Chapter 35: Growing Pains

Ba'al and his legion of Terrors had been defeated. Victory...did not come at a price. By some miracle of miracles, no innocent life stayed dead that day. The one who died came back to life, and the Aurians in Sancturia survived the ordeal thanks to the defenders of good: The Planetary Aurians.

Mew managed to restore the landscape ruined by the battle, but was physically and mentally exhausted afterwards. After a short nap, he helped his new guests Solaris and Alura get accustomed to living at his place.

Now, it has been a few days since the end of the battle, and Mew will face his toughest challenge yet...

Household chaos.

"CRSSSHH!" Went the sound of breaking glass.

Mew spun around with gritted teeth and muttered, "AGAIN Solaris?!"

Solaris poked his head out from the kitchen and had shards of glass stuck to his palm, "What? Not my fault your glasses are weak as shit!"

As he pulled back into the kitchen Mew began stomping over in pursuit, only to bump into Alura. The girl was holding a yellow bottle and staring at it even as she hit Mew.

"Mew, what is 'Mus-turd'?" She gave it a hard squeeze and her eyes followed the trail of yellow condiment that spewed into the air and all onto the ground.

"Huh..." She stuck her tongue out and prepared to squeeze again when Mew forced his hand over the lid.

"Alura please put that back." He asked nicely, albeit while completely exasperated. She gave him a blank stare in response.

Joe Dark wandered over and glanced aside at the bottle in her hand then said, "Alura, you use that on food, like hot dogs or hamburgers."

"Hot...dogs? Ham...burgers?" Alura tilted her head both ways and looked like a deer in headlights.

"I'd show you," Joe Dark glared up at Mew with a scoff, "If someone bothered to keep our fridge stocked with any sort of meat."

Mew iced him with a glare back and ignored his usual joke cracking urges to remark, "Well then why don't you get a job ya loafer!"

Joe Dark's eyes widened for a moment as he backed away slowly. Solaris then popped up around the corner and said, "You need meat?! Lemme go fry up those horned beasts outside!"

As he was about to pass by Mew bluntly pointed at him so hard he froze in place and then softly said, "You lay a hand on Billy and his kids and I'll put you to the moon!"

And then, as if on cue, Lunis quietly walked up behind Mew and coughed. He hung his head back with a sigh and asked, "What?"

She clasped a tall book against her chest and muttered, "I-I'm done with all these 'Strategy Guides' you have Mew. Do you have any...actual books in the house?"

She couldn't have tip-toed around Mew's irritation any harder if she tried. He looked away from her and grumbled as Joe Dark then remarked, "Of course not. He's allergic to reading."

"You can be allergic to reading?" Alura remarked.

"...Figure of speech Alura," Joe Dark leaned a hand on his hip, "When you're allergic to something you sneeze."

"Oh..." Alura paused and gave it a thought, "Like when those little white flakes got in my nose...?"

"...Speaking of dust, Mew, you really need to give the upstairs another cleaning."

Mew squeezed his eyes shut and began to tremble slightly.

"Oh yeah if you're cleaning around the house then could you pick up the broken glass?" Solaris demanded in a nonchalant tone.

"Oh! Maybe you could freshen up my room with some flowers!" Lunis suggested.

"Not until he gets us some meat. I'm not going to eat another damn salad!" Joe Dark hollered.

"Yes. I want to put a 'Hot Dog' down my throat." Alura said.

Mew's face turned a light shade of red and he began biting and sucking on his bottom lip.

"Mew."

"Mew."

"Mew."

"Mew!"

"MewMewMewMewMewMewMewMewMewMewMewMewMewMew-"

"ALRIGHT SHUT UP!" Mew threw his hands out and everyone went completely silent. He then swung his head around with a mad look in his eyes, "All of you, quiet! Silence! CEASE!"

Joe Dark began to open his mouth and Mew forced his pointer finger at its center, "Nope! Don't wanna hear it!"

When Solaris tried to even breathe Mew rushed over and clamped his hand over his mouth, "None of that!"

He then kept the hand steady as he walked passed him and headed for the door. Naturally, he left a crowd of blank stares in his wake.

He grasped the doorknob, faced the bewildered crew, and said with a slacked jaw, "I'm going outside. I don't know when I'll be back. Got a problem? Work it out yourselves."

