Hello everyone. It's been a while. How are you all doing?

New chapter yay, but before we get to that I've got a couple of things to note. First, thanks once again to deerest_love for once again proof-reading for me. This wouldn't be nearly as good without your help. Second, to Team_Ion for helping me come up with this chapter's concept. And finally, thanks to all of you. We recently hit 10k views and I can't believe we've made it this far. When we started this back in 2017, I never thought we'd get to this point. Thank you for all of the support, and here is to the next 10k.

Alright, with that done welcome to the next chapter. Happy reading.

I stared at the blank sheet of paper spread across the table. A pen was poised in my mental grip, hovering over the page. Three separate times I pressed pen to paper, and three different times I lifted it without even leaving a mark. The floor around me was littered with a dozen crumpled pages. Some were completely covered in inky scribbles, while others only bore a handful of words.

Gritting my teeth, I lowered the nib of the pen to the page and carefully wrote out:

Dear Father,

But that was as far as I got. As far as I always got. My mind was stuffed with clamoring thoughts all screaming for my attention leaving me paralyzed and confused. I rolled my neck. My gaze fell upon the neatly folded square of paper that was poking from my bag. Without even thinking about it I grabbed the page before levitating it onto the desk.

I settled it atop my barely-started letter, my paw coming up and tracing the worn creases. I'd read and reread it so much that I knew it by heart. Still I opened it up again, smoothing it flat. Why are you doing this? I asked myself bitterly. It's not like this will make you feel any better. I glared down at the green-tinted paper, complete with small leaf-like motifs along the margins. The black ink still glistened, the characters meticulously traced out by a steady claw. It read:

My Dearest Daughter,

I hope this letter finds you well. It's been so long since we've last talked. I wanted to reach out to you, especially after nearly two years of absence.

Samantha informed us of what you've been getting up to, and of course the exploits of Team Mindfire are known across the continent. Your mother and I were hesitant to say the least when we found out you were planning to join the Expedition Society. Not that I don't appreciate their work, but I didn't think that it was something you would aspire to. I do admit that you seem to have taken to it. I didn't expect that you would accomplish so much in such a short amount of time. Your participation in the raid on the Hatred base was particularly impressive, and will be a credit to our family's name.

However, I wonder how much there is left for you to do, at least in Festive Town. I'll tell you this plainly: it is time for you to come home. You've been gone for near a year and a half. I know why you felt that you needed to leave—

I couldn't help but scoff at that lie. I was certain he knew nothing about why I had actually left.

—but it is time for you to return. There is a satellite branch of the Expedition Society here that you could transfer to if you wish to keep working for them. Your friends and family miss you, and we wish you would come home.

I know that transferring might mean leaving your team behind. Samantha told us how closely knit you are. I'm sure it will be tough for you to leave them behind; however, this could be for the best. I admire that you have taken in these people especially given that — as I understand it — they have all been through recent strife. Samantha told me specifically about Slink and Vix. While I'm sure you helped them a lot through turbulent times, I know it is important to keep in touch with us as well. Your current situation won't last forever. But no matter where Slink and Vix end up after it ends, we'll still be there for you.

I know this is a lot, so take all the time you need to respond. We need you here with us, and we hope that you will be home where you belong soon.

I love you,

Father

I stared at the page for another minute, feeling something simmering deep in my gut.

I snarled, tossing the letter aside and snatching up my feeble attempt at a reply. I crumpled it up and hurled it at the door. It bounced off with a pathetic little paf before landing on the floor with the others. I sank down until my head was pressed against the desk.

The letter had arrived while the three of us were at work today. Alone it was enough to ruin the day, but it was made all the worse by the fact that we wer missing half our team. Slink, Vix, and even Lucy had left the house yesterday, left before I could catch up to them. All that they'd left behind was a scratchy note telling me that they were headed to Gloom's apartments.

On one paw, I was glad that they had left so soon. Otherwise, I might have made a rash decision. Still, they hadn't even said goodbye, and even Slink's last words to me were...strained.

This was all so horrible and confusing. Everything had been so tangled up and difficult before this letter. Any other time I'd have gone straight to Slink to share the letter with him. His reaction to Sam's letter...it had made it easy to figure things out. Now, though, I had no idea what to do.

The table was barely large enough for the six of us to sit around it on a good day. Normally, this didn't matter so much. After the relatively tiny apartment, we were used to being crowded in together. But that night the closeness seemed oppressive.

