Look at that, a new chapter already. I want to thank everyone for helping me reach just over 4,000 views on this story. Six continents, dozens of countries, and hundreds of people have read at least SOME part of this story, so that means the world to me.

This chapter's title comes from a song by The Killers. I hope the chapter itself is to your liking.

Current music: I Get Weak - Belinda Carlisle

OTTO'S POV

When you rarely saw the sun, it was easy to lose track of just how many days had passed.

Of course, calendars and clocks were still present in the Seablast HQ, even if they weren't always easily accessible. The place had a general feeling of "timelessness" to it.

Otto lay awake in bed one night in late August. Though he normally considered himself to be the more "lighthearted" one between himself and Kai, he didn't feel like it at the moment. He shivered every time he pictured what might be happening to Zeraora.

Don't be so dramatic about it, Otto, the Oshawott told himself. There's no need to worry. It'll sort itself out soon enough.

But if he were being honest with himself, he didn't believe that at all. Nor, he was sure, did Kai.

Speaking of Kai, the Raichu also lay in bed. Unlike Otto, however, Kai was snoring, a surefire indicator that he'd managed to drift off. On that front, the Oshawott had to consider his friend the lucky one.

Otto got perhaps an hour or two of rest that night; though he wasn't the best judge of time, he'd have been shocked if it were more. He knew that his lack of sleep would hinder his ability to perform at work the next day, but was that such a bad thing?

No. If I don't know what I'm even doing, I can't do it in good conscience. I'm going to die on that hill.

During breakfast, the Oshawott's stomach churned at the thought of eating a scone or waffle. Nothing else looked appetizing either. Kai might have been stuffing his face, but Otto found himself utterly unable to take a bite.

"What's wrong, Otto?" Kai asked his friend. "Normally you can pack away a meal, no problem!"

Otto did not reply. Instead he simply stared off into the distance; looking at the floor would have been too much of a giveaway.

"Did a family member die or something?"

The Oshawott shook his head. That was as much information as he felt willing to disclose. Even friendship has its limits.

"Oh. Well, I guess that's good. I'm glad your family is still fully intact."

When Otto didn't say anything, Kai pressed him further.

"You're so much more upbeat most of the time. I don't know what's gotten into you, but I'll figure out a way to get it out!"

Otto snorted with dry laughter. "Please don't."

"Okay" the Raichu responded, his face falling like the white cap of a large ocean wave. "My apologies."

After breakfast, during which Kai probably put away ten times as many calories as Otto, they headed into their "work room." Upon sitting down at the table, the first thing Otto did was grab a piece of paper and a pen, a ritual that had grown all too familiar.

We should probably say things out loud, too, the Oshawott wrote. That way, they won't get suspicious when they don't hear our voices for hours on end.

Kai put the pen between his lips as he thought about a response. Otto wanted to remind the Raichu that this wasn't sanitary, but he didn't want to give anything away to Jim Bob.

"So…I do this…and then I do this," Kai said aloud. It was an innocuous statement, one he might be saying for any number of reasons. The Oshawott barely resisted a laugh; perhaps the old Otto was coming back.

What Kai wrote was the following: So why were you so withdrawn at breakfast? Was something troubling you?

Otto winked at his friend. "You think?"

Kai snorted, a bit of electricity coming out of his nostrils. But he kept the paper and wrote, What WAS it, though?

Once the Oshawott received the writing utensil and white stuff, he scribbled out the following message: I really think we should leave. Tonight.

Kai's eyes widened, and then he wrote, Tonight? That's awfully sudden, and we're not ready yet.

We'll never truly be ready, Otto replied. The longer we wait, the more chances we'll have to talk ourselves out of it. Let's not delay it any longer.

"Makes sense," the Raichu said aloud. And Otto's heart nearly stopped as he wondered if that would end up incriminating them. Yes, it was another pair of innocuous words, but their superiors would find an excuse to chew them out (and worse) regardless.

But then Kai kept writing. I don't LOVE the idea of leaving tonight, but I'll do it. The only question is, where would we go?

Home, I guess, Otto responded. Our parents said we'd always have a home with them.

Yeah, but I want to DO something. I don't want to be some bum who lives in his parents' basement.

