A/N

Well, I've made it to chapter five! I haven't been able to make this chapter come out exactly the way I'd like, so I might edit it later. Then again, I might just move on and write chapter six :D There is, however, finally information about the Ice Climbers adopted and real parents.

I hope you all enjoy and, of course, feedback is always appreciated!

~LittleCassie

x.X.x

"Ouch!...geez" Toon Link complained. He had exited the portal, only to find that a pile up of his friends had been created right below it. He quickly became part of the group, only to feel Ness and Lucas land on top of him afterwards.

"Where are we, did we end up in your village?" Leaf asked from somewhere in the middle of pile. Popo squeezed himself out from underneath his friends and spun around quickly. As usual, his face took on an expression of worry.

"That's it, I need to talk to Master Hand" He sighed.

"What do you mean?" Nana asked hesitantly, freeing herself from the entanglement of friends to join her brother.

"His portals never take you exactly where you need to go" He moaned, obviously annoyed. "Just take a look at where we are".

As everyone else finally sorted themselves out, Nana was able to take in her surroundings. She immediately realized what Popo meant. "We're in the mountains! That's not far from Falaise at all", She reminded her brother. Nana kept smiling, trying to reassure her friends, but it was hard for any of them to return the feeling. Cold, wet snow covered the ground around them and as they stood looking at each other, a chilly wind blew over their faces. Worst of all, mountains were the only thing they could see around them, their white cliffs touching the sky.

"So, how far is not to far?" Toon questioned with a huff.

"I'm sure it's close, like Nana said" Ness glared disapprovingly at the swordsman, willing him not to complain on a mission that seemed so important to their friends.

"Where should we head?" Lucas suddenly asked softly.

"We just need to climb down these cliffs and then there should be some small paths we can follow" Popo explained.

This seemed an easy feat for the Ice Climbers, being experienced mountaineers. For their friends,however, this would be a new experience. Some of the arenas they battled in back at the tournament attempted to mimic the cliffs that the siblings knew so well. However, they had hardly come close. This caused them to all travel slowly, helping each other as they moved through the snow and ice. Popo carefully lead them, trying to make sure they travelled in the right direction and Ness attempted to help those who were just getting used to journeying in the fluffy white stuff. Nana occasionally giggled quietly at Ness since he still insisted on helping the others, even though he had no experience himself. She quickly joined him.

"Popo, are there any polar bears in your world" Leaf asked tentatively as she lowered herself down a small drop. She kept her eyes ahead of the group and as she touched bottom beside the aforementioned Ice Climber, he answered.

"Well, ya of course".

"Alright then", Leaf paled as she said this, "get ready to fight".

Everyone turned where she was looking in a panic, just in time to see three snow white polar bears heading towards them. As experienced fighters they knew remaining calm was important, even as the bears began to surround the kids.

"How do you stop polar bears from attacking?" Ness whispered quickly to Popo.

"If we're lucky, and quiet, they might just..." Popo was silenced as a load roar from one of the white bears caused the whole group to flinch. "Okay, never mind. We freeze them in their tracks".

The others seemed slightly confused as Popo motioned for his sister to follow him. They quickly took in deep breathes and blew their cold icy wind onto one polar bears feet. Ness took their obvious hint and looked at Lucas.

"PK Freeze!" The boys cried. Ice blue snowflake shaped crystals soared towards a second polar bear. At impact the bear turned to run, but it found itself frozen, just like its fellow bear. Happy with his triumph, Lucas didn't notice that the final animal was running towards him.

"Go Bulbasaur!" Leaf yelled quickly, throwing the red and white object as she did. With a flash of light it opened and a small pokemon appeared. It was a Bulbasaur, a small green pokemon that stood on four legs and sported a large bulb on its back.

"Vine Whip!" Leaf screamed again. Before anyone could blink, the small creature turned to where its trainer was pointing. With a small cry two vines flew from it and wrapped itself around the bear, holding tightly, and then throwing it to the ground. This caused the polar bear to fall unconscious.

"Lucas!" Nanas voice cried as she sprinted towards him. Everyone followed her to surround the shocked blond with looks of concern. He, however, shook them off with a small smile and rosy cheeks.

"I'm fine, Leafs pokemon saved me"

The Bulbasaur jumped up and down excitingly at his words and Nana reached down to pet the animal. She scratched his head cheerfully until Leaf called for him to return.

"Does anyone else hear that?" Ness, always attentive, suddenly enquired. Everyone went silent until a distinct crunching noise could be heard, as if someone was taking steps in the snow.

"Who goes there?!" A deep voice cried from the same direction as the noise Ness had heard. Toon reached to his side for his sword, ready for battle, when Popo stepped forward calmly.

"Father?" he called hopefully. The crunching grew louder quickly until a group of five men appeared. They all wore thick parkas that matched Popos and smiled when they saw the group.

"Popo, Nana, what are you doing here?" The tallest man, who also happened to be the one with the deep voice, called. He reached out his arms as his red hair blew in the wind ,and when they reached him, he proceeded to wrap the siblings in a tight hug.

"It's a bit of a long story. We should probably get everyone to the village first" Popo explained as he whispered something about the ferocious polar bears. Nana jumped up and down happily as she agreed. The man,in turn, gave them a confused look. It was the same look, in fact, that Lucas, Ness, Toon and Leaf were giving them back.

