Disclaimer: Now I know what you're thinking. Doesn't Charm having trust issues make him a hypocrite? Yes. But do I also plan to address this and showcase that Charm wants to stop being a hypocrite? Also yes. Remember; Charm discovered that he was being used by his father and 'best friend' for seven years by molding him into a war weapon from the day of his birth. Even if Charm doesn't have a leg to stand on there, I imagine it'd be pretty hard for him to help that. And with that clarification out of the way, let's begin!

Also, I don't own Paw Patrol.

Paw Patrol X

Demon Defense arc Episode fourteen: Empathy: What Emotions Can Do

A week after Snow's birthday, Flare was in the training room Ryder set up in Rex's lab, and he was currently practicing using Charm's anti-demon weapons. He took one of the holy water grenades and set it to a setting that was more low key than normal. After doing so, he rolled into a holographic shrub behind a demon hologram. He managed to avoid detection just well enough to make the demon believe it was something else. After making sure of this, Flare grabbed the demon from behind and used the holy water grenade on it, knocking it out.

Flare then landed the final blow with an iron dagger Charm crafted for him and stabbed the demon in the chest with it. This led to him winning the simulation, and he pumped his fist as it ended. Rex was quick to praise him as he was revealed to be watching from right outside the room with Rocky and Charm. "Great work Flare! You just might be ready to head outside of Foxcadia soon!"

Charm looked at a chart he made of the Paw Patrol's stats and wrote down Flare's current skill. After doing so, he noticed Rocky was out of it and got his attention by snapping his fingers after Flare left the training room. "Stop zoning out Rocky. We have to focus."

"Right, sorry." Rocky apologized, and Flare quickly noticed that something was on Rocky's mind. "I've just had a lot on my mind lately. And it's gotten harder to deal with after Zuma turned."

Charm was about to speak up, only for Flare to come up to Rocky in an attempt to help him out. "You wanna talk about it?"

Charm was confused by this, but waited to see what would come of this. Rocky felt that would be okay and took Flare up on his offer. "I'd like that." Rex looked at Charm, who shrugged, and the two went over to get drinks from the fridge near the training room. Charm paid close attention as Rocky told Flare about his struggles. "The thought of becoming like Slash entered my head again last night. I had this really bad nightmare that involved me turning evil against my will." Charm could barely keep himself from cringing at that. If only Rocky knew the truth.

"That has been on your mind for a while now, hasn't it." Flare was aware of this since it started, and he knew Zuma did everything he could to help him. Zuma even managed to find a GOOD thing Rocky had in common with his father already. After thinking for a few seconds, Flare thought of something that could help Rocky with his situation. "Look at it this way Rocky. Slash practically pushed his entire family away when he started obsessing over that demon rising. Right?"

Rocky saw where Flare was getting at. It didn't sound completely inaccurate. "Perhaps that could be it. I sadly don't know what led to him studying the demon arts."

"You're right. So maybe something led to him wanting that demon rising more than anything." Flare suggested, sharing Rocky's habit of looking at every possible scenario in this instance. "And his army supported that. So maybe, just maybe, if you keep good influences in your lives, like us, it'll keep you from becoming like Slash."

Rocky didn't really look at it that way before, but it made sense to him. The Paw Patrol, Zuma especially, made him feel loved every single day. Rocky couldn't guarantee these thoughts wouldn't come back again, but he had to admit. Flare was onto something. "I can't say it won't come to mind again, but I think your theory makes it easier to deal with. Thanks Flare."

Flare hugged Rocky, making the wolf mix smile as Charm elbowed Rex as he was sipping his soda. "Fill me in Rex. What did Flare just do there?"

"Oh, that? He was consoling Rocky during his time of need." Rex explained. And even though he didn't say it in a rude way, what he said hit Charm like a knife. "It's all a part of being good friends with someone." Charm never did have any real friends, and the only 'friend' he ever had was Trickery. After reconnecting with his innocence at Snow's birthday party, Charm came to the conclusion that he would be able to continue rediscovering his humanity without ruining his chance for revenge on Slash. After observing the Paw Patrol for a week, he finally knew how to act next.

