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Chapter 8, the finale in the 'Series of Encounters'.

Since you all are dying to read to find out what happens; I'll just move on without a lengthy intro.

*Oh and once again, some major flirting occurs and some suggestive moments but of course no yiff. Don't expect any in this whole series; just adult humor and themes at the most.*

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

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• Celesteon, the Apprentice of Light -

Reunion Arc - Ch. 8

Ruby looks at Topaz and then at Aqua who seemed worried. "What just happened?"

Topaz places a paw on her shoulder. "Come with me; you and I have something to discuss and Aqua is involved."

"Ok." Ruby hesitantly states.

Topaz walks over to the other side of the room with Aqua and Ruby following. He turns and faces them.

"Alright Ruby there is something we need to discuss with you. Please promise me you will hear us out through to the end." Topaz pleads.

Ruby nods slowly. "Ok, I will listen."

Topaz takes a deep breath. "Well I guess I ought to start from the beginning. Ruby what I am about to tell you might shock you but please bear with me."

"I promise I will not freak out or anything, just please tell me what is going on."

"Ruby...Aqua and I have found love with each other. It happened earlier today while you and the twins were out hunting. I have always loved Aqua for the protection and devotion she has shown to me and over time that feeling grew."

Ruby looks to her sister. "What about you, Aqua?"

Aqua sighs. "My feelings for Topaz have always been there as well. Ever since we evolved, I grew to like him more and more; I wanted to be around him more, be close to him, I wanted him. Earlier today, he confessed his feelings without knowing so."

Ruby tilts her head in confusion. "He...confessed without knowing?"

Aqua nods. "Yes; it was in his sleep that he confessed his feelings to me, but he was sleep talking at the same time."

Ruby gives them a skeptical look.

"It is true Ruby. When I woke up, Aqua was kissing me. It was at that moment that I knew she felt the same way towards me as I did her. I returned the kiss and we have been truly in love with each other since. We have also agreed to be mates." Topaz explains.

Ruby sighs. "Alright then; I understand what you two feel for each other."

"You didn't let me finish Ruby." Topaz states.

Ruby gives him a pained look. "I don't think I need to know anymore." She starts to stand and walk away.

Topaz runs in front of her. "But it's about you Ruby; please, you said you would listen all the way through."

Ruby's ears perk up. "About me? What do you have to say?"

Topaz walks her back over to Aqua. "Ruby, the truth is, I love you too."

She gives him a confused look.

"Ruby, I have had feelings for you too all this time. I loved the attention you gave me; it made me feel like a significant figure in your life. I loved the time we spent together, your devotion to always be around me; it made me want to be around you more. Through the sheer contact with you I have come to love you for who you are; your personality, your beauty, your nature all appealed to me and it was something I fell in love with."

Ruby stares at him; awestruck.

Topaz walks over to Ruby and lowers himself submissively. "Please Ruby, don't push me away. All I ask from you in return, is to share the feelings I have for you."

"I don't know what to say..."

Topaz looks at her with pleading eyes. "Ruby, I love you with my heart and soul, but I cannot choose between you and Aqua; please don't make me have to. I love you both so much; I would do anything for you." He lowers his head submissively. "Ruby, will you be my mate?"

Ruby looks at him, speechless, with tears in her eyes. She looks over and sees Aqua looking down at the ground.

"No..."

Topaz cringes at the answer and looks up at her with a hurtful, pained expression.

Ruby walks over to her sister and takes her paw in her own. She looks over at Topaz and sees his heartbroken reaction. She smiles. "I will not make you choose between us Topaz, but I will not choose between you two either." She nuzzles her sister's neck.

Aqua looks at her in a surprised manner. "You mean...?"

Ruby kisses her. When she breaks the kiss, she looks at Topaz. "Yes, I want to be your mate, but not just yours..." She turns and looks at Aqua again. "...I want to be both of yours."

"Ruby, I don't know what to say. I thought we could just share Topaz, but-"

Ruby smiles. "Yes, I want you both. It is unfair that you should only be in love with him; I want to know how you feel about me sister."

Aqua stares at her. She pushes Ruby onto the ground and straddles her body, then leans forward and kisses her.

Topaz continues to stare in shock at his sister's proposal and actions.

Ruby notices his lack of movement and smiles. She breaks the kiss and whispers into Aqua's ear.

Aqua looks over at Topaz and giggles. "I think he will like that." She whispers back.

Topaz watches in curiosity as his two sisters separate and eye him. Slowly they approach him in a pincer maneuver. Just as Topaz was about to speak, the two of them pounce on him.

"Well my love, now you get to have the pleasure of us two kissing you at once." Ruby states.

Aqua giggles. "So be a good little pin cushion and hold still."

Aqua and Ruby lean forward and kiss Topaz on his mouth together. He recoils slightly and relaxes into the affectionate attention from his sisters.

The three separate and stare in silence.

Topaz smiles and hugs them. "Thank you so much you two; I love you both more than you can imagine."

They both smile. "We know." Ruby states.

Aqua looks over at the other end of the room. "I guess we ought to get back to the others; they are probably worried about us now."

"Aw, but I want to spend some more time with you two..." Topaz whines.

Ruby giggles and pokes his nose. "Silly Taz; we all the time in the world to be together now."

Aqua nods. "And besides Topaz, you know we still have the last surprise to show them."

"Oh yea, I forgot." He crawls out from beneath his two sisters. "Well best not to keep them waiting."

Ruby looks at the two with a curious expression. "There's another surprise?"

Aqua smiles and pets her. "Yes, there is and I am sure you are going to love it; Jade and Lapis too."

"Let's go then." Topaz starts walking over to the others.

Ruby and Aqua follow on either side of him.

Sid looks up and sees the trio approach. "Ah I see you are back; did everything work out ok?"

The three of them smile. "Yes, we agreed to share and I mean all of us."

"What do you mean all of you?" Amy asks.

