this story is done by a friend named Riolu hes on fox tales times that cant come here so i am helping him out by posting his stories.


Tale of Five Brothers

Chapter 1 The Awakening





Nathaniel woke up and immediately wished he hadn't. He felt like his head was in a vice and someone had set his insides on puree. He kept his eyes shut and groaned until the feeling passed. After his insides settled and his headache had lessend to a dull throb, he began to take stock of himself, keeping his eyes shut the whole time. He stood up and immediately regretted that as a wave of nausae swept over him. It passed quickly however and he noticed two things then. The first thing was that his sense of balance, while not off, was different. The second, was that when he felt his head, he felt fur!



"What in the world?" he thought.



He opened his eyes and found that either he was blind, or he was in someplace extremely dark. He quickly felt all over his head and found he had pointed ears on top of his head, and a snout ending in a wet nose. He felt something move behind him and grabed at it. He felt feathers and tugged. He winced as he realized to late that those were his wings. He checked the rest of his body and found that he had a thick tail, and fur almost everywhere. His arms had fur stretching from his shoulders down the side of his arms and ending at the wrists. The rest of his arms were covered in scales. He even had claws judging by the feel of it.



"Okay." Nathaniel said to himself. "Let's think about this before we panic. What do I know? My name is Nathaniel, I used to be human but am no longer. And... and..."



Nathaniel left off there. He didn't know anything else!



"Alright, I'm suffering amnesia. That combined with the fact that I just got over a monstrous headache could mean I was hit over the head. Speaking of my head, judging by the position of the ears, and my snout and nose, I'd say I'm some sort of canine with wings. And judging by the fact that I can't see a thing..."



He stoped short in his sentence because he took a look back at his wing and realized he could barely see them.



"Strike that, I can see and judging by the lack of light, my wings are likely white and there has got to be a way out of here to let in the little bit of light letting me see my wings. Judging by the feel of the walls, I must be underground."



Nathaniel kept his hand against the wall, but closed his eyes becaue he was starting to feel dizzy again. He couldn't tell for how long he was walking before his hand sliped around the wall. Nathaniel opened his eyes, once again regretting his course of action, but not for long. As he opened his eyes to the brighht light of a noonday sun, pain lanced through his skull and he passed out.



Chapter 2 A Second Awakening and New Faces



Nathaniel woke again with a groan. He made sure this time to open his eyes very slowly, letting each flash of pain subside before opening wider. He found that the light was dimmer and realized he was in a room. What was more, he was in a bed. He took a look around the room and found it sparsely furnished. There was a dresser, a closet, a bookshelf, a very comfortable looking rocking chair, and oddly, a changing table. He looked to the door and saw there was a mirror. Thinking to himself that this would be an excellent opportunity to get a better look at himself, he slowly got out of the bed and walked to the door.



His mouth dropped when he saw himself. His suspicions about being a canine with wings were only partly correct. True his head was that of a wolf, but his body was a bit too long to be canine and, looking at the tail, was unmistakeably that of an otter. His legs didn't match either an otter or a wolf. The paws were distinctly feline, and checking there build, was likely that of a lion. His arms were for the most part reptilian, only having a strip of fur stretching from the shoulders to the wrists. Judging by the claws at the ends of his fingers, they were likely those of a dragon. Aside from his snow white wings, he was entirely jet black. his scales matching his fur color.



It wasn't just his new form that surprised Nathaniel however. The thing that surprised him most was his new size! No wonder his balance felt different, his tail, along with being barely three feet tall made his stance feel totally different.



Nathaniel was snapped out of his shock when the doorknob turned and opend quickly. Nathaniel jumped back quickly and look up in shock at the four surprised faces staring at him. The four faces along with there bodies walked in smiling. One was a kind looking silver wolf. Another was a golden furred lion with a wide smile that, while the teeth made him shiver, made Nathaniel calm a little. The third was a brown furred otter with a silly grin that seemed like it would always be there and never get tired of looking at. The last made Nathaniel do a double take, as it was a gold dragon wth a loving look in his eyes that made Nathaniel feel all warm and fuzzy inside.



"Well," the dragon began. "It looks like our cub is finally awake."



"What makes him a cub?" the otter asked with a smirk. "I can see he's part dragon and it looks like he's part bird with those wings. Why wouldn't he be a hatchling?"



"Because for the most part, he's mammal." The lion replied. "He's part wolf, otter, and lion, and I've heard the young of all three refered to as cubs. So the sisxty percent of him being an animal that can be refered to as a cub outweighs the fourty percent of him that would be called a hatchling."



"Don't worry about my brothers." The wolf said to Nathaniel. "They get in small debates like that all the time and it's always in good humor. I can see you have a lot of questions, so I'll try to answer some before you ask. First is our names. I'm Remus, the lion is Michael, Skip is the otter, and the dragon is Jim. I said brothers because we were all adopted as children and raised together. I think I'll let you ask some questions now since I'm not sure in what order you may want to ask them or if there is a question that I wouldn't have thought of."



"Thanks." Nathaniel said, now feeling considerably more relaxed. "My first question would be, what are you people and what am I now?"



"That's a fair first question." The wolf said. "I was pretty sure just by the look of you that you were the human we were looking for. We, including you now, are a race of beings known as Furrs. Most of the Furrs you'll see on this planet are real animals from your world. Aside from primates, all mammals are here, although aquatics are rarer, and there are some reptiles and amphibians including dragons of various shapes, and some dinosaurs. You won't see any avians, fish, or, very fortunately, insects. Hybrids are a minority although they are not a rarity. You however, are among a very rare group of furrs that only happen either through supernatural circumstances such as through your arrival, or very rarely as the offspring of one or two hybrids. That is how I was sure you were human, as Chimeras, as you are more commonly known as, have only a fraction to a two percent chance of happening naturally in this world. While hybrids in your world are often sterile in your world, they are not so here. The Chimeras are not either, their offspring merely take on one of the animals from the parent."



"You said I was the human you were looking for. Why was that?"



"When a human is brought from your world to ours, they lose seventy-five percent of their age. Since that means that they would need to be seventy-two in order to remain an adult during the transfer, they always arrive as a child. A parent or parents are chosen to care for them and a message is sent through their dreams that a child needs them and where they can be found. In ages past offworlders were looked upon without much favor, but although they were known to exist, none could be proven as the child is given a body based upon its parents. If the parents are of two different species in the same family, canine to canine, feline to feline and so forth, it will more commonly be a hybrid than a natural born Furr. We all were sent the same dream and you have your species based upon us."



"So what's this planet like? Climate, any animal life, not furrs?"



"The planet has just as diverse a climate as your own does. As for your question to animal life, let me answer a question with a question. How much do you know about Pokemon?"



"ARE YOU SERIOUS? I LOVE POKEMON! I KNOW JUST ABOUT ALL THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT POKEMON!" Nathaniel shouted with excitement.



"Good." Remus said wiggling a paw in his ear. "The you'll know allot about the geography as well, because this planet actually has each of the continents that have appeared in your world through various games, movies, and otherwise. We have the Kanto, Johto, Hoen, Sinnoh, the Orre, Almia, Fiore, Sevii, Orange Islands, Holon, those from the Mystery Dungeon games, and more. We are actually close to Pallet Town in a forest clearing."



"How come, aside from my name, my age, my knowledge of pokemon, and the fact that I used to be human, do I not remember a thing about my life as a human?"



"You don't remember?" Remus asked in a concerned voice. "That's odd. I've never heard of anyone losing their memory in coming here. So let me ask you a question, how old were you?"



"I was eighteen, so that would make me..."



"Four and a half." Everyone said in unison.



"I can see were all going to get along just fine with our new..." Skip began but then trailed off.



"What are we going to call him in terms of relation?" Michael asked?



"I don't feel comfortable calling him my son since he technically belongs to all four of us unless all five of us don't mind." Jim said.



"In that regard nephew probably wont work either." Remus said. "It would mean that one of us is the father and I don't feel comfortable making him choose just one of us then making the rest only uncles. Is that what you meant Jim?"



"Yes." Jim said. "But now I have an idea. How about we call him our little brother since he's technically the same age as we are."



"You guys are all eighteen?" Nathaniel said with a bit of surprise.



"Eighteen, happily married, all living under the same roof, and each couple wanting a child to love." Skip said. "We were each hoping for our own but we can all share you."



Nathaniel just smiled and started to feel drowsy. All this information was making him sleepy. He gave a yawn opening his mouth almost wide enough to make snake envious.



"Looks like our cub could use a bit more sleep." Remus said laughing.



Michael picked him up and set him on the bed. Before Skip went to tuck him in, Jim spoke up.



"We should probably get him ready first. He's been here long enough to adjust to his new body."



"Your probably right." Remus sighed. "Nathaniel, with your body in its current state, you'll likely need to wear..."



"Diapers." Nathaniel said with a smirk at Remus' astounded expression. "I noticed the table and recognized it for what it was. If I really do need them, then I don't mind. I just hope you don't mind if I fall asleep before you're finished putting one on me."



"Looks like we wont even begin before he's out." Skip said with a chuckle.



And it was true. As Jim diapered the new furr, they all smiled that he had slipped into a peaceful slumber just as he finished his sentence. As Skip tucked him in, Remus gave Nathaniel a quick nuzzle eliciting a smile from him without wakeing him up and he walked out the door with the others and closed it.



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

Don't think it's over yet. He's still to meet the sister-in-laws and those four are not the other four brothers mentioned in the title. Plan to have at least another chapter up by Friday, so feedback wont influence the writing much as of yet but will still be appreciated.

My thanks for the assist pal! I'll take over from here now that I'm on board. Here's some more for you all!

Chapter 3 The Dream

Nathaniel found himself in a place with a lot of swirling lights and colors. He just began to wonder where he was when an orb of light appeared and began to grow, then shrink leaving behind a Pokemon. Nathaniel had a vague recognition of this Pokemon. It looked like Cresselia, yet it seemed somehow, more.

"Who are you?" Nathaniel asked. "You like like a Cresselia, except you're different somehow."

"You are partially correct." The Pokemon said. "I am Cresselia, but I do not look like a Cresselia. All Cresselia look like me. I am the Legendary Cresselia. I am the one you would hear about in the tales about me. Either that or my aspect. All legendary Pokemon that can be captured are either offspring of a True Legendary, or their aspect in the world. The aspects are nearly impossible to capture. The True Legends govern the pokemon world and ensure that it runs in relative peace. We also look to other worlds and bring some to it. We are very careful in our choosing. We bring those who would not be missed, and/or are in need of a new life. Sometimes we merely bring them after they have died and give them new life here. I've come to you in your dreams to bring someone to you who could explain your coming to this world and you subsequent memory loss."

Nathaniel looked to the side of Cresselia and saw a Winged Fox furr walking from the light toward him. The fox smiled at him and began to speak.

"Welcome Nathaniel. I'll begin my explanation to you through a story. Long ago, in an age that has only stories to be remembered by, I and four others were known as the five greatest trainers in the world. We had covered every area of Pokemon, from Training to Coordinating. From Breeding to Researching. We were the best of the best. We were also the ambassadors of sorts to the True Legends. It was a golden age then. But we knew that eventually we would die as we were already growing old. We decided that we would find a replacement for each of us. We searched our own world for years, but we could not find any with the right spark for Pokemon. So we went to the Legends for help. We agreed to look to another world for those that could replace and possibly even outshine us. We looked at your world and found you and four others."

"So then you brought me here?" Nathaniel said questioningly.

"Not exactly." the fox said. "We agreed to wait until the four of you had passed on and then giving you a natural rebirth in this world. But something happened that we did not foresee. We gave you and the other four the gift of rebirth, but you were reborn in your own world. We immediately started working to gather the energy needed to bring all five of you to this world, but again, something went wrong. Apparently the light inside of you that gives you the greatest potential for Pokemon I have ever seen, interfered with the transfer and made a requirement greater than we could muster. You were the only one we were able to bring and unfortunately, you lost your memory in the process."

"Well that explains it." Nathaniel said his ears drooping slightly. "Is there anything you can tell me about my life on Earth, or no?"

"I suppose I can." the fox said. "After all, it's the least I could do after this inconvenience. I'll start actually with what I know of your relationship to the four in your past life. One of them was actually your brother. Two of the others knew you and were your friends but eventually moved away from where you were. They never met your brother though. As for the last one, he was your best friend, even after you moved away from him and later met the other two. He did know your brother and was friends with him. In your second life, it was rather unfortunate that you didn't know each other. Each of you were scattered across the globe. Interestingly enough, you all are, or were in your case, orphans for some reason or another. That's about all I know other than you were all into pokemon in your first lives."

"Remus said that my form was influenced by those who would be my parents," Nathaniel began. "But even though I have a piece for each of their species, I still look nothing like them even in the matching species. Do you know why that is?"

"Your form wasn't influenced by them." The fox said. "It was actually influenced by their ancestors. They are direct descendants of my four comrades. I myself never had children. I am the only one whose spirit actually stayed behind to make sure you came. The other four were a black dragon, a black wolf, a black otter, and a black lion. That is where you gained each part of you from. You also inherited my wings."

"So I'm actually sixty percent cub, twenty percent kit and twenty percent hatchling?" Nathaniel asked.

"Yes." the fox answered. "That still makes you a cub. Getting back on the subject, you were unanimously chosen to lead the group by my comrades, and so that is what caused the influence of all of them. I'm the one that chose you to be one of five, they all selected you out of five to be the one. Each of the others were only chosen by one of five so they will likely be influenced by the ones chosen to be their new parents."

"Well thanks." Nathaniel said smiling. "I have just one more question. What is your name? You never told me."

"Actually, I don't remember." the fox replied. "It's been so long since anyone has used it that I forgot."

"And unfortunately," Cresselia said causing Nathaniel to jump as he'd forgotten she was there. "The names have all faded from history, although their deeds haven't, and even the legendaries have forgotten their names."

