Waking up early after an evening of passion between him and his wife, Michael gently got out of bed and kissed his sleeping wife before throwing an outfit together. Despite his promise to give to Julia some sort of pleasure now that Professor Maria was gone, he also had the duties of Kingston Castle to attend to. He knew that today would be spent up on being an emotional weight to both Julia and Piper as they attended to their grandmother's affairs and set up the funeral. To the expected relief of the castle staff, his Uncle Jeice and Aunt Shannon had volunteered using Jeice's restaurant in Titanio City, finally back up and running after the war had ended, as a place for those mourning Professor Pines to gather. And unlike when his own Grandmother passed, this affair would be short, succinct and quiet. It would basically be himself, Julia, Piper, Cameron and Olivia, plus anyone who felt they needed to honor Professor Maria's memory.

He tapped his thigh to wake up Mufasa the Arcanine, who always slept at the foot of the couple's bed. He stretched out and yawned, but loyally followed him nonetheless. Michael happily pet one of his most loving Pokémon. If Mewtwo had any plans to further isolate them from their Pokémon, he knew Mufasa would stay loyal until the very end. The two exited their bedroom and prepared to quietly make their way down towards the Lord's Study. But as he rounded the corner to the next area of bedrooms, he found Countess Rosemary ominously staring at him from in front of her own chambers.

"Countess?" he politely acknowledged.

"Michael" she responded. "I do not mind your absence from my requested audience. The reasoning is sound and understandable. Maria Pines was a remarkable woman. But I must insist we meet now. I have something to impart upon you."

"Impart upon me?" Michael asked, almost dismissively. "Forgive me, Countess, but I don't think-"

"It will not take long" she insisted. "Trust me. It's something my brother would have wanted to tell you if he lived longer."

When his Arcanine gave him an approving nod, Michael reluctantly did as his guest bid and went into her chambers. The candles were already lit in a ring around where she and he would be sitting. He casually sat in a chair opposite the lounge chair she would sit in while Mufasa sat beside him, panting happily at the sight of the brightly glowing candles surrounding them. She winced as she finally sat back down. Michael's worry over her well-being did not go unnoticed.

"Do not show me pity, Michael" she spoke commandingly. "I am an old woman. My time will come as it did for both James and Bonnie. Fortunately, since there is still time, I can impart on those they cared for a few lessons before my end."

"Can you tell how long exactly?"

She eyed the jewel atop her scepter. "This gemstone is bestowed upon the new White Guardian after their predecessor passes on in life. It shines brightly for one with an entire life in front of them. But as you can see, mine glows but faintly. My end will come, Michael. But before it can, I must be sure that the pieces are all in place for the end that our ancestors feared might one day come. The end of all days. The end of the Age of Heroes."

"Heroes?"

Rosemary eyed him. "Surely you've learned something about this age we currently reside in? Didn't James teach you anything?"

Michael thought for a moment, but shook his head. "Grandpa was always good with us and always answered any of our insane questions. But the one thing he refused to talk about was anything about fate or destiny. I like to think he believed that one's fate can't be predicted or mapped out."

"It would seem that my brother did harbor some great fears for you after all." She tapped her scepter and an old tome began to float from her nightstand beside her bed and into her lap. "The Age of Heroes is the current age we live in. The History of the World is divided into several different time lengths known as ages. The first age, though some scientists call it the Prehistoric Age, has always been known as The Age of Creation. It was in that time that the beings of Myth and Legend are said to have their origins. It is the birthplace of the Mythical Pokémon as well as the first known times in our world's history that the God of all Creation, Arceus, came into contact with the prehistoric Pokémon and the first ancestors of humans. It is also around this time that the Pokémon Giratina came about to rival Arceus. Others, such as Palkia and Dialga, Kyogre and Groudon, Reshiram and Zekrom, and all of the other Pokémon said to have aided in the creation of our current world, were said to have come into existence. How this was done, no one can definitively say."

"History and Mythology wrapped in one" Michael sarcastically commented. "Impressive."

She ignored the jape. "There is little known about the second age. This is because the age was one of pure darkness and devastation. Arceus and Giratina waged a war over the cosmos that resulted in uncounted billions meeting their ends. It is known as The Age of Darkness, not only for the destruction caused in this conflict, but also it is rumored that the world itself was cloaked in a veil of all consuming darkness."

