Chapter 2
Karma Police
Barry
Barry and Lucas cringed as an ear-piercing cry rang throughout the house. The shout was shortly followed by soft wails that sounded muffled as if her mouth was stuffed with tissues. Her weeps slowly grew louder again to repeat the crying cycle. Both teens covered their ears knowing what came next.
After Dawn's dramatic wails calmed down, Barry decided to try the door only to find out it was locked from the inside. He harshly knocked on the wood but received no response from the broken teenage girl.
"Come one, Dawn. Can you tell us what's going on?" Barry asked in a soft tone and gave a hint of assertiveness.
"Go away!" Dawn's stifled voice replied back from the room. "Can't you guys just leave me the hell alone and go back home!"
That comment tugged on one nerve in Barry's erratic brain. "Hey, who do you think YOU ARE?" he bellowed, heatedly throwing his fists in the air. "You just all of the sudden barge into my home with tears running down your face, threatening to start a flood in my house. We don't have flood insurance. You ran into my room to lock us out without reason. I could easily fine you for breaking into my home and stealing my personal property! My family's lawyer can do that you know. You also better not be staining my bed sheets or I'll charge you another million Pokedollars for them!"
Lucas was serenely sitting crisscrossed on the wooden floor of the hallway. "But she didn't steal anything?" Lucas looked up with a confused look.
"Of course she has you idiot!" Barry snapped back. "She has taken my room as her own as well as all my personal items. Which reminds me, you better not touch any of my limited edition Pokemon Rangers action figures? Those could be worth billions in the future!"
"Shut up and leave me alone," Dawn weakly replied losing the strength to talk back.
Lucas leaned towards the door. "Hey Dawn, I have something that will make you feel better." He brightly smiled while, tapping on top of the plastic container nestled between his legs.
After a brief silence, Dawn replied in a barely audible tone.
"I doubt it."
Lucas raised the plastic container over his head like a trophy and gleefully shouted, "I got Kalos Vanilluxe Ice Cream!" his smiled brightened the room after he revealed his secret weapon. He kept that pose waiting for Dawn to burst out of the room to snatch the delicious treat from his hands. His grin faltered when the wailing phase returned.
"This must be serious if she rejected your ice cream offer," Barry finally realized the gravity of the situation. He placed a hand on his chin thinking about what could have caused Dawn to act like this. He turned to Lucas for ideas but pause to notice the miserable look on his friend's face. "Hey don't look so down. If we don't keep up the cheerful atmosphere, then Dawn will never be able to return to normal."
Lucas puckered his lips looking like he was waiting for an awkward kiss. Barry jumped back in shock scared that he will be attacked by another earsplitting cry. "You can eat the ice cream dude! It's all yours! Free of charge!" he frantically waved his arms.
In split second, Lucas's expression completely changed to his cheerful demeanor. "Thanks Barry!" He ripped open the top of the ice cream container and took out a metal spoon from out of nowhere. He began to devour the cold desert with a terrifying determination to finish it. Barry wondered where all the food went too as it entered his mouth never to be seen again.
Dawn's crying brought Barry back to the current situation. His knocked once more to try and get her to open the door. He acted more sympathetic this time around but was received with harsh insults. Barry sighed as he leaned onto the wall.
I'm glad my mom is out of town today or she will…well I don't really know what she will do in this situation! Barry pondered on a few scenarios that would have taken place if his mother was hypothetically home. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, realizing it wasn't the time for him to be daydreaming.
"Cirno, you want some!" Lucas shouted towards the stairs.
Heavy footsteps followed up the stairs and a chubby Munchlax appeared before Lucas. He rustled through his thick teal fur with a stubby claw and produced a silver spoon. Despite his voracious appetite, Cirno still had the mind to eat with silverware as to not get his hands and fur sticky.
Cirno has been by Lucas side for a few years now but this two get along as if they been together since birth. "Geez you both even have the same appetite," Barry admired their bottomless stomachs.
"Appetite! Appetite!" repeated a parrot-like Pokemon. A Chatot flew from downstairs and onto Barry's shoulder.
"Don't tell me your hungry as well, Charon," Barry said, scratching his Pokemon's neck.
-"Vanilluxe Ice Cream is a rare delicacy. Are you sure you don't want some?"- Cirno asked, willing to share with his avian friend.
