Chapter 43 - Infiltration
Ziggy's heart was hammering in his chest. He was doing all of the breathing exercises Kandice had taught him, and he was thinking back to how many times he had done this in the past, yet he was still anxious. How had his life gotten him to this point?
Presently, he stood next to Terry in one of Radiant City's many dingy alleyways. From around the corner, they could see their destination in the early morning light. Jiuji Labs stood as it always had, a small but unique building amongst its larger neighbours with its name proudly displayed above the front entrance. Only a few minutes from now, Ziggy would be breaking into that place.
He let out a slow breath and tried to set his mind on the task that had been given to him. The task he himself had volunteered for. He imagined himself as a much younger, much hungrier Buizel. That building was where he could find food. All he had to do was sneak in, just like he had done so many times before.
Of course, it wasn't quite that simple. He hadn't snuck inside of a building to steal food in almost a year by this point, and he worried that he'd be out of practice.
"You're in touch-to-talk mode, right?" Terry asked.
Ziggy glanced down at the badge on his hoodie and nodded. Carmen had shown him how to change 'modes' to an alternate one that was seldom used. Now it would softly vibrate if someone was trying to talk to him, and he wouldn't be able to hear them or transmit his own voice unless he held his paw on the badge. The last thing he wanted was for a voice to suddenly blare out of the badge and give away his position.
"Let me know when you're ready. I'll follow you," Terry said a moment later.
The air around was uncomfortably tense, and Ziggy let out a huff of air. Terry was waiting for him to go. Sparks and Rico were waiting for him to go. They all had a plan that they could work together on, but it was up to Ziggy to take the first step.
Everyone was counting on the Buizel thief.
Ziggy glanced up at the sky which was slowly starting to glow brighter. He would need to do this soon before it got any lighter outside. Though he had originally planned to wear mud again, it was instead decided for him to simply wear his hoodie. The garment's dark colour would blend in with the dimness of the early morning well enough.
Already, this was starting to feel familiar. Back in Sunshine Village, it wasn't just about picking a house and breaking into it. It was important to think about everything, including the light of day. Anything to minimize the chances of getting caught.
Ziggy took one last look outside to the streets. The sun was still low in the sky, casting a long shadow across the area. The street, including the area in front of the labs, was covered by the opposite building's massive shadow.
"Ready?" Ziggy whispered suddenly, "Try to keep up."
"I'll keep an eye on you."
With that, Ziggy carefully poked his head around the corner of the alleyway to survey the scene. There were Pokémon walking along the roads but not too many. He waited patiently for a break in the gentle flow of pedestrians before bolting. He dashed out of the alley, quickly crossed the street, and ducked behind a pair of trash cans. From there, his old habits kicked in instantly. He zipped from hiding spot to hiding spot, staying low, moving quickly, and remaining hidden.
It was only the pitter patter of Eevee paws that told him Terry was following. Terry didn't need as much to hide from the public's eye, so all he had to do was pay attention and follow at a distance.
Ziggy's heart hammered in his chest as he slowly approached the labs, but that wasn't anything new. A hammering heart had been his only companion for most of his young life. It wasn't hard to return to the mindset he had long since left behind. Once again, he had to believe that being seen by others was the worst possible thing.
One hiding spot away from his final stop, Ziggy eyed the front entrance of the labs. He spotted Sparks and Rico sitting on a bench about a block away, reading a newspaper and trying to look inconspicuous. Ziggy ignored them and focused on the most dangerous part of the lab's exterior, where he couldn't afford to be seen by anybody in the entranceway or the font lobby.
Ziggy then blinked in surprise. The front entrance of Jiuji Labs didn't seem to have any windows. The doors were solid and windowless, and while the building did have windows, none of them allowed him to see the reception area. Ziggy had seen this place before when traveling with Sparks, but he had never paid attention to this detail. Thankfully, this just meant he had to avoid being seen if anybody should happen to exit the front door.
The Buizel waited, observed and calculated. Less than a minute later, he made his final quick dash. Jiuji Labs sat between neighbouring buildings just like any other building along the street. Though its front-facing side was unique in that it was in a curved shape, the other three sides were still just as uniform and square. Luckily that meant that on one side of the building was something Ziggy was all too familiar with.
An alley.
Soon he was in the relative safety of the dark and dingy atmosphere he had once called home. He laid low, waiting patiently until Terry furtively slipped into the alley a minute later. Ziggy regarded the Eevee briefly, and then returned to looking out the alley's exit to see if anyone was following them. Another minute of silence passed before Ziggy finally allowed himself to relax, if only a little bit.
He looked at the Eevee more meaningfully now. This was where he would part ways with Terry, who would wait here for him and watch for problems. Ziggy promptly took off his hoodie and gave it to Terry, though he transferred his badge from the garment to his fur first. "All good?" Ziggy whispered to him.
"Yeah," Terry whispered back, "How's it look?"
