Michael Kingston did not want to be put through the intense physical therapy program his cousin had set out for him, but knew he was in no position to question his health proxy. He trusted her with his life and thus knew that she knew better than him in most regards, but especially with respect to his health. So, while Annie and Julia worked on the various affairs of state, Jenna forced him to come out onto the Veranda of Kingston Castle with a large yoga mat brought out for them. He did several long stretching exercises to regain mobility, lest he be forced to use the cane he'd been using recently for the rest of his life.

"Tell me how you enjoy this" he groaned, his body on fire from head to toes as he tried to copy the same movements she did.

"Yoga is enriching" she explained. "It allows one flexibility of body and mind, not to mention spirit." Jenna was able to stretch her hands all the way down to her toes and touch them without much of a hassle. "If you did this before your injury, it wouldn't be causing you this much pain."

"Forgive me for not having foresight."

She shook her head playfully. "That's not what I mean. You boys spent so much time pumping up your muscles that you failed to realize that dexterity is just as important as strength. And this rehab is important if you want to be able to walk again."

He nodded. "I know. I know you know best."

"And this is only the beginning of your recovery. This isn't even the hard stuff. But if we begin here, the hard stuff will feel much easier." She scooted herself in front of him. "The key is having a flexible core." She stretched out her legs at an almost 145 degree angle and stretched her arms as far down as possible, with her fingers touching the tips of her ankles. Once she had stretched herself out, she saw her cousin struggling to do as she did, his face almost red from stress. She reached down and moved his feet closer together. "You're not ready for this kind of dexterity, Michael."

"As if I'll ever be."

"Considering we all want you to be alive for all of our lives, I will make sure you can do this one day. Not today, but one day." She made sure she sat directly in front of him before preparing their next stretch. "You're going to need some help with this one. Fortunately, you're in the care of a yoga master. So I'll be able to help you not turn into a Muk." She held her arms up high and over her head. "We're stretching to the heavens now. Right where Grandma and Grandpa are."

Michael struggled to lift his own arms over, prompting Jenna to grab him and help prop him up. He winced in an incredible amount of pain but did everything in his power to keep his position, if only to please his instructor.

"I know you want to be able to play with those little angels of yours" Jenna continued. "And this will help you do so and keep being the best Dad those kids could ever ask for."

"I haven't even played with most of my kids" Michael admitted sadly. "Not since Julia was pregnant with James and I had to keep Arya entertained." He lowered his head. "Back when everything was easier."

"Well, you couldn't expect things to remain so easy, could you?" She kept his arms high as she took a moment to examine his form. "Stop trying to scoot forward. Keep your butt down."

"You act as if I have power over my movement" he joked through his teeth. "I haven't since my battle with Chris."

"And I promise to make Chris pay for putting you through that whole ordeal" Jenna replied bitterly.

Michael eyed her in surprise. Evidently, she still held a deep grudge against Chris for the emotional distress he had been under leading up to the Master Cup Finals. More than anyone else did. "You're still upset with him?"

"Why wouldn't I be? You could have died out there. We all would have lost you, Julia her husband, your kids their father. And all because he's a big baby who can't handle when things don't go his way. I don't think I'm going to be able to forgive him for a long time, if we're being honest." She moved Michael's arms together to help him stretch more. "We've lost enough already, Michael. Both of our fathers, Uncle Byron, Olivia, Cameron, Ryan and so many others. The fact he almost threw another person's life away shows he's not as mature as we thought he was."

"I'm sure Piper will keep him leveled out" Michael tried to assure her, despite the intense pain he was in proving her point more than he could counter.

"And hopefully Annette beating him in the Title Match humbled him a bit. He could use it."

"Jenna, he didn't intentionally-YEOW!" Jenna moved his arms up until they were almost completely over his head until finally lowering them down and bringing him up to stretch forward. She moved a few inches backward, took both of his hands and helped pull him until he was stretching several inches past where he thought he could.

"Breathe in and slowly exhale" she told him. As soon as Michael did as she instructed, she lowered his hands down onto the mat and let him sit like that for several seconds. "We lost four years of our lives with you already, Michael. If we lost anymore, it would be unbearable." She lowered her head. "It's bad enough nothing will ever be the same after that genetic freak of nature attacked us. Hopefully this new normal will be easier to maintain." She helped her cousin close his legs and then helped him stretch until he was touching his shin bones, the furthest he could stretch in his current physical position. "Take slow, deep breaths."

