A/N: I figured it would be a crappy thing to do to leave y'all for a week with just a remaster of old content, so the first chapter is coming early. Happy reading!

"You think he's there yet?"

Chili grinned, looking at his two brothers across the dining area with a gleam in his eyes. He didn't have to clarify who he was talking about. They all knew; they'd been waiting for this day for months. Ever since Coriander Striaton had initially announced his departure, ever since he'd announced he would be moving to Opelucid City once everything was in order, his sons had been watching the calendar like Mandibuzz.

Coriander's retirement to the faraway city might have been sad news to some, but to his sons, it was the beginning of real freedom. No Coriander there to nitpick at them, no one to constantly keep tabs on what and how they were doing, how the restaurant was doing, how the Gym was holding up. Freedom. For once.

Even so…

"We really shouldn't be celebrating…" Cilan sighed, shaking his head. He looked at a vase on one of the tables, his expression oddly melancholy. "If he left, that means they're with him."

Chili's smile disappeared in an instant. The unhappy reminder only brought even unhappier thoughts, and as much as Chili wanted to push them away for the day, he knew he couldn't do that.

"You think they're okay?" Chili picked up some silverware, setting it aside to be washed and prepared for the next day. "I mean…"

"I suppose there isn't any way to know for sure," Cress interjected, busy with his own tasks. "It's not like we can go over and visit, not anymore."

"You say that like we could before." Chili grumbled a few curses under his breath. He'd tried his best to get past the revolving door of excuses Coriander always made whenever they wanted to see their sisters. No amount of insisting or coming up with solutions had ever made him change his mind, and in the end it always came to Coriander demanding they stay away. Sometimes he'd add that the girls didn't even want to see them (which stung, if it was even true, but Chili tried to ignore it).

Cilan shook his head again. "I'm sure they're fine. He wouldn't… he wouldn't do anything, I don't think. He barely gave them the time of day when we were there, I can't imagine…"

"That's what I'm worried about," Cress muttered as he inspected a nearby tablecloth. "I do—

A sudden scream cut Cress off, and he looked around the dining area. Chili and Cilan were doing the same, all looking for the source of the sound. Chili frowned; no one was supposed to be here this late. Sure, sometimes Tia or Maxwell would stay late, but they'd told the staff they were closing early. There was no reason for anyone to be here, and yet.

The three brothers exchanged concerned looks, each running through a list of who on Earth could be here this early. Judging by their expressions, Chili could tell his brothers were just as confused as he was, and they all seemed to decide the same thing at the same time. Without another word between them, all three started for the back of the building where the sound had come from. Chili dug around in his pocket, and in a flash of red light, his Pansear appeared from its Poke Ball. The Fire-type jumped onto its Trainer's shoulder, and Cress released his Drednaw and Cilan his Lilligant. They would need all the help they could get if this was something dangerous.

This was bad. This was really bad.

Cilan's eyes scanned his surroundings for anything wrong. Nothing was missing; everything looked just as it should be. But someone was definitely back here, and it wasn't anyone they knew… hopefully there wasn't a break-in or anything…

"Hey!" Chili barked, also looking around. Even Pansear was trying to look scary. "Show yourself! Who's back here?"

A familiar chittering sound, almost like a laugh, broke the silence that followed, and a round red Pokemon came into view. Darumaka's grin suggested she wasn't sorry in the slightest, and she looked up at Chili with a satisfied look on her face. Chili looked down at his Pokemon with a quiet huff.

"Damn it, Darumaka…" he muttered, returning the Fire-type to her Poke Ball. "You can't just—"

A soft whimper caught their attention, and all three brothers exchanged a look. Darumaka might have been part of the cause, but something was still wrong. Cilan stepped forward, following the sound. Maybe it was just a kid who got lost? It would take a special kind of "bad with directions" to find yourself in the back of a restaurant, but anything was possible…

It didn't take Cilan long to find what he was looking for. There were three young kids in the restaurant's kitchen, though thankfully none of the equipment was on. They looked so different, but Cilan recognized them immediately. He would know that brightly colored hair anywhere.

"Clove?" He stepped into the kitchen. They weren't supposed to be here. They were supposed to be with their father, why were they here? "Carolina? Cinna, what are you all doing here?"

All three girls stepped out from their hiding place behind one of the counters. Carolina was scowling, her orange eyes narrowed into slits. Her hair spilled over her shoulder in a loose orange braid, only halfway done as if she'd tried to do it herself. The Scraggy next to her matched her glare, scowling at the three brothers as if daring them to get any closer.

Cinna just looked around in silence, gray eyes trained on everything except Cilan. Finally, after a moment, she focused her attention on him, Chili, and Cress, looking at them as if contemplating something. It was… a little creepy, in Cilan's opinion, but that was just Cinna. Her hands were neatly folded in front of her, covered by winter gloves. Even now, everything about Cinna was uncannily in place. A Rotom floated next to her head, its constant grin contrasting the child's steely countenance.

Clove was the last to appear, holding a backpack in front of her. Long pink hair fell down her shoulders, and she looked up at the three brothers like a frightened Deerling. A Cottonee was at her side, and she held a small Heal Ball in her hand that must belong to it. Clove brushed some hair away from her face, careful of the black headband holding it back.

