Getting up that morning was an absolute chore. Cynthia had stayed up late alongside Elizabeth, trying to do anything she could to keep her mind off of what happened at the lake. It didn't help that Cynthia found out there was a challenge period scheduled for the early morning, so she had to message Hugo, which was only making her bad day worse. It would be a waste to fly down to Lake Acuity for only twenty minutes or so of consultation before she'd have to fly off again, so Cynthia just had a lazy morning, taking her time in getting ready and messaging Hugo.

The cold water from her shower was just what she needed to clear her mind and calm her. She even had time to have breakfast, which she hadn't done in the longest time. She needed this type of relaxing morning, especially after the night she had. She finally sent that text to Hugo about the prospective challenge she would be having later in the morning, and she was sure to include the notes that he would probably need for the scenes they were going to shoot. Cynthia immediately turned off her phone afterwards. She didn't want to see what kind of response she would be getting. She was also getting sick of being such a social butterfly. She started to hate that damn phone. It was going to end up in a lake someday, she was feeling it.

Cynthia made her way over to Lily of the Valley Island shortly enough, and she entered the League castle. Some of the League members were chilling in the lobby, mostly because the League technically doesn't open to challengers for a good twenty minutes, and Cynthia saw Flint and Aaron hanging out as soon as she walked in.

"Hey, Champ!" Aaron grinned widely, waving towards Cynthia.

Flint shoved his hands in his pockets and closed his eyes, "Yo. I was starting to forget what you looked like. It's been a while."

Cynthia placed a hand on her hip and flashed a playful smile, "That's funny. I was just starting to forget your face too. A shame, really. I was so close…"

"Haha!" Flint burst out into laughter, "Still as fiery as ever, I see!"

"It's good to see that the whole movie business hasn't been stressing you out too much." Aaron still was smiling wide, "Great to have you back!"

"Good to be back." Cynthia said, "I needed the break, honestly. A good battle is just what I need." She slammed a fist into her palm out of excitement.

Flint snapped his fingers, "Come on, Champ! Who's to say this challenger will even make it to ya'?! If you want a good fight, I'm right here! I'm down for trying to nab that title again!"

"Wait, what?!" Aaron blinked rapidly, "No, no! I had dibs! I already called challenging her next!"

"You ain't got the fire to win, dude! I got this!"

"At least my team has beauty and perfection on our side!"

Aaron and Flint were too busy bickering about who was going to challenge Cynthia next, Cynthia slipped away easily and headed deeper into the castle. It took them both a solid few minutes to realize she was gone. Cynthia simply had a bemused smile on her lips when she walked away, shaking her head fondly at their antics.

Cynthia soon walked into a familiar, earthy room, and she spotted Bertha standing inside near one of the back corners, tidying some things up. Cynthia grinned at the sight, and she shoved her hands into her pockets.

"Bertha!" Cynthia called, grinning wider.

Bertha turned at the mention of her name, and she flashed a sweet smile upon laying eyes on Cynthia, "Ah… I wondered when you would come back around. It's been too long, dear."

"Heh, well…" Cynthia glanced off to the side nervously, "I've been busy, and there haven't been many challenges here at the League, so…" She shrugged her shoulders.

"I understand." Bertha nodded at that, "Is everything alright? Normally when you vanish, it's never much of a good sign."

Cynthia smacked her lips. She debated whether or not she should tell Bertha, but Bertha had always been a mentor and good friend since Cynthia joined the League, so Cynthia just threw caution to the wind. "Eh… You know… Showbiz drama. Interpol missions." She coughed, glancing away again and lowering her voice, "Girl troubles…"

Bertha tilted her head, an amused yet calming grin on her lips, "I'm not sure which one of those is the most intriguing, but judging by how dodgy you are about it, I'm going to assume the 'girl troubles' is what's bothering you the most."

Cynthia scrunched her nose guiltily, "Maybe just a little."

Nodding, Bertha just walked over to one of the smooth rocks in her room, sitting down upon it and patting the space next to her, "Come here. Tell Bertha all about it."