Vix and Abby were sitting, together of course, at one end of the table. Lucy had squeezed in on Vix's other side with Sierra claiming his usual spot next to his daughter. Nobody had thought about it; these were the usual places we took when the six of us gathered to eat. The problem with this, though, was very apparent to Eve and I. The usual spots would put us right next to each other, really close, all night.

I'll admit, this wasn't how I expected things to go when Sierra invited us to dinner that day. It had only been a couple of nights since Vix, Lucy, and I had left, just enough time for us to get settled in and for things to return to some imitation of normalcy. The invitation had taken me completely off-guard, and I was really hesitant to go back to visit since we were supposed to be getting some time apart.

Sierra came through with something that was hard to refute. "But what about Vix?" Just because I didn't want to be around Eve, didn't mean that the Vulpix didn't miss her or Abby. This was hard on her, so whatever I could do to help I needed to.

That's what landed me here, pressed in uncomfortably close between Lucy and Eve. In awkward silence. All night.

Sierra was the first to notice that the two of us had been put together and that neither of us were happy with it. He subtly offered to trade places with me several times over the course of the meal, but I politely declined. It would have probably just made things more uncomfortable. Besides, the other four were having a grand time on the other end of the table and I didn't want to put them into the middle of Eve's and my problems.

That isn't to say the whole night was dreadful. Despite it only having been three days, the girls acted like they hadn't seen each other in months, laughing and joking together. Sierra joined in the fun whenever he could get a word in.

It's not like Eve and I didn't join in either. Vix had clearly missed Eve, at one point in the meal regaling her with a minute-by-minute description of our day. Sierra also pulled me into the conversation. Asking about the trip to the Mist continent along with the new apartment. But whenever Eve and I spoke together, that's when things went wrong.

We spent a lot of time discussing the good parts of our trip to the Mist Continent. Specifically the others were fascinated by our visit to Xen and Ash. It was such a fun friendly conversation until at one point Eve and I both tried to answer the same question. Where once we had been able to finish each other's sentences, this attempt at speech ended in us both stumbling into silence.

It wasn't even that there was any hostility or that we couldn't stand being next to one another. It was the strained silence that stretched between us the whole meal. We were both perfectly polite, each of us asking the other to do things like pass the salt or a napkin several times during the meal. The entire time though it felt like I was sitting next to a complete stranger..

After the meal, the girls excused themselves, disappearing into the house to play a game together, leaving just Sierra, Eve, and me at the table. Sierra's gaze darted expectantly between the two of us. Neither of us really had anything to say, especially as we took the opportunity to scoot over a little so that we weren't practically sitting in the same chair.

"Look," the Absol eventually said, "we need to talk about this whole living arrangement you two decided on. I told you that I wouldn't judge either of you for what happened, but until you two figure it out, you are not going to punish the rest of us. We are going to keep having these dinners, at least twice a week, so that we all get to see each other. We're still technically one team. Might as well act like it."

I glanced over at Eve as I nodded. "That sounds like a great idea to me."

"I agree," she said, nodding in return.

We tried to let the kids spend as much time together as possible, but eventually we had to go. The goodbyes were hard. Vix spent nearly five minutes pressed against Abby in an embrace, and nearly twice that with Eve. She deliberately turned away from me as she embraced Vix, but even with her back turned, I could see her ears droop. When Vix eventually broke away, she perked up, forcing a smile.

As we began the walk home, I turned to Vix. "So...uh…" I swallowed and tried again. "You - uh - you know, if you wanted to stay the night, either tonight or some other night...you wouldn't offend me. Hell, if you want to go back to living there for a while, I wouldn't mind that either. You don't have to stay with me if you don't want to.

The Vulpix briefly glanced back at the house before bumping her shoulder into mine. "Some other night maybe. I'm okay, Slink. I don't like being away from them, but I want to be with you. That's my choice!" She gasped, as if she had just had some huge revelation. "Slink, do you think we can stop for dessert on the way home?"

"Eve, are you okay?"

I opened my eyes that I hadn't even realized were closed. My head was slumped against a pillow, a small blanket draped over me that I didn't remember putting there.

"Eve, are you alright." I felt a paw on my shoulder.

I blinked a couple times, struggling to piece his words together. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just…uh...just…"

"Having a nice nap?" Sierra's smirking face appeared, sitting in the chair across from me.

"I wasn't sleeping," I muttered indignantly. "I was just...resting my eyes."

"Oh," Sierra said, doing a terrible job at containing a grin. "Do you normally snore when you do that? And jeez, you've been doing it for over an hour."

