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Chapter 8 - For the Best

Bits of rock and gravel were crushed under Terry's shoes as he, Lilo, and Zorah drew closer to the source of Noibat's cries. With help from Zorah pointing them in the right direction, it wasn't long before they stumbled upon a large opening. Boulders of various sizes littered the open space, but Noibat's cries were at their loudest. Terry motioned at his Pokémon to stay put while he peeked around one of the boulders.

What he saw was Noibat with one of her wings pinned underneath a boulder, squirming and trying to dislodge her appendage out from under it. Terry frowned, but not because of Noibat's predicament. It was the wild Pokémon standing around her, laughing and doing nothing to help.

"Rol, coly ol?"

"Timburr tim. Burr tim burr."

Noibat scowled. "Bat, noibat! Noi noi bat!"

"Bur. Drill."

The Rolycoly, Timburr, and Drillbur merely laughed again, much to Noibat's chagrin. Terry observed the scene for a moment longer before ducking back behind his boulder.

What do we do? Lilo asked.

Terry glanced over at her. "I don't know. We're outnumbered and you're the only one with a type-advantage against them."

Lilo's face fell. Couldn't we simply talk to them?

"They're wild, Lilo. Plus, they seem to be having more fun taunting Noibat than just ignoring her," Terry replied with a scowl as he peeked past the boulder again.

"Scorbunny scor. Ny-bunny bun scor."

She said we should just go back.

"We are not leaving nor are we going to argue about this." Terry looked back at the two of them. The fire within his eyes caused both of them to blink in surprise. Neither of them had seen this kind of determination come from him before, especially given the circumstances that produced it. Terry's gaze hardened as he turned away from them. "Okay, if we can't take them head-on right now, then we'll need to distract them. Lilo, you'll stay with me and keep out of sight for now. Zorah, when I tell you to, I want you to use Quick Attack to grab their attention. Don't focus on attacking. Just keep them looking at you."

Lilo and Zorah looked at each other for a moment before turning back and nodding to him, preparing themselves for the fight ahead.

"Come on! Help me out already!" Noibat cried out again, only to receive laughter in response. Her wing was really starting to hurt now. Couldn't they stop laughing for once in their lives to help? They were Rock-types for crying out loud! Getting this overgrown rock off her would be a breeze! She opened her mouth to yell at them again when a white blur behind the group stopped her from doing so. The wild Pokémon didn't notice her silence nor her surprise when she saw a human face peek out from behind one of the boulders adjacent to where the blur went. Her eyes widened as she recognized the face of the human she had encountered before. For a moment, she wondered why he was here witnessing her troubles when their eyes met and the human placed a finger over his lips before disappearing back behind the boulder. Her brow furrowed, confused by his actions, when the white blur from before appeared again slamming into the side of the Timburr, tossing him to the ground.

He coughed. "W-What the hell?"

The white blur came to a stop, revealing itself to be a Scorbunny. Noibat gasped. It was the same Scorbunny that had been with the human.

Now Playing: Hello Hello - Murray Gold

"Hey! What gives?!" Drillbur snapped at it.

Timburr got back to his feet, but not before grabbing a small rock and hurling it towards his attacker. A white aura encased the Scorbunny and it disappeared, the thrown rock hitting nothing but air.

"Missed me!" Zorah giggled as she slammed into Drillbur. Bouncing on her toes, she flipped backward, dodging the rocks thrown by Rolycoly.

Noibat covered herself with her other wing as dust was kicked towards her. What was going on? Where did the Scorbunny even come from? What happened to the human she was with? Her questions continued to race as she watched Zorah hop and jump between the three Pokémon, dodging their attacks.

"Can't you stay still?!" Timburr called out to Zorah.

"And just let you hit me? Where's the fun in that?"

Rolycoly raced forward and began to rapidly spin its body, generating wisps of air around itself. Zorah hopped up into the air, causing Rolycoly to smash into the boulder behind her. She dropped down on top of its head and used it to springboard herself over the other two. She pivoted on her toe upon landing and sprinted towards Timburr, giving him no time to react as she slammed her body into his again.

"Man, you guys are just making this easy for me, huh?" Zorah smirked while bouncing on her feet.

"Don't mock us, you little brat!"

