A/N: Thank you all so much for all the support on the first two chapters! This fic has become my most popular non-ship fic on this site, and it makes me very happy to see so much love for this fic that's become very near and dear to my heart.

On that note, I'd like to apologize for this chapter taking so long to come out. I got busy with school and other fics, and once I finished all of that the chapter wound up becoming so ridiculously long that I had to split it in two to make it manageable to read...on the bright side, that means the next chapter is already 99% complete, so I'll actually be able to do a weekly update for once!

With that said...let's get back to Hop and Leon's adventures!

Hop wakes slowly, vague images of his dream dissipating from his mind before he can consciously remember them. The mattress is soft, and the comforter is warm. It's comfy enough to tempt Hop into falling back asleep.

But it's his second day in Unova! The first day of the tournament! Once Hop remembers that, there's no way he's going to calm down enough to sleep any longer. He sits up, rubbing his eyes. Wooloo is curled up at the foot of the bed, and Hop reaches forward to pet him. But Wooloo's such a deep sleeper that he doesn't even stir. Hop slides his legs out from under the comforter and swings them over the side of the bed.

On the other bed, Lee is still fast asleep, bedsheets tangled so much that only one of his legs is actually covered by them. His comforter is wrapped around one of the bedposts, his arms are splayed out haphazardly, and his hair is as wild as a Rookidee's nest. Hop smirks. For as much charisma as his brother has out in public, he's an absolute mess when he sleeps.

Hop crosses the living room and flings open the curtains, letting the morning sunlight stream in. The sun has already risen above the horizon, illuminating the people of Driftveil City as they head about their days. Lee groans behind him while Hop admires the view; he loves the way the glass on the skyscrapers sparkles like precious jewels in the light.

"You're up early," Lee grunts.

"It's a new day! You gotta get up and greet it!" Hop exclaims, pumping his fist in the air.

Lee grunts again and rolls over, mumbling something unintelligible into his pillow.

"What was that?"

He turns his head to the side. "I said, the day can wait until I've had some coffee."

Hop laughs. "C'mon, it's the first day of the tournament today! Aren't you excited?"

"It is way too early for me to get excited about anything."

Hop sticks his tongue out, even though he knows Lee isn't looking. "I'm going to get dressed," he announces. "You have 'til I'm done to get up."

"And if I don't?"

Hop giggles mischievously. "You'll see."

Getting dressed normally wouldn't take Hop very long, especially since he could get away with just re-wearing his clothes from yesterday. But Lee's still waking up, so Hop's going to take his time. He tries out the shower – the temperature knob is really finicky, so it takes him a minute to get the water to a good temperature – and towels off, then puts on a clean t-shirt and pants. He runs a comb through his hair and finally heads back into the room to grab a pair of socks.

To his annoyance, Lee still hasn't gotten out of bed. In fact, he might have even fallen back asleep, if the even rise and fall of his chest is anything to go by. Hop frowns; he thought Lee had kicked his oversleeping habit after he became Champion. Honestly, how does he make it on time to anything like this?

(Oh, that's right. He doesn't.)

Well, Hop did warn him.

He sprints towards Lee's bed and leaps, landing right on top of his brother. Lee yelps and jolts awake. "I'm up, I'm up!" he cries, pushing a giggling Hop off of him and sitting up. "Did you take a shower before you put those clean clothes on?"

"Yep!"

"Oh. Good," Lee hums, patting Hop on the head. "I didn't even have to remind you."

"Hurry up and get ready," Hop says, poking Lee's side. "I'm starving!"

"Well, what kind of brother would I be if I let you starve?" Lee yawns and slips out of bed. "Why don't you feed and brush Wooloo while you're waiting for me?"

Hop bobs his head obediently and scoops Wooloo up off the bed, startling him out of his slumber. He carries Wooloo over to the couch to brush him. Once Wooloo's coat is all springy and clean, Hop sets out a bowl of Pokémon food for him. By the time Wooloo has finished eating, Lee's gotten dressed, so Hop returns Wooloo to his Poké Ball. Then, he and Lee head down to the lobby to get breakfast themselves.

