Sienna's P.O.V.

"Silex, finish with Flame Charge!" The Talonflame soars upwards, flames flickering on his wings before it becomes completely engulfed. He speeds towards Cryogonal and his it dead on. The ice type falls to the ground hard, ending the very set up battle.

"Cryogonal is unable to battle," the referee says. "Talonflame is the winner. Therefore the battle goes to Cerise!" Both Cerise and Russet jumped into the air and cheer.

"I did it," Cerise exclaims. "On my first try too! I did it!"

"Awesome, Cerise," Russet says with a huge smile. "You beat the strongest gym leader in Kalos like it was nothing! You really have improved." Not really. Wulfric threw this battle more than Valerie did. He just wanted to get them out if here so he could talk to me.

Wulfric laughs. "You know what? Your Pokémon really through everything they had into that battle just now! I can tell you two have really trained them well!"

"Thank you," they both say with a laugh.

Wulfric hands Cerise her badge, the fourth one she doesn't really deserve. "Good luck in the league Cerise. You have a lot of potential." He turned to me with a smile, a very fake one. "Now, please excuse me, I haven't seen Sienna in some time. I think it's time we catch up!"

"Yes sir! Thanks," the two say.

"Hey guys," I say. "I might not be joining up with you guys. If I'm not back by tonight leave without me."

They nod, without questions thankfully, though Russet seems a bit upset. "Bye Sienna!" Russet continues. "Oh and, if it is goodbye, we really enjoyed traveling with you! I had fun!" I nod and Cerise and Russet walk away, still raving about the win. I don't watch them leave.

I know Russet and Cerise are gone when Wulfric looks at me. He drops the jolly old St Nicholas smile and glares at me. I'm not looking at him, but I know he's giving me that stone-cold scowl I became used too. If I were to look at him now, all the confidence I had would completely vanish.

No, my attention is on Averie. She's still tense and agitated, scared too. I can see it. She doesn't like it here and though I hate to say it, I'm sure the moment I set her down, she'll run. She's so opposite of Inouï. I wouldn't have even questioned his loyalty; so why do I feel the need to protect Averie? How would I redeem myself to Inouï by doing that...

I wouldn't. Averie isn't Inouï. Averie has served me no purpose. She hasn't done anything for me besides remind me of Inouï by trying to be him. She isn't him. She'll never be.

I set Averie down. She looks at me quizzically, almost desperately, but I ignore her and look in front of me, still not at Wulfric, but definitely not at Averie. She whimpers and presses her nose to my leg. I still ignore her.

"Sienna," Wulfric says. I flinch at him saying my name. That always meant trouble when I was younger; today is no exception. "Who else have you murdered?"

I look up. Big mistake. Our eyes meet. His are a cold, slushy gray, shining with sadistic savagery. D-dammit! I played right into the trap. He wanted me to look up! He wanted to look me in the eye, to intimidate me! That's why he's the 'strongest gym leader in Kalos': intimidation. He doesn't have strength, he uses intimidation like it's his special ability.

Akia would say he was raised by Mightyena and that's how he learned Intimidate. She would also say that it was why his name is Wulfric. Some mythical creatures called Wolf or something that look like Mightyena. I don't really know. That girl was always pretty crazy.

The thought calms me. It wouldn't be a stretch to say it gives me confidence. Akia always talked about killing Wulfric and breaking away from the family. She would dye her hair, wear dresses, catch non-ice type Pokémon without permission. Anything to defy Wulfric's wishes. She said one day she would get rid of him.

I'm going to do it for her. I have to do it for her. I will do it for her.

"If I said none," I asked confidently.

His scowl deepens. "You're not the one asking questions here, Sienna. Your aunt swore that she would keep you in her sight at all times. How did you get here?"

"I walked."

"I'm not going to be patient with you Sienna."

"How else would I have gotten here, though? I answered your question- I got here by walking." He walks towards me. I stand my ground. I can't let him intimidate me. I just need to remember that. I can't let him intimidate me!

"Let me rephrase then," he growls through clenched teeth, still walking towards me. "Why did your aunt let you out of her sight?"

