[h2][u][b][center]Fairfax Manor - Rustboro City[/center][/b][/u][/h2][quote]Tristan’s reception into the Fairfax Manor was entirely different. The atmosphere felt throughout the property was silent panic. None showed it on their face, of course, but all the servants and workers moved with a little more purpose than they had before. Maybe it was the look in their eyes that gave it away.
	“Mr. Aeros, Lady Fairfax has been waiting for you,” the large security guard on the left of the entrance said as he approached.
The other guard unlocked the gate and swung it open so they could enter. Tristan was sandwiched between the two of them on the way to her office - throne room, which he could tell since none of the decor had changed. The furniture and artwork were unforgettable, given how gaudy they were. They passed by the statues of the former Lord Fairfax’s and stopped at the ornate door that led to the office into which Tristan had simply entered before.
	“Your Pokemon will remain out here with us,” the guard said as he turned around to look over Tristan’s head.
	Ether relayed that he couldn’t sense anything beyond the door or wall in front of them. Of course this was a risk to Tristan's well-being - to be separated from his Pokemon. But Lady Fairfax was known not to keep any Pokemon, herself. The chance of being cooked by a Fire Blast upon passing through the door was slim. Regardless, the guards were prepared to escort him out of the Manor if he did not comply immediately. So a quick decision needed to be made.
	“All of them in their Pokeballs,” the guard said.

	[Hider]Lady Fairfax sat on her throne with a cup of tea in her hands. Steam gently rose from the top of the cup to distort the shape of her nose as she took a sip. The room was, otherwise, empty. It was silent. The curtains on the floor-to-ceiling windows weren’t drawn which allowed the daylight to warmly lit the room. She didn’t speak until Tristan reached the point in front of her that she deemed acceptable.
	“Investigator Aeros, pleasure,” she said and placed the teacup and saucer onto the arm of the throne and stood up. She wanted to make sure Tristan knew the difference in hierarchy between them. “Your Pokemon have been kept out of this meeting as it will be our last. We will no longer interact with each other.”
	Her voice was cool and calm, much different from her behavior at the Ranger Headquarters, in Box Row and while being escorted out by Forrest. She must have gotten over it. Perhaps she would get even with Tristan at this moment.
	“I will tell you the nature of my dealings with you and Ms. Shade. As we both know, the existence of this country is at stake. Keeping secrets out of pride at this critical point in history would negatively impact us both.”
	Her face was flat and her voice calm. Her casual tone while speaking about the end of the world could have been unsettling.
	“As you know, I hired you to look into Jonton after I hadn’t heard from Ms. Shade. I know now why that is, so you needn’t try to explain it to me. Still, I shall start from the beginning so you have the scope of everything that has occurred and to possibly provide you with leads to look into.”
	She looked down at Tristan’s feet to consider exactly how to begin. Only a moment passed before she looked back up into his eyes.
	“I knew Jonton was dealing in illegal activities. I was abetting him. The economy only benefited from lower-quality Fairfax products being sold on the Black Market for much cheaper. Those with fewer means could obtain such goods, usually for their own well-being. It was a noble cause to assist him.
	“However, he eventually took advantage of my charity, as one of his kind inevitably does. He began to smuggle products still under experimentation and testing - unstable products. I did not notice in time. The Black Market was suddenly flooded with a lethal drug that I learned was derived from those unfinished Fairfax products. I took the most lucrative approach in having Lord Fairfax develop an antidote - a neutralizer to the drugs. They were sold all across Hoenn as overdose cases skyrocketed. I’m sure you remember that. The drugs, inevitably, changed and became more sophisticated and less lethal, but I still made a mighty profit from all of it. I knew it would resolve itself with minimal effort on my end.”
	The drug - Chain - often caused asphyxiation. Most had negative reactions to the drug and a person's esophagus would swell and cut off one’s ability to breath without immediate medical intervention. Fairfax Corporation soon released a drug that could be taken immediately after having that reaction to reverse its effects and, ultimately, neutralize the effects of the drug completely. Most people ended up purchasing both the drug and the treatment together. The casualties due to this drug plummeted while Chain, itself, was refined to no longer cause such a reaction. Derivatives of this parent drug included other hallucinogens, stimulants, depressants, and performance enhancers.
