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Ch. 3, here we go

*Note* This chapter is longer than the others I will be releasing at the same time. It does go past my normal 10,000, but don't worry; it's not another 18,000 word one like the previous.

Ok, why don't I cut to the chase since no one likes intros.

Pokémon © of Nintendo & Gamefreak. Storyline and characters © of me (Enigma Eevee).

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• Celesteon, the Apprentice of Light -

Reunion Arc - Ch. 3

"Sid?"

Topaz continued to stare in disbelief at the dark figure that stood before him.

"Is there something on my face? Or are you in such shock to see your only other brother that you can't blink?" Sid asked with a sarcastic tone.

Topaz continued to stare, utterly speechless to finally see his brother again.

Sid sighs and shakes his head. "Come on Taz, stop staring at me. I know you haven't seen me in quite a long time, but I promise you, I am real and I am here to stay." He smiles at his brother to further assure him.

Topaz blinks a few times and leaps towards his brother, embracing him in a hug. "Sid, I can't believe it's you!" He continues to nuzzle his little brother's neck. After a few moments he rises and looks at his younger sibling. "Are you really back for good?" He questions him.

Sid nods and smiles. "Yes, I am. I promise, under no circumstance, will I ever leave again. I will stay and be a part of this family just like mom and dad want."

Topaz starts to tear up at his brother's devotion. He pounces on him again and continues to hug him. "I am so glad you are back. Aqua and I have been so worried about you; we were afraid something happened to you."

"Wow, you were worried about me?" Sid questions.

"Of course I was worried about you Sid; not being able to look after you always has made me worried for your safety, but now that you are home, I am happy again." Topaz explains.

"After all this time I have been gone, after leaving you all; you still willingly accept me into the family again?" Sid questions Topaz in a surprised manner.

Topaz rises to his feet and stares at his brother in shock. "What do you mean? Of course you are accepted, you are family, no matter how long you are away and don't you forget it." Topaz says in a serious tone.

Sid looks away with a regretful expression. "I know what I did was wrong Taz, don't try to hide the fact that it was selfish of me to run away like that. I can never forgive myself for leaving all of you. I feel so ashamed for ignoring everyone all of this time and then just come crawling back acting like everything is alright. Maybe I shou-"

"Stop it!" Topaz hits Sid on his cheek. "Now that is enough. I know I am not dad, but I will not tolerate you beating yourself up over this any longer. I do not want to hear anymore about how you haven't been here or helpful. You are part of this family, always have been, and nothing will make any of us think otherwise. Now stop hating yourself over what is in the past and move on." Topaz sternly instructs his brother.

Sid stares, wide eyed at his brother's outburst. He starts rubbing his cheek and cringes at the stinging feeling. Tears start to fall from his eyes from his confusion.

"Why did you hit me?" He continues to stare in bewilderment. "I-I'm sorry if I made you angry. Maybe I should go; I don't want to hurt you or anyone else anymore." Sid slowly stands and starts walking away towards the entrance to the cave. He suddenly stops when he feels pressure on his tail and turns around to see his tail in his brother's jaw.

"Don't you even think about it." Topaz states in a muffled voice.

Sid starts squirming trying to break his brother's grip on his tail, but gives up when he realizes it is futile. He turns back to his brother and sees a stern, but caring expression in his eyes. "Taz, why do you care about me so mu-"

Topaz clamps down on Sid's tail before he finishes his sentence and causes him to yelp from the pain. "I care about you because you are my brother. How long will it take before I make you realize that you are a part of this family and you belong with us?"

Sid continues to stare at his brother before he sighs in defeat. He turns slowly and headbutts him affectionately. "Taz, I am so sorry. I should move on but it feels so hard to let go of all the wrongs I have done. Please forgive me."

Topaz smiles at his brother's sudden turn about. He releases his tail and hugs him tightly. "It's ok little bro, I will always forgive you for anything you do. It is my responsibility to look after you now with mom and dad gone, and I promise you that I won't ever hurt you unless you do something really stupid." He nudges Sid affectionately.

Sid looks at Topaz with a confused expression. "What do you mean mom and dad are gone? Where did they go?"

Topaz's eyes widen in shock. 'Oh no, he has been gone so long, that he doesn't know what happened to our mother and father...' He thinks to himself and gasps as he begins to imagine his brother's reaction.

Sid continues to look at his brother, confused. He notices Topaz's horrified expression and begins to feel uncomfortable. "Taz...what happened to them?" He questions the jolteon.

Topaz looks at his brother with a grieved expression. Sid notices the immediate change in his expression and takes a step backward.

"Sid, you might want to sit back down, this is very difficult to explain." Topaz raises his paw and ushers his brother over towards him.

Sid continues to stand still, stunned from his brother's sudden breakdown.

Topaz notices his shock and slowly walks over to him. "Please Sid you need to hear this. Now sit down because you aren't going to like what you hear." He calmly instructs the umbreon.

Sid slowly lowers himself and continues to stare at his brother, waiting for him to explain himself.

Topaz steps back and takes a deep breath before hesitantly speaking. "Sid...mom and dad are...dead."

Sid's eyes widen and tears start to fall from his eyes. "No...please, dear god, no....please tell me you're lying Topaz, PLEASE!" Sid falls onto the floor, crying. "Why...why did they die?"

Topaz slowly lies down next to the umbreon and rests his paw on his back. "It's hard to explain, without telling you about the cause."

Sid looks at the jolteon with a confused expression. "What do you mean?"

Topaz takes another deep breath. "Well a little while back, the forest was stricken by a deadly virus that started killing off a lot of Pokémon. Dad caught the virus died from it only a few days after our birthday. Since that day, mom was never the same. She never left her room and cried all day long. One day she said she wanted to go get us some food. A couple of us offered to go with her, but she refused saying that she needed more time alone to think. We haven't seen her since." Topaz was sobbing through every other word.

Sid's ears perked up as he felt a small glimmer of hope. "Well mom is only missing, that doesn't mean she is gone for good, right?" He questions his brother.

Topaz sighs. "No. She is gone. She died from the virus just like dad. Uncle Charlie told us what happened, when she came to him asking for help."

Sid popped his head up at the mention of the lucario. "Uncle Charlie? You mean the lucario that was friends with dad?"

Topaz nodded. "Yes the very same. He is now the doctor for the forest. To tell you the truth, we had forgotten about him until yesterday."

"What made you suddenly remember him?"

"Well...please don't freak out about this but...yesterday, I started feeling really sick and it turns out I caught the same virus that killed mom and dad." He was suddenly cut off by Sid gasping.

"NO! Please tell you're lying! I don't want to lose you too!" Sid started shaking the jolteon furiously.

"Sid stop!" Topaz swatted his brother away. "I'm ok, don't worry, I'll live."

"No, you're not ok. If you have that virus you are going to die..." He was cut off by his own tears choking him.

Topaz pulls his brother into a hug. "Don't worry little bro. Uncle Charlie created a cure for the virus and he gave it to me. Trust me when I tell you this; I wouldn't be here talking to you if I was lying." He tries to reassure him.

Sid stops sobbing as he looks at his brother and sees truth behind his words. He smiles and breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you arceus. I don't know if I would ever forgive myself for being gone for so long only to have this happen during my absence. I can't believe mom and dad both passed away with me being gone; I feel so ashamed." His expression changed to grief once more.

Topaz looked at his brother and tried to reassure him. "I know you feel bad about being gone during the time of mom and dad's death, but you can't hurt yourself anymore. You are here now and that's all that matters anymore."

