What happened earlier:

"You know what? You're absolutely right! I finally have to do something, to get my life back on track!!"...

~~~

Amethio continued, to sit at the table in the meeting room of the Brave Asagi with his hands folded and his elbows propped up on the top of the table, his chin resting on his hands. In front of the Rising Volt Tacklers, finally ready, to reveal his terrible past to his actual 'enemies'...

The entire crew looked at him knowingly. Even though the teenager had already caused them all sorts of problems... After his numerous descriptions, including those from Liko, they were now convinced about the fact, that he was not willingly under the Explorers' service as well. And that something terrible was bothering him... It was something so terrible really, that just had to be connected to his past somehow!

It was definitely not an easy situation for the black and silver-haired teen, quite the opposite. In fact, Amethio was sweating so much, that Liko and Friede in particular were starting, to get seriously worried about the 16-year-old. And that definitely wasn't seen as ironic.

To be honest, it actually hurt Liko's heart especially, to see the young boy suddenly like this... How should she describe it best?... Ah, just as frail, completely empty and so incredibly weak.

The girl had never seen such a state in anyone before, not even in herself, when Amethio and his two henchmen had kidnapped Sprigatito, shortly before she became a member of the Rising Volt Tacklers back then, after his second battle with Friede was interrupted.

Nevertheless, she now tried to get the teen out of his current slump. "Amethio... Hey, can you hear me?!" The person being addressed jumped violently, when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and, at the same time, a firm voice, that broke him out of his trance.

Amethio initially looked around confused, but shortly afterwards his gaze was immediately enveloped by the blue eyes of the girl, who looked at him with such concern, that the black and silver-haired boy initially believed, that he was in the middle of a dream and not in reality at the moment. However that was not the case here.

Liko's gaze was still on him with a certain concern. "Listen... I know, that this is an extremely difficult situation for you right now... I understand you, honestly! However... If you don't open up to us... It won't get any better for you, believe me! And honestly... You actually do want it to get better for you, don't you?" the black-haired girl now asked, still looking intently into Amethio's violet eyes.

He opened his eyes wide, as he suddenly felt all the bad memories raining down on him. In desperation he pressed both hands against his head while clenching his teeth tightly and right now he just wanted to disappear! Somewhere, away from these memories, from this pressure!!

While the others were wondering, what was happening to the teenager at the moment, Amethio simply stood up, turned around and quickly left the room without saying anything more, while the rest just stared after him, perplexed.

~~~

So everyone stood there without a word as they looked at the open door, through which the black and silver-haired had just disappeared.

Now Liko's worries in particular grew bigger from second to second. She sank into deep thought for a moment, as she remembered Amethio's previous words: >"I swore I would never speak about my past again!"<

 'So it really must have actually been extremely terrible for him indeed...' She thought, then Friede spoke to her. "Liko... I think we should really go to sleep now... It's pretty late and we can still talk about the rest and eat tomorrow too." he said and looked decisively at the young Trainer.

"I know... But... I can't just leave it like that! I really have to help Amethio!" She still insisted on her decision. "I know that you want to make Amethio happy again. But right now it's just, that he's simply not quite ready, to talk about his past just yet. Give it some time. Then he will definitely come back to us on his own. I'm pretty sure about it." the white-haired said, while giving Liko an encouraging smile.

"And besides, it wouldn't necessarily be advisable, to put even more pressure on him now anyway, even though that's exactly, what's still weighing on his shoulders at the moment. That just wouldn't be the best way to do it either, don't you think?" the adult added.

The black-haired listened to every word, the leader of the Rising Volt Tacklers spoke. Yes, she had to admit... Just questioning Amethio more about his past now, would definitely not lead to the desired success. And especially not, when the teenager was already anything, but mentally well...

