CHAPTER 214

I'd grown used to waking up early in the mornings, and it had never been a problem for Cece with how scheduled her life used to be back with her so-called father. Mira, however? She was basically a shambling zombie.

"Blergh. I feel like I could just fall over right now."

"Well straighten up, because we're going in the belly of the beast," Cecilia chided. "Take this seriously. It's horrible news we're delivering."

The pink-haired teen nodded. "You're right. Sorry."

I felt a strong gust of wind and shivered as we reached the gates of the Antonovichs' villa. And it was a villa, with multiple buildings each bigger than the ones they offered to rent out. The sheer amount of wealth on display would have made Chase pop a blood vessel, but he wasn't coming. Instead, he'd decided to borrow Alakazam to train just like I had. Seeing how convenient having a Teleporter around was did make me envious, but these large distances quickly tired Alakazam out, so there was a limit to how what he could do. Since Mira hoped to Teleport back to Solaceon after battling Crasher Wake to go through Celestic to get to Snowpoint, she was content enough to build up Alakazam and Gardevoir's stamina.

Gardevoir, however, wanted nothing to do with Chase and refused to help him.

This time, the guards confirmed our appointment and let us through the massive gates, and two of them decided to accompany us to the main mansion. The Antonovichs actually had a parking lot with… golf carts? They probably drove around the property in these whenever they wanted to get somewhere. We walked around a multi-level fountain that was made of the same white stone everything was made out of and we entered the building.

This was like stepping inside of Pauline's Hearthome mansion all over again. There was so much wealth accumulated in this place that just being here made me nervous in case I broke something. I saw a glimpse of a maid carrying a basket upstairs, but that wasn't where we were headed. We passed a crystal vase that was probably more expensive than all the money I'd ever made and we were led toward a living room. A woman in a suit dipped her head slightly and greeted us.

"Ms. Obel, Pastel and Compton. My name is Nadia, and I welcome you to the Antonovichs' home. Feel free to take a seat on one of the couches, the Young Master will be with you shortly. May I offer you any refreshments?"

Cece spared us a look, and we just awkwardly nodded.

"Water's fine," she said.

In barely a minute, we were handed ice-cold water, and we began our wait for Sergei. Nadia left the room with the guards, although I could still see them at the end of the hall. They probably just wanted to give us some privacy. I nervously sipped on my water we waited in silence. How would I even say this? Would it be better to rip the band-aid off, or ease into it? I was starting to think it wholly depended on who Sergei was as a person.

Minutes passed, and he was nowhere to be seen.

"Did they forget about us?" Mira asked. "It's been fifteen— twenty minutes. We woke up early for this."

"Relax," Cecilia said. "If he isn't here in ten more minutes, I'll say something. It's no use being impatient."

"I'm not impatient, I just think it's disrespectful to make an appointment and be late. Especially when it's a familial matter."

I blinked as I saw a scrawny, short teen off in the distance. "You won't have to wait for long. He's here," I whispered.

We all stood up and waited for Sergei Antonovich to make his entrance.

He was flanked by two maids and also wore a suit that had been perfectly tailored for him. What did catch my eye was the vibrant green apple in his hands that he carried like it was made out of glass. Every step he made was deliberate and he held his head high, but I saw the anxiety buried within. A little twitch of his head when he laid his eyes on us and the subsequent straightening of his back to appear a little taller. Self-confidence issues, maybe? He lived a pretty sheltered life and almost never had any visitors.

But regardless, I wasn't here to pick him apart. It was just practice.

"Good morning, Mr. Antonovich," I smiled with an outstretched hand. He hesitated for a few seconds and took it before moving on to Cece and Mira. "I'm thankful you could make it on such short notice."

My eyes drifted to the apple in his hands, and I confirmed that my senses weren't fooling me. That was a Pokemon. It was hiding within the fruit, and there was a hint of a tail behind the apple. I knew the species was Galarian, but I was blanking on the name.

"Yes. And as you know, I am a very busy man, so let us get on with it. Willa, get me some juice," he demanded as he sat. "No ice. If there's ice I'll send it back."

