Chapter 6: Tony's Secret
Now the first day of the contest was over and her place was still assured, Emerald felt like she could finally relax.
The girls and Tony were lounging around in their hotel room to get a well-earned rest from the busy day they'd had. So many performances to watch today and they'd also had to give off great performances of their own! It had been fun, but also exhausting with so much excitement and anxiety going on and now they were away from Hulbury Stadium, it felt very reliving to be somewhere quieter and with less people around. Nessa had been quick to thank the four for their fantastic work today and she'd even declared that in her personal opinion, they were the stars of the show.
"I'm no fortune teller, but I predict you four will end up being the ones that make it the furthest." she'd said, "I can already imagine the semi-finals being you four all duking it out for the finals. As for who'll be in the final…that's a tough call. I'd say all four of you have a chance of winning this."
"Meh, I say let the contest decide on that." Ruby said modestly, "I'm just glad we could all take part in it and have fun today."
"And I can't thank you four enough for entering." Nessa said graciously, "You've made my show spectacular to watch and I have a feeling it's in for big success! I'm already confident I'll be hosting another show sometime in the future!"
"I'll be happy to enter that one!" Emerald said eagerly.
Nessa was staying in the same hotel that the foursome was in, only she had her own private suite away from most of the other guests. Ruby imagined Nessa was having her own wind-down period to rest from the excitement and the energy of the day. As much as she was enjoying herself, she was happy more for Nessa than herself or her friends that the contest was proving to be a big hit so far. The first day had already amassed high viewing figures and as Ruby flicked through the internet on her Rotom phone, she could already see that the contest was the number one trending subject on social media. She wasn't surprised to see a lot of posts talking about her, Dawn, Emerald and Tony. It seemed the viewers at home and online agreed with Nessa that they were the standouts, though there was a lot of love being given to the coordinator with the Crobat who'd performed Bat out of Hell too. She was glad to see Avery had become a trending subject for mockery. Most comments either ridiculed him for his ridiculous fashion-sense or for his magic act in which he'd made it more about him than his Pokémon. She even saw one post from another coordinator who was celebrating his qualification for the next round in which he'd posted a video of Avery seemingly tripping over himself. The video had been filmed in such a way that nobody could see that it had been Ruby who'd tripped him up so it looked like Avery had just made a fool of himself.
"Heh, so much for the great coordinator." she sneered, "Maybe that'll bring his ego down a peg."
She, Emerald, Dawn and Tony had changed out of their costumes and were back in their casual clothes for now. Although she'd enjoyed wearing the suit, Ruby always felt more comfortable in her trademark leather trousers and jacket. Emerald would've been happy keeping her dress on but agreed it was best not to have it on all the time to keep it fresh for tomorrow. She was lying on the bed with her hat, gloves, hoodie and boots lying on the floor beside it. The bubbly teen sighed contently.
"Just what I need after all that, a beautifully made, soft, cosy bed to relax in." she said softly.
"I love contests, but it always feels good to settle down when they're over." Dawn agreed. She too was lying on a bed with her hat and boots lying on the floor beside it, "I always enjoy a good break when I can just relax and prepare for the next day. It gets both me and my Pokémon re-energized for what's next."
"And we all need to be ready because now the contest REALLY gets going!" Tony noted, "We've got the Double Performance round, and I don't doubt for a minute that we've got a lot of big acts to stack up against when that gets going. And then after that, the quarter-finals. And then the last day will see the semi-finals and the final. It's going to be a busy couple of days for us."
"But we'll do great, all of us!" Emerald declared, sounding very sure of herself, "Just you wait! Nessa's prediction will come true and all four of us will make it to the semi-finals! Now who will win out of us…I really don't know."
"I'm confident I'll crash out in the semis and the final will see either you, Dawn or Tony make it to the final two." Ruby said, sounding as if she believed for a fact that would happen.
"Aw no need to put yourself down Ruby! I think you'll make it to the final two as well!" Dawn insisted, "What makes you think you won't fare well against the three of us?"
"I'm just being realistic." Ruby said with a shrug, "I'm decent at what I'm doing now, but it's clear to anyone that you three are the real coordinators. I feel I've just done well to last but once it's down to use four, I've got no chance."
"Well I think all of us equally have a chance to win the contest!" Emerald said optimistically, "We're all great coordinators, even you Ruby! You shouldn't put yourself down like that and give us all the glory!"
