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    The air was tense as the Pheromosa hybrid stood to the side of Dyana's bed. Dyana herself was still injured and unable to move.
    "I'm gonna make you my apprentice. I'm gonna teach you how to battle and dance," Rhea had said.
    Dyana looked at her with furrowed brows and an open mouth. "W-what?" She asked. "Why?"
    "Well, happy pokemon don't just steal rare items for no reason, and they also don't seek out violence for no reason. So I have reason to assume that you're unhappy."
    Dyana laughed out loud. "Unhappy is an understatement!" She says. "I've been full-blown miserable since the day I was born!"
    "I figured," Rhea said, pulling up a chair. She sat down, leaning her forearms ontop of her thighs. "Why don't you tell me about it?"
    Dyana kept her mouth shut. Rhea still looked at her expectantly. Dyana didn't expect Rhea to give much care to anything of the sort, yet here she was, waiting.
    "You have two options," Rhea said, seeing that Dyana wasn't going to volunteer the information easily. "You're going to tell me what happened and become my apprentice, or you could go to The Cell, which is essentially a prison. What's it gonna be, Tiny Dancer?"
    "Don't you dare start calling me that," Dyana said as she grit her teeth.
    "Hey, I love Elton John," Rhea said with a smirk. "Seriously now, what's your choice?"
    Dyana thought she'd rather eat glass than spill her guts to someone who kicked her ass and thinks that she can just use Dyana for whatever. However… The idea of having a dance teacher again was appealing. There was only so much she could learn on her own. “Alright, fine,” she said, closing her eyes and giving a sigh. And so, she began her story of how she was never picked from her clutch, ran away to Polluted Falls, where nobody seemed to care about her there either, and then stumbled upon Carmen in Starwood Acres. She realized by the end of her story that she was crying. Rhea sat and listened quietly. She did not look at her with pity or disgust, making Dyana feel ever so slightly reassured about sharing her story.
    “I see,” Rhea said with a nod. “I’m very sorry all of that happened to you, but… You are here now, and here you’re safe and valued.”
    “W-what? By whom?” Dyana asked.
    Rhea couldn’t help but laugh as she stood up. “I think you’ll find out soon enough. You’re still injured and you should rest. But when you’ve recovered is when our work will start. I hope you’re ready. Have a good night,” she said and left the room.
    Dyana couldn’t help but scoff. Who the heck does she think she is?! She took her when she was most vulnerable, made her spill her guts, and yet she is being all weird and vague. However, the lull of sleep was pulling Dyana too much for her to analyze it at this time. Her eyelids felt heavy as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

