Here we go, Chapter 21! And yep, I'm alive. It's been a fun ride as we enter the home stretch; this story still has some tricks up its sleeve. I'm also happy that this site's staff are communicating with us again, so that's cool.

There's not much else to say. Happy reading!

SIONNE'S POV

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Really, that was quite a shocker, given how insane things had been that morning. Between the storm, my near-endless vomiting (though not over the edge of the boat), and Lucas almost drowning, there had been more than enough excitement for one day.

Lucas insisted he felt fine, but Leopold insisted that he give the Litleo a complete physical examination, and ultimately, the Village Elder's will had to trump his subject's. At a certain point, Lucas didn't complain either; I think he was happy just to be alive.

Honestly? I was happy as well. If I'm being truthful, I embraced Lucas in a hug more than once that day. It felt almost as if, were I to let go, he would immediately be sucked back into the unforgiving ocean.

That wasn't true, of course, but sometimes irrational thoughts force themselves into your mind and refuse to let go. This was one of those times.

Now, the five of us sat in the rec room around the pool table. There were no billiard balls or sticks on it now; rather, they had been replaced with cheese, crackers, and sparkling apple cider (nonalcoholic, of course.) Basically, whatever "party" appetizers we could find in the storeroom were present here.

The color had returned to Lucas' fur at a rapid rate. Being that he was a Pokemon, he recovered more quickly from any trauma, whether that be an illness or something like what he'd just experienced. Of course, the hot drinks couldn't have hurt, nor the towel he was now adorned in.

"Trust me, I never want to experience anything like that again" Lucas said, looking at Janelle with a grave expression. "It's horrific."

"I don't doubt that," Kai told him. "You were turning blue when Otto got to you."

As Lucas shivered again, the Oshawott nodded. "The alarm bells rang as soon as we heard the splash. I guess this yacht is programmed to announce when there's a 'mon overboard."

"Nice pun there" Janelle muttered.

"But I'm serious," Otto replied. "I joke sometimes, but this is no laughing matter. If not for the alarm system, we wouldn't have noticed Lucas' absence until we were miles away. And no offense, Lucas, but I don't think you could have lasted very long in that water."

Lucas cringed. "None taken."

"So Leopold's back up there" I jumped in, hoping the subject could change to something lighter. "He said that if something's wrong, he'll contact us. Until then, we have to leave him alone."

"I suppose that makes sense," Kai replied. "He must have his hands full right now as it is."

"You look a lot better, Sionne, by the way," Lucas told me. "Is the nausea starting to go away?"

I hadn't noticed it at first, but he was right. I hadn't expected my appetite to ever return after all that puking earlier, but now that I found myself here, with the appetizers on the table, I was tempted to just chow down.

"Yeah" I responded. "I guess looking at the horizon really does help."

"Indeed," the Raichu replied. "That's the strategy I used while we were driving out to your boat. We had just escaped the Seablast HQ, and we found this place by total chance."

Lucas looked as though he'd just been shaken back to life again. "That chance saved my life" he mouthed quietly.

Nobody disputed him, because there was nothing to dispute. It was just a fact.

The ship listed to starboard again, but since the chairs in the rec room were bolted down, we fortunately didn't slide with the deck. Still, even without the nausea, it was more than a little unsettling.

When things righted themselves again, we continued our conversation. But there didn't seem to be much else to say - other than reliving Lucas' near-death experience, or discussing the quest, we were out of ideas.

Except for one.

It crossed my mind that one of the others would inevitably bring up how cruel the Seablast Corporation was for kidnapping Zeraora. If one of the others (likely Otto and/or Kai) knew the name and species of the leader, would they link it back to me?

And it probably sounds very privileged of me to say this, but I felt as frightened as Lucas must have in that churning sea. Because if they asked me about Roy Pyroar, I had no clue how I'd respond without making them hate me.

They won't hate me for what my father is doing. They understand that I'm not him.

That's what I wanted to believe. If pressed, that is what I believed. But the doubt was starting to creep in, and I did not know what to do.

And so my mind turned back to a time long ago, in a village far, far away.

I'd been reading a novel, one of my favorites, though it only served as a distraction rather than something I truly enjoyed that night. I rocked back and forth in the chair, trying to concentrate on the words. (And yes, sitting in a rocking chair helped me with focus; don't ask me how.)

Suddenly, Leopold and Lucas arrived at the front door. This wasn't much of a surprise, given that I'd been told the Litleo would be staying with me, but it was still somewhat startling.

