The landscape whizzes by as I gaze up to the window. I'm overwhelmed by the odor of Meowth that seems to have permeated every fiber of the back seat of Nanu's vehicle. I cringe as I come face to face with a Meowth's back eye.

Nanu grunts disapprovingly from the front seat. He reaches back and slides open the fiberglass partition.

"Hands down. Remember, we're trying to be sneaky."

I roll my eyes and return them to my chest. Although I'm greatly in his debt, I don't feel the need to pretend I enjoy laying on this stinky, uncomfortable, car floor.

"By the way, your boyfriend made it out, they just found his motorcycle ditched on the side of the highway."

"He's not my boyfriend," I reply, grudgingly.

"Whatever. He's a genius! I mean, this guy is SLICK...literally, slick," he chuckles, "He iced the roads! ICED THEM!! Bahahaha! I'm actually sorry I missed out on Alolan officers trying to drive on ice. I guess it was a total shit show."

"So, we are going to pick up Hau...then what?" I ask.

"I bring you to the docks and we never speak of this again," he replies.

"Why are you helping me anyway?"

"Well, truth be told...I'm helping your boyfriend."

"Ugh. Stop calling him that!!....Why?" I ask pressingly. What could Nanu possibly have to gain from helping Gladion?

"HA! You don't even know who he is, do you?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'll let him explain then, it's not really my place."

"It's not really my place," I whisper mockingly to myself.

Nanu rolls his eyes in the front seat. His eye brows crinkle and his tired, red eyes narrow as he chews the inside of his lip.

"These are the kind of feelings you get when you go and fall in love with somebody before you get to know them...and don't tell me that you don't. Your anger towards him says it all."

"My anger? Isn't that the exact opposite of love?"

"You wouldn't be so livid if you didn't expect better from him. You've seen it, I've seen it...he's a good guy."

"And how exactly do you know him?"

"I'm a cop, he's a criminal...we've met before. I'm not going to delve real deep into it, but just give the kid a chance, okay. He's been through more than you know."

"Can you imagine what it's like to be Gladion? The only person he really has to hold onto is that fish-dog thing...and it used to hate him! If he can win that thing over, maybe he can win you over too!"

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. He's right.

"Well, we're here. Stay put...and no funny business! I know my career's in the toilet, but I'm not quite ready to flush."

Several minutes pass and the sweat begins to pour down my forehead as the car becomes unbearably hot. My gut wrenches, we can't waste any time.

Finally, the car door opens and Acerola sets a neatly folded pile of clothing on the seat. She somberly hands me Lillie's oversized hat and a pair of dark sunglasses. Next, she bends over and pulls a weird cap over my head, carefully tucking all my hair into it. When I sit up, she places a long, violet wig on my head.

"You better change clothes too. We saw you on the news," she whispers, "Be careful."

Acerola waves as we pull away from the house. I wrap my arm around Hau and he rests his head on my shoulder.

"I couldn't protect her...there were so many of them," he sniffs.

I find myself choking back tears, everything is so screwed up. My mind keeps imagining worst case scenarios. It has finally settled in that Lillie has been taken, I fear the worst is going to happen. This car ride cannot be over soon enough.

________________

Ninetails watches attentively as Arcanine finishes the match, the two seem to be forming a close bond by spending time together outside their capsules. Nanu recalls his last Pokemon, despite his blank facial expression, a twinkle of enthusiasm reflects from his eyes. He hands me a large pouch and bows his head respectfully.

"The Z bracelet is for your boyfriend. Tell him the trials await him...and share a few of those crystals with the guy."

Hau and I jog across the empty field in the direction of the docks. I try to call Gladion, but he has turned his phone off. My heart sinks to my gut...he never told me his exact location.

The waves pound rhythmically under the docks as we scour for any sign of him. Tears well in my eyes, I feel so lost and I fear he has left without us.

"Hau!" shouts a voice from above.

I stare into the darkness, but see nothing.

"Hau!" shouts the voice again.

We turn around, this time we see a hooded figure standing in the window of a large yacht. The interior lights flick on and off in a distinct pattern.

Hau and I cautiously board the massive ship, we stand nervously in the shadows on the deck, waiting for any sign of Gladion.

"Get in here!" Gladion whispers as he cracks opens a door nearby.

We are welcomed by the cool blast of air-conditioning and we lay our eyes on the elite, luxurious, interior of the massive yacht. As I rip off my wig, the fridged air penetrates my sweaty scalp. I turn my attention to Hau, his face looks pale and sallow in the white light.