Flare and Snow were laying on Flare and Marshall's desk as he, Marshall, and Everest were watching Snow draw something that Flare was helping her with. "I think they were little flower spots on the ears." Snow did as requested, and Flare was starting to like how it was coming along. "Why are our spots only black anyway? There are other colors."

Someone then knocked on the door to Flare and Marshall's room with Marshall calling over to them. "It's open!" Charm came into the room, alerting Marshall, since he was the first to notice. "Oh, Charm. What're you doing in here?"

"Stop shivering and you'll find out." Charm demanded, finding Marshall's fear in his presence annoying. He should know by now that he wouldn't risk weakening his chances to kill Slash. He then turned to Flare, putting a paw on the desk as he addressed him. "It appears that I need assistance in more areas than combat with Slash."

Snow was quick to speak up, having almost as little trust for Charm as Claw did. "And why are you coming to us about that?"

"Is that even a question that needs a response?" Charm asked coldly, reminding Snow that Charm's army wasn't around to help him at the moment, if ever again. Charm then looked back at Flare, getting back on topic with the mission. "You're going to come with me into town, and assist me with the very thing I need your help with."

Flare got a good look at the drawing, and after observing it for a bit, he felt now would be a good place to stop. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a break." Flare then smiled as he kissed Snow's cheek, admitting that he was up for some sunshine in Foxcadia at the moment. "I was hoping to get some fresh air anyway."

Charm then walked off while letting Flare know where he'd be waiting for him. "If you have plans, make new time for them now. I expect you to meet me by the front door in two minutes."

After Charm left the room, Everest expressed her current distrust in him. "Why do I still worry he's gonna literally stab me in the back two weeks after teaming up with him?"

"Probably because it's Charm." Marshall pointed out, and then he looked to Flare, letting him know to be careful when it came to Charm. "If you think he's planning anything dastardly, run back here as soon as you can blind him."

"Don't worry Marshall. Something tells me he wouldn't risk breaking the alliance." Flare assured Marshall, knowing that Charm was way too smart to decrease his chances of defeating Slash. "I'll be keeping my gun and taser on me just in case though." Marshall sighed of relief with Flare kissing Snow's cheek again and nuzzling her nose before leaving. "Twice for good luck!" Flare rushed out of the room with Marshall praying to God he would be okay. Snow and Everest did as well with Everest rubbing Snow's head in an attempt to ease her mind.

Rocky and Rex were in the lab with both of them having already gotten the news of what Charm planned to do. Rocky hoped they would be able to keep up with the anti-demon weapons without him. "I hope Charm heading out with Flare won't hinder our progress. Chase, Zuma, and everyone else are counting on us to turn them back."

"I think we'll be okay so long as we keep a level head." Rex assured Rocky, deciding to ease the mood with some small talk. "Though, now's a good chance for the two of us to get to know each other. And I was wondering about what you told Flare."

Rocky figured a question like that was coming, and it caused him to chuckle a bit in response. He didn't mind giving Rex an answer though, since Flare helped him feel a little better about the situation. "It started the day after my thirteenth birthday. I found out that I was half wolf, and that I resembled my father's appearance in all but my patch."

Rex got a good look at Rocky after setting the crafting settings for some more holy fire bullets. He didn't know what Slash looked like, but he could get a pretty good idea from Rocky. "You're scared that you look handsome?"

"No, of course not!" Rocky blurted out while snorting, laughing a bit as he clarified what he meant. "I just mean that my dad is a terrible canine, and with Charm the way he is, I'm worried my genetics will eventually make me like him one day. Flare's point made sense, but it could still be something out of my control."

Rex didn't exactly get what Rocky had to be scared of. I mean, it's not like he was being controlled himself. Still; he decided to give Rocky some sound advice that he felt would help him feel better about this. "Well you clearly don't wanna be anything like him. Maybe you can use that to keep yourself on the path you're currently going on." Rocky decided to take that advice head on as well. Although he couldn't get rid of these thoughts, he was glad to at least have some helpful advice from his friends, both new and old.

