Solana laid curled in a fetal position in her bed. She had this unbelievable throbbing pain between her legs, and she didn't want to move. Lunick was fast asleep beside her completely knocked out. Light shone through the blinds into the bedroom, leaving streaks of light on the bed. Solana fought through the haziness she was feeling and sat up in the bed. She winced again from the pain pulsating between her legs. Slowly it started coming back to her – the events of the previous day and what she and Lunick had ended up doing.

Solana's heart stopped when she finally realized what happened and painful memories started flooding back. She removed the covers covering her lower body and looked down. Solana's breathing started to pick up pace. She grabbed the sheet and comforter and immediately covered herself, wrapping the comforter around her body and getting out of the bed. She then began shoving Lunick.

"Lunick, wake up!" she shouted as she pushed him. "Get up, Lunick!"

"Huh?" he snorted drowsily. "What's going on?"

"Lunick, I need you to go." Solana muttered.

"Wha…?" Lunick sat up in the bed. "Solana, what –"

"I need you to go. Please leave, Lunick."

Lunick shook his head. "What's wrong, Solana?"

"Please just go."

Tears started to stream down her face, which didn't go unnoticed by Lunick.

"Babe, what's wrong? Just talk to me."

"I need to be alone right now, Lunick. Please leave now."

"But Solana –"

"Get out, Lunick."

"But I don't under –"

"Get out! Just leave me alone and get out!"

Lunick paused. He stared at her, completely confused, and concerned, but he did not want to upset her further. He removed the sheet that was covering him and stood up. He continued to watch Solana warily as he picked up his boxers from the floor and put them on. He then searched for his vest and pants, and when he found them, he picked them up and slung them over his shoulder. He looked back up at Solana who was hugging herself with the comforter wrapped tightly around. He tried to take a step towards her, but she held up her hand to tell him to stop.

"Solana, please –"

"Out, Lunick. Please."

Still thoroughly baffled, Lunick stared at Solana worriedly before about-facing and leaving her bedroom and closing the door behind him.

Solana's breathing continued to increase in pace as memories of Nate messing with her in her bedroom rushed over her. Squealing, Solana held her head and fell to her knees, unable to shake or push those painful flashbacks away as she started to become flooded.

Murph sat behind the control station behind Spenser's workstation as he addressed the monitor on the large screen in the back of the room.

"Any news on the strange pokémon sightings in Fiore, Murph?"

"Nothing knew yet. We haven't seen any new vicious pokémon in while, but so far, our analysts have determined that the two pokémon detained are amalgamations of multiple pokémon. We believe there is a third amalgamation that attacked one of our rangers a few months ago but it was never caught. We've obtained a few missing pokémon reports from Trainers and owners and are testing samples to see if any of them are a match to these fusions."

Erma shook her head sadly. "Intermixing the DNA of pokémon to create a completely new creature…it is sickening. Has there been any unethical experiments found being carried out in the region?"

"So far, we have not found any such illegal activity regarding DNA splicing in the region. All the experiments carried out by the universities, research labs, and hospitals have all been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. We have no leads thus far."

"And the status of those captured amalgamations?"

"After they were apprehended and detained, they went berserk once consciousness was regained and have damaged several holding stations. Their vital signs are off the charts, way outside normal range for any pokémon and they seem to be in a constant state of distress. The Steelix hybrid succumbed to its injuries while the canid pokémon is in critical condition."

"How tragic," Erma said solemnly. "Have there been any more reports of these unusual pokémon sightings?"

"Not at this time. So far, the public remains unknowledgeable of these amalgamations' existence and the three that we have discovered so far have all been discovered and apprehended by our rangers."

"Very well. I suppose there is no immediate action to be taken at this time. Keep diligent and stay on top of your reports and continue to log any and all information related to this case. If anything else should arise, please contact us urgently."

"Yes, Miss Erma. Signing off."

