Pride of Your Soul
Chapter 19: Speak From Your Heart
AN: Alright, now originally this chapter was going to be longer. Like WAY longer. Like when I thought 'maybe this is a bit too long' I was at over 20k words. And I still wasn't done with the chapter. I may have been making the chapters longer, but maybe that's a bit too long. So I decided to split the chapter in half. It also makes the story go more smoothly I suppose. The other half should be completed in a few days. Unfortunately that means some parts, including that reveal thing I teased at last chapter was cut for the next part. Sorry about that in advance if you were looking forward to that.
And since I technically did two chapters last time, Imma respond to reviews from both. If you made two reviews for both chapters, I'll respond to both as one:
FantasyLover88: Yeah I'm pretty sure Nate had a good reason for what he did. Do look forward to the whole story. And no problem!
Anonymous Trainer: Yeah I realize that Rosa's current psychopathy is essentially a 180 of her personality. Don't worry it won't last long. And in definitely not gonna make her into a Hilda 2.0. And sorry if the answer in the QnA wasn't enough, but the question in particular was actually pretty significant to the plot, so I didn't want to spoil anything.
TheDarkMaster400: Yeah a lot definitely happened. Glad you enjoyed it all though. Hey if you didn't notice any spelling mistakes, that means I'm doing my job right. Oh you are referring to N. Oops. In my defense, in my mind Nate is more the boy in the situation than N.
I M Poik: No worries, everything will get addressed. Maybe not all in this chapter, but in due time.
BobofBabylon: I mean in Rosa's defense, neither did she. And sorry about that, maybe next time. But regarding your question though, they're all pretty high in my opinion, although with Ross at the moment, it looks kinda shaky.
SamTheRipper: Oh well thank you! I guess I do enjoy writing crazies. It's interesting how you can mess around with them in a story and see how they affect it.
Alright then let's get with what's essentially part 1.
"He stole a shiny–?" Bianca asked, before connecting the dots. "Wait, Nate stole his lucario?!"
"From me, no less," Mayor Riches said. "He stole my shiny riolu three years ago and disappeared all this time. Until, I happened to see the Driftveil Tournament that occurred a few weeks ago. And spotted the rat, with a shiny lucario."
The mayor took out a premier ball from his pocket, before glancing down back at Luca.
"And now," the mayor said victoriously as he kneeled down to Luca, who was trying to break free desperately. "You are mine, once again."
"-NATE HELP–!-" Luca cried out, before Mayor Riches tapped the premier ball on Luca's head, and the ball opened up and shot a red beam at Luca, sucking her into the ball. The ball shook three times, and a light flashed around it, signaling a successful capture.
"Wait, you caught Luca?!" Hugh blurted out. "But she's–!"
"My men had her forcibly released from the rat's ownership," Mayor Riches explained. "She was freed from his thieving hands and became a wild Pokémon, which meant free game for me."
Nate's glare only grew more furious, while Mayor Riches only gave him a mocking grin.
"Arrest him," Mayor Riches ordered his men. "Anyone who dares commit robbery from the Riches is branded as a criminal. And this vermin deserves special judgment for evading me for three years and stealing my shiny riolu–oh excuse, my shiny lucario."
The men nodded, before forcing Nate back up and began to take him away.
"W-WAIT!" Rosa yelled frantically, ready to step up and try and save Nate, but was stopped by Yancy's father. "Wha–?"
"You don't have to worry about a thief and kidnapper anymore," the man said. "We know he was the one who kidnapped Yancy last month. Now he'll be behind bars, and hopefully be dealt with accordingly."
"What're you–?" Rosa asked.
"We do have you to thank," Yancy's father said. "Without your help informing us of Yancy's whereabouts and leading her here, none of this would be possible right now."
Rosa's stomach dropped. Now all eyes were on the bun-haired girl, who was guilty of everything Yancy's father had just revealed.
"Rosa...? Is that true?" Hugh asked.
"Rosa...? You set this up?" Yancy asked in disbelief.
"I–I–," Rosa stammered.
"You did this?"
Rosa froze up, before slowly looking at Nate. His once furious glare had been replaced with a thousand-yard stare aimed straight at her.
"I–I..." Rosa fumbled with her words.
"You...did this?" Nate asked.
"I–No, thi-this wasn't..." Rosa stammered. "This isn't how it was supposed to–."
The boy ground his teeth as his fury returned to him, this time all completely aimed at Rosa. The boy let out a rage-induced snarl, before managing to break free from the men in black's grip and lunge at Rosa. The girl instinctively stepped back in fear as Nate grabbed her by her shirt in an iron-tight grip. Nate's glower was completely full of rage and hatred, and it was all directed at the poor bun-haired girl.
"You...bitch..." Nate snarled to her. "You betrayed me...!"
"I–," Rosa started, but stopped as Nate was knocked to the ground by Darmanitan's fist. "NATE!"
The boy slammed into the ground, before coughing up blood from the attack. Rosa tried to go help, but was this time stopped by Miles.
"No need to thank me," Miles smirked as his arm slithered around her. "Anything to protect a lovely lady such as yourself from such a savage being."
Rosa's terrified eyes darted at Nate, where Mayor Riches' bodyguards grabbed Nate back up, before slapping handcuffs on him.
"Well? Aren't you happy?" Nate spat at Rosa. "The cat's out of the bag now. Isn't that what you wanted?"
The men then proceeded to search through Nate, before finding the rest of his Pokémon, his dex and his knives.
"To think, you also had these kinds of dangerous weapons," Mayor Riches scoffed. "It's a wonder how you were able to avoid the authorities this long."
The men took out the same tool they used on Luca's pokéball and used it on the rest of them. Blue lights shot out from the remaining five, releasing the rest of Nate's team as wild Pokémon.
"-What the? What's going on?-" Bo asked, before seeing Nate. "-BOSS!-"
"-Wait this place...?!-" Brav gasped, realizing where they are.
"Impressive Pokémon, at least," Mayor Riches commented, before beckoning to Miles. "Miles, you can have them. They'll be much better off with you than some scum of society."
"YOU BASTARD!" Nate started, before one of the men restraining him punched him in the face to stop him.
"Thank you, Grandfather," Miles said, before taking out some empty pokéballs. "They'll make excellent additions to my team."
The five stepped back as Miles approached them. While everyone else was still in shock on what was going on in front of them, Hugh decided to make his move.
"Oh yeah like that's happening," Hugh said before he took out five empty pokéballs of his own. "YOU GUYS! THINK FAST!"
Nate's former Pokémon turned to Hugh as he quickly hurled his pokéballs at them. Quickly understanding what was going on, the five let themselves get hit by Hugh's pokéballs, allowing themselves to get caught by Hugh. The balls shook three times after they absorbed them, before all flashing briefly, signaling that they were now under Hugh's ownership.
"What?!" Miles yelled, as the pokéballs were then suddenly converted into light and they all shot at Hugh's pokédex.
The blunette checked the dex, confirming that Nate's team was caught by him, and were transferred to Hugh's PC storage system since Hugh himself had a full party.
"Hugh...?" Nate asked.
"You have quite some nerve to steal what is rightfully mine," Miles growled at Hugh, where he snapped his fingers for Darmanitan to face Hugh.
"They became wild Pokémon, right?" Hugh asked with a smirk. "Then that means they're free game for anyone to catch them if they're fast enough."
"Grandfather declared that they are mine," Miles scowled, before signaling the men. "Guards, arrest him too. Anyone who steals what is declared to be mine are branded as criminals!"
"What kind of petty logic is that?!" Hugh argued as he took out his own pokéball, sensing the danger that he put himself in.
"The Riches' word is law in this town," Miles scoffed. "And going against it will be met with extreme judgment."
"Well then," Hugh muttered as he released Tornadus. "If Nate's team is being auctioned off against his will, then like hell I'll let them fall into your incompetent hands! Tornadus!"
Before the men could try and restrain Hugh, Tornadus flapped his wings furiously, causing a huge sandstorm to encase the area and blinding everyone. When the sand cleared, Hugh and Tornadus were gone.
"Damn it!" Miles growled. "...I'll send a search party out later. He won't escape my wrath!"
