"Mighty thanks for you two for taking us out here!" Swana said as she sat on the outdoor table seat.

"You're welcome! This is a place I've been to before, and I thought it'd be a perfect now that it's open again," Locke responded across from Swana. "I just felt it'd be good to get to know you here, y'know?"

"Mhm. Can I ask why you two decided to join the guild?" Tamin asked. She sat at Locke's left.

"Few months back I saw an arcanine strollin' through Roseose and helped him find something. Seemed like a nice guy, so I helped the fella out. We talked for a spell, he mentioned he works fer a guild, made it sound interesting, so I checked it out when the snow all melted," Swana explained.

"Makes sense. I actually met that exact same pokemon before I decided to join the guild. Funny how that works out," Locke replied. "How about you?" he asked as he looked beside the swana.

"Jussst trying to carry on a legacccy," a Snivy beside Swana replied, his forked tongue lingering on the 's' sound for longer.

"Are you from the same place as Swana is or…?" Tamin asked Snivy while she was folding one of the napkins together.

"No, I've never ssseen her before, and I came from the opposite direction," Snivy answered. "I've been bouncccing around a few different jobsss, and now that winter'sss over I decccided to finally ssswing around here."

"So just luck that you came on the same day?" Locke asked both of them.

"Sure seems that way," Swana replied.

"Yesss," Snivy stated.

Locke, Tamin, Swana, and Snivy all sat together on one of the outdoor tables at the ice cream store in town, with several folded napkins laying on the table. The sun was directly above them, but it wasn't terribly hot either. It was neither too cold for ice cream to be undesirable, nor was it so hot that one would have a limited amount of time to eat ice cream before it melts into a slimy liquid. It was a simple excursion, a chance to meet with the guild's two newest members.

"So, if I heard ya right from earlier, you were the last two who joined this guild right 'ere?" Swana asked, referring to a previous conversation that transpired when they met at the guildhouse.

"That's is right," the shinx confirmed. "We was the last ones here, I celebrated my first mission here, it all seemed to line up."

"Aye, mighty fine plan," Swana replied.

"Yeah. I'm even doing this with three girls like the last time as well," Locke said.

"I wouldn't say 'as well' since last time didn't go so well at all," Tamin snickered.

"Hey, that's not entirely true," he responded.

"Erm, can I ask where you're comin' from with that?" Swana said, a bit concerned.

"That'sss a bit concccerning," Snivy said.

"It's a long story, but you don't need to worry about it," Locke awkwardly tried to explain. "I was just stuck with a rather annoying emolga at the time, and she complicated things. Oh! But don't tell her I said that."

"Huh, Alright," Swana and Snivy said.

Tamin saw that section of the conversation wrap up, so she took the initiative to start up another topic.

"So Snivy, you mentioned wanting to carry on a legacy?" Tamin inquired.

"Yesss," Snivy confirmed.

"What do you mean with that?"

"I have an ancccestor who was a legendary explorer a few generationsss ago. Ssso I want to be like her, adventuring around like her."

"Oh, really?" Locke asked.

"Yesss. You might've heard of them before. Her name is Sssareth. She was my grandmother and was sssaving livesss before this guild was even essstablished," Snivy explained, his tongue still extending certain sounds.

"Uh-huh. And can I ask how many 's's that name is spelled with?" Tamin asked.

"Two."

Tamin gave a stupefied expression, trying to think of someone else to add to that but her mind coming up blank.

"Anything else you have to say?" Locke asked.

"Sssorry, not really. I've alwaysss been jussst a little bit… sssoccccially awkward," Snivy admitted.

"Oh. Sorry to hear," Locke said. "Although if that's the case, I think you found the perfect job. Dungeon pokemon are never too talkative. Ya don't need to speak to them at all, in fact. So I think they're a great match for ya."

"Heheh, yeah. Right," Snivy said. "Also not quite sssure how sssqueamish I'll be with blood. I've never ssseen a pokemon really bleed before."

"Hol' up one second, yer tellin' me you've never seen a pokemon bleed before?" Swana interjected.

"Yesss."

