"Is everything all right?"

Cheren's words snapped Luca out of his trance, allowing the trainer to return to the situation in front of him.

There was a battle to be had, and he couldn't back out of this one either.

Maurice the Stoutland stood proud on Cheren's side of the battlefield, all the doubts and fears of fighting Luca erased behind his gaze. When he noticed Luca had returned to his senses, he gave the trainer a slow nod.

"Now's not the time to reminisce," Maurice said. "Reminisce… That might not be the right word."

Alan meanwhile seemed more concerned for Luca, taking the opportunity before the battle had officially begun to look back. "Hey. Dude? You okay?"

"What happened?" Luca asked back.

"I dunno, man. You were talking to, uh, Maurice, and then you kinda zoned out for a few seconds. He didn't say anything weird did he?"

Luca couldn't help but blink a few times at what Alan said. "Only a few seconds," Luca repeated under his breath. "Felt like a lot more than that."

He smiled at Alan. "Alan? No holding back. Not against Maurice. Just make sure you don't hit the kids in the stands and stuff, but otherwise, we're in no holds barred territory."

The Ampharos's response was a happy grin and as close to a fist pump as an Ampharos could perform.

Luca cleared his throat and faced Cheren, killing his smile as he turned his gaze. "I'm fine. And ready."

"Oh, good. It would be a shame if the battle was over before it even began," Cheren chuckled. "As you've requested this to be a gym battle, that means that I must let you attack first, as per league rules." His gaze lowered. "Use that advantage to the fullest."

Luca nodded. "Alan?"

Alan threw his arms into the air with pride. "In it!"

"Then keep it simple. Start up our Alan Special. Thunderbolt!"

"Let's...get...crazyyyyyyy!" Beating his fists together, Alan began to charge up electricity. Lots of electricity. It wasn't long before his whole body was cackling with power, small bolts flying off him uncontrollably as the ground beneath him began to shake a bit.

Maurice's eyes went wide at the display of power. "Ye gods," he muttered, already bracing himself a bit for what was to come. "Is this really the same person…?"

Fears in the stands of Alan having lost all control of his power were averted when Alan held both arms in front of him, instantly channeling the electricity into a single bolt, aimed straight at Maurice.

"Move it!" Cheren shouted, swinging his arm to the side. "We can't get hit by that!"

Without hesitation, Maurice leapt off to the left, his large frame proving no hindrance to his mobility as he dodged the attack in full. He gave a huge sigh of relief when he felt nothing hit him, and even more relieved when he saw Alan simply eyeing him from a distance. It was his turn now.

Cheren surveyed the damage left behind. The ground where Maurice once stood now had several newly dislocated clumps of earth, however many spectators couldn't help but feel like the collateral damage was far less than what they were expecting from an attack that literally shook the ground beneath their very feet during its charge.

"Is he holding back or is he really giving it his all?" Cheren muttered, unsure what to think after that attack. "I lack the time to find out. If I don't move now, he'll move again. Maurice! Use Double Edge!"

"Yessir! Let's move!"

Luca nodded in response. "Alan, Maurice moves fast, okay? Much faster than you do. Don't let him catch you off guard. Thunder Punch, intercept it!"

With a loud roar, Maurice began a mad dash towards Alan, immediately proving Luca's comment about his speed when he covered the entire battlefield in just a couple of bounds. Alan hardly had any time to charge up his power before being forced to throw his punch at the Stoutland out of sheer reaction to his approach.

The two attacks clashed together, with Alan's electrified fist making direct contact with Maurice's head. However, despite the clear hit to his head, the Stoutland showed no signs of pain or backing down. Alan too, was determined to push past Maurice, but was showing many more signs of struggle...

"What are you thinking!?" Cheren asked, pointing at Luca. "Surely you know the power difference here!"

Luca just smiled and shrugged in response. Even as Maurice beat out Alan in the clash and sent the Ampharos reeling into the air, Luca's confident stature stood unwavering.

As Alan hit the ground on his back, Cheren sighed. "What are you thinking!? You're a special attacker! You demonstrated that already! You really expect an Ampharos's punch to beat out the strength of a full Stoutland?"

"No."