-"Nah, dig in, pal,"- Charon refused the treat.
"Wait…she stopped?" Barry noted the sudden moment of silence.
Lucas knocked on the door this time. "Hey, Dawn, are you okay?"
A tensed pause before she finally responded. "Give me some time. I'll come down when I'm ready."
Dawn
Dawn lay on the twin size bed, head rested on the tear-stained pillow. She blankly stared at the ceiling, lost in her stream of thoughts. She sunk into the trenches of her mind, going deeper into her darker thoughts. The heaviness in her chest seemed to keep her from getting up on the mattress but she had no inclination to leave.
She was in a comatose state; her vacant gaze aimlessly panned the plain white ceiling until it finally rested onto the single item of interest hanging from the ceiling. Barry's Dragonite figurine hung from the ceiling with the help of a few strings. She felt herself drawn into the toy's grayish eyes almost as if she was spellbound. She stared long enough into those lifeless eyes that she could feel as if something was staring back. Was there really any emotion behind those fake plastic eyes?
The eyes glinted red and she turned away, unable to meet the inanimate object's gaze. She returned to feeling dejected and lost. Was she really that much of an easy girl to be tricked and used. The lake scene continued to to play over and over in her head. Like a car crash, she just couldn't look from the disaster.
Gullible, bothersome, klutz, odd girl. These were the words that echoed in her head. Her memory slideshow ended on Roman's face; her stomach turned.. Was I really that much of a fool?
It's been more than a year since she was roped in to the relationship, tied down by the three-stranded twisted fiber slowly scraping her heart. She thought that rope tug was the string of fate in her heart when she confessed to Roman. She remembered how her chest tightened when Roman accepted her feelings, but she now can see it as the string coiling around her heart. Rope was suffocating her and she was barely realizing how heavy they were on her body.
Her feelings soon turned to anger and frustration. Waking up from her stupor, Dawn got up from the messy bed sheets. She sought to rid of what tethered her to Roman. She needed to act on this new feelings. She threw out all notions of love and romance out her mind. She walked up to the wooden door with a composed face.
This is what you get when you mess with me, Dawn vowed to herself. She wiped away the salty tears. Phew, for a minute there I nearly lost myself.
She went downstairs to find her two childhood friends waiting in the living room. They were at it again with another arm wrestle contest for probably another petty chore they didn't want to do.
"Oh Dawn, you're ba-AH HEY!" Barry lost focused and Lucas slammed his arm into the coffee table.
"Hah, I won! You have to clean your sheets stained with Dawn's tears!" Lucas threw his arms in victory, not having to wash dirty blankets.
Dawn's dark figure loomed over Lucas. "Are you guys fighting over cleaning my mess?" she muttered, a dark miasma looming over her. "I'll have you know it's not even stained with my tears. His covers were a mess to begin with."
"Glad to see you're back to your old self?" Barry was quick to change the subject.
"Yeah, we were planning what to do if you never came out of Barry's room," Lucas added.
Dawn's dark aura retreated and a reserved Dawn took a seat in the lounge chair. She noticed Barry's and Lucas's expressions. They remained silent, allowing her to think. She trusted these two but wondered if she should reveal it all. Friends since they were toddlers, they relied on each other through the tough patches in their young lives.
She broke the dead silence, having made up her mind. "What happened at the lake..." Dawn took a deep breath before recounting the events that transpired at Lake Verity. She kept it brief and concise. Barry faced turned to disgust as Lucas went silent.
"That jerk!" Barry shouted, jumping up from his seat.
"Yeah, forget that jerk," Lucas jeered.
"I won't forgive him, not after what he has done. So, I've made my decision," Dawn wagged her finger in mocking fashion. Lucas and Barry were at the edge of their seat, awaiting Dawn's reveal.
"What are you planning? An elaborate prank filled with high jinks," Lucas suggested.
Dawn shook her head.
"Perhaps, let karma take it's course?" Barry suggested.
"Karma won't get him back for me," Dawn asserted, popping off her seat. "So, I'll deliver the rightful justice!"
"Yes! That's the burning spirit I want to see!" Barry exclaimed further encouraging Dawn's erratic logic.
"I will join the ranks of the karma police and rid this world of the evil known as rope!" she proclaimed to the ceiling of Barry's house.