"Thank you Taz, I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't talked to you. I still feel really bad about my absence when our family needed to be together, but I promise that I will stay forever until I draw my dying breath." Sid states in a serious, meaningful tone.

"Now that's what I like to hear. My little bro is growing up before my eyes. I feel proud to have you as a sibling, you know that?" Topaz nudges the umbreon.

Sid blushes. "Aw, you're just saying that to cheer me up." Sid looks around in the darkness and a thought pops into his head. "Say, Taz, are you alone or are any of the others here with you?"

Topaz's ears perk up and he looks at his brother with a surprised expression. 'I can't believe I forgot about Aqua, Pearl and Uncle Charlie. Oh boy, they probably think I'm dead for being gone so long.' He looks back towards his room and then returns his gaze towards his brother.

"No, I'm not alone. Aqua is here with me along with uncle Charlie since he has to check up on me to make sure the cure is working and the virus is totally gone. Also your little si-" Topaz stops and thinks himself. 'Hm, maybe it's best not to tell him about Pearl yet. I think it would be better for them to learn about each other rather than give him the details.'

Sid tilts his head and stares at Topaz. "My little what? What were you going to say Taz?" He questions his brother.

Topaz swallows audibly and looks at his brother with an uneasy expression. "Well, uh, it's kind of hard to explain. It would be easier to show you what I am talking about."

Sid gives him a puzzled look and raises his eyebrow. "What? You aren't making any sense."

Topaz sighs. "I knew this was going to hard to explain. Hold on, let me go tell Aqua and uncle Charlie you are here. I need you to stay out here because I don't want to ruin the surprise in store for you when you enter that room."

Sid goes to question his sibling, but he is stopped when Topaz places a paw over his mouth.

"No more questions. Everything will be explained shortly. A lot has happened since you have been gone, so you have a lot of catching up to do. Now please wait here until I come get you." Topaz removes his paw and slowly walks towards the room before stopping and looking over his shoulder. "Also, don't you dare even think about running off again. If you do, well, let's say that I am going to hit you harder the next time you decide to return." He resumes his walk towards the room and slowly enters.

---

Meanwhile, in the room; Aqua, Pearl, and Charles talk quietly amongst themselves.

"Aqua, do you think something happened to Taz?" Pearl looks at her sister with a worried expression.

"I don't know sweetie. I am sure he is fine." She answers in a calm tone to mask her own worries. 'I hope he is ok, he has been gone for quite awhile.'

"Well Topaz is a tough guy. I am sure he can handle whomever it was that showed up. Who knows, he might just be talking to the Pokémon out there." Charles further tries to reassure Pearl.

Pearl breathes a shaky breath. "Please let him be ok, I don't wanna lose my only brother."

Aqua looks at Pearl with a confused expression. "Um, Pearl, did you forget about Sid, your other brother?"

Pearl shakes her head. "No, I haven't forgotten about him but daddy said I might not meet him because he ran away a long time ago."

Aqua looked at Charles and he nodded. She looked back at Pearl with a serious expression. "Well Pearl, just because he isn't here or you might not meet him, doesn't him make him any less than your brother. As a family, we all need to feel connected, even with him. So don't count him out just yet. I am sure some day you will meet him. He is actually very nice, just a little quiet, but he does have his emotional side."

Pearl smiles at her sister and thinks about her dark brother. Her thoughts are interrupted when she hears Aqua speak again.

"Uncle Charlie, can't you use your aura to tell us what is happening with Topaz?" Aqua questions him.

"Hm, I see no harm in trying. The problem is that I am not able to tell exactly what they are doing. I will be able to tell if they are talking or fighting but that's about it." He calmly explains.

"Can you please look? I am starting to worry about him." Aqua asks in a concerned tine.

"Alright, I'll try to find out what I can." Charles started gathering the aura in his body into his mind. When he felt the familiar pressure, he released his aura outward in a scanning method. His aura spanned out into the cave and sent up two signals.

"Ok, your brother and the visitor are still within the cave." He states.

"That's good. What are they doing?" Aqua asks.

"Hold on one second." Charles focuses his aura once more and releases it all towards the area he detected the figures. The aura traveled through the cave and sent up signals of the two figures once again, but showed outlines of the figures sitting next to each other talking.

"It's ok, he is just talking with the visitor. Nothing dangerous seems to be happening." Charles calmly explains.

"Ok then. Maybe I should go see what's happening." Aqua starts calmly walking towards the room entrance.

"Aqua, wait, we don't want to startle the visitor. He might just be talking to Topaz because he believes he is safe." Charles says in a firm voice.

Aqua looks back at Charles with a puzzled look. "What?"

Charles sighs. "Think about it. The visitor could be a young Pokémon or one that is frightened. With it believing Topaz is the only occupant of the cave, it feels safe thinking nothing can sneak up on it or it won't feel outnumbered. So it's best if we just wait it out until Topaz comes back and explains what happened."

Aqua looks back at the entrance and then turns around and sits back down next to Pearl. "I guess you're right. I also don't want to risk the Pokémon hurting Topaz if it feels threatened."

"Yea I don't want anything happening to Taz, I like him a lot and he is fun to play with." Pearl states.

Aqua giggles. "Aw, you like your big brother do you Pearl? How sweet."

Pearl blushes. "...Stop it..." She hides her face in her paws.

Aqua and Charles laugh at Pearl's actions.

Aqua stops laughing and looks at Pearl's pouting expression. "Aw poor baby, come here." Aqua cradles Pearl and starts to gently rock her back and forth. She quietly starts singing a lullaby she learned from her mother.

"The morning cold and raining,

dark before the dawn could come

How long in twilight waiting

longing for the rising sun

You came like crashing thunder

breaking through these walls of stone

You came with wide eyed wonder

into all this great unknown."

Pearl attempted to speak but was stopped when Aqua gently placed a paw on her mouth.

"Hush now don't you be afraid

I promise you I'll always stay

I'll never be that far away

I'm right here with you."

Aqua looked down at Pearl and saw her slowly closing her eyes. She watched as Pearl grabbed her paw and held it like a blanket. She smiled at the white eevee and continued to sing.

"You came from the heavens shining

Breath of gods still flows from you

The beating heart inside me

Crumbled at this one so new

No matter where or how far you wander

For a thousand years or longer

I will always be there for you

Right here with you."

Aqua notices Pearl's chest slowly rising and falling. She leans over and kisses her forehead and continues to rock her back and forth gently. Aqua quietly starts singing again.

"I hope your tears are few and fast

I hope your dreams come true at last

I hope you find love that goes on and on

I hope you wish on every star

I hope you never fall too far

I hope this world can see how wonderful you are

You're so amazing you shine like the stars

You're so amazing the beauty you are

You came blazing right into my heart

You're so amazing you are...

You are."

Aqua finishes her lullaby and looks down to see Pearl sleeping with a dreamy, content expression; sucking on her paw. She looks at Charles and smiles when she sees his reaction.

Charles was crying softly to himself. "Such a sweet melody. I remember all the times I was here talking with your father and we would stop just so we could hear your mother sing to you all. God I miss them both so much."

Aqua gently lays Pearl down on the chair, then walks over to the saddened lucario. "I know uncle Charlie, I miss them too." She glances back at the sleeping eevee and smiles. "I am glad you introduced us to Pearl. I believe she is just what this family needs, someone to bring us all back together again. To care for one so young is a privilege that I am happy to have; I love her so much."