"The Age of Heroes" she continued, "began when two heroes were said to rise with Pokémon at their side to bring an end to the destruction. Arceus returned to his realm and Giratina returned to the Distortion World and the dark veil around the world finally broke free. Each of the regions has it's own fables about this, including the Truths and Ideals stories in Unova and the Sword and Shield stories in Galar. But all have one thing in common: two heroes united together and battered away the darkness. That was over a thousand years ago, and life has gone on with a few minor disasters being averted thanks to several trainers who each are said to possess the same confidence and desire for justice that others have. Trainers such as the legendary Akari or her close friend Rei. Or to more modern times, heroes such as the one called Red, your good friend Wes, or perhaps even our beloved Ryan. One could say even you would fit into this category, my dear." She took in a long and ominous breath before she could continue. "But several hundred years ago, the founder of the White Guardians had a prophetic vision of future events. One that would signal the coming end of the Age of Heroes."

Michael raised an eyebrow at this. "So it's taken hundreds of years to even pan out?"

"Prophetic visions do not tell us everything we can or should know about events" she corrected him. "The only person who knew without a shadow of a doubt what he saw was Rupert the White. He left his writings to us in tomes that each of the White Guardians has gone to for wisdom and counsel, or if they feared the times would come when they were in charge." She opened her eyes and stared directly at him. "I suppose then, if James was reluctant to impart stories of the ages to you, that he also neglected to tell you about the Three Arcane Prophecies."

"Grandpa never wanted to talk about any of that" he recalled.

"He feared what would come if I was indeed correct about my assessments. I do not blame him. My brother did not have the clairvoyance that I did. He, like many who fear the future, believed that the end of The Age of Heroes, as signified in the Twelve Truths Prophecy, would mean the end of all life on this planet. A cosmic power with enough potential to obliterate continents could in theory rise and wreak endless havoc on the world. But against his wishes, the Twelve Truths did come to pass. We have seen seven of them come to fruition so far, and I suspect that the eighth is coming around sooner than we think."

"Those were what you mentioned in Ryan's hearing."

"Those Truths are not meant to scare, but to warn. They are things that are fated to be, but it is not foretold exactly how they will come to pass. Even prophecy is not down to an exact science."

"Then I think we don't need to worry too much about-"

"But there are more than the Twelve Truths Prophecy to know" she interjected. "There are two additional Arcane Prophecies to know about. The White Mage Prophecy and the Arcane Crown Prophecy. The White Mage will be the peacekeeper who will rise to the occasion and combat that beast that's lurking in the Realm of Dreams and bring about the end of the Age of Heroes. But before we can truly know who that will be, the Arcane Crown must be donned again. A King will rise to take the crown at the behest of this mage and peace and lead his people into the future. Those are the Prophecies that ring the most importantly. Without them, we are at the mercy of evil.'

"And you believe that those Prophecies are also taking place as we speak."

"I am of the firm belief that the two spoken of in these last two Prophecies are currently within the halls of this Castle" she assured him. "I am a little bit hazier on just who the White Mage will be, but I have my suspicions. As for the Arcane Crown, that one has been obvious to me for the last twenty eight years." She sighed. "We have met before, Michael. Only twice, but we have met before you invited me to come to the Castle. It was when you were very young. First, it was only days after you were born and I was invited to see you by my brother. The other time, was when you were still a young child, but only mere days after your parents had split up. You had just started to live with your Aunt Jane in Parlor Town. You had a nightmare."

Michael scratched his head. "A nightmare? I've had tons of those."

"One as vivid as the morning sun rising in the east. You saw in your head a piece of your future. Your mother turning her back on you. You looking to Jane for support rather than your parents."

"You remember quite a lot" Michael spoke politely. "I can remember much about my time with Aunt Jane, but that doesn't ring as familiar to me." It was slowly beginning to dawn on Michael just why his Aunt had mentioned these things to him. As the pieces fell into place in his mind, he turned as white as his Great Aunt's robes. "You can't mean it. That Prophecy-"

"The Arcane Crown Prophecy has come to pass as predicted, save for the final lines" Rosemary said. She cleared her throat as she recited the Prophecy by memory. Michael could feel as if another presence was reading the words around the chamber. Even his Arcanine was spooked by the words of the Prophecy.