Now she let out a heavy sigh. "You're right, Friede. I understand... Still... Can I at least talk to Amethio normally, please? I won't demand him either, I promise. I just want to know more about him. That's all!" the Pokémon Trainer now pleaded and made the corresponding gesture with her hands, while Sprigatito was sitting on her shoulder. "Nyaohja!" Apparently it also wanted Amethio, to feel a little better.

The others blinked briefly in confusion, before Friede finally gave in. "Ok, I get it... So if you really want to help him so much, I guess I can't talk you out of it either way, can I?" he asked, as he looked at the girl scrutinizingly. Liko just gave another decisive nod. That was finally enough for the white-haired man.

And to be honest, it had always been clear to him, that once the black-haired set her mind to something, it would be very difficult to dissuade her from this decision anyway.

Liko now smiled broadly, as he finally agreed to her request after a short while. "Thank you Friede, thank you so much." she said in a cheerful voice, which elicited a slight giggle from the leader of the Rising Volt Tacklers.

"Nah, no need, really. I simply know, how stubborn you can be at times. Now go to him already." the adult now said and gave one of his protégés a little nudge towards the door.

The black-haired staggered a little awkwardly by this for a moment, before she regained her balance and now disappeared out the door as well, to check on Amethio. Of course, Sprigatito followed its Trainer.

~~~

So now Liko was walking along the long main corridor with her Starter to the middle of the ship, from where a narrow staircase led directly up to the wing deck. Sprigatito immediately sensed something, as the Grass Cat Pokémon headed straight for it and meowed a few times, to make Liko notice.

Of course, Liko noticed this indeed as well and quickly came to her Pokémon's side. "What is it, Sprigatito? Do you think, he might be up there?" she asked and shortly afterwards picked up the little Grass Cat in her arms.

The little creature only made confirming noises and probably wanted to encourage its Trainer, to actually check whether the teenager was really out there on the wing deck.

So while Liko now was slowly and carefully climbing up the individual steps, she noticed on the way, that someone was indeed out on the wing deck. She even could already hear individual noises through the open hatch, which clearly indicated that someone or in this case, Amethio, was deeply lost in thoughts and muttered to himself at the same time. And the way the black and silver-haired had literally fled from the meeting room earlier, in principal it just had to be him.

~~~

After the girl finally got up and outside on the wing deck, she immediately spotted the 16-year-old, just as she had already suspected before. Well and Sprigatito too.

Amethio was sitting on the platform in a crouched position in the middle of the wing deck, his knees pulled close to his body with his arms folded on top of them, while his gaze was directed towards the sky silently and without any emotion.

Although he had now stopped mumbling, it was still clear to the young girl, that he was still not feeling particularly better, if not well at all.

At first she watched the teen for a while, but then finally carefully walked over to him, so that shortly afterwards she simply sat down in the same position next to the black and silver-haired.

The teenager noticed that Liko had sat down next to him, but initially acted, as if Amethio didn't particularly care. Instead, he just continued to stare wordlessly into the sky. But over time this silence became too much for him, so he finally spoke up, albeit a little hesitantly:

"Why are you here? Why aren't you with your friends? They could definitely use you better than me right now..." he said in a half-raspy voice and didn't dare to even look at her. He was far too ashamed of everything, he had already done to Liko and her friends, which wasn't exactly to be seen as positive things.

"I'll tell you, why I'm here... Because I just simply can't and don't want to watch you sink into all your misery and maybe even break because of it! Amethio I really want to help you, we all do, believe me!! And should I tell you why? Because I firmly believe that you can change yourself, change for the better! My instinct simply tells me, that you've wanted to do this for so long, but you haven't had the opportunity to try it yet!" Liko started a conversation, somehow trying to gain the trust of the black and silver-haired, so that he would eventually open himself up to her.

Now Amethio was becoming more and more tense by the second. "And why should I tell YOU of all people?! Why don't you just leave me alone?! I've already mentioned it several times before, I just can't and don't want to talk about my past anymore, I simply changed my mind!! Why don't you want to understand that, Liko?!" he now growled and clenched his hands tightly into fists. It was clear to see, that Amethio really was about to lose his nerves at any time...