Charles hugs her. "Thank you so much Aqua. At first I was so nervous about bringing her here with me. I was afraid about how everyone would react if they found out the truth, but you have given me hope. Please promise me that you will look after her like a mother would, she needs you all."

Aqua nuzzles his chest. "You have my word that nothing will ever happen to her as long as I am around to protect her." She looks at him with a serious expression. "You can't just leave her here with us you know that don't you."

Charles looks at her with a puzzled expression.

Aqua smiles. "You have to make sure you come to see her as much as possible. I know you could not fill the hole left behind by our parent's death but she still treats you like a father. We can't provide her with that kind of love, only you can. Please promise me you won't abandon her to us." She looks over to Pearl. "She wouldn't be the same cheery little eevee without her daddy."

Charles quietly sobs to himself. He pulls Aqua into a tight hug. "I promise you, I will be here for her every day. I know it's best if she lives with you, but I also know I can't just leave her, it wouldn't be fair to any of you or her. She can always come stay with me too, I will always leave her room open for her." He assures Aqua.

"Thank you uncle Charlie. You truly are like a father to us now and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love you for everything you have done." She hugs the lucario and nuzzles his chest.

Charles starts crying tears of happiness. 'I have never had a family to call my own and now, I have been named a father figure to all of these Pokémon. I have never felt so happy in my life...' "Thank you Aqua, I don't know what to say..." His voice slowly trails off.

Aqua looks up at him and smiles. "You don't have to say anything...dad."

Charles' eyes widen. "W-What did you say?"

Aqua just smiles at him and licks his cheek affectionately.

Charles touches his cheek and stares at her in disbelief. "I-I, Aqua wh-"

Aqua places her paw over his mouth. "Shssh. Don't say anything, you will wake your daughter." She tilts her head towards Pearl.

Charles looks over at Pearl and sees her content expression. "Yea, best to not wake the baby up." He chuckles and looks at Aqua in his lap. He notices her peaceful smile as she looks over at Pearl. He leans over and kisses Aqua on her head and rubs her back.

"I am so happy that you have come to view me as such Aqua. I have always treated you as if you were family, but now I can truthfully say that you are. You don't know how much I have always wanted a family and now, I feel complete. Thank you for everything my dear." He hugs her tightly.

"I am happy that you are happy Un-, I mean dad. Wow, its gonna take some getting used to, to start calling you dad." She giggles.

Charles chuckles at her mishap. "It's ok, you don't have to call me dad. I kind of feel awkward and it makes me feel like I am replacing your actual father. You can still call me uncle Charlie, or Charles, or just Charlie for short. Whatever your preference is, it doesn't matter to me." He assures her.

"I know you don't want to feel like you are taking our father's place, but I am happy to call you dad. I feel like our family is whole again." She explains.

Charles continues to pet her head and watch Pearl sleep. "I have a feeling that things are going to get much better around here, but there is something that concerns me though."

Aqua perks her ears up. "Hm, what is it?"

"I know you have accepted me as a father figure and Pearl has because she grew up with me as her guardian, but what about your other siblings? I know some of them will have trouble accepting the idea of me becoming your guardian parent. I bet none of them even remember me like you and Topaz." He states in a worried tone.

Aqua sighs. "I can understand. It will be hard to explain it to all of them, especially since Topaz and I are the only ones so far that know of our mother's death. So I can't just openly tell them that you are our father guardian. Maybe I should wait until after everyone has met Pearl and learned the truth, it should be easier to accept then."

Charles nods. "Yea, we can probably tell Topaz now and I don't want him to feel left out while Pearl and I are here."

"Yea I am sure he won't have any objections, after all, you did save his life. It's the least he can do and I'm sure he will be happy with the idea of having someone to look after us so we don't feel alone." She looks towards the room entrance. "That reminds me; has anything happened with Topaz and our visitor?" She calmly asks.

"I guess I ought to take another look since I haven't checked in awhile. Alright let me see..." Charles uses his aura once again to locate the jolteon and the mysterious visitor. His aura suddenly sends out a signal right after it leaves the room.

"Looks like someone is about to enter the room." As he finishes his sentence he looks up and sees Topaz slowly enter. "So Topaz, what did our visitor want?" He questions the jolteon.

Topaz looks up with an uneasy expression. "Uh, it's kind of hard to explain." He looks at Aqua with a serious expression. "Hey sis, can I talk to uncle Charlie in private for a sec?"

Aqua tilts her head in confusion but sees the uneasiness in her brother's eyes. "Ok, sure, but don't keep me in the dark completely, I wanna know what happened that took you so long."

"It's ok, I will tell you everything, but I need to get uncle Charlie's input on something first." He calmly states. He looks at Charles, who nods and starts walking to the other end of the room. Topaz follows him and sits down. He takes a deep breath before speaking.

"Uncle Charlie, I have some good news, some not so good news, and some news I am not sure how to classify." Topaz says in a shaky breath.

"Well might as well start with the good news. What is it?"

"It's about our sudden visitor. You won't believe who it is." Topaz says in a hinted tone.

"Well, don't make me guess, who is it?" Charles sternly asks.

"Don't get your fur ruffled, I was just trying to get you excited." He looks back at his sister and sees she is grooming Pearl. He turns and says in a low tone. "It's Sid."

Charles' eyes widen and he gasps in shock. "What!"

"Shssh! Keep your voice down, I don't want Aqua to jump to the wrong conclusion." The jolteon sternly instructs.

Charles' ears flatten against his head. "Sorry, but it's hard to believe that Sid would come home at this time. I thought for sure he would be gone longer or something. This is great news, now you guys can be a family again. He has so much to catch up on-"

Topaz raises his paw to stop him. "That's where the not so good news comes in. He and I were talking out there and he didn't know about our mother or father's death, so I told him."

Charles panics momentarily. "Oh no; what happened, is he still here?"

"I told him to stay outside the room while I talk to you guys. I don't know for a fact if he stayed or if he ran away again. Do you want me to check?" Topaz asks.

"No, I don't want you to make him feel uncomfortable. If you look out there only to search for him and then return, he is going to feel as though you don't trust him which will probably cause him to run away again." Charles explains.

"Yea I guess you are right. Can you check?" Topaz looks at Charles questioningly.

"Yea, I'll check with my aura again." Charles repeats his aura search and detects the umbreon sitting a few feet away from the room entrance. "He is still here, so we don't have to worry about him. I will need to explain to him what happened to your parents, which I am not looking forward to doing."

"Well, I already told him that they both passed away awhile back from the virus. I also told him that I caught the virus and-" Topaz was suddenly stopped.

"You know telling him that would only make him feel worse; what was the point?" Charles asks in an annoyed tone.

"Well, I told him that I caught the virus, but that you gave me a cure for it and that I wouldn't be here talking to him if it wasn't true. So, he did freak out when I said that but he immediately calmed down afterward."

"Well, that's a relief; we don't need him becoming depressed. I still can't believe he is home, now he can meet Pearl and I know she will be happy to learn he is home for her to see." Charles states happily.

"And that's where the remaining portion of the news falls into place. He knows that Aqua and you are here and what's more; he remembers who you are, so he won't be uncomfortable around you. I purposely told him to stay outside the room because there was a surprise inside for him and that everything would be explained in time." Topaz looks at the lucario seriously.

Charles nods. "Good, I would rather him meet Pearl face to face than him be told about her and take it the wrong way." He looks over at Pearl and Aqua. "We should tell Aqua, but I would rather have it a surprise for both Pearl and Sid to meet each other. It would make for a better first impression."

"Yea, I agree. Well let's go tell Aqua, I am sure she will be as excited as I was when I first saw him again." Topaz states.

