Chapter 26 - I'm Sorry

Ziggy awoke with a start when somebody knocked on his door. It took him a moment to calm his breathing and to remind himself that he was just alone in his room; no longer in the realm of nightmares. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and stretched. It felt like he hadn't gotten any sleep at all.

The knocking continued, so Ziggy tiredly shouted, "Come in!"

The door to his room opened and Sparks stepped inside. He was holding a mug of coffee in one of his paws. "Hey, bud," he said gently, "You feelin' okay?"

"I guess…" he replied, as he rubbed his eyes again.

"I don't mean to be a bother, bud, but you're really sleeping in. You're gonna miss breakfast at this rate."

Ziggy yawned and then glanced up at the clock on his wall. He saw that he was indeed running late for breakfast. At first he climbed out of bed as if everything was normal aside from that fact. He thought about all of his friends, who were likely out there in the dining hall eager to see him and to begin eating. He wondered what everybody would talk about this morning.

Then, the memories of what had taken place yesterday hit him at full force. It actually stopped him in his tracks, halfway to his dresser where his fur brush was.

The incident in the restaurant, the horrible Delcatty and her group of cronies, Sparks sharing his tragic story and, most heavily weighing on Ziggy's mind, his decision to punch the Delcatty in the face. His act of violence committed less than 24 hours after receiving his badge and becoming a member of the Rescue Society.

What would his friends want to talk about this morning? Clearly, they would all be talking about what he had done. And he couldn't blame them.

"Ziggy?"

The air felt heavy as Ziggy slowly turned to look up at the Raichu, who was looking back down at him in concern. A lot of heartfelt words had been shared between the two of them last night, and Ziggy certainly hadn't forgotten them. Still, though, he couldn't help but feel shameful under the older guildmember's gaze. Despite what Sparks had said, Ziggy still felt like he was being judged for his terrible actions.

"C'mon, Zig," Sparks said encouragingly, "Everybody wants to see you. They're all worried about you."

"…They are…?" Ziggy murmured softly.

"I'll give you a spoiler ahead of time: none of them are mad or upset at you."

Ziggy frowned. There again was that feeling that this wasn't deserved. At least some of them should be a little upset with him, right? He'd done a bad thing, and he was going to be punished. Maybe not in the way he had been predicting, but in some way.

"C'mon," Sparks repeated, "Brush your fur, hit the bathroom if you need to, and let's get some good food in your belly. You'll feel better once you eat."

"I…" Ziggy said hesitatingly. He was ashamed to admit to himself that a part of him just wanted to crawl back into bed and wait for the inevitable consequences. It was hard to say no to Sparks' encouraging smile, though. So, Ziggy silently retrieved his fur brush and spent about a minute fixing the messy parts of his fur that he had earned during his rough sleep.

He then headed towards the door as Sparks stopped him. "Hey… Aren't you forgetting something?" Sparks asked him.

Ziggy was confused, but then Sparks pointed at something behind him. Ziggy turned around and looked in the direction Sparks was indicating, and saw that the Raichu was pointing at the small table next to his bed. Specifically, to the grey badge that was resting there. He felt a knot in his stomach as he looked at it. The thing that had brought him so much joy for a short period of time. That little grey thing had made him feel things he thought he would never, ever feel in the course of his horrible life.

He still felt like he didn't deserve to wear it anymore. He still felt like he had tarnished it; ruined his one chance.

At Sparks' insistence, though, he walked back at picked it up. Ziggy spent a moment just looking down, catching his reflection in the polished silvery metal. The sight of his own morose frown just made him feel worse, but he did shake his head and tried to clear his mind. The others had said they were going to help him with this, and he just had to trust that they would.

Ziggy clipped the badge onto his fur. Then, after a few deep breaths, turned and followed Sparks out of the room.


Sparks sat on the couch next to Ziggy, a full breakfast in both of their bellies. Like he had both predicted and promised, every member of the active team was very happy to see Ziggy once he emerged from his room just in time for breakfast. Everyone was very supportive and welcoming, and nobody even brought up the incident from the night before. Sparks had been a bit dismayed to see that Ziggy didn't smile once during the meal, though.

Now, most of the guildmembers had gone off to perform jobs, leaving the room much emptier than it had been before. Besides Sparks and Ziggy, Danika and Kona were there as well. As they had been present during the incident, Carmen had felt it prudent to keep them in the guild for the day. Lupe was there as well. It was her day off, but she had said she was happy to spend it with them so she could offer support.

Sparks noticed that Ziggy kept peeking down at his badge, and frowning each time.

There was a faint air of tension in the room. Everybody knew that this was probably the calm before the storm. Somebody would be visiting the guild today. It might be police officers, it might be a lawyer representing the Delcatty or the restaurant, or it might even be the Delcatty herself. That last one was a nightmare scenario Sparks dared not think of.

"So, what else did you do?" Lupe asked. She had been trying to cheer Ziggy up by talking about the good day he'd had before going to the restaurant.