Upon the Dawn of the World's Fated Clash

Would Heaven and Angel Sing

A glory greater than all ever known

A savior, a champion, a King

He will be born of Labor and Light

When common and rich congeal

Though Tragedy will be his cloak

He Shall be Kissed upon his heel

Raised by a Leader and an Angel

Our Future Prince will Rise

He will draw all light into him

And garner many eyes

The forces of darkness will bend him

His inner strength they will not gauge

Instead they will thrust upon him

a complete unyielding rage

It's fire will burn his world complete

his innocence will vanish

and after his dearest friend is gone

from his family, they will banish

For a quarter of his life

shall he wander here and there

fearing for the future

and whatever lies in the air

Friends will come and friends will go

their lights too bright to see

the constant shadows looming

in the exiled king to be

Upon seeking answers

to the truths he knows nothing of

Only then will our King

see his fated love

And from the words of past

present and future true

shall the King rise once more

make justice his lawful due

His rage will be his weapon

His heart a soothing sage

For he will serve as brother

and mentor to a Mage

He will gift the Mage his Wisdom

His Love, His Courage all down

And in Return the Mage

Shall bestow on him his Crown

Michael was shaking in shock, awe, and complete terror. He simply had nothing he could possibly say in all of this. The Prophecy, almost to the letter, had shown for him a complete recap of his life. From his birth, to his branding by the Syndicate, the death of Icarus, to his exile, to finding Julia and all the way down to his return to defeat Giselle and retake his place in the Kingston Family. And the final lines, which spoke as if he would help this alleged White Mage come into being made him feel even more worried. Exactly how much of this had indeed come and gone?

"I am not surprised by your reaction" Rosemary spoke. "Your Grandfather had the very same reaction when we first spoke of you."

"I-I-"

"You will be the first man to don the mythical Arcane Crown since Arturius Kingston gave up his crown six hundred years ago" she went on. "You will be King, Michael."

"That's impossible" he insisted. "You have to be mistaken."

"It's no mistake. I wouldn't be here telling you this, if I was not absolutely sure."

"But I wasn't raised by an Angel or a Leader" he argued. "My mother and father were-"

"Not the ones who raised you. Or did you forget so quickly what your cousin Jenna said to you?"

Michael's gasped. "How did you-are you reading my mind?"

Rosemary sighed. "I try not to, but your mind needs to be settled in order for you to see the truth. To see what James and Jane did for you. To bring you this far. To help you make it here to this day and prepare to come to your throne."

"I'm not a King, Countess" Michael declared. "I'm hardly even a Lord. I'm only here because Grandma's will stipulated it all went to me."

Rosemary shook her head. "Michael, you need to stop this. You have the makings of a King. Look at all of the things you've done in your life, all of the creeds with which you live every day. You've defeated Giselle and toppled her tyranny. You drove Elezar and Cassius into hiding and brought peace, freedom and justice to our home. You're the only Kingston who doesn't thumb their nose at those not within one of the Thirteen Families. You married for love, not duty or inheritance. You constantly and tirelessly fight for the common man and would gladly give up your life to save someone you love. Every one of your cousins aspires to be you, Michael. Not James. Not their parents. Not even Arturius. You. You treat Pokémon not as weapons or as subordinates. You treat your Pokémon often better than you treat your fellow man." She eyed the Arcanine, who rested his head on his trainer's lap. "Michael, you were raised to be a King. Only James, myself and your Aunt Jane ever knew it. And it was their love for you that molded you away from what your mother and father would have made you and into a man who is not only respected, but idolized by so many in this world. If anyone has ever been worthy of being named a King, it's you."

Michael was left silent. What if the things the Countess was saying were true? Was all of this, all of his life and all of who he was, based solely on the will of his Grandfather and his Aunt? If that were the case, he knew even less about who he was than he thought. And then, a more troubling thought came into his head. "You mean to tell me that Grandpa and Aunt Jane only cared about me because of some stupid prophecy?"

"Of course not" she chided. "My brother loved you and your cousins more than anything else in this world, including his own children. I watched over you and him from a distance as you grew up. The love you two shared was not only genuine, but it also was profound. He didn't just impart his wisdom onto you for that. He imparted on you because you were the one who always looked to him. A boy, who didn't have his father there when he needed him, or a mother who truly cared." She pushed herself to her feet, struggling to do so until she gripped her scepter tightly. "And from her own words, Jane Kingston thought of you as her own son long before she guessed the role you would have in the future. She defended you like any Pyroar would defend her cub. Not out of devotion to fate, but out of love."

