Sorry for the delay.
Reggie awoke calmly. He couldn't have said how long he'd been out for. Minutes? Hours? Time didn't seem to have much of a meaning in the current circumstances. Nothing had changed from when he had fist drifted off. There was still that darned snowstorm gusting outside. That meant more snow and even more trouble getting back home. He let out a heavy sigh. Still a little chilly, it took him a moment to register that he wasn't alone. Snuggled up under the cover next to him was Paul.
His gaze softened a little trying to recall what circumstances had lead him to fall asleep like that. It wasn't that he was complaining. It was more that he struggled to remember just when they had last slept like that. Not since… He didn't even want to think back to it, it brought back too many painful memories. It was a few moments later that he caught sight of his father. The man was sleeping also. He was resting against one side of the cave but still looked desperately cold. Reggie felt his heart clench just a little. As always, he found himself longing to try and help his father but unable to abandon his brother.
He turned to check if their visitors were still with them. They were. Not even those three would be stupid enough to try and run away unprepared into a snow storm like the one they were currently trapped by. He was a little surprised that they had found a cover to keep themselves warm with. He most certainly hadn't given it to them and he doubted that Paul had unless he had woken up and been struck with the sudden urge to be kind. Whilst not impossible it was highly unlikely knowing his brother. That left only one potential culprit. It would seem that the Pyramid King did have a heart after all.
Next to him, he felt Paul stir somewhat. No doubt sensing that his elder sibling was now awake, he too was beginning to come to. That left Reggie wondering how his brother would react. Perhaps it would be best to slip away and let him wake up alone. The time it took him to think that however, the pokemon trained had woken up. He looked around a little confused. No doubt hoping that he had been suffering from a nightmare and would wake up warm and safe in his bed as opposed to still trapped out on the side of a mountain.
"Morning bro." Reggie muttered taking note of the grumpy expression on Paul's face.
"Morning? Looks more like evening to me." He grumbled in one of his typical good moods.
Surprisingly, his brother didn't pull away. No doubt he'd mentally weighed up the chill of the weather outside with the alternative of having to stick a little closer to his sibling than he might otherwise have and had decided that maybe a bit of proximity wasn't too bad. Reggie wasn't about to complain. Even with the cover and Paul close, it was still far from warm and it didn't feel as if it was about to let up any time soon. He sensed the dark look that his father was receiving curtsy of his youngest son. Even now, it would seem he couldn't let go of the past.
"Bet he hates us..." Paul muttered not taking his eyes off of the man.
"And why do you think that?" Reggie asked knowing better than to openly challenge his brother's assertion.
"Because it's him." The pokemon trainer declared firmly as if that alone meant that the man was the source of all evil. "He's Brandon, the Pyramid King!"
Reggie let out a sigh. His brother's hatred of their father was entirely irrational but that wasn't to say that he didn't understand where it could come from. Brandon was not and – from what he had been able to gather from those who knew him when he was younger – had never been an easy man to love. A prideful and cold man whom affection didn't come very naturally to. That wasn't to say that he didn't feel anything and didn't care but he wasn't very good at expressing it and much less at letting others know how he felt about them. Distance in the eyes of many became a sign of resentment or disdain. His eldest suspected that the man simply didn't know what to do.
To his sons, he cast an impressive and daunting shadow. Brandon the Pyramid King had a reputation alright not only as a great explorer but also as a trainer. Not everybody was capable of capturing the three legendary golems and it took more than luck to become the top Kanto Frontier Brain. Both sons had been on the receiving end of one a decidedly one-sided battle. Their father wasn't a man to hold back, not even against his own flesh and blood. To be fair, neither of his children would have wanted him to.
Enough wondering about such things, Paul was the sort of person to never do anything without a reason. They could seem obscure and at times spurious to others but they were always there. Whenever the pokemon trainer did something, it wasn't simply because it had suddenly taken his fancy. Something had provoked this little outburst of his and he doubted that it was simply the snowstorm and the presence of their father.
"What's brought this on?" Reggie asked him curiously.
"Nothing!" Paul snapped as a response.
"Nothing? Unlike you to get so wound up over 'nothing'. After all these years little brother, you still haven't realized that we know that where you're concerned 'nothing' means 'something'." He hesitated a moment before continuing in a softer voice. "Come on Paul. Brandon's asleep and those three sure aren't going to hear or care. You can tell me."
He didn't get a response. Ironically, where Paul was concerned that was actually a good sign. It meant that at least he was thinking about it. Had the answer been negative then he had no doubt that his sibling would have told him bluntly to mind his own business. Right now however, next to him, his little brother simply looked ahead of him blankly, no doubt he was busy wondering if he should bother responding or simply tell Reggie to go to hell. It was this sort of thing that lead him to wish for the good old days. Finally, after the best part of a minute, the pokemon trainer let out a heavy sigh.
"I-I-" Paul's voice was shaking slightly. He closed his eyes, gulped and took a deep breath to steady himself. "I dreamed of mom."
Instantly, Reggie's attitude changed. He hadn't quite been expecting that to be the reason behind his brother's behaviour. Usually, Paul avoided all things to do with their mother like the plague. He never mentioned her and refused to be in the same room if his sibling (or anyone else for that matter) brought her up. So for him to willingly mention her came as something of a surprise. Ironically, the fact that she was at the root of the problem somehow made almost painful sense to the eldest brother. In a way, she was the origin of all of this.
