Chapter #15:

  Stumbling down one of the facilities' many hallways, Aerithtwo reflected on the day's events. The training session
she'd endured earlier that afternoon had been very grueling. Rather than the usual sparing practice, Lucario had set
up an elaborate endurance challenge to test her understanding and reflexes. Now, her head hurt, her whole body
ached, and the idea of walking right now wasn’t much fun.

  Casting a glance out a nearby window, Aerith noticed that it was growing late in the afternoon.
She briefly considered going to her room and getting some rest but felt it was still far too early for
that. After all, the sun was still shining outside and she didn't want to be confined at this time of day.
Instead she decided to see what Jaden was doing.

  She was grateful that the human residential area was similar to the living quarters she was used to.
Rounding a corner, Aerith yelped in surprise as a small yellow blur shot past her from an adjacent room.
It took her a moment to recognize the retreating creature as Miko, although she had no clue why he was
in the room in the first place. She twitched, annoyed by the sudden intrusion.

  She also noticed the mouse-like pokémon was carrying a colored bundle of some sort and
vaguely considered whether or not to intervene. Aerith knew dismayingly well, that Miko
was very quick. She'd never be able to catch him by conventional means, however...

  Aerith hesitated for a moment. Although she could always try her telekinesis, with her lack of
experience in that area she’d probably hurt him somehow. Then again, Miko wasn't the most
rational pokémon around. Her decision made, Aerithtwo focused on the rodent's retreating form
and smirked as Miko suddenly flew backwards and tumbled across the ground.

“Hey, what gives?” Miko whined.

  He sounded just a little irritated. Aerith ignored him and focused instead on
what he'd been carrying. Around him lay what looked suspiciously like articles
of human clothing. Somewhere in her mind the term 'lingerie' sprang up.

  Aerith wracked her brain for a definition. Lingerie was... lingerie was...
oh, right. She suddenly remembered what the word meant and recoiled in horror
as Miko got to his feet.

Aerith made a soft retching sound as she spoke up.

“What were you... never mind. Have you seen Jaden?”

“No. Yeesh, are you his wife or something? You sure sound like one.”

Aerith blinked a couple of times. He was making fun of her!

“Oh, c'mon!” she snapped, reaching down and scooping the smaller pokémon up rather quickly.

“Hey, take it easy. I'm very sensitive.” Miko grumbled as she shifted the rather sarcastic smaller pokémon and began walking.

  Aerith groaned and rolled her eyes as she continued her trek down the hallway. A short time
later, the pair arrived at their destination upon reaching another open door. Unlike the previous
one, the sounds of bickering and discussion indicated that this room was occupied.

  Glancing in the doorway, Aerith saw the rest of the team, excluding Jovi, gathered around
a large glowing box of some sort. Somehow instinctively she knew what the object was but
couldn't think of its name at the moment. Also present was a strange looking green and white
dog-thing stretched out on the human's bed.

  From what she could see, two chairs were set up in front of the glowing box. Near the chair on the
left Aerith, saw Taelia leaning against the wall examining her claws and occasionally commenting
about being surrounded by crazy people. Arien meanwhile, stood nearby and quietly watched what
was happening.

  Aerith couldn’t help a small smile at the unmistakable sound of her sister's voice coming from the
chair on the left. The kitten seemed to be totally engrossed in and was grumbling about whatever was
on the screen. In the chair on the right sat Jaden, who seemed to be equally focused on the glowing box.

  Moments later, the dog-like creature, she still didn't know what it was, turned and spotted her.
Aerithtwo felt rather awkward as the creature's face seemed to light up into a cheerful, cockeyed grin
and it called out to her in a voice that sounded like a gruffer, more masculine version of her sisters' voice.
The action prompting Taelia and Arien to glance at her.

“Hey, sis!”

“Oh, hey. Come in and make yourself comfortable.” Jaden spoke up, half turning and casting her a nod.

“Why's she carrying you?” Taelia asked amused, staring at the fuzzy bundle in her arms.

