What happened earlier:

The black and silver-haired boy sighed heavily. Apparently the time had really come to face up to his past and make a fresh start. With a determined look on his face, he turned his full attention to the entire group.

~~~

"It all started eight years ago. My mum was pregnant with my little sister at the time. I was still totally shy and rebellious, like every boy my age. Back then... I didn't even know that I had a father. It was only after he suddenly turned up and said he wanted to help look after the family. When I asked mum one evening why she'd never told me about him... She told me that he was extremely controlling before I was born... She wasn't allowed to leave the house alone, always had to dance to his tune... Me... It was just awful to hear how such a person could be with her." the teenager now reported and his tension was clearly noticeable among Friede, Liko and Roy. They all looked at each other in silence for a moment before listening to the 16-year-old's next words.

"But when he suddenly turned up at our house... It seemed to me that he wasn't the man she had told me about before. Father seemed really nice, obliging... He also had the occasional witty remark. I really liked that about him," he continued.

"So we were a normal family at the beginning. But then... Came the accident with Milu's death... A world collapsed for my mum and me... It didn't leave my father unscathed either. But... After he got wind of it... Everything just went downhill... " Amethio paused again to take a deep breath.

"Some time after Milu's funeral, he turned his back on me completely. He only saw me as a nuisance, a disgrace, that I wasn't able to protect my sister well enough. Then... One day he simply disappeared without leaving even the slightest message. My mum couldn't bear to have lost him too, because despite what had happened, she still loved him." The former Explorer Admin had to fight hard not to suddenly lose control of his emotions. But he was determined to finish the story.

"Then one morning I suddenly heard our housekeeper screaming. I immediately went down to the kitchen and... I saw mum lying dead on the floor... She had slit her wrists. Of course I was completely beside myself, I screamed, why her too, wasn't that enough with Milu? After... Then the police and the emergency services took my mum out of the flat."

"That same evening I just ran away and lived on the street for a while, about two months. During that time, I met a Charcadet in a park and helped him look for berries to eat. Before that, I already knew about the whole phenomenon of Pokémon Trainers and catching wild Pokémon to build a bond with them."

"In the end, I caught Charcadet as my first Pokémon and also found my first real friend in him. I was already 12 years old at the time. After we had been roaming around for a while, I finally met Hamber, who had been looking for me on behalf of my father. It was only then that I found out about the existence of the Explorers and what this organisation was all about. At least almost," he continued his story.

"Since I didn't have anyone except Charcadet, I just went with Hamber, who was my father's butler. Then I saw him again after all this time and learnt that he had founded the Explorers shortly after my mother's death in order to get to a certain place. I don't know exactly which one. At first, of course, I wasn't very positive about him, as he had simply made a cowardly escape shortly after my mother had taken her own life. But he immediately influenced me, convinced me that I was the key to his goal and that he was the only family member I still had. So... I eventually started working for the Explorers and carrying out a wide variety of missions. Some time after I joined, I then got Zir and Conia as my two grunts to help me become more successful. That 'Gibeon' had only used me in this whole affair... I simply ignored it, I was far too blinded by my ambition to succeed. At some point, I finally learnt about this mysterious pendant and that I had to get it at all costs. Gibeon never told me the real reason. Only that I shouldn't disappoint him, otherwise I would be condemned to live on the streets again as an outsider, a lonely soul. So from then on, I trained day after day to get stronger in order to not ever disappoint my father. "

"During this time, I also met the other members of the Explorers and caught a Rockidee as my second Pokémon shortly after as well, which later evolved into Corviknight, just like Ceruledge before it... From then on, I swore to always be fair to the Explorers and never let my father down!!! But in the end, everything turned out quite differently..." With this sentence, the teenager finished the entire story and went back into silence for the time being.

~~~

After everyone present had listened to everything from beginning to end, there was no recognisable reaction at first. Until Liko finally stepped closer to the 16-year-old's side, as did Friede. "Oh Amethio... I... I don't know what to say..." It was simply true, there was just far too much information for the girl to process at the moment.

The former Explorer Admin puffed in response, only partially amused. "It's okay, it's not necessary for you to understand... No one did before, after all." he mumbled, again wearing an emotionless look, but Liko reflexively raised her hands.

"Oh no, no, please don't take this the wrong way! I understand very well. The only thing is that I can't really understand... Why you didn't talk to us, to me, from the beginning." the 13-year-old mumbled in a tender yet concerned voice. "Why didn't you open up to us as soon as you brought me back to the ship? Then... Things might have been less complicated, you know?"