"YEA-wait WHAT?" Barry incredulously yelled.
"Probably her analogy for love," Lucas answered since Dawn was too caught up in the moment to answer. "Let's just go with it for now."
"But what if she takes it literally?" Barry crept closer to Lucas to whisper.
"GAH! Barry, why do you have such a vile thing in your house?" Dawn yelled uncontrollably. She pointed at the coil of dynamic rope curled up in the corner next to the television.
The FIEND! Dawn thought alarmed. How could I let my guard down for even a second?!
"Oh, I forgot to pack that," Barry replied. "It's the rope I was going to take with me on my journey in case I find a steep rock or cliff I need to climb to make it to my next destination."
Dawn defensively crossed her arms to ward off the evil the rope emitted. "This menacing energy. This undeniable truth! You're going to need to get rid of it."
"Chill out. I'll put it up," Barry raised both arms, ready to subdue her if she tried anything irrational. "Well, besides this whole getting rid of rope business, how do you plan to get back at Roman?" Barry wondered what idea she had cooked up.
"I'll hit him where it really stings! He's always talking about his dreams. His goals in life that clearly triumphs over people's feelings in his mind. I'll definitely make sure they never become a reality!"
"You don't mean?" Barry gasped.
"Are sure about this?" Lucas said unsured.
Dawn erratically nodded. "Yes, I intend to take the title of Pokemon Champion away from him. I'll beat him to the punch and make sure it never falls into his hands! This will end in my victory. I will have him fail just like his father and give up on all hope of ever obtaining his goal!" Dawn cackled at her stroke of madness and brilliance.
Both Barry and Lucas recoiled by her sudden laughter. This Dawn was not rational and beyond her usual chirpy demeanor. Her mind was clearly set on revenge no matter how far fetched the idea seemed.
Lucas decided to be the one to bring her to reason. "Dawn, please rethink this. Do you have any idea how much work it takes to even compete for a chance to fight the champion?" Lucas posed the question, alluring to the gauntlet of Pokemon Gyms and the tournament after to even have a chance to challenge the grueling Elite Four.
"Yeah Dawn. Don't forget how Roman's dad made it close to defeating the Elite Four. He was an excellent trainer that can certainly teach his son to be an exceptional Pokemon trainer. Roman is even more motivated to become a champion than other regular trainers. You need to train even harder to even get to his level of expertise," Barry blathered on about the teen. "While you...you..."
Dawn was no longer smiling. She placed a hand on her hips, replying in a stern tone, "I'm what, Barry. Or have you forgotten who my mother is?" Barry sighed, knowing he hit a sensitive topic. "She actually won Grand Festival and reached her goal unlike Roman's father. Or do you also hold the opinion that Pokemon Coordinators are inferior to Pokemon Trainers!" Dawn had faced this opinion many times in her life. That Pokemon Coordinators only focus on dressing up their Pokemon and trying to think up flashy moves to awe an audience. They aren't really pushing their Pokemon to the limits in the Grand Festival battles so they don't stand a chance against an actual Pokemon trainer.
"That's not what I meant," he tried to defend himself.
"Then what is it Barry? I'm too much of a-"
"Stop it you two!" Lucas blurted out. He was not one to raise his voice but he couldn't stand seeing his friends fight. "Dawn, we don't doubt your capabilities as a trainer but you must understand that becoming a champion won't be an easy task as you make it out to be."
Dawn crossed her arms, calming her inner turmoil. "I know it won't be easy. That's why I want you guys to accompany me on this journey together."
"All three of us starting our Pokemon adventure together?" Lucas repeated hesitantly.
"That doesn't sound too bad. I was planning on traveling alone but with us three together, we can certainly accomplish anything," Barry supported the idea. His boundless energy returned to him and he was raring to go. "Yeah, why don't we all go together!"
Lifting a fist in the air, Dawn began to proclaim, "The time is right. The world is changing and need to be a part of it."
"Changing? What do you mean?" Lucas asked, not yet invigorated by Dawn's speech.
Dawn was taken aback. "Have not been paying attention to the news. In Kanto, we have Red the prodigy child. At age sixteen, he took down Team Rocket, fought off Legendary Pokemon Lugia and becomes Pokemon Champion," Dawn paced around the table. "And then there is May who fights to save the world and becomes Hoenn's new champion at the age of eighteen! The time is now! The new generation is ready to take on those old fools in power! It's time for Sinnoh's youth to follow their lead and tear down that old lady's reign of terror."
