---

12:46 p.m. July 5, Sunday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event)

Events:  The Joint Kanto and Johto Indigo Summer League have concluded; Saria Surge has become the new Vermilion Gym Leader, converting it to a Fairy Gym.  It will be open for challenges on the 10th.

Our girl started her journey on the 9th of June—she’s been a Trainer for 26 Days (25 officially; 26 since getting Maya and Nova).

 

Pulling up her map app, Rhea got up and stretched with Mya, ignoring any looks she or her black-and-white Mawile got as she left the store; music and dancing filled the air as she moved to the nearest train station.

Rhea only got to the street corner when her phone vibrated; it was her mother.

She glanced down at Mya while answering it, smiling at the Pokemon’s curious looks as she studied the various groups of people and Pokemon enjoying themselves in the festive city.

“Hey, Mom—haaa… you look… normal—which isn’t good,” she mumbled, seeing her mother’s strained expression and dark eyes.

“Rhea… hehe, you just caught me at a bad time.  I was about to catch a plane down to Kanto, actually.  Umm… so, you were with your aunt a moment ago, I assume.”

“Uh-huh?”  Rhea returned, crossing the street as the pedestrian sign lit up and glanced around; no cars seemed to be on course to plow through them.  “I bet Bi’s sad she won’t be able to do more with the ruins—oh, I forgot to ask what she’d be doing—maybe I should text her.”

Splitting the holographic screen to have her mother on one side as she messaged her cousin.  She figured her mother would try to skirt the topic of this Mewtwo, which was fine; Rhea just wanted to talk to her mom to hear her voice.

“How’s the research going with that, uh… Hisuian stuff—old regional variants, right?”  she mumbled, fingers sliding across the projected keyboard.

Hey, Bi!  I know it probably sucks that Mewtwo thing messed things up for you.  I’m gonna hang out with Sam and the girls if you want to join…

Mentally going through the message she was typing, she paused after her mother cleared her voice in a way that said she had something serious to talk about.

“Rhea…”

“Mhm?  Heh, let me guess—you’re going to be super busy when you get here?  I thought as much since you’re dropping that exciting stuff up in Sinnoh with Gran to book it down here—plus, the fact so many Legends are involved from various regions.  Don’t worry; I get it!”

Her mother tucked in her lower lip, vision shifting to the side for a moment, and Rhea saw aircrafts taking off as the flustered woman walked across the runway to get into the Sinnoh League’s private jet.  “There’s that—hold on, let this plane go by…”

The concern and frustration on her mother’s face made Rhea move off to the side of the street to lean against a building so as not to hinder traffic.  “Is everything okay, Mom—is it, uh, not safe to be in Cerulean or something?”

After she said it, Rhea reconsidered the question, considering her aunt hadn’t said something, but it was weird that nearly every Legendary-tier Trainer was gathering in one location, including multiple Active Champions.

Once the screeching plane passed, her mother puffed out a frustrated breath.  “Umm, I’m sure your aunt has things in order…  No, I’m calling because of your text.”

Rhea giggled.  “I know!  I know!  Don’t talk about secret United League stuff; I just sent that to you—I won’t even tell Amira and Lori.”

“That’s not it, Rhea…  Haaa.  Maybe I’m overthinking how you worded your message, but…  Why did you connect those two subjects in the same text?”

Sensing her mother’s agitation, Rhea swapped her second screen to her previous text; obviously, she wasn’t talking about her leaving or hanging out with her friends.  So, it had to be Mewtwo and her tentative question about not being fully human or an experiment—maybe if she was an experiment and not fully human?

“Umm…”  Chest suddenly feeling heavy as she took a deep breath, Rhea only half let it go.  Glancing around real fast, she ducked into a nearby alley behind a store, heart rate increasing as her Mawile jogged after her.  “Are… you talking about my question that I’m… not fully human?”

Nova, Alice, and Mya were all listening intently to her apprehensive question.

