Chapter 13

Most people when faced with a grief stricken Tauros would have the sense to get out of the charging bull's way. Sam however wasn't most people. It helped of course that said bull started dangling three feet off of the floor as soon as it came anywhere near him. This of course was thanks to a well-timed Psychic attack provided by Clover.

Out of all of the grieving pokėmon that he'd seen so far Toro had been the only one to even attempt to lash out at him. To be fare however he was a Tauros and they didn't tend to be known for being happy and calm creatures. So as things were Toro was going to hang in the air until Clover decided to put his hooves back on the ground and Sam was more than okay with that because if it wasn't Clover taking care of the grieving pokėmon then it would be Spike.

And the last thing Sam wanted to do was get the old Nidoking involved in things because there was no way that that would end well for anyone and the last thing Sam wanted at that moment was another fight. He'd had enough fighting over the past few days to last him a good long while.

"You have him Clover?" Sam asked as he looked down at the Espeon. Clover barked and nodded her head in reply before turning her softly glowing eyes back towards Toro. Sam offered Clover a small grin before he moved over to the rest of the grieving pokėmon. It wasn't just Fig's pokėmon that were all gathered together in a group of grief either but Lennox and Epps' pokėmon were there as well. The other pokėmon being there was the best thing the soldiers could have done for their friend's pokėmon because the more support they had now the easier the whole grieving process would go on them and on Sam himself. It also helped that there wasn't anyone other than him and the pokėmon in the hanger.

While Sam had no idea what all of the others were doing he found that he couldn't really bring himself to care all that much. He had a job to do here and he was going to do it to the very best of his ability for as long as he could and no one was going to stop him from doing it. Sam had told Lennox and the others that he'd need as much space as possible to work or else he wasn't going to be able to help. Much to his shock and awe neither Lennox nor Epps had put up much of an argument.

Hell, they had even agreed to let their pokėmon out so that they could help. It was great to have people listen to him for once instead of fighting him every step of the way. Sam understood that sometimes what he could do unnerved people and that made it hard for them to work with him. He was fine if the arguments were meant with the best interests of the pokėmon in question at heart but there were others who argued because they though he was trying to rob them blind or thought that he was going to turn their pokėmon against them.

It was the people that hated and feared him because of stupidity that hurt him the most. Such negative emotions always felt like bee stings. But none of that mattered because here and now he had the trust of two people who were willing to not only leave their pokėmon with him but the pokėmon belonging to their dead comrade with him as well and that was always a wonderful feeling. Sam stepped lightly as he moved over tails, wings, and legs.

The last thing he wanted to do was disturb the calm that had fallen over the group as he made his way towards the middle of the group were Fig's pokėmon were sitting surrounded by the others. Mojo barked from his place on the floor as Sam approached. The big dog had Fig's Honchkrow and Xatu sitting on his back and didn't seem bothered by either one at all. Then again Mojo was used to being sat on by a bunch of little pokėmon so it made sense that he wouldn't mind the two birds using him as a perch. The soldiers Flareon was lying between Mojo's front paws and had the big dog's head resting on his back.

Sam offered the pokėmon an understanding smile as he sat down and leaned against Mojo's side crossing his legs so that he was sitting Indian style. There were times when words weren't needed in order to comfort those that were suffering. Now was one of those times. There was nothing for him to do other than sit and offer his support and understanding because Sam knew the type of grief they were dealing quite well and he also knew that the pokėmon around him could tell what he was. All pokėmon could recognize an empath when they were close enough.

No one understood why pokėmon could tell the difference between a normal human and an empath (or any other psychic really) and no psychic that Sam had ever heard of had ever cared. Sam's lips twitched as a pair of scaly heads rested on both of his knees. Reaching out Sam ran his hands down the snouts of Maya, Fig's Serperior, and Quetzal, his Archeops. The pair closed their eyes in comfort as he scratched their heads. Sam closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. The feeling of grief that ate away at his senses wasn't the worst thing that he'd ever felt before and he wasn't surprised at all when tears began to fall from his own eyes.

There was nothing wrong with crying for those that couldn't anymore. The soft sound of hooves on cement caused Sam to turn his attention towards Toro as the bull made his way through the group of pokėmon surrounding them.

"It's okay." Sam said his voice quiet as Toro stopped and stood in front of him. The bull snorted once before leaning down and nosing at the tears that were running down Sam's face. "I promise that everything will be okay. It'll hurt for a long time but eventually things will get better. Toro snorted again before laying down and resting his head between Sam's upraised knees. There wasn't any fight let in the Torus and it seemed like the bull wasn't in the mood to through another tantrum.