"We went to some food carts…" Ziggy mumbled morosely. Sparks hated to see the fact that Ziggy's happy, excited feelings had only lasted half a day. Now it was like Ziggy was right back to the way he had been before.

"That sounds nice. Did you get anything good?"

"I don't remember…"

Lupe frowned and glanced away. Sparks had to commend her for trying to help, but it just didn't seem to be working. "Cheer up, buddy," he said, taking the lead, "It's gonna be okay."

"We're here for you," Kona added.

Ziggy didn't respond. It was as if he hadn't even heard them.

Sparks held back a sigh and thought for a moment about what to do or say next. Everyone was trying their best, but Ziggy was in a funk and none of their encouraging words seemed to be taking root. Sparks could see that Ziggy still felt like he was a bad Pokémon.

"Hey, Danika," Sparks said as an idea occurred to him, "When can we get Ziggy's badge set up?"

Danika looked between the two of them as she answered. "I sent a letter of request to Li this morning. He usually comes by the next day, so maybe tomorrow."

"That's good," Sparks said. Li was the Meowstic who infused the guild's badges with psychic energy so that they could function properly. Sparks had only met him a pawful of times, but he seemed friendly.

Ziggy was looking at Sparks and Danika with a neutral expression. It was a step above depressed, at least.

Sparks cleared his throat. "It doesn't take too long, does it? It's a quick job, right?"

"Yeah," Danika answered, "Though Ziggy has to be present. Can't connect it to his brainwaves without, y'know, his brain." She chuckled softly.

Another awkward silence reared its ugly head. It was honestly hard to figure out what to talk about to keep the conversation light and uplifting. Everything seemed to have a way to connect back to the horribleness that had happened yesterday in one way or another. Sparks also didn't want to come off like he was just sweeping it under the rug, either. It seemed the others were having the same dilemma as well.

"…What's gonna happen to me?"

Sparks almost missed Ziggy's quiet, whispering question. "What? Nothing's gonna happen to you. Nothing super bad, anyway."

The look Ziggy gave him nearly startled him. It was an eerily adult expression that one might wear when saying 'Don't sugarcoat it and just give it to me straight'. For a moment, Sparks was struck silent and unsure how to answer.

"It…really depends on what happens today," Danika explained.

"Don't worry, though. We agreed that if anybody comes to the door, you can just sit in your room unless they absolutely need to see you for some reason," Kona added.

Ziggy didn't say anything else and simply looked crestfallen.

"It'll be okay, Ziggy," Lupe said gently, inching a little bit closer to him, "We can get through this."

"I'm sorry you guys haveta do all this…" Ziggy mumbled.

"Oh, come on, Ziggy. Stop being silly," Danika remarked, "Helping Pokémon is what we do, remember? Sometimes, we even have to help members of our own guild, but it's still the same as what we do every day."

"Allow us to 'rescue' you, Ziggy," Kona said with an encouraging smile.

Before any of them could say anything else, though, the main door of the common room burst open and Carmen briskly marched through. She started approaching them. "Uh oh," Sparks said, "Looks like it's showtime…"

"Police are coming," Carmen said bluntly, getting straight to the point, "They're going to take statements again, and they want one from Ziggy."

"That's all?" Sparks said apprehensively, "That seems…simple."

"There was talk of bringing him down to the station for questioning," Carmen replied, "I talked them into coming here instead. We may have to push for house arrest in order to keep him here, but we'll see."

Sparks felt a knot in his stomach. Things were starting to become real. He glanced over at Ziggy, who had a frightened wide-eyed look. Sparks could tell that in his mind, he still truly believed that he was going to jail and deserved as such.

"C'mon, bud," Sparks said as he stood up, "Let's get you in your room." He motioned for the Buizel to get up as well, but he was frozen on the spot.

"Do you want me to stay with you in your room?" Lupe asked.

"Huh…?" Ziggy muttered distantly.

"I don't mind waiting with you," the Vulpix said sweetly.

"That's very nice of you, Lupe. Thank you," Sparks said.

"Um…O-okay…" Ziggy said, his voice wavering with nervousness.

Once the Buizel got up, Sparks began leading him back to his room. Lupe followed behind them, while the rest remained at the couch. "I'll see if they're willing to question you in your room," Sparks said, "That'll probably be more comfortable for you, right? If not, I'll definitely be there with you, and Carmen will too. We're not gonna let them question you by yourself. I don't think they can, anyway, since you're not old enough for that."

Ziggy just softly whined.

"Don't worry, Ziggy. I'll keep you company," Lupe said, "I can tell you a story while we wait, if you'd like. Maybe about something I've done while working for the guild?"


A few hours later saw Sparks sitting slumped over on the dining table. In his paw, he held a small bag full of ice to his head. As the day wore on, he had developed the most wicked headache. Sparks was no stranger to headaches, but this one was making him moan and groan in agony.

The good news was that nothing had happened yet. The bad news was that something definitely would happen. The Magnemite officers had come in and spoken to everybody relevant. They started with Carmen, followed by Kona, Danika and then Sparks. Of the four, their most in-depth discussion had been with Sparks, since he hadn't been present when the police had first shown up at the restaurant. A lot of pressure was put onto him to account for that.