"Shut u-" I tried to growl, but was cut off as an enormous yawn forced itself out of me.

Sierra's grin faltered. "Really Eve, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, pushing myself upright, stretching my back. "Why do you ask?

The Absol raised an eyebrow at me. "You don't normally fall asleep at ten in the morning. Please Eve, talk to me. I'm worried about you. Are you sleeping well?" He paused, a single tooth poking out from his mouth as he bit his lip. "I haven't seen you this way since...since the last time we were alone."

I knew exactly what he meant but wasn't saying. "The last time we were alone", when Slink and Vix had been taken. For those few weeks I had barely slept, more concerned with planning than anything else. I could see why Sierra was so worried, and even more why he was hesitant to say anything. But that wasn't it. That wasn't it at all.

He was right that I had barely slept in the last week. Sierra couldn't have known what was keeping me up every night. Each day I had covertly destroyed the evidence before anyone else could find out, like I was hiding some shameful secret. The dozens, the hundreds of pages I had scribbled a few words on before crumpling up seemed to weigh on me. That damned green piece of paper haunted my dreams as well as my waking moments.

And still, after all of that, I was no closer to a response. "Look, I know what the problem is, but it isn't that. I have things...I have them under control."

"Yeah, sure seems like it." Sierra regarded me, red eyes scanning my face. "I know I'm not your usual confidant, but you can talk to me. Maybe it will help."

What could it hurt? My bag was sitting at the end of the couch. I pulled out the green piece of paper immediately. I could never seem to let go of it. I carefully unfolded the paper, floating it over to Sierra who took it gently in his paws. He bent over and started to read.

I waited, my heart beating in my throat as he read it. Several times he glanced up at me, looking like he wanted to comment or ask a question, but I always just pointed him back to the letter. I needed him to finish it before I lost my nerve.

Finally he was done. He looked up at me and sighed. "Wow, your dad is a dick."

His language caught me off guard; I giggled despite myself. "Gee, thanks."

"Eve...I don't even know what to say about that. Jeez, I thought Sam didn't know anything about your life. I'm so sorry you've had to deal with that."

"I just...what do I do? How do I respond to something like that?"

Sierra huffed. Now that the initial shock had passed, he seemed genuinely angry. "I don't see why you have to answer at all. You shouldn't even dignify this with a response."

"I can't just not answer, Sierra. As much of a weight from my mind it would be to just ignore this letter I can't. I don't want to break things off...not yet."

"And why not?!" Sierra huffed. "He clearly doesn't respect you as an adult or any of your choices. You shouldn't give him the time of day."

"But what if I did?" I argued. "I haven't talked to them in years, and they still sent me this letter. No matter what happens, they aren't going to stop trying. I already told them that I'd discuss things with them at the end of summer! Something has to happen. We either need to figure things out, or we need to break things off. I can't keep doing this."

"Well then, I'd give him that ultimatum. Give him a piece of your mind and tell him that he can either respect your choices, or you are gone!"

I stayed silent for a moment. I was scared to give him that option. He was still my father. I didn't want him fully out of my life. I didn't want to burn that bridge, especially when my mother and siblings were still on the other side.

I sighed, not sure what else to say other than "Thanks, Sierra, for letting me talk about this. I think...I think I feel better." It was such a horrible lie, one that he saw through instantly. "I think I'm going to go back to bed for a while."

Sierra nodded, reaching over and putting a paw on my shoulder. "Things will get better," he promised.

I could only hope so.

"Come on Slink, back on your feet. One more round!"

All of my muscles burned, I was exhausted and my legs trembled beneath me, and still the Riolu wanted more from me.

"Lu, we've been at it for more than an hour. Give me a little break." I wandered over to a pillow and blanket, both borrowed from the hospital a floor below, and began slurping greedily at the water that was waiting there.

"Sure, I guess. Five minutes." Lucy said, relaxing from her ready position. The soft blue glow about her paws and shoulders died. She sat down next to me, popping an Oran berry in her mouth from the small pile Candice had given us. "You nearly got me with that last Flamethrower. Well done."

"If...I...had done...well...I...would have...actually...hit you!" I shook my head. I would have loved to lay down for even a moment, but it would have been agony to stand again.

The observatory of the Expedition Society made for a great sparring arena. It was large, mostly empty, and, vital for our purposes, fireproof. Kegan, with a lot of convincing, had allowed us to use it for the day.

