Oh God. If there ever was a chapter I was so excited and scared to write, it's this one. Brace yourselves and I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 20-Photograpic Memories
When Collin exited the forest, he noticed the weather changed drastically. Gone was the Alolan sun and it was replaced by dark clouds that looked like it was gonna rain any moment. The second thing he noticed was a massive wall that surrounded a town with one entrance and two Team Skull grunts at the guard. With determination flowing through his veins, Collin pratically marched up to the front gate and was immediately blocked by the two grunts.
"Aye yo! No one other than Team Skull is allowed in Po Town!" said one of the grunts.
"Yeah so beat it kid unless you wanna get hurt!" said the other grunt. Collin wasn't in the mood to deal with these idiots and was already in a bad mood before even setting foot in the town.
"Either you move out of the way, or I'll kick your asses." he said through his teeth. The grunts instantly got their Poke Balls out and sent out their low level Pokemon. "Fine, you fucking asked for it!" Collin sent out both Mimikyu and Crabrawler and the fight didn't even last ten seconds.
"D-D-DUDE! Who are you?!" said one of the grunts.
"Doesn't matter, now let me in!" The two grunts rushed into the the town and locked the door.
"No way in hell are you getting in here man! Get lost!" shouted the grunts. Collin began to bang on the door repeatedly, getting more and more annoyed.
"Open this damn door before I blast it through your fucking town!" he shouted.
"Kid, stop. There are other people around here you know?" said a monotone voice behind him. Collin turned around to see a tired looking old man with his hands in his pockets.
"Who the hell are you? You Team Skull?" asked Collin.
"Do I look like I'm in Team Skull? You must be fucking joking. Officer Nanu...retired. I stand guard outside Po Town so Guzma and his grunts don't do too much damage." said the old man.
"Well you're doing a real good job at that aren't you." said Collin with a hint of snark in his voice.
"You even listening kid? I said "too much damage.". You think the shit these kids get up to is harmful? Heh, I've seen worse before."
"Kids? How old are they?" he asked.
"No more than sixteen to eighteen the grunts. Some of them are just ten but they don't really go out of Po Town. They'd rather say in the makeshift house around here. Doesn't matter to me, less work to be done."
"Wait? Ten? Why are they here?" asked Collin
"Some dropped out of the Island Challenge, others ran away from their families. Most have something in common." he explained. Collin couldn't help but feel guilty now. All this time he thought they were mindless grunts who were just evil, but they are just kids like him. "You wanna get into Po Town?" That snapped Collin out of his train of thought.
"Oh, yeah. They stole a Pokemon belonging to a child and I have to get it back."
"I know. My annoyance of a niece told me that someone was coming. Still, it's odd for them to steal Pokemon. I know they make threats but they rarely act them out. Even if they do they return the Pokemon after I tell them to." He reached into his pocket and took out some keys. "I have the keys to the town. Are you sure you wanna go in?"
"Yes. I have to, can't let that kid down."
"Fair enough kid." Nanu went to the door and turned the keys, allowing it to open. "Good luck in there. And by the way, if you don't make it back I'll be sure to collect your remains if you get killed in there." Collin saw the little smirk on his face, proving he was joking, but something about his tone of voice just sent chills down his spine. He entered the doorway, finally in Po Town. As soon as he entered, the rain thundered down and soaked him to the bone within seconds. He saw more Team Skull grunts outside of a large mansion, talking or chilling out. One of them spotted Collin.
"HEY! IT'S THE SCARY GUY THAT TRIED TO GET IN!" one of them shouted. Every grunt was now shaking in fear. It was as if they didn't know what to do. Collin took his time to actually look at some of the grunts and Nanu was right, they were just kids. Collin decided enough was enough.
"Oi, I won't hurt anyone. I'm here to see your boss. This can be over quickly if you just let me pass through." he shouted out lout. Everyone mumbled among themselves and when they finished, they all nodded. "Okay, now where is Guzma?"