Zorah turned just in time to have Drillbur's claw scratch across her face, knocking her back onto the ground. She reached a paw up to her cheek and pulled back to see lines of faint crimson adorning her fur. With a grunt, she hopped to her feet again and stared down at the three now-regrouped wild Pokémon.

Drillbur's eyes narrowed at her. "You got a lotta nerve taking on all three of us by yourself."

Zorah grinned. "Maybe I just wanted to give myself a challenge."

"Or you're just stupid," Timburr chimed in before turning to Noibat, "Had to call for help to get yourself out, huh?"

Noibat glowered at him. "What makes you think I know who she is?! Besides, you wouldn't be having this problem if you all just helped me in the first place!"

"And have you continue to keep messing with us and taking our food? Yeah, right! Great ide-!"

Timburr couldn't finish his sentence as a jetstream of water rocketed out from behind a boulder, slamming into Rolycoly, pushing it deeper into the cave, and knocking it out instantly. Timburr and Drillbur stared at its soaked body in shock before another jetstream soared towards the two of them, forcing them to jump out of the way.

Noibat looked in the direction of the source to see a Lapras towering over all of them with the human she recognized by its side.

"Well…" the human said, "that certainly makes this a little more even now." He glared at the two stunned Pokémon. "Now, this is your one chance to get lost."

Both Timburr and Drillbur growled at them.

Terry sighed, "Guess that's a no then."

Timburr raced towards Terry and Lilo while Drillbur put its claws together and began spinning towards Zorah.

"Lilo, Water Gun! Zorah, dodge and use Ember!"

Lilo sucked in a breath and released another stream of water towards the advancing Timburr while Zorah sidestepped the spinning Drillbur and spat out a fireball towards the wild Pokémon, sending it careening into another boulder. Timburr dodged Lilo's attack and leaped towards her, raising the block of lumber it held over its head. Knowing there was little room for Lilo to dodge, Terry reached down, grabbed a handful of dirt, and tossed it towards Timburr. His eyes slammed shut, the unexpected attack causing him to swing too early, allowing Lilo to fire off another Water Gun, this time hitting its mark and sending the now unconscious Timburr tumbling back.

With one Pokémon down and the other distracted by Zorah, Terry left Lilo's side and got closer to the trapped Noibat. She squirmed as he drew closer, scared of what might happen, but Terry simply kneeled down in front of her. A lock of ash-brown hair swayed back and forth in front of his eye, but she could still see the cold look within, only for it to soften into one of faint tender concern.

"Don't worry. It's alright now." He placed a hand on the boulder as he looked down at Noibat's wing. He grimaced. "Damn, that looks like it hurts. Lilo, come help me move this."

Lilo moved to Terry's side and began pushing against the boulder. Though Terry wasn't as strong as her, he still pressed his body against it. The boulder began to shake slightly and Noibat could feel the weight on her wing begin to lessen. Eager to finally get free, she began pulling her arm in the opposite direction. Little by little, the boulder moved until Noibat's arm became free of its rocky prison. With a cry of relief, Noibat pushed away from the boulder and sprawled out on the ground as Terry and Lilo let up on it.

"Phew...there. That's better."

"Bunny! Ny-bun!"

Terry whirled around at the sound of Zorah's voice to see the Drillbur right in front of him, claws brandished and ready to strike. There wasn't any time to get out of the way. He braced himself for the inevitable impact.

It never came as the roar of wind exploded from his side, smashing into Drillbur and sending it flying back to the ground, unconscious. Terry turned toward Noibat to see her uninjured wing raised. Wisps of air circled around it, coalescing at the tip of her wing until the vapors slowly vanished into the air. Her wing fell to the ground. The constant numbing pain coming from her injured arm pushed her to the brink of exhaustion, but she still shot a grin up towards Terry.

Stop Playing

Terry sighed and glanced over at the knocked-out Pokémon behind him. "Lilo, keep an eye on them. If they move, hit 'em with a Water Gun."

That...seems a bit much, Lilo responded hesitantly.

"Would rather have unconscious wild Pokémon than three conscious ones trying to maim us." Terry shifted his focus to the injured and exhausted Noibat. He reached out towards her broken wing but stopped when Noibat flinched away from him. He raised an eyebrow. "Look, I'm not here to hurt you. Think I've made it pretty obvious by this point."

