AAN: the last chapter… I hope lol. Time to find the others now that Genki and Holly are engaged ^^… can't have a wedding with out them right? We'll see if I do a long chapter of if I break this up and do 4 chapters instead of 3. Thanks for all the reviews RoackyRoadSmith!

Phoenix Rekindled
Rekindling the Phoenix 5!

Tiger led the couple along as they searched for their remaining friends. Though he was growing anxious some how Holly managed to keep him from running off on his own. Holly had shared with him that she had found Mu's disk and heard he fathers voice. Tiger though confused agreed with Genki that they would save her father. After all Holly deserved to have some family back, since she had lost her entire village. After several weeks of traveling, Tiger competed in a tournament to get the disk that was the prize. Holly again felt a strong connection with the disk. Tiger fought heard and won each of his matches to claim the disk as his prize. Once done he and the couple headed for the nearest shrine. Holly was one again the one doing the unlocking; this time when the smoke cleared another old friend was revealed instead of a random monster. Mocchi bounced off the platform, seeing Genki he excitedly tackled his old friend.

"Genki chi! Mocchi missed you!"

"I missed you too!" Mocchi then looked over to see Holly and Tiger, he ran over to Holly jumping into her arms.

"Mocchi miss Holly too." He smiled to her, she hugged him enjoying having their youngest member back.

"I missed you as well Mocchi." She set him down then looked to Tiger who had wondered over. Tiger received a hug though fussing as he did.

"Hey watch the fur."

"Mocchi missed Tiger."

"I missed you too." Finally free of Mocchi's grasp he smiled to the young monster. The group continued on their way, Genki managing to train with the monsters as they went. Holly watched with a smile, amazed at how easily he got them both to train. Holly had informed him recently that they wouldn't have any of their techniques because they became a disk again. Genki though surprised and somewhat disappointed by the news had taken it to heart and began training with the group. Tiger already had some of his ice attacks back and it had only been a few weeks. Holly seemed mystified as to how that had happened but left it at it was the 'monster champs' training that had done it.

They decided to travel as far as they could before nightfall. Making sure to get the most out of their travels. Holly used the stone to guide them in the direction they needed to go and they set up camp along the path they needed to take. Mocchi noticed the rings on their hands but could only tilt his head in confusion. He didn't know much about human relationships, he knew men and women married and usually had families but didn't understand what the purpose was other than to stay together. He had seen children with them but he never understood where human children came from. He debated as to whom to ask. He knew Holly had always been like a mother to him and cared for him, while Genki had always been his best friend and he had cared a lot for him as well. Genki noticed Mocchi seemed deep in thought, something rare for him.

"Mocchi what's on your mind?" Genki came to sit next to him. Mocchi looked up at him unsure of what to say at first.

"Why does Genki and Holly have a ring chi?" Holly looked over along with Tiger. Both seemed to be waiting to see how Genki would explain such a thing.

"Well Mocchi we have rings because we are engaged to be married."

"Married chi? What is it for?"

"Marriage is for people who care a lot about each other and want to stay together to have a family. It's a lifetime commitment to another person. When we get married it will be my responsibly to take care of Holly and make sure she is happy, it will also be my responsibility to make sure my family is safe, secure, and happy. And even though I may want to do something, I will have to check things over with her first, that way we both agree." Holly smiled; she had known he might say such a thing. She decided to help him now.

"And it will be my responsibly to take care of him and make him happy as well. Though I may be the one looking after any children we may have, I know he will help. I also have to run things by him to make sure we stay in agreement. When couples don't agree fights can break out." Mocchi tilted his head a moment then nodded his understanding.

"So you want to be together and have a family chi?"

"Yes." Genki smiled to him.

"Mocchi wants to know something."

"What is it?" Genki's brow furrowed hoping he was all right with their relationship.

"Where to do children come from chi? Humans don't have disks… Mocchi is confused." Genki looked dumbfounded, as did Tiger, Holly just giggled.

"Mocchi, when a man and woman come together as one, they can create a child. That child grows inside of the woman's belly, in her womb. And when its ready to come out she will give birth to that child."

