Larance sighed as he pulled on his jacket, zipping it up so that only a bit of his t-shirt peeked out from underneath it. He couldn't believe that so many people knew who he was and that they were keeping a secret from him. A secret that could help him find his dad. He heard running feet approach him, and he inwardly sighed as he let the person catch up to him.

"Talk to me."

Larance turned to see Arriete standing there, eyes narrowed and arms folded. He kept quiet before silently nodding his head.

"What do you want to know?" he asked, continuing to walk towards Meteor Falls.

"Why are you acting like this?"

"Probably because it seems like all of Hoenn knows who my dad is but me and it really aggravates me. I mean, he's my dad! Shouldn't I know who he is?!?"

"You're not the only one who doesn't know who your dad is. Bina, Wally, and I sure don't."

Larance gave Arriete a small smile before giving her a quick hug.

"Thanks, Arriete," he grinned. "You always know just what to say."

Arriete gave a snort at this, resulting in Larance chuckling as well.

"Guys! You missed everything!"

The two of them turned to see Bina running towards them, smiling wide.

"What'd we miss?" Arriete asked.

"Wally caught a Makuhita!" Bina replied, sounding proud.

The three of them turned to see Wally and Steven walking towards them. In his arms, he held a Makuhita, who seemed to shrink under the gazes of the three friends. Wally's jacket was removed from his waist and was wrapped around the Pokemon. This made them frown as they slowly approached the two males carefully.

"What's wrong with him?" Bina asked, trying to reach towards the Makuhita.

Said Pokemon flinched and tried to move closer to Wally, who muttered words to try and soothe him.

"We found this guy cowering in a grass patch over there," Steven replied pointing to an area behind him. "Turns out that he was abandoned by an abusive trainer. Wally was able to get across to him and catch him, but it seems like he only wants to be held by Wally."

"So, I'll carry this guy around until he's comfortable enough with all of you," Wally explained, giving everyone a small smile.

The others nodded in agreement and decided to continue on their way towards Meteor Falls. Arriete began to take lead, while the others fell in behind her. Bina tried to get closer to Makuhita, Wally helping while following after Arriete. Behind them, Larance and Steven walked side by side in silence. Larance cleared his throat to get Steven's attention.

"Um...sorry about what happened...you know...back there," Larance muttered, rubbing his arms. "I shouldn't have walked away like that. I was just-"

"Upset."

Larance looked up at the silver-haired man in surprise, while said man just gave him a warm smile. He sighed before continuing to speak.

"It must be horrible to not know who your dad is," Steven frowned. "I can't break my promise to them. I want to. I really do, but I can't." He shook his head as if he was trying to get rid of voices that were in his head. "I'll feel horrible. But, I can tell you one thing: you will most likely meet him really soon."

Larance's heart sank. That's it? That was all the Champion could tell him? He felt tears brimming in his eyes, but he quickly blinked them away. At least he knew that he would finally find his dad again after ten whole years. He took a shaky breath before nodding. Steven gave him a small smile and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I understand that you can't break your promise to my dad, but thank you for telling me this one thing."

The two smiled at each other before turning towards the sound of Arriete yelling to them that she found the entrance to Meteor Falls. The others decided that it would be best to not keep her waiting and ran towards where she stood.

***

"I see two Magma members with the Prof." Steven pointed out as the five of them entered the large cave. "We have to be careful."

"Arriete, we might have to battle them," Larance scowled, releasing Nuzleaf. "You okay with that?"

"Of course," Arriete replied, releasing Paragon.

"We'll back you up," Bina stated, releasing Taillow while Kirlia escaped his Pokeball from Wally's belt.

"Alright, let's do this," Larance grimaced.

The five of them walked up to where the two Team Magma members stood. With them was an excitedly talking Prof. Said Prof. turned and grinned at the newcomers.

"Ah, so even the Champion and some children are interested in this area," he beamed.

This caused the two Magma members to jump slightly and turn their gazes towards them. One was a female while the other was a somewhat round male. The male grinned when he noticed them and folded his arms.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't little Golden Eyes himself," the man smirked.

This made Larance's eyes narrow as he growled.

"Heh, I guess I was right," the man continued. "You seem to have your dad's spirit."

This made Larance freeze. What did he just say? Anger boiled up in him as he clenched his fists.

"Guys, can you make sure that Prof. Cozmo is ok?" Larance asked through gritted teeth. "Arriete and I can handle these goons."

"'Goons'?" the man's smirk faded as he turned angry. "I happen to be one of Team Magma's finest Admins! I am Tabitha! Our Great Leader-"

"Yeah, no one cares," Arriete cut him off, Paragon growling by her side.

"Insolent children!" Tabitha growled. "We'll show you two! Golbat!"

"Poochyena!" the grunt next to him called out her Pokemon as well.

"Nuzleaf! Leaf Blade!" Larance commanded.

"Paragon! Ice Fang!" Arriete ordered.

"When did Paragon learn Ice Fang?" Larance asked in surprise.

"On the beach, before we entered Slateport," Arriete grinned.

Both sides continued to battle while Wally, Bina, and Steven approached Prof. Cozmo who seemed to be frantically searching for something.

"What's wrong Prof.?" Bina asked.

"M-my meteorite," Prof. Cozmo muttered. "W-Where is it?"

"Drat!"