Charles looks at the jolteon curiously. "What did you do when you first saw that it was him?"

Topaz laughs. "Heh, it was a spur of the moment type of thing. I was so giddy and excited that I just pounced on him and hugged him to the point where I think I cut off his air for a few moments."

Charles laughed. "Ha, that's good. At least he knows he is still loved; it will make him feel more comfortable."

They both continue to walk over to Aqua who was resting next to Pearl. She looks up and sees them approaching.

"So, who was our mysterious visitor?" She curiously asks.

Charles and Topaz look at each other and Charles motions for Topaz to explain.

"You won't believe who it is sis; it's Sid, he's finally home." He explains with a smile.

Aqua's face beams and she jumps to her feet. "Really?! Oh my god, it has been so long. Does he look any different, does he remember us, come on don't just stand there tell me everything!"

Topaz pokes his sister on her head to calm her down. "Ok, first keep your voice down, we don't want Pearl to know about him being here just yet. Second, sit down because there are a few things I need to explain."

Aqua quickly sits down and looks at her brother in anticipation.

"Well where to start? He still looks the same, just a little bigger obviously. Same fur pattern, same personality; quiet/shy but has emotions like us all." Topaz explains sarcastically.

Charles nudges Topaz. "Stop fooling around and explain to her about the situation already."

Topaz looks at the lucario with an annoyed expression. "Alright, you guys never let me have any fun." He looks back at his sister whom has started shaking with excitement. "Ok, sis, we do have a small situation on our paws right now with Sid and Pearl."

Aqua looks at Pearl then back at her brother. "I understand. You want to make a slow approach so neither one of them are uncomfortable; so how do you want to do this?" She calmly asks.

Charles sits up straight and clears his throat. "I think we should just leave it as a surprise for Pearl when she wakes up. We will go get Sid and bring him inside. We will let him see Pearl and tell him the truth. Afterward, we will wake Pearl up so they can get to know each other. Does that sound good to you?"

Aqua and Topaz nod in unison.

"Alright then, Aqua you stay here with Pearl and keep her asleep and comfortable, Topaz and I will go get Sid." Charles slowly rises. He looks at Topaz and nods to signal him to go. "We will be back in a few moments, we just need to get Sid a little more comfortable before bringing him in." Charles waves at Aqua and follows Topaz towards the entrance of the room.

"Alright, I am going to rest my eyes until you return. Don't be too long." Aqua turns around and walks back to Pearl. She lies down next to the sleeping eevee and softly whispers into her ears. "Enjoy your dreams Pearl because we have a surprise for you when you wake up."

Pearl's ears twitch and Aqua smiles before she rests her head.

---

"Hm, I wonder what is taking Taz so long." Sid asks himself. He continues to stare at the room, waiting for the slightest sign of movement. "Maybe I should go take a peek to see what he's doing."

He starts to stand but stops when he hears footsteps approaching. He looks up at the room again and sees Topaz walk out of it followed by a lucario whom he recognized as Charles.

"Ah there you are; I was beginning to think you forgot about me." Sid says jokingly.

"You know I could never forget my favorite little brother." Topaz states sarcastically.

Sid laughs. "You mean your only little brother."

Topaz nudges him. "All the more reason that you're my favorite."

Sid blushes and shies away. "Come on, you're embarrassing me."

"Oh is that so?" Topaz grins evilly.

Sid catches glimpse of his brother's grin and panics. "Don't you dare do what I think you are going to do."

Topaz laughs in a sinister voice as he slowly approaches his brother.

"Taz, I mean it. Don't you come any closer or else I am going to leave." Sid tries to persuade Topaz but to no avail.

"No, you won't; you promised to stay until you drew your dying breath and that's a promise, I intend on making you keep." Topaz grins again as he slowly continues to approach Sid.

Sid gulps audibly and starts shaking as Topaz drew closer. He starts to speak but it is cut off as Topaz quickly dashes forward and covers his mouth with his paw.

"Ah, ah, ah; can't have you ruining the moment." Topaz calmly speaks to the umbreon.

Sid's eyes widen as he sees his brother's other paw slowly lower towards his stomach. He starts shaking his head furiously in protest. He tries to scream and yell but his voice was muffled by his brother's paw covering his mouth.

"How about we make you a little more comfortable, hm?" Topaz calmly asks aloud as he slowly pushes Sid onto his back. "There we go, nice and comfy, huh?" He asks Sid only to hear the umbreon let out a muffled squeal of protest. "Hehehe, just like old times huh, little bro." Topaz slowly reaches for Sid's stomach again and laughs evilly.

Sid begins to writhe back and forth, trying to break free of his brother's grasp. He finally manages to free his mouth from Topaz's paw, but it was too late.

Topaz had slowly lowered his paw and rested it upon his brother's stomach. He teasingly began to rub his paw back and forth, enjoying the slow torture of his brother. After his brother freed his mouth, Topaz took that as the initiative to start his real torture; tickling. He started mercilessly tickling his brother all over his body.

"NO! Stop...please...don't...make...me...laugh." Sid barely managed to speak through his choked down laughter.

"Come on...laugh! You know you want to! Let me hear that cute little laugh of yours Sid!" Topaz shouted over his tickle assault.

Sid continued to squirm back and forth trying to hold in his laughter. Soon the pressure was too much and he couldn't hold it back anymore. Sid screeched and let out a high-pitched laughter that sounded like a child giggling. "Hahaha, no please, hahaha, stop!" He started crying from his forced laughter.

"There we go; that's the laugh I remember and love. I knew I could make you do it." Topaz teasingly states as he stops his assault on his little brother.

Sid continues to roll back and forth trying to control his body. After the effects of the tickling died down, he rolled onto his stomach and looked at his brother in a hurtful expression.

"Why did you do that to me? You know how much I hate my laughter, yet you constantly force me to laugh by tickle assaulting me. Ugh, I can't show my face like this." Sid covers his face in his paws and groans with frustration.

"Aw, poor baby bro doesn't like it when I tickle him?" Topaz teasingly asks.

"Topaz stop teasing him, can't you see he isn't happy at all from your childish games. Look at him, he is crying because you forced him to do something he doesn't like." Charles states in a serious tone and points at Sid.

Topaz looks back over to his brother and sure enough sees tears streaming from his eyes. "Aw, I am sorry Sid. I know you don't like your laughter at all, but the rest of us love to hear it. It always cheers us up when you laugh. Please forgive me, I only wanted to have a little fun with my little bro whom I haven't seen in almost a year." He walks over and nuzzles his brother's cheek.

Sid sniffles. "It's ok, but please don't force me to do it anymore. I know you guys love it, but I hate it, it seems too childish for me to have it." Sid looks at Topaz with a saddened expression.

Topaz smiles. "I know it seems childish, but it's the cuteness of it we like. Now come on, dry your tears so we can talk."

Sid slowly cleans himself up and sits upright. "Ok, I'm good now. What did you want to talk about?" he looks back and forth between Topaz and Charles.

Topaz looks at Charles and then tilts his head towards Sid. Charles understands the hint and clears his throat to speak.

"Ok, where to begin. Well, Topaz has told me that you were informed of your late parent's death. My question to you is; do you have any questions in regards to that?" Charles questions him.

"I don't think so. Topaz told me they died from a virus that suddenly appeared here in the forest. So I guess nothing more can be said about that." Sid says with a hint of sadness.

"Alright then, moving on. I was also informed by Topaz that he told you he was struck with the virus. Do you have any questions about that?"

