Renny: Hey everyone, and welcome to Omega's sequel!

Green: Are you actually gonna give me a break for once?

Renny: Well, maybe not entirely, but yeah. No bad things'll happen . . . probably.

Green: I'll kill you. Slowly. With a toothbrush.

Renny: I have a ninja gerbil. Her name is Ziva.

Green: . . . Nevermind, I'll just do the disclaimer.

Renny: Good boy.

Green: Renny doesn't own pokemon.

Renny: On with the show!

OOOOOO

Leaf was the more adventurous of the twins- she was always up to something, and willing to do new things just because it was exciting, new and, well, not boring. She was loud and loved to voice her own opinion in discussions, even when they didn't involve her. She was also incredibly impatient.

Fire, in contrast, was the complete opposite. While he was no less willing to explore and do new things, Fire always thought about them first instead of charging head-first into danger. He was quiet and preferred to observe things, and if he felt his opinion needed inserting, he would say it. He was also more likely to get really irritated, really fast.

They were twelve now, and had already found out what their statuses were- Fire's took a little bit more time, because he liked to keep people waiting (for drama, or something), but eventually it became clear.

Leaf was a beta, and Fire was an alpha.

Mom and Dad were actually thrilled, for some reason. Leaf and Fire didn't really get why, but Fire guessed it had something to do with Mom's own status as an omega.

They probably didn't want Leaf and Fire to go through what Mom did, but that was just his opinion.

Leaf just thought they didn't want to deal with heats, since no one kept any suppressants around anymore- not since Mom's heats had stopped after she and her twin brother were born.

Neither of them were sure why, and they certainly didn't know why they didn't have any other siblings (because they saw some families on the TV, and omegas often had an entire litter of kids, like six or seven, before they stopped).

As far as the Stevenson twins knew, their family was one of the smallest in the regions, and that was a good thing.

Because it meant that Mom and Dad could spend more time with them, of course!

And at school, they were the most popular kids in their year, because the big house that Dad had meant they could have over lots of friends and there wouldn't be any embarrassing siblings running around, messing up their friendships.

Until one day, everything changed.

"Wow . . . he really does look just like me." Mom said quietly, leaning forward in his seat.

Auntie Crystal nodded and slid the phone across the table so Dad could see it too.

"Well, except for the eyes. If anything, I'd say he looks like the kind of kid you and Blue would have had." Dad grinned.

Mom gave him an umimpressed look and smacked him on the back of the head. Dad yelped.

"Take this seriously, Red." Mom snapped.

"I am!" Dad cried. "Stop abusing me!"

"Wow, you two haven't changed much." Auntie Crystal laughed. "And here I thought being parents would have matured you."

"That's impossible." Mom deadpanned. "Red's stuck in a state of being three years old. He is a man-child."

Leaf couldn't help but giggle slightly, but she shut up when Fire gave her a look that was much like Mom's.

They technically weren't supposed to be listening, out here in the hallway, but the conversation going on in the kitchen was just way too tempting to ignore. Fire had suggested listening in on the conversation, just to stop her squirming, and Leaf had agreed instantly.

So now, here they were, with the kitchen door cracked open slightly, listening to a conversation neither of them understood.

Auntie Crystal had been here several times over the last couple of weeks, sometimes going upstairs to look at some of the spare bedrooms which were mostly used as guest bedrooms or something. She'd talked to Mom and Dad a lot, and Leaf and Fire hadn't really been allowed near the conversations- but this time, curiousity had gotten the better of them.

Well, it had gotten the better of Leaf, and Fire had just gotten annoyed enough to let her do what she wanted.

Same difference.

"I don't understand any of this." Leaf muttered. "Why's Auntie Crystal showing them a picture on her phone? What's up with that?"

"She helps run the Adoption Centre at Great-Grandpa's lab, maybe Mom and Dad are gonna adopt a pokemon from there." Fire suggested.

Leaf looked at him. "I thought you were meant to be the smart one- didn't you hear what Mom and Dad said? Whatever they're looking at, it looks just. Like. Mom. Geddit?" she snapped quietly.

"It was just a suggestion." her twin grumbled.

"What're you two up to?"

They both just barely kept their startled squeaks down, and spun around to see Auntie Crystal's oldest son, Ethan, standing behind them. He was looking down at them both curiously.

"Hi, Ethan!" Leaf exclaimed, quietly, after a small pause.

"Hi back. What're you doing?" Ethan asked again.

"Leaf wanted to know what Auntie Crystal wanted to talk to Mom and Dad about." Fire explained, and Leaf glared at him.

