The Tale of Seven: The Summon of Sorrow

[Reno]

"Well..." Aqua frowned, suddenly looking more serious now. "You're right, I didn't come here for that - though I am incredibly glad for SOME reason you guys went here instead of Oreburgh first."

"Oreburgh? What's wrong there?" Sanyi asked.
"There are reports that Route 203," She looked at Roxel and Roxanne's clueless expressions and remember they didn't live in this area, so she explained, "That's the route that leads into that Oreburgh. Anyways, there have been reports of incredibly increased crime. Apparently some Team has stationed themselves there and has been stealing from trainers, especially new ones. The police are working on it, but they are advising trainers to steer clear of the area until they get the mess cleaned up. So once you guys get to Jubilife, you guys can go down Route 202 or 204, I don't really care just anywhere else."
She gave a good long stare to Roxanne, "And DON'T get any crazy ideas of trying to swoop in there and clear out the problems yourself. These guys are reported to be holding trainers up at gunpoint, so don't even mess around with it, okay? There even getting them from the air. There are even reports of a sniper with them. So, promise me."
"We promise, mom." Sanyi said with a quick nod.
"Promise." Tensai added hugging on Moxley, hoping his fathers weren't freaking out too much. He knew just how much his daddy Sora was afraid of guns... He heard the story of Rosa and Metagross.
The others promised as well, and Aqua nodded and smiled. "Alright, good. Well, I'll let you guys get back to whatever your doing."

They said goodbye to their aunt, watching her go along with Glaceon whose tail was wagging some and they sighed.
"I can't believe that. Can you imagine? You just get your first Pokemon and, bang, get it stolen from you going to your first gym?" Roxanne said, sounding angry and sad. Most trainers did go to Oreburgh or Twinleaf first, because most people only had one or two Pokemon to start and those gyms were often reported as the easiest. So it was like... easy pickings! "Ugh, how can anyone DO that?"
"Roxy, remember we promised we aren't going to do anything about it." Sanyi reminded, seeing how fired up she was getting about it.
"I know, I know. I'm not crazy - dad would be SO pissed if I did." She sighed looking up, then looked up, hearing the sound of Pokemon being rapidly recalled. "Ten...? What's wrong?"
"Gunnar and Lucina!" He said hurriedly, seeming panicked.
Green eyes rolled in exasperation. "Tch, what about em?"
"Remember what Gunnar said yesterday? That he was going to challenge Roark next! And they fly on that Salamence!! We need to warn them!"

"-Even reports of a sniper..." Aqua's words replayed in their minds. If Gunnar and Lucina flew over Oreburgh and were spotted by that team... they were going to be killed.

[Rikugurl]

"Ten-chan!?" Roxel spun around, seeing his friend grab all his supplies. "They're probably gone already!" But that didn't convince the sunset eyed boy, seeing him shove some books in his backpack. "Trust me Ten, we've known those goons longer than you! They know how to get around. I'm sure they'll be---" But Tensai was gone. Without another thought, Roxel started to recall all of his pokemon too and rushed after his friend, Sanuye quickly running after.
"And I thought girls were spontaneous..." Bonnie watched in confusion but as Sanyi started to get going to, she glanced at Roxy, seeing how planted she looked. "Come on, there's nothing we can do. You might just have to swallow some of that hate and---"

The model was cut off, her girlfriend snapping that she was NOT going to help those jackasses for what they did to Tensai and her while she was growing up. "Roxy... if you want to help people like your parents and be a rescuer, you have to put some differences aside. A person is a person and no one deserves to die. Come on... you don't want to get shown up by that ranger again, right?" That seemed to work. Together, they recalled their pokemon too and rushed after the boys.

"Ten! TEN!" Roxel called, trying to catch up to the other. He really knew how to run fast thanks to his uncle Riku! He thought it was cool at first until he kept winning every race! They found themselves at the poke center, Tensai quickly going up to the Nurse Joy to see if Gunnar and Lucina came this way.
"Hmm...." The nurse pondered, trying to think of the two who came in and started that fight a few days ago.
"Chansey!" A pink Pokemon with an egg on her stomach seemed to remember and pulled on the nurse's dress. "Chansey, chansey!"
"Oh right!" The woman smiled just as three other teens burst in. "They stopped here this morning to heal a Riolu. I guess his side affects were still bothering him. I suggested they buy some supplies for that paralysis. They said they would check it out and then be on their way."

"See... I told you, Ten-chan." Roxel sighed, knowing his enemies too well. They were always in a rush to beat SOMEONE. Still, everyone was shocked when Tensai was determined to warn them.
"But how?" Bonnie asked, crossing her arms. "We promised Aqua that we wouldn't head there. I don't know about you, but I love my Pokemon. I'm not going to put them in danger."

[Reno]

"Then don't come with me!" Tensai snapped to the dark-skinned woman, stomping out of the Pokemon center. But his cousins were all quick to follow.
"Tensai!" It was Roxanne who cried, running right after him and grabbing his arm, tugging him back. "You can't just leave like this!"
"Yes I can! I know you don't care about them but-"
"Yeah, maybe they don't but YOU DO!" She yelled at him, making him quiet for a moment. "...I just don't want to see you get hurt. Your like our brother Ten-chan..."

Sunset-eyes blinked, watering some, but what he said next made her speechless. "And you think there isn't someone out there... that doesn't care about them the same way? Their parents... their Pokemon... hell even each other. Someone could be losing a brother or a sister today. To lose real family... we both know how horrible that is... And if I know something that could possibly stop it... you can't just tell me I need to sit back and watch that happen instead. Please you can't do that to me."
"...You... You don't even have any traveling Pokemon." She argued weakly.