"Well there is one question, it's about the cure. How did you make one?" Sid asks with a strong sense of curiosity.

"Actually, I have been wondering about that too." Topaz states with his own curiosity.

"I am sorry, but I would rather not reveal any details about the cure. I am afraid you wouldn't be able to handle it." Charles states in a serious tone.

"Oh, ok then, I won't press the issue." Sid says in a calm tone.

"Aw come on uncle Charlie, I am sure we can handle it." Topaz urged the lucario.

"I said no Topaz, don't make me repeat myself once more." Charles gives Topaz a stern look.

Topaz's ears lower and he cringes at the stare. "Ok, I'm sorry, don't kill me."

Charles rolls his eyes. "Oh come on, you know I would never hit you let alone kill you." He turns back to Sid and takes a deep breath. "Ok Sid, I assume you do not have any other questions regarding the virus, so I am going to move onto the main reason why were are talking to you."

Sid nods. "Ok, what is it you needed to tell me?"

"Well it's about the little 'surprise' Topaz told you about." Charles stated.

Sid looks at the lucario with a questioning stare. "Well, it won't be a surprise if you tell me what it is."

Charles shakes his head. "Well to tell you the truth Sid, you are the surprise."

Sid tilts his head and raises his eyebrow. Topaz chuckles at his brother's reaction.

"What do you mean, I am the surprise? What on earth are you talking about? You are speaking in riddles and it is confusing the crap out of me." Sid says in a slightly annoyed and confused tone.

Charles sighs. "Oh boy, this is going to be hard to explain. Maybe it would be better if I just showed you. I don't think you will understand any of this is I try to explain it without a visual reference."

"What?" Sid questions, even more confused than before.

Topaz starts laughing at his brother's confusion.

Charles looks over at Topaz and smirks. "I wouldn't be laughing if I were you Topaz. I have two instances I can use against you and I am not afraid to tell your brother about either one of them." He says in a sinister like voice.

Topaz's eyes widen and he stares at Charles. "You wouldn't."

"Oh yea, try me pin cushion."

"What are you two talking about?" Sid questions, still confused as ever.

Charles grins evilly and looks at Topaz before speaking to Sid. "Hey Sid, you wanna know something embarrassing that happened to Topaz? It's the least I can do after that moment he forced upon you a little bit ago.

Sid nods with a smile. "Sure I would love to know something like that, hehe." A wicked grin forms as he looks at his brother.

"Well, yesterday when I was giving Topaz the cure for the virus, I had to apply a special ointment to help with it. When I started applying the ointment, apparently your brother here got a little excited and had an erection by the time I was done." Charles explains with an evil laugh.

"Hahaha, big brother likes it when guys rub him!" Sid falls onto the floor laughing.

Topaz turns bright red and hides his face. "Aw man...what is wrong with you? You just love to make me miserable don't you. Aqua teased me about the same thing earlier today." He groans into his paws as he tries to hide himself further.

Charles laughs. "Well I figure it's payback for laughing at your brother and forcing him to laugh when you know for a fact he doesn't like to."

"Ugh, can we just get this over with, please?" Topaz rises and walks towards the room.

"Indeed, come on Sid, you've had your fun, now let's go." Charles instructs the umbreon sibling.

Sid stops rolling and slowly gets up to follow the other two. 'I wonder what this little surprise is, and what did they mean I am also a surprise? Surely they told Aqua about me being here already, so what else could they mean?' He continues to ponder as he slowly follows the others into the room.

"Alright, let me go tell Aqua we're back. Sid you just sit here for the moment, we will call you over when it's time." Charles instructs him.

"Ok, I guess. This whole thing still has me a bit confused, but I guess everything will come together soon enough." Sid shrugs.

Charles nods. "Yes, indeed." He and Topaz walk over to the resting vaporeon.

"Come on sis, Sid is here, you need to get up." Topaz begins to gently push his sister.

"Huh? What did I miss?" Aqua asks with a yawn.

"Sid is here in the room, but before you jump up to meet him, I need you to keep Pearl hidden from view. We did not tell him about her yet and I would rather keep it as a surprise." Charles explains.

Aqua tilts her head but nods in agreement. "Ok, so what do you want me to do, just sit here with Pearl hidden behind my back?"

"Yes, I will call him over in a second and let you two converse, but I would like to get this over with as soon as possible because he is getting antsy." Charles states.

"Ok, call him over. Topaz why don't you sit in front of me to help hide Pearl better?" Aqua hints at her brother.

Charles nods. "That's a good idea; the more cover we provide, the less likely the situation will get awkward."

Topaz moves in front of his sister and assumes a sitting position. "Ok, go get Sid, I want to see his reaction, when he finally meets her." He tries to hold back a fit of laughter.

Charles rolls his eyes and sighs. "Ok, I'll be back in a sec." He walks over to Sid. "Ok, Sid, you can come over now. I must warn you, when you see what it is we are talking about, try not to freak out or anything." Charles gives him a serious look.

"Ok, I doubt what you will show me will cause me to freak out, but whatever." Sid slowly walks over and smiles as he see his sister Aqua.

Aqua giggles as she sees her dark brother approaching. "Well, well, well, look who decided to finally come home. How have you been Sid?" She calmly asks, trying to mask her excitement.

Sid looks down nervously. "Uh, I have been good sis, how about you?"

"Um, Sid dear, I am up here not on the floor." Aqua suppresses a giggle at her brother's shyness.

Sid blushes at his sister. "I am sorry, but it's been so long. It feels like I am talking to someone new, forgive me."

"No need to be sorry Sid. I can understand if you aren't comfortable with talking. I mean you were always the anti-social one of the family." Aqua calmly states.

Sid's ears lower as he starts to feel ashamed of his past nature.

Aqua notices his sudden change of mood and attempts to correct her mistake. "I am sorry Sid, I didn't mean to-"

"It's ok;. I am not proud of my past self. Now that I look back, I feel ashamed that I was so distant from the family all along, even when I was here with you all. It was wrong of me to be like that." Sid confesses.

Topaz lets out a small growl. "Sid, what did I tell you about attacking yourself about that?" He questions his brother in a serious manner.

Sid swallows audibly. "Ok, I won't do it anymore, just please don't hit me again."

"Hit you? Topaz why did you hit him?" Aqua questions the jolteon.

Topaz sighs. "Well he started attacking himself, saying he was ashamed of himself and that he should just leave so not to burden us with his presence. I couldn't take it any more so I decided to persuade him in a forceful manner that no matter what he does, he will always be a part of this family and we all still love him."

Aqua nods. "Yea I can understand, but I still believe physically persuading him was a bit much." She looks at the umbreon. "You are ok, aren't you Sid?" She asks with a concerned tone.

"Yea, I am ok, it didn't hurt too bad but it didn't feel good either." He rubs his cheek again where he was struck.

Aqua giggles. "Ok then, if you are alright, then I think we have something important to discuss."

Sid's ears perk up. "Is it about the 'surprise'? What is it?"

Aqua looks at Charles and he shrugs, she then looks over to Topaz and receives a nod. Finally she returns her gaze to her dark sibling. "Ok, well it is better to show you, so hold on a second while I move." She slowly rises as Topaz moves out of the way. She steps to the side and exposes Pearl to her brother.

Sid's eyes widen as he first lays eyes on the sleeping form. He continues to stare until he is snapped out of his thoughts by his sister. He looks at her as she begins to speak.

"Sid, I would like to introduce you to Pearl. She is a very special eevee that means so much to us all and even you." She calmly explains.

