(All questions will go to the "Hidden Secrets")
(This is the continuation of "Roaring Fate".)
(Warnings: Cursing and maybe more)
(VERY LONG CHAPTER!)
Table of Contents cont.
4: Song War
5: Family Threads
6: The Lost Past
7: Families's Last Breaths
***
[Song War]
"Damn you, Arctic!"
Admiral blinked as her and Green went towards a heated argument. Blue growled as Arctic had a practically glowing smile.
"Take your knee, Oak! I, the mastermind behind 'Phoenix', takes the throne again!"
"Oh fuck no! You'll be the one taking a knee very soon!"
"Fucking fight me then!"
Green let a noise out as the approached the group, now seeing Purple, Elita and Garret with them.
"Arctic, this shouldn't be possible!"
"Yet here I am, Impostor, the top of the list!"
"Take your fucking knee!"
"Fucking make me, Garret!"
Elita said nothing as she walked over to the duo Waves and faced the crowd.
"You wanna know something, Arctic?" The growling paused as they glanced at the ranger.
"What?"
"A true queen doesn't take the prize or the front lines. She sits where she is placed and leads with an example that brings the world together. Your not the queen. The queen will be taking her place once more soon enough. Have a lovely day."
She then walked away as the group stared at her retreat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elita giggled as she let her phone hum. She was eyeing a screen when someone answered.
"What......................?"
"Hello... Blue." The person on the other end changed their stance.
"Elita? What's up?"
"I was wondering if you wanted to help me with something..."
"Which is...?"
"Taking Arctic from the Top 5." Silence was sudden before a certain reply that made Elita smile appeared.
"I'm in."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Arctic was frozen when the results came out. The top 5 had certainly changed.
"And now we hit the top 5 songs that have completely changed. We thought it wouldn't be possible, but here is #5; which is 'Shatter Me' By Pichu ft Silver Cloak, Taen, Billy Go, Midnight, and Eruptor!"
"Our #4 spot was taken by the #1 group in the world. With their power and support, here is 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' By Wish Realm Remedy."
"#3 has brought this lovely group from the darkness. We have 'Run Boy Run' By The Go Siblings."
"Coming up to #2, we have a proud favorite that hit the air earlier this week. It didn't take long, but 'Together, Against the Sisters' By EMFH ft Silver Cloak is second!"
Arctic perked up as the announcer prepared to say the top song.
"And finally for our #1 song. Coming in proud from a long rising singer, this song has earned its role as the successor of the original #1 song. Here is 'Worlds Collide' By Elita ft Eruptor and Pichu!"
Arctic was quiet as the base leader glanced over her styler. It was dead silent before Arctic finally spoke.
"How..."
"The queen has risen to retake her throne." Elita spoke, cutting Arctic's confusion off. "And will stay on top until she steps down to avoid a war for the top. And repeat the cycle all over again. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a territory to protect."
***
[Family Threads]
Midnight had a big smile across his face as he held a note close to his chest and he ran to find Rednal, who was quietly resting in his little part of the base. The smaller boy hummed softly before sneaking up and jumping on his taller ally, startling him.
"I didn't do it!" Midnight lost it as Rednal blinked the sleep out of his eyes. "I didn't... what?" Midnight quickly grabbed his composure before smiling at his teammate.
"Moring! Me have soming or us." Rednal paused at the captain's words.
"What?" Midnight held out the note. Rednal took it with pure silence as he opened it up. It took a few minutes before the taller male spoke. "Wait..."
"Tis tuh etter we looing or! We an ow o ell tuh ohers oo meup!" Rednal was frozen before a smile reached across his face. "C'mon! Lego!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sage grinned at the group that went over. Midnight was leading Malov, Porcelain, and Rednal over to the green haired ranger.
"Hey!" Midnight smiled before showing the letter. Sage paused before taking it. A smile crossed his face as he glanced it over.
"We ot it!" Sage glanced at the smaller boy with a grin.
"Have you shown this to Joel?"
"I no see im. Aira say he wen out." Sage hummed. "But he say in note tat he'll be ere in... 2 hours!" Sage smiled.
"Then let's go!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A shared grin crossed the group of 5's faces as a Salamence landed in Fall City Harbor, carrying five people that made the grins bigger. Midnight was the first to pounce on the arrivals.
"Papa!" The blonde in the front paused before the ranger jumped into a hug. It took him a notable amount of time to get himself in order that the others on the dragon behind him had time to get off and run over to the others in the group. Erma smiled as she hugged the group of four.
"It's good to see you all together..." She glanced at Sage. "Where's your twin?" Sage purred.
"Not sure. He still hasn't replied to me and hasn't seen the letter." She hummed before turning to the other females behind her.
"Ladies, these are my children Sage, Rednal, Malov and Porcelain. Midnight is with Father and Joel is somewhere. Children of mine, this is Chelsea, Jaeyla and Kayla; your stepmother and stepsisters."
Sage was the first to smile and shake each of their hands with the other two following. Midnight came over and joined them while the blonde came over with shaky steps. Sage paused before holding out his arms for a hug. It took the older male a good few seconds before a faint smile crossed his face and he let himself be pulled in.
