//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: All is Found // Story: A Family is Love // by Godslittleprincess //------------------------------// Two months passed, and a lot happened in that time. Button Mash’s family had taken in Kit as a foster, and the two boys had hit it off quite well. However, to Honey Bee’s dismay Button and his family lived next door to Flash’s family which meant she was going to be seeing a lot of Kit who annoyed her the most out of all her former foster siblings. On the bright side, Flare had decided to begin the process of formally adopting her. Flash’s family had finally managed to break through that icy shell Bee used to hide behind and gain both her trust and respect, especially Flare, and the two of them had grown quite close over the summer. Ocellus’s twin siblings were born premature but otherwise healthy, so she and Twilight’s parents were just waiting until they were ready to come home from the NICU. Furthermore, now that summer was over, Flash, Twilight, Micro, and their friends had all returned to college. Micro’s soon-to-be adopted younger siblings were quite disappointed by this, having never experienced an older sibling leave for college before. Micro and his parents assured them that Micro would video call them at least once a week and that he’d be home for the fall and winter holidays. As for Thorax and the children still at the group home, they were all preparing for a new arrival. Thorax’s car pulled up in front of the children’s home, which was now known as New Beginnings Home for Children. Thorax got out of the driver’s side and escorted a 16-year-old boy from the passenger side. The boy had light blue skin, and most of his hair was a darker blue except for the tips which were orange. His hair was cut short all the way around except for a long bang that almost covered his left eye. He was also completely dressed in black and carried a backpack. He led the boy up to the front door, and they both entered the building. “Kids, we’re home,” Thorax called. His announcement was followed by six children, four boys and two girls, excitedly rushing to the front foyer followed by Ocellus and a boy about her age with light green skin and shaggy, medium-length, two-tone green hair. “Everybody,” Thorax continued, gesturing to the boy who was with him, “this is Gallus. He’ll be staying with us until he gets taken in by a forever family or is old enough to live on his own.” All the children stared at Gallus, who aloofly tossed his head in their general direction. His hunched over posture, monochrome attire, and stone-faced expression was not at all helping him make the best first impression. The children smiled nervously at him before saying hi. “Whatever,” Gallus muttered in reply. “Boys, can you show Gallus where he’ll be staying while I pay the sitters?” Thorax requested. “Sure thing,” answered the oldest boy, a 10-year-old with blue-gray skin and black hair. His name was Obsidian Chisel, but everyone just called him Sid. “What about us?” asked a 7-year-old girl with mint skin and pink hair named Minty, gesturing to herself and the one other girl, an 8-year old named Ala. “Why don’t you two start getting ready for bed?” Thorax suggested. “You’ll have all day tomorrow to get to know Gallus.” The two girls nodded and followed the boys up the stairs. Soon, the only people in the foyer were Thorax, Ocellus, and the green-haired, teenaged boy. Thorax pulled out his wallet and began counting out the bills. “Alright,” he muttered before addressing the boy, “here’s $15 for you, Sandbar, and $15 for Ocellus.” The teens thanked Thorax and went out the door. Outside, Sandbar’s father and Night Light had just arrived to pick them up and bring them home. Back inside the boys’ room of the home, Gallus had found his bed and the shelf for his things and was beginning to unpack his backpack. All the other boys were getting dressed for bed which he was probably also going to have to do soon. The last thing that he took out was a black leather jacket. He turned it over and just stared at the emblem stitched into the back. The best way Gallus could describe the emblem was a pair of stylized bug jaws. “I probably should get rid of it,” Gallus thought to himself, scowling at the jacket. “I promised him that I wouldn’t look back, and he’d probably want this thing burned to ash.” “Hey, what you got there, Gallus?” asked a small voice from behind him. Gallus started and turned around to a 5- or 6-year-old boy standing behind him. The most notable thing Gallus noticed about him was his shaggy black hair which was tipped in electric blue. This was Sid’s younger brother Cerulean Brush also known as Lean by most people. “Nothing,” Gallus replied. “It’s just junk.” “If it’s just junk, then why do you have