"Enough of this sulking, Lilac. You're 22 years old, fucking act like it!" Topaz snapped, glaring down at Lilac. The man was sitting in the dark, looking more like a ghost than a guy, his Pokemon crowded around him. Topaz reached up and turned on the light- still, he was unresponsive.

Topaz sighed, running a hand through her hair. All her life, her little brother had been... strange. Prone to inexplicable fits of anger, as well as episodes of euphoria and then days of depression- he was never a normal kid. The doctors said it was Bipolar disorder and a few other things, but Topaz knew her brother better. She understood what was going on in his head, and how in his eyes, everything seemed like the end of the world. The smallest things could set him off- a broken headlight, a failed test.

And now, Valerie. His childhood sweetheart had abandoned him for Koga- which wasn't surprising. The two were so different, it was probably bound to fail from the start. Still, Lilac had loved her, and it hadn't worked out in the end.

"Lilac. Your Pokemon need you," she said, taking her brother's face in her hands. Lilac's skin was cold to the touch.

"I just keep thinking about mom," he began, hazel eyes slowly closing. His bottom lip trembled with every word. Topaz's demeanor changes as the mention of their mother, and her heart weeps for him. "And how she just got so tired of everything- and ended it. And every time I close my eyes, I see her on the floor, her Rockruff crying next to her. How could she do it?"

Topaz pulls her brother to her chest, tears streaming down her face and landing on his hair. She remembered that day- the day everything came apart. Their mom had given her partner final orders- to use Swords Dance, and finally, Crunch.

She asked first- and the Rockruff had refused. So she executed her authority, commanded that it use Crunch on her throat.

And Lilac, only four, had walked in on the worst possible moment.

"But I know now. I know how she could do it," Lilac whispers into his sister's neck.

"Lilac. Look at me. Look and listen. Mom made a mistake. She broke our hearts in order to stop her own. It's not your fault, or mine, or Lycanroc's. That being said- don't make the same mistake. You're all I have left," Topaz pleads.

"I- I couldn't. I don't have the courage," he finally says, slipping from his sister's grasp. "I need to leave. I just need to leave, okay? I can't just stay and- and see her when I walk down the street, and I can't look at Koga and I need to leave. I need to get away!"

Topaz plants a kiss on his temple, understanding. "Of course. The keys are in the fish bowl, money in the safe. Just come home when you're ready," she says, but Lilac is already running out the door.

"It is often said that people cannot love broken things, Lilac murmured, holding Rowlet in his lap. He gently scratched the pokemon's head with two fingers, peering at the book laying on the bench beside him. Whenever he stopped scratching the grass-type, it responded with an angry squawk and peck at his fingers- so he continued.

It had been two days- two days in Anistar city in his heart still hurt. It hurt like a cancer, eating and eroding away at his very being. Lilac didn't even feel human anymore- and he didn't look like it either. He looked like a ghost, a ghoul, and specter. His pale skin was the color of moonlight, with dark bags encircling his eyes, his lips chapped and bleeding from constantly chewing them. The only thing on him that looked healthy was his hair- and that was only because Rowlet enjoyed a cleaned space to sleep on. His constant clawing at the man's mohawk kept it clean and combed.

"And I suppose I'm the anomaly of that phrase. I love my love, and she is broken; even more so than-" Lilac was cut off by a shrill shriek. Rowlet's eyes widened and it it puffed up considerably, it's feathers swelling until the Rowlet look positively huge. After this quick display it promptly ducked under the man's shirt and hid beneath it, pressed tightly against his abdomen. Lilac saw who it was and immediately cringed, before picking up his book, shoving Rowlet higher up in his shirt, and making a run for it.

Which ended with Lilac tripping over his own shoelaces and falling. Which set Rowlet off, coming out of the trainer's shirt and squawking angrily, pecking and clawing at Lilac's face in a fury, before resuming a calm position atop of the man's head.

"Lilac, grandson of Elite Four Agatha! It's been so long!"

At the sound of that, a crowd began to gather.

"Is that him?"

"I think it is! Look at the Rowlet!"

"Isn't he cute, in a grungy-emo-rocker kind of way?"

"Lilac! Lilac! Show us your pokemon, Lilac!"