"That... sounds like a completely different question." He grabs my arm and all of my confidence, once again, drains away. His hand is huge, able to clamp completely around my bicep. He's a good foot taller than me, give or take a little. I can see his eyes up close and can make out the slight, sickly greenish tint the otherwise gray irises have. I tense up. From behind me, I hear a bark.

Averie's still here. She's still here. Why? I don't turn around. I can't. I hear Averie growling. Wulfric tosses me to the side. He kicks Averie. She yelps in response.

"I've never liked Eevee." Wulfric stares down Averie. She cowers and crawls backwards away from him. "All bark and no bite. Such a weak, cowardly Pokémon, just like your owner." He turns to me and I honestly don't know what to do.

"You killed your aunt, Sienna," he says to me, as if he really knows what happened. "You killed my daughter. Both of my daughters. Did you kill Nicolette the same as Mariette? Did you stab her straight to the chest? You kept stabbing her long after she died, no was killed. Didn't you Sienna? You had no reason to take their lives. As if yours is important it meaningful. As if you have any worth. Why'd you do it Sienna?"

Why did I do it?

I was maybe eight, no nine; I'm not sure. Sage, probably four. Those few days leading up to the murders were absolutely horrible. A few days prior, Inouï had been murdered but no one seemed to sympathize with me. I don't know what lite Wulfric told them, but it apparently has to do with me being a terrible trainer. I don't really know.

Worse still, the reason I killed my parents, they were going to me and Sage's places in the inheritance line. I couldn't allow that. The further up you are in the line, the more aggressive training is. The more inhumane it becomes. I was third. Sage was sixth, though before Akia was sent to The Institute, he was seventh. I was content knowing that the most dangerous thing he'd have to do was walk across Mamoswine Road, which compared to other things was pretty sane, but the thought of him having to go through what I was completely broke me.

We were walking home from the gym. My mother was telling Sage how to improve him battle skills. That was normal enough except for the fact she was mentioning pretty advanced strategies. I'm surprised Sage even understood what she was saying.

Our mother was an admittedly nice looking lady. Most people would say I got my looks from her, even though we hardly looked alike. Yes, we had the same shade of dark reddish brown hair, but her eye color was more like Sage's: gray with green close to the pupil. Her skin color was also naturally pale, unlike mine which is simply from staying inside too much, and she had more of a TV star-like beauty than me. I'd say I'm more along the lines of a girl you notice walking down the street.

I was walking next to our father and thankfully, he wasn't taking to me. He gave of a very threatening and menacing aura. I resemble him more than my mother, in the face at least. We had different hair and eye colors, he was a dark blond with gray eyes, but I get my natural skin color from him, which is more of a medium tone.

When we got home, Sage went to his room while I followed my parents to the kitchen. I wanted to confront them about Sage's position in the inheritance line and hopefully convince them not to change it. It started out civil enough, with me simply asking questions.

"Why don't you think I'm good enough to be the gym leader," I asked.

"Where did you hear that," was the response my father gave. I knew they wouldn't answer my question. They never would.

"I overheard you talking with Grandad. You said you're switching me and Sage in the line-up."

My mother frowned. "So you were eavesdropping?"

"N-no. I was walking by and heard that part of the conversation. I didn't stay around." My mother looked like she wanted to say something but decided against it.

"Child," began my father. I was almost never called by my name when I was younger. "While you were better at battling than Sage when you were his age, you lack the qualities we're looking for."

My mother continued. "If we were just looking for a strong trainer, your positions would be the same, however we're looking for more than that. Your personality is lackluster at best."

"But," I said. "What if I just acted the part?"

"Even still, we don't see you fit to inherit the gym. You don't seem...mentally stable as they would say." That was the first time I'd heard someone question my mental state and sadly, it wasn't the last.

"But," I said. "Sage is sixth in line and I'm third. What about Amadeus and Amaya? They come before Sage."

"We think Sage would be best. End of discussion." Normally, I would've given up trying to change their minds, but this was important. I'd ended up in the hospital on more than one occasion because of the 'training' we do. It's not training; it's torture. Using ice type attacks on children wearing nothing but shorts and t-shirts is abuse.