He allowed himself to think back to her for a moment. It was fair to say that he could remember more of their mother than his brother could simply because of the age difference. Unlike Paul though, he was capable of remembering the good, not just the bad. He knew his sibling got stuck on that one terrible night. It wasn't something he would ever confess to of course but just the way that he acted told Reggie that he was thinking of something he would rather forget. Thankfully, when he thought back to their mother, more often than not, he found himself recalling a kind smile and gentle words. He just wished that his brother could do the same.
"It's been a long time..." Reggie eventually muttered under his breath. "What were you thinking about?"
"What else?" Came the harsh but quiet reply.
"We should talk about it."
The suggestion earned the grumble of discontentment which Reggie had been expecting. Talking wasn't something his family seemed to do. At least not on amicable terms. It was something which people tended to avoid fearing that it would lead to another of their fabled conflicts. For the most part, Reggie was inclined to play along. Granted, he might try to push his father and brother together from time to time but he knew when to back off if they wanted to avoid things getting nasty which they easily could do. As such, talking hadn't been a part of their lives in quite some time now.
He'd hoped for years that might change. Unfortunately, Paul and Brandon's animosity seemed set to last over a decade unless something changed.
"No." Was his brother's reply.
"Come on Paul. It's not as if we have anything better to do." Reggie cast his still sleeping father another glance. "He's not a monster. No matter what you think. It's time to put the past behind us. Time to talk."
"He doesn't care about us!" Paul snapped back, his voice no more than a hushed whisper.
"One talk." The Pokemon breeder repeated, his voice softening. "One last talk, that's all it is Paul."
He didn't respond, simply sitting there with his arms folded across his chest and an almost prize-winning pout on his face. Reggie remained hesitant. It was always difficult to read his brother. One thing was certain in his mind however, that no matter how peaceful the trainer seemed to be, there was a raging fire hidden deep underneath. It was one which he managed to conceal as best as he could. Anger and hatred were something best kept hidden from the rest of the world. They'd tried to get rid of Paul's. They had been trying for so long now that ironically he'd almost forgotten it existed. He let out a heavy sigh, aware that the fight was probably lost and had been for some time now.
"What are you waiting for?" Paul grumbled under his breath. "You're not going to get anything out him while he's asleep."
Reggie looked at his brother surprised. He didn't say anything however, knowing better than to push his luck. Instead, he got quietly to his feet leaving the blanket for Paul. A little stiff, he made his way over to his father. The man seemed to be sleeping soundly. Time and experience had taught him to be careful when it came to waking sleeping Pyramid Kings. They could be decidedly moody if woken up by one of their sons. He could remember sometimes jumping on the man's bed on Christmas morning to get him up. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he hadn't much appreciated it. It had only been the nature of the day as well as their mother laughing which had convinced the man not to hive them a telling off. All these years later, he still found it unlikely the man would appreciate it. Still, it had to be done.
"Brandon..." Reggie shook the man gently. "Brandon!"
The man's eyes shot open. Reggie was forced to back off as the man jumped up. Okay, so maybe he should have been a little gentler when it came to waking him up. Brandon had a bad habit of reacting as if he was under attack if someone had the bad idea of waking him up. He would sit pretty much bolt upright. More than once, he'd narrowly missed head-butting one of his sons. On occasion, he had actually made contact. Thankfully, his eldest had been fast enough to avoid being brained.
It was clear that the Pyramid King was still not quite awake. His eyes fixed his son for a moment. Then, his gaze travelled over the cave. No doubt he was trying to see just what had warranted him being woken up in such a manner. Seeing no danger, his look turned to one of quizzical curiosity and perhaps some annoyance. Frontier Brain or not, he still needed at least some sleep and didn't appreciate being woken up unnecessarily. As such, Reggie wasn't all that surprised when the response he got was a pretty darn grumpy one:
"What is it?"
"We'd like to talk." Reggie explained to the man calmly.
"Talk?" Brandon repeated raising an eyebrow. "About what?"
"Mom."
The man frowned slightly, his face clouded over. Reggie could only try to imagine what must have been going on in his mind right now. The man's gaze naturally drifted over to his youngest son. The trainer said nothing, simply starring right back at him. Something must have passed between the two of them. Brandon was no fool, he would have been weary about bringing up his wife next to his sons. It never ended well. In fact, there was no subject more likely to get tempers to flare. They had realized that one a long time ago and so had decided against bringing her up to avoid a fight. It had been like that for years. A sudden change was reason enough for them to be concerned.
He sat up slightly, leaning back against the side of the cave. Silence hung heavily for a few moments. It was entirely possible that Brandon would refuse to start talking about it. In truth, Reggie couldn't really blame him. He was far from convinced that it would be for the best but he could easily understand the man's reluctance.
"What is it you want to talk about?"
A good question. Now that he was asked the question, Reggie wasn't entirely sure he knew. He himself would have been happy simply talking about the woman, remembering the good times and maybe learning a little bit more about her. There were many questions he would have liked to ask the woman. He didn't know how many of those the Pyramid King would be able to answer. He didn't even really know when the two had met or when for that matter. Given the subject had become a taboo all he really had were pictures and memories to go by.