Ruby giggles. "Well, Aqua and I agreed we would share Topaz between us but we also agreed to share each other."

"Oh wow, best of both worlds huh?" Lapis questions.

"Yep; it will be fun and interesting. I am definitely looking forward to each and every day with them." Aqua states.

"As do I my two loving sisters." Topaz states as he kisses both of them on their cheeks.

"Ooh, Taz is a lady's man now." Sid teases.

"It's not my fault I couldn't choose between them and I didn't want to because it would be unfair." Topaz states.

Aqua clears her throat. "Well, now that we all have established our relationships; how about we get to the second surprise?"

Jade and Lapis look at her. "There's another surprise?"

Aqua nods. "Yes and this one will definitely be worth the wait; trust me."

"Ooh, I can't wait; where is it?" Lapis questions in an eager tone.

Topaz raises a paw up. "Calm down; we will go get them for you."

"Them? You mean there is more than one surprise?" Jade questions.

"Sort of; both of them come together." Aqua explains.

"Well don't just stand there; go get them. I am already antsy as it is and you are just teasing us." Ruby states in an impatient tone.

"Alright, alright; we will go get them. Good lord you need to learn some patience." Aqua states as she signals Topaz to start heading over to the storage area.

Ruby sticks her tongue out.

Aqua rolls her eyes and walks after her mate. "I don't know about you but having her as a mate is probably gonna be like babysitting." She states.

Topaz laughs. "Aw come on, you know you love her playful personality."

Aqua smiles. "Yes I do and I'm glad I get to share you and her. It was such a wonderful idea for us three to be together."

"Thank you Aqua; I promise I will not disappoint you." Topaz states as he stops outside of the room.

Aqua walks up and licks his cheek. "I'm sure you won't disappoint me, especially after that promise you made earlier." She winks and rubs her tail along his stomach.

Topaz grins. "Not now you; we need to wait until later and perhaps we can get Ruby to join us to make it more interesting."

Aqua gives him a toothy grin. "I like the sound of that my dear brother; you really do come up with some nice ideas."

"Hehe, I try." He looks back towards the storage room. "Ok, time to let those two know they can come out." He walks into the room with Aqua right behind him.

Charles notices the two enter and smiles. "I guess it's time for us to make our appearance if you two are here."

They both nod. "Yep; Lapis, Jade and Ruby have been told there is another surprise waiting for them."

"Well I guess I better not disappoint." Charles stands up and turns to Pearl whom was asleep. "Since Pearl is asleep, I'm not going to wake her up; I will just have to carry her out there."

"That should do fine." Aqua states.

"Well, let's go; everyone is waiting for you two." Topaz instructs and then leaves the room.

Charles nods and follows him out with Aqua behind him.

The three sisters watch with curiosity as they see the three figures approaching them.

"Is that...a lucario?" Ruby questions.

"I believe so, but who is it; he looks familiar." Jade states.

They continue to watch as the mysterious lucario sits down in front of him.

"Hello you three." Charles greets them.

"Um hi, you look familiar; do we know you from somewhere?" Jade inquires.

Charles sighs. "Oh boy, I guess I have to demonstrate the trick again." He lifts his arms up to attempt to gather his aura and exposes Pearl.

The three sisters gasp.

"Wait a minute...is that..." Jade starts.

"No it couldn't be..." Ruby states.

Both of them look at Lapis.

Lapis starts shaking and her eyes widen. "...It's...the white eevee...from my dream..." Fear takes hold of her and she faints from the overwhelming shock.

"What just happened?" Aqua runs over to her fallen sister.

Jade and Ruby continue to stare at the white eevee.

Jade looks up at the lucario. "Uncle Charlie, is that you?"

Charles nods. "Yes it is me, Jade."

Jade runs over and hugs him. "It's so good to see you again; I've missed you."

Charles smiles. "I have missed you as well Jade." He looks up at Ruby. "What's the matter Ruby; you seem speechless."

Ruby looks at him and approaches slowly. "So you came back? After all this time you came back to us uncle Charlie?"

Charles sets Jade aside. He reaches forward and picks Ruby up to cradle her. "Yes, I have come back and I promise I will stay with you all; that is if you will have me?"

Ruby cries softly in his chest. "We have missed you so much. You are all we have left with mom and dad gone." She looks up at him with a pleading expression. "Please don't ever leave us again."

Charles hugs her tightly. "I promise you that I will stay as long as you want me to and I will look after you all." He sets her down next to Jade and looks over at Lapis. "So, what exactly happened to Lapis just now?"

Jade and Ruby look at their unconscious sister. "She just relived her nightmare." Jade states.

Charles gives her a puzzled look. "Her nightmare?"

"It started a few days ago. She started having the same dream over and over again and it has haunted her since." Jade explains.

"What was it about?" Charles inquires.

"She said it always started the same; everyone was playing together and we were all happy as can be; nothing was wrong. Then, we learned Topaz had caught the virus; we tried to comfort him through it but eventually he didn't make it. It continues on with us becoming more distant from each other over the loss of him." Jade explains.

"That doesn't sound good..."

Jade frowns. "That isn't everything though. Next, you suddenly appear after being away for so long and you tell us all; that mom died from the virus like dad and Topaz. Sid never returns home so we all fear he didn't make it on his journey either. We decide to build graves for mom and Topaz, but you appear again and tell us that you have someone you want us to meet. Then from behind the tombstone, a small white eevee appears that looks exactly like the one in your lap."

Charles gives her a surprised expression and looks down at Pearl. "So your sister already knows the truth and has seen her."

"Is it true uncle Charlie; is mom gone?" Ruby hesitantly asks him.

Charles gives her a pained expression. A tear falls from his face as he looks down again. "Yes, I'm afraid it is the truth; she died in my arms from the virus."

Ruby falls to the floor. "No...mom...why did you leave us?"

Jade looks away; crying. "I can't believe she's gone..."

Charles reaches forward and rests a paw on their shoulders. "I know this is very painful for you to hear, but I think you should wake Lapis; she needs to hear this as well."