“Why would I wanna waste such a useful mode of transportation?” Miko replied sheepishly.

  Aerith blinked. Was that all he thought of her as? With an exasperated sigh, she released
her hold and watched as the rodent dropped to the floor with a yelp. Miko landed on his back
with a satisfying thump and a grunt before he scrambled, rather ungainly, to his feet.

“Would you mind giving me some warning next time and watch
 where you swing that thing before you take my bloody head off?” the Pikachu nagged as he dived to the floor to avoid her tail.

  Over the sound of Taelia's snickering, Aerith didn’t bother to apologize. Instead, she staggered
over to the bed and sat down beside the dog-thing. At that moment, sitting was such a relief.
The creature meanwhile, seemed to snuggle up against her waist as it shifted position. Still
grinning happily as it did so.

“By the way, mutt-boy there is your brother, Hiroki.” Jaden remarked as he went back to whatever he was doing.

“It’s great to finally spend time with you, sis. I'd have done
 it sooner but I've been busy tutoring your boy there.” the dog-thing, Hiroki, piped up happily.

Aerith nodded.

She suddenly blinked as she recalled something Jaden had said and cast Hiroki a curious glance.

“Do you remember that scan the techs did when you first got here, sis?” the dog-like creature asked without missing a beat.

Aerith nodded.

“We-ell... a similar thing occurred when Jovi first arrived and as a result... I was born.” Hiroki continued.

Aerith mulled the information over thoughtfully before speaking again.

“What are you, anyway?”

“I'm a Shaymin, sis!” Hiroki cheered.

  Silence fell as she and the others continued to watch Jaden and Jovi do their thing.
She suddenly remembered the glowing box’s name and smirked. She then cast a glance
around the room and amused herself by silently naming the things she saw.

“So, what's going on?” she asked turning her attention back toward what was happening on the TV.

“Oh, they’re just havin’ a little competition. A competition
 in which my dearest counterpart is losing oh... so badly.” Hiroki giggled.

“I'd be able to concentrate better if a certain mutt would stay quiet.” Jovi cut in, annoyed.

“Concentrate? Girl, you couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.” Jaden retorted, amused.

Aerith knew what that word meant and had to fight back a laugh.

“Oh, hey! Maybe if you doubled the size of the target and
 painted it pink, she might actually be able to hit it!” Hiroki quipped.

  Aerith couldn’t help it, she started laughing. The exasperated
expression on Jovi’s face at the remark had been too much.
Judging by the snickers, she wasn’t the only one amused.

“Who asked for your opinion, Hiroki?!” Jovi snapped, swishing her tail.

“I happen to be a very good shot. After all… I used to bull’s-eye
 Wamprats in my T-16 back home.” she continued moments later.

“Ah, the force is strong with you my young, Padawan geek.” Jaden murmured, prompting a snicker from Hiroki.

Aerith shook her head. She had no clue what they were talking about and wasn't going to ask.

“Speaking of which, did you know there is an island with berries
 that cause you to turn pink if you eat them too much?” Arien cut in.

Everyone turned and stared at the Totodile in confusion. Hiroki
voiced Aerith’s own thoughts when he asked “Come again?”

“I’ve heard there is an island with berries that cause you to turn pink if you eat them
 too much. It’s located in the Orange Islands, I think. I'm fairly certain a Rhyhorn was
 involved in that as well.” the reptile explained.

“Ooookay, I'm not sure what relevance that has to
 this conversation but I'll take your word for it.” Hiroki murmured, shaking his head.

An awkward silence descended among the group but was broken as Jaden spoke up.

“Alright, I'm tired of shooting ghouls and corpses. Let's try something else.”

“oooo... somethin' with multiplayer would be nice.” Hiroki remarked.

  Nodding, Jaden tossed the Shaymin an extra controller as he began to fiddle with
another gizmo next to the TV. Moment later, the logo for another game appeared.
from what she could tell, the new one was some sort of fighting game.