"N-Noi…"

Terry reached forward again, fighting off a brief moment of hesitation, and only placed a finger on Noibat's wing before she cried out. For a split second, Terry's eyes softened, thrust back into his memory of his father and Semira before returning to the present. "Damn, wing's probably broken."

Do we have anything to help? Lilo chimed in.

Terry's gaze hardened. "Potions wouldn't be fast enough. Those three would wake up long before she could get out of here and who knows what other wild Pokémon would show up." Terry reached down to his belt. "Best thing to do would be to just get her to a Pokémon Center in Turffield."

Staring down at the Pokéball now in his hands, Terry couldn't stop the fear that lanced through him. One week since this whole mess started in Postwick and already he had a third Pokémon. No...no, this wasn't a third anything. All he was doing was getting Noibat proper medical attention. There was only so much he could do on his own—his father taught him that much.

Trying his best to mitigate the trembling in his hand, he held the orb out to Noibat. She smiled and reached forward with her good wing, pressing the button and becoming engulfed in red light before being drawn into the ball.

With the adrenaline ebbing away, Terry rubbed at his face. The spark he felt at the bridge had vanished now, bringing back the same cold apathy that had plagued him since this morning. With a sigh, he stood up and turned to face his team, anxious to be out of the mine, but the sight of crimson red that painted Zorah's cheek froze him in tracks and ignited something else inside him. With sudden speed, Terry closed the distance between them and squatted in front of her, causing her to freeze.

"When the hell did this happen?!" Terry barked out as he pointed at her wound.

Zorah reached up again to her cheek. The bleeding had slowed, but tiny rivulets of blood still seeped into her fur. She smiled reassuringly, "Ny-bun, Bunny. Scor ny-scor bun-"

"I told you to just grab their attention! Dammit, you know you're the only one at a disadvantage against Ground and Rock types!" Terry dropped his bag to the ground and started rummaging through it while Zorah stared up at him. With little time to give a response, Terry pulled a Potion out of the bag and held it over Zorah's cheek.

A sharp sting lanced through her wound. She reached up to rub the pain away, only for her hand to be stopped by Terry.

"Don't rub it," he said tersely, pushing her hand away from the wound, "You'll just make it worse before the Potion can do anything." Another spray followed by another flinch. "You're lucky all you got was a scratch. What do you think would've happened if you got hit with something worse, huh?"

One last spray and Zorah's wound closed, leaving only the dried remnants of blood still stuck to her fur. "I get that you get excited about battles, but when something like this happens, don't be so reckless or you'll end up getting yourself hurt even more!"

Terry…

"What?!"

Terry turned towards Lilo, only to find himself frozen within her gaze. Worry and sympathy swam across her brown eyes. The longer their gaze held, the more Terry became aware of his actions. His panic-fueled anger ebbed away, replaced by shame and fear for losing his cool. Shutting his eyes, he forced himself to calm down, but now he didn't want to look at anyone. Keeping his darkened gaze to the floor, he let out a frustrated sigh and placed the Potion back in his bag.

"...You're fine now," he muttered to Zorah. "Let's just get out of here."

Without waiting for a response, he slid his pack back on and stood up, already heading back in the direction they came from. Confusion and shame roared through Zorah, her thoughts only broken by Lilo gliding up next to her and offering her a ride.

Now Playing: Into The Light - OneShot OST

The group remained in silence on the way back to the bridge with wild Pokémon staying clear of them until Zorah quietly spoke up.

"...Lilo?"

"Hmm?"

Zorah wrung her paws. "Is...is Terry mad at me?"

Lilo glanced back at her. "Why would you think that?"

"You saw how he reacted. It wasn't like how he was back at the hotel, but still…"

Lilo tilted her head. "At the hotel? What happened?"

A shiver ran down Zorah's spine as she recalled that moment. "There was a group of really loud people in the lobby and Terry kept getting more and more upset. Eventually, he just cut in front of them, but when they started ganging up on him, he…" Lilo's expression morphed into concern as Zorah's voice quieted even more. "...he got really scary..."

"I...don't think this was like that," Lilo said, curious about Terry's described behavior, but instead focusing on the present. "He was just worried about you, that's all."