Then they had interviewed Ziggy himself. Thankfully, they had agreed both to interview him in his room, and with Sparks himself present. He had been instructed not to speak on Ziggy's behalf, but his presence alone seemed to help the Buizel relax a little. This was relatively speaking, of course, as Ziggy was near petrified from fear of the police officers.

In the end, the officers said that no formal charges had been placed on Ziggy as of yet, but the implication was that Myrtle Opalescence IV, no doubt conferring with fancy and expensive lawyers, was planning to. Ziggy was not officially placed under house arrest. However, they had strongly recommended to Carmen that he remain accounted for and within the building. If charges were pressed against him and he couldn't be found or contacted, there would be a warrant for his arrest issued immediately.

Then they left, leaving behind an all-consuming fog of silence that no-one seemed to want to break. Just like when the Nihilego had appeared, now all anybody could do was stew in anticipation and wait. What would happen next? When would Myrtle and her lawyers bust down the front door with a battering ram to lay charges onto the poor Buizel?

Thus, the reason Sparks had a bag of ice on his head.

"I was expecting worse," Carmen remarked as she approached the table and sat down next to Sparks. He hadn't even heard her enter the room.

"The 'worse' is yet to come…" Sparks grumbled.

"You know what I mean…"

"I kind of wish that bitch would get it over with…"

Carmen punched him in the arm lightly. "Stop."

"Maybe we should sue her first… Or sue the restaurant for starting this whole mess…"

There was a short moment of silence. "Sparks…You know as well as I do, the restaurant legally didn't do anything wrong."

"Urgh…"

"There's no laws specifically forbidding prejudice or discrimination against ACPs. If the restaurant decided they didn't want him there, then that's that."

"That's crap, is what it is…"

"I know, Sparks…"

One of the doors opened, and this time Sparks heard it. He lifted his heavy head in the direction of the dorms and saw Danika closing the door behind her. "Hey," she greeted them, "I gave Ziggy a book to read. I told him to come get us if he needs us."

Sparks just closed his eyes tiredly and said, "Thanks…"

"He really seemed shaken up after that…More than I thought he would…" Danika commented as she approached the table and sat on Sparks' other side.

"I mean, it makes perfect sense," Sparks remarked, "Ziggy used to be a thief, remember? He spent his life stealing food and stuff, and then hiding from everybody. Police used to be his enemy."

"Oh…Yeah, I guess that's a good point." Danika then held a claw to her chin in thought. "I wonder if he ever actually got caught by the police."

"He probably outran them. He nearly outran me after all," Sparks said with a chuckle. He then grimaced in pain and decided to refrain from chuckling for the rest of the day.

Carmen then stood up, pausing to stretch her limbs. "All right," she said, "I'd love to stay around for more of this…and that's not sarcasm…but unfortunately I've got a pile of guildmaster chores to get through." She then looked at Sparks and said, "Call my badge if you need to ask something."

"Mmmmmhm…" Sparks moaned. Danika had started rubbing his back, and he was thankful for the small amount of relief it brought. The two watched as the Braixen marched towards the door leading to the main hall. Even with the air of negativity that was filling the room and affecting them all, she still walked with a certain pep in her step. Sparks had always noticed that her tail swished about in a particular way when she was focused on work. She had even done it as a Fennekin, and it wasn't the only notable thing about her regarding her tail.

"I know what would cheer Ziggy up," Sparks said glibly.

"What?" Danika asked.

"A picture of Carmen and her tail thing," he said.

Danika gasped and stopped her rubbing. "Sparks! You wouldn't!" she said, clearly trying to sound admonishing but unable to keep a hint of laughter out of her voice. Sparks glanced over at her and saw that she was smiling.

"I still have one, you know," he said.

"I thought she burned the ones we took."

Sparks just winked.

Before this amusing line of conversation could continue, the main door opened up once again. "My goodness, that was fast," Sparks said, assuming it was Carmen coming back because she forgot something.

When he looked up, though, it was instead Kandice at the door. She was simply standing in the doorframe and leaning in. "Sparks," she called over, "There's a visitor in the main hall."

Sparks sat up a little straighter, ignoring the brief spike of pain in his head. "A visitor for me?"

"She didn't specify," the Audino answered, "She just wanted to talk to somebody 'in charge', and you're close enough since Carmen is busy."

Sparks then turned and looked at Danika, his blood running as cold as the Sneasel's Ice-type attacks. A female wanting to speak to someone 'in charge' at the guild. He didn't want to jump to conclusions, but that sounded like it could only be one thing. Sparks could only hope that it wasn't Myrtle at the door since he couldn't hear her screams of the damned from where he was sitting.

"I can go with you," Danika said, answering his unasked question.

"Thanks," Sparks said, giving her an appreciative smile. It didn't last long, though, as dread overcame him once again. He slowly stood up, leaving the bag of ice behind. He wanted to bring it with him, but that wouldn't be very professional of him. He figured he could just tell Danika to hit him right in the head with an Ice Beam if he needed it. Maybe it would knock him unconscious and he wouldn't have to deal with this.

