Through your eyes [English version]

Between nightmares and dreams

[P.O.V. Crystal]

"I've already told you, Crystal, and I can repeat it if you want: I have no idea!"

I sighed at Sylveon's response.

"To be honest, Crystal, I've never even seen an Umbreon with red rings, let alone one that can mega evolve, or whatever that thing he did was. Did you see those marks? Not even mega evolution leaves scars like that!"

"She's right. I can confirm it" Ricky chimed in, jumping down from his tree branch and stepping away from the campfire.

"And how would you know?" Yuki retorted, clearly annoyed.

"I just know" He huffed before heading toward the tent where Nora was resting.

Silence fell for a moment, and no one dared to break it. We were all tense, each for our own reasons.

It had already been three days since we went to rescue Blade, and almost two since Angel joined us after one of her premonitions. Honestly, having an Absol who could foresee bad events didn't thrill me in the slightest.

"Why does he always have to pretend like he knows everything?" Zeraora muttered again, tossing a pebble into the fire.

"He's not lying" Angel said, sighing softly.

"It happened not long before you arrived. To activate a mega form, you need something called a Key Stone, which is very hard to use and even harder to find. But he had one, a gift from his father, and he used it every time, whether for training or even for simple tasks. Mega evolving, though, isn't easy. The process is extremely painful and causes long-term permanent damage"

To show she wasn't speaking randomly, she moved a part of her fur, revealing two large scars underneath.

"It happened during a rescue mission. He never told me what really happened, but out of the whole group, he was the only one who came back safe and sound"

Yuki stayed silent for a while, her gaze lowered.

"I didn't know"

"Of course not, he saw in you a chance to start over and forget everything, but he never truly moved on. I believe he still carries the Key Stone beneath the R.R. badge"

"Hey guys, can we join you?" We all turned toward Ranì, who, with a playful look, stepped aside to reveal a not-so-enthusiastic Joel.

After receiving approval from most of the group, Ranì sat next to Vivian, while Joel hesitated for a moment before sitting at a safe distance from me.

"So..." Angel began after a while, breaking the obvious tension between me and Joel. "I've been wondering for a bit: are you two together?"

Ranì almost choked on her own saliva, and Sylveon looked like she wanted to bury herself out of embarrassment. But luckily for her, Spectreon recovered quickly enough to speak.

"Oh no, we're just good friends. You could almost call us sisters. How about you guys? Do you have anyone?"

As soon as she finished that sentence, I could feel her gaze fall solely on me, and suddenly, I felt incredibly self-conscious.

Angel was the first to answer, a straightforward "no" without hesitation. My answer, however, came through Joel, who confirmed that neither of us had a partner.

"Oh, really? I thought you two were together"

I wanted to die of embarrassment. How could she make such a bold statement without feeling awkward?

Even Joel didn't respond, and I was grateful when Vivian, sensing the embarrassment we were thrown into, asked me to help her check on Blade.

[P.O.V. Ricky]