This was another stressful chapter to write, but I kept telling myself two things. One, I'm in the home stretch. Two, I have more free time than I think. And we really are close to the end - I only plan to write five more chapters for Escape from Thunderhead.

Thank you all for making it this far. I hope the climax of this tale is to all of your liking.

Current music: Mirror Man - The Human League

LUCAS' POV

After a few more days, I may have recovered physically from my ordeal in the ocean, but there was something else I wouldn't recover from anytime soon. This sort of wound didn't heal easily.

Honestly, it shouldn't have felt like a wound at all. The fact was, I'd always thought something was off about Sionne, and lo and behold, I was right. The Pyroar had been hiding the truth from me. From all of us.

Every time I walked over to the ship's deck, I shivered. I couldn't stop feeling as though I were being smothered, even if I knew I was safe now. When something like that happens to you, it's not easy to get over it.

A day or two after my near-death experience, Janelle had come over to me while I was looking out at the sea. The storm had long since blown itself out, and the sun had forced its way through the clouds. But the improved weather didn't always mean an improved mood on my part.

"How are you holding up, Lucas?" a familiar voice asked me. That's how I knew it was Janelle; I turned to her voice instinctively after all this time.

"I'm doing okay," I replied, albeit with a slight shiver. "It's just…hard to accept it all."

"I know," Janelle told me. "It must be absolutely horrible, almost losing your life like that; I'm so sorry."

I shook my head vigorously. "It's nothing like that! I was thinking about Sionne, actually."

Janelle raised one of her Litleo eyebrows. "What about her?"

"You know exactly what I'm thinking about. I mean, we shouldn't judge her for her father's actions. But at the same time, I don't think I can look at her the same way again."

"Understandable," she responded. "I guess we'll both have to deal with it in our own way. At least we have each other to lean on."

"Oh?" I asked, feeling warmth flood into my cheeks.

Janelle gave a quick laugh. "Come on, Lucas. I know how you're feeling; I can read minds, you know."

I snorted. "You can read minds? Then why isn't that the biggest news story of the last decade?"

"I don't mean that way, Lucas. It just seems like you don't understand. You can't understand the social cues you're giving off. But I can."

Grimacing, I took a step back. "What are you talking about?"

"It's pretty surprising that we've already gotten here after just two months of knowing each other," Janelle said sweetly. She had a similar air to someone who's about to get down on their knees and reveal the ring.

When I didn't respond, she continued. "Don't play dumb with me, Lucas. If our friendship can survive the revelations about Sionne, maybe it's something more than that."

"Let's be glad Sionne isn't here, then" I said with a slight chuckle. "Although I guess that means her seasickness is coming back."

"Indeed it probably is. But that's to be expected as we get further north; haven't you felt the air grow colder lately?"

Come to think of it, it did seem almost as though every couple hours, the temperature dropped a degree. It was almost imperceptible at first, but despite the sun, I was shivering. I guess it wasn't just from the PTSD.

"The land beyond Arceus" I muttered. "Isn't that what Leopold said about this region?"

Janelle shrugged. "Whatever happens, let me tell you this, Lucas Teller."

"What's that?"

She gave me a sweet smile before saying the following: "I'm very honored to have spent so much time with you lately. No matter how things turn out, I'll forever be grateful."

"G-grateful?"

"Of course, you silly Zangoose. For better or worse, you were my ticket out of life in Forrest County, and I'm not going to forget it. Man, I hate that place."

"I hated it too. But we're where we belong now; I'm convinced of that."

Janelle put a paw on my shoulder and smiled. "It feels awesome to be involved in something greater than ourselves, doesn't it?"

"Indeed it does."

I put my paw in hers, and we looked out at the horizon together. One thing was clear: Whatever we ended up doing in the near future, even if it involved dying, we'd do it together.

Ferguson: That conversation on the yacht, "a day or two" after your near-drowning…how important was it in hindsight?

