An: Missed my deadline by a mile but this chapter just didn't want to be written. On the bright side the next chapter is going a lot smoother. As always, a big thanks to anyone who reviewed, followed and favorited, I appreciate it a lot! Sorry to have kept you guys waiting.

Her bag had been ransacked. It had been waiting for her in the shared room of the center by the time she made it back from her Gym battle. Akane giving her a wan smile when she entered and noticed it laying on her bed.

"I think somebody else found it first." The other girl said uncertainly.

So, instead of spending the evening celebrating or even retelling her victory she unloaded everything that was left on the bed to reorganize her bag and refold her clothes. Her money, Pokédex, healing items and food were all gone. On top of that her tent had apparently been too damaged to consider salvaging, according to the ranger that had dropped off her stuff. Whether this was on purpose or just the work of a wild Pokémon was unclear but it left her with a bitter taste in her mouth regardless.

She excused herself to the bathroom to change into her own clothes and took the opportunity to compose herself. Everything could eventually be replaced except for her Pokédex, and she would have to ask her parent's for a new tent, explaining why. It could have been worse, she reasoned, her trainer ID, badge case and phone all accounted for, a small blessing. Yet it felt... so unfair. As she swiped angrily at the tears of frustration that spilled out of her eyes, she caught sight of herself in the mirror and did a double take. No wonder Gardenia had wanted to send her away. Aside from several red scratches lining her face, there was a large almost black spot around her injured eye, the white strips keeping the wound together a stark contrast against the dark background, the edges of the wound looked distinctly blue and the eyelid was swollen and raised to the point of covering more than half her eye. It looked very ugly, something that in the light everything that had happened, shouldn't bother her, yet it did.

By the time she emerged with a single red eye from crying that Akane pointedly didn't comment on but clearly noticed, the nurse from before came in with some antibiotics for Yun, along with instructions on how to take them. She left again with the promise of painkillers and hot food.

They were both discharged the next day and Yun booked a room in the center. The grass Gym's victory money was more than the rock Gym's and it would see her through a couple of days even after she replenished her food supplies. She didn't buy new utility or healing items, not sure how long her current finances would hold out and feeding herself and her team would be her top priority. She should have called her parents by now, they would help her in a heartbeat... but she didn't want to explain why she needed help in the first place. For some reason the mere thought of seeing and hearing their reactions towards what she had been through made her uneasy. Her mother would panic, no doubt, and her father would question the competence of their system in that repressed angry tone of his. They might want her to return home now that she had two badges, it would be enough for them. However, somewhere down the line, she couldn't point out where exactly, it was no longer enough for her. She burned to keep going.

But without a tent, she wouldn't last as staying in the center, while relatively cheap, was far from free. She still had her sleeping bag and the weather had been mild recently, she might just have to camp out without a tent for a while until she could afford one.

The problem solved itself the very next day, when her old classmate cornered her in the morning as she walked out her door. Under her eyes were dark circles that made Yun assume she was also being visited by nightmares of black wings and rabid screams.

"I quit."

Yun blinked at the battered pink bag pressed in her arms, taking a few seconds to comprehend the gesture, then she slowly curled her hands around it.

"Oh." She said stupidly, not knowing what else she could say.

It prompted Akane to explain as she took a step back. "I won't be needing this anymore and you lost a lot of your stuff helping me... so take it." Then, misunderstanding Yun's stunned silence, she threw her a sad but defensive look. "I-I can't go back out there. I won't. So don't even try to convince me... You have to understand-"

"I do."

The other girl's face slackened in surprise at the conviction in Yun's tone. She, in turn, met her eyes squarely to show how much she meant it. Because she did, she truly, really did. Of all the stories they had shared of their respective teams in the aftermath of their traumatic encounter, how Yun had almost lead hers to a premature end by going off route wasn't one of them. In fact she was unlikely to ever mention it to her. But while Yun had had a helpful and supportive friend to get her back on her feet, she also hadn't truly lost any of them. If either of her Pokémon had died that night, there would have been no words that Chihiro could have conjured to convince Yun she still wanted to be a trainer. It would have over, period.

