Ryan awakens what seemed like only moments after he had dozed off. So much had happened in the last few moments that his body just kept telling him he needed to rest. He tried to see what it looked like from the outside, but could see very little. It was night time, or was the sun setting? He couldn't tell, but it didn't matter. He felt a little more relaxed after his nap, but still had a hard time moving his arms and legs. He looked to his side. Tommy and Holly were sound asleep, with Holly resting in a chair and Tommy napping on a now vacant hospital bed. He didn't want to wake them, but he knew he would need to have some help removing some of the bandages he was wrapped up in from his attack on Archer. And yet, he knew the last person he could ask to do a favor was Holly, after she had just found out that he didn't care for her the same way as she did him.

Trying to do whatever he could by himself, Ryan reached for his Poké Gear and picked it up, hoping to have gotten a message from Addison or Matthew, but the only notification he had was that his device was still currently downloading the massive file dump from Julia. Only 47% completed? What has this thing been doing for the last 24 hours?

As he was about to make a call, Holly stirred and woke herself up. When she saw him trying to do all these things by himself, she rolled her eyes. "What are you doing, Ryan?"

"Trying to let you guys sleep" he insisted. "I feel bad that you guys have been here with me all day."

"Try all night" she told him. "It's seven in the morning."

"It is?" he gasped. "How long was I out?"

"Over 12 hours" Holly revealed. "Doctor was worried you were going to slip into a coma, but I figured you would pull it through."

Ryan sighed. "I guess." He took a deep breath, knowing that the two of them were going to have to breach the issue, one way or another. "Listen, Holly. About before-"

Holly shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Ryan. I'm a big girl. I can take a rejection."

"It's not that I don't care about you, Holly" Ryan tried to explain. "I do, you're one of my closest friends. But I think I've loved Addy all of my life. And it's a shame it's taken me so long to realize it."

Holly nodded. "I figured there was something between you a long time ago" she confided. "Back in Alchemiburg, when I was trying to convince Addison to stay with Erin and not go out with you guys, but she insisted she wanted to travel with you no matter what. That's why I offered to go with you guys, so you two wouldn't have to be apart. Everything else that's happened after that, I never factored into my decision making."

Ryan smiled weakly. "Thanks for being there for me, Holly. I'll understand if you don't want to travel with us anymore."

Holly eyed him like he had just slapped her with a fish. "Wow, you're dumping me and then kicking me off your team?"

Ryan coughed. "What, no. I just figured that-"

"For your information, Ryan Kingston" Holly snapped, "we are all friends here. And just because there isn't anything that can happen between us, that doesn't mean that I want nothing to do with you. I intend to see this out through to the end."

Tommy grumbled on the bed. "There she goes again" he said sleepily.

Ryan looked over to Tommy. "Morning, Sunshine."

He yawned loudly and waved at him, before burying his head into his pillow. "Sleepy time. Good night."

"It's seven in the morning, Tommy" Holly told her brother. "Wake up."

Much to his chagrin, Tommy stretched himself on the bed like a Meowth before rolling to his side to look at the others. "Okay, if you insist. I'll get up."

Ryan glanced from Tommy back to his sister. "Have Matt and Addison said anything?"

Holly shook her head. "We haven't heard from them since they left yesterday. But I wouldn't contact them. If anything, they're probably staking out a Syndicate Base or something."

Ryan's mind began to frantically move. "Or, something's gone wrong. I have to go and find them." He tried to push himself out of bed, but Holly pushed him back down. "Holly?"

"Don't be difficult, Ryan" Holly insisted. "You can't go anywhere right now. Not until the Doctor clears you."

"Forget the doctor!" Ryan insisted. "I need to know now!"

She rolled her eyes. "You stubborn ox!" She put him over her arm and nudged Tommy to come over and help her get Ryan out of bed. The boy did as his sister gestured and let Ryan rest his arm on his body. Together, the three friends made their way to the still sleeping fields of the Faire. As the three continued up the path towards the rest of the tents, they saw something flying in the air and hurtling towards them. They paused as they realized what it was that was falling out of the sky. It was Noivern.

