The World Flows Through Me

by Social Coyote

Alola is a region of beauty and connection, but how much can spirituality and scenic views really fix? Moon must find out whether or not Alola can truly solve the pains life has thrown at her, or if she's beholden to fate after all. She's not the only one with something to run from however, and soon she may question whether she's running from fate, or towards it.

13. All Kids Leave Home Someday

Chapter 13: All Kids Leave Home Someday

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"Family is complicated."

~ Arven Moderno, Uva Student ~

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"Everything I want, you've got to give. So when we're standing tall, just know that this is how we live." Moon spun the ball from her fingertips as her hand went to her ukulele, building up a strum as Chlorine spiraled out from her ball, flippers spread wide. She greeted the sight of an angry mankey scuffing at the platform before her with grace and a flourish, clapping her flippers together at the same time Moon tapped the body of her ukulele. Moon gave two more taps, with each more spaced out than the first set. "Everything we need, we need from you. If you're in the way, then you gotta go too!"

"Let them not distract you, my friend," Hala ordered, fingers splayed wide as he gave the command. "Focus your energy; and let your strikes guide you true." His mankey gave a huff, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath that rattled his fuzzy body. Moon hummed softly as she strummed, tapping the edge of her ukulele whenever she could spare it to keep the beat of her music loud enough for Chlorine to hear. Lillie's idea to familiarize the pokemon with certain formations or tactics based on the beat of the music, like a marching band drill, had been what Moon had spent the most time practicing.

Two fast taps at the beginning of the battle meant they were going for a formation; two slower taps meant they were going to do Moon's favorite tactic of a hit and run.

"Everything I want is out of my reach, but soon my reach will extend to everything!" Moon sang as threw her hand around, drawing a semicircle with her finger. "Stop and go, hit-and-run, circle them like you're the sun! Slip and slide, have some fun, but get his ass with water guns!" Sure enough, Chlorine shot a stream of water that arched around the other half of the platform, just in between Hala and his mankey. The popplio threw herself forward, sliding along the wood as she circled the perimeter, spewing jets of water from her nose at the mankey who still stood completely still in the center of the arena.

The first stream of water hit him like a sucker punch, turning his head to the side. The second gush landed on his back, knocking him forward a little. As Chlorine was coming around the end of the semicircle, the mankey's eyes opened with a sudden fierceness as he raised a paw into the air and slammed it down to the right, his paw crashing directly into Chlorine's neck and stopping her in her tracks. Moon winced as her pokemon let out a startled cry.

"Excellent karate chop, mankey!" Hala called out, his arms crossed as he gave an approving nod. "She will attempt to escape no doubt, use your pursuit technique!" But Moon was already belting out a new set of chords. She hadn't planned on busting out one of Chlorine's new moves already, but she wasn't going to lose so early in the duel.

"Chill and let chill is what I say; icy wind and get out of the way!" Moon sang, her fingers quickly slapping against the strings before mankey could take her pokemon out of the game. That was the problem with singing out as a way to communicate in a pokemon battle; getting the commands out in time could be tricky. But she had practiced for this, hadn't she? It was still early, even though Chlorine winced as she raised her head and let out a stream of frosted air that had no place on the Alolan islands. A part of Moon wondered if it smelled like wintergreem. The rest of her told her to shut up and concentrate.

The air that Chlorine breathed out held small shards of frost and snow that clung to the mankey's clumps of fur as he threw himself forward, desperate to stop Chlorine from escaping. Moon had no intention of calling Chlorine back though, instead she grinned as the icy gale clung to her opponent's pokemon enough that his attempted pursuit was slowed. Enough so that Chlorine rolled under the blow and wound up behind him, giving Moon the opening she was looking for.

"Smack smack, double back, I bet that you remember that! Guerilla warfare's got a different tune, when your loss is conducted by the Moon!" she sang, using the same melody from when she fought against Elio. Hala gave a mere sniff as Chlorine smacked his mankey twice on the back, its fur not quite thick enough to stop the wet slapping sound of her flipper making contact. A few in the audience winced, but Moon knew better. That was just a taunt.

"Return the favor, behind you!" Hala called. His mankey let out something between a primal roar and a temper tantrum as it spun on its heel and socked Chlorine right in the nose. Moon hissed under her teeth as she strummed; Chlorine had smacked it a little too hard, and now its 'Anger Point' was flaring up. She could tell she had messed up when she saw the streams of blood flying from Chlorine's tiny nostrils as she was sent flying backwards, her little body sliding on the ice she had created and heading straight for the edge of the arena like a torpedo.

Shitasshellfire! Think think think- torpedo!

"Chlorine, water gun to the right!" Moon called, her singing voice momentarily dropped as desperation took hold. Chlorine weakly raised her head, and a stream of blood-diluted water pushed her along the ice to the side, much to Moon's horror, allowing her to follow the icy track back around. The crowd let out a collected gasp at the sight of the blood-muddled water; Moon could see Lillie covering her eyes out of the corner of her eye. Moon's eyes, however, widened. This was a chance! "Y-yeah! Uh, let your back slide true, don't give up the fight! Aqua jet yourself and propel from the right!"

Chlorine launched herself off the ice with a new gush of water, now mostly blood-free, and barrelled into the mankey just like a torpedo, she sudden burst of speed catching it completely off-guard as it tumbled and rolled along the wooden planks. Chlorine shook her head, a few stray drops of blood flicking off her nose as the mankey climbed to its feet. Moon's heart snapped in two seeing her beloved partner bleeding, her head bobbing up and down as she took slightly labored breaths.

I am putting you through this. I am putting you through this for my own gain. And I am sorry. Moon could not stop here. This was the risk of a pokemon battle. She'd seen Hau's litten nearly have its poor spine broken in half in the fight with Old Amoka. Would she allow the same to happen to Chlorine so she could win? Win a fight that didn't even matter anymore? The mankey was getting up. It was getting up, and it was going to beat the hell out of her pokemon if she didn't do something. She had to stop thinking these thoughts, and actually do something, fast. Now!

"Lunge for it, my friend, and aim for its nose while it is staggered!" Hala cried, waving a hand forward as his mankey let out another furious roar.

No you don't!

"Dash back, go slack, freeze that-"

"Pursuit, now!"

Shit!

Chlorine threw herself backwards, flopping onto the ice belly first before the mankey could land a blow on her nose, but Hala clearly wasn't one to make the same mistake twice. The mankey kicked off the boards with its arms outstretched and its paws clenched, clearly intending to tackle Chlorine and beat her into the platform. Moon groaned silently as a weight filled her stomach; she'd intended for Chlorine to land on her back, allowing her to raise her head and attack the mankey while pushing herself away from the danger. But now if she tried to use her water to propel herself, she'd only go back towards the danger.

The danger that is… still in the air.

"Aqua jet yourself right back to me! Everything you do, I want it seen. The world can see, exactly what I mean, they can take me out of the journey, but not the journey out of me!" she strummed the last set of chords down, her frantic strums leaving no time for taps – but they were unnecessary. Chlorine rocketed herself back the way she had come, sliding beneath the mankey as it sailed overhead to where she would have been, and landing directly on the ice. Chlorine, as it turned out, was not the only one who could slide on the ice.

And unlike Chlorine, Hala's mankey had no means of propulsion.

Chlorine rolled along the boards, coming to a stop at Moon's feet with a wheeze as her little body rose and fell from exhaustion. At the same time, the mankey slid along the ice with flailing arms desperately attempting to reach out and stop itself, but its quickened pursuit had been its downfall. The mankey tumbled off the platform like a car going over a cliff, but a beam of light caught it before it could hit the dirt as Hala recalled it to its ball. The silence that had collected during the exchange quickly turned to a round of applause and cheers, some polite, others distinctly excited. Moon could even make out Hau's whooping through the gentle roar.

I wonder if mom heard my lyrics. I hope so. Or do I? She didn't bother turning to look at her mother to see if she had made a face, she was too busy kneeling down to check on the tired bundle of blubber at her feet. Chlorine's eyes wavered as two small trickles of blood poured from her bulbous nose, ragged breaths telling Moon that her partner had more than done her fair share. Even with their training, she wasn't used to getting knocked around like this yet, and that mankey had hardly been pulling its punches.

Moon sighed and reached down to pick her up as her pokemon's eyes closed. In the adrenaline fueled chaos of battle and music, Moon had almost forgotten how nervous she had been about all of this. True, Chlorine was too tired to land another blow, but she'd beat one pokemon! That had to count for something, surely? Proof that this wasn't in vain, and that she could actually handle herself in a battle. Of course, then she realized the flipside was she'd only gotten through one pokemon and was down one herself. Just before her fingers could clasp her poor popplio, a voice rang out.

"This battle is not finished, young Mahina! Take up arms!"

Moon looked up just in time to see another flash of light as a new pokemon was released in front of the kahuna: a round, yellow pokemon, with a narrow smile and boxing-glove like hands held up in a defensive position.

"Fake her out, Makuhita." The kahuna ordered. Moon was so caught off guard that the only thing she could think of was how the kahuna was as good at naming his pokemon as her mother was. "Quickly now!" Makuhita wasted no time, taking advantage of Moon's shock to dash across the platform with its fists leveled in front of its face. Moon, in a fit of panic, smacked her ukulele as she aimed Chlorine's ball down and returned her pokemon to it, hurriedly grabbing another ball from her belt and aiming down exactly where Chlorine had been.

A rockruff appeared in Chlorine's place, barely registering where it was before Makuhita backhanded it across the muzzle and it let out a disoriented, confused whimper.

"Arm thrust, for the snout now!"

Makuhita palmed Calliope dead on in her muzzle, eliciting a whimper out of both trainer and pokemon as the crowd let out another collected hiss. Moon was blindsided. She'd meant to grab Kickback, not Calliope! Kickback was rambunctious and had actually shown promise in her mock fights with Hau, but his sister was an entirely different story. Calliope would do little more than growl and whimper before laying down whenever faced with a challenge. No matter what promises or treats were offered, the rockruff simply refused to heed Moon's commands until Lillie had forced Moon to recall her out of pity.

In hindsight, bringing her along had been more of a way to look prepared in having three pokemon rather than an actual strategy in her arsenal.

"Sand attack now, don't let her escape."