"Can't Dialga look back in time and find out?" Nathaniel asked.

"Dialga can't do that." Cresselia said with a smile. "It's is true that he controls time, but he controls the flow of time. How fast time flows is up to him. He can also sense distortions and someone moving through time, but that's the extent of it."

"Oh." Nathaniel said. "So how do you plan to get the others here?"

"The Legendaries and I have determined that you will go, seek them out, and bring them back." the fox said. "You will be given a few abilities in order to more easily accomplish this. The first power given to you will be Aura Sight. You're extent of control will grow as you bring more of the others here. When I give you the gift in just a bit, the extent you will have will only be seeing a very strong aura that would surround someone like one of the four. Also, since they were in your past life, you will recognize them even if you can't place them. Hold still now, this may hurt. If it wakes you up, I'll see you when you sleep again and I'll tell you how to get back to your old world to get your brother. Tell Skip that his son is on the way."

Even as pain shot through his entire body, Nathaniel still smiled for he began to remember some of the times in his past life with his brother. As darkness closed around and he felt an odd warmth spreading somewhere near him, he thought to himself.

"I'm coming Ethan..."

I just noticed but the title of the thread is incorrect, could a moderator change it to A Tail of Five Brothers please? Here's more.

Chapter Four The In-Laws and a New Home

Nathaniel opened his eyes. Things were oddly blurry for a moment and then he felt something slide across his eyes. The room came into focus after that, and he noticed a few things. Firstly, judging by the position of the sun outside his window, it must have been morning. That and a clock hanging on the wall that he didn't notice before read 7:30 AM. Secondly, was that the warmth that he felt before he blacked out in his dream was a lot closer.

Sure enough, as he looked under the blanket, his diaper was soaked and showing a definite yellow tinge. He looked up sharply as he heard a noise at his door and caught Skip peeking in. Skip walked in with that same silly grin upon seeing that Nathaniel was awake.

"Morning sleepyhead!" Skip said cheerfully. "And how is my favorite little brother this fine day?"

"Are you always such a morning person?" Nathaniel asked with a grin. "I'm not usually, but aside from this wet diaper, I feel great."

"Good thing Jim remembered to diaper you then." Skip responded with a laugh. "Let's check the damage then."

Skip pulled back the covers and failed to hold back a laugh as he saw Nathaniel's heavily soaked diaper.

"Wow Nathaniel! You really wet this one!" he said still laughing. "It must be at least three time its usual size!"

As Skip picked up Nathaniel and brought him over to the changing table, Nathaniel remembered his dream. He waited until Skip had finished diapering him and then touched his arm.

"Skip, I gotta tell you something. I had a dream last night. A winged fox came and told me a bit more about how I came here. He's apparently this great trainer from the past and he and four others chose me and four others on our own world in a past life to one day come to this world and replace them. The legendaries approved of their choices but couldn't gather the energies to bring us all. They brought me but without the memory of my life. He told me that my form was actually pieces of him and the other four great trainers, a black dragon, a black wolf, a black lion, and a black otter. He said that I'll have to go and get the other four myself. He mentioned that you, Remus, Michael, and Jim are descendants of the other four trainers and also that you would be the father of one of the four I'm going to bring. He also told me that the one I'm bringing was my brother in my past life. I remembered a bit about him and I couldn't think of a better father for him Skip."

Skip staggered backward a bit and then went to sit in the chair. He took a deep breath and then let it out. Nathaniel was shocked to see his smile was gone. But the smile was back quickly enough that Nathaniel was almost unsure whether it was gone or not.

"Wow Nathaniel!" Skip said with a laugh. "That's allot to take in. Must have been some dream. If it weren't for the fact that what you said about the Masters wasn't accurate, I might have dismissed it as just a wild dream. But nobody told you about the Masters before so I have no choice but to. And I'm happy to anyway. I'm getting a son of my own! This is excellent news. I can't wait to tell Zoe! But I think we should keep this a secret until you know when you're going to leave. I'm guessing since you were chosen by the leader of the Masters, each of the other chose another, and I'm probably getting the one my ancestor chose. Which might mean that Jim, Remus, and Michael will get the others chose by their ancestors."

"Who's Zoe?" Nathaniel asked. "Is she your wife?"

"She's more than just my mate." Skip said. "She and the others are waiting to meet you. So let's go!"

"Aren't you going to put some clothes on me first?" Nathaniel asked as Skip picked him up.

"Sorry, but we don't have any clothes ready for you just yet." Skip answered. "The girls are making you some but it'll take awhile. They're making some really good stuff I can tell. And before you ask what they're like, I'll just let you find out."

By this time, Skip was already walking down a hallway with several doors on either side. Skip reached a staircase and went down. He entered out into a very comfortable looking living room. And Nathaniel saw the others and got his first glimpse of his sister-in-laws. One was a pretty red furred vixen rubbing Remus' belly with her tail while she sewed what looked to be a footed, black sleeper with a red collar to it. Another was a silver scaled, gray banded raptor scratching Jim lightly on the back with one of the large claws on her foot while she sewed together an emerald green onsie with yellow markings on it. A third was a lithe looking tigress who was scratching Michael behind the ears with he tail while she sewed together a ruby red onsie with black markings. The last was a rather bored looking squirrel sitting by herself sewing together a sapphire blue onsie with red markings. They looked up as the apparently just put the finishing touches on each of their projects.

"Okay so it might not take that long." Skip said with that same grin of his. "Gals, I'd like you to meet your new little brother, Nathaniel. Nathaniel, these are your new sisters."

"Hi there." Nathaniel said cheerily, eager for a good first impression.

The squirrel got up first and walked over to Nathaniel. She took him from Skip and gave him a tight hug. Nathaniel, despite the fact that he liked it, swore for years that he felt his eyes bulge slightly.

She looked into his eyes and smiled as she said, "Welcome to your new home Nathaniel. I'm Zoe."

"Very pleased to meet you." Nathaniel wheezed.

Zoe carried him back over to the couch she was sitting on and the other women walked over.

The vixen kissed him on the cheek and said, "You are sooo cute. I'm Sela."

The Tigress gave a warm smile and a handshake and said in a loud voice, "Call me Gabriella. You'll hear me if I call you."

"Very likely." Nathaniel said with a smile. "What's your name?" He asked the raptor.

"I'm Janice." she said with a very toothy grin. "I'm glad you've finally woken up. We just finished some of your new clothes. Want to try them on now?"

"Yes please." Nathaniel said excitedly.

"We heard about how much you loved pokemon so let's see if you can spot what we were getting at with these." Zoe said.

"WE heard." Sela said with a grin. "I think all of Pallet Town my have heard him."

Everyone, including Nathaniel just laughed. They set him up in front of a mirror and first put the footed sleeper on him.

"Hmmm." Nathaniel said. "If I had something white on my head, with the black and this red around my neck, I'd look allot like Darkrai."

"I thought your white wings would do the trick but I can make you a white sleeping cap if you'd like." Sela said. "And yes, you were correct. Darkrai was what I was getting at. I know it's weird to be sleeping in something based off the nightmare pokemon, but I was hoping that if a Darkrai were to see another Darkrai already there should one come in the night, it would be dark enough to fool him into thinking that someone had beaten him here and he would go away."

They next put him into the red onsie, then the blue, and then the green with him guessing correctly each time what they were.

"The red one is Groudon because of the black marks of both it and Groudon's body. The blue one matches Kyogre's red markings, and the green one would be Rayquaza both by the fact that the yellow markings match and he's the third in the trio."

Everyone applauded him. Nathaniel beamed with pleasure as he realized that they were genuinely impressed with him. Then he blushed with embarrassment as everyone laughed as his stomach decided to give a loud growl at that moment.

"Sounds like someone is hungry." Skip said.

"Duh!" everyone else said in response, eliciting laughter from everyone present.

Zoe gave Nathaniel to Skip and went off toward what Nathaniel assumed to be the kitchen.

"First thing were gonna do after breakfast is give you the grand tour." Skip said. "Then were gonna do a quick test at how well your body is working, just to make sure there's nothing wrong with you. I'll take you for a bit of swimming. Remus should be the one to check your senses since your head is a wolf and holds four of the five. I think Jim mentioned something about testing your wings since he's the only one of us who has them. And Michael will probably want to see if you can climb with those claws."

"Okay!" Nathaniel said, excited at the prospect of all he was going to be doing soon. He grew even more excited when an Arcanine walked in. He stiffened a bit as it sniffed at him, the giggled as it started to lick him.

"Wow!" Skip said with amazement. "She's never licked anyone before! I think she really likes you."

Arcanine stopped when Zoe walked in with a bottle. Nathaniel looked at it, rolled his eyes and thought, "Might as well since they've been so nice to me."

Zoe put him in her lap, cradled him and smiled as he started in on the bottle. The stuff was really good!

After the chorus of awws was over, Nathaniel took the bottle out of his mouth and asked, "What is this?" and went right back to sucking it down.

Zoe replied, "It's Arcanine's milk."

"WHAT!!" Nathaniel said spraying the milk all over everyone within three feet of him.

Zoe blinked a bit and wiped her face off before saying, "We collect her milk to feed to some of the pokemon that we find wounded in the woods. It seemed to me you were liking it, so why did you spray us?"

"I'm sorry." Nathaniel said with his ears drooping visibly. "I was just surprised is all. I wasn't expecting it to be mothers milk. Does she have pups?"

"Sort of." Zoe said with a smile. "We'll tell you about that later. Are you going to spray us again if I give this to you?"

In answer, Nathaniel grabbed it and made a show of swallowing it as the others just laughed. The milk had an effect on him and he started to get very tired. The last thing he saw before he fell asleep was a skitty walking in with a Linoone and a Dratini. The last thing he heard was another chorus of awws as he yawned. And just before he blacked he felt a familiar pleasant warmth spreading again.

Chapter 5 A Second Dream

The fox walked up to Nathaniel smiling. He embraced him quickly and sat down beside him.

Nathaniel smiled and said, "You know, we should probably give you a name so I don't feel so awkward at speaking to you, and being given such an emotional greeting."

The fox laughed and said, "Okay, I'll let you choose. Because I've been dead for so long, I don't have as much of a need for a name anymore and couldn't think of one on my own."

"How about Anthony?" Nathaniel asked.

"Anthony." the fox mused. "I like it. For you, I will now be known as Anthony."

"Okay Anthony," Nathaniel laughed. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know, that when you are ready, dream of me, and I will show you how to reach your first brother, and yes he is the brother of your past life. Skip was right by the way. The descendants of my comrades will take care of those chosen to replace them. Each chosen to the descendant of the chooser."

"Should I tell the others when I wake up, or should I wait like Skip said?"

"If it were me, I'd tell them now, and if Skip objects, tell him you told them so they could prepare for their arrivals. I would rather be prepared than surprised. Even in this case where the surprise is a pleasant one. But it is truly up to you, after all, I can only communicate with you, I can't tell them myself."

"I think I might make it a surprise for the first one. They got prepared for me pretty quickly. So it wouldn't take them too long to get things for my brother. He'll probably get the other's suspicions up and they'll be prepped for the others, yet still pleasantly surprised."

"When you put it that way, I like that idea more." Anthony said smiling. "Sounds like you got a bit of a sly streak in you. I happened to see that little Arcanine milk event. Yes, I'm watching you. I think of it as watching over you. I like to see you happy here. It will make you a much better master if you love this world, and happiness can help love grow."

"Just promise me you'll look away if I'm having a private moment with someone, okay?" Nathaniel said smiling, yet still serious.

"What, like at diaper changes or bath time?" Anthony asked.

"No." Nathaniel said. "I don't mind it that much. I logically accept that I need diapers and also know that someone has to change me so they are going to see things. Modesty is not an issue there. I'm looking a bit more into the future, like say I've found a girl I like. Although I can't say I can remember having too much luck in that department in either of my lives."

"Ahh." Anthony said. "I don't think you'll have to worry..." His voice began to grow distant. "But I promise anyway." He finished quickly as Nathaniel woke up.

Chapter 6 A Secret Revealed

Nathaniel woke up feeling allot of fur around him. Opening his eyes he saw he was curled up in his room next to Arcanine, with Linoone curved on the other side of him. Skitty was spread across him, and Dratini was drapeed over Arcanine with his head resting on Nathaniel. Arcanine, feeling him stir, Lifted her nose over to him and started to lick him. Nathaniel's subsequent giggling woke up the other pokemon. Skitty ran off, Linoone gave Nathaniel a quick lick before speeding off after Skitty, crashing into the door frame as he left (Linoone are notorious for their lack of turning ability). Dratini appeared to be shy as he slowly slithered out the door.

Nathaniel yawned and stretched like a cat, and took a look at the clock. His stomach growled audibly as he saw that it was 12:00 exactly. Arcanine started nudging him with her nose as if expecting something.

"What?" Nathaniel asked.

Arcanine tugged him toward her a bit and continued to nudge him. Nathaniel suddenly got a strong feeling inside of his head. It took him a bit to realize that it was coming from her. He looked and saw a faint glow around her. The feeling he was getting in his head was finally processed and he found it was two feelings. One was one he could understand, love. Another was one that surprised him, a maternal instinct. That was when he got what Arcanine wanted.

"Whoa there girl!" Nathaniel said starting to breath rapidly. "I'm not sure I'm really comfortable with this."

As he started to back away, Arcanine got up, pawed him to the floor and then laid down right in front of him, nudging him again. He didn't need to hear her growl slightly as he started to get back up again, he felt her irritation just as he felt the other feelings. He could tell they were still there and knew she really wanted to treat him as her pup, so he finally put his lips to her and started to suckle. Despite being embarrassed, he couldn't help but like the feeling of the milk sliding down his throat. If anything, he liked it more than when he was bottle fed. The milk tasted even better! Arcanine murred and began to lick him more in a very soothing manner. Nathaniel could feel love coming off of her in waves.