    Dyana stood on the edge of the ranch with her arms crossed. Rhea told her to wait here, so what was the hold up? She couldn’t believe that she agreed to do Rhea’s busy work, or… whatever she was planning on them doing. She almost wished that she just agreed to go to prison. But… At least out here, people were giving her nods of acknowledgement. The pokemon here seemed… kinder.
    “Sorry about the wait,” Rhea said and approached her. Damn, where did she come from? Dyana couldn’t even hear her coming. Rhea was holding something in her hand.
    “What’s that?”
    “It’s our first errand of the day. Are you familiar with Mystery Dungeons?”
    Dyana’s eyebrows furrowed. “Mystery Dungeons?”
    “They’re these odd chaotic places that are kinda hidden in plain sight. They’re dangerous and full of hostile pokemon. You can get really messed up if you go in unprepared. Though it’s not like you can just stumble onto one, some require certain requirements or will only show up if you have a special item.”
    “Why would someone want to go into one?”
    “They can hold exquisite treasures or other rare items. Some say it’s easier to get stronger in them, too. What you can also do, is take on a mission to go into one and say, retrieve an item, and then the client rewards you handsomely, which is what this happens to be,” Rhea said, flashing the piece of paper.
    “W-we’re gonna go into one? For what?”
    “Well, we gotta replace the items you used up, now don’t we, Tiny Dancer?” Rhea said with a wink. Dyana blushed angrily at the use of the nickname and for Rhea bringing up her unsavory crime. “For today, we’re going to do various things to get back the items you used. This happens to be one of them. The client is looking for a battle, and in return they’re going to give us a hamonizing liquid.”
    “Hmm,” Dyana nods. “I see.” She supposed it would be fair that she would have to get the items she used as punishment.
    “Follow me, the entrance to the Mystery Dungeon is actually just outside the ranch,” Rhea said. She entered the path that spanned into the forest off to the east. The stretching tree branches blocked out the sun, leaving only a few rays of light to cast onto the forest floor. Dyana couldn’t help but appreciate the natural beauty that was present here, and was never seen at Polluted Falls. She didn’t even know that trees could exist as these certain colors. Or was this ranch enchanted with magic?
    She shook her head. She couldn’t allow her mind to be filled with pointless fantasies like it was when she was a naive kid. She looked up and saw Rhea had stopped before two trees that were both golden.
    Rhea held up a leaf stone before the two trees and a blinding light illuminated between the trees, forming a portal. It, too, glowed gold. Rhea looked at Dyana and motioned for the two of them to go in. Rhea did so with no hesitation, but Dyana was reluctant. She bit her lip and walked through.
    They emerged from the portal and were met with a beautifully golden forest. The sky was a light gold, the grass was gold, the dirt was gold… Dyana couldn’t help but have her jaw drop. “W-what is this place?”
    “Golden Forest. Fitting, huh?” Rhea said.
    Dyana nodded eagerly. “So where’s this client?”
    “Well, it’s a bit of a ways in, I believe,” Rhea responded, looking back down at the paper in her hand. “Now, as I mentioned, this place is full of dangerous pokemon. You have to be careful.”
    “Yeah, yeah. Let’s go,” Dyana said, walking past Rhea. It was so silent here, save for the occasional chirp of the bird. That is, until she heard thudding footsteps approaching from her right. She turned her head to see a Persian racing towards her. Without flinching, Dyana whipped her fist around and struck the cat on the side of the face. The Persian hissed, but was roughed up enough to head the other way.
    “Hm, that was kind of impressive,” Rhea said.
    “I just did what felt right,” Dyana said. “Aren’t… you supposed to be teaching me about battling?”
    “I was just about to say,” Rhea nodded. “If you want to be a respectable battler, you need to try and end fights as quickly as possible without being excessively brutal. When battling, it also requires 100% of your focus, and therefore can be quite meditative.”
    Dyana blinked. “I mean, I thought you were going to teach me better moves.”
    “If you follow what I said, better moves will come in time, Tiny Dancer,” Rhea said.
    “Ugh!” Dyana exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. “Why do you insist on calling me that?!”
    Rhea chuckled. “Because your reaction is so cute.”
    Dyana blushed fiercely. “Cute?! What are you getting at?!”
    “Oh, I know you think I’m hotter than hell. Don’t even kid yourself,” Rhea said.
    Dyana blushed even further and her eyes widened. “I-I wouldn’t say that…” she mumbled quietly enough for Rhea to not hear. No, “hot” wasn’t a word she would use to describe her attraction to someone. Rhea leaned more towards “beautiful and elegant,” but Dyana wasn’t about to admit this anytime soon.
    In fact, why was she even thinking about this right now?! Why was Rhea even saying the things she was? Didn’t Dyana try to kill her yesterday? What game was she playing?
    Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw a Froslass in a clearing. No, she looked to be more than just a Froslass. She had big wings and was made of all pastel colors. She looked very out of place.
    The froslass chuckled. “Greetings, explorers,” she said. “You wouldn’t happen to be looking for this, would you?”
    She held out her hand, which contained a chunk of ice. A mystical mist surrounded it. “Taylor!” exclaimed Rhea. “You’re a part of this, too?”
    “Sure am,” she said. “I couldn’t resist a good battle. And knowing that you’re my opponent now, I’m sure to have loads of fun!” A harsh echoing sound reverberated from her, striking both Rhea and Dyana, bringing them to their knees. “How’s that Synchronoise for ya, huh?”
     “Damn,” Rhea said and turned to Dyana. “I didn’t know we had to fight someone for the item. Taylor’s really tough.”
    “Tch,” Dyana said. “Not if I have to say anything about it!”
    In a flash she rushed right at Taylor with her fists forward. She was about to unleash a Shadow Claw, but then Taylor emitted an Ominous Wind, striking Dyana and making her fall backwards. Rhea stood above her.
    “Do you see what I mean?” she asked flatly. “Another pointer about battling, because apparently you need it, you shouldn’t just rush into a battle without thinking first.”
    Rhea raised her hand and formed a Moonblast, sending it at Taylor. It cleared through the Ominous Wind with ease and struck Taylor in the chest. She staggered backward but was able to shake the attack off. “Teehee,” she said. “Clever girl.”
    Dyana growled. “I’ll show you clever,” she said, hopping to her feet. She was going to rush at Taylor again when Rhea grabbed her arm.
    “Dyana, what did I just say?” Rhea said sternly. “Also in a battle, you have to keep your wits about you, or you’re gonna get messed up! Just think logically about the battle for just a second. What has happened so far?”
    Dyana scoffed, but did as told. She looked at Taylor, who was just hit, but still quite energetic. She had struck the two of them with only range moves so far, and when Dyana tried to use a melee move, she was able to bat her away no problem. Dyana turned to Rhea.
    “I-I think… I think we should only use range attacks,” Dyana said.
    “Yes!” Rhea said, her face lighting up. “I was thinking that too.”
    Dyana couldn’t help but smirk. “Alright, that settles it then! Why don’t you use your moonblast again? I’m gonna try a new move.”
    Rhea smiled and summoned a large pink ball in her hands. Dyana summoned the same dark energy as before, but channeled it into a ball instead. The two of them executed their moves at the same time and sent them directly at Taylor. Unable to dodge, she took the moves head-on. Taylor flew backward and onto the ground, out for the count. Rhea and Dyana exchanged hopeful glances as they walked closer to her.
    “Ugh…” Taylor said, propping herself up on her elbows. “Welp… I lost, fair and square. You probably want your prizes now, huh?”
    “Well, that is why we took on this mission,” Rhea said with a nod.
    “Not to battle little old me? Awww,” Taylor said and she floated to an upright position. “Well, as promised, here’s your money, and here’s a harmonizing liquid.”
    Dyana’s jaw dropped and she looked to Rhea. This Froslass was just handing out items for free?! What did she have to gain from this? Rhea nudged Dyana forward to accept the items, much to the Lucario hybrid’s surprise. She held out her paws and accepted the items. She looked at the harmonizing liquid closely, seeing the shimmering liquid moving back and forth in the bottle.
    “Thank you, Taylor. You probably wanna get out of here, don’t you? Dyana, want to Teleport us out of here?” Rhea asked.
    “A-ah, Teleport? I haven’t really learned that one yet, but uh…” she closed her eyes, thinking of Tall Trees. She then felt a whooshing sensation and the three of them landed on the grass of the familiar ranch.
    “Impressive,” Rhea said. “Thank you again, Taylor! See you around!”
    The Froslass hybrid waved them goodbye and floated off further into the ranch. Dyana looked down at the items they got again. “W-why did she want to just give these away?”
    “Well, if you can steal items for no reason, then Taylor can give them away for no reason too, right?” Rhea said. Dyana sighed. She supposed Rhea had a point. “Come on, we still have more to do.”
    Rhea stood outside the Echo Arcade and tapped her foot slightly impatiently. She tried to peek into the windows, but they were dimmed so as to not entice minors. That was when she saw the door open and Dyana came out, her hands absolutely overloaded with prize tickets. Rhea was actually kind of speechless.
    “U-uhm… did you have a good time?” Rhea asked.
    “The best,” Dyana said with a slightly dazed look on her face. “God, I feel like I could have spent all day in there…”
    “You spent a decent amount of time in there, yes,” Rhea said with mild annoyance. “But that doesn’t really matter, you got enough tickets for our next item.”
    Rhea guided her to the smaller building next door and they went on in. There was a machine in the corner and a person standing at a desk behind a glass barrier. “Alright, feed your tickets into this machine.”
    Dyana did as told. The total was 1,024 tickets. “Oh my goodness,” Rhea said, putting a hand to her forehead. “E-even on a good day I can’t win that much! What did you do?”
    “I played the Ducklett game over and over again,” Dyana said. “It’s not like you can lose that game. It was very easy.”
    Rhea blinked. She always tried for Goomy Gacha or Snubbull Snatcher. She never even considered the duck one. “I see. I’ll keep that in mind.”
    She pressed the button and the machine spat out a ticket. Rhea took the ticket to the counter and handed it to the worker. “Enigma berry, please.”
    “Y-you can get enigma berries here in exchange?!” Dyana asked with wide eyes. “W-why did I never know this?”
    “It’s okay, Dyana. All you knew was Polluted Falls before you came to Tall Trees. You couldn’t or wouldn’t have known. But yes, this is a way to get rare items, too,” Rhea said. Dyana shifted slightly. Rhea didn’t shame her again for stealing items, and instead shared slight compassion. Dyana stared at Rhea for a bit before finally turning her eyes to the enigma berry the person was giving them.
    “You still have 24 tickets left. Do you want to spend them?” they asked.
    “Ah… yeah. Two lollipops, please,” Dyana said, pointing to the colorful candies on display. The worker handed them the lollipops and out they went. Dyana unwrapped the candy and stuck it in her mouth. She looked at Rhea and blushed slightly, offering her the other lollipop.
    “For me?” Rhea asked. “Thank you…” she said. She took the lollipop and unwrapped it, popping it into her mouth as well. “I’m not usually one for sweets, but this one’s special since it’s from you, Tiny Dancer.”
    Dyana blushed a bit and smiled. It was the first time she was ever able to give anybody a gift, and it felt great to do so. Far better than taking things from others. She sighed, catching Rhea’s attention. “What’s wrong?”
    “I… really regret taking those items. I mean, I love how I look now, but… I wish I knew about these other ways. O-or, maybe I could have just tried to talk to someone on Tall Trees before going crazy like I did, o-or…”
    “Dyana,” Rhea said, stopping her and taking hold of her shoulder. “I… I’m sorry I kept badgering you about how you stole the items. Guilting you about it isn’t making things better, and it doesn’t change what happened. Sure, you probably could have tried to talk to one of us, but… I understand how hurt you were. To be fair, if you hadn’t stolen those items, I never would have met such a strong and wonderful young lady, “ she said with a wink.
    Dyana blushed and looked down at her feet. “Y-you really think that about me?”
    “Of course. You’ve given me a fair share of surprises today. You’re far more than what I thought of you initially,” she said. “So, forgive yourself for what happened, alright?”
    Dyana nodded slightly. “Alright.”
    Rhea smiled and looked off towards the rest of the town square. “We still have one last thing to do, and then we can call it a night. You down?”
    Dyana perks back up slightly. “Yeah.”

