Chapter 14 - A Very Exciting Holiday
It was a quiet day in the guild. A very quiet day.
Winter had arrived as the year moved into its final month of December. It was the holiday season now, only a week and a half before Christmas. There was no snow outside, and it had not yet snowed in Radiant City at all, but this was expected. Usually Radiant City did not get snow until the new year. However, this didn't mean it was not a nice, brisk, wintery cold outside.
Sparks sat in the common room at the table, quietly sipping on a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows. He had a blue and orange scarf wrapped tightly around his neck, as it was getting to that point where even the inside of the guild was nippy. He was all by himself in the room, aside from his constant companion Ziggy. The Buizel was busying himself with a broom and was tidying up the whole room.
It was so very quiet. The building felt empty. Most of the active team were out of town, visiting their friends and family for the holiday. As guild-work was so all-encompassing, and demand for the guild's services tended to skyrocket in the seven days before and after Christmas, active team members were encouraged to take their holiday vacations either early or late.
Almost everyone currently enrolled in the guild preferred to leave early, as many Pokémon families did not mind celebrating the occasion ahead of time. It just meant presents and merriment early, after all.
On this particular day, not many Pokémon were around besides Sparks and his Buizel buddy. Sparks didn't have anywhere to go for a holiday, so he always elected to stay behind for the whole month. The guild was his home, after all. He didn't mind, though. He had already picked out everybody's presents for the guild's present-exchange, which took place on December 30th. That was the time he spent with his 'family'. And, of course, Ziggy had nowhere to go either.
Ziggy had been making strides in the past couple weeks. Ever since Dante had first visited and convinced him to set paw outside the guild, Ziggy had been agreeing to take occasional walks through the quieter parts of town. He still insisted on wearing that hoodie every single time, but Sparks could see that he was gradually becoming more comfortable with the outdoors in general. Unfortunately, Ziggy still shied away from large crowds and was constantly nervous about others seeing what was hidden under his hood.
Dante's second visit had been a treat, especially for the young Buizel. Ziggy got more excited and upbeat than Sparks had ever seen him before. A couple of times, he very nearly smiled. Dante had stayed for another six days in early December, during time many of his epic tales were told, and a fantastic demonstration of his swordsplay skills was put on. That had certainly been the highlight.
Now, though, things were quiet. The large, empty common room was filled only with the repetitive swish swish swish sound of Ziggy's broom. Shay had just left to go see his family yesterday, and Jules would be back in two days. Sparks, Carmen and Ziggy were the only ones who would be there for the whole holiday season.
Unfortunately, the serene peace did not last much longer. The door to the grand hall slammed open suddenly, startling Sparks and causing Ziggy to loudly yelp. Carmen ran through the doorway, clearly under pressure and trying to remain calm. She looked around for a moment before locking eyes with him.
"Sparks!" she said, running up to him.
"Carmen, what's wrong?" he asked concernedly.
"There's trouble, Sparks. The guild is being called into action. Urgent and immediate action!"
Sparks' eyes went wide. He carefully put down his mug of hot chocolate and sat up straighter. "What's happened?" he asked in a much more serious tone.
"About two hours ago, approximately 10 o'clock, a Nidoran and her mother were taking a walk through the forests to the southeast of the city, about 25 minutes out. The Nidoran slipped and fell down a hole into an underground cave, where she is now trapped. The mother, a Nidoqueen, was too large to fit down the hole, and when she called out for her daughter, there was no response."
"Oh no…" Sparks immediately felt his blood run cold.
"The guild is being called upon to mount a rescue expedition of urgent priority, but of course the timing could not be worse." Carmen held a paw to her forehead and groaned. "We are severely understaffed right now due to overlapping vacations."
Sparks lifted his head for a moment in thought, and realized with dread just how right Carmen was. Though the guild tried to avoid scheduling vacations at the same times, there was only so much that could be done. Some vacations had started a few days ago, while some would end in a few days, but at this exact day there were a lot of Pokémon out of the guild.
"I'll go," Sparks announced, "That is, if I can fit?"
"First responders measured the hole," Carmen replied, "You will just barely fit, Sparks, but we can't send anyone larger than you. That means I'm out of the question, and I can't go anyway because I need to remain here for guildmaster duties and nobody can cover for me."
"But who else…? Jules is gone, Shay is gone, Lupe and Javier are both gone, Akash is on an overnight mission for a client in another town… Tora and Liz won't fit… What about Danika? Isn't she coming back today?"
Carmen shook her head. "She won't be in until dinnertime, and by then it will be too late in the day to mount an expedition. I don't fancy the idea of leaving a cub alone in a dark cave overnight."
"No, me neither…" Sparks said in agreement, "And Kandice can't go to a mission that far with nobody to cover her medical office."
"I've already contacted Rico," Carmen said, "He was out on a job, but thankfully the client agreed to relinquish him and so he's on his way here right now."
"What about Kona?"
"He was next on my list. Do you know where he is?"
"Who, me?"
Sparks and Carmen both turned to see the Dewott in question exiting the dorms with a confused look on his face. "Kona! Good!" Carmen proclaimed, "We've got an emergency. Are you free?"
"I was doing work in my dorm. What's going on?"
Carmen succinctly explained the situation to Kona, who immediately agreed to join the rescue operation.
"Okay! Well, that's three," Sparks said, "That's enough isn't it?"
"No…" Carmen groaned, rubbing her temples, "There's something else, Sparks."
"What?"
"This cave that the cub fell into? It's an undiscovered MD."
Sparks and Kona both gasped. "An MD?" Sparks spat in disbelief, "There's an MD in the southeast forest?"
"There is."
"No way…" Sparks murmured. An undiscovered MD? There hadn't been a new Mystery Dungeon discovered in a long, long time, and discovering new ones was extremely rare. After all, it was thought that close to 99% of all Mystery Dungeons in the world had been discovered already.
"You know guild safety protocols," Carmen said, "A three-Pokémon team isn't enough."
"Right…" Sparks put his paw to his chin in thought. Mystery Dungeons could be extremely dangerous, so it was against Rescue Society protocol to venture into a Mystery Dungeon without at least four Pokémon on the team; three to venture inside, and one to remain near the entrance. The latter's job was to monitor communications, ensure the entrance remained open and unobstructed, coordinate on-the-spot maps, and a variety of other tasks.
"The Nidoran cub fell into a Mystery Dungeon?" Kona asked, "That probably explains why there was no response. She probably got frightened, wandered off, and the Mystery Dungeon twisted itself and she ended up far away from the entrance."
"I've already arranged for transportation," Carmen said, "and I'll help with preparations before you depart, but if we can't figure out a fourth team member soon, then we're in trouble…"
"Of all the poor timing…" Sparks groaned, "And there's really nobody else around who can pitch in?"
"Not on such short notice…"
The group was then alerted to the sound of the guild hall's front doors being tossed open accompanied by heavy panting, easily heard as Carmen had left the common room door open. A somewhat out-of-breath Rico soon joined them. "Hey!" he said between breaths, "I'm here…!"
"Thanks for hurrying," Carmen said to him, "Is Terry still out of commission?"
Rico frowned and nodded. "He's still got the flu really bad. I don't think he'll be getting out of bed much today."
"Good grief…" Carmen groaned. She then filled Rico in on all the details, including their lack of a fourth party member. A discussion broke out between the two of them and Kona as to possible solutions, what could be done if a solution couldn't be found, if an exception could be made for a three-Pokémon team, and other such frustrations.
Sparks, unfortunately, couldn't come up with much to say. It was a conundrum and he didn't have any particularly bright ideas. He was absolutely no stranger to exploring Mystery Dungeons. Neither was Kona, and Rico had briefly explored his first last month with Terry, supervised by Sparks himself. Of the group, Sparks was the only one who had ever actually been on a rescue mission inside of one before.
As their discussions continued, Sparks ended up glancing off to the side. That's when he noticed that Ziggy was looking at them intently. He had stopped sweeping entirely and was watching the proceedings with a keen interest. Ziggy had obviously heard what was going on, because there was a look of definite concern in his eyes. When he saw Sparks looking at him, he started slightly. He flushed in embarrassment as if only then realizing that he had stopped sweeping, and quickly got back to his chore.
"…Hey, Carmen?" Sparks spoke up.
"Hm? What is it?"
Sparks observed the Buizel for a few more seconds before slowly turning towards Carmen. "…What about Ziggy?"
"What?" Carmen replied in confusion.
"What?" a younger voice from off to the side said at the exact same time.
Sparks nodded as the idea formulated in his mind. "What if we brought Ziggy along?"
Carmen gave him an impatient look and said, "Sparks what are you talking about?"
Instead of answering right away, Sparks looked over at Ziggy once more. The Buizel had again stopped sweeping, though this time it was because his broom had clattered to the ground. Ziggy's eyes were filled with confusion as he looked at Sparks with his jaw slightly askew. "C'mere, buddy. Come talk to us," Sparks said to him.
Ziggy looked around in confusion for a moment and then started to slowly walk over to them. As he did, Carmen spoke up again. "Sparks, this isn't a time for jokes…"
"I'm not joking," he replied firmly. Once Ziggy was standing next to him, he looked down and said, "I noticed that you took an interest in our discussion."
"Um…S-sorry…" he murmured.
"No, it's perfectly all right. We don't mind at all. Though, may I ask, why did we capture your attention so?"
Ziggy cast a couple of nervous glances at the other Pokémon before answering Sparks. "You said…a cub fell down a cave and she needs help. R-right? I just- I was just…" He gulped and then said in a slightly louder voice, "You're gonna save her, right?"
Sparks reached down and put a paw on his shoulder. "We're going to do our best, but we need a bit more help. Do you think you'd be able to help us rescue her?"
"M-me?"
"Sparks…" Carmen interjected, "Are you seriously proposing this? Ziggy is not an alumnus. He's not a guild member. He absolutely cannot join you on a Mystery Dungeon rescue expedition."
"He doesn't have to come in the dungeon," Sparks said, turning to look at her once more, "The three of us are going in, and he can stay up top. We do need a fourth team member, but the above-ground position is the least dangerous and least difficult job to do."
Carmen glanced at Ziggy for a moment before looking back at Sparks again. "Sparks, there's no way-"
"If we had the rest of our team here I wouldn't suggest it at all, but we're understaffed and a cub is in trouble," Sparks said, firmly cutting her off, "We have temporary-use badges so Ziggy can communicate with us and with the guild, and his main job will be to make sure that if we get stuck down there then somebody will know about it. The above-ground team member's job isn't to leap in at the first sign of danger, Carmen. If the cave collapses or something, it'll be Ziggy's job to call for help. I'm sure he'll be able to do that."
"Sparks…" Carmen said in a testy tone.
He instead turned to look at Ziggy once more, who had an unsure look on his face. "You wanna help, don't ya buddy? I can tell. I know you want to help."
Ziggy opened his mouth to reply, but it was a few moments before he found his word. "I-I…I mean, i-if I can…" He then frowned and simply said, "She's…just a little cub, right? I don't want her to…t-to…"
Sparks shook his head. "She won't. We're going to help her. Kona and I are well-experienced, Rico's strong and brave enough to make up for his lack of experience, and with you up top we'll make sure nothing bad happens."
"Really…?"
"Mhm," Sparks said with a nod, "It's out in the forest, so there'll be nobody around to bother you. You can even bring your hoodie if you want."
"Sparks, stop!" Carmen interrupted, "Stop this. We just can't send Ziggy of all Pokémon on a mission like this. He's not qualified. He has no training. If I let you do this and anybody found out about it-"
"Carmen, there's a cub stuck in a Mystery Dungeon right now," Sparks said determinedly, "She's scared, hungry and possibly hurt. With everybody gone for vacation, this is the best option we have to rescue her before night falls." He looked over at Kona and Rico and added, "You guys don't have a problem with my idea, right?"
Kona shook his head and Rico said, "It sounds all right to me. Especially if you're comin' down with us, Sparks."
"And you, Ziggy?" Sparks continued, "Sound like something you can handle? You'll be talking to us, drawing a map, and calling for help if we need it."
Ziggy looked nervous, though that was pretty much expected of him, but he did nod after a few moments. "I think so… I-if it'll help save her…"
"So, ma'am?" Sparks said, turning to address Carmen once more, "Sound acceptable? The sooner you give us clearance, the sooner we can head out and save her."
