A/N

This was originally chapter 12. I've since modified and expanded it.

"Maybe when they're serving us food next, we could surprise the fuckers with a sudden attack?" Mustard jerked her head to the left as she spoke, avoiding a vulpix's swatting paw.

"I suppose we might be able to take them out, but, what then? They don't exactly, you know, open the door to let us out."

"But they would have to open the door to give us some sort of disciplinary action, correct?"

"That may be the case. Counter-point, however: If they know we're willing to attack, they won't send in a push-over."

"I'm sure we could fuck em' up. We're strong, they know that."

"They do know that, yes, and that convinces me that they'll be smart enough to act with caution."

"Even so, will they be cautious enough? I've yet to see anyone who could pose a threat."

'Pag looked between the two, before giving a bored huff. She padded over to the front of the cell, flopping onto her side.

Mustard and Coffee both observed the cub. The gallade scratched his chin in thought.

"Well... Even so, what are we gonna do about the kid? If they can get a hold of her, which is extremely possible, that's just an easy hostage."

"That's... Right. I guess protecting her would be a top priority, and that's not exactly..." Mustard gave a frustrated groan, flopping onto her back. "Stars, if these damned aura-inhibitors were out of our coats, this would be a lot simpler."

Coffee gave her a toothy grin, with a waggle of his eyebrows.

"What's wrong, missy? Not used to using your brain?" He received a kick in the shin as an answer. Eliciting both a grunt and a chuckle.

"Maybe we could lie, or something. They seem to at least be empathetic, so... Maybe say that one of us is sick. Are you a good actor?"

"Well... I suppose I am. But, again, they're smart. They'd probably send a healer over to scan me before doing anything else. I think you're onto something with appealing to their emotional side, however."

"Yeah. But, what?"

"Do you have any relatives?"

It suddenly clicked in Mustard's head.

"Oh! My parents are here, and one of my brothers! How could I have forgotten?"

"That's perfect! Maybe they'll let you see them? One of you would have to be taken out of the cell, I'd assume."

"Better yet, with so many 'mons in one place, it would be easier to overpower the staff."

"But... 'Pag and I would still be stuck in here, unless you can find a reason for us to come, as well."

"Quiet, you two!" hissed 'Pag. "Ms. Thyerbert ith coming, and with that mean croc!"

The two adults turned quickly to see the pokémon in question approaching.

The small eevee gave a friendly wave, with the krokorok giving an impassive huff.

"Yo, 'sup dawgs?" Sherbert gave a respectful bow of her head, making her large ears bounce. 'Pag gave a delighted giggle, reaching out to bat at the large appendages. The eevee gave a tiny giggle, allowing it for a moment before raising her head back up. She shuffled a container off from her back, then sliding it into the cell. It was a bit smaller than the usual food deliver.

"'Sup, you asked?" huffed Mustard. "Well, let me tell you. We're locked in, well, only the stars know where, far away from anyone we ever knew, with only each other, the gray walls, and the same bland food over and over again to keep us company." The jolteon shoved her face against the bars, pressing her snarling muzzle right into Sherbert's own.

The eevee gave a small 'eep!', backing up with a start. Her nervous expression soon faded, shifting back to one of smug confidence.

"Well now, I'm sorry 'bout all a' dis, really. But, I've got at least two of those fixed up, ya' dig?"

Coffee stepped forward, an eyebrow raised.

"How's that, exactly?"

Broccoli gave a huff, before speaking.

"Well, Sherbsy here found out some QUITE interesting details. YOU, Mustard, AND Spaghetti, both have family here. And, well, it's protocol to let family see eachother once awake."

Mustard and 'Pag's eyes both lit up.

Sherbert gave them bright smiles.

"Yeeuh! Fo' the lil' miss, yo daddy's waitin' to see ya'. And, fo' you, Mustard? Pretty much all yo' folks. We've had yo parents and bro for a while, but a few days ago we got yo' other bro as well. Ain't that convenient?"

