Summer is finally creeping over New England at long last. At the same time, I'm constantly at loggerheads with my mother over...ah, never mind. What else is there to say?

Although, we are nearing the climax of this story. Probably 115,000 words or so will be the total once all is said and done.

Answer: My philosophy is that battles are boring, but consequence isn't. What I mean by that is, if someone gets severely injured in a battle, I find that aspect interesting for some reason, while I find the battle itself boring. I'm really not sure why.

Question: What is your favorite sport/physical exercise to take part in?

In other news...President Trump has left the Paris climate deal. At least, he's stated officially that he is leaving. Essentially, we're going to be a rogue nation, just like North Korea. That's not exactly a good thing for the U.S. economy. And I listened to the whole speech on YouTube, too. I highly recommend doing so.

KIERAN'S POV

Somehow, I got the feeling that finding the second flower shouldn't be so easy.

After all, although I hadn't been present the first time that Lucas and Samuel had gone for the first flower, the former had gotten hit by the full force of a Bellossom colony's Sleep moves. The second time, once we had all gotten the Insomnia blessing, we'd been successful, only to end up with Lucas kidnapped by Team Rocket. That had been quite a setback.

Based on that, I was expecting something at least as bad to happen to us this time. There was no way that this group could manage to make it through here that easily. And, for that matter, it had been too easy to rescue Lucas London. Was Team Rocket still after us? I didn't see why they wouldn't be; I had always sensed that it had been far too easy to save Lucas.

Lucas made his way through the weeds, trampling over them. I could tell that a few of them might be scratching his legs, but he couldn't make any noise, because he didn't want to break the illusion by talking.

As soon as he picked up the Tahiti Gold flower, the one with the color that was approximately #ED7527, I felt something change. It wasn't too noticeable at first, but it slowly became more and more so. And it was quite a weird sensation.

Somehow, it was like we were all standing under a cleansing waterfall, one that washed away the past. It wasn't like I was forgetting things, more like we were letting go of all the baggage from the physical world. Was this some supernatural event that had never been recorded?

Really, it was no wonder that so many world religions involved standing under a waterfall as a cleansing ritual. I really did feel like I was letting go of all of the baggage that I had had before. Maybe even my terminal illness was going away, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. I'd always learned that, if you let your hopes get too high, that left you vulnerable to being extremely disappointed when they ended up coming crashing down.

In addition to washing away the demons of the past, which it at least felt like it was doing, it seemed that the flower was washing away the illusions. When I next looked at Lucas, I saw that he was once again a Zoroark. Of course, he had always been a Zoroark ever since his transformation, but he now looked like one once again.

The next thing I saw was that Central Park had disappeared.

Yes, I really do mean it. We were no longer in the middle of Manhattan; rather, we seemed to be in some alternate dimension. That might sound kind of like something you would see in a sci-fi novel, or movie, but this was really what happened.

I was still standing in the middle of our group of seven, in what looked like a hexagonal formation. Right in front of me was Lucas London, and clockwise from there were Samuel, Eric, Garfield, Malcolm, and Michelle. We were all standing on a patch of land, the same patch of land that we'd been on previously.

However, the surroundings were different. Somehow, I could tell the exact hexadecimal colors of the vertical lines surrounding us, covering us in a sort of dome. The colors of both of the flowers, #854185 and #ED7527, as well as a third color, which I could tell was Lima (#81C41C). That was a pretty awesome color, but was it the color of the third flower? Was there a third flower?

These vertical lines were surrounded by what looked like tens of thousands of tiny stars. It was like we were in a multicolored version of outer space, something that was pretty cool to see. Particularly when I was a little kid, I had been very interested in the cosmos, and what lay beyond the planet Earth. Now, as I was getting closer and closer to losing my battle with HCM, it was like I was getting to live out my dream in my last weeks of life.

