Mikey here!
I've got to give my little brothers credit; they really know how to throw a party! My two assistants are doing their thing, taking advantage of everyone being together to iron out a few more wrinkles caused by the Battle of Earth, while I bounce around and check on the brothers and sisters that didn't feel comfortable with coming out here yet. Right now, there are still a few timelines that are tangled, so we're still kinda busy.
There's one group here from what you know as the story 'Life Renewed'. While they've been quite busy at home, Uncle Mike made them take a break to come out here to relax. We've also got some of the guys from 'Lost Souls' wandering around, I'm pretty sure a certain Vulcan father in their group helped them understand it was bad form to pass up an invitation from your Patriarch! I think you'll have fun watching as they experience their first taste of a Clan-Wide party; they still don't truly understand just how many people have their back now. This should be fun, so grab some cookies and watch the show!
Saint Mikey
"There ya' are!" Antonio giggled as he walked up with a blond nine-year-old.
"Yep, we're here!" Ivo and Ash giggled as they looked at each other, with Ivo's son Matthew grinning from his perch on his dad's shoulders.
Antonio rolled his eyes as the group from the AI Annex in Montana grinned at him. "Y'all are nuts. There ain't none of y'all that are gonna make new friends sitting back here, so as your primary care doctor I'm gonna make sure that you guys get out and meet your family, and Blake here is gonna help me."
"But there's too many people," Chad stated as he looked around nervously while tucked under one of the arms of his dad, Josh.
"Did you guys mob a small country or something?" Jeff Schroder asked as he looked over the heads of his four boys, who were in contact with either him or his wife.
"What if the big kids decide to beat us up?" CJ added from under Josh's other arm.
Antonio didn't need to be a telepath to know what was going through the minds of the rest of the youth in the group; their faces clearly showed they'd already had this discussion a few times. "Guys, all of these people are family, and most of them have been through things just as bad or worse than what you went through."
"Hey, Uncle Josh!" Pablito interrupted as he walked up to the group.
"Hey Trouble," Josh sniggered. "Did you finally take a break from teaching Sammy more bad habits?"
"Naw, we're still comparing notes," Pablito grinned. "Antonio's gonna be takin' the guys around once I'm done unscrewing up shit here."
"Why am I suddenly worried?" Antonio quipped.
"Because you're a wimp," Pablito replied with a smile and a wink to show he wasn't totally serious. "Blake, you're gonna need to know the names of the guys you're living with, so I'll do introductions."
"What?" Blake asked in shock, his eyes glowing for a split second.
"Ya know, family, shit like that," Pablito grinned. "Just because you've been semi-dead for the last ten years don't mean shit; Ash and Ivo need a little brother, Matt could use another Uncle, Mitch and Morton need a long-life big brother, and Phil's gonna be your new dad."
"What've you been smoking this time, brat?" Phil exclaimed. "That's not how it works, he has to ask!"
"Guardian Angel Intervention," Pablito stated seriously as his wings flashed into view for a second. "Blake, cut the shit and admit you need a family instead of listening to that misfiring brain cell of yours that says nobody wants you."
"PABLITO!" Phil growled as he stood up and came over to stand next to Blake. "Keep it up and I find out if Angels can be strangled, understand me?" Not waiting for an answer, Phil picked up Blake and shifted him around to be on his hip. "Okay Blake, DESPITE a certain meddling nephew of mine, I've heard enough to be concerned. I think if you, me, Ivo, Matt, Mitch, Mort, and Ash have a private chat off somewhere that we don't have to listen to Pablito's potty mouth, we can sort out what's really bothering you."
"I guess, since he's already been a blabbermouth," Blake acknowledged.
Once Phil, his sons, grandson, and Blake were out of hearing distance, Pablito grinned. "Works every time!"
"Ya gotta love it when a plan comes together!" Antonio agreed.
Josh just shook his head. "I should have known..."
"Do we still gotta go out there?" CJ asked.
Pablito nodded. "You really should, cuz. 'Tonio's gonna stick with ya after ya eat, but getting out there is the only way you'll beat what that bastard did to you guys. Don't worry, Davie and me's watchin' ya."