Sid tilts his head. "What do you mean? I have never met her before, how can she mean so much to me when I don't even know her?"

Aqua looks down at Pearl , then looks back to her brother with a smile. "She means a lot to you because she is your little sister."

Sid's eyes pop open and he looks back and forth between Aqua and the sleeping eevee. "What?"

"You heard me correctly Sid. This little bundle of joy is your new baby sister." She happily states.

Sid continues to stare in disbelief at his new supposed sister.

"Someone is speechless." Topaz chuckles.

"Hey, he is doing better than you. You fainted when you learned the truth." Charles replies with a snicker.

Topaz's ears fold back. "Oh yea, pick on me again why don't ya?" He says in a mock pouting voice.

Aqua giggles at her brother's embarrassment. She looks back at Sid who continues to stare at Pearl.

"Um, Sid, you do know it is impolite to stare, don't you?" She asks in a sarcastic tone.

Sid blinks a few times and looks at Aqua. "Are you telling the truth? Do I really have a new little sister?" He asks her with a glimmer of hope.

Aqua smiles at him again. "Yes silly, she is a part of this family. You have a new little sister that will look up to you and want to play with you. So you better be nice, or I am going to personally discipline you." She says in a mock serious tone.

Sid flinches. "Ok ok, you know me better Aqua. I would never harm someone unless they intended to harm me or someone I loved and cared about, first."

Aqua embraces him in a hug. "That's good to hear. Now why don't you go say hi to your little sister. I am sure she is anxious to meet you. In fact this is a surprise for her, she doesn't even know you are here. So when she wakes up, she will be greeted by her other big brother and I am sure she is going to want to play with you."

Sid looks at Aqua with a surprised expression. "So she doesn't know that I am here? Well I guess I ought to surprise her when she wakes up." He let's go of his sister and approaches the sleeping eevee. "She is such a beautiful looking Pokémon. How is her fur colored like this? She kind of looks like mom but without the silver shiny color."

"Pearl is an albino Pokémon. These are like shiny Pokémon, but they are solid white color and usually have a pinkish tone to their skin and eyes." Charles explains.

"Ah yes, I remember now. I met an albino vulpix when I was away; she was really nice." Sid reminisced for a moment before a sound jerked his attention.

"Ah looks like she is finally starting to wake. Sid, now would be your chance to figure out a way to surprise her when she fully awakens." Aqua calmly states.

"I don't know what to do. What if she doesn't like me?" He questions with concern.

"Oh you will be fine. Trust me she isn't the type to dislike someone. She grew attached to both of us within the first five minutes of meeting us, so you have nothing to worry about." Aqua assures him.

"Ok then." Sid turns his attention back to the stirring eevee and waits patiently for her to awaken.

---

Pearl slowly begins to awaken after hearing voices from all around her. She recognized some of them as her dad, sister and brother, but there was a fourth voice that she didn't know of.

'I wonder what's going on.' She groggily thinks to herself.

"Come on Pearl, wake up. We have a surprise for you." She hears a voice talk to her.

Her eyes pop open at the mention of a surprise. She is immediately greeted by a pair of deep blue eyes in her face.

"Hi there." The Pokémon greets her.

Pearl screams and hides behind her tail.

"Uh oh, what did I do?" She hears the voice question in a worried tone.

"Well you shouldn't have been right in here face when she woke up. There is a difference between surprising and scaring someone." Aqua explains.

"Come on Pearl, he won't hurt you." Pearl feels a paw brush her side and she immediately relaxes at the gentle touch.

"That's better, now why don't you come out and show us your cute little smile we all know and love."

Pearl slowly raises her head and discovers the Pokémon she saw isn't anywhere to be seen. She continues to look around in confusion.

'Was I just imagining things?' She questions mentally.

"Is something wrong Pearl?"

She looks up and sees Charles looking at her with a questioning look.

"Yea, what happened to the Pokémon I saw, when I woke up?" She calmly asks.

Charles' ears perk up. "Oh, he is sitting over there." He points towards the center of the room.

Pearl shifts her gaze towards the direction the lucario pointed. Her eyes widen when she sees a black Pokémon with white ring shaped markings on his body, sitting with his back turns towards her.

'I wonder...' Pearl slowly gets up and starts walking towards the dark Pokémon.

"Pea-" Aqua stops when Charles raises a paw.

"Don't; let her do this herself." He instructs.

Pearl continues to slowly walk towards the figure in the middle of the room. 'It couldn't be him. Dad said he was gone.' She thinks to herself. When she stops behind the Pokémon, she looks at his body one more time before speaking.

"Sid?"

Sid's ears twitch. He slowly turns his head and looks at the little eevee behind him. He smiles.

"Hi there, Pearl."

Pearl feels a glimmer of hope. "Is it really you?"

He fully turns around to look at the small Pokémon. He notices her hopeful expression and feels his heart relax.

"Yes it is me, little sister. I am here, so I can be with you every day."

Pearl's face lights up and she jumps at her brother and knocks him onto his back. She nuzzles him and hugs him tightly.

"Hehe, it's good to meet you too Pearl. I hear you are quite the cute little bundle of joy; is that true?" He asks in a teasing manner.

Pearl blushes and smiles at him.

He ruffles her head fur and hugs her. "I thought so."

Pearl looks up at him. "Big brother, can I ask you something?"

He looks down at her. "Yea sure, you can ask me anything."

Pearl looks away before asking in an a innocent voice. "Can we play?"

Sid looks at his other siblings and Charles and sees them all smile and nod.

"Sure thing." He gently sets Pearl on the ground and stands up. "So what do you want to-" He stops as he sees Pearl get into a battle ready stance, wiggling back and forth in anticipation. Sid laughs to himself. 'So, she wants to do a little play match, ok then.'

Pearl starts shaking herself more vigorously as she watched her dark brother walk away and turn to lower himself into a similar stance.

'Ok, big brother let's see what you can do.' She continues to stare at him only blinking when necessary so she wouldn't miss any movements. She noticed Sid wink at her and took that as a sign to attack, then started to run at him, full speed.

Sid grinned as he saw his little sister fall for his ploy. He stood perfectly still, waiting for the right time to counter. He glanced behind him and saw a long shadow on the ground. 'Perfect, that should do nicely.' He grins as he begins to scheme his next move.

Pearl continues to run at her brother full speed and notices him starting to retreat backwards. 'Oh no you don't, you aren't getting away from me.' She activates her agility skill and starts running at him with blinding speed.

Sid notices her sudden increase in speed and smiles. 'Oh boy, she is going to hurt herself, but she has to learn to control herself with her attacks.' He stops walking backwards and looks down for a split second and notices that he is directly on top of the shadow. 'Good, now all I need to do is wait.' He looks up and sees Pearl closing the gap between them quickly.

Pearl continues to run and leaps at her brother with a sonic tackle attack. As she draws closer, she notices her brother grin and wink again. A few seconds before she hits him, he falls into the shadow on the ground. Pearl gasps at his sudden disappearance and continues to fly through the air.

A loud crashing noise is heard and everyone gasps in horror.

"Oh god, Pearl!" Aqua shouts and runs over to mess.

Charles and Topaz run after her. "Pearl! Can you hear me?" Topaz calls out.

No response.

"Oh no...don't tell me..." Aqua's voice trails off as she begins to form tears.

Topaz jumps into the debris and starts frantically searching for the little eevee. "Shut up Aqua! Don't you dare think such things! She can't be gone, she just can't be!" He shouts over his sobs.

After a few moments of endlessly searching, Topaz manages to remove all of the debris but couldn't find Pearl.

