Chapter 21

Cliff looked like he was completely engulfed by the fire bird. Yet he wasn’t screaming in pain. Each time he moved, the bird moved with him. Joe’s eyes were wide. He had seen comic book characters take on a fire bird before, but never in real life! Cliff flew down and covered them with a fire dome, shielding them from enemy fire.

“Are you OK?” Cliff asked.

For a moment no one could speak. They could see the enemy aliens trying but failing to get through the dome of fire.

“Why aren’t you being burned by the flames?” Frank asked.

“Because those who are one with the Phoenix are not consumed by the flames. It allows me to have complete control over the flames in ways I could have never imagined. That’s how I was able to create this fire dome. Nothing will be able to get through it,” Cliff explained.

Joe tried to sit up, but the burning in his entire being kept him from moving far. “Why is it you’re not drained like we are? My entire body is on fire and it hurts so much I can barely move my eyes.”

Dan knelt down to him and felt Joe’s wrist. “You need to sleep. You’re body is worn out. You weren’t meant for heavy duty battle.”

“I can fight more,” Joe insisted.

Frank hugged his brother to him. “You can’t fight any more baby brother. If you fall out here you’ll be killed.”

Dan nodded, “He’s right. All of you are tired. Only Cliff has remaining energy stores.”

Cliff straightened up. “I can fight… watch.”

Cliff held out his left hand to maintain the shield. With his right hand he sent out laser waves. They watched as waves of enemy aliens fell under the unstoppable waves. Frank listened. The waves sounded like real ocean waves, crashing against a rocky terrain. He noticed that Joe’s skin was a little cold. He needed to be in a warm bed. For some reason he knew he had to fight in this battle. It was as if he were born for it. Still, his brother’s health came first. Dan’s strength returned, and he added his power to the dome Cliff had formed. While he watched Frank and Sunray tend to Joe, he wondered where his own father was.

“We need water,” Frank said.

Sunray nodded and waved his hand over the patch of ground in front of them. A small pit opened and clean water bubbled into it. Frank used his hand to bring the water to his brother’s mouth. Joe gratefully drank the water, surprised by how clean it tasted. It helped to cool his burning throat. Frank sipped at the water himself. He couldn’t believe it tasted better than any water he had ever drunk.

“Where did you find this water?” Frank asked.

Sunray gave them a slight smile. “A small underground spring. I’ll close it up before we leave so it doesn’t become polluted.”

Sunray took a few sips as well as Dan. They offered to give some to Cliff, but he refused it. Dan told them that any break in Cliff’s concentration could cause the dome to collapse. Frank looked at the dome. He could see straight through the fire. The laser waves were increasing in intensity. Frank looked up at Cliff and could see his muscles beginning to show strain. Dan came over and grabbed the wrist that was firing the laser waves. Instantly the waves doubled in strength. He looked but couldn’t see any more alien fighters in the distance. He could hear some in the distance, but those were rapidly fading away. Sunray added his own powers, and the waves tripled in strength. Frank helped Joe stand up. They added their remaining powers causing the waves to be over a hundred times stronger.

Keen looked up and saw the power wave emanating from where his sons were. He saw the huge form of the Phoenix covering them all. He knew his sons were the one that would help to free their planet. As he saw the wave coming towards him, he stood still knowing that the waves would pass harmless through himself and all of his warriors. The waves passed by with a roar going further and further down until he could no longer see them. The alien fighters ran, but could not except the wave that was now traveling the speed of sound. The pride swelled in his chest as he knew it was his sons that were saving their home. No one was going to take them away from him again. Not Fenton Hardy, not anyone.

Staci had finally caught another nap on the Hardy family living room couch. Boomer slept quietly beside her on the floor. She kept having nightmares of a war-torn planet, and a battle that was still raging. Not wanting to see them any more she left the house for a little break. She had cleaned up the Hardy home and even bought groceries for the house. She had experience with knock out gas once, causing her to be sick for days. She didn’t know how Laura would respond, and the house had already been a mess. Still, she wondered what it was about the crystals that gave her a sense of complete awe. She wasn’t able to touch them, but just looking at them she could see the energy that flowed from them. It was as if life flowed through them. Boomer got up and nudged at her hand.

