(All questions will go to the "Hidden Secrets")

(This may get dark, but I don't know what to exactly warn you of)

Table of Contents
1: Purple's True Form
2: The Real Perfection Cult
3: Midnight's Full Form
4: The Real Go Siblings

***

[Purple's True Form]

Purple smiled darkly as he watched the Dexters tried to escape a cage that Maple had supposedly trapped them in. He went over in the rafters before dropping down and looked at them upside down with a grin that made Lime nervous. Pink growled.

"You! How'd you not get caught?" Purple's smiled slid into a smirk before he vanished into the rafters and a shock hit the cage. The scream covered up his chuckle as he watched them.

"Oh Pink. You don't see it..." He smiled as his form shifted to a rather certain villain. "Do you?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Purple purred as Cessil broke them out and they were nearing the exit. He shifted his form and had Shandowa cast an illusion before he stepped out in front of them. Velvet charged at his new form, not knowing it was him, and attacked.

"WAIL STORMER!"

Purple grabbed her attack and set it back, causing her to scream out in pain before she was caught by Cream.

"So you are weakened by you own powers. Interesting..." Pink hissed at him.

"Let us go Maple."

"After what you did? Absolutely not."

"You tried to get something for yourself! What's that supposed to mean?" He purred before something lowered to the ground.

"Let's try something else..." While he was in another form, the illusion brought down a wounded 'Purple', causing the others to panic. "Oh, so he's one of yours. Oops..."

"Let him go!"

"Not without a trade. One of you have to stay." The group froze. "Or... you could fight the rest of the way out and leave him behind." 

Pink was the most terrified. She was making a risky choice, but she had to plan ahead. Unless... She narrowed her eyes as she studied Maple. Something didn't feel right. That's when she caught it.

"Wait... who are you really?" A faded smile slipped onto his face as she growled. "Who's been playing with us?!" Maple chuckled before a strange smoke filled the air, covering their gaze.

"You're good, aren't you, Pink." The smoke, without anyone seeing it, changed the person's form and dropping the illusion. The voice slowly changed as well as the smoke started clearing. "But you're still behind." The others paused as the smoke cleared to reveal a familiar face. Pink froze.

"The hell you doing?!" Her twin chuckled as he jumped up into the rafters and avoided Forest's attack.

"Next time, catch all the hints." A device appeared in his hand before he pressed a button, the floor suddenly send a shock through the group. With them already being too weak to move far, a scream of pain escaped them as Purple smiled. "You all made that way too easy!" Platinum, being one of the few that was able to withstand the torture, frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" A laugh slipped from his lips as he turned the shock up. Many of the Dexters had to kneel down in order to control the pain.

"Isn't it obvious, dear Platinum~? Between what happened just before you woke up here and all the hints this place gave, I'm surprised you're now solving it as I show my whole hand." Gold growled as Skippy called up.

"Yeah, well that's because some people aren't as smart as some and those smart people were busy trying to survive this!" Purple purred.

"But four of you should've been able to see it. You had a Riddle." Velvet bit her lip as she stood up.

"There was more than normal elements in that torture. I'm surprised you were able to get you hands on those monstrous elements." Purple shrugged.

"I was up against Riddles, ones that know how to heal over time. I had to deal with you guys a different way. But at least you caught that." Platinum gulped as he turned up the shock, making quite the noise from the others. A few of them dropped unconscious from the pain. Gold stayed quiet as Skippy called out.

"Why even do this?!"

"That's for me to know and you to find out, Dear Skippy. It's sad that your sister just passed out to solve that." Skippy growled as the remainder of the others dropped unconscious. He flicked the shock off, letting the resting members relax a little. Platinum called up to him as Velvet took a knee to regain strength.

"This is because someone bribed you into it, right?"

"You wish. But you're close." Gold paused before he finally spoke.

"Protection." The others turned to him. "You got info that someone would attack us when we were unaware and do this themselves. You couldn't have that, so you took matters into your own hands. You were going to take out the weaker Dexters and leave us stronger, more capable to deal with the threat." Purple purred at the reply while they others gave him a confused look.

"I was wondering when someone would catch on. That's exactly right. Someone thought they could bring down an entire group of Dexters. I saw a chance to show my potential and took it. I'm actually surprised on how successful this was. I might even take it up a notch so that people can see that no one can pull this damage." 

Gold growled as he nodded to the others before they jumped up to his level. He pressed a button on the device before a series of painful sounds escaped the knocked out group. It was unsure what he was using, but it was painful. The group of four raced at him as he casted something.

"Legendary Star! Code: Midori Promise! Guiding Solstice! Empire of Portals! Εδρα! Κάντο!"

A light covered the group as he jumped back. Gold and Skippy winced as Platinum shouted something and the light blinded them.

Purple purred as the light teleported them out of the base.

"Oh you idiots. You should know I don't fight the front lines. You should've realized that you were tricked into letting me get you away from the main group so I could finish without having to solve you guys. I'll find your weaknesses in due time. Meanwhile..." He glanced down at the large group that was withering away down below him. "I have some unfinished business here to finish. And much more afterwards. How fun."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He bit his lip as pain engulfed him. Shandowa was somewhere, who knows where. But he was still sitting there, trying to control himself as his hand continued to bleed. It was more than his hand, but the numbness was making his go crazy. Faint voices filled the air as he silenced his pain.

"Purple... where are you...?"

He remained quiet as his mind fogged up. He eyed the knife that rested in his hand as he paused. Could he pull it off? The voice came through, clearer than the first time.

"Purple...?"