"W-Where is she?" He starts looking through the pile again.

"Do not bother Topaz, she isn't in there; her aura signature isn't sending out at any signals." Charles calmly states.

Topaz looks at him with a fierce look. "How can you be so calm? Don't you even care about her?"

Charles returns the look and growls. "How dare you...I have raised her ever since she was born; what makes you think I don't care that we can't seem to find her? It is taking all of my willpower to even remain the slightest bit calm during this, so don't you lash out at me."

Topaz folds his ears over. "Sorry, but this whole situation has me on edge maybe even over."

"Ugh, that was one hell of a catch..."

Aqua, Topaz, and Charles all jump at the sound of the mysterious voice. When they turn around, they see Sid standing on three legs with Pearl hanging from his mouth by the scruff of her neck.

"Oh my god, what happened?" Aqua asks with a panicked tone.

"It's ok; I think she is just out from the shock of the impact." Sid calmly states as he lowers Pearl onto the floor and limps over to the middle of the room.

Charles rushes over and checks Pearl's vital signs for any trace of trauma. He looks up at Sid, whom cringes as he tries to lower himself onto the floor.

"Sid, what happened? We saw you disappear into the floor and then Pearl hits the table, but you two emerge on the other side of the room." He looks at Sid with a puzzled expression.

"Oh, I guess I ought to explain." Sid manages to lower himself and lie down. "Well, I thought I would surprise Pearl by disappearing using my shadow fade ability. When I saw her increase her speed, I knew I had no choice but to get out of the way otherwise she would have broken a couple of bones in my body. So as she approached, I dematerialized into the shadow and hid along the wall over there." He points over at a wall covered completely by darkness.

Charles looks over at the wall and then back at the injured umbreon. "That doesn't fully explain how you managed to gain an injury and then appear on the other side of the room."

Sid draws a deep breath and continues to explain. "When I saw that Pearl had no ability to stop herself, I looked to where she would land and panicked. I ran as fast as I could through the shadow and emerged out of it in front of the table. Unfortunately, since she was going at such high speed, I wasn't able to activate my ability fast enough and we both connected with the table before we fell into another shadow. The impact from the crash into the table caused me to injure my leg and Pearl was knocked unconscious. I would have emerged sooner, but I had to limp out of harm's way with her in my mouth which isn't an easy feat to do."

Aqua walks over and nuzzles her brother. "That was quick thinking Sid. Thank you for saving her life, I don't know what I would do if I lost her."

"Hey, she's my little sister too. I gotta look out for her with the best of my ability, even though I am the one who caused her to get hurt." He lowered his head in shame.

Topaz walks over and rubs his brother's back gently. "Hey it's not your fault. You didn't know what she was capable of. Now come on, lay on your side so uncle Charlie can look at your leg." He gently pushes the umbreon onto his side and elects a hissing noise from him.

Sid slowly rolls over. "Ouch, this hurts worse than I thought it would. I am sorry for being a nuisance."

Topaz growls at his brother. "Don't you start attacking yourself again or you know what will happen. Just because you have a damaged leg doesn't mean I won-" Topaz stops and gasps as he gets a clear view of his brother's injured leg. "Oh my god, your leg!"

Aqua looks down at Sid's leg and screams. "AH! What is tha-" She suddenly faints from the sight before her.

Charles jumps to his feet and rushes over to Sid when he hears the two sibling's panic filled screams. He slides to a halt and falls to his knees next to Sid and gasps at the dark Pokémon's leg.

"My god, I have never seen a bone fracture and displacement as bad as this before." He stammers his speech as he slowly takes in the sight before him.

Sid slowly twists his body to look at his leg. His eyes widen in fear and shock as he notices how bad his leg is. "What is that on my leg?" He hesitantly asks, referencing a white object stuck in his leg.

Charles looks at the umbreon with a shocked expression. "Um, Sid, that is your femur bone, it's supposed to be inside your leg and pointed in the other direction."

"WHAT!?" Sid barely manages to scream out before he looks at his bloody exposed bone and passes out.

Charles turns to Topaz, whom has remained frozen in shock. "Topaz, I need your help with this." He states trying to snap the jolteon out of his daze.

No response.

"TOPAZ!" He yells at the top of his lungs.

Topaz jumps at the sudden outburst. "Huh, what?" He shakily looks at Charles.

Charles sighs. "Topaz, I need your help; your brother is losing too much blood. I need you to come over here and squeeze the upper part of his leg as hard as you can to prevent the blood from flowing to the wound. I will re-align the bone and seal up his wound, but it does me no good if he is bleeding uncontrollably the whole time."

Topaz shakes his head vigorously. "I can't do that! I am sorry but I ca-"

"Then he will die!" Charles shouts at him.

Topaz's eyes widen in pure fear. "No! I can't lose him, not now!"

"Then get over here and help me. If I could do this by myself, then I wouldn't ask for your help, but this is an emergency." Charles motions for Topaz to walk over.

Topaz hesitantly walks over and cringes at the sight of the exposed bone. "Ok, what do I need to do?"

"Grab the upper part of his leg and squeeze as hard as you can. That should stop most of the blood flow to his wound, which will make it easier to for me to fix and seal up." Charles calmly explains.

Topaz looks down at his brother's leg and slowly begins to grip it. He moves himself into a leaning position and proceeds to squeeze as hard as he can. Soon enough the flow of blood from the open wound slows and Charles immediately starts working.

"Ok, the whole wound is clean and sterilized. The only things left to do are to re-align the bone and mend it, and then seal his wound." Charles grips the bone in one paw and the leg in another. He looks at Topaz and warns him. "Ok, Topaz, in a moment I am going to forcefully push his bone back into alignment. I do not know if the immense amount of pain will wake him or not, so I need you to restrain him if that happens; can you do that for me?"

Topaz nods. "Yea, I'll do my best; just get that thing back into his leg before I throw up."

Charles nods and turns back to the task at hand. "Ok, here I go, prepare yourself." In a swift motion, he twists the bone and pushes it back into the fallen umbreon's leg. It makes a sickening cracking sound that causes Topaz to gag. "Hold out for another few seconds while I mend the bone with my aura." He instructs the disturbed jolteon.

"O-ok, ugh my god that was disgusting." Topaz twitches as his mind replays the scene again.

"This isn't good." Charles mutters to himself.

Topaz's ears perk up. "What do you mean, what happened?"

Charles looks at the jolteon with a serious expression. "Well, since I already used up most of my aura today trying to keep track of what was going on with you and Sid when he first arrived, I do not have enough strength left to fully mend his bone. I can use the remaining amount of my aura to fully seal his wound so he doesn't bleed out, but he will have to recover the normal way for a couple of days."

Topaz looks at the lucario with a concerned expression. "Is he going to be ok?"

"Yea, he will live, you can rest assured on that. He is just going to have to rest and stay off his leg for a few days." Charles calmly explains.

"Poor guy, he's not even back for a whole day and he's already out of commission." Topaz looks at Charles. "So, what happens now? I mean what are we going to do about him?"

"I think it best if I take Sid home with me, to finish treating his injuries. Besides, it's getting late and your other siblings will be getting home soon. The last thing we want is for them to be overwhelmed by their brother's sudden return and having their new sister here too." Charles looks at the unconscious umbreon and then glances behind him at the slumbering eevee.

"Yea, I can see your point. Ok, you take him home with you and nurse him back to health. I am sure Pearl would like to spend more time with him anyways." Topaz suggests. "You can just bring him back with you tomorrow and we will just have to introduce one of the others to Pearl and allow them to see Sid again. I am sure he will be fine with that."