Otto chuckled, but only very slightly. He didn't want to fully let the genie out of the bottle, as it were.

When he received the paper again, he wrote, You won't be. We'll find something to do. We're not going to have to live the rest of our lives in hiding.

Even as he "said" that, though, he wasn't fully convinced. The Seablast Corporation may not have been a government, but it felt just as powerful as one. Really, the biggest mistake Otto had ever made was signing up to work here.

So we'll leave tonight? Should we just burn the evidence of all our conversations?

Otto shook his head. No, we shouldn't. I think a fire in our office would create more attention than a bunch of ripped paper. They're used to us communicating this way.

The Raichu sighed. "Fair enough" he said aloud. Then, in writing: When do you want to leave? Midnight?

The Oshawott frowned. That's exactly when they'd expect us to leave, Kai. They'll probably have lots of people watching then.

Kai winked at Otto. That's why they might not. They'll think nobody would bother trying to escape at that time, BECAUSE it would be too obvious. It's 4D chess!

Otto snorted. I guess that's the plan, then.

Every element of the plan had to go like clockwork. There was no telling what Jim Bob and his supervisors might do if they learned of the impending mutiny. But once they were gone, they would be one step closer to freedom and a clear conscience. This was the most exciting time of the last several weeks.

Of course, it was also the most dangerous time.

LUCAS' POV

Ferguson: Did you suspect anything about what Sionne's demons might be?

Defendant: I don't see why you think that, Darren.

Ferguson: Don't put words in my mouth, Mr. Teller. I want to know what you believe, not what you think I believe. So please, just give me the truth.

Defendant: I don't see why it's important. What Sionne might have been dealing with was none of my business. With all due respect to her, it's still none of my business.

Ferguson: I don't think we'll get any further with this line of questioning. Let's move on.

For the rest of that afternoon, I, despite not being great at reading social cues in most cases, was able to pick up on a certain energy in the village - a nervous energy.

The main difference, of course, was that this time, they weren't nervously excited about putting me to death. Rather, they were just plain nervous. And the thing about emotions is that they're contagious.

Janelle and I stayed with Sionne that night. As the Pyroar cooked some seafood on the stove (which, she assured us, did not come from Pokemon), I glanced at my fellow former human awkwardly. There just wasn't much to say.

As I would tell Darren Ferguson nearly a year later, I didn't intend to pry about what Sionne was going through. It had been drilled into my head that you should not intrude on other peoples' business; that was a Southern value, it seemed.

However, to say that I didn't suspect anything about Sionne's mental state would be false, to say the least.

For one, the Pyroar did not take her eyes off of her cooking project. I mean, it's not like one should ever neglect to pay attention to a burning stove, but she seemed even more fixated on the job than most would be. She also seemed to take great pleasure in stabbing each filet with the knife.

We sat down for dinner, which was a quiet affair. Sionne picked at her food, and so did Janelle. Not me, though; after all that paddling to shore, I could have eaten an entire Donphan.

The whole time we were eating, I experienced intrusive thoughts against my will, as though someone were injecting them right into my skull.

Yes, Sionne had treated me well at first; indeed, she still treated me well. However, I couldn't help but wonder if she thought differently of us now that we'd gone against her wishes.

What a stupid question. Of course she does, because she was so adamant about what she wanted us to do. Namely, stay away from the Wind Festival.

And yet, there was more to the story than that. There had to be. But I wasn't going to push the poor lady any further that night, not when she'd been so kind to serve us dinner.

After a mediocre night's sleep in Sionne's guest room, where Janelle and I shared a bed (no, we didn't cuddle), the sun streamed into the house yet again. The time had come to face the day.

We ate breakfast in the kitchen once more, and I started to think this might be the way my life would work from here on out, just a repetitive routine. But that wasn't the case.

Leopold came in unannounced midway through our meal. In a major departure from yesterday, he was smiling widely this time.

"I have something to show you all," he told us, beaming from ear to ear.

That's weird. He's not usually so happy - there has to be a reason why today is so different.

"Where is it?" Sionne asked, sounding somewhat exasperated.

"It's in the harbor," the Village Elder responded.

Janelle frowned. "You guys have a harbor?"