Flare and Charm were walking around Foxcadia with some of the citizens showing noticeable fear in regards to Charm. Charm ignored that and allowed Flare to ask him what he needed his help with. "So what'd you need my help with Charm? Motivating some of your army soldiers you found? A two dog mission of part collecting?" Flare pressed a button on his pup pack that pulled out a slice of pizza, which he took a bite of after stating his last thought. Actually, this idea seemed rather appealing in Charm's eyes. "Ideas for the best pre-battle buffet ever?"

"I'll get back to you on that last one." Charm answered, seeing the appeal of giving everyone a decent meal before the final battle. "What I DID bring you out here for might shock you though." Flare listened closely, showing that he'd help Charm with anything that wasn't evil. It was hard for him to ask, especially since Charm didn't know how Flare would react. But after working up the courage, Charm asked his question. "How do you do what you did with Rocky back there? 'Consoling', I believe Rex called it?"

Flare had to admit; that request caught him off guard coming from Charm. He then laughed a bit to show that Charm was right. "You're right. That IS a shocker."

Flare laughed a bit more with Charm having to admit that he expected a reaction more akin to suspicion rather than lighthearted laughter. "You're not going to make me explain my reasons in detail, are you?"

Flare nodded his head no, figuring it was best to let Charm only state what he wanted. This made Charm sigh of relief inside with Flare then telling him how consolation worked. "Consoling someone means you're comforting them when they're feeling down. You're giving them kindness in a moment where they really need it." Charm never experienced himself doing anything like that before. Actually, he never showed sadness in general with his army. "It's something we do to lift others' spirits."

"Like when Rocky started thinking about becoming like Slash?" Charm asked, and Flare gave him a thumbs up, showing that he was on the right track. Charm thought to himself for a moment about Rocky after he mentioned him. 'That must be what Rocky wants to do for me. If I wasn't so lost at how to tell him about what Slash did, he probably would've done it by now.' Charm then asked another question in the hopes he could learn to do this himself. "And how does one do that?"

"Lots of ways. Listening to their problems, offering our support, letting them know we're there for them..." The ones Flare listed off weren't what consoling was limited to, but it gave Charm a decent idea as to how this worked. The next thing Flare said caught his attention the most. "Basically, just... show them empathy."

That was something Charm never had the pleasure of having before. Like his innocence and remorse, he could thank Slash and Trickery for beating that out of him. And now it was up to him to get it back. "Care to show an example? The method is your choice."

Flare caught onto what Charm was trying to do and smirked as he accepted his request. "So long as you're willing to listen." Flare then got curious as to why Charm wanted to learn about empathy. Like learning how to console someone, Charm was the last pup Flare expected that from. "If you don't mind me asking though, why are you interested in learning about stuff like this?"

Charm had a different reason for not sharing his motivations with Flare. For Rocky, it was that he didn't know how to express the feelings he's had for the past month. For the others, it was that even if they did care, they would be nice to him purely out of obligation. He couldn't have others being nice to him because they had to if he wanted to overpower the demon blood. It had to be genuine. Perhaps he could tell them later; once he knew how to express it. For now though, he hid his vulnerable side and kept his reasons vague. "I have my reasons."

"Fair enough. (Winks) Just don't give me a second scar and we'll be good." Flare advised Charm, who rolled his eyes after Flare turned around, not really seeing what that small jab had to do with this. He then walked behind him as Flare then started leading him to a place they could practice in private.

Back at the lab, Rocky and Rex were making decent progress on the anti-demon weapons, even if they were slower without Charm's help. The two canines were impressed by their work with Rex being quick to compliment it. "That's what I'm talking about!"

Rocky smiled before his hat fell off after getting accidentally struck by one of the arms making the devices. "Hey!"

Rocky's hat fell on the ground, leaving Rex to turn off the arm and get ready to start working on what happened to it. "Sorry about that Rocky. I made all of these gadgets myself, so you can expect to see hiccups like that every now and then."

"No problem." Rocky assured Rex, setting his hat up to make sure something was still in there. "You should see what some of Marshall's wipeouts can do."