  Curiously, out of all the game's controllable characters, the one that stood out the
most was, at least in her mind, a 'Pikachu'. Smirking, Aerith cast Miko a glance to
see what he thought. For his part, the rodent looked on amused and occasionally
bantered with the 'dueling trio' about what was occurring on the screen.

  Aerith couldn't help giggling a little as her sister became increasingly frustrated
about what was happening on the screen. The exasperated expression on the kittens'
face was just too much as she protested that everyone was “...ganging up on her.”

“That's it... I'm done!” Jovi growled, dropping her controller and flicking her tail.

“Well, short-stuff... if you forfeit now you're admitting defeat.” Jaden countered.

“I'm not short! A-and I wasn't beaten... I quit! There's a difference!” Jovi retorted hotly.

“It's the same thing... but... whatever dear.” Jaden replied, rolling his eyes.

“Hey, nobody likes a sore loser!” Hiroki challenged gleefully.

  Jovi's indignant screech was cut short as a soft grumbling filled the room.
Aerith immediately glanced downwards, only to stop as Miko and Arien did
the same thing. The Totodile scowled and rested a paw on his stomach.

“I think that was me.” Arien announced.

“I don’t know. I’m kinda hungry, too.” Aerith admitted.

“Oh... I could certainly go for a cheeseburger right now.” Jovi groaned.

Aerith blinked. Cheeseburgers were something she remembered, something she knew she liked.

“Well, let's get goin' then and get some food in you guys so
 ya don't pass out on me. If you did that I'd be very lonely.” Hiroki cut in, scrambling to his feet.

  She quickly scrambled to her own feet, eagerly anticipating a good meal as the others
slowly began to move around. Passing through the doorway, Aerith squeaked as she
nearly collided with Bianca. The human seemed just as surprised as she was and looked
as exhausted as she felt. Beside her was the Raichu from before.

“Time certainly flies when you're having fun.” Jaden commented cheerfully from behind.

  Glancing over her shoulder, Aerith saw Jaden standing directly behind her with
the others nearby and suddenly realized she was blocking the way out. She quickly
stepped aside as Bianca spoke up, shaking her head.

“That depends on your definition of fun.”

“Ok, let's get some food in you lot so nobody passes
 out and perhaps afterwards we can all relax.” Raichu cut in.

“I've been sayin' that all along.” Hiroki piped up, from somewhere beside her.

  Aerith fought back a laugh as Raichu stare blankly at the Shaymin before she sort of
shook her head, turned, and walked away. The group quickly followed her retreating
form. As they walked, Aerith noted that the humans were engrossed in a conversation
of some sort but wasn't really paying attention to it.

  Instead, as they exited the building, she cast a passing glance and was surprised to discover that the
sun was beginning to set. Apparently they had spent several hours in the room. Not that it mattered as
her stomach chose that moment to remind her of the task at hand. Suppressing a groan, Aerithtwo
focused on the groups' ultimate destination.

  The building in question was rather large and had a number of tables set up near the entrance.
From experience she knew that most of the buildings' interior was filled with yet more tables while
the rest accommodated the food. As they drew closer, Aerith fought the urge to salivate in anticipation
of a good meal and cast a weary glance at the others, hoping that nobody had noticed.

  They hadn't. In fact, nothing much had changed except there were now several conversations
taking place at once. The more amusing conversation seemed to be between the other pokémon.
From what she could tell, Arien was informing the others about how some of the items on the menu
were made from creatures that weren't pokémon.

  Aerith exhaled huffily. She wasn't sure what exactly the Totodile was babbling about or if Arien even
knew for that matter. Did it really matter? As far as she was concerned, food was food. It didn't matter
where it came from. Arien only got blank stares from most of those present for the comment but Aerith
suspected Hiroki was somehow baiting the Totodile, and rolled her eyes.

  Upon entering, Aerith let her gaze drift across the room and noted that there was quite a crowd in
the dining hall tonight. It amused her that, at this place, the humans that didn’t leave everyday shared
communal meals with the pokémon. It was a far cry from what she’d experienced back at that lab.