Leopold nodded. "Yes, we do. It's a decently-sized one at that. Please, follow me there; breakfast can wait.'

Although my stomach still growled in protest, I knew that Leopold meant business. The three of us got up from the table and followed the Village Elder into the forest.

It was about a mile, through the village and forest, before we reached a small, rocky stretch of beach. Even now, I'm not sure how I didn't notice this area before; it was basically hiding in plain sight.

Anchored about fifty yards offshore was a yacht of sorts. It was considerably larger than a fishing vessel, but not quite the size of a yacht you'd associate with billionaires. Still, it was quite a clash with the serenity this place otherwise held.

"What is that?" Janelle wondered aloud.

Leopold smiled at us. "It's a yacht. More specifically, it's known as the Windwhistler, and the Fulan Government has agreed to let us use it for the voyage to Sinnoh's Eastern Archipelago."

My floppy Litleo ears perked up at that. "We're going to sail north?"

"Yes!" the Village Elder exclaimed, with an energy I had never believed he could show.

"That's awesome" I said. "It feels good to at least do something."

"Quite" Leopold responded. "We'll spend the next few days loading it up with supplies for the trip. I was able to persuade the Fulan Government to lend us this yacht, with the condition that we wouldn't use it for any pleasure cruising and that we'd return it with as little damage as possible."

"Damage?" Janelle piped up.

"And I told them that we would keep the vessel fully intact. There's no reason we shouldn't be able to keep that promise. The northern seas are rough, but they're not so rough that a yacht like this can't be safe."

It was then that I noticed that Sionne hadn't spoken at all through this whole conversation. Her eyes remained fixed on an area beyond the yacht, as though she were staring right through it.

"Sionne?" Leopold asked the female Pyroar. "Are you feeling okay?"

Sionne nodded with a gulp. "Yeah. It's just…a lot to process. I haven't traveled very much, and Sinnoh is quite the distance."

The Village Elder frowned. "Are you sure it's not about…well, I shouldn't say it in front of them. Please disregard that."

What could he be talking about?

There were so many things revolving around Sionne that raised questions. For instance, why did the sight of the yacht cause her such evident distress? It was just a giant ship, for crying out loud.

But Leopold had also entertained these questions. No, he knew the answer, as evidenced by him telling Sionne that he shouldn't discuss it in front of us.

We shouldn't intrude on Sionne's personal matters. They're personal for a reason.

After the three of us spent a few minutes gawking at the vessel, amazed that such an enormous boat could be anchored there and yet none of us noticed, Leopold instructed us to head over to the village storehouse and carry all the boxes to the beach. He promised to bring in a Psychic-type Pokemon later in order to levitate the supplies onto the ship from the beach.

(Why he couldn't have the Psychic do this from the beginning, negating the need for us to schlep so many heavy boxes, was beyond me. But Leopold just couldn't be questioned.)

Fortunately, the storehouse wasn't too far from the harbor. It was only about a five-minute walk, but I was all too aware that it would be longer when we were carrying the supplies. My jaw ached at the mere suggestion of it.

Well, we got to the supply depot and found that there were literally dozens of cardboard boxes and wooden crates. And I grimaced.

"You might as well just do it" Sionne muttered. "The sooner you buck up and do it, the sooner it'll be over."

I couldn't argue with that.

Although I'd gotten used to some functions of being a quadruped, one that I might never grow accustomed to was the inability to carry objects with one's paws. I had to use my teeth, which gave me flashbacks to preparing the Fula City apartment for myself and Janelle all those weeks ago.

Despite the difficult work, I couldn't help but smile just a little. For all those weeks on Earth, I'd always felt like I should be doing something to help this cause, no matter how minor. Instead I'd just been sitting at home like a box of ballast.

But now I was taking matters into my own hands. I was taking charge of my own destiny, just the way they always tell you to. And that's what mattered most. The world wasn't going to save itself, after all.

Make no mistake, though: The schlep was a painful, tiring one. More than once I dropped a box on the ground after my jaw just couldn't take it anymore. Fortunately, I don't think anything was broken as a result.

As the sheer amount of cargo on the beach grew heavier, my heart grew lighter. Sooner or later, it might sprout wings and fly off into the distance, soaring over the ocean and all its inhabitants, and I'd be filled with joy again.

