Linkage

Epilogue

Cynthia greeted two more, new guests of the gala. One was a beautiful princess decked in pink, and on her hip a man who resembled a soldier, having a stylish blade attached to his hip. They were patrons of many charitable causes, coming from Kalos as royalty. She was thankful to have them there, because this cause was very personal to her.

Hosted as a joint effort between Galactic Industries and the Sinnoh championship to support inventors and technological firms in Sinnoh, Cynthia was glad to see a great turnout. Perhaps it was no surprise that many people were supporting the rise of innovation in Sinnoh, considering how famous Wes's purification circuit was still, despite it being a year since the events of the the shadow outbreak in Sinnoh.

Ever since then, Cynthia had been waiting. Sinnoh was rebuilt, in the way that Wes would view it. The people were calm, happy, and she was a steady champion. She had felt Wes every day, somewhere, doing something. There were times he struggled, times he was happy, and times where he just plowed on through. But Cynthia knew that he missed her.

Part of her had been upset after she left, but as time went on she was glad to see all the things that were happening. She learned that it was possible to go on. She kept going. And now this was her show.

"Please welcome Champion Cynthia Shirona to the stage," said Saturn, the co-host of the gala.

Cynthia nodded and face all of the people who were going to be influential in others' lives. "Thank you for coming to the gala tonight. I'm sure many of you know, as you listen to or read  the news, that this is something very personal to me. While everything looked bleak, and like the people of Sinnoh could not be saved, it was an engineer who solved the problem to save us all.

"Without the great contributions of technological development, where would Sinnoh be now? This is why Galactic Industries and the championship invite you to sponsor the future inventors of Sinnoh. Because, these are the people who keep our economies afloat, the progression of society moving, and solve the world's problems. Thank you."

She stepped off the stage and was greeted by Red, the former champion of Kanto and Johto.

"Red," she gasped, "it's a pleasure to meet you."

The former champion was very point-blank. "It was Wes who inspired you to do this wasn't it? They won't name him in the newspapers, but I'm sure of it."

She nodded. "He remembers you fondly, you know? It's a shame that he isn't here tonight, but I know that someday he will return, because he told me he will."

Red nodded, and was about to leave when Lance ran into the two of them.

"Pleasure to see you again Cynthia," he said. "I apologize again that I called you in the middle of a regional crisis to come look at archeology."

She nodded and smiled. "Perhaps you could turn that apology into a few dollars. Then we're even."

"Will do," said Lance.
Cynthia walked around and socialized some more until she got tired. This was hard work, surprisingly enough, and so she had to take pauses. She was happy though that perhaps her efforts were going towards the future. As she sat down, Saturn came and sat down next to her.

"I looked at the donations," said Saturn.

Cynthia drew in a breath. "And?"

Saturn gave her a smile. "There's billions towards the fund. One anonymous donation alone was 20 billion. So breathe easy, and try to have a little fun, ok?"

"Of course Saturn," she smiled. "We make a great team don't we."

He laughed as he stood. "I don't think anyone could be quite as good of a team as you and Wes."

It was true, and it made her laugh. She couldn't help but smile, until she ran into Steven Stone. Part of Cynthia's heart still beat like it used to when she saw him. She wondered if it was because they did one of the rituals of bonding together.

"Steven," she remarked. "It's quite a surprise to see you here."

He nodded. "Well, Devon would want in on an initiative like this, so naturally I'm here to see what it's all about."

"Well," she said, "feel free to take the time to donate then, or you can ask my associate Saturn."

She began to walk away from him when he grabbed her arm and forced her to stay there. Cynthia didn't quite know how to feel about that, but she let him talk to her anyways.

"Please don't go yet," he said, sighing. "Look, I wanted to see you, alright? My old man could've come if I didn't. I just wanted to apologize."

The champion raised her eyebrows. "About what?"

"About any pain I might have caused you by leaving when you said all those nice things about me in the interview you did about our relationship," he said. "I wasn't ready for a full blown relationship with anyone, but now I am. So, Cynthia, I'm asking you to give me another chance."

Cynthia blinked and stuttered at him. "I have someone else already."

"You do?" Steven said with shock.

The champion gave him a very aggravated look. "Yes, I do. He left your region for mine."

Cynthia was satisfied by the look of shock that Steven gave her when he got what she was implying. He tried to reach after her, but that was when she got the feeling. Within an instant she knew. He was there. Cynthia's pulse raced, and for a moment her aura began to flare. He was back.

After a year, Wes finally returned.

Steven said to Cynthia, "Are you serious? Wes left me for you?"

She ignored him, walking past Saturn who knew from the determined way she was walking what was going on. There was a general confusion until Iris of Unova walked in, Wes on her arm. Cynthia looked at Wes, who was stunning in a navy blue suit. Cynthia took a deep breath, and wondered if she looked alright in her dark gown.

"I'm sorry we're late," Iris said with a chuckle, as if there were some kind of inside joke going on. "It's only fashionable, I suppose."

Iris nodded at Wes who let go of her arm. Cynthia watched him stroll down the stairs at the entrance of the gala with confidence. Her breath was taken away as he took her into his arms and kissed her. Cynthia looked at him with awe and disbelief.

"I'm home," he said.

And she knew he was.