He turned back to Paul. He could remember even less. All the pain and resentment he felt was caused by a single event which blocked everything else out. It would be wise therefore to ensure that the conversation didn't go back to that one terrible day which it almost always seemed to. If Paul and Brandon were left to themselves they would fight, it was almost inevitable. He would therefore have to steer things away from the topics which would cause tempers to flare, something which he had become used to doing over the past few years. He wondered where they could start. What would be likely to generate fond memories as opposed to animosity.
"I don't know..." Reggie confessed looking down at his feet. "It's just. We never seem to talk about her-"
"Is this about your mother in general or about something more specific?" Brandon addressed Paul and much as Reggie.
"A bit of both..." The eldest replied reading between the lines somewhat.
Brandon let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his hair. Admittedly, it couldn't have been easy for the man. He rarely talked about his wife as far as Reggie was aware. No doubt it was a little too painful for him, as it was for all of them. To suddenly be asked about her by his two sons no less must have taken him off guard somewhat. Not to mention the fact that he must have had some inkling that it was likely to lead to trouble. Still, the ageing Frontier Brain looked as if he might be able to do as they requested and talk. If only Reggie knew what to talk about… That was the real challenge here.
"Your mother was a wonderful person. What more can I say?"
"Hang on..." The woman spoke up from her fellow Team Rocket members. "You three are related?"
The Pyramid King and his two sons exchanged looks. For some reason which Reggie never fully understood, people always seemed to be surprised to discover that they were related. Physically, the resemblance between them was quite clear. It was their personalities which set them all apart and apparently made them so different as to no longer even resemble a family. The eldest of the brothers supposed that it was something that would be hard to understand from the outside looking in. The few who did know them seemed to struggle to grasp why they weren't closer. The problem was that they themselves had trouble explaining it as anything other than "We're just too different."
"Unfortunately." Came Paul's grumbling reply.
It was almost enough to make Reggie's face turn up into a slight smile. There was no changing his little brother. He didn't know if that was made the lad's attitude amusing. His father never saw it that way. In his mind the way that his youngest behaved was always inadmissible. Back in the day, he had tried pretty much everything to try and get him to stop being, as the man tended to put it rather bluntly, "so darn rude to everyone". Naturally, that had only fuelled Paul's hostility. Anything to make a point. Reggie had learned to laugh at the lad. Scold him only when he was doing something inadmissible to shock him into realizing what he had said or done. Anything else was counter-productive.
If Brandon wasn't so stubborn, he would realize that instead of sitting there glaring daggers at his flesh and blood. Speaking of which, the man's answer to their earlier question had been decidedly evasive. Paul decided to ignore Team Rocket currently chattering amongst themselves about the revelation.
"Don't think you're getting out of things that easily." The eldest replied with a knowing smile. "Come on…"
"I can't just tell you everything about your mother here and now!" Brandon snapped as a reply. "We'll be here all day!"
"Yeah, cause we're really going somewhere right now."
Paul's comment caused them all to look back outside into the never-ending blizzard. It had been raging on for hours now. Never slowing but also not falling any harder. It was steady and predictable and gradually burying them. Reggie was dreading the prospect of having to fight their way through it to make it back down the mountain. It wasn't something any of them were equipped or prepared for. Even the Pyramid King for all of his experience and knowledge would likely struggle and his two sons would no doubt find it almost impossible, especially with prisoners lagging behind them.
"Fair point..." Brandon conceded letting out a heavy sigh. "I am not telling you my life story however."
"Why not? Too boring?" Paul questioned slightly pointedly.
"Hardly." The man grumbled pulling his blanket up slightly. "Just tell me what you would like to know about your mother?"
"I don't know…" Reggie confessed looking to his brother for help. "I remember you telling us some stories."
"You were always asking after them." The man recalled looking away for a moment, a somewhat sad smile occupying his face. "Every night, before bed, without fail; you would demand a story or else we could be sure you wouldn't go to sleep."
"Yeah..." Reggie couldn't help but chuckle slightly thinking back to them. "Were those all true?"
"Of course." Brandon nodded to enforce his affirmation. "I tell no lies."
"There's one right there."
The Pyramid King's head snapped round to face his youngest son. The look of irritation on his face was plain to see. Most people would have shut up then and there. Brandon was one of these people who had mastered the glare which turned your blood to ice. It was enough to stop pretty much anyone in their tracks. Reggie only knew of the one person who was apparently immune to it. Unfortunately, he also happened to be the one person who continuously got into a struggle with. So he returned the look with one of his own.
Hell… Reggie help but think as he watched the two of them preparing to start up yet an argument. A few seconds, that was all that it had taken for what had started as a reasonable conversation to suddenly go down hill. He would have been better off letting his father rest and telling Paul not to worry about his dreams. It would have avoided what was now almost certain to happen.
"What is the matter with you?"
Paul didn't immediately answer. Instead, he let out what was something closer to an angry growl. Even Brandon looked to be a little confused. Reggie couldn't help but feel that he had made a terrible mistake. Sure, it didn't take much for the Frontier Brain and his youngest to start bickering once more. Usually though, it took something to start it up. In that respect, the Pyramid King might have had a point. One which of course he made with his usual tact and discretion. It was almost inconceivable apparently for the man to approach anything delicately it would seem. Already, the pokemon breeder was struggling with the urge to facepalm as he felt the situation once more slipping out of his control.