The poor woman silently slipped away, leaving only one maid left with us. Sergei stared at Cece and then coughed into a fist.

"Nadia told me that you had news of my foolish brother. What is up with him now? If you want us to pay for any damages he caused, I'll have to let you know that he is no longer associated with the Grand Hotel Lake— Hotel Grand Lake!" Sergei stammered.

I turned toward Mira, and then Cecilia. No one had planned who would speak first, but I had been the one to know what truly happened to him. That meant that it was my responsibility to—

"Your brother Luca Antonovich was in Solaceon during the tournament organized by BattleZone was running," Cecilia started.

The young boy hesitantly nodded. "I heard of that, yes. Mother and Father spoke of him on many occasions. What is… what is the problem?"

"You know what happened during the Darkest Day?" Mira asked. "A rogue dark type submerged the entire town in darkness. That meant that the town was… bad news."

She nudged her head toward me and I took a deep breath.

"Luca was an information broker during the tournament, and he helped us uncover the mystery. I can't really go into detail, but he's— he was crucial in exposing the Hunter family and saving the city. The problem is, he got captured. And after that, he… he died, along with his Cutiefly. I'm sorry."

Sergei let out a nervous chuckle. "No. There is no way he would die, he's— he wouldn't. He didn't even own any Pokemon when he left. This wasn't him."

"They took him, and they made his passing painful. We couldn't save him. I'm sorry," I said again with my head hung low. There were no tears. I hadn't known him long enough for that, but there was a heavy sense of guilt and shame. It was hard not to feel anything when the victim's little brother was sitting right here.

Sergei clenched a fist as the maid brought his juice back.

"Not now!" He screamed.

"But you said—"

He knocked the glass out of her hands, and it shattered into a hundred pieces on the floor and sprayed the white couches. The Pokemon inside of the apple yowled and retreated her tail inside the fruit.

"My apologies, Young Master," the maid said. "We'll clean this up right away."

"We aren't lying," Mira said. "I'm sorry. I know how difficult it is to lose someone close to you."

"We weren't— aren't close! I haven't seen my stupid brother in two years. He never calls and never comes back home because Father and Mother wouldn't let him. Do you have a way of veri—verifying this claim?"

"We have text messages with him and we were seen together in Solaceon on multiple occasions," I said. "But other than that, no. That's all we had to say. We want you to know that he was a good guy."

If only his curiosity hadn't gotten the best of him, I thought with a hidden wince.

"You say you didn't speak?" Cecilia asked.

"We didn't. I was forbidden from calling."

"Do you want to know more about him?" Mira asked. "What he was like? If it's been two years, I have no doubt he changed."

"Enough. He isn't dead. If he was, Mother and Father would have told me. I'm done with this farce. Guards, show them out!"

There was nothing else we could do. We'd tried everything and he wasn't budging, so we didn't try to stay around any longer. The guards silently escorted us to the gate and I heard a loud clang as they closed.

"He's in denial," Mira immediately said. "It happened to me too. The problem here is that since he has no way of contacting Luca, he'll be in denial forever, thinking that his brother is off somewhere traveling. Talk about shitty parents— what is it with rich people?"

"Josephine is fine," I said. "We tried everything. I don't think we'll get a second meeting, so we might as well enjoy our last day here, I guess."

That left a terrible taste in my mouth, but what else could we do?

"This is wrong," Mira bit her lip. "He's going to live his entire life following false information."

"He's burying his head in the sand," Cece added.

"He's being lied to," I said.

And yet, nothing could be done.

—

I spent the next hour and a half training Angel, Honey, and Sweetheart on route 214 with Gardevoir's help, since I had promised a break for Princess and Sunshine, and then I decided it was time to get Sweetheart's metaphorical feet wet. She'd wanted this for a long time and it would be good to cheer myself up. The lake at the resort's center was even larger from up close, and thankfully for me, it was completely empty aside from a few people hanging about on the quay. I circled the shores of the lake until I reached the most isolated spot I could find and released the family there.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Sweetie, listen carefully," I said. "You're going to swim, but—"

The rock type cheered, but she lowered her voice when I covered my ears and stared. After a short apology, I continued.