"He sure has a funny way of showing it…"

"But that doesn't mean he's not wrong. We're bound to go up against stronger Pokémon the farther we get into this Gym Challenge." Lilo offered a sympathetic smile. "He may have been...crass, but he's right. Throwing ourselves into battles without being mindful of our weaknesses won't help any of us."

Zorah stared up at the roof of the cave, processing her words. Soon, she nodded her head. "I...guess that makes sense. I never really thought of any of that before." She smiled up at Lilo. "You know, you're really smart!"

Lilo giggled. "Thank you, and don't worry. I'll be sure to look after you when we do get into battles. We are friends, after all."

Zorah's smile grew, elated by the reassurance, though that slowly began to dissipate as her gaze drifted towards Terry. It still bothered her just how angry he got towards her, even if Lilo said he meant well.

"Friends"...she hoped there was some small part inside Terry that echoed that same sentiment because she didn't know what to believe. It was like she was missing something, a piece of the puzzle that was her Trainer, but every attempt she made to try and learn what it was—or at least provide some comfort—the walls that surrounded Terry always pushed her away.

Yet, at the same time, it was like there were cracks on those walls. Tiny, hard-to-see fractures, but they were there. His brief transformation at the Professor's house and his out-of-nowhere determination to rescue Noibat were proof enough, but all it did was confuse her more.

He shies away from battles, yet can become so confident during them. He rejects affection and support from others, yet is willing to save a wild Pokémon that had attacked them just recently. Even back in the Slumbering Weald, he was so quick to get her out of harm's way even if it meant harm to himself.

She didn't understand. Part of her was scared she'd never be able to. She could see his sadness—that much was obvious—but all she wanted to know was the why. Regardless, her smile returned. She wasn't going to fail in the mission she gave herself ever since they met, to hopefully see him smile.

But the fear and confusion still remained. As much as she pushed those thoughts away, still they festered deep within her mind.

Stop Playing

Thanks to the rope Sonia left behind, Terry climbed back up onto the bridge and back to relative safety from the treacherous depths of the mine. Taking a few moments to breathe, he unclipped Noibat's ball and stared down at it while he sat on the bridge. With Lilo and Zorah temporarily in their balls, it gave him a moment to stop and think.

The past twenty minutes had been a whirlwind. Suddenly acting on the instinct to help the injured Noibat...it amazed even him—succeeding in saving her, even more so—but now that the chaos had passed, he felt torn. This wasn't at all what he was expecting to do for this trip. All he expected was to get to the first gym, lose, and quickly return back home. Only twenty minutes, yet he felt like a whole day had passed. No surprise that he already felt exhausted.

Thinking quickly gave way to the familiar feeling of self-deprecation. He shouldn't be here. He never should have accepted that recommendation from Leon. He had no drive for this, unlike Hop. Hell, he shouldn't have been given a Pokémon in the first place.

You goddamn idiot. Way to lose your temper over a small cut.

Now Playing: For All - Akira Yamaoka

That thought struck him deep. That was all it was, a cut, and he had to blow it out of proportion. What the hell was happening to him? Out of all the people and Pokémon he'd interacted with for the past week, what was it about Zorah that made him act differently? To go so far as getting so worked up about a simple cut...

It was about two seconds before his arms began to itch. A simple cut...right…

Hypocrite.

*BA-DUMP*

...no, no, no...shit, calm down…

*BA-DUMP*

See what happens when you let others into your life?

*BA-DUMP*

Not now, not here...pull yourself together, Terry...

*BA-DUMP*

The pounding of his heart rang in his ears. Terry hastily clipped the Pokéball back onto his belt and grabbed hold of the wooden boards he sat upon, breathing in and out in an attempt to calm himself down. It didn't take long for his knuckles to turn white, but it was all he could do to stave off the itching of his arms growing more and more pronounced.

Bad things happen to the ones around you. It's your fault they happen.

He slammed his head into the bridge. He had to stay focused. He had to keep breathing. Count to four...inhale. Count to four...exhale. Count to four...inhale. Count to four...exhale.

Why are you even still here if all you do is attract pain?

"Shut up…" he rasped. The itching on his arms was becoming unbearable. "Not now...not now…"

How pathetic you are. It's a wonder everyone's put up with you so far.

