It took a while for me to fall asleep, but I forced myself to replay Christine's last bode of confidence, which helped soothe me. When I woke up, I was the last to awake. I opened my eyes and saw Bailey's piercing red eyes directly above me.

"Morning," I muttered, holding up a hand to block the sunlight. Bailey took it differently. She grabbed my hand and hoisted me to my feet. I stumbled slightly, getting used to my bearings, and smiled at her. "Appreciate it."

"You're wasting time," she said, nodding at me and walking away.

Rose took her place, tugging at my sleeping back. I stepped off it and she rolled it quickly. As she handed it to me, she winked. "It seems you have competition for your favorite Moemon."

I took the sleeping bag and twirled it in my hands. "I don't know whether to consider her staring as charming or creepy."

Rose leaned in. "Considering how often it occurs, and knowing what I know, I would suggest you consider it charming."

As she walked away, I blinked. "Wait, what do you know?"

The women had already dug into my backpack to find eggs and sausages. By the time I'd finished packing my things, breakfast had been prepared. We all sat around the dying fire chowing on our food.

I pointed a fork at Bailey, my mouth full. "By the way, I didn't look at anyone's status this morning."

Bailey stared at me until I had to look away. Only when I averted my gaze did she say, "Am I supposed to congratulate you about a single day?"

I shrugged at my food. "Just letting you know. Keeping my word, is all." I gave Rose a slight look, intending to silently tell her: Charming, huh? By her smile, she seemed to get it.

"Will we stop in the building before we leave?" asked Olivia. "The extra water couldn't hurt."

"I might go in alone," I said quietly.

"You sure you can handle seven drinks on your own?" asked Annie, winking.

"I…" I looked up at Christine, who had not reacted to this suggestion well. She looked like she was about to veto me. "I'm sorry, Christine. I don't think you noticed, but I saw that jackass leering at you, and that made me uncomfortable."

"You're right. I didn't notice." My reason seemed to pacify her. She sat back and poked at her food. "Still, it doesn't bother me." As I opened my mouth, she quickly said, "But if it bothers you, I understand."

"I'll take two trips before we leave," I said. I looked at Olivia. "How has your eye been treating you?"

Olivia touched her eyepatch subconsciously. "I haven't felt much pain. It's healed quick, especially after I evolved."

"Do you need more medicine before we go?" I asked. I'd made sure to buy some for her before we left Celadon.

She hesitated. "Would you like to check? I can't see myself."

I nodded, setting my food aside. She peeled up her eyepatch, revealing the red scar and empty socket. Rose studied it carefully, walking up to her to inspect it closely. She looked back at me. "It won't need cleaning for a while."

Olivia set the eyepatch back into place and smiled guiltily. "I'm sorry if it ruined your appetite."

At that, I picked up my plate and took a big bite of food. I shook my head as I swallowed. "No need to apologize. It looks fine. It doesn't detract from your beauty."

She kept the smile and nodded, but, somehow, I knew she didn't fully believe me. We finished our meal, doused the fire, and walked to the gas station. I peeked in and saw an old woman manning the register alone.

"Okay, we can all go in," I said, nodding at her.

"What if she gawks at us?" asked Christine, nudging me. "Would you feel the need to defend our honor?"

"I might have to," I said, nudging her back.

We all greeted the woman as she welcomed us to the store. We filled up cups, but as we went to leave, the woman waved at us.

"Is that all you want?" She asked. "We have a few sweets for a long road."

"I'm sorry, I'd love to splurge, but we have a long road ahead of us, and I want to be smart about the money I have," I said. "Essentials only. But thanks."

"Oh, are you heading to Fuchsia?" She asked. "Have you ever been?"

I hesitated, wondering how much I should give to her. She seemed harmless, but there was always that inkling suspicion in the back of my mind. What if she was a Hunter? "No, we haven't. I don't, uh, suppose there are bikes for rent?"