"Alright, fox-boy," Lucy said as she elbowed me in the ribs. "Let's get back to work."

I groaned before standing up. I'd asked for this after all. The Dreamstone had been mine for over a week and I had barely used it. I barely knew how to use it. Just because I could now use both Fire and Psychic that didn't mean that it was easy. Even with her type disadvantage, Lucy beat me every single round.

She walked a few yards away, taking up the ready stance again. "Give me a moment," I muttered, forcing myself to move again. I lowered myself into a battle stance as well. "I've gotta activate it again."

"Yes, because Smoke would wait for you to do that," she grumbled to herself.

It was so unlike before. Now I understood why this was the Dreamstone's gift, and why it was so important. I simply had to ask and the painfully warm feeling of the Dreamstate would fill my chest. "Alright, here we go."

Lucy only grinned at me before she disappeared. The first couple of times we'd done this, I'd been surprised. Now it was simply the first step in a complex and very violent dance. I hopped back, just barely avoiding a blue-yellow blur. It struck the ground where I had been standing before vanishing again.

Listen, don't look. She was just too fast to track with my eyes. In matches past I had done the best when I listened for her instead of watching.

There! My ear flicked as I caught rapid footfalls coming up behind me. Normally I would have spun around to defend against that, but the whole point of my training was to mess with my new abilities. I spewed flames, then used Psychic to direct them back behind me in a wide fan.

"Well done," Lucy said as she leapt away from the flames. She rubbed her paws together gleefully. "Now try this!" She leapt up, disappearing into the maze of metal ribs holding up the dome.

Yet another familiar step in this dance. Pffft, pffft, pffft. First one, then three, then dozens of aura spheres rained down from the rafters, each exploding against the ground. Small gouts of energy burst out when they hit; rings of aura splashed across the floor. I cloaked myself in flames, pushing myself faster to sidestep each shot. I raised a psychic field as well to help me sense and predict each attack. I needed both to stay ahead of her. Juggling the two pushed my control to the limits, but, I noticed with some confidence, it was much easier now than the last time I'd tried it.

That confidence made me careless. A lucky aura sphere clipped my hind left leg. My hindpaws slipped, but instead of trying to catch myself I leaned into the roll. I twisted my body, skidding along the floor on my back. With Psychic I gathered together the Fire flowing off of my fur and formed it into a pair of rings above me. A heartbeat passed. Then two. Flames exploded from the rings in a concentrated beam.

The Riolu cried out in surprise, a short sharp yip. But even she wasn't fast enough to avoid my attack. She landed — clinging to one of the steel beams as her fur smoked. She grinned at me, a look that promised that things were only just starting.

Rolling back to my feet, I breathed fire and shaped it into a barrier around me. I just needed a second to breathe. At that moment though, the Riolu dropped from above. She passed through my flames, landing only a few feet in front of me. Her fur was smouldering and she stumbled a little upon landing, but she was still standing.

I should have leapt out of the flames, but I hesitated. Would it be better to try and counter-attack while she was weak? I'd waited too long. Lucy took a step forward. Now she was holding a glowing blue staff in her paws. She rushed forward with an overhead swing. I barely had time to dodge. I ignited my fur, stoking it hotter and hotter to try and deter her, but her aura staff was long enough that she didn't have to worry.

The blows came faster and faster, weaving in complex patterns. I couldn't keep up; the staff brushed against me with every swipe. Two more moves and the fight was over. She swept low, and I simply couldn't move in time. The staff got tangled in my legs, sending me to the ground.

She stood over me frozen, both of us panting hard. The Flame barrier I had erected was beginning to fade. Lucy smiled, sweetly instead of dauntingly. She offered me her paw and pulled me to my feet. "That was much better cousin. That last, round though, couldn't you have pushed me back with Psychic? Given yourself some room to move?"

I grimaced, rubbing my haunch where the aura sphere had struck. "I...I wasn't thinking. It was all I could do to dodge."

"Well either way, it is another opportunity for you to learn."

I couldn't help but smile. "Hey cou - Lu… thanks for this. There is no way I'd be prepared without this practice."

"You're welcome, cousin. Now, get ready. Let's go again."

Vix and I crouched behind a large boulder tucked away at the edge of the property, each of us trying (and failing) to contain our giggles, ready to run at any moment.

The sun filtered down through the trees. The air was warm, but not blistering. A cool breeze, winter's last gasp, still stirred the air. Despite how early in the season it was, it was a perfect spring day. The girls had, of course, taken full advantage of it. They had been outside playing from the moment Slink had dropped Vix and Lucy off.