Ziggy then glanced up at the building beside him. On the other side of this thick, concrete wall was the laboratory run by that Inteleon. This was where he needed to get into. This was where the 'food' was that he had to sneak in and get, just like old times. There were no windows, which Ziggy had expected from the side facing the alley, but there were also no doors. His gut did a flip before he calmed himself. He had expected to use a side- or back door, but that wasn't his only option.
After a moment's observation, he turned back to Terry. "Air duct."
Terry glanced up, located the spot Ziggy had noticed, and his eyes shot open wide. "You sure?" Terry whispered once he brought his gaze back down.
Ziggy nodded. "Done it plenty of times."
The Eevee continued to frown, clearly not keen on the idea. Ziggy, however, wasn't worried at all. He was small enough that most air ducts and other such systems were easy to navigate. Ziggy glanced up again at the slanted protrusion on the wall above him. Though it was dark, he could see that there wasn't a grate or anything blocking the passage. It would be a tight squeeze, though.
"Okay," Ziggy whispered to Terry, "I'm going."
"Be careful…"
"I'll be fine," Ziggy replied, confidently but not arrogantly.
"Remember," Terry continued, "Three buzzes means get the hell out."
Ziggy nodded. Terry was referring to the way his badge would vibrate if someone tried to talk to him. If there was trouble, Terry would press on his own badge three times in a row, which would send three separate vibrations to Ziggy's and signal that he needed to escape.
"Good luck," Terry whispered.
A little smile graced Ziggy's muzzle as he looked at the Eevee one last time. Then he looked back up at the duct, steadied himself, and made a climbing leap up the wall. He grabbed onto the edge with his paws and hung there, and he could already feel the uncomfortably warm air being vented out. He used his hind paws against the walls to carefully scramble up, pulling himself up by the ledge and squeezing head-first into the small opening. It was a tighter fit than he had been expecting, and immediately he feared that he might get stuck. A moment passed before he realized the reason he had miscalculated.
When he had done this before, he had been a lot skinnier.
Regardless, Ziggy worked his way up and into the opening, squeezing himself through and ignoring the discomfort. Thankfully, though it was uncomfortably snug, he did manage to fit into the duct. He crawled in carefully, continuing until his tail was no longer exposed to the outside air.
From there, Ziggy very awkwardly managed to turn on his badge's light so that he could see and he began crawling inwards. He didn't plan to be inside of the duct for long. The sooner he could get out, the better.
He then started to slowly crawl forward through the narrow metal passageway. He internally winced as his pawsteps inevitably caused sounds, but he tried his best to keep his steps soft and minimize the noise. He had nearly been caught in an air duct once while trying to break in because he had made too much noise. He had to move slowly to avoid causing a ruckus, but it was worth it to keep him from being detected.
It was unbearably hot and humid inside of the vent. Ziggy's fur was drenched in sweat within seconds, but he ignored the discomfort once again and kept going. Just another one of those things he had to endure to get food in his belly. Further and further he went, turning a couple of corners but thankfully not encountering any vertical sections.
Finally, mercifully, he came across a grate in the floor of the vent. He shut off his badge's light and slowly inched towards it. He moved even slower than before to absolutely minimize any noise, so it took him almost two minutes just to reach the grate.
Once he did, he cautiously peeked through it. Below, he saw what looked like some sort of storage room. There were boxes, crates, various objects and tools, and all manner of stuff lying on the floor or resting on metal shelves. From what he could see it was a pretty small room. He couldn't see a single Pokémon anywhere in view. When he stopped and held his breath for as long as he could, he also determined that he couldn't hear anyone either.
This was his ticket in. Ziggy quickly got to work removing the grate. Thankfully it wasn't a permanent installation, and with some jimmying he was able to lift it up and into the vent. This made a worrying amount of noise, which he tried his best to keep to a minimum. Once the grate was off, he stayed where he was for another minute and a half to make sure no-one had heard the commotion and was coming to check on it.
When no-one did, Ziggy slinked his way through the opening in the vent, entering into the room head-first. It certainly wasn't optimal, but Ziggy had nowhere to turn around. With practiced paws, he slipped through the opening and kept himself hanging by a single paw. Now right-side up, he was able to drop down and land on the floor safely. He immediately dove for a hiding spot behind some of the shelves and crouched down, quickly scanning the room just to make sure it actually was empty. He happily breathed in the relative fresh air of the room, which was wonderful when compared to the hot air from inside of the vent.
Finally, when he was absolutely sure that the room was empty, he pressed one of his paws to his badge. "I'm in," he whispered.
With the speed that was his namesake, Ziggy zipped over towards the only door of the room. He reached up and carefully tried the handle without actually opening it, seeing that it wasn't locked. He then took in a breath, steeled his nerves, and very very slowly opened the door just a crack.
The door must have been soundproof, because the sounds on the other side immediately flowed through. There were voices talking to one another, the low hum of simple machinery, the sound of writing on paper, glass clinks and sounds of liquids being poured, and the steady low drone of air conditioning. Ziggy very carefully peeked through the crack in the doorway. He could immediately see that the main area of the lab was on the other side of this door, as even this small window of view allowed him to see that beyond this door was a very large, open room.