“I know Boomer, they’ll be back soon,” she said, scratching the back of his head.

She sighed. Something was nagging at her. The fear in Fenton’s voice was so high it nearly caused her to shake. He was so scared at letting is sons go she knew he would have resorted to barricading them in their rooms to keep them from leaving. It was a fearing that was tearing at him to his very core.

“Boomer, I hope the family comes back together. I don’t know what Fenton would do if his sons stayed behind,” she said as the dog put his head in her lap.

A sudden wave of cold struck her causing her to shiver again. A tear slipped out of the corner of her eye. There was a feeling that if the brothers do come back, things wouldn’t be the same. Another wave of energy hit her. She heard whispers and laughter. Looking around she knew it was her ESP letting her know something was near by. She closed her eyes again, trying to escape all the emotions…all the voices that were trying to get through to her.

Keen saw that his youngest son, Joseph, was waning in strength. “His strength lasted a lot longer than anyone expected. The spirits of the Valley were right. He does have the gift of strength…Now, they need to rest…We can stretch the crystal border further around the castle…Amazing…they’ve created more land than ever, over a thousand kilometers more…Enough to start raising crops…Build sanctuaries…” He used his powers to teleport to where they were.

Cliff’s strength gave out, and the Phoenix retreated back into him. All of them collapsed into a heap. Frank kept hand protectively locked onto Joe’s arm.

Keen smiled down at them. He couldn’t have been prouder of his sons. He raised his hands and lifted the group up with a gentle breeze. He flew with them back inside the castle. When they landed inside of the main room, he could hear footsteps running towards him.

“Fenton Hardy,” his whispered and rolled his eyes. He didn’t want to have to deal with him right now. Not when the welfare of the kids didn’t concern him.

Fenton Hardy felt his temper at the breaking point. He hadn’t received any answers out of Molder, and the waiting was clawing at his nerves. He knew his sons were in danger when the left. Even if Keen was their biological father, it still wasn’t right to send a child into battle. Frank and Joe were still his sons. No man was going to take them away from him. If he had to fight Keen to prove it, he would. He heard the sounds of winds coming back to the castle and knew his sons were returning. He ran towards where he thought the winds were coming from. His eyes went wide when he saw his sons laying on the floor, out cold.

“What have you done to my sons?” Fenton demanded, coming over to them.

“They’re not your sons. They’re my sons. They were given those powers since before they were born. It’s their destiny to fight in this battle as part of the royal family,” Keen explained, staying up straight.

“Their destiny to fight in a battle and be killed? To come to a strange place? Their home is Bayport, and their family and friends are there!” Fenton yelled back.

“I can understand your anger…” Keen tried to explain.

“Like hell you do. You send your kids away and they live happy lives and have families and friends, and they you rip that all away from them and force them to battle? I’m not going to stand by and let you do that to them!” Fenton yelled.

Fenton knelt down and felt for Frank’s pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a steady one. He felt for Joe’s and was a little alarmed by how slow it was. Sunray and Cliff had steady pulses as well.

“Joe needs to go to a hospital,” he said trying to get his son to wake up.

“He’ll be fine, he’s just tired. Using powers at the rate that he did drained his energy stores. A good night’s sleep and he’ll be fine,” Keen said coming closer to get Fenton away from his sons.

“He needs a doctor, and I’m taking him to one,” Fenton said, trying to pick his son up from the cold floor.

“You’re not his father and you can’t tell me what to do with my sons!” Keen said, grabbing a hold of Fenton’s wrist.

Fenton flipped the wrist and twisted Keen’s arm behind his back. He pinned Keen to wall, and tightened his grip.

“Don’t you dare tell me what to do! You’re not their father and never will be!” Fenton screamed throwing Keen to the ground.

Keen got and sent a small energy wave at Fenton, knocking him into the wall. Fenton shrugged it off and went to take care of his sons. Keen barreled into him, knocking him off his feet. Fenton counted with a judo throw, sending Keen flying. Keen jumped and grabbed Fenton by the throat, trying to cut off his air. Fenton moved his legs and kicked Keen off of him.

Frank opened his eyes to see his father and his new father locked in combat. The fighting men didn’t see him getting up from the ground. He was wondering why they were fighting.