Kandice had already disappeared from the doorway, no doubt having gone back to her office behind the stairs. Sparks walked slowly towards the door with Danika walking next to him. It felt like he was walking towards an open casket at a funeral. This was it; Ziggy was about to be served.

With a heavy sigh, Sparks reached the door and pushed it all the way open so he and Danika could step through. He turned and looked over towards the front doors of the building, expecting to see an old Delcatty surrounded by no less than 50 of her expert lawyers.

There were no lawyers in the hall. In fact, there was only a single Pokémon, and it certainly wasn't a Delcatty. For a moment, Sparks could only stand there in both surprise and confusion when he saw who this visitor was.

Off on the other side of the hall, turned away from them and looking up at the décor of the room in quiet appreciation, was a young Lopunny. A distinctly familiar young Lopunny.

"You!" Sparks called out, causing her to jump in surprise. She quickly whirled around to face them.

"O-oh!" she said, "Um…Hi…" The tiniest bit of colour drained from her face when she saw the two Pokémon she was speaking to.

Sparks gave her a cross look and put his forepaws on his hips. "What are you doing here?" he asked darkly. She was unmistakably the Lopunny that had been present at the table of Pokémon in the restaurant that had antagonized them. It was easy to recognize her because she had stood out as the only one there who wasn't very old.

She appeared quite nervous after Sparks' question, holding her paws clasped together under her chin. Though Lopunny tended to be taller than Raichu on average, she was somewhat short and nearly matched Sparks in height. "Um…" she murmured, and seemed to stumble over her words for a moment.

Sparks raised an eyebrow. "Well?" he asked impatiently, "Spit it out! What do you want?"

The Lopunny visibly shrank back from his outburst. "I-I was just…" she said, "I mean, I was wondering if I could…uh…" She then took a breath in and calmed herself down a little bit. "Is…this where the little Buizel lives?"

The fur on Sparks' back bristled immediately. All sorts of red flags started waving in his mind. Though she wasn't behaving like how he expected anyone that came from that table to act, she was still associated with those Pokémon in some way. He cast a quick glance at Danika, who shared his look of apprehension.

"…What do you want with him?" Sparks asked, deliberately leaving the answer to her question ambiguous.

"I just…y'know…" the Lopunny replied slowly, "I just wanted…to talk to him."

Sparks' fur bristled even more. A mix of panic and anger was starting to run through his veins as anxious questions started to flood his brain. Why was she here for Ziggy? What did she want with him, and why? Did one of the other Pokémon send her to do their dirty work because she looked less threatening?

"…I don't think he has any interest in talking to you…" Danika replied, mildly catching Sparks by surprise. He glanced over at her, and saw she had a firm but neutral expression on her face.

However, this caused the Lopunny to frown. "Oh…" she murmured sadly, "I was...just…"

"I think you need to leave now," Danika continued. She crossed her forelimbs and gave the Lopunny an expectant look.

"No, wait!" the Lopunny quietly exclaimed, but then she hushed herself and said, "No, please. I just wanted to know…"

"Wanted to know what?" Sparks asked, still seeing red flags. Her next words, though, took him by complete surprise.

"I wanted to know if he was okay…"

Sparks looked over at Danika again. She seemed just as surprised as he did. They both turned to look at the Lopunny again, Sparks giving her a dubious look. "What's it to you if he's okay?" he asked, "Why would you care?"

The Lopunny's eyes went wide for a moment, as if Sparks' words had physically slapped her in the face. Then, seeing the untrusting look in the other Pokémon's eyes, her shoulders slumped and she frowned even heavier. "Oh gosh…" she bemoaned, "Uh…Maybe I should start over."

"Perhaps that would be best…" Danika agreed. Sparks just nodded.

She took in another breath and let out a quiet sigh. Then, she stood up straight and faced the other two and gave them both a quick respectful bow of her head. "My name is Charlie," she introduced herself, "I, um…I can tell you've already figured this out, but I was sitting at the table next to yours when you and the Buizel came to Le Corbeau Ennuyé yesterday…"

Charlie trailed off for a moment. Sparks and Danika didn't say anything and both just leveled stares at her. She faltered a little under their gaze and then let out a big sigh. "I came here because…I feel really awful about what happened yesterday. I feel so bad, and I can't stop thinking about how horrible it must have been for you and for the little Buizel."

Sparks was certainly surprised by this sudden revelation, but he did retain a bit of his skepticism. "Why should you feel bad about it? If I recall, you didn't do very much if anything at all."

"That's…" Charlie murmured with a grimace, "That's what makes me feel even worse…The fact that I didn't say anything, or do anything to try and put a stop to all of that…I just sat there and let it happen." Charlie then hung her head, averting her gaze from the other two entirely. "I just needed to see if he was okay. I'm really worried about him…"

The room fell quiet for a moment. Finally, Sparks' feelings of distrust were starting to melt away. He could see Charlie getting emotionally distressed, and she sounded sincere to him. He recalled her standing out among the Pokémon at that table for her reactions to what was going on, and he remembered her even looking conflicted at some points.