The girl actually jumped a little in shock, when his tone suddenly became so harsh again. "I'm sorry, I... I didn't know you would be so against it... I. .." she breathed in briefly and then exhaled again. "I'm really sorry... I shouldn't have pushed you like that before... I should have paid more attention, Amethio! But I really didn't want to hurt your feelings or force you in any way, I swear!" she stammered somewhat awkwardly and now looked at the tips of her shoes. Liko actually felt indeed guilty about her behavior from before now.

Now she became as quiet as a mouse and was now the one, who didn't speak a word anymore. Amethio's brief freak out had actually unsettled her quite a bit.

At first, however, Amethio didn't react to her apology at all, but after a while he glanced briefly at the young girl. She was still sitting a few inches away from him in a similar crouched position as he was, except that she now had brought her hands up to her hair, as her fingers were now playing with a few loose strands. This was a clear sign for him, that the girl now also seemed extremely insecure and reserved, wich was exactly the case with him earlier.

~~~

So for now neither of them exchanged a single word with each other anymore and, once again, there was a strange silence between the two Pokémon Trainer's. This unsettled Amethio quite a bit and he shortly ran his hands through his hair slightly annoyed with himself now.

However this state of him didn't last very long, so his violet eyes continued, to follow the Pokémon Trainer's movements very focused. But he quickly couldn't look at this anymore, so Amethio slowly raised one of his hands, wich now moved slowly, that is to say, extremely slowly, towards her right shoulder, which the young girl had turned towards him, to finally placing his hand carefully on it shortly after.

"I-it's okay... After all, you didn't do it on purpose. The thing is... I've just experienced a lot of things in my past, most of which weren't necessarily nice... That's what also has something to do with, why I work for the Explorers in a way. Don't get me wrong, I really want to change, but... I think now that I'm not quite ready for it, you know?" the teenager said.

"And by the way, I should actually be the one to apologize... I didn't mean to suddenly snap at you like that before... That was very rude of me, honestly..." he added lastly at the end and then took his hand away from her again. He shouldn't approach her like that. At least not yet.

"Oh, that's totally fine. I'm not mad at you. Besides, I would even have reacted the same way, like you did, honestly. I gladly accept your apology, so there's no reason to unnecessarily worry about." Liko then said and showed him a small, encouraging smile.

Amethio then simply smiled back. Which actually surprised him a bit, after all, it was his first smile in what felt like several years. This realization actually made the teenager a little proud.

So he now took a slightly more relaxed position and looked out over the ocean towards the horizon again. The sun was already halfway set there and the bright glow was reflected on the surface of the water. This actually created quite a pleasant atmosphere.

Sprigatito also seemed very relieved again, that the teen was starting, to feel better and it very carefully climbed onto Amethio's lap, shortly afterwards rubbing its head against his stomach while purring. "Nyarrw..."

Liko noticed this out of the corner of her eye and then smiled a little. "Looks like, it's starting to get used to you." she said with a slight giggle and watched the cute little scene for a bit.

"Huh?" Amethio then looked at the little Pokémon on his lap, which had now curled itself up on it and remained laying there while it continued, to purr calmly. "You're right, I didn't even notice it." he said, while also giggling and now carefully started, to pet the green creature a little.

Liko kept her smile and let her gaze lasting onto the horizon for a bit longer, until she got up at some point and stretched herself briefly. "I think, we should go back inside then, because I'm actually starting, to get a little cold now." she said and looked briefly down at the 16 year old.

Amethio now also looked at her. "Yeah you're right. After all, neither of us wants to catch a cold." he said and stood up, while taking Sprigatito into his arms. Luckily, the Pokémon didn't seem, to mind this much, so it just stayed completely relaxed.

The black-haired was still smiling contentedly because of that. She had to admit, that she was really pleased about the fact, that her partner now also seemed, to be building trust in the Explorer Admin. At least it was a first step into the right direction.

Plus Liko was still sure, that she would manage, to convince the others, especially Friede, about her theory, that Amethio had indeed great potential, to become a better person and maybe really even a member of the Rising Volt Tacklers one day. It was just a matter of time.