Rex took notice to a note in Rocky's hat, and when he saw the writing on it, he looked as if he recognized it. "Pay it forward." Rocky became surprised and looked at the note himself. He then looked back at Rex as he asked about it. "Where did you get a note like that?"

"Oh, this? I don't know the full story." Rocky admitted, telling Rex what he knew after feeling he would know where he got it from. "I almost drowned the day I ran away from home. When I woke up, I found this note on my chest and kept it on me since."

Rex was ecstatic when he heard that story and laughed before smiling to Rocky as he spoke up about the memory he had. "It's you! You're that dog! Or, wolf, I guess!" Rocky realized then and there that Rex was the one who saved him, and Rex even gave him more context after he did. "I was just walking along the beach in Prison City and I saw you jump in! When I didn't see you come back up, I just, reacted! I did my best to revive you, but I didn't know CPR."

Rocky didn't hold any ill will in regards to that last part. He was just glad to finally meet the pup who saved his life. "Saving my life is more than enough. Why didn't I see you after I woke up?"

"I wanted to be there, but I got a call about my owner and had to go back." Rex explained, seeming more melancholic as he spoke up about this part of his life. "She was an elderly woman with Dementia. She... died right before I got back." Rocky felt horrible for Rex after hearing that. He really lost his owner right after saving a life? "I thought about that for years. Maybe if I didn't take my morning walk that day, I would've gotten to say goodbye. But also that, since I DID head out..." Rex smiled, shedding a tear as he stated a positive to that day. "you had a chance."

Rocky knew what it was like to lose someone close to you, since he lost his mother on that day. He felt it wouldn't hurt to talk to Rex about it. He just hoped it wouldn't effect his willingness to work with Charm. "Ya know Rex... I lost someone that day myself too." Rex listened closely as Rocky then stated who it was. "It was my mother." Rex couldn't say he was surprised. He figured something had to make Rocky run away. He just didn't think it was something so tragic like losing a parent.

Flare and Charm were at the gate of Foxcadia while no guards were around as Flare was setting up some kind of figure that looked like Rocky. He felt the best way to help Charm understand empathy was to give him a live example. Charm was confused by this, but he let Flare begin as the young Dalmatian started to tell Charm about empathy. " Gotta love that easy model clay from the art shop! Anyway, empathy is where you can understand someone's feelings, while also feeling them yourself. Say for example, someone is sad, and you can feel their sadness."

"Or when someone is furious with someone and has said anger felt by someone else?" Charm asked, hoping he had a good example of his own from Flare's description.

"Yeah; you're getting it." Flare confirmed, leaving Charm glad that he was getting a decent understanding rather quickly. Now he just had to learn how to feel something like that. "Empathy can be seen with any emotion. The only thing that's the same every time is that you're putting yourself in someone else's shoes when doing it."

Charm wasn't sure if he would be able to do that. He never took the time to consider the feelings of others before. Well, outside of fear, but that wasn't an empathetic example. "And how do I do that?"

"That's what this bad boy's for!" Flare confirmed, patting the figure as he explained to Charm what he wanted to do. "I felt Rocky would be the best portrait for this, since you had a direct example from him this morning. Try thinking about something that makes you really, really sad, and see how that relates to Rocky's dilemma."

Charm walked up to the figure and observed it, still questioning Flare's methods. It wasn't like he was talking to the real Rocky. After realizing that this could be good practice for talking to Rocky however, he decided to give it a shot. He closed his eyes and started thinking about when he found out that Slash and Trickery lied to him about everything. From needing to kill to live, to looking out for him, to keeping him from feeling anything that would make him feel like a real child. It surrounded him with anger, and it also filled him with a sense of sadness.

Charm tried to link this with Rocky's dilemma, but found himself struggling to do so. Having never practiced this before, it was incredibly hard for him to pull it off. Flare could see him struggling, and Charm even looked as if he was about to shed a tear. This didn't surprise Flare. He knew everyone was capable of sadness in one way or another. Charm was trying his best, but he couldn't bring himself to share Rocky's emotions. He collapsed from how much it was hurting him. "I can't do it!"

