Guess what time it is? That's right! Another crappy chapter! Had this one in the back of the attic, collecting dust, until I remembered, "Oh yeah, people still read this for some reason.
"-and then her Gyarados transformed-"
"Mega-evolved, Kiawe-"
"-into an even bigger Gyarados!"
When Kukui went back inside, he found his students relaying in excited tones their various adventures to Lorenzo, while Burnet looked on fondly. Kiawe in particular was fired up as he gushed about their recent trip to Kanto.
A quick glance at the older fellow told Kukui that while Lorenzo didn't quite track everything that was spewing from their mouths, he was nonetheless paying as much attention as he was able to what they were saying.
Kukui did his best to smile as he made his way over to his wife, sitting down next to her and doing his best to not show the maelstrom that was his thoughts, although his hopes were dashed as she leaned in and whispered to him.
"Hey, are you feeling alright?"
He stiffened momentarily, cursing his own lack of subtly before relaxing. Giving her a small nod, he replied just as quietly, "Yes, I…think." He paused, then shot her a bemused look. "How'd you know that-?"
She stifled a laugh behind a hand, looking at him with exasperated affection. "Please, Kukui, we've been around each other long enough that I know when you're thinking about something particularly hard."
He shook his head ruefully, ignoring the curious glance from Mallow as he snorted under his breath, "Remind me to never underestimate your observation skills again."
Burnet took a moment to snicker at his comment, before adopting a more serious look. "So what's eating you?'
Kukui's amusement faded as he grimaced, wondering what he should say, if anything. If he was right about who "Tia" was, and he was very sure, then things were going to get very complicated. Under no circumstances did he want to lie to Burnet, as both his wife and as a fellow Pokemon professor.
Unfortunately, he felt he had an obligation to keep the identity of Ash's extremely affectionate friend safe, even from those he knew he could trust. If he told anyone about her secret without her permission, he would likely earn the ire of not just Latias' family, but Ash as well, and the thought of the boy he practically saw as his own son being angry at him wasn't exactly ideal.
Shifting in his seat, he finally muttere, "I…can't exactly say. I think…I think I figured something out, but if I'm right about it, then it isn't my place to say. I'm sorry…."
Kukui trailed off, feeling awful about it. To his relief, Burnet merely smiled and nodded. "Well, I'm sure that whatever this secret is, you wouldn't keep it to yourself unless it was very important. It's not like I've told you absolutely everything we've been studying at Aether Paradise, either."
Kukui could kiss her for that. He almost did, but that was sure to attract the attention of everyone else in the room. Instead, he settled for grabbing and gently squeezing her hand, gratefully whispering, "Thank you."
From the corner of his eye, he could see Lorenzo shooting glances over at himself and Burnet whenever he had the chance. Kukui was sure they had kept their voices low, but with the looks they were receiving, he was worried the older man had sharper hearing than he let on. Taking a brief moment to look around, it seemed none of the children were paying attention to Lorenzo's more serious demeanor.
"And then the Gyarados-!"
"MEGA, KIAWE!"
"Right! That! Made this MASSIVE Hurricane!"
Allowing himself a small smile, Kukui turned his attention to the senior and stared at him apprehensively.
He didn't think he was a threat, or rather he hoped not. He would not have let his students linger around if he was. But the presence of at least one Legendary Pokemon around the man made Kukui wonder just who he was.
The only other person he knew that dealt with Pokémon of such caliber so casually was Ash, and he was quite sure that the young man wasn't doing so on purpose. He just seemed to attract attention wherever he went.
Kukui's eyes then drifted over to Lillie, watching as her gaze burned as she listened to Kiawe rave about the battles in Kanto.
Some attention being more positive than others, he thought with some amusement, before frowning as he remembered that Lillie wasn't the only one with her eyes set on the raven-haired boy.
Latias….
While it wouldn't bother him if the red-head was actually human, her being a Pokémon raised other difficulties. Admittedly, it had been some time since he last checked Alola's laws, so he couldn't say for certain whether or not a relationship between them would be legal.