Carmen seemed slightly taken aback by Sparks' perseverant tone and was quiet for a moment. She slowly looked at each of the other Pokémon, one by one, and spent a few seconds lingering on Ziggy. Sparks could see the gears turning in her head, but he also knew that her patience was wearing thin.
When Carmen then glanced up at the clock, seeing that it was already past noon, that seemed to seal the deal. "All right…Fine…" she said in exasperation. She then immediately leaned in close to Ziggy and asked, "Are you sure you're up to the task?"
Ziggy jumped back slightly. At first, to Sparks' worry, it looked like he was having second thoughts. But, Ziggy glanced up at him for a second and he gave him a look of support. Ziggy then looked back at Carmen, gulped once, and then nodded firmly. "…I want to help her," he said.
Carmen's expression softened for a brief second, and then she curtly nodded and stood up straight. "Right," she said, looking at Sparks, "Your team of four is approved. Get prepared and inform me when ready. I will give you directions, as well as the temp communication badge for Ziggy. I'll have further information from you over comms after you leave."
Sparks grinned eagerly and saluted her. "Yes, guildmaster!"
To his surprise, Carmen then grabbed the wooden stick out of her tail and thrust it right up under Sparks' nose, not touching him but causing him to flinch. She gave him a very stern look, like a disciplining teacher to a cub. "Sparks," she said in a firm tone, "Under no circumstances is Ziggy to set paw inside of that cave. Not a single paw. He is to remain above-ground at all times. Understand?"
"Absolutely," Sparks said, "Of course. Wouldn't dream of it."
Carmen remained still for a moment, fiercely staring at Sparks and continuing to point her stick at him, until finally she pulled it away and stuck it back into her tail. "Very well. Move out, team! Let's go, let's go, let's go!"
"Yes, Guildmaster!" chanted Sparks, Rico and Kona in perfect unison.
"Ah! Um, y-yes, Guildmaster!" Ziggy hastily added a second later.
It was a cloudy, chilly day out in Radiant City. The fact that Sparks and his team were riding in the back of a very fast-moving wagon only made things even chillier.
The intrepid team of four were en route to the location of the Mystery Dungeon where the Nidoran cub was trapped. They were riding on the back of a small, non-covered wagon that was being pulled along the streets by a very swift Rapidash. There were many Pokémon who earned a living pulling wagons for transport, but Rapidash were expensive because of just how fast they could run.
Sparks was still wearing his scarf and he was quite thankful for it. The air had gotten quite frigid upon the onset of the afternoon. He glanced over at Kona, who had on a smaller scarf that matched the blue of his fur. Next to him was Rico, who wasn't wearing anything extra at all. Sparks had no idea how he endured cold like this without any winter clothing.
Finally, sitting nestled right up next to him, was Ziggy. The Buizel was wearing his now-familiar black hoodie, with the hood pulled up all the way to cover his head and face, and was nestling himself up as close to Sparks as he could.
Ziggy wasn't exactly enjoying the wagon ride. He had been quite intimidated by the sight of the large, powerful Rapidash that had met the team at the guild's front gate. He had helped the others load supplies onto the back of the wagon, but had been self-consciously adjusting his hoodie the entire time to make sure the Rapidash couldn't see him. Now that they were on the move, the wildly whipping winds kept threatening to blow the hood off of his head, which is why he had huddled himself next to Sparks.
All in all, though, Sparks was still hopeful that this would work out. They were leaving town to reach this dungeon, where there were no other Pokémon around, and Ziggy still seemed ready and willing to lend a paw. His concern for the wellbeing of the Nidoran was genuine and quite touching.
The cub's name was Zuri and she was only six years old. Her mother, a Nidoqueen named Asha, was waiting at a police outpost outside of the forest. Due to the presence of an undiscovered MD, the area was being temporarily cordoned off with only guildmembers allowed to access it.
The wagon was already starting to leave the city behind, as it turned down some smaller, more remote roads and pathways that led towards the forest. It wouldn't be much longer until they would be forced to leave the wagon behind and continue on paw.
"Doin' okay, buddy?" he asked to Ziggy, giving him a gentle nudge.
"It's cold out…" he mumbled.
"Heh… I know. Winter's here and it's making itself known."
After a moment's pause, Ziggy lifted his head a tad. Sparks could just barely see the outline of his face hidden within the hoodie's shadow. "Are…you guys gonna be okay down there…?"
"Oh, sure," Sparks said reassuringly, "MD's can be dangerous, but we're probably not going very deep inside. I can't imagine the cub has gone too far within. It's just when you have to go really deep into the dungeon that things get risky."
Ziggy nodded. "Okay…"
"You still feel up for helping us out…right?" Sparks asked, unable to keep a little trepidation from his voice. Though he wanted to support Ziggy and not force him to do something he didn't want to, the fact was that if Ziggy bailed, they all had to bail.
Thankfully, Ziggy said, "Yeah…I'm just nervous…"
"It'll be fine. You'll be all by yourself in the forest. No-one will bother you. And, you can speak to us the whole time through that badge we've got. Besides, you won't have time to be nervous because you'll be distracted by the map you're making!"
A moment of silence passed. The wagon continued down an old dirt road, with the forest slowly approaching in the distance. The sounds of the city faded away, replaced by only the clopping sound of the Rapidash's hooves.
"I hope she's okay…" Ziggy murmured.
"I do too," Sparks said, "I'm sure she's fine. She's just stuck and needs our help."
"Carmen seemed angry…"
"Oh, she's just worried about protocols and stuff. You'll do fine, and then she'll be super proud of you."
"…You think so?"
"Absolutely. I'm already proud of you, Ziggy. We all are! This is very brave what you're doing right now!"
"This spot should do," Sparks proclaimed.
"Is it close enough?" Kona asked.
"Sure. You can see the entrance over there. See the flagging tape? They marked it off."
Sparks pointed off to the side, where a few strips of pink ribbons could be seen attached to some trees growing near a small, rocky escarpment. First responders had left it there to mark the entrance to the Mystery Dungeon.
"Okay, Zig. Just put that stuff down on the ground and we'll get the table set up," Sparks said, turning back to look at the Buizel. Ziggy had been tasked with carrying some of the team's equipment from the spot where the Rapidash's wagon had dropped them off. There were no paths into the forest from the point where the road ended, but the forest was fairly sparse and not too difficult to traverse. The ground was a little wet from recent rainfalls, but luckily it wasn't raining at the moment.
Ziggy grunted as he dropped both the backpack he was wearing and the rolls of parchment and cases of mapping tools he was carrying. Kona walked over to where he was and removed his backpack as well, while Rico joined them and started to set up the collapsible table he had been carrying. The task of carrying everything had been a bit strenuous for Ziggy, so he had taken off his hoodie and tied it around one of the straps of the backpack. He had been hesitant to take it off until he was sure the Rapidash had left and was out of eyesight.
The group was truly alone out in the forest, though. The sounds of civilization had faded entirely, and Sparks was all but positive that nobody else was in this forest besides themselves and the trapped Nidoran. Ziggy would be safe to work away from prying eyes.
Sparks also walked over to help the group set things up on the table. It was now the afternoon, so Sparks knew they were working with a time limit. Being inside of a Mystery Dungeon after sunset was a recipe for trouble. It had been a long while since he had last conducted a rescue operation inside of a Mystery Dungeon, but he found himself getting into the swing of things as if it were second nature to him. It was like riding a bike; it never truly left him.
As the group began to set out the mapping tools, prepared the backup and emergency equipment, and ran tests on Ziggy's temporary communication badge, Sparks idly glanced over at the flagging tape. He couldn't see the entrance itself from where they were set up, but he knew it was basically a hole in the ground that led into a cave. He marveled at the fact that an MD had remained out here, undiscovered, to this date, and so close to the city.
"So, Ziggy?" Kona spoke up once everything was set up on the table, "Here's a quill. Here's the grid you're gonna be working with. We're gonna give you directions, like left turn or right turn, and you just mark it out here like this. Okay?"
The Buizel was watching Kona's example and nodding. It was remarkable to see how Ziggy's demeanour had changed once they had left the city. Perhaps it was partly because he was focused on the seriousness of the situation, but that in itself was certainly commendable. The moment back at the guild that he had noticed Ziggy listening to every single word they had been saying about this rescue operation was all the convincing Sparks had needed. He knew that Ziggy would be ready, willing and able to help out if he possibly could.
"And…I'll be able to talk to you guys the whole time with this?" Ziggy asked, holding up a plain grey badge. This was the spare communications-only badge that the guild used in emergencies and special cases like this.
"Yup. You can talk to us, no matter how deep underground we go."
Ziggy nodded. "Okay."
"Tap it twice to contact the guild. Tap it three times for the police."
Once they were sure Ziggy understood his duties, Sparks then addressed the group. "All right, everybody ready to get started?" When everybody nodded, he went on to say, "First things first, since this is a new MD, we gotta go set up the telemetry stuff over there. The stuff in Rico's backpack. There's four modules in there, so let's each carry one."
"Where? To the cave?" Ziggy asked.
"Yeah, just outside the cave. It'll help gather information for the MD database, and there's also some proximity detectors there to detect when citizens get too close. Stuff like that."
Ziggy went over to the backpack that Rico had worn while hiking in and opened the zipper. Inside were four sleek, metallic modules of varying oblong sizes and shapes. Ziggy reached in and picked one out, leaving the largest one for Sparks and the two smaller ones for the other two. Sparks saw the Buizel grunt and struggle with its weight briefly before finding his sense of balance.
When everyone was holding one of the modules, the group left the backpack and the rest of their equipment behind and started to make their way over to the dungeon's entrance. They had set themselves up about 50 metres away from the entrance, though this was simply due to the uneven ground near the entrance. The spot they had picked to set things up was relatively flatter.
Once the telemetry stuff was set up, and after Sparks and the others had visually inspected the dungeon's entrance, they would all head back to the table to gear up for the expedition. Ziggy would stay behind, and the other three would begin their descent into the cavern. Sparks could feel waves of nostalgia simply from approaching those few pieces of flagging tape on the nearby trees.
Sparks was in the lead, effortlessly carrying the largest of the modules due to his size and strength. Kona and Rico were in step behind him, with Rico looking particularly eager. "You okay back there?" Sparks called over his shoulder as he noticed Ziggy lagging behind a bit.
"I'm fine," he replied in a slightly strained voice, "It's just…weird to carry."
"You're doing great!" Kona called back in encouragement.
"Kona, you packed food, right?" Rico asked.
"I packed plenty of apples. Don't you worry. They're back in my backpack."
"This is a rescue operation, not a buffet," Sparks said teasingly.
The terrain between the table and the entrance wasn't the smoothest to traverse. It was bumpy and uneven, and the recent rains made the ground feel squishy and muddy. Sparks was glad they had set the table up back there instead of right at the entrance. The relatively short walking distance was a small price to pay.
"Uh…G-guys?"
Sparks stopped walking and turned around. "What's up, Ziggy?"
The Buizel had stopped in his tracks a good six or seven metres behind the other Pokémon, and was looking at them with a confused, nervous expression.
"Ziggy?" Sparks spoke in concern, putting down his heavy module on the ground next to him, "What's wrong?"
"The…Th-the ground…"
"What?" Sparks replied in confusion, stepping towards the Buizel.
"The ground!" he yelped, "The ground is-!"
"What about the ground?"
"It's sinking!"
A moment later, Sparks watched in shock as Ziggy inexplicably sunk a few inches down, along with the ground all around him. For a brief moment, Sparks just stood there in bafflement. A few seconds later, he gasped when he realized what was happening.
"Ziggy!" he shouted in alarm, scrambling to get over to the Buizel as quickly as he could.
"Sparks? What's-Wah!" The ground under Ziggy suddenly shifted again, causing him to lose his balance and fall back onto his rump. The module fell from his paws next to him.
Sparks was only a few inches away and tried to leap forward so he could grab onto the Buizel. He reached out his paw towards Ziggy. "Grab on!" he shouted to the frightened Buizel.
Ziggy gasped in fright and started to lift his paw up towards Sparks. However, that was all he could manage to do before the ground literally swallowed both him and the module whole.
"Ugh!" Sparks exclaimed in pain as he landed with a thud. To his dismay, he felt the ground shift beneath him. He barely had time to lift his head before he felt things beneath him moving in ways they definitely should not.
"Sparks!" Kona shouted.
"Look out!" Rico shouted as well.
Sparks tried to stand back up, and looked over to see the Dewott and Riolu had also dropped their modules and were racing towards him. There was suddenly a deep, crumbling sound from below. "Get back!" Sparks shouted, "Stay back!"