Some people like to argue that if a Pokémon has to sit there and take painful attacks, then their trainer should feel what they feel. What these same people fail to realize is that these attacks have two modes: stun and kill. Which do you think Wulfric used against me, against my other family members? Definitely not stun, but only I knew that. I heard him giving his Pokémon the command to kill.

Sage wasn't top five in the inheritance line, nor was he going to be a gym trainer, so he would have never gone through that. At last until they decided to switch our places. If I were selfish and didn't love my little brother the way I did, I would've let it happen without a second thought. But I loved Sage, I still do, and I wasn't going to let that happen.

"I won't let you," I yelled. "You can't do that!"

"Sienna, you don't-" I cut my father off.

"No! No! I won't let you do it! I can't!" I back up until I felt my back press against something. "Please don't do it."

"Sienna," my mother said, raising her voice. "No matter what you say, no matter how much you try to convince us otherwise, our decision is final."

I completely broke at that. I knew at that point, there was little if anything I could do. But I didn't want to just sit there and have them force Sage to endure that trauma. "I can't," I said mostly to myself. "I can't! I can't! I can't!" I lifted my hand to my face and shook my head. I was giving myself a headache, but I didn't stop repeating 'I can't! I can't!

My father grabbed my arm and yanked it from my face. "Sienna Alezan Glaçon!" He bent down to my level and pulled me so that we were face to face. The glare on his face terrified me, and I didn't hear a word he said. I jerked my arm away and started edging away from him. I kept saying 'I can't! I can't!' to remind myself that I had to do something. I couldn't just sit idly when there had to be some way to protect him.

My mother spoke next. "Sienna, please just calm down. It'll be worth it. You should be happy." I guess she thought I didn't care about Sage. No way I could be happy knowing Stage would go through what I did. I couldn't bring myself to enjoy that. And if she thought it'd be better for Kalos if Sage took control when he grew up... I don't see how she could think it. How could she let her youngest child be roped into later leading one of the most corrupt governments in the world? How could she think that this demoralized country was worth changing his entire sweet, innocent, loving personality. I just don't understand.

"It's not worth it. I can't do it," I muttered. "I won't let you." My parents sighed and walked out of the kitchen. It was then I came up with my plan. It was irrational, downright insane I admit, and thinking back it was stupid, but I was desperate and caught in the heat of the moment. I grabbed a knife from the counter. I held it in my hand and gripped the handle tighter. For a split second, I thought against it, but then I heard my father command Sage to come to him, and that erase any and all opposition to the idea from my mind.

"I won't let you," I said to myself. I walked to the entrance of the kitchen where my parents were standing in absolute silence. Then I screamed it. "I won't let you!" I plunged the knife into the base of my father's spine. He yelled and fell to the floor. He wasn't dead I knew, so I assume the shock and pain caused him to faint. I didn't pause. I turned to my mom and stabbed her twice before she could react. I kept stabbing her as she dropped down, still telling her I wouldn't let her put Sage through the torture. Maybe she was dead by then, I don't know. I didn't, and don't, care.

I felt something grab my leg. Thinking it was my father, I didn't hesitate to swing the knife around before I turned. It was him, the knife slitting his throat, causing blood to splatter over my face. He slumped onto the floor face down, but I had to guarantee he was dead. I kept stabbing. To protect Sage, I kept stabbing. Even as I felt myself being pulled me away, I knew I had to protect Sage, so I kept stabbing.

I had to protect Sage, that's why. I couldn't let him become subject to that torture, but I knew only made it worse. I need to make it up to him.

I reach into my pocket and slip the pocket knife into my sleeve. I can do this. I will do this. I have to.

"Sienna, come with me," Wulfric says. "I see you haven't outgrown your little 'shutdowns' as we put it. You're sixteen years old; I would have hoped after five years you would have gotten your thoughts together."

I frown, but luckily he's walking away so he doesn't see. I'm sixteen? Wow. Well that makes sense; Sage wouldn't have been a baby when the murder happened. He must be around ten now...

Wait! I'm getting off track! Stick to the plan, it's simple! Kill Wulfric. Be happy. Then... ummm...

This is gonna be harder than I thought.