Mustard's eyebrows raised.

"Convenient indeed; more power!" she thought with a grin.

"Thank you for letting us know, Sherbert." Mustard chirped.

"Yethhhh! Thank thooo much! I wanna thee daddy right away!"

Broccoli sighed, fumbling for his keys.

"Well, the meeting wasn't scheduled for another fifteen minutes, but I SUPPOSE no one will FUCKING complain about it being early, now will they? Just don't tell the boss."

"We even got the cooks t'prepare yo favorite foods!" Sherbert added, leaping up into the krokorok's arms.

Coffee nodded.

"I suppose that's why you only brought one portion today. Guess that means my folks ain't in proverbial town?"

Sherbert's smile faltered a little bit, her ears splaying back.

"A-ah. Sorry, big homie. Background check didn't reveal any relatives down 'ere."

Coffee sighed as the door to the cell opened. He sat down on the bed.

"As much as I want to make a break for it, I can't jeopardize their chances." His eyes met those of Mustard's, the jolteon's eyes full of regret as they parted. He gave her a smile, as he continued to think to himself. "You two be strong now, and don't worry about me."

The gallade folded his arms behind his head, leaning back in the bed as the cell door squealed shut. He commited the footsteps of his brief companions to memory, imagining, and hoping it would be a long time before they were reunited again.

"I want out of here, more than anything. These cold, dank walls are driving me mad. Sacrifices must be made, however; the needs of the many outweigh that of the few."

Shallot squoze his eyes shut tight. It did naught to slow the tears he shead. A quiet sob escaped his throat, tailed by a small whine. Tart slowly massaged up and down his back as the fennekin failed to prevent his emotional release.

"Shallot... The situation will conclude positively. Think not of this as 'goodbye', but rather, 'see you later'."

"I ain't wanna leave ya'!" wailed the fire-type. He pounded on the floor with a paw, then again, worsening the already forming bruise on his limb. "I c-c-can't... J-just... Leave y'here! Alone!"

The minccino felt a tear leave her eye as she squoze her friend closer.

"It is the feasible option, Shallot. I no more desire our separation than you do, however, for you to stay is for your whole family to remain imprisoned. Bean's chances of escape, too, would be lessened."

The aforementioned ninetales looked on with a mask of stoicism. It threatened to break as the fennekin only shouted louder into his friend's fur.

"I... I... I just... It's hard... It feels wrong!"

"Oh, Shallot... Part of being a hero is to know when sacrifices must be made. Staying with me is not worth the continued imprisonment of six pokémon. You may very well be saving lives today, Shallot. Sometimes, doing the right thing comes with a cost. Do not lose what we have worked so hard for. Do not throw it all away on my account."

Shallot took a shaky breath, giving a nod. He slowly raised his head, giving a small hiccup.

The gazes of Tart and Shallot met, Hurt, confusion, excitement, resolve. They shared emotion through their eyes.

"You're right, Tart. As always, you're right. It just... Hurts, you know?"

"I do, Shallot. It hurts a great deal." The minccino gave a smile, raising a paw to wipe the tears from Shallot's cheek. "It is, as the cool kids say, 'Totally Hurtsy Gurtsy, my dude'."

Shallot returned the smile, letting their foreheads press together. Despite their best efforts, tears continued to fall on both sides.

"No one fuckin' says that but you, Poptart."

Tart gave a small giggle.

"I-is that so?"

"Yeah. And... It's endearing."

The two pulled away suddenly, hearing Bean clear his throat. They glanced to the ninetales, who nodded his head toward the outside of the cell. They turned their heads to see Broccoli approaching quickly, with Sherbert still cradled in his arms.

They quickly attempted to force on chipper expressions, wiping away their tears.

Sherbert gave them all a wide smile as the duo finished approaching.

"It's time, homies!" chirped the eevee, her tail giving a brief flick.

Shallot and Tart both looked to each other, each giving a quick nuzzle. They shared a hushed 'goodbye', before turning back to the newly arrived duo. Shallot stepped forward with Bean, the latter speaking first.

