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The tension in the other man's posture spoke volumes. Nikolaj was an unknown outsider and a potential threat. Though he hadn't fought — let alone killed — another person in decades, his fighter's instincts were so ingrained into his body that he shifted in response. He put his weight on his back foot, ready to defend or flee.[break][break]

But it would be better if he could diffuse the situation instead.[break][break]

"My name is Nikolaj, but you might remember me as Kolya," he replied. "I was a friend of your father, before…" He paused, then dropped that train of thought. He continued with, "I heard what happened. I'm sorry."

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Aggron stumbled backward under the force of the PSYSHIELD BASH but quickly caught himself, digging his wide feet into the earth. Shaking his head furiously, he grabbed the Wyrdeer's antlers. Then, with a twist of his massive body, he attempted to attack back with DOUBLE-EDGE.[break][break]

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Thankfully, Aggron seemed to snap out of his confusion in the nick of time. He slammed Kirin into the ground, protected from the recoil of the attack thanks to his ROCK HEAD.[break][break]

"Good job, Aggron," Nikolaj called out, remaining calm. Inwardly, he was glad that his Pokémon had managed to overcome his condition so quickly.

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Why was it that the fence always needed repairs of some kind? Between extreme weather events, uncaring wild Pokémon, and natural degradation by time, Nikolaj found himself patching up a portion of the fence once more, two nails held between his teeth. His Excadrill stood nearby, helping him by handing him whatever tools he needed.[break][break]

A familiar voice interrupted his work — so familiar, in fact, that it was a wonder he didn't accidentally swallow and choke on the nails. Snatching them out of his mouth, he stood up and turned. The woman standing a distance away looked awfully similar to a girl he once knew.[break][break]

"Who — Yvaine?" Nikolaj demanded, his voice a mix of awe and confusion.[break][break]

There was no mistaking it. Though Yvaine had vanished when she was eighteen years old, the grown woman at the edge of his property was clearly the same girl. Her hair color was the same, as was the color of her eyes — though those eyes had changed, carrying a weight they previously did not. She'd filled out, too, shedding a childish figure for an adult's.[break][break]

Nikolaj did not know how to feel. He'd long since given up on ever hearing from Yvaine again, having mourned the daughter she'd been for only a few years. Yet there she suddenly was, standing in front of him again.

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When the door opened, Nikolaj couldn't help but suck in a breath. If he hadn't received word that James had died, he'd have believed his friend to be standing on the other side of the threshold, still as young as he'd looked when Nikolaj left Sinnoh. That was how eerily similar the stranger appeared to his late friend.[break][break]

"Are you Felix?" Nikolaj asked, glancing down at the piece of paper in his hand as if it would confirm the identity of the young man in front of him. "Felix Gallagher?"[break][break]

But there was no mistaking it. The longer Nikolaj stared at the ghost in front of him, the more he could see the differences. The black-haired man in the doorway was not a clone of James but his son in truth.

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CONFUSE RAY was a good choice. The pulses of energy hit Aggron with pinpoint accuracy, muddling his mind. He roared in frustration, recognizing the condition but unable to do anything about it.[break][break]

"Stay calm, Aggron," Nikolaj called out, his voice steady.[break][break]

The hulking Pokémon snorted and shook his head. Then he raised his arms and let out a another earth-shaking roar. Rocks from all around the field, from small pebbles to fist-sized stones, flew through the air as Aggron used ROCK SLIDE.[break][break]

But would they hit Kirin? Or would he hurt himself in his confused state?[break][break]

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Nikolaj winced as the attack smashed into Aggron's hide instead of the Stantler's.

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As understanding dawned on Camila's face, Nikolaj finally burst into laughter. The sound was deep and warm, equal parts affection and amusement. He let her grab the front of his shirt and pull him even closer, expecting a kiss.[break][break]

But the look she gave him and the tone of her voice quieted his laughter. His grin diminished into an apologetic smile. "I know, I know. I'm sorry," he said.[break][break]

Camila finally closed the gap between them for a soft, chaste kiss, which Nikolaj anticipated and returned. The smirk crept back into his face when she shoved him, but he was obedient now, having had his fun.[break][break]

"For real though, I'm completely fine. No health problems or anything. Just go through your usual stuff and we'll get something to eat. There's a sandwich at the café you like with your name on it."

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Nikolaj let Camila hold him, grateful for her grounding touch. He looked up into her tender gaze as she cradled his face with her hands. Her reassurances and caresses were so soothing that all he could do was nod mutely until she pulled him into an embrace. In response, his arms wrapped around her, drawing her even closer to him.[break][break]

Nikolaj Volosenkov was not a man who shed many tears. He'd gotten misty-eyed during his and Camila's wedding, small as it had been, and again when saskia volosenkova had been born. As a boy, he'd cried when his mother died and whenever he'd grieved over his broken relationship with his father.[break][break]

But there in his kitchen, his face pressed against Camila's chest, he could not bring himself to cry for James Gallagher. Though James had been a friend, he'd also had a cruel streak. Nikolaj remembered visiting James and watching the man yell at his son, who was still wearing diapers at the time.[break][break]

His son…[break][break]

"That's not all," Nikolaj said, lifting his head to look Camila in the eye. "James' sons are here in Hoenn. Plural. I didn't know he had more than one."

