My name was said, and my ears twitched, instantaneously swiveling to the source of the noise. My heart was pounding in my chest before I could process whose voice is was. It was very familiar, I couldn't place my finger on where. I turned around, and then my heart did a somersault. I unintentionally jumped into the air with an effeminate squeal.

Not sure what she was doing in my house, but I didn't care! I stood near a sandslash girl, wearing plain white clothes that hugged her lithe form, and her hair was a sandy golden color, long pulled into bangs over her right eye, and the remainder in a ponytail that ran down her back, and who was grimacing. I didn't see why she didn't smile. I launched myself at her excitedly, but passed through her as if she was naught but air. I ran straight into the wall behind her, grunting as my body smushed itself, and then fell backward onto the hard tile floor.

I wasn't sure how to feel about it.

Immediately, a voice in the back of my had screamed that this was related to the golden disk that was currently at Chione's place. I scrambled to my feet, and looked back at the sandslash, my eyes wide. She turned to face me, and then I noticed something more.

She was slightly translucent, like a thick ghost. I also noticed the marks. Burns, from the reddening of skin to the blackening of crispy flesh. Most of her hair was burnt off. And then I realized her appearance was generally worsening. Blood seeped steadily from all over her body, and then bandages appeared. The crimson liquid crawled through, and saturated them. She turned a sickly green, and her hair fell out completely.

"Help...me..." She whispered. My stomach lurched in disgust. The apparition fell to her knees, and looked up at me with a pitiful expression. She reached a sharp finger down, and carved into the tile a six letter word.

And bile rose in my throat as I put the pieces together.

Boston.

About eight years ago, I lived there. It was an alright place, and at the time, the city was practically empty. The only others were the few brave, crazy, or poor enough to have to stay, and then us, the military brats. It was safe to say that a big city like it wasn't the safest of places to be. The whole Crater thing was calming down, but it was still heated enough for buttons to be pressed.

By the time we left, the package was on its way.

We had driven for an hour, a long forlorn hour of watching the city face into the distance before a blinding flash of light followed by a massive ball of flame swallowed the city forever. Kyukon stomped on the brakes, and I was thrown back, my view interrupted.

The ensuing shockwaves knocked out all of the windows, and peppered us with a sharp spray. I couldn't bring myself to look at this mushroom cloud as Kyukon sped away at the speed of fear.

I guess that I must have dozed off, or gone into a trance, because when I came to my senses, it was dark out. I found that I was laying on the floor, over the carving in the tile with the city's name. There was a large soft blanket over me, and a part of it was folded to go beneath my head so as to resemble a pillow. I rolled of my side and onto my back, and stared up at the ceiling that I could hardly see dejectedly. I sighed, and placed a hand on my face with a small yawn. I had been so immersed in my erories that I had actually begun to relive them without realizing it. I raised my right wrist to hover over my eyes, and the faint blue glow of the timepiece immediately came into effect, displaying the time in white digits.

A grueling hour, 4:23 AM. I sighed, and no longer wished to deal with the trivial matters of the day, and then I rolled back onto my side, allowed my eyelids to fall, and let sleep take me willingly this time.

The next day, I didn't go to school. I didn't cut class again, when I woke up, I felt more sick then when I went down with the flu. As I was getting ready, I vomited several times before my brothers began to insist that I lie down and not do much today. Gray opted to stay home and take care of me- and much to both mine and his surprises, Kyukon let it slide, saying that I could definitely use some company. He called in saying Gray was sick as well, and had him stay with me. He waved goodbye, leaving just Gray and I to do nothing.

"Hey, Gray?" I asked when Kyukon was out. He turned to me with an equally inquisive look, to answer a question with a question. "How come you're in school- but brother's not, and working? You guys are twins after all." Gray furrowed his brow as if to think, and then he sighed softly.

"You didn't put two and two together?" he asked me, sounding thoroughly surprised with my question. "Ky's a dropout." he said with incredible nonchalance. My jaw damn near hit the ground when I heard that. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, but I now i wondered, why didn't Gray drop out instead of Kyukon? Gray's nothing close to a straigth A student, but I know for a fact that Ky was taking college classes in his junior year, and passing them with flying colors.