And yes, I could tell that I was within weeks of passing away. Somehow, everything seemed clearer now. I only had a few weeks to live, and yet I wasn't that bothered by it. It felt as though, somehow, the entire universe was in order.

We had found the orange flower, and it was playing into some divine plan. At least, that was what it felt like. It could have been something completely different, maybe just something in my own mind. That was always possible.

And the, from the sky, there descended something highly unusual. It wasn't something that we had seen before, and the sight of it nearly caused me to faint. For a few terrifying seconds, as I stood in the center of the circle with the others, I thought that my time might just have come.

But, as I started to get ahold of my panic, I looked at the creature that had just come right in front of us.

It was a Bellossom, or at least a creature that seemed to be in the shape of one. The only difference between this and a regular Bellossom, however, was that the reeds that made up its "skirt" were not green and yellow. Instead, they were orange and purple, the exact shades of orange and purple that comprised the flowers we had risked so much to get.

Well, at least the first one. The second one, not so much. We'd pretty much only had to fly down here, get Lucas to turn into a human, and then get the flower. It was that easy. And that complicated.

"So...are you going to explain who you are?" Eric asked in a slightly militaristic manner. He didn't look too happy to see the Bellossom floating above us, which I guessed I understood. I wouldn't have been exactly thrilled by it, either, but that's beside the point.

"I am the Flower Queen" said the Bellossom. "I am meant to automatically be summoned once both of the flowers are collected".

"So there are only two?" Lucas asked. He was standing on his hind legs, his ponytail wagging like a dog's tail. I could tell that he was interested in what the Flower Queen was saying, because he sure seemed to be hanging on to every word.

"Yes" the Flower Queen said. "You see, I am only to be summoned when the world is in great danger. Evidently, this is the case. Team Jewel has been wrecking a lot of havoc lately".

"Team Jewel?" Samuel asked. "What kind of name is that?"

"It's an organization", said the Flower Queen, "that manufactures all sorts of articles of luxury clothing. The only difference is, there is a catch. Every single item they send out has a curse. Every rose has its thorn, if you will".

"What do you mean?" Michelle asked. "What sort of curses?"

"A bra was sold to a young woman very much like yourself, Michelle London, in Chicago. That girl, despite being only fourteen years old and in near-perfect health, died of a heart attack less than twenty-four hours later. They're chalking it up to a congenital heart defect that just never showed up, but it's not that. A pair of golden boxer shorts was made of Mightyena teeth that would cause a rash to appear all over the person's legs. Poison ivy, an autoimmune disorder...you humans have no shortage of explanations you use".

"And there's a huge necklace", said Lucas, "that turns people into Pokemon?"

"That's right" said the Flower Queen, shrugging.

"You haven't given us any proof, though" Garfield said exasperatedly, holding up his fists. All I know for sure is that you are an oddly colored Bellossom. That's it".

The Flower Queen pursed her lips. "Garfield O'Shannon, what more proof should you need? I know all of your names, after all. I know that the world is in danger. And, most importantly, I know what your next objective is".

"Wait" Samuel said. "You're some kind of goddess of Bellossoms? If you're not a proper goddess, how can you help us?"

The Flower Queen laughed sadly. "I'm not omnimax, Samuel Cranmore. I'm omnibenevolent and mostly omniscient. I'm not omnipotent, though. Therefore, the Problem Of Evil is not broken by me".

"I don't know much about philosophy" said Michelle. "What is the Problem Of Evil?"

I cleared my throat. "It's a logical paradox. If there's a God that's all good, all powerful, and all knowing, why is there evil in the world? As far as I know, there is no good solution".

The Flower Queen laughed sadly once again. "There might be, but I wouldn't know that. I'm not Arceus, and even Arceus may or may not be constrained by a God. But that doesn't really matter. All I know is, you need to help save future humans from buying articles of clothing and becoming Pokemon, or getting a permanent rash on the legs, or dying. Right now, you are the best people to help stop it".