"Alright then," Mayor Riches said. "Take the scum away. We're done here it would seem."
The men nodded, before dragging Nate with them back to the large mansion.
"I invite the rest of you into my mansion," Mayor Riches offered the remaining group. "It must have been traumatizing being forced to cooperate with a dangerous criminal such as that brat. I also do have much to talk about, along with offer my gratitude for allowing today to happen."
"I-I'll pass for now," Bianca stammered. "I wanted to rest up a little at the center, before investigating Reversal Mountain once more."
"Understandable," Mayor Riches nodded understandingly. "My invitation still stands later. You two however. Please, do come along to my humble abode."
Yancy's father beckoned Yancy to go along, which she had no choice in the matter, as the family followed Mayor Riches. Rosa stepped back, but Miles wrapped his arm around her shoulder again.
"C'mon, it won't be that bad," Miles said in a smooth voice.
Rosa tried to resist, but Miles managed to keep her from breaking free with a strong grip, as she was forced to walk with Miles to his home. Now all that was left was Bianca, who somehow managed to escape Mayor Riches offer to go to his home.
"...I need to call Cheren," Bianca murmured.
"GAH!"
The men hurled Nate into a cell located underneath the Riches Mansion, before slamming the barred door on him, preventing him from escaping. The boy was stripped of all of his belongings save his clothes; his Pokémon, his dex, his bag, his knives, everything. From the other side of the bars, Mayor Riches haughtily looked down on the boy in a similar fashion to his grandson.
"To think fate would yield this card," Mayor Riches said. "I do believe I am blessed by Arceus almighty."
Nate merely glared at the fat man in front of him, leading the mayor to simply chuckle.
"I must give credit where it is do though," Mayor Riches went on. "You trained the riolu into a formidable lucario. Your complete massacre against my grandson back in Driftveil is proof enough. I'll make sure it will not be wasted any longer."
Nate growled in response, his hatred for the man in front of him rising.
"Now then," Mayor Riches said. "I do have a meeting to go to with Mr. Lapis in regards to future agreements. An idol returned after a month of disappearance. There's profits to reap from the opportunity."
"YOU BASTARD!" Nate snarled as he tried to lunge at him, but fell down since he was still hand-cuffed.
"It's so satisfying watching you squirm after having escaped my clutches three years ago," Mayor gloated. "Now then, I'll come back for you later boy."
Letting out a loud, obnoxious laugh, Mayor Riches left with his men, leaving Nate to roll back up with the restricted use of his arms, seething in his own anger.
"DAMN IT!" Nate yelled as he kicked the floor.
Everything could not have gone any worse. The one person Nate wanted to avoid with his life had found him. The fucking bastard took Luca. The rest of his team were forcibly removed from him. Everything was removed from him. And now Nate was stuck in this jail cell underneath this fucking mansion helplessly waiting for whatever the fat bastard decided to do with him.
And all because of fucking Rosa.
She criticized him for going against their backs and plotting. She kept pestering him ever since they reached Mistralton about everything; trying to learn everything about him to the point of her going batshit insane for whatever reason. And now she had went behind everyone's backs just to get rid of Yancy. She criticized him for going against everyone's backs, but she does the exact same thing to get rid of Yancy. She informed Yancy's family–whom he knows that she does not want to go back to– that they were coming to Undella, and that was enough to signal the fatass on his track.
The only saving grace that Nate could possibly think of was that Hugh was smart and fast enough to catch the rest of his team that were forced to go wild and keep them safe. He would rather kill himself than let that hellspawn of that fatass get his team.
Nate let out a sigh, calming down somewhat. He knew that being frustrated at this point would be futile. Thinking about it logically, while Rosa did in fact backstab them in a sense, there was no way she could have known about Luca's history with the town and their tyrannical rulers. If anything, that part was merely one horrendous coincidence.
But the boy could not help but feel immense anger and hatred at Rosa at the moment. No matter what, he could not dispel the resentment he is feeling right now.
"...Keh...This is the first I ever felt this powerless..." Nate murmured. Even against Marshall, at the very least he had a team to fight with. Now, he was all alone, with no power to change his fate.
"...Kyurem was right..." Nate murmured weakly. "...Humans are pathetic...humans are evil...no good will ever come out from humanity...Not even myself..."
With a feeling of despair invading his thoughts as he was left truly helpless, Nate could do nothing but cackle in despair in the gloomy jail cell that imprisoned him.
Hugh sighed in relief when he realized that the Riches' search party had lost his trail. His quick escape led him to Route 13, where Hugh took hiding underneath the bridges of the route, submerged within the cold waters beneath the bridges while carried by Tornadus. Hugh wrung the water out of his clothes, before putting them back on, seeing no other option for clothing.
"...At least I lost them," Hugh muttered, before taking out his pokédex. "And thank Arceus you're waterproof."
Hugh accessed the PC storage system that was linked to his trainer ID, before checking up on the only contents of his personal storage. Within the storage, Bo, Vire, Brav, Deo and Zoro were all resting.
"At least you guys are safe," Hugh said, glad to have been fast enough to catch them before Miles could. "...But what now...?"
The news of Luca's origins were still fresh in his mind. So was the news that Nate had stolen her from the Riches three years ago. And due to the sudden occurrences that happened within the span of minutes, the usual quartet were now separated: with himself on the run having angered the metaphorical dictators of Undella Town, Yancy forced back to her family, Rosa probably going with the Riches, and Nate more or likely behind bars, or worse. While the mayor had painted the whole story as if Nate stealing Luca was some unforgivable crime that should earn Nate everyone's scorn and disdain, several things stuck as odd to Hugh.
First and foremost was Luca herself. Throughout the entire journey, Luca was quite possibly Nate's most loyal Pokémon, with only Bo and Brav arguably matching up to her loyalty. From what Hugh can remember, Nate and Luca had a very close and fond relationship. It would be odd that the usually cool-headed and tough Luca would spiral into a traumatic breakdown of that proportion just by the mere sight of the mayor. Of course it could just be a rather complex case of Stockholm syndrome, but Hugh highly doubted that was the case. Luca genuinely seemed terrified to see the mayor. Trying to keep Luca away from the Riches would be a valid reason for Nate wishing to avoid Undella Town like the plague.
Furthermore, no one heard Nate's side of the story. While the Riches certainly did not care for that, and Yancy's family definitely would not know, judging Nate solely on the story the Riches said was unfair. Sure Nate's moral ambiguity was questionable at best, but knowing Nate, Hugh refused to believe that he would just simply do something like steal Luca without a reason. At the very least, Hugh wanted to hear Nate's side of the story, before deciding on whether to declare Nate a villain or not.
Of course, Hugh would never be able to make the decision if Nate is stuck in prison. And judging from how the Riches instantly branded Hugh a criminal of equal level simply by abusing a loophole to justify his actions, Hugh was not keen on leaving Nate alone for long. If a fourteen-year-old knife nut was deadly enough, then Hugh did not want to imagine just how 'creative' a governing body could get with punishments. Especially one as seemingly shady as the Riches presented themselves to be.
"...If there's any way to return a favor, then a jailbreak is definitely one way to do it," Hugh decided.
"How ballsy then."
Hugh jumped in surprise and bolted around, seeing the black-cladded Schwartzer seemingly appear out of nowhere and leaning against the rock wall that was one of the rock formations of Route 13.
"Wha–Schwartzer?!" Hugh blurted as Tornadus got in a defensive stance, ready to strike Schwartzer.
"You could simply leave this place and be off scot free, having obtained five strong Pokémon," Schwartzer said. "But instead you choose your loyalty to Nate and plan to break him out of the Riches' iron grip in spite of the possible consequences. How touching, if not a bit foolish."
"You know of the Riches?" Hugh asked.
"Yeah," Schwartzer answered. "I got a tip that says the wealthy family is hiding a rather bountiful amount of skeletons in their closets, so to say. I wanna see if the tip is real or not."
The man's red eyes glanced down on Hugh's own red eyes. They magnified huge amounts of pressure upon Hugh.
"You wish to save Nate. I wish to find the truth," Schwartzer said. "They both involve going through the corrupt kingdom that is the Riches and their foundation. Sounds like a good base to form an alliance, does it not?"