All four of them turned to see Tabitha and the female grunt return their fallen Pokemon. Larance and Arriete grinned at each other, but their grins faltered when Tabitha began to laugh.

"We already got what we came for," Tabitha chuckled before turning towards the grunt. "Let's hurry to Mt. Chimney." He then turned towards Larance. "Hope to see you there, Golden Eyes."

Tabitha and the grunt violently pushed Arriete and Larance aside; Arriete sliding across the rocky ground and Larance doing the same, almost falling off the bridge and into the water below. Tabitha laughed cruelly as he and the grunt raced out of the cave.

"Arriete!" Bina kneeled down next to her friend, who grunted as she sat up. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," Arriete chuckled, petting a worried Paragon. "Just a bit bruised up."

"Larance!"

Both girls looked to see Wally and Nuzleaf helping Larance stand up, who was holding his shoulder. They ran over to the two boys, worry on their faces.

"Your shoulder..." Arriete's voice trailed off, her eyes showing extreme worry.

"I-it's fine," Larance winced. "J-just scratched up. Kinda badly."

"Here, can you take off your jacket?" Wally asked.

Larance nodded and handed it to Arriete, while Wally looked at his shoulder. It was badly scratched up as a bit of blood was trickling down his arm. All three of them winced at this and Bina dug around in her bag until she found a piece of white cloth.

"Why do you have that?" Wally asked.

"Just in case someone broke their arm or something like this happened," Bina replied, gently tying it around Larance's shoulder. "Mom taught me how to take care of people while dad taught me how to take care of Pokemon." She tied the cloth tightly before motioning Arriete to give her his jacket. "There. That should be good."

"Thanks, Bina," Larance smiled.

"I seem to be running into you scamps everywhere now, huh?"

The four friends froze at the familiar sound. Approaching them was Archie, who was accompanied by two Aqua grunts.

"Champion," Archie acknowledged Steven with a nod, earning a glare in return.

"What do you want, Archie?" Arriete asked, frowning.

"Only to know where those two Magma idiots fled off to," Archie answered, folding his arms. "I'm not going to bother you scamps. Not today at least."

"Like we would tell you anyth-"

"Mt. Chimney."

The others looked surprised to see that Larance was the one who interrupted her. Angry tears began to form in his eyes as he glared at Archie. Said Leader only smiled in pleasant surprise in return.

"Well, I never thought that Bright Eyes over here would tell me this," Archie let out an amused chuckled.

"I want you to crush that team into the ground," Larance growled, venom in his voice. "For reasons of my own."

Archie laughed at this before going to leave. Before he exited the cave, he turned to Larance one last time.

"I've never seen so much fury pent up in one child before," Archie laughed. "Seems somewhat...familiar."

The group was quiet as Archie and the two Aqua grunts left the cage.

"...Let's get Prof. Cozmo home."

The others jumped at the sound of Steven's voice. The Champion suddenly seemed ten years older as he seemed extremely stressed and tense. Nodding in agreement, the group left the cave, the roaring sound of the waterfall the only sound they heard.

***

Wally mumbled in his sleep. Bina had an arm wrapped around Taillow. Arriete was breathing softly. Larance wasn't even in bed. Said boy stood in front of the bathroom mirror looking at his wounded shoulder. The blood has stopped flowing, making the cloth turn a slight red. He grimaced when he gently touched it with two fingers, and he turned his attention back to the mirror.

Heh, I guess I was right. You seem to have your dad's spirit.

Larance gripped the sink, trembling from the rising anger in him. How? How could this Tabitha person know his dad's personality when his own son can barely remember his face? His voice? His...name? Larance wanted to cry out in anger but decided against it as he knew his friends were sleeping peacefully. Wally wasn't having a coughing fit. Bina wasn't self-induce vomiting. Arriete wasn't making herself feel like a failure because of her dad. He laughed a bit at this. A small, hollow laugh. Everything seems to be going right for them. Right? He shook his head. No. They still have problems to work through. He blinked, his reflection doing the same. Golden eyes stared back at equally golden eyes, and dark circles seemed to be forming under his eyes.

Just like me.

Larance let the faucet run for a bit before splashing his face with the water. After wiping his face with a towel, he carefully pulled on his pajama shirt and exited the bathroom. He climbed into his beg, Nuzleaf sleeping at the edge of his bed. Larance chuckled as he sunk into his bed.

I'll worry about this after Bina's contest, Larance yawned as he closed his eyes. Then, I can hopefully find out the truth.

Soon, the golden eye boy fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.

***

"Steven."

"...Hello."

"They told me that you didn't tell him. You kept your promise."

Steven hesitated a little before lying a tiny bit.

"...Yes, I did."

"You seem...upset."

"And you seem tired."

"Don't bother yourself with me. I want to know why you're upset."

"...I-it's nothing. I have to go now. Goodbye."

"Ste-"

Steven hung up before the person even finished saying his name. Steven looked up at the sky, which was littered with stars, before heading off into Prof. Cozmo's house. He smiled at the woman, Lillith, before approaching Prof. Cozmo.

"Prof. Cozmo," Steven began, sitting next to the still shaken up Prof. "What did Team Magma want with you?"

"T-they stole it..." Prof. Cozmo stammered.

"Stole...what?"

"The meteorite."

Steven sat back, thoughts ringing through his head.

This is happening. I knew I should have told him. Now, I don't think that I want to anymore.