Cheren looked away, shaking his head. "You must be quite rusty if you really think— Wait." He looked back to Luca in shock. "No?"

"Hell no. You think I'm insane?" Luca asked as Alan pushed himself off the ground and back onto his feet. "I'm dealing with a gym leader, not a random trainer I chanced upon from Route 19. I don't expect Alan to overpower Maurice in physical strength."

"Then why would you—"

"You're the teacher here. You figure it out."

That bold statement got the students even more riled up as Luca shook his head.

"I'm still in this, Luca," Alan said, briefly looking over towards his trainer.

"Good. Let's try this again now. Alan? Thunder punch."

Alan began to charge up electricity into his fist again, but Cheren simply chuckled in response, bringing himself out of his confused funk. "Again? You lost the clash before handily. Your Pokemon isn't possibly that strong. Maurice! Double edge again!"

Maurice's only response was a fruitless grunt of effort. He tried to lurch his body forwards, only to nearly collapse on the floor. It was evident that Maurice wasn't in pain, and certainly giving his best effort, but something was preventing him from moving as he helplessly stared at Alan preparing his attack.

Only when Cheren noticed the bits of electricity coursing around Maurice's fur did he understand what was wrong. "Paralysis!?"

"Maybe you should've focused more on the status of your own Pokemon rather than the logic behind how I'm choosing to use mine," Luca said, shrugging. "I've got a reason for what I do. Hit 'em!"

On command, Alan swung his fist forwards straight into Maurice's shoulder, sending the Stoutland lightly tumbling back towards Cheren, though the Pokemon was able to catch himself as the effect of the paralysis weakened.

"Maurice!"

"I'm fine! I'm fine. Sheesh…" Maurice spat on the ground beside him. "That's his first hit. Not counting whenever I got paralyzed..."

"You're well, then?" Cheren asked, sounding concerned.

"Fine. More than enough still in me."

Cheren nodded, getting the idea. "Good. Now what's going on over there…"

"He's a tough one. Never gives up easy," Luca said just loudly enough for Alan to hear. "He's one of those last stand types, who always fight back if they've got even the slightest bit of energy. A KO will need to be decisive."

"Hah! You flatter me!" Maurice shouted from across the field. Luca gave a small "tsk" at realizing he'd been overheard, but returned a light grin to the Stoutland all the same.

"So what, thunderbolt till he drops then?" Alan asked back.

"Mmm… Let's go for another one. Thunderbolt!"

Alan began charging up the same wicked power he'd displayed at the start of the match, once again causing light tremors in the ground below as his body coursed with electricity...

Cheren, however, was more prepared this time. "Maurice, stay with me. The longer this battle goes on, the more likely we're gonna get screwed over by that paralysis, so we need to end this soon. Let's take a risk."

"Long as you don't expect me to stand right there and tank a hit like that… Name it."

"You beat his thunder punch. Now beat his thunderbolt. Giga impact. And don't you stop charging till you hit something!"

Maurice turned back towards Cheren in surprise. "You, sir, are now the insane one."

Luca snapped his fingers, unwilling to let the Gym Leader start whatever he was planning. "Go! But keep some charge, got it?"

Alan nodded as he held out his hands like before. "Got it!"

"But I'm dodging that bastard first!" Maurice shouted as he rolled to the side, beating his paralysis out and dodging Alan's thunderbolt entirely.

Cheren gasped. "What are you—"

"And NOW we go for it!"

Cloaking himself in a harsh orange and white light, Maurice gave another roar to top his previous one, before once again charging at Alan from all the way across the battlefield.

Luca merely arched a brow. "Ooh. They want to end this quickly huh? We can oblige." He turned to Alan and calmly uttered, "Alan, thunderbolt again. Don't hold back on this one."

Much to the dismay of those watching, Alan had been given virtually no time to charge up the awesome power that he had put on display in both his previous thunderbolt attempts. With just the pointing forward of his arms, Alan discharged another signature thunderbolt, hitting Maurice square in the face with enough force to halt most of his forward momentum.

But despite Alan's powerful display, Maurice didn't flinch. Step by step he continued to walk forward, his expression just as determined as when he'd begun his rush.