"Quite right." Tony concurred, "Your qualifier act to me was still one of the best performances of the day, and your appeal round with Bugs shows you're a great coordinator as well as a trainer. I think you're better than you believe you are, Ruby."
The Champion couldn't help but smile at the kind words of her friends. She was sure they were saying that to make her feel better, but deep down she knew they meant every word.
"Thank you everyone. You're all too kind." Ruby said graciously, "I may not think I'll win, but I'm still giving it my all!" she cried, clenching her fists with determination.
"Atta girl Ruby!" Emerald cheered, "I really can't wait to see your double-performance tomorrow!"
"Nor can I with everyone else's!" Dawn put in, "I'm confident we all have a great double-act that will wow everyone!"
Emerald nodded agreeably. She'd been working hard on perfecting Thor and Gemstone's double-act since last year and was confident they would nail it perfectly. She'd also watched Ruby practicing her Double Dragon act with Soundwave and Shard and was confident that the audience would love that too. Dawn had told anyone what her double-act was yet. Maybe she was still deciding as she had a few to choose from. Tony hadn't told anyone of his either with him stating he wanted to surprise everyone with what his act was. Whatever it was, Emerald was excited to see it.
Later on, the four friends ordered room service to be brought to them. They'd ordered a large pepperoni and sausage pizza to divide between them with a side of garlic bread to also share. They ate the pizza and garlic bread between them, not a single slice left after they were done, and continued chatting about other things as they didn't want to think about tomorrow too much. After eating, Tony got up to excuse himself, saying he wanted to go out for some fresh air for the moment, leaving the girls to themselves for now. Ruby got out her hairbrush and let Emerald give her a brush for a moment. The younger sibling was all too happy to do so and upon seeing how soft and gentle she was when brushing Ruby, Dawn requested if Emerald could brush her as well. The Galarian teen obliged and gave Dawn a brush. Dawn took out her hair clips and let her hair fall completely loose as Emerald brushed her. She dragged the brush slowly down the Sinnoh teen's hair. Dawn sighed softly. Emerald really was a pro at this!
"You're so gentle." Dawn complimented, "This feels really nice!"
"My pleasure!" Emerald said kindly, "Brushing people's hair is one of my relaxation techniques and I've had plenty of practice with my sisters so I've gotten really good at it. I always aim to be as gentle as possible when brushing people."
She softly dragged the brush down Dawn's hair again.
"You know, your hair really is beautiful." she complimented, "Blue hair always looks so pretty!"
"Thank you! That's so nice of you to say!" Dawn replied graciously, "I must remind you of Sapphire given she has blue hair too."
"True that, but Sapphire's is dyed so her hair isn't naturally that colour." Emerald noted, "You're a natural bluenette and it really suits you!"
Dawn just blushed with pleasure. She was a girl who took great pride in her hair and was always fussing around with it so anyone saying her hair looked nice always made her day. While Emerald was brushing Dawn, Ruby was answering a call from both Hop and Sapphire. They were video-chatting and both had happened to call at the same time so Ruby was talking to both at once. On Sapphire's end, she had Ashley sitting beside her hoping to get a chance to say hello as well while Hop was by himself with Leon in the background dropping in occasionally.
"That whole contest was amazing from start to finish, but naturally you were the one I was mostly in it for!" Hop exclaimed, waving his hands up and down to emphasize his excitement, "You and Freddy looked so cool singing together on that stage and you really wowed the audience with Bugs's acrobatic skills!"
"I'm so glad you, Em, Dawn and Tony are all in the next round!" Sapphire hollered, "Let me tell you, I had Butterfree in my stomach the whole time I watched you four in action and hoped you would qualify for the next rounds. I'm so glad you're all still in it!"
"Thanks you two." Ruby said appreciatively, "I'm so glad you were all watching at the time. You won't want to miss tomorrow as it's the double-performances next. Then we qualify for the quarter finals an we'll have to go through them as well! I'm just hoping I'll do contest battles well enough as I feel I'm better at contest performances than battles. I've been practicing since last year, but I still feel like Em and Tony got it down better than me."