The name "Sand attack" turned out to be a general name for the technique as opposed to specific instructions; Moon blinked as Makuhita scraped up some of the leftover ice from Chlorine's makeshift slip-and-slide and promptly flung it into her rockruff's eyes. She let out a yip and stumbled backwards, fingers clumsily striking the strings of her ukulele as she tried to gain any sense of control in the situation.

"Run- no, uh, duck around him and flee- ow, no okay uh, bite his ankle and make him see-"

"Slam her, Makuhita. Mercifully, now. Let her not suffer in a drawn out defeat."

Moon wanted to grab her hair and pull it out, but she really didn't want to part with it any sooner than she had to. She couldn't recover from this, there was no way Calliope stood a chance, and she had been a fool to bring her along to begin with. That much was apparent, what was less so was how she was going to fix her blunder and salvage the battle: a decent win and a bad loss did not a hopeful outcome make. The crowd was wincing,and she knew she looked like a terrible trainer. Calliope was blundering around aimlessly with ice in her eyes, and any second she'd be thrown across the platform.

Music forgotten, she desperately lowered her guitar and grabbed a pokeball in each hand; one belonged to Calliope, the other her brother. An idea came to mind, and she desperately hoped switching pokemon mid-battle wasn't a banned technique in Alolan battles. She retrieved Calliope just as Makuhita flung another fistful of leftover ice directly for her eyes, the beam of light encompassing her as a second beam of light flashed into existence in the exact same spot. The ice slapped against Kickback's determined eyes as soon as he materialized, and Moon watched in shock and horror as Makuhita rushed forward, blocking her view as he immediately let loose a flurry of blows and punches where Kickback had materialized.

She silently cursed herself for trying a technique as complex as the "Switch-Dodge". She'd seen it used in gym battles in Kanto, quickly recalling one's pokemon and replacing it with another whilst using that brief moment of in-between to dodge a hit. Granted, gym battles had a strict two-second rule for how long a challenger could be devoid of pokemon on the field, whereas she was almost certain no such rule existed here, so why had she rushed like an idiot? She was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid for even attempting something she'd never even tried before. And now her pokemon was getting severely whalloped, probably beaten bloody and into the platform and-

Kickback slid underneath the legs of Makuhita who was blindly continuing his assault, his bright blue eyes devoid of any muck or ice as he kicked off the ground and leapt upon his assailant's back, sinking his teeth into its neck. Moon gasped alongside a few voices in the crowd, quickly stuffing her pokeballs back onto her belt and grabbing her ukulele. If she believed in a giant mythical pokemon in the sky, she would have sent up her thanks to it. She settled on silently thanking Kickback instead.

Kickback snarled and shook his head as Makuhita twisted back and forth, finally elbowing him off with a groan as her rockruff skidded along the wooden platform, unfazed and teeth bared. There was a tense moment of silence as their pokemon stared at one another, and though it was hard to tell through those impenetrable eyebrows, she had the distinct feeling that the kahuna was staring her down with… puzzlement? Intrigue? God, she wished he'd shave those eyebrows just a little. Finally, the kahuna gave her a small but noticeable grin, one that she wasn't sure how to meet.

"I see I was wrong to doubt your battle sense. Switching to a pokemon with the ability of 'keen eyes', eyes that are strong enough to withstand sand and other visual trickery, in the midst of an attack?" He nodded sagely, a hint of pride tugging at his voice. "Yes, that sort of quick-thinking will serve you well. I hope my grandson is paying attention; he could learn a thing or two from you, young Mahina."

Dear Tapu above please do not let this man figure out I had no idea what I was doing!

"Yes…" the kahuna murmured, lowering his head and pausing for a moment. It was as if he was straining to hear something, but the only thing Moon could hear was the pounding inside of her chest from the excitement of the battle. His smile widened as he raised his head back, chuckling loudly enough for the entire plaza to hear. "Yes! To think I would live to hear the drums of Alola! What a surprise this is! Now that is what I call a hot beat!"

Dude what are you talking about, I'm using a UKULELE?!

Moon readied her ukulele and rapped her knuckles against the body twice, and then gave three quickfire taps. "The battle's not finished, Kahuna Hala. Take up arms!" At the sound of the third tap, Moon began to strum once more, the brief reprieve giving her the control to slip back into the flow of her music. At the same time, Kickback's ears twitched: two slow taps signaled hit-and-run tactics, but three taps had been the agreed signal for a full out charge, leaping headfirst towards Makuhita with his teeth bared. A growl rose in his throat as Makuhita instinctively threw a punch, only to whiff while Kickback rolled in mid-air and landed flat on the pokemon's face.

"Everything I do, I know that there's a cost. But family should know better than to double-team and cross!" She skipped to the left as Makuhita pulled Kickback off of his face and promptly threw him to the ground, a hash whine leaving him as he smacked against the wood with a sudden thwump! As he shakily rose to his paws, he dashed forward once more with sudden speed – dashing and hopping back and forth so fast that soon it looked as though there were three of them. Makuhita's head swiveled from left to right, uncertain.

Moon felt a glow within her as she sang, strumming the melody even faster as her pokemon dashed forward. Her emotions were on the rise in all the right ways, with all signs of nausea and fatigue forgotten as the words started to spill out of her mouth. The fear had been so real the past few days, and even a few minutes ago, but now? She couldn't even hear Hala's commands to his pokemon, but she did hear a drumbeat inside of her, and it matched the beat of her song. Her passion took what was left of her anger and her fear, and used them as the mallets.

"You can't hurt what you can't see, and if you keep it up then it's the last you'll see of me!" Makuhita punched straight through the first illusion as it leapt at him, raised his fists to block the second as it harmlessly dissipated against him, only to look down as the real Kickback dived for its foot. "You bark, I bite. Don't want, to fight. But I want, to win. And I've earned that right, I'm all in!" Kickback growled fiercely as his teeth clamped down, drawing a light amount of blood that trickled down onto the wood as Makuhita desperately attempted to swing at him. His balance was already at risk given his lumpy size and tiny feet, but swinging his arms while on one foot sealed the deal.

Makuhita toppled, Moon strummed, and Kickback leapt atop his prey to sink his teeth down for a finishing blow – but Makuhita suddenly disappeared in a flash of light, only for another flash to take its place as a new shape materialized before Kickback and Moon. There was a sudden flash of blue as Kickback was socked in the snout, flying backwards and rolling right up to Moon's feet as he let out another pained yip. Moon stiffened and looked up to see Hala with two pokeballs in each hand, and a self-satisfied smile plain as day on his lips. Moon would've been just as smug too, had she executed a successful switch-dodge.

"Apologies, young Mahina. When it comes to battles, I find that letting the younger generation use their own techniques and methods is a valuable way of combining the old with the new, rather than barring them with rules and restrictions." He pocketed the pokeballs and cracked his fingers, waving a hand outwards towards his pokemon. "But in exchange, I deem myself fit to attempt any combinations or strategies that you do! Fair is fair after all. Fear not, the round was undoubtedly yours. Now, Crabcakes! Power-up Punch that rascal!"

Moon sighed. And to think, Hau even told me that he and his grandfather watched gym battles on TV. Shoulda known he could switch-dodge without any trouble. That was fine. She was fine. She could still win this. Her fingers drummed against the ukulele once more, gritting her teeth as she forced the melody back out.

"No plans, to die. Juke and jive, enjoy life. The goal's so simple in that regard, so why'd you have to make this hard?!" Kickback ducked underneath the crabrawler's punch,readying to dash forward and go for the legs once more, but he was stopped in place as his maw smashed into the wooden planks from Crabcakes' claw. It slammed down onto his noggin like a mallet. "I don't care if I'm wrong or right, don't care if I lose this fight! I don't care if our stars are crossed, you won't make me accept this loss!"

Moon closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. "Forward is the only way I know. Now clothesline him with a rock throw!" Kickback squirmed out from beneath the claw, sinking his teeth deep into the rough chitin arms of his opponent. Both pokemon let out a pained yip as cracks spread throughout the crabrawler's arm, tinges of blood trickling through. Meanwhile Kickback dashed back away from Crabcakes' claws with his newfound opening, flinging a stone into the air from his maw and spinning around to smack it straight towards Crabcakes' with a satisfying Crack! that resounded like a bat. The crabrawler was gunning for Kickback with an outstretched claw as the rock smashed into his face, his head recoiling from the sheer impact of the blow.

Moon clenched the neck of her ukulele; this was it! It was time to finish this, finally!

But Crabcakes didn't stop his approach. Neither Moon nor Kickback expected him to keep charging through the blow, his pincher grabbing onto her rockruff's fluffy tail as Kickback let out a pained yelp. Moon watched in horror and bewilderment as a bruised, angry crabrawler, turned and swung Kickback over his head entirely, slamming him into the platform with such force that Moon herself felt the impact shake through her feet.

She stared, slack jawed, as Crabcakes released her pokemon and stepped back, revealing Kickback's unconscious form as he lay slumped on his side, eyes closed with the slow rise and fall of his chest the only indication he hadn't received a worse fate. In such a short time he was unconscious, unable to battle, and she had no more pokemon who could fight. The crowd went silent, as Moon slowly realized what this sudden turnaround meant.

She had lost. Wait…

She had wasted everyone's time, including her own. Wait, no, that can't be it.

She had proved literally nothing. I can't just- just lose?! Not like that! I didn't even use a stupid Z-Move!

Her mother was right.

The kahuna raised his hand, silencing the growing mumbles and whispers of the crowd while his crabrawler retreated to his side with obvious exhaustion, allowing Moon to silently raise her pokeball and recall Kickback. She didn't look up beyond the platform; if she saw the kahuna, or Lillie, or especially her mother, she'd probably cry. Nothing said independent and capable like crying in front of half a town because you lost a match. The kahuna was silent for a moment, giving Moon the perfect opportunity to stew in her sudden hopelessness and trepidation, allowing her fears to swirl about her head like a whirlpool of self-inflicted criticism.

What did she care? It wasn't like winning would have changed her mother's mind. But it might have proved something. To her mother, to herself. To the kahuna. It might have proved that she was capable. That she was a butterfree whose wings were being clipped, rather than a venipede who would never have had the chance to fly either way.