"Good, good. I believe we are ready to depart."

Broccoli fumbled around for his keys, unlocking the cell. As the fennekin and ninetales both departed with their captors, Shallot turned to look back at the cell. He and Tart held eye-contact, only breaking once the fennekin turned a corner and vanished from sight.

"You can do this, Shallot. I believe in you."

Creme looked up sharply, roused from her daydream by a hesitant knocking on the door. She looked down to her newspaper, then toward the liepard on the couch next to her.

Basil gave a groan, stirring from her nap. She blearily rubbed her eyes, glancing to the door, then up to Creme.

"Hey... I didn't think our mission was until next week."

"I suppose I can take care of it, then." The ninetales straightened her posture, standing up slowly. She gave a toss of her mane, then stretching her tails to flow elegantly behind her.

The fox strode to the door, flicking it open with psychic. Her eyes darted back, then forth, then down. She gave a small gasp, involuntarily stepping back.

Salami refused to make eye-contact, bashfully pawing at the ground.

"Uh... Hi, mommy. May I come in?"

"Of course, dearest. You are always welcome!"

The ninetales turned back from the door, striding back into the living room. She made for the kitchen, with her son following closely.

Creme's mental grasp enveloped many parts of the kitchen, levitating various foods and items out.

"I... Came to apologize. For, uh, blaming you."

Creme's psychic display stopped abruptly. She turned to face her son, soon continuing as if she had never ceased.

"However come? You were correct, it was my fault."

"That's, uh, true, but it's not exclusively your fault. It was a failure on everyone's part, mine included. And... Well... Even if it wasn't, I already lost the others, and..." The vulpix turned away, attempting to rub the forming wetness in his eyes. "I don't want to lose you, too. I was just... So angry, and... Someone kind of... Vindicated me."

Salami felt himself lifted into his mother's grasp. They held each other in a warm embrace. The vulpix barely managed to hold back his tears, however his mother held no such reservation.

"My, my... You're becoming so mature..."

"I just... I had an epiphany. A... friend, helped me see, and here with you again... I love you so much, mom."

"I love you too, Salami. My dearest, I'm sorry that I failed our friends and family. It won't happen again; I promise."

"We'll make it right, mom. We'll fix everything. Together."

Salami felt his eternal flame burn hotter than it ever had before. He felt it rising, growing. Never in his deepest moments of hatred, hottest moments of rage, or most painful moments of sorrow had it ever burned this bright. A brilliant pillar of flame, once fueled by pain and spite, at that moment rose to heights never reached before, newly empowered through love, passion, and resolve.

The fire-type felt the heat growing, intensifying, consuming him whole, and before long, smoldering through what once stood as its upper limit. With one final flare of his radiant internal inferno, the vulpix ceased to be a vulpix, reborn anew in the forge of his own fire.

Two ninetales, mother and son, simply held each other close, sharing with each other the irreplaceable bond of family.

Shallot's paws shuffled nervously as he approached the thick metal door. His eyes bore into its surface, impatience filling his gaze. He stepped down onto the end of his cape, grinding it back and forth against the ground as he attempted to calm his nerves. His breathing came faster than ever; each intake of oxygen serving to further energize his already shaking muscles. He felt his internal flame beginning to excite.

The fox's eyes shifted to the Bean, standing to his left. The ninetales looked as if he was feeling the same way, but he hid it better. It was only thanks to knowing the man for years that he'd come to see past his hardy veil.

With a gulp, the fennekin's eyes turned to the krokorok. Broccoli swiped his ID card through a terminal. With a beep and a clang, the door unlocked. The small group began to advance inside. No one bothered to close the door.

As the room's contents came into view, Shallot's heart rate skipped, then accelerated. The whole world seemed to fade away, save for four figures.

