At around ten in the morning, Elizabeth was lugging a large box of files with her on her way to Cynthia's house at her sister's request. It was a strange request, especially one to receive at nearly eleven o'clock at night. Nevertheless, Elizabeth still complied, and she was headed to Cynthia's place to drop them off, even if Cynthia wouldn't be home.
However, when Elizabeth neared her destination, she spotted a swarm of journalists huddled on Cynthia's front lawn. She narrowed her eyes in confusion, tilting her head as she walked. The journalists soon noticed the sound of approaching footsteps and they turned towards Elizabeth, but they were disappointed in seeing that it wasn't Cynthia who was walking towards them. Elizabeth just froze, obviously offended by the paparazzi's collective disappointed sighs.
"What? That's all I get?" Elizabeth spat, resting the box against her waist with her free hand on her hip, "What gives?"
"We're waiting for Champion Cynthia, obviously." A columnist from a teen gossip magazine sneered.
Elizabeth glared at the columnist, "And I'm the next best thing. We share blood, after all. I'm practically her."
Learning that Elizabeth was Cynthia's sister gradually got the paparazzi to get interested in her, and soon they bombarded her with questions.
"Do you know the nature of her and Diantha's relationship?"
"She hasn't left the house at all this morning- could she have had a late night rendezvous and slept over at someone else's house?"
"Is she currently seeing anyone?"
"What's her type?"
Elizabeth blinked a few times, trying to register all of the questions thrown her way. She knew the true answers to all those questions, but she figured Cynthia wouldn't appreciate her telling the paparazzi of the rejection and then subsequent sleepover Diantha and Cynthia had. It was time to draft up all her excuses. "Uhh… Let's see… They're coworkers… She wouldn't leave the house because she's sick… None of your business, and… Oh! None of your business."
Apparently those were all the wrong answers, and the paparazzi immediately grew agitated at her.
"Wouldn't it make more sense to bring a sick sister some soup instead of a huge box?"
"They're books to keep her occupied!" Elizabeth growled.
"How are we supposed to take you seriously with those tacky facial piercings?"
"Oh, and you all act like Cynthia never had any…" She muttered before catching herself. She was supposed to keep that phase of Cynthia's a secret… At this point, Elizabeth figured that she needed to stop answering these ridiculous questions, and she kept walking towards Cynthia's door, fishing in her pockets for a key.
"What's it like living in your sister's shadow of being a Champion and a renowned researcher?"
That question made Elizabeth freeze after she opened the door. She ended up gritting her teeth, muttering to herself as she clenched her fist, "Let me get one thing straight with you monkeys… My sister might be a Champion and a researcher, but I'm the Champion Researcher. There's a reason why I'm the Celestic Town Historical Research Center's director instead of my sister! I'm not in her shadow! Now get out of here, or I'll call the police and have you arrested for trespassing!"
The paparazzi instantly grew uneasy at the threat of law enforcement, and they all scattered. Finally left alone, Elizabeth walked inside Cynthia's house and let out a sigh, closing the door behind her. She made her way to Cynthia's study, setting the box of files onto her desk. Pulling out her phone, Elizabeth let Cynthia know that she dropped off all the files.
[Elizabeth:] I put all the Spear Pillar readings from the past two months on your desk. Warning, tho… I didn't notice anything strange about them. Feel free to look at it yourself, but I really don't think anything's going on up there.
She got a response back a few minutes later.
[champion edgy:] Thanks. I'll look them over when I get home. I need to make sure that no one's going to try and open another portal to the Distortion World.
[Elizabeth:] Doesn't look like it to me. There's nothing suggesting any activity of the sort.
[champion edgy:] I'd rather be safe than sorry. I don't want something like last time happening again.
[Elizabeth:] I know. I'll keep an eye out for any changes in the readings.
[Elizabeth:] oh and uh….
[Elizabeth:] i apologize in advance for literally anything you might read in the tabloids
[champion edgy:] WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO
[Elizabeth:] my best.
Not wanting to see anything else Cynthia could have possibly messaged her, Elizabeth just slipped her phone into her pocket and left.