Games of chase and tag. Hours of adventuring and exploring through the small forest. When they got tired, they would relax in the shade. Lucy would idly braid small flowers into Abby's thick fur. She had tried with Vix, but the Vulpix wasn't as enthusiastic about it as the Absol. They talked as they rested, but I had no idea what about.

I had stepped outside, planning on relaxing in the sun with a new book when Vix ran up to me breathlessly.

"Eve, come on," she said, nudging my shoulder. "Come play with us!"

I had to stifle a giggle as I realized that Lucy had sneakily tangled a couple of flowers into her unruly hair. "What are we playing?"

"Rescue Teams and Outlaws. You're on my team and they are it!"

"I guess we better hurry then." I said, bolting off into the trees, the girl laughing behind me.

We didn't have long to find a hiding spot, and the rock was the only one that we could both fit in. Still it would work. After a few minutes of sitting there waiting, I leaned in to whisper to her. "How long do you think it is gonna take for them to find us?"

"Dunno," Vix giggled back. She craned her neck, just peeking over the top of the rock. "I don't see them."

We waited in silence for a while as Vix kept watch over the rock. I would have used Psychic to keep track but that was apparently cheating (and it wouldn't work on Abby). After a while I realized that this was the first time Vix and I had been alone since the split, the first quality time we had gotten together. "Hey, Vix, thanks for this."

"For what?" she asked distractedly, still peering over the rock.

"For today. For asking me to play with you guys." I shrugged. "I'm happy that I get to spend some time with you."

"I just wanted to play with you," Vix said. "I don't remember the last time we played a game together."

I tried to weigh my next words carefully, but they just came tumbling from my lips without warning. "I miss you."

She flinched, her soldiers tightening. Finally she turned to face me. "I...I'm sorry."

"Wait no," I backpedaled. "I wasn't blaming you."

"Yeah, I know." Vix huffed. She rested her chin on her paws, laying silent for a long moment. Eventually she looked up at me guiltily. "Are you mad at me?"

"What?"

"That I chose to go with Slink? Are you mad at me?"

"Of course I'm not," I said a bit too loudly. I reached out, gently grabbing her chin with Psychic and lifting it so I could look at her. "I'm not mad at you. I'd never be mad at you for something like this." I rubbed my cheek against hers for a moment, shifting closer to her. Had this been eating away at her for the past two weeks? "Vix, honey, why do you think I'd be mad at you?"

"I don't know...because I chose to go with Slink instead of staying with you." Her tails beat nervously at the ground behind her.

"Vix, I understand. Your relationship with Slink is different from your relationship with me. I've always known that. It doesn't mean that I care about you less. Vix, are you happy?"

"I...what?"

"Are you happy? That is all I want, for you to be happy. If you made a choice that you are happy with, then I am okay."

"I...I don't want Slink to go away again. I didn't want him to go without me." She whispered it, like she was admitting some horrible secret. "I told him… I'm okay with the choice I made, and I am but…" her voice was barely audible, "I don't want to pick. I don't want to choose one of you… I want..."

"I know Vix. I know. I wish that you hadn't gotten caught in the middle of this. It isn't fair for any of you. I'm sorry, I really am. We've just got a lot to figure out." I bumped her shoulder making her look up at me. "Look at it this way. No matter how this all ends up, you still will have both of us. We will still both love you so, so much. I promise you will never have to worry about that. I know I don't say it as much as he does, but you are my daughter too."

Vix smiled. I'm sure she was about to say something else, but before she could, Abby pounced. Both of us had been so distracted by the conversation, neither of us had noticed her approach. She leapt over the rock and landed with one paw on my shoulder and another on Vix's back.

"Gotcha!" she cheered, oblivious to what she had just interrupted. "I thought I was gonna have to chase you. Now you guys are it!"

I glanced at Vix who was blushing significantly, staring deliberately at her paws. Bumping my shoulder against hers, I leaned in. "Race you back to the house."

She smiled.

It was such a perfect day, and I was spending it in the worst way possible.

There was no reason I had to go into the Expedition Society that day. The work I wanted to do wasn't urgent. Some of it didn't even need to be done. But it was a fantastic excuse. The weather had been getting nicer recently. Less dreary clouds and rain, more beautiful sunshine. But there Vix sat, once again in a tiny apartment, missing her best friend. But if, say, she and Lucy had a reason why they needed to spend the day at the other house, with the big yard, and with Eve and Abby, well that sounded just delightful for them. Even if I had to spend the day inside, it would be worth it. Although after three days of it, I was starting to regret that choice.