Just as he was starting to feel full, Nathaniel heard from behind him, "Well isn't that cute?"

He whipped his head around, making himself dizzy and popping his neck at the same time. He saw everyone outside his door. If it weren't for his dark fur, his blush would have been an obvious crimson. Arcanine apparently sensed his discomfort and gave a loud angry bark. Nathaniel relaxed and laughed when everyone jumped, and Arcanine relaxed as well.

"I still think that was worth the few pictures we got." Skip said smiling. "We got you sleeping with all of the pokemon and while you were suckling. You don't need to worry, we put photos like that in scrapbooks. We also don't mind you suckling her. She really likes it, and it looked like you were enjoying it, or at least the milk."

"There are only two reasons I liked it. One was yes, the milk. It tastes great. Did you do something to the milk when you gave it to me in the bottle?"

"Yes." Zoe said. "I watered it down a bit, otherwise it wouldn't have made it through the bottle. Arcanine has a bit of a disorder. Despite being sterile, she's constantly lactating, and her milk is thicker than it would be. It's not bad milk, actually it's even more nutritious and filling, it just comes out of a bottle too slowly to put it in without watering down."

"Oh." Nathaniel said. "Any way, the second reason is, I can feel how much she wants to mother me. I can feel the love coming from her, and it makes me feel..."

"Safe, secure, loved, etc." Skip offered helpfully.

"All of the above." Nathaniel replied.

"Well like we said, we don't mind." Zoe said. "If you'd like to continue, as long as Arcanine is willing, we'll consider that your diet. Do you need another change? You wet just as you fell asleep."

Nathaniel checked and found himself to be dry and said as much.

"Well then," Skip began. "Would you like to put anything on before we begin, or are you fine like that?"

"I feel okay in just my diaper." Nathaniel said. "It feels warm enough."

"That's because it's summer." Remus said. "Before we give you the tour, I've got something here that can check how your senses are. All I have to do is do a quick scan with it..."

In saying that, he pulled a small rod out, and a light came from it, passed over Nathaniel's head, and gave a small beep.

"And we're done!" Remus said triumphantly. "Wow. According to this, you're better than okay. When your senses fully develop, your going to have sense to rival that of many species of pokemon who are known for that sense. You must have combined the best qualities of each species you have."

"Can it scan more than just my senses?" Nathaniel asked. "I'm wondering how the rest of my body is. I'm also wondering why I haven't used my diaper for more than just wetting."

"I've already checked that." Remus said. "I have good news, and bad news. The good news is that all of your bodily functions are working perfectly. Also, it seems that you're digestive system is very efficient. You use everything you take into your body, so you'll never have a messy diaper. All of the excess stuff is let out through your growing claws, sweat, urine, and fur. The bad news is, that like most hybrids, and almost all Chimeras, you have a birth disorder that will prevent you from ever having any bladder control."

"As long as I don't have to use my diaper for other things, I can live with wetting myself." Nathaniel said. "Besides, to be honest, I like wearing diapers."

"So do we." Skip said, but quickly clapped his hands over his mouth.

"SKIP!" Remus, Michael and Jim shouted in unison.

"I'm sorry!." Skip whined. "But his open honesty is catching."

"Two things guys." Nathaniel said. "One, you can calm down, I don't mind. I think it's pretty cool that my big brothers wear diapers. And two, if the three of you hadn't panicked like that, I only would have been able to guess if it was you three. I would have thought that it was either you three, or Zoe."

"Why me?" Zoe asked raising an eyebrow.

"I place Skip in two groups. One with his brothers, and the other with his mate. I remember asking Skip if you were his wife when he first said your name. He said and quote, 'She's more than just my mate.' That would mean to me one of two things, either you were his sister, or you acted as his mommy."

"We each act every now and again as our mates mothers." Zoe said. "They act so immature most of the time anyway, so since we can't have children of our own, they agreed to act as our children every now and again. And just because you arrived, doesn't mean we would let them stop. We'd have to share you, so we need more than one to take care of."

Nathaniel laughed at that. "Are you guys wearing diapers now?"

Nathaniel just then took notice of what his brothers were wearing. He'd never really noticed before that the t-shirts of various colors they were wearing looked a bit tight on them. He took a look at their pants and found them to be baggy pajama bottoms. They were too loose around them, except at the waist thanks to a drawstring, to see any obvious bulge associated with diapers.

"Not exactly." Skip said pulling down his to show Nathaniel that his t-shirt was actually a onsie. Skip undid the buttons to reveal an oversized pull-up. "We caught an infection long ago that took our control from us. None of us could ever get our full control back, but we all enjoyed being in diapers. We have enough control to only need pullups now, but we humor our wives now and again, sometimes separately, sometimes together, by acting younger. We switch it up every now and again, and act as toddler going through toilet training, just for a few laughs. There are a few times though, that when we act younger, Arcanine lets us suckle her too. But she only does it when she has a bit too much milk, that happens often. She enjoys suckling us we can tell, but I've never seen her loving it like she did with you. She must look at you as her pup."

"If your not acting young enough, and she has too much milk, what then?" Nathaniel asked concerned.

"It seems the feeling is mutual." Skip said with a smile. "We usually pump her milk once a day. If she's uncomfortable, we'll either pump her early, or we'll suckle until she's comfortable again. She produces allot of milk each day. She can hold allot of it comfortably but she still generates too much pretty often. On those days, if we wanted to completely drain her, we still have to pump her at the end of the day after all four of us were suckling."

"Wow." Nathaniel said in amazement. "I didn't know she had that much to give."

Skip walked up to Arcanine and rubbed her stomach. He looked up at Nathaniel with amazement in his eyes.

"Well you make it seem otherwise!" Skip said laughing. "If you keep suckling her like that at each meal, we wont get much if anything out of in the future. It's a good thing we stockpiled allot of her milk."

"I really drank that much?" Nathaniel said.

"Not quite that much I guess." Skip said. "But to scale, you drink allot more than we do. If you had a few others helping, we wouldn't need to pump Arcanine anymore."

Arcanine stood up when Skip finished saying that and shook herself. Then she nudged Nathaniel too his feet and kneeled down a bit. She continued to nudge him until Nathaniel got the message and climbed onto her back.

"I guess Arcanine wants to get the tour started." Skip said with a laugh. "I just hope she doesn't carry you too much or you might not be able to walk soon. You make a cute infant, but it might be a better idea to be able to have control of yourself for when you need it."

"Don't worry bro." Nathaniel said with a wink. "I'll be getting plenty of exercise soon. Although after I'm done testing the various parts of my body, if I'm not too tired, I might want to play. But the thing is, I don't feel like playing alone."

"Okay, okay!" Skip said laughing harder. "You don't have to twist my leg, I'll be ready after our swimming lesson. Anyone else want to join in?"

Nathaniel decided to test his eyes in a different manner when everyone started to look at him. He put the dreaded puppy dog beg to work. None of them could resist for more than four seconds before smiling.

"With a pair of faces like that, how could I resist?" Remus asked rhetorically.

Nathaniel looked down at Arcanine and found that she was giving the face as well. Nathaniel laughed and gave her a hug. Arcanine twisted her neck and did her best to give Nathaniel a good lick, getting more laughter from him in the process.

"I suppose I could clear my busy schedule of doing nothing today after tree climbing to be your playmate." Michael said still laughing.

"I will on one condition." Jim said. "Our mates have to agree to it as well. After all, they have to care for us if we all are going to."

"I'm sure we could clear our busy schedule of taking care of you kids to take care of you kids." Janice said with as wide a grin as she could muster. "We'll take care of each of you after each of your tests. You can decide then just how young you want to be, okay?"

"Yes ma'am!" The five of them said in unison.

"Alrighty then!" Skip said. "Let's get started so we can finish and play."

Thus being said they all walked out into the hall.

Chapter 7 The Tour

"As you can see," Skip began. "Your room is at the end of the hallway. The two doors to the right and left of your room are bathrooms. One belongs to the ladies, another belongs to the men. Each door on the right leads to an empty bedroom. We would have put our own children in them if we had any. Our children would be right across the hallway from their respective parents. The first door on the left is mine and Zoe's room. The next door belongs to Remus and Sela. The third door is Michael and Gabriella's room. And the last belongs to, you guessed it, Jim and Janice. Not much to see in any room, we have much the same furniture as you do. Only difference is a queen size bed compared to your twin sized crib."

"Wait a minute!" Nathaniel said. "My bed is a crib?"

"It's a specially made one." Skip said. "You can raise the headboard, footboard, and sides. It also has something we hope we never have to use, as it would either mean you're being punished, or you're ill and we don't want you to get out of bed, a locking top bar."

Nathaniel's eyes widened at the thought of being caged. He made a mental note never to get into so much trouble as to have that done. Then he looked at the stairs at the end of the hallway. He noticed there was a door and that the door had a lock.

"What's the lock on the door for?" Nathaniel asked.

"We have some friends who come over for parties from time to time." Zoe said. "They bring their kids because their usual babysitters are the ones hosting the party. When it's bedtime and we're still having our party downstairs, we lock the kids in so they at least stay in their rooms if they can't sleep. Sometimes they find a way to unlock the door anyway and come down to cause some mischief. When that happens, can you guess how we punish the children?"

"You lock them in the cribs." Nathaniel said fearfully.

"That's right." Zoe said. We haven't had to use the lock in awhile since all of their kids have left on their journeys already. We'll refrain from locking the door since judging by the tone in your voice you don't like to be caged. But the first time you break that trust, the door is locked. And if you continue from there, we'll have no choice but to lock you in your crib. Understood?"

Nathaniel nodded vigorously and said, "Yes ma'am."

"Getting off of the subject," Skip said. "Why don't we go downstairs?"

"Agreed!" Nathaniel said.

He got off of Arcanine to walk down the stair but Arcanine walked right beside him, and any time he stumbled (which was only once when she tripped him a bit) stopped him from falling with her paw. Nathaniel smiled at how much she cared. The others just smiled at how cute it was. Arcanine smiled at Nathaniel only when she was sure he was alright.

They got downstairs without further incident and Nathaniel noticed there were more stairs leading downward. Just as he was about to ask to ask what was downstairs, a pink object came flying from the stairs, knocked him over, and ran over him and away.

"What in the world?" Nathaniel asked. "What just hit me?"

Before anyone could answer him, Linoone's head popped up from the stairs and the rest of him followed his head over toward Nathaniel and joined Aracnine in sniffing him. Linoone gave him a quick lick and went off after the pink streak, leaving Nathaniel with the feeling that Linoone was apologizing as wave of embarrassment came off of him.

Arcanine started licking Nathaniel, which of course got him giggling. This caused her to lick him even more and she even started pawing at him. Nathaniel realized that she was intentionally tickling him to keep him from crying.

"Ease up Arcanine!" Nathaniel shouted, laughing breathlessly. "I'm okay. No harm done. What hit me anyway?"

"That would have been Skitty." Gabriella said. "Sorry about her, I'm sure she likes you since she was sleeping on you. She has a mischevious streak and that pounce may just have been her way of saying hello."

"Then why did Linoone stop to check me?" Nathaniel asked. "Is he just a caring pokemon, or is there something else?"

"Poor Linoone has made it his business to apologize for Skitty's trouble making." Skip said. "The reason he does that is because he is absolutely besotted with Skitty. Are you sure your okay to continue?"

"Only if Arcanine carries me." Nathaniel said. "After that incident on the stairs and then Skitty's subsequent pounce, my legs feel like jelly..."

"And you like riding Arcanine." Skip said.

"And I like riding, HEY!" Nathaniel said. "How'd you do that?"

"Subtle suggestion." Skip replied smirking.

"Whatever, let's get moving." Nathaniel retorted as he climbed onto a very happy Arcanine. "By the way Arcanine, it's kind of hard to climb onto you when you're wagging you tail fast enough to shake half your body."

Arcanine held still long enough for Nathaniel to get on and then walked out into the living room. Nathaniel took a better look around this time. There were four couches, a cozy looking recliner next to a lamp, a large coffee table with two of the couches on the long side and one couch on each end, a vast entertainment center with big screen TV and several game systems that nearly made Nathaniel's eyes pop on the other side of the coffee table, and a door on each of the other three walls. Because one was open, Nathaniel could see it was another bathroom. Another was a double door with a window, and it showed a few trees outside from Nathaniel's position. The last door was a swinging door, that Nathaniel assumed went to the kitchen. Arcanine ran over to the door and pushed it open with her nose. Inside Nathaniel saw it was indeed a large kitchen. There was an open pantry that was very well stocked, and another door leading out to a porch.

"I see Arcanine has already shown you the kitchen." Skip said walking in with Zoe, Jim and Michael. "She must be just as eager to end this tour as you are. Let's get out onto the porch and we'll show you the rest of the last part of our tour before we begin testing."

The porch had a few steps down to a path across the lawn to a long picnic table. There was a grill near the table and also a fire pit off a ways. The porch also had a swing and a few benches on it.

"This is a perfect spot to watch the sun go down." Zoe said blissfully. "Sometimes we have a barbecue picnic out here. And after we watch the sun set we sit around the fire and watch as the stars come out."

"I remember that that was actually our first date." Skip said smiling. "Granted it was a group date with everyone else and a sleep over/camp out when we were what, five, but I'd call it our first date since it was also our first umph."

Skip stopped as Zoe jumped on him putting her hands over his mouth.

"Not in front of everyone." she hissed into his ear. Jim and Michael just laughed.

"If it was a first kiss," Michael began. "Then don't be so embarrassed, it was mine and Gabriella's too. And we could hear Remus and Sela with these feline ears. What about you Jim? Was that your first kiss as well with Janice?"

"Guilty as charged." Jim said with a grin. "I'll admit it was clumsy, but I felt like I'd gone to heaven and haven't come back since."

"Awww, that is so sweet." Zoe said. "How come you don't say stuff like that?" She asked Skip with a thump to the chest.

