Note: Friggin' heck. This chapter is waaaay long. Blame xPikachu-Princessx for that, she wouldn't let me shorten it. Oh yes, because of this chapter I've decided to change the rating of this story from K+ to T. It's just a teensy bit more graphic than I had anticipated. I'd like you to know now that after this, there will be one chapter left. That's right, one.
A Broken Home
"Oh god." Daphne's heart was in her mouth; her hands quivering on their own accord. As much as she wanted to, her body was incapable of moving away from the horrific scene and she couldn't look away. Daphne's body felt numb and she felt as if she wasn't part of reality. Conan's voice sounded muffled and far off, even though he was only standing next to her.
"Aw man..." Unlike Daphne, Conan had full control over his body and he demonstrated this by grabbing her shoulders almost painfully tight. The look he gave Daphne scared Amina: she had never seen him so deathly frightened. For the first time, Amina had been rendered speechless. Even she had been dramatically affected by what had just happened.
"We have to get away from here," Conan was saying to Daphne, urgency clear in his voice. Her hands lifted slowly up to her face and Daphne stared at them, seemingly confused. One was fine, still wrapped heavily in bandages after her battle with Zoe. The other...why was it dripping in glistening, fresh, red blood?
*Two hours earlier...
"I love it here!" squealed Amina as she tucked in to her third bowl of Pokémon food that morning. Conan and Daphne shook their heads at their Pokémon, laughing at her enthusiastic appetite. The three of them had only arrived in Kanto two days prior to this but it was like they had been there for a long time. They had managed to book a room in the Pokémon Centre for the next week and were quite comfortable there. They quickly settled into a routine of sly thievery in broad daylight to keep themselves amused and practised in their line of work. A Team Rocket representative would soon meet with them and give them their official orders but until then they were free to do whatever they liked.
The town they were in at present was the smallest in all of Kanto: Lavender Town. Many locals had warned the trio about ghost sightings in the town, particularly around the House of Memories. Being a Ghost-type, Amina felt more or less welcome in the tiny town whilst the mention of ghosts and spirits pretty much unnerved Conan. Daphne didn't seem bothered by any of it and it wasn't until their first night that her teammates learned why: Daphne was originally from Lavender Town.
She had travelled a long way to see Giovanni and become a part of the peewee training programme all those months ago but now she was finally back and hardly anyone seemed to recognise her. Daphne actually preferred it that way. She was glad no-one knew her as 'Rick-and-Veronica's kid' anymore. It wasn't like she even saw herself that way. Ever since that day she had walked out on her dad, Daphne had become her own person; an independent teen. It had taken a single bus journey from Lavender to Vermillion City and it had lasted all day but look where it had got her. It had been worth it in the end.
As soon as the trio had finished eating breakfast, they retired to their room where they stocked up on a few items they might need for the day before heading out. Because Lavender Town was so small, many of the residents had already noticed that things had gone missing and as Daphne, Conan and Amina were new in town, they were instantly suspected as the culprits. The three of them knew they had to move on quickly before they were found out; however they had been instructed not to leave the town until they had received their next orders.
Daphne mentioned something about wanting to make a short visit to The Lavender Volunteer Pokémon House. It was a building constructed purely for the existence to house abandoned and orphaned Pokémon, who would be cared for by live-in members of the organisation set up by a man named Mr Fuji. Since the group had nothing better to do it was decided they would go there – if only to kill time. Daphne had an ulterior motive for wanting to go to the Volunteer House, although she kept it to herself for the time being.
As soon as they stepped inside they were hit with the powerful aroma emitting from the kitchen area and Amina felt her self become woozy. She regretted eating so much for breakfast. Off to one side was a flight of stairs and Conan guessed that up there were the rooms where the members slept. There didn't seem to be anyone around at the moment, save for the few lone Pokémon interacting quietly in the pen located at the far corner of the room. It was there that Daphne found her feet leading her and her two friends followed close behind, watching the room shiftily as if afraid of being caught at any second.
Daphne's eyes glazed over as she took in the four Pokémon mingling in a civilised manner. Each face was sad, as if knowing they had no-one who loved them but also strong, as they willed themselves to believe a better future was in store for them. A Gloom with a petal missing, a Sandshrew with a scar running along one side of its face, a Pinsir that had just one and a half white horns and an Abra with a limp – they were all horribly mismatched. Suddenly aware that they had an audience, the four lonesome Pokémon stopped their discussion and stared hopefully up at the strange faces peering down at them. Amina found herself near hysterics when it struck her how miserable their lives actually were: they were doomed to live the rest of their lives in a house for Pokémon rejects with people who didn't care enough about them to make them their own. It was so pathetic, it was funny and Amina's face broke out into a huge grin.
"Kuh kuh kuh kuh kuh..." Conan rolled his eyes, thinking 'not that stupid evil laugh she's been working on'. Daphne paid Amina no attention, giving it all instead to the Sandshrew. It was gaping at her in what could only be described as a stunned way and Conan wondered why that was. Just before he could ask Daphne why she was so interested in the Sandshrew, a voice behind them made them jump. They span around, immediately on their guard.