The woman shook her head with a heavy sigh. "Unfortunately, these businesses shut their doors due to the Celadon War." She wiped her eye. "A horrible… awful tragedy."

"Oh, yeah, we heard. It was awful. Thank you." I turned to leave, but I heard the woman again and felt obligated to stop.

"It was awful! My husband and I nearly lost our children! Both of them fought for the Mewtwo's Apostles, and they nearly lost their lives! Thank goodness for the brave Sisters protecting them. We owe them our lives."

I waved politely and left as the woman took a breath. Once we were out of sight, I shuddered slightly. The zeal in that woman's voice… I'd heard it before. I bet she was in that crowd that nearly suffocated me at the beginning of the war.

Rose touched my shoulder gently as we walked. "Are you okay?"

"I really don't like the admiration people have for the Sisters," I said, quietly, as if Sister Belle could eavesdrop. "I nearly died because a crowd of zealots tried to hug me to death."

"Not the worst way to go," said Annie.

"It was terrifying," I said, and she dropped her smirk. "Felt like I was going to get crushed, and no one would find out until they pulled off me. Could barely breathe toward the end, and it only lasted a minute."

"How did you get out, if you don't mind me asking?" asked Olivia.

"Combination of the Sisters using Psychic to push everyone off me – they all fell off in a giant heap and got up like nothing happened – and a couple men… brave men… grabbing me."

"So, you were helpless," said Bailey.

I glanced at her. "Yeah. Couldn't even save myself." I took a long sip. "Wasn't the first time and wasn't the last."

"You're safe now," said Rose. "There are no crowds."

"I'm not afraid of crowds, Rose, I can handle them fine so long as they aren't converging on me."

"Oh, I understand."

"I know," I patted her shoulder with a smile. She didn't understand - not really - but she tried. They all tried to understand me. That was enough.

We entered Route 17. It began on a hill and descended several feet rather steeply, and then the nature was quickly replaced with a metal bridge that extended the length of the hill, several hundred feet across. The bridge's decline wasn't nearly as steep, accounting for the multiple paths – two-lane roads, bike paths, walking paths, and tram paths built into the sides – on both sides of a metal median that spanned the length of the bridge.

As our footsteps echoed against the metal floor, we saw a sign posted on each side of the bridge. "ASK ATTENDANT FOR TRAM COST. TRAVELING ROUTE 17 WILL TAKE FOUR HOURS BY TRAM AND TWO DAYS BY FOOT." We looked around for an attendant and, naturally, found none. If the other Challengers had found one, they'd have been Fuchsia City long before now. The trams themselves - three green metal cylinders connected by a rail against each side of the bridge – rested at the top of the hill, unused. We gave it a longing look before starting our descent.

"Think of it like this," said Annie, pulling Rose and the closest – Olivia – over to her. "We get more time alone. It's the best!"

"Yes," said Olivia, giggling slightly. "It will be nice."

"It will," added Rose, nudging Annie slightly. "Although, I'm sure by the second day my feet will regret this journey."

"Yeah, I'd love to travel peacefully down this bridge," I said, watching a sedan drive past. We all – us Challengers – agreed never to hitchhike unless absolutely necessary to protect our identities. "But, this is nice too. No random bikers to disrupt our path."

At that comment, a few of my Moemon looked at me. "What bikers?" asked Christine.

"Oh, right, I've heard bike gangs used to ride this bridge in the past," I said, making up a story on the fly. "Just one of the books I read in the Cerulean Library."

Stacy stared at the sky in thought, and then she snapped her fingers. "Ah, yes, the Cycling Gang. That is an old tale, though. I'm surprised you know it."

"You know, I'm surprised, too," I said. "There's a lot of information in that library that just never sank in."

"Still, it was a worthwhile trip," said Stacy.

"One hundred percent," I said. "Absolutely. Without it, I would've been completely blindsided by the gangs and by all of Mayor Porter's knowledge. It was extremely helpful of you to direct us there."