Her mother’s fingers slid through her messy blonde hair as she boarded the jet, clearly not enjoying how much noise and interference there was in her immediate environment.

“I don’t know what you were told about the Mewtwos, but it’s—it’s complicated…  Umm, why are you asking this—has something made you feel not… human?”

Rhea didn’t answer as she leaned against the wall, processing the sudden turn of the conversation; it didn’t feel real, but the way her mother was acting made it pretty evident there was something to the conversation she found challenging to talk about.

“Rhea?”

Lightly chewing on her drawn-in lips, she didn’t know how she should feel or think—her mind was surprisingly blank—as she slowly slid down to her butt to Mya’s eye level.  “So… me not eating for weeks and being fine or feeling sick if I eat like every other girl… does have something to do with… with what—did you change my genes when I was an egg or something?”

Her mother sank into a seat with a heavy sigh and rubbed her forehead, closing her eyes.  “I know it’s not fair—but I’d like to talk to you in person about this…  I don’t want you to have the wrong impression of yourself or about anything you might have learned.”

Not looking at her mom, Rhea stroked Mya’s concerned head with a smile she didn’t feel; it wasn’t as if she was sad or angry—she knew that would probably come in time—but for now, there was a bittersweet taste that stimulated her spine.

She had her answer.

“I know you love me, Mom…  I’ll wait—try just to have fun with my friends and save this for when you get here.  Umm…  Yeah… yeah, I’ll just wait until you get here.”

Her mother’s voice thickened, drawing Rhea’s gaze to see the concern in her watery eyes.  “Please, don’t be afraid of—of I don’t know…  I just—”

“It’s fine, Mom.”  Rhea forced a chuckle.  “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, though… well, heh, since leaving home…  I need to face my fears.  When will you be here?”

“I’ll be in Cerulean at the end of the day—I can have your dad teleport me to you.”

Mouth tight as her Pokemon hugged her, utterly confused by the conflicting emotions that suddenly hit her, Rhea nodded; it took her a second to answer.  “I have enough faith in you, Mom.  Love you.”

“I… I love you, Rhea…  So much.”

“Huu-haaa.  Heh.  See you when you get here.  Bye.”

“Bye…”

Hanging up, Rhea pulled Mya over to hug, leaning back to breathe out her emotions while staring up at the party-cloudy sky.

I’m fine, guys…  Not really, but… mostly fine.  Hehe.  I know I want to cry, Nova, and wanting to cry means I’m not fine…  It’s complicated.  I’m not normal… and I’ll never be.  It doesn’t matter if I’m out in the world… hanging around normal girls and people…  I guess I need to accept that.

She giggled as her Mawile’s arms tightened around her back.  Mhm…  I have wanted to feel normal.  All my life, I’ve been sheltered in the woods, unable to meet many other kids or leave… and I guess there’s a reason for that after spending time with Amira and Lori.

All the little signs she’d let slide, wanting to fit in and not stand out or be seen as weird, began to play through her mind.

Her increased physical strength without working out, lung capacity, endurance, eating habits, and Fortitude growth was undoubtedly abnormal compared to her new friends—even to other girls from strong families, like Amira and Lori.

Sabin didn’t have the same habits or unusual behaviors she did, but it had never really come up; her brother had never treated her differently.

In fact, the whole Master’s Community treated her like any other normal girl when growing up, teaching her their survival skills or outdoors stuff when she was interested in learning them.

She grew to not like battling because it took everyone Rhea loved away—Contests were okay since she could enjoy the fashion of it—but she resisted Training, strategy, and anything else that wasn’t required for basic schooling.

Had everyone known she wasn’t totally normal?

Rhea sat her phone to the side and rubbed Mya’s back as her Pokemon asked if she was having a battle with her mom.