"Looks like we were closer to Falaise then we thought. Ness, Toon, Lucas, Leaf, meet our dad" Nana squealed, gesturing towards their father. Everyone smiled in understanding and joined the group. They shook hands, introduced themselves further and eventually became very comfortable with one another. It wasn't long, however, until the Ice Climbers father decided to take Popos advise and lead everyone back to the village.

When they got to the village a warm bonfire greeted them. Everyone who lived there had gathered around and were sharing a warm meal of meat and the village speciality, eggplant stew, in a campfire like setting . They were laughing and smiling, despite the crisp air.

"Yum, eggplant!" Nana and Popo rejoiced as their stomachs grumbled. Upon hearing their voices a short, chubby women with curly hair and wearing a magenta parka placed her food down and happily faced the two Ice Climbers.

"Oh my sweets, what are you doing here!?" She exclaimed enthusiastically as her blue eyes gleamed. Before anyone could reply she noticed the entourage of friends behind them. "How rude of me! You all must be hungry. I'm Nana and Popos mother, Marie. Chris, why didn't you let me know the children would be coming home, and with guests!"

"I didn't know they would be joining us" The Ice Climbers dad explained with a tone of questioning in his voice. They both raised their eyebrows at the fighters, but the kids just smiled sheepishly and walked away to get some food.

"Nana, you're so much like your mom" Leaf laughed, glancing behind at the kind lady, who was proving to be just as excitable as Nana as she spoke with her husband.

"You think so? That's great! She's amazing" Nana assured loudly. She smiled as they gathered around a big pot of stew.

"So...this is eggplant in stew form" Toon asked uncertainly as everyone took a bowl. He found his mind in debate as the others dug in.

"It's not bad at all Toon, give it a try" Ness encouraged as he munched on his own portion. Toon slowly took a spoonful before relaxing and nodding in agreement.

"Oh, not again!" a voice cried. Everyone turned to a man standing near the bonfire, which was now reduced to the point where even the embers hardly burned any longer.

"PK Fire!"

Everyone clapped in amazement as they watched sparks of energy leave the outstretched hands of Ness and Lucas. As it hit the wood, a burst of flame was made and it created a cozy heat.

"I thought everyone would be freaked out by our powers" Leaf asked, confused as she placed her empty bowl beside a wash basin near the fire.

"We grew up here, so everyone is used to abilities that are kinda out of the ordinary" Popo explained. Thinking of their powers reminded Popo why they had come home in the first place and he became quiet and thoughtful. His mood didn't go unnoticed as the villagers left to return to their homes. This left the Smashers and the Ice Climbers parents to sit around the flickering fire in silence.

"Son, it's not normal for you and your sister to visit home so soon after leaving for your tournament. Is something wrong?" Chris spoke as he broke the silence, asking the questioned him and his wife had been wondering since the group had arrived.

Nana looked at her brother reassuringly, but she obviously wasn't going to speak. She had never been good in situations like this, where peoples feelings had to be taken into account and they could feel hurt. She couldn't read people well, not as well as her brother or many of her other friends. Popo met his fathers eyes.

"Do you know anything about our birth parents?" Popo asked. He had bean careful not to call their birth parents their "real" parents, but Chris and Marie still winced. Nana wanted to reach out to them, but Ness touched her arm, holding her back as he realized the delicacy of the situation. He motioned for the others to leave as they gave Nana, Popo and their parents privacy.

"We know quite a bit, all adopted children ask eventually" Marie began, smiling at Nana to give her comfort despite the awkwardness of the moment. Popo felt there was more to the truth. They huddled together as a cold wind blew, causing the fire to extinguish. No one moved to restart it.

"We know our powers only come from one family, right dad" Nana explained with a small, yet bright, smile. The mood seemed to lift slightly with her words.

"Yes, and I guess you've learned that you come from our countries royal line" Their father responded. Nana and Popo patiently waited for more until Marie sighed.

"Let's go inside. It's warmer there and we can all get comfortable. Including your friends" Marie said as she motioned to the side where Toons head could be seen, eavesdropping on the conversation. Ness smacked him on the forehead as Leaf apologetically moved forward. Lucas was embarrassed, his face red as he looked towards them with the same look of apology as Leaf.

Nana and Popo lead the way inside into the medium sized home. Their mother started the heat systems working as everyone gathered into the living room. The rooms floor was made of wood and a small TV took up one corner. Two large couches lined the walls and there were also two chairs. Nana, Popo and Leaf took one couch as the other four boys grudgingly squeezed together in the other. Chris took one chair, and as his wife entered, she took the other.

"The truth is, we didn't find you abandoned in the mountains. You were given to us to keep safe" Chris explained.

"Why did we need to be hidden?" Popo immediately asked.

"Our leader right now, King Luciano, is your Uncle. Your parents were once in his place as King Popo and Queen Chantelle. They held so much promise, it's really so sad".

"Dad, what do you mean?" Nana asked. Popo's nerves were out of control, but his sister hardly notice as he grabbed her hand. Finally, she squeezed back. Their adopted mother looked at them apologetically.

"The power went to their heads and they ignored the will of the people. Nana, Popo, they betrayed our country".