“Dad?” he moaned trying to stand on shaking legs.

“Frank!” Fenton called out and rushed to his side.

He put an arm around his shoulders and eased him back to the ground. “I’m getting you out of here and back home.”

“This is their home and you’re not taking them away from me!” Keen shouted, he came over and tried to get Fenton to let go of Frank.

Frank felt a surge of pain in his arm where the two men where yanking at each others’ hands. “You’re hurting me.”

Fenton instantly let go. “Frank, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to hurt…”

He was cut off by a fist flying at his face. He turned just in time to deflect the blow, but it still clipped a part of his jaw. He feel back, feeling the pain in his jaw. Frank tried to craw over to stop them, but he couldn’t go further without feeling intense pain through his body. He stopped, trying not to cry at the pain. Joe opened his eyes. He tried to fight the protest of his body that wanted to surrender to the bliss of sleep.

“Frank…” Joe moaned.

Frank crawled back over to his brother. “Joe…they’re fighting…”

Joe looked over and saw his fathers locked in combat. He could hear the footsteps coming towards him and knew that Molder was coming. He threw off Keen and ran towards his son, easing him again back to the ground. Blood streamed down his face.

“Frank, please, stay on the ground for now. You need to rest,” Fenton said.

“Joe…needs… a doctor,” Frank moaned, trying to stay focused.

“And he’ll get one,” Fenton promised him.

By now Dan was waking up. “Dad…we can’t…force them to stay.”

“We’re a family now. I’ve waited to long, and we’ve been apart for too long.” Keen walked over to him. “Get some rest son. The perimeter has been expanded large enough to plant crops and build sanctuaries. We’re going to win this war.”

“Dad, I’ve finally found my brothers, don’t force me to make them stay,” Dan pleaded, trying to get some strength back.

“Force?” Keen demanded, “I’m not forcing anything. This is their home. The only reason why they were sent away is because they were in danger. Once they were old enough we would bring them back. I’m sorry but it was the only way to protect them.”

Fenton tried again to lift Joe off of the ground. Keen came over and tried to keep Fenton from lifting Joe off the ground. Keen shrugged off Fenton, knocking him back. Joe couldn’t understand why the two men were fighting. Now he was torn between the man that gave him his genes and the one that raised him. He didn’t want them fighting anymore. Joe struggled to his knees, ignoring the pain. Frank tried to stop him, but his legs had turned to lead.

“Joe…” he whispered, fighting to stay awake.

“Stop…it….”Joe tried to scream to the fighting men.

It was as if they didn’t hear him, and they continued hitting each other. Molder stopped at the doorway and watched the battling men. He couldn’t believe that Fenton Hardy would put up such a fight. He shook his head. His sister-in-law had only wanted her son to finally have a family and be in a peaceful life, she didn’t want them battling any more. She wanted the fighting to end.

“Keen maybe we should let them go,” Molder tried to say.

“Keep your mouth SHUT! He’s not taking them away!” Keen screamed as he tried to pin down Fenton’s arms.

By now Joe had managed to come even closer to them. “Please…stop…” he tried to stay.

Keen seemed oblivious to the feeble sounds coming from his son, only that Fenton wouldn’t stay down. Joe grabbed hold of one of Keen’s arms, trying to stop him. He threw Joe back, unconsciously throwing a small energy beam at him. Joe flew back, flying into a wall.

“Joe!” They both shouted.

Fenton kicked at Keen’s midsection as hard as he could. Keen, caught off guard doubled over. Fenton jumped up and ran over to his son. By now the others were waking up. They stared in horror as Joe was lying motionless against the wall. His eyes were open in frozen terror. Fenton felt for the pulse on his son’s wrist. It was rapid and fluttery. There was a wound on his chest, oozing blood. Joe needed a doctor. Keen stared at his own hands.

“What have I done?” Keen said.

Dan got to his feet and came over to Joe. He put a crystal on his chest, healing the wound. Fenton hugs Joe to him.

“What kind of monster are you?” Fenton demanded.

Dan sighed. “He’s my father. A father that has known war since before I started to walk. He doesn’t know what it’s like to be a father since my uncle practically raised me.”

