Gardevoir's family and the Eclipse gem were quickly taken into protective custody. Even if they caught Malamar, they had no idea if he had told the rest of the cult and so the Senshi opted to play it safe. They were put in a special home that was owned by the Senshi. It was under guard 24/7. The walls were lined with anti-ghost material. Every safety precaution has been taken to protect them. Gardevoir led her and her family into the home. It was an incredibly nice house that was right on the line of being a mansion. Her little sisters ran in without hesitation, completely unaware of the danger they would've been in if they hadn't moved.

"YAY! BIG SIS GOT US A NEW HOUSE!" They cheered as they ran into the home. Gardevoir couldn't help but smile, despite knowing the circumstances. Her father patted her on the back,

"Merci de nous aider, ma fille." Gardevoir rolled her eyes playfully,

"Pourriez-vous s'il vous plaît parler Nihonois?" she requested. The Gallade nodded,

"There we go, you sound like a native speaker."

"You do have the Eclipse Gem, right?" she asked. Her father nodded and he revealed it from a bag on his person.

The rest of the group watched on. Infernape saw that Garchomp simply stared forward at Gardevoir's parents, like she were staring at a gun pointed straight at her. He shook her shoulder,

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked. Garchomp nodded at him,

"Yeah, it's just... I'm a little intimidated. Her father looks fairly upper class," she said. Infernape raised an eyebrow,

"Isn't your mom a lawyer?" he asked.

"Well, kinda. My father…let's just say he doesn't really have table manners," she said.

"Ah," said Infernape quietly. Infernape felt like he owed Garchomp a favor. They had been through thick and thin together, it was the least he could do. So he walked towards Jean, "Hey, long time no see," he shook Jean's hand before bringing him over to the dragon type, "I want you to meet my friend here, she helped Gardevoir out of a tight spot."

"Oh! So I heard," said Jean. He looked up at the dragon type and outstretched his hand "Pleasure to meet you, mademoiselle." Slightly flustered, Garchomp shook the Gallades hand. He was much more accommodating than she expected. As Jean led her away to chat with Gardevoir, Garchomp winked at Infernape as a silent thank you.

Infernape checked his WristOn for the time. Lopunny had to stay behind for some additional treatment. He was hoping that she would arrive soon.

"Glad to be back," said Lopunny on que. Infernape looked back to see Lopunny covered in bandages. Blastoise was right behind her, making sure she didn't overexert herself. She hurriedly hobbled towards Infernape, who welcomed her with open arms. The two embraced carefully.

"I"m so glad you're okay," said Infernape, "You gave me a huge scare last week." Lopunny looked him in his eyes and told him,

"Well, what was I supposed to do?" she said, before looking towards Garchomp and Gardevoir, "I'm still surprised all that shit happened to them while we were doing our thing."

"Yeah, I think I'm starting to get desensitized to it," said Infernape.

"...You're gonna have to forgive her eventually," said Lopunny softly. Infernape sighed and placed a hand on the bridge of his nose,

"I know, I know, I just…I just can't, okay," he said, "I want to, but I can't." With that, Lopunny left the subject alone. They had been through a lot. She figured Infernape already had enough on his plate, and indeed he did.

Why? Why could he just nut up and say those three words. It had been eating him up since he met up with Gardevoir. She seemed genuine, and for the first time in eight years, he didn't hold any sort of resentment towards her. At least, he thought he didn't. But alas, eight years of anger towards someone doesn't go away overnight. It takes weeks, months, maybe even years to undo that.

Blastoise then reached out to Infernape's shoulder. He placed his hand there and grinned lightly,

"Don't feel guilty. If you sincerely want to forgive her, then go right ahead, but you don't have to. All you need to do is move forward," he said. Infernape grinned,

"Thanks."

Gardevoir was pulled aside by her mother, who tightly embraced her,

"Thank Arceus, you're okay," said Kakei on the brink of tears. Gardevoir held her mother tightly, patting her back. Jean then brought Garchomp with her and it was then that Gardevoir knew what was about to happen. She was going to have to tell them everything.

And so she did. She told them why she had run to Hydroton. Why she ran away in the first place. It was harrowing. It was in the past now but saying all of this to her parents somehow made it worse than ever before. However, it had to be done. They deserved to know the truth. After it all finished, Jean asked,

"Where's Alakazam?"

"Self-imposed exile," said Garchomp, "After he was mind controlled, I guess he felt ashamed."

There were a precious few moments of silence between the two parties. An overwhelming silence. It was then that Kakei fully broke down into tears. Gardevoir's eyes went wide,

"M-Mom, what's wrong?" said Gardevoir
"What kind of a mother am I?" asked Kakei. Jean immediately swooped in to try to help, but it was useless, "How could I be so oblivious to my daughter's pain? It's been eight years, and I never once noticed. How can I call myself a mother if I-"

"Stop!" yelled Garchomp, silencing Kakei. She continued, "You're not a bad mom. You're an amazing mom. You raised and gave birth to an incredible woman. A woman I love! Don't you dare doubt yourself as a mom! You did everything you could to make Chrona one of the best people I have ever met!"

The Jigamasa family was left speechless. Garchomp herself was surprised, but the more she thought of it, it made sense. This was the mother of the woman she loved. Gardevoir had saved her life. Clearly, Kakei and Jean raised her well so of course she had to say something. Kakei wiped a tear from her eyes and smiled at the dragon type,

"Thank you. You're a good woman. I'm glad your taking care of my daughter while she's away."