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Primrose Valley

A Shocking Debut

Nelly was sitting on the floor in the living room with his potion's kit out on the coffee table. The lop eared pichu was shirtless, dressed just in a pair of shorts since he was at home. The TV was turned on to the local Pokemon League tournament where they were getting ready to start the gym battles. Each gym held a tournament once a week in season, and those who won the tournament could challenge the gym leader. Beating the leader earned a badge and earning eight different badges got you a trip into the world championship. Though, each badge did have a five-year expiration date, so there was a time limit to get them all. Battles weren't really Nelly's thing, but he had the channel on for a specific reason. It was the same reason he was currently brewing a very powerful age regression potion in the living room.

His older brother Gale had recently turned eighteen, making him finally a legal adult. Sure, he was still in high school, and by most peoples' standards still a kid, but as far as the law was concerned he had reached adulthood. And as a legal adult Gale could finally enter the professional pokemon league. It was something he had dreamed of doing since.... Well since before Nelly was even born. Gale had apparently started training at the junior gym while still a pichu and moved up as he got older. It had been years since he lost a sparring match now and with how much he had progressed be became an instructor's assistant, helping to train other students. Then Gale passed the exam to join the professional league and now today was his debut.

Nelly knew his big brother was a good fighter. And he knew Gale was going to do good in the tournament. Maybe he wouldn't win a gym badge, but he'd probably be in the top three... And that meant when he got home he was going to be way too proud and full of himself. And since their parents were out of town, and Gale was supposed to be in charge, it meant that Nelly would have to deal with his insufferable attitude all night.

So, he made a potion to teach his big brother a little humility. If he wasn't being too annoying, Nelly wouldn't use it. But, if he was being just a bit too haughty then Nelly would reduce his big brother to an infant for a few days. He'd change him back, eventually. At least before their parents returned and grounded him. He wasn't worried about Gale telling their parents about the little prank. The two chus might have occasionally fought and messed with each other, but they had an unbreakable bond based on their brotherhood. And that bond meant there were certain rules. And the very first one on the list was you don't fib on your brother. That was an ironclad rule neither brother would ever break.

But of course, regardless of how close they were as brothers, they were contractually obligated to give each other a hard time. Nelly grinned as he added the last few ingredients to the potion and stirred. It was done. He poured the dark blue liquid into a test tube put a cork in it and set it aside on the coffee table. He'd have to think of a way to surprise Gale and pour it on him, but the potion was so strong it should reduce the raichu all the way to an infant. But, Nelly had been nice, he'd still be a raichu instead of devolving with this one. And that was definitely because Nelly was being nice and not because he enjoyed getting to loom over a raichu.

On the TV, an announcer appeared. It was a tauros dressed in a suit who was going over everyone in the tournament today and where they were in the bracket. And Gale was in the first fight! And it looked like he was up against a skarmony.

"Huh talk about lucky." Nelly grinned. "With a type advantage like that there's no way he can lose." Nelly climbed up onto the couch where he had a bowl of popcorn prepared. Just because he was going to mess with him later didn't mean he wasn't going to cheer his brother on. Nelly watched eagerly, eyes wide waiting for Gale's debut.

In the Primrose Valley Gym, Gale stood in the locker room before the match started. He was shaking. Why was he so nervous? He hadn't lost a fight in years. And he had seen the bracket, his first match up was against a skarmony! Though... That could be a problem. Gale very much preferred close ranged combat. The skarmony might attempt to fly out of range and attack from afar. Gale had far range attacks, they just weren't his specialty. On the other hand, raichus were known for calling down the thunder. Maybe the skarmony would come right up close hoping to throw Gale off. That'd be nice.

"Calm down." Gale spoke to himself. He ran a hand through his red ponytail. He was a good fighter. He knew that. He had won the exhibition match at his exam to join the league with ease. And he hadn't had a type advantage then. He could do this. It was going to be fine. He just had to try not to think about all his friends at school who might be watching this at home if he choked. No, he couldn't think like that.