"Why did I feel the tug, though?" Lucas asked. "Can you just take the invisible harness off of me? Already, you've caused me enough embarrassment about this. Plenty of people were laughing at me for the rest of the day after I was put to sleep by all of the Bellossom's sleeping spells. Why are flowers the way it works?"

The Flower Queen laughed for a third time, but this time it was a happy laugh, a more playful one.

"Oh, Lucas London. So young. So manly. So constrained by society. Someday, you're going to understand why the flower works the way it does. But, right now, you're going to keep the harness on".

"So there has been a real harness on him this whole time?" Samuel asked incredulously.

The Flower Queen nodded. "Yes, although an invisible one. There is an invisible tether within it that will latch onto the nearby flower, and it will lead Lucas London to it. That's the way it works, and always has. For this is how I decreed it would be, in order for the world to be saved".

"So...what do we do now?" I asked. Hey, with limited time, it pays to be practical in terms of what questions you ask.

The Bellossom floating in front of us pulled twelve plane tickets seemingly out of thin air.

"Are those...plane tickets?" Michelle asked. "That just makes no sense".

"The clothing factory is located in Alaska. More specifically, it's in Resurrection Bay, in the south-central part of the state. These plane tickets are from JFK to Seattle-Tacoma, and then from there to Fairbanks. After that, it should be no problem to get tickets on the Alaskan Railroad to get down to Anchorage. Then, you rent a car to get to Seward, and acquire a boat".

I couldn't help but let out a snort at the Flower Queen's directions. I had never even been to Alaska, and this sounded like such a long journey already that it made no sense not to teleport, if not for the limitations that Eric's Mesprit had. He had told me that it could only teleport within a certain distance. If you considered that, then yes, I could see why we were flying.

"Are we really flying to Alaska now?" Malcolm asked. "Isn't that, like, a really long way away?"

"Yes, it is" said Garfield. "Of course, if you'd rather let the necklace, as well as the other clothing produced in that factory, wreck havoc upon the world, be my guest".

Malcolm shrugged. "Good point".

"All right" the Flower Queen said. "One last thing; take this".

From out of thin air, the Bellossom produced what looked like an old-school video game controller, or a TV remote.

"Once you have reached Resurrection Bay, you will be able to use this in order to figure out the way to the field where the factory is. Remember, the color of the entrance to the factory is #81C41C".

I could tell that Eric was writing it down in his notepad. I supposed that he was the de facto leader of this quest now, something that I didn't particularly have a problem with. All I really cared about was getting this show on the road.

LUCAS'S POV

After the Flower Queen had done something akin to snapping her fingers, we ended up back in the regular world, standing in a flowery field in the middle of Central Park. We hadn't been told this, but I was fairly certain that none of the people or Pokemon outside had perceived our absence as being for more than a split second. Isn't that usually how it is in time-travel novels?

"So...Alaska?" Samuel asked. "I've never been outside of New England before".

"Except for Canada, you mean?" I asked him. I felt the need to point out that Malcolm's village was in Quebec, and thus Samuel Cranmore had been outside of the six-state region in the northeastern corner of the United States.

"Let's think through this rationally" Eric said. "I really do think that we should consider all of the merits of flying to Alaska. I know that it's a pretty long way. It's about one in the afternoon, too. When is the flight?"

Kieran looked at the tickets the Flower Queen had handed to us. "She promised us safe travel as far as Fairbanks, at least. I really think that we have nothing to lose; apparently, the world is at stake".

I knew that Kieran had nothing to lose, since he was checking out of this life soon anyways. What I had no confirmation of was that the rest of us had nothing to lose. Why even trust this Flower Queen, anyway?

"Let's do it" Garfield said. "You know how much I like adventuring. And if the stakes are as high as the Flower Queen says they are, I don't see why we shouldn't do everything we can to succeed in this quest".

"Okay" Eric said, sighing. "We're going to Alaska. But, Kieran, when is the flight?"

