Sendoff Spring greeted Cynthia once she stepped through the portal, and she noticed how the looming rain and clouds from before were clearing up. The sun was peeking through the clouds at last, and Cynthia had to raise a hand over her head to keep the light out of her eyes. Looker passed by her, dragging Cyrus with him to bring him to the Interpol agents and policemen that were stationed at the spring. Cynthia turned around to see Garchomp come through the portal with Gardevoir's help, and when Gardevoir saw Cynthia, it lowered its telekinetic hold on Garchomp. Garchomp sank to its knees now that its support was gone, but Cynthia kneeled down next to Garchomp, just as exhausted as it was. They stayed like that for a while, motionless, silent, resting. They didn't want to move. They doubted they could move.
Diantha turned her head towards the two of them, grinning faintly. She felt Elizabeth turn too, trying to see what was going on, and that's when Diantha's focus went back to the girl she was supporting. With a tilt of her head and an amused grin, Diantha readjusted her grip on Elizabeth to keep her better situated before speaking, "You know… I don't believe we've been formally introduced yet. I'm Diantha."
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at that before the realization kicked in for her, and she let out a stifled laugh, "Heh… Well… I'm Elizabeth, scientist and researcher extraordinaire. I swear I normally don't look like a mad scientist with all these burn marks and ashes on my face… And having you lug me around like this is one hell of a way to meet you."
Diantha closed her eyes and laughed softly, "I'll take your word for it. I've heard a lot about you, actually." She opened her eyes again and leaned closer, looking around to check to see if anyone was looking, "So… Did you really break your arm trying to flirt with someone while ice-skating?" Diantha said with a gossipy tone.
"Ngh…" Elizabeth hung her head in shame. Her body fell slack, and she felt Diantha trying to keep her upright to the best of her ability, "Just… Just let me fall." She objected, voice flat.
Diantha furrowed her eyebrows out of concern for a brief moment, but she then grew occupied with supporting Elizabeth's weight; she was never good with heavy objects… Luckily in that moment, a medic came over and asked to take Elizabeth away for inspection, and Elizabeth jumped at the opportunity to be spared from her embarrassment. Diantha just watched as Elizabeth was taken away, and she scratched her cheek and pursed her lips. She'll have to apologize to her later for embarrassing her like that…
Gardevoir's eyelids went heavy and it was starting to feel faint, something which Diantha picked up on. Diantha reached out and held Gardevoir before it could fall, and Diantha's expression contorted into that of sympathy, "Don't worry. I'll have you healed soon. Thank you for everything, ma jolie. I couldn't have done it without you." Diantha recalled Gardevoir shortly after that, allowing Gardevoir some rest before Diantha would have the chance to heal her team.
Looker walked over towards Cynthia after he dealt with Cyrus, and he placed his fists against his waist while glancing down at her. There was a proud grin on his face again, "I can't say it enough how grateful all of us at Interpol are for your help, Cynthia, or should I say…"
"Dear heavens, not the superhero names again…"
"...Midnight Dragon?"
Cynthia actually had to pause and close her mouth. Normally Looker's superhero names for her were terrible, but this one… She could actually get behind this one. "...Not bad. Not bad at all. Certainly beats Diamonista, wouldn't you say?"
Looker laughed and nodded curtly, "I realize now how...inappropriate that name sounds. I do believe I've made up for it with this one, however."
"You have. I might just have to go with that one now." Cynthia teased with a grin, "Never thought you'd actually find one I'd like."
"I too have my own surprises, Cynthia. Besides, I did promise that I'd find you the perfect name. I was not going to stop until I succeeded." Looker paused for a moment, eyebrows furrowing, "Speaking of promises… I'm afraid I didn't follow through on the one I made to protect Diantha and keep her away from the conflict. I deeply apologize."
Cynthia tilted her head, confused, "Now, don't apologize. She insisted she come along with me. You wouldn't have had the chance to stop her. I wasn't thinking straight when I told you to do that."
"If you insist, Cynthia."
In that moment, Diantha hesitantly walked to Looker's side, seeking out Cynthia but respectfully not trying to intrude on their conversation. Seeing as their conversation came to a dip, Cynthia glanced at Diantha before returning her gaze back to Looker, "Could we have a moment, Looker?" Cynthia asked, sure to add in a grin to be more polite.