A delphox's gaze met his, filled with fear, sorrow, relief, and a lot of concern. A large mangrove branch poked from her tail, its gray, textured surface contrasting her vibrant fur and simple white gown. The elegant craftsmanship of wood unique to one pokémon; his mother. Her hand rested upon a small, scruffy fennekin's head, who looked to Shallot with a naive suite of confusion and excitement.

Two jolteon were huddled both with each other, and the two foxes. One's gaze shone with pride and vigor, with the other's set in worry. A cautious optimism crept into her eyes over time. The two looked almost exactly alike, save for the former's lesser curvature.

Shallot's paws carried him forward, caring not to await command. He strode, then ran, then bounded foward, toward his family. With one final spring of his legs, leapt into the group's embrace, taking everyone to the ground with him. They all pressed into a firm, shared.

Shallot felt each of his family's touch against his pelt; a comfort he had felt too long deprived of. He choked out a sob, the latest of many that day, as his face buried into his mother's fur. She stroked his head gently, just as she had done to his brother only moments previous.

"I m-missed y'all... So much..."

He felt Mustard's muzzle poke against his cheek briefly. He turned to nuzzle his sister.

"Hey, kiddo..."

His father gave a bright grin, mirrored by his father.

"We missed ya' too, sugar..."

Bean smiled to himself as he observed the reunion. He turned his attention back to the quietly sobbing vulpix who he had curled up around.

Bean pressed his muzzle to 'Pag's forehead, giving it a brief lick.

"Don't cry now, my dearest," he whispered. "I'm here now. You will see mommy and big bro soon."

The minccino noticed a gallade standing awkwardly off to the side. In the room with them, she observed only Sherbert and Broccoli.

Shallot felt his furs beginning to prick up, an intense energy building up. He looked to his sister, who returned the gaze with a confident smirk. A small glow was built up in her maw. He returned the expression, giving a deep breath to cause her nerves.

Sherbert felt a genuine smile on her lips as she watched the families. She felt oddly invigorated. It was almost as if the air itself had been energized. She noticed an odd glow in the jolteon's mouth, who was staring right at her. That was the last detail to cross Sherbert's mind before the full, unwavering force of a hyper-beam struck her, throwing the newly crisped and unconscious eevee against a wall on the far side of the room.

Broccoli shouted in surprise, staring at his fallen partner.

Shallot quickly dashed forward. His cape flowed elegantly as he felt his tail solidify. With a hop, a skip, and a jump, the fennekin vaulted into the air with a smooth somersault. He brought an iron-tail attack down on the krokorok's skull with a ringing, devastating crack.

The reptile roared in rage, reaching up to punt the fox away with a clumsy back-hand. Despite the attack's lack of coordination, the krokorok's powerful muscles were enough to bring crippling pain to his fennekin attacker. Shallot felt a rib snap under the force of the blow, then another as he impacted the ground meters away.

Shallot's mother and father then pounced toward the ground-type, taking him by surprise. The delphox landed on his back, bringing her arms around to strangle him. The jolteon delivered a strong bite to his leg.

With a roar and shriek, Broccoli began to violently shake his leg, then firmly stomping down on the jolteon's paw with a wet crunch. He whirled around quickly to disorient his delphox assailant, before gripping her arm and using her as a make-shift melee weapon to whack her own mate.

"Broccoli!" The krokorok in question violently swung his body to face the voice. Mustard stood next to her fallen brother. She also, however, had Sherbert pinned by the throat, claws threateningly extended. Her piercing red eyes bore into the reptile's own, before she spoke once more. "Back down, or the girl gets it!" She pressed the razor-sharp edge of her claw into the eevee's well-done mane form.

Broccoli briefly tensed up. A cruel smirk then took his features, followed by a bellowing laugh.

"Oh, you poor fool! What the FUCK makes you think I care about HER?"

Mustard's confidence faltered a bit. Bean stepped forward, meeting Broccoli's gaze.

"If you truly do not care for her, why stop to gloat? Come, attack."

Broccoli felt his smile fall to a deep scowl. He gave an enraged grunt, his muscles tensing up. The soon relax, as he fell to the floor in a sitting position. He raised his arms in a passive display.