KAI'S POV

Midnight didn't give them much time to prepare.

Of course, it had been Kai's suggestion to leave at this time, but the Raichu would be lying if he claimed not to have doubts. In practice, of course, there was that nagging reminder that not everything would happen according to plan, that they might have to improvise at some point.

It was all about the nerve, really. Courage was an entirely different skill from the set required to operate Seablast's computers. Building a machine for a potentially highly immoral reason - that was the cowardly choice. The easy way out.

Kai lay awake in bed watching the clock. The minutes rushed by at a rapid pace, and the Raichu found the moment of their departure growing nearer. The only question was: Would they both have the courage necessary to make the hard decision?

Fifteen minutes.

He thought of his parents, who would feel betrayed if he got caught trying to escape. Kai could picture them telling neighbors, or even reporters, that they liked people who weren't caught, or that the decision to betray his superiors had been a disgrace.

Ten minutes.

He thought of himself and Otto. If they were captured by their overseers, they would more than likely be punished. What, exactly, that punishment would entail was anyone's guess. Kai only knew that they had no shortage of creative ways to make himself and Otto regret the day they'd ever crossed management.

Five minutes.

He thought about his own conscience. It demanded that he leave, that he escape from Seablast headquarters and never look back. And, though Kai didn't believe in karma, he imagined that Arceus would hardly be pleased if the Raichu went against his own moral code.

The clock strikes midnight.

Kai got out of bed and nudged Otto awake. "Whazzat?" the Oshawott stammered groggily.

"It's time," the Raichu whispered.

Otto's eyes widened as the truth dawned on him. He had committed to this, of course, but it was one thing to say you would do something brazen and reckless, and quite another to actually follow through with it.

"You shouldn't have spoken!" Otto hissed at his friend. Then, collecting himself a bit: "Well, it doesn't really matter. Our cover's been blown anyway, so all we can do is get out of here."

They had no time to gather any belongings. Perhaps they could have done that prior to tonight, but they just hadn't had the opportunity to make sure the boats had enough space for their belongings. Besides, time travel didn't exist, unless you could get Celebi on your side.

The pair tiptoed out of their room and into the corridor. Only now that they were about to leave HQ did it dawn on Kai just how ominous the place looked. It had been their workplace, yes, but it had also been a metaphorical prison. Now it felt like a literal one.

The lamps appeared ghostly, casting an eerie light over parts of the hallway while leaving others in pitch darkness. There was a thin layer of grime on the ground, rendering the floor only slightly less slippery than an ice rink.

There are no guards! It's just like I thought!

Kai let himself have some silent laughter at that discovery, as well as celebrate some of his ingenuity. His hunch had been right - the guards hadn't expected anyone to leave at such an obvious time, so they hadn't stationed anyone in the halls.

Even with that, it was almost too easy to navigate the hallways without discovery. It was almost as though the real prison was in one's mind as they became convinced that there was no escape.

But now they'd broken free. As they made their way down the various corridors contained within the Seablast HQ, Kai and Otto would occasionally pause and listen for any sign of footsteps that weren't their own.

"Did you hear anything?"

Kai froze right in his tracks as he heard a barking voice coming from somewhere else in the headquarters. His heart froze too, right between beats.

His first thought was that one of two things was happening. Either Otto had heard footsteps coming from a guard (or possibly a different employee), or, more worryingly, somebody else had heard them.

The Raichu turned to the Oshawott again. Otto looked just as frightened as Kai felt, his mouth agape and his eyes almost as wide as the moon.

"Where are they?"

Now there could be no doubt. Otto's lips had not moved, so it had been confirmed: There were indeed guards out and about at this hour. They'd just gotten lucky thus far, and now their luck had run out.

Hide! Duck for cover! Kai hoped telepathy existed at that moment, because it would really be beneficial if Otto could hear his thoughts. Of course, the Oshawott had surely heard the bark as well.

The pair ducked into the nearest alcove. Kai prayed to Arceus above that the guards weren't carrying flashlights; if they were, then he and Otto would be caught faster than you can say, "Seablast."

The seconds stretched out as far as they possibly could. Each one felt like several minutes as Kai pictured Jim Bob's face coming into view, beaming with pride and joy as he reveled in the thought of punishing them.