A teenaged girl with bright orange hair, twinkling green eyes and a smattering of freckles across her long nose was standing before them. She was wearing a red and white matching top and mini skirt with long socks and red trainers. Around her neck was a red ribbon tied in a neat bow and she had equally red studded earrings. A Farfetch'd stood loyally at her side, trying to give off an air of coolness. The girl didn't look cross with them for trespassing or intruding or whatever it was they were doing. In fact, her facial expression was stuck on 'rather pleased'. Her mouth split into a wide smile which dazzled Conan immediately.
"Daphne Davies!" she shrieked, rushing forwards to embrace her. Daphne's eyes widened as she realised with a sinking feeling she had finally been recognised – and by a girl her own age, no less. The girl broke away and Daphne pretended to have no idea who the girl was. The girl let out a shrill laugh when Daphne denied ever meeting her before and pushed Daphne's shoulder playfully. Daphne glared at her. Conan was excited at the prospect of Daphne being acquainted with a girl who was the same age as them and insanely pretty, too. Amina couldn't care less.
"Daphne, you're hilarious!" the girl shrieked. She pronounced the word as 'hil-EYE-ree-ous'. "It's Kelsey, your next door neighbour since forever!" Daphne closed her eyes and slowly counted to ten in her head. She didn't want to lose her temper with Kelsey and break her other hand as a result. It was hard enough coping with just the one that was broken. Before she knew what was happening, Conan was asking to see where she and Kelsey lived and was being whisked away by Kelsey, eager to show off to the cool boy dressed all in black. Daphne cursed her luck. She had been purposefully avoiding her house ever since they arrived and now she was being dragged back there against her will. Daphne turned and got one last look at the Sandshrew whilst she still could, silently promising she'd be back.
Kelsey's home was literally like a doll's house in the sense that it was impossibly small and unrealistically dirt-free – especially as she had two little brothers. It soon became obvious why it was so clean when Kelsey led them into the kitchen. Her mum was on her hands and knees, obsessively scrubbing the floor with a soapy sponge. She was dressed from head to toe in cleaning gear: bandana to keep her hair out of the way, shimmering apron, yellow rubber gloves, old slippers and freshly washed tracksuit. Kelsey's mum barely glanced at her guests as she scrubbed away at the floor, muttering quietly to herself. Daphne, who knew Kelsey's mum well, didn't see this as weird behaviour for her. She had developed OCD when she had first become pregnant with Kelsey and now spent every moment of her waking life cleaning the house. Everyone in Lavender Town had grown used to Kelsey's mum's fixation with cleaning and hardly batted an eyelid. Amina and Conan however were completely unused to the antics of Kelsey's mum and shamelessly gawped at her as she worked hard to make the floor spotless. Daphne nudged Conan angrily and he in turn shoved Amina, snapping her out of her daze.
"It just seems a little bit crazy. The floor's already clean – what the heck is she cleaning it for?" hissed Amina. Kelsey's mum appeared oblivious to what the purple Pokémon had said but Kelsey was furious. If it hadn't been for the fact that she had known Daphne for so long and was developing a fast crush on Conan, she would have thrown them all out. As it were, she ushered them out of the kitchen and into the living room. It was just as spotless as the kitchen, with not a single speck of dust to be found or magazine out of place. Conan found himself drawn to the millions of photographs sitting on two shelves stuck to the wall. One photo in particular stood out to him and he lifted the frame up to get a better look.
Younger versions of Daphne and Kelsey were standing at the front, smiling angelically at the camera in front of four adults. The orange haired ones behind Kelsey were so obviously her parents: the resemblance between them was striking. Behind Daphne were a man and woman whom Conan had to squint at to see any similarities between them. The woman had long blonde hair as curly as Daphne's green version and a pretty smile that seemed to come easily even though she looked a little thinner than was healthy. The man next to her was hugging her tightly, looking as if the smile plastered on his face was hurting him. He had short pale blue hair and behind his oval glasses was a pair of brown eyes that matched Daphne's exactly. Conan opened his mouth to ask if they were Daphne's parents but then caught sight of his partner's face and thought better of it. He could tell she wasn't enjoying the brief time they had been at Kelsey's house and Conan loyally made an excuse to leave. Kelsey seemed disappointed to see them go – especially Conan – and hugged them tightly goodbye – especially Conan. The trio then realised they had nowhere to go. Conan cleared his throat.
"You seemed awfully interested in that Sandshrew," he commented. Daphne blinked as if she had been miles away. She turned to Conan apologetically.
"Sorry, what? I was spacing out." Conan smiled at his friend.
"The Sandshrew," he repeated.
"In the Reject House," supplied Amina helpfully. Conan shot her a meaningful glare that she cheerily ignored.
"Oh. It used to be mine," was all Daphne said. No amount of complaining or coaxing could get her to expand on that and Conan had to accept that he wasn't going to know why the Sandshrew had a great big scar on its face any time soon. It was a pity too, because he was sure it was an interesting story. Amina noticed that Daphne was staring at the house next door to Kelsey's, her face contorted into a frown.