The breakfast room is open and bustling with activity. It's a self-serve buffet, complementary for all hotel guests. Hop races over to the end of the line and grabs two plates, handing the second one to Lee when he catches up. He bounces on his feet as he waits for the people in front of him to serve themselves. But after the line starts moving, he discovers that the food options aren't very appealing: potatoes mixed with peppers and onions, hard-boiled eggs, a weird yellow mush. There's not even any cereal or yogurt or anything plain like that. Hop starts to worry that there won't be anything at the buffet that he likes, but in the very last serving dish, there are pancakes. He piles his plate high with pancakes and drowns them in syrup. Lee, meanwhile, is far less of a picky eater than Hop, so he tries a little bit of everything.

"Hey, Lee," Hop says after they've sat down at a booth and started eating, "how many Champions are participating in this tournament?"

"Eight, including me. One representative from each of the major regions."

"Ooh, so it's a three-round tournament. Like the Champion Cup!"

"That's right!"

Hop frowns. "But…if there are only seven battles, why's it take three days? You can easily fit that many battles in a single day."

"Normal PWT tournaments will only take one day," Lee says. "But since this is the inaugural tournament, they really want to hype it up, make sure there's lots of media coverage, that sort of thing. So they're spreading out the battles more by only doing one round per day. That also means no one has to fight twice in one day, which is easier on the Pokémon."

"What Pokémon are you going to battle with today? Or are you waiting to see what Pokémon your opponent will use first? Do you even know who you're fighting today? What if you're fighting Iris? Oh, wait – what's the battle format?"

Lee chuckles. "One at a time, Hopscotch. To answer your first question, I'm thinking of using Dragapult today."

"Not Charizard?" Hop pouts.

"Nope. I want to give my whole team a chance to shine in this tournament!" Lee grins. "It's one-on-one battles for the first round, two-on-two for the second, and three-on-three for the third. I'll save Charizard for the third-round battle."

"Awesome! This is gonna be so much fun!" Hop exclaims, shoving a fat piece of pancake into his mouth.

"Right! We're going to have a real champion time!"

After breakfast, Lee and Hop head upstairs to put on their cape and jacket, respectively. Lee also grabs a duffel bag to carry a change of clothes in, for after the day's battles are over. Hop lets Wooloo back out once they're outside of the hotel, and the three make their way back to the Pokémon World Tournament.

The tournament lobby is far more crowded than it was yesterday, loads of people milling about as they head to their seats or wait for their friends to arrive. Hop quickly bends over to pick up Wooloo so he won't get kicked or startled, and Lee puts a hand on Hop's shoulder. Hop glances up at him, but Lee is looking out at the crowd with a furrowed brow; he probably doesn't know where to go today, either. Hop will have to take the lead.

He begins making his way through the crowd, going slowly so that Lee's hand doesn't get dislodged from his shoulder. He looks at the people around them, hoping to spot Iris or a staff member. He doesn't, but he does spot the scary blue-haired lady from yesterday when she pushes her way past them so roughly that she nearly knocks Hop over. Fortunately, Lee is there to steady him.

"Oi, Champ!" someone yells. Hop doesn't recognize the voice, and he's sure there are plenty of Champions around, so he ignores it. Lee has to tug on the collar of Hop's jacket to get him to stop and pay attention to it.

The voice belongs to a stout man wearing a leather suit and a big cowboy hat. Hop and Lee make their way over to the counter in the lobby that the man is standing beside.

"Yer the Galar Champ, right?" the man says, tilting his head up to look at Lee. "Name's Clay. I'm the Gym Leader 'round these parts."

"That's right. I'm Leon," Lee says, shaking Clay's hand. "Nice to meet you, sir."

"Iris told me ya'd need help gettin' to the locker room," Clay says gruffly. "Asked me to show ya the way. 'Cuz I ain't got anything better to do." He rolls his eyes.

"Erm…thank you. But I, um, my little brother – I need to bring him to his private box. Before I can – before the locker room."

Hop whips his head around to stare at his brother. Lee never stutters. The only times Hop has ever heard him stutter are times when a situation made him uncomfortable, and Hop has no idea what about this situation would make him uncomfortable. The mention of Iris? The offer to guide him to the locker room? The grumpy attitude? None of that is anything new for Lee to deal with. But why else would he be stuttering?

"The guest box's not that far out of the way," Clay grunts. "I can bring you there first."

Lee nods. "Let's go, Hop," he says. There's no conviction or enthusiasm behind the words at all. It's unnerving. Hop needs to fix this somehow.