Keen gave a slight laugh and sat down, leaning against the wall. “Yeah? Can you believe it? All my sons sent to live with other people... Raised thinking that other men were their fathers.”

“Dad, you had no choice, they would have killed us,” Dan said, trying to bring some sanity to what was going on.

Frank sat up and helped Sunray to sit up. Cliff felt too nauseated to make even an attempt to move.

“I understand what you’re thinking.” Sunray said, “My own father tried to kill me on a daily basis. I was taken away and sent to live with a very caring man. You only did it to protect us all.”

“And in doing so I forgot what it was like to have a son.” Keen said, “Dan, take them back.”

“Keen, what are you saying, you’re wife wanted…” Molder tried to say but Keen cut him off.

“My wife wanted our sons to have a family. They already have established a large enough place so that we can finally fight back. Those with powers can be awakened to help us fight now,” Keen explained.

“The Guardians,” Joe said.

Keen nodded. “The Guardians are like all of you only hundreds of times stronger. The area you helped to create is where they’re crystals are hidden. We can awaken them, but it will take years for this planet to recover. Maybe you can come back to visit, I’d really like that.”

He waved his hand and they found themselves in the transport room. Frank noticed that Dan wasn’t there. He walked over to where Fenton was holding onto his brother. Frank took Joe’s hand in his.

Joe opened his eyes slightly. “Are we going home?”

Frank smiled, “Yeah, we’re going home.”

Just then Dan appeared. He had a large duffle bag with him. They noticed that he had been crying. Before they could ask him any questions, he raised his crystal above his head. A bright light surrounded them. To Joe it felt as if time had stopped…

Before they knew it they were in a large field. It was a field that was not too far from the Strone compound. They watched as Dan held the crystal high above his head. The crystal glowed brightly before vanishing.

“He wanted me to stay…” Dan told them, tears streaming down his face. “He didn’t want anyone returning until it was safe to return.”

Joe came over and hugged Dan. Frank followed him and did the same. Cliff stood up and held up the crystal that he had. The Phoenix appeared before them.

“Do not be alarmed, those that sought to destroy you are no longer here.”

Dan continued crying.

“The Guardians were under the lands that you help to take back from the alien fighters. It will be restored…enough to create sanctuaries and replant crops. Each of the Guardians have powers that are over a hundred times greater than all of your powers. They powers are drawn from the planet itself, and they can never tire. They will be able to finally defeat the alien race . Once that happens and the planet is restored, then they can help the other planets that are nearby. The alien race was an evil one and would have destroyed other planets had you not gone there to help.”

The Phoenix saw that Dan is still crying.

“Please don’t cry Daniel. As your father knows this is for the best. He is only granting the dying wish of a noble person. The crystal that I reside in will temporarily shut off your powers. All those of this compound will have no memory of what has happened once the sun rises tomorrow. Nor will anyone else outside of this compound. Once I retreat your powers will harmlessly turn themselves off. Do not worry they won’t be lost forever. Now that you have each other, you won’t need them.”

Frank and Joe put their arms around Dan’s shoulders.

“You have a real family now Dan with new responsibilities. Yet you will now learn what it’s like to have love, to know laughter and fun, to be able to explore and learn. I will always be sleeping nearby. If the time should come, I will awaken within Cliff… he will know what to do. I will restore your powers if a time should come that they are needed. Until then my young friends, may peace always be with you…”

The Phoenix retreated into Cliff’s crystal. The crystal shrunk down and became the size of a large egg. Cliff put it back into his pocket. He smiled as he had enough inspiration to create and write an entire year’s worth of cartoons.

“Dan, you’re welcome into my family,” Fenton told him, extending a hand.

Dan smiled slightly and took the hand. “Thank you.”

Fenton then turned to Sunray. “If any father… any man…any one decides to beat you, you can come to me.”

Sunray smiled and hugged him. “Thank you, it’s good to know that.”

“So what do we do from here?” Joe asked, still a little shaky.

“Let’s go home,” Fenton replied.

No one could argue with his idea. They walked until they reached what was left of the Strone compound. They watched as Jones came out with a woman and two small children next to him. The woman and the children looked thin and disheveled, but Joe could sense it was another long awaited family reunion. The remaining men had fled once Strone had been killed… taking with them what items from the house they could sell. Jones put his family into a small car and drove away.