"My mother told me about that library long ago. She wanted us to visit it one of these days. I believe she said father wanted to teach us about the world there." Stacy paused, clutching the top of her dress. "I'm glad we did."

Christine stopped, and Bailey bumped into her. "You didn't mention your father then. Oh, no, I would've paid more attention!"

"No, it's quite alright," Stacy said. Olivia and Rose shared similar guilty looks. "I really only meant for Arthur to learn about this world. I felt it important for our journey."

"And it was, absolutely," I repeated. I shook my head. "You were so casual about it, too."

"I knew you were eager to learn. It didn't take much prodding."

"Still, I wish…" Christine paused, sighing. "Darn it, Stacy, you know I don't learn well with books."

"Which is why I didn't bother you with that knowledge. As I said, it's fine. We learned what I felt we needed to, and we've moved on."

"Still never got justice for that journalist," I said.

"No, but they're long gone."

"Maybe your father knew them?"

Stacy hesitated, clutching her dress again. "I believe that's possible. I won't know."

I looked at her, saw the doubt in her eyes. "Well, I don't… think so." I knew I couldn't remove that doubt. I wished I hadn't put it in her head. "Look, Stacy-"

She looked down at me. "Please, don't trouble yourself. It's far too late."

"But, Stacy, I have to trouble-"

Stacy put up a palm. "Please," she said, firmly this time. "I understand your concern, but it won't bother me. In the future, when I see my uncle, I'll ask."

"We could always go back."

At that, she just smiled. "Maybe at a more convenient time."

"We can make time," said Annie. "It won't be too much trouble!"

"Yes, we could accommodate that," added Rose.

Christine and Olivia nodded. But, again, Stacy said, "No, everyone, I appreciate your concern, but it will be a problem for another time. I will not let us be distracted in Celadon City any longer. We're continuing forth. All of us."

It took a bit of coaxing for some, but eventually we were all on the same page. The likelihood of us returning was slim, so we'd likely just let that small mystery die like so many others we've come across. We probably wouldn't have been able to get a great answer. The answer didn't concern us. Really, it didn't matter at all. It was a bit of closure we probably would just never get.

We continued down the hill seeing little change in scenery. Occasionally a car would drive past, but for such a large road that clearly cost millions of dollars to construct, it was used far less often than expected. Soon after our journey, we noticed a cruise ship exiting the bay and heading toward us. We watched it as it slowly approached, and by midafternoon it was just underneath us.

"We could leave on it," said Annie, nudging me. "Fly down to it and take it to wherever it's going. Leave this whole thing behind." She glanced at Rose. "Stay together longer."

"Oh, Annie," Rose said quietly.

"Is that being too naïve?" asked Annie, looking at the others. Bailey gave her a curt nod. The others less open.

I looked at Christine pointedly, gauging her response. She didn't like the idea. "It's a great idea, little Annie."

Annie frowned at me. "But…"

"But…" I paused, looking down at the open deck of the ship. I could see dots scattering around like ants, many gathered around the giant pools in its center. "I don't think we should distract ourselves from why we're here."

"What happens if we win?" asked Annie. "If we all survive. If you become Champion. What will happen to you?"

"I don't know," I said. "No one does. It's never been done before."

"You weren't told?"

I paused, thinking back to the very beginning, to Mr. McDonald's introduction. "We were told we'd win money, fame, and satisfaction." I frowned. "Knowing what I know now, I bet those were all lies."

"What kind of fame?" asked Annie.

I winked at her. "Lucky for you I have an amazing memory for these sorts of things. We'd be known across the land as beating the Challenge."

"So, then, you'd have to stay. Otherwise, how else would people know?"

I nodded. "That's a good point, actually. We can't be photographed, so there won't be any proof. Just people's words, unless I'm there."

"Oh, have you not seen the Elite Four's colosseum?" asked Stacy.

We all looked at her. "Your worldly knowledge is amazing," said Olivia quietly.

"I suppose not." Stacy walked up to me, turned me around, and dug through my backpack.