Kona and Rico didn't even have time to apply the brakes. By the time the words were out of Sparks' mouth, the ground beneath him suddenly caved inwards. The last thing Sparks saw was Kona and Rico tumbling forward, unable to hold their balance, and falling down after him. Darkness clouded his vision just moments before the onslaught of pain commenced.
Sparks groaned. His whole body ached. His head felt like there was a nail right through the middle of it. He could feel a dampness on his forehead. It might have been water, but Sparks knew it was probably blood.
The ground he was laying on was rugged and quite uncomfortable. He tried to sit up, but this only made him groan louder. He was fairly certain that nothing was broken, but it sure felt like something was. His bones ached, his muscles ached, and his head was just throbbing. He tried to take in a deep breath but just ended up hoarsely coughing.
Sparks remained there for a couple minutes, halfway in the process of sitting up, before the unbearable pain in his head finally started to subside. He managed to wrench his eyes open, only to be met with pitch blackness. It was as if he'd gone blind, and he briefly panicked thinking this was the case. After Sparks finally managed to properly get himself into a sitting position, he reached down and tapped his badge.
Big mistake. The sudden appearance of the bright light assaulted his eyes and brought back the throbbing in his head with a vengeance. The Raichu forced himself to suffer through a few more moments of pain before his eyes adjusted to the light.
What he saw was pretty much what he expected to see. He was inside of the Mystery Dungeon. Rugged featureless walls encompassed a small, unremarkable room, all of which was composed of dirt and rocks. The air felt dry and stale, and the only thing he could hear was his own ragged breathing.
Sparks looked up, tilting the light of his badge up towards the craggy roof. Just off to the side, he saw an opening in the ceiling. He surmised that the sinkhole had dumped them into a vertical shaft and they had slid down it like a waterslide to end up here. Or, alternatively, the phenomenon of the Mystery Dungeon had already shifted the rooms around them and taken them away from where the roof had caved in, and the passage he was looking at now likely led to nowhere. This was perhaps the more likely explanation, since no light was filtering in from the hole whatsoever.
"Ugh…" Sparks groaned, holding a paw to his head to quell his headache. It had certainly been a bumpy ride on the way in. "You guys okay?" he called out, "You here with me?"
Sparks started to turn around, sweeping his light across the room to look for his companions. It didn't take long to find one of the blue-coloured Pokémon lying nearby. Kona was just in the process of sitting up. "Sparks…?" he groaned.
"Yeah, I'm here," Sparks replied as he approached the Dewott, "You all right?"
"Ow…I think so… I think it's just bruises…"
"Looks like you just got a few nicks and scrapes. You should be all right."
Kona looked up and squinted under the glare of Sparks' light. The Raichu stepped back and allowed Kona to turn on his own badge's light. "You're bleeding, Sparks…" he said once he could see.
Sparks reached up and touched the damp spot on his forehead. It stung a little, but he didn't feel anything too grisly.
"Well that sucked…" a third voice chimed in.
Both Sparks and Kona turned in the direction of the voice to see Rico lying face down on the floor. A moment later, he used his forepaws to push himself up into a sitting position. "You okay, Rico?" Sparks asked him.
"Yeah, I'm good," he said almost nonchalantly. Sparks noticed that the Riolu didn't seem all that worse for wear, and attributed it to him being a Fighting-Type. "What the hell happened?" he asked.
"Sinkhole…" Sparks murmured, "Recent rains probably made the ground weak above an open cave, which was also part of the Mystery Dungeon, and it caved in when Ziggy walked over it with the big heavy-" Before he could finish his sentence, however, he suddenly gasped. "Ziggy!"
Sparks started looking around for the Buizel. He had been the first to fall into the sinkhole, so Sparks could only hope he'd ended up in the same place as them. "Ziggy?" he called out, "Ziggy are you here?"
Kona and Rico stood up and started searching as well. The room was fairly large and was littered with rocks and boulders.
A moment later, to Sparks' relief, a very faint groaning could be heard. Sparks immediately rushed over to the sound of the noise, and found Ziggy lying in the corner of the room behind a rock in a crumpled heap.
"Ziggy!" he exclaimed as he immediately got down on all fours, "Ziggy, are you okay?" Sparks examined the Buizel's body and silently winced when he saw the splotches of blood dotting his golden fur. He had gotten banged up in the fall, but thankfully his wounds looked small as well. Sparks' head wound seemed to be the worst of the bunch.
"…Sparks?" Ziggy murmured as he lifted his head and looked up, immediately wincing under the bright light.
"Yeah, it's me buddy. I'm here. C'mon, sit up. Does anything really hurt?"
Sparks knelt down and tried to help Ziggy up off the ground. The Buizel groaned as he did so, but didn't seem too badly hurt. Sparks sighed in relief and had to commend Ziggy's tenacity. He had seen it before when Ziggy had cut himself with the knife at the dinner table.
"Are you okay, Zig?" Sparks asked for the third time, "Nothing broken?"
Ziggy, now fully sitting up, held up a paw to try and block some of the light from Sparks' badge. "I…think I'm okay…"
"Good…That's good…" Sparks then stepped back and turned away so that his badge light wasn't pointing directly at Ziggy. Kona and Rico also sat nearby, the trio using their badges to light up as much of the room as they could without blinding anybody else.
"Sparks…?" Ziggy murmured. He still seemed a little disoriented, and he was squinting through the light towards the Raichu. After a moment of silence, he gasped. "Y-you're bleeding…"
"I know, bud. Don't worry, it's not that bad. I just took a bump on the head."
"S-S-Sparks…" Ziggy murmured worriedly.
"It's okay, Ziggy. Try to relax. We all lost a bit of blood on the way in here, but we're all fine."
Ziggy then started to look at his surroundings, and the fear in his eyes grew. "Sparks…" he whimpered softly, "We're…w-we're in…in the…"
"Yeah, we're in the Mystery Dungeon…" Sparks bemoaned, "Wasn't really how I was planning to get us in here, but…"
Ziggy then looked back at Sparks with a terrified expression. "B-but…" he said, "I'm not supposed to be in here…" He took in a shuddering breath and said, "I-I'm not supposed to be in here! I-I wasn't supposed to come down here! Carmen said-"
"Buddy, buddy, calm down," Sparks interrupted, holding up his paws, "It's okay, Ziggy. It was an accident. You didn't come in here on purpose."
"I…I'm…" Ziggy audibly gulped and started to nervously look at his surroundings again. "Oh gosh…Oh my gosh…"
"Ziggy, we're here with you," Kona said, "You'll be fine if you stay close to us, okay? Don't worry."
"Yeah," Rico agreed, "And you're not gonna get in trouble for accidentally falling down a hole in the ground. If anything, you just became a rescuee now instead."
The nervous Buizel was still surveying his surroundings with a cautious eye. "I…O-okay…" he said, though without much conviction in his voice.
"All right…" Sparks said with a sigh, addressing the other two rescuers, "Needless to say…Change of plans. That was unfortunate, but we'll be fine. I doubt we've ended up very deep in the dungeon. We're probably still on the top floor, so the exit can't be too far from here; the one the Nidoran fell into in the first place. Our first priority is to find that exit, and from there we can make better plans."
"We don't have any of our equipment," Kona observed, "It's all back at the table. We're going into this without supplies."
"I've still got my backpack," Sparks said, taking it off of his back and placing it on the ground where it could be seen in the light. "It doesn't have a whole lot in it, but it's better than nothing."
"So we'll get out, grab our stuff, and jump back in to look for the Nidoran?" Rico asked.
"Correct," Sparks said with a nod. He then looked around at the others. They were seated in such a way that their combined lights lit up the room around them as much as possible. "It's a pretty dark dungeon," he observed, "So it's a good thing we still have our badges. We'll need to…Oh." Sparks paused when his gaze passed by Ziggy, and he saw the Buizel sitting in the shadows still squinting his eyes. "Oh right, you don't have a badge…"
"I…left the temporary one up top," he said.
"No, that's fine. That one doesn't have a light anyway. It's strictly for comms." He considered the issue for a moment. "Oh! Wait, hold on a second…" he said as an idea came to him. He reached in and started rummaging through his backpack. "I should have one in here somewhere…" he murmured, checking all of the little pockets for what he needed.
"Aha! Here we go!" he proclaimed. He pulled out what he was looking for. Then, he walked over and gave it to Ziggy, who took it gingerly in his paws. He fumbled with it for a moment before he found the button on the side, causing the flashlight to suddenly illuminate and nearly blind him.
"Ack!"
Sparks nodded. "I always keep one of those, just in case."
Ziggy held the flashlight in both of his paws and used it to sweep around the room and look at the other three Pokémon. "T-thanks, Sparks…"
"All right…Anything else?" Sparks asked, "I've got basic first aid in here too. Anybody need a bandage?"
"Uh, I think you could use a bandage, Sparks…" Kona remarked.
Sparks reached up to the wound on his head again, and noted that his paw still felt damp afterwards. "Yeah… Maybe you're right… Okay, but we head out once I'm patched up, all right? This is a setback, but we'll be fine. You too, Ziggy. You'll be fine, all right?"
Ziggy gulped again, but nodded. "O-okay…"
As Sparks fished out the bandages from his backpack, he glanced over at Ziggy again and sighed softly when he saw how scared the Buizel looked. He was already starting to kick himself for suggesting that Ziggy come along in the first place. It had seemed like such a good idea back at the guild, but now Sparks was starting to realize he might have just made another huge mistake.
"Watch your step, Ziggy," Sparks called back from the front of the line.
Ziggy was a nervous wreck. He had been so ever since the ground had literally swallowed him whole and he had found himself in the one place he did not want to end up in while on this journey. He was holding onto his flashlight with trembling paws, slowly moving it around in all directions to try and see as much of his surroundings as possible.
He was currently third in the lineup of four Pokémon, and the group was traveling down a low, narrow corridor with thick, rocky walls on either side. It felt very stuffed and cramped. Ziggy swore at times that the walls were closing in on him.
They wouldn't, right? Mystery Dungeons couldn't do that…could they?
Ziggy was trying his best to put on a brave face. He was trying to remind himself that all three of his friends were here, and they were all smart and experienced at this sort of stuff. They would be there to look out for him, and help him if he needed it.
Still, though, Ziggy could feel his heart pounding like crazy in his chest. He was utterly terrified. It wasn't so much the darkness that worried him. He had spent most of life in the dark; he was used to it. The fact was that Carmen had made it painfully clear that he wasn't supposed to be down here. He had only heard about Mystery Dungeons from others, but they sounded very dangerous. Maybe even deadly.
Now, they were searching for the exit. Sparks was leading the way, Kona was behind him, while Rico was bringing up the rear. Sparks had just chosen one of the four passageways at random and their journey had begun. So far, they had passed through three more open rooms like the first one they had ended up in, but still there was no sign of the entrance.
Ziggy could feel the danger all around him. He was the only one without training. He was the only one with a weak little flashlight instead of a fancy, bright badge. He found himself asking why he had ever agreed to do this in the first place. Why had he thought he would be able to do something like this?
"Another room…" Sparks announced from the front.
"Still no exit, though?" Kona asked.
"No…"
The group all made their way out of the passageway and into the next small but relatively open room. To Ziggy's eyes, it looked just the same as all the other rooms they had found. It seemed as if they had just been going in circles this whole time.
"Bad luck…" Sparks remarked.
Besides the one they had entered through, this room had two other passages leading out of it. One was directly in front, while the other was off to the left.
"Keep going straight?" Rico asked.
"Probably…" Sparks replied, "There can't be much more to this without having to go down…Although we haven't found a way down either."
A nervous whine escaped from Ziggy's throat before he could stop himself.
"It's okay, Ziggy," Kona said calmly, "This isn't unusual. We're bound to find the entrance if we just keep looking."
"Right," Sparks agreed, "So let's not dawdle and keep going. Same formation, team." He then started walking over to the entrance that was straight ahead, with Kona and Rico following him. Ziggy hurried to keep up with them, not wanting to get left behind even just a little bit.
After Kona fell in line behind Sparks, the Raichu turned back and looked at Ziggy. "You're doing great, Ziggy," he said, "Just stay close to Kona."
Ziggy nodded nervously. "Uh huh…"
"Hoo…" Rico piped up from the back, "It's chilly down here."
"All the more reason to get the heck out," Sparks replied, "So let's go. C'mon, guys."