"Okay, I guess," CJ and Chad said in unison, relaxing somewhat by knowing that their angel cousin and declared angel big brother would be watching.
"Before you go," Pablito added, "I gotta ask Uncle Josh something that involves you two."
"Now I'm really worried, Pabs ain't swearing!" Antonio giggled.
After sticking his tongue out at Antonio, Pablito turned to Josh. "Uncle Josh? You know that weird dream you had the last couple of nights?"
"Let me guess, you caused it?" Josh replied with a smirk.
"Not this time, but thanks for the idea!" Pablito grinned. "I'm sure that you've figured out that shit can't really happen, even with the Mikyvis fucking around. Thing is, the Boss likes fucking with shit, and He's got a sense of humor that makes Dylan seem normal! 'Tonio helped me with what the Boss decided to do about Blake, but for this one He's gonna give you a Choice."
"What's he talking about?" Antonio asked Josh.
"I had a dream that I was having a dream that wasn't a dream where some omnipresent guy at a Denny's was passing out kids from stories," Josh explained.
"I shouldn't have asked," Antonio stated with a shake of his head. "Get on with it, Pabs; before my head explodes."
"Told ya you shoulda approached this crap in elf mode!" Pablito laughed. "Anyway, as far as I know right now, you're the only one that's being offered this from your dream, Uncle Josh; yeah, that means the Boss was screwing with other heads too. The Boss says that if you wanna do what you dreamed about, I can rescue that kid and you can adopt him."
"You mean he's real?" Josh asked with raised eyebrows.
"Yep, and the Boss is about to hit the big rewind button on that timeline," Pablito replied. "He thinks the kid'll help you goofballs somehow."
"I couldn't be selfish enough to leave that poor boy without anyone else of his kind around him," Josh stated. "It'd be even worse if he couldn't reproduce when he gets older to continue his genetic line."
The conversation came to a sudden halt for a full minute as Pablito suddenly found himself in his full Guardian Angel robes, with wings and halo visible. The fact that it wasn't by choice was obvious, as Pablito looked just as surprised as those watching. Once he returned to his previous apparel, Pablito shook his head. "You just had to say it, didn't you Uncle Josh?"
"Say what?"
"I ain't repeating it!" Pablito stated with a shake of his head. "Here's the deal; that race can actually reproduce by themselves if they have to, but they can also do it somewhat normal like. They ain't really one sex or the other, they're able to be both like the Tesnians and Archnanians. Thanks to you opening your mouth, I'm going to be speaking all nice-like until His influence from a direct conversation wears off! The offer just went up to three, him and two close friends. If I'd had any say, it would have been a dozen."
Josh thought for a minute, then asked "CJ, Chad, Willy, Johnny, Andrei? Obviously, there's a Celestial reason why this is being offered, so do you think you could handle three little ones who have absolutely no idea about our culture looking to you to teach them? One thing to remember is that they may be shaped like humans, but their coloration and societal influence up until now is going to be alien to anything that you've seen. If you say yes, they'll be your brothers, and will be just as much family as each of you are."
All five boys seriously considered what Josh asked them. Andrei came to a decision first, and replied "You keep telling me that I'm one of your boys, even though I'm an android. If I said no, then that'd mean I didn't learn anything from you, and I wouldn't deserve the right to call you Dad. I'm in on doing it; I think it'll be fun teaching them about their new home."
"Us too!" Willy and Johnny stated in unison, turning and grinning at each other once they'd spoken. "How old are they?"
"If I'm right, they should be about five," Josh replied.
"I'm answering for me and CJ," Chad added softly. "When you was our Uncle, you made sure we understood stuff and made us feel special. Now that you're our Dad, it's even betterer. We gotta look at it as Directors too, and as Directors we can't let kids get hurt or die from not doin' something. You need to do it Dad; we gotta save them. You've already gave us awesome brothers, so we trust you to give us more."
Josh smiled at his sons, then said "I'm really proud of all of you for thinking it through. This is going to take all of us to make it work, so since all of you are onboard, I'll say yes."
Pablito smiled. "There's about to be three very lucky kids added to your family. I'll be right back. Antonio? I'll help when I'm back with updating your medical database."