"It's tomorrow morning at nine" the dying man said. "We're going to have to find a hotel or Pokemon center to stay at tonight. I don't know about you guys, but I don't particularly like the idea of sleeping on the floor of an airport".

"I'm with you on this one" I said.

It is probably worth noting that I was still more than a little wary of Kieran Mortimer. I was sure that, by revealing his story, he had intended to get us to trust him more. If anything, however, it had had the opposite effect. I was starting to wonder why we should trust a terminally ill young man with nothing to lose. After all, he was 24 and might not live to see 25. He could burn any bridges he wanted.

At the same time, I felt that I had nothing to lose as well. It was cool being a Zoroark, but I was getting sick of this unwieldy body that I was currently trapped in. The way it was going, I would be ecstatic to return to being a human.

"Let's find a place to stay" Garfield said.

An hour later, we were at a hotel called the Lucario Lounge. According to Kieran, it was a chain, with many different locations in various cities around the world. I didn't know that before, but I might not even have known it after he told me that.

You see, my definition of knowledge is, "When you believe something to a very high degree of certainty- and it's true". What Kieran said might be true, or it might not be.

"Why can't we just teleport to Alaska?" I asked Eric, once we had gotten settled in one of the three rooms we had purchased (I was with Eric, Kieran and Garfield were together, and Samuel, Malcolm, and Michelle were together. I didn't know why the hotel would have given a room to three minors, but that was just what they did). "Wouldn't that be a hell of a lot easier and quicker than flying?"

"You might think so, Lucas, but that's not the way it works" the man said. "You see, my Mesprit has certain limitations. It can't teleport more than a certain distance away. When you were in the cell with Team Rocket, we were able to teleport you back to the Pokemon center because it was only a few miles away. To get to Alaska, that's more than four thousand miles. I'm sure you realize that that'd be hundreds of times harder".

"I get the point" I said, sighing. It looked like we were going to have to fly, something that I wasn't looking forward to doing.

For one, my size. Even as a human being, I was uncomfortable on planes, because I always wished that I would have more legroom. As a Zoroark, things were bound to be far worse. I hoped that I would not attract too much attention on an airplane, but that might just be too much to ask for.

I looked around the room. With two beds, plush crimson walls, as well as green wall-to-wall carpeting with images of golden flowers, it was pretty luxurious. Of course, the idea of flowers didn't exactly make me all warm and fuzzy inside. It definitely brought back some memories that were not welcome at this stage in our quest.

Later, I did lie awake pondering things.

The second flower had been far too easy to find. It had literally just been in the middle of the park, in a field of weeds. I had read enough action novels, and seen enough movies, to know that if something seems too easy to be true, then it almost certainly is. Usually, there's going to be some sort of trick involved that might send the protagonists reeling.

As for the first...that had been one crazy fetch-quest. It had started with me just recovering from the fight with Kieran on top of the hill, and ended with me in the Pokemon center after being rescued from Team Rocket. I never did think that it would be that way; I had figured that it would all be over once we had all received the Insomnia blessing. Evidently, this was not to be the case.

Above all, however, I was pondering how things were going to go from here on out. We were going to fly on up to Alaska, and there was no telling what dangers might await us there. With thoughts like that, in addition to the fact that we had a very long travel day tomorrow, it was not easy to get to sleep.

The next morning, after eating an early breakfast at the buffet, we went to the subway station that was closest to the hotel. Since our tickets were for a flight departing from JFK, we were taking the train to Queens, two boroughs east of Manhattan.

Malcolm was, of course, very intrigued by the subway system, having never been to a large city before. The idea of going underground in order to get on a train seemed like the most incredible thing in the world to him.

As we walked through the turnstiles in order to get to the platform, the young Zorua kept on letting out tiny squeals of delight. I didn't blame him; the first time I had been on a New York City subway, when I was about six years old, I had been just as excited as him, even if I had not shown it quite as much.

"I'm a bit worried about this" I admitted.

