, interesting. I was 19 when I evolved, so it might be coming soon for you. But then again, don't worry if it doesn't. It's different for every Pokémon, but it'll happen soon."
Rico grinned. "I've always dreamed of what being a Lucario would be like. What's it like?"
"Taller?" Dante quipped, "Ha! What's different doesn't matter, as long as you're the same on the inside. If you're brave, strong and kind as a Riolu, then you'll be a brave, strong and kind Lucario." Dante then turned to look at Terry and asked, "And is this your guild partner?"
Before he answered, Rico reached over and pulled the Eevee into a side hug, causing Terry to yelp in surprise. "This is my boyfriend!" he announce proudly, which made Terry blush profusely.
"Oh! Oh, I see. I beg your pardon then," Dante said with a laugh.
Rico blinked a few times, and then said, "Oh, no, no. Yeah, he's my guild partner too. Heh…"
Terry, who looked caught halfway between hugging Rico back and sinking to the floor in embarrassment, tittered nervously and looked up at Dante. "Hello there, Mr. Dante. My name's Terry."
Dante grinned back at him. "Hello, Terry. I see you have good taste in boyfriends."
As Terry's entire face turned red, that tipped the scales and he started to wriggle out of Rico's grasp. Rico did relinquish him, but not before sneaking in a quick peck on the cheek.
"Ah, young love…" Dante mused as he stood back up and looked at Sparks again.
"Heh…" Sparks replied, "So, how long are you in town for?"
"Well, I'm afraid I can only stay here at the guild for today and tomorrow, as I have business elsewhere."
"Oh, that's all?" Sparks said, crestfallen.
"However, I will be back for a longer visit the week before Christmas, so you can look forward to that."
Sparks perked back up. "Oh, really? That sounds nice!"
"I have missed this place… These halls will always be my home, no matter where the winds take me."
"The 'winds' have taken you to some very interesting places, I have heard."
"Perhaps they have…" Dante said with a wink, "Perhaps there will be time later to tell some tales…"
"So, Sparks…"
The Raichu glanced up and saw that Dante had joined him on the couch. It was after dinner, so most everybody had dispersed. Everyone on the active team had been happy to either meet or catch up with Dante, and he had joined them for the meal.
"Yeah?"
"Tell me what's up with you and your little protégé."
"Ah, yeah. Ziggy…" Sparks sat up a little straighter and thought about how best to answer the question. Ziggy had left to help Liz clean up the dishes in the kitchen, so he wasn't around at the moment. Sparks started by telling Dante how he had found Ziggy, and the story of bringing him back to the guild. He shared all they had learned about Ziggy's past, as well as the sad tale of his life on the streets that had only recently ended.
"He's extremely skittish and nervous…" Sparks said, "Pretty much everything makes him nervous. It took a lot of effort just to get him to be comfortable with me and the gang, here. He's constantly stressed out, and…the poor kid never smiles."
"Really?" Dante said, eyebrows raised in interest, "I didn't really get that vibe from him…"
"Yeah," Sparks concurred, "He seemed to take a liking to you, for some reason. Introducing him to strangers is, like, almost impossible. He freaks out at the idea of anybody seeing his fur colour."
Dante frowned and sighed. "Everything you've told me is really disheartening to hear."
"I'm trying, really trying, to convince him that there really are Pokémon out there who don't care what colour his fur is. I'm…hoping you can be one of them."
"Oh, of course. Chromaphobia is simply ridiculous…" Dante shook his head. "I have encountered and befriended many shiny Pokémon on my travels."
"I was hoping maybe you and him could have a one on one chat sometime later?"
Dante smiled and said, "I would be happy to. Is there anything in particular you would like me to discuss with him?"
Sparks thought about the question for a moment. "Honestly…My goal right now is to try and get him out the door…"
"What?" Dante gave him a surprised look. "You don't want him here anymore?"
"No, no, no, no," Sparks said, quickly backtracking, "I mean, I want to get him outside. He's been a shut-in ever since a really, really bad incident in the marketplace. He hasn't set paw outside in a long while, besides the courtyard when it rains…"
"Hmm… I see…"
Sparks sighed and held his head. "Progress with him is so slow. I keep feeling like I'm not doing enough to help him, and it really gets to me sometimes…"
"Ah, my friend…" Dante reached over and draped a paw across Sparks' shoulders, "Life hit you hard. Much harder than other Pokémon realize… but here you are, fighting to make the world a better place one Pokémon at a time. I know you always do your best, and that will always be enough."
"The amount of faith you have in others is astounding…" Sparks commented.
"Same to you! I can tell that you see a bright future in that Buizel somewhere, and you're trying your damndest to get it out."
"Heh… I suppose…"
The two then looked up as they heard someone approaching. It was Rico and Terry again. "Um, excuse me, Dante?" Rico asked.
"Yes?"
