Redemption

Chapter 5

        When (y/n) had told Lillie, "He was nice. Too bad we have to leave tonight. I won't be seeing him anymore," she wasn't expecting her best friend to bring Scarlett to their yacht! She had only said those words because Scarlett had seemed like someone she would have gotten along with. After their conversation from last night, (y/n) found that she had been right. She had finally been able to sleep after convincing herself that Scarlett was not there to harm her in any way.

        Now, she sat on her bed rubbing the sleep from her eyes as morning arrived. (Y/n) looked over to Scarlett finding him clutching the comforter to himself as he slept soundly. It was a relief compared to the way he had been turning in his sleep from that nightmare. She suspected that whoever Crystal was could answer her questions, but there was no way to meet her now that Kanto was behind them.

        "Maybe she was someone important to him. Did he lose her in an accident or something...?" (y/n) wondered to herself. He had seemed upset about the whole situation which was perfectly understandable. She wouldn't worry about it now since she had other things to deal with.

        Her bag was sitting on her desk, so she decided to leave her pokémon there so that she didn't wake Scarlett. It wasn't like she needed pokémon to question Lillie. Without wasting another second, (y/n) left her room and walked across the small hallway to knock on Lillie's door.

        "She already went to get breakfast." Gladion scared her half to death.

        "Oh, good morning, Gladion." She looked further down the hall to see the the familiar boy who she had known for quite some time. In fact, she was friends with Gladion before she even met Lillie. Afterall, it was her who helped Gladion get established on Akala island in the first place. "You okay?" She could see bags forming under his eyes, and Silvally's pokéball was clutched tightly in his hand. He was likely worried about the reason they had to leave early among other things. His stress levels were dangerously high as of late.

        "I'll be fine. The sooner we get home, the faster we can help," he said as he trudged past her. "You should ask Lillie that question. She's been jittery ever since I spoke to her last night and freaks out any time I call her name." It was probably because she had snuck Scarlett onto the boat. At least that's what (y/n) assumed.

        (Y/n) reached out and grabbed Gladion's arm, effectively stopping him in his tracks. He looked at her in confusion but gave her his full attention. She trusted him. He wouldn't do anything rash even if he might get upset. "We...well, there's someone else here on the boat." Gladion didn't seem to understand. "Lillie brought someone from Kanto onto the boat last night." Gladion's eyes went wide, and (y/n) could tell that he didn't know whether to snap at her or go fuss at his sister.

        "Are you insane?!" he hissed. He took that better than she thought he would. "You can't just kidnap someone!"

        (Y/n) let his arm go and signaled for him to lower his voice. If the captain heard them, they really might be in trouble. "We met him earlier yesterday. It's just a coincidence, but he's running away from home just like you and Lillie did." Gladion went stiff at the mention of his past actions. "I guess she was trying to help, but I swear I didn't know until after she brought him here."

        "Running away from the problem doesn't solve it. We know that better than anything," Gladion noted. "Where is he?" (Y/n) pointed to her closed door. "What are we dealing with here? Did he tell you why he left?"

        "No, but I can see why he did. It's obvious that he's been traumatized by something or someone. He did tell me a few things, but you're going to have to ask him yourself. I don't think it would be right if you heard it from me." Gladion didn't pry any further. "Hey, he's still asleep," (y/n) was about to stop Gladion from going into her room.