I wasn't afraid to do so, reason being that the seven of us had pretty much been given a car to ourselves. A young man with gray hair, a huge man, a militaristic middle-aged man, a hyperactive young Zorua, a Zoroark, and a Lucario is not a group that can easily travel throughout New York City without attracting a lot of attention.

"Don't be" Eric said. "Soon, we'll be on the plane, and then we'll be well on our way to Alaska. And don't be afraid of the view from economy class, either".

"What's that supposed to mean?" Malcolm asked.

"Basically, those who don't want to pay extra money to fly in luxury have to sit behind them".

"Lame" the young Zorua said. "Are we in luxury?"

"No" Kieran said, checking over our boarding passes once again. "We're in economy class. Could the Flower Queen not have at least given us first class tickets? Especially since I'm snuffing it soon anyways?"

I didn't know why the Flower Queen hadn't done that. However, I didn't see any reason to dwell on that. The fact was, it was going to be a long day, and we were just going to have to get through it.

Once we arrived at the airport, there was not a whole lot of drama. We checked in fairly quickly, Malcolm of course excited about everything. The other six of us tried to calm him down, but it was clear that Samuel had hardly ever set foot in an airport himself.

By the time we had gotten to security, Malcolm was absolutely in awe. Clearly, he wasn't a fan of walking through the metal detector, but he had nothing to hide. The Pokeballs went through security as well, since it was mandatory for a trainer to have all of their Pokemon's Pokeballs with them, reason being that a bond breaking was not a pleasant situation. It would instill a very strong feeling of abandonment in your pocket monsters that most people would want to avoid at all costs.

We arrived at gate C14 about half an hour before we were expected to board. I watched Malcolm admire the planes coming in and out, while some others made quick trips to get something from Starbuck's.

All of us were simply waiting for when we were going to get on that plane, and then we'd end up going somewhere that none of us had ever been before. Alaska was going to be dangerous, sure, but it could also end up being very rewarding for all of us, and indeed the entire world, if we managed to pull out the goal of this quest. I felt, now, that it was possible, particularly if we had a deity, in the Flower Queen, behind us in this effort.

I sighed, crossing my arms behind my head.

SAMUEL'S POV

I had never flown in an airplane before, and I tried to savor the experience, not knowing whether or not I would survive what was on the other side of this flight.

First, we waited in line to board, which felt like forever. My aura sensing abilities were picking up on fatigue and frustration, from waiting in the line. After handing our boarding passes to the woman at the head of the line, we walked down an interesting hallway onto the plane.

"I've never been on a plane before, either" Malcolm said. "All I know is that I don't like it very much".

"Yeah, well, that's just the way things work, sometimes" Garfield said. "If you'd rather abandon this Quest for the safety and comfort of the village, be my guest".

Malcolm just got into his seat as I helped with his seat belt. Kieran was sitting one row behind the rest of us, in a middle seat. On the left side of the plane, I had the aisle seat, with Malcolm in the window seat (he had insisted) and Lucas in the middle. Michelle was between Garfield in the aisle and Eric in the window, and I could tell that she was uncomfortable. Clearly, it was not a good idea for the two largest humans to be sharing a side row together, but this was just the way it was with the tickets the Flower Queen had gotten us.

Lucas helped both of us with our seatbelts, and we waited for the flight attendant to finish giving us the safety demonstration. Both of the flowers we had collected earlier in the quest were sitting in a tiny vase on his tray table, which was not stowed, somehow.

"Ah...Mr. Zoroark, Seat 17B?" the flight attendant asked.

"Yes?" Lucas said, staring up at the young woman, whom he could probably have torn to shreds if he had wanted to.

"Please keep your tray table stowed as we prepare for take-off" the flight attendant said.

Lucas's face flushed slightly, which was difficult to tell given that his face was black fur. "I'll do that" he said, taking the flowers off of the tray table and stowing it once again.