It was almost time to go out. Gale quickly sipped out of his black shorts, his only garment and put them away in the locker, exposing the brown stripes on his thighs. They matched the ones on his forearms. The pokemon league didn't require people to compete naked. But they also didn't require people to wear clothes either. In these tournaments pokemon were throwing fire, razor sharp leaves and lightning at each other, and it turned out that clothing was not quite as tough as a pokemon's body. It was not uncommon for a pokemon's clothing to be destroyed during the fight. There had been discussions of insulated uniforms or fire retardant vests, but these were turned down as pokemon objected that it gave an unfair advantage to certain types. After all, if you were a fire type it was going to be really hard to win if your opponent was in a fire proof suit. So, the end result was that clothing became optional since it'd like be destroyed anyway. It was different from fighter to fighter on if they wore anything. Many pokemon had a signature look, and likely spent a small fortune having the outfit remade for each tournament.

But, Gale was a naturist at heart and if clothing was optional then he was going in naked. It was kind of funny. He was forced to put something on when he went to school, but was allowed to appear naked on national TV. Society's social rules were weird.

"Alright, here we go." Gale took one last deep breath to calm himself then stepped out of the locker room. He straightened up and stopped shaking. Knowing other people were watching now helped him recover his composure. He wasn't going to appear nervous.

Gale stepped out into an arena that was packed full with a cheering crowd. How many times had he been up there among the stands, dreaming of the day he'd be down here. He walked out across a grassy field where white markings had been drawn to mark the arena. Primrose Valley was a grass themed gym. That meant if Gale got to face the leader he'd be at a disadvantage, but that was a problem he couldn't worry about now.

His opponent emerged from the opposite end of the film. The skarmony was taller than Gale by two heads dressed in a simple pair of jeans. Gale tried to think of what moves he might know, steel and flying. That and who knows what kind of TMs he might have used left a lot of possible angles he could be attacked from. Well, it was time to find out.

"A pleasure to meet you." The skarmony spoke. "I'm Silver Wind."

"Uh I'm just Gale." Gale replied awkwardly.

"It's a stage name." Silver Wind smiled and held out a wing. "Shall we dance?"

"Uh... Sure..." Gale held out a paw and shook the wing.

"You're nervous." Silver Wind could tell from the paw/wing shake. Gale may have mostly stilled his body, but his grip was unsteady. "And young. Is this your first tournament?"

"Yes." Gale averted his eyes and pulled back his paw.

"Try to relax. Just do your best. It's all anyone can ask." Silver Wind stepped back and took his position.

"R-right." Gale stuttered a bit, but at least he wasn't shaking. His opponent might have caught on to his anxiety, but he was fairily certain no one in the crowd could.

"And here we are with the first bout of today's tournament!" The announcer sounded over a loudspeaker. "For the first round, we have newcomer to our ring, a raichu by the name of Gale. And up next, a returning fighter! He made it all the way to the semifinal last time! Silver Wind!" The crowd erupted into even louder cheers and Gale suspected it was more for the skarmony than him. The guy apparently had a fanbase. Gale wondered if maybe he should take a stage name for these battles. "And.... FIGHT!" A bell rang out signally the fight.

"Here goes nothing." Gale opened with his favorite attack, Thunder Punch. He charged his hand with electricity and charged straight for the skarmony. Aside from type match ups he should also have the advantage in speed and was hoping to get one good hit in before the metal bird had a chance to take to the skies.

"Huh." Silver Wind seemed mildly surprised the raichu went for melee, however he held his wings out and his body began to glow... And then as Gale delivered the punch Silver Wind was gone.

"What?" Gale looked around the arena frantically trying to find the pokemon. He got his answer when he took a Metal Claw straight in the center of his back. "ARGH!" Gale let out an involuntary scream as he stumbled forward. He quickly recovered and spun around seeing Silver Wind, how had he gotten behind him so fast? Then the skarmony took to the sky and it moved with blinding speed. As long as Gale kept his eyes on him he could track it... But he was moving far faster than Gale would have expected; or was capable of moving himself.

"Looks like Silver Wind is using his favorite opening." The announcer screamed over the speaker. His specialty is speed, using Autotomize to let himself easily move around opponents.

"That's what happened." Gale's eyes tried to follow the skarmony through the air. With his opening attack Gale had given away his preference for melee combat and now Silver Wind was forcing him into a ranged fight.

But this could work to his advantage. He wasn't sure any of his physical attacks could hit someone that fast. But... No pokemon was faster than a lightning strike. Gale's cheeks charged, and then his entire body was enveloped in electricity as he fired his Thunderbolt directly at Silver Wind... Who immediately dove under it dodging the attack completely.

"That's not possible..." Gale took a few steps back. He started to tremble for a moment, and barely manage to compose himself. "That's not physically possible, nothing's that fast."