Hugh looked confused for a moment, before realizing what Schwartzer was implying.
"You want to help me?" Hugh asked.
"Like I said, our goals coincide," Schwartzer replied. "I'd rather not toot my own horn, but I doubt you'll find a stronger ally than me. Especially when you're low on options."
Hugh considered his words. Indeed, in such times of desperation, Schwartzer was quite possibly the strongest ally Hugh could ask for. Surely with Schwartzer's help, Hugh could save Nate.
"...You do have a point," Hugh nodded, before extending his hand. "Consider the alliance a deal."
"A good answer," Schwartzer nodded, accepting the hand and shaking it. "Let's do our best then."
With the alliance set in stone, Schwartzer began to walk off towards the direction of Undella, with Hugh and Tornadus following behind.
"So...what's the plan?" Hugh asked Schwartzer.
"I already had Weiss infiltrate the mansion," Schwartzer explained. "She'll provide us with an infiltration route, and anything she finds beforehand."
"Got it," Hugh nodded.
"By the way," Schwartzer suddenly inquired as they took a stop. "You're rather close with Iris, correct?"
"Huh? Iris?" Hugh asked confused. "Yeah, why?"
"You have a way to contact her right now?'
"Yeah I have her number."
"Well now," Schwartzer said in an amused tone. "Aren't we a ladies man?"
"Wha–it's not like that," Hugh blurted, his expression becoming red with embarrassment for once.
"Call her," Schwartzer told him. "Tell her about the situation at hand."
"Why...?" Hugh asked. He failed to see how Iris of all people could help with this scenario, despite it being another powerful ally.
"Trust me on this," Schwartzer said. "You won't regret it."
Still somewhat skeptical about it, Hugh nonetheless took out his Xtransceiver and dialed Iris' number. After a minute or so, Iris picked up the call.
"Hello? Hugh?" Iris asked from her line.
"Hey," Hugh greeted.
"Oh hi Hugh!" Iris replied energetically. "What's up? It's pretty rare that you would call me."
"Well...I'm kinda in a bind, right now. A lot happened," Hugh mumbled, earning a confused tilt from Iris. The blunette then proceeded to explain the situation to the Dragon-type expert girl, all up to how Schwartzer recommended that he inform her of the situation. "And that's the gist of it."
"That's horrible!" Iris yelled from her line. "That's not even fair at all!"
"Right," Hugh said. "And while I would like to not have to rope you into this mess, I need all the help I can get. And you would definitely be good help."
Hugh expected another energetic response from Iris; how she would gladly jump on board to go save Nate. However, what Hugh got silence, accompanied by a rather serious-looking Iris. Hugh was rather surprised; this...was out of character of everything he knew about Iris.
"Don't worry, Hugh," Iris said in an equally serious tone. "I'll be over there as soon as possible!"
"...Right," Hugh replied. "Thanks, Iris."
"Just hang in there," Iris said, before cutting off the line.
Hugh ended the call, before turning back to Schwartzer.
"Trust me on this," Schwartzer insisted. "For now, let's get a move on."
"-You certainly know more than you let on,-" Tornadus decided to say as they moved on.
"Maybe," Schwartzer said absentmindedly.
Rosa was in hell. She found herself sitting in an, admittedly comfortable, and expensive-looking chair next to Yancy and Miles around a large dining table, where the other guests consisted of what she assumed to be the remainder of the Riches: a girl around Miles' age, an older-looking woman visually roughly the same age as Yancy's father, and an elderly-looking woman who complemented the old mayor sitting next to her. Yancy's father was sitting next to Yancy, while Curtis was sitting next to the father.
Apparently Rosa was honored a seat for having brought Yancy to her family, and inadvertently led Nate and Luca to them, and also because Miles took an interest in her in spite of their last encounter; all things Rosa did not want any part of.
"Once again, I do have to thank you Miss Rosa," Mayor Riches said politely to Rosa. "Without your help, the reunion of Unova's beloved Nancy and catching the boy who escaped with my lucario for three years would not be possible."
"Ah...thank you," Rosa replied uncomfortably.
"No need to be shy," Miles said to her. "What you did was a righteous act. Justice will be served for the Riches."
"Now now, Miles," the girl giggled. "No need to go all pomp and circ."
"Oh please Susan," Miles scoffed. "Such an occasion is worth the pomp!"
"Now you two, calm down," the woman, Trish, said amusingly.
"Yes Mother," the two replied curtly.
"Now then," the elderly woman, Clairdonna said. "Zillion dear, I do believe you wished to discuss things with Mister Lapis."
"Of course, dear," Mayor Riches said.
"Once again I'm thankful for you offering your support in searching for Yancy," Yancy's father, Mr. Lapis, said to Mayor Riches.
"Not a problem, Mr. Lapis," Mayor Riches replied. "Our security team proved to be the best in their field with tracking down the boy and your daughter."
While Mr. Lapis looked pleased, Yancy and Rosa were doing their best to hide their dread. Curtis seemed to be the only one to notice that.
"Now that leaves the matter of how to address the problem of Nancy being missing for a whole month," Mr. Lapis muttered. "We're so behind schedule because of it. And there's the problem of explaining it to the public."
The fact that Yancy was apparently the Unovan pop idol Nancy infuriated Rosa even more. Yancy threw such a life away just to take Nate away from her!
'You reunite with your daughter and that's the first thing that you're worried about, huh,' Yancy thought bitterly, on the other hand.
"Well the answer's quite simple, really," Mayor Riches offered. "Simply announce to the public that the boy kidnapped your daughter, and that our family had rescued her from his clutches."
"...Fair enough," Mr. Lapis agreed.
"While we can just leave it there," Mayor Riches said. "...I do have a proposition for you, Mr. Lapis."
"A proposition?" the father-manager asked.
"I suggest a publicity stunt," Mayor Riches offered. "Announce that my son, Miles was the one to save your daughter from the rat. And then announce that the two are in a relationship."
"WHAT?!" both Yancy and Curtis blurted out.
"Sit down, you two," Mr. Lapis said sternly, making his two children reluctantly sit down. "Mayor Riches, while I am grateful for your help, your offer seems to be a bit excessive."
"It's merely something we ask in return for our support," Mayor Riches shrugged. "If you go along with this stunt, we shall continue to offer you our support, whether it be through financial aids or political aid, whatever it is, it shall be done."
"...Well when you put it like that..." Mr. Lapis murmured.
"Dad, you can't be seriously considering that!" Curtis objected.
"Curtis!" Mr. Lapis scolded. "The benefits we get from this is staggering. You'd be a fool in business not to clutch it."
"But Dad–!" Curtis yelled.
"This alliance outweighs all cons," Mr. Lapis shot back. "All Yancy needs to do is act like she's in a relationship with Mister Miles, and the support we get from this will boon our livelihoods way more than we could have ever reached with you two alone."
"Do you really think Yancy's okay with this at all?!" Curtis argued.
"Yancy will do as she is told," Mr. Lapis declared. "She knows what's best for her future. She knows how beneficial having the Riches' support is."
The man placed his hand on Yancy's shoulder, making her freeze.
"Won't you, Yancy?" Mr. Lapis asked his daughter, although it sounded more like an order of finality than a question.
All eyes were on the pinkette now. Some expectant, while others worried and cautious.
"...Yes Dad," Yancy mumbled, intimidated by her father.
"Good," Mr. Lapis nodded in approval.
This. This was the kind of life Yancy wanted to escape from. The life where she was not her father's daughter, but her manager's puppet to make sure they do not fall into poverty ever again.
"Excellent," Mayor Riches said happily, while Miles and the rest of the family had a triumphant smirk on their faces. "Once we take care of our loose ends, then we'll get ready for the public announcement."
"Very well," Mr. Lapis nodded, extending his hand out to Mayor Riches, who accepted it. "How long will your preparations take?"
"Shouldn't take too long," Mayor Riches said. "Perhaps, two to three days at most."
"Understood," Mr. Lapis said. "We'll be in touch. I'm probably going to have to spend a few days with catching up to do with opportunities and planning out concerts."
"Understandable," Mayor Riches nodded. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you."