Ethan looked confused, and he opened his mouth- probably to ask why they thought that was a good idea- but Leaf beat him to it.

"So!" she said. "How're Lyra and Soul and Heart and Grey?"

"Don't change the subject, but they're all doing fine. Grey's finally took his first steps." Ethan said proudly. "Now . . . how about we go up to your room? That way, your mom and dad won't hear me letting you off for this, and Mama won't have to know that I'm letting you off."

"Well . . . alright, then." Leaf muttered, with a glance at Fire, who shrugged and nodded.

"I can even tell you why Mama's here again."

That got her attention.

"Really?" Leaf demanded. "What the hell are we wating for, then!? Let's go!"

She grabbed Ethan's hand, knowing her brother would follow, and dragged the older boy upstairs to her and Fire's shared bedroom.

Once they were all seated on Fire's bed, Leaf turned to Ethan and demanded an explanation.

"Okay so . . . how much do you two know about your mom's omega status?" Ethan asked them.

" . . . This is not an explanation." Leaf told him.

"Leaf, shush. Not much really. Once it was clear that neither of us were omegas, they didn't bother explaining much beyond what could happen if we were mated to one." Fire told Ethan. "Like, how their heats might affect me and make me go into rut- so basically I could make lots of kids."

"Ugh, don't say it like that, you're making omegas sound like baby machines." Leaf snapped.

"Your mom and my mom would kill you for implying that." Ethan agreed.

"Sorry." Fire shrugged, not really sounding sorry. He was sorry though, he just sounded careless.

"Anyway, the reason I'm bringing this up is because . . . well, your mom isn't like most omegas." Ethan said. "Have they told you why?"

"Dad just said they didn't want any other kids." Leaf shrugged. " . . . Wait. Do you mean that wasn't the truth?"

Ethan sighed and shook his head.

"Mom explained it to me a couple of years ago- about why your mom's different to him." Ethan muttered. "It's because your mom can't have kids anymore."

" . . . What?" Fire gasped, eyes wide in shock. Leaf was, for once in her life, completely speechless.

"Mom didn't exactly tell me what happened, or why your mom can't have kids anymore, but that's it." Ethan said. "I'm not entirely sure, but if the option was still available to them, I'm pretty sure you two would have some brothers or sisters. And, well . . . you know how Mama runs the orphanage in Violet city?"

"Y-yeah?" Leaf murmured, still shocked.

"Well . . . there's this one kid there, and he looks just like your mom- only he's got the brightest blue eyes I've ever seen." Ethan began. "Mama's been trying to get him adopted, mainly when Adoption Day comes around once a month, or even when people visit on calmer days, but no luck. Then she got the idea to go to your parents."

"That's why she's been coming over a lot." Fire guessed. "She's finalising everything, getting stuff in order . . . so Mom and Dad can adopt this kid."

"But . . . aren't we enough for them?" Leaf asked, her voice breaking. "I . . . I know you said Mom can't have kids anymore, but . . . they've always said we're perfect for them. Why would they bring someone else into our lives? A-and they haven't even asked us!"

"Leaf . . ." Fire murmured.

"I don't want a brother!" Leaf shouted.

Fire flinched, and looked at Ethan.

"I . . . hate to admit this, but she does have a point." the red-eyed boy said hesitantly. "Why?"

"I don't really claim to know everything about our parents." Ethan mumbled. "But I do know that if that kid doesn't get adopted soon . . . he'll spend the rest of his childhood in the orphanage. Mama doesn't like seeing kids without families. And your mom and dad are the least likely people to turn someone away because of a . . . special need, or something."

"I don't care!" Leaf snapped. "I don't care if I'm being unfair on that kid, I don't want him here! We're supposed to be enough for Mom and Dad, we don't need a brother!"

oooo

"I'm so glad you two agreed to this." Crystal sighed.

"Don't worry, we're just helping give a child a home." Red smiled at her.

Crystal smiled back.

"So, why doesn't anyone want him anyway?" Green asked suspiciously. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with him."

"Some people- as sick or weird as it is- like having . . . disadvantaged children." Crystal said reluctantly. "They see it as a way to get sympathy from other people, or just to simply boost their egos. Aqua is, of course, one such child- but when I explained the circumstances of his birth, and why he is the way he is . . . any potential families drew back immediately. People want disadvantaged children, but they don't want kids who come from backgrounds like his."

"Why the fuck not!?" Green burst out.

Red laid a hand on his arm and he calmed down, but only a little.