	“Still, those ‘anonymous’ tips that led the Rangers to shut down the plants producing Chain kept the value of the drug up, which was also helpful. Granted, I could never know all of their locations due to the nature of my business with Jonton, which was physically none. Ideally, such a drug being the cause for one of the most significant medical advances of this era was not ideal, but it was certainly profitable. Considering how cheap it was to manufacture - the treatment, that is. I was, of course, not involved in the manufacturing of Chain.
	“That being almost 15 years ago, now, the ‘market’ settled into a new state of normalcy. I eventually had to buy the Rustboro Wharf for Jonton, which I tried very hard to not have to do, but I was left with no other alternatives. He was too profitable and we were making technological and medical advances that were far greater than any other point in Fairfax history. The business opportunities were too great to ignore. So, I bought the Wharf from the Rangers five years ago, which wasn’t difficult seeing as we funded them since the beginning of the Fairfax Corporation.
	“I only tell you all this because I only began to suspect something soon after they took over the Wharf and I renovated it into a harbor. But this all could have happened much sooner than his obvious personality shift suggested. So having the full scope of his activities would be helpful to you.
	“My interactions with him remained strictly non-physical and indirect, but the decisions he was making felt off to me. I then noticed he was acting subservient - that he was answering to someone else. I suspect that might have something to do with this ‘Team Zodiac’ or whatever they call themselves.”
	“I do wonder how and why it was they were using Jonton, but looking into it myself would only bring undue attention. I also thought it strange when I learned he had several bases and safehouses. The purpose for my purchasing the Wharf for him was so that he could have a secure location in which he could conduct his business. At the time I figured he was throwing his wealth around, which didn’t surprise me.
	“Still, this led me to hiring Ms. Shade to investigate the matter further, to find out if he started to work with anyone else. They admitted to not finding anything. And now with their only lead - the Wharf - having been destroyed, they will not have anything else to provide to me as I will no longer be associating with anything relating to Jonton - directly or tangentially.”
	“And you are free to investigate any of this to find any proof of my dealings and relationship with Jonton. Even I would be impressed if you were to find anything linking us other than our familial relationship, of course. This is why your Pokemon were confiscated prior to this meeting. Though I doubt that prevented you from ‘recording’ this conversation, anyway,” she said and looked over her shoulder at the windows without trying to see anything specific.
	“I would be surprised if the Rangers decided to take action against their major beneficiary, providing them work and revenue, and ultimately doing less harm than good if I hadn’t intervened. But I’m sure someone like you has a more rigid idea of economic morality, not that it matters to me.
	“Still, I decided it best for the state of the country to be honest with you so that both our livelihoods are not further threatened by these charlatans. As I said before, this will be the last time we interact with each other. I wish you luck in your investigations, Investigator.”
	There was the hint of a smirk in how she bid Tristan farewell - a tone of smugness over his occupation and station within the government of Hoenn.

	Sharing this information with the public would only convince a miniscule minority of the country’s population. She could very well buy her way out of any consequences, be they social, political, or professional. This would be an example of the many downsides of controlling a monopoly. But it was hard to ignore the medical advances that were made directly due to her dealings with her criminal step-son. They also never obviously priced out the lesser-to-do and even aided in their products being distributed in the Black Market where they were much lower in price despite their demand. It seemed to make sense now: the Fairfax’s direct involvement could certainly explain how their products in the Black Market demanded such low prices..

	She turned to sit upon her throne and continued to drink her tea without acknowledging anything Tristan had to say. Indeed, this was a meeting for the Investigator to listen and contribute nothing else.[/hider]

	Tristan’s Gauntlet rang when he left the premises. It was Major Gold of the Interrogation Force.