"What are you looking for, specifically?" I asked over the sounds of her rummaging.

She responded by tapping my head with the palm of her hand. With the other, she pulled out a book. The book of the Celadon War she originally gave me. "It's a slim chance, but I would like to believe this might have some information. Otherwise, I'm afraid we'll have to wait on that mystery until we get to Fuchsia."

"I read through most of it," I reminded her. I pointed out the section she should skip to. "Start there."

We continued down the hill, making sure Stacy stayed off the road as she perused through her book. Not long later, she snapped it closed, and we all turned to her. She gave us a disappointed shake of her head as she put it back in my backpack.

"And that's the only book I still have," I said, snapping the backpack closed. "Quinton took all of the others." I looked down at the cruise ship. It had nearly disappeared under the bridge. "I hear some ships have libraries. Maybe we could hop down and snag something."

"You're advocating theft?" asked Rose sternly.

I blinked at her, and then I quickly shook my head. "No. Sorry. Just a joke. We aren't leaving this bridge, I promise."

"I could do it, and no one would know," said Bailey.

I saw her cold eyes and knew she wasn't bluffing. "It's fine, Bailey. I'm sure you can, but let's stay together."

She didn't take her eyes off me, so I walked up to her, patted her shoulder, and continued past.

Not too long later, Annie sped up to me and took my hand. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I'm… I think I might've fucked up."

"Of course you haven't," I responded just as quietly. "Why do you think that?"

"I shouldn't have said anything about leaving." She seemed to be holding back tears. "I'm… we've been talking about how this is half over. How much danger we're going toward. How this might be suicide. I just thought, with Rose and I finally together, why would we want this to end? If we win, and you leave, then all of this will be over. If any of us lose…"

My heart lurched. I put on a brave face. "We won't lose," I said firmly. "None of us wants to leave this, Annie. We can't know what happens in the future. We're just pushing forward, doing our best to prepare, and hoping for the best."

"I know, but it's going to end eventually, right? One way or another. I don't want it to end so soon."

"None of us does. But, if we don't continue down this path, what's our goal?"

"To live, right? Together?"

"It's a nice dream," I said. "But, I'm still a Challenger. It just takes one mistake, one person trying to find me, and it's all over. We might live in peace for a while, but eventually it'll come back to me. And then we're all living in fear for the rest of our time together." I clutched her hand tighter. "It's awful, little Annie, I know. Our time together is limited. I want to make it last, too, but we have to get strong and hope we can end this peacefully.

I felt her pull her hand, and I immediately let go. She slowed down, but I continued forward, rubbing my forehead. I heard whispers behind me, and when I turned around, she and Rose were clutching each other tight and whispering in each other's hair. I expected the latter to chastise me for not consoling Annie well enough, but surprisingly Rose gave me an understanding smile.

Olivia soon strode forward and took her place at my side. I looked up at her, at her eyepatch, wondering if she could see me. She glanced at me and started slightly, seeing me stare. I got my answer.

"What's your opinion on leaving?" I asked, trying to move past the awkwardness.

"Annie had her heart in the right place."

"No doubt we all sympathize."

Olivia nodded. "But I'm glad you were the one to tell her," she said, more solemnly than I expected. "She speaks so optimistically. We love that about her. But she still dreams."

"We need her smiles," I said. "Need that optimism."

"I completely agree. I encourage it to a point."

"Which I appreciate. I don't want to spend this time dreading the future. We need to believe we're going to win. But we can't count out the idea that we don't."

She nodded. "A delicate balance." She gave me a long look. "You're holding that façade well."

"Am I?" I gave her a sad smile. "I felt like I was going to break with every word."

"It's good that you didn't. We all keep the same straight face. For some, it's inherent. For you, outsider-" she said that last word with a smile. "-it's far harder to keep."

"Well, I didn't have much of a hard life before I came here," I said. "I certainly didn't have to think about taking care of other people."

