Disclaimer: I do not own the characters Tracey Sketchit or Piers. Well, there is also the matter of Piers' mother, but does she really count as a character even though we never see her? (Uh....yeah...she's dead and all... ;_;) Well, whatever, I at least own the name I gave her. I also made up Seamus (the father) and the Sketchit family: Danila, Michael, Florence, and Leonard, so I own them too.

Author's Notes: I got this crazy idea after doing a mental side-by-side comparison of Tracey and Piers. My observations: Minus the ponytail, Piers looks like Tracey. The two don't seem to tell so much about themselves. They tend to say smart and sometimes weird things. They have a great respect for elders ("Master Kraden!" "Professor Oak!" XD). The placement of those friggin' headbands. =P The more I thought about it, the more ideas I got of their separation at infanthood, thus leading to this stupid fic. X3

Moving on. The first campfire scene takes place right after the ending of Golden Sun: The Lost Age; with Vale destroyed and all, I figured they'd all stay in Vault for a while. The second takes place somewhere during the Orange Islands season. Don't know what I'm talking about? Then read on! =)

Wayward Relations

On a cool night in Vault, the eight Adepts sat around a large campfire in vibrant conversation.

"Whew! I am so relieved that my entire family survived....even my mean old sister," Garet sighed as he yawned and stretched.

"I'm delighted to see my mother and father together again. Oh, when we returned to Vale once and I saw Mother so sickly...I thought I was gonna end up parentless," said Isaac.

"I'm twice as happy as the both of you. I'm not alone anymore! Mom, Dad, and Felix are back!" exclaimed Jenna, hugging her brother tightly. Felix couldn't help but give out a light chuckle.

"Speaking of family, to me, finding Contigo is going to be one of the most memorable moments in my life. I may not have found my parents, but I at least found my sister, and that's good enough for me," Ivan smiled.

"Goodness, you guys, you've got me missing my folks in Imil," Mia spoke up.

"Hmph....all this talk about family is making me jealous," Sheba pouted.

"What about you, Piers? Since we're all talking about it, what have you got to say about your family?"

"Bad idea, Isaac," Felix informed in a low tone, "When we went to Lemuria, Piers found out that his mother.....died...."

Piers stayed silent, staring into the fire with a look of longing.

"Oh no! I-I'm so sorry about that, Piers! I just didn't.....know..."

"Ah......that's all right, Isaac. I'm getting over it little by little. Well, I guess we all know about my mother already. But the subject of my father was always a mystery to me... You see, I grew up only knowing my mother. When I once asked her about my father, she just told me that he went off on an important journey when I was just a mere infant and got lost trying to come back through the Sea of Time. That's part of why I wanted to learn how to use a ship. The Sea of Time is in the vicinity of Lemuria, therefore the time there runs just as slowly. Maybe, just maybe, if I search the Sea long enough.....I'll at least find his ship and have peace of mind....."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

On a deserted island in the Orange Archipelago where Ash, Tracey, and Misty set up camp, the three struck up casual conversation as they treated themselves to a dinner of instant ramen.

"It's times like these that make me think of my mom," Ash rattled off at random, "I really miss her cooking."

"I agree," added Misty, stirring her ramen around.

"Your mom makes for a great chef, huh, Ash? Now I'm even more anxious to get to Pallet Town," Tracey quipped, sparking light laughter in the other two.

"Speaking of parents.....y'know Ash, I never saw any sign of your dad in Pallet Town. I often wonder what he's like," brought up Misty.

"Yeah....I miss my dad.... When I was little, I'd always watch him train his Pidgeot and Venusaur. He had awesome battling style! He had such a firm stance and a beaming confidence....I'd think he was the greatest man in the world. Misty, I wonder what your parents are like. I never got to meet them the second time we returned to Cerulean City."

"Oh, they're just like your average parents. Mom cooks, cleans, and tends to the house. Dad runs a local waterpark. But they were the ones who founded the Cerulean Gym. They both train Water Pokémon, and they'd fight every trainer who came to them in a 2-on-2 battle. I loved to watch these battles. The way they'd command and the way their Pokémon performed.....it's what inspired my goal to be a Water Pokémon master."