As soon as Pablito vanished, Antonio spoke up. "Guys, you just made a decision that'll make every person at this party proud of you. Josh, after you get your welcome cuddles in, I think it might do all of your sons some good to show off their little brothers. I know it helped Ron a lot when Hunter showed him off after Noah and Caleb adopted him."
Josh nodded. "As long as the little ones are okay with it, I have no issue as long as you don't mind helping. Something tells me this is going to be a pretty big shock."
"Naw, I helped them with the basics already," Pablito stated as he appeared with three kids that appeared to be mostly five-year-old boys. The boys seemed frozen, with no indication that they were more than statues of boys. Nude boys, with dark red skin. One had orange-blond hair, while the other two had rusty brown hair. The one with orange-blond hair was covered in yellow freckles and had orange eyes, while one of the other two had yellow-green eyes and the third had red-violet eyes. Between their legs, there was a penis but no signs of testicles, and directly above the penis a slotted lump protruded from their pelvis. None showed any sign of a navel in any visible location, and their nipples were just below what appeared to be their rib cages.
"Language lessons handled, too!" Pablito giggled. "For all of you, since they obviously didn't speak English. That way, they can ask about weird stuff in their native language until they understand the words you use better. They'll fit in great, their old planet didn't have modesty at all, so hanging with you nudists is gonna be normal. Antonio, scan them real quick, then I'll give you the info you're missing before I release them the rest of the way into this timeline."
"Thanks, I was starting to wonder!" Antonio giggled before calling for his tricorder. Before he had a chance to finish setting it to the new lifeform mode, he had six sets of eyes looking at the screen with him, as Josh and all of his sons waited to see what they would be looking at medically.
"Okay, here we go," Antonio stated as he began the scan. "Carbon based, enough iron in their blood to kill a human. Standard internal organs, just not where they'd normally be at. A couple of extra ones that are not defined, and pre-pubescent organs which appear to serve the same functions as male and female humans. Nutritional scan of their digestive systems appears to indicate compatible diet with humanity. We'll have to do a full bed scan once Pabs gives me his update, but for now I don't see anything special that we need to worry about."
"I just loaded the info," Pablito commented. "Their tech level was high enough that you shouldn't freak them out, so when you're ready I'll bring them in."
"Guys, spread out so you don't scare them," Josh instructed as he stepped off to the side and then closer to the trio.
Once everyone was ready, Pablito smiled as he caused a golden glow to surround the new arrivals. As the glow vanished, the freckled boy spotted Josh, openly staring at him with wide eyes. "I dreamed of you, you said you'd be my Daddy!" the boy exclaimed.
"I dreamed of you too;" Josh replied softly, "in my dream you were named Axthahar. I want to keep that promise in our dreams, and I'm going to extend it to your friends."
"You 'membered my name!" Axth exclaimed seconds before pouncing Josh and latching on for dear life.
After giving Axth a cuddle to seal the results of the dream, Josh asked "Axth? Why don't you introduce your brothers while your cousin Pablito finishes making this your new home?"
After spinning around on his new Daddy's lap, Axth proudly pointed out each boy as he announced "That's CJ, that's Chad, that's Willy, that's Johnny, that's Andrei, that's Dyvenn, and that's Reyfran! I don't know those people over there though."
"I'm Jeff, this is my wife Amanda, our oldest son is Jason, the next biggest is Alex, the munchkin that's holding Jason's hand is Marvin, and the one that's holding Alex's hand is Melvin."
"How'd he know almost ALL of us?" Willy asked in shock, his expression matching the expressions of his brothers.
"You was in my dream too, did I do good?" Axth replied.
"You did great, little brother," Andrei commented as he picked up Reyfran, the red-violet eyed new addition, from behind. "C'mon bro, you got to collect Daddy cuddles so we can go show off our new little brothers!"
"We really get a family? I've never had a family." Reyfran asked softly, his disbelief at the events of the last few minutes obvious.
Andrei quickly found a seat, then shifted Reyfran so that they were sitting chest-to-chest. "I thought I had a family once, until something bad happened and they decided they couldn't deal with me. Dad saved my life a few days ago, and he's teaching me what a real family is like. Do you want to learn about real family with me?"
"You promise not to leave me?" Reyfran asked, not totally convinced.