Jon made his way over to the situation. "What's going on here?"

The Noivern crashed into the ground, with Matthew being flung from her back. He was clearly seriously injured, but all he could do was pound the ground in frustration and anger. His clothes were blood soaked. His Pokémon was heaving in exhaustion after the flight of it's life. Ryan ripped himself from Holly and Tommy's grasp and hurried over to his brother's side.

"Matt!" he cried out. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

Jon followed suit. "Matty, talk to me. Do you need help?"

Matthew was muttering something to himself. It sounded to Ryan as if he were saying something like. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! You're so stupid!"

Jon asked his question again. "Do you need help, Matty? Come on, talk to me."

"MATTHEW!" a voice cried out from the distance. Jasmine, still in her pajamas, burst into the area and flung herself at Matthew "What is it, Matt? Please, talk to me!"

Ryan's heart sank. He came to the dreaded realization slower than he should have. Matthew was here. Alone. "Where's Addison, Matt?"

"Gone" Matthew muttered angrily, trying to push the worried Jasmine off of him.

"What?" Holly asked.

"SHE'S GONE!" Matthew screamed. His face was as pale as the moon and filled with tears. The anger in his voice only seemed to make his tears stream out faster and harder. "I told her it was too dangerous for her to come with me. But she wouldn't listen! She just had to come along to fight for you, Ryan." Matthew violently punched the ground. "And I couldn't do a thing to stop them!"

Ryan felt like he couldn't breathe, as if her were drowning. No...no...please no...not Addy. PLEASE NOT ADDY!

"What happened?" Jon asked.

"We tracked Archer to somewhere in the forests nearby" Matthew explained, clutching at his arm as if he'd been in a brutal battle. "He said that he had been hoping you were going to be the one who found him. It was an ambush! We fought them off as best as we could, but there were so many Syndicate Goons. My Noivern took the worst of it. By the time I had my bearings about me, they were gone."

"What did they do with Addy?" Holly cried.

"They were Snatchers, Holly" Matthew cursed angrily. "What do you think they wanted from her?"

"They're going to brand her" Jon shuddered. "Just like they did with Mike."

Ryan reached onto his belt for his Poké Ball containing Marahute. As his Pidgeot appeared, he limped his way over to her. But before he could climb on her, Jon stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"Where do you think you're going?" he demanded of his younger cousin.

"Where do you think? I'm going to find her!"

"You're in no condition to be going anywhere right now, Ryan."

"I DON'T CARE!" Ryan snarled. "ADDY'S IN DANGER AND SHE NEEDS OUR HELP!"

"There's nothing we can do about it right now, Ryan" Jon told him plainly.

"I'M GOING TO FIND ARCHER AND I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" Ryan bellowed.

"Ryan, if you go out there right now, you're only going to cause more problems!"

"I CAN'T LEAVE HER!" Ryan cried out.

Holly pushed Jon aside and took Ryan's head in her arms. "Ryan! We are going to find her and we are going to save her. Believe me, I'm horrified about what can happen to her, but we can't just storm the Syndicate's base of operations when we don't know where it is. But I make this promise to you. Even if it means we have to go into the inferno itself, we are going to find Addison. I promise you."

Ryan collapsed into her arms sobbing wildly. "Not her. Why her? Why did they have to go after her?" His heart was now completely broken, shattered into oblivion. Accepting his own defeat, Ryan recalled Marahute as Holly embraced him.

"Its going to be okay, Ryan" Holly assured him, patting him on his back. Tommy looked down in sorrow beside them.

Matthew punched the ground again, his anger unmatched. "This is all my fault. I'm going to go after her." He reached into his bag and pulled out a Hyper Potion for his Noivern. She took the medicine and perked right up as if nothing had happened. "Leave it to me."

"Matt" Jon argued. "You can't just go out there. You need medical attention!"

"Save it" Matthew retorted angrily. "Even if I have to tear Arcana apart from the Northern Outpost to Titanio City, I am going to find her and I am going to destroy anyone who gets in my way!" He climbed onto his Noivern and flew off into the distance.