“Do you think we should check on what’s going on in there?” Joe asked as they all got into the van.

“Don’t worry, I’ll call a friend of mine with the local division of the FBI, and they’ll handle it. Apparently Strone owes a lot of money so they’re going to want most of it as soon as they can get it,” Fenton explained.

“Dad,” Joe said before they got to the van.

“Yeah son,” he said unlocking the doors.

“We wouldn’t have stayed. We would have helped, but not stayed. You’re the only father I’ve ever known,” Joe told him in a quiet voice.

“Me too. Believe us dad, we would have come back,” Frank added.

Fenton embraced his sons. In those few words they had said everything he needed to hear. “Then let’s go home.”

Fenton drove them back home. First, they dropped off Sunray at his dorm room. Then they drove into the city and dropped Cliff off at his house. Too tired to drive any further, Fenton stopped at a fancy motel outside of Bayport and treated his sons and his newest son to a night’s rest. He rented three rooms so they’re would be enough showers for all of them. He let his sons use the bathrooms, while he went down stairs to use the spa. He also wanted to be alone for a few minutes to relax.

Staci found herself relaxing better then she had in days. All the voices suddenly stopped speaking. Boomer began running around the living room tossing around his tennis ball. She laughed as Boomer ran after the ball. She couldn’t believe how much her feelings changed in just a minute. As if someone turned off the ESP powers. She decided to take Boomer for a walk. The air around her seemed fresher.

Frank settled into hot shower water. The water felt good against his aching muscles. Even with his gifts turned off, it didn’t alleviate the pain that made them burn. He rubbed one of his shoulders, trying to get rid of the pain. He wondered how it was going to be now that he had two more brothers to worry about. Up until the time Dan had arrived it had only been Joe and him looking out for each other. He had always been the big brother and Joe the little brother. It had always been his sole responsibility to protect Joe. He didn’t know how he was going to be able to give some of that up to Dan.

Joe had already finished his shower and was now wearing a clean set of sweats and socks from the van. He sighed as he lay down on the bed, turning on the TV. His whole body still ached. Frank had been acting a little strange since they had come back. He was acting more protective than ever. He couldn’t blame him though. They were all on edge after what they had gone through. He flipped the channels, hoping to find a baseball game or cartoons. He smiled as he found the all-cartoon channel. He loved the Coyote and Sheep Dog cartoons.

Dan was still trying to get used to his surrounds, settling into the bathwater. He still couldn’t believe that his father had ordered him to stay with the Hardys instead of returning to his home planet. He wanted to stay and help his father in the reconstruction activities. He was adamant that he leave and try and be part of a family like his mother had wanted. He looked into Joe’s eyes, and saw the same things that Frank did. He just didn’t know if he could be as protective as Frank was of him. He was going to have to show Frank that he was worthy enough to protect Joe.

Coming out of his shower, he dried off and put on a pair of sweats from the van. He went over to the bed where Joe was lying down and watching cartoons. He looked tired, but a little bit relaxed.

“Hey little brother,” Frank said.

Joe smiled a bit. “Hey. How are you feeling?”

Frank sat on the bed and felt his brother’s forehead, it was a little warm. “I’m fine, but you feel warm. How do you feel?”

“I guess I’m just tired, it’s been along day. I ache everywhere, and I feel a little queasy,” Joe admitted.

He scooted over and created room for his brother. Frank lay down next to him, enjoying the small marathon of Coyote and Sheepdog cartoons. He enjoyed the feeling that Joe was sitting right next to him. Then something else bothered him. He realized it when he saw the Coyote and Sheepdog having a lunch break.

“That reminds me, I’m hungry,” Frank admitted.

Joe smiled slightly. “You won’t hear any arguments here. All that fighting left me hungry.”

Frank returned his brother’s smile. “Then let’s see if we can call in a few pizzas. You stay here, and I’ll get the phone book. Maybe we can still find a place that delivers late.”

“Make sure you order enough for Dan and dad,” Joe reminded him.