Luca still seemed unfazed. "Alan? Turn up the juice!"

With a small grunt of effort, Alan briefly turned to face Luca. "...this is it, man!"

"...what?"

"This IS max juice! You said don't hold back!"

Maurice continued his forward approach as Alan said this, fighting back against the thunderbolt and beginning to regain his running start. He had less than half a battlefield to cover before he'd crash into Alan again.

And for the first time since the start of the battle, Luca showed fear. "Oh shit."

Before Luca could even think of another command to give to Alan, the Ampharos found himself launched airborne again. All the challenger could do now was watch in sheer horror as his Pokemon helplessly went flying even higher than before, then land harshly on his back outside the battlefield.

As Cheren quietly pumped a fist in the air and Luca loudly shouted Alan's name, Maurice slowly collapsed to his knees as the signs of paralysis began to show themselves on his body again. Coupled from his exhaustion from giga impact, Cheren knew that Maurice wouldn't be moving from that spot for a while, unless he was forced out of it.

Still, Maurice was able to raise his head enough and watch as the dust around Alan's landing spot cleared. "Did...I get him?" he asked quietly.

Alan's surprisingly quick rise to his two legs was a clear "No."

Several people gasped in shock, including Cheren. "What?! Impossible! A strike of that power should've put him out of commission! He should at least be struggling! Giga impact, same type, high attack, low defense, no block..."

"It wasn't at full power," Luca responded, keeping his gaze firmly fixed on Alan. "He slowed Maurice down. Even though Maurice built up a good amount of speed afterwards, he already spent a lot of his energy just getting to Alan. Not to mention he had to power through a max power thunderbolt. Surely that damaged him considerably, to the point where he felt weaker when he landed the blow."

He suddenly shifted his face towards Cheren. "You're the Gym Leader. The principal. A teacher. And yet you're not thinking all these things in the heat of the moment. You've gotta be careful, Cheren…" With a snap of his fingers, Luca pointed towards Maurice. "Remember who you're dealing with. Thunder punch. Finish it."

As Maurice continually failed to rise back onto his feet, Alan casually walked over to the struggling Stoutland and calmly coated a hand in electricity, just as he'd done before. The Ampharos reared back just a bit, only to swing forward with his attack…

"Hold it!"

...and stop his fist inches away from the barrier that had suddenly formed around Maurice.

Everyone gasped as Luca chuckled, saying, "I knew it…." He looked up to Cheren, whose face now looked completely full of defeat. "The moment that protect shield goes away, Alan's gonna strike him. And he'll be KOed. And that'll be it. Won't it, Maurice?"

Maurice let out a low grumble before replying, "Ya got me there…"

"Your Pokemon choice was a fair gamble, Cheren. Since I was Maurice's original trainer, you thought I'd be hesitant and remorseful to fight against Maurice. You were right. But. Though you've taught this old dog new tricks...you haven't gotten rid of the old ones. I haven't forgotten about your last stand strategy, Maurice… Clearly neither have you."

"He did this even then?" Cheren asked.

"Oh, definitely," Luca replied, nodding. "If he had the energy for it but felt his strength slipping, he'd always use protect right before an opponent's finishing blow connected… Against physical hits, he could counterattack once the attack rebounded off the shield. Against special attackers, he'd—"

Luca was interrupted mid sentence by the sudden movement of both Pokemon on the battlefield. Maurice had abandoned the use of protect as Luca spoke, hoping that he could sneak in an attack while both trainers were distracted. However, Alan had been diligently watching Maurice, and had never dropped the charge on his thunder punch attack. As soon as Maurice dropped the protect barrier, Alan swung his fist down.

Maurice didn't get back up.

Luca shrugged. "Well. There it is. Knockout."

"Knockout… Knockout indeed." Cheren, well composed, held out Maurice's Poke Ball and withdrew his Pokemon back inside of it. He then lowered his head a bit, first looking at the Poke Ball, then simply looking down with a brief sigh, before giving Luca a firm look. "Exemplary. Your natural talent for Pokemon battling shows."

"Oh, come on," Luca said, sighing in an attempt to hold back laughter at Cheren's comment. "I won't deny that I'm good, but I'm not that good."

