Bonnie's Trainer Adventures 6
XX
In Which Bonnie Bonnie gets help from Emolga
XX
The air was becoming thin due to the change of season. The sun has almost set in the sky. Leaves were blowing off the trees leaving them bare in their wake. Meanwhile, indoors a certain blonde was going to pass out due to lack of air if she kept her antics up. Through the store window the girl could be seen pacing back and forth throughout the aisle with puffed cheeks. It was easy to tell this was not going to do her any good; frustration and confusion still masked her face. Her current surroundings consisted of a small electronic store in Lavarre City. The female seemed to be looking specifically at holocasters.
"You're going to burn a whole through the floor if you keep that up." A voice rang Bonnie out of her stupor.
"What" she spluttered and looked up to see a familiar face adorned with mahogany hair. "Oh Duncan. Hi." She muttered disinterested.
"No witty comeback I see. Well you do seem… troubled. What did you do lose? Your phone?" Duncan laughed.
"Mergh. Not exactly." Bonnie fidgeted.
"Oh now I'm curious." He inquired for more information.
"I… Um… Well it got electrocuted." She said meekly.
"Your whole 'I'm going to become an electric rodent master' plan isn't working for you ain't it?" Duncan mocked questionably.
"Shutup. It's working just fine. We were just training and things got out of hand." She snapped back. "I just can't keep this thing in tact." She mumbled.
"What was that?" Duncan teased.
Letting out her frustration with a groan Bonnie reached over and picked up the nearest holocaster and made her way childishly to the desk. Setting it down on the table she reached to her satchel to pull out the necessary cash.
The cashier gave her a polite smile and rang up the device.
"That'll be $400 poke-dollars." He said.
"Wait. What." Bonnie slowly asked.
"Yes. $400 poke-dollars. That's correct." He verified.
"But over there it said $150. I swear it did. I know I picked up the one that was a little more expensive… but I'm so sure it wasn't this much money." Bonnie explained.
"This one is $400, while the cheapest one we have is $325." The cashier replied.
"Ohh, looks like you're in trouble." Teased a voice behind her. Sending a quick kick backwards shut the peanut gallery up immediately.
"Sorry to be a bother, but then what was $150?" Bonnie questioned.
"That was the starter kit. With a casing, an extra LED light and cables." He said.
"Oh crap." Bonnie face-palmed. "Sorry for wasting your time. I can't afford to get a new holocaster I suppose." She moped and bid the cashier farewell.
Well tried to at least.
"Wait Miss." The cashier said as she held his hand up to motion her to stop.
Both teens perked their heads up in curiosity.
"My co-worker called out today so we are in need of some help. If you would like help out with small tasks for the day I can vouch for the other half of the phone." He offered.
"Woah. Seriously?" Bonnie's eyes began to sparkle when the man nodded his head.
"Sweet! Thank you so much! I'll work my hardest!" She squealed.
"You hear that Duncan. No trouble for me." And with that she pivoted on her heel and followed her new boss leaving the other male quietly snickering in his place.
XX
About a half hour later Bonnie was suited in the designated uniform. However it was a little large for her figure. The black pants were wide around her legs and if it wasn't for her belt, the trousers would most likely be around her ankles. The shirt was no better. Using her elastic Bonnie tied her shirt tighter and tucked in the access amount of shirt. Her hair now fell on her shoulders, a rare sight for the blonde. She was currently sweeping the floor just ahead of the television wall.
"How's it feel to be a working girl?" Piped up a voice behind her.
Whipping her head around she said, "Why are you still here?"
Pretending to be hurt, Duncan placed a hand over his heart. "Well that just hurts. After all I've done for you this the repayment I receive."
"Duncan. You aren't exactly… nice to me. So I really don't want your teasing right now. I appreciate your help and I'll return the favor when you need it." She paused. "So no I'm not stealing anything for you, if that's what you are sticking around to ask."
"I'm not a thief. I can be a jerk but that doesn't mean I'm a criminal." Countered Duncan.
"Right. Sorry. But really Duncan, what's up?" Said Bonnie.
"I was interested in buying some more music to add to my training playlist and noticed you through the window freaking out. So I thought I'd see how you were fairing. Being your rival and all." Duncan confessed.