	“Senior Inspector Aeros. I was commanded to relay to you that Jonton Fairfax has passed away. His body rapidly deteriorated a few hours ago and we could not intervene fast enough to keep his heart and lungs working. An autopsy is currently being performed. It will be completed tomorrow. I do know after a blood test we took when we admitted him was that there was a rather high level of a foreign chemical in his body. We are currently running tests to identify it.
	“Also, the Master General has told me to request that you soon rest well and to not return to work until you have done so. He made sure to tell me that I relay to you how critical your services will be and he wants you to be at your best as often as possible. The results of our tests will be sent to you not before 10:00 hours tomorrow.”[/quote]

[h2][u][b][center]Underground - Mauville City[/center][/b][/u][/h2][quote]Tristan blinked and not 10 feet in front of him leaned Samantha against the wall he walked past.
	“Ready?” she said rhetorically and turned to lead Tristan into an alley. “Down here,” she said after her Espeon levitated the cover to a man-hole. “Hopefully you’re not too attached to those,” she added and looked down at his shoes and pants.
	The sewers of Mauville weren’t any different than anywhere else. People and Pokemon always made waste and it needed to go somewhere. The purification systems further downstream prevented pollution, but that didn’t mean it smelled of Roselia before it reached them. The narrow walkways were caked in sludge and Rattata droppings. There was a swell in the running sewage that had to be some kind of Pokemon, likely a Grimer or Muk. But it didn’t show itself as they passed.
	“Fun that ‘underground’ is being taken literally, right?” she said incredulously.

	It was a maze of a path Samantha led Tristan. There were small hatches they had to squeeze their way through and false portcullises her Espeon raised to continue their path. Her Espeon hovered over the mess, refusing to soil her feet or fur.
	Samantha led Tristan silently. It felt like hours, if only because of the stench, until they reached a rather conspicuous wooden door with a window that a dull yellow light shined through. Samantha turned back to clock where Tristan was and then covered whatever she did to the handle of the door to open it. She gestured for Tristan to enter before her.
	It looked like a stereotypical detective’s office. The smell of sewage did not pass through the door, somehow, and the air was filled with the scent of paper and ink and coffee. The floor was checkered with white and black tiles evenly throughout. The walls were painted in such a way as to almost mask the fact they were cement. Old and dull fluorescent box lights hung from the ceiling. An antique wooden desk, stately and stained dark, was covered in papers and files and a few mugs with coffee stains in a few spots. The lamp on the desk was not turned on which made it difficult to make out any of the words on the files. Behind the desk, the wall was lined with file cabinets. Some were opened to varying depths. Office supplies and folder stands littered the tops of them. The space was certainly well-used.
	Samantha led him into another office directly across from the entrance that was much smaller and much more put together. Her Espeon curled up in the bed next to the desk and yawned and shut her eyes. The desk was much smaller and much more cheaply made. The lamp was turned on which illuminated the single file upon the, otherwise, neat and clean desk. It was labeled with the name “Tristan Aeros.”
	She knocked on the door opposite the desk. A faint muffled voice sounded from beyond and she turned to Tristan. “She’ll see you now.”
	Samantha sat at her desk and allowed Tristan to enter the room alone. He was met with a woman who was possibly the most plain-looking he could imagine for someone so secretive. Though perhaps that was for the best.
	She appeared highly professional. She wore a dark gray pantsuit that was well fitted to her nearly-exaggerated proportions. Her reddish brown hair was neatly ironed into curls that fell elegantly over her shoulders. Her nails were painted a bold red and she wore matching lipstick. The rest of her make-up was modest and minimal. Her face was slender and fine, though still unremarkable. She wore square black-framed glasses which gave her face barely any more definition. A Zoroark was curled beside her on the floor. It opened an eye to look at Tristan and Ether, then closed its eye and breathed deeply as if to go back to sleep.
	“Mr. Aeros, pleasure,” she said without any hint of feeling any pleasure at all. “Please, have a seat,” she said and gestured with her chin to the chairs in front of her desk.