Again, he remained cautious and still. He stayed by the barely-open door and assessed the situation on the other side. There weren't Pokémon directly in front of the door or close nearby, but he could still see quite a number of lab workers milling about. There was a desk or table of some sort that was built right into the floor that was nearby. It looked like a block sitting on the ground, and on top was a couple of microscopes. Nobody was at the table, so Ziggy made this his first target.
He took a few more deep breaths and tried to set himself in the right mindset. There were multiple Pokémon inside of this place he had broken into, but he couldn't leave now because he was starving and needed food. That was a scenario he had been through before. This was something he could do.
Ziggy inched open the door just a little further to give himself a better view and waited carefully for his opportunity. When he was sure nobody would see, he slipped right through the crack in the door as if it was oiled and zipped behind the table in less than a second. He crouched low to the ground and put himself on high alert. Had anybody seen him?
Seconds passed by and nobody was raising any alarms. Nobody had seen him.
Ziggy spotted his next hiding spot behind a large, overstuffed shelf. He kept his eyes moving the whole time, keeping watch both in front of and behind him. He knew what to listen for. He had learned the sounds that Pokémon would make if they spotted him even if they didn't say anything. Soon enough, Ziggy dashed along the floor in a flash and made it to the area behind the shelves.
He paused there for a moment, feeling his heart racing. He was terrified, as he always was when he was breaking into somewhere, but there was another feeling he couldn't describe. It almost felt like excitement. Like there was this small part of him that wanted him to smile. Was this what 'adrenaline' was?
Nobody had seen him yet, and the sounds of activity in the lab continued as if nothing was going on. Ziggy remained hidden behind the shelves and thought about the next step. Now that he was inside of the building, he was supposed to see if Dr. Hilo was present on the main floor of the labs. Ziggy knew right away that this would be difficult without a view from above.
He craned his neck upwards, trying to see as much as he could from his hiding spot, and noticed that there were balconies above on the four walls above the main room. Those would be the perfect place to look down on the main room in its entirety, so that was probably where he needed to be. That's where the 'food' was.
How, though? Slinking along from hiding spot to hiding spot was one thing, but getting up onto the upper floor would be another challenge entirely. He couldn't see enough from where he was, so he decided to try and get a better view.
Three more times, Ziggy dashed across the floor in the blink of an eye, concealing himself in little hiding spots and remaining out of view. Still he couldn't see or hear anything to indicate that he had been seen. Perhaps it was because all of these scientists were too focused on their work to notice the little yellow blur zipping between the shadows.
Eventually he found himself in the very corner of the room behind a box of some sort, which gave him his best view so far. It wasn't enough to see the whole room, but it did give him a much better view of the balconies up above. He studied them for a couple minutes but, peculiarly, he never once saw a single Pokémon up there.
He wondered if perhaps the upper floors weren't used as much, or that they would be empty at this time of the day for whatever reason. If he could just get up there, it seemed like he would be almost completely safe from prying eyes.
All he had to do was actually get up there.
Ziggy glanced around at as much of the room as he could from his hiding spot. How did normal Pokémon get up to those floors? Was there a ladder or stairs or something? Ziggy knew he could easily climb and jump up to the balconies by using the shelves and other various tall things, but that would put him in plain view. There would be no way to do that without being seen.
He couldn't see anything useful from his current spot, so that meant he would have to move somewhere else. Ziggy's heart beat like crazy as he continued sneaking around. He knew that with every swift zip from one hiding spot to the next, the chances of him being caught only went up.
Still though, mercifully, nobody saw him and raised any alarms. Now that he got a better look at them while passing by, he could see that each and every one of them really was deeply ingrained in their work. He idly wondered just how much he'd be able to get away with if they were all this distracted.
Now crouching behind another desk with a microscope and sink on top of it, he was looking for his next hiding spot as this was fairly exposed. Instead, though, he saw what he was looking for. Tucked away off to the side of the room was a door-less doorway that led to an enclosed set of stairs. He glanced up at the balcony above and saw a matching door in the same position. These were the stairs up, and still he couldn't see any Pokémon up on the second floor. He remained on the spot and waited for as long as he dared. He was watching for anyone to enter the stairs from above, so that he wouldn't run right into them as he went up the stairs himself.
"Hey!"
Ziggy's blood froze. His heart leapt into his throat, and he nearly leapt himself right off the spot. He restrained himself, though, and crouched lower. He whipped his head around, trying to see who had spotted him. Panic was very quickly settling in. This was it. The mission was a failure and he would either be arrested or thrown into Dr. Hilo's dungeon.
"What?" a second voice called.
"What are you doing? I said thiosulfate. Don't pour that one in or you'll ruin it."
"I misheard you, then. Speak more clearly."
All of the tension melted from the panicked Buizel's body and he sighed in relief. Whoever those voices belonged to hadn't see him; they were talking about something else. Ziggy shivered slightly. His nerves were completely shot. Now he wanted more than ever to get up to that second floor, if only to get away from where the majority of all these scientists were gathered.