Silver Wind wasn't going to wait for Gale to figure things out. He dove closer to the ground, flapped his wings, and razor-sharp winds cut through the air. Gale tried to dodge the Air Slash, but felt intense pain on his left arm due to being just a little too slow. He tried to ignore the pain. These were full contact matches, pain was unavoidable. Instead, he fired another Thunderbolt as Skarmony while he was regaining altitude, but just like the last time the metal bird dove right under it. How was he dodging these?

High in the sky, Silver Wind revealed a new attack, as he flapped his wings and several stars rained down from the sky. Gale recognized the move, Swift, and he quickly broke into a sprint trying to get out of their range. But, they followed him relentlessly, homing on his location and soon was hit by five of them all at once.

'"Ugh..." Gale fell to his knees. "Get... Up." He told himself. He wasn't going to go down after just three attacks. But... Silver Wind was strong, far physically stronger than Gale. His attacks hit harder, and he moved faster. This meant that Gale's only hope was to fight smarter, but he hadn't even found a way to hit him yet. He tried firing off three thunderbolts in rapid succession hoping that the skarmony would only be able to dodge the first. But once again, the steel bird easily dove under all three attacks and remained unharmed.

And then he spun around in the air, flapped his wings and unleashed a barrage of Air Slashes from up high.

"Uggggggghh." Gale gritted his teeth trying not to scream. He could feel the cuts opening all over him as the attack hit. His body hurt all over... He wasn't sure how much longer he could last.

But... He had been the best at his academy. He had won the exhibition match with ease. He was allowed to enter here because the league decided he was good enough. And yet he couldn't do anything! He felt panic began to rise in his chest, realizing this was being aired on television. Everyone from school was seeing his absolutely pathetic display.

"ARRRRRRRRRRGHHHH!" Gale let out a scream of frustration as he attempted to unleash another thunderbolt. However, the pain flared up on one of his legs where the Air Slash had hit and he tumbled over onto the ground, losing the charge for his attack. As he did, he saw the skarmony dive just like he had when he used the previous Thunderbolts.

He wasn't dodging. He was predicting Gale's attacks and reacting before they went off! The panic lessened slightly in Gale's chest now that he understood what was going on. Silver Wind had recognized the Gale was preparing to use Thunderbolt again and repositioned himself in advance, but of course Gale had lost the attack and had caught on to the game. It looked like Silver Wind was a clever fighter too. Stronger, faster, smarter, it felt like he had Gale beat in every category. But maybe now that he had caught on, he could pull a clever trick too.

Gale stumbled back up to his feet and watched Silver Wind in the air. He waited patiently, until it looked like the skarmony was preparing an attack again. Then at this point Gale once more fired off a Thunderbolt. The skarmony forgot his attack again and dove to avoid the lightning... Which put him right into its path, as Gale had aimed exactly 10 feet under his opponent. Silver Wind was hit! And he let out his own scream! That was right... Silver Wind was physically stronger, but Gale had the type advantage. And now he knew how to hit him, and he had hit him hard.

Silver Wind crashed into the ground after being struck and slowly stumbled to his feet. Gale wasted no time, he was finally on the offensive. Maybe it wasn't the most honorable thing, striking someone when they were down, but Gale had to take every advantage he could. He pulled back his arm, and delivered a Thunder Punch straight into Silver Wind's back as he tried to stand up. A direct hit! And... Silver Wind grimaced as the electricity flowed through him... But he still managed to get back up. And he was smiling. Why was he smiling?

Gale hated to be repetitive, but now he had his opponent in range of his favorite tactic. He charged both fist with electricity and delivered rapid fire Thunder Punches in succession. He would have tried to show off his other moves... But with one being normal type and the other fairy, he doubted they'd do much at all in this fight.

Gale got about three hits in, and suddenly Silver Wind struck back, using his wings like a claw he caught Gale right in the stomach, lifted the raichu up into the air and threw him onto his back. Gale felt the wind knocked out of him. He thought he had him on the ropes! Had Silver Wind just fought through the pain to attack him? Well... Gale supposed that wasn't much different from what he was doing right now. He got back to his feet, it was a lot harder this time. He took a few steps forward towards Silver Wind, acting as if preparing a Thunder Punch, but in actuality was about to fire his Thunderbolt.

Except he didn't get the chance.

Silver Wind opened both wings and released a barrage of Air Slashes. At this close-range Gale never stood a chance. This time he couldn't help it. He screamed in pain as several new cuts appeared all over his body, and then he collapsed onto the ground.