	“So, Mr. Keetra contacted me to work with you. That was before Samantha offered you a meeting with me, in the case you weren’t aware,” she said and lingered an eye on Tristan to gauge if she caught him off-guard with this information.
	“Since we’re both in the business of preventing the destruction of the country, I suppose it’s within our own best interests.”
	She already sounded bored.
	“So, I’ve been brought up to speed with everything you showed Samantha last night. To save us from speaking redundancies,” she said and her brow raised lightly, “I should share what I know with you.
	“First, Mr. Keetra used to run this operation. I took it over about 10 years ago now. We have connections with all the different pockets of the underbelly of Hoenn. The Black Market has been dealing with the void Jonton left since he died last night. I have some connections there, but they’re not reliable, if they’re even alive. As for the Brawlers,” she said and paused to see if Tristan recognized the underground fighting rings found across Hoenn, “I can get them to do some heavy lifting, if any of that is required. Granted, I think we both know this operation requires finesse that the Brawlers utterly lack. Perhaps we can use them as a diversion if we don’t need their manpower. Overall, we have no relation or connection to the Rangers. You are our only exception. And, yes, that means Mr. Keetra lied about his former occupations,” she said and strained to not roll her eyes for having to clarify as such.
	“We both know Team Zodiac was not directly involved in the Mauville Attack, that it was the work of Jonton and his goons. The Secret Agent you met with yesterday provided you with a file that showed Pisces and, who we’ve come to learn, is Virgo - the one that killed the prior Secret Agents and attempted to kill Hawley.”
	Ms. Shade sat back in her chair and crossed her fingers together in front of her. “The last thing you need to know is that we do not work with the Rangers and the Rangers do not and will not know we exist, which will continue as we work together. You may do with that information as you wish. But know that we will work with only you. There will be no more contact between myself and Mr. Keetra. The three of us are possibly the only people Team Zodiac does not yet know about, and we will keep it that way. I will provide you with updates via Samantha as we obtain new information and we expect you do the same for us. That is all,” she said and started to work on the files on her desk to passively indicate that their meeting was over. She gave brief and flippant answers to Tristan’s questions.[/quote]

[h2][u][b][center]Johnson Residence - North of Route 102[/center][/b][/u][/h2][quote]The chill of the forest air froze his lungs for a moment. He breathed deeply as he looked at his house - the rather modest log house that stood quite tall but didn’t have a large footprint. Yellow light glowed out the windows on the first floor and from his bedroom, but not his sons’ bedroom, and could assume the same was the case for his daughters’ room. He blinked a few times as his eyes slowly adjusted to the dusk. The stars slowly came into focus against the dark violet sky that was mostly black now. He looked down at himself and realized he was still wearing only silkies and a tank top - that his clothes had been mostly ruined from the fight that happened only 8 or so hours ago, though it felt like it’d been a month already.
	His chest and shoulders rose as he breathed deeply once more which seemed to prepare him to walk toward his house - with the intention of entering, but he couldn’t see himself doing that just yet. His feet pounded against the wooden steps that led to the front door - his legs felt heavy. A quick chill ran up his spine despite not being cold - nervous about seeing the people he knew were in grave danger. He rubbed his jaw and then the top of his head to counteract the soft prickly feeling that spread through his face and scalp - embarrassed for having failed so completely. He gripped his abdomen as a heavy iron ball curled around in his stomach - hungry as his body believed he was safe enough to eat for the first time since lunch.
	He stood in front of the door for a few moments. His arm was too heavy to raise his hand to grip the doorknob and turn it open. He breathed deeply once more and opened the door quickly and turned to close it as soon as Shaq’ti passed through. He saw the silhouettes of people sitting at the dining table but instead turned around and bent down to take off his shoes and his Pokeball belt that he wore like a sash as there was no better option. He tapped the button on each one to release them one by one.
	Electricity ran across his skin and he jolted himself straight up as he felt small hands curve around his middle. Jeanne grunted and stepped back but just looked at Forrest with concerned eyes. “I’m sorry, babe. I didn’t mean to scare you,” she said quietly while her face turned from concern to confusion as she didn’t expect her greeting to surprise him. Surely he saw them at the table.