Sparks walked over to her slowly, causing her to look up at him again. She wasn't crying, but sadness as definitely written all over her face. "He's fine," Sparks said once he stopped a few feet from her, "He's not hurt, if that's what you're asking. Not physically hurt. He's being taken care of by his close friends right now."

The Lopunny's expression brightened just a little bit. "Really? Oh, well…good, then…"

Pawsteps echoed through the empty hall, and Sparks turned to see Danika walking up to stand next to him. "Who are you, exactly?" she asked. Like Sparks, the distrust had drained from both her expression and the tone of her voice.

Charlie sighed and her shoulders slumped. "That Delcatty, Myrtle? The one who…said all of those nasty things?" she said in a shameful voice, "She's my aunt…"

"…Oh," Sparks said, his eyebrows rising up.

"That's…kinda the reason I didn't speak up or anything yesterday…" Charlie added, "'cus she's my aunt…"

Sparks turned to give Danika a silent look. She too raised her eyebrows in intrigue and gave Sparks a little shrug in response. He then looked at Charlie again and said, "Why don't you have a seat over there and we can talk about this a little bit." He then pointed with his paw towards the seats and benches lining the walls of the entry hall, where visitors would sit while waiting for guildmembers to meet them.

Charlie nodded somewhat sullenly and walked over to one of the chairs. She sat down in it, while Sparks sat down two chairs down from her. Danika did the same, but on her opposite side. "I…I'm really, really sorry I didn't say anything yesterday," she said, "I regret it super hard…"

"Well…" Sparks said, "I suppose that's nice to hear…"

"Although," Danika cut in, "I do hope you realize just how much emotional turmoil your aunt has caused for that young Buizel. It's more than I'm sure you're imagining…"

Charlie flinched as if she'd been struck. "I'm sorry… I was just…afraid to speak up…"

"Why?" Sparks asked, skewing his lips in mild frustration.

"Well, you see…" Charlie explained sadly, "My dad died before I was born, and my mom died not long after I was born. So, for most of my life, my aunt raised me. She took me in when I was a tiny orphan Buneary and took care of me. So, y'know, she's the closest thing I've had to a parent while growing up."

"I see…" Sparks said, softening his voice again.

"In a way, though, things ended up okay for me," she continued, "Auntie Myrtle is very rich so I had a good, comfortable upbringing. She sent me to a good school, made sure I was fed and taken care of. She basically raised me as if I was her own child, even though she had none of her own. She raised me to be like her, to adopt the same lifestyle as her, to be a super rich and important bigwig like her…"

"That's why you were at that restaurant then?" Danika asked.

Charlie nodded. "I used to be really excited to one day grow up and be rich like her, so I did everything she asked me to do. I tried to be her good little princess. When I got older, I started to not really enjoy it as much. I wanted to do other things that she would just call 'uncouth'…but I kept going along with her. I kept following her lessons, behaving in a proper way and, yes, going with her to high class social gatherings where I might be…noticed."

"But why, though?" Sparks asked, "If it's not something you enjoy?"

"Because I thought it'd be good for me. Even if it wasn't much fun, I figured that if I followed her advice I would be set on a good path for life, y'know? Like, I'd end up successful like her. It…kind of just ended up feeling like something I was supposed to do…"

Charlie then shook her head, causing her long ears to flop about. "But no! Not anymore… I mean, I've seen her be rude and crass to Pokémon before, but it was nothing too bad and I just let it pass. But after what I saw yesterday, I…I don't want anything to do with the world she lives in anymore. Not if it means becoming like what she became last night."

Sparks glanced over at Danika in surprise, and she mirrored his look back at him.

"I'm…I'm done with all of that," she said, "Never again. I don't care what auntie thinks, and I don't care what any of those other Pokémon we were with think. Right now, all I care about is seeing that little Buizel and apologizing to him…"

For a moment, Sparks wasn't sure quite what to say. Charlie had gotten emotional during this revelation, and Sparks noticed now that she was quivering just a little bit. It looked like she was possibly on the verge of tears. "Charlie?" he eventually spoke.

"Y…Yes, sir?"

"…I was expecting a lot of things when I saw you at our doorway, but I was definitely not expecting this, especially not from a Pokémon that had come from that table. I must apologize for judging you so unfairly at first. What you've just told me is…Well, it's the best I could have hoped to hear." Charlie glanced up at him, a frown etched on her face. Sparks smiled back at her softly. "It's very brave to say what you've just said," Sparks said to her.

"If Auntie Myrtle knew I were here, she'd go crazy…"

Sparks frowned a little. "I'm guessing you haven't told her about your new decision regarding 'her world' yet, have you?"

Charlie just shook her head. "She thinks I'm at the market right now…"

"Hmm…" Sparks bit his lip, but nodded. He knew that blood ran deep sometimes. Even despite what she had seen, Charlie wasn't quite ready to cast Myrtle out of her life entirely at the drop of a hat.