So, the group of four made their way down another of the identical looking passages. Ziggy stayed in step behind Kona as if his life depended on it. He tried to calm himself by saying that as long as he could see the Dewott, he hadn't done anything wrong and he'd be safe.
He had heard some of the others mention the fact that some Mystery Dungeons had 'less than savoury' Pokémon who lived in the dungeons. It was more common in the past, but there were still some characters who hung out down below. Ziggy was hoping with all his might they would not run into one.
"Hold up!" Sparks exclaimed, stopping everyone so quickly that Ziggy nearly rammed into Kona's back. He briefly panicked, thinking they had run into the very Pokémon he had been worrying about.
"What is it?" Kona asked.
Once Sparks was sure they had all stopped, he angled his badge downwards for them to see. In front of him, there was an opening in the middle of the passageway along the right side. Honestly it was more of a hole than a passage, since it sloped down at a sharply steep angle. If Sparks hadn't noticed it, everyone in the group would have stepped their right paw down into the hole.
"Oh crap…" Rico remarked.
"Well, we found the way down…" Sparks said.
"Yeesh. That's pretty steep," Kona commented, "It almost looks like the top of a waterslide but without the water."
"All right, everybody be careful stepping around this thing. There's not a lot of room," Sparks then said, gesturing for everyone to follow. He then very carefully and precariously sidled across the other side of the passageway. As he was the largest of the group he was barely able to keep his paws on flat ground, but soon made it to the other side safely.
Kona followed after him, with Sparks keeping his badge light trained on the hole so it was visible, and then they both turned to Ziggy. It was his turn.
Ziggy gulped and nervously pointed his flashlight at the hole. The beam of light jittered from his trembling paws. Even with two sources of light trained on the hole, he couldn't see where it ended up. Just a steep slope that seemed to run down into the depths of nothing. It was a fairly smooth-looking surface, though with some odd rocks and stones here and there that somehow managed to cling onto the steep grade. It would not be a pleasant experience to fall down that thing.
"C'mon, Ziggy," Sparks called to him, "You can make it. You're a lot smaller than the two of us, so you've got a lot of room."
"Don't look down," Kona said, "Just look at us and go slowly."
"I-I…" Ziggy stammered. He had been on the edge of panic this entire time, and the prospect of sidling past this deep hole was not helping matters.
"Ziggy…" Sparks said in a firm but encouraging voice, "You can do it. Just don't panic and you'll be fine. Trust me."
Finally, Ziggy managed to tear his eyes away from the deadly, evil hole. He angled his flashlight over towards Sparks, who was giving him a reassuring smile. He was holding out his paw so that Ziggy could grab it once he got close enough.
An audible whimper echoed through the caves, but Ziggy then shook his head and took a few quick breaths to try and calm his nerves. "Okay…Okay…" he whispered. He moved to the left and pressed himself as close as he could to the wall opposite the hole. He held his flashlight in his right paw, leaned his back against the wall, and started to slowly inch his way forwards.
"That's it. You've got it…" Sparks said.
Ziggy held his left paw out towards Sparks' paw, even though he wasn't nearly close enough to grab it yet. Seconds passed by that felt like years as Ziggy slowly, ever so slowly, sidled past the hole. He could feel his whole body quivering with nervousness, but it couldn't be helped. He kept his gaze locked on Sparks, tried to keep his breathing under control, and just kept shuffling his paws as much as he dared.
Eventually, his gaze drifted and ended up looking back down the hole again before he even realized he was doing it. He gasped and froze on the spot, feeling a painful spike of panic shoot up his spine.
He then gasped again as he was suddenly grabbed by his paw and yanked over to the side. He yelped loudly before he suddenly found himself in the fuzzy embrace of the large Raichu.
"Gotcha!" Sparks exclaimed.
Ziggy's heart missed a couple of beats, and then a cold shiver ran through his body when he realized what had happened. He was past the hole and safely in the grasp of Sparks. He'd made it. Ziggy let out a shuddering breath and finally allowed himself to relax a little.
He looked up at Sparks, who smiled down at him. Sparks then looked back across to the other side, and Ziggy turned his head to look as well. He ended up looking just in time to see Rico leap across the hole.
"Rico!" Sparks immediately scolded him, "Don't be an idiot. The last thing we need is for someone to get hurt while we're down here."
"Hey, relax. I made it just fine," Rico replied.
"Seriously, Rico. I don't want to have to go back to the guild and tell Terry you fell down a hole and broke your leg."
This seemed to immediately sober the Riolu up. "You're right," he said in a quieter voice, "I'm sorry."
Sparks nodded. He released Ziggy from his embrace and turned around. "Okay, so the next room is right here, actually." Ziggy glanced over Sparks' shoulder and saw that the passage did indeed open up into another empty room.
"Hey, you mind if I take point for a while?" Rico asked.
"Why?"
"We're not havin' much luck so far, so maybe I'll have better luck? You never know…" Rico moved past Kona to stand right behind Sparks.
The Raichu started moving into the room. "I mean, I guess we can do that…"
Rico took that as his cue to immediately squeeze past Sparks and enter the room first. "Cool. Let's go left!"
"Hey, easy now…" Sparks said, "Keep your head cool."
"Look! The left passageway's wider, too! It'll be easier to walk down."
"You sure? Something tells me that the wider passage won't lead to the entrance. Remember, the entrance was small enough that large Pokémon couldn't fit through it…"
Kona walked off to join the others in the room, but Ziggy didn't follow. He was only vaguely aware that the others had left him, because he was focusing on something else.
Ziggy had heard a noise. While Sparks and Rico had been bantering, he swore that he'd heard a noise that didn't sound like either of their voices. When they had gone into the room, he'd heard it again.
It was a quiet, rather high-pitched noise. It definitely didn't sound natural, like the sound of dripping water or falling pebbles. Ziggy remained standing there, trying his best to listen. The others were still talking in the room, and Ziggy was about to ask them to be quiet when he heard it again.
Ziggy's head, as well as his flashlight, turned towards the hole. The very same hole he had just sidled past. The noise was coming from inside of it. Ziggy's curiosity only grew, and he furrowed his brow in confusion. He took a small step closer to the hole and strained to listen again. It was like a sound that he knew. It almost sounded like…
…a voice.
Ziggy leaned his head down, bringing his ear as close to the hole as he dared. For a moment he heard nothing, but then he heard it once more. A quiet, almost imperceptible sound that was coming from down the hole. He was certain he could hear it. It almost sounded like sniffling, or crying.
He then took another small step forward to try and listen more closely, and that's when disaster struck. Something beneath his paw came loose, causing his paw to slip forward right into the hole. Ziggy yelped in surprise as he suddenly lost his balance entirely, falling onto his backside. Gravity took its course immediately and Ziggy instantly started to slide down the hole. He scrambled with his paws to find something to hold onto, but there was nothing he could grab.
"Ziggy!"
Without even a chance to call out for help, Ziggy began to slide down the steep, smooth rock slope of the hole. Like a playground ride from hell, he quickly found himself sliding and tumbling down uncontrollably with the light of his flashlight whipping about randomly and creating a horrifying vision of flashing brightness and darkness. It was utter chaos, overloading his senses completely. He had no idea what was happening, or even which way was up and down. It was one of the most horribly disorienting experiences of his life.
When then awful ride was finally over, Ziggy found himself lying in a heap on a cave floor. He groaned in pain, feeling like somebody had just literally beaten him up. Nothing felt severely damaged, but he certainly had some aches and bruises from his tumble. With a grunt of discomfort, he hauled himself up off the ground and into a sitting position.
"Ziggy? Ziggy, can you hear me?"
He could hear the Raichu's voice echoing down to him, which was a relief. At least he could still hear Sparks. Ziggy held a paw to his head and groaned once more. When he opened his eyes, he saw mostly darkness.
"Ziggy?"
"I'm okay…!" he called out, hoping his voice carried far enough to be heard.
A loud sigh of relief could be heard. "Thank Arceus… Are you hurt, Ziggy?" Sparks called down to him.
"No, I think I'm okay…"
Still feeling a little disoriented, Ziggy tried to look around once more. He realized, perhaps a bit belatedly, that he wasn't seeing complete pitch blackness and could still make out the vague shapes of rocks and the walls. He turned and looked over his shoulder, and was grateful to see his flashlight lying on the ground nearby. It was still illuminated and seemed to still be working properly. He leaned over to pick it up.
"Where are you, Ziggy?" Sparks called to him, "Where did you end up? Can you see anything?"
"J-just a minute…" Ziggy called back. He held his flashlight up and started using it to scan his surroundings. His heart was still beating fast from the frightening experience he'd just had, and he could feel the slowly building sense of panic with the realization that he was now separated from Sparks and the others.
The light of the flashlight revealed, to Ziggy's dismay, a room that looked exactly like all the other rooms they had been traversing thus far. Besides the opening of the shaft that had led him down here in the first place, nothing distinct stood out to him. There was just one other exit on the far side. That feeling of panic started to grow as he realized just how much trouble he'd gotten himself into. His breathing started to quicken, he started to sweat, and his paws trembled so much that he nearly dropped the flashlight multiple times. Ziggy continued to move the flashlight's beam across the room, but all he saw was an endless field of colourless grey walls, rocks and floors.
Suddenly, a flash of blue!
The small creature gasped in terror. Ziggy himself gasped a moment later. There was a moment of complete silence as Ziggy sat still, holding the flashlight in place, in utter disbelief.
"…Hey!" Ziggy eventually called out, "H-hey, it's you!"
He leaned forward and tried to shine the flashlight at a better angle. Across from him on the other side of the room, sitting huddled under a tiny overhanging slab of rock that jutted out from the wall, was a little Nidoran cub. The little Pokémon was curled up in a ball, trying to make herself look as small as possible. Her large ears were pinned tightly against her head, her tiny whiskers were drooping, and her eyes were as wide as dinner plates. She was quivering even more than Ziggy was.
Ziggy started to crawl with three paws towards her. "Oh my gosh, it's really you!"
The Nidoran whimpered and tried to scuttle backwards, even though there was no room left for her to go anywhere.
Immediately, Ziggy stopped. "N-no, no, no," he said, "Don't be afraid. I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm…W-we're here to help you."
Her demeanour didn't change, however. She simply curled up even tighter, trying to squeeze herself back into her little corner as much as physically possible.
"You're…um…" Ziggy thought for a moment before he remembered. "You're Zuri, right?"
The Nidoran perked up just slightly, her breath hitching in her throat for a brief moment.
"You're Zuri, the lost cub?" Ziggy asked, crawling forward a few more steps. Unfortunately, this caused the Nirodan to panic and try crawling backwards again, so Ziggy stopped once more. "No, please…I…I'm not a bad guy. I'm not gonna hurt you." He then realized that she likely couldn't see him because of the blinding light, so he turned the flashlight around so it lit up his face instead. "See?" he asked, "I-I'm nice!"
There was no response. At first, Ziggy was afraid that she had bolted the moment the light was off of her. However, when he turned the flashlight back around, she was still frozen in the same spot. Ziggy could see that terror had taken hold of her hard. He could remember a few times in his life when fear had gripped him as hard as that, to the point where normal things didn't even make sense anymore.
"Zuri," he said, speaking in a quiet voice, "We're…here to rescue you. W-we came down so we could find you. Um…" Still, Ziggy's words didn't really seem to have much of an impact. A moment passed, and Ziggy realized what it was he needed to say. "Your mom sent us down here, Zuri."
Finally, this seemed to have the intended effect. She lifted her head slightly, her ears perking up just a bit. "M…M-mommy…?" she squeaked, her voice almost inaudible, "Y…Y-y…You know…m-my mommy…?"
Ziggy nodded earnestly. "Yeah! Yeah, she's…she's, uh… up there waiting for you." He then furrowed his brow and racked his brains. He knew what he was looking for, he had heard the others say it, so why couldn't he remember it? Ziggy closed his eyes for a moment and thought hard, playing back in his memory everything he could remember about what the others had talked to him about.
"Asha!" he exclaimed finally, "Your mom's name is Asha. She's a Nidoqueen, and she…contacted the guild to rescue you."
Zuri perked up completely, her big ears rising all the way up. For a moment there was silence as she stared at Ziggy with a look of shock. A tense couple of seconds passed. Then, Zuri suddenly scrambled to her paws and scurried out of her hiding spot as quickly as she could, running straight towards Ziggy.
The Buizel grunted as Zuri practically threw herself at him and latched onto him with a tightly gripping hug. "Ah! Wh…?"
