“Thank you for informing me, Randall.” Charlotte was on her way to the infirmary, Randall was with her. “You think I can talk to Toby for a sec?”
“He should be fine. It was just a little cut,” Randall responded.
“Wonderful. And… don’t worry. You didn’t do anything wrong. There’s no way you could’ve been prepared for a powerful opponent like this.”
“So… This ‘Basu’ is a Morpho Mon?”
“Yes. We have already registered them, identified as a BM-096. We have encountered them several times, usually at night, defending people who illegally own Morpho Mons. Alas, we could never stand a chance in a fight, much less capture them.”
“I see…”
“Things will get easier once we can call a Humanus Morpho Mon our own. But none of the Morpho Partners has gone further than Bestia form so far.”

Randall stared ahead. There was no way he or any of his classmates could get their partner to morph to the legendary Humanus form… If not even Elite defenders could do it. He turned to Charlotte again. “Is… this information confidential?”
“Not at all. Most people around the HQ know about Basu. You’re free to update your classmates on that matter, and if you happen to encounter Basu again, call an Elite defender immediately.”

“I will, thank you.”
“You’re free to go now.”
“Thank you, Miss Evans. Have a good night.”

Most people working at the Morpho Defenders HQ were nice, patient and generally friendly people. However, the very infamous head nurse of the HQ’s infirmary, Darcian Griffith, was quite the opposite. The short man with a blue bowl cut and a yellow, cat-like Morpho Partner was known for being sarcastic, mean and a generally unpleasant person to be around, especially when you were his patient.

“Come on, stop moving.” Darcian put the puffy bandage on Toby’s face.

“I-I’m not moving! You pushed me!” Toby groaned. He sat on the treatment table and Memis was on his lap.

“Yeah, whatever.” He took a step back and looked at his work. “Wonderful. Let’s hope you won’t die.”
“D-Die?!”
“I mean, you’ve been cut with the knife of a homeless man. Who knows what kind of diseases he was carrying…”
“W-What??”
“Hepatitis, HIV, herpes…”
“Oh god, oh no--” Toby wrapped his own arms around himself, and Darcian burst into a nasty laugh.
“HAHAHA, I’m just playing! We’ve already tested your blood, you’re all clean.”
“... I- I don’t think that’s very funny…” Toby looked to the side.

“Hey, Darcian.” Charlotte entered the infirmary. “Back to torturing apprentices again?”
“Ah, you know me.” Darcian shrugged. “My job’s not fun if no one ends up crying.”
“I really don’t know why Mr. Williams decided to hire you.” Charlotte shook her head. “Anyways, I’d like to talk to your patient for a second.”
“Sure, go ahead. I’ll take a cigarette break.” Darcian waved shortly and left the infirmary.

“Toby…” Charlotte approached the slightly disturbed-looking teenager. “Are you feeling better?”
“Uh…” Toby faced her. “Yeah. It’s just a scratch and some bruises… I’ll be fine. I just hope it won’t leave a scar…”
“That’s good to hear.” Charlotte smiled. “However… We need to have a serious discussion.” Her friendly expression faded and made room for a more serious and concerned one. “Your actions have been very reckless and dangerous. You’re never supposed to run off on your own, no matter how small and trivial the job seems to be. You never know how dangerous a situation really is, and you’re not only risking your own life, but also the safety of your colleagues.”

“...” Toby hung his head. “I’m sorry…. S-Sometimes I have very poor impulse control.”

“You’ll need to work on yourself. You have great potential, but if you neglect the rules like this again, I don’t know if I see a future for you as a defender.”
“... Okay.”
“And you…” Charlotte now spoke to Memis. “As Toby’s partner, it’s your job to look after him and correct his reckless behavior. You’re supposed to support him, not encourage his wrongdoing.”
“Yes, Ma’am…” The dog let his ears hang.
“I can’t let you two get away without consequences.” Charlotte crossed her arms and sighed. “I have to suspend you for three days. You’re dismissed.”
“W-What?!” Toby stood up. “N-No please! I’ve learned my lesson- Please-”
“I’m sorry, I don’t make the rules.”
“C-Can I still come here?”
“That’s not what suspension means…”
“Wehh…” Toby’s eyes got wet. “P-Please don’t tell my mom about this… She will be so furious…”
Charlotte raised her eyebrows. “Ah… I’ll-... I’ll see about that.” She turned around to leave. “Please take your time off to reevaluate your actions and learn from them. That’ll be all.”
“...” Toby put Memis back on the floor. “I will.”

“Goodbye, Toby.” Charlotte left the infirmary to return to her office.

It was never easy to suspend an apprentice for wrongdoing, but sometimes it was the only valid punishment. Though, his reaction was kind of… odd.

Charlotte pulled out her phone. She had two unread messages from an apprentice, Sophia Smith. She unlocked her phone to read them.

S. Smith 09:33 PM: Straph is out roaming again….

S. Smith 09:34 PM: Can we please have a talk tomorrow? I’m so lost… I don’t know what to do….

Charlotte typed

C. Evans 10:02 PM: Come to my office at 7:30 AM.

She sent the reply and put her phone away again.

As she passed the lab, she had a peek inside. “Roy?”
“Mh?” Roy looked at her. “Miss Evans?”
“Why are you still here?”
“Uhm… I wasn’t done protocolling everything… But I am now.”

“I see.” Charlotte tilted her head. “Say, you have a day off tomorrow, don’t you?”
“Yeah…?”
“Great! You could actually help me with something. Remember how you told me I should look after Toby?”
“... Did something happen?”
“It’s very minor, but I had to suspend him. Maybe you could check on him.”
“C-Can I just do that? Isn’t it rude to just go to people’s places?”
“Not at all. But I have a suspicion I’d like to have confirmed. I’ll send you his address.”
“O-Okay… of course. I will do that.”
“Great, thank you. Now go home! Have a nice evening!”
“Uhm- You too!”
Roy waved at Charlotte before she left to return to her own office.