"So…" Charlie then murmured, "Can…I see him?"

Sparks hesitated to answer. He looked over Charlie's head towards Danika, but the look she returned showed she was just as conflicted.

"Please?" Charlie pushed, "I need to say something to him. I can't stop thinking about this. It's eating me up…"

"We appreciate it, for sure," Sparks answered, "I'm just not sure if he would feel okay seeing you. He's…" Sparks trailed off for a minute, waffling over how much to reveal about Ziggy. "He's a very emotional Pokémon," Sparks eventually settled on, "and yesterday's events were rather...traumatic for him."

Charlie visibly deflated, a disappointed frown appearing on her face. "Are you sure…?" she asked hopefully, "I don't want to do much. I just want to say I'm sorry…"

"I know. And we do appreciate it."

A short but uncomfortable silence then settled over the room. Charlie had turned her gaze downwards and was just staring blankly at the floor. It was easy to see how much this was weighing on her, even if she hadn't actually participated in any of yesterday's wrongdoings. Sparks could see something familiar in her; a desire to make things right while not knowing how to.

"…What's going to happen to him?" Charlie asked quietly.

Sparks felt a tightness in his chest for a moment. "That all really depends on what your aunt decides to do."

"Has she said anything about it?" Danika asked.

Charlie shrugged. "I mean, she keeps going on about how she's going to 'sue, sue, sue' just about everyone involved, but…She does that all the time whenever something upsets her. She doesn't…always actually do it…"

Sparks grumbled quietly to himself. That wasn't the most promising answer.

"…Can I admit something to you, sir?" Charlie asked.

"Please, you can call me Sparks. And this is Danika, by the way," Sparks said. Even with Pokémon he hardly knew or ones he didn't respect, Sparks still detested being called 'sir'. Charlie seemed a little surprised by this, so he cleared his throat and said, "But, yes, go right ahead."

The Lopunny then looked down shamefully. "It's true that I used to…well…y'know, think shinies were…weird. Maybe it was just auntie rubbing off of me. Since we live in the city, we never saw them, but she talked about them quite poorly when someone brought them up. I don't know what the heck I was thinking before, though. That little Buizel was so cute and he looked really friendly and happy when he came in. I obviously don't know him, but he seems really nice and I feel bad about ever thinking Pokémon like him were 'weird'."

"Wow," Sparks remarked, "It usually takes Pokémon months or even years to get over that sort of bias."

"May I ask…What's he doing here? I've never seen a shiny in Radiant City before. I didn't think they lived here."

"They don't live here because why would they?" Sparks replied bitterly, "With so many Pokémon all living together in a small space, 99% of whom would treat them badly and unfairly, why would shinies live here? He lives here because he has nowhere else to go."

"Oh…" Charlie replied with a soft nod, "Yeah, I know what that's like…"

After another bout of silence, Danika spoke up. "Sparks, I say we should go ask him."

Sparks' head darted up and he looked over at Danika in surprise. "What?"

"If he doesn't want to meet her, he doesn't have to meet her, but I think at this point we should ask him."

Charlie also looked surprised, and was gazing up at Sparks. "So… He is here?"

"…Yes," Sparks said, shifting his gaze to Charlie after giving Danika a brief dirty look, "Yes he is…"

"Good," Charlie said with a nod, "Good. I'm glad to hear that."

"Why, exactly?"

"Because I know this is a good place…filled with good Pokémon. I know if he's here, you'll treat him right."

Sparks just spent a moment looking at the Lopunny who continued to defy his expectations. The gears in his head were slowly turning. Then, Sparks suddenly stood up and said to her, "Come with me, please."

"…Huh?" she asked in confusion.

"Follow me," he said with a gesture of his paw, "He's much more comfortable in the common room than out here in the main hall. Danika, could you please go see him and fill him in on what's happening?"

Danika was caught off guard for a second, but then hopped up as well. "You got it!"

As the Sneasel began to head towards the door, Charlie finally got the hint and stood up. "Oh my goodness. Um, thank you. Thank you, this means a lot to me." She paused for a moment in thought. "Sparks, right? Thank you, Sparks."


At this time of day, the common room was still totally empty. Their Lopunny visitor and Sparks were the only souls in the room. He had chosen to seat her on the couch, and was sitting apart from her on the other side of it. Sparks hadn't intended to make it feel like a waiting room at a doctor's office, but that's certainly what it had ended up like.

"Um…" Charlie spoke up awkwardly, breaking the silence, "Are you…Are you his…father?"

Sparks raised an eyebrow at her. "No," he replied plainly, "I'm a guild alumnus. I found him when he was out in the city struggling and I've been working with him for many months now."

"Oh, I see. Sorry…"

"Why did you think I was his father?" Sparks asked with a quiet chuckle.

"You just seemed really…protective of him. It seems like you care about him a lot."

Sparks glanced away for a moment wistfully. "Yeah…I do…"

"So, does that mean…he doesn't have a father?" Charlie asked, "Or mother?"

This time, Sparks gave her a more serious look. "I'm not really at liberty to divulge his entire life's story to someone I've just met."