"Now just how in the gosh darn is that possible? Seems to make 'bout as much sense as a beartick flyin' to me. Bleed'n is a natural thing. Have ya never gotten hurt before?"

"Maybe gushing red liquidsss when you're cut is natural for you, but not for sssnivy. Or plenty of other grasss typesss."

"Huh…" Swana said.

"Yeah, there'sss lotsss of little differenccces you wouldn't initially think about. Essspicccially with grasss typesss," Snivy said. "It'sss a sssubject I've read about quite a bit. Just ssscience in general is sssomething I find fassscinating."

"Alright, alright, I see," Locke said.

"Okay guys, I've got your treats!"

The group of four turned to see Elley the shinx approaching them. She was wearing a suit which held a tray above her body. The tray had four holsters in it, each of those holding an ice cream cone. One vanilla with sprinkles, one chocolate, one strawberry, and one butter pecan. She positioned herself right next to their table, so they could be reached.

"Take what's yours, tell us if there's anything wrong with this."

"Thank you, Elley!" Locke said, recalling what her name was without much effort. He used his two front paws to reach for the strawberry cone. He then held the cone between his two paws and began joyfully licking the ice cream.

"It all looks correct, thank you," Tamin said as she reached for the ones with sprinkles on it.

"Aye! Came just in time, I was starvin' back there," Swana said as she grabbed the chocolate cone. There was a sense of obligation to talk after two others spoke.

"Could you give usss sssome glasssesss of water?" Snivy asked while using vines to grip and pick up the butter pecan ice cream.

"Of course, I'll just need a minute," Elley said, not speaking how she would normally speak but instead giving the ideal customer service tone.

"Thanksss. Jussst for clearing thossse timesss when your throat getsss chilled."

"I understand, you're not the first," Elley spoke with politeness.

The female shinx walked off again, walked off back towards the storefront. For decency's sake, she even kept her tail down as she was taught to do. As she left, the other four turned back to one another.

"So how many moons now have ya'll been in this guild 'ere?" Swana asked.

"A little while," Locke said.

"Four months, give or take a week," Tamin specified. "We joined in late Fall, only around a week before the snow came in. Then we mostly stayed indoors across three months of winter. Once it started melting and got safe again, the guild has fully re-opened with normal mission activity."

"Gosh, you spent three months inside?" Swana asked. "I couldn't ever imagine going that long without spreading me wings out."

"It wasn't that bad. At least in retrospect," Locke said.

"Really now?"

"Yeah. When nothing is going on, there's nothing to remember, so it feels like the day didn't even happen. The days just bleed together and fall between your paws like fine sand until suddenly it ain't winter anymore," Locke said. "Smallest victories, now."

"Locke, can you please not be showing off your gallows humor to new-"

"Aye, now I can see were yer comin' with that!" Swana said with a chuckle. "I can appreciate an attitude like that as well."

The flying type and the shinx shared a small laugh with one another. Tamin didn't join in nor scold, she just rolled her eyes away. "You'd need to breath in a lot of air at a high altitude to enjoy that attitude," she said under her breath, quiet enough to hide it.

The minccino also took a glance at Snivy, expecting to see grimace or annoyance. To Tamin's surprise, she read neither in the grass type's expression. Instead, she saw a hint of agreeance. It hit Tamin that she was alone in how she felt at that table, a realization that made her squirm in her seat a bit.

"Say, do you know how to fight?" Locke asked Swana.

"'Course I was. I was taught by my daddy when I still lived in the country," Swana replied.

"Good. Very good. Because this job will test your mettle and your metal," Locke said.

"Metal?"

"Well, when a wild pokemon knocks your teeth out, you'll want some strong metal fillings to replace 'em,"

"Aye, I see were yer comin' from now. But a better question, are ya know how to fight?"

"Fighting? Believe me, I'm TOO good at that," Locke said, his tone of voice sounding like he was joking, but the raw words themselves were quite serious.

Tamin had very limited interest in partaking in the current conversation, so she turned to the mostly quiet snivy.

"You said you were interested in biology, right?" Tamin asked.