Both of them nod and walk over to their unconscious sister. "Lapis." Jade nuzzles her cheek. "Come on Lapis, please wake up."

Ruby gently pushes on her body. "Come on sis, you need to get up."

"Ugh, my head hurts..." Lapis weakly states as she slowly awakens.

Jade nuzzles her face and kisses her.

"Hey Jade; what happened?" Lapis questions as she breaks away from her sister.

Ruby licks her cheek. "Come on sleepyhead; there is something important that we need to talk about."

Lapis slowly sits up and looks at her sisters. "Ok, I'm awake; what was it you needed to talk about?"

Jade and Ruby look over at Charles. Lapis follows their gaze and stares at him.

"Good to see you are ok, Lapis." He states with a sigh of relief.

She looks at her sisters with a puzzled expression. "How does he-"

Jade smiles. "It's uncle Charlie, Lapis; he's come back."

Lapis looks back over at Charles. "Is it really him?"

Ruby nods. "Yes it is; why don't you go say 'hi'? He was worried about you."

Lapis approaches him and continues to stare with an uneasy expression.

Charles smiles and picks her up. "You have grown into a beautiful glaceon, Lapis; your mother would have been proud of what you have become." He hugs her.

"Thank you uncle Charlie; but what do you mean about mom though?"

"Well your sisters told me about your nightmare and how realistic it seemed. Well I am afraid to tell you that some parts of it are true."

"What?"

"The part about your mother is true; she is no longer with us Lapis. She passed awhile back from the virus." He explains.

She cries into his shoulder. "No...it's just like in my nightmare all over again."

He rubs her back. "Shssh, it's ok Lapis; I am here to protect you now."

She looks up at him and sniffles. "I've missed you uncle Charlie so much that it hurt." She nuzzles his neck. "Where did you go; why did you leave us?"

"I never truly left you all. I am the doctor of the forest, so I had to take care of all the other Pokémon. I have been here in the forest all along." He explains.

She looks at him with a surprised expression. "You are the doctor?" She looks over at Topaz. "You mean you are the one who saved Topaz's life?"

He pets her head. "Yes, I am the one who saved Topaz's life. I gave him the cure and he is safe now."

Lapis cries happily. "Thank you uncle Charlie; I love you so much!" She jumps up at him and knocks him over.

Pearl flies off of his lap and startles awake as she hits the ground. "Ow!"

Lapis looks around for the sudden voice and notices Pearl. Her memory falls back into place and she freezes. "T-The white eevee..."

Charles looks over and sees Pearl sprawled out on the floor with a dazed look. "I guess you woke her up." He looks at Lapis. "Judging by your expression, I would assume you have seen her before; presumably in this nightmare of yours I have heard about."

Lapis looks at him. "Yes and I saw her earlier today when we were leaving to go hunting, but it was only for a moment. She was near the big tree in the middle of the forest."

Charles smiles. "You must have seen her when she was gathering berries; did she have a basket with her?"

Lapis nods. "Yes, she did, but we didn't know what it was for; she ran away before we could get a better look."

"Yes, she was gathering berries at the time; that is her little basket she always takes with her. Oh and the big tree in the middle of the forest; that's our home."

"Our; you mean you two live together?"

Charles nods. "Yes, she has lived with me all of her life; her name is Pearl."

Lapis looks at Pearl and tilts her head. "Pearl huh?" She looks back at Charles. "If she has been living with you all her life; does that mean she is your daughter?"

Charles shakes his head. "No, not entirely. She isn't my daughter by blood; just adoptive."

"Who are the parents; do you know?"

Charles smiles. "Yes, I do know of one of the parents." He places a paw on Lapis' back and whispers to her. "It is your mother, Lapis."

Lapis looks at him with a shocked expression. "You mean she is-"

He nods. "Yes that's right; Pearl is your little sister."

"But how?"

"As I told you, your mother died from the virus. The only way I know this is because she was with me when she died." He looks over at the stunned eevee. "Your mother was pregnant with Pearl's litter when she visited me. I did some examinations and confirmed that she indeed had the virus and so did the others in the litter. She immediately told me to remove Pearl from her body so she wouldn't succumb to the virus." He explains with a saddened tone.

"So mom died after she gave birth?"

Charles nods. "Yes, she did. Before she died though, she told me to raise her like my own daughter and when she was finally old enough; let her meet you all so you can be a family again."

Lapis nuzzles his neck. "Thank you uncle Charlie; I am so happy for all you have done for us in these past few days." She looks over at Pearl. "Has Pearl met the others?"

"Yes; you, Jade, and Ruby are the only ones she hasn't met yet. That's what the surprise was that we had in store for you all earlier; I am just sorry it came at the price of hearing of your late mother's death."

Lapis smiles. "It's ok; we may have lost mom but we have been without her for a long time now. Since we have Pearl as our new sister, we get you like a father." She hugs him. "And I wouldn't want anyone else to be our dad other than you."

"Thank you Lapis; now why don't we call Jade and Ruby over so you three can meet Pearl." Charles suggests.

Lapis nods and hops off of him. She walks over to the others who seemed to be engaged in a conversation.

Jade looks up and notices Lapis returning. "There she is; are you ok dear?" She nuzzles her sister's cheek.

Lapis kisses her in return. "Yes, I am ok; in fact I have never felt better."

Ruby gives her a puzzled look. "Ok what happened? A moment ago you were really uneasy and now you are really happy and cheery; did we miss something?"

Lapis giggles. "Come with me and I'll explain." She turns around and starts walking back over to Charles.

Ruby and Jade look at each other then follow after their sister. When they start to approach Charles, Lapis turns to them and smiles.

"You two know the white eevee we saw earlier?"

They both nod.

"She is a special eevee because she is our little sister." Lapis explains.

They both look at her with confused expressions. "Our...little sister?"