"The matter is that I'm sick and tired of you." Paul snapped back raising his voice slightly.
"How is that different from anyone else on this planet?" Brandon questioned his son, his voice remained level and calm. "Is there anyone on this Earth, lucky enough to not be hated by you?"
"I'm tired of everyone acting as if you're some sort of legend. I've heard you called 'great', 'wise' all those things but when it came down to it, you couldn't do anything, could you?!"
Instantly, Reggie's head snapped round to fix his little brother. He knew as soon as he had spoken those words that he had made a terrible mistake. Sometimes, the eldest brother forgot that his sibling didn't see the word the same way that he did. If he had a nightmare, he looked for comfort. With Paul it was different. For almost as long as he could remember, when something had scared him, he got angry at it. He tried to chase it away. It didn't matter how illogical it was or in some cases, who he ended up hurting in order to do so.
"What are you talking about?" Brandon was still angry, if he knew what Paul was referring to, he wasn't letting on.
"Forget it!" Paul demanded getting to his feet. "I'm out of here."
Reggie just sat there dumbfounded for a moment. Things had escalated so quickly that he didn't know how to react. Fortunately, his father was a little quicker on his feet and perhaps more aware of the risks of one of them storming out. He stood up and in a matter of seconds had blocked the exit to the cave. Paul still seemed to have the good sense to stop and not to try to push the man out of the way. It was a strange thing but Reggie always felt smaller in front of his father than he did if he was standing next to Tucker or Noland both of whom were a good foot taller. There was something about the Pyramid King which was just daunting. Right now, standing in the cave, his figure blocked out a good portion of the light coming from the exit. It cast a long shadow over both of his sons and obscured many of his features.
"You go out there into that storm, chances are it will kill you." The Frontier Brain informed him, obviously struggling to keep his voice level and calm.
For a moment, Reggie feared that his brother might be about to do something phenomenally stupid and try to push past the Frontier Brain. It actually looked like he might be about to. The cold looks that the two exchanged was enough to almost drive the eldest sibling to despair. He shouldn't be worrying about whether or not his father and brother were about to trade blows. He tried to tell himself that it was just the stressfulness of the situation which had lead both of them to be more on edge than normal but the truth was that this could just be any other day with his family. It seemed that they were destined to always be at war with one another.
Paul remained less than a foot away from the Frontier Brain. His hands were balled into fists. Yet Brandon, didn't move, he stood there with his arms folded across his chest. Reggie had learned from experience that if it came to blows, his father was more than capable of countering his troubled son. He would move out of the way or catch the incoming blow. He knew the boy's temper. Knew that a punch could fly sometimes if he really lost it… That allowed Reggie to breathe a little more easily. He trusted his father to deal with this sensibly.
Slowly… Without saying a word, Paul began to back down. It was a gradual thing. Just a slight movement away from the man. He didn't take his eyes off of Brandon. No matter how bad things got between the two of them. They were both always capable to look the other one in the eye. Reggie wasn't too sure if that was down to their undeniable courage, ridiculous stubbornness or that darned pride of theirs which could make interacting with their of them a pain. Very slowly however, Paul began to turn away, his body relaxed ever so slightly, so that he no longer looked like a snake recoiled and about to strike. He did so begrudgingly, not even attempting to hide the dark anger which marked each of his features.
Brandon, true to form, remained standing there with his arms folded across his chest. A deep scowl occupied his face. It seemed to deepen the lines which had begun to appear there. Both of them were a little too close to bursting point for the Pokemon breeder to be comfortable. Reggie breathed a silent sigh of relief, for a moment, he had been convinced that the two of them were about to get into a very serious fight. Thankfully, the Frontier Brain seemed to have been able to disescalate the situation. Maybe this conversation had been a mistake… Some silence was called for now, so that they could-
"You need to grow up!" Brandon what are you doing? It was literally the only thing that sprung to mind. "Get that temper of yours under control! All you're going to end up doing is getting yourself and others killed! What? Did you think you could just stroll down off of this mountain? When you let your temper get the better of you, it's not just your own life, its others. You have a responsibility not only to yourself but to others around you!"
"One which you so obviously embrace!" Paul's head snapped around as the fight started back up again. "Who are you to lecture me?!"
"The man who spends too long cleaning up after your mess and who is tired of it!" The Pyramid King yelled back at him.
"If it were up to me, we would be out of this storm by now!"
There was a point when Paul would start to make little to no sense. It was if he abandoned any attempt to do anything other than shout at Brandon. Sometimes, his brother wondered if he could even hear what he was saying. He doubted that his little brother could have guided them down the mountain. The Pyramid King had thought better of it. He knew his way around the wilds, knew what they were capable of and when it was too dangerous to continue. He had deemed it risky for them to push on and given how bad the storm was, the pokemon breeder was inclined to agree. The trainer hadn't even raised any objections at the time, meaning that he too must have agreed to a degree. If nothing else, it wasn't as if he had come up with any alternatives.
When he failed to add anything else, Brandon took the opportunity to repost. Once more, what should have been a calm and sensible conversation had turned into yet another duel between the two of them. Fortunately, it would seem that the Pyramid King was calming down at least somewhat as his next words were quieter than this previous ones had been:
"If we stay here, everything is going to be alright!" There was still anger there but Brandon had apparently at least managed to get enough self control to prevent himself from yelling. "I will keep you safe."