"He does now." There was a burst of light as an orange dragon appeared, Sanyi walked forward. He had hit a good spot with the blue-haired boy... who still remember the loss of not only his parents, to two brothers and a baby sister as well. Tensai was right, they had to try. He knew his mother was going to hate him when she found out though. He was going to get the lecture of his life.

[Rikugurl]

The brunette blinked, Tensai's words reaching her too. It reached everyone of them because all of them were adopted. They all could have died with their families but it was their current families that not only saved them, but made them a part of their life. They never let any obstetrical get in the way, no matter how dangerous. She knew they were ordinary yet extraordinary people and not everyone could be like them. Bonnie had to admit, she was scared. Ever since she was taken from that orphanage, she was pampered by her parents and her fans. Since her father was her manager too, she never had to seriously be yelled at because even if her daddy Ven did, her dad Terra would cheer her up.

"Alright..." She nodded, heading outside where Tensai was getting on the large dragon with Sanyi's help. There were two more flashes, one revealing a pony with a fire mane and tail and another revealing a three headed bird. Roxel recalled Sanuye and climbed up on his sister's pokemon, reluctant to wrap his arms around her since he was still angry she got Borva but he'd fall off if he didn't!
"You lead, Sanyi!"
With a mighty flap, the dragon flew off, the two girls below following after.

[Reno]

In the air, Sanyi kept his eyes glued forward, looking across the skies carefully for the blue dragon, while Tensai searched down below from the sky trying to spot the two and hope they were still in town. They even stopped at all the stores in town for the two trainers where they could buy antidotes - and finally received word from one shop owner that he had seen them but had already left awhile ago.

Hooves clacked down on the busy streets of Jubilife City, the horse running single-file on the bike lane, Doudrio right out in front, both of them nearly squeezed against the sidewalk full of people. It would be so easy to get lost, but with Sanyi up above leading the way, They had no trouble getting through on the main street. But as pavement gave way to dirt and the sound of the hooves became quieter, Roxanne felt her heart speed up some knowing they had hit the route, feeling in a strange way... thrilled to be doing something an adult told her not to do. But scared as well, because she wasn't stupid enough to know how dangerous and foolish this was.

And they had promised Aunt Aqua NOT EVEN AN HOUR AGO.

It was, with relief though, as they barely got half a mile into the route that they heard a yell from above. "I SEE THEM!"
Sanyi gripped onto the reigns and called to his Dragon, "Draco, catch up to them!"
"Niiite!" Came the call, before the creature seemed to zoom through the air - Dragonite were well known for their speed and were easily one of the fastest fliers in the sky, second only to Skarmory. They came alongside the Salamence easily making the two Alamasy's look over at their unexpected, and from the expressions on their faces, very unwelcome visitors.
"You have no idea how glad I am to see you!" Tensai cried over the wing beats of the two dragons.
"Glad to see us?!" Lucina cried. "What are you doing here?!"
"You have to turn back!"
"WHAT!?"
"There's a team out here thats going to hurt you guys if you don't turn back!" Tensai cried but from there increasing incredulous looks, he knew he wasn't getting through to them. "I'm serious!"
"Come on, you have to listen to us. My mom says one of these jackasses is a sniper and they've been taking out trainers even from the air!" Sanyi put in. He didn't often cuss because he found it very impolite, but he was nervous and scared.

[Rikugurl]

"Tch... Didn't I tell you we'd bump into these losers again?" Gunnar grinned, leading his dragon down the route with ease as his sister held onto him. "Nice try, losers but we're not turning back! If you want to catch up, I suggest you become a better trainer and win your badges on the first try!" A smug look glared down Tensai before the boy slammed his heels into his dragon. "SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The Salamence flapped his wings hard, flying faster than the others for only a moment. Since the dragonite was faster, they caught up again, not noticing how smaller their female friends were getting below.

The two boy called again but the Almasy teens only ignored their warning. "What? Is it an aerial battle you're looking for!? Why didn't you say so!? STEEL WING!" The blue dragon's red wings suddenly began to glow again before the beast smashed into the other, cutting his wing into the rounder dragon's side. Draco fell back some, allowing Sal carry the teens off down the route.

Two round orbits shifted their lens as a pair of eyes looked through them. "What do we have here...?" Hidden in the shadows of the forest, two figures were hiding out, looking at the dragon as it flew over. "A Salamence. We don't have one of those..."
"Got it boss." A blue haired girl nodded before raising a sniper gun towards the dragon.

"What a bunch of idiots. They're going to have to try harder to convince us to---"
"MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" The dragon suddenly jerked, a claw covering a sudden wound that appeared on his chest. "SAL!" Gunnar called, looking down to see that something was wrong. He couldn't see the wound but he could clearly see the sudden blood.
"My mom says one of these jackasses is a sniper and they've been taking out trainers even from the air!"
Bluish green eyes widened, remembering what that kid had just said. "Sal, use rain dance then head for the trees to the left!"
"MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" The dragon roared, pulling up the best he could and swirled once, making the clouds collect overhead and rain began to pour down over the forest.

"Damnit!" The blue haired boy with the binoculars growled, pulling his partner up and running off. They needed to find that dragon which would be difficult in this downpour!
The dragon flapped his wings but his balance was off, making him fall towards the forest quicker than usual. "Come on Sal! Keep it together!"