Shit. That was Gold. How'd he find the base? Not that it matter. Everything was complete. He just had to finish the final step. Despite the pain screaming against his actions, he lifted the knife to his shoulder and paused.

"Purple, this isn't funny. Come out here."

Purple actually laughed at his comment before letting the knife slice down his shoulder all the way to his waist. His laugh was cut off by a choked scream of pain, but it was worth it. The sound of running feet filled the air as he moved the knife and let it cut his legs, arms and back. The sounds that escaped him started getting breathy as red filled his gaze. It was just after did another deep cut from his other shoulder to waist was he found. He didn't realize how deep he was in his work before the knife disappeared from his hand. He snapped back to reality as Gold held it out of his reach. Purple trembled.

"Gife it ack!"

His words fumbled as he tried to get it back. Gold placed a hand on his head and tiredness grabbed him. He stood up and tried again for the knife before Gold pushed him back down. Clearly the strength difference was different as one gentle push caused Purple to hit his head pretty hard and Gold to panic.

"Purple stay with m-" Purple heard his words fade out quickly as everything went dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gold was quiet as he watched Purple. The smaller boy was slowly waking up in the hospital as Gold eyed his vitals. Purple blinked awake slowly before pausing. He clearly didn't see the Flame as he called out.

"Hello...?" He then started breathing heavily as he tried to look around. Gold stayed quiet before approaching the bed. Purple finally noticed him as he blinked. "Gold~talve..." His breathing relaxed a little as Gold touched his hand, which was very wrapped up. "Where am I...?"

"Viridian City Hospital." Purple hummed at the reply. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"What...?"

"Why didn't you tell anyone what you were?" Purple gave a confused look, as if trying to get more info. "Purple, just today, you showed that you were a sadistic masochist that has a child trapped inside."

"I....... don't know what you're talking about..." Purple paused before his attention was pulled away. Gold touched his non wounded cheek, regaining him.

"Listen... I'm going to tell the doctors to give you a full check up, ok?" Purple blinked before giving a weak smile, no doubt giving his answer. "Alright... don't hurt yourself-"

"Did.... you find Shandowa?" The Flame paused at his question. An emotion finally crossed his face as he looked around the best he could. Worry. "I never saw Shandowa come back... I don't even know where it went..." Gold placed a gentle hand on his wrapped shoulder to calm him down.

"Sadly not, but after I go talk to the doctor, I'll go look, ok?" Purple paused before a real smile crossed his face. "There's a smile. I'll get that all done right away, ok?" Purple smiled big as Gold went out and went over to Shyly.

***

[The Real Perfection Cult]

Reukra smiled as Purple ran over to him. He was still wrapped up from before and had a playful smile on his face. A slight sight of worry traced his face as they hugged.

"Hey, my little Impostor..." Purple smiled as he snuggled against the older male. "What happened to you...?" Purple giggled lightly before looking up at him, his eyes revealing the fact that some painkillers were in effect. Reukra sighed before gently tickling his back. "Come on. We're about to start." Purple's eyes lit up as he got his backpack off and pulled out his binder. "Why do you have that?" Purple paused before noticing him pointing at the bag.

"Uh... Shandowa went missing, so I had to bring it out and carry what I can access until it returns..." Reukra hummed as a voice called out to them.

"Purple! Reukra!" 

They turned to see Taen running over with a red face. The Ice Guardian had a rather large cut on his cheek that grabbed their attention before he slowed to a stop. Purple paused before pulling something else out of his bag. Taen was about to say something when Purple got a bandage on his cut. Taen paused before silently thanking him and turning to the older male.

"I'm not late, am I?" Purple let a giggle out as Reukra sighed.

"Taen, you never change. What do I always say?" Taen paused before looking down.

"That... lateness isn't a thing unless there's a true time limit?" Reukra smiled.

"Exactly. You made it perfectly on time. Shall we get set up?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pink frowned as she and Forest approached the trio at their little tented area. Purple had a huge smile across his face as Taen weakly argued with Reukra about something. They were trying to get people's attention, but no one took notice. Pink chuckled as they went over.

"And what is this supposed to be?" The trio immediately glanced at each other before looking at the Augur.

"None of your business. Shouldn't you be looking around for Maple?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I found his double if that counts." Taen held up a newspaper. The front cover had the news about a jailbreak.

"No. That's not what we meant. Maple escaped last week and killed five of the guards. Anything else to add?" Pink fell silent as Forest scanned their little site. His eyes caught sight of some signup forms and was able to translate the sign Purple was carrying.

"Ελάτε να ενωθείτε με τη Σωτηρία! Θα σας σώσουμε από τον παγκόσμιο πόλεμο! Αφήστε μας να σας βοηθήσουμε και να βοηθήσουμε!"

"Come join Salvation! We shall save you from the world's war! Let us help you and Help out!"

A smile slipped onto his face as he paused.

"I see that, you three. You're trying to confuse Pink so she doesn't see the whole operation here." A noise escaped Reukra as he hid the forms. "Don't think you can get past both of us. You're trying to revive Perfection, huh?"

"Not... exactly..." Reukra whispered as Purple and Taen went inside the tent to grab something. "It's more of the true Perfection I was going for. I made Perfection, the first Perfection, as a cover to hide the true purpose of the Cult. And it was actually more successful than the cover. While the cover could never obtain perfection, I got close with the true cult." He pulled out two pictures as Purple and Taen slipped around them and tried to get the incoming crowds attention. He showed them the pictures. "This was Purple and Taen before they joined." 