A blush formed on her cheeks as she responded, "Oh, well thanks. As you can see I'm a little better. There was no need for me to stress. You on the other hand, still haven't gotten any music." Laughed Bonnie.
"Right. Just wasting some time. I'll get to it eventually." Replied the boy. However the girl didn't listen and stopped her continuous sweeping gripping the broom in two hands in awe staring up at the television just above her.
Noticing all attention was diverted; Duncan focused his eyes on the new center of attention.
The television was flipping through what seemed to be Poke-visions. And what was currently on the screen made the boy drool.
"Now she's something…" He slurred.
"Oh no. No. No. She's better than something. She's perfection. She's the best female electric type trainer there is. AND she's a supermodel. What is not to LOVE." Bonnie gushed.
"Who is she?" He asked. Still mesmerized.
The woman in question got to the end of the runway and stared at the camera. She wore yellow fur cascading over her shoulders. And reached slightly behind her to flip her long flowing black hair, and with that the screen switched to something new in a flash of smoke.
"That's Elesa! And wait. The best part is about to come." Bonnie squealed.
Behind the smoke revealed Elesa standing in a field. With two flying squirrels on either side of her hovering in mid-air.
"SHE HAS TWO EMOLGAS!" Bonnie squealed again.
"That's… not the best part. She's in a bikini. Bonnie." Duncan stuttered.
"Oh how much I love Emolga. And Elesa. I will meet her and battle her one day with an Emolga of my own!" Daydreamed Bonnie.
Still paying attention to the screen it showed Elesa being carried away from the camera on her trusted Zebristika. And with that the screen went black.
"She's so cool." Bonnie fawned.
Shaking out of his memorization Duncan sheepishly said, "Aren't you supposed to be working?"
"EEp. Yes. Aren't you supposed to be shopping?" Bonnie snipped back.
"It's not right for the workers to yell at the customers." Duncan snarkly replied.
"Wah, don't pull the customers always right card with me." Bonnie whined and dragged the broom and dustpan farther down the aisle.
XX
Seconds later we find the blonde distracted once more, this time in front of a small kiosk. She seemed to be scrolling on the screen in search for something.
"Aha! Found it." Bonnie smiled and looked up to the televisions. It seemed she figured out the televisions were connected to what was selected on the kiosk. Smiling she craned her neck to focus on what she picked.
"Still distracted?" That familiar voice appeared once more.
"Shh." Bonnie hushed the boy annoyingly.
On the screen appeared a train. It was an illusion to make it seem to be coming right towards the camera.
"Wha…" Started Duncan but a hand was held up to shush him.
"Watch." Bonnie demanded.
Through the train's back door appeared a tan skinned female with large purple hair and tall and lanky male with short green hair. They smiled and waved at the camera. Out of the female's hair popped a small green Pokémon with tusks. Meanwhile a green monkey with what looked to be a large shaped vegetable sprouting from its head appeared over the male's shoulders. The background music dimmed slightly and the duo introduced themselves as Iris and Cilan from Unova.
Looking over to his side Duncan noticed Bonnie was smiling fondly at the camera. He assumed that she was acquainted with these two since her reaction differed from the previous Poke-vision. Deciding not to open his trap once more he continued watching.
The train came to a stop and the girl jumped over the back ledge of the train while the man walked through the open gate. The camera slowly swung around as a transition to the next scene. The pair stood in place and it appeared that there were figures running towards the camera. Black silhouettes slowly began to take color and shape. As the group got closer to Iris and Cilan the two began to run alongside them. The first to appear between them was a tall raven-haired teen that was following a Pikachu.
Bonnie squealed at the memory.
"Jeez. You and your electric rodents." Duncan groaned.
However the girl ignored him. Still focused on the screen the next to appear was a girl was honey colored hair. There was a Fennekin running alongside her. She was careful not to have her pink hat fall off her head while she ran but still smiled brightly.
Bonnie's smiled larger when the next figure appeared. It was a small blonde girl that was soaring through the air. Well, about two feet off the ground that is. The girl had a black squirrel to thank for it.
Bonnie squealed and sighed once again.
"Is that you?" Duncan asked.
"Yup! That was such a fun day. That's Iris' Emolga. Such a great personality. It really made me love electric rodents. I don't get why I didn't decide to be a master of electric rodents then instead of figuring it out the day I started my journey…" Bonnie thought to herself.
"Spontaneous is sometimes best." Admitted Duncan.