Michael's mind was racing faster than it had in ages. "I-I don't know what to say. Or what I even know, anymore."

"What I can tell you about the future amounts to this, Michael" she continued. "The time for your ascension is coming sooner than either of us would prefer." She took in a deep breath. "It's not yet ripe. I am not even fully sure who will be the one who will give to you the crown. Events outside of our control are going to force our hand." She opened her eyes and looked to her Great Nephew sincerely. "If I am correct in my analysis of the Twelve Truths, the next of it's truths is going to come and it is going to devastate our family in a way that we haven't suffered since my brother's death. But there is something you need to understand about fate, Michael. No matter how much we may want to change it, we cannot alter what is destined to be. If anything, we might find that what we hope to prevent will become inevitable."

"Why are you telling me this?"

She waved her hands over the candles, which flashed brightly and illuminated the still shadowy room even more. "I may have power, but I am forbidden by my oath to the White Guardians to try and interfere in the designs of Prophecy. No matter how much I may want to, I could potentially alter things so much that the entire universe can collapse in on itself."

Michael felt himself getting angry. "You mean to tell me that you could have stopped any of this from happening? Grandpa's death, my branding, Cassius and Elezar's rise. We all had to suffer because you didn't want to get involved?"

She gave him a cross look. "Do you think it was by choice that I did nothing to save my brother or Balthazar? Do you think I did not grieve for the suffering you endured at Cassius's hands? Do you think I did not shed a tear for Jane when she died? I have felt more death and pain in my life than you could ever know, Michael. Everyone I ever knew and cared for as a child is dead. The only thing in this universe I have left to cling on is that fate has given us a destined path we must take. And no matter how much we may want to alter it, change it or even prevent it altogether, we will never see the path to the end of the Age of Heroes that way." The Countess took in a a deep breath before continuing. "Tears will be shed twice as long, when two stars blink out. That is the Eighth Truth. Not opinion, not desire. Truth. Our family is about to endure a cataclysmic event the likes of which will test the very foundations of everything we stand for. And if we try to prevent it from happening, we could lose more than just those two stars. We could lose everything."

"So you expect me to sit around and do nothing if these two stars blink out? And do you even know what it means or who it might be referring to?"

"I have a feeling, but it conflicts with what I believe the White Mage Prophecy speaks of" Rosemary ominously spoke. "And if we alter that prophecy to prevent another from unfolding, we might not have a chance to defeat Mewtwo."

Michael rose to his feet and snapped to his Arcanine. Mufasa nodded and trotted towards the door. "I will not let my life be dictated to. I make my own choices and I won't accept any other answer!"

"You cannot deny your destiny, Michael!"

"Watch me!" To his surprise, the doors opened through the Countess's mysterious power. He looked back towards her, but had nothing but anger for the woman who had just tried to tell him all that he was could be defined by some inane babbling from hundreds of years ago.

"My brother and Jane helped mold you into the man you are right now" she reminded him. "Do you really want their deaths to amount to nothing?"

Michael's fuse finally exploded. "Do not DARE TO TELL ME THAT JANE KINGSTON'S DEATH WAS MY FAULT! AND I WILL NOT SPEAK ANYMORE ON THE SUBJECT WITH YOU!" He then stormed out of the room and slammed the doors shut.

"What was that all about?" a voice piped up from nearby. He looked down and saw Deidre sitting on the bench outside of the room.

"How much did you hear?"

"Only the last outburst" Deidre said sadly. "Mike, did everything go okay in there?"

He shook his head. "This whole fortunetelling thing may work for you, Dee. But not for me." He fought back the urge to rage more, thoughts of his initial learning of Jane's death flooding back to him and how it had tore him apart. If he had truly been responsible for her death, even by proxy to Jane's singlehanded defense of him from the Courts, then he had deprived Chris and Cameron of their mother. And that was a burden he felt he could not bear. Not when he had already caused many more to suffer in his absence. Not when Icarus had given up everything for him.