"Good evening" I said softly, glancing up at Lucas.

"Good evening," Lucas repeated, glancing around the room. He must have been taking everything in, and it flattered me to see how impressed he was at the inside of my house.

With a sigh, I replied with the following: "I'm not going to keep you from bed if you don't want to stay up. It's probably nearly midnight by now."

In reality, I didn't know what time it was, but my eyes were already somewhat heavy. Even though Lucas had slept much of the day, his body probably demanded more rest as well.

"Thanks" the Litleo responded with a gulp. "I think I'll feel better in the morning."

I put my book down on the coffee table as I realized what I needed to tell Lucas. In the interest of transparency, he deserved to know the truth.

"Look, Lucas…I just want you to know that holding you above a fire like that…I was no part of that at all. I wanted no part of that, simply because I don't support being so cruel to visitors."

I had chosen my words carefully so as to minimize the odds that Lucas would lash out at me. In my mind, of course, he had every right to; a proverbial scythe had been dangled above him, and it was only due to quick thinking that he'd evaded it.

He'll probably see me as complicit in the other villagers' atrocities. Again, I don't blame him if he thinks that.

"Thank you," Lucas said weakly, with a slight smile. I let loose a sigh of relief.

"It was the least I could do," I replied. "Anyway, the master bedroom is ready for you. I prepared it while Leopold was showing you around the village. How was the tour, by the way?"

Lucas snorted dryly. "It wasn't much of a tour. Only got to see one place: The blacksmith."

The blacksmith. The Pyroar who helped hoist him up there like a hunk of meat and dangle death right before him. That probably reopened old wounds for him.

"Trust me", I said, weighing my words carefully, "Chilly Waters is a lot prettier during the day. I look forward to showing you more of our home. But you need some rest now."

Lucas did not protest; instead, he nodded. "I sure do."

And with that, the Litleo headed into the master bedroom. While my house was sizable relative to Chilly Waters, it still wasn't enormous in an absolute sense, so it didn't take long for Lucas to find it.

When he evidently found it, however, Lucas said, "Uh…" in a rather sheepish manner. I got up from the rocking chair and made my way towards him.

"Yeah?" I asked.

When Lucas turned to me, his face was bright pink. "Could you help me onto the bed?" he asked. "It'll be hard for me to get in otherwise."

Truth be told, I'd seen far worse. "Sure" I replied, trying not to feel embarrassed at all.

I bent over and lifted Lucas by the chest, then deposited him on the bed. If he truly were a former human, he would have been a lot heavier in that form, but as a Litleo, I found it near-effortless to carry him.

Once Lucas was safely beneath the covers, I made my way to my own bedroom. My book could wait until tomorrow; truth be told, I was almost as exhausted as Lucas seemed. When morning came, I (and the rest of the village) would start seeking answers as to how the Litleo had suddenly ended up here - right now, I was too bushed to contemplate this.

I got into bed and almost instantly fell into a dreamless sleep. Facing my new reality would have to wait until morning.

When I woke up, I saw that the first rays of sunlight were streaming in through the windows. I climbed out from beneath the covers, knowing that if I didn't do so, I would grow even more disinclined to leave my bed. And then I made my way to the kitchen, since my stomach was growling with hunger.

I got some berries from the fridge. On their own, without anything being done to them, they weren't terribly appetizing, but if you cooked them on the stove, the berries could become a positively divine creation.

As I was setting the berries down on the counter, as well as gathering the pan and spatula, I heard a bang.

I flinched at the sound, which was then followed by the noise something ceramic makes when it shatters into a million pieces. I gulped, knowing what this had to mean.

"An earthquake?" I shouted. "Is that what that was?"

I looked around the kitchen, where a couple of plates had fallen to the floor, all of them now broken beyond repair. I cursed under my breath as I thought about the painstaking work that would go into making the room somewhat presentable again.

Then, with his head hung low on his shoulders, Lucas the Litleo staggered into the kitchen. He looked despondent, not to mention deeply regretful.

And I was able to piece together what had happened: Lucas must have jumped off his bed with too much force, creating a tremor that had caused the plates to crash to the floor. That made sense, at least.

"It's okay, Lucas" I assured him, because I didn't want the Litleo to start bawling like mad. "I'll sweep them up, and then I'll make you some breakfast. Don't worry about it."

As Lucas took his position at the table, something else occurred to me. It was a lesson that might be applicable to my father, come to think of it.