    “Here, Troy, I brought you a cornstalk. It was like five dollars at the nearest Home Depot. Why didn’t you just get it yourself?” Dyana said, handing the man the stalk of corn.
    He looked at her with wide eyes. “W-what’s a Home Depot?”
    Dyana’s eyebrows raised and she looked to Rhea. Rhea could only shake her head and shrug. Dyana sighed and just held out her hand for the crystallized alloy.
    Dyana and Rhea walked away from Trader Troy’s covered wagon one crystallized alloy richer. “I can’t believe all he wanted in return was a cornstalk. It was so easy to obtain!”
    “Exactly,” Rhea responded and nodded her head. “It is quite easy to get these items, but only if you know all the tricks.”
    “What are you going to do with them?” Dyana asked. Certainly Rhea was already heavily traited and had no use for these items.
    “I’m just going to give them to Abraham. He takes care of the trait items. If someone officially wants to use one of the items, they go to him and he advises them from there,” Rhea said.
    “I-I see,” Dyana said. “So that’s why you were giving those to him.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” Rhea said. “And now we can head on home.” She looked to the setting sun, about to dip below the hills. “All of that took all day, which seems about right. Sometimes getting them takes longer, so I’m glad we were luckier today.”
    “Yeah…” Dyana said. They were following a dirt road to the ranch house, and as they progressed, Dyana was feeling more and more sad about having to part from Rhea. How did sleeping quarters even work at Tall Trees? Where was Dyana going to go? Back to her hospital room…?
    “Is something on your mind?” Rhea asked.
    Dyana blushed. Jeez, could she read minds or something? “A-ah, well…” she said, trying to grasp reasons for them to hang out longer. Then an idea clicked in her mind. “Y-you never taught me how to dance today!”
    “O-oh?” Rhea said, straightening up. “I… I guess you’re right! I didn’t. I suppose I could give you a lesson when we get closer to the ranch. I’m kinda iffy about dancing out here when it’s this close to nighttime. Is that okay with you?”
    “Y-yeah,” Dyana said, smiling and relieved. So once they got onto the cusp of the ranch and were surrounded by glowing mushrooms and fireflies, Dyana turned to her expectantly with a smile on her face.
    “You seem excited,” Rhea smiles. “So, is there a specific style you like?”
    “T-tango,” Dyana said. She fondly remembered dancing with Carmen, but also remembered how badly it ended and the memory turned painful. She pushed the memory out of her mind and brought herself back to the present.
    “Tango, eh? That’s a fun one,” Rhea said, stretching out her arms and legs. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her music library. “This is a good one!”
    The familiar beat and style echoed out the phone’s speakers as Rhea placed the phone on the ground. She placed one hand on Dyana’s hip and took Dyana’s paw in the other. Dyana blushed at the physical touch, but she had to focus. The song had a fast tempo, and so Dyana would have to follow Rhea’s lead as quickly as possible. It had been some time since she had practiced dancing, and so she had tripped over her feet a few times.
    “Woops, sorry,” she said to Rhea.
    “You’re doing pretty well, all things considered,” Rhea said with a smile. “I haven’t really given you any verbal pointers this time. Do you want any?”
    “Do I need any?” Dyana asked.
    “Just lean towards me, and not backwards,” Rhea said. Dyana did as such, and she felt more on balance. It was good advice. Dyana couldn’t help but smile as she grew more comfortable and confident with dancing. Dyana had an idea to pull Rhea close to her, and then dipped her so Dyana was holding her up but Rhea was being held in her arms.
    Rhea couldn’t help but laugh. “Smooth move, Tiny Dancer,” she said.
    Dyana chuckled. She was growing more fond of the nickname as time went on, especially coming from Rhea. Speaking of whom… Dyana was holding the position and staring into Rhea’s eyes. Rhea was staring back with an expression that Dyana couldn’t quite interpret. Dyana was blushing madly. That was when she bent down and pressed her lips to Rhea’s. Rhea did not protest, nor did she move away. In fact, she leaned into it. It was Dyana’s first kiss.
    Dyana pulled away, locking eyes with Rhea again. She helped her stand back up and remained holding her hands. “I… I’m sorry, I probably should have asked first before I did that…”
    “That’s okay,” Rhea said in a tone that Dyana had never heard her use. She was looking at Dyana so softly, and looked like she wanted to say something but was seemingly mesmerized or entranced.
    “This is probably very sudden, but… I have pretty strong feelings for you. Heh, obviously,” Dyana said with a blush. “Do you wanna… try dating?”
    “Yeah…” Rhea said dreamily. Dyana pulled her into a hug and they stayed like that for a while. Dyana gently rubbed Rhea’s back and they both rocked slightly.
    “Are you doing okay?” she asked softly in Rhea’s ear. “You kind of seem out of it, or something…”
    “I-I’m sorry,” Rhea said back. “It’s just… Long ago I had someone as a mate who I thought would be with me forever, but… he cheated on me and left me for another girl. I… I thought I was going to swear off love ever again. B-but it feels so… right with you. I’m still so scared...”
    Dyana pulls away and looks Rhea in the eyes. She sees now that she’s crying. Dyana’s chest hurt upon seeing her like this. She wiped away her tears and placed her hand on her cheek. “Rhea… it’ll be okay. I… I’m not too sure how to do this, but… I know there are therapists here, right? I know I’m not perfect, I still have baggage, and I don’t want to hurt you, either. I’ll get help, and we can move slowly. And… tell me about your feelings. I’ll be sure to tell you mine…”
    Rhea smiles and looks down. “Where’d you get all that wisdom from, huh?”
    Dyana smiles back. “I think I have been hoping to say something like this the whole time. I think evolving the way I did really helped, even if it was under iffy circumstances. But anyway, We’ll figure it out together, alright?”
    Rhea nodded. “Alright.”