There was the sound of blood rushing in his ears, and he got to his feet, sweating. He swayed unsteadily on his feet, cradling his head. What was he even doing here? He didn't belong here. He belonged with Valeria- the one who made everything okay.

His vision darkened, and an ocean inside of him swelled and crashed, swelled and crashed. It bubbled up inside of him, threatening to spill out of his eyes should he make a single movement. And even though he wasn't seeing clearly anymore, he thought he saw a woman push her way through the crowd, searching around eagerly. She set her eyes upon him, seemed vaguely disappointed. And there was something familiar in the tired way she held herself, cradling her stomach as if it hurt, that reminded him of Valerie late at night.

And that was when the ocean finally found a way out of him- in the form of a scream.

"What do you see in me?" Valerie asked one night in bed. Lilac had his face pressed against her stomach, and her hands gently stroked his cheek. He leaned into her touch, welcoming in her scent- vaguely of perfume, sweat, and cigarretes. She smelled like home.

Lilac let out a laugh, looking up at the woman with incredulous eyes. "I see everything my mother could have found, if only she waited a little longer. You're every wish I ever made come true," he said, planting a kiss on the back of her hand. Valerie smiled then, her eyes crinkling up at the edges, lips parting to reveal white teeth. It was a true smile, one that made Lilac all warm in the chest as if he had been basking in the light of the sun.

"You come alive when you are around me," she mused, before quickly sucking in her breath as Lilac's lips found her hip, and then her thigh. "I hope that never changes."

Lilac grinned, dimples prominent in his cheeks as he nibbled at her skin.

"Never."

Agatha sighed, shaking her head as she looked down at Lilac's sleeping form. Word traveled fast in Unova- it had only been five minutes after the incident that it was finally posted on social media. Somebody tagged Blue, who tagged Oak, who then took the video down- but not before sending it to Agatha, his childhood rival. Agatha, the grandmother of Lilac, had borrowed Lance's Dragonite and flown over.

Later that night, the video of a crazed witch riding a dragon had become a hit.

So now, here she was, tending to her grandson in some elderly man's house- a sad old man with a tired manner of speech. Pictures lined the walls of he and his wife- who was nowhere to be found. Lilac mumbled incoherently in his sleep and tossed and turned on the bed.

When Agatha offered to take her grandson home, the man refused.

"No, it's fine, really. I don't get much company nowadays, and I'd be happy to look over Lilac here," he said with a tight-lipped smile, hunching over his cane. Agatha frowned.

In her mind, she saw a pancreas-eating child molester that would most likely chop Lilac up into little bits and throw him in an iron skillet if given the chance.

But... Then again. She really didn't have a lot of time to deal with Lilac right now- the two had never really gotten along well in the first place. To make matters worse, the Elite Four was dealing with a bunch of renegades parading about Sinnoh, and they needed Agatha and Lance's Dragonite.

On top of that, Agatha was getting old. Her back ached, her knees hurt, and she could really go for a glass of whiskey- and all this sad old man was offering was weak tea and stale crackers.

Yes, she decided. Lilac could take care of himself- at least when it came to self-defense. Now, personal hygiene on the other hand...

Agatha sighed through clenched teeth, as if making a difficult decision. When this was done, and Sinnoh no longer needed her, she decided she'd go on vacation. Images of her in a striking yellow bikini ran through her mind, as did Oak in a speedo. The thought made her smile.

The woman leaned down, pressed the back of her calloused hand to Lilac's cheek. For a moment, her gaze softened.

"You hang in there, Lilac. I'll kill you if you do anything stupid," Agatha murmured.

"I'll break your hip in the process, old hag," Lilac said, half asleep.

The woman chuckled, turning to head for the door. "He's all yours- just make sure not to cook him too long. He'll end up all stringy and lean, like wild meat!" She exclaimed, leaving Lilac and the old man- who looked very confused.

That's a wrap for this chapter! Tomorrow we introduce a new character, written and created by yet another friend of mine, JoshTheWriter himself. We'll see his OC, and Lilac and Seo-yun cross paths!

I don't own Agatha or Lance- but I love how she acts in this story. Don't you?

~DD