It was very late, the dinner was eaten in a joyous and relaxed atmosphere and little Alyssa was sleeping peacefully in her room....

So why did the atmosphere seem so heavy to him....?

- Kellyn, honey?

- Mom? Something is wrong...?

The brunet was standing in the living room frame, barely poking his head out of the hallway to see his mother sitting on the sofa while his father was on a opposite seat.

- Come sit down, honey. We need to talk about something important.

The strawberry blonde gently patted the empty place next to her, inviting the teenager to sit down. The latter hesitated for a moment, clearly suspecting what the conversation was about, and frankly....He didn't feel quite ready to talk about it, although he knew that keeping it to himself any longer wouldn't do him any good. .

He then thought of Keith, who had entrusted him with his painful memories, his fears, his rage, his hopes and dreams....If he could do it, then so could he!

Seized with new courage, the young Ranger came out of his hiding place before settling down next to his mother, who offered him a pretty smile while running a loving hand through his dark locks.

- Sorry Kellyn, I know you must be tired, but we need to talk.

- It's...Not a big deal. What is happening though? You are scaring me...

Well, that wasn't COMPLETELY wrong. He was actually a little scared of what was to come. He suddenly heard his father take a deep breath, instantly catching his attention.

- Your mother and I went to see Mr Akiko today. And we discussed...Some things.

Here we go.

-....What exactly?

No need to feign ignorance, he knew from a reliable source that it wasn't a good idea.

- Of what you've been drawing since your "awakening". This alerted Mr. Akiko, and he called us to update us.

It was not uncommon for the brunet to see his father serious and blunt, he rather counted the times he wasn't. Except this time...He didn't really know. His expression seemed unreadable to him.

Caution was therefore in order.

-...And that's what you want to talk to me about...?

Sensing the sudden change in her son's attitude, Mrs. Gungnir then hastened to hug him, giving him a hell of a jump along the way.

- Honey...Your father and I are not angry...You don't have to be afraid of us. The worst thing for a parent, other than seeing their child leave before them, is that said child is suspicious of them. It's abnormal for a child to not trust his parents and fear them.... Well, there is "fear" and "fear", but I think you have understood me.

She paused, waiting to see if the boy was registering the thing. Upon seeing that the latter said nothing, and preferred to look elsewhere, she understood that she had "won" this battle.

The woman then planted an affectionate kiss on the top of the teenager's head, satisfied, while royally ignoring her husband who was sighing tenderly.

However, despite the tenderness of this scene, the 2 adults resumed their seriousness. Yes, they still had a lot on their plate.

The man then cleared his throat, immediately regaining the brunet's attention.

- Kellyn...These drawings...Do you know why you drew them?

The young Ranger blinked softly before mistreating his lower lip, visibly lost in thought. Then he shook his head very slowly.

-...No. I don't know. Well...Since THIS event, I see...Images. More than usual. I don't understand them, and they keep popping into my head.

The adult straightened up slightly, frowning.

- I see...And this woman?

- She's one of the most recurrent. If not THE most recurrent with another one with...Black hair? Red hair?

The mother couldn't suppress her chuckle, drawing a confused look from her son as well as a stern one from her companion.

- Ah...No no, it's nothing. Continue honey; is there anything else?

The boy thought for a moment, then shrugged.

- Apart from the various nightmares, not really, no.

The strawberry blonde hummed pensively, taking the opportunity to glance at the father and ask him a silent question. He focused briefly on the teenager who remained in the background.

-...You must be wondering what all of this means, don't you?

- Saying "no" would be a lie...

The 2 adults then nodded in agreement. It was now or never.

- Kellyn. Your mom and I discussed it, and we think it's great that you know. You...Us...

The man stumbled over his words, which was new, not really knowing how to explain it. Upon seeing this, his companion took a deep breath and decided to help him.

- We are not your real parents.

....

....

....What?

- E-Excuse me? W-What?

- We know you must be confused, but it's the truth. You're not-

- W-Waitwaitwait- What?! How come you're not my parents?!

If the brunet was tired before, it was no longer the case now. His teal pupils all went wide as he questioned the couple, completely distraught.

Sensing that he was beginning to seriously panic, Ms. Gungnir forced him to look at her.

- Shh....Calm down honey. Breathe. Slowly and deeply.

The mother's comforting gaze never left the boy's, until at last he calmed down. She then gave a deep sigh before tenderly stroking the dark hair.

- Back with us?

-...Yeah...

- Perfect. We know you must be confused, but let us explain.

The woman turned toward her husband, nodding her head, giving him the green light to begin.

- First of all, let me ask you a question: what is your earliest memory?

The question caught the young Ranger off guard, raising an eyebrow. Despite this, he decided not to ask questions and began to think.

- Hum...I would say when you took me to the park for the first time? I believe?

- Nothing before?

- No. Not that I know of.

The oldest of the trio massaged the bridge of his nose, looking somewhat...Splitted.

- In a way, it doesn't surprise me. You weren't very...Reactive at the time.