(The defendant did not respond.)

Ferguson: Well? Mr. Teller? Lucas?

(The defendant did not respond.)

Ferguson: Don't be cute with me. Don't be funny with me. Please answer me, dammit!

Defendant: It was very important, Darren. Even at the time, I knew that with absolute certainty.

Ferguson: Was there any foreshadowing there, perhaps?

Defendant: I don't see how that is pertinent to the issue at hand, Darren.

Ferguson: Fine. I'll word it differently: According to your written remarks, something important happened the next day. Would you care to let them know what it was?

Defendant: Why should I? It's public information, and I don't want to relive it.

Ferguson: This isn't about what we want to do, Mr. Teller. I would rather not be here right now; grand jury trials are always hard on everyone involved.

Defendant: You could have fooled me.

Ferguson: I promise you, Lucas. We're almost there, and then you can go back home. Just a bit more…

The following day, something felt a little "off" as we continued sailing northward. It was very subtle in the beginning, the way a fever first comes on; your throat tickles and you feel a bit sluggish, while rationalizing that it could be anything.

When I ventured into the engine room (one of the few areas of the yacht I had yet to explore), I heard an audible creaking.

That's just me, I told myself. Engines are supposed to do that. It's not something to worry about too much.

But the sound continued, and that's when panic rose in my throat. I did not want to imagine what might happen if the engine stalled out entirely. Scratch that - what would happen.

It just so happened that Otto entered the engine room right after me. The Oshawott stood stock-still, cupping a paw over his ear as though trying to hear something faint.

"What's that sound?" Otto wondered aloud.

"Don't ask me," I said. "Ask the universe, I guess."

The Oshawott shook his head. "We ask Arceus here, Lucas, not the universe. More importantly, there's something here that you're not imagining. A noise."

"You mean the engine creaking?" I asked, dreading the answer.

Otto nodded sheepishly. "I'm afraid that is exactly what I mean. Nothing lasts forever, of course, not even the best machines. But now would be a pretty awful time for this ship to wreck."

"You're telling me."

Despite the sarcasm I managed to display, I really was worried. I shook at the suggestion of the ship running aground somewhere, or else sinking in the middle of the ocean. To have everyone else go through something like that…I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, much less the people I had come to consider friends.

"So what do we do?" I asked, hating the silence that rose between us.

"There's only one thing we can do, really," Otto responded. "We'll need to make some repairs on the engine."

A seed of hope sprouted within me. "You think you know how to do that?"

"I don't know," the Oshawott replied. "But I'll find a way. I know I can."

Well, that's comforting, I thought to myself. Whether that was sarcasm or not, even I couldn't tell you. All I knew is that before long, Leopold made a rare appearance.

The old Pyroar entered the engine room with his head held high, as though he'd just won a sporting event. He sized up Otto and myself, then glanced at the engine.

"Engine trouble, huh?" he asked.

My eyebrows, if I even had any, leaped considerably upward. "What makes you say that?"

"It's quite simple, really," Leopold responded. "I can hear more than you think when I'm up there. Even my elderly ears aren't useless."

"Fair enough," I replied. "But as Otto says, it's quite clear that this ship needs repairs. Can you…do you know any way to help with that?"

"I'll admit that I'm not the best mechanic," Leopold said. "But if Otto says he can do something about it, I have the utmost confidence in him."

That's a lot of confidence to give someone you just met, isn't it?

Regardless, I knew that I had to trust the Oshawott. We had no other choice; sometimes, you just have to let faith guide the way, even if you're not religious.

"We'll stop at one of the nearest islands" the Village Elder pronounced. "And that's where we'll do the repairs. Lucas, do you know anything about this machinery?"

I shook my head. "I'm afraid not, sir."

Otto frowned. "I don't understand. This ship was from the Fulan Government, you said? So why isn't it working?"