"I prefer to make you laugh, rather than make you melt." Skip said. "That way I don't have to mop you back up."

"Cheesy jokester." Zoe said with a laugh and another thump.

"Hey! Where'd Remus go?" Nathaniel asked.

"The others took him downstairs to get him ready." Skip answered. "We'll show you the basement when we're done out here. Let's get to swimming first."

And so saying he grabbed Nathaniel's hand and walked with him and Arcanine into the trees.

Chapter 8 The First Battle in the River

He led Nathaniel into the woods a bit until they reached a small river. The current didn't look too rough so Skip lifted Nathaniel off of Arcanine and set him on the ground.

"You know what?" Skip said. "I forgot to grab us a couple of swim diapers."

Arcanine started to rub the patch of fluffy fur at her chest an two swim diapers dropped out. She gave her canine grin as Nathaniel and Skip stared at her with open-mouthed amazement. Then she used her nose to close Nathaniel's open mouth and Skip laughed.

"Glad someone thought ahead." Skip chuckled after his laughter had died down a bit. "Thanks allot Arcanine!"

"Yeah! Thanks Arcanine!" Nathaniel said hugging Arcanine.

Arcanine gave Nathaniel a lick. She then pawed him into a soft pile of leaves. As Skip untapped his diaper, Nathaniel couldn't help but feel a slight pang of dissapointment. He was somewhat curious as to what would have happened if he went swimming in this diaper. Skip looked surprised that Nathaniel's diaper was still dry. He shrugged, folded the dry diaper and set it aside. He then began to diaper Nathaniel in the tighter swim diaper. He gave Nathaniel a quick rub on the belly when he finished.

"As long as you stay in the shallows and don't go deeper than your waist, you can go ahead in while I get ready." Skip said. "I'm sure Arcanine will watch and make sure you'll be okay."

"Okay Skip." Nathaniel said joyfully. "Come on Arcanine."

Nathaniel ran straight for the water, not bothering to see if Arcanine was following. He stopped right before getting in, and went to stick a foot in to test the temperature. Before he even got a toe in, Arcanine slammed into him from behind and sent him flying a third of the way across the river.

Nathaniel was surprised when he hit the water with hardly a splash. It was as if instinct took over. That didn't stop him from wetting as some of the river water got into his diaper. It wasn't freezing, but it was cold enough. The diaper still got very heavy and he felt himself flop down onto something. Nathaniel opened his eyes and found that his eyes were as comfortable as if he were wearing goggles. That was little consolation however when he saw what he had landed on. A very grumpy looking Gyarados!

Nathaniel flailed his arms but couldn't move very far. His diaper was weighing him down! He must have passed all of the liquid he had suckled from Arcanine. Gyarados flung him off of his head and Nathaniel hit the river bottom. His diaper was heavy enough to sink into the mud a bit. He was stuck!

Gyarados glared at him, and slowly opened its mouth. Tiny orange beads of light started gathering towards the center forming a large orange ball. Nathaniel felt panic begin to rise in him as he recognized the powerful Hyper Beam. Just as Gyarados fired, something flashed from the corner of Nathaniel's vision, and collided with the oncoming attack. It was Dratini, and he had a shimmering green orb around him. Nathaniel recognized the attack protect.

Nathaniel felt a wave of fury coming off of Dratini, and it was evident in its eyes. Bolts of energy started crackling across Dratini's body and ended in a small ball at the end of its mouth. Nathaniel watched in awe as Dratini launched a perfect hit with a Charge Beam. Nathaniel winced thinking about how much an electric attack was going to hurt a water and flying pokemon like Gyarados when it gets a critical hit!

Surprisingly Gyarados was still up. It looked furious but apparently had enough sense to give up. It swam off with the current as fast as it could. Dratini gave a nod and then gets Nathaniel up out of the mud. It let go of him in the middle of the river and made a great show of using its tail to swim, all the while looking at Nathaniel. Nathaniel got what it was trying to tell him and did a doggy paddle toward the surface while using his rudder for extra thrust. He was making progress this time! But it wasn't going too well as Nathaniel was starting to feel the need for air. The diaper was still too heavy! Nathaniel looked longingly at the surface of the water, it was only a third of the way left! Just then, a shadow appears on the surface and a shape bursts toward him. It was Skip! He reached Nathaniel in a second and made a quick grab at Nathaniel's diaper, removing it. Free of the weight, Nathaniel shot toward the surface like a bullet and leaped six feet over the surface of the river. Nathaniel took a quick breath and pulled himself into a perfect cannon ball. He started swimming toward shore five feet below the surface and he felt Skip grab his paw. The two of them reached the shore in no time flat, and Nathaniel felt Arcanine grab him gently by the scruff of the neck and dragging him further ashore. She started frantically nosing him and licking him as quickly as she could. Nathaniel could feel her concern and worry through the maternal love.

"I'm okay Arcanine! Just relax!" Nathaniel said. He then felt an irrepressible urge and shook himself dry.

Arcanine jumped back at that. And then took a few steps forward to give him a quick sniff again. When she finished Nathaniel could feel her relief. Nathaniel looked at Skip and saw relief in his eyes as well.

"Nathaniel, I am so sorry about that!" he said worriedly. "I was finishing getting my diaper on when I heard Arcanine barking. You must have been down there too long for her liking. I saw the flashes underwater and ran back to get a good dive in. What happened down there? You're sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Nathaniel said now excitedly. "Arcanine ran into and launched me into the river. The water was cold so I wet, and that weighed me down. I landed on a Gyarados and it started to attack me. Dratini came in and saved me, and then taught me how to use my tail. That's when you came in and untapped the diaper. You know what happened after that."

Nathaniel then noticed Dratini slithering out onto land and toward him slowly. It cautiously stretched his head toward him and Nathaniel quickly gave him a hug. Dratini jumped at that and started to struggle, but then stopped as it realized it wasn't being hurt, and relaxed into Nathaniel.

"I guess Dratini was worried about you." Skip said. "He's very shy about strangers, but very protective of those he considers friends or friends of his friends. He's usually afraid of people not liking him, but now that he's recognized that you're hugging him, he should be allot more friendly with you. I don't suppose you have any towels in your fur Arcanine."

"I actually don't need one, look!" Nathaniel said.

Skip did look and found that all of Nathaniel's fur was water resistant! A quick shake, and the water would come right off.

"I only expected the fur of your otter part would have water resistance, which makes us very resistant to diaper rash by the way. But apparently, when the rest of your fur gets wet, it immediately becomes water resistant, and stays as such for awhile after. I'm guessing that with a bit of time, or with heat from a blow drier, your fur will return to is soft state. If we wanted to wash you, you'd either need a special shampoo, or you'd really need to scrub the get down to the... scales?!"

Skip had been running his fingers through Nathaniel's fur and found that at the roots, he had small, yet hard scales underneath. His fur was growing from right above each scale from where they overlapped each other.

"Well that's interesting." Skip said. It looks like your entire body is covered in scales. I'm guessing that your scales on you arms are just to big to have fur growing from them. Looks like another advantage you have. Scales have additional resistance to diaper rash as well. I think that your fur, combined with your scales, would make it take about 12 hours of constant contact to start a diaper rash. The only reason now we'd need to change your diaper is if it gets to heavy for you to walk right."

"What about if it leaks?" Nathaniel asked.

"Diapers are made allot better here than on your world." Skip answered. "Leaks are very rare in the happening. It would take one and a half times your usual heavy wetting to run the risk. That's for the general day long brad that we tend to use on you. If we were to say, go to a theme park all day, we could actually leave you in just one of those all day, and not run the risk of rash. These diapers absorb almost all of the urine, so normally you could use them for a few hours without powder or cream. Longer times would need it, but you don't. And the weight wouldn't be any trouble if we get you a stroller when it gets too heavy. I suppose that one disadvantage you have is that we can't oil you. But to compensate, we can still give you a belly rub. I noticed you liked that quick rub I gave you before your little swim. Must be the canine in you. I'll bet that you like some of the same touches as an otter, feline and dragon would as well. You might have something with you wings as well."

"You know," Nathaniel said. "If they allow pokemon inside, we could just have Arcanine carry me instead of renting a stroller."

"We sure could." Skip said. "Now lets get this diaper back on you, and if you're feeling up to it, we'll go get started on Michael's test. I think Zoe mentioned teaching you a few things after she's done with me if you're doing well enough."

"Okay!" Nathaniel said excitedly as he laid down for Skip.

After Skip finished diapering him, he started to experiment with Nathaniel. He rubbed Nathaniel's belly, even more than last time. Nathaniel rolled his eyes back, and murred with pleasure. He closed his eyes as he felt the touch shift to his ears and the scratching began. He felt as strange rumbling in his chest and found to both his and Skip's surprise, he was purring! Nathaniel rolled onto his belly and placed his head into Skip's lap and leaned his head into the scratch. But the scratching had moved. Skip was giving a one clawed scratch to the spine right between his wings. The purring increased outside of his control, as waves of pleasure flooded his system, he felt himself going limp as Skip began to rub his head right between the ears, and began to stroke his rudder as well. Nathaniel went limb enough to roll off of Skip's lap and he nearly passed out from the rush as Skip finished with stroking his wings.

"I think in the future," Nathaniel said panting. "We should save that much for just before I go to bed. I'm feeling worn out after that."

"Rest before you get back up." Skip said smiling. "I thought after the ordeal in the river you deserved that. Whenever you want that treatment again, let me know. I'll be happy to. Doing it before bed is a good idea. I saw that you nearly dropped off on me. Are you still good to go?"

"Yep." Nathaniel said as he got up. "I wouldn't want to dissapoint Michael now would I?"

"Just one more thing before we go." Skip said. "Did you notice that you could see clearly underwater? I saw that you had a reptilian film over your eyes. If you ever woke up with your eyes blurry and then felt something slide across your eyes leaving things clearer, that would be them. Very cool and handy to have. Otters don't need them as much because our eyes resist the water, but combined with that film, you'll be like wearing goggles whereas I have things somewhat blurred."

"Awesome!" Nathaniel said. "I've been wondering about that. It's happened before and you're right, I can see perfectly underwater."

Skip took his hand and they walked into a different part of the woods.

Chapter 9 Climbing and Flying

Nathaniel wasn't sure how far they had walked until they came to the biggest tree he had ever laid eyes on. It had to be over a hundred feet tall! Zoe, Michael, and Jim were standing under it waiting. When they saw Skip and Nathaniel coming they waved them over.

"What kept you guys?" Zoe asked. "How'd swimming go?"

"He's a natural." Skip said. "I only had to help him because he wore himself out dragging a heavy diaper through the water."

"You should have used a swim diaper." Zoe said shaking her finger at Skip. "I was going to teach you a how to really move through the trees and branches, but were not going to have enough time today. Michael is going to help you to the top of the tree and Jim will meet you up there. Then Jim is going to show you how to use your wings and get you back to the house."

"Okay." Nathaniel said. "We did use a swim diaper by the way. The water was just cold so it made me wet and the diaper got heavy."

"Oh!" Zoe said. "Sorry for doubting you Skip. Let's go then. See you guys back at the house!"

She then walked away holding hands with Skip. Skip had that goofy grin of his on, and Nathaniel could feel he was excited. Nathaniel just smiled and shook his head before turning to Michael and Jim. He didn't need to feel there suspicion to tell they knew something was up.

"What's up guys?" Nathaniel asked.

"You tell us." Michael said. "If I know Skip, he was hiding something. He didn't answer Zoe when she asked what kept you guys, and a diaper change only would have covered that time if you were messy. So what happened?"

"If you must know," Nathaniel said sighing. "He said I could stay in the shallows while he put his swim diaper on if Arcanine was watching me. I ran to the water and Arcanine launched me out to the middle of the river when she ran into me and I upset a Gyarados. Before you ask, I'm fine and so is Dratini. Dratini saved me from Gyarados and then Skip got my two-ton diaper off of me and everything went smoothly after that."

"I suppose if that's all that happened, we'll keep it a secret unless it needs to be known." Jim said. "No harm, no foul right?"

"Since Gyarados was the only one harmed, right." Nathaniel answered.

"Okay then." Michael said. "Let's see those claws first."

Nathaniel laid on his back and stuck all of this claws into the air. Michael examined each one and pronounced them perfect for climbing. He brought Nathaniel over to the tree and taught him how to grip the tree without damaging it. He then proceeded to teach Nathaniel how to support you weight and use branches if you need to. Nathaniel looked down before Michael could tell him not to, and saw Arcanine watching fifty feet below. Oddly, he didn't get the slightest sense of vertigo.

"I'm going to stay right here." Michael said. "I can't stand to go much higher. With your being part flyer, fear of heights is considerably lessened. If you should fall, I'll grab you if you fall past me. It's a straight shot up to where Jim is. When I see you reach him, I'll climb down and head back with Arcanine."

"Okay!" Nathaniel said and hurried up the tree.

Michael couldn't help but shake his head at Nathaniel and note how much of a pro he looked. Even in his bulky diaper, he made climbing look easy.

Jim smiled when Nathaniel reached him. He was thinking along the same lines as Michael. He wondered if he'd prove just as good at gliding.

"I see you made it up here without a hitch." Jim commented. "Time to teach you to glide."

"I thought I was going to learn how to fly." Nathaniel said quizzically.

"Flight by furrs is impossible. Our bones are a bit to heavy for that. Some are so talented at gliding that they can gain a decent semblance of flight, but that's all it is, gliding. Let's begin." Jim said standing up. "The house is that way. Spread your wings and wait for a breeze. When the wind catches your wings leap into it and keep pointed in that direction. Have you ever played any of the Mario games?"

"Lot's of them." Nathaniel said. "Why?"