Lapis nods. "Yep, uncle Charlie told me what happened to mom and also said that mom gave birth to her before she died. She is really our little sister; her name is Pearl."

Jade looks over at Charles whom was currently picking up the dazed eevee.

"...Pearl...our new baby sister; how precious."

"She is so cute looking and she looks just like mom too." Ruby states as she watches Pearl nuzzle Charles.

Lapis walks over to her sisters. "Well, I'm sure she wants to meet us, so why don't we go over there and introduce ourselves."

Ruby and Jade nod. The three sisters approach Charles and continue to look at Pearl.

Charles smiles when he sees the trio coming closer.

"Guess what Pearl."

She looks at him with a curious expression. "What is it daddy?"

He ruffles her head fur. "You get to meet Ruby, Jade and Lapis now." He states as he turns her to face her sisters.

Pearl squeals with joy as she sees her sisters approaching. She looks back at Charles with an eager expression.

"Can I go meet them?"

Charles smiles. "Sure." He sets her down and releases his grip.

Pearl's face beams as she runs over to her sisters.

"Look like we've been discovered and she's heading straight for us." Jade giggles.

"She isn't stopping either which means someone is going to be tackled." Lapis states.

Jade and Ruby step back. "Not it." They both states in unison.

Lapis looks back at them. "Hey, no fair; how come I have to be the one to get-Ooof!"

Pearl tackles Lapis to the ground and nuzzles her face.

Lapis starts giggling at her sister's affectionate touch. "Hehe, hello Pearl; it's nice to meet you."

Pearl smiles and licks her face. "Hi Lapis; you're the snow princess."

Jade and Ruby giggle.

Lapis blushes. "Yes, that's what mom used to call me. How did you know my name?"

Pearl hops off of her sister and points. "You're Lapis, the glaceon." She points to Ruby. "That's Ruby, the flareon." Then she points at Jade. "And that's Jade, the leafeon."

The three of them look at her in amazement. "Wow, so you already know of all three of us." Ruby states.

Pearl lowers herself in a battle stance and starts to wiggle. She then leaps at Ruby and tackles her.

Ruby looks up at Pearl and smiles. "You like to surprise others don't you?"

Pearl smiles and nuzzles her neck fur. She relaxes and breathes a sigh of content. "You're really warm and soft Ruby, like a pillow."

Ruby giggles. "I know; Jade has already told me." She looks and sees the leafeon blushing.

"What; you are like one. It was so comfortable and nice..." Jade's voice trails off.

Ruby blushes. "Aw come one it was just a warm hug that's all; besides Amy asked me to."

"But it feels so good; I could fall asleep like this." Pearl states as she continues to nuzzle her sister.

Ruby smiles. "Ok; I promise I'll let you use me as a pillow later when you want a nap." She looks over at Jade and grins. "Now why don't you give Jade a tackle hug; I bet she feels lonely."

Pearl looks at her sister with an eager expression. She hops off Ruby and starts running over towards Jade.

Jade goes wide eyed. "No, no, no...Ooof!"

Pearl knocks her to the ground and nuzzles her face. "I got you Jade."

Jade smiles and pets her head. "Yep; you are such an energetic little ball of fun just like Lapis."

Lapis blushes. "I'm not that energetic..."

Jade rolls her eyes. "Yes you are dear; you love to play and wrestle around with me all of the time."

Ruby giggles. "Don't worry Lapis; now you got a little sister who is just as energetic as you that you can race and wrestle with."

"I'm not the only one who has to play with her; she deserves all of our attention." Lapis states and walks over to nuzzle Pearl.

Ruby follows suit. "Yea; our new baby sister needs all of us to love her."

"Well, I see you four have met each other now." Charles states as he walks over.

They look at him and smile. "Yep; we now know our little, fluffy, baby sister." Ruby happily states as she hugs Pearl.

Charles smiles. "Well now you all are a full family again."

Lapis walks over to him and raises her paws up.

Charles kneels down and cradles her. "What is it Lapis?"

Lapis nuzzles his neck. "We are all a family now; that includes you, dad."

Ruby and Jade walk over and hug him. Pearl jumps into his arms with Lapis and licks his cheek.

"My daddy is our daddy."

"And we don't want it any other way." Ruby states.

Charles smiles. "Thank you; I will strive to be the best father I can be to you all."

"You have already proven that you are the best father you can be; by caring for us so much in these past few days and taking care of our baby sister all this time." Jade states.

"I will never abandon you all; I promise to stay and live with you, to protect you and care for you all with the best of my abilities."

"We accept." Lapis states as she nuzzles his neck.

"What do you say we go get the whole family here for a big hug?" Ruby suggests.

Pearl jumps off of Lapis and jumps up and down in joy. "Yay; one big happy family!"

Charles smiles. "Well best not to disappoint her; let's go." He sets Lapis down and looks across the room to the other half of the family.

'One, big, happy family...how it was always meant to be...I am finally home.'

---

"So what are you three doing back so soon?" Topaz questions.

"We already managed to catch dinner." Lapis states.

Amy looks at her with a surprised expression. "But how; we usually never find anything good until later in the day."

"I don't know; it must have been a lucky day. I was able to find a rattata and a pidgeotto for us." Ruby states.

Aqua giggles. "Well, I don't think that will be enough anymore Ruby; we have an extra three mouths to feed now."

Ruby's ears lower. "Oh yea; I forgot about Sid, Pearl and dad."

Sid smiles. "Oh, you don't have to worry about me; I don't eat that much anyways."

Topaz hits him on the back of the head causing him to yelp. "Don't you even start; you are a part of this family which means you will eat a good meal with us."

Sid rubs his paw on his head and cringes when he feels a slight pain. "Ow, jeez; no need to hit me. I'm fine Topaz; I'm not saying that because I don't want to be a burden. I just don't eat that much to begin with."

Amy swats his back with her tail. "Which is why you are so skinny; so you are going to eat a nice big meal or I am going to force feed you."

He cringes and lowers himself submissively. "Yes ma'am."