The fourth day, though, things changed. Sierra met me at the door, as he had done the past three days, but after the girls had charged off into the yard he stepped out instead of back into the house.

"You alright, Slink? What has Kegan had you doing the last three days?"

"Eh, I'm alright. Just keeping busy you know. Kagan hasn't even been pushing me on it. I just want to get it done."

"What does he have you doing?" Sierra asked, leaning against the door-frame.

"Kegan has me compiling everything the Society has on the Hatred, adding in anything I can think of given all of our encounters. Apparently I'm in a unique position for that kind of thing."

The Absol nodded. "Ah. Makes sense that he would give that to you." He paused. "And that has taken you four days now to do?"

"Well," I said sheepishly, "I have been a bit distracted. I figured I'd use the time on a more personal thing."

"Uh huh. You know if you'd like some help, I'd be happy to come along."

I was surprised at the offer. "It's alright. You don't have to come."

"I don't mind. You've spent three days in a library, Slink. Don't you want some company?" He raised his eyebrows at me.

"It's mostly just transcribing stuff," I muttered not really sure why I was trying to talk him out of it.

"And it will go faster with two of us. I'll tell Eve we're going." And he left before I could put in another word.

To his credit, Sierra was a help. Whether it was copying down information or reorganizing the books, journals, notes, and completed pages. He pretty much took over at one point, leaving me plenty of time to work on my side project. While I had unrestricted access to all of the Society's knowledge, I wanted to put everything together about my grandfather, my father, and have a complete record of my family.

"Whatcha got there?" Sierra asked, leaning over to peek at the page I was working on.

"I wanted to update the records in the society. When I looked before, they had no idea that Phoenix or Xen are related to me. Figured I should fix it." On the page was a sketch of a family tree. Complete, or, well, mostly.

"Your great-grandfather was a Nuzleaf?" Sierra laughed.

"Adoptive great-grandfather, but yeah." I shrugged. "The Society has the adoption form on record."

Sierra nodded, but he didn't seem to be totally listening. He ran a claw down the page reading the names as he went, before stopping at my name. "Hmm, what's this?" The page didn't stop with me. Beneath my name was Vix's. He grinned at me.

"It's true," I shrugged tucking the page back into the rest of my notes. "Why wouldn't I write it down?"

"Well you're giving that page to Kegan right? To update the Society's records? You know what the next step has to be then, if you're making it official?"

"Yeah, I do. I asked Kegan yesterday if he would start putting the paperwork together for that. I'm just not sure…" I paused, realizing that I had probably said more than I intended to."

"Not sure of what?"

"I just… well Kegan asked if I just wanted my name on it, or both mine and Eve's."

"Have you talked to her about this?" Sierra raised his eyebrows.

"Have we talked about anything recently?" I countered with a shrug. "As far as things we need to talk about go, I'm pretty sure this isn't the first one to tackle. 'Hey, I know we haven't talked to each other in almost three weeks, but do you want to adopt a kid together?'"

Sierra stared at me for a moment. "Alright then. Well, maybe you could fill the papers out for yourself, and then add in Eve when you guys figure things out."

"That hardly seems fair to her," I said with a shrug. "She has just as much right as me to have her name on that paper. I think it is better just to wait. Seriously, what will that piece of paper really change? I already think of her as my daughter, and we are legally her guardians. All that this would do is change what the Society calls me."

"I hope you don't really mean that Slink. This would be such a nice gesture for Vix, don't you think?"

"I do, but… well I don't really want this to happen when mom and dad are fighting." I sighed. "This should be special for her as well. It shouldn't be something we do just to do it."

Sierra closed his book, piling up all of his papers. "I'm finished with this. I'll go give it to Kegan for you." Before he left, he turned back to me. "I hope you figure it out. That girl deserves everything from you guys."

After a long day, all I wanted to do was relax for the night.

I'd already taken a bath, I had a cup of tea ready, and there was a book waiting for me that I had been waiting to read for a couple of days. It was about to be a luxurious night.

Sierra had already gone to bed while Abby was staying up with me, already deeply engrossed in her own book. I settled in a chair, ready to spend a few hours settled down, doing nothing.