"Flying in Super Mario 64 is allot like flying here. Eventually you loose lift and you can gain some momentum controlling your flight in the same manner. Thrust as if from those cannons can give you more time, but you loose it eventually. If your over a hot place, rising air can give you more lift, but you're still to heavy to fly indefinetly. Here comes a good one. Ready, GO!"

They both launched themselves from the tree and Nathaniel caught the air with his wings as if he'd always known how. There was a slight problem however. When he looked at Jim, he found him getting higher faster. Nathaniel was loosing altitude faster than he should have been. He panicked slightly and flapped his wings. He found himself level with an awestruck Jim.

"Do that again." Jim said with eyes wide.

Nathaniel flapped his wings again. It worked he was going higher! He felt and exhilarating rush as he realized, he was flying! Not fancy gliding that Jim said some could do. He had actual flight!

"You're really flying!" Jim shouted with joy. "I know this must be an awesome moment for you but let's not over do it. Let's get home so we can start to play. It's almost time to eat anyway."

As Jim finished his sentence, Nathaniel dropped ten feet when he clenched his hands to his stomach. He was really hungry! He thought longingly of Arcanine and tried to speed up his flight. Jim kept up with him using a few fancy glider techniques he knew and the reached home just as Michael and Arcanine did. Arcanine on seeing Nathaniel started running below him barking excitedly. Nathaniel managed to land perfectly into Arcanine's side and they both fell in a heap. Nathaniel hugged Arcanine as she licked him. Nathaniel felt another feeling coming off of her this time, pride in her pup.

"Come on in guys." Zoe yelled out the door. "Pizza's gonna get here in a few minutes."

As much as Nathaniel liked Arcanine's milk, he ran inside eagerly for one of his favorite foods. He also couldn't wait to tell everyone who missed each part how his awesome day had gone so far.

Chapter 10 The End of a Perfect Day.



Nathaniel nearly ran into Zoe in his haste to get inside.



"Whoa, slow down. Where's the fire?" Zoe said laughing.



As a joke, Nathaniel decided to pretend to breathe fire. He felt a rush in his chest and he let it out. To his and Zoe's utter amazement, smoke came out! Nathaniel tried again and felt a similar rush came, but this time, he felt a crackling around his teeth. He tried once more and the crackling happened again!



"Holy smokes!" Nathaniel said. "I think I know what's going on! My dragon side is a chaos dragon. Their breath comes out in a random form. There's an equal chance for fire, electricity, acid, cold, and sound. Since I'm so young, all I can get is small stuff like that, but eventually, I'll not only be able to breathe the full effect, but I'll be able to control whether it's a cone or line, and if I practice and try hard enough, control what comes out. This is so cool!"



"Yes, I suppose that is." Zoe said smiling at his excited face. "But promise me you won't do it in a place where you can cause damage like fire in a forest, or the house, for example."



"Okay Zoe!" Nathaniel said, still excited. "I'm finding out more and more about myself today! So what kind of pizza did you order?"



"Since we didn't know what kind of toppings you might like, we just stuck with a universal favorite, pepperoni." Zoe said. "But we'd rather you only have one small piece. Your stomach size has changed so we'd rather not run the risk of overfeeding you and getting you sick. Also, you haven't had a solid meal since you got here, so we'll have to be careful. If you're still hungry after that, would you mind finishing up with Arcanine?"



"No, not really." Nathaniel said his ears drooping slightly. "I guess I never thought about how much my stomach has changed. But then again, I don't really remember how much I could eat before anyway."



Nathaniel heard something at the front door and went to see what it was, but he felt Zoe grab hold of his tail. Looking back at her he saw a mischievous glint in her eye and didn't have time to react or even get a feeling from her before she pounced him and began to tickle him mercilessly.



"Zoe stop, I'm too ticklish for this much." Nathaniel said between laughs. He looked towards the door and saw Arcanine coming in. "Arcanine, help me!"



Arcanine sprang quickly toward her pup to help. Unfortunately for Nathaniel, it was Zoe she was helping. Nathaniel continued to writhe on the floor as the tickling continued until he gave a sharp gasp. Zoe and Arcanine stopped at that and looked to see what was wrong. All that tickling made Nathaniel wet again.



"Oops!" Zoe said. "Sorry Nathaniel. Didn't mean to tickle you that much. You okay?"



"I'm fine." Nathaniel said. "Just a bit shocked. I've never had it happen like that before. The only times I've wet so far was when I was asleep or when I got in the river. Can we get me changed? I don't feel like sitting in wet diaper at the moment."



"Sure thing." Zoe said. "Dinner's here so we'll head downstairs and get you cleaned up. Then playtime can begin before bath and bed."



"So that's what I heard at the door." Nathaniel said.



Zoe picked up Nathaniel and walked through the living room to the stairs. She then went down the staircase to a large basement. Nathaniel's jaw dropped at what he saw. It was the largest playroom for someone his current age, he had ever seen! There were toys, a bookcase filled with movies and another entertainment center with big screen TV once again. Instead of couches there was a very comfortable looking rug. He also took note of the five highchairs against one wall and a couple of nearby cribs. The cribs drew his eye, because in addition to being huge, they had his new brothers lying comfortably inside them wearing nothing but diapers. He had to laugh at Skip in particular, as he looked like the most like a baby out of any of them. His laughter drew their attention and they smiled at him.



"Finally come to join the party?" Skip said with that trademark grin of his.



"Wasn't expecting you to look so convincing." Nathaniel said. "The others look like teens, but you look like you're no older than ten."



"So he's been told." Sela said laughing as she walked out of a room Nathaniel hadn't noticed before. Janice and Gabriella walked out with her. "That smile of his just makes him seem so much younger. We can all tell that he's the youngest at heart by the fact that he's also the one who enjoys this the most. And now that you're here, who's hungry?"



She took a step back at the enthusiastically loud quintet of me's. Laughing she picked up Remus with surprising ease and placed him in one of the highchairs. Nathaniel was surprised that he fit.



"Will one of you get Skip ready for me?" Zoe asked. "I need to change Nathaniel before he eats."



"Sure thing." Gabriella said as she picked up not just Michael, but Skip as well!



Everyone laughed as Nathaniel was taken in to the room with an awestruck face. He quickly got over his shock when he looked around the room. It looked like a combination of a small computer lab and mini library. There were a total of twelve computers, eight desktops and four laptops. There were eight tall bookshelves that were filled to capacity with books on many subjects. Nathaniel saw books on pokemon, and some fiction books that struck him as familiar. Books like, Harry Potter, Septimus Heap, Deltora, Dragonlance, Redwall and more. As Zoe carried him, he saw where she was headed, toward four, fully stocked changing tables. Zoe set him down upon it and began the process of changing him.



"This basement is amazing!" Nathaniel said. "If you don't mind my asking, why so many computers?"



"Each of us has our own desktop computer, and for when we need a computer on the go, we'd grab a laptop." Zoe answered him.



"Do you have any games on them?"



"Only one, and that's because it is an absolute favorite of all of us. World of Warcraft."



"I remember that one." Nathaniel said. "I can't remember specifics, but I'm sure I've played it, and loved it. I've been recovering allot of my memory today. I can't remember my life, but I do remember things like my likes and dislikes. I also remember things like books if I see them. That's all I can get though."



"Well it's something at least." Zoe said as she taped Nathaniel's new diaper up. "There you go. All ready for dinner."



She picked him back up and carried him out into the room. Nathaniel could smell the pizza. It looked even better, especially since it was a stuffed crust! Nathaniel needed a bib even before Zoe put him into his highchair. He was drooling too much. Zoe saw this and got a bib on him quick. She then put a slice on his plate and cut the pizza up before letting him at it.



"Make sure you chew it carefully." Zoe said. "We don't know how your stomach is going to handle solid foods yet."



Nathaniel nodded and then saw how many pizzas there were. It surely wasn't enough to feed them all.



"Why didn't you order more pizzas?" he asked. "That doesn't look like enough to me."



"It is if we're having more than just pizza." Skip said. "We already asked Arcanine and she's agreed to suckle five tonight. I think though that just to be on the safe side, you should start in first. She'll want to make sure her pup is fed before letting us at her."



Nathaniel then dug into his pizza with gusto. It was gone in under two minutes. He looked over at the others and saw that they were finishing theirs. Zoe took a look at Nathaniel and quickly burst into laughter. Everyone else looked at Nathaniel and did the same.



"What's so funny?" Nathaniel asked. "Let me in on the joke."



"Alright." Zoe said. "But let's get bath done and then you'll see."



"What about Arcanine?" Nathaniel asked. "I'm still hungry."



"She'll wait." Zoe said. "Plus maybe you should wait until before bedtime. It might help you get to sleep."



"Okay." Nathaniel said.



Zoe picked him up out of his highchair while the others grabbed hold of their 'kids'. She carried him over to yet another door Nathaniel had missed. She opened it up and walked inside. Nathaniel was shocked yet again. Inside was a tub that looked more like a small pool. It could easily fit all nine of them without any trouble.



"I hope you don't mind group bathing." Zoe said. "If you're uncomfortable with us girls then we can get bathing suits on. But first, let's take as look in the mirror."



She took him to a wall mirror and Nathaniel got what was so funny. He must have had all of the pizza sauce from his slice on his face. He was covered.



"Sorry." Nathaniel said. "I guess I'm not used to eating with a muzzle. That makes a bit of a difference. I think right now, I'd be okay with the group bathing. I've noticed when I was suckling Arcanine, I got nothing out of it. I wasn't the least bit aroused, and I know enough about myself that I normally would be."



"If your sure then okay." Zoe said as she untapped his diaper.



The bath was uneventful until after they were all washed. Skip then decided to be playful and splash at Nathaniel, getting Zoe instead. Chaos ensued and the floor was wetter than anything or anyone else was. Everyone shook themselves off to get everyone else wet on last time, and it was clear that Nathaniel was the best at shake-drying. When everyone else was dried off, the five were diapered, and put into sleepers. Nathaniel got the white sleeping cap that Sela had promised earlier that day. The other four were in plain, solid color sleepers. Skip was in a navy blue. Remus wore a crimson red. Michael was wearing a white one. And Jim had a forest green on.



Arcanine was waiting for Nathaniel when he came out. Nathaniel had to fight with himself on whether to drink now or later. He went over to Arcanine and contented himself to just snuggle up next to her.



"We have just enough time for a movie before bed." Zoe said. "Should we watch one or do something else?"



"Do you have any of the pokemon movies I'm familiar with?" Nathaniel asked.



"Sure do." Zoe said. "Which one do you want?"



"How about Lucario and the Mystery of Mew?" he said excitedly.



"You got it." Zoe said. She put it in and Nathaniel was surprised to see that it was human based. He expected it to have furrs in it.



Towards the end of the movie, he could resist no longer, he rolled over and looked at Arcanine. Arcanine gave him a nudge and Nathaniel needed no second bidding. He began to suckle. Just a bit later, he felt warm bodies pressing against him. He felt even more secure and small for some reason. He purred as he continued to drink. He was still purring and suckling when he fell asleep.

Chapter 11 An Emergency



Nathaniel didn't see the bright colors he expected. Everything was dark. He turned around, sensing that something was behind him. It was a Darkrai. Nathaniel felt his stomach clench in fear and started to hyperventilate.



"Peace small one." The Darkrai said. "I'm not here for what my usual offspring would be. I'm here bringing Anthony."



Nathaniel looked and saw Anthony coming with a worried look on his face. Concern and fear were flooding off of him. Something told Nathaniel, Darkrai wasn't the source.



"What's wrong?" Nathaniel asked.



"It's your brother." Anthony said. "We apparently had some effect when we tried to bring him to this world. He's undergone a partial transformation. We're not sure to what extent, but it is enough that he'll draw unwanted attention to himself. You need to go and get him now!"



"Of course!" Nathaniel said. "Just two questions. One, why couldn't you have told me this with Cresselia, and two, how do I get there?"



"Cresselia couldn't bring my negative emotions through a dream, so Darkrai had to bring me through a nightmare." Anthony said. "As for how to get there, get Skip to show you where they found you. You'll see the cave there. Walk through until you see a portal. It will take you close to where your brother is. From there, you're on your own. You should know your brother on sight as his Aura will be strong enough for you to see. But you should also look for any sign of his transformation to be sure."



"That brings another question to mind." Nathaniel said. "Is my being able to sense someone's emotions part of that Aura Sight?"



"In an indirect way, yes." Anthony said. "We gave you an ability that is shared by the Lucario family. If you were to go to one of the continents that you know from the Mystery Dungeon games, you would take on the form of a Riolu. Your Aura Sight ties into their own ability to sense emotions and intents. No more questions now. It's time to wake up."



And Nathaniel did.



Chapter 12 The First Time Back



Nathaniel woke to find himself in a crib. He felt a furry body snuggled up next to him. He rolled over and found out that it was Skip. Nathaniel looked around and found he was alone in the playroom with Skip. On confirming this with a glance at the other crib, he started to shake Skip.



"Hey! Wake up!"



"Huh, what?" Skip said groggily. "Nathaniel? You okay? Have a bad dream or something?"



"Yes. It was." Nathaniel said and he recounted the entirety of it to him.



"Well let's go then." Skip said wide awake.



Skip stood up and jumped over the bars of the crib. He landed lightly and turned around to grab Nathaniel. He then carried Nathaniel up the stairs and out the front door. Nathaniel looked at Skip questioningly when he saw Arcanine sleeping on the front porch.



"Arcanine has among her many talents, that of a watch dog." Skip said in answer. "Arcanine, we need a ride. It's important to both me and your pup."



Arcanine leaped to her feet at the mention of her pup needing help. Skip hopped on and sat Nathaniel in front of him. Skip was apparently an experienced rider, as he directed Arcanine flawlessly. They dodged and weaved through the woods until they came to a hill in a clearing. Nathaniel spotted the cave opening immediately.



"So where's this cave?" Skip asked.



"No time for jokes Skip." Nathaniel said as he hopped off of Arcanine.