"Even the best machines fail sometimes," Leopold replied. "Anyway, we're almost at one of the archipelago's smaller islands. Lucas, perhaps you and Janelle can go for a walk while we work on it."

I frowned. "Are you calling me useless?"

"I never said you were useless," the old Pyroar said. "You're good with a lot of other things. I just think it's better for you to take a step back for a bit. Get a taste of dry land, as it were."

There was no arguing with the Village Elder, so five minutes later, I was back on the deck, looking out at the cloudy sky. Ever since we'd woken up that morning, the sun had been completely drowned out by the clouds; it had lost its battle, but hopefully not the war.

"So Leopold said we should go for a walk together?" Janelle asked me as we looked out at the nearest island.

I nodded. "That was his suggestion, yes."

"I don't get it," she replied. "I mean, I'm glad that we can spend time with each other, but at the same time…man, it hurts to be dismissed like that."

At that moment, I realized that I hadn't fully understood the implications of Leopold's request. He thought Janelle and I were…together.

I mean, that's pretty clear to everyone around us by now, isn't it?

"Whatever."

Janelle frowned. "What do you mean, whatever?"

"Ah, never mind" I responded, realizing my faux pas. "Let's just get onto the beach, and then we can talk more."

We anchored at the island, where Otto promised that it would only take an hour or two to repair the engine. But that was fine with me - a couple hours alone with Janelle was all I really needed.

A couple hours alone…am I…falling for her?

The small isle consisted of a narrow black sand beach - volcanic sand, from what I remembered about geology. The beach stretched for a few hundred yards in one direction, a considerably longer distance in the other.

The interior of the island was a dark gray spire several hundred feet high. It looked almost like a miniature volcano, a rather ominous sight to be sure. But there was also a starkly beautiful element to it.

"Here we are," Janelle said once we'd disembarked and waded to shore. "Isle Royale, is it?"

I chuckled. "I don't feel very royal right now, but thanks."

"You will eventually" she replied. "In fact, I'm sure of it. Once you save Zeraora and bring it back to this world, you'll be revered beyond your wildest dreams. You could have a city named after you if you want."

"Yeah, no thanks" I muttered.

"I don't think you understand," Janelle said. "I mean, back in our world, back on Earth, whoever solves climate change will be a trillionaire."

"We know the solution," I said grimly. "It's just that nobody's doing anything about it, for a number of reasons."

"You know what I mean. The people of this world…they're going to shower you with praise, endlessly."

I couldn't help but laugh dryly. "First of all, Janelle, it's not just me on this quest. It's all of us. And if we're the group that saves the world, so be it, but I don't know if I want endless recognition for that. Fame can ruin a person."

"It doesn't matter if you want fame or not," she said. "It'll find you anyway. And you can do whatever you want with that platform."

As I stared out to sea, towards the horizon, I couldn't help but appreciate the irony. Based on how rugged and remote this area was, I found it hard to imagine Sinnoh's Eastern Archipelago being a popular tourist destination. For doing something in such an unknown location, we'd be lauded to no end and become celebrities.

A cold wind blew through my fur, sea spray in my face. We were close to the water's edge now. If I moved just a little to my left, I might get swallowed up by a wave. This was clearly a place you needed a healthy respect for.

It was dangerous, just like fame. It could be the best element of your life, or it could be the worst thing to ever happen to you. It was all in how you reacted to it.

"You seem awfully silent, Lucas," Janelle told me. "Is there something wrong?"

"Not really" I replied, though this was far from the truth. "It's just…we're almost there, Janelle. Have you ever thought about how we got here?"

She narrowed her eyes and frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I feel like we were put in this world for some reason. I mean, it's not like I believe in destiny or whatever, but there has to be some purpose."

"Why?" Janelle replied. "Could it simply be that you need to see a pattern? Or that you just wound up here by chance? I mean, if God - I mean, Arceus - has a plan, why did we end up on Nexus after crashing into a ditch in Forrest County?"

