Cynthia slept in after that long night of investigating, and when she woke late in the morning, she saw that she had a text message from Diantha. She sat up on her bed, unlocking her phone to read the message.

[Diantha:] Fair warning, darling… I gave Hugo your number so he could contact you when needed.

Cynthia pursed her lips as she sent out her reply.

[Cynthia:] Yikes.

That was a bit of an understatement, but Cynthia had other things to worry about at the time. She forced herself out of bed to get ready. She threw on her normal black outfit to wear; if she was going to corner some of these ex-Galactic commanders, she wanted to be recognizable at the least, even if she doubted that anyone could forget how Cynthia knocked them down time and time again. It was best to be safe rather than sorry.

She called out her Togekiss, and instead of immediately asking for its help to fly off to who knows where, Cynthia just rested her head against his and closed her eyes, stroking Togekiss's head.

"I'm sorry we've been all over the place lately." Cynthia said with a sigh, "I promise that once things die down a bit, I'll go to Hearthome City to make Poffins for you. You deserve all the extra treats for all the help you've been."

Togekiss let out a content coo before sinking down a bit so Cynthia could hop on.

"Thanks, Togekiss." Cynthia hopped on, relieved, "Our next stop is Floaroma Town."

Togekiss flew off then, not stopping until they reached the flowery town. Cynthia landed on the ground and recalled Togekiss, walking around a bit before she reached the end of town. If Looker's sources were to be trusted, Mars had settled down in Floaroma Town after Team Galactic disbanded and taken up a job at the Valley Windworks as a scientist. She also frequently would be put on the night shift, which let out at around the time Cynthia landed…

After a few minutes of waiting, Cynthia saw that signature red hair and grinned, placing her hands on her hips at the sight.

"Mars." She greeted, tilting her head, "I thought I'd find you here."

Mars turned when she heard her name, and a sneer crossed her expression when she recognized Cynthia, "You…! What do you think you're doing, huh? Chasing me down here like that?"

"Oh, come on." Cynthia's grin widened playfully, "I only wanted a little chat. I'm here on behalf of the Veilstone City Police Department."

"Ahh… Perfect." Mars rolled her eyes, pushing past Cynthia and walking away, "Pass. Hard pass."

Cynthia pursed her lips as she watched Mars walk away, and eventually she spun around to face Mars and she let out a sigh, "Lisa, please. I need your help."

Mars stopped suddenly in her tracks, slowly turning back to Cynthia, "...Where did you learn that name?"

"Marc told me." Cynthia explained, raising an eyebrow, "It is fine that I call you that, right?"

Lisa let out a sigh, giving up once Marc's name was dropped. That let Lisa know that Cynthia wasn't here just to harass her, "...Yeah, sure, whatever… What do you want?"

Cynthia smiled at that, softer and more genuinely than before, "I need to know if you've heard of a Team Galactic revival in the works."

Looking away and crossing her arms, Lisa clenched her jaw tightly, "...I don't know much, but they did reach out to me about it. It's got something to do with Cyrus. That's why they thought I'd help…" Lisa hung her head, shaking it a few times, "I'm done with Team Galactic, though. I refused to help."

Cynthia narrowed her eyes, placing her hand at her chin. Something with Cyrus, huh? "Is that all you know?"

"Yeah, that's it." Lisa rubbed her arms uneasily, glancing back at Cynthia for a brief second before averting her gaze again, "...Are we done here? Can I go, please?"

Nodding, Cynthia waved Lisa off, "Yeah, we're good. Thanks for your help. Get in contact if you learn anything new, if it isn't too much trouble to ask."

Lisa spun around and walked away, muttering a "Fine, whatever," as she left. Cynthia let out a sigh and pulled out her phone, reporting to Looker.

[Cynthia:] Mars says the revival might be about Cyrus somehow. That's all I got out of her.

Looker replied posthaste.

[Looker:] Is she involved?

[Cynthia:] No, but she was approached about it. She turned them down. I wouldn't say she's not to be trusted about this.