"Wow, Misty, your folks sure are interesting. What about you, Trace? What are yours like?"

Tracey looked away from them, sighing quietly and gritting his teeth. Feeling a sudden loss of appetite, he poked at his ramen with his fork.

"I-I'm sorry, Trace, did I hit a sensitive subject?"

"It's all right, Ash. It's not something that bad, like divorce or something. They were just....separated....unwillingly..."

"Wh-what do you mean, Tracey?" asked Misty.

"You see, I grew up only knowing my father." When I once asked him about my mother, he gave me quite a lengthy explanation. Dad was an average-class Pokémon Watcher and Mom came from a very wealthy family. Her folks didn't like the idea of her hanging with 'lower-class scum', so their relationship was a secret. Eventually, they eloped--"

"What's 'eloped'?" Ash questioned.

"I was just getting to that. It means running away and getting married without telling anyone. Two years after the marriage, I was born. But when I was one year old, her folks found out everything... They came and took her away and left me and my dad alone.... Dad never saw her again..."

"That's worse than divorce, Tracey!" Misty exclaimed, "I'm so sorry about that."

"It's all right, really. Knowing that she's still alive and somewhere out there....it's part of why I chose to become a Pokémon Watcher. I knew this occupation would take me places, and maybe, just maybe, I'll find her someday....."

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Little do Piers and Tracey know that everything their parents told them--they're all lies. But why would they do such a thing? It is hard to believe that Piers and Tracey, two completely different and yet somewhat similar young men, are related to each other, but it is the truth. This is the story of twin brothers who literally became worlds apart..........

(June 13, 360 years ago in Weyard time, 38 years ago in Pokémon World time)

Miriam was a beautiful Lemurian woman. Her figure was perfect, but concealed under a flowing white gown. She had shimmering blue hair spilling over her shoulders and eyes as blue as the shallows of the sea. Seamus was a dashing man originally from the city of Contigo with chocolate brown eyes. He had dark green hair; a little of it tied in a short ponytail at the back. His build was slightly muscular, usually concealed under a loose red tunic and dark brown pants.

Today, Miriam gave birth to a pair of healthy baby boys. It was a miracle she survived childbirth, but then again, there were nurses on hand ready to cast Pure Ply should her life begin to wane.

"Oh, Miriam, they're beautiful!" Seamus exclaimed passionately to his wife, holding the baby with the same hair color as his.

"I knew they would be," responded Miriam ever so calmly as she rocked the blue-haired baby in her arms. "Look at them, Seamus. They're spitting images of you."

"Ah, yes, but they seem to have your lovely eyes."

"Their outward appearances reveal who they'll take after. This little one shall harness the powers of Mercury like me."

"And this little one will show the might of Jupiter, like me."

"Well, love, what do you suppose we shall name them?"

"I need to think this out for a moment. Have you decided on anything?"

"I'll name this one Piers. I dream he'll grow up to be a wonderful sailor, like my father was."

"Good call, Miriam! I can see that in his future."

"Now, what will you name him?"

"His name shall be Tracey. He will become well versed in art and science like me."

"Then it's settled. From this day forward, these brothers are known as Piers and Tracey."

Seamus kissed Miriam on the forehead and began to rock little Tracey in his arms.

In ten years, they had grown into the equivalent of six-month-old babies (remember, time passes slowly in Lemuria). They had developed enough to crawl around and become aware of each others' presence. As a result, they often enjoyed playing with each other. And as their parents would observe one day...

"Will you look at that, Miriam. Piers and Tracey get along quite well."

"Well, so they do! ...Oh, oh my, what are they doing?"

Piers sat up and furrowed his brow, as if in thought. A small cloud appeared over him and his brother. Tracey had done the same action at the same time, and a wind swirled around the cloud, cooling the air enough to make a small amount of snow fall on them. The twins cooed and laughed in amusement as the flakes touched their skin and melted.

"Amazing! They are already testing their powers" said Miriam in awe.

"I didn't think they'd try this early! I'm as surprised as you are!"

"Now let's get them cleaned up. They're creating a big, wet mess."