"I don't know," I admitted. I hoped I'd find answers soon, though there would most likely only be more questions as a result.

"Exactly" she said, refusing to elaborate any further.

Peering into the fog, I took a few steps forward. We were almost at the end of the beach; if we wished to venture any further, we would need to climb a cliff, something I had no desire to do.

"We'll figure it out," I promised Janelle. "And I'll treat you like a princess when we get back."

At the sound of those words (coming out of my own mouth, mind you!), my stomach dropped like a freight elevator whose chains had been cut. I could scarcely believe that I'd said that.

Fortunately, Janelle took it well. She smiled and said, "You had better."

"Oh, I will," I replied. "We might have gotten on one another's nerves a lot the last few months, but I'm not going to let you go again."

Ferguson: Did Janelle interpret that statement as a marriage proposal?

Defendant: No? I mean, I don't think so. I can't speak for anyone else, but I certainly didn't intend for it to sound that way.

Ferguson: Fair enough. Your promise to "never let Janelle go"...how did it work out in the end?

Defendant: Look. What happened in the end doesn't matter. I regret what happened that day, but I don't believe I did anything wrong.

Ferguson: The grand jury wants to indict you. Much like your promise to Janelle Wilson, we're not going to let this case go just like that. We've got too much at stake.

Defendant: Well, thanks for being brutally honest, I guess.

Ferguson: You're welcome.

We were on our way back to the boat when it happened.

I didn't actually see the event as it was unfolding; rather, I heard about it instantly when there was a shrill yelp.

I swiveled around in its direction, my heart stopping. It might have just been me, but I thought I'd heard a zapping noise as well.

"Janelle! What's wrong?" I yelled.

The other Litleo was limping along, dragging her back left ankle along the ground. When I got a glimpse of it, I nearly threw up.

The thing had swollen to nearly twice its usual size, and was now bright red. I could barely breathe as I looked at it, and I don't think of myself as particularly squeamish.

"Something stung me," Janelle said weakly. "And it hurts."

I thought, but didn't say the following: Of course it hurts. That's what stings are supposed to do.

Instead, being the supportive maybe-boyfriend that I was, I took her paw in mine and led her down to the sea. (We were still a considerable distance from the Windwhistler, so they probably couldn't see us. We certainly couldn't swim there, especially not Janelle.)

"Maybe the cold water will make you feel better" I said hopefully.

But it didn't. As soon as Janelle's bad ankle was dipped in the ocean, she collapsed into the black sand, screaming in agony.

"Or maybe not" I continued awkwardly.

"Please do something!" she shrieked. "This hurts!"

"I'll try to create a fire signal," I replied. "That'll help them notice us."

What you must understand is that the fog had only grown thicker since we'd alighted here. I had my doubts about my ability to use any Fire-type moves, but if it might help Janelle, I would at least try.

I led her further up the beach so that her ankle no longer touched the salt, and then I tried to focus on creating an Ember. I vaguely remembered a survival show in which a signal fire had been built - weren't you supposed to build up, not out?

Oh well. Any fire was better than nothing, but the dampness of the air quenched the flames within milliseconds. I gritted my teeth with frustration; shouldn't it be easier than this?

What only added to the frustration was the evident pain Janelle was in. Really, "pain" is far too weak a word - she must have positively been in agony, and I felt helpless to do anything about it.

"HELP!" I yelled with all of my might. Nothing else mattered; lung capacity was a renewable resource for me, though it might not be for Janelle.

Still, for the longest time, nothing happened. I grabbed the other Litleo by the paw and began pulling her down the shoreline until…

"What happened, Lucas?" Sionne all but screamed. "You didn't get Janelle hurt, did you?"

"No…" I said tearfully. As if the situation itself wasn't terrible enough, now Sionne thought it was my fault. At least, that's how I heard it.