Pink grabbed her mouth. While Purple just looked like a lost orphan, Taen looked like someone had literally taken the life out of him. She snuck a glance at the Ice Guardian. Now he looked like the heavens were protecting him. He was currently talking to a smaller kid, who was kindly asking what Purple's sign said for his mom.

"Don't worry, Pink. You're not the only person that got concerned when that was seen. Purple had discovered him while Taen was actually trying to find hospitality. If I hadn't taken him under my wing, the worse might have happened and he wouldn't be as successful as he is now. He was no bigger than Purple when I took him in and now I'm trying to figure out where the kid I found went." Pink hummed as the two boys sat down in defeat as the crowd left them. "Boys, don't give up. Our goal is to get at least two members!" The duo perked up before nodding and standing up to try again. He smiled at that.

"Well... you guys be careful. I have a murderer to go find." She darted off, leaving Forest to yelp and follow slowly behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Purple had fallen asleep from all that commotion, leaving Taen to try and get support. His face was red as he kept trying. A small child went over as he sat down in defeat and his stomach growled. Great. He didn't want to bother Reukra for food since they only had enough for lunch, dinner and maybe breakfast. He sighed as an apple appeared in front of him. He froze at the sight.

"Are you ok?" He looked up at the child. He caught sight of a woman trying to determine if she should pull him away from the dangerous people he was near. Taen blinked before smiling.

"Yes... just a little wasted." The child paused before looking around.

"What are you guys trying to do?"

"Gather members for Salvation." The child paused. "It's a Cult that's trying to help heal the world and save people that need help." The child hummed before giving him the apple.

"Then what you want to look for is there's a kid that wanders around here. They are always acting like they are hurt and in need, but around that building they get grabbed by a really mean woman." Taen paused before smiling.

"Thank you. I'll keep an eye out for them." The child nodded before running back to his mother. Taen waved to them as they left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taen almost missed them if Purple didn't catch them. 

Taen woke up to Purple protecting something in his grip. Tears were forming in the purple haired male's eyes as a woman continued to try and get whatever he was protecting. She kept screaming at him and using a whip and knife on his back. Taen, after processing the scene, quickly got to his feet and ran over. Frost covered his hand as he casted.

"Legendary Star! FROZEN GUST!"

The frost grasped the air before pushing the woman away from the hurt Dexter before Taen got to his side. Purple looked up before letting a shaky breath of relief.

"What were you doing?" Purple trembled before Taen noticed a blanket bundle in his arms.

"I-i-i woke up to a scream and-" Taen paused before seeing the woman advance. He helped Purple to his feet before getting in front of him.

"Get them to Reukra. Go." Purple nodded before running into the tent. Taen bit his lip as the woman hissed.

"What do you think you're doing?" Taen gulped.

"My job, ma'am-" He suddenly let a estranged sound out as pain hit him. He grabbed his mouth before noticing a fairly threatening sized cut that went from his right shoulder to the mid-stomach. His vision blurred at the sight. Not now.

"Give me my child." 

Taen couldn't answer as he looked up at her. Keeping a hand on his mouth, he shook his head before she sliced his hand and smacked him a few times with the whip. He resisted making any further noises until she tried words again.

"Give me my child." Taen went to shake his head when a hand touched his unwounded shoulder.

"That's enough. Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Taen trembled with relief as Reukra's voice entered the air.

"Not until I have my child."

"The child is more destroyed than the region was when the Abyssal Cult attacked it. If you don't leave, I'll get the Augur on you. And I have her on speedial and I know how fast she moves." The woman huffed before leaving. Taen huffed before Reukra helped him inside the tent. "You did a great job... rest..."

"Can I see the kid?" 

Taen whispered as they got inside. Reukra smiled before bringing him over to where Purple was asleep with the bundle in a gentle grip. Reukra let him rest beside them before lifting the blankets to reveal a very small kid that barely looked like they were a very thin toddler. Taen paused as Reukra wrapped his wounds up.

"Rest. You'll need it."

Taen nodded before Reukra went to the front part of the tent. He then grabbed a blanket and joined Purple in recovering. The Midori did wake to the motion, but instead helped him get comfy and adjust the child between them. It took a few minutes, but eventually they found a good position and fell asleep.

Reukra later found them as they slept. Taen had let the child rest on top of him while Purple cuddled up to the Ice mage's side. The child was slightly awake as they were looking around a little before nuzzling against Taen and falling asleep again. Reukra smiled before going over and pulling the blanket up a little bit to further cover them. He then left to go find more recruits.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taen woke up to the child shifting awake. Purple still had a hold of his arm as the child got up and gripped the bed. Taen smiled at them.

"Hello..." The child glanced at him before pausing.

"Where..."

"The temporary Salvation base. You ok?" They nodded before seeing the duo males' wounds.

"Who did this to you..."

"Uh...." A chuckle filled the air as Reukra came over. Taen tried to stand up, only to fail as Purple still had a grip on his arm.

"Morning you two. Taen, after you escape Purple, can you get back out there?" Taen nodded before regaining his arm and heading out. Reukra knelt down to the child. "Meanwhile, I wanted to ask you something. Follow me." Sparkles filled their eyes as they followed him to a little office like area. He grabbed a paper and showed it to them. "Would you like to join the other two and I in Salvation?" A smile appeared on their face as they nodded. "Then in that case, take this paper and pen and go fill it out. Purple might be asleep, but he can help you." The child smiled before taking the items.

"Thank you!" He nodded as they ran to where Purple was, who was slowly getting up after realizing the others had left. He saw the child join him as Reukra nodded to him. Purple smiled as he sat up and shifted next to the child.

Meanwhile, Taen had gotten more members. A small girl went over as Taen tried to get a crowd's attention with the sign.