But he did know it would be heavily frowned upon, even with the fondness Alolans had for Pokémon. It could even be seen as abuse in some cases, especially if the relationship stretched to an equal level as his own with Burnet.
However, this instance was a curious one, namely due to the fact that Latias seemed so…human. Everything about her motions to her speech just screamed intelligence, more than likely on par with people. In fact, had he not been a professor, he doubts he would have even noticed her oddities. Even the most well-trained dittos and Zoroarks could have passed for a human that well.
Speaking of….
"While I was out there, I noticed something in my Pokédex I wanted your thoughts on," Kukui said to his wife, remembering the strange Zoroark entry.
At her questioning look, he pulled out his phone and quickly pulled up the entry, turning the screen so she could see it.
Squinting, she leaned in and took the phone from his grip, reading through the available information before handing the device back to him. "Peculiar," she noted in an intrigued voice. "That's certainly a new one for me, and the Foundation. To my knowledge, we haven't come across any specimens of that particular variation, or even heard of them. Obviously, we get the occasional Zoroark- Unovan, that is- but not this…" she leaned in to read it again before continuing, "Hisuian variant."
"I thought not," Kukui sighed as he put away his phone. "From the looks of it and the lack of information, it's a relatively new discovery. Only spotted, as well. No one seems to have caught one."
"What if it's a fake? Or misidentification" Burnet tried to reason, making him nod.
"Well, that's certainly a possibility," he said as he pursed his lips. "But you know professors; no one would update our database like that unless it was a guarantee of it being legitimate."
Burnet leaned back with a twinkle in her eye, her voice becoming excited as she grinned, "Then we definitely have to find a way to see it. Maybe we can't go, but surely if there's one, there's more."
Kukui nodded with a quiet laugh. "Yes, I suppose. But I'm amazed any survived up until now. From my understanding, this particular variant of Zoroark vanished alongside the remnants of what used to be the Hisuian populace."
"Maybe they went into hiding?" Burnet mused as she cocked her head. "After all, it wouldn't be the first time explorers missed entire species of Pokemon simply because they wished to remain unseen."
"After all this time, though…" Kukui trailed off, deep in thought. "I don't know," he finally sighed, adjusting his hat. "I will say that it would be interesting if they weren't extinct. I think studying them would be an enlightening look into the past."
She nodded, and the conversation came to a close as the two turned back to the group right as Kiawe was yammering about his battle with Brock.
As the boy began gushing about the epic ending to his clash with the Steelix, the front door was violently kicked open, and everyone jumped in fright as Kukui narrowed his eyes at the sight of the pink-haired girl barging in before Ash and "Tia."
"What's up, bitches?"
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Bianca crossed her legs as her hand flew over the page, sketching lines absentmindedly as she took glances up at the scene in front of her.
Latias, Ash, and Mew were still talking between each other as the raven-haired trainer tried to figure out the disguised feline's identity, while Pikachu was shaking his head nearby. She vaguely wondered how the Pokemon was smarter than his trainer, before ducking her head and concentrating on her drawing.
It was a basic piece, one consisting of Latias, Ash, Pikachu, and herself sitting by a fountain. It was far from done, and not one she'd even begin considering to offer up for sale. And yet, the scene plagued her mind for months, if not longer, and the urge to produce a visual representation of the…vision? Memory? She couldn't be sure.
Either way, it unnerved her. The lack of Latios, the content yet somber expressions on their faces, how close her and Ash were sitting, his hand over hers-
She clenched her hand and quickly closed the sketchbook, feeling an unpleasant jerk in her stomach.
What is wrong with me? She cursed herself with another glance at her friend, the dragoness seemingly unaware of the turmoil that raged its way through Bianca's mind every time Ash was mentioned. She didn't have this problem a few years ago, and she was feeling more than bitter at whatever caused the change..
The general warm feelings of companionship and gratitude were there, sure, but with that came feelings…that she shouldn't be having. Unwelcome ones that felt almost plastered over the platonic ones. Was this a byproduct of Latias brushing against her mind all this time? Was her friend's emotion polluting her own?
