It took four days for Rigel's leg to heal enough for him to walk on his own, and by then he and Sapphire had gotten much closer and more comfortable with each other, although Rigel still had some difficulties, and hadn't told her how he felt. The group was still in the mountains, but Tarazed told them that the large forest was close before going to find food. Now that he was leaving the shadow of the largest mountain, the formerly ash-filled sky was becoming blue once again. The time since his encounter with the human had been uneventful for the most part, though the group had met with Chase and Thuban for the first time in weeks the day before. Rigel was surprised to find that they were travelling with friends of their own, and he shared stories with them of his travels while Aludra stayed quiet and tried to look uninterested, and Tarazed and Thuban glared at each other. As he spoke with Chase, Rigel was getting a strange feeling from one of his companions, a strange black pokemon the likes of which he had never seen before. The black pokemon stayed back and stared off into the distance as if it was lost in thought, and Rigel could feel a malevolent energy much like the kind he used coming off of it, only it's energy was quite a bit stronger than his.

"I probably should have asked about the brother thing." Rigel thought as he walked. "That still confuses me." But before he could think about Chase and Thuban too much, his stomach began grumbling, interrupting his thoughts. "Where is Tarazed with dinner? It'll be getting dark soon. Does it really take that long to find berries in a forest? I bet I could find a whole bunch by now, although I guess he's the only one who can get to that forest right now, so I'll just have to wait."

"Hey Rigel," Aludra said as she came up behind Rigel. "I'm tired, when can we stop and rest?"

"You're tired?" Rigel asked in surprise. "How are you tired?"

"Hey, I didn't get a good rest last night," Aludra said. "Besides, we've been walking all day, so I'm tired."

"Meissa, Sapphire, are you tired?" Rigel asked. "Gauss, I don't think I need to even ask you."

"Well, a little." Meissa said. "I'm not tired enough to be complaining about it though."

"Alright then, this looks like a good spot to rest." Rigel said as he saw a mountain spring ahead of him. "We'll just have to wait for Tarazed now."

"Finally!" Aludra said as she sat down on a nearby rock. "I thought we would never stop."

"Oh, stop complaining." Meissa said. "Aren't you Steel types supposed to be known for endurance?"

"Hey, I didn't get any sleep!" Aludra said. "So be quiet!"

"That's your own fault." said Meissa. "You shouldn't have stayed awake all night thinking about Chase."

As Aludra and Meissa were arguing, Rigel walked over to the spring and took a drink of clear, cool water. "Ah, nice and refreshing, just as water should be. Hey, is anybody else thirsty?"

Aludra and Meissa ignored him, continuing their argument.

"Negative." said Gauss. "This unit does not require regular consumption of dihydrogen monoxide."

"A simple no would have been alright Gauss." said Rigel. He then looked towards Sapphire as she walked towards the spring. "Uh.. what about you Sapphire?"

"Yeah, I'm kind of thirsty." Sapphire said quietly.

"Alright, well... there's the water." said Rigel. "I'll just be over there." He then walked over and sat down next to a rock that Gauss was flying around. "Hey Gauss, what's going on with you?"

"Greetings Rigel." Gauss said. "All things are normal with this unit. Query: how are you?"

"I'm fine," said Rigel. "I've just been thinking lately."

"Voice patterns indicate that Rigel is under minor distress." Gauss said as it's eye turned green. "Body temperature and pheromone levels have elevated farther."

"Huh?" Rigel said in confusion. "What are you talking about, Gauss?"

"After reviewing my scans, it is apparent that Rigel and Sapphire are ready for-"

"Gauss, I would rather not hear about your scans, I have other things on my mind and I doubt I'll understand you."

"I am simply stating my findings."

"I don't really need to know your findings Gauss, could you just go to sleep or something?"

"Considering request... accepted." Gauss then floated to the ground, and the red light of it's eye faded.

"Sleep sounds nice right about now." said Aludra "I'm done talking to your little sister over here anyway. But first we've got to wait for-"

"Hey guys!" yelled a voice from above. "I'm back with dinner!"

Rigel looked up to see Tarazed flying down with a Seaking in his talons and a beak full of sticks.

"Alright! I'm starving." said Aludra as she walked over to where Tarazed was landing.

"Rigel, I know you said I needed to find berries," Tarazed said as he dropped the sticks. "But that will not do for me. Hey Screwloose, wake up! We need help cooking this thing!"

Gauss's eye lit up once again as it rose from the ground. "Sleep mode canceled. Query: what is required of me?"

"We need a fire." said Tarazed. "Mind striking those sticks with some lightning or whatever?"

"Considering request... accepted." Suddenly a bolt of electricity fired from one of Gauss's side units and ignited the pile. "Request fulfilled. Returning to sleep mode."

"Well good night, Screwloose." Tarazed said. "Now, let's get to cooking this thing."

After the group had finished their dinner and gone to bed, Rigel was still awake, just thinking about what Gauss had said. "Maybe I should have listened to him. He said something about Sapphire and I, and it might have been important, but I can't just wake him up now." He could have continued thinking about this for hours, but as he rolled over and looked at the spring, he saw Sapphire looking into the water. He silently watched her, awed by the sight of her blue fur and gemstones in the pale moonlight. "Maybe I should go talk to her." he thought to himself. "Something might be wrong." Working up his courage, he stood up and walked towards the spring. "Uh.. H-hi Sapphire, having trouble sleeping?"

Sapphire jumped a bit when she heard Rigel's voice behind her. "Oh.. Hey Rigel." she said as she turned to face him. "Yeah, I... I'm not sleepy."

"Well.. uh.." Rigel stuttered. He thought he had gotten to know her enough that he would have stopped stuttering, but looking into her big, iridescent eyes made him struggle with his words. "I can't sleep either, d-do you mind if I, uh... sit with you for a little while?"

"No, I don't mind." Sapphire said as she began to blush "I... I think I would enjoy your company."

"Uh, alright, good." Rigel said as he sat down next to her. They sat there for several minutes, neither of them speaking a word. "So, um, is anything going on with you that's keeping you from sleeping?" Rigel finally managed to say.

"No." said Sapphire. "I just like to look at the stars reflecting in the water, it's just so pretty."

"I can see something way prettier." Rigel said without thinking.

"What did you say?" Sapphire asked.

"Nothing, I didn't say anything." Rigel said quickly. Being so close to Sapphire was making him nervous.

"Oh, alright then." Sapphire said as she turned back towards the water.

"Come on, what do I say?" Rigel thought. "Do I tell her? What if she doesn't like me like that?" "Um, Sapphire." he said in a low voice.

"Yes Rigel?" said Sapphire as she looked at him again.

"Uh, well, I..." Rigel couldn't seem to find his words, he was captivated by Sapphire's eyes, and his mouth didn't want to work. "I, erm..."

"Rigel, what is it?" Sapphire said

Rigel continued to look into Sapphire's eyes and stutter, until finally he couldn't take it any more. Before he even knew what he was doing, he quickly moved forward, putting his lips on her's as Sapphire's eyes widened in surprise, and then slowly closed. After what felt like an eternity of bliss, the two opened their eyes again, both of them feeling the happiest they had ever been.