"H-H-He's in the mansion." said one of the smaller grunts. Collin walked along the path, taking in the sights. The builds were covered in paint, windows were smash and cars were all over the place. When he got to the mansion, he took one big breath and entered.
Despite the broken windows, the house felt warm and surprisingly homely for how bad it looks. There were a few more grunts wandering around and they seemed to have heard the message from outside, as they didn't bother him. One thing that did bother him was the sound of pounding techno coming from somewhere in the mansion. It didn't help when the singing started.
Remix! We use it!~
Get the beat to reuse it!~
Remix! We do it~
Shoot to number one!~
Remix! We lay it!~
Get some motherfucker in to play it!~
Remix! Release it!~
See the money grow!~
Collin had heard enough and walked through one of the rooms in the mansion. The room was dusty and there was no grunts to be found, only stacks of boxes as high as the roof. Being the nosy kid, he decided to rummage through some of the boxes. One box contained a bunch of Team Skull T-Shirts and chains, another had some Pokemon items that were more than likely stolen. The rest of the boxes was just full of random junk that posed no interest. He decided to look at one more box before he continued his mission, and boy what a box. Inside were old photos, both in frames and outside. They looked old and Collin couldn't help himself but he had to look at them. The first one he picked up was of a young Guzma, no more than ten, holding a trophy with an older woman in the picture who was probably his mom. This continued for a bit until he found a rather interesting picture. It was of Guzma, Kukui, Molayne and his mother Mary.
"Oh yeah, I forgot they were friends." said Collin to himself. They looked like they were in their teens when the photo was taken. Mary looked so happy in the picture. He put it to one side carefully and picked out another picture. This one was just Guzma and Mary. They looked close which Collin didn't know how to feel about giving how he is now. He looked down in the box and saw a rather posh looking frame, at least from the back. He took it out and turned to see what it was. What he saw absolutely floored him. Guzma and his mother, Mary Clarkson, his flesh and blood, were kissing. And it wasn't a friendly kiss, their hands were wrapped round each other and were extremely close. Collin didn't know what to think.
You never said you had a boyfriend before Giovanni. Then again that's something you don't really bring up. He placed the frame down as carefully as he could and walked out of the room, still thinking about the picture. They must have been close. How close though? I guess I should ask the person in the photo while I'm here. Collin made his way up the stairs and heard voices coming from inside one of the rooms.
"Oh my Arceus! You're totally wearing my clothes!" said a female voice.
"Na ah! These are my clothes because they don't have your stench on it." said another voice. Collin walked into the room as he needed to know exactly where Guzma is. Although it seems the two girls didn't notice him enter.
"Ugh! I should name my clothes so we don't mix them up again!"
"Uh, HELLO! Our name is Grunt! We are all Grunts! Everyone of us is Grunt!"
"Oh shut up Lucy!" Collin couldn't take it any longer.
"GIRLS!" shouted Collin. The two grunts looked back and saw Collin for the first time.
"Oh...it's you. What do you want?!" said one of the grunts.
"I'm looking for your boss. Where is he?"
"He's on the other side of the mansion. You need to get onto the roof to get across. Now leave us alone!" the other grunt said while pushing Collin out. Following her advice, Collin found a way to the roof and walked across a bunch of wooden planks. He was on the other side of the room and two grunts blocked a door.
"Lads, either let me in or I'll force my way in. And I don't mean a Pokemon battle." Without a word, the grunts moved to the side and allowed Collin to enter. In the room was a chest of what looked like a bunch of Z-Crystals, the walls were covered in paint, the Yungoos was by the chest and in the middle was a throne with Guzma sitting on it.
"The hated boss who beats you down and beats you down and never lets up...Yeah. Big Bad Guzma is here! You got some fuckin' nerve comin' here and thinkin' you can boss my boys around? Heh, if you weren't a little shit I'd gladly have you as an enforcer." he said laughing. "You here for the Yungoos right? You ain't getting it without a fight!"
"Yeah I am. But I have one question for you." said Collin not moving.
"Ugh fine. What is your question?" said Guzma, sitting back down on his chair.