~~~

So the two finally went back inside the ship and straight to the meeting room, where Murdock had now spread the food on the table. "Oh, there you are finally. Well, looks like, we can eat then. Today I have my specialty! Steamed rice dumplings with onion sauce, with a poached egg and, for dessert, blueberry pudding with mint sauce. You're gonna love it!" he said proudly, which only elicited an amused sigh from the others.

Liko had to giggle briefly, before she glanced at Amethio on her right, who had now put Sprigatito back on the ground. Of course, the Pokémon immediately joined its friends, because they now had also gotten their food.

Shortly afterwards, she and the black and silver-haired teen also took their places at the table again, while Murdock distributed the food fairly on all the plates.

So while everyone was eating now, Friede rose his word again. "Oh, I almost forgot Liko... How did it go with Amethio actually?" he asked. After all, he had sent the Trainer to look after the teenager earlier in order to possibly get something out of him.

The spoken one scratched her neck slightly, before giving him an answer: "Well, it looks like this now... He changed his mind again. He told me, it wasn't the right time to talk about his past yet. Amethio wants to wait a little longer, until he is really 100 percent sure." she responded to the white-haired and gave a quick sideways glance at the Explorer Admin, who just looked at her with grateful eyes.

The leader of the Rising Volt Tacklers patiently let her finish and then nodded in agreement. "I could almost guess... It's just too early for that." he said and now also turned his attention to Amethio.

"Even so, that you have already put some pretty blatant obstacles in our way once or twice... And that wasn't okay at all, I don't want to deny that here. Nevertheless... I have to admit, that I actually am a bit surprised, that you didn't just take Liko with you and hand her over to your boss directly. Although, to be honest, I didn't really imagine it. But why did you really help her anyway? You simply could have just taken her pendant and left her behind. And inform us, if necessary. That's still not entirely clear to me." Friede now said and leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed, probably awaiting an answer from the teenager.

Again, the 16-year-old didn't know exactly, how to approach his words. However he still wanted to try. "It's not that easy, to explain. When I saw her... Badly injured and motionless... I was like frozen for the moment, I just didn't know what to do. But then Spinel suddenly came out of the shadows and my legs started moving on their own. My instinct just told me, to protect Liko plus preventing Spinel from harming her even more and ultimately taking her away. This scene reminded me of a moment long ago, 5 years ago to be exact. I was 11 at that time and long before I started, working for the Explorers. I had a little sister called Milu back then. She was 2 years younger than me, 9 years old. We always did a lot of things together. However when we... We were at the lake together that day and played hide-and-seek..." Amethio paused briefly, to calm down his nerves a bit. It definitely wasn't an easy thing for him.

Still, he wanted to give everyone a comprehensible explanation for his actions, so he continued:

"We agreed, that both of us would count to 20 each and then look for each other. So I hid at first. Of course, I chose a hiding place so that Milu would find me easily, because she always hated it, when she couldn't find me straight away, because I always looked for hiding places, that were far too complicated.

Afterwards she was always extremely upset and disappointed. Anyway, I then looked for a relatively simple hiding place and waited, until she was finished counting. However, after a minute passed and she still didn't call out to me in order to perhaps find out, where I was... I became a little uneasy. At first I didn't think much of it, maybe she just didn't know exactly, where to start looking first. However as the time continued to pass, I went back to see where Milu was." Amethio had now turned his gaze back to the table directly onto his plate, from which he hadn't yet taken a single bite of the food, his elbows placed to the right and left side next to it, while his chin was resting on his hands, just like before.

It was true, that he actually wanted to wait a little longer, before revealing things from his past, but at that exact moment his memory flashed back to exactly that particular situation, which was difficult for him to back away from now, so that he simply decided, to continue on with his speech.