Jasmine called out to him. "Matt! Please, come back!" But her pleas fell on deaf ears as her boyfriend had soared into the skies above Cauldro City and flew out of sight. Matt's girlfriend appeared distraught, but she quickly came to the realization that there were more important things to do. She turned towards Ryan and made her way over to him. "I want to help you guys in any way that I can."

Jon folded his arms. "Right now, I don't know what to do."

Ryan felt his Poké Gear in his pocket ringing. He ripped it out of his pocket and looked to see who was calling. Julia. He quickly answered the call. "Julia?"

"Ryan" she remarked, worriedly. "We're trying to reach our contact about where they might have taken Addison, but we haven't been able to reach her. We're going to be doing everything we can to find her. Just, please don't do anything reckless. We can't lose you guys, too."

"Do Addy's parents know?" Ryan asked.

"We called them as soon as we found out" Julia answered. "It wasn't just Addison who disappeared last night, Ryan. Hundreds of people were abducted right off the streets. It was part of a huge Syndicate Snatching project. Mr. and Mrs. Tenton are currently cooperating with the Arcana Police Force as best as they can, but they're worried. Who wouldn't be?"

Ryan broke down on the call. "It's all my fault" he said as he wept. "If I hadn't let my guard down..."

"Ryan" Julia said softly, "it's not your fault." She then paused to answer a question. "Hold on one second, Ryan."

Ryan sat on the ground, doing his best to try and keep himself composed, when someone else took up the call. "Ryan?"

Ryan took a deep breath. "Piper?"

"It's gonna be okay, sweetie" she assured him. "Listen to me, you have been strong for so long. And you've gone through things most kids your age could only ever have nightmares about enduring. You can't give up now, Ryan. Not when Addy needs you the most. Not when this fight is only getting started. But if we're going to save Addison, we're going to need you to be strong for her." Piper seemed on the verge of tears herself. "Ryan, if you give up now, we may never see her again. She's going to need you when we find her. You above all else."

Ryan tried to wipe away his tears. "I know. But I feel like I let her down."

"You shouldn't though" Piper told him. "Sweetie, you've done everything you reasonably can for her. If you go out and do something reckless, you may end up getting Snatched up, just like her."

"I let everyone down" Ryan cried. "I let Mike down. I let Mr. Tenton down. I let you guys down. I let everyone down!"

Piper was silent for a moment, before she handed the conversation back to her cousin. "Ryan?"

"Julia?"

"Listen. I know exactly how you feel right now. Like how there is something you could have done to change things. That if you did something differently, you might still be able to wake up and realize your best friend is still right beside you. But we both still have a chance to set things right. I can do things right by my best friend and you can still do right by yours. But we need to work together, like Piper said. I can't help do what's right by my best friend if you aren't there to help and you can't save Addison without being able to trust us and yourself. We love you, Ryan. Please, trust us. We're going to get through this, sweetheart. I promise you."

Ryan sobbed. "Okay, Julia. I'll try."

"You won't have to try alone" Holly assured him. "We're still going to be here for you."

"Is that you, Holly?" Julia asked.

"It is, Professor."

"Give Ryan a hug from all of us here" Julia asked of her. "One from me, one from Piper, one from Amanda, one from Big Mike and one from Lady Bonnie. We're all in this together. And Ryan is going to need us to be strong for him so he can be strong for her."

Holly nodded. "You don't need to tell me, twice. Tommy and I will be here for him every step of the way, Professor."

"Thank you, Holly" Julia said. With that, Julia handed the conversation one last time over to Piper.

"Ryan, you still there?"

Ryan sighed. "Yeah, I am."

"You're a lot stronger than you think you are" she assured him. She made a kissing noise on the other side of the phone. "And I know you're going to be the strongest Kingston we have out there. Don't give up, sweetie." With that, Piper ended the call.

Jon frowned. "I guess the only thing left to do now is to delay the Queen of Arcana Contests."

Jasmine nodded. "I think it's for the best. It wouldn't be fair to hold them if Addison isn't here to be a part of it."