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When Camila drew away to fetch the thermometer, Nikolaj fought to keep a straight face so he wouldn't pout. Instead, he ended up frowning — which was probably a better reaction anyway.[break][break]

But his ruse was almost up. He could sense that continuing with the trick might result in Camila becoming way too worried for him. Better to end it now so they could both laugh about it, then finish his check-up without further concern.[break][break]

"How would I describe it? Hmm…" Nikolaj paused for dramatic effect. "It's acute and happens at random times of the day. There's no pattern. Actually, I think I've been feeling it for a long time now. Years," he clarified solemnly.[break][break]

Instead of obeying his wife's instructions to open his mouth, he gently wrapped a hand around her wrist and pulled her even closer.[break][break]

"Usually when I see you lounging around the house all cute, or when you smile or laugh," he said as a slow grin spread across his face.

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Nikolaj shifted his weight from one foot to the other, clear evidence of his discomfort. He let Camila lead him to the table, where he sat down heavily. "Lung cancer," he replied at last.[break][break]

Then he fell silent, letting the weight of his answer settle upon them both. Cancer didn't discriminate by age, yet somehow, the knowledge that one of Nikolaj's old associates had died from it carried a reminder of his advancing age. In his memories, James was always young and strong; when Nikolaj and Camila left Sinnoh, James had been in his prime.[break][break]

Yet cancer had brought him low. And not just any cancer, either.[break][break]

Nikolaj's blue eye subconsciously wandered to the cabinet where he kept his cigars.

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A hand squeezing his butt through his pants snapped Nikolaj back to the present moment. He glanced down at his wife as she wrapped her arms around him.[break][break]

The screen of his phone had long gone dark. He tucked it into his back pocket and returned Camila's embrace, pressing a kiss against her brow. His expression, however, remained pensive, and his body was still tense with apprehension.[break][break]

"I just got off the phone with Dad," Nikolaj said. "He called to check that Sasky had arrived safely and was settled in."[break][break]

Truly a rare phenomenon. But that wasn't all.[break][break]

"He also let me know that James died recently. His funeral was a couple of weeks ago."[break][break]

James Gallagher, one of Nikolaj's old friends and accomplices from his days working for Team Rocket. James had been even more vicious than Nikolaj in their youth. That meanness had not abated as they grew older, even when James married and had his first child, a black-haired boy named Felix.

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Three months.[break][break]

Three months ago, Nikolaj had learned that an old friend of his had died. James Gallagher had not been the best of men, but neither had Nikolaj back in his youth. Both of them had stained their hands with the blood of innocents, for the glory of Team Rocket.[break][break]

Of the two, only James had lived by the truth these past twenty-odd years. And now he was dead.[break][break]

That wasn't the only news Nikolaj had received from his father three months ago. Evgeni Volosenkov had revealed that James' son Felix Gallagher was in Hoenn, too. Though Evgeni could not remember all the details, he'd given Nikolaj an address in Petalburg City. Supposedly, Felix lived there now.[break][break]

At first, Nikolaj refused to do anything with the information. He had no interest in returning to Sinnoh to pay respects to a dead friend, and he certainly wasn't going to show up at a stranger's door to offer condolences. James and Felix were relics of Nikolaj's past. Phantoms that deserved to stay dead.[break][break]

But the holidays came and went. Nikolaj remembered Felix as a boy barely out of his toddler years and wondered what kind of man he'd grown up to become. As the months passed, Nikolaj felt more and more compelled to visit the address, to check in on James' son and make sure he was well. That was what Nikolaj would want a friend to do for his own daughter if he was dead.[break][break]

And so he made his way to the house in Petalburg City. He wondered if the right man would answer the door; he hoped the address was wrong.[break][break]

Ghosts belonged in the past.[break][break]

He knocked on the door.

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Camila drew near to listen to his lungs. Nikolaj hated to see her frown with so much concern, but for his trick to work, he had to maintain his composure.[break][break]

In between deep breaths, he said, "Sometimes it's like an ache in my chest. Other times, I feel delirious — like I have a fever. I do get pretty warm when it happens, but I don't sweat or anything."[break][break]

Nikolaj was fully aware the symptoms sounded worrisome, but he hoped Camila didn't freak out. That would ruin the whole joke.[break][break]

Frowning, he leaned in toward her. "In fact, I kind of feel it now."

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