[Reno]

"Damn it, why won't they listen to us?!" Tensai cried in panic, Sanyi in front of him doing his best to regain control of his friend. They were already so far ahead, but Sanyi too dug in his heels, urging his dragon forward.

And that was when it happened. They didn't hear the shot, but they did see a glaring red beam just moments before a sudden screech filled the air. It was from neither trainer though - but from the dragon.

Next thing they knew, it was pouring out and Salamence was swooping from the sky, but it was obvious to Sanyi that it was badly injured. He gripped his reigns, doing his best not to think of the danger, and called, "Draco, hurry after them!" The orange dragon zipped through the air and easily caught up, not even thinking about the danger they were putting themselves into. But no second shot came as they flew alongside Salamence again, the blue dragon struggling to keep his flight. He was going to plummet before long. It was Tensai who called, "I have an idea. Sanyi, get Draco under him." And to Gunnar he called, "Have Salamence glide, trust me!" He didn't wait to worry if he would be listened to this time.

Having no idea what Tensai was up to, Sanyi only did as he was told, getting his Dragonite to fly under the dragon - but when a small tan Pokemon appeared on Tensai's shoulders, he understood. "Charlie, Whirlwind!"
"Smear!" The beagle called, grabbed his tail and twisting it. Circular wind suddenly caught underneath the Salamence's wings, and the creature no longer had to work for his flight, only to keep his wings open as they swooped down and down towards the trees, Sanyi leading them all to a clearing. Droplets that was distinctly red-colored hit them, but none of them paid a mind to it, only concentrating on what they were doing and soon enough they were landing, Dragonite have to swoop so low to the ground his belly brushed the grass as they flew and doing their best to get Salamence to land behind them.

The landing was still rough, but that was only because the poor blue dragon collapsed the minute his feet finally touched down, unable to hold his own weight, let alone that of the two trainers.

[Rikugurl]

"WHERE ARE THEY GOING!?" Roxel called, seeing the two dragons far off turning to the left and out of sight. Instead of getting an answer, he yelped, holding his sister tighter as they suddenly went off trail and into the woods. Bonnie was quick to follow, the three trying to meet the others blind. They could all guess that the dragons would have to land in a clearing so that was where they were headed.

The moment Sal dropped, both Gunnar and Lucina jumped from his back, the dragon's trainer quickly coming to his friend's side and finally visualized the wound. "Sal!" He called in worry, placing his hand over the gash while the dragon whimpered. "What the hell happened!?" Even though he asked, the brunette didn't listen to the two who tried to explain the situation again. Instead, he rummaged through his bag, pulling out new items he had just bought from the store. Antidotes, heals, and other goods but nothing would take care of something like this. If only he had a heal ball and could get to the pokecenter...

"There it is!" They all heard a call, everyone glancing behind them to see a very strange couple. Both of them had bright blue hair and wore black and white jumpsuits that vaguely resemble spacesuits. On their chest was the letter 'G'. "Alright kiddies," One started, the boy walking closer, only to pull out a strange looking gun. "Step away from that Salamence and no one gets hurt."
"How 'bout you step away from my friends and YOU don't get hurt."
"HUH!?"
The two looked back, only to see a Dodrio headed straight for them! "Giga impact!" The three heads lowered as the bird charged and with a single hit, the two team members went soaring through the air and out of sight. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

[Reno]

"AND DON'T COME BACK!" Another voice yelled and, had Lucina been less worried and frightened, would have rolled her eyes as she knew EXACTLY who that was as a pony came into the clearing, her gait weakening at the sudden onslaught of rain. "That was great Bon-Bon!" Roxanne said cheerily, but didn't have time to give her a celebratory kiss when Tensai cried out. "Sal has been shot!"

The words came over them heavily, making the other three pause and stare, but rather than panic, the blonde only nodded and jumped off of her horse, tugging her brother down. "Roxel, get some fresh water and some towels and have melody heat it up some. I'll take a look. Hotaru, use Sunny Day."
The horse neighed and shook his mane, her flames glowing a bright orange and in moments the downpour was over and the rainclouds cleared to allow the sun to hit the earth again. But Roxanne was already moving across the field over to where the Alamasy's stood, dropping her stuff and digging out her first aid kit - it had some Pokemon stickers on it, because it was a Pokemon first aid kit, and she needed to tell it apart from her human one.
"Move." She orders the two Alamasy's, but when they, Gunnar more specifically, started to give her hell for it, she snapped at him. "Listen, my fathers trained me how to handle injured Pokemon! I have hundreds of hours of service at the rescue center too and I CAN HELP. Neither center is close enough to help him in time so unless you want him to DIE you better fucking LISTEN TO ME!"
Thankfully, something she must of said got threw to them and they did move out of the way. She called Sanyi over to help her keep the dragon calm and told Gunnar to do the same, as she had them urge the dragon onto his side. She settled down beside the dragon, pulling on some medical gloves and pulled out a towel, pushing her weight forward as she pressed it against the wound to stem the bleeding. Roxel was fast, thankfully, and was soon back with the water. He didn't need to be told what to do as he wet another clean towel and she moved away so he could clean at the wound, the two males careful to keep Sal calmed as he growled in pain.
"Okay, I'm going to need to take out the bullet." She said as she put in needle of procaine in the dragon to numb the pain, glancing at Roxel, "You'll stitch him up when I'm done?" It wasn't really a question but Roxel answered cheerfully all the same that he would also putting on some gloves. Whenever they worked on a Pokemon back in the rescue center, they had always done it together. Roxel had always been better at stitching and she at the... well the cutting into part like digging out shards of glass or splinters of wood deep under the skin. For the most part afterwards, they worked in silence, Roxanne not even needing to ask for the tools she needed as she carefully cut into the dragon to take out the bullet.