- What do you mean....?

The only female in the group spoke again, understanding that it was now her turn to speak.

- Let's say that when you were 3 years old....You weren't in the best shape. Far from there. You weren't reacting to your surroundings, you weren't eating anything...You weren't there, mentally and emotionally.

- That much...?

Wow. Was that why he had such a hard time communicating with others?

- Humhum. You deeply scared us, trust me.

The strawberry blonde paused, and took the opportunity to pamper the youngest a little.

-...But that was completely predictable. Considering what happened to you...

- What? Please Mom....Don't beat around the bush....

Realizing that she couldn't avoid it anymore, she took a deep breath, more to give herself courage than anything else and...

- Kellyn, honey....You were an orphan.

....Oh.

Even if on the one hand, his brain had completely frozen, on the other hand....He didn't seem surprised by this information.

- Oh, but before you imagine things. No, your "real" parents didn't abandon you. There's no way!

- Really?

- Humhum. They loved you very much.

Strangely, Kellyn felt a weight lift from his shoulders and his heart also lightened considerably.

- I suppose then that the woman with the caramel hair is my...Mother?

- Yes. Her name is Namine. Namine Hajime. She...She was one of the most colorful people I ever knew.

The strawberry blonde smiled, no doubt recalling some memories.

- Namine was a real tomboy, stubborn, always saying it the way it is...The very definition of eccentric. However, she had a special tenderness for children, including you especially. Your ability to communicate with Pokemons....It comes from her.

The brunet, although shocked, didn't seem surprised. Maybe deep down...He already knew.

The mother began to giggle, as if amused by something. Which made her get a confused look from her son.

- Excuse me, honey. It's just that...I wonder if that's this atypical personality that seduced your other mother.

-...Eh?

- Have you forgotten? You don't have just one mother, but two! And I'm not talking about me!

The boy delved into his recent memories a bit, until he found a hypothesis.

-....The woman with black hair?

- Bingo!

Mrs. Gungnir gave him a big smile, as she happily kissed his temple.

- But...I say black hair, except that sometimes, I see her with red hair. Am I colorblind or am I just blind?

- Neither! See, she's a mahogany redhead. Except that she always preferred to dye her hair black. That's why the 2 versions.

- Ah....I understand! However, is she really a woman? In my memories, she seemed a bit...Masculine?

- It's normal. She is trans. She changed from male to female.

- Oh. This explains that.

The sound of a barely controlled laughter caught the attention of the mother-son duo, bringing it back toward the source of the noise.

- May I know what's so funny, my dear?

- It's nothing. It's just that I only realize now that your sister was never conventional, even with her gender.

- Ah, I can't deny that! Sion drove our parents crazy more than once!

The teal-eyed one flinched at his parents' statements, and tilted his head to the side, lost.

- Sister? Sion?

- Ah yes, it's true, you can't know anymore. Sion is the name of your "second mother", the one with black hair if you prefer. She is also my eldest sister, the first born of grandmother.

The brunet blinked in shock. So his current parents weren't strangers but...?

- Which makes us, officially, your aunt and uncle. In the same way as the parents of Kate and Anna.

A brief silence fell as the boy registered the various information he had received. Finally, he looked up, his eyes filled with questions.

- But...If they didn't want to abandon me...Why was I an orphan?

This time, it was the father who answered him. Surely because his companion seemed to...Suffer a little.

- Something bad happened to your parents 10 years ago....A gas leak suddenly broke out in the middle of the night. Thank Arceus, miraculously you weren't touched but your parents... They perished because of it.

The man stopped for a moment, catching his breath while he let Kellyn swallow the pill, who had also taken on a pale face as the speech progressed.

-...This caused you a loss of memory because of the violence of the emotional shock. Not that you're blamed for that. After THAT accident, the immediate family was called, meaning the Hitomi as well as the Gungnir from Sion's side. While for Namine's, it was her little brother.

The older one stopped again to observe his son's reactions. The latter remained silent as the Death, absorbing all this load of information like a sponge, even though...Something didn't seem to match.

- Are you okay? Do you want to continue?

- Please. I...I need to know.

The adult nodded, respecting the brunet's wishes, despite the fact that he understood that he was in a lot of pain.

- Alright. Where were we? Ah yes, the police had contacted us so that we could decide what to do with you. For a long time we looked into the matter and at the beginning, it was your uncle on the Hajime side who was privileged....

Suddenly, he began to look away....Why?

- Except that he pointed out an important thing to us: your trauma. Despite your amnesia, you cried every time you saw him because he looked a lot like Namine. And it completely broke his heart to see you in this state. So we moved on to the next couple, the Hitomi. Problem, they already had Kate and Anna at the time.

The father of the family looked back at the teenager, looking unusually soft.

- Which brings us to us, the Gungnir. We didn't have any children at that time, you weren't afraid of us....And we didn't mind welcoming you into our family. So, after changing your name to avoid paperwork, and also because the therapist recommended it to us... You've officially become Kellyn Gungnir.