He swung the door open without any hesitation and right as he closed it, he felt like he had knocked someone down.

"Owowow!" He could recognize that high-pitched voice anywhere. Saturn was flat on her back at the bottom of the steps.

She sprung right up and Mew gave her an unamused look while tucking his hands into his pockets, "As if this day could get any better..."

She flailed her pointer finger up at him and declared, "Wow! Rude!"

He closed his eyes and sighed, "Are you here to give me an update on Riku?"

"No? I-"

Mew hopped to the bottom of the steps and waved his hand in her face as he passed her by, "Then I ain't in the mood. Go home."

"Ugh!" Saturn growled and then clamped a hand down on his right shoulder. Mew kept walking and dragged her along, not even feeling her grip.

"Have some consideration you big palooka! Trust me you were the last person I wanted to ask for help!"

Mew rolled his eyes up and shook his head. Saturn growled some more and then applied a very firm pinch to a certain nerve in his shoulder and he felt a jolt up his back.

"Ghhh...!" He stopped right then and there and turned around, slapping her hand off of him, "What's the big idea?!"

She crossed her arms full of pride and declared, "I ain't a biologist but I know pressure points! So unless you want me to make ya pee your pants you better listen to me!"

"If its that important just say it already!" Mew barked loudly in turn.

"Fine, you impatient ne'er-do-well..." Saturn paused to catch her breath and calm down to a certainly less insane degree, "Venus needs you."

Mew's brows perked up and he too settled down, "Huh?"

"I don't get her obsession with you to be honest," Saturn shook her head and brushed her hand up beside her face, "I tried to help, offered her far, FAR more qualified people...Then she went and threw a wrench at me!"

Saturn parted the top bangs of her hair and repeatedly pointed at a light bruise, "Look what happened to my cute face!"

Mew pressed his fingers up to his lips and snickered.

"Ugh, see...?!" She puffed her cheeks and flailed a finger at him again, "I really, really don't want a bad influence like you rubbing off on her!"

Mew kept smiling as he told her, "Is it really that bad?"

Saturn squinted her eyes reeeeeally small and put her fists on her hips. Then she stood up and fiddled with her watch to open up a portal beside them.

"We'll discuss it at my place. Come on, chop chop!" She ran right through the portal and it began to close before Mew had stepped foot in it.

"At least this'll keep me out of the house for a bit..." He realized, even if it meant dealing with Saturn's brand of chaos.

This time he was taken to a different part of Saturn's station. A little more compact, this place seemed to be the guest quarters, each room having its own lavish setup of beds, fridges and other necessities. It was all clean, which wasn't what he expected. Notably, this was the only floor of its type.

Right out of the portal Saturn spun around and threw her hand up like a stop sign to his face. Mew backed away and let her cross her arms firmly.

"Before we go to Venus' room there's a few things we need to go over."

Mew leaned aside and tapped his foot on the ground, "What's up?"

Saturn popped out a little teaching rod in her right hand and tapped a holographic board that appeared behind her. A montage of flattering snapshots began to unfold showing her, Jupiter and Mars fighting monsters in Sancturia.

"As you may or may not know, we helped fend off half the monster invasion in Sancturia."

"Oh yeah Auris told me all about that," Mew waved his hand out and smiled, "Thanks for the help. I mean that."

Saturn blushed and propped her hands on her hips with a haughty raise of the head, "B-But of course! A true heroine always knows how to sniff out evil whenever they attack!"

She then slowly lowered her head and rolled her hand around in the air, "And I guess you did ok yourself. Cause...no one's allowed to conquer the planet but you!"

Mew shook his head with a laugh and she forced a cough, "A-Anyways! More to the point!"

She "slapped" her stick against the hologram, "Venus was there with us cause she wanted to help out. She fought an ancient undead pharaoh by the name of Ankhan'tur, who had the power to age anything his miasma touched to dust."

Mew's eyes widened for a moment before his brain caught up to what he heard, "Oh, but she can't age like the rest of you right? Seems like it was a perfect match-up."

"Right, the old bad bug man's gift prevents us from aging," Saturn smiled and threw a flurry of aura sparkles over her skin, "So I've been young and cute forever!"

Mew gave her the stink eye and she quickly tapped the hologram a few more times while saying, "Hoooooowever, Ankhan'tur's curse affects even immortals. Didn't Lady Auris mention that?"