As they follow Clay up one of the staircases, Hop puts Wooloo down so he can lace his hand with Lee's. Lee glances at him. "Are you okay?" Hop murmurs, loud enough for Lee to hear him but not so loud that Clay can.

Lee squeezes Hop's hand. "I'm fine, Hop."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely."

Hop presses himself against Lee's side. "Super-duper ultra-mega-double sure?"

Lee cracks a smile and throws an arm around Hop's shoulders. "Super-duper ultra-mega-triple sure," he says.

Hop grins back. He may not know what got Lee uncomfortable in the first place, but he got Lee smiling again, so he considers that a success.

He'll save the interrogation for later.

"This is…not quite as private as I was expecting."

"We ain't got enough private boxes for every Champ's guest to have their own."

Lee makes an exasperated noise. Hop doesn't see what the problem is. There are only six other people in the guest box, and it's plenty spacious, with three big windows that look out over the arena and tables and chairs scattered about the room. It's a lot quieter up here than it was in the stadium yesterday, so Wooloo can stay with him in the box, too.

"I just don't feel comfortable leaving my little brother in a room full of strangers," Lee says.

"Aw, they're not strangers once you get to know 'em!" a cheerful voice says.

Hop, Lee, and Clay turn around to see Iris standing in the doorway behind them, hands on her hips. She's changed up her outfit a bit from yesterday, replacing the dress with a cream-colored shirt, pink skirt, and white leggings. Her hairstyle is different, too – less fancy and more fluffy.

Hop grins and waves. "Hi, Iris!"

"Thought you were busy gettin' things ready for today," Clay says grumpily.

"I was! And now I'm done, so I came up here to relax and enjoy the fruits of my labor!" She beams. "Hi, Hop! You're looking a lot more chipper than you were last night."

Hop pumps his fists in the air. "I got a good night's sleep and now I'm ready to see some awesome battles!"

Clay grunts. "Well, you can take over from here, then," he says to Iris. "I've got better things to do than an escort mission."

Iris steps out of the doorway to give Clay room to leave. Then she turns back to Hop and Leon.

"Are you staying up here, Iris? You don't need to open the tournament or anything?" Lee asks.

"Nope! Took care of all the formalities last night," Iris says. "This way I don't have to wear my Champion dress for the whole tournament, and I can sit back and enjoy the battles like you, Hop!"

"Huh? You're not participating, Iris?" Hop asks. "Who's representing Unova in the tournament, then?"

"Our former Champion, Alder!"

"Why?"

"Hmm, it's a little complicated to explain. And you need to get down there before the tournament starts," she says, poking Lee in the chest. "Tell you what! Leon, I'll bring you down to the locker room. Then I'll come back up here and answer your question, Hop. Fair?"

"Are you sure it's okay to leave Hop alone up here with…?" He gestures to the other people in the box.

"Don't worry! Everyone here's a guest of a Champion. They're all honest, respectable people," Iris says. "And a bunch of 'em are strong Trainers in their own right. He'll be fine. Right, Hop?"

"Yeah!" Hop exclaims.

"Alright," Lee concedes. "Just remember Mum's rules, okay? Don't leave the box without me." He pauses for a moment to think. "Or, if you're with Iris. That's okay, too."

Hop grins and gives his brother a hug. "Thanks, Lee! Good luck in your battle!"

Lee smirks and ruffles Hop's hair. "I don't need luck – I'm the unbeatable Champion! I've got this whole tournament in the bag!"

Iris snorts. "Let's see how sure of that you are once you've seen everyone else battle."

"You only say that because you haven't seen me battle."

After Lee and Iris leave, Hop glances around the room at the other gathered guests. They're all adults, and Hop is a little hesitant to just go up to one of them and start a conversation. The scary blue-haired lady is talking to a group gathered around one of the tables; Hop decides to get as far away from her as possible. That puts him on the side of the room by the windows, where a man and a woman wearing lab coats are having their own conversation.

"It's all very mysterious," the woman is saying. "There's still so much we don't know about it."

"Oh, I can sympathize," the man says. "There's still so much we don't know about Mega Evolution, too. But the prospect of solving those mysteries…that's part of the fun, isn't it?"

"What's Mega Evolution?" Hop asks, drawing their attention to him. He's familiar with Evolution, obviously, but he's never heard of Mega Evolution before.