Waking up alone wasn't exactly something Cynthia wasn't used to, but it was the first time she woke up alone when she slept with someone else. She slowly sat up, scratching at the back of her neck and blinking her eyes awake. She wound up letting out a disappointed sigh, a pang in her chest, but she brushed the feeling off soon enough. Cynthia soon came to notice the running water of a shower, so at least Diantha didn't desert her entirely. Standing up, Cynthia picked up her clothes and started to change, managing to finish before the water shut off and Diantha stepped out in a towel and with freshly-combed hair. Out of respect, Cynthia ducked her head away, focusing on putting on her heels.
"You're awake!" Diantha grinned, entirely unbothered by the fact she was only in a towel, "Good morning!"
Cynthia glanced up quickly, clearing her throat to try and keep a semblance of composure to herself, "Uh… Hey. Morning."
Diantha went to pick out some clothes out of the closet, "Are we still on for today?" She asked, shifting through her clothes.
Furrowing her eyebrows, Cynthia had to think for a moment. Diantha took Cynthia's delay to clarify things more, "For Spear Pillar? You were supposed to show it to the cast and crew so they know the surroundings since we won't actually be filming on site."
Cynthia nodded at that, remembering things now, "Right, right… Yeah, I'm still doing that. I kinda have to if the film is going to be authentic."
"Besides, I'm excited to see it! It's where you encountered all those legends, is it not?" Diantha tossed her clothes on the bed.
Knowing what came next, Cynthia simply just spun around, pretending to occupy herself with putting on her shoes...again. She also wasn't exactly fond of discussing it after the wound was so freshly reopened with what happened with Darkrai the day prior, "...Yeah, it is."
Diantha pulled down her camisole over her head, sending Cynthia a strange look. She was being very guarded and distant. "...Cynthia. Is everything alright?"
Cynthia coughed awkwardly, scratching behind her head, "Uh, of course..."
Diantha didn't believe that for a second, "You won't even look at me."
"B-Because you're getting dressed!"
"If it makes you feel any better, I'm covered top and bottom now. I'm not exposed, if that's what you're afraid of."
Cynthia peered over her shoulder to check for herself, and with a sigh she spun around entirely, "...There."
"Better…" Diantha walked closer to Cynthia, crossing her arms, "Please, tell me what's wrong."
"I… can't." Cynthia admitted with a heavy sigh, "Not yet. I'm afraid I'll psych myself out if I worry too much about it now. I will tell you later, though... I promise."
With an expression crossed between disappointed and concerned, Diantha just nodded, stepping back and continuing to get dressed. Cynthia made sure to grab all of her things before she went towards the door.
"I'll meet you there. I'm sure they've arranged a ride for you." Cynthia said, opening the door but pausing there. She turned back, a concerned look on her face, "Hey… Did you get any nightmares last night?"
Diantha shook her head with a soft smile, "Only sweet dreams."
Cynthia grinned at that, "Good. I'm glad. I'll see you in a bit." And with that, she left.
Being back at Spear Pillar was definitely a daunting experience for Cynthia. The atmosphere, while less drastic than the last time she was there, was still tense and greatly uncomfortable. She was only there because the cast and crew needed to see the site to adjust their performances and draft up sketches for the animation since she absolutely forbade any filming on Spear Pillar as to not damage the site by it. If she had the option to, Cynthia probably would have never set foot up on that strange shrine ever again. Unfortunately, that option wasn't available to her, and especially with this knowledge that the Distortion World might be making a reappearance according to Darkrai, it was only a matter of time before Cynthia had to return to investigate. At least she could do something productive while she was up there in investigating Spear Pillar.
Releasing Lucario from its Pokéball, Cynthia instructed Lucario to read the surrounding auras to check for any strange developments. While Lucario was doing that, Cynthia walked around a bit, keeping her eyes open for any evidence of someone else being up here since the Galactic incident. She searched for quite some time, not wanting to miss anything, and she ended up being approached by one of the animators.
"Most of our work here is complete." He said, nodding at Cynthia, "We should have detailed enough accounts and drawings of this place for an authentic recreation of this place with green screens and CGI. However, it would have been much easier if we could just shoot the scenes here…"
Cynthia didn't look at the man; she simply furrowed her eyebrows and let out a sigh, "I'm not allowing any filming to take place here. I can't risk this place getting damaged by outsiders. Besides, the director of the Celestic Town Historical Research Center was the one who ordered this of me. Can't say I would've made a different call if I were her, though."
"R-Right. Sorry. Thank you for your cooperation." And off he went, not wanting to agitate Cynthia further. Cynthia felt a little bad for her harsh tone, but with all the stress compiling on her, she couldn't help it.