"The same way you said that mom was going to be alright?!" Paul's voice was so loud now that it almost felt as if the cave was reverberating. "The same way you kept her safe?!"
Everything fell silent. There was no way that Brandon had missed what his son was referring to that time. The man simply stood there gawking at him. The anger had vanished from his face in the space of seconds. Too shocked to speak, the Pyramid King simply starred at his youngest. Reggie tried to imagine what was going through his father's mind. Was he reliving those terrible events? Or was simply the concept of his own flesh and blood being prepared to use them as a weapon against him to make some kind of a point. Whatever the case, the Frontier Brain was struck dumb, it wasn't something that his son had seen all that often.
He needed a few moments to get his wits back together, that much was obvious. Paul however had swung into full battle mode. He wasn't about to give his opponent enough time to counter or even to recover. Fists clenched, he fully let lose, verbally cutting into his father with everything he had to give.
"How can you protect us?! How can you when you couldn't even do anything to save mom?!"
His yell only seemed to be all the more deafening for the silence that followed. Brandon seemed to be unmoving. Reggie would have said "made of stone" but that felt wrong. Stone couldn't feel, whereas the look of pain on the ageing man's face was so obvious that for once in his life, the pokemon breeder honestly felt like striking his brother. It was a brief urge and one which he controlled but still, to his shame it was there. Nobody should talk to another person like that, not when they knew full well how much it would hurt them.
A thought suddenly occurred to the pokemon breeder. What if Paul didn't know? He was far from the most empathetic of people. It was true, sometimes there was almost a malicious glint in his eye which spoke of the fact that he knew that he was about to hurt someone and simply didn't care, more often than not his intention was to cause some degree of pain. Maylene had been one such unfortunate example of his brother's cruel streak. Sometimes though, he genuinely didn't seem to realize that what he was saying or doing could cause offence. Given that he seemed to have it his head that Brandon was a cruel man without a hint of caring in his entire being, it was far from impossible that he didn't realize that his father would hurt just as much as he would.
"All you did was lie!" Paul's furious yelling continued. "You couldn't do anything else, could you?"
Reggie cautiously began to make his way over to his brother. It was time to end this. He'd been too slow, the damage was no doubt done but he couldn't and wouldn't let his brother tear any further into their father. No doubt the man would be seething. Brandon would only take so much before he got nasty, just like his youngest son. His temper had never been a good one and his rage was one which it was best not to be on the wrong side of. The Pokemon breeder placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, eager to pull him away and to put some distance between the two of them.
"No..." Brandon let out in a pained sigh.
It was so rare to hear the man say the word in anything than an eardrum shattering bellow that Reggie found himself compelled to turn back to face his father, surprised that the man had chosen to speak. He had expected the man to remain silent, allowing tensions to die down somewhat. Instead, he had done the opposite, drawing attention to himself once more. The Frontier Brain was standing there, with his hands balled into fists, looking down at the ground a few feet away from where he was currently standing. He looked lost, confused, nothing like the man whom his eldest was used to seeing. For what might have been the first time in his son's memory, he actually looked vulnerable.
It was a strange thing, generally the Pyramid King gave off the impression of being like a rock, made of steel or with a heart of ice. In many ways, he reminded his son of his signature pokemon. Hard, resilient and ridiculously difficult to beat. He could take pretty much anything and come bouncing back from it. More often than not it barely seemed to register with him as more than an irritation. Paul brought out the worst of the man. To be fair, it worked the opposite way around as well, he had the same effect on his youngest son. Nothing could hurt him it would seem, at least not enough to get anything other than anger for a reaction.
Even Paul seemed a little surprised that his comments had been able to cut such a deep hole in the Frontier Brain as to render him into such a state. Reggie was about to say something to stop things from getting any more out of hand: something along the lines of "Lets talk about this later.". They needed to let their emotions die down for a while before they could even think about doing anything. To his surprise however, Brandon beat him to the punch.
"I couldn't save your mother… Nothing I did- I couldn't..." The words didn't seem to be coming very easily to him. "I..."
He let out a shaky sigh. Neither of his sons dared try to feel the gap that he left. There was something deeply troubling about seeing the man they typically thought of as unmovable looking so lost and distraught. Reggie simply didn't know what to say. He knew with Paul that the best thing to do was to give the lad some space if you wanted to avoid a mouth full of hostility and abuse. He was someone who needed time and space to recover and would do so himself without any comfort from others. He didn't know about Brandon. The man simply didn't tend to show that much emotion around others, at least not that he knew of. As such, he simply didn't know what to do.
As he noticed that his father was struggling to hold back tears. Reggie felt a mixture of helplessness and fear overcome him. This had gone too far. Far too far… Things had been said which couldn't be taken back. Now the Pyramid King stood there almost broken. This had been a mistake. A terrible mistake which there was no going back from. It took him another few moments of stunned silence but Brandon eventually seemed to get a hold of himself. His face became sterner once more as he clenched his teeth seemingly battling a pain of some kind.
"-That's going to haunt me for the rest of my days."
