Business of Kirkland
Alec's POV
It had been a few days since Serena earned her third Princess key, and just two days ago Ash's Noibat evolved in Noivern while battling Zapdos. Now, they were approaching a town Alec was hoping to get through as quickly as possible. "Wow, look at this. Apparently, the next town up, Luvia Town, is home to a big industrial facility that produces a lot of construction materials," Serena noted from her guild book.
"Maybe we can check it out. From what I've heard, it's one of the few places that doesn't work with Pokémon, instead choosing to rely on machines," Clemont added.
"They do offer tours, so maybe we can catch one," Serena replied.
"You all are free to do that if you want, but I'd rather just rest our Pokémon at the Center and leave," Alec stated.
"Why do you have to be such a downer? It sounds like fun," Bonnie replied.
"Yeah Alec, you've been acting odd since you asked if we were approaching Luvia town. Maybe you should come with us," Ash suggested.
"Not happening!" Alec snapped, causing everyone but Liz and Ethan to flinch. "Like I said, do what you want. But when you're ready you can meet me at the edge of town," he told them before speeding up his pace.
[I know you don't want anything to do with… that place… but taking it out on everyone wasn't helpful,] Ethan pointed out.
Alec sighed. "I know Ethan, but if I'm discovered visiting that place you know what might happen," he replied.
[I know, and so does Liz, but that was years ago when we were just starting out. He's not about to try something like that again.]
"You forget that it's my father we're talking about. He'd do anything to get me back, besides the one thing he actually needs to do," Alec stated.
"Well, if something like that does happen again, I can bail you out," Liz stated, coming up beside him with a small amused smile. Alec gave her a deadpanned look. "Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood. You know you scared the crap out of your girl with that," she added.
"I'm unfortunately aware," Alec started with a sigh. "I'll explain it to her when I get the chance, and maybe Serena."
"Why maybe Serena?" Liz questioned.
"Because as much as I want her to dislike father as much as I do, I want her to come to her own decisions about him. So far, she's only had one interaction with him as far as I'm aware of and it wasn't exactly a pleasant time," he replied.
"Up to you. But what about the others?"
"Less chance than Serena. Because I don't want them to pity me, which I know they will if they find out."
Liz let out a sigh. "You're choice. I won't say anything," she told him. Alec gave her a small smile and nod.
Later, the group was in the Pokémon Center and Alec noticed the others giving him some space. As they were getting their Pokémon back, Cassidy grabbed Alec's arm and took him aside, which he didn't resist.
"What was that about earlier?" she asked with mixed concern and anger.
"That factory happens to belong to my father," he answered.
"Okay, seeing a bit of the problem, but I get the feeling that's part of the story."
Alec sighed. "The last time I visited one of my father's assets, he tried to take me back by force. And by force, I mean attempted kidnapping," he answered.
Cassidy looked shocked at the news. "Why… Why would he do such a thing?"
"It was closer to the start of my journey, so I wasn't as experienced as I am now. If it wasn't for Liz, I would probably be trapped in my father's mansion right now. As for why he did it, he wanted me home, and at the time he was willing to do whatever he felt was necessary," he explained.
"So that's why you've been wanting to leave this place as soon as possible. You fear the same thing will happen again."
"I'd rather not find out. Even if I'm stronger than I was back then I wouldn't be surprised if my father has some tricks up his sleeve. Just… if you do go, be careful. My father isn't above going after those I care about to get to me."
Cassidy then held his hand. "I'll be with you. You clearly need help and you're getting it whether you want it or not. I just wish you'd be a little more upfront about what you're feeling," she told him.
Alec responded with a gentle embrace. "I'm sorry Cassidy. It just hurts sometimes to talk about these things. I guess I haven't been a good boyfriend in that regard."
"Don't worry about it. I'm willing to wait as long as it takes and I'll listen when the time comes," she replied as she returned the embrace.
The two stood like that for a while till Liz came up to them. "Don't worry about Serena, Alec. The rest are insisting they want to go so I'll go with them in case they try something," she told him.
"Thanks, Liz. Though if something does happen I'd better be notified about it," Alec replied.
"Knowing you, you'll bust through a wall if something happens," Liz commented with a hint of amusement.
"That sounds right."
Serena's POV
As Serena picked her Poké Balls, she noticed that Alec was still thinking about something. When Cassidy dragged him off somewhere, Serena was half tempted to follow them but decided against it. If Alec wanted to tell her something, he would. Still, she couldn't help but worry. She opened up her guidebook to see if she could find anything about this town that might make him act like that.
"Ugh. The only thing here worth noting is the factory here," she grumbled to herself. She then clicked on it and as she was scrolling through it, she saw something that made her stop. "Owned by the Kirkland Corporation? Oh, of course. That's why he doesn't want to be here," she realized.