"Raise your head, young Mahina," the kahuna said, his voice now devoid of the fiery passion from before. She did so, and though his eyes remained squinted shut, she swore they were less firm and held a kindness in their squint. A silly thought, amidst everything she was feeling. "In life, be it in our relationships, our battles, or the challenges of the mundane day-to-day, one can make every correct choice and still come short. There is not always a lesson to learn, or a flaw to be countered. Sometimes, we must accept that things simply did not play out-"

The kahuna stopped as a flash of light suddenly erupted from Moon's belt, connecting with the platform just a few feet in front of her. The light dissipated and revealed the familiar shape of a blue blubbered, barely standing popplio, her flippers showing strain just to hold her upright. Dark spots of red marked where her nose had bled just minutes ago, but the blood had dried during her brief respite in the ball. Her eyes, dark like charcoal, glistened with embers that refused to die out, staring down the kahuna and his crabrawler. Her flippers stopped shaking, and she gave out a single determined cry as she stood tall.

"Bwark!"

The kahuna did not betray any surprise at Chlorine's sudden appearance, instead he merely nodded at Chlorine and pulled at both ends of the shirt that was tied around his belly. The message, from the moment Chlorine had let out her bark, had been clear.

The battle is not yet over.

Moon brought her ukulele up to its ready position, flicking a peg back into tune.

Take up arms.

With a deep breath, Mood raised her strumming hand high into the air. She had an idea, a really stupid and, if it went wrong, a wholly embarrassing idea. A Moon idea. The glint coming from the kahuna's eye told her they were of the same mind. Both Chlorine and Crabcakes were struggling to stay up, and there would be no prolonged battle going forward. Which meant that everything hinged on finishing off the other pokemon first; it was sudden death. If she had to use one attack to end this off, well, what better move then the one that she wasn't guaranteed to even get to work properly? The gem on the back of Chlorine's head glistened.

"I can hear those drums louder than ever, young Mahina! What say you?" Hala called as he raised his foot skyward once more, bringing it down to the platform as his crabrawler mimicked him. His fists clenched tightly, dishing out several rapid blows to the air as though he and Moon had begun shadow-boxing all while in complete sync with his pokemon. A golden light began to emanate from Hala, slowly swirling around him with growing speed until it was like a small whirlwind of golden aura. A tempest of bright, electrifying power, that seemed to flow through the air itself into Crabcakes being, leaving Hala behind as the light exploded around his pokemon.

The wind buffeted Moon, swishing her hair and her hat though she did not raise an arm to shield itself. She had to get this right; she wouldn't get another chance. Yet in the back of her mind, a little Moon warned her that she had blundered every attempt in using a Z-Move thus far. Now, she was under the pressure of actually winning, and could barely remember what motions she was supposed to make.

But then, a tiny Hau and a tiny Lillie joined that little version of herself. They put their hands on her shoulders, smiling down at her as Hau's words swirled around Moon's mind like the golden aura of Z-Power being displayed before her, though his lips did not move.

A lot of Alolan is based on the nature of a thing rather than what it physically is, and that goes for more than just the language!

Moon crossed her wrists together, still gripping her ukulele tightly. Alola was not rigid, it flowed freely like the ocean that surrounded it. Her arms spread out wide at an angle, like the wings of the wingull that lingered on the many beaches of her home, or the very airplane she had arrived here on. One hand crossed over her forehead and shielded her eyes from the sun, the other bumped her chest in the way one did after a particularly prideful display. A show of confidence in herself. Her bottom hand moved to hold her ukulele, and with the hand that she held over her forehead, she brought it down suddenly and forcefully as her strings let out a melodious cry of passion.

This was not how the dance went. But the dance itself was not what was important, it was the idea behind the dance. Normality, especially in Alola, was not a crime. It simply what was; it was the beauty of repetition from the things that made every day worth stepping outside. Every sunrise, every commute to work, every day spent at the beach. That was what the dance represented, and those were the essences that flowed through her as she too began to glow with the golden light of the islands. Her heart was beating up a samba inside of her.

I hear the drums.

"You've been such a lovely audience, and we refuse to call it quits. So we'll end this show with one last blow - Chlorine, water gun and breakneck blitz! Moon's gentle plucking quickly turned into ferocious strumming, while Chlorine had slapped her tail to the beat. She let out a gush of water that sprayed along the ground, her bark echoing through the entire plaza of Iki Town as she dashed forth on her belly; the golden aura left Moon, and enveloped Chlorine in her stead.

"A bolstering display, worthy of a fight with the kahuna! Allow me to offer one of my own, as a token of my respect! An all-out pummeling!" The kahuna let out a mighty roar as he thrust both of his fists forward, and his crabrawler began to punch away at the air once more. This time, the golden glow that encircled him began to siphon away, forming the forms of massive orange fists that hardly looked real. Like lights and smoke, but something within Moon told her just one of those gigantic possibly not-real fists would still pack a very realistic wallop to a fully invigorated pokemon, much less an injured one.

It didn't stop Chlorine, however. She slid back and forth on the watery pathway she had laid out, dodging and ducking between all of the translucent fists of force that were thrown at her. Moon had done all she could do, she had given Chlorine the power, she just had to use it. Fist after fist flew through the air, more and more appearing that Chlorine avoided - but only just. They were too close together, too many of them at once now. She couldn't dodge all of them just by dodging or ducking, she'd have to take at least one head on. Moon closed her eyes for less than a second.

Come on, baby. Give them a show.

The crowd suddenly let out gasps of surprise and awe, a resounding cheer building as Moon opened her eyes to see Chlorine glowing once more, to the point that the ball of light that encapsulated her was hard to look at. Had Moon siphoned more Z-Power into her? But no, this light was different. Moon watched with as much surprise as the crowd, but far more pleasure as the ball of light leapt over the oncoming fist, the ball shattering like a chunk of ice and revealing her pokemon underneath. Chlorine was doing a slow backwards flip as she sailed over the top, jettisoned through the air by her own water. Her form had elongated, her frills tripled, and her once floppy ears were now long and segmented like pigtails.

"Atta girl…" Moon murmured, unable to resist the smile that was slowly spreading across her face, a burning sensation behind her eyes wishing to be released. She would not let it, instead she strummed her final note with a ferocious grin of determination as the light sharpened around Chlorine like a spear head, and suddenly her pokemon plummeted, head first towards Crabcakes. A javelin in pokemon form, Chlorine's eyes glowed and glistened as she shared the same grin as her trainer. It was the last thing the crabrawler saw before they collided.

A burst of dust and energy expelled from the collision, buffeting Moon, the kahuna, and the crowd in a dazzling display of light. Despite not being able to see which of the pokemon was standing, Moon didn't feel anxious or scared. Her pokemon really had learned from her example, not knowing when to give up, smiling smugly in the face of an obstacle. That was how she knew that they had won; even before the dust and smoke had settled. She could have chalked it up to leftovers of the temporary connection between them when she siphoned her Z-Power to her, but deep down Moon knew it wasn't anything so special.

She knew, because Chlorine was her pokemon.

The crowd was silent until the kahuna raised his hand in defeat, and then suddenly came a sound reminiscent of a large firework as many hands began to clap at once, voices cheering and hollering in a wild cacophony of celebration. Moon looked around, letting out a weak chuckle at the many faces that were grinning either politely or with wild expressions of exuberance. Despite her inner rockstar frothing at the mouth at the sight of a crowd cheering for her, there were only two faces she picked out of the crowd in particular. Hau's was explosive and jumping up and down in utter excitement. Lillie had uncovered her eyes, an awkward sort of smile on her face as she politely clapped.

Was that admiration on her face?

She wanted to run down and hug the both of them immediately, but the kahuna raised his hand once more to signal for the crowd to settle, and Moon took the opportunity to return her pokemon to her ball. Chlorine was balancing on her tail, her entire body shaking from the strain of staying both upright and awake. Moon watched as she began to topple as the red light from her pokeball enshrouded her, and she brought the red and white ball up to her lips. All of her pokemon had earned themselves a nice long rest, and a spa day if she could afford it.

"Hoʻomaikaʻi indeed, everyone. What a fine young woman we have here, displaying the determination of our people, as well as our sacred connection we have with the pokemon upon this island. You could not ask for a finer display of our values in battle," the kahuna said, looking directly at Moon. A sudden cry echoed loudly from the woods that circled the northern part of Iki Town, as trees from the Mahalo Trail rustled and shook far in the distance. The kahuna smiled. "Ho! Looks as though our mighty Tapu Koko agrees. Perhaps he looks forward to the chance at testing your mettle, one day." The kahuna gave a small chuckle that came out as a grunt, and held out his hand.

Moon looked down, her eyes bulging at the sight of a wad of bills folded and banded neatly in his huge hand, and atop the bills sat a small orange crystal that reflected the sun's rays in a familiar manner to the one she'd obtained from her trial. She hesitantly took them, resisting the urge to count the cash in her hands.

"May these gifts – and this stamp, proof of your victory against me – aid you on your journey forward, should you choose to continue it," the kahuna's deep gravelly voice told her. Moon felt almost lightheaded as she held out her trainer's passport, and the kahuna pressed it with a small Tapu-Koko shaped stamper. She had actually done it. She'd won the first Grand Trial - a fourth of the Island Challenge now successfully crossed off of her list. The only questions that remained were if she would have the opportunity to finish the rest in time, and if Lillie would be there for them.

Moon slowly descended from the platform, unable to shake off the grin she wore or the post-battle fatigue that was creeping up on her. People she didn't know patted her on the back, congratulated her as she passed, and something about it made Moon feel great, like she had just performed some kind of killer show and these were her fans. They weren't, of course, but it was a happy thought. That happy thought made it feel like a feasible thought. She moved through the swaths of people until she found Hau and Lillie, and she wrapped her arms around the both of them as she brought them close.

"Did you see me, did you see me?! Dude I thought I was going to choke so bad, I can't believe I actually beat him!" Moon giggled, still riding the post-victory high. "My voice kept cracking while I was singing, but I did it! I beat the kahuna!"

"Auē, sistah, you goin' make all da bewear jealous wit' da way you hug me, easy yeah?" Hau asked, giving the arm around his neck a tap-out. Despite this, the grin he wore was downright infectious, as though he had already won instead of Moon. "What a show though, eh? You sure do know how to make a performance, you and your 'mon both! Knew you had it in you! Hoʻomaikaʻi!"