"It grows inside chi?"

"Yes, in here." Holly placed her own hand over her womb. Mocchi nodded again,

"How long does it take chi?"

"About 9 months. Humans grow a lot slower then monsters, it takes us close to 20 years to become full grown adults." Mocchi nodded, he knew it took humans longer to grow other wise Genki would have grown up faster when they journeyed. And he was never the same height as Holly though he was taller now. Mocchi tilted his head in thought again then asked,

"Can monsters come together as one a create a baby monster?"

"Yes Mocchi they can." Though Holly had only seen it once she knew it was possible for them to reproduce normally.

"Mocchi wants to know if Holly and Genki still want him to be part of their family." Genki had already anticipated the question.

"Yes Mocchi we do. We aren't separating from you or the others, we are just making a stronger bond between us." Mocchi smiled happily and hugged them both. Tiger smiled, he knew Mocchi didn't fully understand their relationship but this would be good enough for now.

* Those two are something special; they balance each other well. * "We should try to train more tomorrow." Tiger wanted to use his lightning attack. And though he was at first too proud to admit he needed help. He now realized that Genki knew what he was doing when it came to training. Tiger chuckled to himself after thinking of something concerning Suezo. Holly and Genki looked over at him questioningly. "I was just thinking if Suezo is a disk then it'd be awhile before he gets his teleportation back." Holly and Genki looked at each to her a moment and laughed. They knew he wasn't good with training or concentration but would be hopping around saying he could do the technique nonetheless. Not that it had worked very often even after he had learned it. Holly dished out the evenings dinner, the group enjoying their food. Holly had deeply missed cooking for the group and seeing the anticipation in their eyes.

Later that night Holly lay down next to Genki, his arms coming around her knowing she enjoyed being held.

"What's wrong Holly?"

"I'm just worried about the others. Coming back from disks is hard and I'm sure it'll take some time before everyone is back to their top form again."

"They will be fine Holly, don't worry." He pulled her close and kissed her cheek. She leaned back against him not really certain of his words but willing to trust him nonetheless.

"Do you think Mocchi will understand our relationship Genki?"

"In time but I think he is still a little young to understand. Holly do you think Suezo will freak out about our relationship?" Holly turned slightly to look at him.

"He might, he has always been rather protective of me."

"What do you plan on telling him?"

"That I love you and I'm marrying you no matter what he says." Genki smiled gently, and then leaned in to give her a soft kiss. Holly enjoyed it; Genki always had a way of making her feel better no matter what he did. She smiled to him; he could tell she was content now. "Genki how long did you want to wait to get married?"

"How about we wait till we rescue your father. Wouldn't you like him to be at your wedding?" Holly's eyes told him the answer even before she responded.

"Yeah I would like that. You are willing to wait that long?"

"Of course, what ever makes you happy." She smiled again to him, turning in his arms she rest her head against his chest whispering,

"Thank you so much, you have no idea what that means to me." He returned her smiled, his arms moving around her to hold her comfortably.

"Lets get some rest Holly." He felt her nod, "sweet dreams."

"You too Genki." Genki smiled as he closed his eyes; ever since he had helped her with her pain awhile back they had become very close. Holly's nightmares had stopped shortly after she allowed him to help her. Replacing the captain's touch with his own may have stopped the nightmares, but it couldn't heal all the damage done. He knew there were still scars but they would fade in time. He only hoped that nothing else would come along to reopen those wounds.

After a few more weeks the group traveled to yet another city to fight in a tournament. Genki had promised Holly that now that they monsters were back he would no longer fight. He knew it would upset her if he fought again. It wasn't until they won their tournament that they learned some friends were close by. Because their names had been announced another two members of their ragtag group came running back. Suezo and Golem appeared out side the stadium looking for the group. Suezo ended up spotting them and they went running after the group who had not seen them. Tiger noticed approaching footsteps but thought little of it considering they were fairly popular. It wasn't until he heard,

"Hey guys we finally found you!" that he turned to see who it was. Genki grinned as he saw the two and Holly bolted towards them; he knew she had missed Suezo despite his being annoying. She hugged Suezo as his tongue came around her to bring her into a hug.

