Later on, Lusamine had bid them all goodnight. She had gently rebuffed Sun's innocent request for 'more', saying she shouldn't while Lillie and Gladion were around. Then Sun had suggested they join in.
Lusamine was taken by the idea, but stuck to her instinct, which was to wait on it. Starve Sun, just a little, just enough to where he might just beg in front of his brother and sister. And she wanted him.
She wanted to lay her perfect boy down in silk sheets, tie his hands above his head and kiss his neck, his chest, the inside of his thighs just to hear him breathe requests for more. It wasn't something to be shared with the other two, how much of him belonged to her. His entirety. Every inch of him, every aspect, was something she owned.
Lillie had shown something of promise. Maybe she'd let Lillie watch. But Lillie couldn't have him, no, his body was hers. Lusamine had to find the right time to take him again.
The next morning was not the opportunity. The family sat around the table in the main room, eating breakfast delivered from the Foundation kitchens. There was an awkward silence.
Sun had a wide smile, Lusamine and Lillie's expressions were neutral and Gladion had his customary scowl. Sun spoke through the choking quiet.
"What are we doing today, mother?"
Gladion flinched at Sun calling Lusamine 'mother.' Lusamine noticed, and made a mental note to scold her biological son for it later. "I'm going to be busy today, Sun. So you can do as you please."
"Mother-" he began but silenced himself. He turned a light shade of red, and Lusamine knew the reasoning behind him doing so. Lillie spoke up next.
"Mother, before you go to work, may I speak to you?" Gladion glanced at her, one eyebrow arched, the other lowered in a nearly comical expression. Lillie met her mother's attentive gaze evenly.
"Yes, Lillie, you may." Lillie nodded in appreciation.
"Thank you, mother."
Sun seemed a little confused by her request too, but didn't comment. He continued to munch on his toast, louder than Lusamine may have usually allowed. Everyone was staring at him, and he remained unaware of the attention he was drawing.
"Mother, you're using Sun wrong."
"What?" Lusamine hissed. "You don't-"
"I know him better than you and I know you're wasting him. He might seem stupid but he's not. If you just ask him to do something regarding Pokémon, give him a problem, he'll solve it." Lillie was determined to let Sun shine as more than just her mother's toy.
"It took me years of research to find a way to Ultra Space. Are you suggesting that he can do better?" Lusamine wasn't interested in using Sun as anything more than her pet. He may be smart, but intelligence was a burden on her. What if he worked out that he wasn't her son?
"I didn't mention Ultra Space but- but- I'm pretty sure he could." Lillie said it without a moment of pause. She was confident in Sun's ability. She didn't know why she was taunting Lusamine into potentially causing the doom they'd tried so hard to avert, feeling something stirring at the idea of Ultra Space being opened again. She put it down to fear.
Lusamine smirked. "I see you think very highly of him."
"Just try it." Lillie challenged her. "See what he can do."
"Why are you so adamant about this?" Lusamine had to admit, her curiosity was piqued at Lillie's comments.
"I don't want him to go to waste." Lillie had Sun's best interests in mind. Giving him more things to do besides obsess over Lusamine could only be good for him.
Lusamine looked for a trick, some sort of hidden 'gotcha' Lillie could pull as a result of letting Sun work with the Foundation - but found none. She still wasn't convinced by Lillie's words though. There had to be some kind of twist Lillie was manipulating her into making possible.
"I'll see. For now though, he can do what he wants." Lusamine didn't sound aggravated or disdainful, merely brushing aside Lillie's comments. "Now, I have business to attend to." Lusamine retreated into her office, and Lillie didn't follow. Instead, she headed to Sun's room. If her mother wouldn't help nurture Sun's potential - if it still existed - she would.
Sun was fast asleep. They'd just woken up an hour ago for breakfast, and he was already napping. It wasn't like Sun to sleep during the day. Lillie didn't want to wake him. She flashed back to a similar time on their journey.
Sun was part way through the Water-type trial on Akala island, and there was a fierce tropical storm pounding down on Brooklet Hill. Sun, Lillie and Hau had pitched the tent they shared, but the cold was biting even through the canvas surface. Hau and Sun went outside into the storm to throw their large waterproof coats over the tent, making it that little bit warmer, but there was still a strong chill.
They'd bundled up in sleeping bags, all still fully dressed - but they still shivered. Sun had said something about how Piplup gathered together for refuge from the cold. So they moved all the sleeping bags together and shared their body heat, and things became... pleasant. With Sun and Hau on either side of her, Lillie could feel at peace.
She had closed her eyes, listened to the raging storm, the rough tent around them a new home. The patterns of the rain. The beauty of storms in Alola. It was a wonderful memory.
She was unconsciously reaching out to touch Sun. Catching herself doing it, Lillie brought her outstretched arm back to her side. She crossed to the side of the bed with more space, took her shoes off and climbed in beside him, pretending he was still himself. He was still somehow perfect to her. If she could just have the old Sun back to tell him how much she liked him... she'd do anything for it. She carefully pulled the covers over herself as well as him, avoiding waking him, and fell asleep beside her new brother.
Sun. Sun, Sun, Sun... it repeated in her head over and over.
Gladion had a much shorter solution. They could fix Sun when they got off the Aether Paradise. He already knew exactly how to escape, as he already knew how to captain one of the Paradise's cargo ships - albeit dangerously, and badly. He just needed to find the willpower to do it.