Andrei realized at that moment that he wasn't just gaining three brothers, but at least one of them was going to be looking up to him to lead them through life. In his old family, he'd been a companion, nothing more; but now this little guy was asking him to be his guide through life. A quick glance at Josh told Andrei everything he needed to know, as Josh had overheard and nodded his approval as soon as he saw Andrei look at him. For the first time since his activation, Andrei found himself deciding to commit his life to a human by his choice alone, not because his owners said so. Realizing that Josh's statements that he was just another boy were not just words, Andrei took the biggest chance of his life. "I'll be your brother and right by your side forever if that's what you want."
After staring into Andrei's eyes for a few seconds, Reyfran decided he was sincere and answered in the universal acceptance method of young children everywhere; he wrapped his arms around the back of Andrei's neck and gave him the biggest hug he could.
While Andrei was bonding with Reyfran, Willy, Mitch, Alex, and Johnny took their turn with Axth, while CJ, Mort, Jason, and Chad decided to cuddle-test Dyvenn. It was obvious that Dyvenn was eating up all of the attention, as he had a huge smile plastered on his face while the twins plus two sandwiched him in a quadruple-cuddle.
Realizing his and Jeff's sons were going to monopolize their newest brothers, Josh decided to move over by Andrei and Reyfran. Once seated, he pulled the pair in to cuddle against his side. "Andrei, you just made me very proud of you, son. Rey, you picked a very special brother to look up to. I think that the two of you together are going to be a big help to all of your brothers."
"Are you really my Daddy now?" Rey asked as he kept his hold on Andrei.
"Forever and ever, Rey," Josh replied with a smile. "If you want to be sure though, just ask your big brother."
"Is he?" Rey asked Andrei, his trust obvious.
Andrei smiled, realizing that his Dad was helping with the bond he was feeling with his new brother. "Yes, he's a Dad for both of us even after he gets really old and dies. If you want to get a welcome cuddle from him, I'll stay right here and wait for you."
"Promise?" Rey asked.
"I promise, little bro," Andrei replied as he gave Rey a squeeze.
Satisfied at Andrei's response, Rey wiggled his way over to Josh's lap, somehow still keeping in contact with Andrei in one way or another. Once it was clear that Rey felt comfortable in the cuddle, Josh whispered "Welcome home, little one."
"You cuddle almost as good as Andrei," Rey whispered back.
"Thank you, he's really good at cuddles, so that's a big complement!" Josh replied, realizing that pretty much everything from this point forward would be compared to Andrei in Rey's mind.
Noticing the rest of his brothers gathering around, Andrei guessed at their intentions and decided to warn Rey. "Hey Rey, the rest of your brothers want to give you hugs while you're getting Daddy cuddles."
"Then my family's going to welcome you too," Jeff added as they joined the mob welcoming committee.
"Okay, Andrei," Rey replied. "I won't be scared."
As the family finished bonding, Antonio and Pablito were watching carefully while eating hot dogs and potato chips supplied from the food table by George. "You sure that Andrei isn't supposed to be his dad?" Antonio asked seriously.
Pablito shook his head. "He ain't ready for that. Rey's gonna teach him, though."
"I just hope nobody gets jealous," Antonio observed.
"Mikey says don't worry," Pablito replied, "Uncle Josh will handle that, if it even happens. Mikey says they're all happy as long as their brothers are happy."
"Ya know, I think I like it better when you cuss!" Antonio giggled. "How long until you're back to normal?"
Pablito shrugged his shoulders. "When it happens. Trust me, I'm gonna go look up JJ as soon as it's over and wash all this nice outta my mouth!"
"Thank God!" Antonio giggled. "You're JJ and I's best excuse for getting away with cussing!"
"I'm glad to be of help!" Pablito grinned. "Speaking of helping, we better get ready to run, it looks like Uncle Phil's coming back!"
"Too late, he's spotted us!" Antonio muttered. "Get your notebook ready in case we learn new words."
Phil made a beeline towards the two boys, Blake still on his hip with both sets of twin sons and his grandson right behind him. Once he was in hearing range, he started off with "I hope the two of you are proud of yourselves!"