"Don't worry about it! You'll be great out there and I think you'll be better than ya believe yerself to be!" Ashley cried supportively, "From what I've seen of you in action Ruby, I see ya as the kind of trainer who always gives it her all no matter what. If you can save the world from a Legendary Pokémon, become Champion in yer first year as a Pokémon trainer and stop Team Royal's plans, I think you'll do fine at this contest."
"Heh, I see why Sapphire fell for you." Ruby chuckled, "You're so good at having more faith in people than the person themselves might!"
"I had to a lot of motivating to lift up Cheren and Bianca's spirits when they were done so I guess I'm a natural at it." Ashley said with a shrug.
"And it's one of many things I love about you." Sapphire simpered.
Ruby and Hop just chuckled. Seeing the two girls being so sickeningly sweet to one another never ceased to make them smile.
"So what do you think to the other coordinators?" Hop asked, "Are any of them nice guys or girls at all?"
"We haven't really interacted with anyone else." Ruby explained, "Though we have watched all their acts and many of them are really damn good, especially Bat out of Hell guy! How he taught his Pokémon to rely on song lyrics as his commands is anyone's guess!"
"Too right!" Hop agreed, "He was mega brilliant!"
"And he has good tastes in music too." Ashley put in, "Meat Loaf ROCKS! I wonder if ya could get Freddy to sing any of his songs at all."
"I think he's fine with just Queen's library for now." Ruby chuckled, "Anyway, the one coordinator we don't get on well with is Avery. He's a complete tosser and I hope he doesn't get any further." she muttered.
"Oh you mean that weirdo with that silly outfit and long hair?" Sapphire asked, "I thought something about him rubbed me the wrong way. He would carry out his acts with a proper look of smug superiority like he thinks he's the best guy on the stage. Sorry to hear he's a douchebag."
"It's fine. We can deal with him easily." Ruby said dismissively, "His ego's so big that it's easy to rile him and I even tripped him over with my cane to show him what for!"
Hop, Sapphire and Ashley burst into tears of laughter upon hearing that.
"You go, girl!" Ashley laughed.
"You always were great at dealing with arseholes!" Sapphire chuckled.
"Damn right!" Hop agreed, "I think Bede's still massaging his balls from when Ruby practically broke them last time they met!"
"Oh believe me, I like to imagine he still is!" the Champion sneered, "And I'll give it to Avery if he pushes us any further! Em at least gave him a good throttling when he touched her hat, which was funny but we had to break them up before things could get out of hand. If he does it again, I'll just let Em go nuts!"
The four teens giggled again.
"How is Em?" Sapphire added.
"She's doing fine. She's actually giving Dawn a brush at the moment." Ruby answered, "Hey Em, want to say hi for a minute?"
She positioned her phone over to Emerald and Dawn. Both of them waved to the phone.
"Hi Sapph! Hi Hop! Hi Ashley!" Emerald piped cheerfully.
"Hi everyone! Hope you enjoyed the show today!" Dawn put in.
"We sure did." Hop replied, "I may be in it for my girl, but I really enjoyed watching you two as well."
"Likewise." Ashley put in, "It's easy ta see why Dawn was yer teacher. She's a natural at this contest stuff. And a real cutie too, if I might add." she added with a teasing, flirtatious smirk.
"Ash, behave yourself!" Sapphire teased.
Dawn just blushed. She was into boys herself but didn't mind the odd compliment from girls.
"And how's Tony doing?" Sapphire asked, looking over to Emerald, "I wouldn't mind saying hi to him while we're here."
"He's just gone out for the moment. He wanted some fresh air before bed." Emerald explained, "Hopefully he should be back soon."
Thankfully, he was. The conversation carried on for another five minutes before the teenage boy returned to the room. He looked chilled and content as if that little moment of peace outside was all he needed. Emerald knew that Tony always had a big connection to the outside world and that he always enjoyed a bit of fresh air. Even when they were kids, his favourite times at school would be outdoor activities or playtimes because then he could be outside to have fun. His love of being outdoors was possibly what played a huge part in his deciding to become a Pokémon trainer as well. You couldn't get more outdoors than that!
"Hey Tony! You're just in time!" Emerald said brightly, "Hop, Sapph and Ashley were just calling us to tell us how they liked the contest today!"
"They are? Well then, I best say hi too." Tony said politely, "Hello there everyone." he said, waving to Ruby's phone screen.
"Hi Tony! You're looking well." Sapphire complimented.