"Oh." was all I could say, my voice now devoid of emotion. I lazily shuffled over to and plopped down on the couch, staring at the wall opposite, which was a powered off television. Gray took it on him to sit down next to me, and reached for the remote. He stopped himself, and sighed, then looked at me. I didn't really want to acknowledge him. I felt...upset, but I wasn't entirely sure why. I mean, as far as I knew, it was probably Kyukon's choice. My brothers were stubborn and prideful as all living hell, but Kyukon had a lot more to back him up than Gray did.

"I know that it's...not exactly something you'd like to hear." he said to me, which made me want to hit him. "But it had to happen. I mean...you're probably thinking that I should have been the one to man up and get a job, right?" he asked me. I nodded. Well, there was something I tended to underestimate- and that was how well he could read someone. Maybe I was predictable? "Well, Kyukon had already- by technicalities- graduated. Even if he doesn't participate in his senior year- he could get a better job then I could."

"So...? It wouldn't matter." I replied. "Hardly passing and not at all doesn't mean a thing to most employers." I huffed. I guessed that in some cases, such was the case. But what did I know? I cared nothing for getting a job. As far as I was concerned, my main priority was getting through the ninth grade. For a second, my words hushed my brother, and I allowed myself the delusion that I had already won. And then he spoke once more.

"I guess. But...think. Most, not all. Do you think that he's laid back enough to go for just any job?" I shook my head. He had a fair point though. When it came to more serious things, Kyukon was so uptight, you could feed him coal, and he'd shit a diamond. I guess that I would be that way too if I busted my ass just as much as he did. "That's right. He's...taken on something that pays a little more. He won't say what, and he damn near bashed my head in when he found out that I was following him." I chuckled.

"You should have thought of that." I pointed out. "You know we're all short tempered. 'Specially you."

"Yeah, and you're just short." he replied. I frowned distastefully. How tall was I? 5'1? I shoved my elbow into his side, and he grunted. We laughed, and kept the mood light by turning the television on. We scrolled through the channels, not really deciding on anything the whole time, and we probably ran through every channel at least thrice before he stopped on some random movie. We stayed silent, and we stood this way for the better part of the next five hours, only getting up to use the bathroom, or in my case, regurgitate whatever I thought I could hold down.

Nothing really interesting happened for the rest of the day. Well, that is up until I was supposed to be turning it in for the night. I had started to feel better after the sun had set, and I had a horrible suspicious that my sickness was hardly over, but I didn't take much time to think about that, because I was too tired to. There are some things that I shouldn't have known, and I'm not sure if this discovery had fit within the criteria for such. Yeah, that night was probably one of the most illuminating nights in my life. Let me tell you, it certainly explained quite a few things as I had spectated from the corner. I guess I can't say that it completely surprised me either, but what I saw was exactly what I had had in mind for that night.

So, let's see, where do I begin? Well, I guess Gray's eagerness is a good place to start. He made sure I was tucked away in bed that night, taking extra care to get me another blanket in case I started to feel worse, and shut my blinds to keep it perfectly dark in there, though I guess if I ever wanted a light, I could set my hands on fire. Anyways, he took time doing all the things he needed before I would be nodding off, and to be perfectly truthful, I was exhausted. Sickness seemed to take its toll- given the fact that it was not even 7 PM yet, and I was ready to be out like a bulb.

My brother kissed my forehead, and mumbled goodnight, and instead of walking out, he strut, like he was in a hurry, but didn't want to run. I guess I wouldn't have found it questionable under any other circumstance, but given the fact that my room wasn't very large, and could probably be cleared in a couple of steps, I wasn't particularly thinking that he left something on in the kitchen. I decided to shrug that off, and sleep. I needed it.

The following morning, my optimisms of feeling better were thrown out of the window, and into a massive incinerator. I was cold, and my head was pounding, there was a metallic taste in my mouth, and my stomach was gurgling rather ominously. I noted that my alarm didn't go off; Gray must have switched it off when I wasn't looking, or was alseep. Either that, or I was awake earlier than usual. I rolled over onto my side, and stared at my door from where I lied, expecting it to open at any given moment.