[Rikugurl]

Gunnar swallowed hard, realizing just how serious this was. He glanced at Sanyi, noticing that he had a gift with dragons, seeing him sooth Sal instantly. Slowly, he walked over and knelt down, rubbing his hand against the scaly skin. "It'll be ok, Salvador..." He assured, knowing his friend must have been in a lot of pain. Why did this happen? The Almasy family were strong pokemon, maybe too prideful too because they thought themselves as unbeatable. Well, all except their mother. She couldn't be beat with parties though. He tried not to pay attention to the gross sounds coming from the two rescuers, only preoccupying himself with keeping the dragon calm.

A smile arose on Bonnie's face as she watched Roxy work on the dragon, seeing her expert hands and tools working effortlessly to reach the deadly bullet. Maybe she wasn't good at rescuing a pokemon in action but maybe she would become a wonderful nurse Joy in the future. Of course, the blonde was a little too wild to stay in a poke center for hours each day.
Roxel was pretty amazing too because when the large chunk of bloody metal was pulled from the beast's belly, he quickly started to lace the thick needle and thread through, quickly closing up the wound. It sort of reminded her of her dad. Her dad Ven would always make fun of her dad Terra for knowing how to sew but he had fixed her clothes before contest and even stitched up a wound Floatzel acquired after a show.

The thread was pulled tightly, putting the wound edges together in a clean line before holding it tight and ran a clear liquid over the edges. It was a special kind of glue that held dragon skin together and stuck. This would help keep the wound close along with the stitching. The wound was still leaking and easily, both Xipil siblings bandaged and tapped the dressing on. Roxel smiled, nodding to his sister for another job well done. Their dads would be so proud! He patted the Salamence, hearing it grumble due to the fact that he was still sore. "He's all set! He should be fine with some rest... but I don't know how safe this area is. There might be some team members left..."

Gunnar peered over the dragon's mass, seeing the wound dressing before looking at the others. "T-thanks.... I guess.... we should have listened to your warning..."

[Reno]

Sanyi continued to pet the dragon's neck and top head spike in a soothing motion, silently ecstatic at getting to touch it He was pretty unlucky, actually. The bullet probably wouldn't of even of pierced it, had the shot gone for it's armored underbelly or any of it's touch red exterior parts. Dragons had incredibly tough skin, but this dragon especially so as it had a very high defense capability because of it. He glanced up though when he heard the twins announce they were done.

"You're right." Roxanne said strictly, as she pulled off her blood-soaked gloves, throwing them in a little waste "You should have." She looked up at Gunnar and sighed at his guilty look, knowing how awful he probably DID feel. No one ever felt good when putting their Pokemon in danger. She picked out a small ball from the first aid kit and walked over to him, holding it out to him. It was a Heal Ball, "Don't beat yourself up about it, you didn't know and we didn't really give you a reason to believe us. We can all just be glad nothing worse happened. Now lets all get back to Jubilife and get your Pokemon to the center to rest up because Roxel's right, there could be more of those bastards out here."

There was a hesitant nod, the dragon recalled and the others standing to get ready to leave and a new Pokemon was called, this time from Lucina. They recognized him quickly, because he had battled Terra's Mightyena, and lost fairly quickly.
It was a Tauros. Despite his known nature, hers was fairly gentle, nuzzling his trainer gleefully when he found out he would get to carry Gunnar and Lucina back to Jubilife. The seven were quick to hit the trail and head back towards the well-populated town of Jubilife, Bonnie being the one to lead them to the Pokemon Center this time, knowing well where it was because she had been to this town many times before for big-name contests. The town often was very unnavigable otherwise, since it was constantly busy.
As the Pokemon stopped in front of the center, Gunnar was quick to jump off and hurry inside, but Lucina hesitated from following after, glancing up towards the two atop the horse, "Hey uh... Barrettes? Stripes?" The two responded to their name without really thinking about it, rather used to them after all this time. And of course, she called the teen Stripes because Roxel always, much like his father Roxas, always wore something Zebra striped. "...Thanks. That was pretty damn amazing."
A bit... stricken from the compliment, Roxanne had some trouble responding to it. Especially since she knew she hadn't wanted to follow at all, so she felt guilty taking any credit. "You really need to thank Tensai more than anyone. He's the one who convinced us to come after you."
Green eyes blinked in surprise before slowly looking to the orange-eyed boy sitting bashfully behind Sanyi. He had? After what... what jerks they had been?! She swallowed down some of her pride and nodded to him. "Thank you."
"S-Sure." The other responded nervously. They watched her head inside after her brother, before glancing at each other.

"...Well now what?" Sanyi asked. It was already getting late, so it was decided they'd stay at a hotel yet again (though Bonnie complained about using all her money) - and choose one nearby that offered a complimentary breakfast.
The next morning, they all met down in the lobby and went to the dining area, eating the silly little platter of fruit and muffins, joking around with each other, when Sanyi spotted on the TV nearby that was playing the news talking. "Hey, look!" He said, pointing and they all turned and twisted in their chairs to do so.

