"Is that?..." Ray stood up and saw the figure get closer with each passing second. "Jenna…" he mumbled to himself as she finally approached and stopped in front of him.
"R-Ray!" She doubled over and caught her breath for a few moments before standing back up.
"Jenna, what are you doing out here?" He studied her and saw that all she had on her was a pistol.
"I-I studied the virus some more when you left, and I think it's becoming more dangerous. I came to tell you."
"Jenna… why?" Ray had no problem with her caring, but it was very strange to him that she did to this point.
"You wouldn't have survived out here for long. It's becoming too unsafe. I fear that our safe haven will also be attacked soon enough." She noticed the five houndoom bodies on the ground behind him.
"Crystal and I took care of them… I'm glad you gave me this rifle." Ray knew that he would have been killed if he still had only his pistol with him.
Jenna sighed and grabbed ahold of Ray's arm with her left hand. "Come back with me, I'll tell my brother what I found out… he'll have to understand."
"You sure?"
"If he doesn't… well, I'm not going to shove you out again. There's strength in numbers."
Ray picked up the pouch and looked back at the infected canines that he had to slaughter; he didn't want to be alone either. Every second of their journey would have kept him on edge. Ray had Crystal lead just in case any trouble was nearby while they walked back to Celestial.
Before they could even reach the city's entrance, Jenna saw Chris standing in front of it with Hydron by his left side. She was expecting the worst from him, and really disliked him sometimes because of how strict he was over her. They approached and stood a few feet away from her brother and the Blastoise.
"Jenna… we talked about this already, what the f-"
"I found something out, Chris." Jenna paused for a second. "The parasites are already growing to be more aggressive. We can't fight what it's becoming by ourselves, not if we're being realistic."
"I don't need for you tell me what's possible or not, I already told him to leave!... And you gave him one of our damn rifles?!" Chris deeply sighed and closed his eyes tightly for a second. "Jenna, listen. If you're not going to follow my rules and jeopardize our safety, then I can't let you stay here."
Jenna swallowed, that pierced right through her heart. It never helped that she was softer inside than she should be. "H-How could you say that to me?" She replied, her voice somewhat shaky.
Ray quietly watched from behind Jenna with Crystal standing next to him.
"I won't allow you to bring that virus to us just because you want to trust everyone you come across!" Chris didn't shout, but he may as well have because of how loud his voice had risen. It lead Ray to believe that he was either highly frustrated, or just very quick to anger.
The argument was cut short though, as the dreaded, ear-piercing sound of the warning siren was heard blaring all throughout Sinnoh once again. Everything fell silent. There was no more talking, and no one moved a muscle. It faded out in minutes, and the silence lingered for some time.
"That's… scheduled to happen once per month." Ray finally did speak, and it made him wonder if the siren was still under an automatic schedule or not - not to mention how out of place and creepy it was.
Chris glanced over at Ray as he spoke, and shifted his view down to the rifle that hung from his shoulder. "Give me the gun." Jenna's brother took a few steps toward Ray, and Ray didn't resist. He handed over the rifle that never belonged to him. "Now, let's go Jenna." Chris commanded and pointed back toward route 215. "You, get lost. This is your last chance."
"Chris, he's not a danger to us… I-I know I gave him the rifle, but he didn't kill us with it when he could have. He never hurt me either… when he could have." Jenna tried to plead with her stubborn older brother some more. Chris looked at his sister, and then back to Ray. He exchanged glances a few times.
"... You have anything else on you?" Chris asked while this time eyeing both him and the espeon closely.
Ray handed over his pistol, though he would feel unsafe while completely unarmed.
"What's in the pouch?" Chris questioned.
Ray had completely forgotten about the ammo that Jenna had stored in there for him. He sifted through the bag and gave Chris all five of the magazines. "The rest is just water." Ray said, but it didn't look like Chris was buying that.
"I gave it to him…" Jenna added while looking down and the ground in apparent shame, but Ray was glad that she said something.
"He's your responsibility Jenna. I'm done, you disappoint me." Chris told her before shaking his head and walking back to his house with Hydron stomping behind.
"Told ya I wouldn't let you go back out there. We should be safe for tonight… I'm not sure about tomorrow." Jenna took a deep breath and looked up at the early evening sky. "You should go rest for now, but if you want, you can come over to my house in an hour. I cook when I can. I also have pokéchow for Crystal to eat as well." Jenna offered, and Ray didn't realize how hungry he was and how hungry Crystal likely was as well until she brought that up.
"Of course… and thank you Jenna, you're a great person"
"I try to be, it's just hard nowadays. See you soon Ray. The door to the center house is unlocked by the way." She smiled and walked ahead to her house.
"Today was interesting, wasn't it Crys'?" Ray leaned down and scooped the espeon up, holding her against his chest while walking back over to the middle house.
Crystal looked up at her trainer's face and gave it a soft and affectionate nuzzle with her cheek.
"Thank you for saving the day… again. I don't know what I'd do without you."