Zuri clutched his torso tightly, hugging herself to him and shivering profusely. She immediately began to cry. The weeping of the terrified young cub was like a dagger to his heart. The Nidoran nuzzled herself into his fur, leaving Ziggy unsure of what to do besides to gently hug her back.
"H-hey…Calm down…" he said, trying to keep uncertainty out of his voice, "I-it's okay…"
"I…I'm so scared!" she cried.
"Oh… Oh, I know…" Ziggy said, giving her a pat on the back, "I know what it's like to be scared…But it's okay now. I…We found you."
"I'm really scared! I don't like it down here! I wanna go home! I want my mommy!"
"Hey, c'mon…C'mon…" Ziggy said, "T-try to relax, okay…" He tried to think of other things Pokémon had said to him before when he was upset. "Um…N-no need to worry, all right? I'm here…for you…"
Zuri sniffled and seemed to calm down a little bit. She stopped gripping him so tightly, which Ziggy was thankful for as the Nidoran had some sharp claws. She raised her head and looked up at him. Ziggy had dropped the flashlight when she had tackled him, and it was laying nearby in a way that just barely illuminated the both of them. As such, he could see the fear in her eyes, but he saw something else. Something he hadn't really expected to see.
Trust.
She sniffled again and said in a soft voice, "Y-you're here to rescue me?"
"Uh…" Ziggy murmured. He thought about being truthful about the fact that he was a rookie at this whole business and wasn't even supposed to be down here in the first place, but he didn't want to shake her confidence any worse than it already was or confuse her. "Yeah," he said, "Yeah, me and my friends came down here to rescue you."
A small smile briefly graced her lips. "Th-thank you…"
"Heh…N-no problem…"
"…Ziggy? Answer me, Ziggy!"
With a gasp, Ziggy realized that he hadn't been paying attention to anything else. Sparks had been shouting at him from the top of the hole, and he had only belatedly registered this in his mind. Sparks sounded very worried, so Ziggy tried to crawl back over to where the hole was. He at first tried to take Zuri off of him and set her down, but she fussed when he did. She didn't seem to want to let go, so Ziggy just settled for shifting along the ground on his backside until he was back at the hole.
"Yeah, I'm here! I'm here, Sparks!" he called up.
Ziggy heard a rather loud sigh of relief from the other end. "Don't do that, Ziggy! You scared me half to death! I thought something had happened to you."
"Sorry…" Ziggy grimaced.
"Well, anyway…" Sparks continued, "There's other entrances to that room down there, right?"
"Just one," he answered.
"Okay, well listen! Kona and I are gonna try to find our way down to your level and then look for you. Stay where you are and don't wander off, okay? Rico's gonna stay here at the top of the shaft and keep talking to you."
"All right!" Ziggy called back.
"Just stay put until we find you!"
Ziggy glanced down at Zuri, who looked scared and confused, and then called out once more. "I found her!"
There was a noticeable pause. "…What?"
"The Nidoran cub! I found her!"
"You…Really? Are you serious?"
"Yeah! She's right here with me."
Another pause, and then Sparks shouted down in a happier tone, with just a touch of disbelief. "Well…Great! That's fantastic! Is she okay?"
"She's fine, I think," Ziggy replied, "She's just scared."
"Um, all right…Let's see…" Sparks said, "Same plan, I guess. Just stay down there with her and we'll come find you. Rico can call us with his badge, so yell at him if anything comes up."
"All right…"
"We're gonna head out now, so we'll see you soon. Stay strong, Zig!" A moment later, Ziggy could just barely hear the sound of a pair of pawsteps heading away.
"You really found the lost cub?" Rico called down a minute later, "That's awesome! Nice job, Ziggy!"
"Aw, well…" Ziggy replied, blushing a little under the praise. He then looked down at Zuri, who had been silent during the whole exchange. Ziggy picked up the flashlight, which had been discarded on the ground nearby, and set it up next to them so that it was standing on its end. The light from it pointed straight upwards and managed to light up their immediate surroundings somewhat.
"Who was…?" she whispered to him once they could properly see.
"They're my friends," Ziggy replied, "My…my team, I guess. Guildmembers. A rescue team from the Rescue Society."
"Are they gonna help us…?"
Ziggy nodded. "Definitely. I was talking to Sparks, and…Well, he's amazing. He's probably the most amazing Pokémon I know. Once he finds us, I know we're gonna be out of here in no time."
Zuri nodded, seeming a bit relaxed upon hearing that. She was still hugging him tightly, so after a little bit of coaxing Ziggy finally managed to convince her to instead sit down next to him. "Um…What's your name?" she asked him.
"Oh. Uh, my name's Ziggy."
This caused her to giggle and say, "That's a funny name."
Ziggy frowned and said, "What do you mean…?"
"It's silly!" she chirped, "I like it!"
"Oh… Well, if you like it, I suppose…"
"Mr. Ziggy Wiggy!" she said with another giggle.
Ziggy gave her a perplexed look. It was astounding to see how quickly she had shifted from fright to bubbly laughter. He wasn't sure what to say in response to the nickname she had just created for him, so he simply moved on. "So, uh, what happened? How'd you end up down here?"
She stopped giggling and her smile faltered. "I didn't see the hole and I fell in," she replied, "I tried to climb back up, but it was dark and I couldn't see. I heard mom calling for me, but then I couldn't anymore. I tried to turn around and look for the light, but then I fell down another hole…and so I just stayed here until you found me."
"Heh…" Ziggy spoke, "Well…It's good that we found you."
"It's really, really scary in here…" Zuri murmured, "It's cold, and I'm hungry…"
"I wish I had food to give you…" Ziggy said, recalling that the food was in Kona's backpack, which was still up on the surface.
"I'm scared…"
"Hey, don't worry," Ziggy said, "We'll be out of here soon. Just…Just a little longer…" However, he frowned as he took another look at the room around them. He was again reminded of just how frightening the situation was and how terrified he was. He didn't want to freak out in front of Zuri, but that was easier said than done.
He looked back at Zuri and noticed she was doing the same thing. She was also worriedly looking around.
"H-hey, um… Why don't we talk about something else until Sparks gets here?" he asked her.
"L-like what?" she replied. It was somewhat eerie to hear her speak in the same nervous, stuttering voice as him.
"Like…anything you want. Um…" Ziggy thought back to things others had asked when they were trying to learn about him. "What's…your favourite colour?"
Ziggy and Zuri spent quite a while sitting alone in the cave. It was hard to keep track of time, but it felt like at least a half an hour had passed.
However, they had spent the time in relative comfort at least. Being that she was so young, Ziggy found it was easy to distract Zuri from the scariness and have her talk about something else. He spent most of his time just listening to her talk about her life, her likes and dislikes, and anything else that came to her mind.
Rico called down from the top of the shaft every once in a while to make sure they were doing okay, and that was enough to give Ziggy some peace of mind. It was relieving to know that, no matter what his panicked mind was trying to tell him, he had not been abandoned. Sparks and his friends were looking for them. Eventually Rico had informed them that Sparks and Kona had found a passage that led downwards, so now it was only a matter of time before they found the room Ziggy was in.
"Mr. Ziggy Wiggy?"
Ziggy tried to keep from wincing. She had taken to calling him that and he wasn't exactly fond of the nickname, but he let it slide. "Yeah?"
"I hope your flashlight doesn't run out…"
Eyes widened, Ziggy glanced over at where he had placed the flashlight. Once again, it was standing up, casting light similar to how a lamp would and lighting up the both of them. He hadn't even considered the flashlight running out of power. "…Y-yeah," he said, "I hope not…"
"I hope mommy's not mad at me…"
"Don't be silly," Ziggy replied, "Your mom's worried about you. She's the one who called us in, remember?
"But what if she's mad that I got lost? She doesn't like it when I run off, because she says she doesn't want me to get lost…"
Frowning, Ziggy looked her right in the eyes. "She won't," he said, "She's going to be really, really happy to see you. She's definitely not going to be mad at you because she loves y-" Ziggy suddenly hiccupped before he could finish his sentence. He cleared his throat and tried to repeat the sentence, but found he couldn't.
Zuri looked up at him with concerned eyes. "Mr. Ziggy…?" she spoke softly.
His thoughts were then interrupted when he heard a noise. Zuri's ears perked, indicating that she heard it too. It sounded like pawsteps. Zuri gasped in fright and suddenly pounced onto Ziggy, hugging him tightly in fear.
Ziggy reached for the flashlight with a trembling paw. His heart pounded heavy in his chest as he held it up towards the passageway leading out of the room. He held his breath and listened closely. Those were definitely pawsteps, and they were coming closer.
"…Ziggy?"
A rush of elation and relief washed over the Buizel and he immediately relaxed. "Sparks?" he called back.
"Ziggy? Is that you?"
"Yeah! In here, Sparks!" Ziggy sighed and leaned back a little. He kept the flashlight pointed out the passageway, hoping that Sparks would be able to see the light from it. Soon enough, a second source of light started emitting from the opening. A moment later, from around the corner, a very welcome sight stepped into the room.
Sparks looked over at Ziggy and then made a beeline for him. Kona entered a moment later and followed behind him. "Ziggy! Oh, thank Arceus, am I glad to see you!" Sparks exclaimed.
Ziggy tried to stand up, but then remembered that there was a Nidoran hugging him. She didn't seem keen on moving, so after a moment of thought he reached his own paws around to support her backside. Now somewhat carrying her, he was able to gracelessly stand up.
When Sparks reached him, he bent over for a moment and stood there panting. "What a relief…" he murmured.
"Thank goodness…" Ziggy said, "I was really worried."
"You sure you're okay?" Sparks asked once he stood up straight again, "That looked like a nasty fall."
Ziggy chuckled and said, "It was more like a slide. No, I'm fine Sparks."
Sparks nodded, satisfied with the answer. He then leaned his face in closer to the Nidoran that was still clutching his torso tightly. "Hello there," he said in a soft, sweet voice, "You must be Zuri."
Zuri had turned her head to look at Sparks, but Ziggy could feel that she was still shivering. She didn't say anything in response.
"Zuri," he said to her, "This is Sparks. The one I was talking to earlier. He's my friend and he's here to help you."
"Well, I'm glad we found you," Sparks said, "Or, rather Ziggy was the one who found you. What a lucky break, hm?"
When Zuri still didn't say anything, Ziggy gave her a little nudge and said, "You can trust him, Zuri. I… There's nobody I trust more than Sparks." He saw Sparks gaze up at him for a moment with an appreciative smile.
Finally, Zuri said something. "H…H-hi…"
"Oh, it's because I'm big, right?" Sparks said with a quiet chuckle, "Don't worry, we're part of the team that's gonna get you out of here. Speaking of which, we should get on that right away. I think we've all spent a little too much time down here." Sparks then sat up straight and tapped his badge. "We found 'em, Rico!"
The Riolu's voice responded, though not through Sparks' badge. Rather, it could be heard shouted down the chasm Ziggy had fallen into. "I'm up here, you dork! I can hear you guys talking!"
"I'm using the badge for clarity!" Sparks retorted.
While he and Rico bantered with one another, Kona walked over towards Ziggy. "Hey, Zig," he said with a smile, "Holdin' out okay?"
"Um…Yeah, sorta," he replied, "But…I really wanna get out of here now."
"Heh. I think we all do." Kona then leaned in to address Zuri, like Sparks had done. "Hi, sweetheart…"
"Hello…" she replied in a very soft voice.
Kona looked up at Ziggy and chuckled. "Looks like you made a friend." The Dewott stood up straight and looked Ziggy right in the eyes. "You're being very brave right now," he said quietly.
"…Y-yeah, well…" Ziggy murmured, unsure of how to respond to a statement like that.
"All right!" Sparks said, getting everyone's attention, "I gave Rico directions to get to the top of where we came down to this floor. We'll meet him there, and then get the heck out of here. Let's not waste any more time, okay? If there's nothing else that needs to be addressed, let's go."
Nobody had anything to bring up, so Sparks gave everyone a determined nod. Kona walked over towards the passageway, but Sparks approached Ziggy instead. "Here," he said, "I should hold her because I'm bigger."
Ziggy agreed with the logic and nodded. Sparks then reached out and gently grasped the Nidoran by her shoulders. When he started to lift her, though, she began to fuss. She looked up at Ziggy with a distressed look and shook her head. "What? What's wrong?" he asked her, while Sparks stopped trying to lift her. She just whined softly and gripped him tighter. "Don't worry," Ziggy reassured her, "You can trust Sparks. He's really, really nice and gentle. Besides, you'll probably be a lot more comfortable if he's carrying you."