"Want to go inside..?" she suggested. Daphne turned to Amina, startled. For a moment she had actually forgotten she was with her and Conan. When Daphne didn't reply, Conan asked again.
"Well, do you?" Daphne hesitated. Did she? What would it be like to be back in her house – the same one she had grown up in; that was filled with memories of her mum; that her dad had slowly been drinking himself into an early grave in? She couldn't imagine it. Daphne wondered if her dad was in there now, sloshing back yet another bottle of alcohol with reckless abandon. The odds were very high in that favour. Maybe she didn't want to go inside. It would only bring back painful memories she had tried so hard to forget.
Deciding she was taking to long to give a final answer, Conan and Amina took things into their own hands and together pushed Daphne up to the front door. She didn't protest. Conan rapped three times on the door and stepped back, waiting for it to be opened. Quickly, Daphne turned to him and Amina.
"Whatever happens, just know that I don't recognise him as my dad anymore," she said, worry spreading across her face. Not really knowing what she was talking about as Daphne hadn't said much about her family to either of them, Amina and Conan braced them selves for just about anyone to open the door. They hadn't expected Daphne's dad to be a pasty-faced middle aged man with a tangle of faded blue hair, stubble across his face and half-closed eyes behind his glasses. Conan was taken aback by how different he looked to the man in the photograph sitting in Kelsey's house. He wasn't wearing many clothes, just an old vest that had once been white but was now tinged with grey and stained yellow in places; a pair of old red boxer shorts; crumpled socks and black slippers. In his hand was a bottle of strong rum, the scent of which penetrated the noses of the two teens and caused them to gag. A smile stretched across Daphne's dad's face and his dry lips split.
"Daphne!" he cried, his breath reeking of booze. He hugged Daphne heavy-handily, accidentally clunking the back of her head with his bottle. He didn't notice. Daphne grimaced, turning to her friends to introduce him.
"Conan, Amina; this is Rick," she spat. Rick was ignorant to his daughter's blatant hostile behaviour towards him and guided them all inside. They walked through the hallway into the living room, picking their way through discarded newspapers, half-eaten foods and the like. Conan found himself liking his house a lot more than he used to. Amina mentally compared this derelict hovel with the glossy house next door. She knew which one she'd rather be in. Daphne could see the involuntary looks of disgust on their faces and couldn't honestly say she didn't agree with them. The house was disgusting. What Conan's house had lacked in furniture and modern possessions, Daphne's more than made up for it. A flat screen TV hung limply from the living room wall, the screen smashed to oblivion. There was a nice-looking leather sofa opposite the television and if it wasn't for the fact that there was a huge brownish-orangey stain across it, the sofa would have been quite lovely. Underneath the litter of discarded bottles was a lush carpet that although could have done with being hovered, didn't look too threadbare.
Conan wrinkled his nose: the house ponged of alcohol. The source of the smell wasn't hard to point out as the place was a swamp of bottles in various conditions – some were brand new, others half empty and the ones that were completely drained were mostly smashed. The entire room was a playground of dangerously placed glass and Daphne and Conan were careful about where they were stepping. Neither of them wanted to end up with glass stuck in their feet.
Rick grinned stupidly at his daughter, amazed that she was home at long last. He took a swig from his bottle, gulping down the strong liquid as if it was merely water.
"I've been lonely wivvvvout you here, Daffy," said Rick, his words slurred and mumbled. Daphne fixed him with a cold stare. There had been a time after her mum had died that she thought her dad's love of alcohol was a passing fix and that he would soon be over it. It was now clear that he was going to be drinking until the day he died and darn the consequences. It didn't seem to occur to Rick that he might want to sober up to be there for his daughter who was just as upset about his wife dying as he was.
"I don't like it here," announced Amina. Rick lurched forward, towards Daphne. He grabbed her roughly by the strap of her dungarees and shook her. His warm breath was in her face and Daphne's lip curled.
"Have a drink yeah?" said Rick, trying to force the bottle of rum down her throat. Daphne struggled to get him off her, not wanting to taste the horrible drink that had ruined her dad's life. Conan stepped to them in an attempt to release Rick's hold on Daphne's clothes and with all her might Daphne pushed Rick away from her. Rick stumbled backwards and Conan quickly let go. Rick hadn't let go of Daphne's clothes and so she fell with him, falling on the other side of the room when his arm swung wildly, letting her go without warning. A nauseating crack sounded when Rick's head made contact with the side of the wooden coffee table before falling to the floor among his favourite bottles of alcohol. Conan and Amina rushed to Daphne and helped her to her feet. She had tried to break her fall using her good hand and instead managed to scrape it across a long piece of broken glass. Her hand was bleeding heavily.
Only when Daphne was steady on her feet did they turn their attention to Rick, who hadn't moved an inch since falling. Conan boldly went over to Rick and felt for a pulse. Nothing.
"Oh god," whispered Daphne.