"You and Joshua still seeing each other?" Michael inquired, eager to prevent as much of the impending grudge match between Jenna and Chris as possible.

She nodded. "Yep. He's waiting until he gets some leave time from the Navy. then he'll come to Arcana to visit. But we talk almost every other day. He asked me the other day if I was a princess now that my cousin is a King."

Michael shrugged. "You could call yourself one, if you want."

Jenna waved that idea off. "Oh no. I'll be his princess as long as he wants me to be, but the royal duties are better suited for that little cherub of yours." She would have said more, but Michael saw her eyes head towards the doorway that led into the Dining Hall. Michael tried to look backwards, but Jenna hurried over to his side and helped him get back into a more comfortable seating position before turning him around to address the new arrival.

"How's the rehab going?" Annie asked nervously.

"He's coming along well" Jenna answered for him. "We just have to have him do this every other day and on the days he doesn't do this, he needs a massage. But that's his wife's job."

Michael could tell more was on his Grand Vizier's mind than his recovery. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm not sure what to make of this" she admitted. "You may want to hear this. It's ArcNet's latest broadcast."

"Don't tell me they're turning on us" Jenna teased as she took Michael's hand and helped him back up, doing her best to help him remain standing as long as she needed to.

"I doubt they'd ever do that. It's the context of the report that matters." Both women helped Michael into a chair as Annie brought up the news story on her Poke Gear. Michael took a moment to regain some measure of comfort as the video loaded. To his surprise, it was a video of a burning, completely wrecked ship of some kind out in the ocean.

"...at is what remains of the S.S. Dewgong" Amber of ArcNet News reported. "The ship was one of the last worthwhile things owned by the recently shamed and disgraced Seissuon Family. As you all will take note of, the Seissuon Family were one of Arcana's original Thirteen Families before being involved not only with the traitor Claude Jacques's terror campaign to try and conquer our region, but also in attempts to sacrifice people to Mewtwo in order to sew discord in Arcana. Now, it's believed that the main ringleaders of this conspiracy are said to be no more."

Michael blinked. "No more?"

"There were no signs of anyone surviving this disastrous explosion of the S.S. Dewgong" the report continued. "Though of the seven bodies found on the boat, two have been identified by the Royal Navy as Elizabeth Seissuon and her former lover and fellow lawyer, Leonard Skye. The two had an illegitimate son together, Simon, though it is unclear if he was among the other victims currently being examined by a coroner with the Royal Navy."

"They're dead?" Jenna gasped.

"I don't know whether to pity them or do a jig, if we're being honest" Annie replied nervously.

Michael lowered his head. So, Betsy and Leonard were gone. For all they knew, so was their son. Three more enemies were no longer on their radar. But it also meant that without further confirmation from his estranged paternal relatives in Unova, he and his sister might be the last two people in the world to carry the Skye bloodline. Their children would as well, namely his four biological children and Tori's daughter Peighton, but eventually the Skye name would cease to exist completely. He almost pitied them but found himself sadder for his father's legacy than that of his cousin Leonard's. His former ally had turned on him to keep his own position safe and it destroyed their camaraderie. Leonard was little better than Cassius or Elezar in his eyes, so there would be few tears to be shed.

The same went for Betsy, who had been the only holdout from girls in his childhood who used to torment Julia for not being of a noble bloodline. Many girls used to treat his wife like less than human because of her upbringing, but also because of her proximity to himself and his family. Of those who may have or indeed did look down at her, all but Betsy had since repented in some way. Olivia became a friend to her and Julia even happily took in Olivia's son as her own after her death. Deidre and Julia had long since buried their own rivalry for Michael's affection, given Deidre's commitment to Warren and Julia's eventual triumph in winning her beloved's heart. Rebecca Eighern has since become a stalwart Kingston ally and spoke with nothing but reverence and respect of the Queen. Only Betsy held out and in the end, her pride and vanity cost her everything, including the life of her and Leonard's son.

