Yep. He tried to kill me. No doubt about it. He got angry and couldn't control his temper and almost ended my life.

That's exactly what happened.

Peridot and Jasper have stopped talking. Now Peridot is staring out into the crowd. I follow his line of sight and find him staring at his mother. She has blonde hair and green eyes like him, but that's where the similarities stop. She has a sort of regal, sophisticated air about her, a stark contrast to Peridot's laid-back demeanor.

The two make eye contact, causing Peridot to look away. His mother, however, keeps her gaze, even as she taps a boy's shoulder and presumably tells him to come and get Peridot.

The boy has light brown skin and very short, tightly curled hair. He has small eyes that are a strange mix of brown and green. He and Peridot look alike somewhat, though he appears older. The boy doesn't look very happy, troubled would be a better word. Like there are a thousand things he's thinking that could go wrong.

"Perry," he says to Peridot. "Your mom-"

"Tell her I'm not going," Peridot interrupts.

"But-"

"Isai just do it. I don't wanna go back home."

The boy, Isai, frowns. "She's not going to be very happy to hear that."

"Just go over there Perry," Jasper speaks up. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"A lot," Peridot mutters before getting up and lumbering over to him mom. Isai looks up at me and introduces himself. I do the same.

I can make a guess on why Peridot's parents want him to return home. They're most likely afraid for their son's well-being. I would never do anything to Peridot. Jasper too. And might as well include Isai. They're just kids. Though I make no promises.

"Sienna," Jasper says, finally confident with my name. "What would you do if your parents were making you do something you didn't want to?"

"I'm afraid my answer wouldn't really work for you."

"Anything'll work at this point," Jasper says. Do I really want to tell these kids to kill their parents? That doesn't seem very kid-friendly. Besides, what if that cues them in on what happened to Malachi. Even if I did it in self-defense, I'm a repeat offender.

"Run away," I say. Maybe I should have told them something they won't try to do... Oh well!

"Running away usually solves things," Jasper says. It sounds as if he speaks from experience so I haven't done too much damage. "We should go later tonight." Isai looks at him sideways.

"But they'll be expecting you to, so you can't do that."

Should I do something? Well, I do feel for them. I know how it feels to be in this situation, more or less. "We should go now," I say. "I'll walk outside with you guys to lower suspicions, then you guys make a run for it. I used to live around that area so I know a hiding spot." Jasper and Isai smile and look at each other, very satisfied with the plan. Peridot comes back a few minutes later looking very upset.

"Hey Perry," Jasper says excitedly. "We got a plan." Peridot looks at him dubiously, obviously not trusting his friend. "Sienna came up with it," Jasper says in resignation. This makes Peridot perk up. Isai tells him the plan. Peridot listens closely, his eyes getting brighter with each word. He looks up at me as if I'd just saved his life which, if my experience is anything to go on, I probably have.

"So do we just hide out there," Peridot asks after we'd finished.

"Pretty much," I say.

"And how will you cover it up?"

"I have a plan. Let's go now." Jasper stands up first, looking very small next to Isai's athletic frame. I follow behind as the four of us make our way across the crowd and out of the door

"Hey Isai, where are you guys going," someone asks us once we're out the door. We all turn to the voice. There's an athletic looking boy there who resembles Isai, same curly hair, brown skin, and golden-greenish eyes. He was a lot older than the boys, maybe sixteen or seventeen, and a lot less serious looking. "And who's the pretty girl going with you?"

"Asa, shut up," the person next to him says. It's a girl closer to my age. She was slightly darker than Isai and the older boy, but still had the resemblance. Her hair is more wavy than curly and a lot longer. She has the same brown-green eyes as the boy, Asa, and Isai, but wears bright yellow glasses. "She's probably about twelve."

"I dunno Ekko," Asa says. "She seems older. So where are you four going, Asa?" He starts walking to us. "Can I come? You won't even- Hey! I'm just playing!" Ekko is dragging him away.

"Go on Isai," she says. "I'll take care of this one." She glares pointedly at Asa.

"Thanks Ekko," Isai mutters. We continue walking.

"Who were they," I ask. "Siblings?" Isai nods. It figures. They all the resemble each other a lot.

"Asa's extremely annoying," Isai says.

"Aren't all brothers," Jasper grumbles. He doesn't say it very loud, but we all heard him nonetheless. Peridot frowns.

"Sure are..." Jasper looks at him apologetically but Peridot doesn't make eye contact. I wonder what happened between those two in the last three minutes.

Jasper glances at me before looking back at Peridot. That was...strange to say the least. It wasn't the same look I often receive from Russet or, Xerneas forbid, the same looks I got from my family as a child but it was unnerving. I hope for his sake he isn't up to anything. It would be a real shame. He is just a child.

We walk past waterfall this town is known for. There are a lot of people on the dock right in front of it. A few years ago, hardly anyone came out here. Ever since a tourism company, which as it turns out is owned by Peridot's family, expanded into Kalos, this place has been getting a lot more visitors.

I notice Averie is playing on the dock with some of the children. I was wondering where they were going. Averie seems to be enjoying the attention and the children seem to be kind to her. I hope for their sake they are. If they were being cruel to my Pokémon... I think we all know what comes next.

We stopped at the hotel before continuing to Grande Vallée Way. Jasper and Peridot changed into less formal clothes and gathered their bags. They didn't seem to eager to go however. It's strange how suddenly they changed.

It's colder than I remember. A lot colder. The ground even has a thin layer of fist covering it. Down the cliff, the swampy waters appear slushy. Near the center of the valley is a campground. They set it up earlier this year I believe. There was an incident that caused the rope bridge that connected this route to the next town to fall. Now it takes a full day to traverse the route, so they put a camping site on the path. Luckily, my hiding spot is on this side of the cliff.

It doesn't take long to reach the area. It's a large impression on the cliff with pillars scattered across formed by erosion from the rain. Near the southern wall however is a piece of land separate from the main part. That's where my spot is. I tell this to the boys.

"Where," Jasper asks. "I don't see anything."

"Jump onto this pillar and slide down," I tell Jasper and Peridot. "Then go to the one closest to the plateau."

"The pla-what?"

"The piece of land right there. The one separate from the rest." The two do as I instructed. A few seconds later, Jasper is calling back to me.

"Are we taking about the little hole right here?"

"Yeah. Crawl in. It should lead to a cave."

"Okay." This is Peridot. "Thanks Sienna. I owe you a lot."

"Not really," I mutter. I kind of killed your brother...

Isai and I stood there a while before leaving. He was looking at where Peridot and Jasper were while I was staring at my second least favorite place in the world. Snowbelle City. It's my excuse for Jasper and Peridot's absence. It's the place most trainers look forward to going. It's the place of my nightmares. It's the place where finally, after all these years, I get my revenge.

And I'll love every single precious moment of it.