"FINE, you called my bluff. I give..."

The escapees backed out of the open door slowly. Bean carried 'Pag atop his back, with Mustard assisting Shallot in walking, who in turn helped usher his shaking younger brother. Their mother held the two's father in her arms, fussing over his ruined paw.

Once on the other side, they promptly shut the exit. The delphox struck the door's terminal with the end of her staff, rendering the ID system inactive.

She turned to face the others. She and the jolteon in her arms both bowed their heads politely.

"Bean," acknowledged the jolteon. "Long time no see, ol' chap."

The ninetales gave a small nod.

"Greetings, Stew, and Shroom. I have taken good care of your son, I can assure you."

The jolteon, Stew, gave a small laugh.

"I see you have, good sir, and we am endlessly grateful!"

Shroom gave a small nod as well, smiling.

"How are your kids, Bean?"

"Well, believe it or not, Salami's joined the guild. With your little firebrand, of course," he said, gesturing to Shallot.

The fennekin's four present family members each looked to him with shock. He bowed his head bashfully.

Mustard was the first to recover.

"Okay, reunion time is nice and all, but we're still in enemy territory."

"Right," nodded Shroom. "My husband and I paid close attention to the facility's layout on our way in. We can lead you all out."

Shallot's younger brother soon piped up.

"Whatever! Do it quick! They're comin'!" he jutted a paw toward a small group of pokémon rounding a corner of the hallway intersection.

A nidorino, a cyndaquil, and a beedrill advanced toward them.

The beedrill spoke in a shout, jutting one of its stingers out toward the escapees.

"You! You fucks are gonna pay for toasting poor Sherbert!"

The cyndaquil nodded in agreement, pounding a fist against its palm.

"Yeah! N-n-n-no one h-hurts our friends!" she squeaked with a gulp.

The nidorino simply snorted, giving an aggressive paw at the ground.

Both groups stared each other down for a long, tense moment. It was the beedrill that made the first move, suddenly shooting forward toward Shroom. The delphox dodged swiftly, but soon took a fireball to the back of her head. She cried out from the searing pain, reaching a hand up to rub at the spot.

Stew hopped down, careful not to land on his bad paw. He shot a glare toward the cyndaquill, who gave a terrified shriek. The nidorino then charged forward.

"Come on, this way!" Shroom shouted, beginning to run forward. The rest of the group tagged behind.

Shallot barely hopped out of the way of the nidorino, thwacking it's behind with an iron-tail on the way down. He then flung his brother out of the way as the beedrill shot toward the pair of fennekin. Upon missing, the bug-type found himself flung against the wall by the force of a hyper-beam.

Mustard began to sweat. Two hyper-beams in such a short amount of time had taken a lot out of her.

More pokémon advanced onto the scene. The group began to run faster, only ever briefly stopping to fend off anyone who caught up or quickly turn back from a dead end.

As Shallot kicked, swiped, and ran his way through the building with his friends and family, he found himself back in a familiar hallway in the prison block. As the group ran down, he turned to eye a particular cell.

The fennekin felt tears brimming in his eyes as he stared at the smiling form of Tart behind the bars. She attempted to wipe her own eyes dry, to no avail.

Shallot felt as if a knife-toed boot had kicked straight into his heart, twisted, then pulled back out.

Face streaming with fresh, hot sorrow, he shouted to Tart as loud as he could.

"I love you!"

Tart pressed her face to the bars, her limbs desperately outstretched as her liquid emotion pooled on the floor.

"I love you too!"

Shallot attempted to drift closer for one last touch. He was denied by a thunderbolt striking to block his advance. He dodged the oncoming assault, more distance put between him and Tart.

Their eyes locked one final time, before the chaos of a hostile group of pokémon desperately lobbing attacks came between them.

A piece of fabric torn from Shallot's cape in the heat of escape slowly floated down. The minccino gripped it in one paw, squeezing it tight, refusing to let go.