"Just be careful, Lucas. We all make mistakes. It's how you learn from them that matters."

And I cleaned up the mess, not seeing a reason to make the poor guy do it. His face was already beet red; there was no need to make it worse for him.

We ate breakfast together, which Lucas seemed very grateful for. If he hadn't been a minor (at least, I thought I'd been told he was a minor), I would have loved to have someone like him in my father's place. At least Lucas was appreciative of what I provided.

"This is delectable!" the Litleo exclaimed. "How do you cook like that? And how old are you, anyway?"

I grimaced, and Lucas seemed to realize as well that a female's age isn't something you just ask willy-nilly. Luckily for him, I was in a merciful mood that day.

I told him I was eighteen, and then he remarked that I was only a year older than he was. The next question he asked, however, was far more sensitive. Lucas asked me why I lived alone.

"That's not important," I told him flatly.

At some point, I knew that I should be transparent with Lucas, but now wasn't the time. Not when we were still getting to know one another. That's what I wanted to believe, at least.

"Fair enough."

Once dinner was over, Lucas insisted on helping me with the dishes. I didn't exactly feel like complaining about that, of course; who's going to turn down help with chores? But something about it didn't feel genuine, as though he just wanted to assuage his own conscience rather than truly assist me.

When we were almost done with this job, a knock came at the door. Lucas went to get it.

He's overcompensating. I was going to forgive him anyway. Why does he feel like he needs to do all these things just to earn my trust?

Seconds later, Leopold entered the house. The old Pyroar was the kind of creature that practically radiated authority as powerfully as the sun radiates heat and light. So it makes sense that Lucas didn't know how to greet him in a "normal" fashion.

"Good morning, Chief" the Litleo mumbled, in a voice utterly devoid of self-confidence.

"Good morning, Lucas," the Village Elder said in return. Turning to me, he continued with, "And hello to you, Sionne. How was your first night in Chilly Waters, Lucas?"

"It went okay, I guess."

Lucas and Leopold exchanged small talk for a while after that, neither of them addressing me. Eventually, however, this changed when Leopold asked me if I'd let him borrow Lucas for a bit.

What could the guys be talking about? I wondered. Of course, I had ultimately given my consent, but the questions were still there.

I had zoned out so thoroughly that it wouldn't surprise me if I'd been snoring. I looked around the room to find that the others were glaring at me, as though expecting me to say something. Anything to break the silence would be better than nothing.

"Well?" Kai blurted out eventually.

"Yeah?"

"I'm just curious," the Raichu responded. "You looked very deep in thought. As in, at the center of Nexus, to use one analogy."

Otto chuckled. "Yeah, that makes sense. Please, Sionne, what's wrong?"

As I glanced at each of the other Pokemon in turn, it occurred to me that before my trance, I'd been internally weighing what I was going to say if they asked me about my father.

Yes. That is what I wanted to decide for myself. How was I going to deal with it?

After a few more minutes of the others talking about billiards or Zeraora or some other subject (I couldn't be bothered to have a clue), I decided that I was going to make the first move.

"Hey, guys?" I interrupted.

They kept blabbering about whatever it was, to the point that I was forced to raise my voice. I hated to do it (for it probably made me sound rather like Janelle), but sometimes when you're a Pyroar, you just can't help yourself.

"Guys!"

That got their attention. Lucas swiveled around in his chair to face me, as did the others. Janelle in particular gave me a sharp glare, as though she just couldn't accept that what I needed to tell them was more important than her own words.

Really, I'm not sure if it is. Maybe clearing my conscience is not as vital as I believe it to be.

"What is it, Sionne?" Janelle exclaimed. "You'd better have a good reason to bring down the mood like that!"

I snorted. "I'm sorry, but the mood wasn't exactly lighthearted before! Look at the weather around us!"

Janelle looked as though she were about to protest, but Lucas held up a finger (no, it wasn't his middle finger.) That stopped the female Litleo from exclaiming whatever she'd planned to.

"Fair point, Sionne," Lucas said. "So what's going on?"

My heart raced, my lungs pounding as though they were about to burst open. That's not something I exactly wanted to picture, but doing so was irresistible at the same time.

But it was too late to turn back now. They all knew I'd had some important reason for interrupting.

"I…have something to tell all of you guys. A confession, if you will."

This was it. Any chance there had been to revoke my courage (if you could call it that) was completely gone. All that remained was the knowledge that I had to take the next step.