When he turned back to face his sons, his expression had changed completely. Anger now marked his features. It was a look which made Reggie back away instinctively. A warning… They needed to stop now. Paul especially. There was only so far you could push a person before they broke completely. Reggie really didn't want to discover what his father was like when he was pushed past that point. No matter was his sibling thought he could handle, he doubted that the Pokemon trainer wanted to either.
"Now you will hold your tongue in my presence!"
It was a command, plain and simple. One which truly frightened his eldest. Even on his best days, the man had something of a temper that was best not crossed. At least he was kind enough to let them know when he was at end's rope. Tugging at his brother, Reggie tried to pull him away. If they were a little further from each other, then maybe things would start to calm down. Both needed to just stop and think.
Leave it Paul. Just leave it… Reggie silently willed his brother. Brandon was hurting. A man torn open. He could see it in the man's eyes. His patience was at its limit. Anyone could tell he was very close to snapping. His sibling wasn't backing off. He remained rooted to the spot, looking their father dead in the eyes. He didn't move. Didn't blink. Accepting the challenge which for some reason he perceived as being given. Dread began to fill the pokemon breeder as he realized that despite everything his little brother wasn't about to do the sensible thing and let things lie.
"Is that what you did? Did you never question anything your father said?!"
It was an awkward jab because all Paul knew how to do in times like this is cause trouble but instantly, Reggie saw that it had made its mark in a way that neither of them could have foreseen.
There father's face changed. It no longer belonged to the man they knew. There was something different about him. Something angry, well angrier. Despite everything, the Frontier Brain for the most part seemed to always be in control of his emotions. He was level-headed enough to be trusted not to do anything rash. He was the one telling his youngest to keep a hold on himself and to try to avoid being ruled by his emotions. All that was gone now. What remained was, perhaps describing it as "mad" would be a bit strong but it wasn't far off. Reggie always trusted his father to keep control of himself, it didn't matter how loudly he yelled, he would never hurt them. For the first time in his life, he wasn't so sure. He realized suddenly that he was afraid of the man.
"As a matter of a fact I did talk to my father like that once and he beat me half to death for it!"
Reggie simply blinked a few times, struggling to process what was going on. He wanted to run. He'd grab Paul, pull the Pokemon trainer back a bit seeing as he obviously couldn't be trusted to know how to tell when enough was enough. Get some distance between themselves and the Pyramid King in order to give the man enough time to calm down a bit and then try as hard as he physically could to forget everything that had just happened. He found himself unable to move, he couldn't even speak. Something about what Brandon had just said - the anger and pain behind his voice was unmistakable – somehow compelled him to stay there and simply gawk at the Frontier Brain as if he had never seen him before.
He didn't know much about his father's past. The man had always been incredibly evasive when the subject was brought up. Actually, that wasn't strictly speaking true. He would quite easily talk about his past adventures and history up until a point. There seemed to be some sort of barrier about almost everything which concerned his boyhood and teenage years. He never mentioned them and for the most part wouldn't reply or explain that he didn't feel like talking about it. The past was in the past and all that. For the first time, Reggie felt that he could understand why that part of their father's existence had always been one he had strived to keep secret.
Silence lasted for a few moments. Brandon was too angry to respond and his sons simply too shocked. It must have been the best part of a minute before finally Paul managed to gather enough of his thoughts to ask in a quiet, almost timid voice marked by uncertainty:
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Brandon repeated mockingly as a rare fury took over him. "What the hell do you think it means?! It means the one time I ever got mouthy with my father, he took a freaking bottle, broke it over my shoulder and hit me until I passed out!"
Paul really should shut up… It was all that Reggie could think as he stood there. Brandon was getting close to the edge of reason. He'd never seen the man pushed that far before. Thankfully, by the looks of things, he had realized that he had stepped over some serious boundaries and was now in some major trouble. The rage of the Frontier Brain was almost tangible, his pain was as well. It was something the Pokemon Breeder felt that he couldn't understand. Generally, he tried to put himself in his other's shoes. He found that it helped him understand them, especially with people like his father and brother. Right now however, he didn't even particularly want to try.
Picturing his father young was a difficult task. He didn't know how old the man had been at the time of these events. Young probably but maybe not a child. A teenager, perhaps? Old enough to try talking back at any rate. Anyone who had ever known his parents had always said that Paul took after Brandon in the looks department. Therefore, whenever he imagined his father in his youth, the man tended to look a lot like his brother. He'd never seen anyone other than his sibling take a swing at the Pyramid King (not many people were that stupid it would seem) so the idea of him being hit was about as alien as the notion of their grandfather was. That did explain why that side of their family was one they had never met and knew precious little about.
An awkward silence settled in. The anger lingered plain for everyone to see. Team Rocket in their corner had wisely opted to remain silent. A good choice in Reggie's opinion, peeping up in their situation would likely only have lead to either Paul or Brandon (potentially both) taking out their frustrations on them.
It took a few moments but Brandon actually appeared to be calming down at least somewhat. His breathing was slowing down to a more regular rhythm which no longer sounded like he was straining to contain the urge to scream. Instead, he turned away shaking his head slightly as Reggie believed that the Frontier Brain was gradually beginning to regain a sense of himself. The man let out a short dry laugh. It was devoid of any traces of humour however coming across as cold and harsh rather than anything else. His sons exchanged an uncertain glance, unnerved by the uncharacteristic behaviour. The laughter died down after a few seconds, no doubt whatever had struck him as amusing, if it even had had just lost its charm.