"Who, US?" Antonio and Pablito chorused, both trying to appear as innocent as possible.
"Yes, you!" Phil replied as he joined them. "It's pretty obvious that you two conspired to get Blake to come over here so that Pablito could be the meddling little squirt that he loves to be. Then Pablito makes sure to push all my buttons to get me to talk to Blake. We would have been back sooner, but Blake and I had to help his new brothers with plotting paybacks."
"Told ya!" Pablito giggled.
"Don't worry, brat," Phil replied with an evil grin. "I'm going to be sitting down with Mike to get my revenge on you. Then I'll get with Bones about you, Elf!"
"I'm not worried, he loves me!" Antonio giggled. "So, what do you think, Blake? Is he crazy enough to be your Dad?"
"I think you're all nuts," Blake replied. "At least I got SANE brothers now!"
"Speaking of brothers," Ash said with a worried tone.
"Who are the three red kids," Ivo continued.
"that Uncle Josh and our cousins," Ash added.
"are cuddling and hugging?" Ivo finished.
"Why are they nekkid, Grandpa?" Matt added.
"What?" Phil exclaimed as he twisted his head to look. "Okay Brat, what did you do?"
"Don't blame me, it was the Boss's idea!" Pablito replied defensively. "Besides, I was only supposed to bring one, Uncle Josh changed it to three!"
"I'm SURE he'll agree with that," Phil sputtered. "Do I want to know where you stole them from?"
"I didn't steal them!" Pablito replied as his halo appeared.
"Yeah, I'm sure they volunteered themselves," Phil commented with a raised eyebrow.
"They're from a Timeline that's about to be reset, so they're the only survivors of their branch of humanity," Antonio stated firmly. "Pab's doesn't do stuff like that without being told to, so back off. You're either gonna welcome them or I'm gonna find you a new home in the Antarctic."
"Dad?" Ivo interrupted, "Antonio's kinda right. It don't matter where or when they came from, they're our Clan brothers now so we need to give them a chance. Pab's is one of our Guardian Angels, and even though he doesn't do stuff like you'd expect, he only does what he's allowed to do."
Phil looked between his son and Antonio multiple times before replying. "I don't have to like it, but it sounds like I'm overruled by Clan policy. I just think that thrusting kids into a society that is nothing like they have ever experienced is just asking for trouble. No sane adult would allow such a thing."
Ash shook his head, getting agitated at the sudden attitude. "Don't you think we consider that? I bet if you had asked, Pabs could have told you what he did before they were brought here. I've talked with a few Mikyvis, and that's one of the things they make sure of. In fact, right now there are a whole ton of Tesnians on Archnania getting help with Earth society before they move down here. We're not stupid, Dad."
Ash was interrupted in his rant by Josh, CJ, Chad, and Ivo exclaiming "Oh SHIT!" in quadraphonic stereo.
The reason for their statement became obvious as Phil's exercise in consuming all of his own lower appendages at once was rudely interrupted by the arrival of Sammy Reynolds. Sammy was uncharacteristically attired in his full Clan uniform, and had a fire in his eyes that made any demons nearby start taking notes.
After nodding at Josh, Pablito, and Antonio, Sammy launched into a tirade that had Pablito smiling with pride at his 'little brother'. "Phillip, I don't know how you think that you can disrespect my brother, who just happens to be one of the three main Guardian Angels of the Clan, when he's doing his job. This ... Shit ... Stops ... NOW! Then you have the balls to include Antonio, who's saved more lives than you've met people. You're coming with me, and if you don't listen, I'm turning you over to Dad. You're less than a minute from losing the title Uncle if you open your mouth again."
Not giving Phil time to respond, Sammy grabbed his arm and pulled him off to the side, then vanished with Phil as he ordered a teleport.
Josh looked at Pablito and quipped "Yep, you're brothers!"
"Why was Sammy in uniform?" Ivo asked, "He hates that thing!"
Josh thought for a second before replying. "Phil crossed a lot of lines, I think. The biggest one was how he was treating Sammy's brother Pablito. Even with as many kids as Mike has now, SamSam and Pabs hold a special place in Mike's heart that is reserved for only them. His second mistake was how he was talking about my new sons; I was Sammy's Uncle long before the Clan, and CJ and Chad were his and the Trinity's brothers long before the Clan. That means him basically saying that my family couldn't handle giving these three boys a home was a direct insult, one that he wouldn't stand for."