"I'm not joking." Skip said seriously. "I don't see a thing, and come to think of it, I didn't see a cave the last time either."



"I guess that's why Anthony said I had to go." Nathaniel said. "Nobody else can see the cave to enter it. I'll be back as soon as I can. Wait for me."



"You got it." Skip said. "Take care of yourself. Come back with your brother safely."



Nathaniel nodded and then ran straight into the cave. His eyes could see better this time and he found out why. He could see a swirling portal casting light through the cave. He took his sleeper and diaper off and left them folded back at the entrance. Then, without a moment's hesitation, he flung himself through it and arrived in his old world.



Chapter 13 Ethan



Ethan was on the run. So many people wanted him for different reasons. All of them, he'd rather avoid. Doctors and scientists wanted to do some crazy experiments on him. Paparazzi kept blinding him with their cameras. Worst of all were the agents that kept hounding him to sign contracts for reality TV shows. But there was more. Angry parents were out to get him thinking he had some disease that could infect their children. Religious fanatics screaming devil child wanted to go to an old method of getting rid of witches, burning at the stake. Some wiccan practitioners wanted him for any number of reasons. The oddest of those after him were those calling themselves part of the Furry Fandom. They wanted to find out how he had become what he had, and do it themselves. Another group that was after him was the government, particularly the military. They though he was possibly an alien and a threat to national security.



It started two days ago. He woke up to a familiar voice saying, "I'm coming Ethan." He'd heard it somewhere before, but just couldn't place it. He went to the bathroom that morning in the orphanage, just like he always did, and looked at himself in the mirror. He screamed when he saw that he was covered in short, brown hair. His facial features were distorting as well. They were becoming more animalistic. What happened after was all a blur. All he knew was that he'd been evading people as much as he could in the woods outside of town. He found it easier because he had become allot more skilled at climbing and swimming. He could move through the trees and water almost as well as he could walk. But he was all alone, and there were thousands looking for him.



He climbed a tall tree and took a look around, the search had stopped, for the moment. He took this time to do something he hadn't been able to, he put his face in his arms and cried. He cried wondering, why was this happening? Why wont people just leave him alone? Where was this person who was coming? Why wont people leave him alone? Why was that voice familiar? WHY WONT PEOPLE LEAVE HIM ALONE? He continued to cry until they turned to sobs, which abruptly ended when something landed in the tree next to him.



"So I've finally found you."

Chapter 15 An Explanation



Ethan jumped in shock at the familiar voice. It was the voice from his dream. He was even more shocked at what the voice came from. It looked like some sort of mutant wolf with wings! Ethan then felt a sense of hope. This thing was a talking animal that stood on two legs. Maybe it knew what was happening to him, or even better, could help him. He asked sever questions in rapid succession.



“Who are you? What are you? Why do you look and sound familiar? Can you help me? Why am I growing fur like this?”



He only stopped because Nathaniel put a hand over his mouth. Nathaniel just smiled.



“Relax.” He said. “In order, my name is Nathaniel, I was once human and am now a class of furrs known as a Chimera for being made up of several different animal parts. Those parts are, my wolf head, dragon arms, lion legs, otter’s body and tail, and the wings of a winged fox. Why I look and sound familiar is because we were brothers in our past life. I actually came here to find you and help you. And the reason I believe you are growing fur is that those who pulled me into their world, couldn’t gather the energy needed when they tried to grab you as well. Because they tried to take you as well, they couldn’t get you to their world but ended up causing a partial transformation into what I believe may be a squirrel.”



Ethan nearly fell from the tree when he tried to process the flood of information he had received. When he’d finished getting over a slight headache, he asked another set of questions.



“What do you mean past life? Why did someone try to take me? Is there a way to cure me? Why were you supposed to find me, and how are you going to help me?”



“Hard to answer that in order so I’ll just try my best to explain.” Nathaniel said. “The world I’m from is a furr based pokemon world. Long ago, the five Masters chose us and three others in our past lives to come to the pokemon world after we had died, be reborn there and one day replace them. Something went wrong after we’d been given the gift of rebirth. We were instead reborn in our own world. They tried to gather the energies needed to bring all of us to their world but the results are pretty obvious. I came to find you and help you to get to the pokemon world. I didn’t come here with a cure. If I were to bring you would you miss anything?”



“No not really.” Ethan said. “But what’s going to happen to me when I get there?”



“Your transformation will be completed, and I understand you’re an orphan, so you’ll be pleased to hear that your adoptive parents are waiting.” Nathaniel said. “Your transformation will probably end in a squirrel/otter hybrid of about, how old are you?”



“Ten.” Ethan answered.



“Then that means you’ll be about two and a half.” Nathaniel said. “We should probably go now, that way we don’t run into those people looking for you.”



“It’s not just your past life that makes you familiar.” Ethan said. “I heard your voice once in a dream. You said “I’m coming Ethan.” I’m glad you finally came. Lead on brother. I’ll follow.”



Nathaniel and Ethan climbed down the tree and started walking. Just then, a shot rang out, and a piece of bark on the pine they had just gotten down from flew off. “There’s two of them!” a voice shouted out. This started a stampede and Nathaniel and Ethan ran for it. No matter how fast they ran or moved, the people kept up with them. They had just about reached the cave, when Ethan tripped and landed hard enough to wind himself. Nathaniel went back to him and looked up to see many angry faces coming straight for him.



Nathaniel could see they wouldn’t make it and one thought went through his mind. “I have to protect my little brother.” With this though in his head he ran at the crowd and yelled back at Ethan, “Get through the portal in the cave. Find an otter named Skip, and tell him Nathaniel sent you. I love you and everyone else.”



Ethan just laid there. He was paralyzed with fear of what was about to happen. Nathaniel felt an odd surge of energy. He could feel it building in his chest and knew what it was. “This is my one shot, even if it only gets Ethan enough time to get home, let this work!” With that thought in mind, the surge grew bigger and Nathaniel let it all out.



Branches were stripped from trees and the people were still flying backward. Nathaniel was shocked at what he’d just done. He’d fired his sonic breath and blew them away! While some were moving, none were getting up, yet. He did a quick check with his Aura Sight and found that it had grown stronger! He could see every Aura and knew that he hadn’t killed anyone. But the ones that weren’t moving were going to have one heck of a headache when they woke up. He grabbed a stunned looking Ethan by the hand and took him into the cave and through the portal.

Chapter 16 A Brother and a Son



Nathaniel and Ethan arrived in the cave. Something was different this time however. Nathaniel could see nothing this time. The light given off by the portal was gone, due to the fact that the portal was as well. Nathaniel heard footsteps coming down towards him and Ethan.



“Nathaniel, are you there?” Skip asked.



“I’m here Skip.” Nathaniel answered. “How’d you get in? I thought you couldn’t see the cave.”



“It just appeared a minute ago. You’ve been gone about two hours.” Skip said. “When I saw it, I heard the same voice that told me I’d find you telling me to enter. Did you find your brother?”



“Yeah! He’s right here.” Nathaniel said. “Ethan, why don’t you say hello to my brother Skip, your new father? Ethan?”



“I think he’s asleep.” Skip said as he reached Nathaniel. “Most usually are when they come. I’ve got your diaper and sleeper here. Why don’t we go outside, get them on and get home?”



Nathaniel felt Skip grab hold of him for a moment and then felt him fumbling around until he found Ethan. Nathaniel let go of Ethan’s hand when Skip picked him up. He then put his hand on the wall of the cave and walked out. It was still night but Nathaniel could see a light on the horizon and knew the sun was soon to rise. Arcanine greeted him enthusiastically, licking him to the ground and making him shriek with laughter. When Arcanine had stopped and finished sniffing at him to make sure he was okay, Skip quickly diapered him and got him back into his sleeper. He picked Ethan up again, got on Arcanine and helped Nathaniel on to her as well. Arcanine made her own way back since Skip’s hands were full. She was quick, but careful. She understood that she was carrying more than one pup on her back, and one of them was asleep.



The house came back into sight just as the sun was rising. Arcanine kneeled down when she got back on the porch, and Skip and Nathaniel slid off of her. Nathaniel gave Arcanine a quick hug, who responded with an equally quick lick, before opening the door for Skip and walking in. Nathaniel and Skip went up the stairs and went into the room across from Skip’s. It was decorated identically to Nathaniel’s. Skip brought Ethan over to the bed and set it up as a crib. Nathaniel noticed his eyes were drooping, and gave a yawn. Skip just smiled and put Nathaniel in with Ethan.



“Stay with him please.” Skip said. “Even if you fall asleep, it might be less frightening for him if someone he knows is with him when he wakes up.”



“Okay.” Nathaniel said just before falling asleep.



Chapter 17 A New Power



“Well done Nathaniel!” Anthony said.



“Thanks.” Nathaniel said. “I’ve noticed that I can see more with my Aura Sight now. I can see anyone’s Aura!”



“That’s because you found Ethan.” Anthony said. “It is also because you found Ethan that I’m here. I’ve come with your next gift. We were watching the whole time. We’ve decided that you need a way to defend yourself if you get into more trouble. While claws are sharp, you need something ranged. And you can’t always depend on a random burst of power for a breath you can’t control yet. You’re lucky that you used a sonic attack. Your breath isn’t damaging enough yet to kill anyone, but extra effects like setting the forest on fire would have.”



“Oh no!” Nathaniel said. “I forgot I promised Zoe I wouldn’t do that!”



“I’m sure she’ll understand when it’s in self defense.” Anthony said. “Now hold still again. This power will give you the ability to separate energy and use the negative half. This power allows you to do one of two things. One is to fire it in a small burst. This will give a sort of force blast effect from Star Wars. And no, you wont be able to shoot lightning from your hands. The other thing is you can channel that negative energy through your body and increase the power in your muscles. I’m very proud of your flight by the way. Very impressive.”



When Anthony finished, Nathaniel felt a surge of pain and again a warm rush as darkness closed over him.

Chapter 18 Welcoming Ethan



Nathaniel sat up quickly. He checked himself and sure enough, his diaper was soaked.



“One of these days he’s going to make me leak.” Nathaniel muttered.



He then turned and got his first good look at Ethan in the light. It may have been something about that light, but for a second, he thought that he was looking at an otter. He blinked and looked again. What he saw was what could be described as an otterish squirrel. His tail looked like a bushy rudder, and he was certainly tall for a squirrel. His face looked like that of a squirrel, but it looked like if you made a few adjustments here and there, you’d have a passable otter. His face interested Nathaniel. It was covered in chestnut brown fur like the rest of his body, except for jet black fur in the shape of what could easily be a shuriken that had two points extending past the eyes, one down to the tip of the nose, and one up to the peak of his forehead. Nathaniel took a look at the rest of him and found an interesting flap of skin coming off of him. That’s when it hit him! He was a flying squirrel!



Ethan began to stir and woke up. He looked at Nathaniel and smiled. “Glad it wasn’t a dream.” He said, and then clapped his paws over his mouth.



Nathaniel laughed and said, “Weren’t expecting your voice to be higher? It’s because you’re smaller. Take a look at yourself.”



Ethan did, and he found that the more he looked at himself, the more he liked the change. He looked up again at Nathaniel and smiled. Then he laughed when he noticed Nathaniel’s yellowed diaper.



“Don’t laugh too hard.” Nathaniel said. “You’ll be diapered soon as well. Your only two and a half so you’ll need them. I’ll confess however that I’ll always need them since I suffer from a common disorder to Chimeras. Since you’re a hybrid, it’s not as common for you, but it still has a chance of happening.”



“It also has a chance of happening to any other furrs but not nearly as much.” Skip said as he walked in with Zoe. Nathaniel looked and noticed he’d changed into something a bit more grown up. Ethan squeaked a bit, and snuggled close to Nathaniel. Nathaniel could sense he was shy and a bit nervous, so he decided to break the ice.



“Ethan, this is Zoe and Skip. Your new parents.”



They came up to the crib and tried a trick they new for getting close to fearful pokemon. They got down to his level and smiled.



“Nice to meet you.” They said in unison.



Ethan laughed at that and asked Nathaniel, “Do they always do that?”



“It happens allot around here.” Nathaniel answered. “And I don’t mean just them. I do it sometimes, and so do Skip’s brothers and their wives as well. It’s all in good fun and we laugh when it happens.”



“Speaking of which,” Skip said. “Do you feel up to meeting the others? They’re eager to meet their new nephew.”



“I’ll have to meet them sometime, may as well be now.” Ethan answered.



“Okay.” Skip said. “But first, I see someone who needs to be changed, and we should get a diaper on you Ethan. Zoe, will you diaper Ethan while I change our wet brother?”



“Sure thing Skip.” Zoe said, already bringing the necessary items to the crib.



Skip carried Nathaniel over to the table and commented once again on how soaked his diaper was. Meanwhile, Zoe was spreading a surprisingly small amount of powder and cream to Ethan. Both were finished quickly and as Skip was putting Nathaniel’s green onsie on him Ethan asked Zoe a question.



“Why didn’t you use more powder or cream?”



“It ties into you’re species.” Zoe said. “You’re a squirrel with otter traits in you. You’re not a full blown Hybrid, but you’d still be classified as one. Anyway, one of the otter traits you have is the water resistant fur. This alone could keep you from getting a rash if we changed you soon after you used it. But as we sometimes wont be able to move that fast, we use enough cream to equal the amount of protection others would need. With the amount I just used, I’d say you still have an hour longer than most. Nathaniel over there is lucky. He has scales under his water resistant fur, so he doesn’t really need protection. That little bit I used on you would protect him for a day at least. You should count yourself lucky too. While you don’t have scales, you still have more protection than the average child.”



“Cool.” Was all Ethan said.



“Let’s go meet the family then.” Zoe said.



Skip carried Nathaniel on his shoulders while Zoe carried Ethan on her hip. They went down the stairs and they found everyone gathered in the living room. Nathaniel and Skip had an almost identical grin on their faces as Ethan was brought in.