"Who is the woman in the photos in one of your boxes? Was she a friend of yours?" he asked. Guzma looked confused at first, but that confusing quickly turned into annoyance.
"Who said you could look into my stuff?"
"Just answer the damn question!" said Collin, looking just as annoyed. Guzma took in a deep breath and laid it out.
"Fine. The woman in the pictures wasn't just a friend, she was my best friend. She helped me through some dark shit back in the day when we were young. She had me make friends with Kukui and Molayne but I only really care about her."
"And I assume that became more than friendship." said Collin.
"You got it. She wanted to be with me for the rest of our lives and for a good while, everything was fine. Then...we did something stupid. One night, after a long day, we decided to go further than we ever did. My stupid ass forgot a condom." He cringed at the thought of it. "A few weeks later I get a call from her mother, yell and ranting at me saying that they were going to Kanto. I rushed down to the pier in Hau'oli city and she told me then and there that she was pregnant. She said we'd keep in contact but it's been eighteen years and I've never heard from her since." Guzma slumped back into the chair, looking upset from the whole thing.
"Eighteen years?" asked Collin, trying his best to keep calm but his anger was boiling.
"Yeah, eighteen. Great, now you've gone and made me upset thinking about Mary ya shit."
"Mary? As in, Mary Clarkson?"
"Yeah. Mary Clarkson. Why? Have you meet her in Kanto?" asked Guzma. Guzma didn't prepare himself for what Collin was about to say.
"Mary Clarkson is my mother! I was born eighteen years ago in Kanto!" he shouted. Guzma just stared at him, gobsmacked.
"No...no you're fucking with me aren't you! There is no way in hell you are her son!"
"I AM HER SON! I saw her as a damn ghost less than an hour ago and you have the fucking balls to tell me that I'm not her son?!" Guzma's face went from rage to sadness.
"She's dead? You're fucking lying again you shit! First you lie about you being her son, and you lie about her death!? YOU SICK FUCK!" he shouted. They both got their Poke Balls out and were ready to throw them at any moment. "I've had enough of your damn lies! You wanna see destruction in human form?!"
"I couldn't give a damn! FIGHT ME!" Collin had no idea why he was so angry, aside from being called a lair. One thing was for sure, he was gonna show he was the son of Mary Clarkson.
"You fucking asked for it you lying sack of shit!"
"GO ARIADOS!"
"GO SALAZZLE!" Both Pokemon came out and were ready to battle. "Flamethrower!" he shouted and a wall of flame shot out of Salazzle's mouth. The Ariados just dodged out of the way, but still managed to get hit on the side.
"Shadow Sneak his ass Ariados!" The shadow grew large and attempted to attack Salazzle, but she somehow managed to cling to the wall and dodge the attack. "Heh, sneaky bitch."
"Flamethrower again!" shouted Colllin while Guzma was distracted. The flames directly hit Ariados, knocking it out completely.
"Ugh! Now you really are done for! GO GOLISOPOD!" Out came the one member of Guzma's team Collin feared.
"Salazzle dog-"
"FIRST IMPRESSION!" shouted Guzma over Collin. In no time at all, Salazzle was sent flying back in the room with the impact knocking her out. "Hah! That little trick didn't work on him this time!"
"Salazzle return!" Salazzle returned to the ball and Collin was stuck. Decidueye won't be any help with the Bug Type, Crabrawler won't stand a chance with Razor Shell and Mimikyu is still too weak. Collin took out a Poke Ball that was his only chance. "Go Prinplup!" Guzma saw the Pokemon come out and laughed.
"Heh, that thing won't help you. Golisopod, Swords Dance!" A bunch of clear swords surrounded Golisopod and managed to buff up it's attack.
"Damn it." Collin knew he was in trouble even if the Razor Shell was water. "Metal Claw Prinplup!" shouted Collin.
"Dodge and use Razor Shell!" Prinplup's wings were just shy of hitting Golispod but the Razor Shell managed to hit, causing Prinplup to fall back and struggle to get up.