"What happens if he doesn't listen to Sammy or Uncle Mike?" Ash asked with obvious worry.
"I think it would mean he is going to also have problems with what you boys have taken upon yourselves," Josh replied seriously. "That'll probably trigger a review by Teri Short of your placement, which would mean I would be getting a few more sons really quick. One thing that all of you guys don't need to worry about is getting tossed out; I won't stand for it, our house is your home forever if you wish it to be."
"He means it, little brothers," Pablito added. "That includes you, Blake; I've been watching you!"
"Dad?" CJ interrupted, "Sammy just called for Teri."
"Oh shit," Josh muttered as he began to gather the assembled kids into a cuddle.
Russ was just finishing re-configuring the board to play recorded music after Platinum Habits finished taking their turn on stage. "What in the Hell!" he exclaimed as the settings on his board suddenly changed themselves, addressing an input which he knew for a fact was not connected to anything. Without him doing anything, the speakers began blaring AC/DC's "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)"
Russ exchanged looks with Chance, who was equally shocked. "This isn't good," Russ groaned as he sat down and cradled his head in his hands.
"Uncle Phil, for once you need to shut up and listen, we know a lot about things that you adults don't. A lot of us have went through things that would make you sick, and make you wanna take people out. Us Clan kids may look like children but we ain't, a lot of us are actually members of Starfleet. You really need to stop and listen to what yours and Josh's boys talk about, it'll open your eyes, and make your hair curl." Sammy paused to catch his breath and wipe away a tear that had escaped his eye, however, he started again before Phil could get a word in.
"You really hurt Pablito and your sons; even though Pablito will never tell you, he went through some really bad things when he was younger. One thing that you don't get is that Pablito or any one of us in The Clan would never hurt a kid! We would die before hurting a kid or letting a kid get hurt that we are helping. Do you understand?"
"Don't speak to me like that you stupid little shit," Phil growled. "Your place is listening to me, not using your little make-believe games to try to give me orders. I'm the fucking adult here!"
For anyone in the Clan that knew Sammy, they would realize that Phil's words had just set a Condition Red. With tears freely flowing, Sammy stated in no uncertain terms "You may be older, but you ain't no adult." Tapping his commbadge with a shaky hand, he took a deep breath and calmly stated "Aunt Teri, I really need you here...please."
"I'll be right there, Sammy," Teri replied. Within seconds, Teri appeared next to Sammy, immediately becoming concerned when she saw the tears on his face. "What's wrong, SamSam?"
Sammy fell into Teri's arms, unable to control himself any longer as the tears fell from his eyes.
As she wrapped her arm around Sammy, Teri's face turned to stone as she took one look at the defiant expression on Phil's face before stating "This child has been through too much already, he doesn't need to deal with any more problems if I can prevent it. George, FYS Level 1, I want a report NOW!"
"I'm transmitting a recording of the conversations to your subvocal, Director Short," George replied.
By the time the recording had finished playing for the Director, Teri was shaking with anger. She eyed the man, barely containing the emotions she was feeling.
"Phillip, would you care to explain your side of things?" Teri stated, having decided to give the man a chance before she passed her final judgement on the fool standing before her. "What brought on this sudden change of heart?"
"Sudden?" Phil demanded angrily. "I'm not going to stand around and let anybody else run my household, not any longer! Especially not some snot-nosed brat."
Phil turned and started to storm away from the woman that was holding the crying boy.
"Stop right there!" Teri growled as she pulled her phaser. "George, if he tries to leave, detain him. Get me Patriarch Short and Kyle immediately."
"Why do you need those brats? Are you too wrapped around their little fingers to make an adult decision without their input?" Phil exclaimed.
"Keep digging the hole, shithead," Teri stated flatly. "You have no idea who you're messing with."
"Let me know when I should fake being scared," Phil sneered.
Cory and Kyle appeared in full Clan dress, with Cory immediately stating "We have been given a full briefing, Director Short."
"Federation Youth Services requires a full mental scan, Patriarch," Teri stated with ice hanging from every word.