Disconnecting the connection, the monitored winked off and Murph sat back in his chair. His phone then started ringing and he pulled it out of his pocket. Seeing the caller ID with Aria's name he answered.

"Hey. I know I haven't checked in today yet. I've been totally swamped with work and –"

Murph stopped talking as he heard a commotion over the phone. What sounded like a woman's pleasurable moans and slight banging he could hear over the receiver.

Murph furrowed his brow. "H-Hello?…Hello?"

Still, all he heard were moans, this time he picked up a male's voice as well and he grew concerned.

"Aria? What's going on? What's happening?"

The light banging stopped and he could hear the sound of the phone being rapidly moved around.

"…Oh shit!…Hello?"

"Aria, what are you doing?"

"Murph…I'm not doing anything. I didn't mean to call you."

"Okay, but…what were you doing? Was that you moaning?"

"Oh jeez…Yes, Murph, that was me…I was pleasuring myself."

"You were –"

"Yes! I have needs too, Murph! Are you judging me for it?"

"No, of course not," he said uneasily. "I just…I heard somebody else."

"I'm watching a video, okay? Don't be a prude/"

Murph wanted to believe her…He really did…But something in his gut was telling him there was something else going on. But he didn't want to press her.

"Look, I gotta go, Murph. Joel will be expecting me back in thirty. Sorry for the butt-dial."

"But Aria –"

The line disconnected and the dial tone rang in Murph's ear. He pulled the phone away and looked at it. He could be mistaken but he was almost certain he heard a man's voice on the line as well. And then there was the banging sounds…

Murph shook his head and put his phone away. "No. There's no way. Aria wouldn't do that to me. I must've heard wrong. I must've."

He got out of his seat and went to the kitchenette in the next room to make himself a lunch and distract himself from what he just heard.

Solana sat, knees to her chest, on one of the hills in Ringtown Park looking over the horizon. Dappled sun shone through the trees behind her, creating mysterious shapes and shadows. She looked at the glittering lake, sparkling from the brilliance of the afternoon sun, the silky-smooth collusion of red, yellows, pinks and purples burst seamlessly across the sky. The leaves were changing color, becoming crisp browns, and falling to the ground as autumn was fast approaching. The dew-covered grass dipped and rose in the brisk cool wind. The pillared clouds and decaying plants were a perfect signification that the days were growing cooler and shorter.

The crunch of the grass told Solana that someone was coming near her, but she wouldn't turn away from watching the lake.

"I suspected I might find you here," a voice said from behind. "When I didn't see you at the base, I knew something had to be up with you and Lunick."

"Not this time, Leilani," Solana said without turning to face her.

Leilani walked beside Solana and sat down cross-legged beside her. "I didn't see Lunick there either. This seems to be your go-to spot whenever you're having a bad day or if you both have an argument. So, what's going on?"

"It's not Lunick, Leilani. It's me. It's me and Nate."

"Who is Nate?"

"My stepfather," Solana said tearily. "He won't leave me alone and it's messing with my head. I can't stop remembering him, the things he did to me growing up. And it's taking away from one of the greatest experiences I had with Lunick."

Leilani watched as the tears flowed from Solana. She hated seeing Solana so broken down. It made her feel like she wasn't always the best person to comfort her, especially the way Lunick is able to for her. But she still had to try.

"Sole…This Nate person…It sounds like you're saying he did some awful things to you?"

"He did, Leilani. He did. I came to Fiore to escape him. I've suppressed so much of his abuse for years. But now, it's like taking over me. I'm becoming more irritable, I'm snapping at Lunick. I'm losing myself. I thought I was strong enough to deal with this on my own but I'm not. I don't know how to cope with all of this. Even if he's not contacting me, everything seems to trigger me now. The flashbacks, the body memories, I can't take it! I just want it all to stop! I want this pain to go away!"

Solana dropped her head against her hands on her knees and sobbed. Leilani's eyes shimmered and she scooted closer to her best friend and wrapped her arms around her, holding her close.

"It's gonna be okay, Solana. You're not alone here. We're all here to support you."