"Good to see you again, Papa..." Sage whispered softly. The older male nodded softly before he pulled away and hugged the remaining trio that awaited him. Midnight grinned.
"Otay! Family reunion almost successful!" He paused before glancing at his phone which was supposed to be waiting for the message from Aira about Joel arriving back at the base. "And no notice about Joel..." Chelsea hummed.
"Then why don't we bond now and he can join us next time?" The others nodded in agreement at that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joel sighed as he walked rather slowly into the Fall City base. He felt extremely sore and was not in the mood for anything else to be added to his pain. But just by seeing the near deathly flash from Aira said enough.
"Where were you?"
"Dying... sorry about that. I did make it in one piece." She frowned.
"Not what I meant. You had people looking for you this morning." Joel sat down and a sigh of relief escaped from him. There might've been another noise, but he only heard the sigh.
"Oh really?" He was able to mutter. "And who would be looking for me at whatever ungodly hour they were looking?"
"First of all, Mr. I'm crabby from whatever I just returned from." Pardon? She did not just throw that together just now. "You were awake at 3 in the morning to go out. Second of all, they came after I had finished my lovely oatmeal, which would've been around... 8:45. not as ungodly as you believe." Joel huffed as his stomach growled in reminder of what he missed.
"You had an eventful day."
"I didn't clash with the Go Brothers."
"You say Brothers, but they have a sister too."
"That's because I was on a date with the sister." He lifted his head at that.
"While I was dying?"
"I did keep my styler in case you needed me." He slowly nodded before putted his head back down where he had originally placed it.
"Alright... I won't yell at you too much then... did you at least have fun?"
"Other than getting spied on by Keith and Lind? It was a better date than I normally get when it's a Go Sibling and a Star Gazer/Ranger on a date." Joel hummed as a sweet smell filled the air.
"What else happened while I was dying?"
"Let's see.... other than what I listed... I had to fix up Lapis from the other Star Gazers' ambush.."
"Will they leave him alone?"
"Probably not. You missed the fact that he was crying." Joel lifted his head once more at that. "You're as shocked as I was. I actually had to get help from some of the other rangers here because of how bad it was." Joel blinked twice before laying his head back down.
"What did Sage have to say?"
"I never spoke to him... but according to a ranger collision sometime afterward, Sage sorta snapped a little at Scarlet." Joel hummed softly at that. "The only other thing I can list would probably be the fact that Cameron snapped."
Joel almost got to his feet at that if he was as sore as he was. He was able to sit straight up and stare at his fellow ranger ally, who brought over some food for him.
"Don't lie about that."
"I wish I was... But Summerland was on lockdown for 3 hours until he calmed down. If Garret hadn't found a secondary path into the place, we would've onto a 4th or 5th hour. And even still, we don't know what caused it." Joel took the food with a pause.
"It wasn't Percy?"
"No... Percy got a smack on the head and a small lecture. What, you think Cameron is more than he shows?"
"I'm waiting for the day he does a mission without a single person helping him."
"Well sorry to tell you... you're still waiting." He growled a little bit as he finished the food. "Regardless, other than what I've already told you, unless you count the annoyingly long lecture from the usual person that moved in recently, you hardly missed a thing." Joel frowned.
"I rather enjoy those lectures..."
"Then why don't you ask him tomorrow if he could repeat today's and then do the one he had planned?"
"Because he sets up everything he has to remember for a day in one lecture and doesn't remember anything the next day?"
"Ugh... well you can deal with him tomorrow then. Meanwhile, Sage asked me sometime before sunset to tell you to call him or Midnight." Joel hummed as she cleaned up. "For me, I'm going to bed. I didn't think having to take your place was as hard as it was."
"I'm now 100% certain I'm cursed with something that says my disappearance makes life way harder. It happened at the shelter and it finally shows itself here." She scoffed as he shakily stood up.
"Don't die before bed. We don't have time to find a replacement before morning." He let a weak scoff out before she vanished upstairs. A lengthy silence emerged before he went to the phone and called Ringtown. Would Sage still be up at this time? Maybe Lapis, but still. A soft answer responded.
"Hello?"
"Hey Lapis..."
"Joel? What are you still doing up?"
"I would ask the same thing, but I know my answer. I just got back into my base a few minutes ago."
"Oh.... were you hoping to talk to Sage?"
"Yeah... Aira mentioned just before she went to bed that he wanted to talk to me. If he's not awake, I can see if Midnight is..."
"No... he's awake... one moment..."
Joel went quiet as the Go Sibling went to get his base leader. It took a few minutes, but he did eventually respond.
"Welcome back."
"Hush... apparently I still shouldn't go missing for anything." Sage's tired chuckle echoed through the call. "Anyways.... what did you want to talk to me about?"
"Oh yeah... Aira mentioned it, huh?"
"Yeah.... along with the excitement I missed."
"Ha. Well.... I wanted to talk to you about what you missed at the docks."
Joel went quiet for a minute. Clearly Aira didn't witness it all.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Aira must've missed it, but don't you remember at the shelter what I was constantly trying to tell you? Or maybe at the old Fiore base?" Joel's mind went numb as he sat down.
"Um... not exactly..." Sage let a weak chuckle out.