My bag was laying on the floor, propped up by the base of the chair. Once I was settled, though, my tail snaked down and lifted it onto the chair. I rummaged through it, searching for my book. Although it came to paw several times, I found that the letter still languishing inside wasn't weighing on me at all. I don't know if I had accidently bumped it, or if it was just precariously placed in the first place, but all the same my bag suddenly tipped over the edge. By the time I realized what had happened, its contents were strewn across the floor.

I hopped down in an instant, doing my best not to stomp on any of the spilled berries. At the noise, Abby looked up too and scrambled to help me clean things up. "Oh, uh, I'll get that." I muttered quickly, as I saw Abby reaching for that green piece of paper. "I think I saw something roll under the couch. Would you grab it for me?"

I snatched up the letter, along with my purse and the remainder of my stock of berries and returned them all to my bag, if a bit haphazardly. I was just about to return to my chair and book when I realized that Abby hadn't returned with whatever had gone under the couch. I turned to check on her, only to find her standing there, frozen, holding a small golden object in her paw.

"He...he gave it to you," she whispered. It was the token Slink had given to me—I had almost forgotten about it until now. The Absol turned it over in her paw, examining the strange gemstones contained with it. "And you still have it."

"Wait.. you...uh...You know about it?"

"Yeah, Vix told me about it. We didn't know he had actually given it to you, though."

"Please don't tell Vix about this," I whispered, looking around as if the Vulpix was just about to appear. "Yes, he gave it to me. Said it was mine, and that I should have it no matter what. But neither of us know what to do with it, so please can we keep this between us, at least."

"But you still have it," Abby repeated insistently. "You still have it!"

"What else would I do with it?" I grumbled. "Abby, what is the big deal? Slink and I are still trying to figure things out. Why does it matter?"

"Because mom-" and then she stopped, her excitement apparently getting ahead of her. "It uh...it reminds me of my mom's. Well I mean, hers wasn't a badge, but… uh… You're staring at me."

I didn't dare even breathe. I'd asked Sierra before about Abby's mother, about what had happened to her, but he never answered. At best he would dodge the question, unusual for the generally blunt, straightforward Absol, and at worst he would outright ignore it and completely change the subject. I had long since given-up on asking, but here was Abby. I hadn't even thought to ask her about it.

"Oh, I guess.. You wouldn't know about my mom. She left when I was seven." Abby said, looking over towards the hallway where the door to Sierra's room was hidden. "I don't know much about what happened between her and dad. There were arguments between them, I remember. What they argued about, I don't know. They at least tried to keep me away from that, but sometimes their raised voices would wake me up at night. I never went back to sleep after that."

"I...I had no idea," I muttered to myself. "Abby, you don't have to keep going."

"It's alright, Eve." She grimaced. "But I do remember the morning I woke up and she wasn't there. I remember my dad sitting in the Kitchen, just staring at her token which was still laying on the table. I remember him leading me from the house. I remember the Lapras port. I remember so many Lapras ports." Her words came in a rush, like she was worried I would stop her before she could finish. "I remember so many that my father sold her token, and then his own in order to get us here."

"...I don't know what to say," I whispered. "Abby, I'm so sorry."

"I'm fine, Eve, really." She didn't look fine. Her eyes had turned red, and she was idly rubbing one of her hindpaws against her other leg.

"You said this had something to do with that token," I said reaching it out to snatch it from Abby's paw. "What did you mean?"

She looked at me, then at the token. "When my mom left, when she was gone for good, she left the token behind. You still have yours."

"Abby," I whined, knowing exactly what she was thinking. "I told you. I don't know what to do with it. Honestly, I don't think Slink knew what to do with it because I kept this...trinket doesn't mean that- "

"-I know, I know. You guys are still figuring it out. Still I can't help but think that so long as you have that, there is still a chance." She gave me a sad smile. "Is that naive of me?"

"Honestly, I don't know." I sighed. Abby and I had never been terribly affectionate with each other, but I knew that she needed the comfort in that moment. She was a little bigger than Vix, but I found that hugging her was easy.

"Thanks Eve," she said in my ear. She stepped back. "I think I'm gonna head to bed."

"Alright...night then."

"Oh, and Eve," Abby said looking over her shoulder, "I know there is still a chance."

It was an emergency, and we were quite literally the only team for the job.

It was late in the afternoon, and the three of us were headed to dinner at the house. We'd spent most of the day on a simple job, and we were excited to spend the evening with the other half of our team. Well, mostly. Eve had come over that morning to invite us to dinner—the first time she had visited the new apartment. Not only that, but she asked me if, later that night, we could talk for a while. I had no idea where this was headed, and I was a little scared.

