'Are you... Aware she made some connections with a rather large company?'

'...Yes'

'Then you must also know you were previously arranged to marry the youngest child of the Artemus family.'

The typing from Megan's keyboard stopped for a few seconds, but once again filled the room afterwards so the three having the conversation assumed Megan had only stopped to think of what to type. Gladion looked down at his feet and bit his lip.

'I'm aware of it yes. But I also know it was called off for one of two reasons. Because the president of the company passed away, or the girl I was supposed to marry disappeared. Either way it's not going to happen now.'

'Oh really? Is that what you really think?' Laura scoffed.

'Yes, it is!' Gladion glared at her. 'And how did you even find this information out? Why do you even care?'

'We have a theory.' Luke stated calmly, though his face showed a bit of irritation. Gladion eyed him suspiciously.

'Go on.'

'Well, are you aware that girl has been close to you for quite awhile now?'

'What? I have no idea what you're talking about.'

'I find that rather hard to believe, Gladion.' Luke spat.

Gladion frowned. 'And why is that?'

'Because you're dating her.'

Before anyone could say anything else the sound of wheels on the tiles filled the room, followed by the chair the noise came from hitting the wall. The trio turned around, only to find that Megan was now standing with her head down and her fists clenched.

'Megan?' Gladion called with concern.

'What did you just say?' The girl whispered as her head turned to them slightly, but her hair still hid her face.

'What?' Laura barked, narrowing her eyes.

Megan's head fully snapped towards Luke which caused her face to show, exposing the fact her eyes were filled with anger. 'Him. What did he say!?'

Luke was surprisingly calm despite the dark aura coming from the girl. 'I only said I find it hard to believe he doesn't know he's dating an Artemus.'

Megan smirked, though obviously she was angry as she stomped over to him. 'Choose your next words wisely, Matt.' She hissed. The male seemed unfazed.

'What if, he actually knew. And is only dating you because you're an Artemus. What if he's doing all this because of the arranged marriage, because it was drilled into his mind. I could be wrong, but it seems far too convenient for a coincidence.'

Megan laughed mockingly, before grabbing the man by the collar of his shirt and pulling him down to meet her face. 'You've got some nerve. Not only to accuse my boyfriend of using me, but also to come in here and claim that I'm an Artemus. That girl has been declared dead, and so she is. You can't just barge in here accusing people!' She spat, only to be pushed back by none other than who she called Lizzy.

'Really? Then how come you look exactly like her? minus the scar.' She asked, holding up a photo of a seven year old girl with blondish brown hair and blue eyes. Megan's eyes widened, but she kept her cool.

'Oh yeah we both have the same colour hair and eyes, big deal!'

'And the same name.' Laura added, making Megan flinch. 'I honestly doubt this is a coincidence, Megan. And I'm sure you do to-'

'SHUT UP!' Megan screamed, before she transformed into Silvally and charged towards the woman. Though, she hadn't expected for her also to transform too. Laura changed into a Midday Lycanroc and dodged Megan's attack by ducking, before grabbing her back leg with her teeth and smashing her down into the ground. The two began to fight, and I mean actually fighting and not Pokemon battle fighting. They began scratching, biting, chasing and slamming each other into things which soon caused the room to become a mess.

'Megan! Stop it!' Gladion yelled, but his partner ignored his order.

'Stop this nonsense now!' Luke commanded, but like Megan Laura ignored him.

Growls and whines filled the room, along with the sound of things breaking and claws swiping the air. It was only a matter of time before the two Pokemon shed each other's blood, showing they were going all out in this.

'Gladion,' Luke began 'I have a plan to get them apart. But I'll need your cooperation.'

'Anything to stop them from killing each other!'

Megan bit down on the upper part of Laura's front leg, making her howl in pain before biting down on the back of her captor's neck. She also began clawing at Megan's chest, causing her to loosen her jaw's grip and allowing Laura to free her leg. The Lycanroc jumped onto Silvally's back, while still gnawing down on her neck to the point blood was shed, and attempted to floor her. Megan however wasn't having this and smashed the wolf Pokemon into a wall, causing her to let go. Just before she was about to attack, two Pokemon stood in between them. Two Midnight form Lycanroc. One Megan recognised to be Gladion's.