"I'm trying to referred to all the family talk I brought up. Well, you missed a family reunion."
Joel went quiet as he tried to think. Who would be waiting for him? His mind produced nothing as he tried to solve what his fellow teammate's words.
"Tell you what... we'll talk in the morning. Ok?" Joel nodded softly at his words.
"Yeah... see you in the morning..."
He hung up and went upstairs before gripping his bed. Everything spun until he laid down and fell asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Someone must've properly tucked him in as he woke up in his pjs and his glasses were beside him on his side table. The weird thing? He couldn't recount a portion of last night. The part before he got to his room. He stayed there for two minutes before a knock came to his door.
"Yeah?"
"It's me." Oh shit. That was Sage. His mind went blank. He knew there was a reason he needed to talk to Sage. Why couldn't he think of it? He shook it off before speaking again.
"Come in..." The green haired leader slipped in as Joel felt around for his glasses, which were exactly where they were supposed to be, and got them on while Sage sat down beside him.
"You good?" Joel nodded as he steadily stood up and gripped the wall.
"Just a little sore..." Joel gulped before sitting back down. Instead of admitting the fact to forgetting yesterday's conversation, he started it up differently. "So... you came here to talk?"
"Yeah... I decided that... since you probably were a little torn up after whatever you were doing yesterday that I wouldn't make you do too much work..." Joel nodded softly before Sage caught on. "Is something wrong?"
"Uh...." Joel gulped before rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "You probably won't believe me..."
"Try me." Joel glanced at his green haired rival before a faint voice escaped him.
"Just the fact that I don't remember what we were supposed to talk about..." Sage paused before smiling.
"No need to be embarrassed by that..." Joel stayed quiet to avoid the real problem. "I came to talk about family."
Joel could only nod as Sage wrapped an arm around him. He went on for a few minutes talking about the reunion that he had missed. Of course, Joel got lost instantly. Sure, he was almost able to put names with faces, but the weird thing was he wasn't able to put a family title with any of those he knew. He was able to catch that the ones that Sage mentioned that Joel didn't have a face for were just recently introduced, but other than that he was completely lost. Sage finally caught the fact that Joel was deep in thought and paused.
"Hey..." Joel blinked twice before glancing at the Ringtown Ranger. "Is there something you're not saying?" Joel looked down for a moment before a faint whisper escaped him.
"It's just..." Tears formed in his eyes as the words he dreaded to ever say escaped him. "I... I don't remember anything about the family you're mentioning... anything at all..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joel was quietly watching Sage as they waited for the others. He had finally changed from his pjs after Sage had calmed him down and now they were at the Fall City docks, where the others would be arriving. The blonde ranger was sitting on a nearby bench as a noise filled the air.
"No! Porcelain!"
Two blurs hit the ground before Sage sent two ropes of wind at them. It took a few minutes for them to calm down as the others landed. Joel scanned over them. He instantly identified Malov, Midnight, Porcelain, Rednal and Erma. The other four were probably the four names that Sage had brought up. He remained quiet as Sage got his hugs before he was noticed. Midnight was the one that caught sight of him before he bounded over.
"Joel!" It took the taller male about two seconds after the child-like ranger had hugged him to finally react.
"Hey... Midnight... you... can let go now..." Sage chuckled somewhere from behind Midnight before calling out.
"Midnight... leave the hug hating monster to his moping already." While Joel would've yelled at him about the nickname, it did get Midnight off of him.
"But Sage..." The taller male chuckled at the whine that escaped Midnight. "He wasn't here yesterday and I haven't gotten my hug this week!" Joel was faintly brushing off his uniform from whatever Midnight could've accidentally transferred onto him.
"So?" Sage countered, giving Joel time to resort himself out. "You know how Joel is about hugs. It's probably the reason Joel wasn't here yesterday, to avoid them." Joel stayed quiet at his comment. He refused to tell what really happened that it took an entire day to complete something.
"Oh? And is that what he told you?" Joel instantly got nervously. Sage groaned lightly.
"Get over here. If you were so desperate to get his hug, where's mine?"
Midnight paused before realizing and racing over to the green haired male. Joel let a sigh escape before he notice a faint conversation encase the group. He immediately pulled his attention away and went to clean his glasses, which were a victim in Midnight's hug. It took his whole attention away from whatever they were saying while he calmed himself down. He faded out before a hand touched his shoulder. He put his glasses on and glanced at Sage.
"Listen, I told the others. They still want to meet and talk to you, ok?" Joel nodded nervously. "Hey, I'll stay right by your side. Don't worry." Joel gave a weak smile before they went over to the group.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joel let a faint noise slip from his lips as he laid down. His head hadn't stopped spinning since he had arrived at the base and he sorta knew the cause. So much info had entered his mind, yet he couldn't sort it out. He thought he heard a noise at the door, but he was already falling asleep to answer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joel was glad Aira was able to check him and talk to Sage.
The Top Ranger found her Base Leader trying to sort himself and what happened out. All he knew was that yesterday had sorta repeated, the only difference was that he couldn't remember the whole day this time. He still woke up to find someone had properly tucked him in. He had encased himself in his blanket and was trembling with tears racing down his face. A gentle hand snapped him out of his daze.