A few more moments of checking and a quick but careful dash up the stairs, and soon enough Ziggy had successfully reached the second floor. He paused at the doorway at the top of the stairs, carefully peeking around both corners. Still, just as before, he couldn't see anyone up here at all. There were doors and rooms, of course, but everything on this level seemed devoid of Pokémon besides him.
All the better for him. Ziggy planned to crouch at the edge of the balcony and look down. While this would hide him from the eyes of those downstairs, it would leave him fairly visible to anyone else on the second floor balcony.
Once Ziggy was satisfied that nobody else was on the balcony, he sunk to the floor and crawled forward until he reached the edge. He very carefully, very slowly, peeked his head up over the edge. He then allowed himself a brief smile when he saw that this was exactly what he wanted. He had an almost perfect view of the lower floor from above. He could see pretty much everyone down there.
Ziggy then got to work and started looking for Inteleon. He was pretty sure he would be able to pick out Dr. Hilo even if there were other Inteleon down there, since Dr. Hilo was so frighteningly tall. Ziggy kept his eyes open for dark blue bodies amongst the sea of white lab coats. He saw a Vaporeon, a Sawk and a Toxicroak who were all a similar colour to what he was looking for. He continued peeking over the edge for as long as he dared, but through it all he couldn't see the Inteleon anywhere.
He then quickly but quietly scooched back to the wall, next to the exit of the stairs. A quick glance around confirmed that there were still no other Pokémon nearby, not even in the stairwell. So, he brought his paw up and held it against his badge.
"Sparks, I don't see him. Go."
Sparks felt edgy. He was sitting on a bench just a block away from the Jiuji Labs building, trying not to look at it. Rico sat next to him, looking more bored than anything else.
Inside of that building, at this very moment, was his little buddy. Terry had informed them that Ziggy had gotten inside, but that was all he knew. He felt so nervous and anxious, continually asking himself why he had agreed to let Ziggy do this in the first place. The folder he was clutching in his paws was starting to get creased from his anxious grip.
Ziggy hadn't raised any alarms over the badge comms, but that didn't help Sparks feel at ease. Not hearing from the Buizel probably meant that he was okay and wasn't in trouble, but it could just as likely mean someone had knocked him out or grabbed him so that he couldn't reach his badge.
"Sparks, don't rip that. We need it."
His ears perked up, and then he glanced at Rico. The Riolu was looking at the folder he was holding, and he relaxed his grip accordingly. "Sorry…"
"He's fine, dude. Relax," Rico said to him, "He did this all the time when he was younger, remember? It's like climbing a tree for him."
"I know…"
"He volunteered himself for this, so you gotta know he's got confidence in himself for this."
Sparks stole a quick glance at the building, as if he could somehow magically see Ziggy through its walls. At the very least, he hadn't noticed a very heavy security presence in the building when he had visited it himself. The biggest point of security was the heavy door connecting the reception area to the main room.
"Relax," Rico said again, "Your son will be fine."
Sparks rolled his eyes. "He's not my son."
"It's close enough."
At first Sparks turned to Rico, ready to retort, but his words slipped away from him. His ears drooped as the worry he felt for Ziggy started bubbling up within him again. The kind of worry he felt was what one could really only feel for someone they love. Sparks realized he would feel the same way if it was his brother in there, or his parents.
When did I get a son…? Sparks asked himself glibly. He had never wanted cubs. At no point in his life had he ever had even the slightest inclination towards having cubs. As a Pikachu he had been too young and hotheaded to even consider cubs.
And as a Raichu, he hadn't felt himself capable of taking care of a cub. Not since PTSD had utterly consumed his soul.
Sparks sighed softly. Rico's joke had unintentionally stirred up a whole slew of thoughts and questions, and he knew that now was not the time to dwell on them. Whichever way the coin fell, Ziggy was his little buddy and he was worried sick for him.
"Sparks, I don't see him. Go."
The Raichu practically jumped up in surprise. Relief and elation flooded through him upon hearing Ziggy's voice, which was quickly followed by more anxiousness as he wondered what dangerous situation the Buizel was in at the moment. At least he wasn't in trouble, or at least for the time being.
Rico then actually jumped off the bench and looked up at Sparks eagerly. "Showtime, Sparks! Let's go!"
Sparks hesitated for a brief moment as he felt like he was being too overwhelmed with emotions to focus. The thought of Ziggy being inside of that building, hiding from danger and waiting for him to go, was what jolted him into action. It was his turn to act now; Ziggy was depending on him.
He clutched the manila envelope in his paws and took a calming breath. Carmen had convinced Danika to write up some basic information requisition forms. Something like that anyway; Sparks didn't understand the bureaucratic nonsense. It wasn't anything complicated and wouldn't take up much of Hilo's time, but it did require his presence and his signature.
Rico started heading off to the labs so Sparks followed behind him, trying his best to put any thoughts of trepidation and worry out of his head. He tried to convince himself that as far as he knew, the documents in this envelope were legit and he was ignorant to any ulterior motives.