And the worst part was, Kai and Otto couldn't communicate with each other. A pen and paper wouldn't be as loud as their voices, but it would still make noise, and they couldn't afford that; besides, they didn't have either object with them.

"Who do they think they are?" a gruff voice sounded. "Wandering around at night - well, in the words of one famous poltergeist, Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."

Kai grimaced at the abrupt shift in the man's tone. It probably wasn't Jim Bob, but the sheer level of glee with which he threatened them was almost more than Kai could bear. He was enjoying this, toying with them and trying to goad the pair into coming out of hiding.

Suddenly, there was a woman's voice. And it said the following:

"I am a woman. I am a female business owner. And I do not support your socialist agenda. If you want to be a big girl, you need to get rid of your-".

Otto snorted with mild laughter. It was probably more of an uncomfortable laugh than an amused one, but it still wasn't what they needed.

The footfalls grew closer and closer, and bile rose in Kai's throat. It got closer and closer to his mouth, at which point he'd probably vomit, making enough noise to blow their cover.

If they just turn the corner, that'll be the end of both of us. They'll never let us live it down. And Master Roy is going to have our asses on a silver platter.

Each step sounded like the beat of a drum now as the figure approached. Kai and Otto hardly dared to breathe, for even this action necessary to keep them alive might well be suicide.

Just as suddenly as the footsteps had begun, they ceased. The Raichu had no idea how many pairs of feet had walked this hall, but he wasn't going to give up his effort just yet.

They hid for another several minutes. Just when Kai thought it might be safe to come out from their hiding place, Otto tugged on his shoulder.

Of course, the Raichu realized. That's a terrible idea. They might be waiting us out!

Until the footsteps resumed, this time growing fainter with each step, neither Pokémon moved a muscle. They just couldn't risk it.

After another minute or two, Otto whispered in Kai's ear: "I think they're gone. We can move now, and we had better do that."

Kai didn't need to be told twice. Ultimately, as important as it was to stay hidden from the guards, it was even more imperative to cash in on their payday (i.e., actually get out of there.)

"Let's run for it."

LUCAS' POV

I went to bed that night thoroughly exhausted. Not only did my back feel like it had been stretched to its maximum extent possible, but my very teeth felt weak, to the point that I could barely chew my dinner.

Of course, I did manage to eat eventually, since I knew I needed the strength for the next day. According to Leopold, we'd be leaving two days from tomorrow, so there was a lot more schlepping to do.

Imagine my surprise when I woke up to the acrid stench of smoke.

At first I wanted to believe that it was still a dream. That was certainly a much more palatable option than what the presence of smoke implied. But the sound of literal alarm bells right between my ears put that notion to rest.

"Fire sirens!" Sionne shouted from the next room. "It means something's burning!"

Janelle rose to her paws and looked in the direction of Sionne's room. "Are you sure you didn't leave something on the stove last night?"

Sionne came bounding into the room, shaking her head vigorously. "I am. There's way too much smoke for it to just be the stove. And yes, I know that smoke leads to more smoke, because when there's smoke, there's…".

"FIRE!" I yelled. I wasn't in a crowded theater, so it was okay for me to state the obvious.

"Exactly," Sionne replied breathlessly. "The fire - it seems to be all around us. And I've got a healthy respect for that sort of thing, so you'd better believe I didn't start it."

Uh, why would we have thought that?

"Whatever" Janelle muttered. "So we have to escape, right?"

"Of course" I shot back. "You don't see any firefighters coming to our aid, do you?"

"The Fulan Government's fire-fighting division probably has its hands full" Sionne said. "If it's a wildfire, that is."

"Well? Do you think it is?" I asked, dreading the answer. Really, I don't think I even needed to ask the question, for there could be no doubt; the smoke in the air was getting thicker, and I was forced to shut my mouth to prevent inhalation.

The Pyroar nodded. "We've got to run for cover, guys. Namely, we have to get to the Windwhistler."

I sighed. "Isn't leaving right now a bit premature?"

Janelle glared at me. "Look at it this way, Lucas: What choice do we have? If we don't leave now, we're going to get burned. Literally."