"Isn't Cynthia like twenty five or something. She's not that old," Barry said, crossing his arms. "And this year's Pokemon League season is almost halfway over."
"It's halfway done?" Dawn asked, clueless on the subject.
Barry sighed, realizing he needed to lecture her on the format. "Just like how Pokemon Contests holds the Grand Festival every year, the Sinnoh League hosts the tournament every year at the end of the season. The season spans over several months and you need to collect all eight badges to have chance to compete in the conference. Any badge you earned from previous seasons are voided and you need to beat all eight gyms again this year to compete again," Barry tried his best to explain.
"So if she earns only six badges by the time the tournament comes around, she can't use those six badges next year and have to start from scratch," Lucas tried to get some clarification.
"Yeah, so maybe it's better if we wait next year..."
"No, we can't waste time!" Dawn stomped her foot on polished hardwood floors. "Roman already plans to leave on his journey soon. We had plans for next week to leave and...I just can't wait another year to start my quest for vengeance!"
"Well, if you want to start soon I got something that can help. Remember the offer my dad's lab is giving out," Lucas reminded her.
Dawn recalled what Lucas told them about the offer. Lucas's father worked as an aide for the famous Professor Rowan. The professor has returned to Sinnoh from a trip and has brought along with him three exceptionally rare Pokemon for a new study. The media has been buzzing with this news as he has been gone for some time.
These rare Pokemon must be powerful. There will definitely be one that can give me the upper edge on Roman, Dawn thought over the suggestion.
"I've been preparing to apply for a position and it turns out they need three people to join his research team. So far, no one has gotten the positions but I can talk to the professor. Us three can take on the task and we should be able to apply this Friday."
Friday is in four days, more than enough time to get my stuff ready, Dawn nodded her head in agreement. "Then pack your bags for this Friday. We are starting our Pokemon journey!" Dawn declared, pointing up to the ceiling.
"Journey! Journey! Journey!" repeated Barry's Chatot.
She smiled, feeling slightly relieved and anxious. She should have realized sooner that she could always rely on her close friends to back her up.
Friday couldn't arrive quicker since Dawn wanted to leave on this journey as soon as possible. She needed to get a head start over her ex on this Pokemon journey. Her mother, on the other hand, lamented the day came too soon.
"Calm down Johanna, I'm sure she'll be just fine. She has both Barry and Lucas accompanying her," Dawn's father placated his wife. The young looking man, despite being in his forties, wore a blue polo shirt and straight khaki pants for his daughter's departure. His thick rimmed glasses glinted in the living room light, hiding his proud eyes for a split second.
"I just need to make sure she's properly prepared," Johanna defended her actions. Her young appearance also betrayed her age. In her casual white blouse and blue sweats, Dawn's mother was nagging her daughter with every little detail. Dawn's father took some time off from his office job to see off his daughter but it was turning more into a task of trying to calm down his wife.
Both of Dawn's parents were in the living room going over a checklist of supplies. Dawn's mother was even more overbearing than usual but she kept it together when the time came for her to leave.
"Where is my-oh you have it, Vestia." Rubbing her head against Dawn's legs was her mother's Glameow. Before she was a contest champion but now she retired to become the thief of hair brushes. Vestia's demands required Dawn to kneel down and give her a few pets.
Receiving her hairbrush after a through petting session, Dawn zipped up her bag. "This is all that I'll need. Thank you mom and dad for helping set things in order on such short notice," Dawn thanked her parents, setting her backpack right at the front door.
"It still hasn't settle in that your leaving us so soon," Dawn's mother choked on her words. "I can still remember it like yesterday when I decided to retire and settle here to start a family."
"And I will always be grateful for your decision,"Dawn replied, hands pulling her bag close to her chest. This feeling of leaving home gave her some anxiety but excitement and eagerness triumphed all saddening feelings.
"Do you have any more to say before she leaves," Johanna turned to her husband.
Dawn's father hugged his daughter. "You're always making fun of me for having such a boring job unlike your famous mother," her dad teased and pulled away. His smiled with pride and said, "So you go on and become a star. Then I can brag at my office that the two most important girls in my life are famous idols."