"You've raised your Pokemon with great care and trained them to be extremely powerful. Your mental state is rigid and cocky on the outside, but always thinking on the inside. The level of communication and understanding between you and your Pokemon is unparalleled..."

Luca held up his hands in protest. "W-wait, come on, that's cheating, we both know I can—"

"And as a result, the amount of trust between you and Alan is far greater than even the trust Maurice and I have in each other. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the same held true for the rest of your Pokemon."

Cheren reached into his pocket, pulling out a small badge. He examined the item for a bit, before walking to the center of the battlefield and holding it out towards Luca. "Before I give you this which you have earned, Luca, I want one final thing from you."

Luca nodded, though looked a bit upset. "The badge isn't in my greatest interest, but…name your price."

"Give all of us watching a lesson," Cheren said. "A lesson from you. Of you. How you think. How you battle. What is it that made you rise above all the other good trainers and become someone truly worth watching?"

"What is a Pokemon battle?" Luca asked, not wasting a single moment. He clapped his hands twice, beckoning Alan to stand at his side. "Why even choose to battle in the first place? Why do your Pokemon battle for you? These questions…I think many trainers go their entire lives and never even consider these things. Even at a highly professional level, I feel as though trainers don't know what significance these questions hold.

"People will always say that one of the most important things a strong trainer can have is trust between them and their Pokemon. I completely agree. It is one of the most important things a strong trainer can have. It builds a one of a kind strength between trainer and Pokemon. But anyone can build a strong, trusting relationship with a Pokemon. Battler or not. Trainer or not. That's why I think that trust is merely second to this in the realm of Pokemon battles.

"So, I repeat. What is a Pokemon battle? Why do we battle at all? Why do your Pokemon battle for you? Ask yourselves these questions. Find the answers. Let yourself understand the very fundamentals of battle. I could say them, but the answers will have a much greater impact on your and your performance if you were to discover them on your own. The questions are unusual, and perhaps unheard of. But I firmly believe that the answers to those questions is what transformed me from just some guy with Pokemon into the trainer that you just saw."

The whole outdoors had devolved into silent whispers which Luca couldn't decipher, complete with Cheren giving Luca a very blank yet surprised look.

It wasn't hard to read the atmosphere after that. The audience had devolved into infrequent quiet whispers that Luca couldn't decipher. Cheren's face looked a perfect cross between uncaring blankness and complete bewilderment. Even Elliot seemed to have a look of subtle intrigue as his son stood there, carefully looking around the outdoor space.

Luca chuckled a bit, turning around. "Sorry for turning the lesson philosophical. But there's a lot more to Pokemon battling than just strength, strategy, and trust. Wanted to make sure that got across." With a brief wave, Luca and Alan began to walk back towards the school. "If you want us, you know where to find us. Questions welcome."

"Luca!"

Luca swerved around at the sound of his name. Next thing he knew, he was leaning back a bit, hand in front of his face, holding something that wasn't in his hands before. Opening his hand revealed the gym badge Cheren had held out earlier. A simple purple rectangle with a couple of thin stripes, all encased in gold, meant to represent the spine of a library book.

"I don't care what you say about not wanting it," Cheren said. "You challenged me. You won. You granted my extra request. League rules dictate it's yours, and so do mine. So you earned it."

After about a minute of quietly examining the badge, Luca simply pocketed the item and continued walking away in a nonchalant fashion without saying a word. Alan waddled behind him with a small wave and smiled to all the audience, before both walked into the school building and disappeared into the hallways.

The moment Luca and Alan were out of sight, the students began clamoring loudly, only to be immediately silenced by Cheren when he raised a single finger. "Just because he's left does not give you all permission to start talking!" He cleared his throat and straightened his collar. "The presentation is over. Please return to your classes. You are free to go and talk to Luca if you are on a break and he is willing to talk to you. Do not overwhelm him!"

––––––––––

"So, Mr. 'What is a Pokemon battle?'"

"Dad…"

"Aww, come on, Luca. You don't even know what I was going to say."

"I… Ugh." Luca sighed as his father gave him a strong nudge to the shoulder.

"Your dad wins this one."