	“Sorry, babe,” Forrest growled and shook his head of the fear that prickled across his skin. He approached her and hugged her tight. He bent down to kiss her. She cupped his jaw in her hands to have it linger a little longer than usual for a greeting in the hopes that it would calm him down sooner. “It’s been a rough day,” he said with a slow shake of his head.
	“That’s okay, darling,” she said and placed a gentle hand on his chest. She patted it twice and said “go sit at the table. Are you hungry? I’ll get you something to eat,” she asked and acted without an answer.
	“Yeah, I’m starving,” he said to himself and grabbed his abdomen again as it growled painfully. “Hi Mum. Hi Dad,” he said as he walked over to the table to greet them.
	They rose to meet him - hug and kiss him. Forrest sat next to his father who grabbed the base of the back of his neck and squeezed and forced Forrest to sway a little. Forrest had forgotten how large his father’s hands were - and how rough and hot they always were. It felt nice.
	“You okay, bud?” Herbert said low and patted Forrest’s shoulder blade.
	Forrest breathed deep. He didn’t even think about answering “yeah” breathlessly.
	“Hon, we know what’s going on,” Barbara said and reached across the table to place her hands upon Forrest’s. “What happened today?”
	He picked his head up when he realized it was slumped down. He looked over both of them. They had concerned love upon their faces. He felt he could have started to immediately cry.
	“We encountered one of Team Zodiac’s members. Taurus. He was fucking huge,” he said and looked up to indicate how he had to look up at the half giant. Forrest shook his head and breathed deeply then continued. “He threw Halcrow around like he was nothing. It looked like Kangooroom’s Uppercut didn’t even faze him. Syressa and Antligon were knocked out with a single move, I guess it was an Altaria. There was a massive Tauros that endured the rest of my and Investigator Aeros’ Pokemon…”
	“Oh, you were with the Elite Four?” Barbara said, rather surprised.
	“No, just Aeros.”
	“Wait, and you both used all your Pokemon?” Herbert asked.
	“Yeah,” Forrest said through a sharp exhale.
	Barbara and Herbert looked at each other and then at Forrest whose head was sagged down once more. “Fuck, man,” Herbert said and grabbed Forrest’s trapezius on the other side of his neck and squeezed. Barbara placed her hands upon Forrest’s hands in her own attempt to comfort her son.
	Forrest looked up. His eyes red. “Yeah. It’s bad,” he said, low and quiet.
	“Eat up, babe,” Jeanne said as she placed a heaping and steaming plate in front of him.
	She set two beers in front of him. Forrest pried off one of the caps before she set down the bottle opener for him to use. He chugged it quickly and then attacked the food as if he hadn’t eaten in a week. His stomach growled a little louder - excited to be finally getting food. The other three simply waited for him to come up for air in silence. They shared glances of concern to each other that were meant to comfort each other in the fact they were all on the same page. They also took this time to digest his account of what he had gone through earlier that day.
	“I set up the den for your parents,” Jeanne eventually said as she noticed Forrest was nearly done eating so ravenously. She knew it needn’t be said - ‘cause where else would they have slept?
	“Yes, despite the circumstances, we’re still excited to stay here for a bit,” Barbara said without any hint of confidence in what she had just said.
	“I don’t know what you expect me to do,” Forrest said through a scoff which caused some food to fly from his mouth.
	“Do you have any plans for your training?” Jeanne said, anticipating her husband’s reaction.
	“Yeah. It’s going to be all day every day,” he said. He showed equal parts exasperation, for how hard he was going to work himself and his Pokemon, and incredulity, for how little he believed it would make a difference.
	“We’ll help you the best we can, bud,” Herbert said and gripped the base of the back of his neck again.
	“I’m supposed to be protecting you,” he said, as if they were mutually exclusive.
	“Hon, you’re not alone,” Barbara said with pleading eyes.
	“I just feel bad for the kids. I’ll be here but I won’t be present, you know?” Forrest said with little emotion.
