On The Road

Chapter Twenty-Three

"So, Steven and Wallace knew about you then?" Larance asked, leaning against the fence railing that was built around a waterfall.

"I asked them to not tell you yet," Maxie sighed, cleaning his glasses. "I didn't think that you would want to know who I was."

Larance chuckled at this, letting a few tears trickle down his face.

"I always had a feeling that mom was lying about your 'death'," Larance commented, before turning towards Maxie. "I've spent ten years wondering about you. Searching for you. I guess I just had to wait until you and Team Aqua almost destroyed the world to find you."

Maxie let out a laugh at this comment.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Maxie apologized, resulting in both of them laughing. Then, Maxie turned serious. "Larance, I hope that you achieve your dream, whatever it is. I really do."

"You're not leaving again, are you?" Larance asked worriedly.

"Oh Arceus no," Maxie laughed. "Never again. However, I need to round up my old team and make sure that they're not trying to kill the world again before I head back to your mom. I'll also look for Archie and Team Aqua. Like me, I believe that they have learned their lesson as well."

"And what lesson is that?"

"Don't kill the world."

Both dad and son laughed before Larance perked up.

"Dad," he began, smiling wide. "Before you go, you have to meet my friends."

"Alright then," Maxie smiled. "Lead the way, son."

***

"So, the girl with the black hair is Arriete," Larance introduced. "The girl with the blonde hair is Bina, and the boy with the green hair is Wally."

"Nice to meet you all," Maxie waved.

"I don't get how someone as calm as you is related to Larance," Bina commented, folding her arms.

"I can be calm," Larance frowned, folding his arms as well.

"Yeah, when you're sleeping," Wally smirked, causing Arriete to snicker.

"Yes, I can see that you four are great friends," Maxie laughed, while Larance just huffed in reply.

"Ah, I see you are all getting acquainted with each other."

The five of them turned to see Wallace and Steven approach them, both of them smiling.

"Yes," Larance confirmed. "And now I see why you couldn't tell me about my dad."

"I'm just glad I don't have to keep it a secret anymore," Steven sighed in relief before turning to Maxie. "So, I heard that you're going after the rest of your team and Aqua as well. Is this true?"

"I won't be able to return home until I do this," Maxie nodded, frowning. Then, he chuckled a bit. "Oh man, Tessa is going to kill me for not staying in touch."

Everyone let out a laugh at this and Maxie turned to Larance.

"If you get home before me, tell your mom that I'll be home soon," Maxie smiled.

"Of course," Larance smiled back. "Good luck, dad."

"Same to you, son."

Ignoring the tears welling up in his eyes, Larance crushed his dad in a hug. They stayed like that for a few more seconds, before backing up. Nodding to the others that were in the room, Maxie waved and left the Center. Silence washed over the remaining group until Wallace spoke up.

"One more badge, right?" he asked, grinning at Larance.

"R-right," Larance replied. "I challenge you to a battle."

"And I accept."

***

As soon as the six of them left the Center, they were cornered by a few familiar faces.

"Wally!"

"Bina!"

"Larance!"

"Arriete!"

Wally ran into the arms of his parents, who hugged him tightly. Bina cried with joy as she hugged her parents as well, them having relieved faces. Arriete hugged her mom, before turning to face her dad, who was standing there, uncomfortably. Larance was rubbing his arm, nervously wanting to tell his mom something.

"You don't have to worry about me anymore," Wally told his parents, grinning. "I've gotten better! I'm not coughing as much!"

"You do look healthier," his mom commented. "I am so proud of you, Wally."

"We heard about what happened on the news, and came by to see if you were ok," his dad explained. "Guess we didn't really have to worry that much."

"I told you four to stay away from them," Birch tried scolding Bina, but failed as he smiled.

"We were so worried for you, sweetheart," Kristin told her.

"Dad, I know why you didn't want us going near them," Bina explained, suddenly frowning.

"So, you know the truth," Birch frowned as well.

"We all do," Bina replied.

"You would have figured it out sooner or later," Birch admitted with a small smile.

Bina returned his smile before her eyes trailed over to Arriete.

"Arriete..." Norman began. "When I saw the news, I was so worried. I thought that-"

"Dad," Arriete interrupted. "I'm sorry that I've been ignoring you ever since Petalburg, but I knew that I disappointed you when I said that I didn't want to follow in your footsteps. I didn't want to make it worse."

"I wasn't disappointed," Norman explained. "Not really. I was just surprised that you wanted to do something else. When I heard about what happened in Mossdeep, I thought that you were in danger. I finally made myself realize something. I don't care what path you follow, just as long as you're safe. I'll always be proud of my daughter, no matter what."

Tears welled up in Arriete's eyes as she crushed her dad in a hug and felt a huge weight lift from her shoulders. Caroline smiled at the sight, relieved that the broken family had been stitched back together.

"Larance, I was so worried!" Tessa exclaimed, hugging her son. "I knew that those two teams would cause trouble! They have been for the past two years!"

"Mom..." Larance began, breaking apart from the hug and looking down. "I-I know everything."

Tessa's smile quickly turned into a frown. "What?"

"I know about dad," Larance clarified. "I know where he is, who he is, and what happened to me." Larance felt tears form in his eyes. "And you told me that he was dead! But he isn't!"

"I didn't want you to know," Tessa explained. "No one wanted you to know. Your father was roped into this two years ago thanks to Team Aqua Leader Archie. We decided that it would be best to no longer keep in contact."

"But everything's fixed," Larance smiled warmly at his mom. "Dad went to disband his team, and find Team Aqua. They have all learned their lesson about not destroying the world."

"You mean..." Tessa breathed.

"Yes," Larance whispered, tears falling down his face. "After ten years, dad is finally coming home."