    The sun shone brightly on Starwood Acres and a few pokemon casually wandered around the serene fields and surrounding forest. Carmen skipped through the fields to meet up with her mate.
    The white serpent-like pokemon was near the edge of the forest, composedly smoothing out her fluffy hair. Carmen’s heart skipped a beat upon seeing her. “Elizabeth!” she called out and skipped a touch faster.
    The mutant hybrid perked up and smiled upon seeing her mate skipping over to her. “Carmen,” she said lovingly. They embraced and smooched each other on the cheek.
    “What did you want to do today?” Carmen asked, her hand playing with Elizabeth’s long soft hair.
    “I wasn’t sure. I was going to ask you. You’re the one who comes up with such great ideas,” she said with a chuckle.
    Carmen blushed. “Do I?”
    Their conversation was stopped short when Elizabeth heard footsteps behind her. Carmen did as well and instinctively put herself in front of Elizabeth. An unfamiliar tall figure emerged from the forest, and Carmen tensed up as she prepared herself to fight if needed.
    “Carmen! How convenient that you’re right here,” the figure said with a smile. They looked mage-like, with a hood, wings, and ghostly trails from their head and feet.
    “H-how do you know my name?” Carmen asked. “Identify yourself!”
    The figure’s expression drooped. “Ah… you don’t recognize me. I understand,” she said. “Well… I’m Dyana. I’ve gone through quite a transformation, haven’t I?”
    Carmen’s eyes widened. Dyana?! The small little Riolu she taught how to dance? She had transformed into quite a beautiful woman. Carmen also thought about the last interaction they had, and she felt a sinking feeling in her chest. She had occasionally hoped that Dyana had found happiness after she had run away like she did. Her demeanor seemed much different; much more peaceful, which must have been a good sign, right? But Carmen still felt tense. “D-Dyana, what are you doing here? W-what’s happened since… well, you know…”
    “I… wanted to apologize for my behaviour last time we interacted,” Dyana said. “Uh… I never fully let you know what happened to me, but essentially I didn’t have any sort of home nor any friends before I met you, Carmen. I fell easily for you because you gave me basic kindness. Isn’t that kinda pathetic?” she laughs hollowly. “But… It doesn't excuse my behaviour. I was hoping we could try to be friends again. I live at Tall Trees now, which isn’t too far from here, and I have a mate now. I’m doing better, and I would rather you know me as this, than as… well, you know.”
    Carmen dropped all the tension in her body and exchanged glances with Elizabeth. Carmen informed her of how Dyana ran off after her meltdown, and they had both felt bad about it since, but knew it was out of their control. Elizabeth slithered forward and smiled.
    “We’d love to be friends with you, Dyana,” she said.
    “Yeah! You gotta tell me all about your transformation!” Carmen said.
    Dyana was happy at the friend invite, but rubbed the back of her head thinking of how she got her new body. “I’m not too proud of how it happened, but sure, I would love to catch up,” she said.
    After a couple hours of chatting and storytelling, Dyana announced that she better get back home to the missus. Dyana headed towards Tall Trees, eagerly looking forward to seeing Rhea. As she walked through the mystical forests, she realized that she finally felt whole.
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Prev:
A: Tiny Dancer pt 1

Wow I put this off for a while LOL but here it is! the thrilling conclusion! Is it that thrilling? idk, definitely not as much as the first one but I hope all the fluff gives you the warm fuzzies.