Amy smiles and ruffles his head fur. "You are so easy to mess with dear; lighten up."

"So we need to go out and get more food for dinner then; well that shouldn't be too much of a problem." Ruby states.

Charles clears his throat. "Don't worry about it now Ruby; dinner isn't for quite awhile so we have plenty of time."

Aqua looks at Ruby. "So, did you three do anything else interesting while you were out?"

Ruby, Jade and Lapis looks at each other. They slowly look back at the group.

"Well, something else did happen, but..." Lapis states.

Aqua tilts her head. "But...?"

Ruby swallows audibly. "It's kind of an uncomfortable situation, especially for Jade."

"What happened?" Charles inquires.

Both sisters look at Jade. "Jade, perhaps it's best if you tell them."

She nods. "Ok, you're right; I need to let it go anyways." She looks up at the others with an uneasy expression. "There, was an incident that happened earlier."

Charles raises an eyebrow in question. "Go on..."

Jade takes a deep breath and hesitantly speaks. "After we had gotten the food for dinner, we decided to head back here. On the way, a black eevee ran out of the bushes into a clearing; screaming for help. We ran after him and noticed a rhydon trying to destroy the area while looking for him. Lapis and I confronted the rhydon while Ruby went looking for the black eevee."

"Did something happen?" Charles questions.

Jade nods. "When Lapis and I confronted the rhydon; he attacked us."

Everyone gasps in shock. Charles shifts uncomfortably. "Are you two ok; you don't have any injuries do you?"

"We are fine, but..." Jade's voice trails off as she replays the incident in her mind. "...The rhydon wouldn't stop attacking us. He hit Lapis with a mega punch and when I went to help her; he grabbed me and started crushing me. Lapis tried to fend him off and he eventually let me go, but he went after her again. When I got my footing, I heard Lapis scream and noticed the rhydon about ready to kill her by crushing her into the ground."

"My god; how on earth are you two still alive?"

Jade shudders uncomfortably. "Because of me. It was at the moment I saw Lapis about to be killed; something inside me snapped. All I could feel was pure hatred and anger and I couldn't control myself. In my blind rage I used two extremely powerful attacks at the same time; frenzy plant and leaf storm."

Charles looks at her; awestruck. "It's a wonder you are able to stand after using those two attacks; they put an immense amount of physical stress on the user's body alone, but combined they should have killed you."

"Ruby helped me with that by giving me a bunch of oran berries. I am fine now but the rhydon..." She hesitates. "He's dead; I killed him without even meaning to." Jade confesses and starts sobbing.

Charles kneels next to her and embraces her. "It's ok; I do not care what happened to that rhydon; I am just glad you are safe. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you or any of your siblings. Just promise me; you won't do anything like that again."

Jade sniffles. "I am sorry; I don't know what came over me. We just wanted him to stop but I couldn't control myself; he pleaded with me to let him go, but I couldn't do it and I killed him." She starts crying again.

Charles hugs her tightly. "Shssh; it's ok Jade. Please dry your tears. You and your sisters are safe and that's all that matters now." He sets her down next to Lapis. He looks over at Ruby. "Did you ever find the black eevee, Ruby?"

She nods. "Yes, I found him and he was fine; just exhausted from running away from the rhydon."

Charles sighs. "That's good; you didn't happen to catch his name did you?"

"It was Axel. He said he was a loner; no friends, but he does have a mother because we heard a voice call for him and he said it was her." Ruby explains.

Charles nods and looks at Pearl. "Sounds like this 'Axel' is the same black eevee you saw before."

Pearl smiles. "Yea; he said he didn't have any friends when I met him." She looks at Ruby. "Were his eyes dark red colored?"

Ruby thinks to herself for a second. "Now that I think about it; yea I believe they were red colored and his tail point and scruff, were silver."

Pearl nods. "Yep, he's the same one that was following me earlier when I was getting berries for daddy."

"So, now we have a mysterious black eevee named Axel that has suddenly shown up; interesting." Charles states.

"I hope we get to see him again; he was really sweet and friendly." Ruby states.

Charles smiles. "Who knows, we might see him again, we might not; only time will tell."

"So what should we do now?" Topaz questions.

Everyone gives him a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Well everyone has met Pearl and we have reunited with dad and Sid; so are we going to sit here all day long, talking?"

Aqua giggles. "Oh you; you're such a little child sometimes, you know that?" She licks his cheek.

Topaz blushes. "What? I know it's nice to see everyone again, but I never liked to sit around and talk; I wanna go outside and play like we used to."

Charles laughs. "Well, no one is stopping you all; go on have fun for awhile." He stands up and looks towards the entrance of the cave. "I have some errands to run anyways, so I will need to leave Pearl here with you all; is that ok?"

They all nod and Pearl tackles him to the ground. "Thank you daddy!"

"Hehe, alright you little energetic fur ball; down." Charles sits up and sets her down in front of him. "I want you to be good for your brothers and sisters while I'm gone, ok?"

Pearl smiles and nods. "I promise daddy."

He pets her head. "That'a girl." He stands up. "Ok, I'll be back in awhile; I just need to run to the Pokémart in the nearby town to pick up some supplies."

Amy approaches him. "Um, dad; would it be ok if I came along with you?"

He gives her a curious look. "What for? I though you would want to be here with Sid and everyone else; or are you afraid Pearl will be following you around constantly?"

Amy smiles and shakes her head. "No it's nothing like that; I was wondering if you could take me to your home so I would know where it is in case there was an emergency. If I know where you live, I can teleport there to get you if need be."

"Hm, that's actually a good idea; we can never be too careful. Alright then, I might actually need you to teleport me back to my home when I'm done getting the supplies because I have a lot to get. You can teleport directly to other Pokémon, correct?" Charles asks.

Amy nods. "Yes, I can teleport to any area another Pokémon that I know, is currently at."