Sam offered Clover a smile as the Espeon moved so that she was laying up against Fig's Flareon. With a soft sigh Sam let his eyes roam over the pokėmon that he was surrounded by and couldn't help the warm feeling that seeped into his mind at their presence. Most of the smaller pokėmon were lying around him and offering their friends silent support. Orion and Yin were curled up asleep between Lennox's Houndoom and Epps' Zangoose the two pokėmon having managed to wear the babies out without disturbing the other pokėmon.

The rest of the pokėmon like Lennox's Blastoise and Rhyperior or Epps' Krookodile and Blaziken seemed to be standing guard around them as if they expected something or someone to jump out of the shadows and attack them. Some small part of Sam felt bad for not knowing the names of the pokėmon that he was watching over and were watching over him but there was still time for that to change. He could ask their names once Lennox and Epps were back from where ever they'd gone after leaving all of their pokėmon with him.

He'd only though to ask the names of the pokėmon he'd be working with directly. Thankfully neither man had seemed offended by his lack of asking. Sam was quiet sure that they'd though it'd be easier for him to keep the names straight if he only had six new ones to keep straight in his head. If that was in fact the reason then they'd been right in their assumption.

(o)-(o)-(o)

Lennox huffed a surprised laugh and shook his head in disbelief at the sight that greeted him when she stepped into the hanger where they'd left Sam and their pokėmon. He hadn't known what to expect when they did eventually return but it surly wasn't what he was seeing now.

"I'm not sure if I should feel betrayed or not." Lennox said as Epps walked up beside him. The black man at his side couldn't seem to do anything but laugh and shake his head.

"I was expecting something but this wasn't it. Man, think he'd be willing to babysit for me?" Epps asked with a laugh. The only way to describe the large room before them was complete and utter calm. The only movement other that breathing and Sam's continued petting of Toro's head was the movement from the pokėmon that had formed a sort of perimeter around the group. In truth neither man had been expecting it. They'd been expecting something of course just not what their eyes were telling them. They hadn't expected anything too bad, a bit of bored chaos maybe or for there to have been a fight between two of the pokėmon presents.

They hadn't been expecting the calm and quiet atmosphere that hung about the hanger. Hadn't expected that their pokėmon would be just as calm and happy lying in a group around Sam as they were when they did the same with their trainers. It was something that neither Lennox nor Epps had ever expected to see in either of their lives. Oh, both of them had heard about people with empathy and they'd know a soldier who meet an empath once but that had been it.

It was hard to believe that the scrawny teen sitting in the middle of their pokėmon was an empath and according to Simmons he was a powerful one. Truthfully, Sam didn't look like he'd have that kind of power at all but then again big things had a tendency of coming in small packages.

The tear tracks that ran down Sam's face however hinted at what was really going on, at least to some small extent. For all he knew though Sam could have just been the type of person that cried easily. Lennox supposed that judging a book by its cover had never been truer than it was when he was watching the skinny brunette surrounded by pokėmon that didn't belong to him.

"You can come in you know." Sam called from within the hanger. His voice was clear and easily heard. Lennox and Epps shared a single looked before they began walking towards the group.

"Wasn't sure if we'd disrupt the process or not?" Epps said. Sam offered the black man a smile.

"You belong here too. Their trainer was your friend and they know and trust you. So long as you aren't in the mood to fight or anything I won't stop you from being here." The unspoken "I have no right to stop you from being here" hung in the air for a few seconds before Kendra pushed Epps down so that he was sitting next to Yankee and Sidney and the baby pokėmon that were sleeping between them.

The Blaziken moved as if she was going to push Lennox down as well but a soft growl from Sidney had her pulling back. Lennox offered his pokėmon a small smile before sitting down on his own. Dixon proceeded to drop to the floor with the grace of any cat and placed his head in his humans lap. Lennox rolled his eyes and snorted but began rubbing between Dixon's ears anyways. All of his pokėmon had done well that day and they all deserved a little something as thanks for their hard work.

"So, is this the entire process?" Lennox asked as he made a gesture towards the pokėmon that were surrounding Sam. Sam gave a soft snort before nodding.

"People like to think that there's some big secret to what I do. Some process that only empaths know about and can apply. It's all lies and bull." Sam said as he shrugged and reached over to rub Maya's head.

"I sit and I share their pain and grieve with them. That's all and the pokėmon take it so well because they can sense that I understand and want to help. Grief that is shared is grief that is lessoned." As Sam finished speaking he turned his attention back towards the pokėmon around him. Toro didn't seem to mind that Sam had split his attention between him and his teammate. In fact Toro and most of Fig's other pokėmon seemed like they were only minutes away from taking a nap. Judging by the tear stains left on fur, scales, and feathers it was quite understandable. Crying tended to wear a person, or in this case a pokėmon, out like nothing else.