"I can't keep taking my frustrations out on Lunick. One day, he's going to get fed up with my bullshit and leave me."

"Not gonna happen. Never gonna happen. That boy loves you. He'd sooner die than walk out on you."

Solana lifted her head. "I didn't want to drag anybody else into my family drama. This thing is taking over my life and I can't stop it."

Leilani rubbed her arms. "Maybe…I mean…Have you considered maybe…seeing a therapist to help you deal with this?"

"I don't have time to see a therapist. I just opened up to Lunick about the things that have happened to me. I am not about to confide in some stranger. I am not about to drudge up all those painful memories and bring them up to the surface. I'm not ready for that, I can't handle that."

"They're already bubbling to the surface, Solana. You don't have to talk about the big stuff right away. But, you know, your mental health is important. And I can see how deeply this is affecting you. A therapist is a doctor just like any other to help treat you. It could help."

Solana shook her head. "Not right now. I'm not ready."

Leilani nodded slowly. "Okay. Then, maybe set some boundaries with this Nate guy. Block his number or tell him outright to stop contacting you."

"I tried but I just can't. I freeze whenever I see him. I can't find the words to talk to him or my mom…She doesn't even know. No one in my family knows what he's done and I'm afraid if I tell them, it'll destroy their lives. I just don't need this added stress. Not right now. Not after the night Lunick and I just had. I have worked too hard to get to where I am in my career and my life to be setback by this. I refuse to be taken over by all this. I am stronger than this. I need to be stronger than this. For Lunick. And for myself." She finally turned to face Leilani. That's when she saw the multiple bruises, scars, and black eye on Leilani's face. Her eyes widened greatly, and she wiped her tears. "Leilani…what happened to you?"

Leilani let go of Solana and dropped her hands in her lap as she looked down.

"Lunick didn't tell you?"

Solana shook her head.

Leilani sighed. "…You were right…Alejandro has been beating me…For months…"

Solana mouth dropped opened as she looked horrified at Leilani's condition.

"I lied because I didn't want to believe that I'd allowed myself to become so weak to allow a man to do this to me…I mean, me, firecracker Leilani being subdued and wailed on by a man. Can you believe it?"

Solana shook her head slowly as she saw the tears welling in her eyes as well. "Leilani…"

She chuckled through them as they started to drip from her eyes. "I saw his anger; I saw the signs…but I didn't want to believe them because I thought he loved me. And that if he loved me then it couldn't really be that bad. And I tried to correct him. I sassed him, I just kept running my mouth and that only incited him more and made things worse. So, I have all these injuries because I can't f-king shut up."

"Leilani, no. Don't you blame yourself for this. His issues are not yours and you do not belong to him. We can get you out of this. You don't have to keep enduring –"

"He tried to rape me, Sole."

Solana's eyes stretched even wider.

Leilani nodded her head as the tears kept flowing. "He…is so damn insecure…He accuses me of sleeping around. With Percy. With Murph. With every damn man in Fiore he sees me with. And he believes the stories in his head. I got all this because I tried to end it. And he tried take my virginity because he couldn't find it in himself to believe me. Thank God he stopped. I don't know why, but he did. But he wouldn't let me go without brandishing his gun, a gun I didn't even know he had, and pistol-whipping me. So…I'm trapped. Whether I stay or leave, my life is literally in his hands…I'm gonna die either way…I know it."

Solana shook her head vigorously. "No, don't say that!"

"I'm trapped, Solana. He won't let me leave…"

"We'll figure something out," she grasped Leilani by her face and pressed her forehead against hers, her tears returning full force. "We'll figure something out. I promise. I won't lose you to him, okay?! We're gonna get through this. We will. But you can't give up. You can't give up on me, Leil."

"Don't you give up either, Sole," she said holding her wrists as she held onto her face. "Don't you let that perverted asshole dominate you like that. You're not his child, he doesn't own you. You don't have to submit to him like you did growing up. You are safe here. He can't hurt you anymore. You just gotta figure out how to live."