"She didn't get to the nitty gritty of it all but..." Mew's eyes widened again and he felt momentary dread, "D-Don't tell me Venus is..."

"She's alive! Are you kidding? No one dies on my watch!" Saturn tried to whack Mew across the forehead but he leaned back with a smile.

"A-Alright then what's the problem?" He briskly chuckled.

Saturn pushed the rod down into nothingness and clapped her hands off, "I think you'll get it once you see for yourself."

She waved towards herself and turned around, guiding him a few doors down and then giving it a couple taps, "Here, take a look."

Mew cautiously approached the window and peered inside. Waiting impatiently at the edge of the bed was indeed Venus, but Mew caught what was up with her right away. Her cheeks were a little more defined, her hair was longer, yet still in pigtails, and the overall shape of her body was a little bit bigger. She was wearing the same clothes as before, but fixed up to fit her new size.

"...What?" Mew slowly pulled away from the window and looked Saturn in the eyes, "She's...older? How is that possible?"

Saturn peeled off the wall and threw her hands up in a mighty shrug, "I don't know! I tried asking that fiend Macros but even he couldn't figure it out!"

"She's still got her powers, memories and all that other stuff..." Saturn took a peek into the window herself, "But now she's mortal."

"Maybe...the agelessness was only tied to her old body." Was the only thing Mew could come up with.

He took another glimpse into the room and as Saturn backed away asked her, "How old is she now?"

"Well luckily she only got grazed by the miasma so I'd put her in the ballpark of around...10 years old?"

Mew squinted his eyes and muttered to himself, "'Luckily'? No. This isn't right at all..."

He pulled back slightly and reached for the door handle. Saturn barked at him immediately, "And just what're you planning on doing?"

"She needs someone to talk to," Mew glanced at Saturn softly and tried to smile, "And I'm the only one she trusts right now."

"..." Saturn waved her hand around a few times and stepped away from the door, "Ugh fine, but I'm going to be watching."

Mew nodded and then slid the door open to head inside. As the door sealed itself shut Venus perked up and stopped paddling her feet around.

"Hey Maria." He waved his hand up and she looked back down, tucking her hands in-between her legs.

"Hello mister." She whispered, and even Mew barely heard it.

"..." Mew kept a straight face on him as he took a couple steps closer. She lifted her head up, and he kept going at a snail's pace.

Once he was a foot away from the bed he asked "Mind if I sit down next to you?" and waved at the empty space to her left.

She lowered her head but gave a brief, subtle nod. He then took his time sitting a foot next to her, almost letting himself sink into the soft mattress in the process.

He then tried to look Venus in the eyes as he asked, "So how are you doing? Are your living arrangements ok?"

He patted the bed by his hip and chuckled, "Of course they are, do you feel how soft this material is?"

She looked away and the chuckling quieted down to a couple awkward, lonely gasps. He then curled his hand into the sheet and looked straight ahead, kicking his feet against the bed.

"Think Mew think..." It wasn't necessary to put too much thought into it however.

"...Mister," Venus seemed content to look at him with one eye as she asked, "Do you like...getting older?"

"H-Huh?" He blathered out at first, forcing him to think about what he heard. Then he closed his eyes slightly and uttered a flat "Oh".

"I get it now. This is why she couldn't talk to anyone else..."

He had to think, and found the question vague. Not that he could've expected much more from someone her age. Still...

"What...what do you mean?" He tried to squeeze out a little more of her feelings. Not once did his tone condescend her.

"Don't you feel...different, than you did years ago?" She murmured.

"Different? Well..." Mew patted his chest down and remarked, "I'm...taller. My voice is deeper, I got more hair on my...head."

"But do you feel when your body changes?"

"Uhhh..." Mew paused for a few seconds and then rubbed the back of his head, "No."

"No?" She looked more his way.

"Yeah. My body went through changes and one day I just sort of...woke up, looked in a mirror, and realized I wasn't the same person I was back then," He laid his hands down and looked up at the ceiling, "Its the one thing our bodies try to subtle about."

"So our bodies keep growing...?" She asked innocently.

"To a point. I don't think I'm gonna get any taller for example." He said with a chuckle.

"And eventually they give out, and we...die?" She swallowed that last word down with a long, timid gulp, followed by a bodily shiver.

