A/N: This is an idea I've had for a while, so yeah, I'm going to see how it works out.

The Shaylers

Stephanie Shayler smiled to herself as she glanced at the calender on the scarlet wall of her office. It was her favorite time of year and she immediately planned on celebrating. The blonde woman quickly made her way out of her office, past the large kitchen of the manor, and entered the wine cellar. It only took her seconds to find the bottle of champagne she was searching for. She grinned as she clutched the bottle in her hand and headed back into the kitchen.

"Nana!"

The soft sound of her granddaughter's voice interrupted Stephanie's thoughts. She glanced down to see a toddler girl with jet black hair running towards her at full speed. Stephanie sat the bottle of champagne down on the counter and picked the young girl off the floor.

"What are you doing down here, Marcella?" she cooed. "Come on, let's look for your father."

Stephanie walked towards the den with Marcella in her arms, muttering about how she was too young to be a grandmother. It had been the talk of the town when the eldest son of the Shayler family had gotten the Woods girl with child and the news had spread like wildfire. Despite their enmity with the Shaylers, the Tremaines had little to say about the matter from what Stephanie had heard. Then again, neither she nor her husband cared what those criminals thought about them.

She stepped into the den and smiled. The den of Shayler Manor impressed her every time she stepped foot into it and it still looked as extravagant as it did when she had married Colton Shayler twenty years earlier. The walls were a burnt orange color with majestic paintings of Arcanine, the Shayler Pokémon symbol. The furniture and carpet were cream-colored with a fireplace in the center of the north wall. However, the most noticeable feature of the room was the spiral staircase that led upstairs. Stephanie could hear the sounds of the children playing roughly upstairs and decided that it was time to put an end to it. She needed to speak with each of them before they left for Eastern Heights.

"Marcus!" she shouted. "Come down here!"

She took a seat on the sofa with Marcella in her lap as she waited for her oldest child to come down. A minute or so later, he hurried down the steps with his faithful Arcanine following behind him. Marc grabbed his daughter from Stephanie's lap and playfully threw her in the air a few times before placing the laughing child on Arcanine's back and taking a seat across from his mother.

"What did you need?" he asked her. "We're all packed and everything. We just have to get Edwin's uniform and that's it."

"You also have to take Marcella to her mother's," Stephanie remarked. "Listen, I'm glad that you decided to step up and take care of your daughter, but I want you to let me know if you're ready to go back to Eastern Heights after everything that happened last year."

Marc sat in silence as he gazed at the carpet. Stephanie watched her son pinch the bridge of his nose, a trait he had picked up from his father. In fact, he had picked up nearly everything from his father from his tall frame, jet black hair, and tanned skin to his bold and brash demeanor. Marc was a Shayler in every way and his dark gray eyes were the only way someone could tell who his mother was.

"I'm ready," he said clearly. "I'll probably be the oldest guy there since I'm repeating a year, but it doesn't matter. It just means I have nine extra months of winning battles."

Marc grinned at his mother and she smiled back at him before pointing to the stairs. She was not sure if Marc was telling the truth about being ready to go back to the Heights, but he made a convincing face. He wasn't one to show his sadness often anyway, so it was hard to tell if he was being genuine or not. After all, Rodrick McNamara had been his best friend and Marc still blamed himself for not preventing his death.

"Go finish packing and send your sister down," she told him. Marc started up the steps, but was stopped by Marcella tugging at his pants.

"Dada!" the toddler said cheerfully.

"I think you're forgetting someone," Stephanie remarked.

Marc picked up Marcella and made his way back upstairs with Arcanine following close behind him. Stephanie took a deep breath as she awaited the arrival of her only daughter. She did her one-on-one conversations with the children each year and every year, Anya was the toughest.

"It's like CPR!

You make me a live again!

Take a step back!

This is not the end!"

Stephanie simply stared at her 'clone' as she sang and danced down the steps with her Sandslash. Aside from their physical appearances, Stephanie and her daughter were nothing alike. Personality-wise, Anya took after the Shaylers even more than Marc. On top of that, she acted quite odd for someone born into such a prestigious family. If someone saw her on the street, they would definitely not think that she was anything other than an ordinary suburban teenager.

"Ya-Ya..." Stephanie called out calmly. "Take those things out of your ear so you can hear me."

The dark blond girl yanked the earbuds out and looked up at her mother. Anya was the only one of her children who had the amber eyes of the Shaylers and it was the only physical trait that she shared with her father. Of course, Anya's eyes differentiated from Colton's as hers had a semi-permanent glassy look in them that Stephanie liked to pretend to ignore for obvious reasons.

"Sorry, Mommy," Anya said, her low voice making it a bit harder to hear her. "That's my favorite song."

"You know what, Ya-Ya," Stephanie sighed. "I just want you to stay out of trouble this year and do good in school. Now, go tell Edwin that it's his turn."

"Sandslash, let's roll out!"