Any given moment took around twenty minutes, twenty very calm and peaceful minutes, where I was close to falling back to sleep, the warmth of my body and the big fluffy blanket keeping it in was more than dragging me back; it tied a chain around me, and tossed a massive boulders with the chain attached to it, and was going to, without a doubt, tear me under once and for all.

I was close to falling asleep. Oh, how this could have been avoided.

Gray stepped in, opening the door rather noisily, but he snuck in with an unearthly grace that I didn't know Gray of all people could possess. My eyelids were no longer heavy, and no yawns threatened to come from my mouth. I figured it was evident that I wasn't awake, but I turned my head to face the ninetales just in case he was a bit too dull. "Good morning, Rokon." he said to me. I nodded in acknowledgement. "You have a friend who asked about you...he said you took a hell of a hit on friday, and he's fairly worried."

My hand went to my head, and I rubbed the spot that had hit the concrete after I fell forward from Chione's less than necessary ice attack while I was on fire. I hadn't thought to put a bit of heat on it, nor check to see if it had swollen, but yup, I had a a hell of a knot. It was surprisingly sore and tender to the touch; though I figured that after four days it wouldnt hurt so bad. "The umbreon?" I asked. Gray nodded. "Let him in." Gray then smirked at me. "What?" I asked, sitting up slowly from my position in the bed. He shook his head at me.

"Nothing," he responded, with a short roll of his eyes. "We're gonna need you to get up. Kyukon is being pretty adamant about not letting him in, see, Rocket Butt is still pretty mad about what I did with the boxes on friday." he replied. I blinked. All friday, all of the weekend, all of yesterday, andI had totally blanked about the empty room with all the packed up stuff. I grinned, and swing my legs over the edge of the bed.

"Gray," I said as I made to stand. "You're such a pain in the-" Well, my fun was cut a little short as nausea came in like a bitch and hit me with diziness. I stumbled on step, and damn near hit my head on the edge of my desk before Gray caught me. I muttered a quiet thanks to him, and he helped me stand by sliding a hand over my shoulder, and having me lean on him. Despite me having fur, the air of outside of the embrace of my blanket bit me like a very bitter cold wind.

It felt like an odyssey just getting down the stairs, and it was an endurance trial getting down them. And then, I began my trek to the door, and I heard Kyukon protesting to seemingly nobody in particular that no others should enter. I looked over my shoulder at the near empty room as we approached the door, and huffed with a laugh. "Looks clean to me," I commented, loud enough for the eldest to hear. Kyukon turned around, and gave me an uneasy grin.

"Ah, there you are, Ro...come on, have a word with your friend here." he said, seeming prettty happy to get out of he way. I chuckled. Strange, Ky was always so willing to meet new people in almost any circumstance. Well, then he stepped out of the way, and I found myself as articulate as a case of number 27.

For whatever glorious reason, Sven was dressed up this morning, and if I could say so myself, he looked rather dashing. I guess under another personality I would have chastised myself, but I didn't have any qualms, and I was generally pretty shameless about checking guys out. Wearing black slacks that were almost as dark as his soft looking fur, and a shirt that was too white to be real, then a jacket that seemed to fit rather nice on him. He sort of reminded me of those schoolboys from Japan. His big ears were pulled back, and held in place by a hairtie. I blinked.

"Uh...what's...the occasion?" I asked, trying to find the right words to use. I wondered if this was what other dudes felt when they looked at a girl's chest. Sven chuckled, and looked down at himself.

"Just a little family thing...that's not what I'm here for. How ya feelin'? You got a heck of a whack on your head the other day." he asked, leaning toward my inquisitively. I shrugged, even though I could have said without any difficulty at all that I felt like shit, and was afraid I was gonna start puking.

"I could be better...you know...just sick..."

"Y'know, the teachers are gonna be a little suspicious. Three days in a row. I actually brought you a little something from school." he responded, and I noted that his arms were folded behind his back. And, he presented to my a big bundle of papers. Fuck. He got my homework. I made a half hearted attempt at a smile for him. I mumbled a little thanks, and he laughed. "No need to thank me," he responded. "I know you're pissed at me for it."