Deidre rose to her feet and put her hand on his shoulder. "Mikey, you know you can talk to me, right?"

He nodded. "I know. And I'm grateful for it. But right now, I don't think I need to talk to anyone, anymore." He took her hand off his shoulder and held it for a brief moment before leaving with his Arcanine by his side. The Pokémon kept quick pace with him, but was confused when Michael didn't immediately head off towards the Lord's Study, but for the main doors of the Castle. He leaped down after him and barked at him. Michael turned around and patted Mufasa on his head. "I need you to stay here and keep an eye on things for me. I need to do some soul searching for a bit." He frowned as he scratched Mufasa's snout and his Arcanine sadly nodded. "And I think there's only one person I know that can help me see straight."

{}

With her research in hand and a confidence radiating about her, Courtney made her way to the dark chambers with which The Grand Master was keeping himself most days. Though she could tell he was not here, she could feel he knew that she was there. He would be there soon, to either upbraid her or to praise her for her diligent work on deciphering the age old Prophecies written in Arcana.

Though the room was dimly lit, Courtney could clearly see the frozen form of Jocelyn Aced, still shackled in place where Mewtwo had fossilized her. She let out a confident giggle. "Oh, Jocelyn. I do have to thank you for defying your father. If you hadn't, we wouldn't be a few steps away from ruling the world." Had Elezar succeeded in his goals, they would still only be limited to Arcana and his unquenchable hatred for the Kingston Family. The Grand Master had more global desires.

She gave the statue a slight slap on the cheek. "I can even forgive your helping in our enemies escaping from us. Because as The Grand Master says, our victory is inevitable. Why worry about what was not now under control? Also, knowing that you're little more than a glorified statue and unable to do anything once I go back to Arcana and split Matthew's skull in half is a bit of a reprieve. I only wish The Master would restore you so you could see it happen firsthand. And then maybe I'd send you to meet your Mommy." She let out a cackle, but quickly quieted herself when she could sense The Master's arrival. She could only see his sapphire eyes at first, but knew all too well that he was present.

You had better be bringing me good news, Courtney.

"Of course, Master" she said politely. "The Prophecies have been deciphered as you requested."

What purpose does this surge in strength Ryan Kingston had serve in these Prophecies?

Courtney giggled as she went over her notes once more. "As you requested, I plugged little Ryan into each of the Prophecies as best as possible. He doesn't match the criteria for the Arcane Crown, though I doubt even a King will be enough for Arcana to stop you."

I must know what my enemies are planning, Courtney. The connection I have to Michael within the Singularity does not reveal enough for me to be comfortable with moving forward. If we were to go back to Arcana unprepared, we may not only lose, but lose disastrously. Continue.

"Ryan does match some of the Criteria for the White Mage Prophecy" she explained, a flicker of fear in her voice. "But-but the end of the Prophecy and that of the Twelve Truths one should be alarming, Master." She found the lines of each Prophecy that read what she feared. "They claim that the White Mage will have power unknown to both Human and Pokémon and that this power will be enough to destroy the devilish twin." She eyed the shadowy presence. "Since you are a clone of Mew, I should think that-"

I am not limited to the simple imaginations of humans. But if they wish for me to be known as nothing but a twin, so be it.

"This White Mage will be the only thing that stands between you and domination over all of the world" Courtney concluded.

Hmph. Ryan Kingston once defeated me on the slopes of Mt. Heatmor. A clever little trick used to divide my concentration long enough to imprison me in one of those accursed spheres the humans love to enslave their Pokémon in. And for two miserable years I had to sit and bide my time while waiting for that fool Claude to find my prison and free me from it. Now, I have returned and have more power than I could have ever dreamed of. And these humans think they can ride their hopes on the coattails of Ryan James Kingston one last time? The Pokémon let out a sinister laugh. They are fools to think that a boy of that little consequence could luck his way into victory twice. First with his mind and second with some Prophecy?

"You're not afraid, Master? Or do you believe this Prophecy is false?"

I do not doubt that this Prophecy may hold water, Courtney. And that is precisely why I am intent on taking no further chances with the boy. He eyed Courtney curiously. You have done well, Courtney. For the first time in months, I do not regret adding you to the Singularity. And for your work, I intend on rewarding you. Michael Kingston shall still be spared, though I doubt he'll be too thankful for the rest of his family being annihilated.