'-Reports are in that the crime thefts on Route 203 are over. One of the criminals, who will remain nameless, stated that they were taking down a Salamence and holding up some trainers when a dark-skinned woman on a Dodrio came in and shot them right into the sky, knocking them into the route and unconscious for the police to find. Another stated that they did not know who they were stealing from but said there was a Salamence with a brunette-haired boy and blonde female atop it that they shot down, and another pair on a dragonite, one with blue hair and black-haired boy with 'strangely colored eyes'. In other news-"

The team stared at the screen blankly, before Sanyi slowly paled. "H-How long has this been airing?"
"Hmm?" A waitress who was picking up empty dishes on a table nearby heard him, glancing at the TV before seeing at the screen who was switching over from the Route 203 burglaries being captured to something else, but answered, "Oh they've been talking about it since last night! Whoever they were they were brave souls."

But they certainly didn't feel like brave souls... especially when, as if on cue, a loud shout echoed from the lobby and made them all slink down in their chairs.
"WHERE ARE THEY?! I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL THEM!" Sanyi seemed to 'eep' as he heard his mother and Roxanne, who was the closest, snuck out of her chair and carefully peeked out the lobby door. Her heart slammed into her chest, seeing now only Aqua there, with Fuu calmly asking the receptionist about where to find their children - BUT ALL OF THEIR PARENTS. And none of them looked very happy; some of them looked like they were ready to literally kill them.

And as she stared with wide eyes, one of them caught sight of her - and it just HAD to be her dad.
"YOU!" Roxas practically screeched, stomping towards her. She yelped and hid back into the dining room, but nothing would save her now. "DON'T RUN AWAY FROM ME YOUNG LADY!!!"
"Oh god, we're gonna die!" She cried, seeing Roxel pull up the tablecloth and try to hide under it.

How had they even found them?! HOW HAD THEY ALL GOTTEN HERE SO FAST?!


They weren't the only ones to get a family visit though. Seifer and Olette had heard the news as well - but from their own children, rather than from TV.
And that morning, while Lucina and Gunnar were sitting on the couch, discussing things quietly, there was a call from behind them.
"Now see, our kids aren't that depressed Olette."
Lucina looked back and a big smile grew on her face. "Daddy!!" She leapt off the couch and hurried to him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a big hug. He was strong enough to lift her off her feet for a feet minutes, giving her a little kiss.
"Heya princess." Her father was tall and strong, a fierce scar down his face. But, secretly, he had a big soft heart for his kids. He set her down and looked up at his son. "How ya doing Tiger?"

Though he tried not to show it because he wanted his son to be strong, he especially worried about his son. When he was very young, barely five, he had been playing out in the field and got bitten by a wild Zigzagoon infected with Pokerus. Though a cure had been found by then, Gunnar was so young and small at the time that the disease had almost taken him from them. It was an incredibly terrible time in their lives, especially for little Lucina who prayed everyday to Arceus not to take her baby brother away from her.

[Rikugurl]

What happened next was all sorts of ridiculous...
"What were you THINKING!?" A twin blonde frowned, looking at his daughter. Actually, he even had to look up thanks to her natural height with no additional bonus from her heels. Even if he and his two brothers were on the shorter end, that didn't stop them from being powerful fathers. "You could have been killed!"
"But daddy! Tensai was going no matter what and I wasn't just going to sit back and do nothing! And did you hear that anchor? 'When a dark-skinned woman on a Dodrio'... No one could identify me as Bonnie Tellis?"
Blue eyes blinked, seeing his daughter more worried about people not knowing her name than the actual danger that they were in.

*facepalm*

"Bonnie... just because yooooooooour," He glanced at Terra, seeing a prideful smile on his face but when spotted, turned it into a frown. "famous, doesn't mean you're invincible."


Behind the brunette brother, a silverette was crossing his arms, looking down at his son while his husband was looking him over. "Sora, we're not here to pamper him." Riku reminded, knowing that Sora was concerned about their boy but to their understanding, it was Tensai's idea to pull this crazy stunt. "Tensai, you not only endangered yourself, you risked the lives of your friends and pokemon. I know you have a big heart but didn't you learn your lesson with the oil spill a few days ago? This time the results were different but what if they weren't? Ten, you know you and the others can get arrested for your interference with these matters! You need to leave this sort of stuff to the professionals..."


Roxel and his twin sister were getting the same speech from their blonde father while their daddy Axel stand by for support. Roxas's support.
However, Roxel crossed his arm and shifted his weight to one side. "How can you say this? What exactly did YOU do when you were on your journey? You didn't just miraculous turn into heroes just sitting around!"
"Roxel, what started our journey was when your aunt and uncle stole MY pokemon. That was when it became OUR problem. And the next time we got together, Aqua and Fuujin's lives were in danger."

"Oh, I see... so we're only suppose to give a shit about our own problems and no one else?"
"HEY! Do not use that kind of language with me, mister!"


Gunnar smiled, getting up himself and walking over to his dad. "Good Dad..." He smiled, looking up at his parents. You didn't have to come all the way down here..."
"Of course we did!" His mother suddenly cried, wrapping her arms around her children tightly. "I was so worried about my babies!"
"MOM!" The two siblings cried in unison, making their mother back off and smile.
"Oh, sorry, sorry~~" She giggled before asking a serious question. "How is Salvador?"
"He'll be alright. It will take a few days for him to get back to 100% but that beats the possible week to month progress he would have needed if it wasn't for those two ranger's help..."

"Here, I want you two to carry this."
His mother's voice drew him to look away from his thoughts, glancing down at an odd device. "What's this?"
"It's a portable radio app for your pokedex. I don't want you flying blind anymore. I know you don't have time to sit around and watch the news so you can just listen to it while you're in the air or pretty much anywhere to get the latest trainer news."