"Ugggh...." The world was starting to look a little blurry for some reason. Gale tried to push himself up off the ground, but he collapsed on his first attempt. Wasn't even able to get up on his hands and knees. Everything hurt too much. But... He was a professional combatant in the pokemon league now... He had to fight through the pain, just like Silver Wind had through his attacks. He tried again and managed to get up on his hands and knees. Then, slowly he rose onto two legs. During this time Silver Wind made no attempts to attack him. "Where... Where is he?" Gale looked around the arena, his vision blurry, it looked like there were two skarmonies.

"Kid, you alright?" Silver Wind asked. "It might be time to consider conceding. You're going to get seriously hurt."

"I can still fight...." Gale tried to shout but it came out as a mutter. He took about three steps forward and then fell down onto one knee. He didn't know pain like this was possible. But... he couldn't lose here. He was the strongest student his master had ever seen. He could take on anyone in his class. He had taken on several of them at once when he caught them giving Nelly a hard time. Gale hadn't lost a fight since he was ten years old. He wasn't going to give up. He charged both fist with lightning walked forward again, and then his body gave out. He lost the electricity and fell downward towards the floor... And abruptly stopped halfway.

Silver Wind had caught him and was now holding him steady. Despite his best efforts, all Gale could do was lean onto his opponent. His body wouldn't cooperate.

"Part of being a professional is knowing your limits and being able to accept defeat with grace." Silver Wind spoke in a gentle voice. "You did good, especially for your first try... But you're seriously wounded. You need medical attention, if you keep fighting..."

"No... I'm fine. I can work through it." Gale tried to believe that, but he couldn't even stand under his own power right now. If Silver Wind let go of him, he'd fall to the ground, and he wasn't sure he'd get back up.

"I know it hurts, but you have to accept it's over." Silver Wind was speaking in a low tone to ensure none of the announcers or audience members would hear. "If you keep going, you may seriously injure yourself and never be able to fight again."

"But-" That gave Gale pause. To participate in the league was his dream. To risk losing that forever... But, he couldn't go down like this, in the first round, and taken out so easily.

"It's okay." Silver Wind continued. "You did your best, that's all anyone can ask for. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"But I..." Gale could feel his eyes starting to tear up. Was there really this much of a power gap between him and other people in the league? He struggled to hold back the tears, breaking down and crying in front of the audience and on TV wasn't going to make this any easier. The best he could do now was end this as quickly as possible. "I... I concede." Gale spoke loud enough for the referee to hear.

"Gale has conceded the match! Silver Wind will be moving on to the second round!" There was a large amount of cheering heard, but it sounded muffled to Gale. He was fading in and out now. Someone else had arrived on the field and Silver Wind had helped him lean onto their shoulders... And then...

Everything went black.

At the house Nelly stared at the TV eyes wide in disbelief. Gale had lost, and in the first round? How was that possible. Nelly didn't know anyone stronger than his big brother! Well, at least not anyone that didn't cheat like that strange kid from the forest. Gale couldn't have lost... It wasn't possible.

And then he saw his brother pass out and have to be carried out of the arena.

"Gale..." Nelly reached a hand towards the TV and teared up a bit as he saw the injuries covering the raichu's body. "Please be okay." He looked back over to the table where the potion he had made was... Tonight's original plans seemed inappropriate now. He kept watching the TV, hoping they would say something about Gale's condition. But instead, they moved on to the next match and Gale wasn't mentioned again at all for the remainder of the tournament.

Gale woke later, finding himself in the gym's on-site infirmary. All of his wounds were healed, and there was no longer any pain. At least, no physical pain.

"You're awake!" the voice came from a Galarian Rapidash. She quickly moved over to the bed to check on Gale. "You had us scared half to death. Even after using Healing Pulse three times and several potions you still didn't regain consciousness. You can't push your body so hard. You have to know your limits."

"Yeah..." Gale responded in a far-off tone as he sat up in the bed. "Is the tournament still going?"

"It ended about an hour ago." The Rapidash replied. That implied Gale had been out for several hours.

"Who won? Was it Silver Wind?" There was a small amount of hope in Gale's voice. If it turned out he had lost to the tournament champion, then no one could hold that against him. It would have just been bad luck to have gotten matched up against him first.

"No he went down in the second round." These words were like a punch to Gale's gut. "The winner was a jolteon by the name of Aftershock."