"Come on buddy! You can do it! Metal Claw again!" shouted Collin. This time it did connect but it seemed to do next to nothing.
"Haha! You ready to admit you're lying?! You don't know a damn thing about Mary Clarkson!"
"I know more than you ever have Guzma!"
"Fine! You won't admit you're lying, then you will get a beat down! RAZOR SHELL!" Golisopod charged forward and connected the attack right into Prinplup's chest. Prinplup was now on his knees. "You give?!" Collin was lost in thought, he didn't know what to do expect speak.
"I know how she smiled when she saw Rattata's. She always found them cute. She would worry over everything, even if it was something small. She would brighten up anyone's day when they walked past her. And she asked for nothing in return and she was taken away from the world way too soon. So don't you dare tell me I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT MY OWN MOM!" With that last push of desperation, Prinplup started to glow white. It grew to to taller than Collin and Guzma and he's wings grew longer. When the glow faded, Prinplup was now Empoleon. "Okay Empoleon, show him what you're made of. AQUA JET!"
"Empoleon!" cried the Pokemon. Water surrounded the Pokemon and it rushed towards Golisopod and managed to connect with the attack. The attack seemed to do a lot of damaged as the Pokemon was sent back quiet a bit and struggled to get up.
"DAMN IT BOY! USE RAZOR SHELL!"
"DODGE AND USE METAL CLAW!" Empoleon did manage to dodge the Razor Shell and connect with it's own Metal Claw. After the attack was dealt, Golisopod fell to the ground, defeated. Guzma returned it to its ball without a word. "Well done Empoleon, you deserve a rest." said Collin, returning Empoleon to his ball.
"GUZMA WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!?" he shouted, startling Collin, who's anger died down slightly. "Tch, here, have the damn Pokemon back and get out." he said, shoving the Yungoos to Collin.
"Don't need to tell me twice." Just as Collin was about to leave out the door, Guzma ran up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"So...you really are Mary's son?" he asked.
"Yeah. I've been telling you that. Has it finally clicked?"
"I guess...it's weird to know I have a son-"
"I'm not your son. You weren't there for me and I get it you couldn't. But nothing? No letters? I believed I was the son of a crime boss for almost seven years. I guess things don't change." said Collin, interrupting him.
"Fair enough I guess...is she actually dead?"
"Yes. She died a few months ago. I don't know how so don't ask. I'm going now, I need to think." he said and left the room without another word or to even see Guzma's face. When he exited the mansion, there were a lot less grunts around compared to when he came in. Nanu was making his way up the path to greet him.
"Have I got you to thank for all of this?" he asked.
"I guess. Look I don't care I just want to get this Yungoos back and rest a bit and then finish the Trials." said Collin, wiping his face from all the rain.
"Trial Goer huh? Ugh what a pain. You've beaten the Ghost Trial huh?" Collin nodded with a response. "Fine. I'm the Kahuna of the Island and I'm supposed to challenge you...but I'm in no mood to do a full challenge so...one on one while we are here?"
"...fine. Let's get this over with." said Collin, getting his Pokeballs ready.
"Go Persian." said Nanu lazily, throwing out the cat Pokemon. It looked a lot more chubby compared to most Collin seen, so he assumed it was Alolan. Judging by it's colour, Collin knew what Pokemon to use.
"Go Crabrawler!" shouted Collin. Crabrawler came out and punched the air ready to fight.
"Use Dark Pulse." said Nanu, not sounding interested at all. The Dark Pulse flowed from Persian and made a beeline to Crabrawler.
"Dodge and use Power-Up-Punch!" Crabrawler jumped over the pulse and landed it's fist right onto Persian's fat head. "Alright let's get this over with! UNLEASH Z-MOVE!" Collin twisted the Z-Crystal and let out a fury of punches, powering up Crabrawler. "NOW USE ALL OUT PUMMELING!" Crabrawler charged forward and sent out a fury of rapid fire punches, completely knocking out the Persian.