He tried again to pull her away from her embrace but she just whined softly and shook her head. Ziggy frowned and looked up at Sparks helplessly.
Sparks let her go entirely. "I think she only wants you to carry her," he remarked.
"Uh…"
"Can you carry her while you walk?" he asked, tilting his head.
Ziggy looked down at the Nidoran. "Um…I think so… Maybe if- Hey, Zuri? Can you, like, hold onto my shoulder with your forepaws?"
Zuri looked up and him and nodded. Right away, she carefully climbed up out of the cradle of his forepaws and gripped onto his shoulder. Her backside remained resting supported by Ziggy's left paw, but now his right paw was free. As such, he was able to bend down and pick up his flashlight.
"That gonna work?" Sparks asked.
"I guess."
"You sure you wanna ride with him?" Sparks then asked the cub. When she nodded, he shrugged and said, "Okay, that's fine. But if Ziggy gets tired, one of us will have to carry you. Okay? You don't want to tire him out, right?"
"N-no…" Zuri whispered.
"It's fine," Ziggy said, "Can I walk between you guys?"
"I was going to suggest that myself. Anyway, are you ready? We should really get moving."
The atmosphere inside of the Mystery Dungeon felt strangely calm as Ziggy and the others moved through it.
He was still carrying Zuri, who was holding on to him tightly but also looking around in nervous curiosity. Her eyes tended to follow wherever Ziggy's flashlight was pointing. His arm was getting a little tired holding her up, but it wasn't too bad. He didn't mind if it made her more comfortable during the rescue.
Sparks had easily managed to lead him back to where he and Kona had descended, and at the top of the sloped passageway they met up with Rico. From there they had continued onto another empty room and were now traversing down what Ziggy hoped would be their last corridor.
"Mr. Ziggy…?" Zuri whispered into his ear.
"Yeah?" he whispered back.
"I don't like it down here…"
He shook his head and said, "Me neither."
"We're almost out of here," Rico chimed in from behind him.
Zuri looked over Ziggy's shoulder at him but didn't say anything. Throughout the adventure so far, she didn't seem keen on talking to any of the other Pokémon besides Ziggy for some reason.
"Wait! Hold on!" Sparks called out from the front, "I think I see light! Let me turn off my badge and see…" There was a short pause and then he happily proclaimed, "That's light! We found the entrance!"
"Finally!" Kona groaned.
The group moved into the room, and Ziggy looked up to see a very welcome sight. There was a small hole in the roof of the room, off to the side near one of the walls, where light was streaming in. Even with all of the badge lights in the room below, the opening was wide enough to let in sufficient light to be seen clearly.
Ziggy let out a huge sigh. A massive cloud of anxiousness he had been holding in finally dissipated as the sensation of being trapped underground went away. They could get out now. They would return to the safer outside world. It was right there.
Sparks walked forwards and aimed his badge light up towards the hole. "Mmm…" he murmured in thought. His light revealed that there was a slope leading up to the hole, rather than it just being a hole in the ceiling with no way to access it. However, the slope was incredibly steep and didn't look easily traversable.
"Goodness! You fell down that, Zuri?" Kona asked, "It's a wonder you weren't badly hurt…"
Ziggy was also looking at the slope in worry. The others had talked about the entrance to the Mystery Dungeon being a small cave opening between some rocks, but he hadn't realized there would be a massive drop on the other side. No wonder Zuri hadn't been able to find her way back out.
"Well, that's not exactly typical…" Sparks remarked, "Most Mystery Dungeons you can just walk into…"
"What's the plan, Sparks?" Kona asked. Ziggy looked over at the Raichu as well. He had been wondering the same thing, but probably would have asked it in a much more worried way.
Sparks turned to look at Rico. "What d'ya think? Can you climb up there?"
"Eh, it'll be tricky…" Rico replied, "But no sweat. You want me to go up first?"
"Yes. Climb up and exit the cave, then head back to where we left all of our stuff and get some rope. We'll use that to get the rest of us out."
Rico grinned excitedly and saluted. "Sounds like a plan!"
"Just be careful, Rico," Sparks warned, "And especially once you're up there, walk back to our stuff really carefully because there might be more sinkholes."
A few minutes later, the plan was put into effect. Sparks instructed both Kona and Ziggy to point their lights at where Rico was climbing so he could see. Ziggy watched anxiously as the Riolu scaled up the steep slope with relative swiftness. He had never really seen Rico in action before and was impressed at how agile he was. It took him no time at all to climb up the rocky slope with just his paws and make his way to the top.
Rico then stood on a single flat rock that rested at the top of the slope, half-embedded in the wall and almost directly underneath the opening up above. Ziggy could see that this would be the most challenging part as, opposed to climbing a slope, Rico now had to go straight up. The Riolu stood carefully on the rock for a few moments, looking like he was considering his options.
"Can you make it?" Sparks called up to him.
"It's raining!" Rico called back.
"It is?"
"Yeah, so the opening is a bit wet and slippery…"
Sparks grumbled softly for a moment. "Well, be careful up there and take a look. See if it's possible to-Rico!" The Raichu cut himself off when, in the middle of his sentence, Rico suddenly jumped straight up towards the opening with his paws outstretched. He grabbed onto something unseen, likely the rocky edge of the cave opening or something, and hung there precariously. Ziggy's breath caught in his throat, but then a few seconds later Rico managed to scramble up and out of sight.
"I'm up!" the Riolu called back down.
"Rico, are you nuts? You could have fallen and broken your neck!" Sparks shouted.
"Don't worry about it. I'm fine," Rico replied, "I'm gonna go get the rope now. Hang tight!"
Ziggy glanced over at Sparks and saw the Raichu sigh heavily and pinch his muzzle. "That boy needs a crash course in common sense…" he murmured.
"Don't stress out, Sparks," Kona said, "The important thing is that he made it up there unharmed."
"I do not want to be the Pokémon to have to go back to the guild and tell Terry that his boyfriend just cracked his skull open…"
The cave was silent for a moment. "That's fair…" Kona eventually commented, "I wouldn't wish that on anybody…"
Sparks shook his head and sighed again. "Whatever. You're right. I won't dwell on it. Rico's out of danger now, and soon enough we will be too."
"I understand where you're coming from, though," Kona said, "Terry would be heartbroken even if Rico just got a broken leg… or a sprained ankle."
"Heh…" Sparks chuckled wryly, "Those two are cute together."
"They really are. They've gotten a lot more comfortable being affectionate around the rest of us lately. Things must be going well between the two of them."
While Sparks and Kona continued to talk about the guild's young couple, Ziggy turned his attention to Zuri. The Nidoran was still hanging off of him, and looked up at him with big curious eyes. "We're almost out," Ziggy said to her in a quiet voice, "Just a bit longer."
"Is mommy out there…?" she asked.
"Uh… No, I think your mom's waiting back at the road, or with the police…or something. She's somewhere safe."
"Mr. Ziggy, I'm scared…"
Ziggy paused for a moment, looking into her frightened eyes, and said, "I am too. A little bit. But, we gotta get out of here, so we're just gonna havta be brave…"
Rico returned a short while later, making his presence known by calling down from the surface. He informed the others that he'd gotten a rope and tied it to a nearby tree. He then tossed the rest of the rope down, which unraveled and fell to the dungeon floor. Sparks walked over and picked it up. There was a lot of extra length, enough to span the distance from the floor back up to the surface again.
"All right," Sparks said authoritatively, "Kona first, Ziggy second, me last. Kona, you lead the way, and Ziggy you stay close behind him and watch where he steps. I'll bring up the rear so I can catch you in case you slip."
Ziggy gulped and looked over at Kona, who smiled at him encouragingly. The Dewott had already picked up the rope and wrapped it around his wrists to better grip it. Ziggy quickly realized that he wouldn't be able to hold his flashlight while climbing, so he gave it back to Sparks who stowed it in his backpack. The relative darkness returned as Ziggy nervously picked up a length of the rope in line behind Kona and tried to mimic how he was holding it.
He quickly realized that there was no way he could climb up and still hold onto Zuri like he was doing. He looked down at her and thought for a moment. "Um… Okay, Zuri? D'you think you can ride on my back and hold onto my ring?" he asked, pointing to the floatation ring around his neck.
"Won't that hurt?"
Yes, it would be quite an uncomfortable experience. "No, I'll be fine," he lied.
He bent forward while Zuri awkwardly clambered over the Buizel until she was on his back. He felt her grab hold of his ring with her paws and he stifled a whine. She wasn't squeezing it too hard, but was still squeezing it enough so that she could hold on while he stood back up. It felt like somebody was very gently choking him, but he ignored the discomfort.
"Will that work, Zig?" Sparks asked, "I was about to suggest she ride on my back, but it would be better if she was on you."
"It's fine," he said, "Let's just get out of here…"
"Couldn't agree more. All right, let's get climbing. Take it slow, watch your step, and I'm gonna stay real close behind you so I'll definitely catch you if you slip."
"Oh gosh…" Ziggy murmured, trying not to let his fear slip into his voice for Zuri's sake.
"I've got my tail around the rope. I'm not gonna fall if I have to catch you. You'll be fine."
"Okay…Okay, let's do this," Ziggy said, suppressing a shiver. The truth was that he wasn't exactly a stranger to climbing things. If it wasn't for the darkness, he probably would have felt confident in climbing up on his own like Rico had done. It was something he had gotten good at in his days on the streets, as it helped him evade prying eyes.
He was worried because of the Nidoran on his back.
Ahead of him, illuminated by both Sparks' badge and the light from the surface above, Kona started to climb. Ziggy watched how he held the rope around his wrists and basically used it for support while climbing up the steep terrain. Once Kona was a short distance up, Ziggy started to climb as well. As he started to fight against gravity, the feeling of Zuri hanging off of his ring really started to hurt. He grit his teeth and just focused on getting to the top. This nightmare was almost over.
The climb wasn't quite as difficult as it had seemed from the bottom. It wasn't a straight vertical wall they were going up, and there were plenty of flat-ish places to step with his paws. He kept a death grip on the rope and tried his best to stay calm. It was difficult to use the calming breathing techniques Sparks had taught him because of Zuri, though.
When he was about halfway up, he stopped for a moment to catch his breath. As he did, a wave of panic suddenly washed over him as the reality of what he was doing hit him hard. Images of Zuri losing her grip and falling all the way back down filled his mind and he tried his best to chase them away. "Sparks?" he called out.
"I'm still here," he replied, "Right behind you."
"Okay…Okay, good."
Ziggy just took a breath and focused on climbing. He knew he was almost there. Kona was practically at the top already. He just had to keep going and trust that Sparks would indeed be there to catch him.
To his relief, they made it up without anything happening. Kona was standing on the flat-ish rock that Rico had stood on before clambering up and out of the hole. Rico was shorter than the three of them, and so Kona was able to reach up and touch the hole with his paws. He couldn't quite reach the ground up above, though.
Ziggy then watched as Kona used the rope to physically climb up the remaining distance. The Dewott gripped the rope, paw over paw, and lifted himself upwards. A moment later he reached up and grabbed something and was subsequently pulled up and out of the hole. Ziggy realized a moment later that Rico had grabbed onto him and pulled him up.
"Woo!" Kona's voice echoed from outside, "Made it!"
"All right… Your turn, buddy," Sparks spoke up from behind him.
Ziggy wanted to look back at him, but he couldn't turn his head with Zuri hanging off of him. More anxiousness started to cloud over him as he pulled himself up to the flat-ish rock as well. From there, he stood almost directly under the hole. A few errant raindrops from the outside fell onto his head. He looked up and saw that Kona was staring back down at him. "Uh…" Ziggy murmured in uncertainty.
"Okay…How're we gonna do this?" Kona asked.
"Ziggy and Zuri aren't going to fit through the hole at the same time," Sparks observed.
"I think you're gonna have to pass her up to me," Kona said, "You should be able to reach."
"Uhh…" Ziggy murmured again. He glanced down at his paws, both of which were still tightly gripping the rope. He may have been 'standing' at the moment, but he didn't exactly feel secure in his footing. If he tried to lift Zuri up above him in this state, he was sure he would lose his balance and drop her, and the thought made him shiver.
"Here…" Sparks said. Ziggy heard him clamber up the rope some more. There was a silent pause, and then Ziggy gasped when he suddenly felt two paws against his back. "I've got you. Go ahead."