"That's... That's a stage name isn't it?" Gale asked.

"Most of our combatants use them." The rapidash patted him on the head. "Well, your wounds are healed and you're finally conscious. Your free to go. But... Don't take it so far next time."

"Right..." Gale spoke in a broken voice. "I guess if the tournaments over I should get my things and head home." He slowly walked to the locker room, and when he arrived, found someone he really didn't want to see.

"Hey..." Silver Wind was waiting for him. "I know I'm probably the last person you want to see right now. But... I think we should talk."

"There's nothing to talk about." Gale muttered as he found the locker he had stashed his shorts in.

"You can't be so hard on yourself." Silver Wind could tell how upset Gale was. "No one ever wins their first match. And... I remember how painful it was for me. You don't realize just how intense the league is until you're in it. I had trained since I was a child, but so had everyone else, with an additional ten years of training on top of me."

"Is there a point to this Silver Wind?" Gale pulled his shorts on.

"It's Derrick when I'm outside the arena." He paused awkwardly. "I... Thought you should know. "But I didn't think leaving you alone with your thoughts right now was a good idea."

"I'm fine." Gale was very much not fine.

"I know it hurts, and it's okay to be upset." Derrick explained. "As long as you have a healthy way to cope the pain will go away." He looked upward. "Heh... I was nineteen when I first entered, refused to come out of my room for three days after losing. I thought I'd never live down the humiliation."

"You seemed pretty popular out there though..." Gale gave Derrick a quizzical look.

"Well... Eventually I tried again. And got my butt handed to me again." Derrick laughed. "And again, and again, and again. But, with each fight, I got a little better, learned how other professionals were fighting... And then I had my first win. And promptly lost in the second round." He laughed. "But, the more I participated, the more often I would win matches. Today didn't go so well but..." He pulled a bag out from a locker and dug through it. Eventually he found a case, opened it up revealing three shining badges. "I've also had my good days."

"You have three badges!?" Gale stared at him in wonder. "You've beaten three Gym Leaders?"

"Yeah... After getting my first badge was when people started to notice me." He grinned. "That's when I decided to take a stage name. No one cared about all the losses I had suffered up to that point. All they saw now was a skilled fighter they knew would give them one heck of a show. And it'll be the same for you. People are going to forget your losses, but they'll remember your victories."

"I don't know..." Gale stared at the floor. "It's pretty clear how outclassed I was."

"You were today, but you might not be next time." Derrick insisted. "The important thing is to keep training, to keep reaching new heights and not give up. You showed some real potential out there today. You realized I was predicting your attacks and baited me right into your Thunderbolt. I didn't expect to be knocked out of the sky like that. It was a real shock if you'll pardon the pun."

"Please don't make dad jokes." Gale groaned. "That just makes this so much more awkward."

"Fair enough." Derrick shrugged. "The point is you figured out your opponent's strategy and you countered it. I couldn't do that in my first battle, and it's one of the most important skills to develop. Maybe it wasn't enough to win today, but you're already showing promise. If you keep at it, you'll get there. And your face will one day be on a trading card." He paused. "You know, mine only goes for $3 online. I feel slightly insulted. But, I guess since most go for about a quarter I shouldn't be too mad."

"Heh." Gale gave a small laugh, but it was clear his spirits were still sunk.

"Look, I know I'm not going to cheer you up." Derrick gave a wistful sigh. "I just want you to know what you're going through now, it's normal. We've all been where you are. Do what you need to cope, to heal. But the important thing is you don't give up. It's okay to be sad, if you need to cry then cry. But, keep going. Keep trying. You will get there eventually, I promise."

"Yeah I see..." There were tears in Gale's eyes now, but being in front of someone else he was trying very hard to hold them back.

"I'll leave you alone. Just... Like I said, take the time to heal, and don't be too hard on yourself." Derrick put a wing on Gale's shoulder. "And if it makes you feel better, I'm pretty sure my first fight is still on their streaming service if you want to watch me get my butt handed to me. Maybe that will cheer you up." He pulled his wing back. "But remember, you're at the start of your journey, and you'll only get better from here."

"Yeah... Thanks..." Gale replied somewhat despondent. The guy was nice. Gale wanted to hate him for the humiliation he had put him through. But he was nice, and he had stayed after the tournament, waited for Gale to recover, just to give him a pep talk because he knew how much Gale was hurting right now. And he couldn't bring himself to hate that, no matter how hard he tried. He supposed he should probably just not think about it and head home.