Moon looked at Hau and gave him a solo hug, this time making sure to show a bit more restraint on the neck. "Mahalo, brother."

"That was… well, I might've looked away quite a bit, especially when poor Chlorine started bleeding," Lillie admitted as she scratched at her cheek. "But, I did see your comeback! And even with my distaste of pokemon battling, I think you did truly… exceptional. I can't begin to imagine how proud your family and your ancestors must be." Lillie bowed her head in acknowledgement and respect, and it was a good thing too because Moon knew she had the dumbest look on her face from what Lillie had said. "I hope you're proud of yourself too."

Moon fought back a sniff. "Ah, you know, it was nothin' special-"

"Hau Kaleohano."

The booming voice of the kahuna echoed throughout the plaza, and everyone turned to see him standing at the edge of the platform looking down at his grandson. His face had lost the warm and gentle visage of a grandfather, and now bore the stoic and firm mask of poise that he usually wore. Everyone in the plaza turned to face the three of them, and whereas before it had felt encouraging and positive to Moon, there was a change in the atmosphere that made it feel foreboding. Like they were watching a man on trial, instead of a child on a Grand Trial.

Hau sighed behind Moon and popped his neck, rolling his shoulder as he stepped past her and Lillie. "Alright, guess it's my turn. Wish me luck, yeah? Gonna need it for sure." Hau's relaxed and almost lackadaisical tone was like a slap in the face compared to the sudden tension sitting on the plaza. Moon and Lillie could only watch as he ascended the platform briskly, readying his pokeball as he threw his hands behind his head.

"Howzit, Gramps?" Hau said, giving a short wave. "Won't lie, I was kinda hoping to go first, that way you're not too worn out-"

"You hoped you could go first so that way everyone's mind would be on young Mahina's performance after the Grand Trial," the kahuna said bluntly, his voice carrying no sense of amusement whatsoever. "You, again, have purposefully tried to shed yourself of any sort of spotlight or notoriety, and have succeeded for the most part. But, as is customary, I am here to give you advice before you face me, and at times, advice is what we do not wish to hear as much as it is what we do."

Hau's face fell and he let out a sigh. Moon suddenly felt at one with the crowd, like she was walking in on something private and personal that really wasn't any of her business. The kahuna had at least kept their conversation private through whispers and soft voices. Here, Hau was receiving no such treatment.

"Ah, come on tutu kane, I stay just trying fo' be myself, you know? I not trying fo' be da next big ting in Alola or nottin'." Hau shrugged,. "I stay stoked just fo' cruise along, you know? No need be da main event, just enjoying da journey. Dat's da real Alolan vibe, yeah? Jus' living in da moment, feeling da alola."

Kahuna Hala did not smile. Rather than join in Hau's pidgin, he continued to speak loudly and clearly. "Captain Ilima told me of your trials, moopuna." Hau suddenly looked uncomfortable, his gaze falling to the platform below. "Of how close you came to succeeding each time, only to somehow fall short, almost purposefully so, he said. You procrastinate because you are afraid of rejection. It has become a defense mechanism, in which you are trying to protect yourself without even trying. You deny your talents in fear they will falter. You deny your destiny because you are afraid you will not live up to it."

Even Hau could not smile and shrug that one off; Moon mirrored the wince he let show, a tense silence falling over the plaza. Talk about a callout. Lillie was silent, looking off to the side from the discomfort the display was clearly stirring in her, and Moon didn't blame her. Without another word, the kahuna raised his pokeball, tossing a machop out onto the field. Hau sighed and kicked at the wooden planks beneath him, muttering under his breath things that Moon could not hear. With only a grunt he tossed his pichu, Haupia, out onto the arena.

Moon truly felt for him as both pichu and machop began to swap blows with one another. There was a sickening guttural feeling that came from arguing with a loved one, and Moon knew it all too well. She glanced across the plaza to the opposite side, where she finally spotted her mother standing amongst the throng of audience members watching the battle. Her mother's gaze was unfocused; even from here, Moon could recognize that her mother's mind wasn't on the battle before her, but on one inside of her head. It was a look Moon had unfortunately inherited from her.

Their eyes met. There was no anger, or offense like Moon had expected, and something about that unnerved her deeply. Instead of shame, or embarrassment, her mother looked tired. Solely, undeservingly tired. She could not keep her gaze, and tried to focus on the battle instead. Hau had defeated his grandfather's machop, but looked no more pleased about it than Moon felt. She glanced over at Lillie, who was covering her eyes once again. However, Moon could see behind her fingers, unable to stop her eyes from falling on the pretty pair of emerald ones that slowly turned to meet her own.

She offered a small, tired smile.

Moon returned one of her own.

Everyone, it seemed, had thoughts and problems in their heads. Thoughts about problems, problems about thoughts, and the exchange between Hau and the kahuna had reignited them for many. Moon thought of her chance at getting to traverse the islands and take the challenge being yanked out from under her. She thought of this being the last time she and Lillie might be side by side, before being parted by choices that she could not understand. She wondered if Lillie had any inkling of what was going to happen to her and Nebby that evening. She wondered if she thought about the last thing she had been able to say to Professor Kukui, or to Professor Burnet.

Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. A possibility, one that she had been hopelessly entertaining for the better part of a day, but now one that she had a solid hook to tether it to. She pulled out her phone, and after glancing to the side to ensure that Lillie wasn't looking, she tapped on her texting app and started typing out a message.

You: I need a favor.

---

The ride back home was quiet. Early evening had arrived by the time both battles had completed, along with their respective celebrations in Iki Town, and Moon's mother made little to no conversation as they drove back. It was something that made Moon incredibly uneasy, given the circumstances. Even Lillie seemed to notice the uncertain tension in the air, but couldn't seem to understand it. Moon didn't blame her; by all accounts, it should have been a celebratory day with her pokemon's evolution, her overwhelming victory against the kahuna, and therefore clearance to continue her journey by traveling to the next island in Alola.

Hau's battle had been victorious, but even Moon could sense that the victory wasn't quite what he young man had envisioned. He had fought well, a given when facing the kahuna, but Moon couldn't help but think that the kahuna had purposefully battled harder against his grandson than he had with her. Not that she entirely minded; she was just glad to have won, but she had to wonder if Hau was alright after such an awkward encounter. They had talked briefly during the afterparty, but Hau had been insistent on talking about Moon's Grand Trial rather than his own.

For now it was quiet, awkward, and the weight of things unsaid seemed to weigh on the shoulders of all involved. When they finally arrived at the house, Moon and Lillie tentatively stepped inside after Moon's mother requested they go ahead, and that she'd be in to start dinner soon. It was as Moon reached the top step that her mother called her name, and Moon turned slightly to glance back at her.

"Mahina." Her mother's voice was quiet, barely audible from the distance between them. The use of her first name was hardly a good sign, but Moon supposed there was a slim chance they would be able to have a heart to heart there at the truck. Heck, maybe her mother would even give her blessing to continue the journey after seeing how hard she had fought against the kahuna. Moon hopped back down and approached the driver's side door. "I just want you to know that… you did really well today. Even if you had lost, I still would have been immensely proud of you. I just… thought you should know that."

Moon could not, and would not, hide her disappointment. "Is that all you wanted to tell me?" she asked, avoiding her mother's gaze. A part of her was glad that there hadn't been accusations about her lyrics, or the brewing of an argument, but that didn't quash the small hope that her mother would be honest with her. That someone would finally be open about the whole ordeal.

"Yeah." Her mother sighed. She pulled out her phone, typing something into it that Moon could not see for nearly a minute. Kukui, or the detectives? She pulled the gear stick into reverse, and turned to make sure she was clear to pull out. "I'm going to go pick up some ice cream, to celebrate you winning your Grand Trial. Maybe get some skewers for dinner. You girls mind staying in the house until I get back?" Moon gave a silent nod, and watched as her mother pulled out of the driveway. She backed up, and zoomed down the road, leaving Moon standing in the driveway for a minute. The sky above was a mix of copper and mango, with the sun setting far to the west as the day slowly came to a close. Moon took a deep breath to steady herself.

She didn't want to do this.

Hell, it was making her sick to her stomach the more she thought about it.

Despite all of her frustration and hurt, she truly loved her mother, and so desperately wanted to make this right.

But she knew that she had to.

She walked back up the stairs, ignoring the little voice in her head that begged for her mother to turn around and come back and beg that she explain. Moon had given her the chance to explain, in what would have been an ironic turning of the tables of parent and child in any other situation, but here was only a disappointing confirmation of her fears. When she stepped inside, she saw Lillie knelt down in front of Meowth, gently stroking his fat little head with a content smile on her face while Nebby floated happily above her. When Lillie looked up and saw Moon's face, her smile was immediately replaced with a look of concern.

"Moon? Is everything okay?" She stood from her spot, nearly knocking into Nebby as she did so. Moon paused, but quickly shook her head and sighed as she moved towards her room. She hadn't even thought of how to explain this. "Are you feeling unwell, or is it… something more personal?"

If only you knew.

"I'm alright, battle with the kahuna and all the festivities afterwards kinda… took it out of me. I guess," she replied lamely. Lillie didn't look as though she believed it for a second; Moon had the sneaking suspicion that for all her naivety, she was keener when it came to the feelings and thoughts of others than she looked. Moon kept walking towards her room. "Surprised Hau managed to win it back around, you know? Really thought his litten was going to need another trip to the pokemon center."

Lillie merely nodded, the concern on her face unwavering. "Yes, it was certainly tense. I'll admit I didn't see as much of his as I did yours, but that is besides the point. Are you quite sure you're alright?" She reached over and gently took Moon's hands into her own, stopping her dead in her tracks.

No no, no don't do this. Please don't do this.

"As your friend, I would like you to know that I am available any time you wish to talk. If there are matters that are suffocating you, I would be happy to help lift them off of your chest, even if you don't necessarily like the thoughts that hamper you." She smiled, a kind, genuine sort of smile that Moon didn't see often on Lillie. "Anything you tell me would be completely confidential; trust is a vital part of what friends are for, if the things your neighbors said are to be true."

The offer was right there; the opportunity any girl crushing stupidly on someone else would kill a grown man for, the chance to be held by someone she liked and to let all of her worries flow free. Even if the only part of her being held was her hand, and all she did was whine and cry while Lillie listened, that offer of genuine vulnerability was so rare to find in another person without asking for it first. It was the kind of thing that Moon thought she needed, truth be told. The kind of thing she wished she could do to her mother, to simply be held and cry out her frustrations, and to be heard and assured that everything would be alright.