"Ssstrongly," Snivy replied. "Really jussst ssscience in general, though."

"Tell me more than. I don't know too terribly much about how grass types- well- work, and it sounds like there's a fair bit going on with you."

"Of courssse. Where do you want to ssstart?"

The two conversations continued on for another minute, Tamin and Snivy with their calm conversation on scientific subjects while Locke and Swana discussed far more athletic ideas. But it wasn't long for the female shinx to return.

"Four cups of crisp water, a-ready!" Elley said while approaching the four once more

"Thanksss a lot," Snivy said while picking up the cups with his vines to place on the table. "I really appreccciate it."

"No problem!" Elley said.

"You don't really avoid those words, do ya?" Locke said while his head was pointed towards Snivy.

"What do you mean by that?" Snivy asked.

"The words you pronounce funny. The stuff with the 'sss'-ing," Locke said, doing his best impression of Snivy's hissing.

"Sing?" Tamin asked Locke. She knew she had the first part to some kind of pun, and was trying to think quick to have a second part to it.

"Ah, that. Well, I jussst like sssaying those," Snivy said with a smile forming. Not the kind of smile out of being polite, but the smug sort of smile that the species was often known for.

"Huh, okay."

"I don think anyone should tell you how you should or shouldn't be talkin'," Swana told Snivy. "I take a heap of pride from my accent. Ain't no problem if you do the same."

"Uh-huh," Locke turned to Swana to reply.

"Anything else I can do for you four?" Elley said to the whole table, still standing there and giving the stereotypical customer service tone; though that's not to say her mood was poor. She was chipper, just not quite as much as the artificial voice indicated.

"I think we're fine," Tamin said dismissively, faking a smile.

"Hang on, how have you been, Elley?" Locke asked the female shinx.

"Hmm?" she replied.

"I haven't had a chance to talk to you in months. How've you been?"

"Oh! Well, I've been alright," Elley said, realizing he was speaking to her personally. "Winter was hard and all, but we got through it and I'm glad we've opened up again and other stuff like that, yeah."

"Right, right. So are you alone right now? I haven't seen that ninetales around today."

"He's doing some errands, yeah," Elley replied. "He's going to come back, he will..."

The others continued talking amongst each other or licking at their ice cream, but Locke remained focused on the female shinx. The instinct to want to connect with someone who looked like him was potent, but he also had a gut feeling that something else was just beneath the surface as well.

"You alright?" Locke asked her.

"Oh, yeah. It's okay," Elley was looking to the side, wondering if she should come up with some excuse to escape the social situation. "So, umm, how is the guild doing?"

"Still bad in some ways (and I'm not a fan of the leaders) but not enough to make me quit. And it's still way better than it was in the winter."

"That's good, that's good. I just… hope you always make it back home," Elley said.

A moment of quietness befell on the two shinx, even though there other three were still chattering in the background. Locke opened his mouth to break the silence.

"...I have heard of what happened to your mom," Locke said with a solemn voice. "Still not over Valence's death, I take it?"

"It's… it's… yeah," she admitted. "Not the first death in the family I've had either…"

"It isn't?" Locke asked.

"I- I would really rather not talk about this. A-at least not here," Elley spurted out.

Despite this, Locke's instincts still gave him a premonition that something would be coming up if he stayed with Elley. He didn't want to dismiss or leave her, he wanted to keep digging.

The male shinx turned to his three accomplices, who had in turn taken a notice to what was going on as well.

"I don't mean to be rude, but could you head back to the guildhouse?" Locke said. "I'd like to just be with her right now."

"Shinx stuff?" Swana asked.

"Shinx stuff," Locke replied, not really knowing what he was saying but knew it sounded like a reasonable excuse.

"Erm, well I reckon that should be fair. We'll just hustle our way outta here to leave ya'll be," Swana replied. "We can just buckle down and jerry-rig some new plan for the day before the sunset comes rollin' in."

"Right," Locke said, though he didn't quite understand her vocabulary.

"Anything that you want me to show you two?" Tamin asked Snivy and Swana.

"I haven't ssseen the basssement yet," Snivy answered.