it?” Gallus didn’t reply but instead turned back and continued to stare at the jacket, specifically the emblem stitched in the back. “I thought that having this meant that I was important and that I had a place to belong,” Gallus answered without turning around, “but someone made me realize that it wasn’t the life that I wanted.” “Were you part of a gang?” asked Lean. No answer. “Boys,” Thorax called as he entered the room, “are all of you ready for bed?” “We’re just waiting on Gallus,” Sid replied, turning everyone’s attention on the teenager. Gallus looked up to see five pairs of eyes on him and groaned in annoyance. “Hey, Gallus, what you got there?” Thorax asked, noticing the jacket in his hands. “It’s just junk,” Gallus replied in an annoyed tone. “It’ll be gone as soon as I can find an incinerator to throw it into.” Thorax blinked twice, taken aback by Gallus’s outburst while the kids uneasily shuffled away from Gallus. “Mind if I take a look?” Thorax asked, taking a step closer to Gallus. Gallus’s scowl deepened, and he angrily tossed the jacket at Thorax who surprisingly caught it. “I’m heading to the bathroom,” Gallus huffed as he stormed out of the room with his PJs under his arm and his toothbrush in his hand. Thorax shared a concerned look with the boys before turning his attention back on Gallus’s jacket. His eyes widened when he saw the emblem stitched on the back. Gallus unceremoniously spat water into the sink as he rinsed out his mouth. He had used the bathroom, changed into his pajamas as well as brushed his teeth, and was now about to make his way back to the boys’ bedroom. On the way back, Thorax stopped him in the middle of the hallway. “Hey, can we talk?” Thorax asked. Gallus looked up and scrutinized Thorax from head to toe. The caretaker had Gallus’s jacket under his left arm. His shoulders were rolled back, and his right hand was on his hip. His face betrayed no emotion whatsoever, but Gallus had a guess as to what Thorax wanted to talk about. Gallus sighed and exasperatedly replied, “Okay, fine. Yes, I used to be part of a gang, alright? You don’t have to worry about me going back to that life because someone made me promise that I wouldn’t. There. Happy now?” “That wasn’t exactly what I wanted to talk to you about,” Thorax replied, much to Gallus’s surprise, “but since you brought it up, okay, thanks for telling me that.” Thorax turned the jacket over in his hands so that the back was facing Gallus and pointed to the emblem. “Do you have any idea who these people are or were?” Thorax asked. “Just that they call themselves The Swarm and that they sell drugs and weapons and stuff,” Gallus replied. “Why?” Thorax sighed and answered, “The lady who ran this place before I did was part of it, or at least, she used to work with them. I found a necklace with the same symbol on your jacket in her stuff.” “Hold on. What would a criminal organization be doing working with a foster lady?” Gallus asked, frowning in confusion. “Let’s just say those criminal friends of yours were selling more than just drugs and weapons, and my boss was making money off of them.” The implications of that sentence were completely lost on Gallus, but he decided not to press the issue. “How did you get involved with those guys anyway?” Thorax asked as he folded up the jacket. Gallus bit his lip and sighed, answering, “I was living in a different foster home over in Griffonstone with a grumpy old coot and three other foster kids. I never really felt like family with them though. One day, a short, bug-eyed creep with a scarf comes up to me and tries to sell me, well, stuff. I tell him no, but he wouldn’t leave me alone, so I punched him. Then, the other guys he’s with grab me and pull their guns and knives out. I try to fight back, but Scarfy stops them from doing anything to me and says to me, ‘You know what, kid? I like you. My bros and I could use a tough, young guy like you.’ So, I say, ‘What’s in it for me?’” “And?” Thorax asked. “He asked me if I had a family. I didn’t say anything, but he must have seen the answer all over my face. Next thing I knew, the guy brings me in to their leader, and I was getting initiated.” “How’d you get out of there?” Gallus bit his lip, remembering what happened that fateful day. Gallus woke up to his flip phone ringing and groaned in annoyance. “Hello?” he groggily answered. “Kid, pack your things and run,” the voice on the other end replied. “Wait, what?” he cried, completely confused. “Just do what I tell you to! Don’t show up to the meeting place, and don’t stay where you’re at. You show up to the meeting, and your life will be over. You stay where you are, and your life will be over LITERALLY!” Gallus’s insides froze at those words. “Listen, kid, just run as far from here as you can and don’t