Charles smiles. "Alright then, you and I better get going if I have any hopes of getting there and back before dark." He looks at everyone else. "Ok you all, try not to get into too much trouble while I'm gone, ok?"

Aqua giggles. "We should be fine dad; we have been living without you for awhile now, remember?"

Charles sighs. "Yes, I know you all have been alone for a long time and it's something I'm not proud of, but you have me now and I will worry about you when I'm not around."

Ruby hugs him. "Don't worry; we will be fine and Pearl is safe; you can be at ease."

Amy paws Charles' leg. "Come on dad, we have to go; you said it yourself."

He ruffles her head fur. "Ok, I'm coming." He looks back at everyone. "I'll see you all in a little while; bye." He waves and walks away with Amy following.

Lapis looks at everyone. "So what do you all want to do?"

Aqua walks over to Pearl. "Maybe it's time we started teaching Pearl."

"That sounds good; what should we start with?" Jade questions.

"Well I could teach her how to swim since we have the lake nearby, plus it's a nice day to go swimming." Aqua offers.

"That's a great Idea." Ruby states.

"Well ladies and gent; shall we get going?" Sid questions in an eager tone.

Topaz ruffles his head fur. "Yea let's go; it's been a long time since I have had a good swim anyways."

Pearl jumps up in excitement. "Yay; let's go!" She dashes off towards the entrance of the cave.

"Oh boy; she's gonna be a handful with all of that energy of hers." Jade states as she watches Pearl run off.

"...Really, good lord she's fast..." Ruby states.

Aqua giggles. "Well, what are we waiting for; let's go get her and make this the best day she's ever had!" She runs off after Pearl.

Topaz smiles. "I second that!" He follows after Aqua.

"Me too!" Ruby chases after them.

"Come on you two; we don't want to be left behind." Sid states as he walks after them.

Lapis tilts her head. "You don't seem all too eager to get outside Sid; you're only walking."

Sid sighs. "I can't run because of an injury. I broke my back leg yesterday when playing with Pearl."

Jade gives him a surprised look. "Wow; she caused you to break your leg?"

Sid nods. "She may be small, but she does have one hell of a tackle attack. She used agility when we were having a pretend battle and tried to use tackle on me at the same time, but I dodged it."

"But how is it that you are hurt?" Jade questions him.

"When Pearl missed me, she had leapt at me, so there was no way she could stop her attack. I saw that she was going to crash into a table at the end of the room so I used my agility to intercept her before she could hit the table. Unfortunately she was going so fast that the momentum from her attack sent us flying backward into the table and I broke my leg upon impact."

"Ouch, are you ok?" Lapis questions with concern.

"I'm ok, dad has been keeping an eye on me and he said I should be good in a few days; until then, he has to give me potions to numb the pain in my leg so I can at least walk around." Sid explains.

"That's a bummer, but if you are recovering at least it will turn out ok in the end." Jade happily states.

"Yea, you should be good in no time." Lapis assures him.

Sid smiles. "Yea; won't be long now until I can run around again." He looks at the two. "Well we better pick up the pace a little or we will miss out on all the fun."

The twins smile. "Ok let's go."

The three walk on after their siblings.

---

"Alright Amy, this is my house." Charles states as he stops in front of the giant tree.

Amy stares in awe. "Wow, it looks amazing; how on earth are the trees like this?"

Charles laughs. "Well that was my doing." He looks back up at the tree and thinks back to the day when he created his home.

"How did you do it?" Amy questions.

Charles looks at her and smiles. "I have the ability to manipulate things with my aura." He looks at his home. "I used my aura to cause the trees to grow and intertwine with each other."

"That's neat." She looks up at him with a curious expression. "Can we go inside?"

Charles smiles and opens the front door. "Sure; I need to get something out of here anyways." He walks inside and Amy follows. "Feel free to look around; I need to go to my work area and get something." He walks off and leaves Amy to explore.

"Wow, this place is really cozy." Amy states as she looks around the living area.

She continues to explore and finds herself in the kitchen area next.

"Hm, its nice and organized in here; plenty of food too."

She leaves the kitchen and notices a room at the end of the hallway.

"I wonder what's in there." She questions as she approaches the room. When she enters; a familiar smell hits her and she smiles.

"Pearl...this must be her room, but..." She stops as she notices another familiar scent. "I also smell...Sid?"

She continues to stare in curiosity until a voice catches her attention.

"Ah I see you found Pearl's room." Charles states as he enters the room.

Amy nods. "Yea, I could detect her scent but I also smell Sid too."

"That's because I had him sleep in here with Pearl last night so they could be close and for Pearl to monitor him." Charles explains.

"That would explain why his scent is here in the first place but his scent doesn't smell the same; it's almost a thick smell of him." Amy states with confusion.

Charles tilts his head. "Hm, that seems peculiar; the only time I can think of when males have a thick smell is when..." His voice trails off as the memory of this morning replayed itself in his mind. "Ah, I know why now."

Amy gives him a curious look. "What is it?"

Charles chuckles at the thought. "Well the scent you smell is most likely a musky odor from him. This type of smell only surfaces when a male is aroused."

"What?" She gives him a shocked look.

Charles raises his paws in defense. "Whoa, hold on; it's not what you think. This morning, Pearl went to wake Sid up by rubbing his stomach and apparently it got him aroused because he woke up and was a little 'excited'."

Amy smiles and shakes her head. "So he got stimulated just from Pearl rubbing his stomach?"

Charles smiles. "Yea, pretty much; poor guy was so embarrassed when Pearl questioned him about it."

Amy giggles. "Yea, I can see how that would be awkward, but still; getting stimulated just from a tummy rub, now that's funny." She gets a sly grin. "I wonder how he would react if I did that to him or maybe a little lower..."

Charles rolls his eyes. "Oh geez, you two really have no modesty."

"What; I just like to play around, in my own way." Amy states shyly.

"Well, try to keep your 'fun' a little more private from now on or at least when Pearl isn't around. I can just imagine the amount of questions I would get if she saw anything more intimate between you two." Charles sighs.