Looker was no idiot, and he humbly excused himself from the conversation so Cynthia could talk with Diantha, "I have to deal with Cyrus's arrest. Thank you again, Cynthia. I'm sure we'll be in touch."
"For sure!" Cynthia laughed to herself. Her focus went to Diantha after she saw Looker off, Cynthia sporting a less playful demeanor now that Diantha was with her, "What's up?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright." Diantha grinned faintly. She wrapped her arms around herself so she wouldn't fidget too much with her hands.
"I'm fine. Promise." Cynthia stated, smiling a bit to prove her point, "I'll be alright. I think the second time around helped me out by giving me a bit of closure… I should be fine." She furrowed her eyebrows afterwards however, expression turning serious, "I'm more concerned about you. I'd hate for you to end up like me after I went into the Distortion World for the first time.."
Diantha sat down next to Cynthia, training her gaze on the ground, "You know… I think I'll be alright. The prophetic nightmares took out a lot of the shock for me. Besides, I wasn't alone like you were that first time. It wasn't too bad."
Cynthia nodded at first, but she didn't look too convinced, "You sure?"
"Honest. I wouldn't lie to you, Cynthia. I'm done hiding things from you." Diantha said in a soft voice, though it was still firm and resolute, "I'll be alright. You don't have to worry."
Quirking a brow and cracking a smile, Cynthia lowered her head to hide it, "Well… I can't help it."
Diantha grinned too, "I know. Thanks for the concern, though. I mean that."
"Of course.. So, heh…" Cynthia scratched behind her ear nervously, "Since we set out for here so you could better get a feel of the Distortion World, do you think you're better now?"
"Hah.. I'd say so. Being in the Distortion World certainly helped in that regard." Diantha joked along, "I think I can make those scenes much more authentic now. So… mission complete?"
Cynthia turned her head and flashed a brief grin. Suddenly she remembered something, and she fished around in her pockets to pull out the Mega Charm. Cynthia clenched the chain, letting the charm itself dangle in front of Diantha, "Before I forget… I believe this is yours."
Diantha took the Mega Charm back from Cynthia, relieved to have it back, "Oh, thank you. So… How did it go?"
"Not bad… Though, it was pretty draining for Garchomp and I both. She didn't like it too much, either." Cynthia commented.
"It takes a while to master." Diantha stated, and she shot Cynthia a hopeful grin, "Maybe one day you'll decide to give it another shot."
"Maybe someday." Cynthia replied with. She finally got the energy to stand up, and she brushed herself off, "I should check on my sister, probably. I have a few things I need to say to her." She offered her hand to Diantha.
Diantha pulled herself to her feet, then she raised an eyebrow, "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah. Don't worry too much about it." Cynthia forced a smile to seem more convincing, "If you need to heal your team, Pastoria City's the closest to here. If you ask Looker, he'll probably take you there. I still have some business to take care of so I won't be leaving just yet."
"My team is fairly injured, after all…" Diantha noted, nodding her head, "I guess it's decided then. I'll catch up with you later."
Cynthia nodded and smiled again, and she was about to step away when suddenly Diantha's arms were wrapped around her and pulled her close. Cynthia stumbled a bit, caught off-guard, but she slowly came to return the hug despite her confusion. Diantha rarely was this forward both emotionally and physically, so Cynthia knew better than to make something strange out of it.
Eventually Diantha spoke up, at the same time that she hugged Cynthia tighter, "I'm just… glad you're okay." She said in a small voice, barely above a whisper.
"Of course.." Cynthia grinned a bit, "I'm glad you're okay too. I was more worried about what that place would do to you than to me."
Diantha pulled back before long, unable to meet Cynthia's gaze, "I'll… I'm gonna go find Looker." She said, and she was off.
Cynthia watched as Diantha walked off, placing her hands on her hips and letting out a loud exhale. She wasn't going to read too much into Diantha's sudden shift in behavior, but she got the hint at what Diantha was trying to convey. Cynthia smiled to herself for a moment before she recalled Garchomp and made her way over to the ambulance where her sister was.