'Stop it both of you!' The other Lycanroc yelled, who somehow had Matthew's voice. Megan scanned the room only to find the man wasn't in there, only meaning one thing.

'How can she transform?! How can you transform?!' She screeched angrily.

'That's not important right now!' Luke exclaimed.

'You're right, I'm sorry! HOW THE F*CK DID YOU KNOW I WAS AN ARTEMUS?! HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THE MARRIAGE?! HOW-'

MEGAN!' A voice screamed, making her stop in her tracks. Gladion stood next to his Lycanroc and glared at her. 'ENOUGH!'

With a whimper Megan backed down, pinning her ears back as she walked backwards towards the other side of the room where she transformed back into a human. She looked awful. She was covered in bite and scratch marks, bruises and bloodstains, and her clothes were ripped. She also had blood around her mouth, though only a little bit, which obviously wasn't hers. Laura was in the same condition when she transformed back, but she had a concussion from being slammed into the wall she was currently sitting against. Gladion turned to the two siblings with an angry expression and pointed towards the door.

'I think you two should leave! Now!'

Luke quickly transformed back into his human form and picked up his sister bridal style, before leaving the room and closing the door behind him. Gladion breathed out through his teeth as he turned to his beloved, who was now crouched down and facing the wall. She seemed to be trying to wipe the blood from her mouth with the sleeves of her now ripped plaid jacket.

'Megan.' Gladion called her name, making her gasp and turn to him. His face softened slightly as he saw her fear, but remained stern as he walked towards her. She stumbled backwards, but her back hit the wall stopping from her from going any further. She whimpered again as Gladion crouched in front of her, his eyes filled with both frustration and confusion. 'I want you to tell me the truth now, got it?' He spoke in such a way it made shivers shoot up Megan's spine.

'Y-Yes...' She whispered.

With that answer he shifted position so he was on his knees, meaning he easily grabbed the girl by the shoulders and pulled her closer to him so their face were inches apart. Then, he spoke. 'Are you Megan Artemus, the last born child of Benjamin and Maria Artemus?' He asked her firmly, keeping a strong hold on her. She slowly looked down at her knees and gave him a small nod. Gladion pursed his lips together in a straight line, as his frown changed so it was between sad and irritated. 'Why didn't you tell me?'

'I... Look it's not like I wasn't planning on telling you eventually. I just didn't know when the right time was.' She blurted out, still not making eye contact.

'Is that the only reason?'

She didn't answer.

'Megan.' He lifted her chin with his hand, making her look up at him. 'Tell me the truth.'

She sighed. 'No, it's not... I was scared, okay?'

'Why?'

'Because if you found out, you'd...' She trailed off, obviously against finishing the sentence. 'It's dangerous being an Artemus nowadays, you know. So, if word got out I was one I don't think I'd be able to show my face in Alola ever again. People would try to either hand me over, or squeeze information out of me. Either way they'd use me to get money. Don't get me wrong I know you'd never do anything like that. But... I didn't want to risk anyone finding out who- no, what I am. My father's hands weren't clean, and now that's he's dead they can't put him on trial for his crimes. But, the people who lost family and friends to him will want revenge from my family and if they... If they learnt I was his daughter, they'd make me take the blame...' She paused. 'I was going to tell you. But when I knew the search for Artemus had either stopped or at least died down. I'd never hide anything from you forever.'

Gladion didn't say anything. He wanted to believe she wouldn't hide anything from him, but at the same time he wasn't sure she was telling the truth. It was a battle between his head and his heart. He stood, pulling her with him before placing her arm over his shoulders and wrapping his free arm around her waist. 'Come on... Let's get you cleaned up.' He told her in a monotone voice. She was confused, but didn't protest. Her injuries really stung, and the metallic taste of blood in her mouth was annoying. Though, what irritated her the most was what Matthew said. What... What if he really was only dating her for the marriage. She prayed to Arceus it was a theory meant to be debunked.