"But only close to the shore. You can use your pressurized gas to propel yourself. If I ever think you're too far, I'll recall you in your Pokeball. Got it?"

She agreed with a grunt.

"Buddy, you go out there too. She's too heavy for you to drag her out, but you can still monitor her and speak to her as you follow. The rest of us will just stay here and watch."

Sunshine patted Sweetheart on the back and told her to get going, and the others also cheered her on. Angel was worried sick, but he tried his best not to let it show, which wasn't very effective. Pupitar slowly crawled toward the water's edge until the cold liquid touched her shell. The growing body inside her cocoon rattled at the touch, but she sunk deeper and deeper.

Bubbles quickly climbed to the water's surface and then the jet sprayed it behind her. A quickly erected psychic barrier from Princess protected all of us from the cold water. Sweetheart was skidding across the water with a jubilant scream, not unlike the jet skis that were parked at the quay. Buddy struggled to go as fast as she was, but Water Sport helped him barely keep up. I heard a hiss as she expelled more gas from her chambers.

When I yelled, she abruptly turned one hundred and eighty degrees and started flying back right at us. I'd never seen her eyes this excited, and I couldn't help but smile too, even if I couldn't help but worry about the worst-case scenario. Ever since she'd been a Larvitar in Hearthome, she had wanted this, and she was finally living it. She spent the next two minutes going across the water as fast as she could, but she ran out of pressurized air soon enough and had to come back.

Sweetheart slowly came to a stop on the shores of the lake, proving how much she had improved at controlling her movement. The first words out of her mouth was her asking if we'd all seen her. Water dripped down her shell and I grabbed five towels to wrap her up with while she bragged to Honey about her navigation skills. Arceus, I hoped we'd find a way to get her to swim after she'd evolved.

"That was great," I smiled. "You went so quickly too! People at the quay were looking at you, you know?"

She huffed, saying that she knew they must have been impressed.

"If you want, we can stay here a little longer to let you recharge, and you can have another go? We don't have anything else to do today."

Needless to say, she agreed immediately.

"Wait, where did Buddy go?"

While I hadn't been looking, he'd slipped back into the water and claimed it as his turf.

"Ok, you know what, I'm going to swing back home and grab you guys lunch. Sunshine, since Buddy's gone, you're on Dad duty—"

The dragon snorted.

"Don't laugh, I'm serious. Make sure Sweetheart doesn't go in while I'm gone, and don't let Princess hurt anyone that looks at her wrong. Angel, you come with me."

Togetic let out an exaggerated gasp of betrayal at my words. She was obviously angry I was placing her under Sunshine's watch, but she also disliked that I hadn't told him anything about Honey.

"Your brother knows how to behave," I said.

Princess grumbled and plopped herself on the ground.

I rubbed her cheek and smiled. We ended up staying here the rest of the afternoon.

—

Night had come to the Hotel Grand Lake, and with it, our final hours in the resort. Tomorrow, we would be back on the road and we'd hopefully get to Sunyshore within two to three days. What we were currently doing, however, was waiting for midnight.

Cecilia turned sixteen in exactly four hours.

"How the— see, how the fuck did you do that? That trick with the exploding spores?" Chase asked. "I want Abomasnow to do the same."

He squinted and snatched my phone out of my hands to rewind the video. He was currently watching my Gym Battle with Maylene, although he was completely uninterested in the Gym Leader herself. He still held a grudge against her since she hadn't battled him, and I didn't want to tell him it was for the best.

"What do you mean, trick?" I frowned. "It's not a trick if I just have Angel expunge them from his body. Does your Abomasnow not do it like that?"

"No, his spores attack are smaller than this. Training through repetition doesn't really work, the mileage we get out of it is basically non-existent."

"Do you have a video of him using the move? Maybe I can help."

"They must have recorded his Gym Battle," Mira yelled from afar as she opened the fridge. "He's obsessed with creating a weird spore attack powerful enough to swarm the entire arena. He told me when we were shopping yesterday— aw man, there's no apple juice? That was my apple juice! Who drank it?!"

"The entire arena?" Cece scoffed. She was sitting opposite of me with her legs crossed. "That's a lofty goal."