After winning the battle against Cheren in front of the entire school, Luca was understandably flooded with students coming to the Pokemon House and asking him all sorts of questions about his adventures as a trainer, how he'd become such a talented trainer, how he'd trained Alan… It didn't seem to matter what time of day it was, there always seemed to be at least three students eagerly awaiting to talk to him.

Luckily, Elliot was more than willing to cover for all of Luca's duties for the day while he answered the onslaught of questions. After briefly returning home to drop off Ephraim, Luca's father returned to the Pokemon House and teamed up with Peter to do anything and everything that was required of Luca for the day, allowing the new local celebrity to talk to his new fans uninterrupted.

Now with the work day over, father and son (and Alan) had started the walk home, where Elliot simply couldn't help but start poking fun at Luca's antics earlier in the day.

And it had Luca a bit peeved. "So? Out with it then. What were you gonna say?"

"I was going to say I'm impressed. I don't get to hear or see that side of you often."

"What side of me? The trainer side?"

"The battler with a mask of confidence so perfectly fit that it would fool even a champion."

Those words seemed to put Luca on edge as he cautiously looked at his father, but Elliot just had the same bright smile he always had when he was with his kids.

"You did a good job!"

"He wasn't expecting it," Luca sighed. "He thought I'd be too rusty or too distracted to give it my all. He wasn't going all in. I could tell."

"And you were?"

"Of course. He told me he wanted a good demonstration… I'm naturally flashy and so is Alan… We both do a great job at keeping up the...persona…"

"So it is fake," Elliot said, sounding proud of his successful call.

Luca chuckled a bit. "I don't think I need to explain to you the utility of a poker face—much less one of stone cold confidence—in an environment like that."

"Touché!" Elliot laughed back. "It seems to serve you well. Your experience really showed."

Luca awkwardly looked away. "Uh… Thanks."

The two went on walking for a while without saying anything, quietly taking in their surroundings together as Alan meekly trailed behind them both. As they reached the beginnings of their home neighborhood, Elliot gave a happy sigh.

"That's the first time I've ever seen you do that in person, you know," Elliot said. "Battling. With Pokemon. As a trainer."

"Wait really?"

"Mhm. The only other time I've seen it was on TV when you were in the Johto national. That was a treat to watch."

Luca now looked at his father in confusion. "You liked watching me?"

"Oh well of course!" Elliot said, not even taking a moment to think. "You looked so happy and passionate about it. Even when you lost. Broke my heart to hear that you were giving it up. I thought you'd keep at it."

Luca slowed his walk considerably as he tried to process his father's words. "Wait wait wait. Hoooooold on. You got sad...when you heard that your own son...was giving up being a Pokemon trainer?"

"Yep."

"Seriously?"

"Very serious."

Elliot's tone didn't seem that serious. Luca's did. "Ok, please tell me you're just drawing out a joke. You're half the reason I gave it up! You should know this!"

That seemed to catch Elliot off guard briefly. "I am? Well… Okay, I am. That doesn't mean I'm not sad to see it go away."

"Why?"

"I already told you why just a minute ago. It made you happy. It gave you something to be passionate about. And if I'm being completely honest… I think it suits you strongly."

"I…" Luca looked completely bewildered now. He picked up his walking pace and caught up with his father. "We're definitely talking about this when we get home. I've never heard you say that."

"You never let me say it," Elliot sighed. "You always shut me and your brother up the moment we start talking about your life as a trainer." With a small laugh, Elliot managed to restore his bright mood. "I say if we're going to talk about it, we should keep talking about it now, before you get to claim house law on whatever you want. Or before I can! Ha!"

Luca sighed a bit. "I mean… In that case…"

"You'll keep going and enter the tournament?"

"Ok, no. Now you're the one interrupting me without knowing what I was going to say," Luca laughed. "I'm not going to do the tournament. I'm really not interested... "

"Why's that? You're still extremely talented, and you proved that today."

"The talent hasn't gone anywhere, sure, but the passion is gone. I don't like...want to battle anymore. I got my fill of it already. Two whole regions. Sixteen...seventeen badges. One national. Top 16 there."