"It's a phenomenon first discovered in the Kalos region, where I'm from," explains the man. "It only occurs during battle, and it causes Pokémon to temporarily change their form and become stronger. Some Pokémon have their types or Abilities changed, too."

"Whoa! That sounds so cool!" Hop exclaims. "How does it work?"

"It's triggered by the use of two stones, a Key Stone for the Trainer and a Mega Stone for the Pokémon. Beyond that…well, I'm still researching it," the man chuckles.

"Research? Are you a professor?"

"That's right! You can call me Professor Sycamore. Understanding Mega Evolution is the focus of my research."

"I'm a professor, too," the woman chimes in, winking at Hop. "Professor Burnet. I study the relationship between Pokémon and other dimensions. Not quite as flashy a topic as Mega Evolution, but still quite mysterious. I leave the flashiness to my husband – he's a professor, too!"

"And you?" Professor Sycamore asks Hop.

"I'm not a professor," Hop says cheekily. "I'm Hop!"

"Nice to meet you, Hop," Professor Burnet says, shaking Hop's hand. "Where are you from?"

"Postwick, in Galar," he says.

"Galar…that's Leon, right?" Professor Sycamore says thoughtfully. He scrutinizes Hop for a moment. "Are you brothers?"

"Erm…yeah," Hop says, feeling a little lost. "But, um, how did you…?"

"After seeing him in the opening ceremony? You look just like him," Professor Sycamore says.

Hop blinks. "Oh." The Champions were probably introduced at the opening ceremony last night, which Hop practically slept through. That's why they can tell which Champion he came with just by knowing which region he's from.

Hop doesn't know any of the other Champions, though, so he'll just have to ask. "Who invited you to the tournament, Professor Sycamore?"

"Diantha. She's an old friend of mine," Professor Sycamore says. "It's good for us both to take a little break from work!"

"Break from work? But she's a Champion, isn't she?"

"Well, yes, but that's not a full-time job," the professor says. "Her main line of work is acting. She's quite famous – have you seen any of her movies?"

"Um, I don't know…I don't watch movies much," Hop says, bemused. He's still trying to wrap his head around the idea of a Champion whose main job isn't being Champion. What about the exhibition matches, the photoshoots, the interviews, the city visits? Maybe it's another example of those cultural differences Lee was talking about. If being Champion isn't such a big deal in other regions, then other regions' Champions won't have all the responsibilities that Lee has – so they'll have time to work other jobs.

"I've seen a couple of her films," Professor Burnet chimes in. "I always loved her performances – she's such a talented actress!"

Professor Sycamore beams. "Isn't she?"

Hop has no desire to hear them gushing about an actress that he's never even heard of, so he quickly redirects the conversation. "Which Champion did you come with, Professor Burnet?" he asks.

Professor Burnet chuckles. "Actually, I came with my husband. Professor Kukui."

"Your husband is a professor and a Champion? You can do that?" Hop asks, eyes wide.

"Not exactly," she laughs. "See, Alola's a pretty traditional place. We don't have a Pokémon League like other regions. Instead, we have the island challenge. Young Trainers travel across the Alolan islands, taking on trials and grand trials, and any Trainer who manages to clear all of them is given the title of island challenge champion. There are loads of Trainers who've earned that title, and my husband happens to be one of them."

"So how did your husband get selected to represent Alola?" Professor Sycamore asks.

"Well, he is one of the strongest Trainers in the region," Professor Burnet says. "Champion Iris called one day and explained that they were organizing a tournament of the strongest Trainers from every region, and she was going to leave it up to us to decide who we want to represent us."

"I called Kukui because he was the regional professor of Alola," Iris says from beside Hop. He jumps – how long had she been standing there? "I didn't expect him to call me back and say he would be the one representing Alola!"

Professor Burnet grins. "My husband has always dreamed of Alola's Trainers getting to be recognized on a world stage," she says. "He's even proposed the idea of starting a Pokémon League in Alola once or twice. So when the kahunas met up to discuss who to send as a representative to the tournament, they unanimously voted for him."

"That's awesome!" Iris says. "When Clay first proposed the idea of letting every region have one representative in the tournament, some people didn't want to invite Alola precisely because they don't have a Champion to represent them. I thought that was a dumb reason to exclude a whole region from the tournament, so I went ahead and contacted the professor anyways. If this tournament helps people to realize that Alola's Trainers are just as strong as any other region's…well, all the more reason to have it!"