Pinging CallMePoro and @torrential-fiberrain

A: Rhea full shade bg 4600 words = 55 LEVELS ARE YOU KIDDING ME
A: Dyana full shade bg 4600 words = 55 lvls
learned shadow ball and shadow claw
A: Taylor 700 words = 7 lvl

Pkmn-Adv: Carmen. 500 words = 5 lvl
Pkmn-Adv: Elizabeth. 500 words = 5 lvl

Description

    The air was tense as the Pheromosa hybrid stood to the side of Dyana's bed. Dyana herself was still injured and unable to move.
    "I'm gonna make you my apprentice. I'm gonna teach you how to battle and dance," Rhea had said.
    Dyana looked at her with furrowed brows and an open mouth. "W-what?" She asked. "Why?"
    "Well, happy pokemon don't just steal rare items for no reason, and they also don't seek out violence for no reason. So I have reason to assume that you're unhappy."
    Dyana laughed out loud. "Unhappy is an understatement!" She says. "I've been full-blown miserable since the day I was born!"
    "I figured," Rhea said, pulling up a chair. She sat down, leaning her forearms ontop of her thighs. "Why don't you tell me about it?"
    Dyana kept her mouth shut. Rhea still looked at her expectantly. Dyana didn't expect Rhea to give much care to anything of the sort, yet here she was, waiting.
    "You have two options," Rhea said, seeing that Dyana wasn't going to volunteer the information easily. "You're going to tell me what happened and become my apprentice, or you could go to The Cell, which is essentially a prison. What's it gonna be, Tiny Dancer?"
    "Don't you dare start calling me that," Dyana said as she grit her teeth.
    "Hey, I love Elton John," Rhea said with a smirk. "Seriously now, what's your choice?"
    Dyana thought she'd rather eat glass than spill her guts to someone who kicked her ass and thinks that she can just use Dyana for whatever. However… The idea of having a dance teacher again was appealing. There was only so much she could learn on her own. “Alright, fine,” she said, closing her eyes and giving a sigh. And so, she began her story of how she was never picked from her clutch, ran away to Polluted Falls, where nobody seemed to care about her there either, and then stumbled upon Carmen in Starwood Acres. She realized by the end of her story that she was crying. Rhea sat and listened quietly. She did not look at her with pity or disgust, making Dyana feel ever so slightly reassured about sharing her story.
    “I see,” Rhea said with a nod. “I’m very sorry all of that happened to you, but… You are here now, and here you’re safe and valued.”
    “W-what? By whom?” Dyana asked.
    Rhea couldn’t help but laugh as she stood up. “I think you’ll find out soon enough. You’re still injured and you should rest. But when you’ve recovered is when our work will start. I hope you’re ready. Have a good night,” she said and left the room.
    Dyana couldn’t help but scoff. Who the heck does she think she is?! She took her when she was most vulnerable, made her spill her guts, and yet she is being all weird and vague. However, the lull of sleep was pulling Dyana too much for her to analyze it at this time. Her eyelids felt heavy as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