"Hey, Serena!" Ash called out. She turned to look and saw Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie waiting for her. "You ready to go?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm ready," she answered, hiding her sudden nervousness with a fake smile. As she came up to them, she noticed Alec and Cassidy leave the center and started to head to the edge of town while Liz walked up to the group.
"So, Alec and Cassidy won't be joining us?" Clemont asked Liz.
"No. Alec isn't up to it and Cassidy offered to keep him company," she answered.
"Is he feeling alright?" Bonnie asked, concerned.
"He's fine. Just remembered something that brought some bad feelings," Liz answered, but Serena knew she was being vague. The others didn't seem to catch it though.
"Well, in the meantime. I'm rather curious how they run a factory without the use of Pokémon. Just thinking about it sparks my imagination!" Clemont declared.
"For things to blow up maybe," Bonnie replied smugly.
[Yep,] Dedenne agreed.
"Now be nice Bonnie," Liz told her.
"Let's get going then," Ash said.
[To the factory!] Pikachu called out.
The group then left the Center and headed towards the factory where they found a few people outside the tour start area. As they approached, they noticed another area nearby that was occupied by Pokémon and a sign near it that said, "Please keep all Pokémon here when entering the building."
"Why do they want our Pokémon to stay here?" Bonnie asked.
"It's just company policy. Don't worry, they are well taken care of," a nearby employee answered.
"Well, guess you're staying here Pikachu," Ash told his partner.
[Oh well,] Pikachu sighed.
[At least we'll be with each other,] Dedenne noted.
The group then released their teams and Squishy hopped out of Bonnie's bag. "Now be good Squishy. And don't get into any trouble," Bonnie told it.
"Go ahead and have some fun. We'll be out as soon as we can," Serena told her team before turning to Braixen. "I'm trusting you to make sure there isn't too much trouble with the other Pokémon."
[Don't worry Serena. We'll be fine,] Braixen answered.
Serena then noticed Liz whispering something to her team, who all nodded and headed towards the area. Some people were in surprise at the sight of Zip, but being a mythical Pokémon it wasn't surprising. Liz then headed towards the group, and Serena was now noticing she appeared on edge, looking around at the workers suspiciously.
"Is something wrong Liz?" she asked her.
Liz seemed to relax a bit when Serena asked. "No, nothing's wrong. Just feel a bit odd parting from my Pokémon, even for a bit," she answered. Serena thought Liz wasn't telling her the true answer but accepted the one she got.
The group then got themselves signed up for the tour and in a few minutes, they headed inside to start. "First off, let me welcome you all to the Kirkland Steelworks Factory. My name is Katlyn, and I'll be your tour guide for today," a woman with long brown hair and blue eyes wearing a grey uniform started. Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie looked surprised when Kirkland was said as they all likely realized why Alec was acting up.
As they provided on the tour, Katlyn showed the tour group around the factory and how they produced steel without the use of Pokémon. She also explained how this steel was sent all around Kalos and even to other regions. As the tour went on, Serena found herself a bit impressed by the factory. Clemont though was eating the sights up, likely coming up with new ideas for inventions.
As they reached another part of the factory, Serena noticed Liz was very much on edge, looking around the place with a small glare like she was expecting something to happen. "Is something up Liz?" Bonnie asked, also noticing her behavior.
"Hmm. No, nothing's wrong," she answered.
Just then, another member of the factory approached the group, specifically their group, the other tourists already moving on. "Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice that one of you seemed intrigued by our machines. If you're willing, I'm offering a chance to see them in action upfront," he said, this man appeared older with visible grey in his hair.
"Of course!" Clemont said eagerly.
"Well then, if you'll all follow me," he said, leading the group towards another door.
Liz's POV
This whole scenario was unsettling Liz. Going into the factory was one thing, but getting a private tour? Liz knew something was up. Making subtle glances to the side, she noticed security guards moving in around them as the man led the group into another room. "They must know about Serena. Looks like Alec's father is going after her too," she realized.
As they entered the room, the door behind them quickly closed after all the security guards entered the room. "What's going on?!" Ash questioned in surprise.
"I apologize for the deceit, but Miss Serena. I must ask that you come with us," the man answered.
"Sino! It's happening!" Liz called out in her mind. Thankfully, her expertise with Liz-Sino established a small psychic connection between the two. Hopefully, Zip could get to Alec and Cassidy before things got too hairy, but in the meantime, she'd have to hold the guards off, or better yet take them down.
"What do you mean? What's going on?" Serena questioned, fear clear in her voice.
"Your father wants to meet you. But since Mr. Alec isn't allowing it. I'm afraid we must resort to… less desirable means. Please, Miss. Serena."
Liz stepped in front of Serena. "That's not going to happen," she stated, hoping to buy time.