"Excuse me?" Taen jumped a little before looking for the source of the voice. It took him a minute before he saw the small girl. He paused before kneeling down.

"Yes?" She gulped.

"What are you trying to do?" He paused before smiling.

"Getting members for Salvation, a group that takes people in need and saves them from the world's war with itself." She blinked before smiling.

"Then... can me and my little gang join? We were sorta doing something like that." Taen scanned the group of 5 before smiling.

"Come see the boss. I'm sure you all can."

***

[Midnight's Full Form]

Midnight eyed the two seniors from where he was standing. Green had brought Yellow to do some sort of checkup and he backlashed rather harshly. They were discussing how to get him to cooperate while his ears heard it all. He was about to tell them their whispering sucked before a scream hit his ears. It was an extremely quiet one, but his ears were able to identify the location easily. Someone must've had the vocal cords to hit Oblivia as the location landed in Fiore. He slipped out his phone and texted Sage.

Midnight: Whoever's dying needs to quiet down. I can hear you guys from hear.

Sage: If you can hear us, then we need you.

Midnight: Why? I'm about to go another round of avoiding two seniors.

Sage: Lapis.

Something twisted inside Midnight when he saw that. What had he done? Nothing good probably. He sent a glance at the two seniors before racing away.

"Midnight! We're not-"

"I have work to do myself! Why don't you take the time to get a plan while I can't hear you?!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Midnight was frozen when he saw Lapis.

The Go Sibling was almost destroyed as a group of dangerous looking pokemon circled him. Midnight wasn't even sure he was alive. He went on pure instinct and raced in. He captured the pokemon before getting to his side.

"Lapis? Lapis!" Tears rolled down the small boy's face as he tried very hard to get a response. Then something touched his ear.

"Midnight..." Midnight froze before a voice he himself didn't recognize whispered back.

"Y-yeah.... I'm hear Lapis..." He faintly gripped his hand as the sound of feet filled the air. Lapis let out a happy noise before Sage got to them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Midnight was quiet as he watched Lapis recover. According to what Crepe had said, he would be down for almost a week, maybe more. It hurt to hear that, especially knowing what Lapis truly was. Midnight refused to move for almost an hour before he was at least able to see Lapis. Lapis gave a playful smile before Midnight sat down beside him, letting the shorter boy know about the painkillers.

"Hey Midnight..." A smile appeared on Midnight face upon his words. "Oh... Thank you for earlier..." Midnight's smile slightly faded.

"Of course..." There was that voice again. He wasn't sure where it had come from. Lapis blinked at his tone.

"That's a new one..." Midnight paused before looking away. He was about to go when Lapis said something. He almost didn't catch it with his mumbling. Midnight actually had to ask about it.

"What?" Lapis paused.

"I asked where were you going so soon..." Midnight stayed quiet before going back to where he was before at Lapis's side.

"Not sure... I don't want to face the seniors down at my base, but I need to do work..." Lapis paused before smiling.

"Stay here... I don't wanna be lonely..." Midnight paused before nodded softly, gaining a happy noise from the wounded boy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The voice didn't leave him for a while. Even after Lapis was released, it never left. He waited until he could ask Lapis alone for his opinion since he no longer was against painkillers.

"Lapis..." He hid the voice with a faint whisper, gaining the male's attention as he finished an apple he had gotten.

"Yeah?" Midnight gulped before slowly speaking up, surprising the male.

"I was just curious about something..." Lapis paused before catching on to the change of voice and where he was going with the conversation. He glanced at the smaller boy as he let only his eyes out of the barrier of his arms.

"You're wondering about the voice... right?" Midnight nodded before lifting his head up.

"I've never heard it before..." Lapis paused before a squeak escaped him.

"I have..." Midnight turned to him with a confused look. "It was only one time, but I did hear it. You used it when me and Tiff were getting jumped on about ourʾϤ. You protected us while we were struggling to get to somewhere safe. Remember?" He paused before a soft nod escaped him.

"Right... I remember that now..." Lapis paused.

"You don't think that could be your true voice... could it?" Midnight touched his throat and thought about it.

"Maybe..." He gulped. "I guess I'm just surprise I'm using it this much..." Lapis smiled.

"Don't let it die. It's your true form finally showing." Midnight paused before smiling big and snuggling up to him.

"Thanks Lapis...."

***

[The Real Go Siblings]

Tiffany purred as Garret fell asleep beside her and she eyed her brothers. Clyde was trying to get Billy to do something while Lapis was having a fit over doing the same thing. Garret had gotten stressed out and was trying to get rid of the pounding headache his brothers had caused. She couldn't move as Billy finally got aggressive and damaged Lapis, who snapped at him before she finally got the strength to stand.

"Split it up!" Clyde fell silent at his sister's words as the other two glared at each other. They did finally separate with nothing but a storm. She sighed before gently calling out. "Clyde come here." He took a minute before he went over to her and joined her at the table.

"Sorry-"

"It's not your fault. You were doing a better job then the two of them combined. Rest..." He fell quiet at that. "At least relax. You can stay with Garret as I go talk to the other two. He needs company."

"Why wasn't he helping?" Clyde asked with a nervous tone.

"He was getting stressed by the other two and a headache started up. He was grateful for what you were trying to do, but the others were making him crash. Stay with him for me, will you?" Clyde paused before nodding and moving next to his sleeping brother. She smiled before going after her brothers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scarlet was quiet when she found Tiffany and Garret resting near the the clock tower. They looked set up for something. She didn't say a word before Garret made a sound and got up, waking his sister. That's when they discovered her.