    Dyana stood on the edge of the ranch with her arms crossed. Rhea told her to wait here, so what was the hold up? She couldn’t believe that she agreed to do Rhea’s busy work, or… whatever she was planning on them doing. She almost wished that she just agreed to go to prison. But… At least out here, people were giving her nods of acknowledgement. The pokemon here seemed… kinder.
    “Sorry about the wait,” Rhea said and approached her. Damn, where did she come from? Dyana couldn’t even hear her coming. Rhea was holding something in her hand.
    “What’s that?”
    “It’s our first errand of the day. Are you familiar with Mystery Dungeons?”
    Dyana’s eyebrows furrowed. “Mystery Dungeons?”
    “They’re these odd chaotic places that are kinda hidden in plain sight. They’re dangerous and full of hostile pokemon. You can get really messed up if you go in unprepared. Though it’s not like you can just stumble onto one, some require certain requirements or will only show up if you have a special item.”
    “Why would someone want to go into one?”
    “They can hold exquisite treasures or other rare items. Some say it’s easier to get stronger in them, too. What you can also do, is take on a mission to go into one and say, retrieve an item, and then the client rewards you handsomely, which is what this happens to be,” Rhea said, flashing the piece of paper.
    “W-we’re gonna go into one? For what?”
    “Well, we gotta replace the items you used up, now don’t we, Tiny Dancer?” Rhea said with a wink. Dyana blushed angrily at the use of the nickname and for Rhea bringing up her unsavory crime. “For today, we’re going to do various things to get back the items you used. This happens to be one of them. The client is looking for a battle, and in return they’re going to give us a hamonizing liquid.”
    “Hmm,” Dyana nods. “I see.” She supposed it would be fair that she would have to get the items she used as punishment.
    “Follow me, the entrance to the Mystery Dungeon is actually just outside the ranch,” Rhea said. She entered the path that spanned into the forest off to the east. The stretching tree branches blocked out the sun, leaving only a few rays of light to cast onto the forest floor. Dyana couldn’t help but appreciate the natural beauty that was present here, and was never seen at Polluted Falls. She didn’t even know that trees could exist as these certain colors. Or was this ranch enchanted with magic?
    She shook her head. She couldn’t allow her mind to be filled with pointless fantasies like it was when she was a naive kid. She looked up and saw Rhea had stopped before two trees that were both golden.
    Rhea held up a leaf stone before the two trees and a blinding light illuminated between the trees, forming a portal. It, too, glowed gold. Rhea looked at Dyana and motioned for the two of them to go in. Rhea did so with no hesitation, but Dyana was reluctant. She bit her lip and walked through.
    They emerged from the portal and were met with a beautifully golden forest. The sky was a light gold, the grass was gold, the dirt was gold… Dyana couldn’t help but have her jaw drop. “W-what is this place?”
    “Golden Forest. Fitting, huh?” Rhea said.
    Dyana nodded eagerly. “So where’s this client?”
    “Well, it’s a bit of a ways in, I believe,” Rhea responded, looking back down at the paper in her hand. “Now, as I mentioned, this place is full of dangerous pokemon. You have to be careful.”
    “Yeah, yeah. Let’s go,” Dyana said, walking past Rhea. It was so silent here, save for the occasional chirp of the bird. That is, until she heard thudding footsteps approaching from her right. She turned her head to see a Persian racing towards her. Without flinching, Dyana whipped her fist around and struck the cat on the side of the face. The Persian hissed, but was roughed up enough to head the other way.
    “Hm, that was kind of impressive,” Rhea said.
    “I just did what felt right,” Dyana said. “Aren’t… you supposed to be teaching me about battling?”
    “I was just about to say,” Rhea nodded. “If you want to be a respectable battler, you need to try and end fights as quickly as possible without being excessively brutal. When battling, it also requires 100% of your focus, and therefore can be quite meditative.”
    Dyana blinked. “I mean, I thought you were going to teach me better moves.”
    “If you follow what I said, better moves will come in time, Tiny Dancer,” Rhea said.
    “Ugh!” Dyana exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. “Why do you insist on calling me that?!”
    Rhea chuckled. “Because your reaction is so cute.”
    Dyana blushed fiercely. “Cute?! What are you getting at?!”
    “Oh, I know you think I’m hotter than hell. Don’t even kid yourself,” Rhea said.
    Dyana blushed even further and her eyes widened. “I-I wouldn’t say that…” she mumbled quietly enough for Rhea to not hear. No, “hot” wasn’t a word she would use to describe her attraction to someone. Rhea leaned more towards “beautiful and elegant,” but Dyana wasn’t about to admit this anytime soon.
    In fact, why was she even thinking about this right now?! Why was Rhea even saying the things she was? Didn’t Dyana try to kill her yesterday? What game was she playing?
    Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw a Froslass in a clearing. No, she looked to be more than just a Froslass. She had big wings and was made of all pastel colors. She looked very out of place.
    The froslass chuckled. “Greetings, explorers,” she said. “You wouldn’t happen to be looking for this, would you?”
    She held out her hand, which contained a chunk of ice. A mystical mist surrounded it. “Taylor!” exclaimed Rhea. “You’re a part of this, too?”
    “Sure am,” she said. “I couldn’t resist a good battle. And knowing that you’re my opponent now, I’m sure to have loads of fun!” A harsh echoing sound reverberated from her, striking both Rhea and Dyana, bringing them to their knees. “How’s that Synchronoise for ya, huh?”
     “Damn,” Rhea said and turned to Dyana. “I didn’t know we had to fight someone for the item. Taylor’s really tough.”
    “Tch,” Dyana said. “Not if I have to say anything about it!”
    In a flash she rushed right at Taylor with her fists forward. She was about to unleash a Shadow Claw, but then Taylor emitted an Ominous Wind, striking Dyana and making her fall backwards. Rhea stood above her.
    “Do you see what I mean?” she asked flatly. “Another pointer about battling, because apparently you need it, you shouldn’t just rush into a battle without thinking first.”
    Rhea raised her hand and formed a Moonblast, sending it at Taylor. It cleared through the Ominous Wind with ease and struck Taylor in the chest. She staggered backward but was able to shake the attack off. “Teehee,” she said. “Clever girl.”
    Dyana growled. “I’ll show you clever,” she said, hopping to her feet. She was going to rush at Taylor again when Rhea grabbed her arm.
    “Dyana, what did I just say?” Rhea said sternly. “Also in a battle, you have to keep your wits about you, or you’re gonna get messed up! Just think logically about the battle for just a second. What has happened so far?”
    Dyana scoffed, but did as told. She looked at Taylor, who was just hit, but still quite energetic. She had struck the two of them with only range moves so far, and when Dyana tried to use a melee move, she was able to bat her away no problem. Dyana turned to Rhea.
    “I-I think… I think we should only use range attacks,” Dyana said.
    “Yes!” Rhea said, her face lighting up. “I was thinking that too.”
    Dyana couldn’t help but smirk. “Alright, that settles it then! Why don’t you use your moonblast again? I’m gonna try a new move.”
    Rhea smiled and summoned a large pink ball in her hands. Dyana summoned the same dark energy as before, but channeled it into a ball instead. The two of them executed their moves at the same time and sent them directly at Taylor. Unable to dodge, she took the moves head-on. Taylor flew backward and onto the ground, out for the count. Rhea and Dyana exchanged hopeful glances as they walked closer to her.
    “Ugh…” Taylor said, propping herself up on her elbows. “Welp… I lost, fair and square. You probably want your prizes now, huh?”
    “Well, that is why we took on this mission,” Rhea said with a nod.
    “Not to battle little old me? Awww,” Taylor said and she floated to an upright position. “Well, as promised, here’s your money, and here’s a harmonizing liquid.”
    Dyana’s jaw dropped and she looked to Rhea. This Froslass was just handing out items for free?! What did she have to gain from this? Rhea nudged Dyana forward to accept the items, much to the Lucario hybrid’s surprise. She held out her paws and accepted the items. She looked at the harmonizing liquid closely, seeing the shimmering liquid moving back and forth in the bottle.
    “Thank you, Taylor. You probably wanna get out of here, don’t you? Dyana, want to Teleport us out of here?” Rhea asked.
    “A-ah, Teleport? I haven’t really learned that one yet, but uh…” she closed her eyes, thinking of Tall Trees. She then felt a whooshing sensation and the three of them landed on the grass of the familiar ranch.
    “Impressive,” Rhea said. “Thank you again, Taylor! See you around!”
    The Froslass hybrid waved them goodbye and floated off further into the ranch. Dyana looked down at the items they got again. “W-why did she want to just give these away?”
    “Well, if you can steal items for no reason, then Taylor can give them away for no reason too, right?” Rhea said. Dyana sighed. She supposed Rhea had a point. “Come on, we still have more to do.”
    Rhea stood outside the Echo Arcade and tapped her foot slightly impatiently. She tried to peek into the windows, but they were dimmed so as to not entice minors. That was when she saw the door open and Dyana came out, her hands absolutely overloaded with prize tickets. Rhea was actually kind of speechless.
    “U-uhm… did you have a good time?” Rhea asked.
    “The best,” Dyana said with a slightly dazed look on her face. “God, I feel like I could have spent all day in there…”
    “You spent a decent amount of time in there, yes,” Rhea said with mild annoyance. “But that doesn’t really matter, you got enough tickets for our next item.”
    Rhea guided her to the smaller building next door and they went on in. There was a machine in the corner and a person standing at a desk behind a glass barrier. “Alright, feed your tickets into this machine.”
    Dyana did as told. The total was 1,024 tickets. “Oh my goodness,” Rhea said, putting a hand to her forehead. “E-even on a good day I can’t win that much! What did you do?”
    “I played the Ducklett game over and over again,” Dyana said. “It’s not like you can lose that game. It was very easy.”
    Rhea blinked. She always tried for Goomy Gacha or Snubbull Snatcher. She never even considered the duck one. “I see. I’ll keep that in mind.”
    She pressed the button and the machine spat out a ticket. Rhea took the ticket to the counter and handed it to the worker. “Enigma berry, please.”
    “Y-you can get enigma berries here in exchange?!” Dyana asked with wide eyes. “W-why did I never know this?”
    “It’s okay, Dyana. All you knew was Polluted Falls before you came to Tall Trees. You couldn’t or wouldn’t have known. But yes, this is a way to get rare items, too,” Rhea said. Dyana shifted slightly. Rhea didn’t shame her again for stealing items, and instead shared slight compassion. Dyana stared at Rhea for a bit before finally turning her eyes to the enigma berry the person was giving them.
    “You still have 24 tickets left. Do you want to spend them?” they asked.
    “Ah… yeah. Two lollipops, please,” Dyana said, pointing to the colorful candies on display. The worker handed them the lollipops and out they went. Dyana unwrapped the candy and stuck it in her mouth. She looked at Rhea and blushed slightly, offering her the other lollipop.
    “For me?” Rhea asked. “Thank you…” she said. She took the lollipop and unwrapped it, popping it into her mouth as well. “I’m not usually one for sweets, but this one’s special since it’s from you, Tiny Dancer.”
    Dyana blushed a bit and smiled. It was the first time she was ever able to give anybody a gift, and it felt great to do so. Far better than taking things from others. She sighed, catching Rhea’s attention. “What’s wrong?”
    “I… really regret taking those items. I mean, I love how I look now, but… I wish I knew about these other ways. O-or, maybe I could have just tried to talk to someone on Tall Trees before going crazy like I did, o-or…”
    “Dyana,” Rhea said, stopping her and taking hold of her shoulder. “I… I’m sorry I kept badgering you about how you stole the items. Guilting you about it isn’t making things better, and it doesn’t change what happened. Sure, you probably could have tried to talk to one of us, but… I understand how hurt you were. To be fair, if you hadn’t stolen those items, I never would have met such a strong and wonderful young lady, “ she said with a wink.
    Dyana blushed and looked down at her feet. “Y-you really think that about me?”
    “Of course. You’ve given me a fair share of surprises today. You’re far more than what I thought of you initially,” she said. “So, forgive yourself for what happened, alright?”
    Dyana nodded slightly. “Alright.”
    Rhea smiled and looked off towards the rest of the town square. “We still have one last thing to do, and then we can call it a night. You down?”
    Dyana perks back up slightly. “Yeah.”