The boy fell into a religious silence as he tried to understand what his father had just explained to him. So, was that his story? A child from a loving family who ended up being orphaned by a gas leak?

....What had he done to Arceus to deserve such a cruel punishment....?

-...But that means that if we weren't from the same family at the time, you wouldn't have taken me in...?

An outraged gasp, coming from the only woman in the group, suddenly rose in the air.

- Oh Kellyn, honey...! Of course we would have adopted you even if we didn't share the same blood! Remember that this does not define the family: it's the bonds you create that do it.

The strawberry blonde hugged the young Ranger again, softly whispering comforting words in his ears.

- Please don't blame yourself for this story. Your parents...They loved you more than anything. And they wouldn't want you to feel guilty about what happened, when it wasn't your fault to begin with.

The woman tenderly ran her thumbs over the corner of her child's eyes, wiping away the ugly tears that were quietly cascading down his cheeks.

- So....Smile, and live your life as you wish, Kellyn- No, Kairi.

-....Kairi...?

- Yes. That was the name they gave you: Kairi Hajime. You can take it back as an adult, if you want, ok?

-....Alright Mom.

The strawberry blonde gave him a pretty smile, then gave the brunet a big hug, and the latter returned her affection without hesitation. He quickly felt his father join the embrace, thus protecting him even more from the outside world.

...But...

-.....Blake Hall...When we fought, he told me that I looked a lot like HER....Did he mean...?

The woman's smile suddenly faded.

- Namine?....The answer is "Yes".

-....Why?

The adults stared at each other for a moment, seeming to weigh the pros and cons. In the end, the mother resumed:

-...Your mother was...An enemy of Hall.

....What?

- How so?

- She came quite often to Almia, whether for work or for personal reasons. And one day, she and Sion visited Chroma Highlands....They witnessed the Altru group experimenting and digging in the ruins. Namine had suspicions about what they were doing and...Confronted Hall.

Kellyn's eyes widened, a sense of realization and horror gripping his insides. No no....!

- The 2 got into a verbal fight, during which he managed to convince her that they were only researching local stones. But, I think you know your mother well enough to understand that she wasn't fooled by him.

Mrs Gungnir paused as she swallowed her saliva. She slowly began to clench her fists.

-....So she started to spy on Altru Inc and gather evidence of their evil deeds. It went on for a while...Until THAT night.

The brunet opened his mouth, but no sound came out. No...He didn't want to believe it...! It couldn't be the truth!

- What we told you...It was the official version. The true version is that they were murdered during one of Tandor's freezing nights....Assassination ordered by Hall, because they knew far too much.

The teenager remained silent for a moment, organizing everything in his head....So all of this...Was it just a huge scheme...?

-....But why didn't you tell me the truth right away? And how do you know about all of this?

The father was the one who took over, sensing that his son was becoming slightly unstable.

- To answer your first question, we wanted to protect you from this truth a little longer. Because you needed to become stable enough to be able to take the shock. Because accepting an accident is one thing. Premeditated murder is another one.

The adult looked away, looking guilty and unable to bear the younger's accusing gaze.

-...For the second...It's that until recently, we only knew the OFFICIAL version.

....Excuse me?

- During your coma following your fight against Darkrai, we received a visit from the police. They had with them a document containing confessions. Hall's confession. He confessed about the whole conspiracy with the crystal, Darkrai, the Dim Sun...But also the death of Namine and Sion. He confessed to being the one who ordered their murder.

A few seconds passed during which Kellyn registered the information. Seeing that he was no longer moving, the strawberry blonde became worried.

- K-Kellyn? Honey?

-....He confessed? He confessed after causing so much trouble around him? Did he decide to confess his crime because he was stopped by the son of the woman who was threatening his scheme?!

The brunet jerked around abruptly and began to cry tears of rage, effectively breaking the hearts of the 2 adults. The latter strengthened their embrace, trying to comfort the poor boy.

- Oh, darling...We can't give you an answer to that question. And I think it's better that it stays that way. It would only cause you more pain.

- Your mother is right. Don't try to find out what this madman wanted to do, and look around you. You have us, your family, the Rangers, the Pokemons... You're no longer alone.

The one with teal pupils blinked, remaining silent as his parents showered him with affection. He felt the rage hanging onto his heart subside as images of smiling beings came to his mind. He saw so many people...Keith, Fischl, Rhythmi, Sapphire, Kate, Wendy, Sven....So many smiles and warmth...!

The young Ranger later noticed his pendant glowing with a soft purple glow. His face calmed even more as he gently squeezed the jewel to his heart.

- / Even though I'm not really their son, they love me as such. Like everyone around me, they don't care if I'm Kairi Hajime or Kellyn Gungnir. Guess I was lucky on that point...Right Mama?/

End Part IV, Kellyn Gungnir

The End....?

------------------------------

Reality can be hard to accept

Afterall, some truths are better left unsaid

But...

Despite everything, you're still you

Don't forget about that