"What?" Ziggy blurted out.
"I'm holding onto the rope with my tail and I'm propping you up. You can let go of the rope and lift her up. I've got you, buddy."
"B-but, Sparks…"
"Don't worry, Zig! I promise I've got you. Just get her out of the cave. Do it quickly but carefully."
"Um…" Ziggy gulped. "A-all right…" He looked down at his paws again. He was about to let go of the rope. The rope he had been using to basically scale up a wall. The rope that was keeping him from falling down to a horrible painful death on the cave floor below. Every single cell in his brain was screaming at him that letting go of the rope was something he should absolutely not do.
But, Ziggy felt Sparks' paws against his back. They felt strong, and sturdy. Just like Sparks was.
Ziggy let go of the rope.
His life flashed before his eyes and an almost painful spike of fear jolted straight through his heart like a spear. But he didn't die. Like Sparks had promised, he was being sturdily held up. Once this fact finally processed in Ziggy's brain, he let out the breath he'd been holding.
Okay. Step one done. He knew Sparks couldn't hold him up forever, so he had to keep going. Ziggy then reached back towards Zuri, who had been completely silent through this whole endeavour, and grasped her as tightly around the waist as he could. He heard her whimper as he tried to coax her to let go of his ring. "C-c'mon, Zuri," he said, "I gotta get you out of here."
"I'm scared…" she mewled.
"I-i-it's okay," Ziggy said, cursing himself for being unable to suppress his stammering, "I've got you. We're almost done."
"C'mon, sweetheart," Sparks chimed in, "The quicker we do this, the quicker you can go home!"
Ziggy could hear the Nidoran quietly crying. He tried to grip her a little tighter to show that he could hold her just fine. "Zuri," he pleaded, "Trust me."
"But…"
"Trust me!"
There was a short, agonizing moment of silence. Then, thankfully, Ziggy finally felt the Nidoran's paws loosen and quickly shift from his ring to his paws. She had let go and was hugging his paws instead, allowing Ziggy to bring her back around to his front. He held her up in front of her by her torso, and could see the most terrified expression on her little face.
"Ziggy! Now!" Kona called down.
The Buizel looked up and saw that the Dewott was reaching down into the hole. He quickly raised his own paws and lifted Zuri up as high as he could reach. He grit his teeth and strained himself to stretch upwards as much as possible. At first nothing happened, and Ziggy was afraid that Kona couldn't reach her.
Then, suddenly, he felt Zuri get yanked right out of his paws, causing her to yelp in fright. The sudden loss of her weight on his limbs disoriented Ziggy and upset his balance. He cried out in fear as well, scrambling with his paws for something to hold onto.
"I got you! I got you!" Sparks exclaimed in a strained voice, "Grab the rope! Grab the rope!"
Ziggy, realizing that he wasn't plummeting to his death, looked around him to find where the rope was. He saw it and reached out to grab it with both paws. Once they were securely wrapped around the rope again, a feeling of security finally returned to him. He let out an audible breath of relief.
"You got it?" Sparks said, "Can I let go of you?"
Ziggy carefully wrapped the rope around his wrists like he had been doing before. Once he was sure he felt secure, he said, "I-I got it." He then felt Sparks remove his paws from his back. He looked back at the Raichu, who was busying himself with grabbing the rope with his paws and removing the grip of his tail.
"All right! You come up now, Ziggy," Kona called down, "You need me to grab you?"
For a moment, Ziggy just stood there and caught his breath. His heart was still hammering wildly in his chest, but with it came a feeling of relief. Zuri was no longer clinging to him. She was up on the surface and safe. The burden of that responsibility was no longer weighing on his shoulders. She couldn't fall down anymore.
Glancing up at Kona, he said, "Um…I think I can climb up myself."
"You sure?" Kona replied, "Be careful! It's slippery!"
Ziggy nodded and took a breath. He gave the rope a tug to make sure it was secure and then started to climb. He grasped the rope and pulled himself up the last couple metres from where he stood up to the surface. The familiar task came easily to him, but when he reached up to grab the ledge at the top he was startled when a pair of paws grabbed him. He realized that it was Kona, and allowed himself to be pulled up the rest of the way. A moment later his head and upper half emerged into the outside air. He reached out with his other paw and grabbed onto the nearby grass. With Kona's help, he hauled himself completely out of the hole and rolled himself onto his back.
He lay there panting for a moment, looking up as the gentle rain fell on his body. He was out. He was in the outside world, out of that horrible cave. The clouds were up above. He was breathing fresh air, garnished with the scent of newly-fallen rain. Ziggy had never been happier to be outside in the open in his whole life.
Ziggy then yelped in pain as a weight suddenly landed on his chest and started hugging him. "Mr. Ziggy Wiggy!" exclaimed a young, cheerful voice, "You did it! We're saved! We made it!"
The Buizel looked up to see Zuri basically sitting on his chest and looking down at him. She was halfway to soaked already, but she had the biggest smile. "Ah…H-hey, Zuri…"
"Thank you!" she exclaimed and leaned forward again, wrapping her paws tightly around his neck and squishing his ring painfully. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Ngh! H-hey, c'mon…" Ziggy grunted, "It's n-no big deal…"
Zuri mercifully released him from her suffocating hug. "I was so scared, but then you got the rope, and we climbed up, and you got me up out of the hole and up here, and it's raining but whatever!" She continued to babble on like this endlessly, while Ziggy just watched helplessly from under her.
"Argh!" exclaimed a voice from nearby.
Ziggy immediately sat up. That was Sparks' voice! Zuri tumbled off of him, but landed softly on the grass nearby. He looked over at the cave entrance, where he saw the Raichu was halfway out of the hole. His fur was covered in dirt and was very messy and scruffy. Ziggy could see why, as Sparks could barely fit through the opening.
"I'm gonna punch whoever measured this thing," Sparks grumbled as he struggled to free the rest of himself. Kona was trying to help pull him up by his shoulders, while Rico was off to the side suppressing snickers.
"C'mon, big guy!" Kona said, "We're almost done with this!"
Sparks grit his teeth and struggled for a moment longer. Finally, he managed to haul his lower half up and out of the hole, and was able to fully climb out with his hind paws. His tail was the last part of him to exit the cave, and Sparks immediately collapsed onto his back a moment later.
"I'm gonna say it…" he muttered.
"Sparks, don't," Kona said, giving him a sympathetic smile.
"I'm definitely gonna say it."
"C'mon, you're not-"
"I'm gettin' too old for this…"
Rico was giggling in the background again. "He said it!" Kona meanwhile, just rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"Sparks?" Ziggy spoke up, "Are you okay?"
The Raichu craned his head back and looked at Ziggy while upside down. He then smiled and chuckled before rolling over onto his stomach. "I'm fine, Zig. I'm fine." He then stood up, looked around at the other guildmembers, and simply said, "We did it!"
"Mission successful!" Rico proclaimed.
"Yay!" Zuri chimed in, making Ziggy look down at her. The Nidoran's demeanour had changed completely now that she was safely out of the cave. She looked up at Ziggy and gave him another big, wonderful smile. Even though the rain was falling around them, her smile was like a ray of sunshine.
She was safe now. She was out of the cave completely. The team had accomplished what they had set out to do, even though things had not gone to plan at all. Zuri was out of danger, and it was clear just from her expression that she was full of gratitude.
Perhaps it was just the calming rain falling around them, but Ziggy was almost certain that he felt something. Something that he hadn't felt in countless years.
"Hey, Mr. Ziggy Wiggy?"
Sparks looked over at the Buizel merrily, chuckling softly to himself upon hearing that nickname again. He could tell that Ziggy didn't really like it, but Sparks found it endearing. He reminded himself to have a discussion with Rico about not spreading that nickname to the rest of the guild.
"Yes?" Ziggy replied to the Nidoran who was still being held in his arms. Once again, she had insisted on traveling with Ziggy and didn't want to be carried by anybody else.
The Raichu glanced ahead again, seeing the road coming up in the distance. The group of five were now walking back to the police outpost where Zuri's mother was anxiously waiting. They'd had Rico lead them back to where their supplies were, following the same path he had taken to avoid any further sinkholes. Then they had packed up and were now on the way back. It was still raining, but nobody in the group seemed to care. It felt nice as it washed away the dirt and dust that had gotten in all of their fur from the cave.
"How come you're a different colour?"
Sparks nearly tripped over his own paws. His eyes shot open wide and he looked back at Ziggy in concern. He saw out the corner of his eye that Kona, who was traveling next to him, was also looking back.
Ziggy was looking down at Zuri, an unreadable expression on his face. Sparks couldn't tell if he was upset or triggered by her question. She was just a cub, so she couldn't have meant anything bad by it, but of all the questions to ask.
"'Cus, like…" Zuri added, "There's Buizel in my school, and there's one in my class, and they're all orange."
Sparks cringed. He was about to step in and tactfully answer her, but then Ziggy replied instead.
"Well…" he spoke slowly, "It's…I was just born like this. Some…Pokémon are a different colour…"
There was grief in the Buizel's expression; Sparks could see it. But he had surprisingly kept it out of the tone of his voice. It was clear that Ziggy was dreading what Zuri would say next.
"Really?" she asked softly. When he nodded, she smiled broadly and said, "That's so cool!"
This time Ziggy nearly tripped. "Wh- Huh?'
"I wish I could be a different colour!" she chirped, "I'd wanna be all pink! Every part of me! Super bright hot pink!"
"Ah, well…" Ziggy said, trailing off and looking away with a conflicted expression. It didn't last long, though, as Zuri was soon talking to him about something else. She had been babbling to Ziggy constantly as they walked. It was nice to see that she had taken a shine to him, and perhaps he had to her as well.
In fact, she had kept his attention so much that Ziggy hadn't yet asked for his hoodie.
As the group reached the road itself and started the relatively short walk to the nearby police outpost, Sparks reflected on the crazy adventure they'd just had. Carmen had been pleased to hear him report back to her that the mission was successful, though that was mostly due to Sparks not mentioning Ziggy's involvement. He was going to tell her, no doubt about it, but he decided to wait and tell her in person.
This was definitely not what Sparks had planned when he suggested bringing Ziggy along, but it had worked out pretty well in the end. Hopefully Carmen wouldn't yell at him too much.
It didn't take long to reach the outpost, which was just a small square building with metal walls sitting next to the road. As the group approached, the rain finally decided to let up, and it had stopped entirely by the time they reached the building itself. The sky was still dark and cloudy, but Sparks was glad for the break in the rain.
"She's just around back," Sparks said to the group. He had radioed ahead to the outpost once they were on the surface and they had told him where Asha the Nidoqueen was waiting. Everyone, including Ziggy, nodded at this information and started to walk around to the back of the outpost.
"Mommy's here?" Zuri asked.
"I think so," Ziggy said.
"Mr. Ziggy do you know what she looks like? She's bigger than me and she's all blue!"
"Heh… I'm sure we'll know her when we see her."
While Ziggy and Zuri talked to one another again, Sparks reached out and grabbed Rico by his shoulder. He also used his tail to reach over behind Ziggy and hook gently into Kona's shoulder. The two Pokémon stopped and looked at him, but Sparks just put a paw to his muzzle and made the 'quiet' gesture. He tilted his head towards Ziggy, who was still walking ahead with Zuri. A moment later, the other two nodded in understanding.
The trio remained still while Ziggy continued ahead, unaware that he was walking on his own now. Once he turned the corner, Sparks and the others scurried over so they could furtively peek around.
Behind the building was a small patio area with a few benches of varying sizes for Pokémon to sit on. At the far end, on one of the larger benches, sat a very anxious-looking Nidoqueen. She was wringing her paws and fidgeting in her seat. Because the awning above her had protected her from the rain, it was easy to see even at a distance that she had been crying recently.
"Mommy!"
Asha's head shot up like it was spring-loaded. She looked over in the direction Zuri's voice had come from and her eyes lit up when she saw her cub cradled in Ziggy's paws. She immediately stood up and ran, much faster than a Nidoqueen could usually run, fresh tears streaming from her eyes. Ziggy shrunk back slightly, visibly intimidated by the much larger Pokémon charging directly at him. But then, Zuri squirmed out of his grasp and leapt out of his paws, jumping directly into the welcoming embrace of her mother.
"Zuri!" she cried.
"Mommy!"
"Oh, Zuri! My sweet baby girl! You're all right! Zuri, sweetheart, I thought I would never see you again!" Asha hugged her daughter tightly and nuzzled her affectionately. "Zuri…! Oh, Zuri…Please don't scare me like that again…"
"I'm sorry, mommy," Zuri said remorsefully.