With the conversation-turned-business deal ending, all the adults stood up to resume their own business.
"Ah, Yancy, Rosa, please do stay around a little longer," Miles said. "I would like to talk to Yancy about our future relationship, and I believe Rosa hasn't gotten a proper enough show of gratitude."
"Very well," Mr. Lapis said without a second thought as he left. "Be back by five, Yancy. Curtis, come along."
Curtis gave his father a look of disbelief, before groaning and reluctantly doing as he was told. Yancy and Rosa remained seated, unable to move from their own conflicting emotions.
"Trust us, Miles will be a great suitor to have," Susan told Yancy as she passed by her.
"Poor girls," Trish said sympathetically. "It must have been terrible to have to be forced to be with that vermin."
Rosa cast them a vehement glare, but the two Riches women were already off without a care.
"Miles, please come with me to see Mr. Lapis off," Mayor Riches said.
"Of course, Grandfather," Miles said as he took off with his grandfather.
With everyone having left, it was just Rosa and Yancy left in the room. Before Yancy could react, Rosa let out an angry howl before pinning Yancy to the ground.
"WHAT THE–?!" Yancy blurted. "WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!"
"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Rosa yelled.
"What?! My fault?! You're the one who set this all up behind our backs!"
"IF YOU JUST HADN'T RAN AWAY FROM HOME AND STOLE NATE FROM ME, THEN NONE OF THIS WOULD'VE HAPPENED!"
"WHA–What're you–?!" Yancy yelled, before Rosa started to shake her roughly, slamming her head against the floor in the process. "GET OFF ME!"
Yancy managed to push Rosa off of her, forcing her to let go and allowing Yancy to back up for some air.
"Seriously, what's wrong with you?!" Yancy exclaimed. "You're acting crazy, Rosa!"
"Oh don't act like you don't know," Rosa growled. "You've been stealing Nate from me! His attention, his praise, everything! YOU TOOK HIM AWAY FROM ME!"
"WHAT?!" Yancy uttered. "Wait, why do you care so much? You're acting like I intentionally stole Nate from you or something! You don't even like him like that!"
Rosa opened her mouth for another retort, but she froze up, unable to form words as her feelings for Nate were made apparent. Her cheeks slowly grew red from the embarrassment.
"...Wait, you actually like him like that?" Yancy asked, completely caught off guard.
"SH-SHUT UP!" Rosa yelped. "You love him too, don't you?!"
"Wha–I–uh..." Yancy stammered, her cheeks rising in color in a similar fashion.
"SEE! You do love him!" Rosa accused. "And that's why this is all your fault! You kept stealing Nate away from me!"
"So that justifies you doing all this!? Just to get rid of me?!" Yancy accused back.
"It's not like you needed Nate anyways!" Rosa went on. "You had a luxurious and successful life as the pop idol all of Unova loves! Fame, fortune, fans! You probably had it all! You would've definitely led a way more successful life than you'd probably ever have following Nate, had you just STUCK to it! But NOOOOO that wasn't enough, was it!? You just had to selfishly abandon it all, throw Unova in a panic, and make all your fans worry to death, just because you want Nate!"
Yancy's eyes widened slightly more than they already were. The fact that Rosa was going on a crazed rampage right now was concerning, but the bun-haired girl crossed a line that not even the docile and gentle Yancy would tolerate.
"You were already set for life if you just went down that idol path!" Rosa kept going. "But NO, you just had to throw it all away just because you knew you couldn't get Nate like that, you ungrateful bitch! He was my knight I fell in love with ever since Driftveil! You don't deserve him at all!"
"...What do you know...?"
"Huh?!" Rosa growled, but was shocked to see Yancy with a look of pure rage on her face.
"DO YOU REALLY THINK I WAS HAPPY WITH MY LIFE?!" Yancy yelled back, snapping Rosa out of her rage and into a stupor. "You saw how my own dad handled things! We're not father-daughter! He's my manager, and he only sees me as a product to sell to the public! He literally paired me off with that jerk without even considering my feelings! He only cared about how we were behind of schedule and how we missed so many opportunities and whatnot! Not once did he ever considered how I felt throughout the whole thing at all! He only cared about how I could make him more money and publicity! My own dad doesn't even see me as a daughter anymore! So yes, running away from that life which was definitely more profitable was selfish of me to do for my fans. But I definitely did not enjoy that life!"
Rosa was left mouth agape as Yancy went on, letting out years of pent-up anger and turmoil.
"Yes I was grateful that so many people loved my singing! Yes I was grateful that the country accepted my idol image! But that's Nancy they love!" Yancy went on. "I'm nowhere in the picture! No one cared about me! They only cared about Nancy! I'm just the outlet my dad uses to get rich! I might as well not even exist in their eyes! If you really think I was content with just being a confined puppet then you don't know me at all! Don't you DARE claim that I took my life for granted, because it was no glamourous wonderland of a life! IT WAS A SLAVERY!
"And you wanna know something? Nate. He didn't know who I was back in Virbank, but he still helped me anyways! He actually listened to what I had to say back at Nimbasa! He gave me the words I wanted and needed to hear! He actually cared about me–not the idol everyone else cares about, but ME! Yancy Lapis! So if you're accusing me of falling in love with him, then yes, I did fell in love with Nate! I AM in love with Nate! Because he cares! He gave me the strength to not simply be someone else's puppet, but to be my own self! I didn't seduce him or anything you think I did–I ran away from home because I was sick and tired of it! And I followed him because I wanted to follow him! To try and obtain a new life that I could be proud of! That I was happy with! I stayed by his side so that I could repay him for giving me the strength to try and escape this hell of a life I was trapped in, however I can–even if it's small and meaningless to him! Even if that meant turning a blind eye to everything he did that another person from the outside would look at and rightfully question. Not because of some petty one-sided rivalry with you that I didn't even know existed until now!
"And you know what? I looked up to you. You're also a girl around the same age as me, yet you're a much better trainer than I'll ever be. You actually have freedom to play with. You had the courage to do what I wanted to do, but was scared to do, which was actually calling Nate out on the things he did that were clearly wrong. I was scared that if I tried to correct him about the things he did, even if they were clearly in the wrong, if I tried to pry into his personal life, if I did anything that would go against him, even if I should, then it would just make more distance between us. He could even leave us if I tried anything like that. And I was afraid of that! I wanted to be by his side! To help him! Not do anything to give him a reason to hate me. And that's why I looked up to you. Because you had the courage to do that, and I didn't."
Rosa was still left gob-smacked. She had no idea Yancy looked up to her like that. But before she could react, Yancy decided to put the focus of her anger on Rosa's actions now.
"I don't care what you call me, but don't you dare ask like you're completely innocent!" Yancy argued. "You say you love Nate, but all you've been doing is making him more and more frustrated with you! Yes, you were right to call him out on keeping secrets from us! But then you go and become a hypocrite by going behind our backs and setting all this up just because you couldn't stand me anymore! Because you and your disillusioned head thought that I was 'stealing' Nate from you! Oh he's more worried about me? You and I both know that I'm weaker than you as a trainer! Of course he'd be more concerned with me than you when you already established yourself to be a strong trainer! You don't need constant supervision in the wild unlike me!
"Everyone knows that if you hadn't gone behind everyone's backs to set this up, none of this would be happening! The Riches know! My dad knows! Nate knows! I'm pretty sure you yourself know that, but don't want to admit it! What you're doing isn't love–it's just a crazed and unhealthy obsession!"
"Wha–it's not crazy or unhealthy!" Rosa finally managed to form some words to defend herself. "I trust him! I LOVE him! I have every right to–!"
"No, you don't have any right AT ALL!" Yancy interrupted her. "Why do you think he must tell you everything about him!? Oh just because you trust and love him, that automatically means that he has to share his whole life story with you!? You didn't even care whether he wanted to or not! That's just you acting entitled! For all we know, he could hate both of us! He has secrets he wants to keep! That he obviously didn't feel comfortable with sharing with the rest of us! If he trusts us enough–if he felt comfortable enough, then that's when he should tell us! Not when you try to force him to spill by constantly pestering him to the point that he would actually act like the criminal everyone keeps claiming he is! There no wonder he's been frustrated with you ever since Mistralton!