I pictured the charred remains of my Litleo form, from which there would be no phoenix rising above the ashes. If I was dead, I was dead, and I would never see Janelle or Sionne again.

"Okay" I said. "Let's run."

We left everything in the house where it was. It would only slow us down. But in the open air, the situation appeared even more dire.

It became clear that this was what the villagers had been dreading, exactly what Leopold had warned us about. Many of the trees that had stood before were now crumbling into ashes and dust. There was so much smoke, a product of fire consuming much of the air's oxygen, that breathing was difficult.

As for the other villagers, many of them were running in the opposite direction of the harbor. I knew what they were hoping for - that a good Samaritan would appear in the parking lot and drive them into Fula City, where they would live until the village was rebuilt, stone by stone.

But that was just a fantasy. Judging by the sheer ferocity of this wildfire, I didn't think the charred ground would be very suitable for any form of life.

We ran until our lungs burned, my legs growing more jelly-like with each stride. Just when I was about to collapse from exhaustion, I remembered the fate I would receive if I did that, and that's what gave me the strength to keep going.

"The ocean is in the distance!" Sionne choked out with all her might. "We're almost there!"

A minute or two later, our pace considerably slower than it would have been without the smoke, we arrived at the beach, where Leopold was waiting for us.

"Terrible, isn't it?" the old Pyroar asked rhetorically.

Sionne nodded, tears in her eyes. Whether that was from smoke or sadness, I wasn't sure, though I leaned toward the latter option.

"It's just…hard to process" she sobbed. "This village…gone. And all because of him."

Who is she talking about?

"Don't say that, Sionne," Janelle snapped. "It's too early to lose hope. They should be able to stop the fire; don't they drop water from planes or whatever? That's what they do in California."

Sionne clearly didn't know where California was, as evidenced by her bewildered expression. Instead, she stared out at the yacht anchored offshore, superimposed against the dark sky and sea.

We had all known this time was coming. We just hadn't expected it so soon.

"Swim out, guys," Leopold told us. "I'll stay here and help evacuate."

"Hell no!" Sionne shot at him. "You're coming with us!"

The Village Elder shook his head. "I'm not leaving my people behind in a time of crisis. That's just wrong. Plus, I might be too old to handle the rough waters."

I was tempted to agree with Leopold, but Sionne wouldn't listen to reason. When she looked at the Village Elder again, the far younger Pyroar had tears in her eyes.

"Leopold, we can't do this without you! You've got a part to play, I'm sure you do!"

"This isn't a prophecy, Sionne," I told her. "If he doesn't want to go, then don't make him."

"Shut up, Lucas!" Sionne exclaimed. "If he's not coming, then neither will I, and you two lovebirds can figure out the yacht on your own!"

Really? She has to call us lovebirds?

That did it. Leopold let loose a great sigh before finally giving a slow nod.

"Okay, I'll travel with you all. Let's escape to Thunderhead together. We will free Zeraora, at all costs."

And with that, showing off all the agility of a far younger Pokemon, Leopold lunged into the ocean. With a near-perfect butterfly stroke, he left us in the dust quickly.

Sionne, Janelle, and I waded out to sea, but we were well behind Leopold by this time. The water itself was bone-chilling despite the flames above, and I was reminded of a different escape…

I shook my head. I couldn't focus on that right now; the four of us had to get away from Chilly Waters by swimming through the eponymous chilly waters. Besides, it would only put me in a worse mood.

My muscles grew sore long before we reached the ladder. Even though giving up meant drowning, it was almost tempting to do so after such an exhausting day yesterday. Almost.

Just when I thought my legs might seize up, my front right paw made contact with a metal rung. Using these rungs, I was able to climb onto the deck, Sionne and Janelle right behind me.

I collapsed from tiredness, panting like a dog in hot weather. As I did so, I had a view of the night sky, which was entirely devoid of stars. And as you can imagine, my satisfaction and relief were short-lived.

Fortunately, Leopold didn't seem eager to mock us for our lack of stamina. He simply smiled as he said, "I'll go get this thing moving. Some of the supplies are already on the ship - otherwise, we'll need to do without."

I laid on my back until I eventually fell asleep, the sound of the yacht's engine serving as a lullaby of sorts. Make no mistake, though: My slumber was anything but peaceful.