Michael had hardly known of his nephew's existence. Betsy had kept it hidden until a trial came for her and Leonard's actions. He suspected she did this to keep Michael from "corrupting" her son by showing him how to be a decent human, but also as a trump card to prevent a punishment being dealt their way. It was a calculated move that, like many things in Betsy's life, blew up in her face because of her arrogance. But now she was gone. So was Leonard. And so was their son. Michael had hoped his nephew could turn a new leaf in exile and return a better man. But it seemed that chance had burned up if he was indeed going to be one of the ones found to have died on the boat.

While the King puzzled over what might have been, Amber's report continued. "Navy Officials are looking into the cause of the S.S. Dewgong's destruction, but they are not ruling out a potential attack from wild Pokémon. We have reached out to the former Matriarch of the Seissuon Family, Lady Laverne Seissuon, but she has declined any and all interview requests through her attorney's discretion."

"Probably because of her family's infamous 'foot in mouth' issue" Jenna grumbled.

Annie closed the link to the video and looked to Michael for his input. "What should we do?"

"Write up an official letter of condolences for the Seissuon Family on our behalf" he told her. "And make sure the kids at ArcNet read it out in their show as soon as possible."

"What about Simon?"

"What about him?"

"He might still be alive."

Michael shrugged. "The Navy can find him and take him in, then. He was exiled from Arcana, Annie. If I got no pity during my own exile, neither should he."

Annie nodded. "Alright. I'll type it up as soon as I get home. Need to relieve my husband and mother-in-law of looking after my little Theodore."

"I thought we were all calling him 'Teddy', Annie" Jenna asked.

"I'm not married to that name, if we're being honest" she responded. "I'll have the report in the morning. The rest of the affairs of state have been tended to and the Queen awaits the conclusion of your physical therapy. Your Grace." She bowed to Michael and waved to Jenna before departing again.

Michael made to follow her, but his cousin caught his wrist. He glanced back at her. "I thought-"

"You're not getting off the hook that easily, Michael" she teased. She pulled out her own Poke Gear and showed to him a message she had received earlier from Julia. She recited it, word for word. "Hey Jenna. Don't you worry about sending him home early. I'd rather him with us for a longer period of time than to have him in my arms at this moment. Make sure he completes whatever you have set for him. I want my honey fully recovered from this. Lots of love, Julia. P.S., Arya wants me to say she loves you both." Jenna gave her cousin a warm smile. "See? We're all pulling for you."

"I'll do what I can for you all, then" he replied.

"Fortunately, you get to lean on the banister for this one. Unfortunately, these leg stretches may be the most painful for you." She pulled him over towards the edge of the balcony. "We all want our King back in full health. And for a long time."

{}

While still airborne and bound for their lengthy and hopefully prosperous stay in Paldea, Bridgette found herself unable to sleep despite it being relatively quiet on the plane. Billy and Amanda were the only two in deep conversation and they were talking in hushed tones so as not to disturb anyone else. Justin would occasionally mention something to Lizzie beside him as he was uploading one of his videos on his laptop, though she realized what Justin had not, which was that Lizzie was already snoozing with her Umbreon on her chest making cute snoring noises. Morgan was either asleep or listening to music in her own seat and though both were either lost in thought or meditating (whichever pleased them), the only other thing she could see Tommy and Addison doing was holding hands, which made her giggle at the thought. Though she knew a love between them was unlikely, if at all possible, their connection reminded her a bit of what she and Michael had experienced when they were around those ages.

She was, after all, the object of Michael's first crush. Being the youngest of current Duon line (and slated to be the last of them unless she or her stubborn older brother finally settled down), she often had a second home at her Aunt Jane's dwelling in Parlor Town. And with Michael being raised there after his parent's rough divorce, she and he naturally spent a lot of time together. They did a lot together, the four of them. And while Chris and Cameron always saw her as an older sister of sorts, she knew Michael was downright smitten with her. She didn't use it to her advantage, though. She simply went with it, expecting the feelings to be replaced by newer ones eventually, which they were. But the love they shared was everlasting despite no romance between them. She was proud to say that she and Michael loved each other about as platonically as any two people could. No need to muddle things with romance. Though she recalled Michael getting into similar situations with her like Tommy was in with Addison.