"Sandslaaaaaash!" he shouted as he curled into a ball and began rolling around the room.

"No!" Anya laughed. "I didn't say use Rollout!"

Sandslash quickly stopped and followed his trainer up the stairs. Stephanie fought the urge to facepalm. After all, Anya behaved exactly like her father and Stephanie loved her husband more than life itself. However, of all her children, Edwin was the one she related to the most.

"Mother...? You wanted to speak with me?"

Edwin walked down the steps with his Noctowl flying close behind him. He was careful in his walk as not to mess up his expensive oxford shoes. Unlike Marc and Anya, who resembled Colton and Stephanie respectively, Edwin had a perfect mix of Shayler and Aderyn traits. He had his father's jet black hair and tanned skin, but Stephanie's dark gray eyes and thin, angular face.

"Truthfully," Stephanie began. "You're the one I worry the least about. I know you'll make me proud. You always do."

"Of course, Mother," he replied as a smile formed on his face. "Someone's got to be the responsible one since Marc and Anya aren't exactly the sharpest tools in the shed."

"Be nice," Stephanie told her youngest child. "Your brother and sister have their faults, but I want you all to love one another. You'll definitely need each other now more than ever. It's not impossible. My brother and I are close."

Edwin scoffed. "Your brother is twenty-two years younger than you are. Jay's more like your child anyway."

Stephanie couldn't help but let out a laugh. Edwin was so much like her that it was ridiculous. She figured that was one of the reasons why he was the easiest of her children to deal with. Even his Pokémon seemed to be the most well behaved, despite Edwin being the youngest child.

"I need to talk to your uncle before you all leave," Stephanie said. "Tell Jason to meet me in my office."

Edwin and Noctowl headed back upstairs as Stephanie stood up and made her way back to her office. She took a seat at her desk and waited for her younger brother to walk in. She glanced at the picture on her desk and desperately tried not to think of her father. Even after fourteen years, the pain of losing him had not fully subsided, but it was not the time to grieve.

"Celebrating already?"

Stephanie glanced up to see her sixteen-year old half-brother entering her office. Even the most primitive blood test could tell that Jay was an Aderyn. He had the blond hair, the dark gray eyes, and the thin, angular face that were prominent in the Aderyn family. He even had the personality to match, although he was a bit more relaxed than the average Aderyn. Stephanie figured that he must have gotten that trait from his mother was, whoever she was.

"You saw the champagne?" she asked curiously.

Jay nodded as he let out a laugh. "At least wait until we leave before you start jumping up and down. So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Well, I was having one-on-ones with all of the children," she explained. "And you're not exempt from it either. Now, close the door and take a seat."

Her voice was stern and she wanted to make sure that Jay knew she was serious. He closed the door to the office and sat down in front of her. Stephanie opened the top drawer of her desk and retrieved a newspaper. She handed the paper to Jay and his eyes squinted as he read the headlines.

"Charles McNamara marries Wilona Tremaine..." he read aloud. "Wow, Rodrick's only been dead a year and now the Tremaines are already taking over. Guess McNamara didn't care that much about his nephew. Not that it's surprising or anything."

"The Tremaines have markets all across Hoenn," Stephanie explained. "What better way for McNamara to expand the business? Rodrick is dead, so he has full control of the company."

"Do you think the Tremaines are going to like try to kill us?" Jay asked.

Stephanie shrugged her shoulders. "If they do try, they better damn well make sure they finish the job. Now, what I want to talk about is you. Are you absolutely sure you're ready to go back to Eastern Heights? I heard that Oscar Tremaine is going back."

"What?!" Jay nearly yelled. "Oz?! He was there when Dixon Neron killed Rodrick. I saw both of them run past me before I found Rodrick bleeding to death! Not to mention what happened to Rodrick's Pokémon!"

"Jason, calm down," Stephanie told him. "I know it's not fair, but Dixon Neron was the one who killed Rodrick and he is in jail. Listen, I didn't tell Marcus that Oz would be returning to Eastern Heights, so I want you to make sure that he doesn't do anything reckless. Can I count on you?"

"Yeah..."

"I'll be visiting Eastern Heights periodically to check on things. Now, if you'd be a doll and show yourself out. Your big sister has a lot of hard work to do."

"Didn't know getting drunk was considered 'hard work,'" Jay said as he stood up. "But you're in charge."

He walked out of the office as Stephanie sat back in her seat. She closed her eyes and thought of her husband and her children, her brother and her granddaughter, and even her Pokémon. Everyone and everything that was important to her was at stake, but the Shaylers had always pulled through. If the Tremaines wanted them dead, they would have to try their hardest to kill them. They were ready for a family war.

A/N: So there's the first chapter. The other ones will be much longer.

OC's are accepted at my forum and by PM. The form is on my profile. Check to see which symbols are taken before you start on your form.

That's all for now I guess.

Until next time!