answer your phone. You know what? Just straight up destroy it, and whatever you do, don’t look back.” Gallus didn’t answer. “Swear to me you won’t look back,” the voice shouted. “Swear!” “Okay,” Gallus answered, finally finding his voice. “I swear.” “Good.” With that the connection went silent before being followed by the busy tone. “A friend of mine from the gang called my cellphone telling me to run away, so I did,” Gallus answered Thorax. “The last thing I heard was that the gang had gotten arrested.” Thorax nodded knowingly. “I see. Why do you think your friend told you to run?” Gallus sighed, “We were supposed meet up for a drug deal. I’m not entirely sure, but I think my friend ratted the gang out to the cops.” “And since you weren’t there, whoever escaped arrest would have assumed you had done it and gone after you,” Thorax pointed out. Gallus nodded twice in agreement. “Aww, gee. He must have gotten put in the slammer too. I wonder how he’s doing.” Thorax pressed his mouth into a line as he rubbed his forearms. “You know,” Thorax said to the teen, “Griffonstone isn’t too far from here. I could take you to the city jail to pay your friend a visit.” “You’d do that?” Gallus’s eyes widened in surprise. “Sure, just try to make yourself at home here and get along with the other kids, okay?” Gallus rolled his eyes. “No promises.” The weekend arrived, and Thorax once again hired Sandbar and Ocellus to babysit while he drove Gallus to the Griffonstone City Jail. Gallus hadn’t quite made himself at home yet, but he did stop scaring the other kids, so that was progress. Thorax also took the liberty to destroy Gallus’s old gang jacket for him. Gallus didn’t say so or show it, but he was grateful that Thorax had done that. The two of them silently went up to the jail’s receptionist’s desk. “Hello, Officer,” Thorax greeted. “We’re here to visit a prisoner. I have a minor with me.” The receptionist nodded and asked, “Your name and date of birth?” Thorax told the policeman, who did a quick background check on him. “Okay, looks like you’re cleared,” the officer replied. “Name of the prisoner you are visiting?” Thorax paused and turned to Gallus. “I just realized that I never asked you what your friend’s name was.” “It’s Pharynx,” Gallus replied. Thorax froze at Gallus’s answer. “What did you say?” Thorax asked the teen. “I said his name is Pharynx,” Gallus retorted. “Did I mumble, or are you just going deaf?” Thorax didn’t reply. He just stood there unmoving with his jaw slack. Could it be? He didn’t dare allow himself to hope. Besides, what are the odds that Gallus’s friend actually is his lost brother? The officer ignored Thorax’s strange behavior and typed the name into the computer. “Take a seat over in one of the booths,” he instructed the two visitors. “Another officer will bring the inmate over shortly.” Thorax involuntarily complied with the officer’s instructions and sat in the booth with Gallus. It looked exactly like the visitation booths in the prison at Canterlot. Thorax saw a torso-shaped blob of prison orange come into the booth from the corner of his left eye. Thorax turned to get a better look at the inmate and ended up meeting his unforgettable purple eyes. Thorax felt his insides twist into knots, and his knees shook. “Oh my God,” he gasped before straight up screaming, “OH MY GOD!” To Gallus’s shock, Thorax slid off his chair, his knees hitting the concrete floor, in a mess of tears and sobs. Gallus looked from Thorax to Pharynx and back again. Pharynx’s hands were balled into fists, and Gallus couldn’t recall the last time he had seen them shake so much. Pharynx’s lips remained unmoved from the hard, stoic line they had been pressed into since he entered the booth, but his eyes were wide with surprise. Gallus nervously reached for the handset connecting his and Thorax’s side of the glass with Pharynx’s and took it off the hook. Pharynx did the same, and they both held the earpiece up to the ears. “Uh, so,” Gallus began, “you know this guy, man?” Before Pharynx could answer, Thorax yanked the handset out of Gallus’s hand and yelled, “Dude! I thought I was never going to see you again!” To Gallus’s surprise, Pharynx smiled and replied, “Sorry to disappoint you, kid.” After hellos and how-are-yous were exchanged, Thorax began explaining everything to Pharynx and Gallus from Chrysalis’s arrest and discovering that she was, in fact, his and Pharynx’s birth mother to his confrontation with their former foster mother. “So, after I left Ms. Argiope’s place, I went back to the home,” said Thorax. “You have no idea how badly I wanted to try to find you, but I had no idea where to start. I mean, neither of our ‘mothers’ were any help. I thought about hiring a private investigator, but I just couldn’t afford it, especially since