Now let's get into some important background info here. As mentioned before, Seamus is a Jupiter Adept who came from the city of Contigo. Highly intelligent as a child, he decided to travel the world to quench his thirst for knowledge of the world of Weyard. After having seen all of it and learning all he could, he decided to settle in his favorite place--Lemuria--where he met and married Miriam. Even though his life had toned down since then, his scholarly mind kept getting new ideas. He began to wonder if anything existed beyond Weyard. Curiosity building, he used Psynergy to perform experiments on the fabric of time and space in the safety of his own home....

Over the course of the next ten years, Seamus had little successes. He was able to open up little rifts that lasted only a few seconds. Even though they they were just flashes, the things he saw through them stayed clear in his memories and encouraged him to work harder. With practice, the rifts became bigger and lasted longer. At times, foreign objects would pop out of the other dimensions, like familiar animals and the occasional life-threatening creatures. Seamus would release the harmless animals in a discreet manner in order not to be exposed. The vicious ones, however, threatened his secrecy whenever they'd come out. He and Miriam had to team up in order to destroy them with their Psynergy, and the neighbors would hear all the noise.

It was in the tenth year, when Piers and Tracey were the equivalent of one-year-old babies, that Seamus had mastered his control over interdimensional portals. He could conform them to the size he wanted, and he could make them last as long as he wanted. One day, he decided to perform his first short exploration of another dimension. He opened a portal to the size of a door and stepped through onto the beach of a tropical island under a night sky, bathed with moonlight.

"Ah, the ocean. It's been a while since I last saw one," Seamus sighed to himself. Tracey, being quite curious, crawled toward his father.

"Watch out there, dear," Miriam called out, "Tracey's going after you."

"Don't worry, I got him," he replied, scooping his son into his arms. He began to pace about to get a good look at his surroundings. Meanwhile, a tiny, blue, confused mouse-like creature peeked in from the portal and traipsed into the Lemurian household.

"Ril, azurill?" it squeaked, bewildered.

Miriam and Piers stared at it for a moment.

"Well, I'll be. It's a cute little thing. It should be harmless," Miriam said to herself. Little Piers fussed to get his mother to set him down on the floor, and he began to play with the little Polka Dot Pokémon. Since it didn't feel too threatened by the baby, it played along joyfully and impressed him with its Bubble attack.

But all of a sudden, the front door burst open.

"AHA! Caught in the act!" An angry and threatening, yet aged man barged into the household with about four soldiers. His voice startled the Azurill, causing it to scurry back through the portal into its own world. Piers tried to follow it, but his mother picked him up.

"L-Lord Conservato!" Miriam gasped. The expression on her face quickly went from shock to anger. She said with much contempt, "May I ask what business you have here?"

"How dare you speak in such a manner to your superior!" Conservato retorted, "I should be asking you that question! My instincts were right about you people. At first, I had overheard from your neighbors about the odd occurrences and terrifying noises that came from this house. I thought nothing of it, but to make sure, I sent a spy to keep an eye on you. I thought his reports were all preposterous at first, but I could really see the seriousness in his eyes. When I heard of the hideous beasts that sometimes emerged from these portals, I knew I just had to see things for myself!"

Upon hearing this, Miriam was quite annoyed and became more angered. With redness building in her cheeks, she raged, "Oh! I beg your pardon, Lord Conservato! With all due respect, that is quite an invasion of privacy!"

"What matters more is the safety of Lemuria! What in the name of the Sol is your husband thinking?! That ignorant outsider."

"Seamus is not an ignorant outsider! He's traveled the world and knows more than you care to in your many centuries of life!"

"Quit arguing and changing the subject, miss Miriam! And don't raise your voice to me like that! While it's true that you and Seamus were able to destroy those wicked creatures in the past, what if one that you couldn't destroy came along? What would happen then??"

Miriam fell silent, as she really didn't know how to answer this question.

On the other side, Seamus overheard the arguing and returned to the portal, still holding Tracey in his arms.

"What seems to be the prob-oh.....L-Lord Conservato......."

"You! I'll tell you what the problem is, mister Seamus! Your dangerous experiments are threatening the safety of Lemuria! I know how a scholarly mind works.......you may promise me to my face that you'll stop these experiments, but the moment I turn my back, you'll start them all over again. So as punishment, you are not allowed to return here!"

