"We're here! I can see Mistralton City from here!" Borg shouted as his Pidgeot slowed down for a steady descent.

"Is this where we're landing!?" Domino hollered as her Pidgeot followed the other.

The two Flying-types gently landed and lowered themselves so their riders could dismount. Borg patted the one he rode and then returned it. Domino did likewise.

"Not too bad for someone who's never ridden a Pokémon before," Borg chuckled.

"After I got my bearings straight and kept myself from losing it, I was able to get the hang of it. It's not everyday one gets to fly at inconceivable speeds and somehow not be affected by the forces working against it," Domino added.

"Sounds like something Zero would say," Borg chuckled.

"I'm still here you know..."

"Really? Because it was kinda hard to tell during the flight. You were rather quiet," Domino snickered.

"You wouldn't have been able to hear me anyway. Or are you suggesting that you wanted to hear me prattle on while you flew?"

"Nah, the break from hearing your voice was rather relaxing," Domino teased.

"I'm coming out..."

"Wait, Zero lives here?" Domino inquired as she looked around nervously.

"Yep! He lives in that house right over there," Borg replied, directing her attention to a wooden house with a red roof.

Domino thought for a moment about what Zero would look like. Several images ran through her mind. One was of the stereotypical nerd with glasses, freckles and horrible fashion sense. The other was similar but more rotund. These images, however, were overruled by the sound of Zero's voice. His voice was gentle, and nice to listen to.

The door opened up and out stepped a young man around 5'10" in height. He had light green eyes and fair skin. He had short, dirty blonde locks and wore glasses with thin black frames. He wore a gray sweater over a white dress shirt and black tie. He sported a pair of khaki pants and black shoes. Domino blinked.

"Yo, Zero! Good to see ya," Borg shouted.

"Heh, same to you Borg," Zero responded, his eyes fixed upon Domino as he approached.

"We finally meet," Domino smirked, her eyes trailing over him as she spoke. "Eh, eight and a half."

"Where'd the half come from?"

"Your glasses. They're not as dorky as I envisioned. They're pretty sharp."

"Glad to know my appearence is approved," Zero quipped.

"Hmm. I'd say lose the sweater, but it's nippy so it can stay," Domino giggled.

"Right. Anyway, shall we go inside? My folks are just getting dinner ready and I told them I had guests coming," Zero stated.

"Um... shouldn't I, you know, change? I still have an officer's uniform on and a badge that clearly says GRPD on it."

"Not gonna be a problem," Zero replied.

"Oh? And how come?"

A few hours earlier...

"Terry!? When are your friends going to be here? Your mother needs to know so she can set everything up," Terry's dad hollered up to him while he kept tabs on Domino's escape.

"In a couple of hours, three at the most. Borg is going to pick up our other guest. She's coming from Johto to meet us. She just got off work," Terry shouted back, making sure the mic was muted.

"Oh? From Johto? I hear it's nice this time of year. What's she do?"

"She's an officer," Terry replied casually.

End flashback...

"You thought of that after I put on the uniform didn't you?"

"Yep. And they bought it. I also said we met online which isn't entirely inaccurate. Now come on, my parents should have everything just about ready," Terry stated, opening the door for them to enter his home.

"So your name is Terry?" Domino inquired as she stepped into his home.

"Terrence is my full first name, I just prefer Terry," Terry replied, taking a seat on the living room sofa.

His home was a two-story house with four bedrooms, and two bathrooms. The floors were wooden and smooth. In the living room were two black and white couches and two recliners of like coloration near the fireplace. Pictures of Terry and his family decorated the walls above the fireplace.

"I think I like the sound of Terry a lot better. Terrence sounds preppy," Domino chortled.

"Sadly, I am in agreement with you. My parents wanted my name to sound prestigious. As for me, I like things simplified."

Domino stifled a laugh.

"What?" Terry asked.

"Nothing, I'll tell ya later," Domino replied.

The sound of a toilet flushing could be heard, followed by the door to the bathroom door down the hall opening. Borg exited with a rather relieved expression on his face.