He turned back to look at his youngest son. His eyes showing some of the pain that he felt as he stood before his own flesh and blood.
"Your mother would have been ashamed of you, boy."
There was a dark cruelty behind those words which was only too clear to his sons. He actually meant it. In a way, Reggie knew why he had said it. He was hurting so like most people, or animals for that matter, did when they had been injured: they lashed out. Any other day, he would probably never had said something like that, not when he knew just how much it would wound his son.
It was a strange series of circumstances which lead to what happened next. Reggie was a little too distracted by what his father had just said, perhaps "distracted" was the wrong word, horrified would have been more accurate to take note of Paul's reaction. It was one hell of a thing to say to his son made all the harsher by the fact that it was quite plain that he actually believed it. Honestly, perhaps the worst thing was that try as he might, Reggie couldn't exactly disagree with his father. Their mother would probably have been ashamed of her whole family. Not just her angry youngest but her cold husband and powerless eldest who couldn't do anything to keep the ones he loved from tearing each other apart. Lost in that terrible realization, everything else seemed to disappear for a few moments. He forgot about his sibling, not even bothering to check his reaction. He should have realized that it was only likely to get one response: pain which would inevitably lead to anger.
Paul flew fast him. The boy moved far too fast for his daydreaming sibling to even try to catch. For a moment, Reggie assumed that he was trying to run away the way that he so often did in situations like this. It was with horror that he realized that his target wasn't the exit but rather the man still partially blocking it. He leapt forwards, fist clenched. Bizarrely, Brandon didn't seem to be ready for it either.
The blow connected with the right of his face. The Frontier Brain stumbled backwards no doubt from a mixture of the impact and shock. He collided with one of the cave walls, using it to brace himself. Paul wasn't quite done however as he swung yet another fist at the man. This one hit his chest. Acting quickly Brandon moved forwards. Surprising his son by both his speed and strength, he managed to get the lad in a headlock. Paul wasn't so easily stopped however. Fuelled by anger, he continued to try and hit the man as hard as he could.
Brandon however wouldn't release him. Reggie knew his father possessed the strength of a tauros. Years of exploring ruins and making his way by himself in the world had made him both tough and resilient. This wasn't his first fight. Although it was the first time he'd ever been forced to resort to violence to deal with one of his sons. The man struggled for a while, visibly having difficulty both keeping hold of the pokemon trainer as he struggled wildly, screaming with fury as he did so but also trying to avoid cutting off his oxygen supply. Eventually, by turning slightly, he managed to get his youngest onto his knees and in a position where he could no longer lash out, forcibly de-escalating the situation.
Reggie could do nothing but stare. His brother's agonized cries of rage echoed all throughout the cave as he desperately attempted to do anything he possibly could to hurt their father. The man didn't budge however, not even making an attempt to wipe the blood which flowed freely from his cut lip now. Tears of rage poured out of his sons eyes as he must have realized that he had been beaten. It was enough to shake him out of his stupor.
"That's enough..." Reggie stepped forwards.
He couldn't have said whether it was Paul still thrashing around like a madman or Brandon in his desperate attempt to keep a hold of his son but something connected with him sending him flying backwards to the ground. Stunned and a little hurt, he just sat there for a moment with the wind knocked out of him and trying to figure out what had just happened. Gathering his senses, he looked up to see that the fighting had ended both father and son were starring at him, obviously shocked. He got up quickly, taking advantage of the moment of calm to try and definitively put the end to the hostilities.
One glance however told him that he was too late to take back the damage though. Brandon was bleeding and what had been said couldn't be forgotten.
"I..." Reggie began but was unable to think of any words which would make it any better.
"Forget it!" Paul spat grabbing his bag. "I'm out of here!"
"Paul…" Reggie started up once again.
"No! You know what? I've had it with you and I've had it with Brandon! As of right now, I'm no longer part of this… Hell! We haven't been a family since mom died!" He reached into his pocket, pulling out the necklace. "You can have this back!"
The boy threw the locket at his father. It struck the man's cheek before hitting the ground. Brandon paid little heed to it or to Paul. Instead, he simply fixed a corner of the room. There was a fair bit of blood on his chin now but he made no attempt to wipe it away. Instead, he stood there as if he was somewhat above all of this. Reggie looked to him desperately searching for some help. Already, he knew what was going to happen. He could see it unfold as Paul stormed towards the exit of the cave, seemingly oblivious to the storm still raging outside.
"Stop!" Reggie rushed after his brother. "Paul you can't go out there!"
"Can't I?" He raised an eyebrow pausing briefly.
"Not in that storm!" The Pokemon Breeder declared. "You'll be killed."
"I'll take my chances!" His sibling snapped continuing to walk. "It's better than spending one more second in here, that's for sure!"
"Brandon!" Reggie turned to his father for support.
"What?" Paul shot the man a cold glare. "You going to stop me old man?!"
The Pyramid King shifted his gaze slightly so that it was resting on his son. The man remained completely silent. His dark eyes fixed his son with a look which Reggie simply couldn't decipher. He wanted the man to say something. To do something, anything, to put an end to this. For a moment, just a few glittering seconds of hope, it looked as if the Frontier Brain might be about to act, to use that authoritarian voice of his to call Paul back and tell him not to be such a fool. For a moment, even his youngest seemed to be almost be expecting it as he lingered half way in and half way out of the cave.