Dawn grinned with guilt in her heart. They didn't know. She didn't the have the heart to tell them about Roman. She absolutely didn't have the confidence to tell her mother that she wasn't going to down the Pokemon Coordinator route. They surely wouldn't have let her go if they figured out her motive. Not giving a chance to slip up she went upstairs to change.
She donned her favorite white beanie emblazoned with a pink Pokeball symbol. She chose a black dress with a pink skirt to travel in, finding it quite comfortable for this journey. In her rummaging of her closet she found a red scarf that she remembered receiving as a gift from Lucas but she couldn't remember when he gave it to her. The scarf illuminated a part of her for some reason. Was she really doing the right thing? Her emotions swayed for a second before Roman's face brought her to her senses. Moving over to her footwear, she settled the debate and choose her pink boots over her red running shoes.
"Thank you dad and mom!" She forced a brave smile, hugged her parents. I'm sorry mom...but I need to do this.
Pulling her yellow backpack on, she went out the door to meet her friends on her porch. She waved back at her parents for one last time before setting off.
Lucas
"Cirno, Tackle!"
The road to Sandgem City was teeming with low-leveled Pokemon. The first foe to oppose them was an angered Kricketot. It was a fierce encounter but the group was prepared for. Having traversed this route countless times, Lucas was more than capable to handle the situation at hand.
Cirno dashing on his stumpy legs almost seemed comical for a Pokemon of his heavy size. He pounced at the Kricketot making full use of his weight. A harmonious, high-pitch shriek from Kricketot was its last deed before being flattened by the Munchlax. The ground trembled beneath Cirno, making both Dawn and Barry visibly flinch.
"Great job, Cirno!" Lucas congratulated his starter. It usually took a couple of hits to take down a Kricketot but he did it in one powerful attack this time around.
-"Another victory!"- Cirno cheered after he peeled himself off the ground.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's hurry up so we can get our Pokemon," Dawn dismissed Lucas's flawless victory eager to continue.
She pushed past Lucas only to be stopped by a new foe. From the rustling bushes, another Kricketot pounced at the group. This Kricketot, however, wielded a pair of sharp scythes that it crossed in front of its chest before letting out a melodic cry.
That's no Kricketot! Lucas realized. That splendid mustache belonged to none other than the musical savant Kricketune.
"Looks like he called for help with his final yell," Lucas figured, remembering how Kricketunes tended to stay far away from these routes. "Cirno, I don't think this is a Pokemon we can defeat yet so I want you to-"
"Enough waffling! It's my turn to show off!" Barry butted in, pushing his friend aside. "Charon, just believe in yourself. Believe in me. Believe in the me that believes in you! All out Peck attack!"
The nonsense Barry shouted instilled confidence in his Chatot. Perched on his shoulder, Charon took off to deal with the bug menace. His short beak took on white light and delivered a quick peck to Kricketune's abdomen.
- "All of you trainers are going to pay!" - Kricketune shouted in a shrill voice. It swiftly responded with a slash from it's thin forearms, knocking the small bird into the ground. - "No one picks on my little brother!" -
"Charon, don't let up. You're the superior musical pokemon! Your head is a freaking music note! Use Chatter!" Barry cheered.
-"I'm not giving up that easy," - Charon said, picking himself up from the ground. - "Believe in me! Believe! Believe in you!" - The same nonsense he learned from his trainer, he began to spout to perform his attack, Chatter.
Kricketune performed his own sound-based attack by bring his arms up and rubbed them together as if he were playing a violin. The clash of musical styles made the three teens cover there ears as the harmonies drilled into their eardrums. Silence returned to the battlefield with Kricketune panting for air and a silent Chatot lying flat on the ground.
- "Believe in me...believe in you," - Charon muttered in his deep slumber.
"He put Charon to sleep with Sing," Lucas figured out. "This one is too strong for my Cirno. You're super effective attacks hardly did any damage to Kricketune."
-"I'm getting you next...that is if this headache lets me see straight,"- Kricketune teetered on it's thin legs, buckling under his own weight.
"I say let's run for it. It's trying to recover from it's confusion!" Lucas proposed, returning his Munchlax back into his Pokeball.
"Then we make a break for it," Dawn stepped forward. "GO!"
Returning the sleeping Chatot, Barry sprinted alongside Lucas and Dawn.