"Suezo… I was sure you had become a disc like the others. I'm so glad to see you!" When they pulled back Suezo answered her,

"I missed you too Holly. Wait the others were disks?"

"Yes, Tiger and Mocchi both were."

"Golem and I never became disks…"

"Weird." Genki piped up form behind earning him a confused glance from Suezo and golem for a moment. Golem though noticed his clear eyes and immediately knew who it was.

"Genki?"

"Hey Golem its been awhile huh? How have you been?"

"Golem has…been… ok. Suezo kept… me company." Genki got one of his trademark grins.

"Glad to hear it big guy," He turned back to Suezo. "So what have two been up to?"

"Well we were searching for all of you guys." Holly nodded her understanding smiling.

"Lets go get something to eat alright?" Suezo's eye glistened with anticipation.

"Sounds great I really missed your cooking Holly."

"Oh stop it Suezo. You'd say that if you were gone only 2 days."

"You know he is right, you do have the best cooking Holly." Genki helped out.

"See he agrees with me."

"Alright, lets go, guys."

Once back at the place where Holly and Genki decided to camp earlier, they began to set things up. Suezo noticed Holly had convinced Genki to let her use his backpack to carry supplies. But then it made sense since her bag had never been large enough to carry everything. It wasn't until Holly handed Genki a pot to go get some water that Suezo noticed her ring sparkling in the fading sunlight. Unlike the others he could zoom right in on it and see the details. Seeing her birthstone, something that looked like the magic stone, and the phoenix he knew it must be from someone who knew her well. His eye quickly went to Genki and noticed a similar matching ring. Part of him felt angry but then he knew Holly wouldn't have agreed to marry him unless she was serious. Though he got along well with Genki and knew the couple had a crush on each other for a long time he hadn't expected this. Then again it had been over four years since they were separated but how long had Genki been back? Suezo waited till after dinner to speak his mind.

"So Holly has anything important happened while we were separated?" he decided to play one of his tactics that he used on her when they were younger. Holly was wise enough to know his tactics though; she knew he had noticed just by his doing this.

"Well the village is back together, I revived all our friends. After that I started searching for you all. I bumped into Genki first though."

"How long ago?"

"Oh about 8 or 9 months now."

* So he hasn't been back very long * "anything else happen other then finding the others?"

"Well I found this before I met up with Genki." She reached into Genki's backpack and pulled out the disk with Mu's crest on it. Suezo looked shocked. "That's how I knew you all were still around and that I could find you. But I can hear my fathers voice coming from the disk." She looked around seeing Golem's astonishment. "Genki and I have looked through some libraries but we haven't found a way to release my father with out releasing Mu." It was true they had done extensive research. Suezo forgot his tactics now and focused on this new information.

"Holly…. We'll find a way to get him back."

"I know, Genki, Tiger… all of you will help I know. Genki had a good suggestion though. We need to find Monol. If anyone knows how to do this he would."

"Makes sense." Tiger stated knowing Holly desperately wanted to save her father. They were silent a moment before Holly decided to stop avoiding Suezo's original question.

"Suezo, Golem" she addressed them both equally like she hadn't know about Suezo's ploy, "Genki and I have been courting for awhile now. And not long ago he proposed to me. I accepted; so we are engaged to be married now. We have both agreed to wait till my father is freed to have our wedding." Golem seemed very happy by the news, but then Holly had expected this.

"Congratulations Holly, Genki. I'm sure you will have a great marriage." He had noticed they cared for each other, so this was only a natural step as far as he was concerned. Suezo's eye grew in size, knowing now that they had been courting properly and had only recently been engaged made him feel a little better. What surprised him the most was the agreement to wait till her father was released.

"You're waiting till you get him back Holly?"

"Yes, and before you ask it was actually Genki's suggestion." Suezo looked to the young man in question.

"Yep, I want Holly to be happy, and I know she really wants her father to be involved in her life. I figured this was way too important to leave him out of it." Suezo studied Genki a moment making Holly very nervous.

