Son of Arceus

Prologue

__"Ben!" called a loud, obnoxious voice. "Hey, Ben! Where you at, kuya?"
__The boy called Ben was sitting at the end of the dock over a dirty pond. He had hoped to get some quiet, alone time away from everyone in his family. His parents especially. His mother was once again an unbearable monster when she was pregnant, and their poor dad was all the more stressed because of that. Though, if he was being honest, his parents were already unbearable to him and his younger brother whether they were expecting or not. Since they still followed the influence of the older generations, they were always so cold and judgmental with every little thing their kids were. His mother especially always called Ben a problem child, and that just made him want to cause more trouble. For his little brother, Jin, he was sometimes mocked for liking other boys. Ben didn't even blame him. Jin had tried interacting with girls before to please their father, but every girl he had talked were either super mean, or down right toxic. He was then always too scared to try and be intimate with other girls. Fifteen years of constant belittling for Ben, and thirteen years of homophobic insults for Jin. That's what it felt like to them anyway. Either way, Ben felt sorry for their upcoming little sister. After hearing experiences from his other filipino girl friends, he knew she would probably have worst, especially from their mother.
__"Found ya!" Jin exclaimed as he ran across the dock. Before Ben could even turn around, Jin grabbed onto his shoulders and tried pulling him up. "Come on, kuya! Get up and let's go already!"
__Ben was grunting as he tried to pull away while he stood up. "Ay naku! What's the big deal?" He managed to rip himself out of his brother's grip and watched him stumble backwards.
__Jin was able to keep his balance before pointing behind him. "Mom's at the hospital! Dad already left! We have to go!"
__"Are you serious!?" Ben ran past Jin immediately. "Come on then!"
__Jin stumbled again and was having a difficult time trying to catch up to Ben. "Hey, wait up!"
__Unfortunately, when the reached the hospital, the two brothers were forced to stay put in the waiting room. Ben had thrown a fit and tried to explain that their mother was in labor and even told them their parents names, but his outburst led them to almost being kicked out if they didn't settle down and wait. This left Ben feeling unsettled the entire wait. Yes, their parents were so overbearing and had horrible qualities, but he loved his family all the same. He couldn't help but worry. At least when Jin was born, he and his dad were already in the room with his mom while she was in labor.
__"Calm down, Ben," Jin had whispered. "Mom's going to be fine."
__Ben had his arms crossed while he bounced his right leg up and down in excitement. "Jin, it's been thirteen years since she last gave birth."
__"So? Our next door neighbor has been giving birth for almost twenty-three years straight," Jin pointed out. 
__"I don't like this..." Ben muttered anxiously. "At least mom and dad planned on having us. This next one was an accident. This already spells trouble."
__Jin was frowning for a bit. He then sighed as he put on a little grin and wrapped his arm around his older brother's shoulder and pulled him in close. "And you would know, huh? Seriously, relax. Our family's always been tough. We just gotta be patient."
__Ben let out a shaky sigh and tried to follow his little brother's advice. Worrying wasn't going to do him any good. They were just going to have to wait until someone gave them any kind of news.

__It took a few hours before their father walked into the waiting room. "Ben. Jin. Come meet your sister."
__His voice startled the two brothers awake. Ben immediately stood up and ran over to his father. "How's she and mom?"
__"Mom's just fine as always," his father replied in exhaustion. "It's your sister we're worried about. Come on."
__Ben had a sinking feeling in his stomach as he and Jin followed their father into a room. There was a doctor plus two nurses that surrounded a baby in a radiant warmer. The doctor immediately walked over to their father and began explaining the situation. "She's definitely a healthy baby girl, but she hasn't uttered a single sound, or given us any kind of reaction. We're worried she could be deaf or worse."
__Upon hearing this, Ben slowly walked over to the radiant warmer. He tried to get a good look, but the two nurses were too occupied with doing some reaction testing that they didn't notice him. Ben just decided to let them do their thing.
__After a few minutes, their mother ended up falling asleep in bed. After the doctor and nurses left, their father walked over to Ben. He almost looked worried. "Watch your mother and sister for a bit. I need to make a phone call."
__This caught Ben off guard. "Is this really the time to be worrying about work? Hey!" 
__But his father already left the room.
__Ben made an audible groan as he tried to keep himself from punching the wall. He then straightened up. This was his chance to see his sister up close. He walked back over to the radiant warmer and looked in. His baby sister was sleeping silently. All he could hear was her breathing. She made no squeaks, nor hums. This was really concerning. He remembered Jin being such a blabbering baby when he was born. 
__Jin carefully walked over and stood next to Ben. He looked down at their sister worriedly. "I've never even heard of such a non-responsive baby. She's not going to... is she?"
__Ben couldn't even think of an answer. Without even thinking, he moved his left hand and carefully caressed his sister's soft head. He wasn't sure why he did. The nurses couldn't get her to move when they touched her. What would touching her now even accomplish?
__But just as he was about pull his fingers away, a miracle happened. The little baby made a tiny squeak as she opened her eyes. She tilted her head towards Ben. It was almost as if she could see him. This really excited Ben, but not as much as Jin.
__"H-hey! She's looking at you!" He whispered happily. Jin then brought up his finger and rubbed it on her little tummy. This made the little baby cough before she started making rough sounding giggles. It looked like she was smiling at them.
__Ben reached in to pick her up before turning to Jin. "Quick, go tell Dad! Hurry!"
__"I'm on it!" Jin turned and started running. He ended up slipping on the floor and slammed into the wall. He didn't let that stop him as he ran out the door.
__"Nak? What are you doing?" His mother called out. "You're too loud."
__Ben couldn't even bring himself to get annoyed with his mother's tone. He carefully walked over to his mother and handed her his sister. "Mama! She made a noise! I got her to look at me and Jin made her laugh!"
__"Hah!?" His mother sat up instantly and grabbed her daughter. She started crying immediately, so their mother had to hold her against her skin while lightly shaking her. She began to simmer down immediately. "Nak, go get a blanket."
__Ben ran over to the chair with a bag and started digging for a spare blanket. That's when Jin ran back in with their father and doctor. Everyone began gushing over how this had to be a miracle. The Doctor said they would have to run some more tests before they could let them all go home, but Ben could tell that everything was going to be fine. He tried to figure out why his little sister was being so unresponsive up until he and his brother made contact with her, but all he could think was that she was waiting for them. He wasn't sure how true that was, but he did know that he already loved her so much.