"We…I mean, a couple of us at the guild were…We were kinda wondering if you could, y'know, tell us a story?" Rico looked up at the Lucario hopefully. "Maybe…one where you use your sword?"
"Aha!" Dante said as he let out a hearty laugh, "You wish to hear me regale you with tales of my adventures?"
"Yes, please!" Rico and Terry replied at the same time, both wearing eager smiles.
"Heh… I suppose so." He then stood up, and gestured to the couch where he had been sitting. "Have a seat, kiddos. Let me think, now… Which story to tell?"
Ziggy had finished helping Liz in the kitchen, and was making his way back to the common room. His eyes kept roaming the halls as he moved. He still didn't particularly feel comfortable when outside of the common room, besides Danika's room and the courtyard. It wasn't that he felt very scared, but he just preferred to be back in the common room.
The Buizel rounded a corner and made his way down a hallway. A Liepard passed by on his right, giving him a courteous nod as he went by. Ziggy nervously nodded back, getting over his brief spike of anxiety. He had surprised himself with his own ability to move about the halls without Sparks escorting him. Though, it had taken a long while to get to this point. Being by himself in the building still made him feel really nervous.
He sighed, feeling downtrodden. He knew that Sparks was disappointed in how spineless he was, even if the Raichu didn't say so in as many words.
Rounding the corner, Ziggy only had one more hallway to go before he would reach the grand staircase, and then the common room was just a hop away. He didn't know what he was going to do when he got there, or if Sparks had any other chores for him to do. He just wanted to get there.
Finally, after a few more anxious seconds, Ziggy reached the door to the common room. He let out a slow breath, and then opened the door.
The sound of a familiar, somewhat deep voice reached his ears as soon as the door opened. The voice was in the middle of saying something about sheer cliffs and freezing temperatures. Ziggy looked over towards the source of the voice and saw something unexpected.
Almost the entire active team was sitting either on or around the big couch, and all of them were listening intently to Dante. The Lucario was standing before them, as if up on a stage, and was telling a story. Though Ziggy had walked in on the story halfway through, he could already tell it was a daring story of heroics, adventure and danger.
Ziggy stood there for a moment and simply listened to Dante speak. He was saying something about how he was traversing a glacier with deadly crevasses, using his sword like an ice pick to keep from slipping. There were apparently Pokémon trapped down deep in one of the crevasses, and he was trying to find them and rescue them.
The Lucario's bravery was on full display with the picture he painted with his words. Ziggy, once again, found himself drawn to this mysterious Pokémon. Who was he, really? Ziggy didn't know for certain; all he knew was that he got a good vibe off of Dante.
He was certainly impressive-looking. Most tall Pokémon intimidated Ziggy, but he didn't feel that way with Dante. His height seemed more impressive than domineering. Ziggy had never really seen a Lucario up close before, and he found that they were honestly a rather impressive-looking species. The spikes on his chest and paws gave him a little trepidation, but other than that Ziggy found that Dante looked very cool and impressive.
And the sword! Ziggy still couldn't keep his eyes from wandering to Dante's sword. He had never even imagined the possibility of a Pokémon using a sword before, and the idea was fascinating. He found himself filled with a hungry desire to see Dante using it. He wanted to see what sort of feats Dante could pull off with a blade like that.
Ziggy realized that he had started slowly walking without realizing it. Like a magnet, his paws were being drawn over to the couch where everyone else was. Before long, Ziggy was leaning against the armrest and looking up at Dante with the rest of the crowd.
He couldn't explain it. He truly couldn't explain why Dante, being a stranger, didn't set off alarm bells like other strangers did. He wouldn't go so far as to say he felt completely at ease in the Lucario's company, but he didn't feel like he needed to run away from Dante. Maybe it was because it looked like Dante could protect him, or maybe it was just his smile.
Dante was talking now about an Abomasnow he encountered on the glacier, who was quite aggressive and territorial. He described the battle in great detail. Every word left Ziggy thirsty for more. He was immediately invested in Dante's incredible tale. The Lucario certainly had a way with words, as Ziggy could easily picture the adventures in his mind as if he had been there.
Who was this Lucario? How could he be this amazing? Nobody could really be this amazing, could they?
Ziggy glanced away briefly, catching Sparks' eye. The Raichu was giving him an approving grin. Sparks had apparently known Dante from long ago. The fact that they were still friends meant that Sparks probably trusted Dante a whole lot. Just how long had they known each other before they parted ways? They had been enrolled in the guild together.
He then glanced back at Dante, who was still telling his story. It was amazing the incredible things this Lucario had done, and this was but one of his stories. What else had he done, especially to earn a reputation like he had?
The next day, Sparks was getting geared up for a walk in the town with Dante before he had to leave. It was unfortunate that Dante had to leave so soon after arriving, but Sparks was glad he would be back before the holidays. He would have to come up with a Christmas gift for him before that.