Soon most of the other crew and cast members left Spear Pillar, satisfied with their studies, and only two people remained: Cynthia, who was wrapping up her investigation, and Diantha, who stayed behind to make sure Cynthia was alright. Lucario soon returned to Cynthia's side, and it just shook its head, unable to sense anything drastically different in Spear Pillar's aura. Cynthia nodded and recalled it into its Pokéball. Her search for any signs of recent visitors came up dry, too. Diantha then approached Cynthia, prodding the tips of her fingers together.
"You two seemed to have inspected the place from top to bottom." Diantha commented, glancing around a bit, "Is something the matter?"
"Ah… A little. But this place is fine, which is… a step, I suppose." Cynthia explained, "I'm looking for any leads with an Interpol investigation. It's kind of… classified."
Diantha nodded, slightly disappointed in the answer, "I understand. You also said that you would finally tell me what was bothering you so much this morning."
"...That I did." Cynthia sighed, pursing her lips, "Where do I even begin…"
"You can begin at the start. I have time." Diantha stated calmly.
Cynthia let out another sigh, and she thought things over for a moment to try and figure out how to word things, "Have you ever thought you were okay after something, and you started to believe it after a while, but then someone pointed out that you're not okay and then you realize you're completely and utterly messed up? That there's no hiding from it anymore? Yeah… That's what's been going on with me lately.."
Diantha's eyebrows knitted together out of concern, not knowing what Cynthia was referring to. She nodded nonetheless, hoping Cynthia would continue and clear things up.
"A couple months ago, there was this one vile, nihilistic man who thought that our region, our world was worthless. He sought to make a new world, one free of all the faults that our world has. He managed to gain a cult following, and they were mostly all kids that he persuaded to join him. Even his commanders… They were just teenagers. He warped them all into thinking that his plan was right, that he would save them… I found out about this group, Team Galactic, early on in its plans, but I didn't take it seriously because I thought it was just a bunch of kids messing around. Then they just started to do more and more… and I started to grow more suspicious. I got the help of Interpol and with them I infiltrated some of their bases, and then their headquarters, but we were running out of time. They had kidnapped the lake trio and took their jewels to form the Red Chain, and they were going to use the Red Chain to make Dialga and Palkia create a new world for themselves. I chased them down to Spear Pillar, and that man… Cyrus… he already summoned Dialga and Palkia to our world, and the poor Pokémon… They were writhing and twisting with pain under the confines of the Red Chain… I tried to stop him… I tried to stop Cyrus, but then something unthinkable happened, and the entire ground started to turn into a black vortex…"
Diantha noticed how, the longer Cynthia went on, the more her voice started to crack and she tried to hide it. Cynthia started to walk over to the higher level of the altar, moving towards the center. Diantha followed, wringing her hands together and trying to keep an eye on Cynthia still. She looked uneasy as she told her story, and Diantha wanted to make sure that Cynthia wouldn't push herself too far.
"It came out of the vortex almost like it was bleeding shadows… It freed Dialga and Palkia with a single strike, and then it trained eyes on Cyrus for all the trouble he caused… But I was right next to Cyrus, so when it attacked and plunged Cyrus into the darkness… it… it attacked me too…"
"Cynthia…" Diantha was shaking her head, slowly walking towards Cynthia's side. She could see how Cynthia was trembling, and how her eyes were starting to get glossy. She placed her hand on Cynthia's arm to try and bring Cynthia back to reality, "You can stop if you need to. It's not worth bringing up bad memories for…"
"It plunged me into that hell! It trapped me down there to fight my way out! Cyrus tried to purge me from his perfect world, and then Giratina took its rage out on me! I had to fight to survive! I nearly died in there! I nearly died in that twisted, dark, hellish world!" Unable to hold it in any longer, Cynthia choked out a sob, shielding her eyes with the back of her hand. She felt weak, heavy underneath the burden of it all, and soon she collapsed to her knees, too weak to support herself.
Diantha fell with Cynthia, wrapping her arms around her to try and catch her. Diantha couldn't help but let her eyes widen; she never imagined that Cynthia harbored this burden and stress after her encounter with the Distortion World. Cynthia even once told her that the situation wasn't traumatic for her… Diantha was beginning to see how that wasn't the case. All she could do was keep her arms wound tightly around Cynthia, holding her close.