He slammed his head again. He could feel splinters of wood dig into his gloves. Goosebumps traveled all over his skin. His thoughts were out of control, like a runaway train. He...he needed…

"H-Help..." Terry mewled softly as tears started to fall, "Mom...Dad...I'm so scared…"

His heartbeat was all he could hear now, even drowning out the words of poison that filled in the pause between each beat. Just keep breathing.

Count to four...inhale.

Count to four...exhale.

Count to four...inhale.

Count to four...exhale.

Each second that ticked by, the sound of ringing lingered—clashing against each breath he took until all of the noise slowly began to lessen. Forcing his body to keep his breathing constant, he slowly relaxed his grip on the bridge.

Stop Playing

His venomous thoughts vanished back into the dark depths of his mind along with the itching of his arms. Releasing one final shaky breath, Terry felt the tension built up in his body finally dissipate, leaving behind one last tremor before settling. Silence filled the mine again, giving Terry time to actually recuperate.

First, the anxiety attack this morning to now a full-blown panic attack. Arceus, today was going terribly.

Terry slowly pushed himself onto his feet, the wooden planks creaking under his weight. He took a moment to rub his face, wiping away the stains of tears that still lingered. With one last breath to push down his emotions—bringing him back to his usual state of apathy—he unclipped the two other Pokéballs and tossed them forward, releasing Zorah and Lilo.

He didn't listen to whatever either of them said, electing to simply turn and start walking in the direction of the exit, but that didn't stop one last thought echoing up from the darkness of his mind.

You attract suffering. How fitting the easiest person to make suffer with their presence is yourself.

Terry buried his hands into his pockets, hiding the trembling that now afflicted them. He had to push it away. All of it.

Save for the sounds of crushed dirt and glided over rocks, all was quiet within the mine. After all that had happened today, Terry simply wanted to leave the craggy shaft behind and, preferably, find a bed to crash onto. He was running on fumes now.

Turning past the final corner and seeing bright light illuminate the interior of the cave, Terry couldn't help but sigh in relief. "Finally...I don't want to know how long we've been in here for." He glanced back at the two following him. "C'mon, let's get out of here before anything else slows us down."

Lilo nodded. I think I've had my fill of this cave for one day.

"Scor…"

As they closed the distance between them and the exit, Terry now thought of the impending Gym Battle that he was soon to face. His first Gym Battle...it felt too soon. Sonia had told him that it would be fairly easy, being that it was the first Gym to face in the Challenge, but that didn't stop the growing sense of dread from forming within the pit of his stomach. It wasn't even the actual battle that worried him. At this point, battles were familiar enough to him that he could keep his fear in check.

No, it was the fact that it was going to be very public. The region already had a glimpse of his face during the ceremony. Once he set foot on that pitch and the announcer said his name, there'd be nowhere to hide. Everyone would know him as the son of a former champion. He shivered, already scared of the questions that would be thrown at him, the condolences he'd receive, the...pity…

He didn't want it. Arceus, he didn't deserve any of it. He didn't want the reminder...

"Coming this way? I'd advise against it."

Terry flinched and stopped at the arrival of a new voice.

"Any Trainer with a Wishing Star is in for a beating from me and my Pokémon!"

Terry squinted at the silhouette that now blocked the exit. Not caring about the voice's commands, he stepped closer until he could finally see who was speaking.

It was hard not to suppress a groan upon recognizing the platinum-blonde hair and hot pink coat.

"Oh great...of all the people to meet…"

The boy ran a hand through his hair and huffed. "So, it's you, the Gym Challenger endorsed by the Champion." He laughed. "What a joke."

Terry bristled, "Excuse me?"

"You are aware that the chairman is more important than the Champion, right? I was chosen by the chairman himself, so that makes me more amazing than you!"

Terry rolled his eyes. "...Uh...yeah, sure, whatever you say." He proceeded to walk closer to exit, only to be stopped by the boy stepping in front of him.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Where else could I possibly be going?" Terry snapped. "Or are you as stupid as you are arrogant?"

"Wha-" The boy recoiled back scowling. "Who do you think you're talking to?"

"Scorbunny bun scor ny-bunny."

Terry and the boy looked back at Zorah who was crossing her arms and glowering at the latter. Terry glanced over at Lilo, who sweatdropped.

Ah...she said someone who thinks way too highly of themselves.

"Hmph." The boy sneered and crossed his arms. "My name is Bede and it seems I'll have to show you how much stronger I am than you!"