[Looker:] Understood. Have you contacted Jupiter yet?

[Cynthia:] Not yet. I'll speak with her next, but I don't believe she'll have much to add.

[Looker:] It's low priority at this point. I'm more worried about the data on the computer being decoded as well as cracking this grunt's story.

[Cynthia:] Got it. I'll keep you updated.

Just as Cynthia was about to put her phone away, it buzzed again. It wasn't a text from Looker this time. In fact, Cynthia didn't even recognize the number.

[Unknown:] This is Hugo Rustaud. I could use a word with you.

"For heaven's sake…" Cynthia muttered under her breath, copying the number and placing it into a new contact profile, "I do not need this right now…"

[Cynthia:] Hugo. Hey. Diantha told me she'd be giving you my number. What's up?

[Hugo:] Shooting is nearly complete in Sunyshore. Lake Valor is my next site for filming. I've heard that the lake needed to be reconstructed. Is that still the case?

[Cynthia:] Not anymore, no. I oversaw the efforts myself. It is open to the public now. All I ask is that you show great care while filming.

[Hugo:] Good to hear. I will require your assistance during filming over at Lake Valor tomorrow.

[Cynthia:] I should be able to make it. I have to warn you, though… I have other commitments I must attend to at this time.

[Cynthia:] And before you say anything else, yes, I know I made a commitment to this film. However, if I don't focus on assisting the police in a matter of public safety here, there may not be a Sinnoh region for you to film in anymore.

[Cynthia:] Just keep that in mind. I'm doing this for the good of the region, not just to spite you.

Hugo put her on 'read' after that, not even giving her a response. Cynthia let out a sigh, figuring this was the closest thing to a win she could ever get out of him. She slipped her phone into her pocket and walked besides the river on Route 205. She needed the calming break.

She spent a few minutes staring at the coursing river, watching as birds flew by and as the wind caused the flowers to slowly sway. In the tranquility of it all, her phone buzzed again, and Cynthia just threw her head back and grunted. She hated being a social butterfly.

"I'm throwing this blasted thing into the river, I swear…" Cynthia grumbled, though she softened a bit upon seeing how the message was from Diantha. That wasn't too bad.

[Diantha:] Is there any particular reason that Hugo was in a good mood one minute, checked his phone, then became significantly angrier afterwards?

Cynthia bit her lip. Guilty as charged.

[Cynthia:] I plead the fifth.

[Diantha:] Darling, you're going to get us all fired. Or killed.

[Cynthia:] He makes it too easy!

[Diantha:] Cynthia…

[Cynthia:] Sorry, sorry. Say, let me make it up to you. After filming tonight, meet me at the Hotel Grand Lake. They have a gorgeous restaurant, plus I'll show you the lake. Can't hate me now, can you? ;)

[Diantha:] Perhaps not… What should I wear?

[Cynthia:] It's relatively high-end. I'd say bring your best, but I've seen some of your red carpet looks. I wouldn't say that far.

[Diantha:] I think I get the picture. Filming ends at seven, but Hugo has been quite content with the takes we've ran so far. I could make it by eight.

[Cynthia:] Sounds good to me. I'll see you then.

[Diantha:] Alright! It's a date!

Cynthia nearly threw her phone into the river for an entirely different reason.

When it got closer to nightfall, Cynthia started to debate over what on earth she should wear to dinner. She looked through her closet, slightly bothered by the lack of color in her wardrobe, and she was coming up dry. Out of options, she called her sister to come help her out. Cynthia left the door open so Elizabeth could enter whenever she showed up from work. As she waited, Cynthia was lounging on her couch watching TV, a mug of coffee in her hand.

Soon the door opened and someone came inside, "It's a robber!" They announced themselves as.

Cynthia just grunted into her coffee mug. Elizabeth's face fell at the sight, "Seriously? No reaction?"

"What semi-decent thief announces their entrance?" Cynthia shook her head.

Elizabeth placed her hands on her hips and huffed, "Harsh, sister. Harsh."