Liko and Roy briefly exchanged glances with each other while listening to every single word, but remained silent for the time being, instead they waited to see, what the young Explorer Admin would reveal to them next.

"In any case, I went back immediately, because I wanted to know, where she was. But... When I arrived... I only saw Milu's hair bow on the lakeshore. At first I thought, I wasn't seeing properly, but when one of her shoes suddenly appeared on the surface of the water... I realized that... she must have fallen into the lake! I started, to panick and called out to her, but she didn't answer!!

Then it occurred to me, that she could sometimes be a bit reckless, when we played together. She had injured herself from time to time, because she didn't take enough care of herself. I always scolded her for that, but at the same time I swore to myself, that I would protect her more from now on.

But that day... I wasn't with her... After the first shock, I jumped into the water straight away and dived after her, but the flow was much too strong, so I quickly had to give up... I failed miserably in my position as a big brother... I broke my promise, to always protect her!! Because of me, she... fell into this lake... I brought my little sister to her doom!!" Amethio now began to tremble, but forced himself not to cry. He didn't want, to seem weak anymore after what Liko had told him earlier.

"That's the real reason I saved Liko... I... I just didn't want to be responsible for someone's death again! And considering, that her injuries were so incredibly serious... If I hadn't treated her immediately, she might would've been... " he interrupted himself and now didn't continue talking anymore.

After he had finished his story for the time being, he looked at everyone again, with shock clearly written on every, single face.

Liko and Friede in particular couldn't believe, what they had just heard. Yes, even the Pokémon had interrupted their meal and were at least as shocked as the Rising Volt Tacklers.

After the initial shock had been digested, Liko suddenly stood up and walked halfway around the table, since this time she had been sitting on the other side, directly to the 16-year-old's side. However, before he could further react to, what she was planning to do, the girl suddenly hugged him without warning, which made his eyes visibly widen. Yes, even Friede and Roy were a bit shocked by her action. "Liko, what you think, you're doing?" it came from the adult straight away.

After Liko broke away from the teenager again, she took his hands into hers and looked him intently into his violet eyes. "Amethio, I'm so sorry! That you lost your sister... But now I can understand your intention much better, why you saved me!! You simply didn't want to go through that traumatizing experience again! That's why you are with us now!"

The others continued, to watch her in silence. "But Liko..." Roy said. The girl, however, looked at the teen for a bit before getting up again. "I promise you, Amethio... We will do everything in our power, to help you get away from the Explorers, if you choose, to tell us the rest of your past. You don't need, to rush, but I want you to know this one thing! Whatever happens, you're not alone!! After all, friends always stick together, am I right, guys?" The black-haired now asked the group and briefly looked at each one knowingly. At first some seemed a bit skeptical, but eventually they came over to the girl with a confident look on their faces.

"It's just like Liko said, Amethio. We won't let anyone down, whether they're friends or not." Friede said, looking down optimistically at his rival. "From now on, we'll support you in everything, until you've put your past behind you and can start all over again, you can count on it!" he then added and held out his fist to Amethio.

At first the teen was a little hesitant, but after Liko looked at him again confidently, he finally gathered up the courage and performed the famous Rising Volt Tacklers hand sign with everyone for the very first time.

Now he was sure too. He would soon get his freedom back and completely change his life for the better. Whatever would come!! Now that Amethio had gained the trust of his former enemies, it was really only a matter of time, before he would face the pressure of the Explorers! He just had to firmly believe in it!...

~~~

Meanwhile, Spinel had returned to the Explorers headquarters, after being so unfortunately tricked by Amethio, to report his unfortunate failure to Master Gibeon.

So he was now standing, of course with his Umbreon next to him, on his said spot in front of the big robotic like machine, from which the voice of the leader of the Explorers always came, whenever there was an arranged meeting for all of the Admins, because he had never revealed his true appearance to anyone before. At least not for a while. However with only one exception...

"Spinel, you really disappoint me. After even my own son wasn't able to complete, what was supposed, to be a simple mission that involved stealing a specific pendant! I really expected more from you!" came his intimidating voice again, while Hamber was watching the conversation from a corner.

The green-haired was relatively unimpressed and instead simply maintained his formal demeanor. "I have no words, to even begin to describe my failure. However... I already have a new plan to satisfy you, Master Gibeon." he said as he bowed slightly convincingly.

"Oh, I hope so! I'm giving you this very last chance, so I advise you, not to waste this one as well!" Spinel then just gave a meaningful grin from himself. "Oh, definitely not... You won't regret it at all..."