"Hmph...guess you are good. Return Persian." Persian returned to the ball and Nanu walked up to Collin. "I know I shouldn't be doing this, but I couldn't care. You've beaten the Kahuna on Ula Ula...woo. Here's your Z-Crystal." he said handing it to Collin. "Now all you have left is Poni Island."
"Uncle Nanu!" shouted a female voice.
"Ah, here comes the annoyance."
"Oh hush Uncle. Hey Collin! I see you got the Yungoos!" said Acerola. "And I see you've got the Darkium Z-Crystal. Did you show him the dance Uncle Nanu?" With a groan, Nanu preformed a dance similar to the Ghostium Z dance, only the ending was different. "Hehe, you're so funny Uncle."
"Whatever. You going or what?" asked Nanu.
"Of yeah. Collin I can take the Yungoos and you can fly back to the Aether House. You look wrecked." said Acerola.
"Like you wouldn't believe. Mind if I say there for the day? I need to think about a few things."
"Of course! Stay as long as you like. I'll see you back there." said Acerola and she walked off with the Yungoos. Nanu walked along side her and Collin called the Charizard to fly him back to the Aether House.
When he landed outside of the Aether House, he swore he heard crying. Wasting no time ran in the door to see the two kids crying and Hau looking stunned.
"Hau what the hell is going on?!" shouted Collin.
"T-T-TROUBLE! LILLIE WAS TAKEN BY TEAM SKULL!" shouted Hau. Collin felt like he was hit by a ton of bricks.
"WHAT?! How?! I was there and I didn't see anyone come in!"
"I was out getting some food for Lillie and the kids and she was gone. The kids told me that Plumeria came back and forced her to come with them, or she'll hurt the kids. Oh Arceus Collin where could she be?!" asked Hau in a panic and worrying about Lillie.
"I don't know! DAMN IT!" shouted Collin when the door opened.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID I TELL YOU TO DO YOU IDIOT!?" said a new voice.
"G-Gladion?! What are you doing here?!" asked Hau. Gladion ignored Hau's question and got right up into Collin's face.
"I told you to protect Cosmog and you let him get captured?! How stupid are you that you can't follow one simple task!?" Collin pushed Gladion so hard he fell on to the floor.
"Don't. You. DARE think I didn't help! Unlike you who decided hanging around Team Skull and acting like a edgy kid would help, I went out of my way for Cosmog! I saved it from falling into a river for Arceus sake and you think I'm an idiot? Fuck off!" shouted Collin at the top of his voice to the point he nearly winded himself. Gladion looked like a deer in the headlights and slowly got up from the floor.
"S-Sorry. It's not your fault. I'm just so mad that I lash out. Forgive me."
"You're forgiven. Now, where the hell is Lillie?" asked Collin.
"...Aether Paradise. Team Skull took her to Aether Paradise." said Gladion. If the Aether House was Collin's own house, he would have teared the house down with his bare hands.
"FOR FUCK SAKE!" shouted Collin.
"W-W-Why? What's so bad about that?" asked Hau.
"No time to explain, we need to get there now. I got a boat that can bring us there. You coming Collin?"
"No need to asked." he said with venom in his voice. "You coming Hau?"
"I-I-I-I guess I could. Kids, you'll be alright till Acerola comes right?" The two kids gave a silent nod. "Okay, let's go!" The three boys walked out of the house and used Charizard to get to Malie City where Gladion's boat was. Without a single word, they boarded the boat and they set off.
"Is there anyone on the inside that knows about you?" asked Collin.
"Only a few, one of them is giving me clearance to get in. Get yourself ready, this isn't going to be good." said Gladion as the boat began to rock along the waves. Collin began to feel deja vu with this whole thing after taking down other origination's. He may have faced this sort of situation before, but this time, it was personal. He was gonna save Nebby and Lillie, no matter what the cost is.
Oh boy that was a big chapter. Well for me it was. I'll be taking another break from the fic so I can make sure what I'm doing from here on out. Anyway, reviews and comments of any nature are welcomed and as always, I'll see you in the next chapter. Cheerio!