Fifteen minutes later, Angel reined in the Rapidash, figuring covering half the distance from Saffron City to Lavender Town would be good enough. She attempted to jump down, but she wound up falling off instead as the adrenalin from her mission left her feeling drained.

Angel just lay there on the ground, staring at the stars, unable to move more than twitching her fingers. Rapidash knelt beside her, seemingly excited from having ran so far and fast.

For twenty minutes, they lay like that. Angel knew the moment her body had recuperated enough from its trial, for she found herself wondering about the person in the window. The one who looked and sounded just like Maya. She hadn't seen the person who spoke to her about the Raichu. It was entirely possible that both instances were just figments of her imagination. That she was so distraught her mind was playing tricks on her.

There were no acceptable answers to those questions. Nor to the question of what she would do about the loss of Ebony. A beeping sounded, and she dug into her satchel to bring out her Pokénav. At first, she didn't recognize the number. There was only one person who had her ID who she hadn't put to memory yet: Elsa. But she couldn't talk. Not now. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that her lack of desire to speak at the moment didn't destroy the friendship before it even began.

After a few more seconds, the beeping stopped. The Pokénav was silent for about a minute longer, and then a text came in: Hey, there! If you're still around, I'd love it if you could come to the Galar section. Lyla and I are getting ready to make our big premier, and we'd love it if you could be here. Oh! I just realized that I didn't get your name.

A part of her wanted to reply, but her hands were shaking so badly. Maya's death. Ally's abandonment. Jenny's not-quite-betrayal. The Clefable. Seeing Maya. The Raichu and Rapidash. Hearing Maya. There was just so much. And it kept piling on.

She almost returned the Pokénav to her satchel, but, at last minute, called her father on the secure line. After a few rings, he picked up. "Where are you? We've been worried sick ever since we discovered that you left Blossomly. Why would you do that without telling us? Especially with your recent condition?"

Angel took a deep breath, and dove straight in to everything from the last few days. Well. Without mentioning her own association with Team Rocket, that is.

For a long while after she finished, her dad was silent. "You chose a perfect time for your Journey. Reports of these Pokémon are popping up all over. I'd like to investigate and help them, if possible. Perhaps even see if I can make them normal again. When you reach Lavender Town, I want you to send those three to me. I will do what I can, and then return them to you."

"How often should I send them to you?"

"Personally, to keep them out of evil hands, I'd say once a week, or as soon as you have three on you. To carry more would be risking them and yourself. And Angel? I know you're twenty-three, but you're exploring the world for the first time. Things and people aren't always what they seem. Be very careful who you trust and let in on your secrets."

Secrets? Did he know about her affiliation with Team Rocket? Angel swallowed before responding. "Pfft. You know me. I'm always careful."

"Uh-huh. So, you're saying the situations you find yourself in are Dreamer's fault?"

She laughed at his jibe to her Absol, and sniped back with "Nope. The blame falls all on Sylvie. Always getting me involved in some form of mischief."

"I knew it! I never liked those ribbons. "

"That's just 'cause you never spend time with him. Oh! I know! He's been wanting to go into one of those beauty things. Perhaps you could get to know him better while training him to use his ribbons wowtacularly."

Her father groaned. "What is it with you and your weird words?"

Though he couldn't see it, she shrugged. "I have a gift."

"Yeah. To be super annoying. Anyways. I have to go. Important work stuff. Don't be a stranger. Make sure to be back no later than two months. Love you. Bye."

There was a smile on her face as she hung up after responding in kind. One thing was certain when it came to her dad. No matter how upset she was, he could always make her smile. Sometimes, it was by saying or doing something funny. Other times, he could literally annoy her into laughter.

Once the Pokénav was back in the pack, she pondered what to do. A glance at the Rapidash said that she was up to travel again, and they had a lot of ground to cover before reaching Lavender Town.

Angel stood, and Rapidash not only followed suit, but whinnied and pranced around as well. "You can't seriously be wanting to run again? Aren't you exhausted?" She threw her hands up in a calming gesture at Rapidash's outraged neigh. "I've seen you run. You don't have to prove yourself to me. Just…There's been so much loss in my life recently. I don't want to be responsible for another."

She waited with bated breath as Rapidash pondered the statement. "Blargh!" Angel reached a hand up to wipe her face clean from the sudden lick. Grossed out as she was, she couldn't help smiling when Rapidash whinnied while prancing in a circle once. "Oh, so you think that's funny, do ya?" Again, with the laughing neigh.

Amusement gone, Rapidash let Angel mount her again, and the two of them continued to Lavender Town, though this time, at a much more leisurely pace. Which still wound up being super-fast even though she'd given orders not to go above a trot. She knew the slowdown greatly annoyed Rapidash, but the horse seemed to be willing to compromise just for her.

Half an hour later, later, they arrived at the outskirts of the town. It was still several hours before people would start getting up to start their morning. Angel jumped down, and rested her cheek against Rapidash's, all the while petting her snout.

The thought suddenly occurred to her that she had no clue what Rapidash's problem was. That Clefable had extremely sensitive hearing. Raichu couldn't control her electricity. But the only thing Rapidash wanted to do was run. Wait. That was it! If the only thing on her mind was running, then she might one time run so far, fast, and hard, that her body gave out on her. Angel was silent as she tried to figure out what would be the best thing to say to ensure cooperation.

Finally, she paused, and looked her new friend in the eyes. "I know you want to run, but I can't let you. It's too dangerous."

As expected, Rapidash was confused, outraged, and a bit betrayed. Angel spoke quickly to defuse the situation before it blew up. "Remember the lab?" That seemed to hurt more than help. The instant Rapidash jerked her snout out of Angel's hands, she took a step back, expecting the horse to rear and kick her front legs. That was exactly what happened. Unfortunately, she was just a bit too close, and a hoof connected to her shoulder. The force of the blow knocked her to the ground and brought tears to her eyes, but she continued to speak.

"You're enjoying your freedom, right? They're still after you. And they wish to take back control over you. No more runs like we had tonight. Is that what you want?"

Angel breathed a sigh of relief when Rapidash calmed enough to place all four hooves back on the ground. She retrieved a pokéball from her belt, and enlarged it. "If you choose to get into this pokéball, I can take you to my father. He'll help you. You might even get a chance or two to compete with him. He's as competitive as you, and might even handicap himself to make it more fun. How does that sound?"

She could have made it back to Saffron City in the time it took Rapidash to agree. Once again, Angel let out a relieved sigh. First step was to find the Pokémon Center. She could rest there for the night and transfer the Shadows to her father in the morning. After that, she had all the time in the world to figure out what to do with whatever it was she'd just stolen from the Silph Company.

Thankfully, her knapsack mostly prevented the pink light from the vials from escaping. The strange glow would not only have definitely attracted attention, but be very difficult to explain. And there was a high chance that any scientist, not just those working at the Silph Company would recognize it and know it shouldn't be in her hands.

Staring down the path into town, she inhaled deeply, squaring herself for what was coming next. Courage replenished, she smiled, and stepped into the city.