A few days after tragedy had struck the peaceful Village of Agate, Wes, Rui, Eagun, Beluh, and the rest of the village gathered inside the cave which Rui's parents were buried for the funeral of Leone. The man who was tragically taken before his time was buried beside Jack and Lillia. Eagun gave the village a heartfelt and memorable speech about how much of a friend Leone was not just to his family but to others as well.

As people put flowers on his grave and comforted Eagun and Beluh. As villagers left the cave, one by one they put a hand on a sobbing Rui's shoulder offering their condolences to her as well. The only person besides Eagun and Beluh that did not leave Rui's side was Wes. He stayed by her and had his hand in hers throughout the entire service and when they went to Leone's grave to put flowers on it, Rui broke into tears while Wes rubbed her back softly in comfort.

After the funeral, Wes became very quiet and reclusive. There were many times throughout the next few days where he refused to come back to the house and he just stayed at the top of the hill staring out into the sky not allowing anyone near him. It took a huge amount of effort from Rui to get him to talk to her about what was going on inside his mind and she barely got anything out of him.

One morning Rui stepped outside to check on Wes who was awake before her as usual. She was finally able to convince to come back to the house because almost every night since the funeral he would sleep outside rather than in his bed. Even though he was used to the conditions of the outdoors due to many days in Team Snagem where he would camp outside during missions, Rui felt much more at ease when he was inside in a warm bed rather than the cold ground.

Rui spotted her dear friend sitting in his usual spot on the top of the hill petting Espeon's head while Umbreon laid by his side. She walked up to him and sat down beside him and Espeon and Umbreon got up to leave so they could have some privacy. For the longest time the two said nothing until Wes broke the silence.

"How could I have let things get this bad?" He asked without looking in Rui's direction.

He looked down at the ground sadly. As time went on Wes began to mentally torture himself by taking responsibility for Leone's death. Nobody in the village blamed Wes for what happened but now many were weary of him because of his revealed past with Leone's true murder Gonzap. It took a huge amount of effort from Rui, Eagun, and Beluh to stop Wes from exiling himself from the village because he believed himself to be a threat.

"I should have prevented Mr. Leone's death, Rui." Wes said. "I should have beaten Gonzap and taken Skarmory when I had the chance and he would still be alive."

"Wes you and I both know that you did everything you could to stop Gonzap."

"Yeah well thanks to him almost everybody here is afraid of me now."

Wes hugged his knees and buried his head in his arms.

"All I wanted was to live a quiet and peaceful life with my Pokemon. Now I'm in a war with my former comrades and a group of psychotic trainers who want us dead. Why can't something just go my way for once. Was it really so much to ask to live in peace instead of causing more pain to people I care about."

Rui moved closer to Wes and place her hand on top of his.

"Wes you can say what happened to Mr. Leone was your fault all you want but I'm going to keep telling you it's not because I know and you know that it wasn't. I promise you that everything will be alright we're going to move on and get stronger. There's no point from running away from the past when we can learn from it."

Wes looked into Rui's beautiful blue eyes and for the first time in several weeks gave her a small smile.

"Thanks Rui not just for this but for everything else. Since I met you you've made me see a different side of myself. You've helped me see life in a different and better way than I used to see it. You've made realize just how much I care about others but mostly how I care about you."

Rui felt her face heat up as she stared into Wes' soft golden eyes.

"Wes I-"

"What's the matter?"

Rui realized what she was going to say and shook her head.

"Nevermind" She then looked back at the morning sky. Wes looked back at it as well.

"Before he died Leone asked me when our adventure was over to take care of you, your grandparents, and the rest of the village. I'm not sure if I can do that but I'm gonna try my hardest to honor his wish."

He then got to his feet as Rui looked back at him.

"But first things first we have to put an end to Team Snagem and Cipher. It's gonna be a tough fight but I know we can win this. So let's go."

Wes smiled and held a hand out to Rui who was still sitting down. The red haired girl couldn't help but smile this was the first time she ever heard Wes say something so uplifting and hopeful. He really has come a long way since they first met. With a nod she took his hand and he helped her back to her feet.

"We've spent enough time in the village. We need to get back to Pyrite Town and talk with Duking and see what he knows. I'm not fully recovered from Nidoking's hyper beam thanks to Gonzap and his Skarmory but I'm well enough."

Rui nodded her head.

"Your right Wes. The longer we do nothing the worse things will become."

"I think we should say our goodbyes to Eagun and Beluh because I don't know when we'll be coming back."

Rui froze for a moment and then nodded her head.

However before they went back to the house, they went to the graves of Leone and Rui's parents. Both of them bowed their heads as Wes looked down at all three of the graves in front of him.

"I swear I'm going to make Gonzap pay for what he did to you." He said to Leone's grave.

He then looked at the Jack and Lillia's graves.

"I've lost too many people that I care about and I'm not going to lose another. I promise all of you that I will keep Rui safe you can count on that."

Wes then thoughts something to himself as Rui's face entered his mind.

"If I really do love her, then I have to keep her safe because I can't lose another person that I love."

Soon Wes and Rui were back at the village entrance getting ready to leave. Eagun and Beluh were both standing beside Wes' motorcycle. They both had sad smiles on their faces. Wes and Rui had been home for almost a month and they didn't want them to leave because they didn't know when they would return.

When Wes finished refueling the bike and restocking his compartment with Pokeballs he and Rui looked back at the elderly couple Rui was the first to hug them followed by Wes.

"I promise I'll take care of Rui." Wes said to them as he hugged them.

"Take care of yourself as well son." Eagun said.

"I will" Wes turned to Rui. "You ready?"

Rui nodded her head as she got in the passenger car as Espeon and Umbreon jumped in after her.

Wes got on the bike and looked back at Eagun and Beluh with a smile on his face.

"We'll be back soon I promise"

With that said Wes kicked the ignition and the motorcycle roared to life.

He and Rui looked at each other and smiled as a thought entered Rui's head.

"Hopefully when this is over I can tell you how I feel."

With nothing left to be said Wes hit the gas and the motorcycle sped off into the distance as Eagun and Beluh watched it disappear with sad yet loving smiles on their faces.

Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.

I apologize for it being kind of short but I hope it was still enjoyable.

Wes and Rui are finally back on the road and headed back to Pyrite Town. What will happen next we'll soon find out.

I'll see you all next chapter. :)