	“That’s not true, babe. You can always find ways to incorporate interacting with them into your training,” Jeanne said as she brought a six-pack of beer to him, which he immediately began to open. “Seconds?” she asked.
	“Mhm,” Forrest hummed through the bottle and nodded his head. He pulled the bottle from his lips and breathed deeply as if he was drowning himself in the alcohol. “I’m going to need to be eating a lot more, too. Do you think we’ll have enough for the week?”
	“I’ll go into the city tomorrow,” Jeanne said with her back turned to him from the kitchen counter.
	“No more beer - or any alcohol for that matter,” he said as he gasped from another bottle of beer.
	“Well, I’m still getting my wine,” she said with a slight scoffing chuckle.
	Forrest grunted a kind of affirmation as he finished a fourth beer and could start to feel it getting to him. Barbara and Herbert simply watched him in silence for a minute.
	“We can build an extension together. If this turns out to be a long-term engagement, it wouldn’t hurt to add more space,” Herbert offered.
	“Yeah, maybe, if the effort is high enough to be worth the time,” Forrest said around a deep and loud belch.
	“Don’t be like that, hon. Killing yourself in whatever training you have in mind would be counterproductive,” Barbara said, though her concern masked the wry manner in which she meant the sentiment.
	“Well, if I kill myself with training, Team Zodiac would have killed me anyway” Forrest said as if he had a point.
	“C’mon son, we’re serious. We can always leave the country - go back to Johto,” Herbert offered.
	“They’ll just follow us, won’t they? They have background checks on you guys. And your dad, too, babe,” he said and looked up to watch Jeanne lower another plate onto the table in front of him.
	He attacked his food as ravenously as before, which impressed and concerned Jeanne. But she decided to carry on the conversation without her emotional husband. Since she was only tangentially involved, getting the opinions of those directly involved would likely be the best option. 
               “I hadn’t even thought of that. We could just go to Johto until this all blows over. I’m sure you can establish another Academy there and work with another research team there,” Jeanne said and gestured to them respectively.
	“Possibly, though it’s not a guarantee,” Herbert said with sad eyes and a curled corner of his lips. “But I’d rather struggle to live than be constantly threatened with death.”
	“Do you think the kids would struggle to adjust?” Barbara said and looked at Jeanne.
	“It’s certainly likely for any child. They’d certainly miss Mitch’s kids,” Jeanne said.
	“I’m not running away from these fucks!” Forrest bellowed and slammed a fist down onto the table to shake it under all of them.
	Barbara gasped and raised her hands up in surrender. Herbert held onto the table to keep it on the floor. Jeanne slapped the table after his outburst.
	“I don’t give a shit about your pride, Forrest,” Jeanne growled back with fire in her eyes. “You will be the last man to put my children in harm’s way,” she said with a firm finger pointed at his chest and stood up from her seat.
	“Yeah, so I can show them how brave and strong it is to run away with my tail between my legs,” Forrest grumbled with his fork raised and frozen at his lips. “I won’t let them take my home away from me.”
	“Your home is where your family is! How dare you put a place before your family!”
	“Please, let’s just calm down,” Barbara said, though it sounded like a whisper between them.
	“I mean, I am useless to the Rangers, anyway. Might as well be useless where we have a better chance to be safe,” Forrest grumbled lower and more quietly.
	A sharp slap cracked. Everyone was silent. Forrest’s fork flew from his hand and onto the floor.
	“If this is what you think, you’re even weaker than I thought. All those muscles are just for show, then, huh? Just compensating for your cowardice and fear. And you think this attitude wouldn’t obviously show them how weak their father is? A little man who cowers away in fear at a single loss. What happened to the man who took on the Championship and won against all odds and after so many losses? What happened to the man who built this house who didn’t have a clue what he was doing? What about the man who, despite being terrified of raising children, proved to be the best father I’ve ever seen? You’re going to throw that all away because you’re scared? I’ll be brave for the kids since you’re obviously too weak to show any real bravery.”