Still looking at the screen, Bonnie laughed. "Hey look it's my brother. Being slow as always." On the screen revealed just a blonde teen gasping for air gripping his hands on the straps of his backpack with no one else in sight.
The screen went black and the playlist of Poke-visions continued. Bonnie turned to continue sweeping however the smile did not wipe off her face.
"That's your brother?" Duncan finally asked after gapping at the now changed screen.
Looking up with a questioning glance Bonnie tilted her head but continued sweeping.
"Yes. What about it?"
"You're related to the gym leader of Lumiose City?" Duncan asked.
"Mhm." She nodded.
"Now that's not fair. He probably went super easy on you because you're his sister. It took me three weeks to get past his gym. I had to stay around the area and train for ages." He angrily spat.
"Just don't assume things. I haven't fought my brother yet. He asked me to postpone his battle until last so we could both give it our all. And I'm proud that it took you so long to beat him. He's been working his absolute hardest to become a strong and confident gym leader. I'm proud of how far he's come. He's changed so much compared to the boy that was in that video. I helped him reach his goal. And now it's his turn to help me obtain my goal. Which is why my ultimate goal is to beat him in a battle using my full team of electric rodents." Bonnie ranted pointing a finger at the boy's chest.
"Jeez. Sorry." He mocked.
"Hmph." Said Bonnie as she turned the other way.
"But it's still not fair you get to skip around gyms. Each gym requires a certain amount of badges." Duncan just wouldn't let it go.
"I'm aware. I didn't do the arrangement. He did. Plus we've helped out the other leaders several times in the past so they were alright with this decision." Bonnie replied with little to no emotion.
"So does this mean I'm ahead of you for badge count at six badges?" He asked.
"I'm at five. I need to challenge the Lavarre City Gym. But I'm about to do that soon." Said Bonnie.
"Oh I'm so gonna beat you to the league." Laughed Duncan.
"The league was never my intention Duncan!" Pointed out Bonnie.
"So you're just gonna let it go?" He asked.
"No, but that's still far away. We'll see what happens. If I can go all the way to the top sure I'll take it. But one step at a time. Brother always told me to slow down after all." She laughed.
Picking up her broom and pan Bonnie walked over to the next aisle and motioned to get back to work when suddenly the lights went out.
XX
"This place seriously doesn't want me to work." Muttered Bonnie.
"You're not afraid of the dark are you?" Asked Duncan.
"No, so don't even think about grabbing onto me." Replied Bonnie.
"Yeah but how are we…ow…going to…ow…find our way out…ow…" Sputtered the male.
"Jeez. Be careful. Who would have thought an electronic store would get a blackout." Said the girl.
"My foot kills. I'm just gonna stay here." Said Duncan.
"Suit yourself! I'm going to see what I can do about this." Confidently said the girl.
Moments later a red flash appeared. Through a spark of electricity exiting the Pokémon's cheeks Duncan could tell it was a Pachirisu.
"Hi Pacha! Can you give us some light?" Asked Bonnie.
The surrounding areas were soon lit up by the move Flash.
"Thanks Pacha! Let's go see if we can find… Walter. I think that's what his name was." Said Bonnie.
Footsteps were heard behind the pair so they turned to notice her rival.
"I thought you were staying put?" Teased Bonnie.
"Ha… Nah. I'm going to fix this problem much quicker than you are." Challenged the boy.
Walking farther the group stumbled upon the man from earlier shuffling about the front desk with a flashlight.
"I knew he'd be at the front desk." Whispered Duncan.
"Shh." She whispered back. "Hey… Uh Walter. What's going on?" Questioned Bonnie.
"Oh! Thank god you're here. I was wondering what could have happened to you. At least all the customers are out… But now what will I do…" He started muttering at high speed to himself.
"Woah there bud. Slow down. What do you want us to do?" said Duncan.
Shooting the boy a glare Bonnie added in, "Yeah I'm here and ready to help! Um. Boss"
"I.. Um.. Are you two trainers by any chance?" Wondered Walter.
"Yeah! Why, are we in trouble?" Worried Bonnie as she clasped her hands up under her chin.
"This happens sometimes. There's a rowdy gang of electric type Pokémon that like to break into the store and steal merchandise to charge themselves up and therefore make themselves more powerful." Explained the man.