"Well hello to you too Scarlet." The Flame made no comment as they got up and grabbed their instruments and finished waking up. Finally she spoke.

"What are you siblings up to?" Tiffany purred.

"Why don't you focus that on the other three with that comment? Because at least we're not ready to punch the next person we see or get into an argument with the world." Scarlet fell quiet before she looked at Garret, who had finished tuning his guitar. "Ready to open?"

"Yeah..." He murmured in an unsure tone. She smiled before glancing at Scarlet.

"We're just about to preform some small songs." Scarlet paused.

"Without the others?"

"They won't respond because apparently Clyde is busy, Lapis has ranger things to do and Billy's not feeling well. What those translate to is that Clyde's overworking himself, Lapis is more worried about himself and Billy's being lazy." Scarlet hummed as Tiffany quickly ran over and put up the sign saying that the show was starting soon. Scarlet slipped away to a safe distance while a crowd mysteriously appeared and they started up the small performance.

Just with two of them, she was amazed. But there was something missing... the happy aura that was usually there. The sorta had it on one song, but the last finally exposed it as they were giggling through most of it and the crowd was busy having fun with sending occasional jokes to the front. That's when she saw it, but the rest of the time was way too calm. She gulped before going to find Lapis.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It didn't surprise her after what Tiffany had said where she found him. Sage had him stay in his room until he had calmed down. Which wasn't working as Lapis kept mumbling to himself, just pissing himself off more. Sage groaned.

"I don't even know what's wrong with him... he doesn't act this way." Scarlet hummed.

"According to Tiff and my own analysis, something happened. Because Tiff and Garret just did a performance without Lapis, Clyde and Billy." Sage looked at her in shock. "I know. They didn't sound that bad. But she mentioned that the missing three of that performance were too busy doing other things to show up. She mentioned Lapis was busy worrying about himself, Clyde was overworking himself and Billy was being lazy." Sage hummed as he paused.

"I say we go for Lapis and Clyde and figure them out before going at Billy. Not sure why, but that's my gut talking." She nodded as they went upstairs. Lapis had finally torn himself from whatever had pissed him off and was lightly tuning his instruments. He was so busy with it, he did hear them come in until Sage spoke.

"Are you done?" Lapis looked up and paused before nodding and going back to his work. Scarlet gulped before going beside him.

"Lapis... you do know that you missed a performance, right?" The look in his eyes said enough. He clearly didn't know there was one as he gave her a confused look. "Tiffany and Garret just did a performance up at the tower." He blinked before sighing.

"I... should've seen that coming..." He finally mumbled. "Let me guess, she said something along the lines of that I was busy with personal matters to attend, right?" Scarlet paused.

"It was along those lines, yes." He sighed.

"She just didn't want my attitude there..." Scarlet raised an eyebrow, questioning his comment. He sighed again. "Me and Billy had a small fight earlier and I don't want to face the others without hurting my pride. So she probably marked me as not showing for that reason so that I didn't have to deal with them. But... I would've liked to try..." Scarlet paused before glancing at Sage, who was deep in thought from the bluenette's words. She then turned back to the musician before going over to Sage.

"You go find Clyde. I'll finish up here." 

Sage nodded before going out. Scarlet closed the door before going back over to Lapis, who had gone back to his work. She placed a hand on his shoulder, making him paused.

"I know you won't be able to join the others until next time... but... I might be able to help you sorta get a similar experience. But... can you teach me a little bit of music?" He looked at her with sheer surprise written across his face. "I know what you're thinking. But Billy never got to help me after his incident. So please?" He paused before scanning over his two prized instruments.

"I... can teach you the basics..." He placed down his Bard Instrument, Eqipsu, and pulled over his Concert Instrument, Aqeishord. "Just.... don't say anything about my teaching..."

"Just don't lose me." His face heated up before his stance got shaky.

"I-i-i-i wouldn't do that...." She giggled and teased his cheek with her pinkie, making his whine in protest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Sage was led to Clyde by Freddy. He was rubbing his eyes and looked a little ill as he was moving some supplies from a boat in the harbor. Sage silently thanked Freddy before going over and placing a hand on the drummer's shoulder.

"I think that's enough for today." Clyde sent a glare at him before pulling from his grip. However, he must've been steadied by his grip because he stumbled instantly. Sage caught him before he hit the ground. "Clyde..."

"No......."

"If I can deal with Lapis when he does this, you're not that much harder." Clyde mumbled something under his breath before finally letting him get him to sit down and rest. Clyde put his head down in his lap before Sage spoke. "Did you know that Tiffany and Garret were having a concert?"

"Yeah. I could hear it from here."

"Did you know that they purposely left you, Lapis and Billy out?"

"Yes..." Sage noticed the change in the drummer's voice. "I knew it would happen with how we're truly set up."

"How so?" Clyde looked up at him.

"We decided before we ditched the shyness and fully get used to the shelter that we would slightly change our acts to see what people thought. No one noticed, so we kept it because it felt a little more natural. But... a fight happened the other day and we all dropped the acts. So now we are ourselves..." Sage paused.

"Meaning... Lapis was acting like you, you were acting like Billy, Tiffany was acting like Lapis, Billy was acting like Tiffany and Garret-"

"Was acting like an upgraded form of himself." Clyde finished his thought. Sage hummed as Clyde looked away. "I know why Tiffany left me out. I'm getting ready for our hopefully next full group concert. So she told me to not worry about trying to make the minor concert and to focus on this. I'm glad she pulled the fans away from me. I was getting more stressed out by them asking a lot of questions..." Sage eyed the boxes and paused.