Janelle, contrary to what I expected from her, did not appear angry. But she didn't exactly seem satisfied either. That girl was an enigma whom I just couldn't decode.

"Please, whatever it is…just say it" Lucas told me. His eyes had turned bloodshot all of a sudden, almost as though he were doing some preemptive crying. "I promise I can handle it."

"Really?" I replied. "It won't make you think of me any differently?"

"I mean", Otto jumped in, "everything you say has that potential. But whatever you say, I won't judge you. You three were all so kind to take us in."

Lucas snorted with a slight wink. "That was Leopold's decision, not ours. But thank you."

"Speaking of Leopold", I said, "he already knows this. But I'll let you all know right now: Roy Pyroar, the CEO of the Seablast Corporation…he is my father."

Almost immediately, I semi-regretted that statement. It might have been better to break the news slowly rather than all at once; on the other hand, had I waited longer, I might never have been ready. Sometimes you just have to dive in.

Sure enough, it was as though a bomb had gone off, blasting through the sea (no pun intended). Nobody spoke for a solid minute; rather, everyone stared at the ground, then at me.

Lucas was the first one to break the silence.

"Honestly…I'm not that surprised," he said.

I raised an eyebrow. "You're not?"

"I always felt like you were keeping something from me," the male Litleo told me.

I put my forelegs in the air. "I wasn't trying to deceive you guys!"

"Then why didn't you tell us before?" Janelle snapped back.

"Because I knew you'd all react poorly!" I all but shouted. "I mean, Seablast is the group that has Zeraora right now!"

"We worked for Roy, Sionne," Otto said. "If anything, we're far more culpable. You just happen to be Roy's daughter. The product of him having…"

I rolled my eyes. "I get it, Otto."

"The point is", Kai noted, "that there's no need to feel guilty for what your father has done. What he is doing right now."

"That makes me feel worse, not better. He's still causing damage now."

"My bad," the Raichu replied. "I didn't mean to upset you."

Lucas climbed out of his chair and walked over to mine, patting me on the back. "You're not responsible for his actions, Sionne. I know what it's like to blame myself for everything; you're okay."

"By that standard", Otto replied, "Kai and I should be in jail right now, or at the bottom of the sea with the wreck of our boat. I mean, it wasn't our boat, but you get the idea. We're not going to hate you just for that."

My heart rose a bit, but it was as though an invisible hand were preventing it from sprouting wings and flying off, free as a bird. I couldn't let myself become too happy about this; after all, this whole tale was very solemn business.

It was then that Janelle asked me a question that chilled me to the bone. And I don't blame her for this; it was a legitimate concern. But I'd be lying if I said that the answer didn't frighten me.

"Sionne, what are you willing to do to free Zeraora?"

Though my heart sped up at that query, I responded effortlessly. "I'd do whatever it takes."

"Even if it means hurting your father?"

And then my poor heart practically gave out. I fell out of my chair, hitting the ground with a loud crash.

There were gasps from the others as I stood up, brushing some of the dust off. And then I glared at Janelle.

"If you consider me a friend, how could you ask me that?"

"She's just wondering, Sionne," Lucas responded. "She doesn't actually think you'll need to harm your father physically. She's just asking, if the time comes, will you do it?"

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," I said coolly. "And hopefully we never reach that point."

That answer probably wasn't satisfying for the others, but I didn't care. In asking me that question, Janelle had gone a bit over the line. Even a minor incursion like this, however, still hurt.

Not only that, but it made me think. What will I do, what will I have to do, in order to save the world?

Even given the issues my father and I had with one another, I still felt some affection for him. Perhaps "affection" is the wrong word, but on some level, I had a connection to Roy Pyroar, and I hated to sever the link entirely.

It shouldn't be hard. A man who never cared for his only child, versus the world. Which would you choose?

It ought to have been the easiest decision in the world; on paper, it was. But try being the one to make it; in that case, you might see things differently.

After that, I decided to return to our quarters. I wouldn't gain any more from this talk.

If this chapter seems short and disjointed, well, that's because it kind of is. And there's a reason for that (not an EXCUSE, a REASON.) There was a weeklong period where I didn't give this tale much thought at all, thanks to FFN crashing. But make no mistake: I fully intend to finish the story now. I'm not too far from doing so.

Regardless, I hope this chapter was to your liking, however short it may be. I'm just glad to have had something ready to publish. I'll see you guys next time!