"Oh, right. Of course. I'm sorry," Charlie apologized, "I just asked because…Well, I thought we might have had something in common…"

Sparks regarded her quietly for a moment. "You can ask him yourself. Just be gentle about it, please."

"He's a member of the guild too, right?" Charlie asked, "I saw he had a badge on."

This time, Sparks regarded the Lopunny with a smile. "He sure is!"

All four of their ears perked up at the sound of a door opening. They both turned to see Danika step through the dorm doorway, regarding the two of them for a moment before turning behind her. "Come on out," she said, "There's nobody else here. It's just me, Sparks and the visitor."

As Danika stepped to the side, she revealed Ziggy standing in the doorway. The Buizel wasn't wearing his hoodie, but Sparks took a hit to the gut when he saw his demeanour. It was as if he was looking at the Ziggy he knew from months ago; standing in an anxious, withdrawn pose, wearing a nervous frown as his eyes darted around, and he kept wringing his paws. Sparks didn't want to dip into hyperbole, but it was like Ziggy had regressed back to an earlier, less confident version of himself.

Ziggy locked eyes with Charlie, and his frown worsened. As Sparks got a closer look, he realized that perhaps 'nervous' wasn't the proper descriptor. Rather, Ziggy looked like he was dreading something that he simply did not want to do.

"It's okay, buddy," Sparks said, trying to diffuse the situation a little, "Come and sit with us."

For a moment, Ziggy made eye contact with Sparks instead and he seemed to relax a little. After a couple slow breaths, he finally stepped into the room and meekly made his way over to the couch. He eyed the two occupants silently, still wearing nothing but his frown, and then regarded the empty spot in the middle of the couch between them. When he hopped up to sit down, he did so as close to Sparks and as far from Charlie as he could.

Charlie, much to Sparks' relief, just sat there patiently in silence the whole time. It seemed she recognized Ziggy's fear and didn't want to spook him.

Once Ziggy was situated, Sparks placed a paw on his shoulder and looked over at their companion. "This is Ziggy," he said, introducing the Buizel.

"Hello, Ziggy," Charlie said in a gentle voice with a little wave of her paw.

Ziggy glanced up awkwardly at Sparks, who gave him a nod of encouragement. "Ziggy," Sparks said, "This is Charlie."

The Buizel turned to look at her once more, but didn't greet her.

"Um…" Charlie then spoke, "I'm…guessing that you probably recognize me."

After a moment, Ziggy nodded quickly.

"Ziggy, I…" Charlie continued, "I just wanted to say how awful I feel about what happened yesterday. That Delcatty is my aunt, you see, and I feel horrible about the way she treated you. But, worse than that, while she was treating you so badly I just sat there and did nothing. I just sat there and let it happen. I really shouldn't have done that; I should have stepped in and said something. I should have at least tried to put a stop to it…

"So…Ziggy? I'm sorry. I'm very sorry."

Silence then filled the room. Nobody moved an inch. Ziggy just sat there for almost a full minute, quietly looking over at the Lopunny. From where he was sitting, Sparks couldn't see his facial expression anymore.

"…She's…your aunt?" Ziggy asked quietly after finally breaking the silence.

"Yes, she is."

Ziggy looked away from her and simply cast his gaze down at the floor below the couch. Sparks caught a glimpse of his expression, and saw that he simply looked dejected. "Your aunt kicked me…"

His words were like a needle in Charlie's skin, considering the way she flinched as he said it. "I know, I'm so sorry about that. I still can't believe she did that!"

"She really hurt me. She was very, very mean…"

"…She was," Charlie agreed, "She acted awfully."

"Just because I look like this…"

The silence that followed was positively deafening. Charlie looked like she had no idea what to say next. She kept looking over at Sparks, as if to ask for help with the conversation. Ziggy, meanwhile, just kept staring at the floor. Eventually, Charlie focused on Ziggy again. Sparks could see a mix of emotions just from her facial expressions alone.

"Ugh!" she suddenly exclaimed, causing Sparks to jump. Ziggy didn't move. "I hate this!" she exclaimed, "I can't stand seeing this…Seeing how sad and upset you are just because of my ignorant aunt. I feel awful just knowing you feel this way. Just seeing it hurts… I want so badly to just go back in time so I can tell my aunt to just shut up and leave you alone…"

Sparks looked over at the Lopunny in surprise. She had gotten quite emotional and sounded like she was about to start crying. Instead, she just buried her face into her two paws and leaned forward sullenly.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't do anything. I was scared, I was confused. I didn't want to mess up things in my own life and ended up messing up yours. I couldn't sleep last night. I was up all night thinking about you and wondering if you were okay, because you stormed out and Sparks had to chase after you. I know it should be my aunt apologizing, and it hurts even more to know she probably never will, and I'm so, so ashamed of that!"

Ziggy was looking at her again, watching silently. When she pulled her head from her paws with a miserable look on her face, she met Ziggy's gaze. "I'm ashamed of what happened yesterday, Ziggy," she said, "and I'm ashamed of my aunt."