"Genki, if you ever hurt her you'll have to answer to me go it?" Genki understood that was Suezo's way of approving and saving face doing so.

"Don't worry Suezo, I'd never hurt her intentionally. You should know that by now." Suezo gave a nod then looked back to his trainer.

"You have my blessing Holly." She ran to him now giving him a great big hug.

"Thank you Suezo!" he retuned the embrace, and then they separated with a smile. Soon night fell and their discussions came to an end. Suezo watched with a slight frown as Holly joined Genki in his sleeping bag for the night. He wasn't sure he wanted her sleeping with Genki at this point but finally decided to trust her judgment.

Another few weeks past, it took awhile but they finally made it to the next tournament city. The group had figured out that the stone Holly now carried didn't have near enough power to be used in the shrine they must visit to unlock the disk. They knew the stone had been used to revive Mu the last time and separate his mind and body. So they assumed it must be used again. The tournament though had a larger and more powerful stone in the winner's plate. Though group learned more from Monol after accidentally bumping into him. Still one member short they continued on their way, winning their tournament and moving onto the next city to win the next. Holly still searched for Hare though as they traveled hoping to find where he had disappeared to. Tiger of course acted like he didn't want him back. The baddies continued to hunt them, trying desperately to get the disk that contained Mu's soul. Though they were puzzled by who could be leading them they managed to fend off their adversaries well enough.

Soon though Holly's stone reacted and they followed it to where it pointed. In an orchard full of fruit they found a lone figure. He had apprehended some stray monster and was laughing at it from his safe position well above the trap. Genki grinned, placing his hands near his mouth he called to the figure.

"Hey Hare!" Hare's ears twitched and he turned around, seeing the group he excitedly ran over to them.

"Guys! Its great to see you."

"What are you doing here?" Genki asked, confused by the trapped monster.

"Well it's a long story, Laura, the owner of this place, found me after I landed… I was injured and she took care of me. Now I help her guard this orchard, stays are always stealing her fruit."

"That was kind of her" Holly spoke gently, soon they followed Hare to the house. It took a bit of discussion to get Hare to come with them. But Laura insisted he go. After they found out the stays were part of Tiger's old pack it was easy for him to get them to stay and protect the orchard in Hare's place. Hare was filled in as they journeyed on what they were trying to achieve. He was worried that Holly's father might not be able to be released but agreed they should try no matter what. More baddies got in the way and were taken care of in short order. Hare had noticed the rings but said nothing the first few days. Let her talk to the couple alone and congratulated them.

The group stopped one day at a training facility after Mocchi got excited to see it. They stay there for a few days, even after Mocchi was kidnapped and a rescue had to be mounted. Holly and Genki shared a room and became very close, enjoying more then simple kisses. But they never over stepped and let their desire move them to a place they didn't want to be. Mocchi claimed that he had met the great white Most but only Genki believed him. Holly often wondered why he believed Mocchi but never felt the need to ask. She trusted Genki and knew he wouldn't have said what he did with out a good reason. After they left and progressed through the tournaments, they felt they were very close to their goal. But Mocchi's final fight with most had proven to be too much. Mocchi lost, and was knocked out completely but the match's final blow. Holly wondered how they could free her father now. Genki walked over to her and whispered,

"We can try again next year. I'll wait for you; you know that. I'll keep my promise and wait till you're father is released." Holly looked into his eyes startled.

"Genki… I can't ask that of you…"

"Holly I want you to be happy. And I know you will regret it if he isn't there for something that important." She stared at him again, the others watching the couple. She then buried her face into his chest,

"Thank you so much Genki." Genki smiled, they would wait till Mocchi woke to figure out what to do next.

AAN: yeah decided to split it up. So I will do one more chapter and wrap everything up nicely in it. I didn't feel like holding onto this one and making it a mega chapter. So I hope you like the developments here and I hope its not too rushed. I know Hare didn't get much interaction time but I wanted to get this written. Please R&R. I will try to get the next chapter up by the end of the first week of October.