Blaze looked shocked and bewildered by what she had just seen.
"Well that was something."
She muttered, trying to process what had just happened. Ricky on the other hand had a thoughtful expression on his face.
"I know what's bothering him."
He said aloud.
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine, thanks for asking!"
Ryan called sarcastically from the doorway. A warning look from the fire fox on the opposite side of the room kept the Quilava quiet however.
"I need to go and talk to him alone."
Ricky got up and headed to the door.
"Are you sure you don't want us to come with you?"
Blaze asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure. You should probably check Ryan's head. Something might have been knocked out of place.
"Now hold on a minute!"
Ryan protested, only for Ricky to leave the room without noticing.

Ricky walked through the streets, the cold making him shiver slightly. He was also rather nervous about seeing Vincent after the little scene he had witnessed. If Vincent really was so worked up, he might not be the friendliest Pokemon to be around. Ricky knew he couldn't let that stop him. He had Vincent to thank for Blaze's forgiveness after their breakup, and that was no simple matter. So, with that in mind, Ricky pressed on through the chilled night. Maybe Vincent would be happy so see him.

After traveling for what felt like forever, Ricky walked up the steps to his friend's home and knocked on the door. Vincent took longer than usual to open it, and once he saw Ricky smiling warmly at him, his eyes widened and he tried to close the door again. Ricky pushed against him, keeping the door open to a degree.
"Come on, Vincent. I want to talk to you about this."
Vincent on the other hand wasn't so eager.
"Nothing you can say will make me feel better! Leave me to my own thoughts!"
Vincent protested, pushing harder on the door.
"You own thoughts are the reason why you're feeling like this. You need to stop beating yourself up about Ruby. It wasn't your fault!"
Vincent suddenly stopped pushing on the door, letting Ricky inside as a result.
"Come on Vincent. Just let me talk about it with you. I have an idea."
Vincent wasn't convinced, and Ricky could see the doubt in his friend's eyes. He knew he needed to be very careful with his words. One wrong word would surely set the dark type off.
"I just hate to see you like this. Give me a chance, Vincent."
Ricky tried to look as reassuring as possible.
"Please?"
Vincent sighed, slowly reducing his pressure on the door.
"I guess."
He sighed again.
"Make it quick."

Meanwhile, back at Ricky's apartment, Blaze was tending to Ryan's injury.
"Is that better?"
She asked, laying his head down in a pillow on Ricky's sofa.
"Yeah, a little."
Ryan replied.
"He hit you hard, didn't he?"
Blaze giggled, looking down on the Quilava as he shook his head.
"He's much stronger than he looks. He pushed me aside like I weighed nothing."
Blaze nodded.
"I saw that. It's a wonder you didn't break anything."
Ryan looked up at Blaze with jokingly unimpressed expression on his face.
"Are you trying to say I'm weak?"
Blaze sat down next to Ryan, returning his gaze with a sweet one.
"Of course not."
She chuckled.
"But you and I both know I could easily take you down if I wanted to."
Ryan doubted that.
"Now hold on a minute-"
He tried to get up, but Blaze stopped him.
"Hush now. You need to rest your head. Just lay down for a bit, alright? I'm going to call Ricky to see how things are going with Vincent."

After calling Ricky, she had to wait a few moments for him to answer.
"Hey Blaze. What's up?"
Ricky asked.
"I wanted to know what was happening. Did you find out what was bothering him?"
"Oh, I already knew what it was, but I'm learning a little more. And it's pretty deep."
Ricky replied. Blaze's interest was piqued.
"What is it?"
She asked hurriedly.
"I'll tell you later. Vincent is waiting for me downstairs. But I tell you, you'll be as surprised as I was. Take care until I get back."
After saying goodbye, Blaze hung up and went back to the living room.
"What did Ricky say?"
Ryan asked, in the sane position as before.
"Apparently I'll be surprised when I hear what's been bothering Vincent. It must be important if it made him leave in such a state."
Blaze observed, wondering what it was that had brought her friend to act as he had. Vincent was normally a calm and collected Pokemon. This side of him was completely new to her.

Two hours later, Ricky returned. Both Blaze and Ryan were shocked at what Ricky told them. He kept the details at a minimum, not telling the two her species or name. He felt it wasn't necessary to give away that much information yet.
"Vincent? A crush? No, surely you must be mistaken."
Ryan inquired.
"Unless Vincent himself was lying, that's the truth. I need to talk with Blaze for a moment, Ryan. Do you mind?"
Ryan nodded, leaving the room.
"I've got a crazy idea, but I think it'll work."
He told Blaze.
"You want to find this Ruby girl, don't you?"
Ricky was slightly shocked, but nodded.
"Yes, that was what I was going to say."
Blaze held one of Ricky's paws in her own.
"Look, I know how much it means to you that you help Vincent, but you have to realise what's possible and what isn't. You're suggesting we look for a single Pokemon that could be anywhere in the world right now."
Ryan then peered inside the room, getting both Ricky's and Blaze's attention.
"I know you wanted to be alone, but someone's at the door. Some Zoroark named Ruby. Do either of you know who that is?"
Blaze tilted her head, not recognising the name. She then looked at Ricky, who hadn't fully processed what he'd just heard.
"Well?"
Blaze asked as her boyfriend failed to respond.
"Do you?"
All the two got back was a slow nod and a reply that rattled both of them to their very core.
"Y-yeah... it's her."

I'm back baby! Wow it's been a long time; Over 2 months! But I'm finally back after a long, unannounced hiatus. Apologies for making you all wait so long. I'm here to stay for a while at least. A couple of really big announcements will be coming up soon, so make sure you look out for them in future chapters. I'd like to thank you all for your continued support and willingness to put up with my long breaks between chapters, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. See you all in the next one!