"It's settled then; we will just have to reunite Sid with his siblings one at a time just like with Pearl." Charles states.

Topaz looks over at his sister, whom is still unconscious. "I better wake Aqua up so we can explain everything." He slowly walks towards the vaporeon.

"Yea, let me go collect Pearl and set her here so I can take them both home when I am ready to leave." Charles turns around and walks towards Pearl.

"Aqua, hey Aqua, come on wake up." Topaz gently nudges his sister only to receive no response. Topaz groans in frustration. "Well looks like I have to do this the hard way." He slowly builds up static in his fur, and then touches his sister. The static electricity shoots into his sister's body and causes her to flail for a second.

"Ah! What the heck was that?" Aqua scrambles to her feet and looks back and forth for her supposed attacker. When she sees Topaz next to her, she gives him a curious look. "Topaz, did you just shock me?"

Topaz lowers his head shamefully. "Yes it was me, I was trying to wake you up but you wouldn't move, so I decided to give you a little jump start."

"Oh, it's ok, just don't do it again. You know I can't handle electricity well being a water type and all." She looks over her brother's shoulder and sees Sid lying on the ground unconscious. Her memory comes back to her and she gasps. "Sid, oh no, is he alright?"

"Yea, he's fine for right now, but I'm afraid I have some bad news." Topaz glances back at his brother. "Uncle Charlie said he used up too much of his aura when he was trying to keep an eye on me and Sid earlier, so he couldn't fully mend his bone back together. He was able to use the rest of his aura to seal up his wound so he won't bleed to death."

"Well that's unfortunate. Well everyone is going to have to leave him alone when they get home."

"Actually, uncle Charlie and I decided that Sid should go back with him and Pearl to their house. He will finish patching up Sid, but he said he will have to recover the old fashioned way and stay off his leg for a couple days." Topaz explains.

Aqua gives him a serious look. "Don't you think it's unfair to the others, to hide him away from them?"

"Well, we aren't really hiding him away. Uncle Charlie said he will bring Sid back here with him when he returns with Pearl tomorrow. This way, Pearl can spend some more time with Sid, and the others can see Sid again and meet Pearl." He states with a smile.

Aqua relaxes. "Ok, I guess it's the best thing to do. At least Pearl can spend some quiet time with him. Maybe he will tell her about any adventures he had when he was away, I am sure she would like that. Also, only exposing one of our siblings to him at a time, like we are doing with Pearl, will probably much easier on him."

"Yea, that's what I think." Charles states as he walks over with Pearl sleeping in his arms.

Aqua looks up at the lucario and smiles when she sees her sister. "Yea, I am sure she will be excited to see him home with you two when she wakes up. Just make sure she doesn't do anything drastic around him." She looks once more at her dark sibling. "And make sure he takes it easy. If I remember correctly, he is very stubborn, so he will wind up worsening his injury if he tries to push himself too soon."

"Do not worry; I will keep a constant eye out for him. If I ever have to leave his side for any reason, I will be sure to have Pearl there to keep him company." Charles sighs and looks up through the skylight in the ceiling. "Well, I better say my goodbyes you two. By the looks of things, your siblings should be coming home anytime now and I would much rather be out of here when they show up, otherwise we will have one heck of a situation on our hands."

Aqua and Topaz nod. "Alright then, it was nice seeing you again uncle Charlie. I look forward to tomorrow." Topaz states happily.

"Oh yea before I forget; Topaz, uncle Charlie says we need to ask one of our sisters to stay home tomorrow with us. Which one would you like to stay?" Aqua questions her brother.

"To be honest, we better tell Amy to stay home because if she finds out by reading the minds of the others, she will probably be upset. Also, she is very good at persuading others to reveal any hidden info even without the help of her powers. At least this way, we don't have to worry about her prying for information." Topaz explains.

Charles nods. "Good idea. The others don't have strong mental abilities, so Amy is your main concern for now. If she catches a hint that you two are hiding something, she is going to persuade the other's to help her convince you to tell them."

"Yea, it was hard enough trying to hide the information about mom and Pearl when I was telling them what happened to Topaz. This morning, Amy even asked me if there was anything else bothering me, so obviously I wasn't completely convincing." Aqua stated.

"Well, good luck you two. I need to leave now if I have any hopes of making it back home before it gets too dark out." Charles stands up and walks over to Sid. He slowly kneels down and positions the umbreon in his arms so as not to wake him or Pearl. He looks over his shoulder and smiles at the siblings. "I will see you two tomorrow and make sure you stay out of trouble especially with your sisters. I don't want you two to be put in uncomfortable positions."

"Ok uncle Charlie; we will be here tomorrow, hopefully with Amy." Topaz states as he waves his paw.

"Be safe going home." Aqua states in a concerned tone. "I'd rather not have anything happen to you or them on your way home."

Charles smiles. "Don't worry, Aqua; none of the Pokémon in this forest would attack me. They all know by now that I am here to help them and their families. Well, goodbye you two, see you tomorrow." He turns towards the exit and slowly walks away.

When Charles exits the cave, Topaz turns to his sister and sighs. "Wow, today was one doozey of a day wasn't it?"

Aqua nods. "Yea, you met Pearl for the first time and I must say; you two looked so cute playing together."

Topaz blushes. "She's the cute one, not me. I am just as uncle Charlie called me; a 'pin cushion'."

Aqua giggles. "Aw, but hey, you're my little pin cushion." She hugs him tightly.

Topaz lets out a contented sigh. "Yea, I am so glad we have her with us now. Plus, Sid came back home, so now it feels like our family is whole again. Only thing we are missing is a guardian to love us like our parents would."

Aqua nuzzles her brother's cheek. "Silly, we have a guardian too."

Topaz looks at his sister with a puzzled expression. "What?"

Aqua smiles and nudges her brother. "Uncle Charlie will look after us. He has showed so much compassion, love, and concern towards us; it's hard not to think of him as part of the family."

"You're right sis. He has already devoted his time to make sure I pulled through for all of us to be happy. He is taking the time to introduce us to our new little sister, whom I might add, was entrusted to him by our own mother. He definitely makes an effort to keep us together. I wouldn't mind having him like a new father to us." Topaz looks at his sister and hugs her.

She nuzzles his chest and smiles at him. "I am so glad you think that way brother because I already told him that I saw him like a new dad to us, for all of the effort to keep our fragile family together."

Topaz looks down at her and smiles. "Thank you Aqua; you are definitely looking out for us. I believe its best we had someone like him in our lives now. He has helped us so much recently; it's hard to imagine life without him."

Aqua nods and leans on her brother. "Yea, I want to see us all together as a family again, just like the old days."

"So do I Aqua and it all starts with that little bundle of joy he so graciously allowed us to meet."

"I can't wait for tomorrow to see her again; I love her so much." Aqua states contently.

"As do I Aqua." Topaz looks up through the skylight and sees stars. 'Thank you for everything, I don't know what we would do without you; I love you uncle Charlie...dad.'

End Chapter 3

~~~[]~~~

Ah, the emotions displayed in this chapter, so touching.

Well, sorry if it seemed like I was going off on a tangent a few times. Once again, I cannot control that; bad habit.

If you are curious about the 'lullaby', it is actually modified lyrics from a song called 'Amazing' by an artist named Janelle. The song is special to me, so I thought I would share it with you all.

Criticism is still appreciated and be sure to leave any other questions or comments.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the chapters and I look forward to hearing from you all.