"I have already determined this would be necessary," Cory replied. "Proceed, Mr. Richardson."
"Sonuvabitch," Kyle muttered as he looked into Phil deeper. "Director, he's got blocks; Jamie and Jacob would have only seen what he wanted them to."
"You're authorized to proceed," Teri stated.
"Are you sure? This may not be pretty," Kyle replied softly.
Teri locked eyes with Cory, holding an unspoken conversation. After almost a minute, Teri replied "I am positive, you may proceed."
"I concur," Cory added. "I wish to know the logic behind this suppression of information."
"George, please tell Poppa Spock I may need his assistance after I'm done," Kyle stated, fearing the worst. "I am starting, Director Short."
For about five seconds, Phil had a smug grin on his face. The grin vanished as Kyle turned up the heat, literally gaining a purple aura around his entire body as he did what no lower strength telepath could do; physically destroy a high-level mental block. As he'd predicted, the after-effect was not pretty; by the time he was finished, Phil was rolled into a ball on the floor and had released every possible waste product from his body.
Fortunately for Phil, he could not see the sight that Teri, Cory, and Sammy were exposed to; the King of the Mikyvis in a full rage. "He's a receive-only telepath, and would fit next-gen qualifications. He planned to infiltrate the Clan to get kids who he could sell to people into kid bondage, his current kids were a cover. He set up the situation Mike was called in for, with the adults that were arrested taking the fall to allow this plan to work. His blocks were good enough to fool a N-Gen or my kids unless they were trying to look deep."
"He's a control freak, a natural 'Master', just like that asshole who called himself my father." Kyle added as tears began running down his face.
Knowing things about Kyle's past that even Kyle wouldn't vocalize, Cory stated "Give Director Short and me the report, then go find Dad, bro."
Kyle nodded, closing his eyes for a few seconds, only opening them for a second before vanishing. Once Kyle was gone, Cory stated "To make sure we are all aware, a 'Master" as stated by Kyle is the Master of a Master-Slave relationship. Director, how do you wish to proceed?"
"I assume that my son was describing bondage?" Teri fumed.
"That would be accurate, Director," Cory replied, his anger obvious despite trying to maintain his role as Patriarch.
"And I am to understand that this was nonconsensual on the part of the children?" Teri clarified.
"The evidence indicates as such," Cory replied as he fingered his phaser holster.
"Under the Safe Haven Act," Teri continued, "I believe termination is the sentence for his direct and indirect actions. Federation Youth Services requests Family Clan Short review this determination."
"I have reviewed the evidence," Cory stated. "Federation Youth Services is limited to the standard Federation legal system. Due to actions which affect and are under the sole jurisdiction of Family Clan Short, at this time I unilaterally claim jurisdiction over same and sentence Phillip to termination."
While he'd been speaking, Cory had held out his hand. With a pointed look at the phaser in Teri's hand, Cory stated "Director, it would be prudent for you to remain within Federation regulations. Due to the seriousness of the violations, I shall perform the needed actions, personally."
Despite her own wishes, Teri realized Cory was right. Dropping the phaser into his hand, she stated "FYS would prefer to witness the delivery of the sentence for inclusion in our reports, Patriarch."
"That is logical," Cory replied before adjusting the phaser to maximum then stating "Phillip Pierce. You have been found guilty under the Federation Safe Haven Act and Vulcan Law of actions which endanger youth within and outside Family Clan Short. As an adult recognized by Family Clan Short, you are required to meet the actions and responsibilities stipulated under Vulcan Law. You have been tried and convicted. The sentence is death." With that, Cory fired the phaser, vaporizing what was left of Phil.
The dust wasn't even settled before Tyler appeared next to Cory. Before anything was said, Ty stated "I just checked Jeff and his wife, they are clean. I had mental conversations with both of them to prepare them for the fallout of what just happened; they are ready to step up and ensure that Josh has all the help he needs."
"How's Kyle, Ty?" Cory asked with concern.
"He's melding with Poppa Spock," Tyler replied.
"I think it might be best if Sammy and I join them," Teri stated softly. "Do you need any help with Josh, Cory?"