"..." Mew's eyes sagged as the girl's hands tensed up between her legs, her whole body cowering under the shade of Death.

Mew closed his eyes and faced straight ahead, a cold ping in his heart as she whispered, "I...I don't want to die."

Everyone has to face their own mortality someday, but this just seemed incredibly unfair to Venus. She had finally gotten her life back, only to be robbed of two very important years of it.

Whoever decided to inflict this confusion and misery on a child deserved to get an ass kicking.

The next thing Mew knew his hand was on her back and that seemed to make her stop shivering. He then looked her straight in the eyes and said, "Its ok to be scared Maria."

Her eyes were watering. Not much, but he still dried them on his sleeve.

"But you're not going to die for a long, loooooong time," He patted her hard once on the back and then pulled away, "Trust me."

"But humans don't live that long..." She murmured.

"Pfft, so what?!" Mew jollily proclaimed, tackling with matter with all the energy and spunk he could muster, "It doesn't matter how long you live, but what you do with that time!"

He squeezed his fists but stuck a pointer finger up, "You got the freedom to do whatever your heart desires Maria. And when you're lying on your bed at 100, thinking back to all you've done, you'll feel like you've lived another two-thousand years!"

"Whatever I want...?" Venus had a slight shine in her eyes.

"Whatever...!" Mew felt a cold chill down his spine and looked at the door to see Saturn pointing at her eyes, then at him through the window. He cracked a weak grin and told her, "I-Is within the law!"

Saturn gave the thumbs up and sunk out of sight.

Venus looked awestruck, sort of like a kid in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory Mew fed into her wonder by listing off some of what she could do, 添ou could go to the beach, visit zoos, hang out with friends your age, climb hills, read books, watch movies...!

The girl's head started spinning like she had a severe case of whiplash. Mew clamped his mouth shut and waited for her to let it all sink in.

She squeezed her tiny knees and murmured, "That sounds exciting mister..."

"Doesn't it?" He said with a big old smile.

"But...I don't know how much Ms. Saturn would let me do," Venus looked at Mew and rolled a finger at herself. He leaned in and she whispered in his ear, "She's really, really strict about rules..."

"Hehehe...!" Mew pulled away and patted her on the head, ruffling her hair much to her delight, "Well then maybe you should come live with me!"

He slowed down upon seeing her look him in the eyes, and his own heart began to sank. He then smiled and told her straight from the heart, "Nah, no 'maybe' about it. Come home with me Maria. I can't replace your father, but I'll do my best to live up to his name and teach you all there is to know about living life to the fullest."

It came out of his mouth without a second thought and he wasn't going to take it back. She needed this, and he wanted it. Not for him, but for her.

She tilted her head and flashed her pearly whites with a childish giggle, "Ok papa."

Mew recoiled hard and felt something tight clutching onto his heart, "Ghhhhh...!"

He laid a hand over his chest and felt like he just fought a powerful enemy. Forcing a smile, admittedly, he had to crack a laugh at this.

"P-P-P...Papa?" It didn't feel...awful, despite the word aging him like...ten years? Fifteen maybe?

"Then..." Mew smiled a little more genuinely and remarked, "I guess that'd make you...Maria Whiter now, huh?"

"Maria...Whiter?" She looked confused.

"Yeah, that's my last name." He replied.

"I like it." She smiled softly.

He patted her on the back and said, "Welcome to the family."

Then pulled her into an short, gentle embrace, allowing her to hug him as well. Both their bodies felt warm to the touch.

When that was done they pulled away and Mew said, "I should probably tell Saturn I'm taking you back home with me. But before that, is there anything else you need to talk about?"

"Ummm..." Venus awkwardly wiggled away and stared down, a slight red appearing over her face, "My body does feel a little...weird."

"Weird? How so?"

"I've been feeling hot sometimes, and I don't know why..."

"You could have gotten a fever." Mew suggested, only for her to shake her head.

"My head's fine."

"...W-Where are you feeling hot then...?" Mew bit his lower lip and felt increasingly nervous as Venus began to spread her le-

"GAAAHH!" Mew threw himself up off the bed and flailed his arms around, "W-Wait...h-h-hold on...!"

The door swung right open and Saturn was postured with a big frown and a very loud hum. Mew sped right over to her and dragged her out by the mouth, leaving the door to slam shut.

She fought back with some inaudible grunts for a while until Mew got his hand off her.