Unfortunately, given that Janelle appeared to have slipped into unconsciousness, she wouldn't be able to rebut Sionne's suspicions. Now I stood there, looking right between the eyes of an angry Pyroar.

"WHAT HAPPENED, THEN?" Sionne bellowed, nearly knocking me off my feet.

"Something stung her" I said, echoing Janelle's words. "Must have been a wild Pokemon or something. Just look at her ankle."

As soon as Sionne saw Janelle's back left paw, she gasped. "We've got to get her onto the ship, right away!"

Otto might have been skilled at repairing machines, but repairing Pokemon probably wasn't in his wheelhouse. Still, if I could have gone to anyone on the ship to ask for help, he might be the best bet.

The ladder was lowered, and I insisted on helping Janelle up. This was probably unwise, since Sionne was bigger and stronger than me, but it felt good to be doing something.

"You might drop her," Sionne cautioned me.

I rolled my eyes, gripping Janelle's ankle harder. "Please, Sionne. It's not the time."

We hit the deck after much effort, and Janelle and I collapsed to the floor. I heard, rather than saw, the other Litleo stir, then open her eyes.

"So much…pain" Janelle murmured, her consciousness clearly hanging by a thread.

"We'll fix you up, Janelle, I promise. You're going to be okay."

But there were tears in my eyes. I didn't necessarily think I would lose Janelle, but just the thought of her in that much anguish was more than I could bear. I hoped that promise was one I could keep.

Leopold came lumbering over to us. "What happened?"

"Janelle got stung by a wild Pokemon" Sionne relayed to our captain. "She doesn't look good…".

"Please, Sionne, we could use a little more optimism on this ship" Leopold chastised her. However, I could see in his eyes that he lacked confidence. Perhaps he was just as horrified as I was.

"Do you think Otto could help her or something?" I asked the Village Elder. "There has to be a way, right?"

"I mean, yes, that is possible," Leopold responded. "But I don't know if Otto's skills extend to the medical field. He'll certainly do his best once he's done with the repairs, though it may be too late by then."

"The repairs can wait," Sionne snapped. "Right now, Janelle could be-".

"Enough of that" Leopold told her flatly. "Let's bring her inside, she may still be conscious."

We headed inside the cabin, where Kai sat on his bed, his legs swinging back and forth. He'd been staring off into space earlier, but he was rapt to attention as soon as Sionne and Leopold entered, each carrying two of Janelle's limbs.

"Oh no" the Raichu mouthed once he saw us. "That is not good."

"We know, dammit!" I exclaimed. "We need to treat her sting; do you have any idea what it was from?"

Kai looked at me like a Deerling caught in the headlights. "How should I know? I wasn't there!"

"Well, Otto might have a better idea. Where is he?" I bellowed. "If he doesn't find a way to treat her…".

"He's doing the repairs, Lucas! Chill!"

"I know" I responded, venom in my voice. "Please explain to me why the repairs are more important than saving Janelle's life."

"I'll call him up right now" Kai responded, his eyes dropping. "He'll…he'll know what to do!"

The Raichu went hurrying off to the engine room as fast as his stubby little legs would carry him. The rest of us waited with bated breath for his return, hopefully with a certain Oshawott in tow. Janelle had slipped back under by this point, and it almost looked like she wasn't breathing.

Oh my Arceus, could we be too late? Is this sting poisonous at all, or just very painful? I Hate. Not. Knowing!

After what felt like a much longer time than it probably was, Kai and Otto returned to the bedchambers. The latter glared at us, evidently annoyed to have been pushed away from his work. Of course, that annoyance was likely briskly forgotten when he saw the situation.

"You think I can help with that?" Otto asked nobody in particular.

Sionne narrowed her eyes at him. "You're our best chance to heal her, Otto. At least, that's what we figured."

I felt my hopes plummet. Judging by the way the Oshawott had phrased that question, it wasn't looking good.