So she understood the girl wanting to throw in the towel, more than she would ever know. Her handing over her stuff however...

"You could sell this you know, a Pokédex is worth a lot even second hand." Probably the reason why hers had been stolen.

A dire grin settled on Akane's lips. "Don't insult me. Take the bag."

Feeling the battle was lost and she would brook no argument, Yun bowed her head. "Thank you."

As she straightened she noticed her classmate's demeanor had changed, she now looked hesitant as she opened and closed her mouth, struggling with herself.

"Can I ask you for a favor?" She finally grit out, avoiding Yun's eyes. Then she hurried to add to her explanation. "Yes or no, you can have my bag, this had nothing to do with it."

Yun cocked her head in an invitation to continue.

The other girl took a deep breath, steeling herself. "Will you escort me to Eterna forest? There's something I need to do still and I don't- I can't go by myself."

Now that was something she really, really didn't want to do. Despite her words, there was something about holding the other girl's gifted belongings and then denying her a request that clashed with Yun's very existence. That part of her nature had her agreeing to accompany Akane, regardless of the strong urge to shake some sense in the girl. If she had some unfinished business there, she should have a ranger helping her, not her inexperienced yearmate that barely managed to get her out alive the first time around.

Yet there she was, leading the way across route 205 with Akane one step behind her. The first half of their journey was spend in a solemn silence, each stuck in their own thoughts. Other trainers gave them a wide birth and whether that was because they both looked like they had been chewed on and then spat out, or because of the aura of someone on death row that Yun was radiating, she would never know. But they must have been quite the sight, full of scabbing cuts and colorful bruises and with all of their Pokémon out. Reign sat on her shoulder, Tenno occasionally cast his shadow over them as he flew by before circling back.

For a while the rhythmic 'thump' of Twinkle hopping behind her was the only sound their group made so when something was finally said, Yun nearly tripped over herself in shock.

"I lied, I never managed to get a Forest Badge."

"Wha- what do you mean?" She turned to face her companion. In all the commotion, Yun had never thought to wonder why her old classmate was in Eterna forest in the first place. It would have made more sense to move on to the later routes if she wanted to train.

The girl have her a cheeky grin. "Oh come one, you can't be that surprised. You fought Gardenia with two Pokémon with a type advantage and another who wouldn't have been faced by anything she could have thrown at you. Where I only had Jet, who on top of taking a lot of damage from grass moves also didn't have any effective attacks to retaliate with. And Fuwa, despite her delusion of grandeur, couldn't actually take out three Gym Pokémon on her own."

With a shrug she continued, as if now that she started to explain herself she couldn't stop. "I was saving up for a good TM, you know, I set my sights on ice beam despite the steep price. Then you came along and well... I couldn't exactly admit to you we were on the same level after mocking you for how long you took to get there."

Then she laughed but it was a joyless, derisive sound. "It was a hole I dug for myself and I needed to find a way out, and I needed to do it fast if I wanted to keep up with you."

There was something in her tone, in her whole posture, that made Yun pause as realization crept in. "You went looking for Murkrow." Her voice was barely above a whisper but Akane caught it anyway.

"Bingo." She responded dryly. "I knew they were occasionally spotted in the area and heaven forbid I, Akane Hiroto, the big shot upcoming trainer, would settle for something as dull as a Starly." It almost ended it a snarl and Jet, who had been faithfully trailing behind his human despite his limp, lifted a paw to her hand in a gesture of comfort.

The girl's eyes softened they landed upon him, then she turned away. "So yeah, I figured I owed you the truth. You don't know what I would give to go back in time and knock some sense into myself."

"What about him?" She nodded her head towards the one-eyed Buizel. "What are you going to do now that you are no longer training."