"But why did you stop after that? Not even two weeks after your return from Johto, you were looking for jobs. You looked completely happy after your loss in the Johto national. What happened between then and your return home?"

Luca looked away. "I… I don't—"

"He and Lux got into an argument on the boat back home," Alan said from behind the two.

Luca swerved around with a shocked gasp. "Alan!"

Alan flinched a bit in response, throwing his arms up defensively, but managed to stand his ground enough to keep talking. "She was upset at her placing in the tournament. She said that Luca being able to understand Pokemon was cheating… That he wouldn't have gotten as far if not for it. It went on for a while. I didn't hear the whole thing, but all of us heard the start of it."

"Aww…" Elliot gave his now defeated-looking son a caring look. "Is that all that happened?"

Alan lowered his head a bit. "I figured… Since we're not at home…"

"You didn't break any rules, Alan," Elliot affirmed. "Thanks for telling me."

Alan weakly nodded as Luca finally spoke. "I was already feeling doubts the whole time… That argument with her just brought them to the surface."

Elliot nodded. "And those thoughts originated because of me, right? Because I always told you and your brother that I hated Pokemon battling as a competitive sport..."

"I never wanted to do it if it made you so passionately angry," Luca sighed.

"I'll be honest. Drilling that into your minds is one of the biggest regrets of mine raising you."

"What?"

"And I'm certain that problem would've never arisen if your mother…"

Luca's tone seemed to change rather suddenly from defeated to worrisome. "Dad? You're doing it."

"Eh?" Elliot stopped in place and blinked a few times, then proceeded to lightly flick himself in the cheek. "Shit… There I go again. Sorry, Luca."

"You're good."

Elliot cleared his throat and resumed walking. "Everything I said earlier about my thoughts on your...career as a trainer? I meant it. I think it suits you, and you're clearly very very good at it. I think it made you very happy. It broke my heart to hear you stop. It breaks my heart even now to hear that you're not going to participate in that tournament."

"I wouldn't mind doing that," Alan chimed in. Following it was a barely audible "Just saying…."

"Sorry, Dad… The passion really is dead. It's been too long… Today didn't do anything to rekindle it."

"I see," Elliot sighed. "And that can't be helped, I imagine."

"If not even a national tournament in my home region can rekindle that fire, I don't think anything can at all. But…" Luca smiled for the first time in a few minutes. "That is pretty reassuring. That you didn't mind it all. I mean… I'm sure you had some conflicting thoughts but… I'm just happy to know that I wasn't making you seethe with rage as I went around places as a trainer and doing Pokemon battles and like...actually enjoying them. I thought this whole time that you just weren't showing your anger."

"Well, my thoughts on them have changed. Because of you."

"Really?"

"I still don't like them," Elliot prefaced. "Not as a sport, anyway. But… Hearing what little stories you told of the friends you made throughout your travels, whether human or Pokemon, as well as seeing how happy it made you… It made me rethink it all. I came to the conclusion that it's not all bad. It just takes the right person to make it good."

As the two turned and stopped in front of their house, Elliot gave Luca a long and gentle pet on the head.

"You make it good, Mr. What is a Pokemon Battle. Better than good. Thanks for opening up a bit with your father. Even if you needed a bit of a nudge from a friend."

The two men took a brief look at Alan, who was still trailing behind the two men about a foot away, looking rather scatterbrained. Wherever his focus was, it definitely wasn't on what was directly in front of him, causing the Ampharos to clumsily walk directly into Elliot's side.

"A-ah! Sorry…"

Elliot merely laughed, giving Alan a strong, friendly smack on his back. As Luca went up to the front door to enter the code and let them all inside, Elliot took full hold of Alan's attention and pointed out to the horizons of the visible neighborhood. "Thinking of taking a walk out here on your own finally? I know you're interested in studying the landscapes here!"

"M-maybe… Maybe with Luca."

"Aww. You gotta take some initiative, man! Leave the house on your own! That front door is always open to ya. You know the code. Maybe take a walk while Luca's out at work one day! Never know what you'll find out there that you'll like."

"Hey, you two!" Luca shouted from the front door. "C'mon! Can't leave this door open forever."

Alan sighed. "Maybe, Elliot… Thanks."