"Ma'am, we're going to need to put the bone back into the socket. Your shoulder's been dislocated." Cynthia could hear the one medic say to her sister.
"So that's why it hurts so much…" Elizabeth commented. She spotted Cynthia walk towards her, and she smiled at her, "Guess who's gonna have her shoulder relocated?"
"The idiot right in front of me." Cynthia joked, "It's gonna hurt like hell, just so you know."
"You're going to feel a little pain." The medic clarified, "Just lay down on the bed and try to relax. It shouldn't take too long since it only looks like a minor dislocation."
As Elizabeth did as instructed, Cynthia stepped next to the bed and held her arm over Elizabeth. "You might wanna bite my sleeve. I'm not kidding when I say it's gonna hurt."
"Just because you're weak, doesn't mean I am.." Elizabeth sneered, but when the medic had suddenly started to pull at her arm and readjust it, her face instantly contorted into a grimace and Elizabeth stifled the inevitable scream of pain that was to come out by biting down on Cynthia's sleeve, except…
"That's not my sleeve!" Cynthia shouted, wincing, "You're biting my arm, you idiot!"
"Aaaaand… Done!" The medic stated proudly. He got up to go make an ice pack and he gave it to Elizabeth to set on her shoulder.
Elizabeth looked better now that her shoulder was relocated, and she looked visibly more at ease, "Thank god…"
Cynthia just rubbed her arm with a disappointing look, shaking her head, "Do you think you could test for rabies, doc? I just got bit by a rabid animal."
The medic raised his hands up in surrender before walking off, "I'm just an EMT, ma'am. That's above my paygrade."
"Look at that." Cynthia pushed the sleeve of her coat jacket up, "You left a mark. I can't believe you."
Elizabeth let out a nervous laugh, "Sorry, sis… I guess I missed."
"You think?" Cynthia couldn't keep up with the angered facade for long, and she ended up grinning despite herself, "You look a lot better than you did half an hour ago."
"Yeah. The medic cleaned off a lot of the ash and blood and stuff for me. He patched me up pretty well. It's nothing serious though.. The worst was probably that dislocated shoulder. My hands did get burned, but there's healing stuff on 'em so I'll be alright." Elizabeth lifted up her bandaged hands to make a point.
"'Healing stuff,' huh? How professional coming from a scientist." Cynthia teased.
"I'm a geologist, not a doctor." Elizabeth paused before quirking an eyebrow playfully, "At least, not the medical kind of doctor."
Cynthia made a noncommitted hum at that, sitting down next to Elizabeth. She narrowed her eyes since she spotted some blood still dried on the side of her sister's face, so Cynthia wet her thumb and went to wipe it off. "You didn't have to follow me here. Look at how it ended up for you."
"I wasn't around the last time something like this happened, and look how that ended up for you. I wanted to make sure nothing like that happened again." Elizabeth averted her gaze, especially when Cynthia was cleaning her face. She felt like she was being chastised, "I just wanted to help.."
"You nearly got yourself killed. Many people can't say they survived an explosion to the face." Cynthia commented.
"I may be your little sister, but I can hold my own too, you know. Some faulty cheap tech isn't gonna be the end of me, that's for sure. That'd be a pretty pathetic way to go out." Elizabeth grinned slightly.
Cynthia mirrored Elizabeth's smile, "Well, if we're being honest… You being there did help a bit when I thought we were stuck in that world once the portals closed."
"See?" Elizabeth grinned wider, "My impulsive decisions can pay off sometimes!"
"Sometimes…" Cynthia laughed. She pulled Elizabeth into a hug, careful to not touch her injured shoulder at all. Elizabeth rested her chin on Cynthia's shoulder and let out a content sigh. In the midst of the calming hug, however, suddenly Cynthia's phone began to ring, and Cynthia's eyes shot wide in surprise before she wound up narrowing them out of anger.
"Uhh…" Elizabeth began hesitantly, "You gonna get that?"
Cynthia pulled away, checking the caller ID and immediately growling upon seeing it was Hugo, "Can't I be left alone for one blasted second?!" Cynthia shouted, winding her arm back and hurling her phone into the lake. She breathed heavily for a few moments from the adrenaline, but she eventually calmed herself and ran a hand through her hair to try and look more composed.