I shot Lucas a look that said, Did you carry it in a vase on? Somehow, he was able to tell what I was implying. Either that, or he was able to guess fairly easily.

The Zoroark shook his head. I recalled how it had reappeared, once we had acquired it, pretty much anywhere we went, or, more specifically, where he went. The flower had been with him in Team Rocket's dungeon, but it had ended up next to his hospital bed later. And now it had appeared once again in the plane.

The Flower Queen didn't seem to be omnipotent, but she did have quite a great deal of power. For that, I was glad. The flower had stayed with us through everything, like a very loyal Portuguese water dog following its master.

The plane took off, and it was pretty cool to see the landscape below us, as the buildings on the ground started to look just like toys. That wasn't to say that I was enjoying flying, because it was taking me away from the auras on the Earth.

Not only that, but the plane was quite stuffy as well. As I was a Steel type, and thus allergic to Fire types, I was miserable very soon. When the flight attendant came around with drinks, I finished off my Sprite before using the ice cubes to massage my overheated body.

I was glad that our destination was the coldest state in the USA. Once we were there, I was definitely going to be in a much better mood than I was right now. It would have been even worse if I had had the middle seat, but Lucas was not having a great time either.

I suspected that this had something to do with our immense fur coats that every Lucario and Zoroark had. It was no secret to anyone that having such a heavy amount of fur is a major insulator. Because of this, I felt that, if some of my fur were to be shaved off, gallons of sweat would come pouring onto the ground.

At this point, I silently cursed Eric for not having a Mesprit that was powerful enough for us to teleport all the way to Alaska. Had we done that, I might not be at risk of having a terrible heat stroke right now.

I pondered over this as I eventually sank into a doze. Or you could change one letter and say it was a daze. Whatever way you want to put it, I was out of it for the rest of the flight.

After we landed in Seattle, it was a brief relief from the heat before we had to get on another plane. Thankfully, it was a smaller plane this time, so I wasn't surrounded by the auras of all of these people. Malcolm was constantly snuggling up next to me, which I found pretty annoying. Especially when my bladder started acting up, I had to get him off of me so I could go to the restroom. Really, the young Zorua could be quite infuriating at times.

Hopefully, once Malcolm evolved into a Zoroark, he would be slightly less exuberant than he was right now. I knew that battling was the way that you evolved a Zorua into a Zoroark, by levelling up and such, so it would not be too much out of the question for Malcolm to evolve while we were in Alaska.

Of course, that depended on him surviving. That not happening was also not out of the question.

After getting on the flight, it was about another three and a half hours until we got to Fairbanks. I was unable to get to sleep this time, so I was left to wilt in the hot...not sun, but air, I suppose.

I really did feel like I was baking in an oven. I didn't want to end up sprawled on the ground, but the fact was that I needed to stay as hydrated as possible. Every time the flight attendant came around, I swabbed my forehead with the ice cubes. I didn't care how socially awkward it looked; I just wanted to survive the flight and not spend the night in the hospital. Those were my two goals.

Finally, we began our descent into Fairbanks. Malcolm had woken up, and was stretching back across his seat. I did the same thing, eager to get onto my feet again. I'd probably hold up the line for the water fountain for quite a while, but my thirst felt nearly unquenchable. My mouth was as dry as I imagined Lucas's had been after being rescued from Team Rocket.

We didn't have to get anything from baggage claim, since we had brought everything on board with us. Besides, we hadn't packed for comfort, just efficiency. Anything that would have weighed us down wasn't needed.

Once we were out of the terminal, we took a shuttle bus from the airport to the train station for the Alaskan Railroad. We bought tickets for seven people, gold star, which Eric could somehow afford. After that, we were left to admire the landscape from the lobby of the hotel we had gone to.

For the most part, the landscape was fairly flat, although tall mountains rose in the distance. Pine trees, mainly without much breadth to them, dotted the plains as well. The air was somewhat chilly, but not something that you wouldn't expect in Alaska. Really, it was warmer than you might think.