Cynthia stood up from the couch and held out her mug for Elizabeth, "It's coffee. Want some?"

"Oo, yeah. But I'm adding milk." Elizabeth snatched the mug right out of Cynthia's hands, "Not everyone can chug this stuff black like you do."

"Suit yourself. You can have the rest." Cynthia shrugged.

Elizabeth went into Cynthia's kitchen and opened the fridge, taking out the milk carton and pouring some into the coffee mug. She leaned against the counter when she was done, taking a sip from her coffee, "So, what's the occasion? You wouldn't call me over to help you get ready if it was no big deal."

"Dinner at the Hotel Grand Lake." Cynthia glanced down at her nails. She had just painted them in her spare time. They were black, of course.

Elizabeth grinned slyly at that, "With someone special?" She raised an eyebrow teasingly.

"Ah, no. Not really. She's not from around here, so I'm just showing her some of the sights. I blew off her plans yesterday. I'm just making it up to her."

Not believing that one second, Elizabeth just narrowed her eyes at Cynthia. One of her Pokémon escaped from its Pokéball: Elizabeth's Zoroark. Zoroark transformed into Cynthia, and Elizabeth took her chance.

"Oh, she's not special at all!" Elizabeth said in a mocking voice, pretending to be Cynthia. Zoroark was miming to Elizabeth's voice, "I'm just taking her to the fanciest restaurant in all of Sinnoh for fun! It's what friends do for their foreign visitors!"

Cynthia glared at her sister in disapproval. Elizabeth just snickered and high-fived her Zoroark, who then changed back into its normal form.

"Easy, easy. We're just teasing." Elizabeth threw her hands up in surrender, "Do you not remember how much you tormented me when I had my first date?"

"Yeah, but…" Cynthia glanced off to the side and huffed, "This isn't my first date…"

"It's your first in probably a century, yeah." Elizabeth crossed her arms, "Between being Champion and your research, your love life is as interesting as watching paint dry. Let me have my fun."

Cynthia groaned, "I regret calling you over…"

"Then I'm doing my job." Elizabeth picked up her coffee mug and walked over to Cynthia, grabbing her by the arm, "Come on. Let's get you dressed."

Cynthia led Elizabeth back to her room, opening the doors to her closet and gesturing for Elizabeth to try her hands at picking out an outfit. Elizabeth just froze.

"Dear god…" She mumbled, completely taken aback.

"What?" Cynthia tilted her head.

"It's darker than my future in here." Elizabeth placed her hand over her chest, "Where's the color? The spirit? The diversity?"

Rubbing the back of her neck, Cynthia just glanced off to the side, "Yeah, it's all black… So what?"

"This will make things a bit difficult…" Elizabeth rubbed her chin, "I'm assuming you want a dress. Where are your dresses?"

Cynthia reached into her closet and pushed a good portion of her clothes aside, pointing to the remaining clothes on the right side of her closet. Elizabeth just nodded, taking some of them out and laying them on the bed to inspect them.

"You're really serious about this…" Elizabeth said quietly as she worked, "You haven't worn a dress or skirt since the parade where you were named Champion three years ago."

"Not true!" Cynthia furrowed her eyebrows, "I wore a skirt when I took you out to a nightclub when you turned twenty-one!"

Elizabeth smacked her lips, "I'm not counting it. You wore a black bra underneath an open leather jacket and threw a skirt on and called it a clubbing outfit."

"It wasn't a bra, it was a crop top!"

"Sis, that thing was way too small to call it a crop top!"

Cynthia just let out a growl. Elizabeth shook her head, placing a hand to her forehead, "Just when I managed to get that outfit out of my head, too… You owe me for this."

"Can you just hurry up and pick something out?!"

Elizabeth grabbed a dress off the bed and held it out for Cynthia. It was a short dress with short-sleeves and cross-stitching going up the sides, and it was of course, completely black. Looking it over for a moment, Cynthia eventually just nodded, "Yeah, I like it."

