The chances of them beating the infamous group of criminals and their psychotic leader were slim from the beginning, but never did Gold imagine it may have cost them their lives.

Beaten and severely injured, he had been forced to watch as Red Eye swung a metal bat across Silver's face. He flinched every time the sickening cracks of bones echoed in this cave. What mortified Gold even more was the fact that Silver didn't let out a single scream, not even during the first few hits. At one point, Gold forced himself to pinch his eyes shut; he couldn't watch anymore without feeling sick to his stomach. It wasn't until he heard the dead silence that he knew it was over.

Hesitantly, Gold peeled open an eye to see what had become of his friend, but the gory sight in front of him made him wish he didn't. An alarmingly large amount of blood continued to grow, resembling a red lake, underneath the body of an unmoving Silver. Patches of his already flaming red hair looked darker, making Gold believe it was stained with his own blood from all the beatings he endured from Red Eye. He couldn't see how his face was left, but Gold had a feeling of how grotesque the aftermath was; he'd rather leave it to his imagination than take a look for himself.

A grunt escaped his lips as Red Eye hauled him up by his black hair. Gold glared as he scowled at the criminal. He wished to do something, anything, but he lacked the strength; any strength he had was used during their fight. Not to mention all Pokémon had been subdued with the technology stolen from Team Rocket before their arrest.

"That's one pest out of the way," Red Eye smirked at Gold. "Any last words before you join your friend in the afterlife?"

"Someone... will stop you." Gold spat in his face. "You may have power... but you're no god."

The fury in Red Eye's face was evident as he used his free hand to wipe away the spit on his face. Gold knew that his words may have cost him his life, yet he felt a strange sense of relief to get it off his chest. Red Eye didn't deserve seeing despair as he was about to take the young trainer's life.

Gold didn't know if his death had been painless or if the shock was too overwhelming that the lethal blows left him unbothered. All he could see in his unfocused vision was Red Eye laughing maniacally, his blood flying all over the place, and for a moment, he saw a flash of light. Was this what people experienced when they're about to die? Did they see their so-called creator moments before their life ended?

As his heavy eyelids began to droop, there was one person he wished he could've seen one last time. There was only one person he wished he could've said the three-worded phrase he had been wanting to say for the past couple of years. There was only one person he wished he could've done a better job protecting.

I'm sorry, Ada...

That was his final thought before he finally went to rest for good.

It felt good to be home.

Ada couldn't help but smile contently as she took in the familiar surroundings of Ilex Forest. Unlike the previous timeline, there was no unwanted atmosphere that made her feel as though she was in the wrong place; she felt like she belonged here. There was definitely something different in regards to the air around her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. There was also no telling whether this change was good or bad.

Despite all she had experienced in the other timeline, Ada still managed to smile a little wider than she had in a long time. She looked over her shoulder, surprised that Celebi was gone from Robin's side. Perhaps the Pokémon exhausted itself and went to rest in its sanctuary, just like it had done when it brought her and Robin to the other timeline. No doubt it took a lot of power, so it was only logical that the exhaustion that resulted would put one into slumber.

"It's done," Robin spoke as he showed her the Wings. "Once we've found a place to hide them for good, the end of the world will never become a reality."

"That was the plan." Ada chuckled humorlessly. "So... what happens now?"

"I already told you-"

"I mean what happens with us now," Ada clarified. "You're the man who tried to kill my brother, yet I still had the balls to go with you to prevent the apocalypse. I don't even know who the hell you are. How can I be sure you won't try to kill him again, or rather kill us both?"

Robin opened his mouth to give a vague answer, but the black-haired girl cut him off.

"You could've killed me back in Whirl Islands when I stopped you from killing Zane. Actually, you could've killed me back when we first met." She took an intimidating step toward the man, peering her eyes at him with her arms crossed against her chest. "You've had more than one opportunity to end me, and you didn't, which makes me wonder even more why you targeted my brother to begin with."

"I-" I can't tell you or else it could ruin everything, was what he wanted to say, but he couldn't. "Let's just say that Red Eye wasn't the only one with twisted fantasies."

"Bullshit!" Ada exclaimed. "I don't know what it is about you, but there's something there that tells me you aren't a bad person, which is what's making all of this even more confusing. My god, why can't you just tell me the truth?"

"Because if I do, you can get hurt," Robin blurted out, making Ada's eyes widened. He took a deep breath before trying to rephrase his previous answer. "Look, whatever I'm hiding from you is for the better. In fact, had I not told my sister, there's a chance she would still be alive. I told you that she taught me to learn from my mistakes and grow. This is exactly what I'm doing."

"I'm not someone that needs protecting!" Ada yelled in an annoyed tone. "I'm not a fucking child that needs to be secured from the evil of this world. I already know that reality is cruel and dangerous. What more is there?!"

"There's a lot more and you're not ready for it!" Robin raised his voice, earning him a glare from Ada.

"Don't underestimate me!"

She didn't know if it was from the anger she felt being undermined or if she wanted to make a point, but she certainly wasn't expecting herself to point her gun at Robin. An audible gasp left his lips upon staring dead into the gun's barrel. He slowly rose his hands up to show surrender, but it wasn't until she unlocked the safety lock that she realized what she was doing.

Ada's violet eyes quivered, short pants leaving her mouth as her hand trembled slightly. What was she thinking to pull the gun on him like that? Had she completely lost it? There was no reason for her to use the gun right now; her life wasn't threatened in any way possible.