"Do you want some help?" Clyde paused before a weak voice escaped him.

"It would be great... I just need to get these to the stage... but I can do that myself-" The winds suddenly picked up a lot of the boxes as Sage helped him to his feet.

"Don't stress yourself out. Let me help." Clyde paused before a smile slipped onto his lips and he silently thanked the green haired ranger.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few days later, Scarlet looked around the Union for Dijon. Lapis was too stressed about a lot of things that he was busy hiding in his room to help her. So she was going to see if Dijon could help her. She found him with Lavana apparently practicing something. However with all the time with the Go Siblings, she could've swore it was a performance.

She blinked as Crepe appeared next to her. She let a whistle of amazement out as they looked at a folder on the table that they were using.

"What if I were to tell you that they were just practicing?" She shot a glare at the Triad War.

"Shut the actual hell up." Crepe bit his lip as he glanced at her. "You go tell your boyfriend he can stop lying. Cause I know a practice when I see one. Stop."

"But..." He stopped talking as she turned to him.

"That's what I thought." He giggled slightly, a sliver of mischief creeping into it. "I'm bothering your boyfriend and you can't stop me."

"They can..." She paused as they started up another song.

While this one was a little more full of jokes and less epic, it still surprised her. She paused as they lost their composure and busted out laughing.

"Damn it you! How to you do that!?" He took a deep breath before whispering something. She couldn't breathe after that. Scarlet paused.

"What did he say?"

"He quoted part of the lyrics from the song they just did." She hummed before going over to the duo and clearing her throat, grabbing their attention.

"Lovely performance."

"We were practicing..."

"Stop lying." Crepe lost it as Dijon groaned. "Anyways, I came to ask you something."

"Yeah?" As Crepe walked away, the duo turned to her. She went near the table and whispered her plan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Billy was resting somewhere in the jungle when Sage found him. Now that he knew what these guys were going through, he had a different approach. He went over and gently woke him up, gaining a noise of complaint.

"Morning, Billy." Billy growled a little bit before adjusting his blanket.

"What do you want?"

"Just to talk. No need to get aggressive." Billy hummed before resting a little. "Do you know that Tiff and Garret had a concert without you?"

"Yep..." Billy mumbled tiredly.

"And?"

"And what?"

"Well, what are your thoughts?"

"Doesn't matter. As long as their happy and having fun, I'm good."

"They weren't happy. They would've rather had the full group there." Billy shrugged before drifting off. "Do you even care about your siblings?"

"They're doing better than me. That's all that matters." Sage frowned. He had talked to the others. They were more worried about Billy then they were about themselves. Sage sighed.

"That's not what the others are saying. They're worried about you."

"Then that's their problem. I have my own worries to handle." Sage sighed before standing up.

"Come on. You can't stay out here."

"If I die, oh well. I'm comfy and I don't feel like moving." Sage frowned before holding out a hand to him.

"Come on." Billy look up enough before slamming a foot into Sage's leg. The base leader winced before stumbling backwards and checking his leg. The pain had already blinded his vision with black spots and stars. He carefully stood up and glanced back at Billy before slowly making his way to Summerland.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scarlet purred as she glanced into Lapis's room. The bluenette was asleep on the floor with Eqipsu in his lap. She slowly went in and touched his shoulder before taking Eqipsu from him and putting it against the wall. She helped him up onto the bed and tucked him in. A soft sound escaped him as he very lightly gripped her arm before releasing it. She smiled before placing a kiss on his head and going out. She went to her room and sighed. Garret had promised her something that would be great help with dealing with Lapis. She hoped he was right.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clyde had a huge smile as two small children gave him some soup and hot chocolate for his cold that he had picked up. He kept insisting he was ok the few hours before, but had a very rough night and was having a hard time staying on task. He took the soup and hot chocolate with a smile.

"Thank you... you didn't have too..." The two children smiled.

"You should take care of yourself. There's a storm coming soon and you need to stay healthy for any loved ones." Clyde stayed quiet before he silently thanked them and slipped the soup. He was able to finish the soup and let the children take their bowl and mug before a familiar voice filled the air.

"Clyde!" The drummer looked up to see Freddy running over and give him a hug. "I heard from Aira you were sick. Why are you still out here?"

"I..." Clyde paused before looking down at the ground, remembering the reason. "Don't want to talk about it..."

"But you'll get more sick! Come with me..." Clyde went quiet as Freddy pulled away to look at him. "Clyde, I know about what's happening between you and your siblings, and I want to help. Ok? But let's first get you better, ok?" Clyde hummed before putting his head on the ranger's shoulder, allowing him to pick him up. "Alright... let's go..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scarlet giggled as Lapis woke up with sheer confusion across his face. He was sure he had fallen asleep on the ground. She went over, hiding something behind her back, and paused beside him. Lapis tried to ignore her until she showed him the case she was hiding. His eyes sparkled at the sight.

"Wait..." She giggled.

"Garret was able to get it for me. I told him about your frustration and he told me that he would get me something. So here it is!" He paused before holding his hands out.

"May I..." 

She nodded before letting him take it from her. He gently placed it on his bed before opening the case. Inside had a beautiful cello with some equipment to attach something to it. He smiled before glancing at her.

"Are you sure?" She nodded.

"Lapis, we all see you guys struggling. Please?" He paused before smiling.

"Alright... um... do you want to set it up?" She smiled before nodding.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elita hummed as she eyed Freddy trying to get Clyde to eat. The drummer gave him a side glare before pulling his face away from the delicious food that Freddy was offering. She went over and paused.