"What do you think you're doing you-"

Mew, red in the face and beginning to sweat, pressed Saturn's cheeks between his hands and pulled her in closer, "J-Just shut up and get Kairi here...!"

"H-Huh?" She stared at him bewildered.

"Hurry!" Mew threw her off gently and swung his hand out, "I ain't qualified for this shit!"

Saturn did an immediate U-Turn while Mew dropped on his butt and threw his head back with a loud sigh. He got roughly three minutes to relax before Saturn came back through her portal shoving a flustered Kairi.

"Alright alright quit shoving already!" Kairi swung her arm to fend her off and then caught Mew from the corner of her eyes, "M-Mew...? What..."

Mew stood right up and ran over, grabbing her by the shoulders with such force it made her face beet red, "Oh thank god you're here!"

"Y-You're sweating...and...you look like you've seen a ghost..." She said sheepishly.

Mew gave a misleading smile and muttered in a deep, exhausted tone of voice, "Kairi, I need you."

"W-WHAT?!" She said with a shrill squeak.

"To talk to Maria." He finished, and thank god, cause he was about to get punched in the gut.

"M-Maria?" Kairi was let go and Mew walked backwards to the door, where she followed him to the window.

Once she took a peek inside she looked even more confused at him, "I...I don't understand."

"I'll catch you up later, but right now she needs..." Mew sucked in his lips and took a very long, very deep swallow, "The talk."

"THE talk...?" Kairi's eyes bulged and her jaw dropped.

"Yes, THE talk," Mew leaned in to Kairi's ear and whispered, "I think she's feeling her first-"

Kairi shoved him away and shouted, "I KNOW WHAT IT IS GOD...I don't EVER want to hear any of those words out of YOUR mouth!"

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said following a flustered release, "WHY me...?"

"Cause I know you're the most qualified." He said in earnest.

"M-Me...?!" She laid a hand over her chest then swung it out, "What about mo-"

She glanced aside with a blank look and said, "Or Shi-"

She squeezed her lips shut and began to shout, "Sa-"

She glanced over her shoulder at Saturn flashing her lens with a big grin and then slowly put her hand on the door handle.

With drooping eyes she gave Mew a scornful glare and pointed up at his chin, "You owe me BIG TIME."

Mew placed his hands together and mouthed "Thank you while she slid through the door before it was halfway open."

Mew then leaned up against the door and waited almost an hour for any response on the other side. This was a heavy conversation but surely it didn't require this much time...did it?

Right as Mew was about to take a peek inside the door slid open and Kairi dragged her feet out, collapsing back first against the door once it shut.

"Aaaaaaaagh...!" She gasped out loud, and slid to the ground with her knees against her chest.

"You were certainly in there a while." He remarked in a humored tone.

"She had soooo many questions...I told her literally everything about..." Kairi placed a hand against her forehead and combed back her hair with a hefty, sympathetic grunt, "I-Is this how mom felt talking to me...?"

Mew laughed it off dryly and said, "Sounds pretty draining."

"That's only half of it..." Kairi's eyes bulged as she looked at her hand with a few strands of hair stuck to it and murmured, "When we were through she called me Mama. MAMA...!"

She was a little shaky looking at her hairs and remarked, "A-Am I getting old already...?"

Mew crossed his arms and remarked, "Its fine, she's calling me Papa now too."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...!" Kairi's squeal got a little quieter when she closed her mouth and slowly climbed up to her feet, both hands planted on the door.

She turned to Mew and he gave her a couple sluggish blinks. She then shut her eyes and stuttered, "Y-You're her Papa...I-I'm her...Mama...?"

After a drawn out period of silence she threw her fists down and screamed in his face, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DRAG ME INTO THIS TIME?!"

"W-What...?" Mew backed away with his hands swung up, "I think there's been a huge misunderstanding here..."

"Mmrrrr...!" Kairi puffed her cheeks.

"She's just calling me Papa because I chose to adopt her. I don't know WHY she's calling you Mama too..."

Kairi widened her eyes with a gasp, "You...what?"

"She needs me Kairi." Mew placed his hands behind the back of his head and left her slack jawed in awe.

"...I-I..." Her cheeks turned red and her face got really twisted up all of a sudden, "What are you THINKING?!"

"What now?" Mew said with a chuckle.