No…  It’s more like I’m disappointed, I guess.  I never thought she’d keep something like this from me… so it’s just… hard.  I feel stupid for not seeing it sooner…  Heh, I know there’s a hole in my heart, Nova, but I still love my mom more than anything.

Mya pulled back, holding her hand as Rhea smiled at her, happy to have her three Pokemon so close to her spirit to share in the experience and comfort her.

I know my mom’s far from perfect, but everything she does is with the best intentions…  I know that, but I’m… just in the dark right now… left to wonder why she didn’t sit me down to talk about this when I was eight… ten… before I bonded with all of you…  I don’t know.

Shifting the Mawile to the side, she forced a laugh as Mya returned to her pokeball so she could have Nova to hold on to during their walk.  You three are so amazing.  Thanks for being here for me…  I’m just processing everything.

Rhea wanted to cry but couldn’t at the same time, and with her Pokemon weathering the storm with her, she managed to push it down; she wasn’t a kid anymore.

Let’s be big girls and wait to talk it over with Mom.  Okay?  Her Pokemon chirped their responses as Rhea reasserted the thought before picking up Nova to breathe out the stress.

Nova nuzzled her head into her chest as Rhea sniffed and cleared her throat.  No need to worry Sam, Hannah, Jay, and Jade.  Let’s have a good day with our friends!

Holding the fluffy and warm Eevee in one arm, Rhea bent down to grab her phone from the ground and pocketed it.  Returning to her previous route, she boarded the train and went to meet her friends a few stops away.

Bianca assured her she would be fine; the Legends were only scoping out the area before allowing researchers to come in.  They were just being really cautious, which did make sense, considering they were dealing with something as powerful and mysterious as something related to the Mythical Pokemon Mew.

By the time her friends got on the train, Rhea was able to push down her vulnerabilities to address them later that night.

Rhea beamed and waved at her friends, surprised they each had one Pokemon out.  “Hey!  So, able to have your Pokemon out all the time now?”

Sam grinned, showing her slightly crooked teeth.  “Rhea!  Yeah, we’ve been practicing to strengthen our Fortitude, too, after Lyra gave us that pep talk.  So, how have you been—Hannah!”

The redhead grinned and bounced over with Star in one hand, waving his small hand at Nova with a cute chirp; the girl had her phone in hand, ready to snap a photo.

“What?”  Hannah rasped, voice rising and falling after damaging it in their rafting trip.  “We gotta document memories!  Cheese!”

Rhea giggled, shifting positions so she could catch a frowning Sam and smiling Jay and Jade in the frame; Poppy, the Alola girl’s Bounsweet, was situated on the blonde’s head, and Orin, Jade’s Pidgey, on her shoulder.

“Nice!”  Jay said, her Alolan accent thick while making a peace sign.  “Forward it to us so we can send it to our family, too; heh, my mom’s been loving the pictures you’ve taken, Hannah.”

“Right?  You’re… ack—heh, the one that got me on documenting everything, Jay,”  Hannah rasped, nudging Sam as she glared at her teammate.  “No need to be camera shy—you’re cute!”

“That’s not the point, and you really should be resting your throat,” she returned, rolling her eyes.  “You’ve already taken like a hundred photos today.”

Jade pulled up her phone to swipe through them for Rhea as they sat on a bench; it was at least a forty-minute ride to Old Shore Wharf City.

“Oh, check this one out—we all posed to take a photo by the Cerulean City sign.”

“Cute!”  Rhea chimed with Nova, seeing the four taking various poses with each of their Pokemon.  “Wait… Jay!”

“Hehe.  Yup!”  Poppy jumped to the side, returning to her pokeball before the Alolan girl brought out her new addition, puffing up her chest with pride.  “I’d like to introduce Bruce—isn’t he a perfect fit for our Fluff Squad!”

A fluffy orange canine popped out with a happy bark; cute black stripes marked his fur, and Jay lifted her new Pokemon up to nuzzle his white, silky mane.  “He’s soo sweet!”