Realizing this, Ada quickly locked the gun and put it away. Guilt quickly began to press down on her shoulders the more she thought about what she had just done. She never saw herself as a violent person, yet she still had the nerve to point a gun at someone?

"I-I'm sorry..." she apologized. "I shouldn't have-"

"It's okay," he assured her quickly. "It's okay, really."

Ada was going to say something, but something in her pocket had buzzed. She pulled out her PokéGear out of her pocket, only for her eyebrows to furrow upon seeing the tons of messages flooding in on the screen.

"What the hell?" She walked over to Robin and showed him. "I'm barely getting messages from two days ago. Why is that?"

"Perhaps the space-time continuum creates an interference toward technology," he answered. "I may be going out on a limb here, but I assume it had to do with your recent trip to a different timeline."

"These are all from Gold and Silver," Ada said as she scrolled through them all. "Even a few from Dr. Troyard."

Just as she continued scrolling, an incoming call had interrupted her. Her eyes widened even more when Dr. Troyard's name flashed on the screen. Ada didn't hesitate to press the answer button. The conversation was brief and short, but what Robin took notice of was the shocked expression on Ada's face as she robotically answered the doctor on the other line. He could only assume that whatever she heard couldn't be good news.

After bidding the doctor goodbye, Ada hung up and put the PokéGear back into her pocket. Her shocked expression didn't falter one bit, and it kind of scared him. The way her eyes bore into him made him slightly uncomfortable, but that was nothing compared to the next words that left her lips.

"Zane woke up."

Ada walked into the hospital with a worried expression, eyeing the doctors that roamed around. The way Dr. Troyard spoke on the phone left her to wonder Zane's reaction upon waking up after having been shot and almost killed. She knew stuff like that could traumatize someone, and she hoped her brother didn't try anything to harm himself or others upon his awakening.

Once she reached the receptionist's desk and asked for Dr. Troyard, she waited in one of the cheap-looking chairs with her arms crossed over her chest. She furiously shook her leg with impatience; every minute she was left in the dark felt like torture. Had Robin been with her right now, he would've told her to quit it. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances of the situation, they were forced to part ways for now. How she'd find him again remained a mystery.

A few minutes passed when her eyes landed on Dr. Troyard walking toward her. She let out a relieved sigh that he had come to her sooner than the first time they met where she had to spend hours wondering if her brother was going to live or die. Ada stood up and met the doctor halfway.

"How is he?" she asked.

"Ada, perhaps you might want to sit down for what I'm about to tell you," he advised. The black-haired girl nodded slowly and took a seat at the edge of a nearby chair. "When Zane woke up, he was reflecting typical symptoms of post comatose symptoms that are consistent with the minimally conscious state. He couldn't communicate in the beginning, but was later able to tell us his surrounding. His speech was slow, which was expected. However..."

Ada bit her lip as Dr. Troyard prepared to tell her the peculiar news that resulted from Zane regaining consciousness.

"He grew violent. We had to sedate him and transferred him to the psychiatric ward," he said. Ada's eyes widened.

"What does that mean? Why is he there? He's not crazy." She clenched the armrest tightly.

"We were left with no other choice. His aggressive behavior is dangerous to the point where he can hurt others and himself." Dr. Troyard gave her a sympathetic look. "You're allowed to see him, but only in the presence of staff. His temper is quite... unpredictable."

"I want to see him," Ada decided as she looked up at the doctor. "I have to see for myself."

Dr. Troyard led her to the east wing of the hospital where the psychiatric ward resided. The whole way there, Ada felt anxious to the point where she had the urge to pull at her locks. Thankfully, she was able to keep it under control, especially when the blood-curdling scream of a patient echoed in the hallway. The whole atmosphere from the lobby to here was a complete shift into something that made her very uncomfortable. There was something about walking into a place such as this one that felt peculiar as if she was in a horror movie walking into a haunted hospital.

When they arrived at the new area, Dr. Troyard went to the receptionist for the paperwork Ada needed to fill out. Minutes later, Ada was given a visitor's pass for her brother, who was now on his way with the help of some nurses. The moment her violet eyes landed on Zane, her heart dropped.

His jet-black hair was a greasy mess, but it was nothing compared to his sickly pale skin that shown faint purple bruises on his arms. The little life she saw in his only good onyx eye had been diminished; it was like looking into the eye of a corpse- lifeless. A white medical eyepatch remained on his left eye where the damage to it left it unsalvageable. She also didn't miss the dark bags under his good eye.

The nurses sat him in front of Ada, who let out an uneasy breath as she took in her brother's unhealthy appearance. She glanced over at Dr. Troyard, who nodded his head as a sign to tell her to speak with him. Ada opened her mouth, cautious of what she would say.

"Zane..." she spoke softly. "It's me, Ada, your little sister."

He looked up at her. She couldn't help but shrink back slightly at his intensely lifeless gaze.

"Everything is going to be okay," she assured. "I'm here now, and I'll stay by your side. Forever and always, just like Mom used to say."

Those were similar words she told Zane in the other timeline. Ada didn't know what to expect saying it to him this time now that he's awake from the coma. All she wanted was for him to know that she would never leave her family behind. She saved his life the first time Robin shot him and also stopped Robin from killing him in the other timeline. Any secret he hid, she knew, but she wouldn't abandon him.

The last thing she was expecting was for her brother to lash out the way he did that day. Ada would never forget how tightly he gripped her neck while looking at her with such a hateful gaze.