"Do you even know the first thing about taking care of a child?! How are you going to feed her? Clothe her? Keep her healthy when she gets sick? What about her education? Or taking her out in public?!" Kairi bit her teeth down and starting stuttering, "D-Did you think about any of that when you...when you..."

She wore herself down just looking at the confident smile Mew continued to show. She slumped down before her chest and sighed, "God I feel like an idiot..."

She swung right back up and wagged a pointer finger at his face, "Fine, I'll be her 'Mama' and you can be her 'Papa'! But that's all it means! At all! Got it?"

"Fine by me. You can teach Maria a lot of stuff I don't know." Mew humbly admitted.

Kairi laid a hand against the side of her face and grumbled, "If I left her in your hands all the time she'd never recover."

"Hehehe..." Mew dryly chuckled, then looked at her with a smile, "You know this is the first time we've hung out in a while."

Kairi perked up and turned his way, "Well I've been busy...Y'know, between Shina coming back, the pregnancy...The monster attack."

"You think that's crazy? You should see my house right now!"

"Oh I heard all about it from mom," She propped a hand on her hip and groaned, "Oh crap are you really going to have Maria in the same house as that rampaging boar?"

"It'll be fine." Mew assured her.

"Yeah I know...somehow," Kairi rolled her head around and then sighed, "...B-But if you need help, don't be afraid to ask."

"Sure! I'd like to hang out with you some more too."

Kairi's cheeks turned pink and she spun around, "Y-Yeah...right. We'll...we'll see..."

She tucked some of her hair over her face and strolled over to the portal. She then waved her other hand up and muttered, "L-Later Mew..."

Once she was gone Mew laid a hand on his hip and sighed, "I don't get her sometimes..."

He then faced the door and remarked, "Now then..."

There was some resistance on Saturn's part but she ultimately surrendered Maria over to Mew. He took his new daughter in hand and helped her make it back to his house.

"Wow...!" She gasped in awe, "This is your home?"

"Maria, you were here before remember?" He chuckled.

"It looks different now." She murmured.

"Heh," Mew began to take her towards the steps while mentioning, 'Hopefully its still intact inside..."

He slowly pulled the front door open and...saw everyone practically where he left them, only sitting down. His brows sank. Somehow this display of non-activity offended him more than a damaged kitchen would have.

"Oh, you're back already?" Joe Dark was the first to stand up, but it was Solaris, surprisingly, who was the first to notice the change.

"Who's the kid?"

Mew took a step inside and Maria huddled up behind him. He turned back and whispered "Its alright" giving her the bravery to come in and bow her head.

"H-Hello..."

Joe Dark twisted his brow up and remarked, "Hold on...this isn't that one girl you were talking about is it?"

Mew propped her on the back and gave her a smile, "Yep. This is Planetary Aurian Venus...Or as you'll call her from now on, Maria Whiter!"

Everyone except Alura recoiled with a gasp of "WHAT?!" followed by Joe Dark declaring, "Mew have...have you lost your damn mind?! We don't need another mouth to feed around here!"

Mew stared at him through closed eyes and remarked, "Get. A. Job. Then."

That shut him up instantly and allowed Mew to keep on going, "There's going to be a few changes to our living arrangements now that Maria's here."

"First up, I'm taking my room back and giving it to Maria," Mew then pointed at Lunis and suggested, "Don't worry, I'll put your bed upstairs with Joe Dark and Alura's."

"W-What?! I can't share a room with h-her!" Joe Dark exclaimed.

"Then I'll put up a divider, whatever...!" Mew spat up right away.

"Well where does that leave me?!" Solaris wondered.

"The dirt's nice and fresh outside." Mew grumbled without any restraint in his contempt.

"What? No! You sleep outside! I'm taking the couch!"

Mew closed his eyes and replied, "That uncomfortable lump of leather is mine! You can't have it!"

"Oh yeah?"

"YEAH!"

"Ummm..." Lunis tried to raise her hand against the tide of loud noises, "What are we going to do when Riku gets back?"

"..." Mew gawked and whispered, "Shoot I forgot all about him...!"

"I haven't been gone that long brother," Mew and Lunis perked up in shock and turned to face the door, "But it seems a lot happened in my absence huh?"

Mew stared wide-eyed for a moment and then cracked a smile, "Guess I could say the same to you. Welcome back Riku!"

Next Time: Change