"I sometimes wish I could feel as well as I look." Tony said sheepishly.
Emerald nodded sadly. Although he was half-joking, she knew that he was being serious as well. At least he'd managed to make it through today with seemingly no issues.
"So yer Tony then." Ashley went on, "Nice ta meet ya at last! I'm Ashley Benson, though you probably know that already given last year…"
"I do indeed." Tony confirmed, "I was watching the whole Galar League last year. I thought your battle with Sapphire was amazing, especially when Sapphire won in the end! It still boggles the mind to think she defeated a Champion!"
"If anyone could do it, it was my Sapphire!" Ashley said playfully, patting her girlfriend on the shoulders, "The girl well and truly earned that victory, and my heart too for that matter. Funny ain't it when losing to her only brought me closer?"
"It's bizarre what can bring people together." Ruby agreed, "Me and Hop were meant to be rivals during out Pokémon journeys and look what happened to us!"
"The Darkest Day kinda helped too." Hop added, half-chuckling at his remark.
"Indeed, but me and him couldn't be happier together." Ruby said with a loving smile on her face.
"Same for me and Ashley." Sapphire agreed, "So when is it time for Emerald to get her one true love?" she teased.
"Oh she and Tony nearly kissed before the appeal rounds started!" Ruby revealed, "I literally had to remind them "time and a place" and all!"
"Sh-shut up Ruby!" Emerald wailed, pulling her shirt up to hide her face in it, "M-m-me and T-Tony are j-j-just friends, I swear!"
"Oh sure Em, friends that are close enough to kiss one another." Ruby taunted, "Besides, you're one to talk considering how you teased me and Sapph back then!"
"Yeah, this is payback!" Sapphire concurred.
"Really now?" Tony purred, "I see that hasn't changed since we were little. Even when me and her were schoolmates together, she was always teasing people if they had even the slightest hint of a crush on someone. Well little gem, turnabout is fair play I say!" he laughed.
"Someone blast me with Hyper Beam right now!" Emerald moaned as her face became redder than a ripe tomato.
In the end, the conversation steered away from Emerald and Tony possibly being an item and they managed to talk about other things. Sapphire informed everyone how her training was going in becoming the new Dojo Master and Hop revealed to everyone that he was now Sonia's assistant in her lab. Ruby of course was very happy to hear that and wished him luck in whatever he and Sonia would do together. Eventually, the call ended and now Ruby, Emerald, Tony and Dawn were left to do whatever they fancied doing before bed. They'd all agreed on an early night as they would need it. The more refreshed they were for tomorrow's events, the better.
"Just a reminder, we have to be at Hulbury Stadium by 9:00am so we can be ready to go when the show officially begins at ten, so we don't want to be too late in getting up and having breakfast before then." Ruby reminded.
"I honestly doubt I'll sleep at all with how excited and nervous I am!" Emerald cried, "I'll probably be awake for hours by then!"
"With how much of a ball of energy you are, I'm still shocked you sleep at all." Tony joked.
"Har, har, it wasn't funny the first time you told that joke." Emerald muttered.
"Aw come on, little gem, you know you love it really." Tony teased.
Emerald rolled her eyes but gave a small smile in response. Tony's sense of humour was one of many things she admired about him and she would happily take him, bad jokes and all. She was about to say something else until suddenly, the teen boy started to cough. It was one of those strange coughs that just seems to happen with little prompting, only this cough sounded very chesty and rough. Emerald grew concerned. She remembered that happening during training last year, only this time it had come out of nowhere. This was not down to Tony getting "over-excited" like last time. She winced as Tony coughed several times, each one sounding worse than the last.
"Tony, what is it? Are you OK?" she asked worriedly, "Your health issues aren't playing up again, are they?"
"I-it's f-fine Emerald…r-really." Tony wheezed weakly, his voice hoarse from the coughing fit, "C-could you stand still please? That constant moving is really putting me off." he croaked, putting a hand to his temple as if to steady himself.
"I AM standing still!" Emerald insisted, "I'm not moving!"
Tony's eyes went wide with shock. Emerald saw the colour drain out of his face as it settled in what was happening.
"Oh Arceus…i-i-it's happening again!" he gasped, starting to sway alarmingly on his feet, "W-why now of all times?! Please not now!"
"What is it? Tony, talk to us!" Ruby cried frantically, rushing to the boy's side, "What's happening to you?!"