“Welcome home Ethan!” they all shouted. Ethan smiled and knew he was going to like it here, because he could tell that he was already loved.



“Thanks everyone.” Ethan said as tears started rolling down his cheeks.



Introductions were passed around and Nathaniel launched into a lengthy narrative at all that had happened since his arrival. Partially for Ethan’s benefit, and partial because he just liked wanted to tell every thing. Zoe was sitting on a couch with Skip and had Ethan between them. Remus and Sela sat together on a couch while Janice and Jim shared another. Gabriella sat alone for a moment as Michael let all of the pokemon inside and Nathaniel stopped for a moment. One reason was because he was surprised to see Linoone run straight up to Ethan and lie down across Skips lap to look up at him. Another reason was because another pokemon he hadn’t seen before walked in. A Mightyena went up and lied down on both Sela and Remus. The last reason was that apparently Skitty had finally evolved into Delcatty last night and laid down on Gabriella and Michael when he sat down. Dratini even draped himself across Jim and Janice. Arcanine however laid down facing Nathaniel who had situated himself upon the coffee table. Nathaniel continued his narrative, including his dreams until his stomach growled at the end. He thought his growl was louder for some reason. Until he looked at an embarrassed Ethan. Everyone laughed and the welcome was repeated.



Arcanine started her nudging Nathaniel and he got the message. He chose a comfortable spot on the floor, and went straight to his breakfast with Arcanine. Ethan was busy getting confirmation that all that Nathaniel had said really happened. Skip even showed him proof by pulling down his pajama pants to reveal a diaper under his onsie. Ethan’s stomach growled again and he looked over at Aracnine.



“Go ahead.” Skip said. “If she doesn’t warn you off and you’d like to try it, it’s okay with us.”



Ethan nodded and hesitantly walked over toward Arcanine. Arcanine looked up at him and seemed to know what he wanted. She stretched herself out a bit longer and nodded to him. Ethan slowly got down next to Nathaniel and watched him to see how he was doing it. He then tentatively began to suckle. After he got his first taste, he suckled more confidently. He soon began to feel full and fell asleep before he could remove his lips from Arcanine. Nathaniel got up and wiped his lips off. He smiled down at his sleeping brother.



“Would you guys make sure he has as great a first day as I did?” Nathaniel asked.



“Sure, but where are you going that you won’t be able to help?” Skip asked.



“I’m going to go and practice my abilities. When I go for one of my friends. I want to be prepared. I want to make sure I know how to do everything. I’m going to practice flying, climbing, using my Aura Sight and my latest power. I’m also going to try and find a place where I can practice my breath weapon at. If I need something with a bit more punch, it’d be nice to have.”



“Okay.” Zoe said. “But bring Arcanine with you and be careful! Promise?”



“Yes Zoe.” Nathaniel said. “Come on Arcanine.”



Nathaniel ran out the door quickly and Arcanine eagerly followed. Every one smiled at the pair.



“I think I have an idea that we can use in about six years.” Skip said. “Nathaniel may not know it, but Arcanine is pretty young. I think we should give Arcanine to him when he goes on his journey. She’ll still be young enough to make a great battler. And it will set our mind at ease, because we’d know Nathaniel will never starve and he’ll always have a warm place to sleep. Plus just look at them. I don’t think they could stand to be apart. I can tell that Nathaniel will always be a cub at heart, just like the four of us. So I’m sure Arcanine will always see him as her pup. What do you say guys?”



And they all agreed. They then brought the sleeping Ethan up to his room and prepared everything for when he woke up.

Chapter 19 Breath Practice



Nathaniel rushed outside with Arcanine and immediately sprung into the air, flapping his wings frantically. It was a close shave, and he almost did a belly flop on the ground, but he managed to take to the skies. He did a few tricks and practiced some maneuvers then looked down to find Arcanine. She was standing in one spot watching him intently. He then looked around to see if he could find a spot where he could practice his breath weapon and his new power without causing too much damage. It also needed to be a place accessible to Arcanine. He spotted what he needed about halfway to the horizon. A bare plateau was sticking up from the forest, and looked like it had a trail leading to the top. He swooped back down to Arcanine and landed gently on her back.



“You can understand me, right Arcanine?” Nathaniel asked.



Arcanine just looked up at him and nodded.



“Okay.” Nathaniel said. “There’s a plateau that way that would be perfect for practice that way. Would you mind heading over there?”



In answer, Arcanine took off with what Nathaniel recognized as Extremespeed. Despite weaving through the trees, Nathaniel could tell she was keeping on track. With the speed they were moving at, Nathaniel guessed they’d be there in an hour. He was right. Looking at the plateau, he saw there was indeed a path up to the top. He gave an anxious look at Arcanine and she nodded knowingly. He gave her a quick hug and shot into the air. He flew to the top and looked over the side. He saw Arcanine bounding up the path to reach him. Assured that she was coming, he turned and began his practice.



He first practiced his Aura sight. All he could get see was the Aura he saw before in his old world. He tried focusing to see things more clearly, or even see further, but he couldn’t manage it. He did discover that he could look at himself. He stood at the end of the plateau and looked to the opposite side. He then attempted to use his breath weapon and watched the reaction in his Aura. He noted that as the energy was building, only a fifth of it broke off and came out. As it came out, Nathaniel opened his eyes to see a line of fire shoot out. It wasn’t a big one, but it was more than he had done the first time. He repeated the process again and again, until he was able to distinguish the different energies that built and were released. He also took note of the way his mouth controlled whether he sent a line of energy or a wider, yet shorter, cone. Nathaniel continued to practice and found he could feel the difference in those energies as well as see them. He then practiced until he could finally force which energy was released. He smiled breathlessly when he fired all five energies in each form he desired. He’d mastered his breath weapon! And he wasn’t even five!



Arcanine had reached him long ago and he turned to smile at her. He smiled even wider when his stomach growled loudly. He looked at the sun and found it must be close to noon. Arcanine rolled onto her side and nudged Nathaniel. He needed no second bidding and began suckling. The heat of the sun, combined with Arcanine’s soothing licking and his quickly filling belly, lulled him to sleep. The last thing he was aware of was that familiar warmth spreading through his diaper.



Chapter 20 Further Instruction



“That was very impressive!” Anthony said. “But I thought the point of giving you your new power was so you didn’t have to use your breath weapon.”



“I’m practicing my breath weapon, so in case I need to use it, I can use it to the desired effect.” Nathaniel answered. “Aura Sight came in handy to practice that. I bet I’m the youngest chaos dragon, full or otherwise, to master their breath. I’m still going to practice my new power. By the way, how do I use my new power? I had to figure out how to make my Aura Sight work, so I’d like to know now so I wont have to find out too late how to use it.”



“Just focus on gathering energy.” Anthony said. “You’ll feel something similar to static building and then you can channel it either through your body to increase your strength, or out in a forceful blast. All you have to do is will it to where you want it when you channel it. You can only gather so much at one time, it will stop building when you reach that amount. If you practice, you might be able to charge the energy as you use it to have the maximum power at all times. Unleashing that energy will drain you faster than merely using it to bolster your strength. You can also focus the energy into one specific portion of your body to make it more concentrated. If you wanted a really strong punch, focus it in your fist. This will also drain you faster so be careful.”



“Thanks Anthony.” Nathaniel said. “If all goes well, I think I’ll go for the next one tonight. Who’s the next father?”



“The next father will be Remus.” Anthony answered, his voice beginning to fade. “His son’s name is David.”

Chapter 21 Practicing the New Power



Nathaniel woke to Arcanine licking him. He laughed at his unscheduled wake-up call. He hugged Arcanine and stood up.



“We’ll head home soon Arcanine.” Nathaniel said. “I want to practice one last thing before I go.”



He used his Aura Sight again and did as Anthony instructed. He saw energies gathering closely around him and felt the static build that Anthony described. He then willed the energy to flow into him and watched as his Aura gave a huge boost!



Nathaniel opened his eyes and started to run. He was fast! When he reached the end of the plateau, he jumped backwards and went high enough to do a back flip, reaching halfway across the plateau with one bound! He took a look at a piece of rock sticking up out of the plateau and walked up to it. He swung back his fist and hit it as hard as he could. He winced at a loud crack and thought he broke his hand. Then he looked at his hand, and while it was throbbing a bit, it wasn’t broken. The rock was what cracked! He decided to do one last experiment and focused all of that extra energy into his hand. His hand was actually glowing! He took another shot at the rock and jumped back in alarm as it shattered!



“Whoa!” Nathaniel said. “Better be careful with that. That’s powerful stuff! Hey Arcanine! When we get back down there and rest a bit, can we race home for a last bit of practice for me?”



Arcanine smiled and nodded. She’d do anything to make her pup happy. She kneeled down and gestured for him to climb on. He did and she worked her way back down the winding trail to the base of the plateau. They took a quick rest and Nathaniel had a quick drink when they got to the bottom. Nathaniel stood up, let Arcanine lick his face clean and got into stance to start the race.



“Don’t hold back on me Arcanine.” Nathaniel said. “I’m going to use my new power to see how it affects my flight. Go ahead and use Extremespeed if you like. I want to push this to its limit. On your mark, get set, GO!”



They both took off like bullets. Nathaniel was a bit sneaky and was gathering the energy as he talked to Arcanine. He used it to spring into the air and sweep with his wings. He looked down and was surprised. He was keeping up with Arcanine and he could tell she was going full out. The house was getting close in just a few minutes of racing. Nathaniel was getting worn out. He realized that he wasn’t replenishing his energy as he used it. He found he couldn’t focus enough to gather more and looked ahead. He realized if he shifted his trajectory slightly, he could tie with Arcanine at the door by landing on top of her. He did, taking them both down, and was rewarded by Arcanine roughly licking him. He could feel she was frustrated at the stunt he just pulled, but he could tell that she was mainly worried about whether he was okay or not. He let her find out on her own, accepting her scolding tongue. When she was done, she surprised Nathaniel by picking him up by the scruff of his neck. He struggled a bit at first but then felt calm as she carried him through the door. He got a chuckle when he saw that Ethan, in a new sky blue onsie, was pouting about something.



“What’s wrong with you?” Nathaniel asked.



Ethan just groweled at him and turned away. Skip laughed from over by the stove.



“He’s just grumpy after waking up in a messy diaper.” Skip said. “I’m the only one who remembers what that’s like so I sympathize with him that it’s not very pleasant. I tried it once while we were acting younger and warned everyone not to do it. Never did it again, even though Zoe’s reaction when she changed me was priceless. She’s been waiting for a long time to get back at me for that so we called it even when I changed Ethan. How was practice? Hope it went well since you’ve been gone since lunchtime and it’s now closer to dinner.”



“It went great!” Nathaniel said excitedly. “I’ve mastered my breath weapon thanks to my Aura Sight, and I’ve already gotten a great start on my new power. So what is for dinner?”



“I decided to try an otter favorite.” Skip said. “How many of the Redwall books do you recall having read?”



“Last title that comes to mind is Doomwhyte.” Nathaniel answered. “Are you making Shrimp and Hotroot Soup?”



“Didn’t need to give you any more clues then that did I?” Skip said laughing. “It’s not going to be too spicy, this is my first time making it. I’m going to put some hotroot pepper out on the side, in case anyone thinks they can take more heat.”



“Probably a good idea.” Nathaniel said. “I’ll bet it’ll be one of us three who uses the most. I’d put the greatest chance on you Skip. You remember what they say in those books. “There’s nothing ‘otter than an otter!” You’re full blown otter and Ethan and I are part otter. The only competition I could see us having is the naturally strong dragon Jim.”



“We’ll see at dinner.” Skip said. “I think you’ be safe eating as much as you want. You’ve had a bit of solid food without trouble. And this soup only has some solid pieces in it so you can eat more tonight.”



“Much as I like Arcanine’s milk, I have to say HOORAY!” Nathaniel said. “Her milk is delicious and all, but I do crave a bit more. Just being able to chew something is a bit of an improvement. New tastes also keep Arcanine’s milk from getting old.”



“Well dinner’s being made now and Ethan’s been waiting for you.” Skip said. “Go ahead and play until it’s ready. Wait a minute! Before you start playing Nathaniel, let’s get that diaper changed.”



Nathaniel looked down and remembered he’d wet just before falling asleep. The diaper was starting to get cold and, whle not itchy, was uncomfortable. Skip picked him up and walked into the bathroom off of the living room. It was only a half bathroom, no bath or shower. But the sink counter was clearly big enough to hold even Michael. Nathaniel guessed correctly when he tought it was stocked as an additional changing table. Skip set him down on a pad he pulled from underneath the sink and untapped the diaper. Nathaniel shivered as the cold air touched him. Skip saw this and flipped a switch on the wall. Another light came on and Nathaniel could feel heat coming from it. Skip then made quick work of cleaning him. He placed the used wipe in his used diaper, wraped it up, and stuck it in a small compartment. He closed a door and pushed a button and Nathaniel heard something inside fall. Skip then placed a new diaper underneath him, threading his tail through and taping it. He then pulled up the front flap and taped it snuggly, give Nathaniel a quick pat and helped him off the counter.



“What did you do to that diaper?” Nathaniel asked as Skip washed his hands at the conveniently located sink.



“That chute leads to an incinerator.” Skip said smirking. “I think that one may have extinguished it though. Why do you soak your diapers like that?”



“I can only remember having wet once when I wasn’t asleep or falling asleep.” Nathaniel said. “That was when Zoe and Arcanine tickled it out of me. I didn’t flood it then, I think my sleep just increases the amount I wet.”



“You fell asleep outside?” Skip said. “If it weren’t for that fur and those scales of yours, you would probably have a rash by now. I’m guessing that the hot sun kept the diaper from getting too cold. Why did you fall asleep anyway?”