"Clyde, you do realize that Freddy is the last person you want to go against, right?"

"If I can win against you and Chris, Freddy isn't much harder."

"Are we sure you're talking about the same person? You're talking about the guy that made me sit out of a mission because I was sick." Clyde looked at her like she was crazy before having to pull his face away from the offered food.

"I am better than you, Elita."

"He made Lapis eat once."

"Guess what? I'm not Lapis. I'm the more experienced version." Freddy paused before placing the bowl of food down and turning to the drummer. Clyde didn't see his plan until he was pulled into a hug.

"If that's the case, I better up my game. You're not leaving until the bowl's empty." Clyde frowned before pulling at his grip. Elita chuckled.

"Clyde, you might as well listen. No one escapes Freddy's hugs." Clyde growled.

"Watch me."

"Whatever will... help you get out of that... good luck. If you actually do it, tell me how you did it. Because the whole sector would love to know." Clyde hissed.

"Oh yeah? You don't seem trapped." She shrugged.

"That's because I did what everyone else did, which was submit to the pressure. I know, shocking, but even Lapis had to or else he would've had to spend the night and he wasn't ready to stay a whole night in the same building with me." Clyde glanced at his boyfriend, who had a rather innocent look on his face.

"Evil..." Freddy paused getting one of his hand and grabbing the spoon.

"How about now?"

"Over my dead body!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tiffany sighed as she and Garret sat down. Billy was still not cooperating and it was draining their energy. Even Percy couldn't help them against his boyfriend. Tiffany gulped as her stomach growled.

"Shoot... I didn't grab any food..." Garret reached into his back and pulled out an apple, making her pause.

"I was able to grab some food..." Her eyes lit up as she took the apple for him.

"Excellent Garret! Good job!" Garret paused before a smile crossed his face. Footsteps filled the air before Percy appeared in front of them.

"No Billy yet?" Tiffany shook her head.

"Sorry Percy. But he's still being violent." Percy sighed. "Have you gotten any news from the others about the other two?" He shook his head.

"Sadly not..." She sighed before getting up.

"Well... we better go check on them... I just hope they are ok... I'll be back. Alert us if Billy does move." Percy nodded as they left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tiffany paused as she eyed the sight in Wintown. Clyde was asleep in Freddy's arms as they rested in the base. A soft snore escaped the drummer as she touched his head. A estranged noise escaped him as he woke up.

"Hm?" He noticed his sister and paused. "Tiff... what are you doing here?"

"Came looking to see how you were doing... I also was wondering if you were going to join the next concert." He nodded as his head drooped down. She hummed. "You have a fever."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Clyde." The drummer grumbled bitterly under his breath as he leaned his head against Freddy's shoulder.

"So what? It doesn't matter that much."

"But... you need to be at full strength..." He huffed as he paused.

"Well... I can't move... Freddy still has me until I can escape... so..." She paused before placing a kiss on his head.

"Then rest up and I'll see you on the stage." He seemed to pause before a smile crossed his face.

"Ok!" She smiled before waving and heading out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lapis was interesting. The duo found him with the others having a mini performance as a shocking smile filled his face. Tiffany scanned the instruments. Lapis was on Aqeishord, Sage was on an Octobass, Scarlet has a Cello hybrid (Which surprised her), and Cedar (who's presence shocked her) had a guitar. She eyed Lapis as he shakily started them off with something.

Lapis was quiet as the music faded. Scarlet made a comment on his face, gaining a red face from the musician. Tiffany smiled before letting a slow clap escape her, causing her twin to make quiet the sound and the others to turn.

"That sounded beautiful. I didn't think some of you had it in you." Sage gulped.

"I had to pull this guy out."

"It's still taller than you." Sage frowned as she glanced at Cedar. "Not bad from you, either." Cedar smiled faintly.

"I know basic piano, guitar, flute and violin. Anything else I need a little help with." She hummed before glancing at Scarlet, who put her hands up in surrender.

"Started earlier this week." The group giggled as Lapis let a groan out. Apparently that wasn't a fun time. Tiffany let a giggle out before turning to Lapis.

"You coming to the concert later?" He blinked twice before nodding.

"Yeah..." He looked down at Aqeishord before sighing. "I just..." She ruffled his hair before heading for the door.

"Don't die before then." A loud complaint followed as she smiled at Garret. "C'mon. Round two at lazy boy."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The duo were surprised when Percy alerted them of Billy's disappearance. Apparently the guitarist was pissed about their never ending assault that he finally moved. They almost couldn't find him until Plusle helped them out. The small electric type led them to where he was with a small Goomy on his lap. The small slime dragon had clearly held him their as he was still trying to get it off without getting his hands dirty. His guitar was just out of his reach, so he couldn't use that. Tiffany couldn't help but laugh as they went over.

"Aw... can the great Billy-bear not escape the clutches of the ferocious Goomy?" His face heated up with embarrassment as he looked down at the rather comfy dragon.

"No... I can definitely do this. I'm not that weak... it just won't let me move to slip it off or get to my guitar." She chuckled at his distress.

"You have hands, y'know."

"I don't need them."

"Uh huh..." She pulled out her phone and took a picture of the scene. "Then you don't need help escaping this problem... right?" He fell quiet as a rather bitter look crossed his face. "I'll take that as a yes. Come on Garret-"

"Wait-" He choked on his words as the duo turned to leave. 

Tiffany paused before noticing something. She hushed Garret as they backed away and hid behind a tree. The Goomy must've noticed the tears as he trembled at their disappearance because it tugged at his shirt, trying to get his attention. It took him a minute to blink through the tears to notice it before slowly picking it up and giving it a hug. She smiled before going over and kneeling down.