Kieran looked somewhat refreshed as well, being in the fresh air once again. I wondered if this was because he might have felt a little more clarity, with his life ending soon. Was it possible that Alaska was giving him this clarity?

"This is a pretty nice hotel" Lucas said, stretching his legs so that they made it onto the coffee table. He looked completely and totally relaxed, sighing happily. I could tell that he was in a good mood to be here as well. His red ponytail was dangling off of the back of the armchair he was sitting in, and he pumped his arms in the air like someone waking up from a very refreshing sleep.

Eric, Garfield, and Kieran helped get our room ready; it was a three-room suite. Malcolm had been given a couch bed, with Garfield in Kieran in one room, Eric and Michelle in another, and Lucas and myself in the third. All of these rooms were connected with a small, green-carpeted hallway.

Later, after we had gotten settled in our rooms, we sat outside eating dinner. Our table was situated right next to a river, so we could see the way the sinking sun made ripples of light all throughout the slightly undulating surface of the water. Eric's Pokemon were all in Pokeballs back in the room, but none of us were too worried about them having to eat anything. The environment inside Pokeballs would provide Eric's Pokemon with all that they needed in order to survive; it was essentially a stasis chamber, if you wanted to put it that way.

"So we're taking the Alaskan Railroad tomorrow?" Malcolm asked.

"Yep" Eric said. "Gold star, which means we get free drinks. However, we're only allowed into the dining car at certain times, because a lot of other people are going to want to eat there as well. You've got to be patient, Malcolm Greenlake".

"Okay" Malcolm said, sipping his root beer at a speed so fast that there was no doubt he would be in mild agony within the next few seconds.

Subverted, as he did not double over with the pain from the carbonation. Instead, he simply continued sitting in his chair, probably fairly contented with the way things were going. I knew that I was.

Now, all we had to do was to get on a luxurious train, and we would be taken to where we needed to go. It could not have been any simpler.

And yet, as I got into bed later, I could not stop thinking that something, somehow, was going to go wrong.

MICHELLE'S POV

I didn't know how Eric had all of these connections, to the point that he was able to afford such ritzy tickets on the Alaskan Railroad. I wasn't going to complain, of course, but I was confused. Why had the Flower Queen not provided us with these tickets to begin with?

Maybe it would have looked weird at the airport. But, if that was the case, why come to the airport having seven plane tickets already?

It's been said that God works in mysterious ways. If the Flower Queen counted as a deity, this could be just another example of that.

Now, I was sitting in a comfortable seat on the top deck of the train car. I had been placed next to Malcolm, which I was okay with. The train did have an open-air car that one could go to in order to look at the various views, as well as get some fresh air.

I wasn't in the mood for that, however, so I decided to settle in for a nap. I figured that I'd wake up long before we got to Anchorage, so this wouldn't really be a problem. Everything was going to be fine.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up to find that none of the others were with me. I tried not to panic, but I was freaking out on the inside. Where was everybody?

The train's wheels clanged against the tracks, making noises akin to tires popping. If this train got a flat tire, I was going to be pissed.

And...were those sounds of battle from the area below us? The dining car?

As I looked out at the northern wilderness, I knew that this was going to get ugly.

Cliffhanger!

I have been to Alaska, in July of last year, during which I wrote a story that is no longer on my account. We went to Fairbanks and rode on the Alaskan Railroad, which was pretty awesome. Much of this chapter comes from my own experience in the Last Fronteir. Since we went during the summer, the sun was actually extremely strong, and I felt like I was standing on the deck of a ship due to jet lag (I'm four time zones east of Alaska).

In any case, it was a 6,000+ word chapter completely devoid of action, for which I am very sorry. I am assuming that this is not what you wanted, and it was actually going to be even longer at first.

With that, I ask you to rate and review, just the same as usual.

Sincerely, SnowLucario.