the DNA test and the babysitters set me back by a lot.” Pharynx just sat there and stared at his recently found younger brother. His face had reverted to the stone-faced expression he had been wearing when he came into the booth. Gallus’s gaze shifted back and forth between the two men, his jaw completely slack. “Man,” Gallus exclaimed, “what are the odds of the two of you being brothers?” Pharynx turned to Gallus and motioned for Thorax to hand the handset over to him. When Gallus placed the earpiece over his ear, Pharynx said to him, “Not that I’m not glad to see you, kid, but what the [censored] are you doing here?! You swore you wouldn’t look back!” “I didn’t,” Gallus retorted defensively. “I even had my jacket destroyed and everything.” “Then, what are you doing back in Griffonstone?” “Legal Guardian over here offered to bring me to see you, and I agreed,” Gallus answered gesturing at Thorax. “Someone who slipped past the cops’ radar could have seen you,” Pharynx continued to reprimand. “You shouldn’t have come.” “I know, but,” Gallus sighed and continued, “I just had to see if you were okay. Besides, I also wanted to thank you.” “For what?” “Oh, you know, for convincing me that a life of crime isn’t going to get me what I wanted and making sure I didn’t end up where you’re at right now.” “And you’re going stay that way, or else, I’m going to [censored] kill ya.” Even though Pharynx was threatening him, Gallus couldn’t help but smile a little. “So, how are ya doing in there?” Gallus asked. “The food absolutely sucks, the sleeping arrangements are so tight that even a rat would hate it, and it’s as dull as [censored], but other than that I’m having the time of my life,” Pharynx dryly replied. “Yeah, speaking of rats, does anyone else know about, uh, you-know-what?” “Just the defense attorney,” Pharynx replied, confirming Gallus’s suspicions, “he’s trying to see if I can get less time than everyone else because of that.” “Oh, good,” Gallus replied with a relieved sigh. “I was worried that someone from the gang might have found out, and well, you know.” “Ahh, don’t worry about that,” Pharynx scoffed. “Besides, even if someone else did find out, I wouldn’t take back what I did for anything. I only wish I had done it sooner.” Pharynx looked from Gallus to Thorax and back again, his expression as unmoving as it had ever been. “Kid,” he said to Gallus, pointing to somewhere on Gallus and Thorax’s side of the glass, “if it’s not too much to ask, can you wait over by where that cop is standing? I need to have a talk with my, uh, brother, alone.” Gallus raised an eyebrow, shifting his gaze from Pharynx to Thorax and back before hesitantly answering, “Um, okay then. I’ll just go do that.” He got up, gave Thorax the handset, and made his way to the part of the waiting area that Pharynx was pointing at, leaving the two brothers to themselves. For a while, neither said anything but just sat there staring at each other and awkwardly fidgeting with the handsets. “So, uh, he seems like a good kid,” Thorax began. “Yeah, he is,” Pharynx replied just as awkwardly. “So, how did you guys meet? I mean, he told me how you met, but what made you decide to talk him out of a life of organized crime?” Pharynx shrugged and replied, “No idea.” Actually, Pharynx knew exactly why he did everything that led to Gallus ending up with Thorax and him ending up in jail. He could still remember the first time he saw Gallus the day Needy introduced him to their branch of The Swarm. Gallus had tried to hide his wide, trembling blue eyes under a tough, too cool attitude, but Pharynx could see and feel the fear and uncertainty radiating off the teen. He had seen other lost, lonely, and often angry kids initiated into the gang before, but something about Gallus and his eyes pierced through his hardened criminal shell. The night Gallus got initiated, Pharynx couldn’t sleep. Every time he shut his eyes, his brain was assaulted with images of Gallus’s sorrowful, terrified eyes and his beaten and bruised face which were soon joined by a different pair of eyes. The other pair of eyes was red violet in color, glistening with tears, and part of a younger kid’s face. The memory of a pair of arms encircling his waist and tears soaking through the front of his shirt soon followed. “I know you want me to forget about you, but I won’t,” the kid from his past had said to him. “Just try to live a good life and be happy, and I’ll do the same, okay?” Pharynx remembered getting up to splash water on his face and looking up at his reflection. The moment his eyes met his reflection’s, he realized something. He hated himself. More importantly, he hated what he was doing with his life. If that kid from his past could see him now, what would he think? Never in a million years did