He had been raped by his mother too many times, beaten down, told he was worthless. To have Sun usurp his position as her son was salt in the many, many wounds he had sustained. But Sun had given up everything to save Lillie. He owed Sun.
Gladion focused all of his rage at everything that had ever happened to him and concentrated it into a point. It was time to use that point.
He stormed into Sun's room. He'd get Sun, then Lillie, then they'd make it off the Paradise together. Gladion saw Sun and Lillie side by side, fast asleep. Had she fucked him? The word 'whore' came into his mind wholly unbidden and he chased it out.
"What are you two doing?" Gladion didn't shout, but said it with enough sour bite to wake them both.
"Huh?" Sun asked as he sat up. "What do you-" he noticed Lillie by his side. She blushed horribly and hid her face. "Lillie?"
"I- I just wanted to be with you."
That made Gladion soften up a little. Lillie wasn't the kind of person to take advantage of Sun in the state he was in. He should have known that. Sun smiled and moved over to be closer to her, and would have likely done something highly inappropriate for siblings to do if Gladion hadn't spoken.
"Lillie. We're leaving."
Sun's response was an incredulous 'Huh?', while Lillie's was sitting up straight on the bed.
"Now?" Lillie asked. "What, you're- you're ready?"
"Yeah. Let's get him out of here." Gladion seemed unshakeable.
"You're sure we should just take him away?" Lillie asked. Sun sat up beside her.
"Are you talking about me?" he asked, once again not realising the gravity of the situation.
"Yeah. We're going to help you, Sun." Gladion covered his face with his hand. It was a habit he had picked up trying to protect himself from his mother that had since become muscle memory when stressed or emotional.
"I don't want to leave." Sun's voice was very slightly confrontational. "I want to stay here."
"Sun, if you stay here," Lillie said, taking his shoulder, "we will get hurt. All of us." Sun faced his sister, saw her concern.
"Who's going to hurt us?" Sun asked. He looked very apprehensive, reluctant.
"Our mother," Gladion growled. "She is not going to think of you as her perfect son forever. She will have her fun with you for a year or two, then you'll be the same as us. Just damn... toys, for her amusement," he spat the word 'toys' like a curse.
"But she said she'll never hurt me." Sun was shrinking away from Gladion. "I don't want to leave her. I can't." He fingered the emerald collar he was wearing absentmindedly. "Don't take me away."
"Lillie. We need to go now." Gladion ignored Sun.
"We should at least explain to him-" Lillie began, but Sun had vaulted over her, fallen off the bed comically, and scrambled as far away from Gladion as he could.
"I won't go. I won't! Don't take me!" Sun shouted at them. Lillie shot an angry glare at Gladion and tried to comfort Sun.
"It's alright, Sun. Calm down. Calm-"
"- Don't - don't take me away! I can't go!" Sun was recessed into a corner, kicking himself away from the two. "Please don't!"
Gladion marched over to Sun and tried to grab his wrist. Sun retaliated. Lillie shrieked in terror as Sun moved aside from Gladion's attempt and shoved Gladion up against the wall, keeping Gladion's arms pinned to it.
"Sun!" Lillie cried. "Sun, Sun-" she tried to pull them apart but Sun kept Gladion held where he was. Gladion struggled free and gave Sun a push away from him.
"You- don't-" Gladion scowled, "you don't understand what's going on!" He pushed Sun again, Sun's flight response now overriding the fight one. Sun backed up automatically, trying to hide away from Gladion. He crouched, covering his face with his elbows.
"Leave me alone!" Sun shouted.
Lillie seized Gladion around the waist and dragged him away from Sun. "What are you doing?!" She let go of him, getting between her adopted brother and biological one. "Sun," she said softly, "We're sorry we scared you. We're going to leave now."
"Lillie-" Sun pleaded. "I don't want to go. Please don't take me. Please." The last word was dread, fear, terror. "Please."
"Don't worry, Sun. We won't." She glanced back at Gladion. He looked furious. "Come on, Gladion." Lillie tried to drag Gladion away.
Gladion continued to stare down Sun. "You're- you're deranged," he told Sun. Sun stayed curled up, hiding from his brother. "You're not who I thought you were."
Lillie exerted even more effort to get Gladion out quickly. The moment they were away from Sun and back in their room, Lillie let him have it.
"What is wrong with you?!"
"He's not worth saving if all he wants is to-"
"Gladion, what is wrong with you?! There is no chance that he will ever want to come with us if you treat him like that," Lillie hissed. "I mean, what is- what is wrong with you?!"
"I get it," Gladion grunted. "I fucking get it. I- he's not Sun anymore. He's just some fucking slave who's wearing his face."
"Are you going to help him or are you just going to attack him?!"
"I am not going to stand by and hear someone I once respected speaking in his voice with his face about our mother positively!" Gladion argued. His face was lined with rage. Lillie was equally angry.
"That's why we're helping-" Lillie was cut off as the door opened. Sun leaned in. "Sun?" she asked, all of the rage dissipating into pity and sadness upon seeing him.
Sun pointed at them. He didn't say anything for a moment, and they wondered if he was going to speak. Then their mother stepped out from the other side of the doorframe, her eyes alight with searing vexation.
Lillie's stomach dropped about a mile, and Gladion's eyes widened. They sat completely still as Lusamine spoke. "What did you do?"