"What was that all about?" Elizabeth asked, freaked out to say the least.
"That was about a month of infuriation in the making right there…" Cynthia sighed, "I knew that phone was gonna end up in a lake someday… Looks like today's the day."
Elizabeth glanced out towards the lake, pursing her lips, "You know… If I get Oshawott to swim out there, I might be able to get that phone before it waterlogs…"
"Forget it. I'll just get a new one. I don't want to see it right now."
"Suit yourself…" Elizabeth shook her head, "Your loss."
Cynthia stood up and stretched, "Well… I'm gonna go home and sleep this off. I say I'd deserve that much after playing savior for this region for the second time in a row."
"You said it." Elizabeth stood as well, still a little unsteady on her feet but considerably better than before, "So uh… Can you drive me home? I would do it myself but…" She motioned with her head to her shoulder, "That's my steering arm."
"Know what? How about you crash at my place and we can watch that terrible movie that stars that girl band you like?" Cynthia suggested with a playful look.
Elizabeth's eyes nearly sparkled at that, and she gasped, "My girls… Come on, let's go!"
"Right!" Barely even ten steps down the line, Cynthia came to a halt, a pensive look on her face. She stood in silence for a while, frozen, but eventually she eased up and scratched the back of her head.
"What is it?" Elizabeth asked, confused by Cynthia's sudden pause.
"I suddenly forgot where I parked." Cynthia admitted with a guilty look.
"Oh, come on!"
It was a bit awkward at first to be in a patrol car with an officer you don't even know when you're not even under arrest, but eventually Diantha started to grow more comfortable around Looker during the drive. She could see why Cynthia was willing to work so closely with him now.
"I take it by that accent that you're not from around here." Looker had commented once there was a brief dip in the conversation.
"Ah, no. I'm not. I'm from Kalos, actually." Diantha paused for a moment, "Is the accent really that noticeable? You're not the first to pick up on it.."
"Your voice doesn't quite match up with the local dialect." Looker explained, "I'm also a trained agent, so I'm more observant than most."
Diantha just nodded. That wasn't quite the explanation she was looking for but she'd take it, "But… Yeah, I'm not from Sinnoh. English isn't even my first language."
"Your English is impeccable, might I add. You may have some ordinary people fooled from your origins by how natural it sounds coming from you."
"Well… That's a plus?" Diantha laughed slightly.
Looker nodded, "Kalos, you've said? It just so turns out that my next assignment will be in Kalos. I'll be travelling there once this case is officially closed."
"Really?" Diantha beamed at that, "Oh, wow! Our paths might just cross then! The film I'm shooting is almost complete, so I'm heading home soon too! But, ah… What's going on in Kalos that there would need to be Interpol agents stationed there?"
Looker was silent for a moment, and he furrowed his brow before giving his reluctant answer, "I'm afraid I cannot share those matters with civilians, even if they are of A-List status… Forgive me."
Diantha prodded the tips of her index fingers together and let out a forced laugh, "That didn't seem to stop you from divulging everything possible to Cynthia in this investigation… I'll have you know that I'm a Champion too." She said, voice barely level enough to not be considered a mutter.
The car swerved for a moment but Looker regained control, and he attempted to play it off as if nothing happened. Diantha clutched at the handle on the car roof like her life depended on it. A bead of sweat ran down Looker's face, "My apologies! I had no idea that you were indeed the Champion of Kalos…!"
"I've gotten that many times before…" Diantha sighed.
Looker had regained his composure surely now, "The reason behind my assignment is simply to observe some strange organized crime popups here and there throughout the region. I've handled many cases like these before, and I can solve them very quickly. They're rarely ever a large concern, so you needn't worry. I'm on the case, so everything will be fine in the end."
"I see…" Diantha knitted her eyebrows together, gaze fixating on her hands in her lap. She was starting to grow grateful that she would be home soon so she could catch up on everything that she had missed. She did care about her region after all, and she wanted to do better in ensuring Kalos's wellbeing as a true Champion should. It was only a matter of time before Diantha would be returning to Kalos.
All that was left was to finish filming the rest of the movie...