"Joel...?" He gulped before pulling his head out and looking up at the person. "Sage is looking for you... is something wrong..." He blinked as tears and his already poor sight kept him from identifying the person.
"I don't know..." He trembled before the person pulled him to a sitting position. He felt his glasses and a tissue touch his hand, which he silently thanked the person for. He cleaned himself up and slipped the glasses on, now seeing Aira in front of him.
"Better?" He nodded before looking at the ground. "Now... what's wrong?"
"You won't understand..."
"You gonna go tell Sage?" Joel felt a tremble of fear race through him, concerning the female ranger. "What's going on?"
"To be entirely truthful?" He glanced up at her. "I... couldn't tell you what happened at all yesterday."
***
[The Lost Past]
Joel stayed in his room while Aira alerted Sage.
"Not a thing?" She shook her head.
"The most he remembers is waking up and falling asleep. Anything that happened in between those two events are ghosts to him." Sage bit his lip.
"Ok... I thought it was just a small problem, but now I think someone is trying to rip him from the family by making him forget his place in it." She paused.
"Why do you say that?"
"Because the same thing happened at the shelter. Me, Midnight and Porcelain were extremely excited that he was going to be with us, but he didn't recognize us. It was a constant problem because every time we put family knowledge in his head, it would go missing and we'd have to try again. I thought he was having memory problems or amnesia. I started doubting it after he would be able to remember certain things, such as a list of tasks or a pokemon he saw, but I still had problems getting him to remember about the family. This has been happening since we met at the shelter." She hummed before a thought made her pause.
"I wonder... he took the entire time your family was meeting two days ago to do something, right?" Sage nodded. "There has to be a reason. He told me he was 'dying' and he kept that as the big excuse. But what was really holding him up?" Sage paused.
"You're not thinking that someone deliberately pulled him away to keep him from meeting us, do you?"
"I don't like the thought, but..." He gulped.
"You go ask him, I'll tell the others... he's not feeling well. Let him stay in his room for now." She nodded at that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joel had fallen asleep again, his head spinning. Aira slipped in and sat down beside him, making him jump and the sudden motion. He blinked twice before fumbling with and slipping on his glasses. Then he paused.
"Aira... what is it?" She purred at his weak voice.
"I just talked to Sage... And he sorta understands. He left a few minutes ago." Joel nodded softly. "Listen.... I wanna ask you something..."
"What?"
"What happened two days ago that kept you away the entire day?"
Aira didn't expect the reaction. Joel shifted nervously, clearly trying to bury himself in his blankets. However, she caught sight of a faint smile and a mix of emotions in his eyes. She thought she heard something from him, but the shuffling covered it up. She then touched his shoulder.
"Joel..." Her base leader took a steady breath before he sat up.
"Don't... say anything to the others...." He wiped his face briefly before she finally saw his expression. A mixture of happiness and embarrassment. "I-if you had looked around, y-you m-might've s-s-seen the n-n-note that had w-woken me up at 3... I h-had moved it a-after I c-came back t-t-that night..."
She paused at the stuttering that escaped him. This wasn't normally him. Then again, she had seen a similar act when he was with Cameron. Just minus the embarrassment. He never got embarrassed around the love of his life regardless of what the others did. He slipped a hand into his side table and pulled out a letter before holding it out to her. She took it in her hand before he suddenly disappeared under the covers. She paused before she opened the letter, which had been carefully placed back in its envelope, and looked it over.
"Dear Joel,
I hope you are doing great. I saw you yesterday on the field and you have truly grown! I was actually hoping you could come meet up with me once you're open in a few hours. I found a beautiful part of the forest near your base that I think will be great to sit down and catch up. I have already left a small pokemon in front of the base that'll lead you here. Just come when you can!
Can't wait to see you,
~Athair."
She frowned. That couldn't be right. Athair was Father. But from what she saw yesterday, his father should've been at the docks waiting for him with the rest of the family. Her hand tugged at the blanket, gaining a soft noise of a complaint.
"Do you know who this person is?" The blonde male turned over and poked his head out. He blinked at her question for a moment before he nodded, his answer mentally shocking her.
"He... he had found me one freezing day... said that he watched my family leave me to die..." He trembled at the thought. "He pretty much took care of me until showed me the shelter. He had said that he would live nearby and keep me safe if I needed it. He was my father for a lot of things..." He gulped before she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Alright... you stay here... the only reason you should need to move is some food, ok?" He nodded as she went out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aira smiled as she waved to Scarlet, who held a glare with Lapis as the two separated. Then she turned her attention to Aira and went over.
"What's up?"
"Info." Scarlet's eyes lit up like a computer turning on. "I'm wondering what you know about Joel's file."
Aira thought only Lapis could piss the flame user off. But just mentioning the file brought a Blood Mary screech from Scarlet, one that made Aira grab her ears. She even thought Lapis called out something, a curse maybe, for a moment. Scarlet took a deep breath and walked back and forth in front of the light mage before finally replying.
"What.... what about it?" Aira blinked twice before responding.
"Are you ok?"
"23." Aira paused. "Next time you are curious, you ask Joel what 23 means." Aira gulped.