"That's very mature of you, Jasmine" Jon told her. "We'll talk to you guys later. But for now, I'm going to have to float it by Grandma to make sure she is okay with Piper staying on for an unprecedented extra term." He put his hand on Ryan's shoulder. "I'll come find you in a bit, buddy." He then turned to go and make some calls to their Grandmother and Annie.

Jasmine came over to Ryan. "You're a lot braver than I would be in your situation, Ryan" she confessed.

Ryan lowered his head. "I don't feel very brave right now."

"And that's why you have friends" Jasmine encouraged him. "That's why you have Holly and Tommy and Jon and your brother and Me and Morgan. We're all your friends and we're all ready to do whatever we can to help you." She held his hand for a moment, before she kissed him on the cheek and left for her family's tent.

Holly and Tommy came up beside Ryan. "You gonna be okay, Ryan?" the young boy asked.

"I don't know, Tommy" Ryan said solemnly. "I just don't know anymore."

Holly took his arm in hers. "Come on, let's get you something to eat."

"I don't think I'm hungry" Ryan replied, his voice losing the power behind it.

"Then you don't have to eat" Holly promised him. "But you can't be alone, right now. We're not gonna let you." Without much force, she led Ryan off towards the King's Court to get themselves something to eat and hopefully lift their spirits.

{Meanwhile}

Atop Iron Mountain, Jocelyn watched as her Mienshao easily defeated Nadine's Luxray in battle. When the powerful Electric Pokémon collapsed in exhaustion, Nadine looked past the Mienshao at the absolutely livid trainer staring back at her and fell back in horror. True, Jocelyn was furious with the woman who was fiercely loyal to her father, but was more curious as to why she was being targeted at all. Determined to find out all that The Syndicate knew about her, she walked forward to confront her.

Nadine drew back. "Please, please Jocelyn! I surrender. You don't have to-"

Jocelyn grabbed the frightened woman by her shirt and pulled her close. "I don't have time for your groveling, Nadine. I want to know why you attacked me!"

"I was told you were an enemy of The Syndicate" she squealed. "That you were plotting to go against your father and stop our plans!"

Jocelyn cursed under her breath. Someone's on to me. Well, time to flip the script on them. She clenched her fist and stared at the once domineering Snatcher. "Who was it that spread these lies?"

"Please forgive me" she pleaded. "I swear I only did it because of her suspicions."

"Her suspicions?" she asked. Courtney. That witch must have figured it out, somehow.

"Courtney" Nadine confirmed. "She was the one who told those lies. Please forgive me, Jocelyn. I will never doubt your loyalties ever again!"

"Forgive you?" Jocelyn hissed. "You attack me in the middle of a reconnaissance mission, attempt to arrest me for treason and attack me with your Pokémon and you have the gall to ask for me to forgive you?" She had every right to smack the senses right out of her for attacking, but she realized this could prove advantageous for her. "Alright, I think there is a chance for me to forgive you, Nadine."

Nadine looked up at her. "You think so? Because you won't regret it if-"

"HOLD IT!" she snapped. "I said there is a chance I may forgive you. If you truly wish to be in my good graces and assure that I never tell my father you outright attacked his daughter, I want you to head back to The Compound, find any and all of this fabricated evidence that Courtney has been creating to cover her own actions and erase it."

"Her own actions?" Nadine asked.

"Did you already forget that Courtney was conspiring with Michael Kingston to overthrow us and name herself the new Leader of the Syndicate?" Jocelyn hammered in. "What makes you think Courtney can be trusted, Nadine? Especially when in this scenario, you and I would be on the same side? We both don't want the Syndicate to fall into Courtney's hands, do we?"

Nadine shrunk down. "So, all you want me to do is erase the evidence she created?"

Jocelyn nodded. "A simple task."

"But, wouldn't it be much more prudent to show that the evidence is falsified?"

Jocelyn clenched her fists. "You're probably right. It'd also be much easier for me to tell my father that you went behind his back to attack his daughter on the words of the Syndicate's greatest traitor."

Nadine gulped. "That...that won't be necessary, Jocelyn. I can assure you, all of that fabricated evidence will be deleted."