"Did you really think he could trust us with a secret as big and important as how he stole Luca?! When he could easily assume that we would turn him over to the police when he admitted to doing a crime?! I would be cautious and scared too if I had such a secret like that! You don't see me constantly harking at him to tell us his darkest secrets! If anything, you're acting like the ungrateful bitch here!"
Rosa gritted her teeth. Yancy's spiel seemed to only have made her even angrier with what little reason Rosa has left in her.
"For God's sake Rosa, have you even considered how you've been acting this whole time?!"
That last sentence from Yancy made Rosa snap. The bun-haired girl let out an angry scream before lunging at Yancy again. This time though, Yancy made an effort to attack Rosa back, as both girls were at each other's throats.
"You've been talking a lot of shit, y'know that?!" Rosa yelled. "YOU KEEP THAT UP AND I'LL KILL YOU!"
'YOU KEEP PREACHING ABOUT DYING SO MUCH, SO YOU WANT ME TO FUCKING KILL YOU THEN?!'
At that very moment, Nate's frustrated death threat from all the way back at Mistralton rang throughout Rosa's mind, making her stop dead in her tracks. In fact both of them stopped what they were doing. Yancy looked utterly horrified at Rosa for actually threatening to kill her, while Rosa herself was equally surprised, and horrified at what her own anger had allowed to slip through.
"I–," Rosa stammered. "I didn't mean–."
Rosa tried to make another rebuttal, but suddenly her throat felt dry. Not only was Yancy's rage-induced rant still echoing throughout her, Rosa's own threat was what really snapped Rosa out of her own craziness. The bun-haired girl immediately recalled her actions ever since she started to feel jealous about Yancy. She was immediately met with the memories and recollections of her own actions. From viewing it from an outside perspective, and she realized that Yancy was right.
Rosa had been acting completely out of line. Her 'love' for Nate had devolved into a withering and insane obsession. It was her own envy and desperation that kept her from realizing it this whole time. It was no wonder why Nate kept acting increasingly frustrated with her. She was acting like a complete bitch the whole time, and she did not acknowledge that to the point that it had to take Yancy and all her anger combined to make Rosa realize it. Yancy did nothing wrong. In fact, she was suffering far worse than Rosa had ever been even before they had ever met. But Rosa did nothing but antagonize her, even when Yancy tried to be friends.
"I..." the bun-haired girl mumbled weakly, before getting off Yancy and stepping back, tears falling from her eyes. "I'm an idiot. I'm so sorry..."
Yancy stared back at Rosa, where her horrified expression became sympathizing. Sure Rosa had claimed all those terrible things that were not true about Yancy, and the pinkette had every right to call her out on it along with her questionable actions, but Yancy could not help but feel sorry for her friend. The fact that Rosa had finally realized it and was feeling immense guilt over it meant that Rosa did not intend for things to have occurred as they did. Rosa had realized the errors of her actions, and felt immense guilt over all of them.
"Rosa..." Yancy mumbled, kneeling down to Rosa's level and watching her cry with sympathy.
While both girls were collecting their feelings of the situation, neither of them had realized that Curtis had listened on them the whole time. The lime-haired boy had managed to make an excuse of needing to go to the bathroom to stay behind and check up on his little sister and the girl he considered a precious friend. He was shocked to hear that both Yancy and Rosa were in love with the boy that presumably kidnapped Yancy and the shiny lucario. He was shocked to hear Rosa with so much rage and desperation; it was a far cry from what he knew of her. But what most shocked Curtis, and made him feel guilty for, was Yancy. Curtis was aware of Yancy's bitter relationship with their father. And yet, Curtis did nothing. Sure he offered moral support here and there, but Curtis did nothing to truly help Yancy. And that made Curtis hate himself. She was his precious little sister, and Curtis did nothing but leave her to rot in her own misery.
But what intrigued Curtis the most was Nate. The boy who supposedly kidnapped Yancy was the one who gave Yancy the true moral support she wanted and desperately needed. The fact that both Yancy and Rosa felt such fervent emotions for someone who was allegedly a criminal was baffling, to say the least. When the argument died down, and it seemed that Rosa had come to a realization, Curtis did not know what to do. His image of both Yancy and Rosa were completely shattered with the new information. And the boy felt miserable for not realizing that both of them were in that much distress.
The boy was silent, alone in his own thoughts for a moment, before deciding on his own actions. He took a pokéball and sent out a luxray. The large, electrical lynx Pokémon landed in front of him and patiently awaited his trainer's orders.
"Luxray, see if you can find a boy underneath the building," Curtis told Luxray. "He's around my age, and should have handcuffs on him."
Luxray nodded, before he glanced down; his eyes flashing brightly, granting him a special x-ray vision. He examined the floor below him. After a minute of searching, Luxray spotted a lone human figure deep below the floor he was staring at, and notified his trainer with a quick roar.
"You found him?" Curtis asked, where he got a nod from Luxray. "Alright, lead the way."
Luxray nodded once more as he led his trainer to where the lynx assumed the boy called 'Nate' was. Unfortunately for Curtis, he had turned around the corner of the hallway and failed to notice Miles returning to the dining hall.
"Wait, wait, calm down," Cheren told Bianca from his line. "So you're saying that he stole his lucario in the first place? And that they just up and arrested Nate?"
"And then they took Rosa and Yancy with them, and then Hugh just caught the rest of Nate's Pokémon and ran!" Bianca blurted.
The trainer-turned-teacher was currently in a call with his childhood friend back at his gym/school back in Aspertia City. Bianca had frantically contacted him with high urgency, prompting Cheren to give his class a break to step out and hear Bianca out. Bianca had then explained everything that she had seen happen in Undella Town to Cheren.
Cheren had an idea that Nate was hiding something in regards to Luca when he denied Cheren's inquiry of Luca's origins, but to think that Nate had stolen the lucario three years ago. That predated even his own journey with Hilbert and Bianca. However, was that really it? From what Bianca saw, Luca was flipping out; almost as if she was experiencing a traumatic attack. The reaction seemed genuine, and there was no explanation for that, and Cheren had a feeling Nate was the one who knew why. Not to mention the mayor of Undella Town had forcibly released Nate's team into the wild. The decision and mechanism to forcibly remove a Pokémon from one's ownership back into the wild was locked to the trainer themselves, to prevent others from stealing their Pokémon and release them into the wild, allowing them to catch said Pokémon for themselves, effectively stealing them.
...Which was exactly what the mayor of Undella had his men do. They had the technology to do so. And that was illegal on all counts. How they have that technology is beyond Cheren, but they should not have such technology.
"...This is just all too much right now," Cheren muttered. "It's as if everything just decided to blow up in one place."
"What should we do...?" Bianca asked. "Everyone's all over the place...I'm worried about Nate, Rosa and Yancy, and I don't know where Hugh ran off to."
"I know..." Cheren grumbled, before sighing. "...I'll head over as soon as I can."
"Are you sure?" Bianca asked. "If I can avoid it, I don't want to have to drag you into this too."
"There's too many things that're odd about the whole situation," Cheren replied. "And I'd rather not leave you alone in the middle of all this."
"O-Oh...thanks..." Bianca mumbled, blushing.
"I'll be there as soon as possible," Cheren told Bianca. "...Be careful."
"I will," Bianca assured Cheren.
Cheren nodded, before cutting off the connection and returning into his classroom.
"Sorry class, but urgent news arrived," Cheren told them. "I'll be canceling class now. You're all free to go home."
"Professor, are Rosa and Hugh alright?" one of the students asked, catching Cheren's attention.
"...You were eavesdropping," Cheren said, not accusingly, but stating.
"We kinda overheard Miss Bianca," the student admitted. "...While we don't know what's going on exactly...we can understand that both Rosa and Hugh are in trouble."
"They're gonna be alright...right?" another student asked in a worried tone.
All the students in Cheren's class shared similar expressions of concern. It could not be helped. Rosa and Hugh were once Cheren's students, and students in this class. While they had their rough edges, everyone in the class respected and liked each other; like one, big kin. Hearing that two of their own were in potential danger could only make them worry. Cheren could not help but smile though, if only to give his students a ray of hope. Even when they were gone for months now, they still cared about Rosa and Hugh.
