When We Were Younger. |Gladion X Moon|Pokemon Romance Novel|

-25-

Our wet shoes squeak and squelch on the white marble floors as we storm the building. The electricity seems to have been cut off, or maybe it went out from the storm. Dim emergency lighting casts eerie shadows across the walls.

My legs wobble as I struggle to keep from slipping on the polished floors and my mouth is parched, adrenaline is the only thing keeping me going at this point.

As we approach a wide, towering staircase, Gladion comes to an abrupt stop. He peers carefully up to the next floor.

"We're getting close, try to walk quietly."

Suddenly, a shriek echoes from above.

"Lillie," Hau whispers before he takes off, running up the stairs ahead of us.

Gladion and I take off after Hau. He scrambles as fast as he can, following the sounds of her shrieks as they grow more intense.

By the time we reach the top of the stairs, her screams have turned into terrified squeals as she pleads and cries for Nebby. A sharp crack reverberates down the hall from a bedroom, silencing the screams.

"You've always been weak! So incredibly weak. It's so ugly. Wipe that snot off your nose you disgusting little-"

Lusamine sneers as Hau crashes through the door, followed by Gladion and I.

Hau quakes at the sight of Lillie, she is almost unrecognizable. Her face and body are littered with dark purple bruises and long red lashes cover her arms. Blood-stained hair partially covers her face and her dress is torn and hangs limply from her body.

"Ah, you actually came! Shocking. You're just as pathetic as the other one," Lusamine scoffs as she approaches Gladion.

The corner of Gladion's mouth twitches as she grows closer, his head lowers ever so slightly, but he maintains eye contact.

Lusamine glares down her nose at her son before striking him as hard as she can across the face. His head jerks from the firm blow, but his body shows no reaction, his emotionless eyes don't even so much as blink. A bright red hand print immediately begins to form across his cheek.

Guzma's lip quivers as he watches Lusamine mercilessly strike her son. His eyes wander in Lillie's direction, but he can't bring himself to look.

Lusamine murmurs something under her breath before slipping to the back of the room. She runs her fingers across Guzma's chest, he cringes and his eyes dart to the floor in disgust. She grasps his shirt tightly and steps on the warp panel, sucking him up with her.

Gladion stomps towards the panel. He looks over his shoulder at Hau and Lillie before teleporting to the next room, alone.

I hesitate for a second before hurling myself onto the panel. The hair on my arms stand on end as my body is tossed into the abyss.

My body freezes in horror by the sight on the other side as I resurface. I'm face to face with a Pikachu. It's encapsulated body slowly rolls past me on a conveyer belt, it's blank, lifeless eyes stare back at mine. The look of agony frozen on its hardened face tells the tale of a most excruciating death.

A large mechanical arm lifts the Pikachu container several stories in the air and places it into the wall. Another capsule rolls by, looking down the row I can see dozens more coming.

Gladion embraces me tightly from behind and my lungs finally refill with air. He holds me for just a moment before leading me into the second chamber.

The pitiful cries of Nebby pierce my heart as I stand frozen, helplessly paralyzed, several feet away. I try with all my might to move, to blink even, but I can't. My ears buzz as the effects of asphyxiation intensify, my lungs are unable to draw air.