"And you didn't think to warn us, or the public about this." Duncan spat out.
Setting a hand in front of Duncan, Bonnie looked up at Walter for an explanation.
"Well, that's why we barely get business. Everybody is afraid. They strike at random times. Bill, the man that called out today usually takes care of it but since he's not here…"
"Well I can see why you didn't ask her to guard the store." Duncan sneered pointing at the blonde.
"Well that's insulting thanks." Said Bonnie pointedly.
"Well you don't look like a tough trainer. So instead you swept the floor. Or just an aisle of it." Laughed Duncan.
Meanwhile Walter awkwardly stood in the back awaiting the end of the argument.
"Alright. Enough. Walter what can we do to help?" Bonnie said as she turned her attention towards the worker.
"They always send at least one Pokémon to the roof, then some Pokémon guard the doors and while others come. If we defeat the gang it's usually pretty easy to get the power back on. But we've spent too much time waiting they'll be in soon." Said Walter.
"Okay. So Duncan, take the doors. Walter try and stop them from draining the electricity. And I'll take the roof." Said Bonnie as she took off with Pachirisu at her heels.
"Well okay miss bossy. Thanks for that. And taking my only source of light." Muttered Duncan.
Walter held up a flashlight meekly but Duncan just scoffed and headed towards the approximate entrance to the building. After Reaching into his pocket a red flash was seen appearing. The flash morphed into a Marowak. "Damn why does it have to be dark out" Again Duncan muttered and disappeared outside.
He was welcomed by flashes of electricity however Walter turned and headed in the opposite direction once he noticed.
Across the store the light surrounding Bonnie was slowly disappearing from the man's view as she exited through the back room and up the emergency stair well.
XX
"Pacha, can you go first? The stairwell is too narrow and dark for me to do anything. Thanks" Bonnie asked and received a chirp in reply.
Despite her careful footing the floor still creaked beneath Bonnie's feet.
"So much for a sneak attack" Bonnie muttered to herself.
Slightly turning the corner small spurts of excess light was starting to appear. Walking closer to the bright light the duo realized it was natural light shining down from above.
"Oh no, they must have gotten in already, let's hurry up!" And the pair sped up.
Pulling the hatch over completely the electric rodent and his trainer climbed out atop the roof.
Suddenly, loud snaps were heard in various directions. Bonnie reflexes kicked in and just narrowly avoided the collision by diving to the side grabbing her fellow Pokémon. She let out large gasps of air before looking up at their attacker.
She released Pachirisu from her grip and stared straight ahead.
It was fate.
It had to be.
There was an Emolga.
Rapid tapping on her shin brought the blonde back to reality.
"Oh right. Okay. Emolga! You have to stop this!" Bonnie yelled at the flying squirrel like Pokémon.
"Emoo" The Pokémon stood its stance.
"This isn't fair. You are stealing. There's other and better ways to get more powerful!" Bonnie tried explaining while slowly stepping towards the opponent.
"Olga, Ol." The Emolga replied stepping backwards with its hands extended looking quite sheepish.
Looking up at her trainer the Pachirisu nodded his head and stepped forward towards the other squirrel.
Small chitchat was exchanged when suddenly a loud roar was felt resonating off the ground. Emerging first from the stairs was a large yellow spike. The creature was on all four legs slowly making its way to the rooftop. Its lower half of the body was a bright blue color and resembled a spikey dog.
"MANETRA" It growled out towards the Emolga.
Instinctively the Pokémon brought its small wings up to cover its drooping ears in a cowardly position.
Frowning Bonnie turned towards the Manetric.
"You. You're the leader." She spat.
Turning attention towards the human the Pokémon growled in what was to be a response.
"Stop all of this. The stealing, the bullying. Everything. I'm not one to put up with trickery." She exclaimed.
Sparks emitted from the Pokémon's fangs. Bonnie took it as a note of an upcoming thunder fang.
"Shhh. I'm not here to hurt you, that's not it at all. I don't want to battle with you. We can solve this without violence." She said calmly and cautiously stepped towards the electric dog.
The Manetric didn't like this at all and started a defensive walk forwards. Pachirisu noticed and ran up from its position next to the Emolga.
"No Pachirisu, I don't want to battle. It's too dangerous up here." She said.
Pachirisu looked at his trainer curiously but went along with her lead.