“A Growlithe!”  Rhea grinned, setting Nova down so she could jump down and greet her other friends; Alice and Mya were crying to be next to meet with everyone.  “He looks so hugable.”

“Isn’t he?”  Jade snickered.  “I won’t lie; last night, Mimi and I stole him to snuggle with.”

Her memories of the vulnerable Pichu, afflicted with its Dream World ability and abandoned by its parents, returned, and how her mother had personally treated the Pokemon at her request.

Mom really does try…

“How is Mimi?  Oh, sorry—I also want to know where you got Bruce, Jay!”

Jay shook her head, telling her she was fine as Hannah pulled up various photos they’d taken of the seemingly happy and bold Pichu as she posed for photos, displaying confidence she’d severely lacked the last time Rhea had seen the electric baby Pokemon.

Jade had Orin return to his pokeball to release the sleepy Pichu, who yawned and lifted a hand in greeting as she roused from her short rest.  “I keep in touch with your mom—she’s been checking on her progress every week—sometimes Mimi gets tired in the middle of the day, but she’s stabilizing.”

Sam reached over to scratch under the happy Pichu’s chin.  “We think she may even evolve soon!  Mimi’s totally attached to Jade, and Orin takes good care of her, making sure she has good food and rest.”

“Hehe.  Yeah, Orin’s kind of taken on a big brother role,” Jade whispered, rubbing behind her Pichu’s ear.  “Your mom literally saved her life…  Thanks, Rhea.”

“Yeah!  No, I mean, of course—we couldn’t do nothing—and what’s my mom’s big brain and research for if not to help, right?  Oh, what about Bruce?”

Jay vigorously scratched her Growlithe’s neck, causing his leg to involuntarily rise to mirror his Trainer’s action.  “Hehe… so cute.  Actually, it was because of Star angering that Pidgey and ruined our raft that we met him.”

Hannah nodded, and this time it was Sam that pulled out to photos, causing the redhead to groan.  “No—ack!  Don’t s-show her those…”

“C’mon!”  Sam mused, showing their white water rapids detour with the girl screaming at the top of her lungs and clinging onto a Machoke for support.  “Wasn’t he sweet, keeping you from falling and supporting you?”

“That’s not the point…”

Rhea squinted her eyes upon seeing the rapids—if they could even be classified as such—since she’d done far more chaotic routes with her father.  “Yeah… hehe, must have been scary.”

“Terrifying… I’ve never felt so—ack… I can’t—there aren’t words…”

Sam winked and nudged her back.  “It’s okay; we know you have a low vocabulary.”

She giggled as the redhead jabbed her back.  “Joking!  Joking!”

The emotions within her heart receded as she spent time with her four friends, texting Amira and Lori to let them know what she was doing; the songstress simply responded with a thumbs up, while Lori gave a string of emotions.

An exploding head, broken heart, skull, lovey-eyes, a Muk, a dancing couple, another skull, Onix, a broken bone, kissing Jinx, and a flaming Charizard—the seemingly random rush utterly confusing her.

Her friends lifted an eyebrow at the response, shrugging their shoulders, and Rhea didn’t want to know what the Muk it was about; there was one image she could be certain about that made her rub her eyes, especially how the Unova girl symbolized Onix.

Not soon after, a string of hearts came through, followed by broken hearts and more hearts and fire symbols.

“Okay then…  Haha!”

The other four girls followed her laugh.

“I think it’s going well!”  Jay laughed, showing a thumbs up.

Putting it in the back of her mind to let the dancer translate the emotes when she got back to the hotel, Rhea enjoyed herself with her friends.

She was a little surprised when Jay mentioned that she and Bianca were setting up a time to meet before their group left; it didn’t take long for her to remember the Alolan girl had promised her cousin to teach her some recipes.

Alice got her turn out next since Mya would be battling later that night, and they went between stores, gathering light supplies for Jay—the designated cook of the group—to prepare a dish from her home.