“I’d finished practicing my breath weapon and I was hungry.” Nathaniel said. “So I suckled from

Arcanine and the milk, combined with the sun and the fact that Arcanine was licking me in a soothing manner, put me right to sleep.”



“I’m going to get dinner started so you kids go and play whatever.” Skip said.



Nathaniel and Ethan looked at each other excitedly and went out into the living room to play on one of the game systems.

Chapter 22 The Contests



The brothers ran to the TV and looked at all of the systems that were hooked up to the TV. X-Box 360, Playstation 3, and the one that excited them the most, the Nintendo Wii! They opened one of the cubords on the entertainment center and found that it was filled with games. They couldn’t begin to make a list of all the games there were. But they could tell one thing, they were all titles they liked! Sonic games, Pokemon games and Mario games drew their eyes like nothing else did. They both reached for Pokemon Battle Revolution at the same time. Nathaniel and Ethan smiled at each other and they put it in. They then looked in the other and saw all of the different controllers. Nathaniel grabbed a Wiimote and started the system while Ethan looked at all of the other controllers. There were enough for four players to use the same controller. There were four wireless Gamecube controllers, four classic controllers, four nunchuks, three other Wiimotes, and four Wheels. There were also four Wii zappers and four of those guns from the Nerf game. There was also a total of four Nintendo DS’s.



Nathaniel meanwhile was looking at the Wii menu. He was surprised at the amount of extra games on there. He also took note of My Pokemon Ranch. He made a mental note to check it out later. He went to the Disc Channel, which by now was showing Battle Revolution, and started it up. Ethan came over with his Wiimote just as Skip took a look into the living room.



“I see you guys are playing Battle Revolution.” Skip said. “That’s a specially programmed edition. It has all of the pokemon in My Pokemon Ranch on it. You can go ahead and make yourself a trainer card with any of them. They are all at level 100 and there are many of almost every species. They all are equipped with various items and have a wide range of good attacks. I think you guys will like the selection. Go ahead and use the first file, it has everything open. By the way, we have a rule as to what you can and can’t put in your teams if you use them against someone else. If your just playing against the computer, anything goes. Our only rule involves the use of legendary pokemon. You can use up to a maximum of four, and only if they are legendary pokemon that would be allowed in the Battle Tower in Diamond/Pearl/Platinum versions. You can trade in two of them for one pokemon that would be restricted in there. So if you were to make a team with an Arceus and a Mewtwo, you can’t use another legendary pokemon. Same if you use a Mew, Articuno, and Raikou for example. Also, while it’s not a rule, we prefer not to use more than one of the same pokemon on one team.”



Nathaniel selected the first file and went to make his trainer card. He had a hard time choosing what exactly he was going to use as his pokemon. He decided to start with his legendary pokemon. He took a look around and found an awesome Darkrai. It knew Spacial Rend, Dark Void, Dark Pulse, and Dream Eater. It was also holding a Mind Plate to increase the power of its Psychic attacks. Nathaniel knew that each of Darkrai’s attacks each would hit with a power above 100. He then chose a legendary he considered to be a cheapskate, Articuno. It had the dreaded combo of Mind Reader and Sheer Cold. Using that would guarantee a one-hit KO. It also knew Blizzard and Aerial Ace. It was holding a Sky Plate to increase its Flying Attacks. He lastly chose a Cresselia that knew Lunar Dance, to bring up a weakend pokemon, Psychic, Blizzard, and Shadow Ball. It was holding Wise Glasses to increase to power of all three of its Special Attack based attacks. He then searched until he found a very special pokemon, Arcanine. It was female and knew Overheat, Fire Fang, Extremespeed, and Iron Tail. It was holding a White Herb, which restores a stat loss when he used Overheat. He was glad that all of Arcanine’s other attacks were Attack based attacks. He grabbed another canine looking pokemon, his favorite, Lucario! It knew the obligatory Aura Sphere, plus Extremespeed, Bone Rush, and oddly, Ice Punch. It was equipped with an Expert Belt, to increase the power of super effective moves. The last pokemon Nathaniel selected was a Wailord. It knew Water Spout, Blizzard, Rock Slide, and Earthquake. It was equipped with the very handy Leftovers to recover health each turn.



When Nathaniel was done, Ethan began his selection. He chose for his legendary pokemon, Mew and Arceus. He then selected Delcatty, Mightyena, Linoone, and Dragonite. Nathaniel didn’t see the attacks or the items because Ethan selected them too quickly. They decided to do a tag battle against two computers. They modified the rules so that every pokemon was used, and they went at it. It turned out that Ethan’s Arceus was a really good one. It was still the Normal element and knew Judgment, Earth Power, Blizzard, and Focus Blast. Ethan and Nathaniel didn’t lose a single pokemon. Arceus kept going first thanks to its Quick Claw, and Nathaniel kept the opposing pokemon asleep with his Darkrai’s Dark Void. Their continually powerful attacks KO’ed each opposing pokemon in under two turns. Just as they were getting tired of battling, Skip called out for dinner and they turned around from their seats on the coffee table to find they had an auidience. Everyone besides Skip was watching. Skip then came in with a large pot and a mat, and set them down on the table. He went back to the kitchen and came out with a tray holding bowls and spoons for everyone and another bowl filled with a red powder.



“Okay everyone!” Skip said excitedly. “Whoever can handle their soup the hottest not only gets to decide their placement on the tournament chart, but also picks their teammate. Everyone else is placed at random. If you make a dash for water or stop eating your soup, you are disqualified from the contest. We will each eat a bowl plain first, and then we’ll begin. You must put your additional hotroot powder in before you fill it with soup. Understand?”



“Just one question.” Nathaniel said. “What tournament chart?”



“We’re having a Battle Revolution tournament after dinner. It’s a tag team and one pokemon each. There’s the standard chart for four, except on one of the braquets. Two will have to battle to get to the four left. Winner advances each time until only one team remains, then they battle the best of three until only one champion is left.”



“Cool!” Nathaniel said.



Ethan shared the couch with Skip and Zoe while Nathaniel sat with Remus and Sela. Skip passed the bowls and spoons around and gave a ladle to each couch. Nathaniel noted the bowls were small and would probably hold only one ladle of soup each. He figured it was so everyone would be able to first tell how hot the soup was on its own, then still have enough room for more soup whether they wanted to try it hotter or not. The ladies were served first and then Ethan and Nathaniel were given bibs before being served. The men got theirs last and everyone simultaneously took their first sip. Nathaniel laughed at Zoe and Sela’s reactions. Zoe’s eyes bugged and she wheezed a bit, but continued eating. Sela immediately began panting between spoonfuls. Nathaniel looked at Janice and saw that she was weakening with each spoonful and guessed that she, Sela and Zoe would not be entering the contest. He looked at Gabriella and found that she was just putting a tough face on. It was the same for Michael and Remus. Ethan looked passive except for an occasional grimace later into his bowl. Skip looked pleased with himself and like he was resisting laughing at everyone else. The only one who kept a straight face the whole time was Jim. As for Nathaniel, he liked it except for one thing. It wasn’t spicy enough.



When everyone was finished Nathaniel asked Ethan, “What’s wrong Ethan? Didn’t like it?”



“I just don’t like having too much shrimp is all.” Ethan said. “Can I enter by having the broth? The point of the contest is how much hotroot pepper we use and not how much soup we have right?”



“I’d agree.” Nathaniel said. “Who’s all going to enter anyway?”



“Not us!” Zoe, Sela, and Janice said at the same time.



When everyone finished laughing, Zoe said, “I can just take the soup as it is now if I have some water, but I know I can’t go any hotter.”



“Same here!” Sela and Janice said together, to more laughs.



“Okay then.” Skip said. “Here’s how it’s going to work. The little ones are going to set the pace. They’ll decide how much they want to try, since they have a limit to how much soup they can eat, and we’ll use the same amount. You may drop out only after you have one spoonful of the soup. This is the last chance to drop out. Anyone else?”



Nobody did. Nathaniel and Ethan whispered to each other first and said, “One scoop to start this off.”



Remus, Michael, and Gabriella struggled through their bowls and gave in. The others were forced to give them credit since they finished their bowls. “We quit because we know we can’t go any hotter. Otherwise we are in the same position as Zoe, Sela and Janice.” Remus said.



Jim finished his quick and said, “Is that all you got.” Despite the grin, Nathaniel could tell he found that one a bit much.



Ethan, with his soup minus the shrimp, enjoyed it allot more. Skip enjoyed it just as much as both Nathaniel and Ethan did.



Ethan and Nathaniel held another whispered conversation, in which Nathaniel told Ethan about Jim, and came back saying, “Four scoops this time.” Nathaniel couldn’t tell for sure, but he could have sworn that Jim paled at that. They each took a spoonful and Jim sneezed, breathing ice at the same time.



“Hey, that’s cheating!” Skip said. “No ice breath, your disqualified.”



“I know.” Jim said. “I couldn’t have finished that anyway. Way too hot.”



Skip, Nathaniel and Ethan disagreed. Nathaniel was still unsatisfied with how spicy it was, and Etahn and Skip enjoyed it. They took several rounds after, using more and more scoops each time. Ethan finally had enough of the contest apparently, because after they finished a bowl with twelve extra scoops, finally satisfying Nathaniel, he grabbed the bowl of powder and dumped it down his throat. Two seconds later, with everyone staring at him, he ran to the kitchen screaming. Skip ran after him laughing and they heard the sink running. When Ethan came back panting wildly with a still laughing Skip, Nathaniel spoke up.



“I vote, that since Ethan had the nerve to do that, he wins.”



“Agreed!” everyone except the still laughing Skip said. Skip laughed harder at this and gave the thumbs up in agreement.

“Who’s your partner Ethan and where do you start?” Nathaniel asked.



Ethan just pointed at Nathaniel and pointed to the bottom most braquet. Skip took a Wiimote and got all of the palyers entered. He placed Nathaniel and Ethan’s cards on their desired braquet, and then hit a randomize button. Skip ended up teaming with Sela, against Remus with Gabriella in the extra braquet. The winner there would face off against Michael and Janice. Etahn and Nathaniel were up against Zoe and Jim.



It was around 8:00 when the finals came. It was Nathaniel and Ethan versus Skip and Sela. Nathaniel and Ethan stuck with the pokemon they used in their last battle, Arceus and Darkrai. Skip, with his rain based team, sent out his Kyogre, and Sela sent out her Jolteon. Nathaniel could tell she planned to use Jolteon’s high speed and, thanks to the rain, 100% accurate Thunder attack. Nathaniel selected his Dark Void attack, while Ethan used Earth Power on Jolteon, hoping to get a quick KO. They forgot that Kyogre had a quick claw when it used Water Spout on them both. It was already a strong 150 strength attack, but combined with Kyoger’s same type attack bonus (STAB) with water attacks, plus the rain, almost knocked out Darkrai. Arceus fortunately had a strong Special Defense and withstood the attack, and Jolteon’s Thunder. Arceus’s Earth Power failed to knock out Jolteon thanks to its Focus Sash. Darkrai’s Dark Void worked to perfrection, making both Kyogre and Jolteon fall asleep. Darkrai’s Bad Dreams ability then finished off Jolteon’s last hit point and did some damage to Kyogre. Kyogre slept through the next turn as it was hit by both Arceus’s mighty Judgment attack, and Darkrai’s Dream eater. It surprisingly was still standing, until Darkrai’s Bad Dreams ability KO’ed it, leaving Ethan and Nathaniel the winners.



They went into their first round. Ethan chose to start strong with Mew and Nathaniel sent out his cheapskate Articuno. Ethan’s Mew used Aura Sphere but Articuno stayed standing. Articuno used Mind Reader and Ethan knew what was coming. Ethan had his Mew use Me First and Nathaniel had used Sheer Cold. Ethan won the first match with an instant KO. The next pokemon to be used was Nathaniel’s Darkrai and Ethan’s Arceus. Ethan got really angry when Nathaniel hit him instantly with Dark Void. Thanks to a critical hit from a Spacial Rend and two shots from Bad Dreams, Ethan lost the second match, leaving one left. Ethan brought out his Dragonite while Nathaniel used Cresselia. Ethan had Dragonite use Outrage, which almost KO’ed Cresselia with a critical hit. Cresselia won with one shot thanks to a critical hit from Blizzard, making the attack eight times as effective thanks to Ice attacks being twice as effective against both Flying and Dragon pokemon.



Ethan, despite his disappointment, was a good sport and offered his hand to Nathaniel for a shake. Nathaniel instead grabbed his wrist, held Ethan’s hand up high and gave him a five. Ethan smiled at that and then yawned simultaneously with Nathaniel.



“I guess it’s time for bed.” Skip said chuckling. “I can tell you guys are going to make great trainers by your performance there. If not, then you’ll at least be smart trainers. Do either of you need a change before bed?”



Nathaniel and Ethan both checked and found themselves to be wet. They confirmed this to Skip and he checked them as well.



“Not too bad.” Skip said. “If it weren’t for the fact that you flood them in your sleep Nathaniel, I’d say you’d be fine until morning. You might be fine Ethan thanks to your fur, but that might be pushing it, so fresh diapers for you both.”



Skip took Nathaniel and Zoe took Ethan up to their respective rooms. Arcanine walked up with Skip and followed them into Nathaniel’s room. Skip placed Nathaniel on the changing table and got to work. It didn’t take long and Nathaniel was cozy in a fresh diaper. Skip then began the same treatment he gave Nathaniel by the river. It was over too quickly in Nathaniel’s opinion but he was too tired to care much. Nathaniel looked groggily to his bed and saw Skip setting it up as a crib with Arcanine laying down inside. Nathaniel was put in and before Skip had finished raising the other side, Nathaniel was already cuddling up to Arcanine. Skip took a second to spread a blanket over the both of them and walked out of the room with a smile on his face. Arcanine nudged the tired Nathaniel and he hugged her close as he started suckling once again. He continued to suckle slowly as they both fell asleep with smiles on their faces.