It became a stand off. Neither Bonnie nor the Manetric put any immediate effort into moving.
Having no mood for time wasted the Manetric dove forward towards the blonde girl. She tried as hard as she could to dive to the side.
Landing on her side she felt sharp pain resonating around her wrist.
Gasping in pain she squinted up to see Pachirisu in a Super Fang against Manetric.
The Pokémon tried to shake off the small rodent but to no avail Pachirisu wasn't letting go.
Giving his trainer time to get up, Bonnie stood up as best she could and turned slightly to look at the apprehensive Emolga.
"She doesn't want to get involved." Bonnie thought to herself.
"Pachirisu! Use Return!" She yelled.
The Pokémon obeyed and hit the electric dog as hard as possible. Earning a yelp from the Pokémon.
Manetric then retaliated back with a Take Down. Just narrowly avoiding it by rolling the Pachirisu stood up and smiled. Ticking off the opponent some more.
Bonnie suddenly gasped. The trio was unconsciously stepping backwards towards the ledge. "That was Manetric's plan. Crap. This isn't good." Bonnie panicked to herself.
"Pachirisu, we have to do something. He's going to knock us off the roof." She whispered. Ears perked up as he looked around and panic ensued through the small Pokémon's bones. Slowly reaching into her pocket she was about to pull out more Pokeballs.
But then she realized she had no time.
Bright light was about to escape the Manetric's mouth.
And it was too late.
Bonnie ran up as fast as she could to grab Pachirisu and started running around the side of the building.
But soon Bonnie had no footing left as the Hyper Beam rumbled the ground making her shift sideways.
Hugging the squirrel to her chest she wrapped herself in a ball.
"Pachirisu, why does this always happen to us" Bonnie whispered hoarsely.
Suddenly, it seemed they weren't falling anymore. It was as if they were floating.
Had she skipped past the pain and went straight to heaven? It seemed it.
Pants were heard above her, when Bonnie finally opened her eyes and looked up.
Gasping she noticed it was Emolga. She was holding onto the small ponytail she made with her t-shirt.
"AH! Emolga! Oh thank god. Thank you so much." She said relieved.
Relaxing slightly the duo looked down to hear commotion.
"BONNIE!" She heard and saw Duncan down below battling several electric type Pokémon.
Leaving his Pokémon to do the battling, he helped the girl and the two rodents to the ground.
"Why are you always falling off immensely tall structures." He asked.
Letting out a sigh. Bonnie shook her head. "The leader is still up there. He really shook up the roof." She said pointing above.
Looking around Duncan started to make a plan. "We can attack them all together, and see if they will disperse. I see you finally got yourself another rodent. Perfect timing. Use them and let's get this over with." Noticing more electric Pokémon started to come from inside, Duncan released the rest of his Pokémon. Giving them each orders.
About to open her mouth, Bonnie paused looking down at the two rodents by her feet. Pachirisu seemed tired but was still rearing to go. But the Emolga… She was technically for the other team. But she helped them.
"Pachirisu, I trust you go get em!" Bonnie yelled as the squirrel took off towards a Voltorb. Reaching into her pockets she pulled out four more pokeballs. Out came a Pikachu, a Dedenne and the twin rodent Pokémon, Minun and Plusle. Looking up at their trainer and to the Emolga smiles reflected on their faces. Bonnie slightly shook her head and nudged her head forward. Getting the message the four Pokémon took off.
"Thanks guys, sorry about this!" Bonnie apologized.
Staring ahead, Bonnie held her wrist debating on what to do.
That changed when a silhouette floated in her line of vision.
Shaking her head, she realized it was Emolga. Tilting her head in confusion she looked at the flying squirrel. The Pokémon was pointing to the roof and nodding. Before Bonnie could question the Pokémon took off.
She stared at its retreating shadow.
Putting Bonnie pack on earth was a voice trying to talk to her.
"Bonnie. Hello. Bonnie? What are we going to do, they are just getting more powerful because of the power out. Hello, Bonnie speak." Duncan said.
"Oh sorry. We just have to hold out a little longer. I have a plan." Bonnie said as she looked up towards the roof.
Looking over the battlefield she tried to find her Pokémon. "So much for trying to stay out of violence." She sadly muttered to herself. Dedenne was matched up against about three Joltiks. Not seeing any danger Bonnie looked for Pikachu. Finding her battling a Electric. Again not seeing any trouble she looked out for the twin rodents. Finding them against several Magnemite. And Pachirisu was still against some Voltorb.