As Luca signalled the two over, Alan was the first to make his way over to the front door, cutting directly over the lawn to get inside without much care. Elliot just shook his head with a smile, taking the longer route over the stone walkway up to the door.

Only, when Elliot got to the door, things looked...amiss. Alan and Luca were both curiously looking down the hall from the doorway, neither of them moving.

At the end of the hallway was Spectral, hair completely disheveled, clothing full of wrinkles, and the man himself barely balancing on two legs. When he saw everyone at the entrance, he gasped. "It is them!" he shouted at someone in the house. "They're all back!"

Luca was the first to comment of the crew returning home. "Spectral? You just wake up from a nap?"

"I did," Spectral said, the tone of his voice matching Luca's claim.

"Then what's the rush?" Luca asked.

As Luca asked this, a Tranquill showed up in the hallway, immediately making his way onto Spectral's shoulder. It had a letter in its beak, which it perfectly dropped into Spectral's open hand.

"Luca," the Tranquill started, sounding even more tired than Spectral. "Luca...you've got mail."

Luca looked confused. "O...kay… Thanks for the mail, Jean, but why is this such a big de—"

Spectral turned the letter around, revealing a large and ornate seal stamped on the letter's back. Luca didn't recognize it at all, but he didn't need to.

"You've got mail," Jean the Tranquill repeated. "Mail from the Champion."

As Elliot closed the door behind them all and Spectral delivered the letter into his brother's hands, the only response Luca could garner was "Oh fuck."

He wasted no time opening the letter. The seal tore with remarkable ease, and the empty envelope fell to the floor the moment Luca's fingers were safely secured on the letter itself. He started reading aloud.

"'The contents of this letter are for the eyes of—' Ugh…"

"What is it?" Elliot asked.

"They want its contents private," Luca said whilst rolling his eyes. "Of course… I'll just skim it…"

Luca's eyes began to dart around the paper, but it wasn't long before his reading speed began to visibly slow down. Not long after Luca started reading every word, his eyes went wide.

Spectral was the fastest to call it out. "Luca? That look in your eye wasn't there before. What's—"

Luca held out a hand over Spectral's mouth before he could finish, keeping it there as he slowly walked down the hall further into the house. His gaze never left the letter.

"I need a minute," he finally said, removing his hand from Spectral and slowly walking further away down another hallway. Elliot and Alan turned the corner to see where Luca was going, only to see the man enter his room and close the door behind him without another word.

––––––––––

The contents of this letter are for the eyes of Luca Mararcich only.

If anyone that is not Luca Mararcich should read beyond this point, or the contents of this letter below this line are revealed to others in any fashion, the deal is considered rejected and the offer considered void.

Once the contents of this letter are read, this letter and all its contents should be burned immediately, or permanently destroyed through some other means.

Replies will not be accepted or read.

You have been warned.

Luca Mararcich,

This is your Champion.

I will not start this letter with pleasantries, asking you how you are doing, or how your life has been, or what your current state of affairs is. I come to you with an offer.

I am hosting a tournament in three months. If you wish for more details, look them up online. Under the assumption that this letter was delivered on the day which I requested, my announcement on the matter was yesterday. Content on the matter should be fresh.

Be there.

Be there and participate.

Be there, and participate with all your splendor and might. With all your skill and ability.

Be there and do not hold back.

I have seen what you are capable of. I will know if what you provide is your best, or if it is a mere fraction of it.

And, if you should violate any of these terms…

In my hands at this very moment, I am holding a file. A file that has your name on it. It is a file about you, Luca Mararcich. A file about who you are, and what you have done in your past. I have taken the liberty of reading this file, cover to cover, several times over.

Truly fascinating stuff.

Testimony from those directly affiliated with the events of five years ago. Research from our esteemed Professor Aurea Juniper. Records from the International Police.

I've read it all.

I know it all.

It would take less than ten words from me to get these files into the hands of the police. It would take even less to get these files into the hands of the public.

Once the information leaves my hands, it is none of my concern.

Be there, Luca Mararcich. Give me your best. Give the world your best.

Give me anything else, and I give the world your worst.

I'll be waiting.

Signed,

Your Champion.