There were several minutes of quiet between the people and the pokėmon in the hanger. It didn't take long for both Lennox and Epps to start fidgeting where they sat. It was clear that neither man seemed to know how to break the semi awkward silence that had fallen over the group. Thankfully neither one of them had to because it was Sam that spoke up before either of the soldiers could.

"What going on with the Autobots?" Lennox and Epps blinked before turning to look at each other.

"Not really sure kid. I know that so far everyone's squabbling among themselves. I think Keller was going off to argue with the DOD or something when we left him." Epps said as he offered Sam a shrug. It was clear that Epps didn't have any sort of clue about what was going on and he didn't seem as bothered by the lack of action. Then again given the day that they'd just had it wasn't very surprising.

"What about the Autobots? Where are they?" Sam asked.

"Sitting outside waiting for all the bullshit to end so we can leave." Heads turned towards the new voice that had just entered their space. Mikaela was standing a few feet from the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. It appeared that she'd been given a change of clothes and had taken a shower sometime after she'd wondered off with Maggie and Glen.

"Can we leave?" Sam asked ignoring the annoyed look that Mikaela was giving him. Sam offered her a small smile as his eyes darted towards Mojo before moving back to Mikaela.

"I don't know but if you're planning on making a break for it take me with you." Sam and the soldier laughed.

"That is up to him." Sam said as he made a gesture at Mojo. The large dog turned his attention towards his trainer and barked his tail wagging. It was clear that Mojo was more than willing to take them where ever they wanted to go.

"That'd be an awful long ride kids." Lennox said even though it sounded like he was tempted to do the same. Epps shook his head in amusement before offering his two cents.

"Being saddle sore isn't fun, man. If we leaving I wanna be in something that I can sleep in during the ride." Epps was speaking from experience. His wife had tried to teach him how to ride her Zebstrika once and it hadn't gone well. He hadn't been able to sit right for days after that ordeal.

"Well you're in luck there gentlemen." Keller's voice rang through the hanger as he walked up to the group. The other man looked worn down and ruffled but happy with himself. A small smile sat on his face causing laugh lines to appear around his mouth. That could only mean good things.

"Sir?" Lennox asked as he and Epps stood up and saluted the man. While it wasn't really a necessary action it had been habit for so long that neither man was sure he could break it.

"Good news all around," Keller said as his gaze darted between the four.

"Things are settled for the moment and you'll be free to go soon." Lennox and Epps grinned at each other while Mikaela made a relieved noise that managed to sound frustrated at the same time. Sam sat still for a moment however a thoughtful look on his face before he worked his way out from under the pokėmon that had taken over his lap.

Stretching as he stood Sam uttered a soft "stay" to Mojo as the pokėmon moved to follow him. The dog snorted but remained on the floor. Sam's steps were gentle and precise as he moved. Looking at him now you would never have known that he'd just spent over an hour sitting in the same spot with his legs crossed. If moving hurt at all one wouldn't be able to tell by simply looking at him.

"What do you need us to do?" Sam asked as he joined the group. Keller blinked as id shocked before shaking his head slightly and replying.

"The usual son. They need to debrief you and you have papers to sign but after that you're free to go."

"What about the Autobots?" Sam asked because he needed to know if he'd be opening his home to the aliens or not. If he was then he needed to make a list of things to do and if they weren't he was going to need to fill out paperwork for a stolen car. Lots of things to do either way he supposed. The smile that Keller offered him and the slightly amused feeling told him all he needed to know however.

"For now they seem more than happy to go home with you and we're tired enough at the moment to let them." Sam didn't say anything but he smiled and reached for the pokéballs on his belt. It was time for them to go home.

ooooo

I'm so very sorry that it took so long for me to update this and that this chapter is so short compaired to the others. We got a new laptop around Christmas and about two weeks after that I managed to find the word on it. I started working on fic's a day or so after that. I actually started this chapter in late febuary. Sadly it took me awhile to actually get it finished. I'd get going and then get stuck and wouldn't be able to figure out where to go next. I wrote myself into several corners while doing this chapter. I plan on updating this story at least once a month. Twice if I'm really lucky. I'm a bit swamped at the moment story wise however. I'm working on a very long Avengers one shot.

Now onwards to Gen 6. Yes they will be included in this story. Though it will be awhile until they show up. Though I may manage to work them in sooner. It all depends on when we get info on the new pokemon and what that info is. If any gen 6 pokemon do appear in this during the next few chapter chancer are they won't play a major role. Though I am considering reworking a few teams if I'm able. Also for those of you who I told I wasn't going to cover Revenge of the Fallen. I might have lied to you. I'm not sure though because I'm still cosidering it.

Please drop me a review and let me know what you think.

Also my authors note will be staying up for now. It screws with reviews if I take them down. I may change it to a list of pokemon so that way you guys can have something to look at that will tell you which pokemon belongs to who and what their names are.

Pagen