"Whew! I don't think I could have held that any longer," Borg informed.

"Borg... please tell me you didn't blow up my parents toilet..."

Borg laughed nervously. "Not that badly. Though you might wanna wait ten minutes before going in there again."

"Sometimes I wonder what Emily sees in you," Terry stated flatly.

"Your sister just couldn't resist my charms, we went over this Zero," Borg grinned.

"You said the same thing about Pofty back in Orre," Terry said with a raised brow.

"What can I say? I like women like her. She was just a little tough to get through to," Borg laughed.

"I think you just have a thing for news reporters. Also, I clearly remember Pofty flat-out rejecting you."

Borg scratched the back of his head. "I wouldn't call it rejecting..."

"Borg... you are nineteen. She's thirty-eight. In her eyes, something wasn't right with that picture."

"She's thirty-eight? No wonder she was so mature," Borg replied.

Domino blinked as she listened to the conversation. Clearing her throat, she spoke up.

"So wait... Borg went cougar hunting?" Domino inquired.

Borg palmed his face.

"Not exactly. See, Pofty is a renowned reporter where Borg and I are originally from. She looks younger than she actually is and Borg hit on her. Simply put, it didn't go well. Pofty may be a sucker for romance, but she's no cougar," Terry supplied.

"Ah... that makes more sense," Domino laughed.

"By the way..." Terry stated, leaning in close, "I took the liberty of coming up with a name for you. So try not to act surprised when my parents say it. They're bound to call us in to eat soon."

Terry's mother, Sarah, and father, Elliot, were deep in conversation while preparing the meal.

"Do you really think he's ready?" Sarah asked as she mixed the butter in with the mashed potatoes.

"He's nineteen honey. He's not a kid anymore. Of course he's ready," Elliot said with a confident smile.

"I know, but his asthma-"

"Is mild. The doctor said it's not bad at all. He hardly ever uses his inhaler anyway and has never once had an attack," Elliot reasoned.

"But what if he ends up in the hospital? Honey, our daughter was in a coma for a month after an accident on the job. What if-"

"Terry will be fine. He's more careful than most people. And he's not sickly anymore either. He may have come two months early but he's grown tall and healthy."

Sarah sighed. "There's no winning with you is there?" Sarah pouted.

"I don't know about that, love," Elliot chuckled, kissing Sarah softly on her lips.

"Well, it's all ready. I think they'll like it. Perhaps it's enough to keep Vince from eating us out of house and home. Oh hun, what if Terry ends up with an arm like Vince?"

"He'd probably have a field day with it. You know how he likes things like that. You worry too much," Elliot laughed.

"You're right. I'm sorry. He'll probably be alright. Now, didn't he say he had a guest? What was her name again?"

Domino gave Terry a quizzical look.

"Kiyomi?" She said in a low tone.

"What? You needed a name that screamed foreign so I picked one that fit." Terry replied.

"Do I even wanna know what it means?"

"It would boost your ego too much if I told you. It's big enough as is," Terry said with a smirk.

"I might look it up then. Fine, I'll keep the name. But if I don't like the meaning, I'm changing it."

Terry shrugged, causing Domino to roll her eyes.

"Kiyomi, Vince, Terry! time to eat!" Sarah called.

"Well, I'm starved! So let's eat," Vince said ecstatically.

Terry nodded and stood up from the couch. He gestured for Domino and Vince to go first.

As he did, his X-Transceiver buzzed. He glanced down at the message which was sent by Professor Krane.

Huh, wonder what he wants. Guess I'll call him back later...

"So, Kiyomi is it? I hear you're from the Johto/Kanto region. What's it like over there?" Sarah asked curiously as she took a bite of her salad.

Domino shrugged. "It's cold at times, hot at others. There isn't much of an inbetween really. Though I have to admit, Celadon is pretty nice this time of year," Domino replied.

"Sounds like you've been all over. Police work must be tiring," Elliot stated as he slurped up some pasta.

"You have no idea," Domino sighed, playing the exhaustion card quite well.

"So how long have you three known each other? I swear Terry has friends all over the place. I've lost track," Sarah stated, taking a sip of oran berry juice.