Moon's fist clenched.

"I'm fine," she lied. "But if you wouldn't mind helping me do a quick clean-up, I'd appreciate it. Just, you know, make sure you got everything of yours in your duffel bag." She slipped out from Lillie's hand, ignoring the surprised and confused look that Lillie gave her as she headed into her room and closed the door behind her. She let out a deep sigh, giving a look around her bedroom as she took in the various parts of her life that she held so close to her: her laptop, her gaming system, her wardrobe, her CD rack, the myriad of posters strung up on her walls. They were all pieces of herself, things that she had dedicated her time and energy towards for her own satisfaction, amusement, or simply to express herself.

And she was saying goodbye to it all. The life of the girl leisurely wasting away in her bedroom and the life of the girl who traipsed through the tropical rainforests of Alola were mutually exclusive; she couldn't continue abiding by one and expect to live the other. She immediately began grabbing clothes from her racks, trying to judge what she would need for the various climates and situations of Alola. T-Shirts and loose shorts were a given, and if she'd be hiking she'd probably need some tank-tops as well. She threw in a couple flannels in case the sun kicked her ass, and even threw in a skirt just in case she had something casual to do.

Soon she had gathered all the necessities within her room; her pokeballs were strapped firmly to her waist, her toothbrush, deodorant, and medication tucked neatly into her purse, and the money from her winnings stuck in the back of her trainer passport. She threw on a black wide-brimmed hat as opposed to the usual red toque, tied one of the flannels around her waist, and snatched a pair of her mother's many sunglasses. One look in the mirror told her she had everything she needed, everything else would be staying here awaiting her return. Assuming she did.

It's not like I'm leaving forever, she chided herself silently. I'm just following the terms and conditions. She's the one who's going back on our deal.

As she stepped away from the mirror and passed by her closet, she stopped. Her eyes darted to where she knew a particular teal and pink bass guitar sat on its makeshift prongs, silently calling her from behind the sliding door. Her hand slowly reached out and moved her clothes aside, staring at the sleek body of her bass guitar. To think it had once belonged to a rock star, and here it sat: alone, unused, and left behind. She wanted to take it, deep down, but a part of her knew it would be far too bulky, and far too recognizable. The ukulele was already a stretch as it was.

Her fingers glided over the strings as she picked it up and held it in her hands, put off by the difference in weight between it and her normal instrument. After leveraging it against her knee, she drifted her fingers once across the strings with a gentle touch, drawing out a melody as soft as it was deep that spoke volumes without a single word. She enjoyed the meaning of lyrics in a song, in the stories that they could tell without more than a few choruses. But oh, how she enjoyed an instrumental. No lyrics, no voices; sometimes one simply needed to express themselves with sounds that words could not translate.

She carefully set the bass guitar back on its rack. A part of was sad as she propped the guitar into place; despite all of her belongings she was leaving behind, this was the one that felt as though she was saying goodbye to a friend. A friend who you didn't want to leave, because the next time you saw them would be the last. She knew that she would come back home before long, that she could theoretically stop by and play the bass again whenever she wanted, and yet somehow, she didn't think that she would on a casual whim. Something more intrinsic inside of her told her that this wasn't the final time she would play her beloved bass.

No, she would play the bass one more time. She would save it for a special special day, one that far from the here and now. She had a good feeling about it.

She closed the door of her old life behind her, stepping into the living room where Lillie had patiently awaited her on the living room floor, gently massaging Nebby's head. When Lillie's eyes met her sunglasses, the confusion and uncertainty from before seemed to resurge in full force, and she quickly stood and approached Moon.

"Moon, what are you- Are you going somewhere?" Lillie asked, looking incredulously at her as she passed. Moon nodded and reached up into the cabinet, grabbing a bag of rice and hastily stuffing it into her already bulging satchel-purse. She really needed a backpack.

"Nope, we are. That's why I had you get ready, we're going to go to Akala a couple days early."

"Wait, I don't - What about your mother, wouldn't she be more comfortable taking us- It's nearly eight in the evening!"

"Sure is. C'mon arbok, let's rattle."

"Moon!"

Moon knelt down and patted Meowth, kissing his forehead as he batted a paw at her. "Goodbye, you pokey little fat biscuit man. Take care of Mom for me while I'm gone, yeah?"

"Meoooowth."

"Watch your tongue, smart-ass. I'll see you in a few weeks, probably. I dunno, I'm only psychic about guitars I guess."

Moon peeked through the blinds to make sure her mother wasn't about to pull into the driveway, and quickly stepped outside with Lillie in tow, the latter hissing Moon's name as they descended down the stairs. The night sky was a deep shade of navy, just barely discernible by rays of light from a sun that had already sunk beneath the horizon, while streetlamps shone bright cones down onto the sidewalk and hummed with electrical oscillation. Moon stomped on the pavement, looking down both ways before scurrying across with Lillie's eyes clenched shut just behind her.

The lights of Hau'oli were visible even from there; bright skyscrapers littered the night sky in the most literal of definitions, Melemele's light pollution had blocked most semblance of starlight from the navy abyss above them. On other islands, Moon knew the cosmos above would be visible at higher altitudes, but the view above their heads was breathtaking in its own artificial way. The many colored light of Hau'oli reflected down on the ocean swells, casting the crests of small waves in pinks and blues from luxury residentials, banks, and condo-hotels that towered over the rest of the city.

Moon strode down the sidewalk, her hands casually held behind her back as though they were just going for a night-time stroll down the boulevard. If she really wanted to stretch her imagination, she could pretend they were on a cute little night date. Just two girls, palling around after dark to enjoy the neighborhood, like any couple of young teenagers would. The only thing they were missing was some spray-cans and a stolen six pack. They weren't of course, and Lillie promptly called her out on it.

"Moon, what on earth are we doing?! It's late, are there not curfews of some kind in effect? What about your mother? Will she not be furious when she finds that we are not at the house?" Lillie's neck was shrunk into her shoulder, her head lowered as she glanced around and tapped her fingers together with obvious apprehension. She looked as though she expected the police to jump out from the corner and throw them into the back of a squad car. Or perhaps, that was Moon's own underlying fears projecting outward. Moon frowned. Her words were the inevitable slap in the face that this was not a friendly night-time outing, no matter how much Moon wanted to pretend otherwise.

Moon wasn't sure what to say at first. Did she continue to be vague and simply tell her only after all was said and done, and no more lies could be said? Or did she come clean and risk the possibility of her reacting negatively, to the point that she might not agree to follow? As much as Moon wanted to push off the responsibility of having to tell Lillie what was happening off just a little longer, she could not. A truth would hurt for a little while, but lies held the pain of knowing that you weren't worth the truth forever. Moon knew that well.

"We're running away," Moon said, the levity leaving her voice as she forced herself to accept the weight of what was happening. They crossed down into the sandbanks of the beach. "Because… because the police, or some hired detectives, or whatever, are after you. They came to the house yesterday while we were at the beach, and I overheard Mom on the phone last night, saying that she would hand you over… because we'd be in trouble for housing you. And you're traveling with me, which puts me in danger." Moon took a shaky breath, her shoes slogging in the sand. Something was tugging at the back of her head, like a thought she couldn't quite concentrate on. "Mom was planning on taking me outta the trials anyway, so… this is the best solution for the both of us to keep being free."

But Lillie had stopped moving. She turned back towards the direction they had come, her gaze flickering back and forth between Moon and the outskirts of Hau'oli City. Her mouth was slightly agape, and when Moon turned to her she could tell that her thoughts were running rampant in a panic at this new revelation.

"What… But I- I'm not… I didn't…" Her shoulders were shaking, her arms slowly wrapping around one another as she glanced around nervously. "M-Moon, I- I can't- you, why would you do that? You're going to get in trouble, and I can't… I can't-!"

"Hey." Moon turned and gently took Lillie's wrist, pulling her another step forward. Watery green eyes stared back at her as they locked eyes, two little wishiwashi lost in a pond far too big for either of them. "It's fine, I'm not worried about some grumpigs having it out for me; I'm a young, rebellious, punk-rock girl who likes to fall into rivers for fun, remember?" She gave Lillie a small smile, trying to encourage her to continue alongside her, but Lillie did not return it. "Oh, right, forgot you don't know what punk-rock is. Still gotta fix that."

Lillie stared at her hard. Her shoulders were still shaking and she made no effort to follow the gentle tug of Moon's hand. She looked down at the sand and closed her eyes, letting a long, low sigh. Moon tried to look confident and calm about the whole ordeal, but the truth was she didn't know what Lillie would do. She wasn't really thinking straight either, if she had, she might've realized what was right in front of her face. She might've let the tugging sensation win. But she didn't.

"Alright," Lillie rasped, giving a weak shrug as she wiped at her eyes. "Alright, let's… let's run away, I suppose." She lowered her head and followed alongside Moon, who gently took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. They came from two very different worlds, but at the end of the day the feelings of fear and confusion were universal. Moon was no stranger to that, and she wouldn't let this girl face it alone at the very least. Together, slowly, they continued their walk along the beach. They crossed the sand dunes, passed the palms of the boardwalk, and made their way towards the marina of Hau'oli.

Moon could tell where she was supposed to go, even without looking at the text that had her directions. The streetlights cast a warm glow upon the various boats, shining light on the various hulls and masts of the fishing boats that lined the docks. The smell of crisp salty air and diesel filled Moon's nose as she guided Lillie along, until they finally came across an old catamaran docked at the very edge of the marina. Its tattered sail was patched in several places, with scum and barnacles clinging to its twin hulls. Even its name, the "S.S. Puka Shell Princess", was scratched and faded.

Moon and Lillie were so distracted by sight of the boat itself, that neither one noticed the other two individuals on board until a voice cut across the ocean breeze.

"Yo Prof, you sure this old thing's really seaworthy?" Hau called, leaning casually over the railing. From within the cabin came another familiar voice as Professor Kukui stepped out onto the top dock.