"Thank god." Elizabeth tossed the dress at her sister, "Get dressed. I'll be your final line of defense before you walk out the door. We don't want you showing up looking like a mess, do we?"

"I suppose not…" Cynthia shooed Elizabeth away, "Alright, off with you. I gotta change."

"I'm raiding your pantry." Elizabeth said as Cynthia shoved her out the door.

"Of course you are…" Cynthia slammed the door shut behind her, letting out a sigh before going to get changed.

After doing her hair and makeup- which honestly was simply her normal look but a bit more emphasized and cleanly -Cynthia stepped out into the living room, strolling up to Elizabeth and placing her hands on her hips.

"So?" Cynthia asked, tilting her head, "How do I look?"

Elizabeth just smirked, looking Cynthia over, "Way too good to just be seeing a 'friend,' that's what."

Cynthia rolled her eyes, "I'm taking that as a pass to leave, right?"

"Hmmm… Hold on." Elizabeth stood up from the couch, reaching into her bag to get something out, "It's almost perfect, but something's lacking…" She pulled out a tube of lipstick, and put it on Cynthia's lips for her, "There. A nice splash of red. She won't be able to take her eyes off of those lips now. You should be thanking me."

"I'm not thanking you." Cynthia teased, grinning, "Am I good now?"

"Perfect." Elizabeth smiled, nudging Cynthia's shoulder, "That's the first time I've seen you without those hair clips. Wow, you're going all out."

Cynthia just walked past her and towards the door, "I'm leaving now."

"I want to hear all the juicy details later!" Elizabeth shouted after her, "Come on, you owe me that much!"

"Later, Liz!" And Cynthia closed the door behind her. Suddenly she remembered something, and she opened the door again, "Wait a second, get out of my house."

"I was wondering when you were gonna realize that." Elizabeth strolled outside easily, "Now get going. You wouldn't want to be late, do you?"

Cynthia called out Togekiss at that point, sending Elizabeth one last playful glance, "I won't be." She said before flying off.

She arrived at the Hotel Grand Lake around ten minutes later, and Cynthia looked down at her phone to check the time. It was five minutes until eight, so there was still time before Diantha could show up. Cynthia walked around the resort for a little while just to make sure Diantha hadn't already arrived and gotten lost, but it looked as if she was the first one to arrive. Shortly later, she heard Diantha call her name, and Cynthia turned towards the source of the voice, only to instantly have the breath knocked right out of her.

Diantha was wearing a white dress- obviously her best color -and it almost looked like a vest overtop of a high-waisted skirt, though the smooth, singular back of the dress proved otherwise. The 'vest' portion was two triangular shapes whose tips joined in the center of her chest, and there was a tiny peek of skin between where the two triangular portions met and where the high-waisted 'skirt' part began. Pink encrusted the hems of her dress, and it matched well with the Mega Charm Diantha still wore. Her hair was also down and curled, and it loosely fell off her shoulders. Cynthia nearly felt her heart stop.

"Hey…" Cynthia eventually managed to get out, flashing a grin.

Diantha visibly checked Cynthia out, a smile forming on her lips as well, "You clean up nice."

Cynthia let out a nervous laugh and nodded when under the scrutiny of Diantha's gaze, ducking her head and face out of view, "Hah, well… You do too."

Diantha held out her arm for Cynthia to take, "Well? Aren't you going to show me to this high-end restaurant you promised you'll take me to?"

Cynthia just nodded, taking Diantha's arm and escorting her to the Seven Stars Restaurant, "Right… I, uh… I hope you brought Gardevoir along…"

"I always do…" Diantha tilted her head, "Why?"

"There may be something I forgot to tell you…" Cynthia scratched her cheek, grinning bashfully, "In order to eat here, you have to win at a Double Battle with the owners…"

Diantha just grinned, "Alright, that's no problem to me."

"R-Really?" Cynthia blinked a few times, "You sure?"

"Of course! I mean…" Diantha nudged Cynthia's side playfully, winking, "Two Champions fighting side by side in a Double Battle? We're almost unstoppable…"