  Scowling to herself, Aerith let the thought go and followed the others over to what the humans called
a ‘buffet’ line. After giving it some thought, Aerith remembered what that word meant and grinned.
It had always been a treat she’d looked forward to ‘back then’ and was something she’d come to relish
now. Grabbing a tray, she quickly began to sort through the vast array of appetizing entrées as the others
did the same thing.

  Staring at a collection of fruit, Aerith once again fought the urge to salivate as her eyes scanned
the bins’ contents. She quickly spotted some plump, juicy, green apples and recalled that they were
something she knew she liked. Several of the delicious fruits found their way onto her tray as she
moved to another section. Nearby, she spotted Jovi poking at some unidentified slab of meat and
smirked as she walked over.

  Glancing over her shoulder, Aerith saw Hiroki was laying near the door with a demented smirk
on his face. She couldn’t help feeling rather weirded out by that as she turned back to the buffet line.
Just as she began to help herself, a large, gray beast with a horn on its face suddenly cut in front of her.

“Oh… excuse me.” Aerith grumbled, twitching in annoyance at the sudden intrusion.

  The creature however, ignored her as it focused on the food. Moments later, she heard her sister squeal
in protest as the thing barreled past her. Sighing, Aerith went back to the task at hand as a pair of golden
fried meat slabs liberated themselves from the bin and found a home on her tray. She allowed a small grin
to cross her face at that. Yes, telekinesis did come in handy when you didn’t want to deal with stuck up jerks.

  Moments later, Aerith had the distinct impression that something unpleasant was about to happen, but didn't know
why. The sound of Hiroki’s sudden snickering only increased her anxiety. She wasn’t sure if she actually saw the
impending blast forming or just felt it as Jovi edged away from the buffet line and the grey creature next to it.

  Tense seconds passed then Aerith yelped and scrambled aside, surprised as the contents of the bin beside her
splattered everywhere on its own; most covering the gray thing in front of her. The creature gasped for a moment
before turning and fixing Jovi with a glare of such fury that she was surprised the ‘kitten’ didn’t shrivel up
and die. For her part, Jovi looked around confused before blinking innocently at the beast.

“Whoa big guy. I had nothin’ to do with this so let's not do something stupid here.” Jovi stammered,
holding her hands up, trying to emphasize her point.

  Snarling, the thing swiped at the kitten and missed; sending food chunks and other debris
flying across the room. It all made a lovely splattering noise as it impacted with a large, orange,
dragon-thing with a flaming tail. The creature in question turned and let loose with a savage
roar of its own.

  Before long the entire room was in an uproar as food and other things flew everywhere.
Aerith barely manage to take shelter behind one of the food bins, surprised that she'd
managed to avoid getting hit by any of the projectiles hurling through the air.

“Well… I see some of these retards have had an outstanding afternoon.” Jovi quipped from somewhere to her right.

  Gasping, Aerith risked a peek and saw a few of the humans and a large number of pokémon throwing
whatever they could grab at one another in addition to a fair number of actual fights. She was forced
back behind cover as some unidentified food substance sailed past her head. From somewhere nearby,
she heard Kyle and Miko gleefully shout “...food fight!” before joining the brawl.

  Moments later, Aerith yelped in surprise as a hand grabbed her shoulder. Turning, she saw Jaden
huddling beside her, gasping. Usually she would have yelled at the boy for appearing out of nowhere
like that, but this time his presence was greatly appreciated. It seemed that Jaden had managed, much
like her, to avoid getting hit by anything that flew by.

“I think it’s time to go.” he murmured, glancing around them uneasily.

  Aerith nodded and quickly followed as the human made a break for the door. Behind her, Aerith could hear
Jovi screaming in both disgust and urging her to move quicker. As they exited, Aerith moved to a nearby portion
of the buildings' exterior and leaned against it; letting her eyes drift shut as she struggled to control her racing heart.
Once she managed to compose herself, Aerith opened her eyes and looked around.