Checking into a hotel with a small kitchen in Old Shore Wharf City, she made them Lomi Lomi Salmon, using the rest of the fish to make Lau Lau; Rhea didn’t eat much, as usual, but what she did was divine, and she copied down the recipe on her phone.

Next, they moved to see a few of the city’s famous sights and checked out the beach before coming to a battlefield around 7 p.m.  Having had enough time to restore her Fortitude, she was confident in having at least one battle.

Jay, Hannah, Jade, and Sam entered a game of rock, paper, scissors to determine who would get the chance to face her as Rhea watched.

Hannah and Jay were up first: Jay threw out scissors—Hannah, paper—the Alolan girl was going to the semi-finals!

“Nooo—ack…”  the redhead choked, rubbing her throat with tears in her eyes.  “S-Sorry, Star—looks like luck isn’t in our favor tonight.”

The Togepi waved his hand that it was fine as Jay’s Growlithe howled with vigor to have his first shot at battling; out of all of their Pokemon, he was best suited to battle Mya.

Sam and Jade were next: Sam tightened her fist and slammed the air—rock—Jade spread her fingers to close over it—paper.

“C’mon!”  Sam huffed.  “Two out of three?”

“Nope!”  Jade snickered.  “We decided on single-death!”

“Aww…  Sorry, Tera…”

Her Phanpy’s ears drooped; she was probably Mya’s biggest fan, but she accepted the loss.  On second thought, Rhea wasn’t sure if Bruce or Tera were Mya’s worst match-up; the Phanpy was a beast, for sure, with High Horsepower.

Finally, Jade and Jay squared off, glaring each other down as Bruce and Mimi mirrored their Trainers: Jade threw out her hand, laying it flat as Jay’s fist shot forward.

“No!”  Jay cried, falling to her knees in defeat.  “How does paper beat rock?!  It makes no sense!”

“Hehe.  Bow before the reality warping paper!”  Jade roared with Mimi, the Pichu throwing her fist in the air.

Rhea’s mouth pulled in at the match-up, eyebrows raised as she glanced between the little Pichu and her overpowered Mawile.  Uh… Mya, be gentle with her—we’re helping her learn here.

Mya nodded, lifting up one of her three claws in a thumbs up.

 

* * *

 

Mya walked over to the ring with a small smile as the little Pichu’s cheeks sparked with confidence; all of their friends and their Trainers lined up on the side with a few interested onlookers.

“I’ve gotten way stronger than last time!”  the little rat boasted, puffing out her chest and crossing her arms.  “I even learned a new Move—oh, and Jade taught me another one!”

“Ooh, nice!”  Mya grinned.  “Hehe.”

Star slapped his head, closing his eyes.  “Mimi—you’re not supposed to tell your opponent your secrets!”

“Huh?”  The Pichu’s ear tilted to the side in confusion.  “You tell people all the time about your super-ultra-impossible Move?”

An evil grin came across the Togepi’s face.  “Hehe.  It’s intimidation!”

Tera gave Star a skeptical look.  “I’d hardly call a Metronome Splash intimidating…”

“Ho-ho!  You tucked into a scared ball when I threw that Move out!”

“Humph.  It was water…  I thought you were actually going to shoot something dangerous at me.”

“Intimidation!  Buia-haha!”

Mya giggled at the banter and Tera’s blush.

“I-I was not intimidated!”  she balked, nose kicking up sand in agitation.  “I’m not scared of water.”

Star ignored her embarrassment, throwing up his hands with laughter.  “I am the unknown in darkness—fear the unknowable Move of doom!”  Their Trainers jumped as the Togepi began waving his arms.  “Observe my power!”

“Star!”  Mimi cried, pointing a finger at him.  “Stop stealing my thunder!”    