The trip to the bathroom was silent. Neither wanted to say a word after what happened. When they got there Gladion sat Megan on the toilet seat and took the first aid kit out of the cabinet, before running a cloth under the cold tap and turning to the wounded girl. '...I'm going to need you to take your jacket and shirt off... I need all the wounds to be visible...'

Why was he being so awkward about this? They'd been dating for four years and he never acted like this. However, Megan nodded and hesitantly took of her clothes so only her bra was keeping her... decent. She too was acting strange. Like all the trust they gained over the years had gone down. Gladion gently moved her hair so it was over her shoulder and out of the way from the back of her neck, where the most severe wound was, but this made Megan flinch. Gladion winced before closing his eyes and sighing, as he began dabbing her wounds with the cloth. The girl whimpered in pain, which seemed to snap him out of the little battle he was having. What was he doing? He was doubting their relationship when she needed him. He had to put his thoughts aside for the time being. There would be time to talk about it later anyway.

'Just let me know if it hurts. I'll let you hold my hand or something.' He told her, which actually seemed to work since her tense shoulders relaxed at that moment.

'Thank you...' She whispered.

Gladion smiled to himself, though only small, and continued to tend to his injured girlfriend. With the occasional moments of her whimpering and him holding onto her hand or caressing her head to comfort her. Soon, she was patched up and clean from blood. Gladion put away the first aid kit before turning to Megan, only to find her about to leave the bathroom. Quickly Gladion grabbed her hand as it grasped the doorknob, making the girl gasp in surprise.

'Where are you going?' Gladion asked as he looked down at the girl, who was doing everything to avoid eye contact.

'Out...'

'Yeah but why?'

Megan breathed out through her nose, before gently pulling her hand out of her boyfriend's gloved one. 'I can tell you're mad at me, Gladion. You don't really hide it well, though you don't have to at all. I just... I thought I'd go for a walk with Prince for a bit to clear my head. That'll give us enough time to cool off from the whole situation. The last thing I want is for you to get any more riled up than you already are.'

'I see...' Gladion sighed, before placing a hand on her shoulder. 'You... You aren't mad at me, are you?'

Megan looked up at him in shock 'Why would I be mad at you? You didn't do anything!'

'I snapped at you. And deny it all you want but I saw how much it scared you. That's why I thought you'd be mad.'

Megan let out a small 'oh' before gently placing her hand on top of his, which was still on her shoulder. 'I'm not mad, Gladion. It scared me, yes, but it also snapped me out of my tantrum before I could've done... something I'd regret.'

'Promise?'

She chuckled, giving his hand a tight squeeze. 'I promise. Would I lie?'

'Well you kinda did. You didn't-'

'That doesn't count because I didn't give a fake last name to cover it.'

'... Fair enough.'

'uhm, can I go on my walk now? There's still a bit of tension between us, no offense.'

'None taken. To be honest it's pretty understandable. But before you go-' Gladion placed a gentle kiss on her forehead which lasted for about five seconds before he pulled away. '-If you see Lizzy and Matthew, try not to hold anything against them.'

'I wasn't planning on it.' Megan responded, trying to control her blush 'I know they meant well...' She began walking out the door. 'You know what this means, right?'

'Hm? What?'

'We were basically meant for each other even before we met.'

'Huh... Yeah I suppose so...'

'....... Well, uh, bye!'

'Bye...'

The two left each other to their business, though cringing at the awkward end to their conversation. It's not like they wanted to be that way, but they just found out something crucial about their past. What if Mohn never disappeared? Would that mean all those experiments never would've happened? Would it mean both Megan and Gladion wouldn't break? Would... Would it mean they'd never fall in love? That seemed to be the only good thing about the whole ordeal, but it didn't rid of all the suffering they went through. Heck, they were still suffering from the memories of their past. Was it just how they were meant to be? Were they destined to live in a cruel and tainted world which they could never completely escape from? Did they really have to accept their lives to be like this?