Flare could feel the fear that came from Charm's voice as he made that cry. There was clearly something deeper going on here. Flare just didn't know what. If only he knew about Charm's struggle to reconnect with his humanity, or to stop enabling the demon blood. He put a paw on his shoulder as he told him that they could try again. "It was only one try Charm. Let's try a different emotion." Charm calmed down a little thanks to Flare, and managed to stop himself from having a panic attack. Now he just had to get back on track with learning empathy.

Rocky and Rex were still talking back at the lab with Rex being in awe at what Rocky went through before he arrived at Adventure Bay. "You went through all of that, and you're still hoping for the chance to reconcile with Charm!?"

Rocky paused for a moment, unable to deny that it was a nice thought. He just wished he could learn of anything that could make it possible. "Something like that."

"Wow. You really are a forgiving pup, aren't you." Rex commented, and Rocky looked at him as he expressed his conflicted thoughts on that. "I don't know whether to call the level you take it to honorable or dangerous."

Rocky shrugged, figuring that there was no reason to pick between the two. "I guess it depends on how far we go with it." Rocky then thought about how Charm would react if he admitted these thoughts to him. "I actually spent the last two weeks hoping Charm and I could talk. At least then, I could finally know if he can be brought to our side."

Rex started to think about the other pups, as well as anyone else who would be conflicted about this. He gave Rocky his most caring look as he let him know about the guarantee of skeptics. "Just don't expect everyone to be so accepting if he does Rocky. It's gonna take a lot of time for your friends to warm up to the idea too." Rocky was aware of that and nodded in response. He knew it would be hard if Charm wanted to switch sides. First, he had to hope Charm would tell him the truth during the alliance. After that, he'd know if he could help him or not.

Flare was giving Charm one last dummy that looked like him with dummies of Rocky, Zuma, Chase, Marshall, Snow, Everest, Skye, and Claw behind him. Now that they were on their ninth emotion, Flare could see a hint of desperation on Charm's eyes. He was almost lost about how to react. He'd never seen this side of Charm before. He couldn't give up though. Something kept telling him to try and help Charm. "Okay Charm. Here's my statue. Do you think you can pull off joy?"

"After the previous attempts, no." Charm stated bluntly, but he wasn't about to let incredibly low chances stop him. "But it's the only emotion we haven't tried yet. Surprised you were able to find nine in total." Charm attempted to emphasize with joy using the Flare statue, looking directly into the eyes to see his joy. Amazingly, this proved to be the hardest of the nine emotions for Charm. For Rocky's sadness, Claw's anger, and Zuma's calmness, he at least had memories linked to those emotions. For joy however, it was a little more complicated than that.

Almost every happy moment Charm ever had in his life was turned into something that enraged him. Even though he couldn't feel remorse, the thought of being his father's demon blood controlled puppet made his blood boil more than he thought possible. Flare saw him tensing up, and inside Charm's head, he was facing several hurtful thoughts as he started to feel fear and aggressive self loathing as well. This was the exact opposite of what they wanted, and Charm couldn't stop it.

The voice in Charm's head was revealed to be his own, hitting him with twisted comments as first thought that came... 'You'll never be your own canine!' then another... 'You're an irredeemable monster!' and another... 'You can't even feel remorse!' and another... 'You should just kill yourself after you kill Slash!' and another... 'Your efforts will all be in vein!' and another. 'You'll always be a worthless, hopeless, depressed demon blood slave who's obsessed with killing!'

Flare saw what was happening with the fear in Charm's eyes showing all too well. Out of a surprising concern for Charm's well being, he made the best effort he could to snap him out of it. "Charm, what's wrong!?" Charm fell on his back and started breathing quickly as the self loathing got worse. His heart was beating much faster than normal. He clenched his heart the best he could but couldn't control his inner demons. In an effort to help Charm, Flare spoke loudly, but at just the right volume to snap Charm out of it. "Charm! Look at me!"