[Reno]

None of them families had really moved very far in the dining room - luckily it was mostly empty so their kids weren't going to be TOO embarrassed as they got yelled at by their respective parents - but at least most of them had the mind to drag their children to the four corners of the room to do so separately. Which was good - no force in the world could stand up to the wrath of EIGHT parents. It was bad enough handling their own two!


For Terra though, he was having a hard time BEING mad. Sure, he wasn't exactly thrilled to know his daughter ran right into a danger zone - but hell she was young and foolish. When they had done this shit they had been young and foolish. And more so than anything, she had KICKED THEIR ASSES.

Still, he did his best to look strict - when Ven was looking. Of course, the stomp on his toes made him realize he wasn't as unseen as he had hoped. Luckily, he didn't have to think of anything to say - because loud yelling drew their eyes to the corner were the Xipils were.


"JOL! Jol, Jol TEON!" Came a yell from Riku's feet, the yellow fox more vibrant today then he had been all year it seemed, Jolteon's spikes sticking up fiercely and his eyes furious. He looked positively ready to shock some sense into the boy. What was his master's kit thinking, running into danger like that?!
"Dad..." Tensai just sighed, a little confused that his father Sora seemed so comforting at the moment while his daddy Riku was still being strict. For once, he expected it to be the other way around!
"Ri..." Sora stepped in gently, "Let's not make too many assumptions - we only have half the story. Ten, just tell us why you did it."
The boy hesitated, but was willing to try and clear his name so he did. He explained about the battle yesterday at the Canaclave Gym (carefully leaving out the fact he lost), and meeting Gunnar and Lucina there and how Gunnar had proclaimed that he wanted to beat Bryon first before Roark, and him showing off the badge in the center. The names, of course, were fairly familiar to his parents - they were Roxanne and Roxel's bullies when they little and now rivals.
"So you see...? I wasn't trying to be a hero. I just... I knew they were in trouble and I couldn't just stand by and pretend I hadn't heard that."
He looked up at his dad's hoping he had won them over, but all of them looked toward another table when yells started to echo.


"So tell me Sanyi, when did 'do not go here' meaning 'frolic right into the damn sunset'?!" Aqua snapped, and had it been any other time, Sanyi would of laughed - if it wasn't him getting yelled at. Beside her, Fuu was a silent and scary presence as well. "Do promises mean NOTHING to you? You deliberately disobeyed me, and almost got YOURSELF killed. What were you thinking?!"
The blue-haired boy frowned and just shrugged, looking away.
"UGH!" Aqua slammed her hand on the table, wishing it was her son's ass instead getting the lashing - but he was a little too old for spankings. Her temper was quilled a bit though when they heard the shouts of father and daughter echoing over the din of the room.


"T...That's such a lie anyways!" Roxanne cried out.
"Excuse me?!" Roxas snapped back, glaring at his daughter who had a temper to match his own.
"You guys only helped Aunt Aqua and Aunt Fuu with St. Anne sinking! But you CHOSE to go after baby Lugia!! They weren't your problem but you still went into danger too!"
"We were experienced by then." Roxas claimed, gritting his teeth, "And anyways it doesn't matter. It's obvious you guys aren't mature enough to be out on your own if your making decisions like these! I think this journey was a fucking mistake and I have half the mind to haul your asses right back home!"
"You can't do that!" Roxanne cried standing up.
"I can and I will young lady!"
"That's NOT FAIR!"
"Well the world isn't fair!"
Green eyes were filled with tears from anger and sadness, wondering why she could never do ANYTHING to make them happy. She and Roxel had saved that Salamence! They hadn't even ever taken out a bullet by themselves before - at least not without supervision. But they weren't even listening to that! How amazing that had been... how good it had felt. How right. THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING.

"You can't tell me what to do!"
"Yes I can, I'm your father!"
"NO YOU'RE NOT! YOU'LL NEVER BE HALF THE MAN MY FATHER WAS. I WISH HE WAS HERE INSTEAD OF YOU!" The scream was enough to make the world stop, and staring into the suddenly wide blue eyes of her father, Roxanne suddenly felt very guilty for what she had just said. But it was too late to take it back now. So she just turned and ran right out of the room, tears streaming down her face.


Lucina chuckled weakly as she looked at the little radio, knowing with guilt they hadn't been watching the news at all lately. They had been getting a bit in over their heads, thinking they could handle anything the world could throw at them - but they were proven very wrong yesterday. Had Those damn Xipils not been there...

"Thanks mom. We'll definitely use it." She said honestly, glad for the gift. But she also just hoped.... next time they were given a warning they'd take it.
"Ya damn well better, or the next visit will be me kicking your asses from here to to Mount Poketropolis!" Seifer said, though neither took him TOO seriously.

[Rikugurl]

Bonnie wasn't a stupid girl. Pampered but not stupid. She caught the look on Terra's face and knew she had his support and knowing Terra so well, he'd talk to Ventus about his views. But for now, she had her own charm on her blonde father. "But daaaaaaadyyyyy~" She pouted, giving him those big, beautiful eyes. "We all do foolish things in life, right? I mean, yooou were a grunt at one time... and even cross dressed for a few years. You even wore a girl's swimsuit...."
Instantly, Ven's face flushed, remembering to this day when he was up on stage, acting like a girl in front of others, dancing with the spinda. A death glare was suddenly shot at Terra, knowing he didn't tell her about THAT part of his life, so she must of heard it from SOMEONE else.