Gladion stands sensitively at the door where he let us in, his bruised hand trembles as he stares at the floor. Worry lines form on his forehead as he lifts his gaze.

"We need to leave now."

Hau glares up angrily at Gladion, I watch as his fingers curl to form a tight fist.

"Whoever did this to Lillie needs to pay!" Hau grunts approvingly.

"I can't find the words to explain all this to you, so I'm just going to show you," Gladion says as he turns his back to us.

He walks up to a curtained wall, taking a long, deep, breath before he wraps his fingers around the thick cord. Shock floods my system as he reveals what's behind the curtain. My eyes pour over the life sized oil portrait ahead of me.

"I'll be upstairs when you're ready to talk," he says before hastily excusing himself. The sound of his shoes racing up the metal staircase fade into the distance.

My eyes still haven't left the wall.

"This can't be true," Hau whispers, breaking the silence.

As I stare into young Gladion's eyes on the portrait, everything Nanu said to me on that car ride begins to make sense.

"It's real," I whisper.

"Sh-She's crazy! Who knows what she will do to her!"

"She wants Nebby, not Lillie. That has to be what this is about."

"Can you imagine, having that woman as a mother?" Hau whispers, his voice full of empathy.

He collapses onto the oversized, white sectional in the corner of the sitting room.

"I'll be fine..." he murmurs, "go talk to him."

I can sense the bewilderment emanating from Gladion as I enter the captains room. He turns to me as I quietly present myself at his side. His watery eyes desperately search for something in mine.

Looking deeply into his emerald pools, I can finally see what lies at the bottom. Pure and utter loneliness, they beg, pleading for a connection of any kind. They explode in ecstasy as I loosely take his bloodied hands in mine.

"I want to tell you everything..." he whispers.

He opens his mouth to continue but I gently close it with my lips. He shudders when I place my hand on his cheek. I continue to tenderly kiss his soft lips, feelings I've never had before surface in the core of my being.

As I press my body against his, I fall into the short, shallow rising of his chest. His hands trail up and down my back as he affectionately returns my kiss. I can feel a gentle tugging at the string that connects our hearts, could this be love?

Our affections are interrupted by the clicking of claws behind us. Type: Null, who was quietly watching us from the corner, lifts its heavy head and coos.

Arcanine, followed by Ninetails, join us. I hear a slow metallic tap, tap, tap as Hau climbs the stairs behind them. He peers into the room, dark bags have formed above his, normally supple, cheeks.

Gladion motions for him to join us.

"Don't worry Hau, we are going to get her back," Gladion says, his hand trembles as he reaches out towards Hau.

After hesitating for a second, Gladion firmly places his hand on Hau's shoulder, "She is very lucky to have someone who cares as much as you."

Hau stands there for a moment, he seems a bit surprised by Gladion's gesture. A look of understanding comes over him and he grips Gladion's free hand, giving him a firm handshake.

"I won't let her down brother," Hau says sternly.

"I'm not your brother," Gladion says, with his usual, blunt sense of humor.

"Not yet cousin!" Hau laughs.

Gladion turns a bright shade of red as he presses his hand into his forehead, obscuring his face.

Things finally seem to be falling in place again.

Aether Paradise glimmers in the night as our ship speeds towards it. Gladion pulls a large white coat from a nearby closet and hands it to me.

"You are going to have to drive us in, if they see me, we'll get rushed."

"Um...I've never driven a boat before," I peep nervously.

"If you can drive a car, you can drive a ship," he says, trying to reassure me.

"Well, here's the thing...I've never driven a car either."

"Seriously?" he says, his focus turns to Hau, who has already admitted to me that he never took the driver's test.

"I've got a better idea!" Hau says, pointing his finger up.

Gladion scowls as the ship pulls into Aether Paradises loading docks. Hau and I try very hard not to giggle, but our tightly pressed lips fail us. Gladion's eyes burn down at us through the glistening fringe of Acerola's violet wig.

"We're pulling in now," Gladion says into the radio.

"Rodger that," Ms. Wicke replies.

Suddenly, the loading area turns an ominous red hue and the wail of sirens fill the air. Ms. Wicke's voice booms over the speaker system.

"As part of our new safety initiative, we are having an unscheduled fire drill. Please exit to the front of the building in a calm and orderly fashion. I repeat, this is a fire drill. Please exit to the front of the building in a calm and orderly fashion."

A menacing smirk forms on Gladion's mouth as he watches the Aether Foundation employees filter out of the loading area. He twirls his fingers pretentiously around a long strand of violet wig hair.

"If only he would use his power for good!" Hau whispers to me, shaking his head.