"Miss. Liz. I know you're good friends with Mr. Alec but step aside. This is a family matter," the man told her.
"You're forgetting something. To me, Alec is family. And that means Serena is too," she replied. "Now let us go before Alec arrives and threatens to level this place to the ground," she threatened.
"He won't. Secure her," the man ordered, pointing at Serena. The security guards moved in when the ceiling fell apart and Sino dropped into the room, immediately throwing a Water Shuriken at two guards.
Liz immediately synced up with Sino and Liz-Sino appeared in a waterspout before forming into the large shuriken on his back. [Let's go,] Sino said determinedly.
The security guards moved in at a rapid pace, trying to grab Serena, but Liz and Sino sprung into action. Liz wasn't the greatest of physical fighters, but with Sino helping to guide her actions, the two were very hard for humans to take down.
Liz jumped up and punched one of the guards in the face, knocking him out. Two more then came at her, one in front of the other. The lead guard attempted to tackle Liz to the ground but she rolled over his back, grabbed his body, then flipped him into the other guard in about a second. Another guard then came up and Liz hit him with a roundhouse kick to the waist, throwing him off balance before delivering an uppercut to the jaw.
Arms then suddenly wrapped around her attempting to hold her but she threw her head back at the guard, causing him to let go before turning and kicking him where the sun doesn't shine. The guard let out a pained squeak before falling to the ground.
The other guards were on the ground too, Sino taking them out with Night Slash and Power-Up Punch. The two then glared at the man, who was busy cowering against the far wall looking like he just soiled himself. "L-l-look m-m-m-maybe we can c-come to a deal? Yes? I won't tell Mr. Kirkland about this and we all forget this ever happened, sound good?" he asked fearfully.
"I'm not the one you have to convince," Liz said quietly, which only scared the man more. As if on cue, the wall behind the man then burst apart, temporarily covering the room with dust. When the dust cleared, Alec was seen standing in the hole in his Flame-Alec mode, glaring dangerously at the man. Flame, Ethan, Eve, and Cassidy, the latter two riding Cotton, were behind him, each of them glaring as well, but Flame and Ethan's were similar to Alec's.
"You think that you could kidnap my sister and expect me not to notice?" he questioned in cold hatred.
"M-M-Mr. A-Alec… Uh… So good to see you again. As for "kidnapping your sister," of course not. W-We would never try such a thing," the man protested fearfully as Alec approached him.
He then grabbed the man by the neck and lifted him up to glare at him in the eyes. "I will make one thing clear to you and all my father's assets. I will not tolerate another attack on me, my sister, or my friends. And you tell my father, that when I get back to Snowbelle City, I'm settling this whole debacle once and for all," he stated before throwing the man to the ground, gasping for breath.
He then turned to the others, his gaze softening as he returned to normal. "Come on, we'd better get going," he said as the rest of everyone's Pokémon appeared.
The others quietly agreed and they got the Pokémon that could fly, Liz and Serena with Alec on Flame, while Ash and Clemont got on Noivern and Bonnie joined Cassidy on Cotton, who struggled for a bit to carry her and her trainer for a bit but managed just fine. They then returned their other Pokémon then flew out of the building. Liz noticed Alec sent one last glare at the building before flying out of town towards the forest.
Alec's POV
If there was one word to describe how Alec felt right now, it would be furious. Furious at himself for letting Serena out of his sight at a place where she was likely at risk, and furious at his father for trying to take her in the first place. He did his best not to show his anger, but it was very hard and the silence of the flight wasn't helping.
Eventually, it was Ash that broke the silence. "So, what was that all about?" he asked as they came in for a landing.
"I'd at least like to know what was going on," Alec requested.
It was Liz who answered. "Basically, the same thing your father tried with you, he did with Serena."
"Hold on, tried with you? This has happened before?" Clemont asked.
Alec sighed, knowing his friends would nag him till he answered. "All I ask is that you don't pity me for what I'm about to tell you. To make a long story short, at the start of my journey my father decided to take a more direct approach in bringing me home. If it wasn't for Liz, I probably would have been dragged back to Snowbelle," he told them.
The others looked surprised, but they didn't say anything as they dismounted. "So, what did you mean by ending it?" Clemont asked.
"... I'm going to confront my father about all this. In person. Not over a video call," he answered.
"Do you think that will work?" Cassidy asked.
"I doubt it will, but I have to at least try."
The group was silent as they continued to process what happened. "So, I suppose we'd better be continuing on to Gloire City?" Clemont suggested.
"Yeah. Soon, you'll show all of Kalos what you're capable of, Serena," Alec told her, thankful for the change of topic.
Serena managed a weak smile. "Right. Once we arrive, I'll win the Master Class and become Kalos Queen," she said, her voice gaining determination as she spoke. The group then set off, with Alec happy to leave the town behind.