Again, Terra looked innocent; not saying a word. "W-well that's not the point, Bon! None of those instances put me in a---" He was cut off, suddenly hearing a scream from across the room and glanced at his identical twin.
"NO YOU'RE NOT! YOU'LL NEVER BE HALF THE MAN MY FATHER WAS. I WISH HE WAS HERE INSTEAD OF YOU!"
His own eyes widened, suddenly having that fear of his own. It was a fear all adopted parents had.
"Roxanne!" The brunette girl cried, suddenly running off after the blonde.
"Bon!" Ven called, reaching out for her but Terra just grabbed his wrist, pulling him back.


Riku let out an exhausted sigh, his head hitching to one side as he listen to Tensai. Honestly, the way his son described it, he knew Sora would do the same thing. But still, Sora was much more experienced than Tensai and though the boy knew a lot more than most at his age, his emotions were still getting the best of him. Before he decided to let the issue slide, there was a scream that made him look over a the Xipil family.
"NO YOU'RE NOT! YOU'LL NEVER BE HALF THE MAN MY FATHER WAS. I WISH HE WAS HERE INSTEAD OF YOU!"
The sound of heels were next, ocean colored eyes watching Bonnie run after Roxy. He looked back at his own adopted son, seeing a saddened look on his face.

"Ten..." His attention was grabbed, looking up at his silverette father. "Your dad and I agreed this morning, after a night discussion, that we'd upgrade your call app." When he saw an eyebrow raise, he explained. "Right now, we're just paying for you to be able to call us and pokecenters from your pokedex. We upgraded it this morning so you can call anyone you'd like for free. It will be a little extra on our end but if it will make things safer for you and your friends, it's worth it. I suggest you start a habit of asking people for their phone numbers... so when things like this happen again, you can simply call them and warn them through your Pokedex. Anyone who has a pokedex can get your call. Before you leave, make sure you get those siblings' numbers."


A blue and green eye widened, the yell rattling the little nothing he has between his ears. Had she... really just said that? He watched his twin sister run off, seeing her girlfriend quickly run after. What had gotten into her lately? Sure she always had some dominance but she was acting out a lot more than usual lately. Slowly, he rubbed his arm and stared at the ground, not even wanting to look at his fathers faces. He saw one pair of shoes leave, knowing his daddy Axel had gone after her as his daddy Roxas became stiff like a statue.
"Toooooooorchic...."


"ROXANNE!" Axel called, pushing his glasses up his nose as he chased after her and Bonnie. "Roxy! PLEASE!" The two chased her pass the poke center and just as the two teenage girls passed the door, another set of teenagers walked out, almost being slammed into by the tall nutritionist. They all looked back when they heard a desperate yelp, seeing Bonnie had pinned Roxy against the Poke center's wall, trying to calm her.
"What's going on?" The brunette boy asked, Axel quickly recognizing him as the kid whose Salamence was shot and also ruining his own children's childhood with their antics.
"N-nothing Gunnar... she's just upset. We're just worried about her and---" He paused when the boy looked back up at him and frowned.

"You're not punishing her, are you?"
This completely shocked the redhead, knowing that neither the Almasy kids cared about the Xipil's feelings... or so he knew.
"Sure, they all risked their lives to save Sal but if it wasn't for them, he would have died. I would have lost a friend. You gave her and Roxel the knowledge and experience to help pokemon and you can't blame them for wanting to help pokemon and people alike during their journey. I'm sure as a retired Pokemon Rescuer, you know what I mean..."
Axel paused, knowing exactly what he meant.
"They might not be the greatest trainers right now, but their intentions are better than most trainers out on the routes today. honestly, after what they did yesterday..." Gunnar turned his head, his eyes meeting Roxy's, seeing them all watered and puffy. "I gained a lot of respect for them."

He knew she could hear him.

[Reno]

In the wake of the upset, Roxas stood there, hardly aware that his husband had left his side, and slowly he blinked, trying not to let it show how his daughter’s words had hurt him with her brother still there. Vaguely, as if he was in a dream, he said, “I’m going to get a cup of coffee, you just… stay there.” Mechanically, looking more robotic than human, he turned and headed to the far-side of the room, where a table of drinks stood, knowing in the back of his mind he wasn’t paying for this but didn’t have the mind to care.

Had Roxanne really just said that?


“Just let her be for now.” Terra said to Ven, seeing how put out he was by being run out on. “You know Bonnie is the only one who can get through to her sometimes.” He glanced up as he saw another dash of canary yellow, seeing Roxas just teetering across the room to the drink table. From where he sat at another corner, the gym leader spotted Sora watching after his youngest twin with sympathy in his eyes, knowing the eldest wanted to go and attend to Roxas, and being unable to because he WAS supposed to be paying attention to his son, and more importantly, listening to what his husband was saying. The two caught each other’s gaze and Terra just nodded before glancing at the steaming blond beside him, rubbing his arm.

“Ven, go talk to Roxas. I think he really needs you right now.” That was all he needed to say, before the younger was up on his feet and hurrying over to where the poor desolate father was. Now alone, Terra sighed and stood, making his way over and plop down beside Roxel, who was too looking quite upset. “Hey kiddo.” He reached out, petting Melody on the head, her feathers nice and soft. He didn’t know too much about Torchic, but he knew the softness of her feathers meant she was in great health. “You’re taking great care of her.”