Frank nodded. He flipped through the phonebook and called in a place that Tony had told him was very good. He was in luck as his would be the final order of the night. After putting in an order for three pies and soda, he went downstairs and borrowed a few clean plates and cups from the hotel kitchen. When Frank came back he was greeted by the sweet sounds of his brother laughing at the TV. Frank looked at the TV and saw one of the Coyote’s famous sheepdog traps backfire on him.

“Pizza it’s on its way. We were lucky in that we were the last order in,” Frank told him.

“Great, I’m starved,” Joe replied.

Soon Dan came in some fresh sweats from Joe’s stash in the van. He laughed at the cartoons. Frank was amazed at how much Dan and Joe’s laughter sounded alike.

About an hour later, the pizza arrived and Fenton returned from his soak in the hot tub. While Fenton enjoyed having pizza with his sons, he was a little worried about how Dan would settle in with his family. He would need IDs, proof that he graduated from high school, etc. There were so many things to do.

“Dad, are you OK?” Joe asked.

Fenton blinked, “Yeah, I am. I guess I’m just a little tired.”

“Aren’t we all,” Frank added.

They continued talking well into the night. Fenton couldn’t believe how he had almost lost his sons, yes his sons, to another man. Frank and Joe smiled at each other. They continued eating the pizza until the last slice was gone. After their late dinner and watching some more cartoons, they decided to turn in for the night.

Chapter 22

Frank looked out the window. The day had dawned bright and sunny. Fenton decided to go back to the house early to get it ready for Laura’s return. After a delicious breakfast in the hotel’s dining room, they left for Bayport. Joe felt refreshed after a night’s rest, he was eager to get back home. They had a lot to do to get Dan settled into the house. He was just a little nervous at how his mother was going to react to having Dan stay with him.

In the backseat, Dan sat staring out the window. He missed his father and his home planet already. He remembered the castle, and all the parties that they had there. He remembered how great it felt having all of his brothers fighting with him on the battlefield. Yet his father’s last words were to do what his mother had said and to be part of a real family and be happy for a change. He looked at Frank and Joe and wondered if they would accept him as a brother.

Fenton drove them home. They were greeted by Staci and Boomer. She smiled and offered to fix breakfast, Fenton declined her offer explaining that they already had breakfast at the hotel. Joe took Dan upstairs to show him his room where he would be staying. Fenton was grateful that Staci had the house clean and there were groceries in the kitchen. After spending some time with Frank, she left the house wanting to get home to make sure things were in order. Fenton called the naval base and explained it was safe for Laura to come home. Lt. Elliot promised to have her there by lunchtime.

“You know we’re going to show you the layout of Bayport. We can take you for a ride before lunch. At least you’ll get familiar with some of the places around here,” Frank suggested.

“That sounds good. We can even show you our motorboat, the Sleuth,” Joe added.

Dan sighed. “Do you really want to do that? I mean, I’m not sure what I can do yet. I don’t know how I can function in this place.”

Joe put an arm around Dan’s shoulders and gave him a hug. “You’ll do great. The first thing we need to do though is get the air bed out of the closet and bring it in here. You can use that until we figure out what we can do to get you your own bed.”

Frank nodded. “Let’s do that now and get outside. It’s a nice day so we might be able to take the Sleuth for a ride.”

.

Dan still wasn’t sure if Frank and Joe would accept him. When they drove down the marina, Joe kept chatting about the various places they went fishing and the times they used their boat in investigations. Frank noticed that Dan was still a little nervous around them. He hoped that Dan would accept them.

Fenton nervously paced in the living room. He was anxious to see his wife and tell her the good news. His sons were staying and they were going to have Dan stay with them. He only hoped she would accept Dan into the family. Dan himself seemed so nervous, and would be depressed for a long time.

It seemed like forever before he heard the door opening. Laura came into the room and threw her arms around him. He could hear her starting to cry.

“They’re here. They decided to stay,” Fenton assured her.

Laura took a deep breath. “Really? They’re not going with him?”

Fenton smiled at her. “They’re out showing Dan around the neighborhood. They’ll probably be back around dinnertime.”

“Didn’t Dan with his father?” she asked.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Fenton said.