"Hey now, don't you go calling my boat old! She's not old, she's…" He paused, face contorting as he tried to think of a fitting substitute. "Call her a classic. She's well seasoned, yeah?" He washed his hands with a rag, tossing it to the side as he stepped down the stairs leading towards the dock. Upon seeing Moon and Lillie, he stopped. The professor wasn't wearing his lab coat, instead completely shirtless with the brim of his hat faced backwards, and a bundle of rope slung over his shoulder.

It was silent for a moment as the three of them faced one another, until finally the professor fought off his surprise, and gave them both a smile and waved his greeting.

"Alola, cousin! See you managed to get Lillie here safe and sound. That's good, that's good…" He pulled his phone out from his pocket and gave it a cursory glance. "Right on time, right on time… mind hopping aboard and helping me get ready to leave port? Been a while since I've taken the old girl, don't want us to sink in the marina after all." He chuckled lightly, reaching a hand out for them to take. Lillie didn't say a word, clearly unsure and uncomfortable at finally seeing the professor again after their odd decay in communication. Moon nudged her gently and nodded.

"It's alright. I texted Kukui during Hau's Grand Trial. He wants to help," Moon assured her. With a devious smirk she glanced at Kukui and said, "Also, I helped him fix one of Burnet's vases that got knocked over from him sparring with the pokemon my first week here, so he owed me one."

"Ha, fat chance. You texted me and basically threatened to tell my wife about it unless I helped you. The vase had one of her Unovan roses in them, was a gift from her mother." He sighed and shook his head, but Moon merely smirked and gave a playful shrug. Lillie still looked uncertain, but at Moon's encouragement she took the professor's hand and he yanked her over the gap and onto the boat. He glanced over her with a frown, giving her a once over before looking down at her duffel bag. His eyes flickered between her and the bag, and she nodded.

Hau slid down the railing beside them, arms stretched wide as Moon happily leapt across the small gap between dock and boat, and he caught her as the two let out a small whoop. It was just hard to be down when Hau was around.

"Alola, sister!"

"Alola, brother! Didn't I see you just a few hours ago? What are you doing here?" She glanced at Kukui, who was heading up the stairs and towards the cabin now, but he just shook his head and sighed. Hau grinned and thumped her on the back.

"Ah, little tense with me and Gramps, man's got the fire of Tapu Bolo under him when it comes to battling. Wants me to be the very best like nobody ever was, all that fun stuff…" He yawned and gave a goofy smirk as he headed over to one of the boat cleats. "Gramps asked the prof if he'd take me over to Akala, since apparently he was already headed that way for some reason-"

"Hau," Kukui interjected, "thought I told you already that Tapu Bolo ain't no fire-type, he be a grass type, yeah?" But Hau merely rolled his eyes as he helped lower the sails.

"Yeah yeah, but hear me out: the mon's got red all over him! That'd be like if my Alonzo had green stripes or something, you know?"

Moon and Lillie made their way up onto the deck of the boat, with Moon leaning back against the railing and Lillie staring off into the darkness of the night. As they listened to Hau and Kukui banter about semantics, Lillie opened the zipper of her duffel and checked inside, whispering comforts and gentle reassurances to Nebby who was safely tucked inside. Moon watched her for a moment before nudging her, and giving her as serious a look as she could. It wasn't often she had to make those.

"Hey."

"Hey."

Moon took a deep breath, glancing out at the sea alongside her friend. "Are you doing okay? I know this is a lot, and stuff is changing fast. It's… a lot for me too."

"I… I am. It is certainly a lot, but I feel as though life is made out of lots and littles. The littles will come back eventually." She leaned over the edge of the railing, gingerly, and blinked at the inky blackness. "Along with being scared of heights, I also was never taught how to, erm… swim. The last time I was out on the water itself, was when I washed ashore on the professor's front lawn. And now…" She turned, glancing back to where they could see Kukui flipping switches within the cabin. A spark from the console suddenly zapped him, and he quickly stuck his finger into his mouth. "Now I'm on his boat after not speaking to him for a week and a half. It's… awkward, is the word I would use."

Moon nodded solemnly. The uncomfortable tension wasn't lost on her, nor was she exempt from its reach. "He's… scared? I think? It sounds like him helping you puts his whole career at risk. I know that's – You don't know why, I know that, he knows that, but he wants to help. It's why he's doing this, one last little nudge to help, I suppose." Lillie only hummed softly in response, turning back towards the marina.

"...I hope you're right," she murmured softly, and Moon glanced at her. There was a small smile on her face, and the unmistakable glisten of a tear forming along her eye. "I'm truly glad that he cares after all." She quickly brushed it with her palm as Hau came bounding up beside them. He peered over the railing, practically going over as both Moon and Lillie grabbed him by his shoulder and pulled him back. "G-goodness, Hau! Are you trying to go overboard?"

Before he could answer, one of the cabin windows swung open (Moon wasn't entirely sure it was supposed to do that.) and Kukui proceeded to call out to the three of them.

"Mahalo nui loa for joining me on this rather unexpected ferry between Melemele and Akala Island! Please secure any loose belongings, pokemon, and or Haus that you have on board." He smiled, though it looked somewhat strained as he jerked his head towards the cabin. "Life jackets are located in here, yeah? In case of emergency, there's a flare gun and a life raft in here – primed and ready. Engines are purring, sails are rigged and ready… Looks like it's time to cast off!"

Hau and Moon let out matching whoops as the boat slowly and methodically pulled out into the lane of water that led out into the Alolan Ocean. Hau was bouncing on his feet until they left the no-wake zone of the docks, and made their way into more open waters. The lights of Hau'oli, bright and spectacular as they were, soon grew smaller and smaller as the boat began to sail off into the dark of the night. Moon and Lillie both watched behind them, staring at Melemele long after the glow of thy skyscrapers was all that remained.

"And we're off!" Hau cried out, throwing his arms up into the air victoriously. "Feel that wind, man! Ain't nothing like it in any region, that's for sure. Hey, kick it up a notch, grandma!" he called back towards the cabin, but if Kukui heard him he gave no sign, instead focusing down on his phone and the console before him intently. Moon silently bet herself that he was having to use a compass app, as it was almost certain the one installed on the boat didn't work either. Lillie frowned and held tightly onto her hat, backing away as the ocean spray and wind threatened to send it flying off into the night.

"Please do not encourage him; if this boat is pushed harder than it already is, we may very well end up below the bottom of the ocean. The nicest thing you could say about the boat is that it has a history…" She huffed and tightened her grip on both hat and duffel bag, casting a nervous glance towards the water. Moon noticed this, taking a step closer to Lillie as their shoulders touched; a small reassurance that she wouldn't let her fall in. It was hard to tell in the dark, but she swore she saw the hint of a flush on Lillie's cheek.

Hau snorted and turned, leaning backwards against the rail as he gave Lillie a grin and nodded towards her. "Haha, come on sister, you're just worried about your silly hat going skyward, admit it!" Lillie merely huffed in response. Moon had to keep a hold on her hat as well, since she wasn't wearing the toque that usually sat so snugly on her head, but Hau looked to her with excitement in his eyes. "Hey, whatcha' think Akala's like, eh? I've honestly never left Melemele – Gramps was dead-set on keeping me there until I got to the island challenge, that way I'd see it all fresh."

His smile faltered, just a little, and Moon silently nodded. She understood. It was a little scary, going out all on your own, not knowing what the world had laid out for you. She had long ago realized that was a part of the fun: the fear of never knowing what lay around the corner and being surprised at whatever it might be. It was a small comfort in a way, knowing that she would never discover every secret of Alola, every nook and cranny, because she didn't want to. She wanted to leave a little bit of mystery to her home.

As scary as it was, sometimes you had to press on and look ahead and wonder what awaited you.

Other times, you can't help but look back and wonder what you're leaving behind…

After the initial excitement of the boat ride had worn down, Lillie had resolved to seating herself as close to the center as possible to avoid being too close to the water. Hau remained at the bow, eagerly staring at the invisible horizon where the inky sea met the shadowy sky, intent on watching the island of Akala come into view as little sparkles of city lights from Heahea popped up one by one. Moon stood in between them both. Initially she had wanted to play her ukulele since the radio on the "S.S. Puka Shell Princess" was busted, but she eventually resigned herself to sit beside Lillie, and enjoy the quiet lull of the rocking boat. Twice she thought she saw the fins of some finizen swimming beside them.

There was value in silence, after all, even for a girl as noisy as her. Sometimes you didn't have to have words or thoughts to convey, though she had plenty of both, there was simply a point where sitting and enjoying the serenity with other people became a hidden treasure of life. She tried not to dwell on the fact that she was running away with Lillie, an unknowing criminal. She forced herself to ignore the stinging pit in her stomach knowing that there was a chance her mother didn't know yet – that she had merely assumed they had both gone to bed early. The alternative was that she did know, and that idea made her just as uneasy and regretful as the other if not more so.

She checked her phone as they drew close to Akala, expecting a plethora of missed calls or raging texts, but there was nothing. The only thing scarier than forty-two missed calls from her mother, was no missed calls at all. A small part of her wondered if this was for the best in more ways than one. After all, surely this would be less for her mother to worry about in the long run. Less groceries, less electric and water. Heck, maybe she could go a month without needing overtime to catch up to the rent and hospital bills. That'd make Moon feel better about what she was doing, even if this was necessary for her dream.

Glancing around the ship however, she noticed she wasn't the only one feeling increasingly tense. Kukui had remained in the cabin the entire journey, hunched over the console while furiously handling the controls and pinching his nose as he drummed his fingers against the various dials. More than once, Moon worried that maybe he was regretting helping her and Lillie, but with each chug of the boat's engine she realized there was the very real possibility that he wasn't as confident as he had looked regarding the integrity of the boat. Moon didn't want to imagine having to tell her mother, the kahuna, and Burnet that the three of them had nearly drowned.

And if he was regretting his choice? Well, it was too late to back out. For any of them.

Moon yawned as she sat against the bench with Lillie, her eyes blinking slowly as the lights of Akala drew closer. Moon wondered if Kukui could help them snag a hotel somewhere; her battle against the kahuna, the celebrating, and the stress of running away was rather exhausting and she could feel her nausea start to make its rounds once again. The rock of the boat did more harm than good in this regard, and Moon found herself eager to leave the catamaran. She stood, stretched, and walked over to where Hau stood against the rail, leaving her bag along the seat.