Seamus gasped and tried to pass back through the portal, but the soldiers shoved him back.

"Wait!!! Can I at least return my son to Miriam?!"

They ignored his pleas and quickly formed a circle around the dimensional doorway with Conservato. They focused their Psynergy and began to close it, starting from the sides. At this point, with the guards out of the way, Seamus tried to pass again before it got any smaller. But to his shock and dismay, he was blocked by an invisible force field, which he began to pound at.

"You stupid fool," Seamus started bitterly, "How is it that a man such as you became head of the Senate? You fear what you refuse to understand, and on top of that, you even go so far as to separate a child from his mother and brother."

Quite annoyed, Conservato focused more intensely to make the portal shrink faster.

"NO!!!" Miriam screamed, making a mad dash past the guards to meet her husband and son at the portal. But she could not pass through the force field either. She and Seamus leaned upon it, trying to grasp each other's hands for one last time, but it was like they were separated by a sheet of glass. The innocent minds of their baby sons could not grasp the despair of the situation; all they did was stare eye to eye and wonder what was keeping them from reaching for each other as they too pressed their hands against the force field. Tears fell from their parents' eyes as Seamus said his last words to them.

"I'm sorry, Miriam....it's all my fault....I didn't think Lord Conservato would take it to this extreme.... I may not be able to return, Miriam, but I promise you this: I'll take good care of Tracey. Little Piers, when you grow up, you take good care of your mother, okay?"

Miriam cried even harder with agonized sobs, realizing that she's losing two people she so dearly loved with all her life. The little Azurill was overlooking these events, and it was glancing confusedly between the four of them.

"Sacrifice, Miriam. This is for the good of Lemuria," Conservato interrupted coldly, killing the moment with his smugness. As he and his assistants finally sealed the rip in the fabric of time and space, Seamus and Tracey were gone, possibly forever, to Miriam and Piers. Miriam, still crying, fell to her knees, embracing Piers tightly. The baby was completely silent, staring into nothingness with a look of shock on his face. His heart was beating rapidly since losing sight of his brother. Conservato looked upon them with utter annoyance.

"Our work here is done. Guards, take miss Miriam and her son to her brother, mister Leon. I want to have this house shut up."

***

Still weeping silently on the sands of the moonlit beach, Seamus tried to open another portal to a point of Weyard other than Lemuria. Unfortunately, all that appeared before his hand was a red Psynergy Seal.

"The red coloring.....it's a permanent seal..... That bastard! He's sealed me off entirely from Weyard!" He finally fell to his knees, hugging Tracey tightly. "I've torn our family apart. I don't deserve to be your father...."

Just then, a little girl chanced upon them. "Is something the matter, mister?" she asked in such an ever-so-innocent tone. With tears running from his tightly closed eyes, Seamus responded to her, half-caring that he was speaking to a complete stranger.

"I-I have no more home to return to. How will I take care of my son? How can I keep my promise to Miriam?"

"Aww, that's sad, mister. But I can help! I want to help you. My name is Florence Sketchit. Follow me!"

Florence took Seamus by the hand and tugged him along her way. She was leading him so hastily that he had to take extra care in handling Tracey, and with one arm at that. Florence didn't notice the Azurill following them quietly. It now sort of understood what had just happened earlier. The poor baby human...I think I oughta stick by him... it thought.

They eventually reached a sunset pink two-story house. They entered to the sound of a television set and....

"AHA! Caught ya red-handed, Florence! Didn't mom and dad make it clear that you're not supposed to play at the beach in the late night?!" her older brother, Michael scolded as he was turning to face her. He caught sight of the odd man she brought home and.... "WHAT IN THE NAME OF LUGIA DID YOU DRAG HOME THIS TIME?!" he yelled in total surprise.

"Gimme a break, Mike! Mister uh......uh....."

"Seamus."

"Mr. Seamus and his baby need a place to stay!"

"Florence, this man probably has his own house to return to?!"

"He doesn't! He said so himself!"

"Oh, great, you brought in a homeless bum. Mom and dad will throw a fit over you in the morning!"

"You're being such a rude meanie, Mike!"

Unexpectedly, a pair of drowsy parents entered the scene.