I reached my hands out and took it from him with no further complaints. We converesed about nothing in general for the next few minutes, before he looked at his watch and remembered that he had school that morning. I waved goodbye, and he strut off and a swift pace. I turned back around, and Kyukon seemed to be fumingl; probably over the very fact that Sven had seen the inside of the house, because he didn't seem to be angry and Gray, nor I.

Kyukon later left for work, again leaving just Gray and I. Funny, I was beginning to think that Gray had actually begun to comed own with something, and would have a legitimate excuse not to go to school. His walk was sort of funny, he had bags under his eyes. Or maybe he just did something weird the night before. and As I was shuffling into the living room, I was surprised with a big blanket to go around my shoulders. I then felt an arm do the same. "You know, that boy is rather handsome." Gray said to me. "I'll bet that you've already got a crush on him."

I felt my cheeks warm slightly, and I reached a hand up to swat him on the back of his head. Not entirely helpful given the fact that he was a full foot taller than me. I managed to swipe a few fingers. "No, I don't." I responded- though I immediately admitted defeat when I realized how defensive my tone sounded. Gray laughed, and unhooked his arm. He shoved me onto the couch, and I yelped aloud. He flopped down next to me, and poked my side playfully.

I grumbled something to him, which came out as half a giggle, and I folded my arms over my chest as he began to laugh. It was sorta hard to be pouty, as it was becoming increasingly more difficult not to laugh as Gray poked me repeatedly. Sooner or later, I gave in, and I allowed Gray to resume poking me while I writhed and wiggled arund, trying to ignroe it and focus on the television.

An excruciatingly poke filled seven and a half hours later, there was another knock on the door. Gray took the libery of answering it, and I flopped on my side, pulling the blanket over me so that I was a big vulpix burrito whose sides hurt from a constant barrage of pokes, and a whole lot of laughing. Sven had stopped by, and this time he brought Chione with him. Gray came back into the room, and he grabbed my by the feet, and dragged me off of the couch. I didn't really protest to it, it was just less energy to be wasted doing stupid stuff like walking.

He laid me sideways in front of the door, and both the umbreon and the glaceon looked at me with a similiar look that may as well have spelled 'are you fucking kidding me?' As I found, Chione spoke her mind often. Right then was no exception. I chuckled, and wiggled to face the two better.

"Right, well..." Sven continued. "We have something to show you. We couldn't figure out what it meant...we couldn't quite figure it out, and we thought you might know." he said. I sat up, slowly but surely, and gagged a little. I still wasn't feeling any better. I looked over my shoulder at Gray, who was wearing a curious look. I looked back at my friends.

"We're not sure...it's a golden opportunity, Rokon." Chione added. My eyes widened. I was a little bit hurt that they didn't stop by to say hello, and maybe bring me some soup, but I guess this took priority. I looked over my shoulder at Gray, who was wearing a very curious look. I t was obvious enough that I knew what they were talking about, and I wondered if I could trust Gray with it. I felt a tad quilty thinking of it, though I knew I could trust him with most anything. On the other hand, he told Kyukon about most everything he needed to. My bum throbbed sorely as if to remind me of that rule. I looked back to Chione and Sven, and nodded. Gray could know.

And ten minutes later, Gray was gawking at our enigmatic treasure, and I had a painful, though improbable hunch. We set it on the kitchen table, though not after Gray adamntly insited that we put a tablemat underneath it. I guess that he didn't want arcane pieces of gold found in the ocean to be on the table. I guess that it was unsanitary.

Anyways, looking at the disc again, I was a little more than confused. Another line had formed, this one golden brown, however, it wasn't like the others. It wasn't glowing, and it had put itself on the other side of mine. The gold that had been underneath suddenly looked tarnished, as if it had taken hundreds more years of wear and tear. I frowned. "It...could be..." I began. I shook my head.