"All right, you ready?" Sparks asked as he exited the dorms and returned to the common room. He didn't receive an answer, and when he looked around he realized it was because Dante wasn't where Sparks had left him. "Dante?"
"He's out there!" Shay yapped, pointing a paw towards the other door that led to the main hall.
"Oh, okay. Thanks."
"Hey! You said Dante's coming back right? Right? Is he coming back soon?" Shay started to yammer on, his tail twitching back and forth like a lightning bolt.
"Yeah, buddy. He'll be back. Calm down."
"Awesome!" Shay exclaimed, the Yamper doing the opposite of calming down.
Sparks smirked and shook his head. Leaving the Yamper and his group of guildmates behind, Sparks made his way over to the opposite door. When he got there, he opened it and peeked his head through to see if Dante was out there.
"…just for an hour or two before I have to go somewhere else for a couple weeks," Dante could be heard saying.
Sparks turned to the side and saw something surprising. Dante was standing by the main front door of the guild, and he was leaning down on the ground so he could talk to none other than Ziggy.
"Oh…Okay," Ziggy said.
"Sorry if I'm stealing him from you…" Dante said with a chuckle.
"N-no, it's okay…" Ziggy mumbled, "I was just wondering."
"He'll be back soon."
"Um… What're you guys gonna do?"
"Probably just take a relaxing walk through the quieter spots in the city," Dante answered, "I've never been one for the hustle and bustle of city life, but even a city as big as this has some nice spots to see. We might walk along the cliffs, or through the forest to the south. I'll mostly let him lead."
"That…sounds nice," Ziggy said.
"He's told me a lot about you," Dante commented, "I know you've been through a lot of rough stuff."
"…Y-yeah…"
"But I know, from what he's told me, that you're trying. You're giving your best. That's what's important. As long as you never give up, miracles can happen."
Ziggy was silent for a moment. "You think so…?"
"Oh, I know so. Trust me. I've seen it happen before." Dante punctuated this with a wink and a grin.
Again, Ziggy was silent. He kept looking at Dante, and Sparks swore he could see a hint of cub-like wonder in his eyes. "Uhm…" Ziggy eventually said, "Are…Are you two going…to the market?"
"Heavens no," Dante said with a playful scoff, "I have never liked marketplaces. So crowded and noisy. I only go there when I must."
"Um…Okay…" Ziggy fidgeted for a moment, wringing his paws and subtly glancing towards the door occasionally. "U-um…M-Mr. Dante? Or, I-I'm sorry…Dante?"
"Yes?"
"…Could I…come with you?"
Sparks held a paw up to his mouth to stifle his gasp.
"You want to come with us on our walk?" Dante asked, "Well sure, if you want to. The more the merrier, after all."
"R-really? You're sure…?" Ziggy asked.
Dante chuckled softly and said, "Absolutely. And I'm sure Sparks would be glad to have you join us as well."
"Um…O-okay! Okay, cool. Uh… C-could you wait here for just a moment? I need to go get something out of my room."
"Of course," Dante said with a smile, "Take your time."
Ziggy then turned on the spot and started to run back towards the common room. He spotted Sparks as he approached, mildly startling him. "Oh! H-hi, Sparks!"
"Hey, bud…"
"Um…Dante said I could come with you guys on your walk. I, uh…I wanted to…I…" He fidgeted for a moment and eventually settled on simply saying, "I'm just gonna grab the hoodie, okay?"
Sparks looked down at him for a moment, then nodded and stood aside so Ziggy could go through the door. "Sounds good, Ziggy. We'll be waiting out here."
Ziggy nodded, and then ran through the door off towards his room.
In the meantime, Sparks leisurely walked over to where Dante was standing. "How the hell did you do that…?" he murmured.
Dante laughed out loud at that remark. "He likes me," he said with a shrug, "and he likes you as well. Maybe meeting someone else he likes as much as you just pushed him a little bit further…"
Sparks stood there for a moment, blinking occasionally as he was deep in thought. "Perhaps I have been coddling him too much…I just didn't want to push him too hard…"
"Oh stop. I know where this is going. You're going to start questioning yourself and every decision you've made. Don't, Sparky. Don't question why Ziggy's doing this now, at this moment, with this Pokémon. The important thing is that Ziggy is going outside. That's what you wanted, right?"
"True…"
"To tell you the truth," Dante said in a lower voice, "I think Ziggy is just developing a little touch of 'fanboy'. Things that fanboys are willing to do don't always make sense…but as long as the day goes okay today, I think Ziggy will be better off even when I'm not around."
Sparks paused for a moment and glanced up at his old friend, who smiled back at him. "Maybe you're right…" he commented, "I've been spending so much time trying to figure out exactly what I need to do to help Ziggy get better…Maybe at the end of the day, sometimes all we can do is hope…"
"Hope, and have faith," Dante added, "And…I have faith that things will be okay…"
"You do?"
"Mhm… Somehow, they always do… They always have, and they always do…"