"Because they seem to think they don't have the necessary . . . home, for Aqua." Crystal murmured. "One family I told about him outright said that they couldn't handle a child with his background, because he'd be unstable- and yeah, he is kind of unstable, but it's not his fault. The point is, they just didn't want to deal with his baggage. No one does."

"That's just wrong." Red said quietly. "I'm glad you came to us, Crys. We'll be happy to adopt him."

"Thank you." Crystal replied gratefully. "I hate seeing him like this, so sad, every day . . . he might not know exactly why none of the families who come for adoption want him, but he knows it's probably because of him. It's not, and I've tried telling him, but . . . Thank you for taking him."

"We'll look after him." Green promised.

He glanced down at the boy in the picture.

He did look just like Green, except his hair was a little bit lighter. From what Crystal said, he was really small, and Green could tell he was a scrawny kid- they'd have to give him a better diet than what he had in the orphanage.

Not that Crystal was mistreating the kids there, but there were just so many that it was slightly impossible to make sure everyone got their fair share of food. And Aqua was apparently kind of a pushover, and slightly timid, so he could have easily been bullied into giving up some food.

Though Red was right. His eyes were bright blue- his namesake, basically- and he did look like the kind of child Green and Blue would have had if they'd gotten together instead of Red and Green.

Well, at least he'd fit in just fine with the family. After all, kids weren't coded to look exactly like their parents- Gold, Silver and Crystal's youngest boy Grey proved that. He had Silver's eyes, but other than that he didn't really look like any of them.

(To the point where Gold and Crystal sometimes joked about Silver cheating on them, but everyone knew that was impossible. Silver was too loyal for that.)

"He's also got this pokemon, too." Crystal suddenly said, as if she just remembered.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Red blinked, startled.

"I basically forgot. We were a bit focused on Aqua." Crystal shrugged apologetically. "It's a Pachirisu, a shiny one, and he calls it . . . Muffin, I think? The other kids bully him because, well, Pachirisu is already a 'girly' pokemon, but since Muffin's pink . . . well, I just hope Leaf and Fire aren't as petty as the orphanage kids are."

"They aren't, don't worry." Red reassured her.

"They can't really complain anyway." Green muttered. "Fire's got his Shinx, and Leaf's got her Litleo- what did she call it?"

"I think she called it Leo." Red said. "Not sure why, it's a female."

"She's inherited your bad naming habit." Green flatly replied.

"It's not a bad naming habit-"

"You have an Espeon called Vee."

Red shut up.

"I just hope she has the sense to change Leo's name when it evolves." Green huffed.

"To what, Roar?" Red frowned.

"Pyro would probably be better."

"I . . . suppose so? If you're sure they won't make fun of him." Crystal said.

"They won't. And if they do, I'll whip them into shape." Green reassured her.

"Not literally." Red clarified.

Crystal still looked hesitant, but even she knew not to argue with Green. "Well . . . alright then. I'll come back in a couple of days with Aqua and his Pachirisu, and you can sign the final papers then- I really hope you'll tell Leaf and Fire sometime before that happens."

"The only reason we've kept this from them is because we don't know how they'll react." Red murmured. "It's just been the four of us- and our pokemon- for the last twelve years. Suddenly bringing in a complete stranger like this would shock them, no doubt."

"It's not like we can break it to them gently." Green pointed out. "I mean, if I could have- . . ."

Red sat up and wrapped his arms around Green, who had suddenly gone very pale.

" . . . There's no getting over it, is there?" Crystal said quietly.

"If you were told you can't ever have kids again, would you ever get over it? Like, really get over it?" Red asked, not looking up from Green.

"I don't think I ever would." she replied truthfully.

OOOOOO

Renny: There we go! How's that for a first chapter? Green's technically still not over that trauma he got twelve years ago, and Leaf and Fire- mostly Leaf- aren't too keen on the idea of suddenly having a little brother.

Green: What's the big deal? Why're they acting like that?

Renny: How would you feel if your grandpa suddenly adopted some random kid- without even consulting you or Daisy?

Green: Kind of angry, I guess, and I'd kinda feel unwanted as well.

Renny: Exactly my point, see? That's how Leaf and Fire feel, again mostly Leaf, so of course they're gonna oppose this. But Red and Green have already done most of the paperwork and Crystal's already agreed, so they don't really have much choice to be honest.

Green: That's kind of irresponsible of them. Us. Whatever.

Renny: Well yeah, but it's like story-Red said, you don't know how they'll react. Of course, the readers already did when he said that, so I guess it's like dramatic irony. Oh well. Hope you all like the sequel to Omega! Read and review!