    “Here, Troy, I brought you a cornstalk. It was like five dollars at the nearest Home Depot. Why didn’t you just get it yourself?” Dyana said, handing the man the stalk of corn.
    He looked at her with wide eyes. “W-what’s a Home Depot?”
    Dyana’s eyebrows raised and she looked to Rhea. Rhea could only shake her head and shrug. Dyana sighed and just held out her hand for the crystallized alloy.
    Dyana and Rhea walked away from Trader Troy’s covered wagon one crystallized alloy richer. “I can’t believe all he wanted in return was a cornstalk. It was so easy to obtain!”
    “Exactly,” Rhea responded and nodded her head. “It is quite easy to get these items, but only if you know all the tricks.”
    “What are you going to do with them?” Dyana asked. Certainly Rhea was already heavily traited and had no use for these items.
    “I’m just going to give them to Abraham. He takes care of the trait items. If someone officially wants to use one of the items, they go to him and he advises them from there,” Rhea said.
    “I-I see,” Dyana said. “So that’s why you were giving those to him.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” Rhea said. “And now we can head on home.” She looked to the setting sun, about to dip below the hills. “All of that took all day, which seems about right. Sometimes getting them takes longer, so I’m glad we were luckier today.”
    “Yeah…” Dyana said. They were following a dirt road to the ranch house, and as they progressed, Dyana was feeling more and more sad about having to part from Rhea. How did sleeping quarters even work at Tall Trees? Where was Dyana going to go? Back to her hospital room…?
    “Is something on your mind?” Rhea asked.
    Dyana blushed. Jeez, could she read minds or something? “A-ah, well…” she said, trying to grasp reasons for them to hang out longer. Then an idea clicked in her mind. “Y-you never taught me how to dance today!”
    “O-oh?” Rhea said, straightening up. “I… I guess you’re right! I didn’t. I suppose I could give you a lesson when we get closer to the ranch. I’m kinda iffy about dancing out here when it’s this close to nighttime. Is that okay with you?”
    “Y-yeah,” Dyana said, smiling and relieved. So once they got onto the cusp of the ranch and were surrounded by glowing mushrooms and fireflies, Dyana turned to her expectantly with a smile on her face.
    “You seem excited,” Rhea smiles. “So, is there a specific style you like?”
    “T-tango,” Dyana said. She fondly remembered dancing with Carmen, but also remembered how badly it ended and the memory turned painful. She pushed the memory out of her mind and brought herself back to the present.
    “Tango, eh? That’s a fun one,” Rhea said, stretching out her arms and legs. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her music library. “This is a good one!”
    The familiar beat and style echoed out the phone’s speakers as Rhea placed the phone on the ground. She placed one hand on Dyana’s hip and took Dyana’s paw in the other. Dyana blushed at the physical touch, but she had to focus. The song had a fast tempo, and so Dyana would have to follow Rhea’s lead as quickly as possible. It had been some time since she had practiced dancing, and so she had tripped over her feet a few times.
    “Woops, sorry,” she said to Rhea.
    “You’re doing pretty well, all things considered,” Rhea said with a smile. “I haven’t really given you any verbal pointers this time. Do you want any?”
    “Do I need any?” Dyana asked.
    “Just lean towards me, and not backwards,” Rhea said. Dyana did as such, and she felt more on balance. It was good advice. Dyana couldn’t help but smile as she grew more comfortable and confident with dancing. Dyana had an idea to pull Rhea close to her, and then dipped her so Dyana was holding her up but Rhea was being held in her arms.
    Rhea couldn’t help but laugh. “Smooth move, Tiny Dancer,” she said.
    Dyana chuckled. She was growing more fond of the nickname as time went on, especially coming from Rhea. Speaking of whom… Dyana was holding the position and staring into Rhea’s eyes. Rhea was staring back with an expression that Dyana couldn’t quite interpret. Dyana was blushing madly. That was when she bent down and pressed her lips to Rhea’s. Rhea did not protest, nor did she move away. In fact, she leaned into it. It was Dyana’s first kiss.
    Dyana pulled away, locking eyes with Rhea again. She helped her stand back up and remained holding her hands. “I… I’m sorry, I probably should have asked first before I did that…”
    “That’s okay,” Rhea said in a tone that Dyana had never heard her use. She was looking at Dyana so softly, and looked like she wanted to say something but was seemingly mesmerized or entranced.
    “This is probably very sudden, but… I have pretty strong feelings for you. Heh, obviously,” Dyana said with a blush. “Do you wanna… try dating?”
    “Yeah…” Rhea said dreamily. Dyana pulled her into a hug and they stayed like that for a while. Dyana gently rubbed Rhea’s back and they both rocked slightly.
    “Are you doing okay?” she asked softly in Rhea’s ear. “You kind of seem out of it, or something…”
    “I-I’m sorry,” Rhea said back. “It’s just… Long ago I had someone as a mate who I thought would be with me forever, but… he cheated on me and left me for another girl. I… I thought I was going to swear off love ever again. B-but it feels so… right with you. I’m still so scared...”
    Dyana pulls away and looks Rhea in the eyes. She sees now that she’s crying. Dyana’s chest hurt upon seeing her like this. She wiped away her tears and placed her hand on her cheek. “Rhea… it’ll be okay. I… I’m not too sure how to do this, but… I know there are therapists here, right? I know I’m not perfect, I still have baggage, and I don’t want to hurt you, either. I’ll get help, and we can move slowly. And… tell me about your feelings. I’ll be sure to tell you mine…”
    Rhea smiles and looks down. “Where’d you get all that wisdom from, huh?”
    Dyana smiles back. “I think I have been hoping to say something like this the whole time. I think evolving the way I did really helped, even if it was under iffy circumstances. But anyway, We’ll figure it out together, alright?”
    Rhea nodded. “Alright.”