-"Hey! Come back here!"- yelled Krickitune, to dizzy to make a move.
After escaping defeat by not fighting at all, they decided to take a short break to heal up their Pokemon. Small wings whirred and small gray shapes flew above Lucas's head. The chirps of Starlings could be heard over the rustling of tree branches after the light breeze passed by. None of the intermittent trilling perturbed Lucas; he knew it was that time of year for the wildlife in the forest to prepare for the winter. The time where frost turns the sod into a hard lump making it hard for vegetation to thrive and food becomes scarce.
Summer has come to an end and nature was already getting into gear for autumn. The days were growing shorter and the nights colder. It was an unusual time for trainers to start their journey, but Dawn was adamant on waiting for Roman's birthday.
Now, she is setting out for a different reason, Lucas thought to himself. He recalled over the years how Dawn constantly stated her dreams of becoming a world class Pokemon Coordinator. To stand in the same place as her mother stood many years before. For her friends to cheer her on in the finals of various festivals.
He glanced at her, specifically eyeing her red scarf matching his own. She seemed quite in high spirits but he couldn't tell if she was genuinely excited for this sudden journey or she was really enjoying the sweet Alolan Pear she was munching on. It did looked quite sweet and juicy.
"Hey, Lucas. You never told us what the professor managed to get his hands on. What are these Pokemon that the professor is handing out?" Dawn asked, throwing the pear core into the bushes.
"I personally haven't seem these Pokemon. All I know that one is a fire-type, another is a water-type and the third is a grass-type, and they were quite difficult to obtain," Lucas recalled what the aide told him back at the lab. "My dad didn't even tell me about this opportunity. I just happen to overhear it in the office. Dad's coworker encouraged me to join."
"Does your father know about you taking up on the professor's offer?" Barry asked his friend.
"No, he doesn't know...not yet," Lucas paused. Both of his best friends held aspirations close to their hearts. Barry aims to become a Frontier Brain just like his father, Palmer the Tower Tycoon. Dawn has her new goal of becoming a Pokemon Champion.
"My dad wanted me skip the adventure and go straight to Jublife University," Lucas said, eyes following the clouds drifting in the sky. He didn't have any goals or dreams for the future. It was already set by his father. "But I hope going on this adventure will help me find me a goal for my life."
"And we be there along the way," Barry blurted out with a goofy smile. He leaned on the tree trunk pondering on something. "A grass or water-type...hey Dawn which starter do you want to receive from Professor Rowan?"
"Ha, I'm obviously getting that fire-type!" Dawn proclaimed. "Roman already told me the Pokemon his father was giving him to start his journey. Some grass-type so I just need to pick my starter as a counter! Easy victory."
"Oh, do you know what kind of Pokemon it is?" Barry asked.
"I don't recalled it's name but it is a rare Pokemon from a foreign region," Dawn pouted struggling to remember the name. "Chipper? Chesty? I don't care! That's enough resting. We need to be going if want to reach the town by this afternoon!"
With Dawn's pestering to move and with Sandgem Town not being too far away, they arrived at the edges of another quaint town. The salty breeze filled this modest seaside town, making Dawn realized it's been some time since she has come to visit here.
It was a small town, but bigger than Twinleaf. It even had it's own Pokemon Center for healing trainer's Pokemon. The extravagant Poke Mart where Dawn could buy a potion and chili dog of dubious meat for just under four hundred Pokedollars. Off into the distance, the warm beaches of Sandgem stretched out until it reached a bluff. The steep shoreline formed of sediment once held a shape of a Sharpedo but it was said to have been destroyed in a terrible storm some years ago.
I can't remember when it happen but I just get this terrible feeling whenever I approach that cliff, Dawn thought to herself, prying her gaze from the landmark. She set her eyes on the only distinct building in this bumpkin town. The professor's lab stood out like a Politoed in a desert.
A/N: We are finally getting in gear to start this journey. Now I'm really getting excited to start a new story with fresh new characters to work with. I never thought I'll return to this site but finishing my last project gave me the motivation to start this series. I will do my best to be consistent and hopefully meet my own expectations.
A quick note. I have Pokemon talk in my fanfictions but it is NOT understandable by humans. I like to place hyphens around their dialogue as to further emphasize it. A little quirk I picked up from previous stories I've read and included in my works. Thanks for reading!