The harbor was now in plain view as the engines dwindled down, and they slowly coasted along the various piers. The familiar scents of salty air, seaweed, and the lush vegetation of Alola carried along the breeze; a sign that they were upon the islands once more. Moon let out a sigh of relief; they had made it in one piece after all.

"First thing's first, we need to find somewhere to crash," Moon yawned as she carefully shuffled over. Professor Kukui pulled the boat up to the side of the waterfront, wedging against a far dock. He stepped out of the cabin and hastily began mooring them properly. "It's been such a long day, dude. Might be the first time I've ever been too tired to eat. Ah wait, nah, my first day in Alola was like that, I think."

Hau nodded, and through the youthful jubilance and eagerness she could see that even he looked a little beat. "I wouldn't go that far, but I could do with a nice powernap, yeah? After a day like today, I stay drained, sister. Gonna need some grinds to go with it though," he admitted. Lillie stood and let out a light yawn herself, her fingers daintily covering her lips that were only barely parted. Moon chuckled to herself; even yawning, this girl had a way of making it elegant. Lillie passed her with her duffel bag as Hau and Kukui set down a small gang-plank. She did a double check on all her belongings, just to be safe.

"Hmm, clothes, toothbrush, nasty-ass medicine, ukulele, cash, pokeballs. Not a lot of supplies," she murmured, noticing all she had was some various pieces of trail mix scattered in her satchel, and an unopened piece of jerky. "That'll definitely be the first thing we do tomorrow. We're going to need to hit up a poke-mart or a grocery store, grab some hiking supplies. Heck, maybe they got one of those ranger surplus stores around here."

"Ah, nah. That won't be necessary, cousin," Professor Kukui said from behind her. Moon's ears perked up; surely he didn't have supplies ready for them? At this point, she was starting to feel bad, and wondered if he'd take some of her winnings as a small way of thanks. She turned with some of the cash in hand, ready to offer it to the professor, but she stopped short when she saw the serious expression on his face. His lips were pressed firm, his eyes boring down into the hull of the boat as he slapped his hat against his knee several times.

Moon stared at him, her eyes unwavering and her lips slightly parted in confusion. "What do you mean?" was all she could ask. The only time she had seen this serious was regarding her respect towards Tapu. Behind him, Lillie and Hau exchanged glances.

"I mean…" Kukui sighed, lowering his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose once more. He sat against the railing beside the exit ramp, and plopped his hat down atop of his head with the brim covering his eyes. "You don't need that stuff, because you're not going on Akala. This is where you're going to part ways; Hau's going to continue on his challenge, and I'm taking you back home to your mom." There was no smile, no hint of tease or the usual playfulness that could usually be spotted on Kukui, be it from his voice, to his stature, Moon could tell he was nothing but serious for once. "I agreed to let you come along so you could say goodbye, yeah? I figured you deserved that much, considering…"

Moon was silent. Something inside her cracked and withered, decaying like a piece of grass in the blistering August sun. It was something that had managed to survive throughout everything, all of the hell she had been through, she had held onto that one little thing. It was tough, it was resilient, it was a tether that she held to, and now whatever it was was gone. Dead. It felt like a balloon being blown in her chest, putting a light pressure on her insides. Her mind was just replaying the words over and over, like if she just heard them enough times in her head she might be able to start moving and respond to them, except nothing happened. She stood there, and her fingers twitched. That was something, wasn't it?

Her body was still. Her brain was not.

"What about Lillie?" she asked, unable to react. Unable to move. Unable to do anything but breathe. The professor sighed again, stretching his jaw as though he was having trouble swallowing. The irony.

"I discussed it with your mother, earlier, and…" His eyes took to the stars, exasperated as though it was such a struggle for him to get the words out. "After coordinating with Agents Chase and Looker, I agreed to meet them where they're currently waiting at the Heahea ferry service, where they will take Lillie into custody for questioning." Lillie's mouth gaped; she took a step back, shaking her head as tears started to well softly within her eyes, and began repeating a single word. There was nowhere to go with Kukui leaning beside the ganglank.

"No, no no no… no no no, no…"

Another liar.

"Look, I know this is hard for you, but you have to understand-" Kukui began, but the engine in Moon's brain had finally stopped idling. It was pumped with gas.

"Fuck. You." She hissed, her fingers clenching into her palms. "Fuck you to the sky and back, you- you- I trusted you!" She stomped her foot against the hull, secretly hoping to break through and sink the lot of them. "I- I- you said- you said I could come to you anytime I couldn't come to Mom about something! You said that! You fucking said that to me!" She wouldn't cry, not here, but damn if her eyes didn't sting.

Kukui threw his arms up, regret and exasperation littering his face as he finally stared her down. "What do you want from me, cousin? You can't just run off and do whatever the hell you want, yeah? Lillie has to take responsibility, you do too. We all gotta own up to what we do… even me." He was chewing on his lip now; Moon hoped he'd bleed. "You think I wanted this? Cause I don't. But I love Leilani like a sister, and you like my own niece, and sometimes… when you… Look, you just- you don't understand. When you're older-"

"Fuck you! How fucking dare you say I don't understand?!" Moon screamed, unable to stop the burning as tears began to cascade down her cheeks. "How fucking dare you?! What do you understand, huh? Lying assholes, everyone… just a bunch of lying… fucking… augh!" Her breathing was ragged, and now her whole body burned with fury and anger at just how unfair everything was. She could have ripped her own hair out. Wanted to, even. "This is my life, and I am so fucking sick of you all acting like you get to decide how it goes!"

Kukui merely stared at her. "That's just not the way it works, cousin."

"Ey uh, prof?" Hau chipped in from where he stood in front of Lillie, his voice cracking slightly. "Maybe we stay calm and talk this out, yeah? There's gotta be-"

"This doesn't concern you, Hau," Kukui said, not taking his eyes off of Moon.

"I'm feeling pretty concerned."

Lillie was quietly sobbing, rubbing her eyes with her palms as held tightly onto her duffel bag as though she feared that Kukui would make a sudden rush for it. "Professor… P-Professor, please… please, you can't… I can't… not you too, please, please Arceus…" Her voice cracked just like Hau's, and Moon thought her knees might buckle. Kukui gritted his teeth, but if her pleas made any headway against him, he didn't show it.

"I'm sorry. Truly, I am. But this is what's best, for all of us. It's been decided." He sighed and stood from the rail, rolling his shoulder. He started to move towards Hau and Lillie. "Come on. There's no room for talk here… we got places we all need to be. Hau, I'm going to be taking you to Akala's Kahuna for the night. Lillie, I… just, come on cousin, I don't-"

"No, no! Stop, please don't, plea-he-hease!"

It's been decided?

Nobody had seen Moon's shaking hand reach into the bag. Nobody had seen her pull anything out from it. Nobody had heard her strum her first few notes, but they all heard her words as she started singing a low, mournful verse.

Too pissed to think. Sorry, Roxie. I gotta borrow your lyrics for this one… think you'd approve.

"So if you want to hurt me first, well tough luck, tough luck," she sang, her voice strained by the tears she shed and the anguish she withheld. "If you want to be the worst, well tough luck, tough luck, I've already won." She saw the confusion and agitation on the professor's face quickly turn to astonishment, and then fear as a golden shimmer began to circle around Moon. It whirled like a hurricane around her as she reached for the pokeball attached to her belt and chucked it forward, all of the light and energy enshrouding the pokeball as it exploded in mid-air into the form of Chlorine, golden and glowing with the light of the sun.

"Cousin, no! DON'T-"

"TOUGH LUCK, GET FUCKED!" Moon screamed as Chlorine, fresh from her pokeball, dashed forward with the speed and tenacity of a latias in flight and performed a breakneck blitz. She collided with Kukui at full force, knocking him over the railing with the impact of a truck as he tumbled into the water as a crumpled heap, with Chlorine landing firmly on the boat. She immediately collapsed herself; exhaustion from an intense battle, an evolution, and using two Z-Moves in one day to boot. Moon felt guilty for using her to attack the man who had owned her before she did, all while she had had so little rest to boot.

But hey, life wasn't fair, right?

Moon looked at the railing for a moment before finishing the song under her breath. "Tough luck, get fucked. I've already won." And with that she threw her bag over her shoulder and made a break for the ganglank, taking ahold of Lillie's hand as she pulled her along with. Hau seemed in utter shock for a moment, staring between Moon and where the professor had been standing moments ago, but after a moment he ran after the both of them.

"I- Wait, wait stop!" Lillie pleaded, smacking her first against the firm grip of Moon. "Stop! He- he could be injured, what if- what if you injured his spine, he won't be able to swim! Moon, he'll drown!" Moon stopped in her tracks, skidding along the pavement as the thought seemed to fully connect with her emotionally charged amp of a brain. She hadn't thought of that. She just wanted him to get out of the way, not to injure him, or Tapu forbid, kill him.

A sudden splash from the water caught their attention as they all turned to see the professor surge above the water, arms flailing as he swam towards the dock in an effort to climb.

"MAHINA!" His waterlogged roar sent a shiver through Moon, not because it was angry – it was because it was desperate. Several people from along the shore turned to stare their way.

"Nah, he's good. Let's move, now!"

Moon pushed her nausea aside as they bolted down the streets of Heahea, dodging around parked cars, locals, and tourists alike. They shoved past a middle aged woman and a girl with grassy green hair, eliciting a cry of surprise from the both of them as Lillie tried to turn her head and apologize. Moon didn't have time for manners, manners would get them caught. Caught from what? She didn't know. She was just running. Brain said run, so she ran. The fact that she had enough oxygen going to her brain to avoid running into the middle of the road was a miracle alone.

She could hear Lillie gasping behind her, struggling for had only been running for a couple of minutes, but neither of them were the pinnacles of athleticism.

And Lillie doesn't eat enough to allow for strenuous exercise. We can't keep this up.

"Hey… someone, find somewhere… gotta think." Moon murmured, her own chest starting to burn from such a sudden burst of activity.

"Hey, hey! In here!" Hau called, skidding on his sandals as he pointed to an alleyway in between a noodle shop and a couple's cafe. They no doubt looked suspicious; three teenagers running down the street into an alleyway, but running wasn't much of an option any longer. Moon had way too much saliva in her mouth, and Lillie looked positively green. They stepped over some old boxes, crept away from the windows of either restaurant, and crouched down in between two dumpsters that sat in the lot behind either store. They were still visible to the road, but the lack of light kept them more than hidden.