Cynthia joined Bertha on top of the rock, and she crossed her legs and leaned back, supporting herself with her hands, "There's… not much to tell, really. Even though she's interested, it's just… not working out. She doesn't want to go through with things because we're working together on this movie. It's a weird move, but… It's not like I can do anything about it…"

"This may come off as strange advice, and frankly it might sound a little bit terrible, but…" Bertha warned in an amused tone, "If she's really that interested, I doubt she'd be able to stay away for long. You may just have to give her time, so she learns that you're not the type that would put this movie project in danger over a relationship. I know you, Cynthia, and you're not the type to let any sort of feelings or relationships get in the way of your work. You'll just have to wait until she learns that too."

After a little while of listening, Cynthia just ended up smiling. Bertha was always overflowing with wisdom, and somehow she always had exactly what Cynthia needed to hear. Perhaps it might have not have been what she wanted to hear, but Bertha had always given Cynthia the advice she needed. Cynthia's mother had died when she was young along with her father, so Bertha managed to fit that void perfectly. That's what made Cynthia smile. "Alright… Yeah. I think I can do that."

Bertha tilted her head, "Feeling a bit better now?"

Cynthia nodded at that, "Yeah, I think so. I needed that. Thank you, Bertha."

Bertha held her arms out for a hug, "Of course, dear. It's just nice to have someone levelheaded around here once in awhile. Flint and Aaron can prove to be too much at times."

Letting out a laugh at that, Cynthia just hugged Bertha back, "I get it. They may be like my brothers but they're something else, alright…"

"You should probably be heading back to your room, dear. The place opens for challenges shortly. You may want to get prepared in case a straggler slips through."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Cynthia grinned, pushing herself off the rock and heading for the door, "I'll see you around."

Cynthia headed through the League building until she reached Lucian's chambers, not at all surprised to see him reading a book. She just shook her head fondly as she walked past, grinning to herself. "Nerd."

"Says the devoted researcher." Lucian flipped a page in his book, "So bookish that she was requested to be a movie consultant."

"At least I got a life outside of the League." Cynthia shot back.

Lucian quirked an eyebrow, "Yet I sense a great deal of stress emanating from you. Are you living a good life outside of the League?"

Cynthia grimaced a bit at that. She was too out of it for an intellectual toe-to-toe with Lucian, it seemed. He got her good. "Bah… You win." And she just went through the door to her own chamber as Lucian smirked to himself. That was the first time in a while Lucian managed to one-up her. He was revelling in that fact.

Once Cynthia had reached her chamber, she sat down in her chair at the back of the chamber and crossed her legs, getting herself situated. She let out a sigh when she got comfortable, and she just waited for what the round of challengers had in store for her.

Only one challenger of the bunch managed to make their way to the Champion's Chamber, but Cynthia had a simple time in defeating him. He and his team were exhausted after fighting their way through the Elite Four, and Cynthia was riling for a good fight. It only made sense that she came out victorious. The challenge period ended at 10:30, so Cynthia had left the League building at that point since she had to report to filming in Snowpoint City. She turned her phone on when she reached the body of water in front of the building, seeing a few texts from Hugo that she ultimately ignored, and one from Diantha…

[Diantha:] Can we meet in my hotel room during lunch? I need to talk to you.

Cynthia just tore her gaze away from her phone, staring at the water in front of her. She looked like she was seriously considering throwing her phone into the water, but that day wasn't today. With a sigh, Cynthia just shot Diantha a text back.

[Cynthia:] Yeah. I'll meet you there.

There were two ways that the encounter with Diantha could play out in Cynthia's minds. They were meeting in Diantha's hotel room, which was pretty forward, so perhaps Diantha had suddenly changed her mind about the whole relationship ordeal. Cynthia didn't get her hopes up for that, however. Diantha didn't seem like the type to be that forward on purpose, anyways, so it probably wasn't that. The other way that it could play out… Well, Cynthia didn't even know what could happen. All Cynthia knew was that this definitely wasn't going to be a sudden get-together moment. Who knew what could actually be the reason.

Cynthia got to Lake Acuity with enough time to spare to watch a few takes of the scenes they were shooting. Hugo was quite on the ball about advising Diantha to not look Uxie in the eyes, which reassured Cynthia that things were still going smoothly despite her momentary absence. She cut things really short to the lunch break, so it wasn't too long until she would have to meet with Diantha, which Cynthia wasn't sure was a good thing or a bad thing. She eventually just sucked it up, figuring that it would be best to just get to the bottom of things quickly rather than delay it.

