Chapter Text
I've done the math
There's no solution
We'll never last
Why can't I let go of this?
__________
February 22nd, 2025
Pericarp Town, Lental
“Meet me back at the place we all split up.” Friede blurted the second Dot answered the call.
The three young Pokemon trainers looked at him, confused.
“I’ve got new information on Laqua you’ll wanna hear.”
__________
“So… Gibeon was here? Like here, here?” Liko’s eyes lit up
“Yes, and I’m also pretty sure Laqua’s at the summit of that mountain over there.” Friede pointed behind them. “Somewhere called ‘the place where land meets the sky.”
He got cut off by Roy yelling: “RACE YA BACK TO THE BRAVE ASAGI!!”
Liko laughed and ran after him. Dot groaned but followed suit. Friede shook his head and jogged back as well.
When he finally caught up to them, something was wrong. The kids no longer had that excited energy radiating off of them.
Dot looked deeply concerned.
Roy looked baffled.
Liko looked like she was seconds away from fainting.
The airship was still fairly far away, so there must have been a reason for them to stop. And judging by their expressions, that had to be a good reason.
Friede narrowed his eyes and looked ahead. Then he instantly noticed a certain unmistakable silver-and-black haired Explorers member pacing at the base of the airship, along with a woman that looked alarmingly similar to Lucca. Plus… an unfamiliar child with wavy blue hair.
What?
All three children knew there was no way to answer any of their questions, but did that stop them? No.
Roy tilted his head, “Why is Amethio here?”
“And who are the other two people?” Dot added cautiously.
“IS THAT MY MOM?!?!”
Friede’s soul nearly left his body.
What if Lucca had finally decided that this journey was too dangerous and had come to collect Liko and fire Friede? Did she now think her former student was foolish and careless to have the audacity of dragging three children into this?
Technically speaking, he did not drag them in. They wanted to join the Rising Volt Tacklers. But that doesn’t make it any better.
“Friede,” Dot asked slowly, “Do you know them?”
“Nope!” Friede answered way too quickly.
The group stared at him.
“…That sounded suspicious,” Roy noted.
“Very suspicious,” Dot agreed.
Friede ignored both of them and forced himself to keep walking toward the airship.
As they got closer, the blue-haired woman finally noticed them.
“Dot…? Roy…?” She whispered.
Then her eyes landed on Liko.
“Y-you’re really here.”
__________
Silence.
No one was sure of what to say.
Until… The child was the one to speak up
“Mama, why are you crying?”
Everyone froze again.
“N-no, I just…” Lucca-doppelganger stammered and blinked rapidly, “You all reminded me of someone.”
Dot raised an eyebrow.
Then Friede launched into what could only be described as his signature interrogation of overloading the interrogee with far too many questions at once.
“So… who exactly are you? Why is Amethio with you? How do you know our names?”
Lucca-doppelganger took a second to process all that, then opened her mouth to answer.
Except the toddler beat her to it.
“Aren’t they your friends that you showed me pictures of?”