"Don't worry everyone," Cheren assured them. "Even if they graduated a little earlier than the rest of you, they're still my students, and your precious friends. I'll make sure nothing happens to them."
That statement seemed to be enough to put his class in a little ease. Cheren made his final preparations, before he gave his class one last announcement.
"I'll contact you all when I get back. Until then, I do hope you all keep up with your studies," Cheren said. "Class dismissed!"
"Yes Professor!"
With a unanimous send-off, Cheren rushed out of his classroom and to a nearby window. Opening it, he sent out his unfezant while jumping out, who quickly grabbed Cheren before he could fall and set off into the air. Cheren was grateful that one of the perks of being a gym leader was being able to take a leave from duty at his own discretion, provided that he reported a legitimate reason for it. Wasting not even a single second, Cheren ordered Unfezant to fly as fast as he can, heading straight for Undella Town.
"...I hope he makes it in time..." Bianca mumbled, a worried look finding its place on her face.
She had found nearby the pokécenter, away from the mansion but making sure no one could hear her conversation. She had originally went to the pokécenter to inform the head nurse about the situation, but no one seemed to have believed her. The people of Undella Town viewed the mayor and the Riches on a golden pedestal due to their generous contributions to the town and its reformations. So when Bianca, a complete outsider, came in and claimed that the mayor just outright took someone's Pokémon and arrested them, they could not help but find it ridiculous and outlandish. Bianca was instantly met with doubt and ridicule for daring to accuse the mayor of a crime that they could not imagine him committing.
Seeing that the townsfolks would be useless to save Nate and the others, Bianca had to remove herself from the center and contact Cheren, hoping that her childhood friend would be of some necessary aid, as she could not possibly tackle the problem by herself. Thankfully for her, Cheren dropped everything to go help her as soon as possible. However considering the sheer distance there was from Aspertia to Undella, even if Unfezant went as fast as he could, it would take Cheren at least 2 hours. Bianca was worried if he would be able to make it on time, before things take a turn for the worst.
"Seriously! It happened in broad daylight! That was clearly illegal!" Bianca complained. "Is everyone so oblivious that they don't see anything wrong with that!? It's like everyone thinks the mayor can do whatever he wants!"
"That's precisely what Mayor Riches wants."
Bianca turned around to see several men in black suits, looming over her. Bianca yelped, before jumping back instinctively.
"While we couldn't find that blue-haired brat who stole Master Miles' new Pokémon," one of them said coldly. "You are a witness that escaped. Therefore we will detain you to prevent leakage of information."
"What?! You can't just do that!" Bianca yelled.
"We have the authority to prevent any and all potential factors that could bring trouble to the Riches family," one of the men stated. "As you have witnessed Mayor Riches detainment of the boy, you could potentially alert authorities outside of Mayor Riches jurisdiction."
"So you do admit what he did was illegal!" Bianca exclaimed, realizing the implications within the men's words. "Wait...so has the mayor been doing these kinds of things for who knows how long?!"
"That's none of your concern," one of the men retorted. "You are under arrest for suspicion of criminal activities. The mayor will pass judgment. Most likely you'll be sent under Master Miles' control."
Bianca quickly reached into her pocket to get one of her Pokémon, but one of the men reacted faster, grabbing her arms so she could not resist.
"Wha–Let go of me!" Bianca yelled as they swarmed her. "HELP!"
"It's no use," one of them said darkly. "No one will help you. No one in this town will dare go against the mayor's security force."
Bianca could not believe what was happening. She was being apprehended without an actual just reason, and the town is just letting them do whatever they want! At this rate she would be taken back to the Riches against her will, and she did not even want to think of what they would do to her...
"CHEREEN!" Bianca could only cry out desperately.
As if to answer her desperation, a strong torrent of bubbles shot out of nowhere, nailing the guy holding Bianca captive in the head, making him let go of her.
"Huh?" Bianca blurted, before falling on the floor on her behind. "Ow!"
The men turned around behind them to see a man concealed by a large cloak, accompanied by a rather angry-looking red, crustacean Pokémon and a large, red crocodile-like Pokémon. The crustacean had one of its pincers aimed at them, indicating that it was what shot the torrent of bubbles at them.
"What–who the hell are you?!" one of the men yelled as they sent out an army of golbats.
"Honestly, it's been over five years since I've last been here, and the first thing I see is the police force arresting an innocent girl against her own will," the man groaned. "It seems like they haven't changed a bit."
"You're under arrest for obstructing an arrest!" they yelled as the golbats assaulted the man.
"Crawdaunt, Blizzard! Krookodile, Dragon Claw!" the man yelled out.
Crawdaunt aimed his claws at the golbats, before blasting them with a strong burst of freezing air at the golbats. They were instantly encased in ice from the sheer cold of the blizzard, before dropping like flies. Krookodile, meanwhile, lunged for the men in black with azure claws and a strong tail, before slashing at them furiously, knocking them out one by one with swift strikes. Soon enough, all the security men and golbats were dealt with swiftly. The cloaked man approached Bianca, kneeling down to help her up.
"Are you alright, ma'am?" the man asked politely, offering a hand.
"Uh...yeah, thank you," Bianca said as he accepted the gesture. "Who are you?"
"I'm just someone who has some ties with this place," the man said as he helped her get back up. "And I overheard you trying to get help against the Riches. I assume no one believed you, yes?"
"Do you know what's going on?" Bianca asked.
"The Riches have complete control over this town thanks to their influence, unbelievably massive wealth and constant support they give it," the man explained in a rather negative tone. "It went to the point where they can do whatever they wish without the townsfolks even batting an eye."
"But–That's horrible!" Bianca gasped. "The town isn't their playground!"
"Unfortunately it devolved into that," the man shook his head. "The political corruption they have over the town reached to a point where no one from the outside even knows of what's going on. To them, this town has only been booming ever since Mayor Zillion Riches took over after the previous mayor went AWOL."
"The previous mayor?" Bianca asked.
"Mayor Million Riches," the man explained. "The town was much better when he was mayor in my opinion. At least he didn't abuse his own power over the town. But one day, the mayor mysteriously vanished. And his father, Zillion, took over. It went downhill from there."
"Uh...how do you know all this, if you don't me asking?" Bianca inquired, curious about the man's knowledge of Undella Town's situation.
"Because I witnessed it with my very own eyes," the man replied. "And I got disgusted by the corruption Mayor Zillion Riches spread out. So I left the town. Was able to escape his lackeys, but I was able to escape."
"Wow..." Bianca said in awe of the man's story, before finding something odd. "Wait...then why did you come back?"
The man, while his expression was still obscured by his hood, had a rather somber frown on his face.
"...I have some things to settle with the town," the man said. "Simple as that."
The man faced the mansion that seemed to tower over the rest of the town. "...You want to go in?"
"Huh?" Bianca asked.
"You said you wanted to save your friends, right?" the man asked. "I can get you into the mansion."
"You can!?" Bianca gasped, where the man nodded in response.
"I know a few ways in," the man told her. "Our goals coincide, so why not?"
Bianca glanced back at the mansion. The others were still stuck in there. And while they did not know each other too much, Bianca would be ashamed of herself if she let what was essentially her juniors stuck in what was now a corrupt prison to their fates. As their senior, she needed to go help them!
"Alright, you're on," Bianca replied. "But...can we wait for one more person? Cheren said he would be here as soon as possible."
"Not a problem," the man insisted. "However..."
He glanced down to the unconscious bodies of the men and golbat that tried to incarcerate Bianca.
"We should do something about them..."
Nate opened his eyes groggily. He found himself laying on the cold, stone floor of the cell he was still trapped in. It seemed that he had fallen asleep. Probably from exhaustion after numerous failed attempts to break the chain between his handcuffs. He first tried to forcibly rip them apart with his enhanced strength thanks to a combination of his natural strength and the special skin-tight wetsuit he was wearing, but to no avail. He then tried to break them with the knives that were concealed within his personalized shoes. That did not work either. The boy had given up after the chains refused to break, and then proceeded to collapse from exhaustion.