Their words remind Hop of how Lee's always encouraging the Trainers of Galar to be the strongest they can be. Funny how even though the regions they come from couldn't be any more different, Lee and Professor Kukui have basically the same dream. It fills Hop with a fuzzy sort of warmth, realizing that the people of Alola aren't that different from the people of Galar after all.

"Now then, Hop," Iris says. Hop snaps to attention. "Obviously you've met Professor Sycamore and Professor Burnet, but have you met all the others yet?"

Hop shakes his head.

"Then allow me to introduce you!"

She links arms with Hop and drags him to the group on the other side of the room. A flurry of names and faces are thrown at him in rapid succession: Blue from Kanto, guest of their Champion, Red; Clair from Johto, the scary blue-haired lady, whose cousin is their Champion; a much friendlier blue-haired lady, Lisia, who's the niece of Champion Wallace; an old lady from Sinnoh who's the grandmother of their Champion, Cynthia. It's a lot of information to take in at once – he knows he didn't catch everything that they told him – so Iris takes pity on him and escorts him away from the group pretty quickly. She shows him to a seat where he'll have a great view of the battlefield, and they hang out there until the battles begin.

The first match is Wallace versus Red, and Hop immediately discovers the downside of watching all the matches from a private box – he can't hear anything that the Trainers are saying. To make up for it, the announcer's commentary is played directly over the speakers in the box, so Hop doesn't have any difficulty following the battle.

A little after the match starts, Lisia rushes up to the bench where he and Iris are sitting. "Hey! I'm not too late, am I?"

"Nope! The battle just started," Iris says, patting the bench next to her. "Have a seat!"

Lisia plops onto the seat and stretches her arms up above her head. "I was just fixing my hair in the bathroom when I heard them announce that the battle was starting. I had to rush out before I was done – is it too noticeable?"

Hop glances at her hair for a moment – it's styled all neatly, with a small blue headband on top helping smooth it out. "It looks pretty," he offers, turning his attention back to the battle.

"Why, thank you! Hop, right?"

Hop nods. Down on the battlefield, Wallace's Milotic uses Recover to heal itself from the damage that Red's Snorlax dealt with Body Slam.

"I've only been to Galar once, and I couldn't stand it there. I don't think I'll ever go back."

That's enough to draw Hop's attention away from the battle. "Why? What's so bad about Galar?" he demands.

Lisia freezes with a strand of hair twisted around her finger, like she didn't expect Hop to hear her. "Oh, there's nothing wrong with the region!" she rushes to say. "It's very beautiful. Colorful, too. It's more that…the people and I don't get along."

"What – what does that mean?"

"Everybody in Galar is just so…battle-crazy, and battles really aren't my thing," Lisia says, shrugging apologetically.

"But Pokémon battles are awesome!" Hop exclaims. "Strong moves clashing, Trainer and Pokémon moving in sync, clever strategies, direct hits – doesn't it just make your heart race!?"

Lisia tilts her head and puts a finger on her temple. "Mmm…not really?"

"What are you doing at a battle tournament of Champions, then!?"

She laughs nervously. "Yeah, I'm really out of my element, aren't I? My uncle really wanted me to come. It's not that I hate battles, it's just…there's this whole other amazing side to Pokémon, and all I can see when Pokémon battle is all that untapped potential."

"You're talking about Pokémon Contests, right?" Iris asks.

"That's right!" Lisia beams. "Look – watch the way Uncle Wall battles."

They turn their attention back to the match, where Snorlax is charging at Milotic with an attack. Wallace issues a command, and Milotic leaps into the air. It arcs above Snorlax, firing an orb of water into the air. Milotic lands on the ground behind Snorlax, and a few moments later, the orb of water lands directly on top of Snorlax and explodes.

"See that elegance? That grace? That's what makes my heart race," Lisia says. "My uncle's incorporated it into his battle style after years of doing both battles and contests. Showcasing that performative side of Pokémon is what Contest Spectaculars are all about! I want the whole world to see just how many varied and awesome ways you can raise Pokémon. That's my dream!" She winks at Hop. "Who knows, maybe someday you'll come to Hoenn and participate in a Contest Spectacular yourself!"