"I've got it, Mom," Cory replied. "Pablito's been keeping me up on their discussion while we were dealing with this asshole. I think Josh already guessed something, I'm curious what though."
"Call me if you need me, you don't have to do this alone," Teri replied. "Once Spock is done with helping Kyle, I think we all need to sit down and find a way to prevent this from recurring on both sides."
"Don't worry, Mom; if Josh gives me any trouble, I'll just call in Mike!" Cory threatened.
"Make sure George gets video," Teri requested. "Ty, could you please take SamSam and me to where your Dad and Kyle are?"
"Okay, Mom," Ty grinned before all three vanished.
After a glare at the scorched spot that used to be Phil, Cory turned and began the walk to where Josh and his family were waiting.
Tyler, Teri and Sammy appeared in Teri's living room, where Spock was still in a meld with Kyle. Since all seemed quiet right now, Teri decided to simply sit and wait, with Sammy snuggled close in her arms, still crying. Tyler blinked sadly at his socius before moving out of the room to get some drinks and snacks from the kitchen. They could be here a while, he felt. It didn't take him long to get back, and Teri accepted the cold can of Fanta from him, while still crooning softly to the distraught boy in her arms.
Tyler looked up sharply as he heard Spock ask, "How do you feel now, my son?" He watched as his father removed his fingers from Kyle's face. He had not felt that the meld was about to end, of course - he never could when Kyle was in one, just as Kyle couldn't feel it when he was in one either. Something unique about melds, they both knew. He jumped up and ran over to share lap space with his hubby.
"It helped, Dad," Kyle admitted as Tyler took his seat. "Why'd this have to happen today?"
"For all things there is a time. There is no other answer I can give, child of mine."
Tyler placed a loving, soft kiss to Kyle's cheek. Which helped. As the Empathic Tyler knew it would. "Thanks, Daddy," Kyle murmured, then he sighed.
"I still think you should speak to Dan about what you are hiding, little one."
"You promised not to..."
"I did not look, Kyle," Spock interrupted softly, placing a gentle hand over Kyle's mouth, then softly rubbing the boy's cheek with his thumb. "The empty space of the memories you hid away allow for assumptions, and I generally assume very close to fact."
"Huh?" Tyler mumbled.
Spock flicked his eyes between the two slowly. "When you try looking into the future to see what's happening tomorrow, you cannot see Sa'ren. Correct?"
"Yeah. He doesn't imprint in time at all. It's like he's not there, but... oh!" Kyle gasped. "... but the empty space of where he WOULD be is still affecting things around it, and people talking TO the emptiness allows us Mikys to guess at what our Elf is up to? Is that what you mean with my... with me?"
Spock nodded. "Hiding what I 'guess' you are hiding is not going to be good. It was not now, and it will come up again. Will you speak of this to Dan, please?"
"I don't know if I can, not yet," Kyle admitted honestly. "Cor knows everything in my head now, I think he even knows that stuff, cuz' he's been kinda tryin' to help but sayin' nuthin'."
Nodding slowly, Spock accepted that answer. "I will be here, as will Dan. When you are ready. But for the next week, I do not want you to be involved alone with any such case as today, not unless it be an emergency. I would like you to use your gifts for good things, to bathe in them, if you will. It will help."
"Okay, Daddy," Kyle replied as he snuggled into Spock's chest. He started and almost jumped out of Spock's lap a bare second later, however, when the living room door burst open to reveal an almost distraught Sa'ren. A Sa'ren whose intense blue eyes were fixated on his own. He watched as those same eyes moved to Sammy, then back. Then the young Vulcan fixed those now angry eyes on Teri. "Cory. His rage. His anger. His order. Your order. Why? Why Kyle? Why my little brother? Why him after what he went through and not me who could have broken through and past and around and remain unchanged and unhurt and WHY MY LITTLE BROTHER?!" he finished, almost with a scream.
Sammy's tears had stilled during this, for his own unique connection with the son of Spock was simply bouncing with all emotions he could name, and some that seemed wholly new to him. Was Sa'ren going to completely lose it?
"WHY?! MY. LITTLE. BROTHER!! MINE MINE!! Why HIM? Could you not... were you sparing... NOT me... not again... I WILL NOT... WHY HIM?!"