It took only a few seconds for Xavier to teleport them all to an area just outside Cerulean, and the walk into the city didn't take long at all.

"Huh, so this is what Cerulean looks like." Tony said, looking around. "It's nice."

"I agree, it is quite pretty." Claire said, though she isn't looking around.

Tony looked over at her. "Have you been here before?"

"I passed through here a few years ago." Claire stated.

Tony nodded. He knew by now she probably wasn't going to explain why she had been here.

"So, what should we do until Xavier can teleport again?" Tony asked.

Claire shrugged. "Whatever we wish."

Tony looked around and his eyes fell on a small shop. He looked back and forth from Claire to the store, clearly wanting to check it out.

"Go ahead. I'm not stopping you." Claire said, waving her hand.

The blue eyed boy looked at her in surprise. "But, what about-"

"Xenas won't attack you in such a populated area. You'll be fine. And if I hear a commotion, I'll come running." Claire looked off in the distance. "Let's meet at the Center in an hour. Agreed?"

Tony nodded. "Ok. See you in an hour!" And with that, he took off, Xavier following.

"What do you want to do, my lady?" Maxwell asked once he was gone.

Claire shrugged, turning and walking away.

"Good day!" The young girl at the desk of the shop greeted as the light brunette walked in. "Can I help with anything?"

"Nah, I'm just looking." Tony said. "But I'll let you know if I need help."

Tony looked around. It was a trinket shop, with jewelry and stones and other items, though none really caught his eye.

Walking down an aisle, Tony scanned his blue eyes across the shelves. He paused as his eyes fell upon an item.

One was a small stone, about three quarters of an inch wide, and flat, with rough edges. The bright orange color was like that of a fire, and on the inside of the stone, a tiny flame appeared to burn.

Tony carefully picked it up, and as he did he noticed that it was flickering occasionally. He couldn't tell if it was a trick of the light or not, though.

Tony gently turned the stone in his hands. It felt slightly warm, but that might have just been Tony's imagination.

"Excuse me, miss?" Tony called out to the lady at the counter. "What's this?"

"Ah," She said, coming over to him. "That stone was brought in by someone quite a few years ago. They said they found it on the ground in the forest, but they didn't know what to do it, so they decided to sell it. Tis a beautiful stone, no?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah, it's very pretty." He looked at the stone more closely, watching the apparent flame inside flicker.

It reminds me of Claire, for some reason…

"If you are interested, I can add it to a piece of jewelry, like a necklace or hair clip." The lady offered. "No charge."

Tony looked over at her. "Would you have to drill a hole in it?" He asked, dubious. He didn't want to damage the stone.

"No no," She waved her hand. "I can attach it without damaging the stone. Would you like me attach it for you?"

Tony smiled. "That would be great."

"Well then, this way please." The lady walked over to the counter, and began rummaging under it. "What kind of jewelry would you like it to be?"

"Um…" Tony thought. "Hair clip."

"Hair clip…" She muttered, rummaging around under the counter for a few more seconds. "This work for you?" The lady asked, standing up, holding up a copper hair clip. It was a simple clip, not too big, but large enough to hold the stone in place. The part of the clip that attached to the hair was hidden by a decal of a burning flame, the base of which is where the stone would be attached.

Tony smiled. "That's perfect."

The lady smiled in return. "Good good. Give me just a moment."

The lady began carefully wrapping the metal around the stone in such a way as to keep the stone from falling out while showing as much as possible.

"Is this for someone special?" The lady asked as she wrapped the clip in tissue paper and put it in a box.

Tony nodded. "I'm travelling with someone who I owe a major favor to. I figured this would be a great way to thank her."

The lady smiled, handing him the box. "I'm sure she'll love it."

"I hope so." Tony said, carefully putting the box in his backpack. "Thank you very much."

"Twas not a problem. Have a good day!" The lady said, waving as Tony left.

Claire leaned against the fence, looking at the river.

She had been here for a while, her mind a mess of thoughts, and memories.

"Thinking about Bell Tower?" Maxwell asked, standing beside her.

Claire chuckled bitterly, shaking her head. "You know me so well."

"I also know what that tower is to you."

Claire was silent, her eyes once again distant, reliving some old memories.

"Seven years." She said after several minutes. "It's been seven years since I've been back there. Seven years since…" Claire's voice trailed off.

Maxwell stayed silent. He knew Claire, and he knew that trying to comfort her wouldn't help.

Claire sighed. "But we have no choice. It's the best lead we have."

Maxwell nodded. As little as he trusted Claire's intuitions, as they had gotten them both into some tight situations, he knew that Claire couldn't and wouldn't let a single lead go.

"At least we know we'll be welcomed there." The poison type said.

That elicited a small half smile from Claire, along with a single chuckle. "Yeah, you're right about that."

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the city, people shouting and police telling people to remain calm.

Claire and Maxwell looked at each other. Both nodded and immediately took off towards the sound.