Another moment of silence passed as the two simply looked at one another. Again, Sparks couldn't see Ziggy's face from this angle so he couldn't tell what the Buizel was thinking. He hoped Danika had made it clear to him that he could end this conversation whenever he wanted and could just go back to his room if he didn't want to talk anymore. He was about to speak up to reaffirm this when Ziggy did something surprising.

Ziggy pulled in his legs and stood up on the couch cushions, which put his head at about equal height with Charlie's. He then promptly marched over to her, wrapping his paws around her and giving her a nice, warm hug.

Charlie gasped in confusion. "Ziggy! Wh-?"

"It's okay…" Ziggy said quietly, "I forgive you…"

The Lopunny was struck silent for a few more seconds, then her emotions started to bubble over and she hugged Ziggy back. "Thank you…" she whispered.

"I know it wasn't your fault," Ziggy said, "It's not you I'm mad at."

"I'm just so sorry this had to happen at all…"

"It was really nice of you to come see me," Ziggy said, "I appreciate it."

Sparks looked at the two with a smile on his muzzle, feelings of pride for the Buizel coursing through him. He had always said to Ziggy that hugs were the world's greatest medicine. He had been very skeptical at first, but letting Charlie in had turned out to be a great idea.

"Y'know…" Charlie said, while still hugging Ziggy, "I just came in here to apologize and see if you were okay, but…now I want to do more. I want to make this right."

Ziggy finally ended the hug and took a step back, looking into her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I'm…not sure," Charlie admitted. She then turned and addressed Sparks and said, "Is there…anything I can do? Anything at all I can do to help, or make this better somehow?"

Sparks regarded her for a moment, his lips pursed in thought. "Well…" he eventually said, "The easy answer is for you to get your aunt to call everything off and just move on." When Charlie's expression fell, he added, "I get the idea that's not in the cards…"

"I…decided that I don't want anything to do with her anymore," Charlie explained, "but I decided I was gonna be smart about it. I didn't want to just pack my bags and storm out without making a plan first."

"That's smart," Sparks said, "and very level-headed of you."

"Maybe…until that point comes…I could be, like, a liaison for you guys?" Charlie offered, "I could maybe keep you guys in the loop about what she's doing. As much as I can, anyway…?"

"Hmm…" Sparks put his paw to his chin in thought.

"Having a 'mon on the inside isn't a bad idea," Danika said, "It's up to you though, Charlie. We won't ask you to do anything you're not comfortable doing." Sparks voiced his agreement.

Charlie shook her head. "No, I think I can do that. It's fine. If anything comes up, I'll try to sneak over and tell you guys." She then turned back to Ziggy and gave him a little grin. "I wouldn't mind coming over to see Ziggy again anyways. Maybe I can find some way to help cheer you up?"

Ziggy, who was sitting down once again, looked up at her silently but didn't say anything.

"That means you're a guildmember too, right?" Charlie then asked. Sparks noticed she was pointing down at his badge, which Ziggy glanced down at briefly with a conflicted expression. "You're kinda young, so I'm guessing you're a newer recruit, right?"

"Uh…" Ziggy spoke up, "Y-yeah…"

She smiled sweetly at him. "You seem like a very nice Pokémon. I get a very good first impression from meeting you, and that's what makes a good member of the guild. Right?" She directed this last question at Sparks.

"Absolutely," he answered.

Ziggy was quiet for quite a few seconds, but then managed to squeak out a thanks.

"Anyway," Charlie continued, "No member of the guild deserves to be treated like that. The Rescue Society is an amazing group of Pokémon. Even auntie knows that. I'm sure somehow we can make this all work out."

"Thank you, Miss Charlie," Ziggy said softly, "You're very nice."

"Aw! You're so sweet!"

"I'm really nervous because I feel like I made this big, huge mistake and I've ruined everything, but…Well, I mean…" Ziggy trailed off for a moment and turned back to look at Sparks. He just regarded the Buizel with a stony expression. "Anyway…" Ziggy continued, "I just hope things work out."

Nobody could say anything else, because the doors to the room burst open a minute later. Everyone gasped in surprise.

"Sparks!" Carmen announced curtly, "Trouble."

The group turned to regard the Braixen as she entered the room. Sparks noticed that she was holding a sheet of paper in one of her paws, and she wasn't exactly gripping it in a gentle manner. "What is it?" Sparks asked.

Carmen, however, had taken notice of Charlie. "Who is this?"

Sparks waved dismissively and said, "I'll explain later. What happened?"

"Sparks, I don't-"

"She's fine! Just say it!" Sparks exclaimed perhaps a bit too testily.

Carmen looked him in the eyes with a concerned look, then let out a huff of breath. She held up the paper she was holding, bringing everyone's attention to it. Sparks had guessed at what the contents of the paper were, and he was just holding onto hope that he was wrong.

"This is a letter of intent to sue," Carmen revealed.

Sparks felt his heart drop into his stomach. He had been right.

"Myrtle Opalescence IV is suing the Rescue Society."