~~~

Back on the Brave Asagi, the crew had now finished their dinner and everyone went to their rooms, to go to sleep. Liko had offered Amethio, to sleep in her room, since the guest room was a little difficult to navigate at the moment. In fact, Ludlow had to store all of his fishing equipment there, because there was no longer enough space in his own room. And because he almost had to keep buying new fishing rods every single time, since he often accidentally broke some of them or was forgetting, where he even had put a particular one.

So now the black-haired lead the teenager to her room. "Anyways this is my room now. It's actually nothing special, but still very comfortable." she explained to him, after both of them arrived, while she was opening the door.

"Well then, welcome to my oasis of peace." She smiled briefly and then took a step to the side, to let him go inside first. So Amethio entered the young girl's room and he immediately noticed, that it was indeed quite nicely furnished.

On one hand, there was of course a bed, which was standing directly opposite the door against the wall under a small, round window. On the left side of the room there was also a desk with a large monitor, even if Liko didn't really use it, but almost always just used her Rotom phone instead, which could also be converted into a tablet.

Lastly, there was a small bookshelf, wich was standing next to the desk on the right side and of course a wardrobe. This was standing against the wall to the left side of the door and next to the right of it, there was also a narrow mirror.

However, one thing was new, namely that there was now a second bed in the room. Liko had previously discussed this with Friede. It was a bit narrower than her own, but it should still be enough for Amethio to sleep on for now.

The black and silver-haired briefly took another full look around the entire room and then smiled a little again. "I have to admit, it all looks very neat and very comfortable. My room at headquarters is the complete opposite." he said.

"Thank you, but like I said, there's nothing really special in here." the black-haired answered. Then she pointed to the narrower bed. This was of course already freshly made. "You will sleep in there. Friede also gave you a towel and one of his old pajamas, that he had saved from his youth. But don't worry, we'll definitely get your own clothes for you. Oh and before I forget it, If you ever have to, you probably know, what I mean, then you just have to go out the door and then go down the hallway diagonally and to the right. The bathroom is in the center." she now summarized the last informations.

The teenager then nodded, after she explained everything important for now. "Thanks, I'll remember it well." Liko smiled briefly and then carefully laid Sprigatito onto her bed, since the little Grass Cat was already sleeping.

"Well then, I'll go and freshen myself up quickly. You can change in the meantime." she said and disappeared from the room for a brief moment. Amethio nodded and waited, until the Trainer was out of his sight.

After she closed the door, he now took off his clothes and slipped right into the pajamas, which he got borrowed from Friede. He then placed his own clothes neatly over a small stool, before he laid himself down onto the mattress of the bed and quickly covering himself up, except for his head, with the blanket.

Then Liko came back again, also in her sleeping clothes, consisting of shorts and a white shirt, and now also laid down on her bed. Of course she also covered herself.

"Well then, good night, Amethio. Hopefully you can get some rest now. The day was really quite turbulent today anyway." she yawned briefly before laying down on her side and falling asleep relatively quickly shortly afterwards.

Amethio watched her for a moment, then got himself into an appropriate position. "Thank you. Good night to you too, Liko..." Shortly after he finished this sentence, he also got himself into a comfortable laying position, before the 16-year-old also fell into a deep sleep. The next morning would definitely be very interesting...

~~~

To be continued...