"See? It wasn't that hard." He didn't respond to her as she grabbed his guitar and put it by his side. "C'mon, Billy. Let's go somewhere safe." He shifted before turning away from her.

"Leave me alone..." She paused before slowly getting up and leaving. So much for that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scarlet grinned slightly as she and Freddy glanced at Billy, who was watching the Goomy from before skillfully get some apples for them. They snuck out of their hiding place as he took one of the apples from it.

"That's a very loyal pokemon for the laziest of the Go Siblings, right Freddy?" Freddy hummed as Billy whipped around, pausing at the duo that appeared. He glanced around before backing up, the Goomy appearing on his shoulder.

"W-what do you want?" Scarlet hummed as Freddy smiled.

"Just to talk. Nothing else." Billy frowned before he backed away from the duo. Scarlet gripped the case behind her back before bringing it out, grabbing the musician's attention.

"We mean no harm. Ok? We just want to talk." He paused before sighing.

"Fine... just no funny business." He then settled his stuff down beside a tree. The duo hummed at that before getting settled beside him. "What did you want to talk about?"

"The performance that'll be happening soon. You don't seem to be in a rush to join your siblings. Why is that?" Billy scoffed.

"They don't need me. They'll work around my part."

"You're the lead guitar."

"So? Garret can practically do an entire song by himself if he did it right. The others would add more to it. They don't need me." Freddy frowned.

"This is about what Tiffany pulled yesterday, isn't it?" Billy glanced at him. "Your rage. You're still mad about her pulling those cards yesterday. We heard about what happened." Billy looked away.

"Yeah... she may be right about me being able to handle it, but she was so busy joking that... like... what if there was a more serious reason I wouldn't touch Goomy? She forced me to do something I was rather uncomfortable doing. Thankfully, Goomy understands and doesn't force me to hold it in my hands. But... still..." Scarlet hummed as she secretly pulled out and put together her instrument.

"Why won't you hold it in your hands? I'm just curious." He hummed as he watched the small dragon eat its apple.

"Back at the shelter... me and Crepe were in a horrible accident with a bunch of Muk and Grimer. There might've been some others, but it was mostly poison types. But they attacked us while we couldn't defend ourselves. A Garbordor saved us from the attack, but we were so damaged that we couldn't move. Ever since then, me and him have made it clear that, with the pokemon that attacked us, we won't hold, capture or even stay in the same room alone with unless we either have someone with us or people better be ready to calm us down. While Goomy isn't one of the pokemon, when it was on my lap, I had bad flashbacks of when the Muk and Grimer were." Scarlet hummed as Goomy and gently climbed onto his shoulder. It made sure to be careful before getting comfy. He sighed before she spoke.

"I know Tiff was a little mean, but she's still your sister. She might not know what happened or why you acted the way you did. But you can't just block her out. After all, she's the one that holds your family together." Billy didn't respond as Freddy spoke.

"I know you and your siblings are sorta making teams that help you guys out. And I sorta know Clyde's. Do you have a team?" Billy paused before nodding to Goomy.

"Goomy here is one. I have two others; Munna and Indeedee; who are part of the team as well. I'm still working on two others; a bug pokemon and either a Buneary or Teddiursa. That's my set up right now..." Billy rubbed his eyes as Scarlet gulped.

"Are you going to need help getting those?"

"Not sure... I have yet to see either of the normal types and I don't know what bug type I want..." She paused before getting her instrument into place.

"I'm not sure if you're in the mood... but..." He paused before noticing her instrument out. "It'll be better than nothing. None of your siblings have heard you play in a while. So my number one goal was to get you to at least play." He paused before Freddy pulled out some drumpads and a small speaker.

"It's not much but..." Billy fell silent before smiling.

"Alright." He paused before picking up his guitar. "I just don't know what to play. I'm not one to pick..." Scarlet hummed.

"Ooh... what about Partners in Crime?" He paused before nodding and tuning his guitar.

"Ok... ready when you are." She nodded as they glanced at Freddy, had quickly set up and nodded. They then started.

Billy was silent as the music stopped. He had to take a minute to process the scene. He hadn't played a full song since who knows when. Scarlet smiled as she put her instrument down.

"Sounded lovely. If you do decided to join your siblings... I might be there." The two rangers packed up. They were about to leave when Billy spoke.

"Can... I come with you guys?" They paused as he slowly stood up. "I have a lot of apologizing to do and I want to do it before the concert." Scarlet paused before holding out a hand, which he gladly took.

"C'mon."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tiffany smiled as Lapis and Clyde join her and Garret at the stage. Clyde still looked exhausted while Lapis had a red face. She gave them each a hug before pausing.

"No Billy?"

"He never came to either of the bases we were at..." Clyde murmured as Lapis nodded. She sighed as a familiar voice appeared.

"Hey guys..." They all turned to see Billy walking over. His Goomy and Indeedee were working together to carry his guitar while his Munna was keeping his awake. His eyes missed Tiffany's as he scanned over the group. "I didn't miss anything yet, right?" Tiffany shook her head.

"Not yet... I was worried you weren't coming..." Billy looked at the ground as Goomy and Indeedee got his guitar to the stage.

"I... almost didn't..." He looked up at them and paused. "Sorry for being aggressive..." She paused as Goomy went back over and climbed onto his shoulder, avoiding his hands.

"It's ok..." Silence emerged as Tiffany smiled. "Do... you wanna do the sign?" Billy paused before smiling and nodding. He went over and changed the sign before joining them in finishing set up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Let me know if you need anything else.)