As he approached the building, he beheld it with a different eye. He had been impressed and curious the first time he had come here. Now he could only look at it with a mix of disgust and fear. What terrible, secret agenda did this building hide, and what did Ziggy have to do with any of it? If it weren't for the pressing need to find the Nihilego, he would've preferred to never set his paws in there ever again.
"Rico, stay behind me," Sparks commanded. Rico gave him a look, but then complied. Sparks took one last calming breath as they approached the front door. Then, with as much outward confidence as he could muster, Sparks pushed open the door and entered.
In the familiar small reception area, Sparks immediately noticed that the receptionist was different. It had been a red Oricorio when he had been here last, but now it was a purple one. Just from looking at her, Sparks could tell that she wasn't as friendly as the first Oricorio had been. She was looking down at something on her desk with a look of contempt, as if whatever was lying there had wronged and humiliated her in some way.
"E-excuse me?" Sparks called to her, silently cursing the stammer in his voice.
The Oricorio looked up at him with a patronizing look, as if to say 'What filth has just rolled into my pristine office?' She briefly glanced at Rico, giving him an even sourer look, before looking back at Sparks and asking, "Can I help you?"
Sparks cleared his throat and held up the envelope as he approached the desk. "Yes, we have some important documents that require the attention of H- of Dr. Hilo."
Now the Oricorio was looking like she wanted to say 'Why are you getting near me? You could have just told me from the doorway'. She briefly glanced at the envelope, and then vaguely gestured to the side. "Place it in the basket there and it will be delivered to him," she said in a bored tone.
Sparks stiffened slightly. "Uh, unfortunately these documents require his signature and we need to be present as witnesses. Is he in?"
"Why?" the Oricorio asked in irritation.
"Is he in the building?" Sparks asked, deciding to push the most pressing issue.
The receptionist paused for a minute and then let out an overly dramatic sigh. "Please have a seat," she said in a bored, monotone voice, "He will be with you shortly."
Sparks then watched as she got up, moving at an agonizingly slow pace with a pissed off look on her face, as she made her way over to the heavy door and went inside. Once the door closed behind her, Sparks mashed his paw twice against his badge, sending the signal to Ziggy.
"Please be safe…" he whispered.
Ziggy twitched in surprise when he felt his badge buzz against his fur twice in succession. His eyes went wide and he quickly scrambled back to the edge of the balcony, for he knew that was the signal for 'Hilo is in the building, watch for him'.
His heart raced wildly as he viewed the lab's main room from above once again. The plan was working so far. Hilo was in the building, but he certainly wasn't visible on the main floor at all. That meant he was probably down in the secret hidden basement, which also meant there was a secret hidden basement. This was exactly what they had hoped to find out, and now Ziggy would be able to see where the hidden entrance was.
His blood chilled slightly when he realized that this also meant the Nihilego was probably just two floors underneath his very paws.
New movement caught his eye over towards a large, heavy door on the far side he had noticed earlier. A purple Oricorio stepped through and closed the door behind her, and then quickly made her way across the room. Maybe this was the receptionist Sparks had talked to. She was the only one in the room not wearing a lab coat, so that assumption made sense.
Ziggy tracked her movements while also keeping an eye on the room as a whole in case he spotted Dr. Hilo. The Oricorio crossed over to the other side and walked up towards the far wall. She stopped only just metres before she would have been out of Ziggy's field of view, and reached a wing out towards the wall. Ziggy belatedly noticed that there was some kind of panel or device on the wall. He watched her press on it a couple of times.
Then, she simply turned and walked back the way she came. Ziggy frowned, figuring that she actually didn't have anything to do with Dr. Hilo. He went back to scanning the rest of the room, hoping that he hadn't missed the Inteleon. He kept looking for a few moments, but still didn't notice anything out of the ordinary which made him worried. What if he couldn't see where Dr. Hilo came from? Would this mission have all this success, only for him to fail at the most crucial point?
More unusual movement caught his eye, and he quickly looked over towards it. He found himself looking at where the Oricorio had stopped at the wall.
What happened next took him by complete surprise. Next to the thing on the wall the Oricorio had interacted with, there was an empty set of plain, metal shelves. Ziggy watched in shock and confusion as the shelves somehow split themselves in half right down the middle, and then the two halves moved apart from each other. They spread apart, revealing that something was hidden behind them. Once they had fully separated, he could see that there was a doorway built into the wall.
And standing in it was Dr. Hilo.
Ziggy's fur stood on end as he watched the Inteleon exit what was apparently a secret doorway. He walked over to the same thing on the wall and tapped it once, after which the two halves of the shelf started moving back together to close up the doorway behind it. As they did, Dr. Hilo promptly marched across the main floor of the lab towards the heavy door, looking rather irritated as he did so.
Not a single Pokémon in the lab batted an eye at this. They all continued on as if this was perfectly normal.
Ziggy briefly watched Dr. Hilo head towards the building's front entrance, where he would meet with Sparks, but eventually he focused back onto the shelf that hid the doorway or whatever it was. That was what he had been looking for. The only explanation was that this hidden entrance had to lead down to the basement where he had been kidnapped.