	Jeanne stood above Forrest for a few moments. Her chest rose and fell quickly but soon slowed. Forrest eventually turned to look Jeanne in the eyes. They were both welling with tears but he kept them from falling. Forrest’s brows had sunk around his eyes.
	“You weren’t there. The one Tauros took on, like, 10 Pokemon simultaneously. That Altaria easily knocked out three others. The man, himself, was pure stone and threw Halcrow like he was a sack of straw. I’m fucking terrified. We were sneaking in on them and that one guy came out with the upper hand.”
	Jeanne breathed in deeply. She empathized with him but kept a brave and determined face. “Then you know exactly the bar you have to reach and then surpass,” she said simply.
	Forrest’s eyes glanced back and forth around her and the room. It’s true, he’d seen one of them fight. He saw what kind of power one of them possessed. They were just regular Pokemon that were trained to levels Forrest had never seen. That didn’t mean it was impossible, it literally meant the opposite. He remembered his conversation with Broadson. He’d said the same thing. The meetings he had with Tristan were getting to him.
	“And I have Mitch,” he said in a near-whisper. “And I can call Cal, Val, and Ches,” he said with his voice becoming more assured.
	“I think you have a point, son. We can’t be sure that once this Team Zodiac has destroyed Hoenn that they won’t do the same to other countries,” Herbert said as he massaged Forrest’s shoulder.
	“Well, I’m pretty sure they wanted to ‘purify’ the entire world, whatever that means,” Forrest grumbled angrily at the thought.
	“So we should do our best to stop them before they can make any real progress,” Herbert said and slapped Forrest’s shoulder with a short chuckle.
	“And don’t think you need to protect the world by yourself. I know pretty much everything about training Pokemon and your father knows a lot about their physiology. And Jeanne’s going to be a Gym Leader soon, and she is an accomplished Coordinator!”
	“Well, used to be,” Jeanne said with a sad scoff.
	“Nonsense. I always wanted you to go back into it, but I also understand wanting to raise your family,” Barbara said with a warm smile.
	“And like you said, you have Mitchell. And I’m sure the cousins would be here in a heartbeat if you called on them,” Herbert added. “They’re probably better than you, now, anyway!” he said with a short bellowing laugh and slapped Forrest’s shoulder a few times.
	“What’s going on? Why are you all fighting?”
	The four of them turned to see Jerrek at the base of the stairs holding a bat in just his undershorts as if he had rushed down to fight an intruder. He yawned and rubbed his eyes but stayed where he was until his eyes focused more.
	“Oh, Dad, you’re back,” he said tiredly.
	“Oh dear, we got a little carried away, didn’t we?” Barbara said with a soft giggle.
	“We weren’t fighting, hon” Jeanne said with a hint of embarrassment in her voice. “Just, trying to help your father.”
	“Come here, bud,” Forrest said and turned to get up from his chair and walk toward Jerrek.
	“It’s okay, guys,” Jerrek said and looked up the stairs and then shuffled toward his father.
	Forrest picked Jerrek up in a tight bear hug and kissed his cheek a few times. When Forrest set him down, his other children were right in front of him, tired, but wanting a turn to greet their father.
	One-by-one Forrest greeted them similarly. One-by-one they found a seat at the table. Save Shelynn whom Forrest kept seated on his arm. Forrest stumbled when he stepped on the fork that had flown out of his hand. He squatted to pick it up and cleaned it off with his mouth, to the dismay of his wife and mother who both rolled their eyes. His food was room temperature, but he ate quickly while the other adults tried to explain to them the situation in the most child-friendly way they could think of at the time.
	“Aw, cool Dad! You’re going to be killing real bad guys?” Jerrek said with his body fully faced toward his father.
	“No, hon, that’s not what I sa-”
	“That’s the plan,” Forrest said with a struggled grin around a full mouth and then winked to remove any doubt behind the sentiment.
	“Babe,” Jeanne said in protest.
	“That’s why he’s eating so much. That’s his second plate! He’s gotta build more muscle to get stronger as do his Pokemon,” Herbert said through a wide grinned chuckle.