"Isn't that just a spore bomb, but big?" I frowned. "Not exactly unique. Denzel already uses it."

"Who drank my apple juice?!"

"I drank your fucking apple juice!" Chase snapped. "You didn't say it was yours."

"Chasey…"

"I don't care, I was thirsty and you never said it was yours. Anyway, I don't want to make a spore bomb. I was thinking that with Blizzard, we could spread them all over the arena. Mix cold, paralysis, poison, sleep and hail all in one. Keep the Blizzard low-powered too so he can keep it going forever."

"Ohh, that is devious," I grinned.

"Yeah, that's the point. But for that, we have to improve with spore moves."

He showed me a video of his battle. It hadn't really been close, and even Abomasnow had destroyed the competition despite having the type disadvantage.

"I'm not seeing anything," I shrugged. "I mean, yeah, it's a weak attack, but—"

"Lemme see," Mira said as she grabbed the phone. "Hm… yeah, he's using the move wrong. Hold on… uh, he's made of mostly bark, right, so getting the spores out there is difficult. Have him spit 'em out. It'll be easier that way."

She threw the phone back on his lap and sat next to him.

"You know, that does seem obvious now that you say it," Cecilia said. "Grace, come here."

She tapped her thigh with a coy smile, but just as I was about to follow suit, there was a knock on the door.

"Someone hire room service? I did want to order a pizza," Mira said.

"I'll go," Chase shot up. He strode up to the door followed closely by Zangoose and Lucario and looked through the peephole. "Some blond kid's at the door. He looks like someone stole his lunch."

I stared into Cecilia's eyes, and then Mira's.

"Sergei," I said. "Open the door."

Gone was Sergei's perfectly tailored-suit and haughty pose. Instead, his clothes looked disheveled and his eyes were red and swollen. He still carried that apple in his hand that Cece had identified as an Applin for me. Not only that, but she was a different color than the norm like Emilia's Metang. Apparently her species was a popular dragon type that rich people bought their children because of how safe it was compared to the norm. She certainly looked a lot more peaceful than Deino. We recalled our Pokemon so he wouldn't get scared and we sat him down on the couch.

"What happened?" I asked. "Chase, shut up."

"I didn't say anything!"

"You were going to. Sergei, what happened? Do you want anything? Water?"

"It's my parents. They told me he was d—dead. That they didn't think it would be relevant information to give me."

I blinked. "So they did know."

And it made sense, considering they apparently had spies tracking him all the way to Solaceon. They hadn't seen his death, but his disappearance left very little room to theorize. People didn't just vanish off the face of the earth— unless they had a specialized team to do it like Abel. All Luca had owned was two Cutiefly.

But what kind of parents would hide this information? They hadn't made any public statement, nor did it look like they cared. We'd come here with the expectation that Luca's parents loved him.

That didn't look to be the case.

"I don't know what to do. I ran away and Nadia told me where you were staying. She said she'd distract my parents for a bit but the guards are already looking for me."

There was no easy answer to his dilemma. He wasn't fifteen yet, so he was still a child in the eyes of the law and he would get sent back to his parents as soon as he was caught if he ran away from the resort. Taking him was out of the question, but surely there was something we could do. Mira grabbed the television remote and turned it off.

Chase spoke up. "Run away—"

"No. He can't run," Cecilia shook her head. "Not until he turns fifteen. And does he even want to?"

"That's not the face of someone ready to run," Mira said.

"You don't know anything about me!" Sergei lashed out. "I can— I have Applin. It can help me. Pokemon fight things! It'll protect me from the wild!"

My eye twitched at that pronoun, but I let it pass. He was in no state to be lectured about that, but the fact that he spoke of his Pokemon like an object didn't do him any favors.

"Cece? You're the most knowledgeable with this," I said.

My girlfriend sighed and brought her hand to her mouth as she thought. After a minute, she spoke.

"Sergei. Are you happy here?"

The boy suddenly looked so small and innocent. His eyes widened slightly and he gave us a half-hearted nod.

"Is that the truth?" She asked again.