"We'll both figure out how to live." She breathed. "We'll figure it out…We'll figure it out. Okay?"

Leilani nodded. They continued to hold each other that way, sobbing heavily as they released the pain they had both been holding in for months.

Lunick was so lost in his thoughts he didn't hear Freddie calling out to him initially.

"Eh, Lunick!"

"Huh?"

"Heart balloons or pastel streamers?" Freddie asked, holding up a bouquet of different colored heart-shaped balloons in his left hand and a pack of different colored streamers in his right.

Lunick glanced between the two choices. "Why not get both? I'm sure Niema would love both."

Freddie glanced between them as well. "Maybe but I was trying to come up with a certain theme for her party. I don't want too many different colored things that don't go together."

"Just pick two or three colors and stick to that. She'll be turning four, it's not like it's her sweet sixteen or anything. She won't judge it too hard."

"Ohoho! You do not know my baby as well as you think. She will crucify me if I don't get this perfect." He put the balloons back and instead picked up a pack of pink and purple balloons and put both the pack of balloons and the streamers in his shopping cart. "So, what's got you zoning out so much? You and Solana have another fight?"

"That's just it, Freddie. I don't know what happened. I mean, we did kind of have a fight earlier yesterday but when I got back home everything was okay. At least I thought it was."

"What happened when you got back?"

Lunick hesitated for a moment before finally telling Freddie. "We uh…We had sex."

Freddie stopped walking and immediately turned around to face Lunick. "You…Really?"

Lunick nodded his head. "I mean, it wasn't planned. Or at least, I didn't plan it. But Solana, she…after I told her I refused Mr. Lamont's offer of coming to Almia, she took me up to her bedroom. Got all dressed up in lingerie and makeup…and then we just…it happened…"

"I see. That sounds like everything was okay."

"I thought everything was. But she kicked me out of the house this morning, really upset. I mean, she was really upset. And I don't understand what I did wrong. I even told Solana we didn't have to do it. That she didn't need to prove anything to me, but she said she wanted to. And then she kept asking me if I wanted to…and…I mean, how was I supposed to keep saying no with her grinding on my lap?"

Freddie crossed his arms in thought. "Well, did Solana give you any inkling that she may not have wanted to continue?"

"No. She was the one leading the entire time…except…"

"What?"

"When we were just starting to do it, she rested her hand on my chest for a little while. But then she kissed me afterwards. I took that to mean she wanted to continue…But what if…what if she really did want to stop and just didn't know what to say?…Oh God did I…sexually assault my girlfriend?!"

Freddie could see the gears starting to turn rapidly in Lunick's head. "Lunick, you don't know that for sure. Go see Solana and talk to her about this."

"But what if…what if –"

"Don't get worked up about things you don't know to be true. Talk to her, Lunick. Get her perspective on this."

Lunick held his head. "She didn't say no…She was encouraging me to keep going the entire time…She pulled back a little when I entered her but…I thought…I thought –"

"Lunick!" Freddie grasped his friend by the shoulders. "Stop it right now! Go talk to your girlfriend and ask her why she kicked you out."

"I'll never be able to live with myself if I…if I –"

"What did I just say? Stop making things up in your head and go talk to Solana. You're not the type of person to hurt her like that. But if you have any doubts, just freaking talk to her. Go now. I'll call Murph and have someone cover for you."

His lip quivering, Lunick nodded slowly. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you finish gathering decorations for Niema's party."

Freddie shook his head. "Please. This is more important. You finally went all the way with Solana and you're starting to question if it was consensual. Go talk to her. Now."

Again nodding, Lunick turned around and walked out of the store. Freddie watched him leave and sighed before turning back to his cart and continuing his shopping for his daughter's birthday.