"No, no, Zuri. You have nothing to be sorry for. It was an accident, I know. Ohhh, sweetheart, I'm just so happy you're safe. I was so scared, Zuri. I was so scared that I'd lost you…"
Ziggy had backed up a few steps from the Nidoqueen at first, but seeing the heartfelt reunion had made him pause before totally bolting. He was looking up at the two with a quiet, contemplative expression.
"I'm so glad you're safe, Zuri," Asha said.
"It's okay, mommy!" Zuri replied, "It was really scary down there, but then I got rescued!"
"Oh!" Asha suddenly perked up, "Oh goodness, of course!" She then looked down at Ziggy for the first time, which alone was enough to cause the Buizel to visibly flinch back. "Was it you?" she asked, "Were you the one who saved my daughter?"
Before Ziggy could do anything, whether it was to reply or to run away, Zuri answered for him. "Yeah! That's Mr. Ziggy Wiggy! He found me in the cave!"
Asha immediately closed the short distance between her and Ziggy and then got down on her knees so she wasn't towering over him. "You…You saved my daughter…"
"Uhh…" Ziggy murmured. Sparks could practically see the fight or flight response in his eyes alone. His body was all tensed up, looking like he was ready to bolt at a second's notice. But then he made eye contact with Zuri again, and then seemed to relax a little bit. "I…I, uh…"
"I was stuck in a dark cave," Zuri explained, "but then Mr. Ziggy came down and he found me, and he helped me get back out!"
"You saved my daughter…" Asha repeated for the third time, and then said, "I…I cannot possibly thank you enough…"
"Ah…" Ziggy spoke up, looking as if something had just occurred to him. "Um, well…" he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, "I can't… I can't really take all the credit…I mean, I was…" His words trailed off, however, as he started to look around and he slowly came to the realization that he was by himself. Sparks and the others ducked behind the corner so they wouldn't be seen, but they saw Ziggy do a full 360 rotation on the spot. He wore a baffled expression as he looked for the other Pokémon that had been walking next to him just minutes before.
"You wonderful, wonderful Pokémon!" Asha gushed while Ziggy was looking away, startling him slightly. He turned back around to look at her and she said, "You are so brave…So courageous…You risked your life in that cave to rescue my daughter and I…I just…Saying 'thank you' simply doesn't do it justice…"
Ziggy was full on blushing at this point. "Wh-what? I, uh…" he stammered, "I was- I mean- but…" Behind his bashful expression, Sparks could see that he still looked pretty confused. Sparks wondered if it was still due to the disappearance of himself and the others, or perhaps because Ziggy found himself talking to a stranger…who wasn't immediately hating him because of his fur.
Asha shifted Zuri in her forelimbs so she could reach one out towards Ziggy. The Buizel recoiled at first, but then realized she was offering a pawshake, which he hesitatingly accepted. "What was your name?" she asked, "Mr. Ziggy?"
"Erm…J-just 'Ziggy'…"
"Thank you!" she said with a tearful smile, "Thank you so much. You're amazing. You're such an amazing Pokémon. I was so scared that I had lost my little Zuri but…you brought her back. Thank you from the bottom of my heart…"
"…Uh…Y-you're welcome…" Ziggy murmured unsurely.
"Oh!" she then exclaimed, suddenly standing up straight, "Oh, of course. How could I forget?" Asha then turned around and ran back to where she had been sitting, where she picked up something she had left on the bench. When she brought it back, she opened it up to reveal that it was a purse. With still trembling claws, she fished out and counted six crisp banknotes, which she immediately gave to Ziggy.
"Wh…?" Ziggy murmured as he fumbled with the bills, nearly dropping them. He looked up at Asha in confusion. "What…?"
"I will never be able to properly express my gratitude," she said, "but this will have to do, I'm afraid. I'm sorry I could not give any more."
Ziggy looked down at the money for a moment, and then his eyes shot open wide. "But-"
"Please, Ziggy," she interrupted, "I don't want to hear any modesty. You are wonderful and you deserve every last Poké I've given you." She then hugged Zuri again and said, "Nothing is too steep a price for what you've done."
"Aw, mommy!" Zuri hugged back. "He was really nice! And funny! Can I see him again sometime?"
"Oh, I'm sure we can stop by the guild one of these days, sweetheart."
"Yay!" Zuri cheered.
"But right now, we really should get you home. You must be starving, and you're all wet from the rain, and you're muddy from the cave. Let's go, okay? The police are going to take us back to our house. Say goodbye to Ziggy, okay? And tell him 'thank you'."
Zuri looked down at Ziggy and smiled brightly. "Bye, Mr. Ziggy!" she said with a wave of her paw, "Thank you for rescuing me! It was nice to meet you!"
Ziggy looked up at her and slowly rose one of his paws to wave back. He still looked quite stunned by what was happening.
"Thank you again," Asha said to Ziggy, bowing her head in thanks. She then promptly turned around and carried Zuri off around the side of the building. The reunited parent and child could still be heard happily talking to one another as they disappeared around the corner, leaving Ziggy standing alone on the patio area.
"Well, that was nice!" Sparks proclaimed as he walked up behind Ziggy, who yelped in surprise and wheeled around to face the Raichu.
"S-Sparks!" he stammered, "Where did you…?"
"She seemed really happy," Kona commented.
"Thanks Captain Obvious," Rico remarked with a snicker.
"This was your rescue, buddy," Sparks said, "You found her. You kept her safe while we evacuated the tunnels. We thought you deserved all the praise for today's work."
Ziggy looked as if Sparks had just claimed he was an alien from outer space. "Wh…What? What're you… I'm not…I didn't…"
Sparks gave Ziggy a pat on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry about it, Zig. The important thing is that you should feel proud of yourself. Even though you going into the dungeon was an accident, you were very brave while we were in there, and you were very helpful in getting Zuri up here safely. Those aren't accomplishments to be taken lightly."
"I…" Ziggy murmured. He had gotten over the initial shock of things by now and was just giving Sparks a perplexed look. "But, Sparks…I'm not…"
"It doesn't matter," Sparks said, shaking his head, "You did great today, Ziggy. That's all that matters. And you made two Pokémon smile."
Ziggy glanced off in the direction Zuri and Asha had left. He didn't say anything. He just stood there silently looking with a reflective look in his face. His silence told volumes that his voice never could. Sparks could see it in his eyes. He wasn't smiling yet, but he wasn't frowning either.
"How much?" Rico asked, stepping in closer and looking down at the stack of bills in Ziggy's paws. Sparks examined them as well, seeing that all of them were the same type.
"600 Poké!" Sparks remarked, "Not bad! Not bad at all."
"600…?" Ziggy murmured, looking down at the money in his paws, "But…She…I-I can't…"
"Aw, don't give me that, bud," Sparks said, "I've already been over this with Rico and Terry. She was more than happy to give you that money, and she'd be offended if you tried to give it back. That money is in exchange for the safety of her daughter's life, and it's just her way of trying to say thank you."
"Um…O-okay…" Ziggy murmured, though he still didn't seem keen on the idea, "Should I give it to you, or…?"
"Well, if you remember what I told you, half of it goes to the guild. You can just give it to Carmen when you see her...or, maybe I should do that. Either way, that leaves 300 for you."
"M-me…?!"
"Yeah, we don't mind," Kona said with a smile, "Sparks, Rico and I didn't come on this mission for profit; it was an emergency. We think you could make more use out of it than us anyway."
Ziggy still wore a troubled expression, and Sparks figured he was going to continue to protest and insist that the money did not belong with him. Before he did, though, he perked up as if he had just gotten an idea. "Wait…" he murmured, "300…?"
"Yeah," Sparks replied, "300 for the guild and 300 for you."
"Uh…" Ziggy looked up at Sparks, and then at the other two and said, "You're…Y-you're sure you guys are all okay with this? With me and…the money?"
Sparks nodded, and he saw that Kona and Rico nodded as well.
"You're super sure?"
"Yes!" Sparks said with a laugh, "It's yours."
"Um…Well, uh… Okay then," Ziggy said with a nod. He then separated the bills into two groups of three and gave three of the 100-Poké bills to Sparks.
"You want me to hang onto the guild's share? Sure, I'll do that," he said, taking the bills.
Ziggy paused for a moment and glanced down at the remaining money in his paws. Then, without a word, he extended his paw and held out the three bills towards Sparks as well.
Sparks gave him a puzzled look. "Huh?"
Ziggy simply said, "Here."
"What? Ziggy, that's yours. We just discussed this."
"I know," Ziggy said with a nod, "And…I'm giving it to you."
Sparks just tilted his head and gave Ziggy an even more confused look. "What? Why? What do you mean?"
"It's 300 Poké," Ziggy said, as if that was explanation enough.
"300 Poké, yeah…?"
"That's how much it was, wasn't it?"
Sparks furrowed his brow. "How much what was?"
"How much…you paid the Machamp…"
At first Sparks didn't understand, but then recognition hit him like a Hyper Beam. He gasped softly. "Wait…You mean…?"
Ziggy nodded. "From when we first met…"
"You still remember that?"
The Buizel frowned, almost looking offended by that remark. "Of course I do, Sparks! That was the day…th-the day my life…y'know…"
"Oh gosh…" Sparks murmured. Of all things, he had not expected that unpleasant moment to be brought up. "Well, Ziggy I appreciate it, but…I just did that to get you out of that bad situation. I never expected you to be debted to me for that."
"I know…" Ziggy said, "But…I want to pay you back anyway."
"Ziggy, c'mon. I don't-"
"Please?"
Sparks regarded the Buizel silently for a moment. He tried to think of some other way to politely decline, or to convince Ziggy to keep his well-deserved cash. He paused, though, when he thought back to what he had literally just said a minute ago. Refusing to take Ziggy's offer would just make him a hypocrite. He looked into Ziggy's eyes and saw resolve and nothing more. He didn't look pained to be losing the money. He didn't seem regretful. Just like Asha, he wanted the money to be taken.
"Well…" Sparks eventually said, "If you're sure?" When Ziggy nodded, Sparks shrugged and reached out to take the money from him. "Thank you, Ziggy. That's very generous of you."
Once the money left Ziggy's paws, it looked as if a weight had been taken off of his shoulders. Just a small weight, but Sparks could still see the difference. Once his paws were free of the money, Ziggy just held his forelimb with the opposite paw and glanced off to the side awkwardly.
"All right then," Sparks said as he put the money into his backpack, "Should we get home? Our ride's probably waiting nearby. Ziggy, you want your hoodie?"
Ziggy started glancing at his surroundings, and Sparks could see that familiar look of agoraphobia start to return. He looked back at Sparks and nodded gratefully.
Sparks chuckled softly as he rummaged through his backpack, where he had stashed Ziggy's hoodie. "Carmen's gonna love hearing this report…" he remarked.
"You want me to come with you when you give it to her?" Kona asked.
"Nah, I'd rather do this one on one."
"I just wanna eat," Rico said, "It's almost dinnertime! I'm starved!"
"You just had an apple!" Kona retorted.
"Hey, I gotta have my post-adventure meal! It's like tradition or whatever!" He paused for a moment and then added in a quieter voice, "And I wanna see how Terry's doing. He's still sick, so I'll probably bring him some celebration food anyway…"
"Awww…" Kona cooed.
By this point, Ziggy had put on his hoodie and covered himself up. Sparks had to admit that he was proud of how much time Ziggy had spent today without it on, even if there was nobody around besides Zuri and Asha to see it. Now that the distraction of their adventure was gone, he noticed that Ziggy was now nervously eyeing the police outpost that they were standing next to. None of the officers inside had come out while they had been out here, but both he and Ziggy knew that there were in fact police officers inside. Sparks idly wondered if Ziggy had had many run-ins with the police during his time on the streets.
"Hey," he said when he noticed the Buizel start to look a little agitated.
"Huh?"
"Good job today," he said, "No matter what happens or what anybody says, you did a great job today in a lot of different ways. When we get back to the guild, I want you to feel proud of yourself."
Ziggy blushed a little and glanced away. "I…O-okay…" he murmured.
"Heh… Ready to head back?"
"Uh, Sparks?" he spoke up, "Is…Is Carmen gonna be mad at me?"
"No, no!" Sparks replied, shaking his head, "No, not at all!"
"Oh," Ziggy said, relief clearly evident in his voice.
"She's gonna be mad at me!"