Pharynx think that he’d see that kid again, face-to-face and all grown up. “So, how did he end up staying with you?” Pharynx asked his brother. “Someone found him holing up at a gas station in Canterlot and called CPS,” Thorax explained. “All they told me about him was that he had run away from his old foster home and that they couldn’t put him back there because the guy who was fostering him had recently run into some health problems and his oldest foster sister was being evaluated as a guardian for the other foster kids. Maybe I should ask him if he’d like to visit them.” “Yeah, don’t,” Pharynx bluntly advised. “If he wants to see them again, it’ll probably be safer if they came to see you in Canterlot. Also, don’t bring him here again. That’s not a suggestion.” “Um, okay.” An awkward but less tense silence passed between the two brothers before Pharynx spoke up again. “So, you’re running a foster home now, huh?” Pharynx asked. “How’s that going for you?” Thorax sighed, “The job’s pretty tough, but somebody’s got to do it. Besides, it’s gotten so much better since I stopped working for—” He stopped and, to Pharynx’s surprise, growled under his breath, “—that woman .” “You have no idea what to call her now that you know she’s our birth mom, don’t you?” Pharynx snickered knowingly. “Ugh, tell me about it,” Thorax replied with a groan. “I mean, first, she was my horrible boss. Then, she became my horrible former boss who is also a criminal. Then, I find out that she gave birth to me and gave me half my DNA, but she’s just so awful that it’s impossible to even think of her as a mother, specifically MY mother, let alone call her one.” Pharynx chuckled dryly. “Huh, didn’t think you’d have it in ya to be angry at anyone, kid.” “Yeah, well, having to be the only person standing between that madwoman and a bunch of innocent kids kinda forced me to grow a spine,” Thorax explained before breaking out into a small smile, “kinda like how you used to be the only person standing between me and my bullies back when we were kids.” “You wouldn’t have needed me to protect you all the time if you had just grown that spine of yours sooner,” Pharynx gruffly retorted. “Hey, you know, maybe when you get out I could have you move in with me,” Thorax offered, wistfully. “I mean, I’d have to check to see if that’d be okay with the social worker first because of your record, but—” “Kid, you and I both know that it’s not going to be okay with the social worker,” Pharynx bluntly interrupted. “Look, just stop worrying about me, alright? I can take care of myself. Besides, you’ve already got plenty of other people depending on ya without adding me to the list.” Thorax scowled, totally offended by what his brother had just said. At the same time, Pharynx was right about him already having a lot on his plate. However, Thorax can’t just turn his back on his brother. That would be wrong. He was going to give Pharynx whatever support he could, and not even Pharynx himself was going to stop him. “Hey,” Thorax replied. “I know you don’t want me bringing Gallus over anymore, but what if I came and paid you a visit or two on my own?” Pharynx shrugged and humphed, “Do whatever you want. Just make sure you take care of the kid and keep him out of trouble, a’right?” Thorax smiled and nodded, “Don’t worry. I will. So, is there anything else you want to say to him before we take off?” “Yeah, bring him over here, and give us a little privacy, ‘kay?” Thorax hung up the handset and switched places with Gallus. Gallus sat down in the booth, took the handset off the hook, and put the earpiece up his ear. “What’s up, man?” he said to Pharynx. “Hey, I know you weren’t trying to do anything stupid by coming here, but this better be the last time I see you in here,” Pharynx admonished. “In fact, just stay out of the city until I get out of jail. I worked too hard and gave up too much for you to either end up dead or a criminal. Ya got that?” Gallus just nodded in understanding. “By the way,” Pharynx continued. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but my brother’s kind of a marshmallow peep. He’s not as bad as back when we were kids, but just look out for him for me, ‘kay?” “He’s my legal guardian right now, so technically he should be looking out for me,” Gallus sarcastically quipped, “but yeah, I can look out for him for ya.” “Good, good,” Pharynx approved. “Look, kid, whatever you do, just try to live a better life than the one I had, okay? You do not want to end up looking into a mirror one day and hating what you see. Trust me.” Gallus nodded again and said, “Look, man, thanks for everything. I’ll try and live a life we can both be proud of. You can be sure of that.” With that, they both hung up their handsets, and Gallus got up and walked away from the booth.