Leilani and Solana laid down on the grassy hill holding each other tightly. Leilani was resting her head on Solana's shoulder and Solana rested her head on top of hers. After crying their eyes out, they spent the remainder of the time just holding each other, trying to draw comfort from one another. It was only when Leilani heard the sound of footfalls behind her that she turned her head to see who it was.

"Lunick?" she said softly.

Solana turned around as well. Lunick was standing quietly under a tree, his hands in his pockets.

Both Leilani and Solana sat up. Leilani then got to her feet. "I'm gonna head back to Summerland. I'm sure Cameron has another mission lined up for me and Percy. I'll talk to you later, Sole."

Solana nodded. She watched Leilani as she walked away until she was out of her sight, then she looked back up at Lunick, who was dolefully watching her, his face tinged with worry.

"Should I be concerned?" he asked.

Solana stood to her feet. "We have to help Leilani, Lunick. She's trapped in an abusive relationship."

"I know," he said regretfully. "That's why I've been walking her home, to and from work. To protect her. She hasn't told anybody else what's really going on."

"We have to do something. Her life is in danger so long as Alejandro is around."

"We can't press charges on her behalf. That's something Leilani has to do herself. But when she is ready, I will take her to the police station myself to file the report. Until then, all I can do is stay with her to make sure nothing goes down."

"What about when you come back home? She has no one to protect her."

"She has Lucario. He won't let anything happen to her. All we can do is be there for Leilani and let her know we are here for her…She has to be the one to start that process of healing and getting him out of her life for good."

Solana looked down at the ground. Lunick reached down and held her hands.

"Hey," he said, calling her to look back up at him. "She's gonna be okay. Trust me. I'm not gonna let anything bad happen to our friend. On my life, I swear it."

Solana nodded sadly. Lunick caressed her face before dropping his hand back at his side. "Solana, are we okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, why wouldn't we be?"

"This morning…You don't remember?…You freaked out on me."

Solana closed her eyes and bent her head back as she remembered.

"Solana, if I hurt you in any way, shape, or form, I am deeply sorry. I thought you wanted to continue…I thought you wanted to go all the way. But if that isn't the case then I'm a horrible boyfriend to do something like that to you and I'll never forgive myself."

Solana shook her head gently and reopened her eyes to look at him.

"Lunick, you don't need to apologize. You did absolutely nothing wrong. I did want to continue, and I don't regret that we had sex."

"Then…why did you kick me out of the house this morning?"

Solana winced. "I was just freaking out over nothing, and I took it out on you. I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that and your confusion about it is completely reasonable and understandable. I shouldn't have kicked you out because I was struggling. But there is something I need to tell you…"

"What is it?"

Solana sighed deeply. "Ever since Nate has been trying to contact me, I've been majorly freaked out. I thought I was strong enough to move past the trauma but it's very clear it still has a hold on me."

"That's normal, Solana. You went through a pretty horrific and traumatic thing at his hands."

"That's not what I'm talking about…Lunick, I've been so stressed out that I've been forgetting to do certain things…Like taking my birth control…"

Lunick's eyes widened.

"I haven't taken any for a few weeks…and you didn't wear a condom when we…you know…Through no fault of your own, I mean you probably thought I was taking my pills, which I should have been doing but I've been so stupid and stressed that I just plain forgot…And now…now…"

"Solana," Lunick uttered worriedly. "Are you…trying to tell me…that you think you might be pregnant?"

"I don't know, Lunick. I don't know. All I'm saying is we didn't use any protection and that there is a possibility –"

"Oh God," Lunick exhaled. When he looked back up at Solana, he could see the loose tears that were starting to fall from her eyes. He lifted his hands and gently wiped them away. "Don't cry. Don't cry, Babe. We'll get through this. I promise we will. Whichever way it falls, we'll get through."

"But Lunick…What if I am –"

"We'll figure it out. I promise."

Solana whimpered as Lunick enveloped her in an embrace. He was terrified at the mere notion that she could be pregnant, but he couldn't fall apart now. Solana needed him to be strong for the both of them, and he was going to do his best to do that for her.