"Noted... regardless... do you know if he put anything for the... 'relationships' part?" Scarlet hummed.
"He only put the fact of a father but that's all... why?" Aira bit her lip. Scarlet was already pissed about the file. Did she want to further enrage her? Absolutely.
"What if... I were to tell you... that's not correct?" Scarlet froze and stared at the blonde in front of her. "I have news that there's been a family reunion nearby... but they're missing a kid because the kid thinks they belong to someone else..."
"Please tell me you're kidding..." Aira shook her head before catching sight of Sage and the group.
"5:00." Scarlet glanced back as Midnight and Porcelain almost jumped on Sage and Rednal. They were only successful with Rednal due to Sage flying over the group, causing the others to bust out laughing at the smaller duo's distress. The taller blonde of the group snapped their fingers, the winds quickly picking up the trio on the ground and keeping the smaller duo from racing at Sage. The ladies giggled before they continued on their walk, mostly the boys listening the the girls while the girls going on about life. Aira eyed her ally's expression as she took a steady breath.
"So you're saying-"
"Yep..." Scarlet glanced at her. "Joel believes that his dad saved him from that group, who is worried about him. I need to find the truth."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cedar kept and eye on Green as he and Scarlet were working on something. The seniors were seeing the Almia group, and he was avoiding Green for now. He glanced at the small screen and hummed.
"There." She glanced over as he showed something.
The scene showed a rather young Joel getting separated from Sage while running somewhere. A large set of roots had trapped Sage and he was knocked out while Joel was calling out to him. A male approached Joel from behind before casting something, gently putting the small child to sleep and bringing him into a soft hug. Scarlet let a growl lose as he carried the younger boy away from Sage, just as the green haired boy was waking up.
"Oh no..." Cedar nodded faintly as they watched Sage send a wave of wind to tear the roots apart. He then looked around in a panic for his blonde accomplish, but the duo had already vanished.
"Sage must've taken the fault for himself..." Scarlet growled, knowing what that does to the poor ranger.
"No wonder he was so happy around Joel despite what Joel said... no wonder he trusted Joel so much... I bet they're twins... Sage must be hurting without his twin..." Cedar nodded as he paused.
"We have to target this 'Athair'. They have ripped a pair of twins apart and a family of a son." She nodded before a light noise escaped her.
"Green alert..." He scoffed as he eyed the the screen of the panicking twin.
"Right now, someone wants their head off." He made the screen vanish and glanced at her. "Ladies first." A smile curved onto her face.
"Gladly." He smiled before the duo went out, only the sound of complaint from the senior to tell them anything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joel woke up in the middle of the night to a Noctowl at his window. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes before grabbing his glasses and paused.
"Noctowl... what is it?" It placed a note in his lap before looking at him. He picked it up and paused.
"Joel, I know it's early, but I have a feeling people are closing in on us because they think something's wrong. So I would like to see you as soon as possible so that they don't find us. Noctowl will fly you to where I am. I await your arrival. ~Athair."
Joel gulped before he quickly changed into his uniform and paused. He picked up his styler and turned it completely off before jumping onto the flying type.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joel smiled as Noctowl landed in front of a very certain man who shared the same smile. The duo hugged as a comfortable aura circled them. He felt a tear of joy form before he wiped it away. They pulled away and grinned.
"Now that we're safe, shall we?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cedar gulped as him, Lapis, Scarlet and Sage raced towards the signal. No matter what happened, they were going to solve this. Sage stayed near the back, tenser than Lapis about the plan. He let a sigh escape him as they arrived at the signal, which was fairly deep in the woods. Cedar glanced at the group.
"Remember, Sage and Scarlet are the leading people while me and Lapis are support." The trio rangers nodded before they slipped in. Joel and the "Athair" were giggling about something until Scarlet cleared her throat, grabbing their attention. Joel was frozen while the male stood up.
"How'd you find us?" Cedar held up a card in silence. The male went quiet at that.
"The same way I found out the truth of what happened. I know what is really happening here. Let him go." Joel hid behind the man as a growl escaped him.
"What are you talking about?"
Sage purred as the winds started getting violent. Despite the man's attempts to protect Joel, a cold breeze suddenly raced behind both of them, making the younger male jump in surprise. The winds suddenly separated the duo before Sage raced at the Athair. The male never stood a chance as the violent winds aided the green haired ranger in keeping him against a tree. Joel slowly got up before charging, only to be cut off by Scarlet. He jumped out of the way of her flames before Cedar and Lapis sent a series of attacks. Only one of Lapis's got through.
"WRAITH OF HUM!"
Not a sound followed as it seemed to slam into Joel's attack. The attack, not even fazed, slammed into Lapis after Cedar failed to stop it. Scarlet then threw Joel into a tree, making him yelp in pain. She then joined Cedar at Lapis's side. The bluenette was wheezing faintly as Cedar pulled him into a hug.
"Oh dear..." Scarlet glanced over as Sage hissed faintly and the duo regrouped. Scarlet hummed.
"Sage, get ready to deal with Joel. I'll get the Athair. Cedar, take care of Lapis." The two boys nodded as Cedar got Lapis to the side. Sage gulped before Joel hissed.
"Leave us alone."