Hop wrinkles his nose. "No thanks," he says. "I'm gonna take on the Gym Challenge and become the strongest Trainer – even stronger than my big bro! That's my dream!"

Iris smiles. "Isn't it funny how different people can be equally passionate about completely different things? Here's to hoping you two can both achieve your dreams!"

Iris fistbumps both Hop and Lisia. Then Hop gives Lisia a fistbump himself. He can't imagine not loving Pokémon battles, but he can kinda understand the appeal of contests; the showy way Wallace battles is mesmerizing. And Lisia reminds him a bit of Sonia – he thinks they'd be good friends if they met. So, overall, Hop thinks he likes Lisia.

He never expected that meeting new people at this tournament would be just as fun as the battles themselves.

Between matches, Hop asks Iris for the tournament bracket. To his dismay, Lee's match is the last of the day. He had thought that Lee would be able to join him to watch the remaining matches after his battle was over, so it's a little frustrating to know that he won't be seeing his brother again until all the battles are done for the day.

At least Iris is good company – she knows almost all the other Champions personally, so she has lots of fun stories to tell during the next match. Afterwards, there's a break for lunch. Lee has press interviews, so he can't join them, but Iris treats Hop to delicious pizza and ice cream.

"Aren't you going to have some, Iris?" Hop asks after he's ordered his vanilla cone.

Iris shivers. "Nope! Cold and I don't get along. That's one thing I have in common with my dragons."

They take a seat on a bench near the docks so Hop can eat his ice cream. He gets a dollop of it on his nose, making Iris giggle uncontrollably until he finally wipes it off. In retaliation, he waves the ice cream cone in her face; she scrambles to the other side of the bench to get away from it. Hop laughs and finishes the rest of the ice cream cone in two bites.

He likes hanging out with Iris – it's almost as good as hanging out with Lee. She's strong, and she knows about everything, and she doesn't have a problem with being goofy every now and then. It's nice, too, that she acknowledges Hop as Hop first and Lee's little brother second. He's proud to be Lee's brother, obviously! But…he didn't realize how nice it would feel to be treated as his own person until Iris started doing it.

"You know, Iris, I think you're the coolest adult here," Hop declares as she slides back towards him. "'Sides Lee, of course."

Iris bursts out laughing.

Hop smiles awkwardly. Was what he said really that funny?

She finally straightens up, wiping the moisture from her eyes. "Sorry, sorry," she says, covering her mouth with a hand – probably an attempt to hide the fact that she's still giggling. "Thank you, it's just – I'm not an adult."

Hop's jaw drops. "Huh? You're not!? But you act so grown-up with everyone else!"

"I have to, if I want anyone to take me seriously," she sighs, lowering her hand. "I'm the youngest reigning Champion. Most of the Gym Leaders and all the Elite Four are adults. Adults don't want to take orders from a kid, so I have to act like an adult if I want them to listen to me."

"Oh…"

"Your brother's had to deal with a lot of this, too, I'll bet," she adds. "He still holds the record for being the youngest Champion ever. How many adults would want to listen to a ten-year-old kid, you know?"

"I…" Hop folds his arms. He was really young when Lee became Champion, so he doesn't remember much of what it was like for him in those early days. Not that Lee really told him much about what he was doing as Champion – all Hop wanted to hear about was the battles. But as far back as Hop can remember, Galar always loved Lee. He can't imagine anyone not listening to Lee just because he's young. "I don't think Lee ever had to deal with anything like that."

Iris snorts disbelievingly. "Something to ask him about later, then."

Hop shrugs and glances away, towards the harbor. There's only one ship docked there – a big black sailing ship, just like the sailboats in Hulbury. This ship is way bigger than any boat he's ever seen in Hulbury, though. "Hey, Iris, do you know what that ship is for?" he asks.

Iris looks at it for a few moments, considering. "No, I've never seen it before," she says. "It doesn't look like a shipping vessel. I'll bet Clay knows, though. Why d'you ask?"

Hop shrugs. "No reason. Just curious."

"Anyways, we should head back inside. The next match will be starting soon," Iris says, getting to her feet.

Hop grins. "Race you!" He jumps up and sprints towards the entrance.

"Wha– Oh, you're going down!" Iris shouts.

By the time he makes it back to the box, smiling and out of breath, Hop's forgotten all about the big black ship at the harbor.

A/N: You know what they say...curiosity killed the cat.