Later that night

Marcy had been silent ever since she and Rowan had returned home. She had been silent through her bath and while her mother dressed her in her pajamas. Now she sat at the dinner table staring absentmindedly at her food while Rowan and their mother ate. Neither Rowan nor their mom could help themselves from stealing occasional worried glances at Marcy.

"Marcy, sweetie, are you feeling okay?" Her mother asked, finally breaking the silence. "Would you like something else?"

Marcy, without answering, picked up her fork and stabbed a piece of chicken. She slowly lifted her fork up to her mouth and bit down on the cut meat.

Rowan and their mom exchanged another concerned glance. Rowan had explained the situation to his mom earlier, but what Marcy had seen remained a mystery to both of them. The little girl still wouldn't tell anyone what she had seen.

"So what are your plans for tomorrow? I believe the radio said it was going to be raining for most of the day tomorrow."

Rowan shrugged. "We don't know yet. We all went back home after the picnic, but I think we'll decide once we get to Aaron's place. You'll be joining us, right, Marcy?"

The little girl didn't reply. Instead, she placed her fork down on the table and stared at the remaining amounts of food on her plate.

Their mother placed a hand on Marcy's forehead. "You don't feel like you're coming down with a fever or anything. Are you just not hungry? Would you like to head to bed now?"

Marcy shook her head. That was the first response either Rowan or their mother had gotten out of the young girl all evening. Marcy slid off of her chair and climbed up onto her mother's lap. Rowan could hear her mumble something into her mother's shoulder, but he couldn't quite make out the muffled words.

Their mother hugged her and rubbed her back. "I love you too, honey. I love both of you." She replied with a soft smile as she hugged both of her children. "Now, who wants to do the dishes tonight? Rowan?"

Rowan flinched. "What?! Mom, no! Not fair!"

"Shall we make Rowan do all of the dishes?" Their mother teased as she gave Marcy a loving squeeze.

Marcy released a small giggle as her mother accidentally tickled her. "M-Mommy! Haha! Stop it! HAHAHA! You're tickling me!"

"I'm tickling you? No, I'm not. I'm just hugging my sweet baby girl." She laughed as she tickled Marcy even more.

Rowan snickered with delight as he watched his little sister laugh and squirm in his mother's arms. He just needed to keep his guard up just in case his mother suddenly turned on him.

His mother blew a loud raspberry into Marcy's neck, sending the young girl into a fit of laughter before directing her gaze on Rowan. The boy tensed up in his chair as both hands flew to his wheels. He knew that sinister look anywhere. "How about a hug for my little man?"

"Nooo. I don't need any hugs." Rowan replied cautiously as he gradually began backing himself away from the table.

"Rowan." His mother sang as she placed a giggling Marcy down on the floor. She slowly stood from her chair and grinned down at him with open arms. "Come to mama!"

"NEVER!" He shrieked as he launched himself backwards.

Both Marcy and their mother took off after him. It was two against one as Rowan attempted to evade both his mother and sister. Even though he was faster than both of them on wheels, he had very little to go. Much to his displeasure, the young boy was quickly trapped behind the kitchen's island with Marcy and his mom cornering him.

"Give mama some love!" Marcy cackled as she ran at him.

Big mistake.

Rowan grabbed Marcy and held her down with one arm, while he used the other to speed away from his mom. "Shouldn't have done that, lil sis."

"Hey! You kidnapped my partner!" His mother gasped as she chased after her children.

"Mommy, save me!" Marcy giggled as she reached out playfully for her mother. "He's got me, mommy! Save…me?" The joy in her eyes began to fade as the memory of the Cubone and Marowak returned to her. "…"

"Marcy, you're not going to give up on us, are you? We're just starting to have fun." Rowan grinned as he poked her in the side.

Marcy didn't even flinch.

"Marcy?"

"Uh-oh. It's worse than I thought." Their mother sighed. "Doctor, it looks like we'll need to give this little patient immediate care. Stat! To the freezer!"

"To the freezer!" Rowan cheered as he wheeled himself and Marcy over to the refrigerator. "I suggest we give the patient at least two to three large scoops of our sweetest Sea-Salt Caramel, and not a scoop less, Nurse Mom"

"Yes, Doctor Rowan." His mother grinned as she pulled out the small tub of ice cream.

"Quickly, Nurse Mom, she doesn't have a lot of time! She must have it directly out of the tub! And so must I!"

Their mother gave him a questioning stare. "Does she now?"

"…Uh…we might have some time for bowls?" Rowan replied dejectedly.

"That's what I thought, Doctor."

Two bowls were placed on the counter as their mom scooped out large spoonfuls for both Rowan and Marcy to have. "There you two go. Enjoy."