"Oh, what do you know? Do you have any idea how humiliating it is for someone to be used by their OWN father as a puppet for his machinations, while he doesn't give a damn shit about, how his son feels about the whole thing?"

"And apart from that, you were my enemies, do you hear me, E. N. E. M. I. E. S. Just imagine if it were the other way round. You would be following me at every turn, only to tell me out of the blue about your past after you inevitably had to help me, because otherwise I would have died and that would have made it difficult for you to fulfil your mission!!! Shove that up your skull, Liko!!!" he said in a somewhat sharper tone, but immediately regretted this behaviour when he noticed how Liko stepped away from him out of slight fear.

He sighed heavily in response. Amethio really should learn to keep his emotions under control. Carefully, he took a step forwards this time and gently took his girlfriend's hands in his own. "Hey, Honey... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so abusive. Please forgive me, that wasn't right."

He ran his hands through his two-coloured hair in shame for a moment and finally just breathed an apologetic kiss onto the young Trainer's hairline before he simply hugged her from behind and pressed her tightly against him. "The reason is simple, I was just afraid that you would all mock and laugh at me, that you wouldn't believe me... I... I was just too afraid of the situation. That's all." the teenager mumbled meekly, burying his nose in Liko's soft hair.

The girl sighed heavily and then finally put her hands on his arms. "It's all right, I'm not angry with you. After all, you had your reasons. Just... I would have really liked it if you had told me straight away. You know, then we could have saved ourselves all this fuss." she murmured, leaning against his warm chest.

The 16-year-old didn't say anything at first, but instead distanced himself from his girlfriend. Friede now took a few steps forward and looked at his rival with an initially indefinable expression on his face.

Then the leader of the Rising Volt Tacklers placed a hand on his shoulder, completely unexpectedly for the teen. So it was not surprising that he greeted this gesture with a raised eyebrow.

"Amethio... I wouldn't wish what happened to you on anyone. What you had to go through... I can actually empathise with your situation, more than you might think. I went through something similar shortly after Yuki's death. But I quickly learnt to deal with it. And you can be sure you'll manage it too. With Liko's and our help. You are no longer alone. You have real friends now." he said, smiling broadly as the others joined in.

"Friede is right. And apart from that, I found it really boring hanging around here with the same people all the time. Now there's finally some fresh energy in the crew again." Roy said, adding a little 'serenade' with Fuecoco.

Liko grimaced slightly in amusement at this. After all, everyone on board knew how... Well, to put it mildly, her friend's preference was 'special', but nobody ever made anything of it. It was simply Roy's way and that wasn't going to change.

"Now that we have clarified this matter so far, let's get back to the essentials. After all, this is still a party, isn't it? Come on, let's have some more fun." Orla said, jumping up in the air with joy, whereupon the others just burst out laughing. Yes, even Amethio. Which I'm sure no one could ever have imagined before.

~~~

So on that note, the small celebration continued, and it became clear that Amethio was becoming more and more resigned to the fact that he was no longer under pressure from his father. Out of the corner of his eye, he even saw his Pokémon frolicking with the other Pokémon on the ship, although Ceruledge seemed to be taking great care not to accidentally injure anyone with its blades. This scene was just extremely adorable to watch.

Corviknight, on the other hand, had simply laid down in a sunny spot to doze. The black and silver-haired was simply very happy to have the two of them by his side. Just like Zir and Conia.

Both of them now came to their boss as he was talking to Liko and making a few little jokes with her. "Ehem, sorry. But would you mind if we had a quick word with Amethio-sir in private, Miss Liko?"

The girl in question looked at the two of them sympathetically and nodded briefly at Amethio. "Of course not, take as much time as you need. And please just call me Liko. Now that we're practically on the same side, we don't have to be so formal anymore, do we?" She giggled briefly and left the trio alone.

Amethio looked after his lover for a moment before turning his attention back to his two grunts. "What's up? What do you want to talk about?"

They both looked at each other uncertainly for a moment. Obviously, they didn't really know how to start the conversation. "Well, it's like this... Now that you have a real family... You certainly don't need us any more. After all, we were only ever together with the Explorers and never... Outside of them... And with the current situation... We're probably just a burden for you because we can't support you like we used to." Conia said, scratching her arm the whole time. It was probably not easy for her to bring this up.

The teenager blinked irritably at her words. "And why do you think I think I don't need you after what happened? Do I look like I would repel you if you decide you no longer want to be under the service of the Explorers like I did?"

Zir also looked relatively uncomprehending. "Wait, what do you mean? So you're saying...?"

The 16-year-old sighed briefly and ran his fingers through his hair, then put on an unusually gentle expression. "Just because you decide against your previous life doesn't mean I would reject you both. On the contrary, I'm actually grateful that you're going to stay with me. You've always cheered me up when I've felt bad about Spinel's teasing or felt like a failure because I couldn't complete another mission. During all this time, you were the only ones who always stood by me and always had an open ear. I've never had all this support from anyone before." he said and actually had to fight back tears.

"What I just want to say... You are not a burden or a nuisance to me. You are my friends, family. And I simply don't know what I would do without you... I... I would just feel so incredibly empty. That's why I'm asking you. Please continue to give me your strength. " he breathed and actually began to tremble. Afraid of the reaction from Zir and Conia.

But contrary to all expectations, he was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace by both of them and they both stroked the boy's back and hair. "Amethio sir... We would never let you down... You've grown close to our hearts in all this time. And apart from that, we decided to follow you of our own free will. We simply wanted to be by your side, no matter what." Conia said, still hugging the teenager, who was still completely taken by surprise.

"I agree with Conia on that. We will never leave you alone. You always have our full support, you can rely on that. 100 percent." Zir added, sharing his colleague's opinion.

Amethio simply smiled with relief and happiness and wiped away his tears with his shirt sleeve before simply remaining in the embrace for a few moments. He simply needed that right now.

Then the 16-year-old slowly detached himself from both of them. "Thank you... Really, from the bottom of my heart. And please... Don't call me sir any more, it just feels strange now. Amethio is quite enough."

Both adults just smiled. "Sure, whatever you want... Amethio."