"Umm… Anything else you want to be shown?" the minccino asked, uncomfortably squirming in her seat just a smidge. "I mean, there's also an antique shop in town I could show you."

"I'd like to take a gander at the basement 'swell. I've seen plenty o' knick knacks in my life, but the stuff underground at the place I'll be stayin'."

"Yesss. It'sss sssomething my tour from Essspeon glanccced over. Ssso a proper look would be apreccciated."

Tamin's ears and tail drooped down. "Alright, I'll show you two that place."

The minccino hopped down, followed by Snivy and Swana. They began their trek back to the guildhouse, carrying their ice cream and licking at it along the way.

Locke wanted to hop down from the chair to face Elley at the same level, but quickly realized that he still had his ice cream. He quickly lowered his jaw to open up his mouth as much as he could, and then chomped down on the ice cream. Down to the cone, he devoured the whole of it in just three bites. The shinx exhaled some chilled breath, and then hopped down to Elley.

"Alright, we're alone now. We can talk about that privately."

"Well… okay, if you're insistent. " Elley said, she wasn't actually annoyed by Locke's persistence, but instead found some kind of reassurance with how caring he was in her past. "Before I lost my mom, years ago I lost siblings as well. It- it was to a fire, my old house burned before we moved to town, and they didn't make it. I don't even really remember it because I was so young when it happened, but… I can't help but think what could have been. Things get lonely a lot of the time."

"Okay, I see. I- ah, ack," Locke suddenly felt a pain surge in his cranium. He lowered his head and put his paw on it to brace the pain.

"Are you okay?!" Elley asked.

"My head- it just hurts- ah!" Locke spurted out.

"Ah, what I thought. I was expecting you'd get a brain freeze from eating your ice cream that way," Elley admitted. "It'll go away."

"Ack- don't worry, I can take it," Locke said, still pressing his paws against his head. "I've dealt with far worse pain."

"Maybe we should come inside. My dad tells me not to invite strangers into our house, but I think I can trust you."

"Alright- ah."

The two shinx walked together closer to the storefront, and then walked beside it to get to the half of the building that was Elley's home. As they walked, Locke still cringed from the heavy brain freeze he was enduring.

"S-so, yeah. I'm sorry that all happened to you, real sorry," the male shinx said as they went over to an entry door.

"It's alright. I just try to not think about them," Elley replied. "I know they existed, but if I remember them it just makes me feel sad. I don't want to feel grief all the time, I just want to live. You know?"

"I'll be honest, I'm really not sure I do know. I never did have a family," Locke admitted, starting to recover.

"Ah, okay," Elley said before his words fully hit her. "Wait, what? How do you not have a family?"

"At least, I don't remember any I had," Locke clarified.

"Oh… so like amnesia?" the female shinx asked.

"I don't really think so. I've just been going through mystery dungeons my whole life. I know I had to have had parents to create me, but I guess they just left before I could remember- like- anything."

"Mhm… Wait a second, so you're saying you lost your family when you were really young? Like, so young you couldn't really remember anything at all?" Elley said, gears turning in her head that made the mental train of thought begin its engines.

"Yeah, that's what I'm saying…" Locke replied. As he uttered that last word, pieces of a puzzle scattered apart long ago began clicking together in place within his mind as well. He felt something was going, he knew something was going on.

"What was your name again?" Elley asked.

"'Locke'."

She lowered her head to think for a second, and then raised it upwards as her eyes widened in a sudden epiphany. "Come with me. Now."

Elley opened the door to her home, and went inside. With swift feet she immediately dashed through the household, not even checking to make sure Locke was following. The male shinx was forced to ignore what remained of his brain freeze and ran after her, using one of his hind legs to push the door closed behind him.

Across the entryway, through the dining room, and up the stairs; Elley ran and ran as quick as her four paws would let her. Up the stairs led to her bedroom, and a few seconds after she got there, Locke ran up the stairs as well.

The female shinx went for a closet, with Locke staying close and observing. She opened the door to it, and began scrounging around it with her front paws, digging through discarded accessories and toys that had grown white due to layers of dust on them. It took her a minute of shuffling around the closet, questioning if she even still had what she was searching for the whole time. But sure enough, she found an antique wooden box that had the words "Never Forget" scratched into it, with the first word getting scratched out.