"Thanks, mom!" Rowan didn't hesitate to start downing the cold treat.

Marcy, on the other hand, poked at the icy dessert before taking small bites. As much as she wanted it to help, the sweet treat wasn't lightening her mood. "Mommy…Mommy!"

"Yes, baby?" Their mother set the plates down in the sink and looked over at her children. "What is it?"

"I wanna go to bed."

"…Now that's something you don't hear every day." She mumbled to herself before walking over to her youngest. "Are you not feeling well, honey?"

"I-I wanna go to bed. Pwease?"

Their mother checked the clock that was hanging on the wall. "Well, it is a bit past your bedtime…Alright. Come here, baby girl. Rowan, do you mind taking care of the dishes for me?"

Rowan nodded and wheeled himself over to the sink, while his mom carried Marcy to bed.

A few minutes later

Rowan had rinsed down and put all of the dishes and utensils away in the dishwasher in record timing. Doing the dishes wasn't his favorite chore, but he knew that the sooner he had them put away in the washer, the sooner he didn't have to think about them.

He turned his chair around, happy to be done, and wheeled himself down the hall to his room. As he grew closer, he could slowly make out the smooth and flowing sound of his mother's singing. He instantly recognized the song.

"She's singing Marcy's lullaby. Is Marcy really that scared?" Rowan wheeled himself closer to the door and listened. "Mom only sings this after Marcy has had a nightmare. Marcy, what happened earlier to you?"

Rest now, my child,

Let me sing you to sleep.

No need to worry or fear.

Listen to this lullaby as you drift off to sleep,

And remember to dream of me.

Rowan peered in through the doorway to see his mother sitting beside Marcy, who had her eyes shut. His mother lightly caressed Marcy's forehead as she brushed back a few stray hairs.

Be at peace, my sleeping baby,

May you slumber undisturbed.

May your dreams take wing as you rest through this night.

Hear my lullaby, my child, as sleep takes you

And remember to dream of me.

Do not fear, my lovely.

See the stars, they'll guide you,

Know the Moon watches over you through the night.

Just listen to my lullaby,

And remember to dream of me.

Sleep, my precious child,

I am always here for you.

Know that I love you, my sweet baby, never forget

As you listen to this lullaby

And remember to dream of me.

Their mother leaned towards Marcy's sleeping being and kissed her on the forehead. "Goodnight, my sweet baby."

Marcy's only response was a soft exhale.

Their mother stood from the bedside and quietly made her way over to the hallway. She stopped and grinned when she saw Rowan waiting behind the doorway. "Going to bed, hon?"

Rowan nodded as he wheeled himself quietly over to the side of his bed and hoisted himself up onto the covers. His mother appeared beside him as she pulled back the covers and tucked him into bed. "Night, mom."

"Good night, sweetheart." She said sweetly as she gave him a good night's kiss on the cheek. "Sleep tight."

"Don't let the bedbugs bite." Rowan chuckled as his mother shut off the lights and shut the door behind her.

He lay in the dark for a long while as he stared at the silhouette of his baby sister. She was sleeping so peacefully. "I wish I knew what scared you, Marcy. It'd be helpful if you told me."

He continued to watch his sister before grabbing his Gameboy from under his pillow. He decided to turn the game on and play for a little while just to kill some time. He wasn't quite ready to go to bed just yet.

About an hour or so later he heard the soft sound of his sister sniffling. He paused his game and looked over at her to see that her eyes were wide open. "Did I wake you, Marcy?" He asked quietly.

She shook her head. "Ro-Ro?" It sounded like she was crying.

"Yes, Marcy?"

"C-Can I sweep with you?"

Rowan scooted himself over and patted the empty space on his bed.

Marcy leapt from her bed and dove under his covers. Rowan could have sworn that he didn't see her feet touch the ground on her way over to his bed. "T-Thanks, Ro-Ro." She sniffled.

"No problem, Marcy." He grinned. "Protecting you is what I'm here for."

The next morning

Rowan had wound up dropping his game onto the ground sometime during the night. He groaned when he spotted it lying on the carpeted floor. "Drat. I'll have to wake Marcy up and ask her to get-" He stopped mid-thought when he saw his little sister holding onto him. Her tiny arms were wrapped around his arm as if she was holding onto a teddy bear.

A pleasant smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. "It's moments like this that I like being the older brother. Though, I am surprised she isn't up yet." He lightly nudged her awake. "Marcy, wakie-wakie."

Her eyes slowly fluttered open as she looked up at him. "Ro-Ro. You're okay…Where's mommy?"

"She's probably in the kitchen or still in bed. Don't worry about mom, Marcy. We're all alright. This time, if we go back to the playground, we need to be more careful about running into wild Pokemon, okay?"