Bridgette could recall more than a few occasions of herself being asked to look after the kids and taking them to the park or down to the store to pick up something. While Chris and Cam would often want free reign to run amok and cause all sorts of problems, Michael was always by her side, listening to whatever she said and following every instruction to the letter. When she would insist they stick together, it would be him being the first to latch himself onto her, holding her hand as Tommy was doing with Addison now. He was always the one who wanted to soak in any lessons she taught him, be it how to cook pizza, how to surf in the ocean or how to care for certain types of Pokémon, in her case aquatic. And she was more than happy to have a learned pupil like him. She recalled how excited he was to show off when he had received a Squirtle, which eventually became the very same Blastoise he still carried with his team, during his journey. After being snubbed affection from many in his life, including his own parents, he seemed to just want her to be proud of him, as if he needed much effort to attain that.

But it was not as if there were no times where their roles were reversed. When a Syndicate Admin known as the Toymaker was causing trouble at the Northern Outpost, she and a few trainers set off to try and combat him, only for all but she, Michael and Warren Tenton to be abducted by the Syndicate and never to be seen again. Warren would fend off one mechanical Gyarados, exhausting himself and his Pokémon in the process. But their victory was short-lived as more of the monsters appeared and snared both Michael and Bridgette inside. Once the two were trussed up, Bridgette lost her cool and panicked, but Michael promised they would get out of there. Michael, a boy a few years younger than her with hardly any Pokémon Training experience at the time, had far less worry in him in a dangerous situation than she did. And sure enough, his confidence and the efforts of his Espeon and Squirtle succeeded in freeing them and stopping the Toymaker from abducting more trainers, though the others Bridgette had once rivalled as a League Battler would never be seen again. But she, Michael and Warren would live to fight for more days to come. But Bridgette never looked at Michael the same after that. A fact to this day she remained ashamed of. He was growing up right before her eyes and she felt as if she had stagnated.

And yet, after all he had endured, all he had suffered through and all of the heroic and all-encompassing things he had achieved on his own in life, Michael still looked at her with the same love and affection he had always done. Always looking to her for counsel and thinking of her. Always wanting to be there for her and shower her with love. Whereas she had abandoned him. Abandoned everyone after a tense breakup with Malcolm Tress. She abandoned everything. And now had to live with the consequences for the remainder of her life. To contend with a brother who was bitter towards her, forced to pick up the pieces of the fractured family she loved with all of her heart and to somehow keep her head above water when her true love, Malcolm, was long dead.

It was because of all of these thoughts weighing on her head that Bridgette found sleep as evasive as ever. She glanced over to her side, where Justin was in a lengthy description of his most recent video to Lizzie, whom she could only guess had either fallen asleep mid-speech or hadn't been awake for hours and her poor friend didn't seem to notice.

"One of these days" Justin remarked either to himself or to Lizzie, "I'll finally eclipse one million subscribers. One day."

Bridgette sighed. "No use, Justin."

He looked up at her in confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"She's out like a light" she responded, gesturing towards Lizzie.

Justin glanced down and shrugged. "Well, I'm used to it. My mother used to tell me I could talk the paint off of a wall if I'm truly interested in something." He used a finger to gently pet the snoozing Umbreon on Lizzie's head. "Maybe this little guy was listening to me, but who knows." He then looked down at his screen again to resume his conversation with a fan online. "I'm sorry if I was keeping you awake."

"Oh, you're far from the one keeping me awake. I am curious, though. How many subscribers do you have?"

"I've been stuck at about 979,000 subscribers for the last few weeks. I'm hopeful doing a bit of a vlog of our time in Paldea may help."

Bridgette smiled sadly. "You do know you'll have to take on the course load that Uva Academy offers you, right?"

"Oh, academics aren't a problem for me" he said with a bit of gusto. "I catch on very quickly with certain things, you know. Book smarts aren't my issue. Everything else is."

"Well, hopefully I'll be able to help you as much as I can" the surfer responded kindly.

"I'll bet I could use it. Mostly with interacting with people, though."

Bridgette seemed surprised by this. "You have almost a million subscribers online and you have problems dealing with people?"

Justin lowered his head. "An Online persona allows me to wear a mask of sorts."

"A mask?"

Justin looked at himself, as if disgusted by what he saw. "I'm not exactly normal. Not like you all, at least. People who meet me are usually put off by my clumsiness or the way I hyper-focus on things that excite me. They get agitated when I make some mistakes in the way I talk or get frustrated when I repeat myself. It's why I was so confused as to why Madeline Kingston took such a shining to me. Not that I don't think she's a remarkable woman or anything. She is. Her father was the Chief of Police in Arcana and a fiercely brave man. But how could someone like her, so accomplished and strong, even look twice at someone like me?"