"Leave Michael to me" Courtney said wickedly. "I've got a plan in the works. I just need time to see if it will work as I expect it to."

Your gift, my dear, is that time. Use it however you wish, so long as it helps our plans moving forward. I will be summoning Hunter back from his failed search for Elezar Aced soon enough. I have a job for him to see if he's truly as committed to our cause as you clearly are. I also have special need of Professor Wong's work. Hunter and Kage will return and when I believe we are prepared for our next move, I will summon you. Until then, Courtney, your time is yours. Now go and leave me to my thoughts.

Courtney bowed and turned to leave, but not without giving the helpless stature of Jocelyn a cheeky look. "Ta ta, Princess."

{}

The Pokémon League HQ was in even worse shape than Cameron could have imagined. It didn't take long for word to leak that Claude had used the Central Computers at their base to perform the heist of the century by stealing all of the world's Pokémon in the CPUs. And, it didn't help that they also found a man in a strangely catatonic state lying on the floor of the room where the heist had been done. But to see that not only had Claude destroyed the remainder of the HQ, but with how much ferocity he had, it even shook Cameron to her core.

The rooms torn apart, with various personal belongings scattered across the floor. Chris and Daniel's rooms had been ransacked almost completely, while Giselle and her own room were burned out no doubt by the explosives detonated within. Even months after Claude and his thugs had devastated the base beyond ordinary repair, there were still small fires glowing in all of the rooms. Not even their homes had been spared. The elevator to get to the higher and lower levels of the base was offline, not even showing a sign of life. Though Cameron was forbidden from entering the lower levels, as she was not the Champion, it hurt her more that now not even Ryan could access them.

She simply walked through the dead halls of the HQ, a sad and pained look on her face. So many memories in this hall. Being the youngest person ever to be named to the Elite Four, all of the nights in she would get to share with her brother and Michael, all of the many lessons in battling and properly raising Pokémon that she got from Mark and Lizzie, even the snide comments she and Giselle would give to one another each morning. She would give up anything to experience just one more of those moments. To hear Daniel's blasting of obnoxious hip hop songs from his room or to see her brother try and fail to woo so many a maiden. To see someone she hated in Giselle truly show a human side by caring for her Liepard as any trainer would their most precious Pokémon or to have Ryan come to her and ask for advice about something. To have Mark and Lizzie be there to remind her that there was still so much they could do to fix their mistakes, or to even have Chris or Michael by her side to have that extra reassurance.

But then she would get a gust of cold wind blowing down her neck and reminding her that those times were gone for good. Chris and Giselle were on Mirage Island, under the thumb of that monster Mewtwo. Daniel was little more than a statue in Parlor Town. No amount of time talking to Mark or Lizzie could mend the pain she felt in her heart. And though she always had Michael, she feared that even that comfort would not be with her for long. Why? Well, because that's how things always seemed to go in her life.

Despite all of her misery, it did her heart good to know that Michael still looked to her for somethings. Which is why it did not surprise her to find him coming up to her in the burned out remains of what had once been the second home they had shared. It wasn't the only thing they had shared. By all accounts, they had shared a brother and a mother. Michael was just as much her older brother as Chris was. And she would cherish every moment she had with him left, no matter how few.

"It's awful, isn't it?" she asked him as they were both eyeing the ruin of the HQ.

"I didn't want to believe you" he admitted. "But I had to see it. And it's worse than I could have imagined."

"Even Giselle had the decency to leave this building unscathed. This is-this is just a nightmare. Claude destroyed everything. I don't even know if we'll be able to get it back to what it was."

"I have a father who can build a house out of chewing gum and plywood" Michael laughed. "I think we'll be fine."

She clapped her hands sarcastically. "Oh goodie. A plywood bed and a computer that works entirely on spearmint." Her frown only deepened. "Dad's beginning to lose hope."

"Not gonna lie, Cam. I'm not seeing many reasons to keep on hoping myself. But I need to."

"Shannon can only do so much for Dad, what with him being home and moping all the time. Katrina and Carson are trying to keep hope, but she told me at the wedding that she's just about lost hope as well. Renee is the only one who hasn't given up at all, yet. Like, no matter how much we can get beaten down, she still feels like we can get over this. Maybe it has to do with how much us coming back the last time helped things out, but I don't know. I don't think we've got any more miracles due for us." She leaned on the doorway of what had been her brother's room and sighed. "I feel so lost without him, Michael. I know I have you and I still have Dad and Shannon and my sisters. But Chris has always been something special to me. My big brother. We may butt heads often, but we always have each other's back. Thanks to that witch, I don't have his."