"...Right I'm still in hell..." Nate mumbled. "Whoopty fucking doo..."
"H-Hello...?"
The new voice out of nowhere snapped Nate's eyes open. He did not recognize the voice at all. It sounded fairly young too. Nate's eyes darted to the bars, where he spotted an unusual sight.
In front of his jail cell was a small boy who, much to Nate's frustration, looked like a smaller version of that bastard Miles. Nate was only mildly frustrated because the boy looked way more innocent (and somewhat intimidated) than the asshole would ever be in his mind. The boy had similar brown hair and eyes and was wearing a rather expensive-looking attire that fit the small child, and was peering at Nate with timid eyes. Accompanying him were two smaller Pokémon, one a round red ball-shaped Pokémon with small limbs and yellow brows, and the other was a slightly larger orange crustacean Pokémon. Nate recognized the two Pokémon as a darumaka and corphish, respectively.
"...What do you want, kid?" Nate asked, his tone very much irritated.
"Ah...I was wondering who you are," the small child said meekly. "This is usually my personal space...so I was surprised when I found you here."
Nate arched a brow. A jail cell was a kid's personal space.
"The jails is your own private room?" Nate asked incredulously. "Keh, you must have a shitty life then. Don't you live here? You should have a room that makes this place look like tauros crap."
The boy's expression changed; it became sad. Sadder than it initially appeared to be.
"I do have my own room..." the boy admitted. "But if I'm there, then Mother and Sister would come and tease me...Not to mention Brother..."
"What? From that tone, you don't like your family?" Nate asked, noting the boy's tone.
"I...I don't know anymore..." the boy answered, earning a somewhat surprised look from Nate.
"...Did something happen?" Nate decided to ask. "Something happen to make you even doubt your family in the first place?"
"We used to be one big happy family..." the boy explained. "But then Father and Grandfather got into a big fight one day...and Grandfather kicked Father out. I haven't seen Father ever since. From that day on, everyone changed. They all became...different...they became like those snobby adults on the cartoons...Sure they still take care of me, but...it's like they're different people now. They gloat and indulge themselves and do all sorts of mean things...It's like they see me as some kid they're forced to babysit now."
Nate stared at the boy, who looked like he was about to cry now after having to explain his opinion about his family. The darumaka and corphish gave him a concerned look.
"...Well I can see that," Nate muttered. "No offense but your family's pretty shitty. Or at least from what I saw. Your brother's a douchebag, and your asshole of a granddad is the reason why I'm even stuck here in the first place. And from what you explained, it seems like your sister and mom aren't too far off from the chopping board."
"Y-Yeah..." the boy mumbled, intimidated by Nate and his rather colorful vocabulary. "Everyone's...everyone's a jerk now..."
"...What about your dad?" Nate asked. "How was he like?"
"Father?" the boy asked, lightening up at the mention of his father. "He was the best. He always looked after everyone and did his best to make sure everyone in Undella Town was happy. He also would always play with me and read me bedtime stories and cheer me up whenever I was crying."
The boy looked much happier talking about his now-missing father than when he was talking about the rest of his family. Nate's eyes narrowed slightly. The boy praising his father almost reminded Nate of his own father. While it was a sliver of a memory now, Nate could still remember his father and his dumb, goofy smile, playing with him, Hilbert and Hilda.
But alas, it was all just a memory now, and it would stay that way for the rest of Nate's life. The dead can't be brought back to life, after all.
"Sounds like you really like your dad," Nate said, his tone much softer now.
"Yeah," the boy smiled, before realizing something, and slowly frowning. "But...he's gone now. I don't know where he is."
The boy looked like he was at the verge of tears. Darumaka and Corphish panicked before trying their best to cheer their master up.
"...Oi, don't cry," Nate said, gaining the boy's attention. "Crying won't change anything. It won't bring back your dad. You should've known this by now."
"Y-Yeah..." the boy said, his tone slightly breaking from the tears. "But...I can't help it...It's like everyone abandoned me...and I'm all alone..."
"...Being abandoned by family, huh," Nate mumbled. "I know that feeling, so I can relate. But c'mon, stay strong here."
Nate got the boy's attention once more. "Someday, you'll grow up to be a trainer. If you work hard enough, you'll be a strong trainer. Probably way better than your pathetic brother. When that happens, you can go off on your own journey and look for your dad. You may not know where he is, or where he will be, but you shouldn't give up."
"Y-You really think so?" the boy asked. "You think I can become better than Brother? You think I can find Father?"
"Your bro's skill level is not a hard thing to reach," Nate scoffed. "Finding your dad...well...it'll take a while, that's for sure. But if you still believe in him, then I'd say it's worth not giving it up. If you give up, then you'll never find him."
The boy gazed at Nate with wide eyes, seemingly inspired by his words. The boy then cracked a smile.
"Thank you," the boy said. "What's your name?"
"My name?" Nate asked. "...Nate. Nate Warren."
"Nate...okay," the boy said. "I'm Draco."
"At least your name's cooler-sounding than your bro's," Nate snickered.
"I guess," Draco could not help but laugh, before moving on. "But...Mr. Nate...why are you locked up here? All alone in the jail cell?"
"I'd like to know that too."
Both eyes now turned to see a third person in the jail. Standing on a wall next to the bars was a boy around Nate's age with light blonde hair that goes down to his shoulders from the back and dark green eyes, wearing a black, blue and green cap, green vest with a greyish collar, a black long sleeve shirt underneath and jeans. Next to the boy was a large luxray, which scared Darumaka and Corphish to frantically get in front of Draco to protect him from the scary-looking electric-type.
"Wha–wh–who are you?" Draco stammered, having not noticed the newcomer.
"You can call me Curtis," the boy introduced himself. "I was invited as a guest here."
"Curtis...?" Nate asked, staring at the boy. "Wait...where have I...?"
"We did meet before," Curtis said. "You brought Yancy to her interview with Elesa, which turned into a gym battle. I'm her brother."
"You're her brother?" Nate asked.
"I'm also the one who called Rosa about Yancy," Curtis elaborated.
"...Oh you're the dude Rosa's been going behind everyone's backs to talk to," Nate almost snarled.
"In her defense, she didn't know this would all happen, and neither did I," Curtis defended himself. "I simply wanted to find Yancy after she disappeared."
"Hmph..." Nate muttered. "So what? You came to gloat? To ridicule me? I am her 'kidnapper' after all."
"Everyone else might believe that, but evidence points to otherwise," Curtis shot back. "...I overheard Yancy and Rosa arguing. It was a rather nasty one too. I know Yancy ran away because Dad was more or less emotionally abusing and neglecting her. I know that what Rosa and I did was behind your back, and it led to something that no one saw coming. And I know that they both love you."
"...Both?" Nate asked, actually confused.
"For someone that seemed so cunning, you're pretty slow when it comes to a girl's emotions," Curtis could not help but chuckle. "In case you haven't noticed, they both love you. They both look up to you. And you clearly have a huge impact in their lives. Enough to give Yancy the courage to actually abandon her life as Nancy and to go against Dad's greed."
Nate blinked, letting the information Curtis revealed sink in and process. Rosa and Yancy...they both...felt that way about him? At the very least it explained why the two seemed to be rather clingy about him lately. And it explained Rosa's freak confession. And why she suddenly became so clingy and insane.
"I...see..." Nate mumbled, not knowing how to react.
"I'm jealous," Curtis said. "Jealous that you have such an impact on their lives, and are able to get them to love you that much, while I failed to understand either of them and help them when they really needed it. So that's why I'm here. To judge you not by the words and rumors of others, but by you yourself. I want to see what kind of person you are; what kind of person they fell in love with. You giving little Draco here the pep talk is a good start."
Nate stared at Curtis. The boy seemed to be much more rational than the majority of the people he had the displeasure to have been forced to encounter. He was almost like Hugh in that sense, except Hugh became much more rational and level-headed when Nate had to force into his head that his own grudge was petty and flawed at best, as hypocritical as that might sound at this very moment. Nate could not judge Curtis at the moment, but he felt that Yancy's brother was at the very least someone he could reason with.
"...So what? You want to know what kind of person I am?" Nate asked.