Bridgette was surprised Justin would say those things about himself. "Like you?"

"Like me" he repeated. "Being an internet celebrity gives me a chance to project a part of me that people don't get to see. Someone who knows so much about a topic we all enjoy and how we can speculate and talk openly about anything with one another. Not some weirdo who can't have a conversation with someone in person without having either a stu-stuttering act or an anxiety attack. It lets the people of the world see who I am...without them actually seeing...who I am..." He let the laptop slip down towards the edge of his lap before catching it. "Maybe my Uncle was right about me, all along."

"Claude Jacques was right about nothing" she fired back. "Least of all about his opinion of you."

"But he was at least normal."

"What your Uncle was is nothing more than a narcissistic, lying, treacherous, inhuman beast!" the surfer snarled.

Justin was taken aback by the staunch stance she took against his Uncle. "Gosh, I didn't think you had such a fierce opinion of him."

Bridgette found herself shaking with anger and took a moment to collect herself. "I honestly don't give your uncle much thought apart from wondering if he ever had a conscience to speak of. But the few thoughts I do make with regards to your uncle are not positive ones. That man did a great deal of damage to Arcana and to my family specifically." And she was not speaking solely about her Aunt Jane for once. Claude had been a "financial advisor" of sorts to her parents and had unintentionally caused their family to lose a significant amount of their financial windfall (much of which he pocketed through various trusts), so much so that her parents ended up taking up jobs well into their 70s...her own father died on the job as a security guard. Jack now cared for their mother in Hoenn and Bridgette resented the man who had gotten away with swindling her parents. "People like him don't deserve the decency of human thought, let alone a place to call their own in the mind of someone they thought lesser of."

"If I had been born like everyone-"

"Then you wouldn't be you, Justin" she interjected. "For all we know, if you hadn't been born like you are, Claude might have corrupted you. You might have been the one following Mewtwo and causing trouble. Do you honestly think any of the people you know or have befriended would be your friends if you took on even slightly after Claude?"

Justin shrugged. "How can I know what I might have been?"

"Claude would have destroyed the young man I am friends with. He would have made you see the world in his own twisted vision. That cheating and harming people was the correct way to do things. That you can do so many evil and monstrous things to the world because you didn't get the girl you wanted. Warping and mangling your perception of the world until you think people like Balthazar Aced or James Kingston were the ones to blame for his wicked ways." Realizing she was letting her emotions get the better of her, she took a second moment to collect herself and decided to steer the conversation in a different direction. "So, do you think you'll get to a million subscribers while we're in Paldea?"

"I hope so" he admitted. "I think if I allow people on the outside to see what Paldean Culture is like, I might be able to draw more viewers to my channel." He glanced over at Lizzie, who was passed out in her seat with her Umbreon nuzzling her in his own dream. "I would ordinarily ask Lizzie to help, but she isn't the best with people, so I guess I'm going to have to get help from someone else." He shot her a smile. "Would you be interested?"

When Bridgette's eyes locked with his, for a split second, she thought she heard those words in Malcolm's voice. She hadn't heard his voice in almost four years. His gentle tone, his sweet mannerisms, the very slight way he would draw out an "s", every word he spoke often made her heart skip a beat and made her knees buckle. He had been everything she had ever wanted in a man: tall, handsome, blessed with a keen mind and a body she would drool over on occasion, a sharp tongue and a charm that would make any girl swoon. She and Annie had become very close while she and her older brother were together. Many looked at the two of them as they now saw Michael and Julia. A power couple of sorts who could do no wrong, hopelessly devoted to one another. She recalled how Annie had basically scripted their entire marriage before Malcolm had even considered proposing, from who was in the wedding parties, to where it would be and what music would play. Naturally, she would be Maid of Honor and Jon the Best Man (though Bridgette was fairly certain that Warren or Michael would be Best Man before Jon). All of it had been meticulously strategized. And Bridgette went along with it as she dreamed of the day Malcolm would get down on one knee and ask her the one question she was dying to hear.

And she waited...and waited...and waited...