He took her to the couch and had her sit down so he could explain the whole story. By the end she agreed with him that Dan should stay with them.

“So we can take care of him until he can decide if he wants to live on his own. In fact I’m glad, now Frank has someone to help him watch is brother, and he won’t tire himself out any more,” Laura said.

They started making out a list of things they would need to get now that Dan was going to stay with him. Laura looked around the house and in the kitchen and was grateful that Staci had done those things for her. Now she could concentrate on welcoming Dan into the family.

Dan felt the seaspray in his face when Joe took the sleuth out onto the water. He looked around and saw the sea gulls and the occasional fish. He had never seen sea gulls or been able to take a boat into the sea water. Even as an infant, his parents kept him constantly in the castle. He looked up and saw the blue sky with the clouds. Even the clear sky seemed wonderful. He shuddered to think that that some people would pollute it.

Frank looked around and enjoyed seeing the familiar sights of Barmet Bay. He couldn’t wait to show all the places that he and his brother had found when they looked for places to fish. Then there was camping. They could go camping next week in the mountains. Skiing, snowboarding…so much to show him.

Joe took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of the ocean water. They were going to have to show Dan all the great places to hangout in Bayport. The mall, the arcade, then there was the skating park. He wondered if Dan knew how to skateboard or even rollerblade. “It shouldn’t be too hard to teach someone how to rollerblade…Took me only a week…” Joe thought. He turned the boat and the headed towards of the little fishing islands.

Around lunchtime Frank and Joe decided to take Dan to the pizza shop in the mall, where Tony worked. Dan looked around and wondered how he was going to support himself when the day came when the Hardy family didn’t accept him anymore.

“Dan, are you ok?” Joe asked.

Dan sighed. “Yeah, I’m just worried. Worried that I won’t be able to get a job or even function in this place.”

Joe gave Dan one of his famous smiles. “We’re going help you like we help each other. Do you honestly think we’d abandon you to this place?”

Dan shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t know what to believe any more.”

Frank put a hand on Dan’s shoulder. “My little…our little brother. You’ve got to stay and help me take care of him.”

Joe rolled his eyes. “Ha ha. Dan, you can also help me take care of him, and maybe get his face out of book every once in awhile. Maybe help me show him that studying every night doesn’t have to come two hours at a time.”

“Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but how can I fit in?” Dan asked, looking down at his drink.

“You can fit in, if you let us show you how,” Joe said.

Dan sighed but didn’t say anything as Tony set the pizza in front of them.

“You know you’ll change you’re mind once we take you camping,” Frank said.

“I’ve never been camping,” Dan admitted.

Joe’s eyes went wide. “You’re kidding?”

“No. My parents kept me in the castle. They said it was too dangerous to leave. It wasn’t until I was teenager that I learned of the war,” Dan explained.

“Then that’s settled. We’ll take you camping next week. That will be just enough time to get all the supplies together. We’re going to need a bigger tent and extra sleeping bag,” Frank said.

Joe nodded, “And extra survival gear. Maybe even an extra fishing rod.”

“I’ve never gone fishing either,” Dan admitted.

Joe’s eyes went wide again. “Looks like we’ve got a lot of work to do in the next month.”

They settled in and ate the pizza once it was cool enough to eat. Dan admitted that it was better than the one they had eaten in the hotel.

“It’s the best, in fact all of Mr. Prito’s Italian dishes are incredible,” Frank said.

“Then I’ll have to try more when the time comes,” Dan said.

They finished their lunch before heading out to show Dan around Bayport. They promised to show him all the places before the month was over. First, they had to take him camping…then teach him rollerblading…

“How are we going to do all of that in a month?” Dan asked.

Frank laughed. “You’d be amazed how much we can do in a month.”

“So what do we do first?” Dan asked.

“Let’s explore the mall. We can show you all the stores, even the arcade,” Joe suggested.

They showed Dan the various stores they liked to shop in. Joe showed Dan the gothic store Hot Topic, the music shop, and the new skateboarding park store. Frank showed him the computer store and book shop. While Dan enjoyed all of the sights, Frank knew it was going to take him a long time to adjust to the new place. Joe directed them to the arcade and showed Dan how to play the various games. By the time they were finished with the mall, it was already getting dark outside. Frank decided it was best to return home so their parents wouldn’t worry. He also had a girlfriend he had to call.