Bruce ducked his head, probably not knowing what would happen as the chuckling Fairy Pokemon suddenly sunk into the ground, throwing up dirt before flying out to land on his Trainer’s head, roaring with laughter.

Mya couldn’t stop her stomach from shaking at the look on Hannah’s blank face, sand splayed all over her clothes and hair; all the other Trainers were doubled over laughing, making the Pichu puff up her sparking cheeks.

Settling everyone down, Mya stepped forward, drawing Mimi’s full attention as she released her intimidation aura; everyone quieted down at the sharpened atmosphere.

“Come at me whenever you want, Mimi.”

“Haha!  Okay, but I’m trying to take this battling stuff seriously—I want to make Jade happy, and she’s happy when we win!”

Mya was somewhat reminded of herself before her battle in Pewter.

Crossing her arms and looking off to the side with a reminiscent smile, she nodded.  “I get that…  I like to make Rhea happy, too.  Just remember, do your best, but winning isn’t everything, and she can be happy even if you lose.”

The Pichu’s ears pulled back.  “Really?”

“Mhm.  Our Trainers love it when we grow and try our best, and even if they’re sad right after the fight, they’re proud of us for giving it our all.  That being said, we do need to do our best because we protect our Trainers, right?”

Mimi swiftly nodded, ears flapping.  “I shocked that Pidgey that attacked our raft!  Ugh… it didn’t fall, though!  I was so mad—I’ve been trying hard.”

“Mhm.  Mhm.  Okay, show me what you got!”

Sparks flashed from the rat’s cheeks as she breathed deeply and nodded.  “Okay!  Here I come!”

Mya waited for her as the little Pokemon ran forward, kicking up the sand before jumping to the side and spinning in a short circle with musical notes twirling around her body.

“Hehe—Jade knows you’re super strong, but what if—huh?”

Jogging forward to meet the electric rat, the notes shattered into pieces as they met her shimmering body; the back of her large, steel head smashed into the confused Pichu without applying any Move, throwing her several meters away to tumble across the sand.

“Nice try, Mimi,” Mya smiled, “but I have Hyper Cutter; you can’t drop my Attack.  Try again.”

“Oof…”  Jumping back to her feet with her teammate’s cheers, Mimi growled.  “Okay… so, if that doesn’t work—I should paralyze you—Jade says I should paralyze you!”

“Don’t tell them what you’re going to do!”  Star yelled from his disgruntled Trainer’s arms, keeping him close after his outburst.

“Sorry!”

“It’s okay,” Mya chuckled, communicating her amusement to Rhea.  “I’m coming…”

“I’m fast—I’ll dodge!”

“Uh-huh.”

Chasing the little rat around the field, Mya wished Alice was as easy to deal with as Mimi; the Buneary would never listen to her, but the Pichu was receptive.

A few Thunder Shocks were thrown her way, but Mya was able to dodge the predictable trajectories, battering the Pichu across the field without using any Moves to not instantly shatter her energy matrix.

Mya’s guard went up as the huffing and puffing Pichu changed tactics, blowing a kiss at her as she neared; a heart formed, landing against her head.  In the next second, the world flipped upside down, and she was on the ground, eyes spinning.

Small shocks struck her body as she struggled to her feet in a daze, and Rhea’s voice entered her fuzzy mind, pink hearts spotting her vision; her defenses weren’t affected too much by the struggling rat.

Oh!  So, Mimi learned Sweet Kiss?  If you use an ability right now, it might collapse and hurt you.

“Ah…  got it!”  Mya said, shaking her head to clear it as soft jolts struck her from time to time.

Nova’s voice came through their bond.  “Aww… she’s trying sooo hard—look at her.”

“C’mon… f-fall already…  Fall!”  Mimi cried, voice beginning to show the strain it took to gather her energy.

Vision steadying, Mya faked a gasp upon seeing the struggling Pichu, seemingly running out of juice just trying to shock her; she hadn’t expected to be this far above the baby Pokemon since they weren’t that far apart, excluding battle experience.