"I'd like to know the reason why Mayor Riches decided to take your Pokémon and imprison you in the first place," Curtis said. "He said his side of the story. But what about yours?"
"You stole something from Grandfather?" Draco asked.
Nate glanced at the two, before sighing. Nate was not going to leave any time soon anyways.
"Fine," Nate said. "Why I decide to tell you two first than those idiots it beyond me, but whatever. They're probably gonna kill me when they're done with whatever it is they're planning, so might as well leave some dying words.
"...Yeah, I stole something from this place. From that fat bastard. Three years ago. It was a lone, shiny riolu, who looked absolutely scared for her life..."
From there, Nate explained the events that occurred that led to Nate meeting Luca for the first time, back when she was still a small riolu, and which led to Nate stealing her from the Riches and escaping, along with his reasons for doing so. The whole retelling of Nate's robbery was met with shocked expressions from both Curtis and Draco.
"But–that's just wrong!" Draco exclaimed. "If anything, Grandfather's the bad guy here then!"
"He's right," Curtis nodded. "If what you said is true, then in reality, what you did was in fact way better than leaving the riolu to her own fate in here."
"But tell that to anyone else," Nate said. "The street rat or the established businessman. There's no way they'd believe me over him. Frankly I'm surprised you're even believing me to begin with."
"I doubt you'd have any reason to lie right now," Curtis replied.
"Whatever..." Nate muttered. "It doesn't matter anyways. When they're done with whatever they'll probably come up with some bullshit story to explain Yancy disappearing for a month."
"It's that you kidnapped her and that Miles rescued her from you," Curtis told Nate.
"Motherfucker," Nate swore. "Anyways. They'll probably just kill me and cover it all up to make it look like I kidnapped her this whole time, and make themselves look like the heroes. I can see that happening."
"No! That's not right!" Draco objected. "You were doing a good thing! You're a nice person! You can't just die! Darumaka! Corphish! Can you break the lock?"
"...Stop," Nate told Draco, stopping Darumaka and Corphish from trying to break the lock. "Look, I know now that you're nothing like your shitty granddad and brother. If anything, I'm pretty sure you're the only one in your goddamn family that isn't a complete asshole. And because of that, I'm not trying to get you involved in this shit. You've been through enough. I'm not gonna let you make your life even more miserable by pissing off your granddad just because you decided to help with my fuck up."
"But..." Draco sounded dejected for being unable to help his new friend.
"If you won't let Draco help you," Curtis said. "Then let me help you."
Curtis motioned to Luxray, who nodded, before walking over to the lock. Luxray's eyes glowed brightly, staring at the lock, before shoving one of his claws into it to try and pick the lock open.
"...That applies to you too, you know," Nate said. "If you break me out, then I'm sure your shitty dad's gonna get involved, and I'm pretty sure you'll end up getting roped into this shit too."
"I'm already roped into it the moment I decided to hear you out," Curtis said. "...Dad's going to force Yancy to date Miles."
"...What," Nate said flatly.
"It's part of the cover story," Curtis explained. "They're gonna make it look like you kidnapped Yancy, Miles rescued her from you, and in gratitude, 'Nancy' would be in a public relationship with Miles."
"So your dad's okay with forcing his own daughter into a relationship that she doesn't want to be in?" Nate asked incredulously.
"And he's forcing Yancy back into the idol business on top of it to play catch up to all the business opportunities he couldn't cash in while she was gone," Curtis added in an irritated tone. "He's my dad, but he's clearly an idiot and an asshole who doesn't care about his daughter. And I'd rather die than have my baby sister be dating some obnoxious, pretentious asshole who acts like all the women should be fawning over him. No offence."
"N-None taken," Draco stammered.
"And besides," Curtis said, glancing at Nate. "If anything, I feel like Yancy would want to date you than anyone else."
"I see..." Nate muttered, before the sound of the door unlocking rang throughout the halls.
Luxray took out his claw from out of the lock, before Curtis grabbed the door and pulled it open, allowing Nate to walk out of his prison.
"Why would you help me?" Nate asked Curtis. "We barely met. The only thing connecting us is Yancy, and Rosa to an extent. What you're doing is essentially illegal."
"It's because of Yancy and Rosa that I wanted to hear you out," Curtis replied. "And I decided that you were in the right. Of course I'd want to help the one person who helped and protected my baby sister."
"...I'm not responsible for whatever happens to you," Nate warned him.
"If this all fails, then Dad can pull strings to make sure that at least I'm not arrested," Curtis shrugged.
"Oh great, so you lose nothing out of this," Nate groaned.
"I lose out on making my sister happy," Curtis shot back.
"Whatever," Nate muttered, before lifting up his handcuffs. "You got any ideas on this?"
"Ah, Darumaka!" Draco called out. "Use Incinerate!"
Darumaka nodded, before spewing a hot breath at Nate's handcuffs. The flames were strong enough to heat up the chains to the point where Nate easily ripped them in half with his own brute strength.
"Much better, I suppose," Nate muttered, moving his arms around.
"So what now?" Curtis asked. "We help you escape?"
"I want my shit back," Nate told them. "My bag, my pokédex, and especially Luca. She's suffered enough here in the past. I'm not about to leave her here to wallow even more. After that, we get the hell out of here, and then MAYBE try to snitch on this goddamn house and hope someone believes us. Highly doubt they will unless the fatass says it himself."
"Understandable," Curtis said. "Let's go then."
Before they left, Nate turned to Draco, kneeling down to his level.
"You need to go," Nate said. "Sneak back to your room. Make sure no one thinks you helped break me out. If anyone asks, you make sure you tell them that we never met. I'm not that much of a dick to drag you down with me."
"B-But..." Draco tried to protest.
"Don't worry about it," Nate managed to smirk for the small boy. "You worry about yourself before worrying about me. I'll be fine."
"I-If you say so..." Draco mumbled weakly.
"Good boy," Nate nodded. "...What's your dad's name?"
"Huh? It's Million Riches," Draco answered.
"...That's kinda saying something, really," Nate muttered. "Regardless. If everything works out, and I'm able to escape scot free, then I'll help look for your dad."
"Really?" Draco's eyes lit up.
"Yep, but it's our little secret," Nate said. "Got it?"
"Got it," Draco nodded.
"Alright then," Nate said. "It's been nice talking to you, kid."
"Let's go," Curtis told Nate, who nodded and rushed out of the underground prison, leaving little Draco with his Pokémon.
"Mr. Nate..." Draco mumbled.
Nate's words vibrated throughout Draco's mind. What he had assumed to be a mere criminal who managed to irk his grandfather's rage, was instead someone who was wronged by his family, just like many others, including his father. In Draco's mind, what seemed to be a crime he wrongly committed was instead a just act in the long run. Nate did what his father did, and what Draco was afraid to do; go against his grandfather and his machinations. Stand up to him and his family. Draco was in constant fear of his family, and trapped in it with no way out.
Nate's words inspired the boy. Draco wanted to do something. Even if Nate told him not to for his own safety, Draco wanted to help Nate somehow and stand up to his family and their injustices.
...Draco was not sure of what to do though. How could a small, weak child like him do anything to help?
After that, we get the hell out of here, and then MAYBE try to snitch on this goddamn house and hope someone believes us. Highly doubt they will unless the fatass says it himself.
That one particular sentence rang in Draco's head. If they managed to escape, then they would try to tell people about his family's crimes. But no one within Undella would believe them. They are all too enthralled by his family's influence to believe them. And it would sound farfetched to outsiders.
...Maybe if they did in fact hear the atrocities committed from Grandfather himself though. Then perhaps...
To be continued
AN: And that's it for part 1. I figured that'd be a good idea to stop. Hopefully that was enough to keep you all entertained.
Nate: N/A
Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Dewott) / Nina (Arcanine) / Mandi (Mandibuzz) / Gustav (Amoonguss)
Hugh: Flygon / Servine / Magmortar / Carracosta / Heracross / Tornadus-Therian
Yancy: Audi (Audino) / Teddi (Ursaring) / Snor (Snorlax) / Toge (Togekiss)
And that's about it. Hope you enjoyed it. I'll see you all in the second part.