Elley pulled the box out of the closest, clear in the view of both her and Locke. With one paw she opened up the box, the hinges screeched and almost jammed, but with sufficient finagling she got it open.

Inside were some small baby toys, a few polaroids, a lone pendant, and a folded newspaper article. Unlike the box's exterior and the items it was buried under, the contents inside were kept in pristine condition as though frozen in time.

With claws retracted, Elley pulled out the newspaper article, as careful to not tear it as one could be. A massive headline was spelled out on the top of the page in black ink, "Local house burned down! Several killed in the blaze."

Elley propped the newspaper on the side of the box and began reading off the article. Locke stepped beside her, looking over her shoulder as he read what she read.

"Rural house catches fire. Multiple dead," Elley said as she read off the newspaper article, "In a seeming act of arson, the home of the Thomson family was lit on fire from the outside at 1:30 P.M. during clear skies.

The fire quickly spread to the inside of the household. Igniting the first story floor before spreading the second story and then the basement.

The first story collapsed before a firefighting crew could arrive, causing the building to be destroyed.

Valance Thomson, Kei Thomson and Elley Thomson escaped the burning building. Dying inside were Quan Thomson, Pyns Thomson, Faze Thomson and… Locke Thomson…"

Elley slowed down as she read those last two words, all of reality seemed to slow down in fact. That one word on the paper was unmistakable, and lingered in their minds. For that one moment, everything was silent, they needed a moment to let the full implications of discovery.

The two shinx turned to look at each other to see the other's reaction. As Locke did so, he saw her face shiften to a smile, a smile of wondrous joy that pierced through any and all sorrow or melancholy like a flood light brightening a pitch black tunnel.

"YOU'RE MY BROTHER!" Elley boldly proclaimed as she playfully tackled Locke.

"I have a sister!" Locke exclaimed as he got tackled.

The two hit the floor with their sides and rolled on the ground for a second. Once the momentum slowed, they were both on their bellies and gazing at each other.

"I thought you were dead for years!" Elley said, more ecstatic then they had ever been before.

"I didn't even know I had a family!" Locke replied.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh, this is seriously the best day of my life," syllables poured from Elley's mouth like water from a bursted dam.

"I seriously did not think I had any family," Locke said, the emotions of the situation still swirling around him.

Elley's breathing and talking actually slowed down again. In lieu of fast speaking, water began gathering in her eyes, making them sparkle and begin to get dense enough to fall from her eyes. She got up and walked towards Locke, as she reached to hug him and almost collapsed onto him.

"I missed you for so long," she said, crying onto Locke's harness and fur. "I'm so sorry for trying to forget about you.

Locke wrapped his own arms around Elley's neck to hug her back. "It's okay. I… I didn't remember you at all, to be honest."

"Where were you all these years?" her voice was high despite her tears falling down.

"By myself, mostly," Locke admitted.

"Really?"

"I was in the wilds for most of my life, struggling to survive," Locke used words to clarify.

"Oh, sorry, I'm so sorry you went through that," Elley said.

"I'm sorry you thought I was dead for so long. But… I'm just happy that I do have a family."

"I'm just happy you're back," Elley said, as warmly as one could speak.

The two hugged each other for longer in tender embrace, feeling one another's soft fur and the warmth they had for them.

"So… what do you want to do now?" Locke said.

"Well, I think we've got years of catching up to, bro," she replied. That final word came out differently, as though it was the first time in her life she had been able to say it, and she had been desiring to do so, mentally practicing to do so, for all that time. It seemed practiced yet natural at the same time, with years of baggage building up to it.

"Anything you have in mind?" Locke asked.

"Here, let me show you. Let's be siblings."

Elley gave Locke a tour of her house, but throughout the tour, she chose her words carefully and referred to it as their house. Afterall, it was the home of her family.