He briefly smiled, feeling proud of himself. He now knew where the secret entrance was, and he could head back out to tell everyone. Admittedly, he didn't know what the next step was. Ziggy wasn't sure what they would do with this information now that they had it. In fact, a part of him was worried that even the others wouldn't know what to do with it. Honestly it did kind of sound like they were winging it. All signs pointed to the Nihilego indeed being held in this building, and Ziggy knew that the guildmembers needed to get to it quickly.
When Ziggy looked down at the shelves again, however, something else caught his eye. He very carefully crawled along the balcony so that he would be slightly closer to it and looked over the edge squinting his eyes. He hadn't exactly been closely studying the shelves before they'd opened, but something didn't look right. He cautiously inched a bit closer. Then, he gasped softly once he realized what he'd seen.
The shelves hadn't closed completely. There was still a small gap between the two halves.
Ziggy's mind raced. He had figured that the shelves would close up completely once Dr. Hilo walked away from them. Maybe they were and they had broken somehow? Nobody was standing nearby to guard it or anything. In fact, that particular area of the room had almost no Pokémon working nearby. The more he looked, the more it looked like this wasn't something intentional.
The way down to Dr. Hilo's secret lab…was open.
Ziggy quickly scrambled back and pressed himself against the wall behind him. He glanced around just to make absolutely sure nobody was near him, and then he held his paw up to his badge. "Jules!" he whispered into it as loudly as he could.
"Go," Jules' voice replied, equally quiet. It still sent a shiver up his spine to hear the goofy Sylveon speak in such a serious tone. Jules was a pretty smarmy carefree guy, but when it was time to get serious he committed to the fullest.
"I found the entrance," Ziggy spoke, remembering what he had been told about keeping his messages short and to the point. Jules was one of the Pokémon, alongside Tora, who were patrolling the outside from a distance. Since Carmen couldn't get involved, Ziggy was supposed to report to either of them.
"Good. Get out," Jules replied.
"But…" Ziggy continued. He hesitated for just a moment and then said, "I think I can get in."
There was a noticeable pause before Jules replied, his voice sounding hastier. "No, you need to get out."
"Dr. Hilo left the door open. It's not guarded."
"Ziggy, don't do anything stupid," Jules replied bluntly, "You did what we needed you to do, now get out."
A moment of silence passed. Ziggy bit his lip and quickly thought about the situation. Obviously Ziggy was terrified of getting caught or putting himself in danger, and Jules was totally right to tell him to just get out. However, Ziggy couldn't help but think of this as a golden opportunity. Even if the others knew where the entrance was, it would probably be sealed tight at all times and possibly even guarded. If they knew where it was but couldn't get the shelves open, what would be the point? Right here, right now, the way down to the secret lab was open and inviting. Anyone could just zip right in without anyone else noticing.
Or at least, anyone thin and fast enough.
"I'm going in."
"Ziggy, no!" Jules hissed, "Do not under any circumstances do that. You're gonna get caught! It's way too risky."
"Can Sparks stall for time?" Ziggy asked patiently.
There was a brief pause, where it sounded like Jules was tripping over his words. "I…I guess he could, if he needed to… But, Ziggy! You sh-"
The Sylveon's voice was cut off once Ziggy pulled his paw off of his badge. He then crawled back to the edge and looked down once again. The shelves were still ajar, just as before, and Dr. Hilo was nowhere in sight. If he was going to do this, he had to do it now. His badge was buzzing from Jules trying to reach him, but Ziggy knew he didn't have time for that.
Ziggy put on a determined look to mask the bubbling nervousness within him and took off.
"I understand you have something for me to sign?"
Sparks was biting his tongue so hard he thought it would start bleeding. To be in the same room as this Inteleon, to look at him and speak to him in a cordial manner, took every single iota of his self-control. The Pokémon standing right in front of him had kidnapped his little buddy and taken his blood. Sparks wondered how he had managed to keep from relentlessly cussing him out.
He instead merely cleared his throat. "Yes, I have them here," he said in as professional of a tone as he could muster. He gestured to the folder that was sitting on the desk. The mean Oricorio had disappeared back into the room again to do something or other, leaving only himself and Rico in the reception area with Hilo.
The Inteleon in question picked up the folder. "From Miss Danika, I see?"
"Yeah, she's still super busy," Sparks said, hoping that would be enough explanation for why the Sneasel wasn't there.
"Information requisition…" Hilo muttered to himself as he perused the document. Sparks was sweating, hoping the Inteleon wouldn't see anything amiss with these documents. They weren't exactly fabricated documents, but their purpose was entirely made up.
After a moment, though, Hilo smiled softly. "Ah, I see," he said as he put down the open folder, "Such ridiculous legal loopholes we must jump through sometimes, mm?" He then reached over behind the desk and picked up a quill pen which he used to quickly sign his name three times on each of the papers within.