Home. He realized Nelly had seen the match on TV. Was he going to be given a hard time about that? He really didn't know... But now that he was alone the tears began to flow as he slowly left the locker room and started the walk home.

Nelly was pacing back and forth not sure what to do. It was after eight and Gale still wasn't home. The tournament had been over for hours. The pichu could barely contain himself, he felt like he was going to have a panic attack any second if he didn't find out what had happened to his brother.

And then he heard the lock on the front door unbolt. Nelly ran to the foyer as fast as he could just in time to see Gale come in.

"Hey Nelly." Gale forced a smile that just made him looker sadder. "Sorry I'm late got held up. I'll get dinner started though."

"Bro?" Nelly approached Gale and looked him over. The injuries he had suffered were gone... But. He could see streaks of wet fur beneath Gale's eyes. He had been crying, and likely hiding while doing so. Maybe Gale had just been sitting outside the front door for awhile until he had himself under control and then come in. Either way, for the marks to still be there, he would have only stopped recently. "Are... Are you going to be ok?" The pichu wanted to rush forward and hug Gale. He was relieved he wasn't physically hurt, and he could see he was hurting in another way, but he wasn't sure if pity like that would make Gale feel even worse or not..

"I'll be fine..." Gale's voice broke as he said it. His was fumbling his attempts to hide his pain. "They patched me up after the fight... Everything is fine." Gale worked his way towards the kitchen. Nelly knew he had to be hurting as Gale had been too unfocussed to get undressed after returning home.

Nelly followed after Gale towards the kitchen but stopped in the living room when he saw the potion he had made earlier. It had been intended to poke fun at his brother... But... Maybe it could have a better use. Nelly picked up the potion and slowly walked into the kitchen where Gale was currently getting out pots and preparing to cook.

"Gale... Can I cook tonight?" Nelly asked somewhat timidly.

"I can handle it..." Gale muttered. "Just go watch cartoons or something till it's ready."

"Gale..." Nelly could feel his pain. Then, he held up the potion he had made in clear view to make sure Gale could see it. "I thought... Maybe you could take a night or two off... And I could handle the chores for a bit.

"Nelly?" Gale recognized the potion from its color and density. After all, he had brewed the very same one and used it on Nelly on number of occasions. He knew what would happen if he came in contact with it, and realized what Nelly was trying to do. "You're a good kid." Gale got down on hiss knee to give Nelly a tight hug. "At least when you want to be." He added with the first hint of an actual laugh.

Nelly understood the message. Gale's pride wasn't going to let him ask for this. But he had put himself in perfect position. Nelly squirmed to get his arms loose from the hug, uncorked the potion and poured it over his brothers backside.

Immediately Gale began to shrink. His shorts fell to the floor and he fell backwards landing on his bottom, thrown off balance from having been bent down when it started. He didn't react much to the changes other than just stare down at his body as it grew younger. Soon, was as young as Nelly, and then kept getting younger. The younger he got, the shorter his ponytail became, until eventually. When he finally stopped regressing around six months, said ponytail was actually a reasonable length instead of the ridiculously long thing it normally was.

"Rai...." Gale was too young to speak.

"I'll make dinner." Nelly picked up Gale and gave his brother a warm hug. "Then what do you say we find something to watch on TV?" Dinner plans had to change slightly, Nelly knew how to cook, sort of. But his recipes were much more limited than Gale's due to inexperience. And of course, Gale wasn't exactly old enough to be eating hard foods. In the end, it wound up being mac n' cheese. And Gale was at least able to use a fork and eat without help so he wasn't completely helpless.

After dinner, Nelly cleaned up the dishes then picked up Gale and carried him into the living room. He sat Gale on the couch before sitting next to him. He began to flip through the TV channels until he found a cartoon movie playing and left it on that. He looked down at Gale to see if there were any objections. Gale simply responded by grabbing at Nelly's side and nuzzling into him.

Nelly ruffled Gale's hair and left the movie on. But Gale didn't make it very far through it. From the combination of his reduced age and the both physical and emotional exhaustion he soon fell asleep. He slept with his head leaning against his 'little' brother while clutching at his stomach and side. Nelly slowly put an arm down around him to help him stay cuddled close. Gale felt safe like this, as if all his problems were far away.

He was still going to have to work his way through this... But with a little help from his brother, the healing had begun. And when he was ready, he'd try again.

The End