    The sun shone brightly on Starwood Acres and a few pokemon casually wandered around the serene fields and surrounding forest. Carmen skipped through the fields to meet up with her mate.
    The white serpent-like pokemon was near the edge of the forest, composedly smoothing out her fluffy hair. Carmen’s heart skipped a beat upon seeing her. “Elizabeth!” she called out and skipped a touch faster.
    The mutant hybrid perked up and smiled upon seeing her mate skipping over to her. “Carmen,” she said lovingly. They embraced and smooched each other on the cheek.
    “What did you want to do today?” Carmen asked, her hand playing with Elizabeth’s long soft hair.
    “I wasn’t sure. I was going to ask you. You’re the one who comes up with such great ideas,” she said with a chuckle.
    Carmen blushed. “Do I?”
    Their conversation was stopped short when Elizabeth heard footsteps behind her. Carmen did as well and instinctively put herself in front of Elizabeth. An unfamiliar tall figure emerged from the forest, and Carmen tensed up as she prepared herself to fight if needed.
    “Carmen! How convenient that you’re right here,” the figure said with a smile. They looked mage-like, with a hood, wings, and ghostly trails from their head and feet.
    “H-how do you know my name?” Carmen asked. “Identify yourself!”
    The figure’s expression drooped. “Ah… you don’t recognize me. I understand,” she said. “Well… I’m Dyana. I’ve gone through quite a transformation, haven’t I?”
    Carmen’s eyes widened. Dyana?! The small little Riolu she taught how to dance? She had transformed into quite a beautiful woman. Carmen also thought about the last interaction they had, and she felt a sinking feeling in her chest. She had occasionally hoped that Dyana had found happiness after she had run away like she did. Her demeanor seemed much different; much more peaceful, which must have been a good sign, right? But Carmen still felt tense. “D-Dyana, what are you doing here? W-what’s happened since… well, you know…”
    “I… wanted to apologize for my behaviour last time we interacted,” Dyana said. “Uh… I never fully let you know what happened to me, but essentially I didn’t have any sort of home nor any friends before I met you, Carmen. I fell easily for you because you gave me basic kindness. Isn’t that kinda pathetic?” she laughs hollowly. “But… It doesn't excuse my behaviour. I was hoping we could try to be friends again. I live at Tall Trees now, which isn’t too far from here, and I have a mate now. I’m doing better, and I would rather you know me as this, than as… well, you know.”
    Carmen dropped all the tension in her body and exchanged glances with Elizabeth. Carmen informed her of how Dyana ran off after her meltdown, and they had both felt bad about it since, but knew it was out of their control. Elizabeth slithered forward and smiled.
    “We’d love to be friends with you, Dyana,” she said.
    “Yeah! You gotta tell me all about your transformation!” Carmen said.
    Dyana was happy at the friend invite, but rubbed the back of her head thinking of how she got her new body. “I’m not too proud of how it happened, but sure, I would love to catch up,” she said.
    After a couple hours of chatting and storytelling, Dyana announced that she better get back home to the missus. Dyana headed towards Tall Trees, eagerly looking forward to seeing Rhea. As she walked through the mystical forests, she realized that she finally felt whole.
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Prev:
A: Tiny Dancer pt 1

Wow I put this off for a while LOL but here it is! the thrilling conclusion! Is it that thrilling? idk, definitely not as much as the first one but I hope all the fluff gives you the warm fuzzies.

Pinging CallMePoro and @torrential-fiberrain

A: Rhea full shade bg 4600 words = 55 LEVELS ARE YOU KIDDING ME
A: Dyana full shade bg 4600 words = 55 lvls
learned shadow ball and shadow claw
A: Taylor 700 words = 7 lvl

Pkmn-Adv: Carmen. 500 words = 5 lvl
Pkmn-Adv: Elizabeth. 500 words = 5 lvl