Laura went through every room, surprised by how clean Staci had left all the rooms. The only thing she had left was the laundry. “Probably didn’t want to take a chance and accidentally ruin something…Oh well, at least this gives me SOMETHING to do…” While her husband was in his office, she went about getting the laundry done. She looked around and saw all the groceries she had bought. Now would be a good time to plan a good dinner for her sons and now the newest member of their family. She looked at all the food… “Hmmm…there are several chicken roasters in the fridge almost thawed out… They’ll be ready by tonight…I hope they don’t mind a late dinner…” While waiting for the chickens to thaw, she continued with the rest of the laundry, grateful that the gas hadn’t made her sick. Lt. Elliot had been so nice towards her. It was easy to see why her sons made friends with him.

As the day went on Laura had the laundry done, folded, and put away. She ran the vacuum cleaner over the house. She laughed to herself as Staci probably had gotten so used to having dog hair in the house it didn’t bother her. Finally, the last bit of hair was in the vacuum and not in the furniture or the rugs. Even with the hair, Boomer was still a very sweet dog. She put the vacuum away. Finally Fenton came up. He happily announced that he had several potential cases he was going to look into once Dan had settled into the house.

She kissed him. “You know maybe once you’re done. You and I can sneak off for a little while.”

Fenton smiled back at her. “You mean a romantic getaway?”

“Of course. It’s been so long since you and I have had anytime alone together,” Laura said.

Fenton nodded. Even though he had a lot of cases lined up, the idea of being able to spend some time alone with his wife was very tempting.

“Then go around to the travel shops. See what’s out there,” he told her.

She smiled back at him. “I’ll do that tomorrow. Right now I want to get a good dinner started.”

“Well, I’ve got some preliminary work to do. Yell if you need a hand,” Fenton told her.

She nodded and promised she would as she took the roasters out of the refrigerator and put them in pans. Fenton smiled as he went back to his office. Everything was getting back to normal.

Laura had the entire meal ready to go by the time her sons and their new brother arrived. She hugged them all, but was a little distressed when she felt some tension when she hugged Dan. She inwardly sighed and new it was going to take him a while to accept his new family. She directed them to the table.

“Wow, mom you really went all out,” Joe remarked as they sat down to eat.

“Hey, this is my first homemade meal in a while. I wanted to make up for it,” Laura told them.

Fenton came up from his office. After he was settled in they started dinner. Dan felt odd. He had never been at a full family dinner. It was always just him and his father, or with some of the visiting guests. Laura offered him thirds with all the stuff she had made. While he was quiet, Frank noticed that he was gradually opening up to them.

Later on after dinner, they set up the aerobed in Joe’s room. After he settled in Joe went over to Frank’s room. He sat on his brother’s bed.

“Do you think Dan will accept us?” Joe asked, looking at his brother.

“I think he will. He just needs some time,” Frank assured him.

“You know it was crazy out there on that battlefield. I could see and do things that I had only read about in my comic books. I’d never thought that stuff could be for real,” Joe admitted.

Frank sat up. “Neither did I, but we can’t anyone else what we saw there.”

Joe nodded. “Yeah, because no one would believe us. It’s a good thing the Phoenix said no one outside of a few people would remember what happened.”

“That’s a very good thing. Now the only thing that seems necessary is a good night’s sleep,” Frank said.

Joe smiled and gave his brother a hug. “Then I’ll see you in the morning. Good night big brother.”

“Goodnight little brother,” Frank replied.

Joe returned to his room and settled in his bed. He looked over and saw his new brother was already asleep. He smiled and thought of all the new things they were going to show him. Before he knew it, he was asleep.

Frank stayed awake for a little while. He had thought of all the things that had happened over a span of a couple of weeks. During that that time he and his brother had grown closer, and they gained a new brother in return. As his eyes gently closed he knew that now things would be better than ever. He didn’t have to worry. Somewhere in the depths of Cliff’s mind, the Phoenix was sleeping. A glorious firebird laying in wait in case they needed her. He closed his eyes and pushed everything out of his mind and allowed a serene forest to take its place.

End