"Make us." Scarlet said with a smirk. "And you won't force me because of what I can do. Shall we?" Sage nodded faintly before they raced forward.
Sage was able push Joel away from Scarlet and the Athair as she pushed him to the ground. Joel was struggling to get around the green haired ranger while Scarlet casted.
"Upon my blood,
As the demon lurk within.
See that of my nathair
And reveal what my supremacy desires!
FLAMERITE AN T-EILEANACH!"
She pinned the male down before the flames encased her and a small radius around them. Sage grabbed Joel and pulled him in a behind hug before he could bolt into the flames. Tears raced down Joel's face as he pulled against Sage's grip.
"No..."
Sage stayed quiet as he held his ally back from the flames. A flame entered her hand, creating a phoenix that hissed down upon the Athair. Nothing could stop her as she brought her attack down, the flames bringing smoke to cover the damage. Joel panicked at that.
"Dad!"
Sage bit his lip at his words. The most he could do is put his head down against Joel's back. Scarlet stood up as the smoke cleared, a dark wisp-like object in the opposite hand of her attack. Cedar went over, after getting Lapis to relax, and gently put the wisp in a container. He raised it to his eye level and scoffed.
"So that's what we were up against... an Echo Thirst..." He sighed as he glanced over at the two boys, who were now sitting down in order to relax. Sage was hiding his face in Joel back while Joel was still staring at the spot where his "father" had fallen.
"Let's go..." Cedar nodded at the flame user's words as he looked at her.
"Tell Sage to bring Joel to safety. I'll get Lapis." She nodded as they went to their respective areas. Sage glanced up at her a little as she knelt down beside him.
"Help us out by taking him to safety, will you dear?"
Sage said nothing as he got to his feet and gently guided Joel out of the area, despite his attempts to get out of the green haired male's grip. Cedar went to her side with Lapis on his back. She brushed his blue hair out of his face as he weakly smiled at her.
"You did great, Lapis." He huffed faintly.
"I did more..." His eyes faded as he put his head down. "I id ore..." Worry crossed Scarlet's smiled as he faded into a hushed, mumbling mess. Scarlet glanced at Cedar before they went after Sage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joel opened his eyes as he felt something beside him. It took him a few minutes before he saw Lapis resting beside him with a pained look on his face. Joel paused before running a hand through his untamed hair. A weak sound escaped the bluenette as the door opened. Joel looked up to see a concerned Cedar. The concern vanished into relief as he saw Joel. He went over and touched Lapis's shoulder.
"You're awake... good..." Joel blinked before his eyes went down to Lapis, who had relaxed. "Listen... I know how you are about the whole fight in the forest, but... I want you to understand that you could've died." Joel glanced at him as he ran a hand through Lapis's hair. "I have some good news." He held up a card, making Joel pause. "This, right here, is the memory of your real family that was taken from you." Joel froze as he stared at the card. The whole thing?
"I-is that really..." Cedar nodded, making him pause again.
"I worked very hard to put this together.... it'll take a lot of time to complete, but it'll be worth it afterwards." Joel gulped as his eyes stayed on the card. "You'll probably need to rest through it as you're mind will be in a very extreme amount of pain. Don't worry, you'll hardly feel it after you pass out. Aira will take you back to Fall City so that you can recover. Got it?" Joel nodded as Cedar paused. "Just before I cast, I want to say this. After you wake up, I would see Sage." Joel gave a confused look. "Trust me, you'll understand later. I'm sure your mind will figure it out. Ready?"
He nodded as Cedar placed the card on his head. Joel's eyes closed as Cedar whispered the chant.
"Lumiary a' Ninma memorail."
A light escaped the card and wrapped around his head. The moment it faded and Joel opened his head, a choking pain engulfed his head. He instinctively grabbed his head as Cedar grabbed his arm. Another hand touched his other shoulder as black spots filled his vision. He felt himself get picked up as everything got dark.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joel trembled before he finally opened his eyes. He looked around before feeling around for his glasses. It took him a minute, but once he got them on, he discovered himself in his room, which was dimly lit and dead silent. He paused before a thought touched him. Cedar had mentioned that he should see Sage. And he was sure why now. He got up and went out to the main area. Aira was making something in the kitchen as a growl escaped her. Joel let a chuckle slip from him, gaining a glare from the female ranger.
"Hello to you too, Sleeping Beauty." He smiled as she placed a plate of food in front of him. "You missed a few meals, so eat up." He smiled before eating the food. He then headed for the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He made a faint noise as he arrived as the sun was setting. The town was settling down as a group of tired rangers made their way out of town. He made room for them as Scarlet nodded to him. He smiled before heading to the base, which had grown quiet from the group leaving. He went in and paused at the sight of Cedar and Lapis asleep at the side. He smiled before going up to Sage's room. The room was dead quiet as he entered. He almost turned the lights on until he noticed a bundle of blankets over by the side in a corner. Faint noises escaped it as he went over.
"Sage?" He whispered, gaining the source's attention. The bundle shifted before a pair of green eyes pierced the air. A whimper escaped into the air before the eyes looked away and he sat down beside it. "Sage... I'm sorry... please..."