"Well, I don't have too much medical knowledge," Otto admitted. "Pokemon aren't quite like machines; they are far more delicate. But there are some things we can do; Leopold, do you have a first aid kit?"

"I'll get it," the Village Elder responded. "These old bones might be creaky, but they'll do their job just fine. I'll be right back."

Kai and I both glanced at Otto desperately. "So what are you going to do with the wound?"

"Well", the Oshawott replied, "disinfectant and bandages are all well and good. That's about all I can think of; without knowing what stung her, I don't know how effectively I'll be able to treat her."

"Thanks for trying," I told him. "I don't think I could stand to…you know."

I didn't need to finish that sentence, nor did I care if I sounded excessively sentimental. Quite frankly, I'd come to see Janelle as more than someone I bickered with frequently. We were allies, friends, maybe even more than that.

"It's no problem," Otto said. "I'll do what I can."

When Leopold returned with the first aid kit (which seemed depressingly small for such a big ship), Otto set to work right away. For someone with "not too much" medical knowledge, he was pretty calm under pressure. He rubbed copious amounts of bleach on Janelle's ankle, though he grunted as he did so.

"What's wrong?" I blurted out. "Is something wrong?"

The Oshawott nodded. "I can't see where the wound is, her ankle is so swollen. And I still can't figure out what stung her, though it must have been something massive, if the acuity of the swelling is anything to go by."

I gulped. "But you can fix her, right?"

"I'll do my best," Otto said. "But I don't make any promises I can't keep."

The rest of us (Leopold, Sionne, Kai, and myself) sat on the same bed. In the heat of the moment, I couldn't remember whose bed it was. We just watched as Otto rubbed some alcohol on Janelle's ankle, then applied a few bandages.

"Even with my best efforts, there's still a very good chance she gets an infection," Otto told us sheepishly. "And I don't want that to happen any more than you do, Lucas. I'm just letting this be known ahead of time."

"Okay" I replied, not voicing any opposition to Otto putting me on the spot. Quite frankly, it wasn't that important. Only one thing mattered.

"What happens if she gets an infection?" Kai asked his friend.

"If that happens, well, I hope this kit has antibiotics in it" the Oshawott responded. "Because we're pretty far from a hospital or pharmacy. This ship doesn't have one, does it?"

Leopold scoffed at Otto. "You were just in the engine room for quite some time. What do you think?"

"Fair enough. By the way, the repairs are basically complete. We can set sail from this island as soon as you're ready. The sooner we complete the quest, the sooner we can get Janelle to a hospital."

"Good point," Sionne said.

"So are we going to have her take part in the battle?" Kai asked. "I mean, I probably sound like an idiot for asking this, but-".

"You are, Kai. You are" Otto snapped. "If her ankle doesn't dramatically improve, there's no way she'll be up to it. I'm sorry to say that."

"Well, as long as she survives," I told the Oshawott. "You've done your best, and I can't ask for any more."

"Like I said, I can't make any guarantees" Otto told me. "If she wakes up later and eats, that'll be a good sign. She'll need to keep her strength up to fight off whatever germs are getting into that ankle. You might think this ship is a sterile environment, but it's not."

"You said you weren't a doctor, but I'm not so sure" I said, trying to inject some levity (even if it wasn't necessarily appropriate.) "Maybe you were one in a different life."

"Well, that life isn't this one. Anyway, I just want to make sure the engine's ready to go. And once I give the all-clear, let's leave this place in the dust."

Once Otto had left to check on the engine, Leopold had returned to the control room, and Kai and Sionne went off to play pool, I was left alone in the chambers to watch over Janelle.

The poor girl tossed and turned every few minutes. Occasionally she would open her eyes, but she didn't seem to stay awake for long. For all I knew, she couldn't even see me, even though I was right next to her.

Even more ominous? When I touched her forehead, it felt somewhat warm. Now, it's not like I feel others' foreheads regularly for fun, nor was I a medical expert, but could this be a sign that Janelle was burning up with fever?