It was only around the time that Jon and Annie officially became engaged, about six and a half years from this date, that Bridgette began to question whether or not Malcolm was serious about her. All of the couples were together and progressing. Warren and Dee were celebrating almost ten years being married already, Michael and Julia were moving in together as Professor Maria was retiring, Victoria and Greg were together, Jon and Annie beginning their own wedding preparations.

And they? Where they had been the last several years: in love, but stagnant. Malcolm occasionally hinting he wanted to do more with his life than be Iron Mountain's Gym Leader and Bridgette expecting this meant the family life. His decision to go back to school to become an astronaut shattered her world view. It would mean he would be focusing entirely on school, his gym duties being given to his pupil in Billy Kingston. She would fall behind his studies in the priority. And after spending years of waiting, she lost it.

They went from being happily in love, to arguing regularly. He pleaded with her to see things from his perspective, and she threatened to break up if he left her and the Pokémon League behind. And one day, he was gone. His resignation handed to Michael, who could do little but accept it, prompting Bridgette to do the same. Annie was distraught at how quickly their relationship deteriorated, fighting desperately to keep them together. In the end, she sided with her brother's intent out of obligation, prompting Bridgette to turn her back on all in Arcana, including those who had not abandoned her in the children of her beloved Aunt Jane Kingston.

She would have rejected Malcolm's call if she had kept his contact information after their breakup when she received it while out surfing the world. When she accepted the Video Call, she was about to end it immediately if Malcolm hadn't begged her to stay on with him. He told her all that she was missing in Arcana. Michael was holding things together but starting to show signs of fatigue and weakness. Cassius Sinclair had been captured, Jon and Annie were making wedding plans and Cameron being groomed to become the next Champion. But above all else, he told her how he would wake up every morning thinking of her. Longing for her to be by his side again. He claimed he would not give up his dream of going to space for anything...but her. Bridgette listened to Malcolm tell her how she was the center of his universe, how he wanted her to come back to Arcana by the time his mission was complete. How he was on the verge of tears, begging her to be with him.

She was in tears, unsure if she could accept him again. She'd turned inward, thinking of what she wanted out of life. And that was spending her life out in the open water with her Pokémon by her side. But as she saw him, the memories flooded back to her. How she had been smitten with him since she was eleven or twelve years old, how they had both fled into exile after Giselle began to show despotic signs, how they had stood firmly against her reign when Michael returned, how every day until their breakup was spent in the company of one another. She put her hand up to the monitor and promised to come and see him, but only when she had returned from her surfing trip. He echoed her and assured her it their lives were only beginning...

...just before his life ended...and hers burst into flames.

It was not just Malcolm's death that sent her spiraling. It was also learning that in a malicious act at the old Taghwan Hall, the other strong parts of her heart had been killed in a disastrous fire. Michael, Chris, Cameron, Mark and Lizzie all went into that building and never returned. She did not remember those days without them. She simply remembered going out into the waters, not caring if she died out there. It was only in Kalos, several months later, that Bridgette swore to herself she would never let herself forget this most brutal lesson of life: do not give your heart to anyone. Be kind and courteous, but do not show anyone how you feel beyond that. The pain was too real. She had nothing and no one to turn to. Malcolm was gone and she knew after spending three years away and letting them face the worst evils the Syndicate had to offer without her support, that she could never face Michael or her cousins again.

Michael and Chris's feud with Jeice over his infidelity was the warning sign she needed to see that there were people who needed her. She knew after abandoning the Pokémon League and her family that she and her brother Jack would never be close, if they ever were. But if she lost Michael and Chris, which she came quite close to doing, she would never forgive herself. Those boys and the families they were growing were all she had left in this world. She was intent never to love again, save the love of family. Of the boys who idolized her growing up, who had been through hell without her, who had lost their sister, who were finding love of their own in two gorgeous Pines girls. They would be all she needed.

So as she stared, wide-eyed and to the point of ogling she had done only a few days earlier at Titanio Park, at this young man who was the first person in the world since losing Malcolm that might have entered her sight, it took her only a few seconds this time to realize what she was doing and correct herself.

"Is everything alright?" Justin inquired innocently.

Not at all, she thought to herself. I'm ogling this guy like I'm a little girl seeing Malcolm or finding Michael after all those years. She did her best to hide her emotions. "I'm fine, Justin. Just...thinking about the world. I'm not the young girl my looks may give off. Thirty years and realizing how much of life I've lost out on."