“Oof…  I should end this soon.”

Alice huffed.  “Don’t give her false hope.  It’s mean!”

I’m not mean!

“Humph.  Making her believe she has a chance is mean.”

Rhea came between them as Mya ran after the tired Pichu, attempting to keep her distance.  “Helping her understand there are some battles she can’t win is a good lesson to have if she continues to try.  We just need to let her try all the ideas Jade and she have.”

Yeah!

“I would rather my opponent give it their all from the start,” Alice returned.  “Humph.  Not that I would lose to someone as slow as you.”

Mmgm…

Trying to shut out the annoying bunny, Mya focused on the slowing Pichu.  “Good try, Mimi, but, eh?”

The electric rat stopped and gathered enough energy for one last weak pulse of electricity, locking Mya’s body as sparks flared across her body.  No way—she paralyzed me!

Eating sand, she jerkily looked up to see the Pichu faint from overexertion, having used up all her power; Alice was giggling at her fall.

“Aww,” Nova cooed.  “She tried her best and got to at least see she had an effect on you before going down.  I think this was for the best.  Nice job, Mya.”

“Hehe,” Alice hummed, absently playing with her ears.  “I still think I would have been a better teacher, but you did okay… I guess.”

She hadn’t expected the half-compliment from her rival as their Trainers came to the middle of the field with their friends, and sitting down to wait, she had to commend the Pichu’s ceaseless efforts.

“You did good.”

 

* * *

 

Rhea moved forward to rub Mya’s head, the status effect still occasionally sparking across her body.  “Everyone’s different, Alice.  Mya did great.”

Jade forced a chuckle as she picked up her sleeping Pichu.  “Thanks for giving us a shot, Rhea.”

“Mimi did great,” Rhea said, reaching over to stroke her fur with the other girls.  “She’s got spunk.”

“Hehe.  That, she does… in spades.  She’s really come out of her shell recently and even asked me to help her get into battling.  The others are playing games with her—heh, we kind of took inspiration from seeing the video you posted of Alice’s training sessions with the others.”

“Yeah…”  Rhea forced a grin.  “Alice is a bit… 24/7 on her training; she practices every second she’s out.  Want to go get them patched up and grab some ice-cream?”

The Pokemon cheered at the word, and, giggling, Rhea pulled Mya back into her pokeball to let Alice have her turn to teach some of the others her tag game—on request.

Halfway through her cookies-and-cream cone—sharing a bit with Alice—the dreaded moment came, and her parents walked through the doors of the shop, startling her friends.

Her nervous mother didn’t know what to do with her hands, but her father was cool as ice, greeting them with a hardy grin.

“Yo, girls, what’s up?!  Mind if we steal our daughter for a bit?”

“H-Huh?”

Rhea got up and gave a hug to each of them.  “Sorry, but I guess that’s my cue to leave; thanks for keeping me company and having that battle—catch you tomorrow before we leave?”

“Umm, yeah,” Sam muttered, noticing Christie’s apprehensive fidgets.  “Uh, do you think we could have a Triple Battle?”

Vision shifting between the four, Jay swiftly responded.  “Oh, we’ll play rock, paper, scissors again to see who stays out.”

Rhea chuckled and shook her head.  “Why don’t we just have a four vs three; it should be a good experience for us, and I can’t see Lori or Amira saying no.  Later?”

“Later!”

Moving to hug her dad, she followed it up by opening her arms for her mother, trying not to cry from the bittersweet emotions that were beginning to surface.

“Hey, Mom.  Thanks for coming.”

“Rhea… of course!”

Her mother’s hands trembled at her back, and leaving the shop together—Alice hopping off a chair to land on her dad’s shoulder—her father teleported them to an isolated location overlooking a cliff and the sea.

Answers…  Even if I’m scared.  I am who I am, no matter what, and I love my parents.

---