Moon slumped on the pavement, falling to her butt as she tried to quietly regain her breath despite the fact they were all gasping. Hau collapsed in an old rattan chair that had likely belonged to the couple's cafe at one point, while Lillie leaned back against one of the dumpsters and slowly slid to the ground. Her hat tipped forward as it bumped the lid, covering her face as unrestricted sobs slowly wracked her body, and her knees quickly came to her chest. Moon glanced over at her, and she felt a strong compulsion to apologize, to comfort her, to say literally anything. But she couldn't. Maybe it was because she couldn't think in her adrenaline fueled haze, or maybe it was because she just didn't know what could possibly warrant actual words.

Their world was irreversibly changed. How did one say, "It'll be alright!" or "I'm sorry." to something like that? Moon knew all too well that words would be meaningless. Not even Hau had something to say, though she knew he had plenty of questions, and all of them warranted. She wished he hadn't decided to come with. Now he was a part of her string of bad decisions.

So for no less than five minutes, they sat there. They sat in the silence of Lillie sobbing her poor little heart out, of cars faintly passing on the road behind them, and the thoughts that pulsated deep within Moon's head like a slowly ticking time bomb: were they safe? Were they followed? Could something like this be undone? Did she even want it to?

It was the loudest silence she had ever sat in.

Finally, Hau craned his neck to look towards the road and spoke aloud to them. "Man, I dunno if anyone's following us, but I don't think rackin' out in an alley is a good idea. Whatever you've heard about being homeless is great in Alola? It ain't true." He looked to Moon, and she could tell that he was indeed taking this seriously. It was a strange thing, seeing Hau so serious, but his strength was something that Moon appreciated in a situation like this. And yet to continue on without offering him an out from said situation would feel wrong.

"Hey, Hau?" she asked. "You should probably go back. You don't need to tag along on… well, whatever the heck we're doing out here. I literally just ran away from home, and Lillie's wanted by the police for… reasons. You'd be much better off just heading back and saying you tried to get us to come back, but we outpaced you or… something. I dunno. Maybe tell Kukui-"

"Man, skip the lolo talk, sister," Hau cut her off. "We ohana, yeah? I ain't calling you 'sister' for nothing, and I'm not walking out when my sisters need help. So, how are we getting out of this? You can explain it all when we get a place over our heads, let's focus on what problems we can tackle." He gave her a firm nod, and Moon knew there would be no talking him out of it. She felt a pang of deep appreciation within her and wanted to hug him, as well as bop him one for being as stubborn as her for something like this, but she just didn't have it in her. The emotional and physical drain she felt was staggering, to go from high to low so fast made her want to just lay down and give up. But she couldn't. She didn't know how to give up.

"Lil? Lillie, hey…" Moon gently leaned over and nudged her friend, who had yet to raise her brim or even acknowledge either of them. "Lillie… we gotta move, okay? We can't stay here. I know this is scary, but we gotta keep running until we can find somewhere to keep our heads down. Okay?" She tried to be gentle and coaxing, like her mother could be. But thinking of her mother sent too many negative emotions to her head. Lillie slowly let out a shaky exhale and wiped her eyes, slowly lifting her head.

Moon felt terrible for her. They were all exhausted and scared, but she knew that Lillie had to be the most of all. Everything had suddenly been sprung upon her and she had no idea what any of it meant. Hau at least had the choice to follow, but Lillie? Lillie probably didn't know why any of this was happening in the first place, since she'd been struck with amnesia-

Wait a mareep kicking minute.

Lillie looked back at her, and her eyes blinked away the new watery tears that had sprouted up as she gave Moon a very tired look. It was one of exhaustion, of having to replay the same routine in life that you never asked for, of getting up every morning and not being sure how to move on. It was the same look Moon saw in the mirror early in the mornings, and late at night, where nobody else could see. You could call it a depression of sorts, but to her it was always best described at the sheer fatigue from the unfairness of life.

"Yes, run. Run, run, run," Lillie mumbled under her breath, spite and vitriol running down her every word as she looked away, a bitter glare staring into the alley wall beside them. "You know, I am – quite frankly – so tired of running away from home. It's… exhausting."

The tug in the back of Moon's mind returned, and it finally broke through.

"You do know." she mumbled, the realizations hitting her only as the words left her lips "That's why the kahuna didn't want the police to talk to us after Old Amoka attacked. That's why sirens make you nervous, because you knew you were wanted before we even started our trial. You hid inside the bathroom of the motel once the police showed up, and bashed me in the face with the door – you thought it was the police coming to get you." Her mind was reeling like a projector reel, and all the film was spewing out of her mouth. "I- You stole Nebby. You stole Nebby from someone, which is why he can't be allowed out where someone could recognize him, and you… and you…"

Moon looked directly at Lillie, the sound of late night street traffic and her own heavy breathing being the only sound that broke the silence between the three of them. Moon's mouth was dry, a heat having risen in her cheeks and her ears as she rambled. It was so obvious. Stupidly obvious, but not as stupid as her. It had been jingled like a pair of keys in front of her single-minded self, and she was too stupid to even notice. Lillie would not look at her now.

"You didn't actually lose your memory, did you?" she murmured. "That was… a lie. Wasn't it?."

Another one.

Lillie nodded.

I'm risking this all for you, and you're just another jackass liar keeping stuff hidden away from me.

"Moon…" Lillie sighed, and she brought up her palm to wipe away the tears that had started to resurface as Moon's voice had risen. "You should… you should go home. You have a mother who I know is really worried about you."

"Well it's a bit late for that, isn't it?! Look what I've done for you!" she shouted, getting to her feet and balling her fists. "I- I ran away, and yeah that was mostly because she was going to take me out of the challenge, but that was only because you- you…!" She kicked at the wall with the base of her foot, only to clutch it as painful throbbing began to spread throughout. Not even the power of a pissed off fourteen year old could best the sheer might of basic construction. Her anger at Lillie from the night before resurfaced, unfair and misplaced though that anger was, and Moon knew that letting it out would feel good. Maybe not better, but good nonetheless.

"Woah woah, easy sister," Hau urged, rising from his dilapidated chair. Moon hissed and grabbed at her foot. She hoped a cook on the other side of that wall thought the establishment was haunted. "Don't- don't hurt yourself, yeah? Let's just… calm down. Problems we can solve, and all that." He looked at each of them, a hand raised as though they were a group of fiery pokemon to soothe; a sobbing girl and teenager with a swollen foot. "We've all made choices tonight to get into this, good and bad, but we need to put our heads together to make sure we get out of it. We need to find a hotel, or something-"

"Hotels are gonna be the first place they look," Moon groaned, leaning against the brickwork. "Kukui heard us talking about finding one. They're going to check the hotels first, and then the pokecenters, along whatever trail or route is nearby to see if we camped there. Probably going to have local police looking for us too, or something, so we can't just stick to the friggin' alleys…" She let her head thump against the brickwall, gently. They'd get found out if they just stuck there, but where could they go?

A sudden idea struck Moon, and she quickly turned to Lillie, her frustration forgotten in place of fear. "Shit! Lillie, get the dex, get the rotom-dex now now now-!"

"Okay, alright!" Lillie hissed, quietly pulling the rotom-dex from her duffel bag while Moon practically snatched it from her hands. She flicked the device on and quickly navigated to the GPS application, scouring around not for a location, but for a function. Finally her eyes settled on the 'settings' tab, and she saw a little blue switch bearing the words 'location tracking'. She quickly flicked it off, and the rotom-dex changed its screen to that of its face, giving her an unimpressed look. Moon flipped it off.

Lillie had been looking over her shoulder as she worked, and she stopped Moon from closing out of the GPS app completely at the last second as she leaned closer to gaze at the surrounding area of Heahea.

"Wait, do not close it yet."

"Why? What do you know about Heahea?" She hadn't meant to sound so accusatory, but she wasn't entirely sure what Lillie truly knew and didn't at this point. Just how much had been truths, and how much had been lies? Lillie however, shook her head.

"N-nothing, I've never really been here before, but there is somewhere I have been… and I think it'd be safe from anyone looking for us. I just…" She tangled a lock of her hair, almost subconsciously. "I don't actually know if I can access it. I'm trying to see how far it is." Moon gave her a weary look, but handed her the rotom-dex all the same. It was better that way, as she was one snide remark away from snapping it in half. Lillie glanced around the surrounding area, scrolling with her finger as she focused on the screen. Hau was silent, watching the road as a stalwart lookout over their heads. Finally, Lillie pointed at the screen.

"Here. T-this is the place, and if I'm right… nobody would be able to look for us here," she said, turning the screen towards Moon.

Moon's eyes bulged; was she seeing the screen right? There was nowhere else near where Lillie had pointed that made sense, but… there? Perhaps Lillie might be able to get into a place like that, but a couple of rapscallions like her and Hau? There wasn't a chance in hell. Lillie however looked just as determined as Moon had ever seen her, and Moon could tell she thought this was truly their best chance. The problem was, could Moon trust her?

"... Alright. We're going to need a taxi, though. That's a good couple miles out. Hau, uh… you mind flagging us a taxi?"

"Leave it to me, sister. Uh, might wanna clean the grime off of you before we get in though - last thing we want is police and a ticked off Alolan cabbie."

The three of them quickly began to sneak their way out of the alleyway and towards the street, the usual warmness of Alola now feeling stifling and uncomfortable as they looked left and right to make sure nobody was watching them. As Hau hailed a cab for them, Moon tried not to look at Lillie despite the fact she knew Lillie was looking at her. A part of her was certain she was being cruel, and unfair, but she just didn't care. She was tired, confused, and absolutely uncertain of what to do next or where to go. She would undoubtedly try to continue on with her trials, regardless of whether the law interfered or not. But how on earth was she supposed to go on from here?

As they all climbed shakily into the back of the cab, Moon realized that one thing was more true now than it had ever been before. The professor and the kahuna had been right when they started their island challenge, they just hadn't realized how true their words had been back then. In retrospect, none of them had.

"This is where I'm supposed to tell you that we can no longer assist you, and that you must use your own skills to succeed in the coming endeavors. For all life on our islands, and for those who undertake these trials with such joy in their hearts…

We pray for your protection."