~~~

After their conversation ended, Liko then rejoined the trio again and leaned against Amethio's side. "And? Have you discussed everything important?"

"Of course, nothing to worry about. You really are a special girl, Liko. Please always take good care of Amethio, will you?" Conia asked, briefly stroking the 13-year-old's head.

Liko nodded at the question and demonstratively kissed her boyfriend's cheek. "I promise. I will never do anything to make him unhappy in any way!"

"Nyaohja!" Sprigatito, meanwhile, seemed to have caught wind of the conversation and joined them, purring as it snaked around Amethio's legs.

All four laughed briefly and Amethio took the little Grass Cat in his arms. The Pokémon seemed to appreciate this gesture very much, because now it began to practically 'knead' his arm with its paws, releasing its beguiling aroma, which also had a calming effect.

Liko smiled at the sight and scratched her partner briefly behind the ears. "Sprigatito really likes you, Amethio. Maybe you should get one of your own soon." she said, teasingly.

"No thanks, I think Ceruledge and Corviknight will do for now. But now let's get something to eat. I'm starving already." he announced and walked willingly towards the table, which was set with plenty of different dishes. Liko, Zir and Conia huffed in amusement and joined him.

The whole group now chatted about various things while they all enjoyed the delicious food that Murdock had prepared.

Of course, all the Pokémon also had their own little feast, with Corviknight and Ceruledge joining them.

Apparently everything had turned out well after all. And Liko was more than proud of that.

~~~

The party went on into the early morning until it was time to go to bed. Amethio helped with the tidying up before he retired to her room with Liko and of course went to bed with her.

"See, that was quite fun today, don't you think?" the girl asked as she snuggled up to him.

"Yes, it was indeed. Thank you, Liko. You really are a wonderful person." he said softly, while cuddling Sprigatito, who had snuggled up between the two of them.

"Of course. Any time again. Tomorrow we want to move on in search of my grandmother. After all, this mystery surrounding my pendant still needs to be solved. Why don't you just come with us? I'm sure you'll enjoy a little adventure like this." she now made the suggestion.

"Well, that... It's a great honour. If that's what you want, I'd love to come with you. But now we really should get some sleep. We'll see what happens later." he said and kissed her briefly on the lips.

"Of course. Oh, I'm just so happy that you've finally found the right path." Liko said, cuddling closer to the teenager as tiredness slowly overcame her.

Amethio noticed this and pulled the blanket more over both of them. "I can imagine." he said and switched off the light.

He then wrapped his arm around her waist and buried the tip of his nose in the crook of her neck. "Also... I'm glad too..." With these last words, the former Explorer Admin sank into dreamland, eager to see what the next few days would bring for him.

~~~

To be continued...