Charm looked at Flare, who started advising him on what to do in order to stop whatever was causing his panic attack. "Breathe slowly. Don't let the stress overwhelm you." Flare breathed in and out slowly to demonstrate, and Charm was able to slow down his breathing as a result. He continued to do so, and Charm stayed focused, knowing that Flare was giving him good advice from the first attempt alone. It took about ten seconds for Charm to slow down to a reasonable length, but he pulled it off, much to Flare's joy. "That's better. You okay?"

"Not sure why you care, but I am. Thank you." Charm informed Flare as he sat up, still skeptical about whether or not anyone in the Paw Patrol, besides Rocky at least, would care about him. Charm then admitted something to Flare about his panic attack, knowing that he didn't have a choice now. "I've never been brought to that state before." He then started to wonder if he made a good call. "And here I thought I could manage both of my goals at once."

Flare nodded in understanding before putting a paw on Charm's shoulder, having an idea on what his second goal was. "You mean how you want to learn how to become a better canine?" Charm looked at Flare in shock with Flare giggling as he expressed how easy it was to figure it out. "It's not exactly rocket science dude. One conversation, and I saw exactly what you were going for. And I think I know a new way to help." Charm couldn't believe it. Flare genuinely wanted to help him. But, why? After everything he's done, he had to know why.

Rocky and Rex were still talking as Rex was telling Rocky the story of how he got his hind legs paralyzed. "And you'd think that kind of building debris could kill me. But somehow, they saved me before I lost too much blood. They couldn't save my hind legs though."

Rocky was definitely glad that Rex made it out of there. He also had something to say about the way he lost his hind legs mobility. "It's always a miracle when we survive a tragedy like that." Rocky then brought up a tragedy he managed to survive before joining the team. "I thought I was gonna die after I got hit by that car." Rex listened closely as Rocky then brought up what Richie did for him. "If Richie didn't give me some of his blood, I don't think I'd be here right now."

Rex already knew that Richie was half demon, so he saw no reason to ask about that. Instead, he asked if this had anything to do with Charm's situation. "Is that also part of what led to you wanting to help Charm?"

"Yes, but it didn't come for a while. The demon blood I mean." Rocky admitted, telling Rex what Charm told him about his demon blood. "Charm has demon blood in him too. And something tells me that Slash had something to do with why he has it. And not for the same reasons as Richie giving some of his blood to me."

Rex found that fascinating, hoping for Rocky's sake that it were true. Or at least he could handle it if he didn't. "Well Rocky, you'll find out what happened to him if he ever talks to you about it." Rocky and Rex fist bumped, smiling to each other with their friendship shown in full. It was clear that despite Rex's skepticism about the Charm thing, the two of them had a lot of respect for each other.

Flare and Charm entered Flare and Marshall's room, and when they saw that no one was around, just like Charm wanted, Flare went over to the desk. "Okay good; we'll be alone for this."

Flare opened up one of the drawer's with Charm wondering what exactly Flare had planned. "What exactly are you going to use in here that will help?"

"Just look!" Flare exclaimed, showing Charm the drawing Snow made, showing him of a canine who looked familiar, yet different at the same time. It was a female Dalmatian, one who had a similar design to Flare, pup suit and all. Charm wasn't sure what to make of this with Flare elaborating on it. "I've been going through my own personal stuff since my last birthday. Ever since then, this is my reflection."

This made Charm more intrigued, wondering how Flare's reflection was different from what he looked like on the outside. "How come I can't see this?" Flare shrugged, not really having an answer for why his reflection was different from his real body. "I also don't understand what I'm supposed to get from this. I don't have a reflection like that."

Charm was right about that, but Flare then stated why he thought this would help Charm. "Even so, both of our situations involve change." Charm started to understand Flare's method better as Flare then spoke more about his dilemma. "I haven't figured out why I'm having this reflection yet, or why I'm more comfortable in girls clothes and like the girl toys in Puppy meals. But one thing does help me understand your situation enough to care." Flare looked into Charm's eyes as he stated exactly what that was. "We both want to change into something we love more."