Then, the man simply turned away. It was a resentful dismissal. One which spoke only of disdain for the lad. Paul huffed slightly, turning his back.
"Didn't think so."
A second later, he was gone. He disappeared into the storm. They were able to keep track of his silhouette for a few seconds before that too was engulfed with ice and snow. For a moment, Reggie simply stood there starring at where his brother had been. It was as if he couldn't quite process that his sibling had gone. A thousand thoughts swam around in his head. The urge to both start chasing after him, screaming his name and just to collapse on the floor and start to cry tore at the young man leaving him just standing there, completely lost.
It was finally his father which brought him back to his senses and made him once more aware of the world around him. The man walked slowly. Initially, Reggie dared to hope that he might be about to chase after his youngest son but instead, he simply headed to where the locket had fallen or rather had been thrown. Carefully, treating it as if it were made out of glass, he picked the small piece of jewellery up. He dusted it down, examining it for dents, all under the gaze of his still stunned eldest. Brandon remained standing there, simply looking at the item fondly but making no attempt to hide his sorrow either.
Finally, unable to bear the inaction any longer his eldest cried out at him:
"Come on! You have to do something! Go after him! He could get killed out there!"
Brandon shot Reggie a cold glare which instantly made him be quiet. He didn't recognise the Frontier Brain if the truth was told. Standing there, with blood running down from his cut lip, dirty, with the beginnings of some stubble and a wild look in his eye, he wasn't the man whom the pokemon trainer felt he knew. This could have been his real father, the man whom he barely ever saw in which case the Pyramid King was an incredible disguise. He walked over to a rock near the entrance to the cave, sitting there the man didn't take his eyes off of him giving him a piercing look which felt as if it carried almost as much resentment as Paul had received. He was still seething, still angry, if he wasn't yelling it was only because right now, he probably knew there was no point.
"Do I?" The Pyramid King grumbled lowly.
He wiped some of the blood away with the back of his hand. It was still coming but at least he no longer had the same horror factor. The blow must have hurt. Paul hadn't held back his punches, the lad seldom did. Sitting there, the man said nothing leaving his eldest to only try and imagine just what was going on inside of his head. Right now, Reggie found himself wondering if he even wanted to try, much less get an answer. Some things were best not even imagined.
The silence lasted a few moments. It was one that Reggie didn't dear to break. What could he say? He cast his glance out into the storm. Those winds were harsh and freezing, he could feel that even from inside of the cave, he dreaded to imagine what it would be like for Paul out there exposed to the elements. Perhaps, he hoped, in a few minutes he would realize how stupid he was being and come back in to the shelter. It was wishful thinking he suspected. He knew his little brother well enough to know that he was so stubborn as to prefer freezing to death to actually coming back to them.
Brandon let out a sigh prompting his eldest to turn back to see him. The anger had vanished from his face now and was replaced by a look of acceptance. The calmness had returned to him it would seem. He shook his head slightly before declaring:
"It was a brave attempt son but I'm afraid this is it." He got to his feet.
"Whoa!" Sensing what was about to happen, Reggie blocked the exit. "Where are you going?"
Brandon smiled softly. He didn't attempt to push past. He could have quite easily. Instead, the man stayed a respectable distance away. In his heart of hearts, Reggie knew what was coming. He knew what the Pyramid King was going to try and do which was why he was struggling so desperately to stop him. If the man walked off now, they were forever be divided, he was certain of that much. Paul was probably never going to talk to either of them again, at least not voluntarily. Not to mention the likelihood of him freezing to death out there if they did nothing. Their father couldn't walk away, not right now, not like this…
"Dad..." Reggie began looking the man dead in the eyes.
"Enough of this." The man declared taking a step forwards. "You're a good person Reggie, you don't deserve to be saddled with me or your brother."
There it was again. That word "saddled". It was as if both his father and brother perceived the family being together as a nuisance. They saw the other as being a burden of some kind. In a way, they weren't exactly wrong. Both would inevitably start bickering in the other's presence. It made them unbearable to pretty much everyone who had ever known them. There was a reason there were no more family get togethers. Nobody could put up with the never ending fighting. It was simply too painful to witness. He knew his father's position. He knew his brother's position. He found himself unable to reconcile himself with them however.
He found himself trapped there as his father began to walk past him. He wanted to stop the man. If Paul had been in his position (provided that he cared) he wouldn't have hesitated to get in the way. He would have grabbed the man if the need arose and physically tried to hold him back. A scream of anger was trapped somewhere in the back of his throat. Curiously, it was the Pyramid King who stopped, almost as if he had sensed his son's hesitation.
"Time to put the past behind us, Reggie..." The man muttered, lingering for a moment. "Paul was right. We don't belong together. You just… Live your life, forget about us. We'll find our own ways."
"Are you kidding me?!" Reggie muttered feeling tears stinging at the corner of his eyes. "I don't buy that for a second! Get back here! Dad! Dad! BRANDON!"
It was no good. Without saying another word, the man disappeared into the whiteness of the storm outside. His eldest son remained rooted to the spot. Completely lost and alone.
His family was gone. They had finally done it. They had torn themselves to pieces. Each and everyone of the them was well and truly abandoned by the others…