"About a year or so, remember mom? We talked about this," Terry cut in, saving Domino some time.

"Ah, right. I guess all the preparation for dinner jumbled up my mind a little."

Either he's just that good, or his parents are gullible, Domino thought as she dug into her meal, savoring real food for the first time in years.

It was all she could do to keep from shoveling it down. What she ate in prison didn't exactly pass for food in her eyes.

"Oh, by the way Terry, your mother and I dropped off the forms you filled out. Your Trainer's License is on your desk," Elliot informed.

Terry smiled at this. "Thanks. I was beginning to wonder if it would ever get done," Terry laughed.

"Does this mean you finally get to go? Dude, ya gotta tell Hugh and Rosa. They'll be so stoked!" Vince said with a grin.

"Yeah, I know. I'm excited to tell them," Terry mused.

"All I can say is, it's about time T-Man!" Vince laughed.

Domino raised a brow at the nickname. "T-Man?"

"It's a Vince thing-try not to read too much into it," Terry replied quickly.

Domino simply laughed and took one last bite of her meal, regretting that there wasn't enough room in her stomach for more.

"Anyway, we'll find out more on that later. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an important call to make. Thank you for the meal, it was excellent as always mom and dad," Terry complimented.

Terry got up and exited the dining room and went upstairs to his room.
Domino and Vince stayed and talked with Terry's parents for a bit longer, Domino keeping up her facade as best she could.

"So Kiyomi, for curiosity's sake, were you ever a bodyguard?" Sarah asked, taking a sip of her drink.

Domino placed her chin between her hands. "For a time, yes. Why? Any particular reason?"

"N-no, no reason. It's just that I'm a little worried about Terry," Sarah replied in a concerned tone.

"I see. Any mother would be, it's natural," Domino sympathized.

"So you understand!?" Sarah asked excitedly.

"Er...yeah, I mean, it's not unheard of for a mother to wish for the safety of her child," Domino replied quickly. "I have to ask though...why all the worry?"

"I know that I shouldn't, but, Terry has asthma. It's a mild case, but it can still affect him now and then," Sarah sighed.

"Sarah worries that something might happen to Terry because something happened to his sister. I'm sure you've seen her picture," Elliot smiled.

"Yes, and I also heard that this guy," Domino began, jabbing her thumb towards Borg, "is dating her."

"Yes, that is true. Vince is dating our daughter. How that happened even I don't know," Sarah chuckled.

"Oi! Why does everyone keep saying that?" Borg moaned.

Domino chuckled. Her ears twitched as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She turned to see Terry walking back into the dining room.

"Everything okay honey?" Sarah queried.

"Yeah, I was just talking to Professor Krane. He wanted to go over a few things with me, that's all," Terry assured his mother.

"That's good to know," Elliot added.

Domino's eyes trailed down his form and locked onto his belt where a small red and white sphere was attached.

"Oh, he also sent Trapinch back. He's ready to go tomorrow. But I need to talk to Hugh and Rosa," Terry added.

"I bet they will be thrilled about that," Borg grinned.

"Well duh, they've only been bugging me for the past few months. Rosa still won't let me have peace until I join them," Terry smirked.

"How long have those two been going steady?" Vince asked.

"A year... I think," Terry replied, tapping his chin in thought. "Why?"

Vince shrugged, "Incase I need any advice."

Terry arched a brow and decided not to press the issue.

"At any rate, I'll be heading to the lab a little early tomorrow to meet with Juniper to discuss my journey," Terry continued. "I'd like it if you would join me, Kiyomi..."

"That's a wonderful idea Terry. I think I would feel a lot better knowing she's with you," Sarah chimed in.

"That was the idea, Mom," Terry replied calmly.

Domino studied his face. While his expression appeared relaxed, his eyes were singing a different tune. There was a reason he wanted her with him. Remembering that he still had yet to explain why he broke her out of jail, a smile spread across her features.

"I'd love to come along. It'll give us more time to catch up," she added with emphasis.

"Of course, we definitely need to..."