Sparks gulped as Hilo handed the folder back to him. He just hoped that this had been enough time for Ziggy to see the secret entrance, if it even existed, and get out safely. "Thank you," he said.
"Not a problem," Hilo replied, "Sorry you had to come all the way out just for this."
"Oh…It's no trouble…" Sparks said, a hint of distraction slipping into his voice. He furtively glanced behind Hilo, where he saw that Rico had inconspicuously wandered off to the far end of the room. Sparks saw that he had his head tilted slightly and his ear swiveled to point towards his badge. Was someone talking to him? He quickly looked back to Hilo so as not to arise suspicion and said, "Ah, this is a lovely part of town. I always enjoy coming down here." It was a bold-faced lie. There was nothing interesting down here besides Dante's favourite ice cream place.
"Splendid," Hilo replied jubilantly, "It was nice to see you again. Now, however, I am afraid I must get back to work. There is tons to do, after all."
Sparks was about to nod and bid him farewell, but he caught sight of something over Hilo's shoulder. It was Rico again, who was subtly but frantically waving his paws to grab Sparks' attention. Once the two locked eyes, Rico held up his paws and made a motion of pulling them apart. He silently mouthed a single word.
'Stall.'
"Wh- Ah!" Sparks called out semi-frantically as Hilo started to turn around. He quickly wracked his brain for something, anything, to say.
"Yes…?" Hilo asked.
"How, uh…How is the work going? On the, y'know…the 'object'."
Hilo regarded him blankly for a moment. He then turned over his shoulder and looked at Rico, who simply looked back with a neutral, innocent expression. Hilo cleared his throat as he turned back to Sparks. "My friend, I would love to share with you, but of course such information is not for all ears…"
Sparks bit his tongue. What to do now? Claim that Rico was in on everything and that he could listen to the information? No, Hilo would never believe that without documentation. Small talk? Hilo had just said he was busy, he wouldn't have time for small talk. Sparks had been excellent at improvising on the spot once upon a time, but that was just one of the many skills that life had cruelly taken away from him.
"I could…get him to wait outside," Sparks suggested.
Hilo shook his head. "This is a public-facing office in this building where anyone could walk in at any time, plus my receptionist will be back at any moment now."
"Is there…anything you can tell me?" Sparks asked, cursing the hesitation in his voice, "Y'know, without actually revealing anything?"
After a brief pause, Hilo just sighed softly. "Listen, I am afraid I do not have time for this. If you'd like, I can write up another report and have it delivered to Miss Danika. Though I can at least tell you that it wouldn't be much different from the last one."
"Oh? Why not?" Sparks asked. He then mentally slapped himself and hurriedly clarified. "I-I mean, why not in the…general sense. Like, because you haven't found anything, or because you've been so hard at work with the…other stuff." He gulped, feeling nervous and under the spotlight. He was sure that Hilo was looking at him with suspicion now.
Instead, though, Hilo simply shrugged. "A little from column A, a little from column B," he replied in a somewhat jovial manner. However, he then started turning around and walking off again. "If there is no other business, I really do need to get back to my work. This is why I would have preferred written notice from Miss Danika, but I suppose that's not always an option. Oh well."
Sparks grit his teeth as a spike of panic jolted through him. He was losing Hilo. He didn't know how long Ziggy needed him to stall for, but he was sure that this wasn't long enough. What else could he do? What else could he say that wouldn't sound suspicious or make Hilo angry? He tried desperately to come up with something, but his mind was stalling out. He couldn't think through all of the pressure.
"Excuse me?"
Hilo paused and looked over at Rico, who was looking up at him with wide eyes and a curious frown on his face. "Hm?"
"Could I ask you something?" Rico asked. Sparks was taken aback by the tone of voice he was using that did not sound anything like his normal speaking voice. Rico was making himself sound younger, more cub-like. Sparks panicked at first, but then realized that Rico hadn't said a word the whole time they had been in here, and he was pretty sure Hilo hadn't formally met him yet. Pokémon often said Rico looked young for his age too, so the voice probably didn't sound out of place.
"Ah, er…What is it?" Hilo asked.
"Well, I've always thought the stuff you do here is super cool…"
Hilo chuckled. "Why, thank you young 'mon. That's very kind." He turned around to fully face Rico, while Sparks marveled at Rico's brilliance. Flattery was the perfect weapon.
"But I was always kinda wondering," Rico continued, "Where did the name 'Jiuji' come from…?"
"Ah!" Hilo brightened up, "Well, there is a rather interesting story behind that…"
In all his life on the streets, Ziggy had never been so starving as to do something this crazy. Yet, here he was. He had snuck down the stairs back to the main floor and made some more careful, risky dashes between hiding places. Now he was hiding behind a large box, and the shelves with the secret passageway behind them were just a quick hop away.
He thanked the lucky stars that he had still remained undetected. Ziggy had known that he needed to be quicker this time, in case Dr. Hilo came back, so he had been just slightly riskier. It paid off, though, because he was at the entrance now and Dr. Hilo was nowhere to be seen. He had the perfect chance to get inside.
