Jace Fortune jumped out of the truck and stretched, breathing in the salty air. So like back home, but home was on the other side of Omura entirely. Wingull cawed in the sky above and he could hear the waves lapping the shore below him.

"We're finally here!" Jace's dad, Hal Fortune, said triumphantly. "Do you remember this place, Jace? We used to come here on vacations, back in the day."

Jace looked around, trying to find any familiarity in the calm, soothing atmosphere. "Yeah, I remember…" he lied, then he shook his head. Don't lie to Dad, he's doing all this for you. "Well, not really. Sorry, Dad." We haven't been back since before Mom died… And that was ten years ago, of course I don't remember…

Hal just gave his son a warm smile. "You don't? All the better!" he said enthusiastically. "You'll get to re-explore then. I just hope you didn't forget where our house is. Well, you can't miss it. It's up there!" He pointed up at the cliff on top of the shore.

Jace grinned with excitement, infected by his dad's enthusiasm. "Okay, I can see it!" Mom would want us to be happy, he thinks, and truthfully he wanted to enjoy this time with his father.

"Let's go unpack," his dad said, "and then we can go visit the town and do some real father-son bonding." Then he bolted up the hill.

Jace rolled his eyes, but smiled at his dad's antics. "Right. He dashed off as usual." He walked up the hill at a slower pace than his father, looking at the flowers blooming on the path. They were pretty, bright purples and pinks. As he neared the house he saw an old man watching the sea and he gave him a friendly wave. The old man smiled and waved back, and Jace continued on, reaching their vacation home.

When he finally made it inside, his dad jumped at the door closing. "Oh!" he said, surprised. "Jace, did you get lost in the woods? It took you ages to get here. I was about to call the mountain rescue service," Hal teased.

Jace laughed. "Dad, I was right behind you, jeez," he said with mock annoyance. He glanced around, noting the moving boxes that had arrived ahead of them and how the house was cleaner than the one they'd left just a couple days before…

"Well," his dad asked with slight trepidation, "does this old house evoke your memories?"

Jace walked toward the boxes, taking in the scent of pine wood and salty air. "It feels familiar," he said, honestly. "It smells familiar." He breathed in deeply, trying to take in a bit of the peacefulness the house seemed to exude.

Hal smiled. "Yes. It's nice, isn't it?"

Jace nodded, turning to his dad. "So anyways, how long will you be staying?" he asked with some reluctance. He didn't really want to think about his dad being dragged back to work, he just wanted to enjoy whatever time they had together. But… It would suck a lot more if it crept up on him, he knew from experience.

Hal sighed. "Three days," he replied. "And then I have to return to work." He didn't look any happier to say the words than Jace was to hear them.

"Only three days?" Jace asked, sadly. "And then you're off again, doing your James Bond stuff?" Jace took a deep breath to steady himself. He'd been braced to hear it, but it was disheartening nonetheless. Being a government agent kept his dad busy almost constantly, so he wasn't around much. Neither of them were happy about it, but it wasn't like he could just quit.

Hal laughed awkwardly. "Yeah. Well, I know it's not much, Jace, but I promise we'll get to spend more time together from now on. At least once a month, making exciting trips, just like this."

Jace tried to put a brave face on it and quipped, "Once a month? I guess that's better than, well, almost never." He fought the urge to cry. The last time you got any real time off was after Mom died, Dad. That was ten years ago! Couldn't you have a week off, just once?! He took a deep breath to steady himself. He didn't want to spoil their time together, it wasn't his dad's fault that scum bags kept trying to ruin Omura.

His dad looked away, tears glistening in his eyes. It wasn't easy for Hal, either. Being away from his son so much and missing so much of him growing up. Jace was sixteen now, and three days was the most he'd gotten off in ten years. "I know…" he said quietly. But he smiled and walked back over to Jace, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Anyways, are you ready to hit the town? I heard there's a pokémon trainer get-together, held by Mr. Mon. Surely you'll remember him.

"A pokémon trainer get-together?" Jace questioned, deciding not to mention he had no recollection of this "Mr. Mon"; there'd been enough unpleasantness already.

"That's right," Hal said with a grin. "Pokémon trainers from all the neighboring towns come here to hang out and exchange the hottest news. Aaaaand, Jace! I hope you didn't forget. Tomorrow you'll get your first pokémon, and officially become a pokémon trainer!"

Jace's eyes lit up with excitement, and he beamed. "Oh yeah, I can't wait!"

Suddenly Hal's pokégear began ringing, surprising them both. "Oh?" Jace's dad said. "Someone's calling me." Jace backed up a little to give his dad some semblance of privacy. "It's the Chief," Hal said, voice losing it's energy and becoming serious.

Jace tilted his head in confusion, they were supposed to be on vacation. They can't let him have one day's peace?! he thought angrily, keeping his expression neutral. He works so hard, I barely see him, and one of the few days he's free they bother him…

"Yes," Hal said, frown on his face and voice completely serious. "They have located the reliquiae?" Muffled words, indecipherable from Jace's distance from the pokégear. "Understood. I'll be arriving soon." He walked over to Jace and gave the teen a warm smile, although it looked a bit forced to Jace. "Something's come up. Don't worry, it's a minor thing. I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Aren't you on vacation, Dad?" the teen asked sadly. Hal's smile slipped a little and he hugged his son hard before walking out the door. "And… he already left. I'd better follow him."

But despite following his dad immediately out the door, Jace didn't see him anywhere. He sighed. "Classic," he said ruefully. "He's already gone. Still he said he'd be back soon. I've never known him to make a promise that he couldn't keep. Well, since the Father-Son bonding we were both planning is on hold for now, I can go check out that pokémon trainer get-together he mentioned." And with that thought in mind, he made his way towards Selene Town.