"*yawn* What's the ruckus down here, kids?" Leonard, the father, asked.

"You two are supposed to be in bed! You have school tomorrow!" Danila, the mother, scolded.

"But mom! I caught Florence going out to the beach late again!"

"Oh! Is that so?"

"Yeah, and she let a complete stranger in the house!"

The parents shook the sleepiness out of their heads and rubbed their eyes. When they fixed their sight on Seamus, they suddenly became wide awake.

"FLORENCE! WHAT THE HELL MADE YOU BRING HIM HOME?!" Leonard screamed. Tracey started crying, for all the loud voices he heard at once startled him.

"Th-that's why, dad. I couldn't leave Mr. Seamus and his baby out in the cold. He said they have no home to return to...." Florence spoke up.

"Oh, dear. Let's bring this to the living room Mike, prepare a spot for the baby to lay down. Florence, there's some old baby bottles in the cupboard. Go prepare a bottle of Moo Moo Milk," Danila ordered, "We need to have a talk, mister, as to why you don't have a home."

"I-I'm not sure you will believe me," Seamus uttered.

"We'll hear your story first, and then we'll make our own assumptions," Leonard responded.

Tracey was fed and set on a spot on the couch, where he went to sleep. His father sat beside him and began to explain his ordeal. He told them mostly about himself, where he was from, and how he entered their world. When he was done, there was an awkward moment of silence.

"(O_o) Danila, we may need to phone the asylum," whispered Leonard to his wife.

"His story may sound farfetched, Leonard, but......he doesn't seem insane," Danila replied.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me," Seamus muttered under his breath, burying his face in his hands.

The man tells no lies, a telepathic voice called out.

"Who said that?"

A lone Espeon trotted into the living room.

"It's Minerva!" Florence exclaimed with delight, "If there's anyone who knows how to read people, it's her!"

"Well, then. We know better than not to take the word of a psychic," Leonard concluded.

"How do you know, Minerva?" Mike asked.

I can see it in his eyes.....his past, his memories.

Seamus stared intensely at the Espeon.

"Excuse me for asking, but....what are you?"

See? Further proof he is not of this world. He doesn't know a shred about us Pokémon in his age!

"A....Pokémon?"

Precisely put, Mr. Seamus, I am one kind of Pokémon, an Espeon, and a Psychic-type.

"You are quite wise, Minerva. And....thank you for backing me up."

No need to thank me. It's just.....you ordeal is quite heartbreaking.....

"I-I know.....but I'll learn to live with it. But please promise me one thing, everyone."

"What?" they all asked in unison.

"My son Tracey is but the equivalent of a one-year-old baby. As he grows, he will surely forget all of this. But please....never tell him.I don't want him to go insane over a brother he'll probably never meet again."

The Sketchit family voiced their agreements.

And I'll tell that little Azurill hiding by the window the same, Minerva added.

"Azurill?" the Sketchits plus Seamus gasped.

"Aww, you blew my cover!" it squeaked in its own language as it bounced off the windowsill up to Minerva, "But why can't he know, miss Espeon?"

Did you not hear the man? It may break little Tracey's heart to find that he has a long-lost brother he will never see. But you want to be the little boy's companion, am I right? You are free to do so.

And from that day on, Seamus and Tracey were adopted into the Sketchit family. Once he was accustomed to this world, he became interested in studying Pokémon. In fact, he was so interested that he took up a career as a Pokémon Watcher. However, he vowed not to reveal the power of Psynergy to Tracey, out of fear that he might question its origins.

***

We all know what happened from there. The two babies grew into the young men we know today. Tracey is 38 years old chronologically, but 18 years old physically. Taking after his father, he also became a Pokémon Watcher, but a traveling one. The Azurill that decided to stick by him is now his faithful Marill, and they both now reside at the Oak Laboratory. Piers is 360 years old chronologically, but also 18 physically. He now captains his own Lemurian Ship, is a skilled Mercury Adept, and is one of the Adepts who saved Weyard from eventual apocalypse.

For as long as they could remember, they often have recurring dreams of their infanthood together, but they cannot quite fathom why they have them. Will these brothers ever see eye-to-eye again? Now that is a truth that has yet to be told.

THE END