Amy giggles. "Our little sister doesn't know about any of that stuff yet?"

Charles shakes his head. "No not yet, but tomorrow is her birthday and she will be turning one. I will need to explain to her the concepts of mating and everything else or she is going to be scared when her first heat hits her."

"Is that why you wanted to go to the Pokémart today; to get stuff for her birthday?" Amy inquires.

Charles nods. "Yes, I want it to be a surprise for her; she has been looking forward to this day for a long time."

"Well I can help you if you want." Amy offers.

"No, I will be fine; the whole town knows me by now and no one raises an alert when they see me." He looks at her with a serious expression. "You on the other hand, are a prized Pokémon. Many trainers will attempt to capture you because eeveelutions are very rare to find. I do not want to risk your safety by bringing you into town with me."

Amy's ears fold over. "Oh ok, I didn't realize the dangers; I have never met a human before, so I don't know how they are."

"That's understandable, but they won't leave you alone if you do not understand them; they will try to capture you." He warns.

"Alright, I won't go with you." She looks up at him. "Well, I better be getting back to everyone to make sure they didn't do anything foolish."

Charles nods. "Of course and I also need to go so I can get the supplies. Be sure to contact me when you return home so that I know everything is alright."

Amy nods. "Ok, I will; I promise. Have fun dad." She vanishes in a blue light.

Charles sighs. "I can't believe it will have been a whole year since Pearl has been with me; it only seems like yesterday I was pulling her out of her mother's womb..." He shakes his head clear of the thought. "Best not to dawdle around; I need to get going."

He looks over Pearl's room and smiles. 'My little princess has shown through the darkness overshadowing her brother's and sister's; she truly is a ray of hope to us all.' He exits the room and leaves his house.

"Alright, time to head out so I can get Pearl all the stuff she deserves on her first birthday." The thought of her smile made him swell with pride. "I can't wait until she wakes up tomorrow morning...it will be a day she will never forget."

Charles dashes off towards the nearby town with a slight spring in his step and a smile on his face.

---

"Pearl, wait up!" Aqua shouts as she runs after the energetic eevee.

Pearl keeps running until the lake is in view. She stops and turns around and notices Aqua running full speed towards her.

"Uh oh, I better get out of the way before she runs me over." Pearl dashes out of the way of her oncoming sister.

"Whoa!" Aqua yells as she tries to skid to a halt. She continues to slide and falls into the water.

Pearl rolls over on her back; laughing at her sister. "Hahaha, Aqua; you fell in!"

Aqua surfaces and grins slyly at her giggling little sister. "Oh, wanna laugh at me now do you?" She disappears into the water.

Pearl stops laughing when she hears her sister's voice but looks around in confusion when she doesn't see her.

"Aqua; where did you go?"

Aqua continues to watch her sister from the beneath the surface of the water.

'Come on Pearl, come closer to the edge.'

Pearl looks out towards the water and decides to look in it when she doesn't notice Aqua.

Aqua giggles to herself. 'That's right, just a little bit closer...now!' Aqua shoots herself out of the water towards her sister.

"AAHHH!" Pearl screams and runs away from her.

Aqua falls over and laughs.

Pearl continues to run away and collides with Topaz when she looks back. "Ow!" She rubs her head and cringes at the slight pain.

"What did I hit?" She looks and sees Topaz sprawled out on the ground with a dazed look.

"Ugh...what in the world was that...?" Topaz questions as he slowly rolls over to his side. He looks up and notices Pearl giving him a concerned look. "Oh hey Pearl; where did you come from?"

Pearl frowns. "Aqua scared me and I ran away. I bumped into you because I wasn't looking where I was going." She sniffles.

"Aw, come here..." He hugs her. "Was Aqua being mean to you?"

Pearl nods.

"Alright, well it's only fair that we scare her back."

Pearl looks at him and grins. "Ooh, what are you thinking of?"

Topaz smiles and whispers into her ears.

Pearl nods. "Ok, I got it." She runs off towards the lake again.

Topaz laughs as he tries to imagine the look on his sister's face. "Oh boy is she in for one heck of a fright."

Pearl runs back to the lake and sees Aqua out on an island in the middle of it. She smiles as she rethinks over her brother's plan.

"Aqua!"

Aqua's head perks up and she looks and sees Pearl waving from the shore. 'Back for more is she?' She jumps into the water and casually swims over to her sister.

"What is it Pearl?"

Pearl smiles. "Come with me; I found something really neat looking" She tugs on her sister's paw to further convince her.

"Sounds interesting; where is it?" Aqua questions.

"This way!" Pearl announces as she dashes off.

"Whoa, hold on Pearl!" Aqua calls out as she runs after her.

Pearl grins as she notices her sister following. 'Hehe, she is going to be so surprised.' Pearl uses her agility ability to speed up.

"Good lord she is fast, I never knew she had that kind of speed." Aqua states in awe as she watches her sister double her speed. "Best not fall behind then." Aqua uses her agility to chase after Pearl.

A few minutes later, Aqua arrives in a small opening in the forest and looks around.

"Uh oh, I lost her; not good."

She continues scanning the area for any sign of movement.

"Good, she's right where we want her." Topaz states and turns towards Sid. "You know what to do."

Sid nods with an evil grin. "Right." He fades into the shadow on the ground.

Topaz turns to Jade. "You remember what to do, right?"

Jade smiles. "Yes, I remember; when should I start?"

Topaz grins. "How about now; we could use the entertainment."

Jade nods and turns to look at Aqua. "Sorry sis, but no one scares Pearl and gets away with it." Her eyes flash green and the trees surrounding the clearing begin to sway and shake.

Aqua jumps slightly. "What the...?" She looks around and sees the trees moving and shaking. "What is going on?"

Topaz chuckles to himself. He turns towards Lapis. "Alright Lapis, you're up next, but try not to make it too obvious; we only need a very cold chilling wind."