I felt their eyes turn to me, even as I shut my own, and tilted my head down at the table. "Could be...?" Sven trailed off. I suddenly wished that I had not opened my mouth. I snuck a glance at the disc again, which beckoned for my attention. Quite literally, it was very strange. I felt a tug on my chest, and I suddenly felt like I should place my hand on it, absorb its warmth, and glide my palm over it, making sure to take in and remember the texture, every last little thing about it. I was curious what would happen if I were to give in to the want.

I allowed myself.

My hand brushed the disc, and I felt an unnatural warmth wash through me, and for a second, I found myself releived of the multiple ailments that were curretnly plauging me. It was serene. I felt the blow of a cold wind, though I remained to be warm. With my eyes still clothed, I could only think how stupid I must have looked to the others. But much to my surprise, when I opened my eyes, I was not in the presence of incredulous looks, but rather ones of shock. I found that I was no longer in my home. I was sitting on asphalt. And I stared with awe as my gaze drifted around to hte mutiple buildings that were jutting up into te sky, all being much higher than that of where we were. We were no longer on the west coast.

"Gray..." I said aloud, and I realized from my tone just how afraid I was. I was clueless. I began to scrape for an explanation, and I felt a pair of hands on my shoulder. Upon tilting my head upward, I found Gray was leaning over me with a giddy smile. I found that it wasn't really appropriate for the situation. I decided to assume that they had been aware of the fact that we were not home longer than I was. After all, I went on a small little mind trip.

I noted that I still didn't feel sick, though I had a terrible suspicion that it wold come back if I didn't do..something. But, what? "What the hell are you smiling about?"
I queried. "In case you didn't notice-" Gray cut me off with an exicted laugh. With no effort whatsoever, he lifted me off of with little to no effort whatsoever.

"Rokon! You will not believe this." he said, giving me a shake. I blinked, and I peered past him, hoping ofr a little bit of insight, and I found that Sven adn Chione were standing behind him equally broad smiles. I was confused.

"Just how long was I out?" I queried, and I felt my vulpine ears pressing flat against my skull, the way they would do when I got aggravated.

"A few hours." Sven called. "Man, this disc thing is great? You know where we are, right? Although, I guess that a better question would be-"

"When." Gray interrupted, and he shook me harder, as if I har any possible way of forgetting I was still dangling above the ground, stuck in his grasp. It really wasn't fair that he and Kyukon ended up so tall, and I was literally the shortest person wherever I went. I've met some eight year olds taller than me, and let me tell you, there's nothing to cripple your ego like that.

"When?" I repeated.

"Yes! We went back! We're in..." Gray trailed off, and his smile fell. And then my eyes widened as all the pieces clicked together. The disc took up back. And the disc took us away. But this time was dangerous. I gulped. If I was right, the day was dangerous, and there was no possible way we could stay here. And the question remained, how would we get home? Gray set me down, his look steadily getting worse, and I figured that the same realization had dawned on him. The exact same one. He began to mumble unsteadily, and his body began to shake, as if he had spent an entire winter day outside.

Sven and Chione appeared confused as I looked past my brother, and I felt my own look of worry affect them from where I stood. "We're in...where? What?" Chione asked.

"We're back here." I muttered. "This city, this time, this day. We have to go, or else we won't survive." I responded, shaking my head side to side as fast I could. Then, it all really fell down on me, the realization of what must be happening. I was failing to comprehend the severity of it, and I was failing to comprehend the circumstance in which we had arrived in this city.

And my brother and I were stared at as we spoke with cryptic words, adamantly refusing to speak the solid truth aloud, for we feared that it may be the case.

(A/N: Hey you guys, anyone who's reading...Well, I'm really sorry that I haven't updated as of late, but whoo, I have had my hands full with a LOT. Even after school got out, I had summer school, so it wasn't like it was exactly fine, dandy, easy. Not to mention writer's block, other stories, actual prior commitments and priorites, the time to write and edit and plan this has been scarce. This may and likely will be the case in the future, so I apologize in advance.

Also, I hope you guys liked this chapter! I know that this is sort of random, and it seems like this came out of nowhere, but I promise you guys all a really nice explanation, sooner or later.

In the meantime, thanks to my unofficial beta, Mr.001 for reading through. I love the guy, he's been with me since my earliest days on the site.

Read, review, and above all, enjoy!

-TEK