"I'm tired here. I have lessons every day. I can't go out of the house without approval from my parents and I can't make friends with the guests."

"And your parents. Do they make time for you?"

"We eat together every night when they aren't away on business."

"Do they ask you about how you're doing and actually speak to you, or do they pressure you and demand to know your 'progress' on whatever lessons you had that day."

We didn't need his answer. His expression was enough to know what his life was like. Cecilia saw herself mirrored in him.

"Look, Sergei. Right now, there isn't much you can do. You're young, so the authorities will take your parents' side, and that's not even talking about the whiplash you'd get from living like this to traveling the routes and sleeping in Centers."

"So what, then?"

"Bide your time. Plan your escape and if you want to, run away when you're ready. The first step is always the hardest, but you'll have to be strong. Having friends and support helps a lot with that. Do you have someone you can trust unconditionally?"

"Nadia," he instantly answered.

"Very good. Get her to help you, and when the time comes, you strike. You run away and watch their reaction as fifteen years of investment falls down the drain. Because that's what you are to them, Sergei. An investment."

"And make them pay when you're strong enough," I added.

"Well, let's hold off on that," Mira chuckled.

"You could also take a chance and run away now," Chase shrugged. "Fuck it, why not? I'd rather risk getting caught than live a single day like this. Hell, you could even get this Nadia to help you out."

"Thinking long-term is smarter. That way, he's ready," Cece said as she shook her head.

"Long term doesn't sound so good when he's eating shit every day."

"I get it," Sergei said. "Running away now was all a pipe dream anyway. It's not like I could ask you to help me escape. Even if you made it past the guards, you'd be charged for kidnapping and my parents would drown you in lawyers until you never saw the light of day again."

"I'm sorry," I said. "But if you want, you can stay a little while."

He sniffled. "I'd like that. You said that you could tell me about Luca?"

"We can!" I smiled. "And you can tell us about how he was before too."

Sergei began to tell us about his brother. That he'd been a rebel from a young age and was the heir until he burned down a building for attention. From the way Sergei had spoken about his parents, I understood why. It was Luca's way of getting his parents to look at him, even if he got disowned and kicked out right afterward. It was only when he started telling us that they became estranged after his parents filled his head with bad things that we pivoted to good stories only.

Luca was gone, but he would not be forgotten.

—

Sergei had left at eleven after we saw flashlights in the distance. It wouldn't be good for the guards to find him in our home, and he hadn't wanted to get us in trouble. In the end, he'd decided to prepare for his journey. He'd pitch the idea to Nadia and she would teach him how to survive the wilds and how to train his little Applin— that I had also given him advice on. It would take years of grueling work, but he was determined to see it through.

The mood had largely recovered from when he'd first arrived, and we counted the minutes until midnight. Cecilia anxiously watched her phone every few seconds and Mira couldn't help but tease her for it. Hell, she even screamed happy birthday as a joke when there were twenty minutes left, and she fell for it.

But when midnight came, I was the first one to speak.

"Happy birthday," I said.

It was a quiet declaration, and Chase and Mira quickly followed suit. Cecilia teared up, and I wrapped her in a tight hug. This was her first birthday with friends. All of her others, she'd either spent with her parents— soulless husks that didn't even love her. They'd take her to parties where she knew nobody and was alone the entire night.

"So, the sweet sixteen! How does it feel?" Mira asked as she leaned forward.

"I'm going to be upfront, I don't have a gift for you yet," Chase shrugged. "It's the thought that counts though, right?"

"I thought we were waiting until the joint party thing to do gifts?" Mira said.

I instinctively stared at my bag. "Well, it depends. Cece's the birthday girl, so if she wants…"

"We can wait," she smiled. "I'm… content."

"I guess I'll wait to give mine, then," Mira said.

Cecilia laughed again, as if she couldn't help it and thanked us each with a hug. With me, though, she leaned down and kissed me.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you too."

"Don't jump at each other's bones while we're here," Mira teased.

"Let's get the Pokemon in here too!" I exclaimed.

A year ago, she'd been like Sergei. Now, she was free.

Hopefully, he'd manage the same one day.

Morning came soon after, and we were on our way to Sunyshore again.