"He'd rather you be here than the reverse" Michael assured her. "I know he wanted the same for me, but I'm still not sure he was the one who needed to go down on Mirage Island."

"The last time you left us involuntarily" she reminded him, "we lost more than you. We lost our freedom and then our mother."

Michael lowered his head at that. "Cam? Is it because of me?"

She eyed him in confusion. "What?"

"Is it because of me that she's dead?" he asked her.

Cameron shook her head. "Don't be stupid. Of course not. Cassius killed her, not you."

"Cassius only went after her because of how much she protected me. It's hard to think she's gone for no other reason." He braced himself against the broken wall of the building. "She didn't have to die. Not for me. Not when she had you two. Not when she had your father."

"Michael" Cameron said gently, "like it or not, she wasn't just mine and Chris's mother. She was yours, too." She walked over to his side. "If there was a way that my Mom would have wanted to go out, it was protecting one of her children. She died not just to protect you and your legacy, but to protect Chris and I from any reprisals. If Mom was silenced and Cassius still went after us, it would have undermined Giselle's whole power structure. We may not have even needed to bring you home." She turned him around and picked his chin up. "And she loved you. Maybe not as much as she did me and Chris, but enough to think of you just like us. Now stop thinking like that. Because I need to know I'll still have you when all this is over."

"Of course you will."

"I mean it" she flared. "Dad's in shambles, Shannon is busy keeping the family together and my sisters are off in their own worlds. Michael, besides Ryo and Victini, you are all I have left here. You are my big brother just as much as Chris was and I just want to know that I'll have you too." She put her head into his chest and fought a losing battle to keep her sorrows inside. "Because I don't know how much more of this I can take. Every time I open my eyes, I feel like the days are getting darker and less hopeful."

Michael patted her back. "I promise you, Cam. You still have me. I've got your back and you've got mine. And when we get Chris back, it'll be just like old times." He snickered. "You know, once we can pry him off of Piper." The two cousins finally broke out into laughter at this.

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"So they really are back on track, then?" Robert asked his wife upon learning of the successful night their son had.

"Ryan didn't tell you?" Alison giggled as she put that night's dinner, a casserole, into the oven to bake. "He's been floating around like a cherub since last night."

"I figure he still thinks I'm gonna give him a hard time about his arguing with Matt" he concluded. "Honestly, though. What are we gonna do with them, Aly?"

"They're boys" she reasoned. "I grew up with older brothers. They'd get into fights, rough each other up and then be back to playing with each other like nothing happened. Be thankful they weren't girls. They tend to hold grudges." She came and sat by her husband's side. "But if it's really going to bother you, maybe you can do something for the both of them. You know, sort of like a Father-Sons weekend." She snapped her fingers. "What if you took the boys to see that thing in Sinnoh you were gushing about when we were dating. What was it again? The Spear Pillar?"

Robert shook his head. "We can't go too far out of the way. Not when that monster is still lurking in the shadows." He raised his head when an idea came into frame. "Aly? When was the last time we all went out camping?"

Alison thought for a moment. "I think it was just before Michael and the others began that manhunt for Cassius Sinclair. Why?"

"I think we should all do it one more time" Robert suggested. "Sail out to Waypoint Island. Do some fishing, hiking, exploring, spelunking and all of that. One more time before the boys become too old for spending time with their old man."

"Do you think Kayleigh is old enough to enjoy those things, too? She's going to insist on being tethered to those boys."

Robert nodded. "We can keep her occupied while I give my great wisdom to the boys."

"What wisdom is that?"

Before Robert could retort his wife's jape, the two heard the pitter patter of Kayleigh's feet running into the room to grab their attention. "Mama! Papa!" She stumbled her way up to her father's side and tried her hardest to crawl up onto his lap. Robert simply plucked the child up and put her there himself. "Kaywee go Camming!"

"I think our little princess is in" Alison smiled.

Robert kissed his daughter and plopped her back on the ground. "Now, we just need to convince the boys..."