When filming breaked for lunch, Cynthia talked with Hugo for a few moments to let Diantha get a headstart on the walk back to Snowpoint City. Cynthia then headed over to the hotel after she stalled for a little while, and she went to the room that Diantha texted her. She knocked on the door, letting out a loud sigh to try and quell her nerves.

Diantha opened the door quickly enough, and her expression was instantly sympathetic when she saw Cynthia, "I know you must have a lot of questions…" Diantha began, looking anywhere but Cynthia at the time.

Cynthia just made a noncommitted hum at that. Diantha stepped out of the way to let Cynthia inside, and then Diantha went to wringing her hands together nervously, "So…" Diantha cleared her throat, trying to find traction as she spoke, "Remember when you said that if there was anything bothering me, that I could talk to you about it?"

Tilting her head, Cynthia looked Diantha over curiously, "Yeah. What's up?"

"Well.. Ever since I've gotten here in Sinnoh… I've been having these nightmares. They're not just strange, random nightmares, either. The same scene just keeps playing over and over again every night in my dream. I get transported to this strange world where everything is red, gravity is inverted, and nothing makes sense… You're there too, and each time I have this dream, this large creature suddenly appears and presumably kills us both." Diantha explained, voice a little shaky, "Last night, in my dream, you called this creature 'Giratina'... Does that… Does that make sense?"

The second Diantha dropped the word 'nightmare,' Cynthia had a fairly good idea of who, or what, was behind these strange dreams. The more Diantha went on, however, Cynthia started to piece things together about what the dreams were actually about, and 'Giratina' sealed the deal. "...I see. That's gotta be daunting to see, even if you don't understand the context of it."

Diantha just nodded, "I just… I just needed to get this off my chest. It's been bothering me for a while, and it's also been the reason why I've been getting so little rest lately. But… That isn't all, though. These nightmares aren't just affecting my mind… They've actually started to… Well, I think it's best if I just showed you. After the dream last night, this appeared..." With a shaky breath, Diantha tugged the neckline to her blouse over her shoulder to expose it, giving Cynthia a clear view of the bruise that was on her arm.

Cynthia's eyes widened at that, and unable to stop herself, she just walked closer and let her fingers gently graze over the discolored skin out of disbelief. She had known of Darkrai's powers to cause nightmares, but she never knew that Darkrai could harm a person through those dreams. Her hand still lingering on Diantha's exposed skin, Cynthia met Diantha's eyes, jaw clenched tight and determination written in her expression, "I can fix this. I know how to stop these nightmares."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Diantha sent Cynthia a strange look, "R...Really? You can stop them?"

Cynthia nodded, "Trust me. I'm going to need some time, though… I should be able to resolve everything before you fall asleep tonight, so you don't have to worry about them any longer. I'll be back. I will fix this."

Diantha fell silent at that. Eventually she just nodded, biting down on her lip, "Thank you, Cynthia…"

"Don't thank me." Cynthia said, voice forced. Her eyes drifted back to the bruise, and she lifted her hand off of Diantha's shoulder in a slow and lingering touch, "I'm sorry this happened…"

"Don't be." Diantha forced a grin, "I'm grown. I can deal with a few silly dreams and a tiny bruise."

"It will all be over soon. I promise." Cynthia tore her gaze away from Diantha, unable to bring herself to look at her any longer. Things still felt raw from the night prior, but at least Diantha confiding in her gave some semblance of hope to their relationship being able to be salvaged in the future. "I need to get moving if I want to get this settled before tomorrow. Can you tell Hugo I won't be coming back?"

Diantha's grin grew a bit more genuine at that, "You're shoving off the true nightmare on me now, you know."

Cynthia smiled at that too, "You know I can't stand dealing with that guy."

"And you think I can?"

"You're the veteran when it comes to production politics. You're at least used to it."

Diantha shook her head with a soft laugh, "Go. I'll handle it."

Cynthia nodded, heading for the door and leaving Diantha's room, "Stay up for me! I'll be back tonight!"

Diantha just watched as Cynthia left, fixing her shirt's neckline and prodding her fingers together afterward. She had no clue what Cynthia was going or trying to do, but Diantha had no choice but to just put her faith in Cynthia and hope for the best.