"You've adapted well to that, I've noticed. You think more for us than you think for yourself. You don't consider your danger."

"I've been threatened, punched, shot at. What other danger is there?"

She shook her head. "Even before we arrived at Celadon, you held that attitude. It's why you adopted me. And, as you said, you left the other Challengers in Vermillion City because you were worried that they would have challenged you to a battle, or that they would've attacked me when I was defenseless. Despite they being your friends."

"Most of them aren't friends," I said. "My friends never threatened you." I hoped. I never did find out who was part of those conversations about Olivia.

"But you've abandoned everyone to keep us safe. You've done it multiple times. Even now, we've noticed in your backpack, you've brought plenty of food and medicine for us, but little for yourself. We've said we don't need to eat much. What you have could feed us for several weeks. Yet you insist on making sure we're fed as well."

She patted my shoulder and gave me a bright smile. "We can stay optimistic because we know you genuinely love us, and that you'll take care of us the best you can. Even if we can defend ourselves, we know you'll watch us and keep us safe."

I pulled her in for a silent hug. My façade nearly broke. I nearly cried. I felt the tears coming, but I kept my face hidden in her white hair.

I was so sorely tempted to take all of my Moemon and escape that region before it killed them all. It would've been the perfect ending to our story. Just to live free, together, as a family. But this world was cruel and determined to break us. It wouldn't let us escape. We all knew that, deep down. Our journey would end in this region. One way or another.

Although I pulled away, Olivia quickly pulled me back and brushed my eyes with her finger. She smiled down at me and whispered, "For your façade." Then she let me go.

I nodded at her and marched forward. Below us, the cruise ship passed on the other side, heading toward the ocean. It cut through the water with purpose, as we trekked down the bridge.


We camped out in the middle of the bridge, near one of the water pumps that scattered along it. I tested it, hoping it didn't just draw water up from the ocean. It was fresh. A bit stale, no doubt from lack of use, but it helped us keep our supply.

There were some small scattered embers of long-dead fires nearby, so we scavenged enough charcoal to create a fire large enough to cook another meal. As we ate, we sat facing the ocean and staring at the starry sky.

"When we reach Fuchsia," I said, and all eyes turned to me. "I think we should train. I… I just have an awful feeling about arriving at Saffron too soon. We're going to fall behind, I fear, but I…" I paused, looking down at a watch I hadn't checked in days. "I think when we all start reaching Saffron, when those Hunters know who we all are, something bad is going to happen."

"How strong do we have to be?" asked Christine. "You said mid-fifties."

"I'd love to just grind until level 100," I said, chuckling slightly. "There wouldn't happen to be a Rare Candy farm around, would there?"

That drew confused looks. "What is a Rare Candy?" asked Rose.

"Ah, right." Something that would make this journey easier. Couldn't have that exist in this world. "Something from my world. Makes us stronger."

"Oh, that'd be amazing!" said Christine excitedly. "What's the equivalent? Maybe we know about it?"

"Well, I've given you all Proteins and Carbos and all of those vitamins," I said. "They're kind of like that."

Annie stuck out her tongue in disgust. "Those taste awful. That Iron tasted like chalk."

"You've tasted chalk?" asked Olivia, giggling.

"Yes, and it tasted awful." She winked at her. "Like Iron."

"Do they taste awful in your world?" asked Christine, leaning over to me.

"Taste kind of sweet, actually," I said, staring up at the sky, avoiding everyone's eyes.

"Oh, maybe if we come back to your world-" Christine began, and then she immediately stopped. "Oh, you know, I've thought about it for so long, actually saying it feels kind of freeing." At that, she fully leaned onto my shoulder and sighed. "What a life it would be."

I let her rest there. No one else commented. No one took her back to this reality. We watched the sky for a while in silence, enjoying this moment of peace.


Arthur:

Christine the Charizard

Stacy the Staraptor

Rose the Roselia

Olivia the Samurott

Annie the Lairon

Bailey the Banette