Justin did not seem able to answer her. "Well, I-uh-think you'll find what you're looking for."

She smiled. Good thing most boys are still dense. "Thank you, Justin. And as long as you take your studies seriously while in Paldea, I'd be honored to help you make videos." To her surprise, Justin pulled out his Poke Gear and immediately set the camera for going. Bridgette was quickly flustered and tried to hide her face until Justin laughed.

"No need. You look beautiful as you are."

There's his voice again...Bridgette stopped shielding her face as Justin began his intro for his video. She could not hear a word Justin was saying, her ears ringing with the voice of her long dead love, her eyes trying their best not to stare longingly at the handsome young man who sat beside her and instead on the audience that would be watching his content. She saw their faces on the camera, hers looking like a stiff until Justin made an almost completely out of character move and put his arm around her as if they were taking a selfie. She swore to herself that if she were a tea kettle, she'd have begun to whistle wildly.

{}

Despite all of the nerves that had transpired prior to the plane taking off bound for a new and unexplored region (at least to anyone living), Billy Kingston was surprised at how tame most of the plane ride had been so far. Justin and Bridgette were talking a bit about making videos for his vlog, Amanda was repeating Paldean phrases back at her language learning course to the best of her ability, Lizzie was butting into the conversation between those two and the other kids were being quiet on their own. Morgan had taken to napping or silently listening to music, both Tommy and Addison were quietly filling out their paperwork for their entry exams to Uva Academy. It did his heart good to know they were taking this opportunity to go to such a prestigious institution like this so seriously.

This left him alone with his thoughts, his fingers fumbling around the ring box in his pocket. The ring he was longing to give to Amanda and ask for her to be his wife. The ring that had been on his mind for months, at the very least since reuniting with her on the field of battle during the Battle of Crag Hills. A battle that he had been convinced he would not survive. He recalled vaguely how chaotic the Crag Hills were. Clone Pokémon with power comparable to pseudo-legendary ones attacking the defenders of the world on Mewtwo's orders. He remembered he and one of Arcana's Police Force were fighting side by side. He recalled how a geyser of water the size of the King's Bay descended upon them and washed them away. His last thought before passing out was thinking of Amanda and praying he got to meet her one day.

His next sentient thought was followed by several swift and brutal pounds on his chest before he spat out the water that had been filling his lungs and windpipe. His eyes opened and for a brief moment, he saw heaven. He saw many he'd lost over the years. His grandparents, Malcolm Tress and others. But when his eyes cleared and his mind began to focus, his gaze fell upon the woman who now cradled him.

It was her. Amanda. Somehow, against all odds, they'd been reunited.

For a moment, Billy thought they were both dead and resigned himself to this fact. Let the world go on without them, if it meant they got to be together. But when he saw just how many others were nearby, he knew he couldn't have died. By the stroke of luck, whoever's it was, they had survived. They had triumphed over an army of clones. Mewtwo had been driven back, Courtney defeated and this "Black Knight" of theirs also forced to retreat. It would take some time for the toll of the Battle of the Crag Hills to truly impact him, including the death of his father.

But through the days after the battle, she was with him. She would not leave his side for anything. He woke up to her cradling him in her arms, whimpering something along the lines of "I never thought I'd see you again". He was too weak to respond for a few days, but he would remain by her side throughout all of it. He fought with all his might to recover and get stronger. To prove himself in the Master Cup and to the new Champion of Arcana. And he'd succeeded, being the only Gym Leader Arcana sported to make it into the Final 16 before he ran into the buzzsaw that was named Giselle Odelia.

Throughout all of it, he had Amanda. He saw her every day. They kissed every day, hugged every day, cuddled every day. And he wanted to somehow make sure that this would go on long past the ending of the earth. It was high time he gave her the ultimate sign of his affection: a ring with which he would bestow upon her his never-ending love.

Now if I can just get her to calm down enough and listen, he lamented to himself. He had planned it all out initially on the eve of Annette's coronation to become the next League Champion. To dance the night away and once she knew just how much she meant to him, to propose to her in the sight of only a few friends so as to not let her feel smothered or pressured to answer. But that plan had been foiled when Michael accidentally let Amanda know they would be going to Paldea as part of the expedition to the previously forbidden region. Now, Paldea was all that would cross the lips of Amanda. She wasn't eager or interested in talking about anything else besides this new uncharted region.