Marcy mumbled something under her breath, but Rowan didn't catch it. He was too busy trying to get into his wheelchair.

"Hey, Marc, do you mind doing me a favor, please? I dropped my Gameboy on the-"

Marcy jumped off the bed and handed him the gaming device before he could finish. "Are we going to Aaron's today?" She asked quietly.

"Yep. We'll probably spend the whole day over at his house…I think I can hear rain. Got an ideas as to what games you may want to play?" Rowan was once again trying to get her to talk more.

Marcy shrugged.

"Well, you can think about it as we get dressed. Make sure you wear your rainboots."

Marcy nodded and proceeded towards their closet.

A little while later

Everyone was at Aaron's house eating breakfast. Rowan and Marcy's mom was apparently still asleep, so instead of waking her up, the two siblings decided to head on over to Aaron's house for breakfast.

"How is she doing?" Aaron asked Rowan in a hushed tone. "She seems as quiet as Jo."

Rowan swallowed the bit of buttered toast in his mouth before responding to the older boy's question. "Mom had to sing her to sleep last night. She's been pretty quiet ever since she woke up. I'm glad she's eating now…barely touched her dinner last night." Rowan mumbled as his gaze shifted to Marcy. She and Elen were coloring pictures on blank pieces of paper with Jo watching over their shoulders.

The twins were in the other room sorting through Aaron's board games. Everyone could hear the twins moving game boxes around from the other room.

"So, what are you little rascals going to be up to today?" Grandpa Reece asked as he came into the kitchen with the morning paper under his arm. He had been reading it outside when the kids had arrived. "There's not much you can do outside, except maybe catch a cold. It's pouring."

"We don't know yet, Grandpa. The twins are finding us a game." Aaron replied as he eyed the paper. "Anything new yet?"

"New? Uh…"

Elen looked up from her drawing and sighed. She knew the routine. Whenever they would start talking about the war, both she and Marcy would be asked to 'go check for something in the other room'. "Come on, Marcy. Let's go look for Grandpa Reece's invisible glasses again. I'm sure we'll find them this time."

Marcy didn't move. The red crayon in her hand continued to move across the page as she attempted to finish her drawing.

"Marcy, let's go finish that in the other room." Elen said as she reached for the crayon.

"NOO!" Marcy shrieked. "Ro-Ro!"

"Marcy-"

"That's alright. No one has to leave. There hasn't been much going on back in the States. The war is still raging on…as usual." Grandpa Reece replied.

"Hmm. It could be worse…I'm going to see what game the twins have pulled out for us. Anyone want to join me?" Aaron asked.

"I will in a second. Marcy, can I see what you're drawing?" Rowan tried to glimpse at what she was doodling, but Marcy flipped the page over. "Huh, not done yet?"

The little girl picked up a black crayon and stared at Rowan. This wasn't unusual for her. She would usually try to stare down anyone until they walked away. She didn't like anyone seeing her drawings until she was finished with them. The only reason why she wasn't complaining about Jo watching was…well, Jo couldn't spoil the drawing for anyone due to the fact that Jo never talked.

"We've got a game!" Flynn called from the other room.

"What game?" Elen asked.

"Truth or Dare." Sora cackled.

Rowan snuck a glance at Jo. "Maybe now I'll be able to figure out if Jo is a boy or a girl."

The kids moved into the living room and sat down in a circle. Marcy had her drawing folded up in her pocket.

"Okay. Who wants to go first?" Sora asked as he and Flynn eyed everyone in the room with a sly grin.

"How about…Rowan!"

"Me? Okay. Uh…Dare?"

"…Hmm. What can we have you do?" Flynn wondered aloud. "Ahh! You have to eat a whole Tamato Berry!"

"A whole one? The spice would kill him! Besides, do we even have one with us? Aaron?"

"Grandpa has half of one in the fridge."

Flynn nudged Sora and motioned for him to go get the spicy berry.

Sora was gone for only a moment before returning with the berry on a plate and a glass of milk. "I also got you some milk to wash the pain away."

"Gee…thanks." Rowan grinned mockingly as he took the berry from Sora. He studied it in his hand and gulped. It was supposed to be unforgivably spicy…what the heck was it doing in Grandpa Reece's fridge?! "I have to have all of it?"

"Eh…one of two bites will be fine." The twins responded.

Rowan grimaced as he brought the berry up to his mouth and took a large bite. Fire immediately exploded in his mouth as the berry juice touched his tongue. "!AAAHHHH!"

"Drink the milk, Rowan! Drink the milk!" Everyone screamed. Even Jo looked like s/he was screaming along with them…was s/he?

Rowan snatched the drink from Sora and downed the milk. The pain of the fiery inferno in his mouth dulled to a light sting, but the memory was forever burned into his mind. "Tamato berries…are hot!"