Something sparked inside of Charm when Flare expressed his understanding towards his desire to become his own canine. Flare's showcase of how he and Charm both desire change in their own ways was a massive eye opener for him. He didn't think something like this would help, but it happened. Charm managed to feel empathy. Even if he didn't relate to Flare's Gender Dysphoria, he still felt his desire for change. And Flare's smile showed that he saw his method work like a charm. No pun intended.

Charm was glad he could feel empathy, but he still wanted to know why Flare was helping him. "You've been incredibly use- helpful Flare, but..." After he fixed his attempt to show gratitude towards Flare, he asked his question. "I've tried to kill you, and your friends, multiple times. And drain Adventure Bay's life. Why did you help me? True, I asked, but you clearly wanted to do it. Rocky's the only one I expected that from."

"Actually, believe it or not, Rocky was part of the reason." Flare revealed, and Charm listened more as Flare explained his piece. "He told me about that time he overheard Slash mention controlling you in some way. He's spent years trying to figure out if that was true or not." This definitely intrigued Charm, even though he still couldn't feel remorse. That was something else he had to work on. "But also..." Charm looked back at Flare, who said something that really hit his heart. "If you want to change... then who am I to stop you from trying?"

Charm couldn't believe what he was seeing and hearing right now. Someone other than Rocky actually wanted to help him. It warmed his heart, which was something he didn't expect. "You truly mean that. After all I've done to you. No false crap in it."

Flare nodded his head no, and as he put the drawing away, he expressed how hard something like this would be. "I know it won't be easy after everything you've done. And I have to take my friends' feelings into account for this too." Flare then pumped his fist, showing that his willingness to help Charm was true. "But the fact that you came to me for help shows me that you're trying. So if you wanna tell me your reason for wanting to change in depth, I'm here."

Charm could feel a small smile forming on his face from Flare's comfort. This felt... different from Trickery's care. All Charm saw in Flare was a genuine willingness to help. "Thank you Flare." Despite them still not being friends, seeing Flare willing to help him made Charm feel really warm inside. And he liked this feeling a lot. Loved it even. It made him hope he could have true companionship someday.

Later that night, Charm was writing his weekly journal entry again, expressing how much today surprised him thanks to Flare. 'So I learned empathy today. I'll admit. The way it happened wasn't what I expected. I went to Flare for help on this after seeing him comfort Rocky. And apparently, he has a similar desire to mine in regards to changing. Not a perfect comparison mind you, but it was similar enough to help me understand the gesture. I didn't think I'd be this amazed by his kindness either. He outright confessed that he helped me because he wanted to.'

Charm then started writing about when Flare was helping him learn empathy while they were in Foxcadia. 'It's strange that his last method was the one that worked however. I was failing so miraculously with his attempt with the statues, that my dark thoughts came back out of nowhere. And they never acted up that seriously before. I expected myself to be more embarrassed to have a panic attack after usually being so terrifying; and instead, I felt... safe, when he was helping me out of it.'

Charm then thought about talking to Rocky again, as well as reconnecting with his humanity. 'However much sense this makes, I'm one step closer to reconnecting with my lost humanity. Perhaps for my next step, I can work up the courage to talk to Rocky. I think I'm getting closer to figuring out how to tell him.' Charm had to admit; he was still conflicted over how that would go. 'If Flare was right about me being worth it anyway.' Charm then closed his journal and set it next to his knife before going to bed, hoping both of his missions would continue at this pace.

To be continued.

Rock music played as Rocky started speaking in regards to what was going to happen with specific moments from the next chapter being shown. "So it looks like I'm watching over Rubble and Tracker again. I can't let memories of Zuma's promise to Paleclaw affect my day. Rubble? Are you okay? It looks like you're going through a lot right now. I know, I know, you don't like talking about before. Maybe it would help if I opened up about my own problems first."

Rocky finished the announcement with the words Paw Patrol in all blue with red outlines surrounded with a white border with Flare on the right, and Marshall on the left. "Next time, Love: A Genuine Tender Feeling! (Rocky is shown to be talking to Rubble and Tracker with Charm observing from nearby as the spark returns) You don't have to tell me every single detail. Just what you feel most comfortable talking about."