"S-someone c-catch me when I fall, I'm g-going to…" Tony stammered.
He got no further as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he promptly fainted. Emerald and Ruby both caught him before he could collapse on the floor. At least he would avoid any damage to his head. Dawn screamed in shock. The girls were all horrified. This didn't seem real! This felt like a scene that could only happen in a bad soap opera, and yet here they were with an unconscious Tony in their arms!
"Tony?! TONY! Oh god Tony please be OK!" Emerald shrieked.
"I'll call an ambulance!" Dawn shrieked, leaping off her bed and frantically dialling 999.
She made the call as Emerald and Ruby lay Tony down on the bed, carefully positioning him so his airway was still open and he could still breathe. Ruby checked his pulse. Whatever problem he was having, it was clearly nothing to do with his heart as there was nothing out of the ordinary about it. Emerald gently stroked Tony's head, praying that whatever had happened to him wasn't too serious. He was going to be fine, she was sure of it!
The ambulance arrived very quickly and Tony was quickly taken away to the nearest hospital. Emerald had insisted she come with him as she knew he'd want her by his side when he woke up again. If he ever woke up again…
Tony arrived at hospital about ten minutes later and he was quickly given a room to himself. The doctors placed him gently in a bed and gave him a thorough check over to see what was wrong with him. One of the doctors was asking Emerald what had happened as she'd been a witness.
"And that was it? He just collapsed?" he asked.
"That's exactly what happened, sir." Emerald said grimly.
"I see…we were worried that that might happen again." the doctor said solemnly, "The medication he was given was only enough to stave off his condition to hopefully buy him and his family some time. But he may not have much time left now…"
Emerald's face went white.
"W-w-what do you m-mean?" she gasped, "Oh please sir…d-d-don't tell me he's going to…"
The doctor shook his head sadly.
"Unless his family can afford the treatment he needs, he will die." he said gravelly, "I'm sorry love, but it's been a problem he's had for a while now."
"H-h-how long has th-this been going on for?" Emerald whimpered, her voice wobbly and her eyes welling up with tears.
"Since he was twelve." the doctor answered, "We first diagnosed him when his mother reported he was having bad dizzy spells and coughing fits. It didn't seem like anything serious at first, but then a month later, he collapsed and we soon saw it was worse than we'd thought. The disease he has IS treatable, but it's going to be expensive. We could only prescribe medication that would hopefully make his disease easier to live with and slow it down. Essentially, all we could do was buy him some time to hopefully get the money he needs to pay for the treatment. If his family can't afford the treatment he needs, then we estimate he will have maybe a few months, or maybe a year left."
Emerald put her hands to her mouth in horror. She felt as if her heart had been ripped out of her chest.
"NO! No, Tony can't die, HE JUST CAN'T!" Emerald sobbed, falling to her knees and wailing, "I won't let him die, I WON'T!"
"Unless you can afford his treatment, I'm afraid there's nothing you can do, sweetheart." the doctor said sympathetically, "I only wish we could cure him now, but we can't do it if you can't afford it."
Emerald was no longer listening. She was too overwhelmed with grief to register anything but the sound of her sobbing. Why hadn't Tony been more honest about his condition instead of downplaying it like so?! Why had he felt the need to keep it a secret for so long? She supposed that maybe he hadn't wanted everyone to make a fuss over him and didn't want to be reminded of how serious his condition was. She could see now that it had been in front of her this whole time: the long time since they'd last seen each other, his slow progress in training and evolving his Pokémon, his noticeable fixation on the £50,000 cash prize for winning the Pokémon Contest, it all made so much sense now! Tony wasn't just in the contest for fun, he'd been in it because he knew the cash prize was the answer to all his problems! If he won the contest, he'd be able to pay for the treatment necessary to cure his disease! Emerald cursed herself for not figuring all this out sooner. How could she have been so blind when the truth was crystal clear for her this whole time!
Emerald lifted her head out of her hands, her face a mask of pure determination. She knew what had to be done now. SHE could save Tony's life and the way to do so was to win that contest! She got back to her feet and looked up at the doctor. She wiped her tears away with her sleeve.
"Sir…I know just what to do." Emerald declared, "You know the new Pokémon contest that's going on now?"