Everyone was giggling at Rowan's reaction, including Marcy.

"Ah! Okay. Ouch. Pain. My turn to ask someone for Truth or Dare. Hurts. Elen?"

"TRUTH!"

"Ugh. Uh, if you could have any power in the world, what would it be and why? I need more milk. Sora?"

"I'd want to be able to fly like a Pidgeot. They can fly really fast and go wherever in the world their hearts desire! They don't have to stay in one region. I want to be able to fly from region to region just like them." Elen replied as she flapped her arms up and down like a bird.

"Neato…uh, Elen, it's your turn now." Aaron pointed out after a good while of watching the pink haired girl flap her arms.

"I know, Aaron. I know. Be patient. Hmm, Jo! Truth or Dare?"

Everyone directed their attention towards the hooded kid and waited for him/her to speak. Rowan even started leaning forward in his chair.

Jo held up both hands and formed a 'D'.

"Dare. Alrighty then." Elen grinned, though it sounded like she was trying to mask disappointment. She wanted to hear Jo speak too. "I dare you to kiss the cutest person here on the cheek. Marcy doesn't count cuz she's too young."

"So…what?" Rowan frowned and looked over at Elen. "Jo…is a guy then? Doesn't that mean that only Elen would receive a…isn't she a little too young to be getting-!"

Rowan's thoughts were cut short as Jo placed both hands on either side of his face. His eyes widened and his heart beat quickened as Jo leaned into him and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "…"

The room remained silent as Jo quickly retook his…her? spot back in the circle. The hooded kid didn't dare meet the gaze of a stunned Rowan as s/he directed his/her gaze towards the floor.

"Soo, Rowan is the cutest out of all of us, huh?" Sora kidded.

"And here I thought I was the cutest one." Flynn sighed. "Darn…"

"You and I have the same face!" Sora snapped playfully. "How the heck are you cuter than me?"

"Just am, Sora. Deal with it, bro."

"Flynn, I'm your twin brother-"

"-Who is not as attractive as I am. I know, dear brother, but that does not mean you won't find a girl who will like you for your…your…what positive qualities do you have again?" Flynn teased.

"Flynn!"

"Are we not playing anymore?" Marcy asked.

The twins were still bickering with one another, while Rowan sat in his chair motionless. He was still too shocked to respond to anything…in fact, he was no longer focused on the stinging sensation in his mouth. Jo…Jo remained silent as always.

Elen shrugged, while Aaron stared at Jo. It was almost as if he was looking at Jo for the first time.

"Do you want to play Ro's game?" Elen asked. "We can start back where we left off last time."

Marcy's smile faded. Rowan's Pokemon of choice was a Cubone. "N-No." She whimpered.

"How come?"

"I don't want to play. I don't wanna play. Ro-Ro, please, I don't wanna play your game." Marcy looked like she was going to start crying.

Rowan blinked and looked at his little sister. "Marcy, come here."

Marcy didn't hesitate to crawl up onto his lap. She seemed almost as scared as she had been the other day. "C-Can you pwease sing me my lullaby?"

"Uh…"

"Pwease, Ro-Ro?" Marcy begged.

Rowan snuck a peek at his friends. They had all grown silent. "Marc, I don't want to. Not in front of everybody. Besides, my mouth still hurts."

"Pwease?" Marcy pleaded.

"We won't judge, man." Flynn spoke up.

"We'll sing with you if you want." Sora added.

Rowan shook his head.

Marcy pulled on his shirt. "Ro-Ro?" She was giving him a sad, puppy-dog pleading look.

Rowan rubbed her back and sighed. He didn't like singing in front of others. Unlike his mom and dad, he didn't sing very well, but for Marcy…

Come, little child, come with me

Safe and happy you will be

Safe in your home, no need to run

With Jo-Jo you'll have so much fun!

Everyone looked over at Jo in silence. The hooded kid continued to sing the strange song without meeting anyone's gaze.

Oh, little child, please don't cry

You know I couldn't dare hurt a fly.

You are free to frolic and free to play.

Let's go out and enjoy this lovely day.

Come, little child, let us leave

There are so many games we can conceive.

Allow you mind to rest at ease

I promise you'll be back home in a breeze.

Just count with me

One…Two…Three!

No one said anything as Jo sat back down. It had certainly calmed Marcy down, which was good, but something about the song just didn't sit right with Rowan.

"That was some lovely singing, Jo." Grandpa Reece said from the doorway. He had been listening from the kitchen. "Where exactly did you hear it?"

Jo didn't respond. The kid had been quick to clam up again.

"WHA-! HOLY SHIT!" The twins exclaimed. "Jo, you're a-"