After showing the shinx around, she turned to the various closets and compartments to get board games. They were ones she often played by herself to pass the time, most weren't even designed to be played by only one but she had been playing by herself, taking up the role of more than one player to win regardless of what she did. But with Locke there, she could finally play them as they were intended to be played.

And thus, the afternoon was passed by Elley showing Locke the rules of the various games and them playing, as well as Locke sharing stories of many feats as a rogue explorer. Elley one each and every one of the games since she was well familiar with them, but it was Locke's stories that captivated her far more so.

After the board games, they constructed a jigsaw puzzle. It was just a hundred pieces so it didn't take long, and before too long they got a complete picture; the unbroken image of an ampharos with a field of mareep. After the jigsaw puzzle, Locke insisted they do some racing and more athletic activities. The various competitions that Dewott had done with him, he was now doing with his sister.

They played like they were over a year younger. Locke didn't think about missions, about Crystal, about Tamin, about Espeon or the rest of the guild. He only thought about his re-discovered family.

One awkward conversation did arise when Elley asked Locke why he wore a harness, so he had to explain what that was about and why he had to wear it. Telling that to his sister made him blush as red as he was on the day he was put into it, and Elley couldn't help but cringe at the retelling either. Elley did her best to reassure and uplift him. Likewise, Locke sympathized with Elley and the grief she felt. Along with the grief, she felt her guilt being swept away as well, guilt about being what she believed to be the only surviving child.

After hours of talking, playing, and being joyful, they finally exhausted themselves. So the two went back to So Elley's room where they had started and lied down to rest together.

"After all these years, you came back. You're here again." Elley said to Locke. Even if it was a point she had gotten across already, she was still astounded by what was actually happening.

"And after all these years, I guess I never really was abandoned after all." Locke said.

"I guess the stories can be true sometimes. Long lost brothers do exist."

"Heh. Yeah, I guess I'm more of your long lost brother than you are my long lost sister." Locke said.

"Mhm… Oh! I just remembered something, follow me!" Elley said as she suddenly stood up and ran back to her room. Locke was obligated to follow.

After they ran back up there, they returned to the box they first got the newspaper in. Elley reached in and pulled up a pendant that was beneath the paper. It was wide, not quite as large as a pocket watch, but of a similar shape. It was made out of old bronze and had latches which allowed it to be opened up.

"Here," Elley said.

"What's that?" Locke asked as he gazed down on it.

Elley brought her teeth down to the amulet and used them to open it. It folded out into two halves like a clam, and within was a small black and white photograph. It was very well preserved, even if its size made it a bit difficult to make out. It showed a luxray, an alolan ninetales, and five very young shinx.

"I've had this for a long time now. It's one of the last photographs we have that has the whole family together," Elley said, her voice grew solemn again.

"I see," Locke said as he scanned over each of the shinx, trying to find himself within it.

"Here," Elley held the pendent closer to him, "you can have it."

"Wait, really?" Locke asked.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "You don't remember our family as much as I do, so I think you could use this memento more than I do. I still have some other stuff as well."

"Are you sure?" Locke asked. "I don't want to just take it."

"If you don't break it or lose it, then take it with you," Elley said. "Come on, I never got to celebrate a birthday with my siblings, so consider this my overdue present for you."

Locke pushed his head through the strings to get the pendent on him. Elley smiled, finally being able to feel what it's like to give another something personal. Locke smiled as well, he couldn't see how it looked on him, but enjoying the newfound feeling of having something sentimental.

"Keep it safe," Elley said, her smile not fading.

"Thanks, sis," Locke said, although it still felt weird for him to say that. "I won't forget."

Right after Locke spoke, the door from downstairs was heard opening up.

"Elley, I'm home." The voice of a Ninetales came from downstairs.

"Dad's home!" Elley declared as she sprang up again, "C'mon bro, he's gonna be so happy to see you."

"Oh, right." Locke said, "You know, I never would have guessed is have a Ninetales for a dad. But I'm happy nonetheless."

"Come!" Elley commanded.

One more time, the two shinx ran down the staircase to get back to the entry room.

"Hey dad!" Elley shouted, "I have something that I think you'll be VERY happy to see."

End of chapter 26.