He then turned away with a soft sniffle. Shuffling hit the air before everything went blurry for Joel. He let a soft yelp escape him as the bundle suddenly shifted again. Mentally cursing the green haired ranger, he turned around and paused. In the dark without his glasses? Great.
"Sage... give them back..." A soft noise escaped the blanket bundle.
"No........................"
"Sage... I can't see....."
"No................................"
Joel felt weak. His glasses, light or dark, was his safety net. He couldn't even feel around for them because Sage had them in the bundle.
"S-sage.... p-please...?"
He heard the bundle move a bit and a blurry green light touched his eyes. He couldn't tell what it was until something touched his face. Soft was the only thing Joel could identify before his vision cleared up and Sage's face appeared in front of him. Worry crossed it as his green eyes scanned him. Joel was about to ask when he felt a tear fall. Sage must've seen them before returning the glasses. Joel quickly cleaned his face before looking at the ranger in front of him, who was slipping back into the bundle.
"Sage?" The male paused as he gulped. "I'm sorry... for... uh... leaving you all that time ago..." Sage blinked before looking at the ground.
"It's... not your fault. That creature tore you away. I should've stayed awake..."
"No... I should've seen it coming... I was so busy worrying about you..."
"But-"
"Sage... it's not just your fault."
Sage fell silent at that. Joel paused before speaking again.
"Sage... I'm sorry about earlier..."
"It's not your fault. He had tricked you into believing him. You didn't know." Joel looked away as silence reappeared. "Joel...?" He paused at the hesitate tone.
"Yeah?" Sage seemed to pause before carefully speaking.
"Did... something happen to your sight?" Joel paused.
"What... did you think I was joking about it?" Sage nodded.
"You didn't have glasses before you were taken. Why do you think me and the others kept going for your glasses?" Joel hummed at that.
"True..." Joel paused. "I'm not sure... Athair originally said that my family was born blind... but... I'm not sure if he did it or if something actually happened..."
Sage hummed before noticing something. He adjusted the bundle before gesturing Joel over. It took the blonde a few second to process the scene before a smile crossed his face and he joined his brother in the bundle. Sage took his glasses and put them on a side table before they shifted and got comfy. Joel felt Sage snuggle against him before the blonde fell asleep.
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Cedar woke up to Scarlet shaking him awake. Lapis had been moved to another ranger as he trembled violently. He was currently gripping them with a fierce grip while the others circled, trying to pull him from whatever he was in. Cedar was about to go over when Scarlet stopped him.
"Before you handle him, follow me."
Cedar blinked at her in confusion before following. A sound of relief escaped the rangers as Lapis finally relaxed and the duo went upstairs to Sage's room. She brought the Covenant over to the blanket bundle, where he saw the brothers resting peacefully. A gentle smile was resting on Sage while Joel held him in a relaxed grip. Cedar felt a smile tug on his face.
"They were like this when I came in." Cedar purred.
"This just means Sage'll be up at sunrise for sure."
"Or not. Who knows." Cedar nodded as they left the duo.
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Sage was woken up by a gentle shaking from Joel. The green haired male took two seconds to process what was happening before he reached out and grabbed Joel's glasses. The blonde was rubbing his face before Sage put them in his face. Joel smiled before his eyes adjusted to the sight.
"Morning..."
Sage nodded before getting up, letting Joel get to his feet. Joel stretched out the tension from sleeping on the ground before he turned to a light thump on the ground. A chuckle slipped from him when he saw Sage's face go red with embarrassment. His legs were shaking as he gripped the wall trying to stand.
"How long were you in the bundle?"
"Shut up..."
Joel smiled before touching Sage's shoulder. The green haired ranger looked away before Joel spoke.
"Do you want me to carry you?" Sage looked at him, a mixture of shock and excitement filling his eyes.
"A-are you sure?" Joel nodded as he let Sage climb onto his back.
"Yes. Beside, I owe you." Sage was confused until it hit him. Then he smiled as they went downstairs to where the others were. Scarlet smiled at the duo while Cedar was bringing Lapis over. The bluenette was still asleep on Cedar's back as the Covenant huffed.
"I'm passing out later..." The trio rangers giggled as Cedar got Lapis over to the kitchen. She held out a letter to the brothers.
"This was here for you guys." Sage took it as Joel paused. A smile slipped onto Sage's face.
"I have an idea on what this is..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joel paused as they approached the docks. A tall male was there, watching the sea as it went along with its day. Joel gulped before a tremble went through his body. Sage blinked as a whisper escaped his brother.
"I don't think I can do this..."
"Joel, it's just Papa. At least none of the others aren't here." Joel gulped.
"Even with my memories back, he's only a blurry image..." Sage frowned.
"Well..." A smile replaced the frown. "I'll stay with you. Forward!"
Joel let a weak laugh out before taking a deep breath at moving towards the male. Just a few steps towards him got his attention. He turned to them as Joel stopped walking. Their eyes touched and held for a moment as time seemed to stop. Finally, the older male smiled before walking over and pulling him into a hug. Joel paused as a little noise of excitement escaped Sage. He was able to snap out of the daze as the older male pulled away.
"G-good to see you... dad..."
