Okay, so you guys remember how Taurus mentioned that someone had come forward with the evidence he needed to put Rachel and Sasha's birth father behind bars in the story "Freeing You With Love"? Well, this story reveals just who came forward. :)

Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. Pokémon belong to its respective owners. I only own Rachel, Sasha, Heaven, Taurus, and Zeus.

A Reunion On Thanksgiving

Rachel hummed as she pulled four pumpkin pies out of the oven, setting them aside to cool as she put in a couple apple pies, one mincemeat pie, and a strawberry rhubarb pie. "Okay, pies are nearly done. Way Big and his brother have the turkeys going, Heaven's working on the mashed potatoes, so it just the rolls, squash, cranberry sauce, and string beans that we need," she said to herself.

Sasha came in and smiled as she held up a pan. "Our uncles made their green bean casserole," she said.

The older sister smiled. "Mmm, and it smells good," she said as their uncles' green bean casserole was one of their favorites.

The younger sister got the butternut squash and began peeling it, setting four of them aside to be cut and put in the pot to be boiled. She had just finished peeling them and Rachel had just finished mixing the dough for the rolls when Taurus and Zeus came in. Sasha gasped in surprise before smiling. "Zeus! Taurus! You're back!" She said, going up to them and hugging them.

Zeus chuckled warmly as he returned the hug. "And it feels good to be back home," he said.

"Indeed," said Taurus as Rachel hugged him.

"How did the mission go?" The older girl asked.

"It went very well," he said. "And...we have someone here to see you two."

"Make that four someones," said Zeus.

The sisters looked at them. "What do you mean?" Sasha asked.

"Come and see," said Taurus, wrapping an arm around the middle of Rachel's back to lead her to the living room. Zeus was behind them with Sasha and when they arrived, the girls saw two strange balls on the coffee table before Rachel gasped as she realized what they were.

One was red and white and the other was blue with some white. Rachel drew closer and picked up the blue one, her eyes hopeful. "Is this what I think it is?" She asked softly.

Sasha drew closer and picked up the red and white one. "They look like...Pokéballs," she admitted. "Like...the ones we used to have when we were little."

Taurus smiled. "Open them," he encouraged gently.

Rachel did so and jumped as a light shot out of the ball and reformed into a creature that resembled a jellyfish. "Tentacruel," it said before seeing her and its eyes widened before it slowly approached closer, looking at the blond-haired girl with a mixture of hope and uncertainty.

The girl blinked. "Tentacruel," she said. "That was my first Pokémon that Dad gave me."

As the creature drew closer, Rachel noticed something. On the front of it, just on the edge of the top part, was a crack that had scarred over. A crack that had been formed by only one thing. A whip.

Rachel's mind went back to that day as she recalled her birth father standing over her and Sasha after he had managed to kidnap them and he had stood over them, ready to use a whip on the three-year-old and two-year-old when suddenly, Tentacruel and Bulbasaur appeared and took the blows. The jellyfish creature had received a nasty crack from the whip coming down hard enough to crack it and when Bulbasaur had gone to protect Sasha, he used his vine whip and the whip that the birth father had used had hit the two vines and caused Bulbasaur to cry out, but he held firm in front of Sasha.

The blond-haired girl now blinked and looked at her sister. "Sis, I think you're holding Bulbasaur," she said softly.

Sasha opened the ball and out came Bulbasaur. The brown-haired girl kneeled down. "Bulbasaur?" She asked softly.

In response, he brought out his vines and they could see the scars on them. "It is you two," Rachel said before hugging Tentacruel. "I'm missed you so much, Tenta."

"Tenta, Tentacruel," he said, hugging her back.

"Bulba, Bulbasaur," Bulbasaur said, nuzzling Sasha's hand and she picked him up, hugging him.

"They missed you girls too," came a voice that made the girls gasp and look up as the voice sounded familiar to them.

There, standing before them, were Mewtwo and Deoxys. The former smiled. "You girls have grown," he said.

"They have," Deoxys said, using telepathy, a smile in his own voice. "John would be proud of them."

The sisters stood up in awe and shock. "You recognize them, girls?" Zeus asked gently.

They nodded. "Dad's Pokémon," Rachel said. "They were present when Dad gave us Tentacruel and Bulbasaur."

Mewtwo nodded. "It seems like only yesterday that we first met you," he said, smiling still.

Sasha looked at them. "What happened to you guys?" She asked softly. "We couldn't find you after Dad had died."

Both powerful Pokémon hung their heads. "We're sorry, Sasha," Deoxys said. "When your father died, we had to put his plan into motion sooner than expected."

"His plan?" Rachel asked.

Mewtwo nodded. "We were to go undercover and keep an eye on your birth father and gather evidence to put him in jail," he said. "But we were only going to do that after you girls were safe with your uncles."

"Your father was going to join us, but then he got sick," Deoxys said. "After he died, he told us to make sure you got to your uncles, but that we'd have to take Tentacruel and Bulbasaur and go into hiding."

"Why was that?" Sasha asked.

"Tenta, Tentacruel," Tentacruel said, snuggling closer to Rachel.

"Because your birth father was looking for all four of us to sell to Giovanni, the head boss of a group called Team Rocket," Mewtwo said. "He's a dangerous man and your father didn't want you two to get mixed up with him, or have him find us and capture us."