Akane smiled sadly. "I'll take him home, at least for some time. He's too talented to waste away as a pet so eventually he'll get his second chance."

At Yun's horrified expression, her classmate rushed to reassure her. "I'm not selling him!"

She hoped not, nothing seemed more heartless to her than selling the Pokémon who'd put their life on the line for you. Yun truly wondered how else she intended to give him another shot at becoming a league Pokémon but a clarification followed soon enough.

"I have a brother, he's two years younger than me. Like any kid his age he's obsessed with Pokémon." Akane rolled her eyes fondly. "But unlike kids his age, I think he's actually going to go places."

She continued in a soft voice. "I- I'll feel a lot better knowing that he'll have someone like Jet looking out for him... in case he runs into trouble."

Yun nodded slowly. The Buizel had his injured side to her so she couldn't see the remaining eye that might have betrayed how he felt about being passed down to a younger generation. But two years was a long time, long enough for him to get to know his new trainer and perhaps... maybe long enough for Akane to regain her own confidence as a trainer.

They reached the tree line of dense forest and Yun made for the entrance but stopped short when she realized her charge was no longer following her. Akane was going the other way, to where the large old trees cast a long shadow on the ground.

"Hey!" Yun started jogging to catch up to the other girl, Twinkle making a sound of dismay when she had to speed up to follow along. "Where are you going."

With one hand she grabbed her classmate's shoulder, making Akane turn to face her.

"She's here."

Goosebumps littered Yun's skin as she noticed a change in atmosphere. Suddenly, the sun was no longer shining as bright, the temperature taking a dramatic drop, and the sounds of the forest now seemed muted.

"Uhm, who?" It felt almost sacrilegious to break the newly formed quiet, the sound of her own voice intrusive enough to make her cringe.

Akane seemed not to notice as she blinked at Yun with glassy eyes.

"When you told the ranger, I was suspicious. But then I found out it went missing from my bag and I knew."

She turned to the shaded spot under the trees and stepped forward. Alarmed, Yun ran in front of her with her arms spread.

"Whoa, hold on. What did you suspect, what went missing?"

The girl offered her a sad smile. "I convinced my parents to send me an early birthday gift, something even more expensive than a good TM." She took a deep breath. "A dusk stone."

Somewhere in the back of Yun's mind, the pieces were coming together, yet she couldn't quite form a coherent reply. Nothing but a strangled 'huh' left her lips. However, Akane seemed glad to spell it out for her.

"I wanted to evolve my new bird immediately, to stay ahead of you. I knew your starter had a type advantage over Gardenia, so time was of the essence. As you know, I never managed to catch that Murkrow, and yet my dusk stone was still gone by the time you arrived."

By now, Akane was staring at something behind Yun, her eyes spilling over as the first tears slowly ran down her cheeks. The fine hairs on Yun's neck rose as she slowly turned around, her former classmate's voice filling the silence around them.

"Sometimes, when a Pokémon dies in the Eterna forest, they are reborn into a new form."

She was barely noticeable in the shadow of the forest, only her glowing red eyes standing out, but a familiar chant reached Yun's ears. This time, it didn't fill her with dread, instead, it made Yun feel lighter somehow. As if a weight had been taken off her shoulders. When Akane started walking forward again, Jet closely behind, Yun didn't try to stop her.

"You came back for me, didn't you? You tried to save me when I couldn't do the same for you." Her voice sounded awfully fragile as she dropped to her knees right before the evolved Pokémon. "I'm so sorry, Fuwa."

The Mismagius floated closer, hovering almost directly above her former trainer. A soothing song accompanied Akane's heart wrenching sobs.

Yun stood there, unable to turn away as the other girl broke down, alternating between broken apologies and repeated words of gratitude. Somewhere down the line, the Mismagius' form started to fade while she lifted her head and their eyes met. A distant voice rang in Yun's head.

Thank you.

AN: So that wraps up the last of this arc. Hopefully this answered some questions. Next chapter we are moving on to... well you'll see.