The male smiled silently be a roar filled the air. Sage gasped, clearly seeing the source, as Joel was about to ask something. He was cut off as a very certain dragon pokemon circled them. The male pulled the duo into a one-armed hug as the dragon levitated in front of them. Sage paused.
"Are we going to-" It was unknown what he was going to finish with as his words faded. Joel caught a sly smile from Papa as he approached the dragon. He then glanced back and motioned the duo over. Joel paused before a smile crossed his face and he went over to join their father.
***
[Families' Last Breaths]
"Blue?!"
Red gulped as him and Green searched the air for the Wingly. Yellow was on the ground as they tried to locate him. They did find him... in a fight.
"Laatste koninklijk!"
The light took out an entire part of a group while a few others were dealing with the others. Two of the girls lifted giant sized boulders and orbs of water with just some swift motions before sending them at another group of enemies. Green recognizes two other Dexters within as they attacked.
"HALEY! RAIN OF CRATERS!"
"主のスパイラル！" (Omo no supairaru!)
The duo attacks aided the water and boulders as they hit another part of the enemy. The third part was about to launch when spells hit the air.
"DRACO METEOR! EXECUTION!"
"AMBER! LAST WAIL!"
The two attack destroyed the remainder of the enemy as two people landed beside the group. X's face lit up like a Christmas Tree as he hugged the male that had landed. A comment suddenly made the group groan in defeat. Only Red caught the words.
"You know we're still missing a member, right?"
What did that mean?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A faint noise escaped Crepe as a group of Dimwits circled him. He was already lightheaded and was ready to collapse. But he wasn't going to fall to weaklings. However...
"It's alright. Just sleep. I'm sure your boyfriend will come get you."
It was tempting. He had already sat down as they lured him into some sort of trance with their words. He couldn't fight back as he faded further and further-
"SISTE FALLVEI!"
Something suddenly raced around him, slightly pulling him from the trance. He blinked before a hand touched his shoulder and he was picked up.
"Crepe, stay with me-"
A noise escaped him as those words filled his ears. He sadly passed out from exhaustion.
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Crawford gulped as Crepe fell asleep. Not what he was hoping for, but he would make do. He rummaged through his pocket before bringing something out. He placed it on the smaller boy's head before a noise escaped him.
"Warm..."
Crawford smiled as the item vanished into a pink glow before whispering into Crepe's ear.
"Crepe..."
"Crawford..."
A smile slipped onto the older male's face as he carried him somewhere. He could tell Crepe's mind was trying to run away from him.
"Where are you going?" Crepe physically didn't move as words escaped him.
"Freedom... I'm going to go and hide..." Crawford paused before nuzzling his neck, gaining a noise that pulled him into subconsciousness.
"What about Dijon?" Crepe's body started heating up, now able to alert his condition. He huffed faintly before words escaped again.
"I.............. I'll go find him... and take him with me..." Crawford smiled before whispering into his ear.
"Then follow me..." Crepe's body tensed up before his eyes opened. A misty haze that filled his eyes was fading as he paused.
"Crawford..." A pained sound escaped him as the older male slightly picked up speed.
"Stay with me, Crepe. I'll get you to the Doctors now." Crepe blinked the daze out of his eyes before nodding. Crawford guided his hand to his chest. "Focus on me, ok?" Crepe clearly didn't hear that as his hand drooped and his eyes went half-lidded. Crawford cursed mentally before he spotted Dijon. Concern washed over the redhead's face as he helped him get Crepe to the infirmary.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Crawford was quiet as he helped Barlow relax in his room. The base leader was not having the greatest time right now and Crawford still had to find Luana. He went out as a scream filled the air. He froze before racing towards it.
He discovered Luana being attacked by Dimwits with a Scizor. Her face was red as her flames raced at it, badly missing. He growled before a powerful aura encased him.
"ENDELIGE RIKT!"
The the spell roared to life before cleaning up the field. Luana stared as he huffed lightly and the Dimwits ran.
"Crawford...?" He didn't say a word before he went over and helped her to the base.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He huffed as Luana put a cold washcloth on his head.
"Rest.... you've done enough..." He let a sound out as his eyes trailed over to a picture. She noticed his gaze before sitting down and picking it up. "I've never seen this picture before..."
"That's probably because you've never been in my room..." Crawford whispered in a rough tone. She hummed.
"Are these family?" He shook his head.
"One of them, yes. Right there's my mother." He pointed to a female in the front row that almost looked identical to him. "The others were in a mission with her. This was the last picture before they went missing. Few weeks after they went missing, almost all of their bodies turned up." He felt a tear roll down his cheek as he stared thoughtfully at the picture. "My grandfather told me that they all had kids out there and that I should meet up with them, but I haven't even found one of them." She hummed before wiping the tear away and putting the picture back.
"Rest up. It may help." He let a soft smile cross his face before he passed out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blue growled as him, X, Tempesta, Cynthia and three others walked into Pallet Town. The other seniors were talking with Daisy as they went to the lab. Red hummed at their arrival.
"What's got you pissed?" Blue scoffed.
"You're not part of it. Relax. It's just a near group reunion." As the group went to the lab, Blue pulled out a picture, one that matched the one Crawford had in Almia. "One more member..."
~
(Let me know if you need anything else.)