"And if it's not done within 24 hours" Jocleyn threatened, "you can imagine my father's wrath will be far greater than it will be if I told him now."

Nadine recalled her fainted Luxray and fled away from Jocelyn, who stood and watched as she slid down the mountainous trail and out of her sight. Jocelyn folded her arms as she began to contemplate her situation. That was close. A little too close for my liking. I could easily defeat one of those sycophants that comes out to defeat me, but not if the entirety of the Syndicate does. I was hoping that it wouldn't have to come to this, that the Kingstons or someone on their side would be able to show up and make the difference for me, but it seems that his situation is a little more complicated than I thought.

Had Julia Pines taken her warnings seriously, she might have been able to spare the grisly fate the Champion and The Elite Four went through. And if they were still running the show, the opposition to The Grand Master would be much stronger. But now, with the Syndicate moving forward rapidly with that monster's plans and the Kingston's resolve to keep fighting weakening, I think I'm going to have to make a choice very soon. And that choice was simple. Would she be able to live with herself if she continued to stay absolutely loyal to her father and The Grand Master and let them run over the rest of the world? Or could she bear the pain of losing one of the only family members she had left if it meant putting a stop to The Syndicate once and for all?

She looked to the skies above her for an answer, but they didn't seem to have anything for her. She frowned to herself. If we're going to stop The Grand Master with whatever it is we do, we're going to need a miracle to be able to stop them...

{Meanwhile}

The Faire Grounds were much emptier on the third day than they had been on the second. With the news spreading of the mass abduction of people throughout Arcana orchestrated by The Syndicate, many were taking the smart route and returning home to lock themselves away and brace themselves for the storm, wherever the wind blew. The few that remained were the ones optimistic enough to think that The Queen of Arcana Contests might take place or were those who still had friendships with the remaining Kingstons.

Jon and Annie struggled to keep the Faire going, with many of their vendors and spectators fleeing for their homes at a record pace. The two had counted on The Contests to lift the spirits of those who had been panicked by Archer's appearance at the Joust, but the disappearance of Addison as well as over 400 additional people had all but made that point moot. The Arcana Faire this year had proven to be a colossal failure. The two went to have a melancholy breakfast after Jon had made his calls to Lady Bonnie and others, only to find Holly, Tommy and Ryan also there.

Tommy was the only one who was finding a reason to be optimistic. Aside from the last 24 hours or so, the Faire had been wonderful. He'd had so much fun trying to make his own sword, playing the games, eating the foods and watching the fireworks bonanza on the first night. He had never had more fun in his young life than in those first 1 1/2 days.

Holly was trying to keep her own chipper spirits, but her world had just been unalterably changed by her essential rejection at the hands of Ryan as well as Addison's abduction. She may have been a rival to her for Ryan's affections, but the two had been very close friends this entire trip. She suddenly found herself in the uncomfortable position of being the bastion of hope for both her brother and Ryan to lean on now that Addison was gone. This had been a much more difficult journey than she had previously envisioned it ever becoming and it was only going to get much harder from here.

Ryan was inconsolable. His entire world had crashed upon learning that Addison had been snatched. He had finally mustered the courage to tell her how he felt and was sure that she might reciprocate it, but now she was all alone in the clutches of The Syndicate. He had known nothing about who they were or what their ambitions were when he first started on his journey, but he found himself becoming too avid a learner. They were the harbingers of darkness in the world. They had been the ones who had orchestrated all the evil in the world and were still acting on their ambitions. Their schemes had cost him his Grandfather, three of his cousins and two of his friends, had harassed and gone after many of his friends and family, including himself, and had abducted the girl Ryan was absolutely sure now he was in love with. The world had changed so quickly for him and he wasn't sure he would be ready for what lied ahead. Not anymore.

Though they all had huge plates of food brought to them to eat, only Tommy had the stomach to eat. The other four present simply looked at their food in silence. Ryan had not even touched his food. Holly tried to convince him to eat something, but he just politely turned her down.

Jon sighed and decided he would have to be the one who spoke first. "Ryan, I think we need to talk."

Holly shook her head. "He hasn't said a word in over an hour."