"Sure do." the doctor replied, "Tony had to let us know he was in it of course. He often has to consult with us before he does anything big like that. We actually advised him against it but he insisted he take part as he believes winning the cash prize will pay for the treatment."
"Well I'm going to win that contest, for him!" Emerald declared, "I'll win that £50,000 and let Tony's parents have it all! They'll be able to afford his treatment and Tony will live! And given I also happen to be the sister of Galar's reigning Champion, I'll request if she can donate to his wellbeing too."
The doctor nodded approvingly.
"If you can do that love, that'll be the life-saving ticket to recovery Tony needs." he applauded, "You're a very selfless and caring girl to go through all this to save his life."
"Well I can't just let Tony die!" Emerald protested, "He's my best friend and…and I love him!" she blurted as if she was relieved to finally say those words.
The doctor nodded. Emerald certainly wasn't the first person he'd met who was willing to go to great lengths to save a patient's life, but he always loved to hear of people willing to be so selfless and loving to do whatever it took to ensure their loved ones would live.
He allowed Emerald to go up to Tony's bedside so she could say bye to him. Tony was still unconscious, but Emerald could see from the heart-monitor that he was alive and stable for now. At least with her, Ruby and Dawn around, that heart-monitor would never display a flat line. She closed her hands around Tony's and gently held it.
"I'll win that contest Tony, and I'll give you that prize money! I promise!" Emerald swore, "And if I don't win? I know Ruby and Dawn will win it for me so you'll live regardless of who wins! You're going to get better Tony…I swear on my soul that you'll live!"
She then leaned forward and gently kissed him on his forehead.
"Hold on for me…my love." she whispered.
And with that, she walked away. There was nothing more she could do here. Tony was in capable hands for the moment. Now it was up to her, Ruby and Dawn to do the rest. Emerald left the hospital and called for a Flying Taxi to return her to the hotel so she could let Ruby and Dawn know what was at stake. The trip didn't take long and Emerald was soon back at the hotel before she knew it. She quickly ran back to the hotel room she was staying in and ran over to Ruby and Dawn. The two had been sitting on the beds together anxiously awaiting for an update. Emerald quickly filled in her sister and friend on Tony's condition and that his life was literally in their hands.
"Bloody hell…I had no idea that his condition was that serious!" Ruby gasped.
"That's so awful! And happening to a boy so young!" Dawn cried.
"Believe me girls, I was as horrified as you are to hear all that." Emerald said glumly, "It all doesn't seem real! But here we are with one chance to save Tony. We MUST win that contest and claim that prize money! With that £50,000, we can give it to his family and they'll be able to afford his treatment he desperately needs!"
"Absolutely!" Ruby put in, "And I'll be willing to contribute a bit extra. I can't donate too much given I'm still a part of Spikemuth Town's restoration efforts, but I can spare some money to further help Tony recover and get back on his feet again."
"That's so kind of you! Thank you!" Emerald said brightly, hugging Ruby in gratitude, "I was actually gonna request if you could donate some money too so it's funny you should suggest."
"I only wish I could solve Tony's issues by just paying for it all myself." Ruby said grimly, "But with that contest prize and whatever I can spare, it'll be enough."
"And it doesn't matter which of us wins the contest because all of us will give Tony the money! He needs it, not us!" Dawn put in.
"Exactly!" Emerald declared, "All that stands between us is thirty-two other coordinators. It won't be easy, but we'll do it! Not for us, but for Tony!"
The three girls and fist-bumped together. They would do it all for Tony and save his life! No amount of coordinators were going to stop them! Despite her determination, Emerald knew that the next few days of the contest were going to be the biggest and the most important of her life…
Emerald's not just playing for herself now. She, Ruby and Dawn are all playing for Tony's sake! Will any of them win the cash prize that can save his life? Or will Avery throw a wrench in that plan? The contest continues as we enter the "Double Performances"...
Trivia: In the first draft I had of this story, it was originally going to be this very scene where we'd meet Tony for the first time. Emerald was going to get a call saying he was in hospital and she rushes to him and learns what's wrong with him. I changed it as I felt Tony would be wasted as character if we didn't get to see him in action before he ended up hospitalized. Plus it would make him a more sympathetic character if we got to know and spend time with him before he ends up in hospital. Personifying him gives us more of a reason to root for Emerald in this story now we know Tony as a person and why he means so much to her. :)