He began to try and formulate his next move carefully, only for his sister to tell him Amanda would be happy with any old proposal as long as it was from him. After all, the Kingston Family wasn't particularly known for their best betrothals. Jon and Annie had been betrothed since birth to marry, so they didn't exactly have to ask one another. Michael and Julia had a rooftop proposal weeks after Julia had begun to wear the engagement ring he'd bought for her, believing Michael had fallen in the Taghwan Hall Attacks. Chris and Piper didn't even propose, simply getting married legally at a courthouse. Victoria and Greg were the only two who got betrothed in a normal sense, at a restaurant in Titanio City. No one else was truly engaged or married. His sister and Madeline would be next in line, but they were either in a good relationship but not ready to marry or focusing entirely on work. This left him in line next. And he was eager to propose immediately, if only she would listen...

His finger gently stroked the ring in his pocket as Amanda continued to try to repeat the phrases spoken to her in her Paldean Language program she was listening to. He took a deep breath and realized her attention would be diverted for the foreseeable future. His best chance was now. He leaned up and kissed her cheek. Amanda blinked for a second, turned to her boyfriend and giggled.

"Oh you" she replied happily, poking his nose.

"Did you know just how wonderful you are?" Billy replied. "And how happy you've made me?"

She winked. "Oh, I can see how happy I've made you. And I'm looking forward to having some time with you to see some sights in Paldea." She pointed to her headphones and sighed. "But I need to keep up with this language program. We'll talk later, Billy. Love you." She pecked his cheek as he had hers and resumed her program, her eyes not once going in the direction of Billy's hand where the diamond ring flashed.

Billy was distraught. "Yeah, but-" When she did not respond further, he rolled his eyes and let out a sigh of defeat. "Maybe some other time." He rose from his seat and walked over to the bar on the plane. Pulling out a bottle of scotch, he poured himself a glass. "One of these days, I'll get her to listen."

"Got any extra there, Bill?" a voice chimed. He glanced over and saw Bridgette walking over to him. He poured her a glass and both drank their shots. Once Bridgette was done, she plucked the bottle out of his hands and poured herself another. "I think I want to get good and drunk today."

"Is that on your bucket list?" he replied jokingly.

Bridgette glanced behind him at Lizzie and Justin working on something for his computer. "When did Lizzie become so snippy?! She was giving me death glares while I was trying to help Justin with his project."

"Asking me to figure out Lizzie would be the same as asking me to explain how Addy does the things she does" he admitted. "My guess is she thinks you're going to get between her friendship with him. Which is weird since she's never actually said how she feels about him. But Lizzie is like a Lillipup, she'll find something else to bark at after a while. She may even get distracted by the prospects of what lies ahead in Arcana." He poured himself a second glass of scotch. "She's easy. Just give her something to distract her and she's simple. My issue is much worse, Bridge."

"Is someone giving you death glares?"

He looked back at Amanda as she tried to speak Paldean, quite poorly. "If only I was so lucky. I'd be glad if I got something from her." He flashed the ring to Bridgette. "Been sitting on this for several days and I bet I'll be sitting on it for quite a while after this."

"You still haven't proposed?"

"Not from a lack of trying." He put the ring back into his pocket. "She just won't listen to me. Jenna keeps telling me she wants me to ask her, but every time I try to, she becomes so hyper focused on this trip to Paldea that I can't get her to focus again. It's almost as if she doesn't actually want me to."

Bridgette smiled. "Oh I'm sure she still wants you to ask. The eagerness surrounding the trip to Paldea will wear off. Then she'll be all over you." She then shrugged playfully as she prepared her third glass. "Who knows? Maybe some girl in Paldea will sweep you off your feet like Addison hopes for Tommy's sake."

"There's only one girl for me, Bridge" he assured her.

"I like to think there was only one guy for me" she warned in a friendly tone. "But the world is a very big and wide place. You never know what you'll find out there. I know that's true for me." She patted Billy on the shoulder and walked back towards an open seat away from the potential angry glares from Lizzie.

Billy poured and drank his last shot of scotch before deciding to join Bridgette and see if he could get some sleep. He let the ring fall into his pocket and he chuckled to himself. Only eighteen hours to go...