All three of the Pokemon in the room took a moment to think what they would do next. Blaze was the first to speak.
"Let's just take a moment to think here. Maybe it's not the same Ruby."
She shakily stated.
"It would be very coincidental. Too much for me to believe."
Ryan commented.
"It's probably best not to leave her waiting at the door while we exchange our opinions about her. What should I do?"
Ricky was still thinking.
"Bring her in and talk to her. However, until we know she's the Ruby we think she is, not a word about Vincent."
Ryan nodded, leaving the room. There was an awkward moment of silence between Ricky and Blaze before Ryan returned.
"She refused to come in. She says she hasn't got the time."
Ricky was shocked and confused.
"Alright then... I wonder why."
Ricky shook the feeling of bewilderment from his gut and stood up to go and see this Zoroark for himself.

After reaching the door, Ricky saw Ruby for the first time. She was a typical looking Zoroark, being the same height and reminding him very much of Vincent. Her fur looked a little messy, particularly around her muzzle. Once she saw Ricky, she seemed to lighten up a little from her previously bored looking state.
"Hello there. Sorry that I haven't got time to stop and talk for longer, but I just moved in down the hall, and I'm still in the process of unpacking."
She told Ricky in a rather soft voice.
"I'm Ruby. Nice to meet you."
She politely extended a paw out to the Lucario, who slowly accepted the greeting, meeting it with his own.
"Ricky..."
He shakily replied. As Ruby shook his paw, she looked a little confused.
"Are you alright? You look a little Shaken."
Ricky shook his head suddenly, his expression quickly changing.
"Oh, I'm fine. It's just... I can't believe the coincidence."
Ruby's expression didn't change. In fact, it looked to deepen.
"You mean by meeting me, or something else? I'm sorry, I'm just a little lost right now."
If this was the Ruby that the three friends thought it was, it was becoming clear to Ricky that she had no idea Vincent was living nearby. The only other possibility was that she was just confused. Because of this, Ricky wasn't sure of how to reply. He just couldn't find the courage to ask about Vincent.
"Don't worry, it's nothing."
He found the words to bring an end to the moment of awkwardness.
"Oh, okay. Well I hope I'll see you again soon. I won't be here for long, anyway."
Now it was Ricky's turn to ask the questions.
"Really? Why is that?"
Ruby sighed before answering.
"My father's job includes a lot of traveling. I'm never in the same place for long. I won't be here for much longer than two weeks."
*Two weeks!*
Ricky thought to himself. That really wasn't a lot of time to figure out what to do regarding the whole situation.
Ricky had many more questions, but he knew a lot of them weren't any of his business.
"Well I'll let you get back to settling in. Thanks for stopping by."
Ricky told her.
"I'm happy to do so. You seem like a very kind neighbour."
She began to walk down the hall, looking back and waving.
"See you soon."
Ricky sheepishly waved back, closing the door.
"You have no idea."
He said to himself once the door was fully closed. He leaned against it, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He opened his eyes to see Blaze and Ryan staring at him. Ryan looked like he was about to explode with excitement.

"Oh, wow. We need to tell Vincent! Imagine how he'll react when he-"
Blaze stopped his sudden outburst by putting a paw over his mouth.
"Now hold on one second. You heard her. She's only staying for two weeks. Do you really think that's enough time for her and Vincent to even enjoy if that is really her? She'll be gone before he knows it. Telling either one of them would be cruel. Just let this opportunity pass."
Ryan moved Blaze's paw, clearly not finished speaking.
"Are you crazy? How could you even consider that? You heard Ricky. They could hardly stand to separate!"
Ryan protested.
"And they will again, very soon. It's truly a question of which is better: having a love and then losing it, or not loving at all. We'd be avoiding another heartbreak for Vincent if we just leave it alone." 
Blaze was adamant to stand by that point. Both suddenly realised Ricky's silence. He just stood there, observing the two of them arguing.
"What do you think, Ricky? Surely you must realise that this is fate asking for us to put them back together. Maybe you can make your dear girlfriend understand that."
Ryan told him scornfully. He seemed to almost mock the Braixen. She really didn't take that well.
"Maybe you should take my advice and realise how ridiculously visceral and thoughtless your irresponsible, careless, ignorant fool your so called friend is being!"
Any louder and Blaze would've screamed the words at the top of her lungs. The difference between Ryan's and Blaze's comments was all too clear. Ryan genuinely looked hurt from what he had just heard. Not much could silence him; he was renowned for having thick skin against insults of the sort. But at that moment, as he stood there, Ricky saw the look in his friend's eyes. It was clear he was nothing short of heartbroken. His mouth wasn't agape, and he didn't shed any tears. He slowly closed his eyes, his paws balling into fists. The full force of Blaze's statement suddenly hit her. She knew she might have gone over the top just a little.
"Ryan..."
Blaze tried to find the right words to say. She hadn't seen Ryan like this before.
"Shut... up."
He growled. He looked away from her, toward the ground. His mouth seemed to shut tightly, like he was trying hard not to hurl unimaginably vulgar words at Blaze in their dozens. After a few deep breaths, and a long period of tense silence, he spoke again.
"I'm going to go... I think it's best for the safety of us both."
The room was becoming hotter and Ryan's flames had began to burn a lot brighter. Ricky didn't stop him from leaving. The angered fire type viciously slammed the door on his way out.

Blaze was pretty scared. She hadn't expected such a reaction from the likes of Ryan.
"First Vincent waking up crying... and now this."
Blaze muttered. Ricky stood next to her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her into his side.
"What has our friendship become?"
Blaze asked.
"It's as much about that..."
Ricky started.
"As what it's going to be."

The introduction of Ruby left the question of whether or not Vincent should know Ruby was there. Firstly, the three had to make sure it was actually her. And if it was, there was a very large number of other factors to consider in so little time. With time against them, and quite possibly Ryan for a short time, Ricky and Blaze were forced to contemplate the problem alone. Vincent was completely unaware of the situation, as was Ruby. One of the biggest decisions of their lives hung in the balance of two of Vincent's friends.

And all the while, neither of them knew of it in the slightest.

That's all for this chapter! I'm not going to leave such a long note this time. I've just got the usual things to say, really. If you enjoyed this chapter, be sure to let me know. I love reading all of your comments. Votes are also much appreciated, so be sure to drop one if you liked what you read!

Also, just a quick thank you for 15k reads! I've got something special planned for 20k, so the sooner we get there, the sooner you'll find out what! I hope you're all excited as I am.

Thanks for reading this chapter, it really means a lot that you like this story at least. Feel free to check out other stories on my profile if you haven't already, And as always, I'll see you all in the next chapter. Stay awesome guys!