Terry pushed past him. "Save it for someone who cares. Lilo, Zorah, let's go."

Lilo glided past Bede, offering an apologetic smile, while Zorah simply continued to glare at him. Bede blinked at the shock of being so easily ignored before shaking his head and calling out to Terry.

"H-Hey! You can't just walk away! I want to have a battle!"

Terry stopped and whirled around in frustration-fueled anger. "I have neither the time nor patience to give a shit about what you want!"

All three of them flinched backward even as Terry took a step closer to Bede.

"I've had a shitty morning, been stuck in this mine for Arceus-knows-how-long, saved a Noibat from wild Pokémon and have to get her to a Pokémon Center so they can fix her broken wing, plus I have to now worry about the upcoming Gym Battle; what exactly makes you think I want to have a battle with you after all of that?!"

The air surrounding them chilled, sending shivers through all of them. A quiet whimper from behind her stole Lilo's attention and she looked back to see Zorah gripping Lilo's neck. Lilo glanced back at Terry and then back to her.

Is...is this how he was back at the hotel? Lilo focused her telepathy so only Zorah could hear.

Zorah responded with a small nod. Lilo's worry grew tenfold as looked back over at Terry. His hands had curled into pale, trembling fists. Dull, emerald green eyes had shrunk to dark green dots, burning holes into Bede as the boy hopelessly stared back.

Terry…

Terry whipped his head toward her, saving Bede from the hellfire that was in his eyes. Lilo said nothing else, only gazing at him with worry. Terry blinked, the rage within him slowly cooling, until he turned away with a grim frown.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Look…" he said, quieter this time as his hand reached up to his bandana, "It's been a long day for me. I'd much rather just get to Turffield before anymore crap happens today."

Bede stood frozen, still reeling from the burst of anger aimed at him not a moment ago. Eventually, he crossed his arms and scowled. "...F-Fine. Beating you like this has no value anyway."

Terry stared at him, eyeing the beads of sweat that trailed down Bede's head before rolling his eyes.

"Hey, you two!"

All four of them turned to the exit as a large, muscular man jogged into the mine. Brushing away the peach-colored hair in front of his eye, light green eyes observed the two boys.

"Do either of you know a Miss Sonia? She said a friend of hers was going deeper into the mine to help a wild Pokémon and may need help."

Terry blinked. "Uh, yeah...that'd be me."

The man smiled. "Oh! Well, you seem to be alright. She was really worried about you, you know!"

Terry's gaze fell to the side, his eyes darkening. "Worrying about me is the last thing she should be doing," he whispered to himself.

"I can take you to her if you'd like. Turffield isn't that much further from here."

"Fine."

The man looked to Bede. "Do you need to get to Turffield too?"

Bede kept his arms crossed as he raised an eyebrow at him. "I have an important task to take care of here, so no."

"Fair enough!" The man stepped forward and extended a hand to Terry. "I'm Milo, by the way, leader of the Grass Gym in Turffield."

Terry froze. Of all the people Sonia could've asked…

He hesitantly reached forward and grabbed Milo's hand. "...Terry," he said, not returning eye contact.

"Now then," Milo said, "Let's get you to Turffield before Miss Sonia gets even more worried." He chuckled and turned to the exit.

Terry motioned to Lilo to follow and together they followed Milo out of the mine, leaving Bede to himself. As they exited back out into the light, Terry glanced back at Zorah. Her reaction to his outburst hadn't gone unnoticed by him. Even now, he could see her watching him, different emotions flashing past her eyes.

Confusion, worry, doubt...fear.

He held back a shiver. He had to remind himself it was better this way—better that she doesn't taint herself with his burdens.

...After all, it was for the best.

A/N:

Well, this certainly took a while to get out. Sorry 'bout that. The past two months have boiled down to other things in my life that required more attention like my last year of college starting up, looking for a job, as well as constantly trying to fight against writer's block during the moments where I DO have time to write.

I'm slowly getting back to writing this story, but as I said in the Prologue, there's no schedule for when chapters come out—could be another 2-3 months or could be two weeks. My motivation is an elusive beast that comes and goes as it pleases. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter though! As always, reviews are always appreciated, and don't forget to favorite and follow.

See you all in the next chapter!