To say I dragged my feet a little leaving the house would be an understatement. We left the apartment at five-thirty for dinner at six. We'd make it in plenty of time, I assured myself.

Well that was until we came across a crowd a couple blocks away from Society HQ. We were going to just take a detour when we heard a shout. "Somebody call the Expedition Society! Help!"

I was running before I knew it. Sprinting towards the crowd, the heat, the light that was slowly starting to grow.

It was a restaurant, one that we'd only been to once or twice, Carnivine's Kitchen. And it was on fire. The blaze was small for now, but it was quickly growing, almost completely engulfing the right side of the building. "No. Let me go! I've got to- He's still in there!"

The three of us pushed our way through the crowd, up to where a Meganium had the shop vined off. She had an Expedition Society Badge gleaming on her chest and was doing everything she could to prevent a distressed Luxio from forcing his way past her.

"No! No! I've got to go back in! He was right behind me when we came out. Shawn! Shawn!"

"You can't. You'd barely make it through the door. The Society is only a few minutes away. They'll bring Water Types who will help!"

"He doesn't have a few minutes!" The Luxio lunged forward again, but Lucy jumped and caught him around his middle.

"Hold on," I shouted, making sure that my badge was visible as I stepped forward. "I'm Society and Fire Type, I can help."

"It's too risky." The Meganium grimaced. I noticed that the ends of her vines, the ones closest to the building, were starting to smolder.

"The Flames can't hurt me, and I've done this before." I looked to the Luxio who was still fighting against Lucy to try and get to the building.

The Meganium stared at me for a long moment before nodding. "Fine." She lifted her vine, letting us through.

I tossed my bag aside as I sprinted for the door. "Vix, stay here. I'll be back in a second."

"There is no way I am letting you go in there alone!" The Vulpix stayed doggedly on my heels. "I'm just as safe as you are, and we can get out faster with two of us looking."

"Fine, but if I tell you to go, you have to leave. And please don't ever tell Eve about this."

It was bad. Most of the inside was either on fire or reduced to cinders. All of the tables and chairs had been destroyed, leaving twisted skeletal remains. What was worse was that this was an older building, held up by a series of wooden beams. More than half of them were gone, and the parts of the ceiling that weren't ablaze were sagging dangerously.

"There!" Lucy shouted. I hadn't even realized she was behind us, but it was fortunate that she was. Her aura allowed her to locate him in the thick haze. It was almost in the center of the room. One of the beams had collapsed, crushing the table beneath and landing squarely an unfortunate Meowth's leg.

"Vix, you pull him out," I shouted as I ran to one end of the beam. "Eve, I need you to—" I stumbled over my words, realizing exactly what I had said.

"I've got it," Lucy shouted, taking the beam in her paws. It pushed my power to its limits, but together we were able to lift the beam enough that Vix could pull the Meowth out.

We made it safely, with Lucy carrying the Meowth across her shoulders. The four of us collapsed as soon as we were far enough away. The Luxio rushed forward and pounced onto the Meowth curling his entire body around him as soon as Lucy lowered him gently to the ground. I sat there panting for a moment, relieved that this hadn't gone terribly wrong.

Eventually the Expedition Society arrived, a Samurott and Carracosta rushing in to battle the flames. A pair of Candice's apprentices followed soon after to take the Meowth to be looked at by the Blissey herself. Before they left though, the Luxio approached us.

"I can't thank you enough. I don't know what I would have done if anything had happened to him." The Luxio nearly tackle-hugged me before hurrying off towards HQ.

Finally I turned to the girls. "We're probably super late for dinner at this point. At the very least we should let the others know what happened."

They were irritated initially, until I explained why we were late.

"So, long day?" Eve asked me as we sat down to eat.

"Yeah," I sighed, giving her a sideways glance.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Honestly? "Yes. I would. So much."

It was such a small moment, but I will always remember what came next. We met eyes, and for the first time since that awful day on the Mist Continent something clicked. We looked at each other...and smiled.

I let go.

My gem illuminated the dark box as I lifted the letter into it and then it was gone. It was done. The letter had been sent. There was no going back now.

As I left the Pelipper post, I pulled the green letter from my bag, holding it between my tails. Outside I passed by a Charmander and a Typhlosion walking together. I took one last look at it before I reached over and ignited it in the Charmander's tail. I left it behind on the sidewalk, not even looking back as my father's words crumbled to ashes.