  A short distance away stood her trainer and Bianca, with Arien and Raichu standing near their feet. Aerith noted
in amusement that both females were cleaning themselves off while the males were completely clean. Letting her
gaze drift, Aerith noticed that Taelia was missing. Apparently she didn't make it, although a sizeable crowd further
away indicated that there were others who had managed to escaped the chaos.

  Glancing to her right, Aerith spotted Jovi feverishly wiping gunk off her waist and tail and grinned. Beside the
kitten was Hiroki, who was staring up at his counterpart with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes and a smug look
on his face. Aerith tried her best to stifle a laugh as she looked on before realizing that she was holding something.

  Gazing down, she saw that she was still holding her tray and smirked. It looked like she'd be able to enjoy dinner
after all, although she didn't remember having quite so many apples or the extra slices of meat. Unlike the first pair,
the second pair of meat slabs were crunchy looking and smelled very tasty. If she thought about it, she could almost
identify what they were.

  Aerith looked over and cocked her head to the side, curious as to whether anyone else was interested in the extra
fruit. Neither Raichu nor the humans were interested, but Arien graciously accepted the invitation as she tossed an
apple over to him. She tossed the remaining apple to Jovi, who caught it easily, nodded in appreciation, and turned a
glare onto the grinning Shaymin.

“What was that, huh?”

“What was what?” Hiroki asked.

Aerith really had to fight back a laugh, by taking a bite out of an apple, as her sister stared
at Hiroki before rolling her eyes and nodding her head toward the building behind them.

“Oh, that... just havin' some fun.” Hiroki answer sheepishly.

The clone had to fight back laughter as Jovi gaped at the Shaymin before slowly voicing her question.

“Fun... you instigated a riot for fun?”

  Hiroki merely shrugged in response and smirked as Jovi turned away and
shook her head. Judging by the snickers, Aerith wasn’t the only one amused
by the days' events. Even Raichu was hiding a smirk behind one paw.

“Oy... males, I SWEAR!” Jovi shrieked; tail flicking as she clutched her head.

“How do you go around all the time with those freakin' uni-horns between
 your legs, and your stupid maley maleness screwin' everything up...” the kitten continued.

  Aerith blinked at that statement. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what
they were talking about. The more she thought about it though, the more she
was certain she had an idea what the conversation was about.

“Maley maleness...” Jaden giggled.

Aerith's eyes widened as she recalled the definition for the word
the kitten was referring too. Her sister could NOT mean that!

“Eeewwwwww!” she mumbled, shuddering as Raichu snickered.

“Kits!” the rodent remarked, still grinning.

Aerith shrugged, as she resumed eating. The comment wasn't directed at her so what did she care.

“This reminds me of a female Bayleaf that had a crush on its trainer and was rescued during a blizzard
 while it was still a Chikorita. By the way, are any of you familiar with the Loch Ness Lapras?” Arien piped up suddenly.

Everyone turned and stared at the Totodile in confusion.

“Dude, is that even relevant?” Bianca asked, amused.

Aerith fought back the urge to cough as she snickered at
the statement. Hiroki meanwhile, was cackling madly.

“Oh, hey... that gives me another idea...” the Shaymin piped up suddenly.

“No! No more idiotic pranks! You're already going to be in enough trouble for this stunt!” Jovi snapped, pointing a finger at him.

“So, what's your point?” Hiroki teased.

Jovi stared incredulously at the Shaymin for a moment before suddenly contorting into a snarl.

“Don't you even think of getting sis involved in one of you're
 little schemes! ...And we are sooo not related if anyone asks!” she howled.

Aerith blinked at that statement. What did she have to do with any of this?

“Aww, c'mon. She doesn't have to do much.” Hiroki protested.

“We are not getting sis involved, and that's FINAL!” Jovi roared.

The kitten then folded her arms and refused to look at the exasperated Shaymin.

Aerith snickered. That move, she knew, was the ultimate in final gestures,
there was no arguing with the folded arms. Ever. It just wasn't done.

“You suck.” Hiroki grumbled, over a chorus of snickers.