Cynthia grabbed onto Diantha's arms, staying silent and ducking her head out of view for a few seconds. Eventually she turned back towards Diantha, and she looked as if she was finished in hiding her true feelings, "Everyone always thinks that I'm so lucky to have discovered this other world… They don't know the true horror of it all… And I can't let them know… This region hails me as a hero…! Their brave, fearless Champion, insurmountable to none…!" Cynthia leaned forward, eyes going wide and pleading, and she grabbed onto the lapels of Diantha's jacket. She was growing frantic from the emotions that were finally pouring out, "They can't know about all the nightmares! They can't know about all the nights I wake up screaming, haunted by the Distortion World and the monster that lies in it! They can't know how broken I am! They can't see me so weak!"
At that point, Cynthia stopped holding the tears back, and she threw herself at Diantha, wrapping her arms around her and burying her head in Diantha's neck. Diantha simply held Cynthia close and tight, one hand running through Cynthia's hair to calm her as the other arm wound around Cynthia's back. All of her focus went to comforting Cynthia in that moment. Diantha closed her eyes, and a tear of her own ran down her face. Diantha was glad that her face was out of view, so Cynthia couldn't see or sense her heartbreak in seeing Cynthia so vulnerable.
"I… I'm sorry." Diantha said softly, clenching her jaw and tightening her hold on Cynthia, "I had no idea… I had no idea how painful this was for you… This movie couldn't have made things easier for you, either… I'm so sorry…"
For a little while after that, they just stayed as they were until Cynthia calmed down, and she slowly pulled away from Diantha's embrace. She wiped at her eyes, sniffing, and she kept her gaze trained on the ground. Diantha was silent for a while, watching Cynthia with the same heartbroken look as before. Unclasping her necklace, Diantha leaned forward and put the Lunar Wing around Cynthia's neck. Cynthia looked down at the charm and then back at Diantha, raising an eyebrow out of confusion. Diantha forced a small grin to her lips.
"I just figured… you need it more than I do. It helps the nightmares go away, right? I don't know much else I can do to help…" Diantha whispered, trailing off.
Tears again started to well in Cynthia's eyes, but it wasn't because of anguish this time; it was because she was moved by Diantha's support. Cynthia let her eyes close, and perhaps it was a gesture too intimate for their current state together, but Cynthia rested her forehead against Diantha's, relaxing into the touch. "Please…just… stay here with me." Her voice dropped into a quiet whisper, that vulnerability of before returning, "I need you…"
Diantha closed her eyes as well, and she lifted her hand to rest on Cynthia's cheek. "I won't leave, Cynthia…" She said, her voice soft and filled with warmth, "I promise."
Elsewhere, in the dead of night, Eileen heard the sound of approaching footsteps. She was sitting on a bench, legs crossed, and she simply turned her head to the source of the incoming figure as a grin curved her lips. Beneath the streetlamps, the figure's face was soon illuminated, revealing a reluctant-looking Lisa making her way towards Eileen.
"Lisa…" Eileen grinned threateningly, fingers drumming at her chin, "So glad you decided to show up. I almost thought you wouldn't turn out."
Lisa wrapped her arms around herself, brow furrowed out of caution. "I told you I wanted no part in this…"
"Yet you're here. I'd say you changed your mind." Eileen quirked an eyebrow.
Again there was the sound of approaching footsteps, and Eileen and Lisa looked over to see Marc joining them. Eileen looked absolutely elated.
"The old gang is all here! It's been far too long since us three have worked as a team." Eileen finally stood up, resting a hand on her hip, "I think it's time we finally intervened with the investigation into the Team Galactic revival. It's time we brought this whole thing to a close, and I can't do it without you two. What do you say?"
Marc closed his eyes, letting out a sigh, "...You're right. It's been going on for long enough. I cannot sit by idly anymore."
Lisa looked between Marc and Eileen, feeling their gazes heavy on her before she huffed and looked away, "Fine! I'll do it! I'll join this stupid plan!"
Exhaling a low snicker, Eileen sighed contently, gazing out and away from the group, "Perfect… With us three together, nothing can stop us…" She turned back to Marc and Lisa, "So it's settled. We'll march on Veilstone tomorrow."
Marc still kept his eyes closed, but eventually he nodded. Lisa just clenched her jaw, refusing to look at anyone.
At long last, the three commanders were about to enter the fray.