Sora sighed in relief when he saw Terra mutter to Ven before the blonde was hurrying over to Roxas, silently thankful. This wasn’t going to be good… Roxas never had enough confidence, so this blow would be rather daunting. And poor Axel… even if the comment was directed at the blonde, her fury included them both – because they were both her fathers. Now he understood the woes other parents talked about when raising teenagers… they sure were a handful and-
“Sora!”
“Huh?” He blinked looking round and seeing Riku giving him a glare. “Uhhh… Ummm… The answer is seven!” Tensai put a hand over his mouth to stifle his giggles, watching his father smile sheepishly. “Okay, Okay, I’m here, sorry. What were we talking about?”
“Dad just said you guys are going to upgrade my call app.”
“Oh… Right! Yes, we were discussing it on the way over.” Sora nodded, glad Arcy had stayed around the house for a few days after bringing Tensai to the Xipil household. Otherwise, they would have been hard-pressed for transportation. “And we thought it would be a… peaceful solution I suppose.”

Tensai smiled, glad his fathers were always strict but fair. But slowly his expression fell. “It’s very nice of you guys… and I really appreciate it… but I don’t think it’ll matter.” When he was met with confusion, he explained gently, “Well if Uncle Roxas is taking Roxy and Xel back home… I mean what’s the point? I don’t want to go on my journey without them.” He sighed, looking truly upset and it wasn’t really for his own plight anymore, “And if there was any hope of Uncle Roxas changing his mind, there certainly isn’t one now. I can’t believe she said that either. I know she doesn’t feel like that! Why would she be so mean?”
Sora tilted his head, knowing that his son had been dreaming of this for months, and Roxas decision was rather earth-shattering for them all. Out of all his cousins, Ten and Xel probably spent the most time together, they were close enough to be brothers sometimes. Though, Ten found friendship in all his cousins anyways, and would love to travel with all of them – but with Xel, the picture was just black and white, not colored like it was meant to be.
Rather than addressing that though, he said more gently, “I wouldn’t be too hard on her Ten. Thinks are tough for her.”
“What do you mean?” Tensai asked, frowning. How was it any different from him, or Bonnie, or Sanyi? Or even her own brother! And still there was no excuse for how she was acting.
“Well……” Sora sighed, “Tensai, it’s different for her. She’s the only girl in her family.”
“But Bonnie-“
“Yes, I know. Bonnie and Sanyi are too – well in that situation I mean. But… there’s a difference for her too. She has Xel too.” Orange eyes looking up at him, uncomprehending. “Ten, I’ve been a triplet all my life. I know what it’s like. You feel like you struggle all your life to be different and recognized. There’s always this competitive edge with siblings that you never quite shake. And Roxy is not only a twin, but she’s also… a girl – which to her is probably a fatal flaw. Don’t you remember when we all visited and she would always try to join in all the boy games and would get frustrated because it wasn’t really fun for her until Bonnie carted her off to do well… girl things?” There was a slow nod, “Well see? For you it’s easy, you have me and Riku. Heck, even for Sanyi and Bonnie it’s easy because when they feel not included at least it’s only a singular feeling. But for Roxy… She has to struggle with being not included in things that Roxel will be – and that hurts her because she doesn’t have a constant female presence to fill in that gap where well… a mom would be, to do girl stuff with all the time and not just on vacations. I’m sure she sometimes even feels like she isn’t as loved as Roxel… or was only adopted too because she came in the package.”
The black-haired boy sat there for a long moment, before bowing his head. “I guess I never thought of it that way. But Uncle Axel and Uncle Roxas love her to death!”
“Yeah, I know. And she’ll realize that too one day, if she doesn’t already. We all sometimes just say things we regret because we’re angry.” Sora said, thinking of Ven when his father disowned him after learning he was truly Venita Troublefield, the famous coordinator. Things had a way of piling up, creating a big mess of hurt emotions and misplaced attacks. “Don’t worry too much about it, some things have a way of working out on their own.”

There was a growl that drew their eyes to the floor, Jolteon glaring up at them an electrical current running down his body making the spikes stick up more. Dang right things worked out on their own – now when were they going to work out this disruptive, stupid kit!!
“Oh come on Jolt, cool it.” Sora chuckled.
“TEON!” The fox barked before turning around and sitting down, showing his disapproval with a bushel of spikes.
“It’s good to see you being so spirited~” Sora teased.


Aqua sighed, looking at Roxas nearby pouring a cup of coffee - and forgetting to stop, the murky liquid overfilling the cup and ending up on the tablecloth. When Ven got there though, she turned away, concentrating on her own boy who was still staring off into space. She turned to look at her wife beside her, demanding, "Don't you have anything to say?!"


“Damn it Bonnie, let me go!” Roxy cried, struggling against her girlfriend’s hold and wondering how the heck she ran so fast in heels. But, it was the sound of Gunnar’s voice that made her deflate, suddenly embarrassed by her display and not even knowing the Almasy’s were nearby to see her pathetic actions. But as she listened, she realized his words weren’t scathing for once… but complimentary. She looked towards him.
”I gained a lot of respect for them.” Her eyes widened, feeling strangely guilty at the flush of happiness that ran through her, wondering if he truly meant that – but she never knew Gunnar to be a liar. But… she didn’t deserve it. She hadn’t even planned on going after them in the first place – had to be, hah!, convinced to go. And she was sure if he knew what she just said to her dad, that he would probably want to eat his words right back up.

“Yeah,” And now Lucina was agreeing?! Oh god, she wasn’t sure if it was better or worse and she just wanted to cry again! “What they did was really amazing Mr. Xipil. I know your angry at her, my dad would be just the same if me or Gunnar did this but… but if it wasn’t for them, and their friends… Sal, or even one of us, might not even be here anymore. We owe them a huge debt that I don’t think we can ever quite repay.”