"Well, he needs to talk" Jon insisted.

"What's the point?" Ryan asked.

"Sometimes" Jon explained, "we come across things that are extremely difficult and tough to endure. But we have to be the ones who stare all of this despair and anger in the face and tell them that no matter what happens, we're still standing. Because we still are, Ryan. Even after what we've all been through. It's been a tough time for all of us here."

"How can we still be standing after this?" Ryan asked. "Why are we? Why couldn't they have taken me instead?"

"We don't get to choose what happens to us" Annie gently told him. "Like Jon said, sometimes we just have to pick ourselves up and move along, no matter how hard it gets and how rough the road is."

"How can you guys keep looking at things so cheerfully?" Ryan asked.

Annie frowned. "I'm not particularly cheerful, Ryan. I lost my brother in that Syndicate Operation on the Moon. It hurts to think about him every single day. But I know that deep down that he wouldn't want me to feel so downtrodden and that so long as I do everything the way he did, wholeheartedly and passionately, I should be able to overcome all the challenges in my life."

Jon thought of something. "You know, Ryan, you remind me of someone. A lot more than I thought anyone ever would. He had been through a lot of tough situations and just wanted to shut himself up in some dark corner of the world and be alone for the rest of his life. But he realized that no matter how difficult the task, you can't run away from your problems. Even when most of the world was against him, he stuck to his gut and kept fighting for everyone and everything he cared about." Jon took a deep breath as he reminisced. "I was older than this guy when he realized this, but I still learned something from him. He taught me things I would never have been able to learn on my own."

"Who was that?" Holly asked.

Jon looked at Ryan. "Who indeed, Holly. Who indeed."

Ryan looked towards his cousin. "Michael."

Jon nodded. "As bad as things get, Michael fought until the bitter end. And if you want to be able to make a difference in this world and fight for who you want to protect, you can't give up. Not when it matters so much." Jon rose from his table. "If any of you need me, I'll be in the Grounds helping out with some cleanup and prepping myself."

"Prepping for what?" Ryan asked.

Jon grinned. "I think you and I both know what has to happen before you leave Cauldro City, Ryan." With that, he took his things and departed. Annie followed him to help him with the cleaning.

Holly looked at Ryan and smiled sadly. "I used to believe in the old axiom of 'True Love Conquers All' completely. I didn't know what it meant, but as a little girl, I always believed it was the feelings shared between a Gallant Prince and his lovely Princess, like in the Fairy Tales of old. I think I understand it more now than I ever did before. The undying faith you have in your friends and loved ones will always triumph over the forces of evil."

Ryan nodded. "That's right."

"And even now, when the Syndicate is becoming stronger and stronger" Holly continued, "I know that so long as we stay true to each other, we won't fall so easily. Because I know, in my heart, that we have the potential to defeat them and set things right. And I know that we will find Addison again. And when you two get back together, I know that there won't be a force in this world that can stop you."

Ryan took a deep breath. Though his heart still ached for the loss of Addison, he knew that the world would still keep moving on. And he had to either walk alongside it or let it run over him. He rose to his feet. "Then we have work to do."

"Where are you going?" Tommy asked him.

Ryan looked to the Poké Balls that hung on his belt. "If the Syndicate is only getting stronger, than we have to keep getting stronger too. And I can't save Addison if I can't even compete for the seventh Gym Badge here. I'm going to train up my team and make us as strong as I possibly can. Because your sister is absolutely right. True love conquers all." He limped his way out towards the fields outside of the Faire Grounds to square off with some Wild Pokémon.

Tommy looked towards his sister. "What should we do?"

Holly took a deep breath. "I'm going to keep in touch with Professor Pines and everyone else. You should go with Ryan."

"Me?" Tommy asked. "But how can I help him train?"

"Tommy" Holly said to her little brother, "we're all going to have to grow up very soon. And I think there is no better way for you to grow up than to train with the strongest trainer we both know." Tommy nodded and followed along after Ryan, while Holly sat as the last one standing in The King's Court and held her hand close to her heart. There's a storm coming. We'd better be ready for when it hits, because it's going to hit hard.