Bouncing her foot up and down she kept guard.
"Are you okay? You seem very off. Not to mention you are gripping your wrist. You hurt it didn't you?" Duncan asked.
"So many questions." She said. "Yeah I landed on it when I was on the roof. But I'm hoping this plan works out." She said nervously.
Duncan was about to respond when a bright light shown in front of them.
"No way…" He muttered.
"The lights are back on." Bonnie couldn't believe it.
"Looks like your plan worked out after all." He smiled and put a hand on her shoulder.
The electric type gang exchanged looks, and ran off in different directions in defeat. Bonnie looked up automatically at the roof and saw two figures floating down.
It was Emolga carrying Manetric.
Emolga slowly set the bigger Pokémon on the ground and dropped herself down right after. The two exchanged cries and the Manetric huffed itself away to follow the dispersed Pokémon.
Running away from the boy Bonnie stopped when she reached the Emolga.
Duncan kept his hand wavering in mid air, before slowly raising it down, smiling after the girl.
The Emolga flew up to be eye level with Bonnie and smiled sheepishly.
"Emo, Emolga." It said.
"Thank you. I know that was hard for you to do. And we appreciate it. So much." Bonnie smiled.
Hearing the compliments the Emolga's ears perked up. Bonnie decided to take a chance. She held out her arms for the chance Emolga might accept her hug.
Wavering in the air for a few seconds, the Emolga tilted its head to the side. But when Bonnie nodded her head and smiled the Emolga accepted.
"Oumph." Bonnie laughed and enclosed her hands around the Pokémon.
Happy cries were heard from behind them. Bonnie could make out most of them being her fellow rodent friends. Her best friends. Releasing Emolga, Bonnie tilted her head behind her to wave at the group when she felt herself being lifted off the ground once more.
Laughing Bonnie looked up at Emolga whom was spinning her in circles.
"Hahaha Wahoooo!" Bonnie cried out. Her hair blowing in every direction. But that didn't matter to her at the moment. Not much did.
Landing back where the group was, Duncan spoke up.
"So you're team is almost complete huh?"
Looking at all her Pokémon and then to Emolga she smiled.
"Almost." She said. Then crouched down to the now standing squirrel.
"Emolga. Did you know I'm raising a team of just electric rodents? It would be my honor to have you join my team." Reaching her hand into her pocket she pulled out a lone pokeball. Her last pokeball. It sat in her palm as she held it out the Emolga.
The two-made eye contact and the Emolga shuffled forward slowly before jumping up into flight. Catching the Pokémon's clues Bonnie stood up and held her hand high for Emolga to get the pokeball. Flying by she hit the small circle and in seconds she was captured in red light.
Silence took over the large group. And only a light laugh was heard from the female.
"I'm almost there." She gasped unbelievably.
Throwing her hand up in the air Emolga was released from the light and sat on her new trainer's shoulders.
"Welcome to the team Emolga" She smiled. Looking up at her other Pokémon they all came running towards the pair. Colliding in a full on hug.
Duncan looked on from afar, slowly returning all his Pokémon.
Noticing a stare Bonnie looked up from the group of Pokémon.
Duncan caught her eye and waved. "I'll beat you when I see you at the league." He simply said and turned to walk away.
"The league huh." Bonnie thought to herself.
Looking down at all her Pokémon she squealed.
"Are we all ready for the biggest challenge yet?"
Happy cries were heard.
"Alright. Now let's get these gym badges and go beat my brother!"
Jumping up Bonnie fist pumped the air.
About ready to start walking towards the Pokémon center she stopped in her tracks.
"I still need that holocaster. And to get my clothes back…Dang it."
And with that, Bonnie returned all her Pokémon, and sulked back into the store.
X End of Chapter X
I'm so sorry for such the delay. I had to sort out a lot of things. Especially since I've moved to another country for three months. But still there shouldn't be excuses. I hope you all enjoy! Review so I can know how I'm doing! Again, sorry for the OC character. I just didn't think it would be as interesting if Bonnie didn't have a rival, or somebody new to interact with. It is her journey after all. Anyways. Ramble over. Enjoy. There's one more chapter to go!