"What the hell are you all doing here?" Chili repeated, looking at each girl in turn. Cinna said nothing, but she met his gaze with one of her own, her expression contemplative. Carolina just scowled. Clove was the only one who spoke up, brushing some dust off her dress and shrinking back like a scared Minccino.

"Papa said we had to stay here…"

Cilan's heart sank. Coriander left them here? What the hell was he thinking? Granted, he wasn't exactly father of the year—Cilan wasn't entirely sure he deserved the title to begin with—but just leaving three ten-year-old girls somewhere they'd never been?

Chili and Cress apparently had the same thought. Chili's face was turning red, the beginnings of what Cilan was sure would be the worst blowup he'd had in weeks. They had to act, and fast, or Chili might scare them.

"Okay…" Cilan stepped in front of his brother, trying for a reassuring smile. He looked at his sisters. "Why don't we all go back to the dining area, and we'll figure something out. I'm sure… I'm sure there's a good explanation for all this."

As all six siblings made their way to the restaurant's dining area, the brothers exchanged looks. They would definitely be discussing this. Once they had stationed their sisters and their Pokémon at a table with strict instructions to stay there, all three brothers retreated to the back area once more.

"I cannot believe him. I can't fucking—" Chili leaned against the wall, rubbing at his temples. "What the hell do we do now?!"

"Well, we can't just turn them out on the street…" Cilan looked back at the dining area and turned back to face his brothers. "At the same time…"

"I can't say I'm surprised," Cress added with thinly veiled disgust, the usual tone for him whenever their father came up in conversation. His Drednaw nudged at his hand insistently, and Cress reached down to give it the head rubs it was craving. "He never was particularly interested in taking care of them."

"Damn right." Chili grumbled something under his breath that was probably profane in nature. "Look, I hate saying this, but we might as well just call him. Maybe he's coming back for them sometime."

The room went quiet. The only sound for a second or two was Cress' Drednaw's grunts of appreciation for the attention, before Cress himself finally spoke. "…I suppose it wouldn't hurt." The words were clipped, short, and Cilan could tell the idea did not appeal to his brother at all. Chili looked over at the third brother, who was nervously fidgeting with his bow tie.

"I, um…" Cilan trailed off. "I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea, yeah… so long as it doesn't take too long."

"It better not." Chili raised his wrist and started tapping out the familiar number. "Let's just get our answer and get out."

The screen displayed the familiar call UI before the dreaded face appeared. Coriander was sitting in front of a video phone, and even with the limited view they had, Cilan could tell the house he'd moved to was just as rigid and stuffy and unyielding as he was. He didn't get much time to think about that before the man's voice cut through his thoughts.

"What." Coriander glared at his sons as if this was some great inconvenience. Red eyes, so scarily like Chili's, bored into Cilan's soul, and even his orange beard seemed to twitch with barely contained annoyance. His Gigalith stood at his side, the familiar Rock-type that had always been their father's ace scowling in a similar way to its Trainer.

"What the fuck were you thinking leaving them here?!" Chili snapped, scowling right back before either of the other two could speak up. "What was—"

Coriander cut him off with a resigned sigh, looking back at his son as if he'd asked the dumbest question there was. "If you three must know, there was no other option."

"You couldn't just take them with you?!" Chili's voice was getting dangerously loud. "You know, like a fucking parent?! What do you mean there was no other option?!"

"I mean," Coriander said through gritted teeth and an annoyed scowl, "that I am not spending my retirement dealing with them."

"So we're only good at it when it's convenient." Cress watched the screen with an icy glare. All three of them remembered all too well the insults Coriander would throw at them on a daily basis. They were supposed to watch their sisters, but something was always wrong. Never enough for Coriander to actually be a parent, but enough for him to rip on them day after day.

"Honestly." Coriander shook his head. "You're putting words in my mouth, that isn't—"

"That's exactly what it is!" Chili yelled, cutting the man off. "You left them here, with no thought about them or us—you didn't even give us a fucking warning! You just—"

"Let me make something abundantly clear." Coriander scowled at the screen. "I don't care. You're all adults. Figure it out. I'm not spending my retirement dealing with those feral little hellions, and that's final."

Chili's face turned a dark red, and Cilan could tell his brother really wanted to reach through the screen and punch him. "What, so you're just gonna leave them here?! What the fuck were you thinking, you old fuck, what the—"

"I will not be repeating myself." Coriander gave all three of his sons a look, one they knew all too well: "Shut up and don't argue or else."

"If you three will excuse me, I have things to do. Do not call me about this again."

The video phone went dark with a click, and all three brothers were left in silence.

A/N: And that's a wrap on Chapter 1! What did y'all think? I'm excited to finally introduce these characters; I've had Clove, Cinna, and Carolina for years now (about 5-6 if my math is right), and it's good to finally involve them in something. I hope y'all like them just as much as I do (and I promise they get much more to do in the later chapters, they will get more of a focus, these first few are just more about their brothers than them).

Updates might be a bit sporadic considering my situation, but I'm hoping Chapter 2 can come out next week. We'll see though. In the meantime, feel free to leave kudos or a comment, and happy holidays!