Lapis giggles. "Ok then; just a little breeze, right?"

Topaz nods. "Yep and see if you can make it come from different directions."

"I'll try." Lapis looks over at Aqua. "This is going to be so fun." Lapis' fur freezes as she gathers her inner strength. He eyes glow a faint crystalline blue and a freezing wind sweeps the area.

"W-W-What is g-g-going on?" Aqua questions as the freezing wind hits her. "W-W-Why is it s-s-so c-c-cold?"

"Come on Sid, we need you for this next part." Topaz states.

The area suddenly becomes darker as the trees overhead are covered in a dark fog.

"Yes!" Topaz cheerfully states in a hushed tone. He looks at Ruby. "Alright dear, you're next; you know what to do."

Ruby shakes her head. "This is so mean, but..." She looks over at Aqua. "...It's too fun to sit back and watch." Ruby walks over to the edge of the clearing and releases a multitude of will-o-wisps around the perimeter.

"Huh?" Aqua looks around frantically as the area is blanketed by a black fog. A glint of light catches her eye and she strains to make out the image. Her eyes widen suddenly when she notices purple flames appear around the clearing.

Another cold wind sweeps through the area and Aqua curls up on the ground; shaking.

"Make it stop...please..." She whispers.

Topaz chuckles. "This is perfect; the only thing that would make this better is if-"

A blue flash of light shines next to him and Amy appears.

"Thank you arceus." Topaz sneaks over to Amy.

She notices him and attempts to speak but is cut off when he covers her mouth with his paw.

"Shssh, you need to keep quiet Amy." He instructs her and removes his paw.

Amy gives him a confused look. "Why are we being quiet; what is going on?"

Topaz grins. "Well, Aqua decided earlier that is would be fun to scare poor Pearl, so we are getting back at her by scaring her."

Amy gives him a surprised look. "Aqua; she scared Pearl? She always seems like the type to scold us if we ever do such things."

Topaz nods. "Exactly; which is why we are getting back at her. Everyone is doing something; Pearl led her here, Lapis is creating the cold wind, Ruby is making the eerie will-o-wisps, Jade is making the trees shake and move, and Sid created the black fog."

Amy smiles. "Nice; can I do anything?"

Topaz smiles. "Yes, I was hoping you would ask; I want you to start levitating objects around the clearing. Try not to make it too obvious though; we just want to scare her, not hurt her or anything.

Amy nods. "Got it; what are you going to do though?"

"I am going to use my thunder attack and create a small storm over the area." He explains.

"Ooh nice; this is going to be fun." Amy states with a wicked grin.

"Oh wait until the final part; you'll love it." Topaz teases.

Amy gives him an eager look. "What happens?"

Topaz chuckles. "You know Sid's shadow fade ability, right?"

Amy nods.

"Well, he can make other pokemon fade into the shadow with him; so we are going to make him start to slowly pull Aqua into the ground through the shadow."

"Wow; I never knew how mean you could be until now." Amy states.

"Well, you know me; I love to play pranks and this one is my greatest."

Amy shudders as another cold wind sweeps through. "Yea, you are really making this convincing; I can only imagine what Aqua is feeling right now. Well best get to my part." Amy turns and faces the clearing. Her eyes flash blue and all of the rocks and other small objects in the clearing begin to levitate around in a random fashion.

Aqua looks fearfully at all of the floating objects. "What is happening and why is everything moving?"

A loud thunder clap sounds and Aqua screams and curls into a fetal position.

"It's not real, it's not real; all just a bad dream." She whispers to herself.

A thunderbolt strikes the ground a few feet away from her and she jumps to her feet with a horrified expression.

"Why is this happening to me; what did I do?" She looks around as if seeking to find answer.

"You are being punished Aqua..."

Aqua spins around and looks around frantically. "W-Who's there?"

"You cannot escape Aqua..."

Aqua spins around again in a vain attempt to find the voice. "Show yourself!"

"Hehehe; it's time to say goodbye Aqua..."

Aqua continues to scan the area for any signs of life. She feels a slight pull and looks down.

"What is happening!?" She screams aloud.

A dark vortex appears below her and she slowly begins to sink into the ground.

Aqua lets out a blood chilling scream and scrambles out of the dark vortex. She looks and sees the vortex widen in an attempt to consume her again.

"NNNOOOOOOO!!" She screams again as the vortex constricts her legs and begins to pull her under again.

"Now you will learn to appreciate life more...farewell Aqua..." The voices echoes in her mind as darkness consumes her.

"This is what I deserve; I was never a good enough sister to my family; I couldn't stop anything bad from happening. I am so sorry everyone; I wasn't strong enough to protect you all or myself. I only regret not being able to see Pearl one last time..."

A faint hint of movement catches her and she looks up. Aqua gasps as she see Pearl running around ahead of her. She attempts to move but remains frozen in the same place.

"Pearl!" She calls out.

Pearl stops running around and looks at her.

Aqua smiles at the familiar face. "Pearl, I am so glad to see you; I thought I-"

Pearl collapses and her body fades away into the darkness.

Aqua stares in disbelief. Tears start to fall from her eyes as she lowers herself onto the ground.

"She's gone...she's really gone..."

Aqua continues to stare into the abyss. She feels a dull warm feeling wash over her body and tries to fight back but eventually slips from consciousness.

End Chapter 8

~~~[]~~~

Ooh, go through all of this reading for a weird ass cliffhanger; you all must hate me.

Well, that's the end of the Series of Encounters, so you will just have to wait until I release chapter 9 later on.

I was going to give you all a quiz with a question for each chapter I released, but I thought that would be too much to throw on the end of the chapter plus you all probably hate me for the cliffhanger. If you all still wish to test your knowledge of the series, I will still have the quiz ready and you can just PM me to take it; anybody who gets all the answers completely correct will get some kind of prize.

Once again; comments and criticism are always appreciated.

Hope you all are enjoying the series so far, I know I am. Until we meet again.

*Fades into the shadows*