	“Bert,” Barbara said in protest. “Stop encouraging them.”
	Herbert chortled and wrapped his arms around Jerrek. “If you want to help, you’re going to have to follow what your dad does,” he said and ruffled Jerrek’s hair.
	“Awesome! I’ve been bored doing it myself, anyway!”
	“But you’ve had Major White,” Jeanne said with confusion.
	“Does that mean we gotta get more stuff from the gardens?” Rowan asked his mother.
	“Oh! And does that really mean Auntie Val and Uncle Caleb are going to be staying with us, too?” Elizabeth asked with enthusiasm.
	“And Uncle Chesley, too,” Forrest said through another full mouth.
	“Uncle Ches Ches!” Rowan shrieked with joy and clapped his hands.

	Forrest called for Shaq’ti before he got up from bed. She could still find Caleb’s Slowking to get in contact with and call for him, Valoria, and Chesley for their help. He also demanded that they either rest or train their hardest. Forrest kissed his still-sleeping wife and put on the silkies he wore yesterday since they were still clean. He opened his sons’ door and woke Jerrek up to follow-through with what Forrest's father suggested to Jerrek last night. He enthusiastically sprung out of bed and put on his own shorts and rushed to follow Forrest downstairs where he was already starting to make protein shakes.
	They were well through their first routine of the day before they heard noises above them that suggest the others had started to wake. They had plenty of time to finish and shower to join everyone for breakfast. Forrest noticed how crowded the table was with both his parents there. He was amused at the image of trying to fit 3 more adults at the table.
	Forrest called for Shaq’ti for an update. She confirmed that they would arrive by noon today, which allowed the first sense of relief to wash over Forrest since yesterday. He and Jerrek made sure to eat more than usual since their day had only just begun.
	The second break the two had was lunch. It was extended as Caleb, Valoria, and Chesley entered through the front door while they all ate. The children didn’t bother to contain their excitement and immediately greeted them enthusiastically before the three could close the door.
	Caleb was only a year older than Forrest. And though he was nearly a foot shorter, he was notably wider than Forrest and heavy with muscle. Forrest couldn’t help but think he’d gained some mass since the last time he saw Caleb about three years ago. But these were the only physical similarities between the two. Caleb had bold orange hair, with eyebrows to match over his emerald green eyes. His skin was naturally pale. He was clean shaven and, thus, looked at least a few years younger than Forrest. But thick chest hair poofed out in large curls of his button up shirt, which was only buttoned up to the base of his chest. He was certainly the boisterous one as his voice nearly drowned out all the others. His smooth tenor voice also contrasted starkly from Forrest’s deep and gravelly voice.
	Valoria was at least a couple inches taller than Caleb. She had the physique of an athletic sprinter and wore athletic clothes to make that as obvious as possible. Her dark brown hair was pulled up tight into a bun so the loose curls didn’t get into her face. Her bold blue eyes were the only light feature she maintained. She kept a serious or sour look on her freckled face most of the time. Seeing her nieces and nephews was the only time her lips would rise into a flatter line than the naturally downturned corners. Elizabeth wasted no time in showing Valoria the Surskit she’d befriended not too long ago. Valoria was already talking training regimens for them.
	Chesley was most certainly Caleb’s brother, but only because of their faces. He only wore faded blue jean overalls which allowed his slightly darker skin than Caleb’s to show. His shoulders and face were already reddened as if he’d been working outside for a few hours before he arrived, which was proven true by the fresh mud that caked his almost comically large boots for his comically large feet. He looked much smaller than Caleb despite being the same height. But Chesley had an average width and proportional musculature for working fields and herds all day every day. He wore his favorite straw hat that covered his thick and curly orange brown hair with streaks of sun-bleached rose blonde. The hat looked worse every time Forrest saw it.
	The three refused Jeanne’s offer for lunch as they had made sure to eat before they teleported. Once the children were done eating, they were told to play outside, which took Jerrek more convincing than the others. Forrest took no liberties in describing why he called them here.[/quote]