Inside of the secret, evil underground lab. Inside of the place he had been kidnapped and held against his will.
Inside of where the Nihilego was.
Ziggy shook his head, clearing away his jumbled thoughts. He briefly wondered what had happened to him over the past six months. Before then he would have never, ever been brave enough to do something like this. Things had changed, though, and Ziggy knew it. He had friends, he had skills, he had confidence. But, most importantly, he had a purpose now. What he was doing now wasn't just a selfish desire to fill his belly, but rather something that could possibly save the lives of other Pokémon in the long run.
With one last careful check of his surroundings, Ziggy made absolutely sure nobody was looking in his direction. It was a short distance from the box to the entrance; all he would need was one quick spurt of speed. He counted down silently in his head, keeping a lookout until the very last moment.
Zip! Ziggy crossed the last open threshold and squeezed into the gap between the shelves. His sides erupted in sharp pain as the edges of the shelves scraped against him, revealing that he'd made yet another miscalculation about his own skinniness. He groaned softly and kept himself from crying out as he entered the secret passageway and was enveloped by darkness.
He pressed himself up against the wall of the interior, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He listened carefully, but still heard no cries of surprise or shouts of 'Hey, who are you?' Ziggy grit his teeth and endured the aching pain in his sides. He wasn't dripping blood or anything, but it stung like crazy. Hardly anything he couldn't deal with, though. Certainly not the worst he had been through while breaking into somewhere.
Once he was sure nobody was following him and his eyes adjusted to the darker interior, Ziggy saw that he was at the top of another set of stairs. They went down and curved around in the same way as the stairs from the second floor. However, instead of metal and drywall, both the stairs and the walls were made entirely out of stone. He could see light coming from around the corner, thankfully keeping the stairs from being in total darkness.
As Ziggy slowly, cautiously made his way down the stairs, the voice in his head asking what he'd gotten himself into was getting louder. He had been so focused on seizing the opportunity of the secret door being left open that he hadn't considered the possibility of becoming trapped down here. He couldn't turn back now, though. He had to commit.
Ziggy rounded the landing of the stairs and went down the second, longer set. At the end of these stairs was a corner leading to the left, and Ziggy could already hear sounds of activity coming from around it. Down he went, continually checking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't followed. He was at the bottom before he knew it, and then Ziggy carefully peeked around the corner.
He had to stifle himself from gasping. What he saw before him was unmistakably the same room he had woken up in after being kidnapped. He could see the table he had been tied to, he could see the same sort of walls and ceiling. The memory was so fresh in his mind as he had just recovered it, so there was no mistaking it.
He also saw a number of Pokémon scientists working in various places around the room. Unlike the ones upstairs, though, these Pokémon didn't wear white lab coats. A few of them wore protective grey or brown clothing of some sort, but there was no uniformity. Despite that, they still looked like scientists as they carried clipboards and pencils, worked with beakers and measuring devices, and generally just looked intelligent.
Ziggy held his breath and made a quick dash over to a more suitable hiding spot behind a large table near the wall. This spot not only kept him out of sight but gave him a better view of the room. He quickly took in what he could see, confirming that the stairs he had come from seemed to be the only way in or out of the room. There were no windows whatsoever, and the whole room was lit by electric lighting. Pokémon all around were talking together, working together, and from an outsider's perspective it didn't even look like anything nefarious was happening.
Then, Ziggy turned around and peeked around the other side of the table. He saw two things immediately. The first was that he could see a couple of vents built high up along one of the walls, which is what he had been hoping to see. Knowing that someone could crawl through the vents to get into this room was excellent. There was indeed a way into this room that didn't involve the secret shelf-door thing. And next to this, against the far wall, Ziggy also saw...
Ziggy bit his tongue and a chill ran down his spine.
He saw the Nihilego.
Eyes wide and breath caught in his throat, Ziggy could only stare in shock. The horrifying, terrifying creature that had attacked the city and stolen Rico's memories, the thing that Sparks said was brimming with so much electricity that it could kill just by touching, was just sitting there.
It was exactly as it had been in his memory, stuck within its glass 'enclosure' with wires stuck to it and flashing screens nearby. It wasn't moving, aside from gently hovering up and down in place. Though it didn't have a face, it seemed to be staring directly at Ziggy. And yet, it didn't react in any way. It just continued to bob up and down slowly.
Ziggy had been hoping to find the Nihilego down here, but now that he was here with it he was petrified. Even though it was stuck behind glass and it seemed like it couldn't get out, Ziggy still quivered with fear. He had managed to overcome a lot of his fears and anxieties lately, but his fear of this creature was not one of them.
He shook his head. Okay, that's enough. Time to get out,he thought to himself. He had found the secret lab, the way in, the fact that there were vents, and the Nihilego. This was way more than he had been sent in to do, and Ziggy decided it wasn't worth taking any more risks. He glanced up at the vents again and wondered if it would be better to use them to escape or to go back the way he had come in.
Then pain erupted in the back of his head, like a thousand tiny needles digging into his skull, and his vision went black.