"Because of your birth father trying to find us, we had to go into hiding, but we kept collecting the evidence we needed," Deoxys said. "And then one night, I had come by to check on all of you when I heard you having a horrible nightmare, Rachel."

She remembered. "You mean...the one about the secret I carried?" She asked.

"Yes," he replied. "When I saw that knight take you from here, I got worried and followed, but when I saw you interact with the two you called 'Mother' and 'Father' and how they helped you when you told them what you knew, I knew that you and your sister were not only in good hands, but that it was time to give Judge Forhowser the evidence we had."

"Deoxys and I went to see him, and when we arrived, we learned the truth about Judge Forhowser," Mewtwo said, looking at Taurus, who nodded.

"John had told me that I would know when it was time to reveal who I really was," he said. "When Deoxys and Mewtwo brought forth the evidence and Tentacruel and Bulbasaur backed up their story, I knew that it was time to keep the promise we had made to keep you girls safe."

"Taurus asked us if we would go to the mansion with him after your birth father was put away, but we decided to wait a bit longer," Deoxys said. "We knew you girls would be in a state of shock and relief that the nightmare was over, but we still kept watch over you two."

"And then we decided that Thanksgiving would be the best time to come," Mewtwo said. "Partially because we missed you two, but also, we were hoping to ask you something."

The sisters looked at them. "We're listening," Sasha said.

"We've seen you girls get your powers and use them wisely and then you two have helped so many others," Deoxys said. "Just like your mother and father."

"Before your father died, he made us promise that only you two girls would be our trainers when he passed away," Mewtwo said.

"Which brings us to the second reason we're here," said the DNA Pokémon before looking at the Celestialsapien that was responsible for locking up the girls' birth father. "Taurus? If you would?"

Nodding, Taurus came forward, handing Sasha a Luxury Ball with a pink heart on it. He handed Rachel a Luxury Ball with a red heart. "Your father had these specially made for you two," he said. "You can use them to 'capture' Deoxys and Mewtwo."

Sasha looked at it and looked at Mewtwo. "But...we don't have to capture you guys," she said. "You're family and you're more than welcome here."

"Thank you, Sasha," said Mewtwo. "But there's a reason you must 'capture' us."

"It will prevent others from trying to steal us from you girls," Deoxys said. "Think of it more like...a sure-fire way that you girls will never lose us."

"They've got a point, sis," Rachel said. "Remember that Dad told us that too when we didn't want to capture Tentacruel and Bulbasaur because we thought it wasn't right?"

She nodded. "I do vaguely remember that," she said before looking at her Luxury Ball and at Mewtwo. "But just like with Tentacruel and Bulbasaur, you're not staying in the ball. You're free to do as you like."

"That goes for me too," her sister said, looking at the Luxury Ball in her hands before looking up at them. "Are you guys sure?"

Both nodded and the sisters nodded before holding out the balls. Deoxys formed a hand from his noodle-like arms and pressed his palm against the ball. Mewtwo pressed his palm against the ball that Sasha held and the balls shook once before settling. Smiling, the two sisters opened them to let the two out and they smiled at the girls. "It's good to finally be reunited with you two," said Mewtwo.

"And we're glad to have you guys back," Rachel said, hugging Deoxys.

"And right at the holidays too," said Sasha. "You can meet all of our family."

"The kids are going to be surprised for sure," the blond-haired girl said. "I know quite a few of them that love Pokémon."

Taurus and Zeus both smiled and looked at each other. "There was another reason they waited to come, isn't there?" The latter asked.

The former nodded. "They warned Giovanni to never come near the girls or he would regret it," he said. "They even told him to make sure he spread the message to his lackeys and he surprisingly agreed to the terms, mentioning that he was in John's debt for something and by agreeing to Deoxys' and Mewtwo's terms, he could repay his debt to John."

Mewtwo nodded. "Apparently, John once saved Giovanni's Persian when an enemy had poisoned it," he said. "They were enemies and yet John helped to save Persian."

"And apparently, Giovanni has never forgotten that," said Deoxys. "He swore that John's daughters and any member of their family is under his protection."

Rachel was surprised. "Could Giovanni have a heart after all?" She asked.

"Perhaps deep down he does," said Zeus.

Sasha smiled. "Well, you're all in time for Thanksgiving dinner," she said. "Come on. Let's go get together and reflect on what we're thankful for."

Far away, Giovanni was looking out the window, petting his Persian. A servant came in and brought him dinner while someone else came in, giving him a file. "Sir, all of the Jocklin sisters family members," he said. "It's a pretty thick file."

He turned and accepted it with a nod. "My word holds firm," he said. "No harm is to come to those young women or their family. Anyone who disobeys my orders will be dealt with severely."

"Yes, sir," said the man before departing.

Opening the file, Giovanni came to a picture of John, pausing as he looked at it. "I may be many things, but I am a man of my word too, John," he said softly before he put the file away and he and his Persian sat down to eat in the peace that followed.

EmeraldMoonGreen and I were talking about Giovanni the other day and she said she always thought he had a bit of a softer side that he doesn't always show. I got a feeling she may be right. :)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! :)

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