"Bianca?"
Ash's voice caused a fearful jerk in her stomach as she was pulled from her thoughts, barely managing to keep her composure before looking up. 'Y-yes?" She stammered, silently cursing herself.
Fortunately, the trainer either didn't pick up on it or chose not to mention it, and simply continued cheerfully, "We're gonna head back early."
She blinked in surprise; surely it was still early?
"Really? What for?" Bianca asked curiously, glancing at Latias as the dragoness responded.
"I have to meet with a few people to get some…things sorted out. Plus, Ash did promise he wouldn't be long."
The boy in question nodded as he stretched, Bianca biting her lip thoughtfully. It wasn't like she didn't have duties of her own that she needed to attend before the event kicked off. She took a glance up at the sun, noting its position. I suppose I'd better head back as well.
As she moved to get up, Latios looked at her with a raised paw, "May I have you stay back for a moment, please?"
Momentarily taken aback, Bianca nodded and replied, "Um, alright. I'll catch up with you guys?"
Latias hesitated, giving her a long look before nodding, before finally turning and walking away, snagging Ash's hand as she left. The trainer stumbled as he was dragged along, recovering a moment later and calling out, "See you later!" Pikachu snickered and bounded after his trainer, leaping up on his shoulder and giving her a small wave.
Bianca weakly smiled and waved back, only to start in surprise as she noticed Mew join them, hands clasped behind her back. "You're going, too?" She questioned, hoping for the sake of Ash's friend that she was not, in fact, going with them.
Unfortunately, a wordless grin from the disguised cat crushed Bianca's hopes as Mew walked with the pair, no doubt thinking up various ways to cause havoc with the visitors. Grimacing with pity, she glanced at Latios. "I don't suppose you could spare them her presence somehow?"
"No," he snorted, almost managing to look amused. "She wouldn't listen to me anyway, even if I tried. Besides," his voice took on a more serious note as he leveled his gaze at her. "I'd rather keep this conversation away from that chatterbox. You know as well as I that she has a rather bad habit of 'accidentally' spilling out whatever she happens to hear."
Bianca grimaced, conceding the point before leaning forward and cocking her head curiously. "What is it that you wanted to keep so private, then?"
Settling on the grass comfortably, Latios responded carefully, "Ash, and his presence here."
She stiffened at his words, frowning as she tried to formulate a response. "Wh-what about it?" She stammered out, not sure where this was going.
"We both know how my sister feels about him, Bianca," he replied flatly, frowning at the thought. "It was tolerable while he was gone, because I counted on him not coming back. But-"
"What do you mean, it was 'tolerable'?" She demanded as she shot to her feet, glaring at him.
"But," he continued on, "now that he has come back, it will cause…problems." Latios finished, drumming his claws against the grass below him.
Bianca felt her anger spike at his words, biting back a list of curses. How dare he? Doesn't he know how much we…Latias, missed him? With difficulty, she replied cordially, "What kind of problems? Why is it so wrong for him to be here? Why is it so wrong for Latias to feel that way?"
Latios glared at her as though her indignation was unjustified. "Because one way or another, she's going to get her heart broken!" He snapped with bared teeth.
This finally made her pause, her anger momentarily forgotten as she responded with a confused look, "What do you mean?"
He snorted derisively, shaking his head. "Come on, Bianca, you're smarter than that; tell me, how old am I?"
She twisted her face in confusion, not knowing what he was getting at. "You're… what, sixty-eight? Why does that matter?"
"Sixty-eight," he agreed. "Latias is the same age, albeit minus a few minutes. We've grown, but biologically, we really haven't aged all that much. Our bodies are only improving with time. And in a hundred years, nothing about us will have declined, nor a hundred years after that, or a hundred more." He leaned forward, staring at her seriously. "And who do you think won't even be alive in a hundred years, much less three hundred? Four hundred, and beyond?"
Bianca felt a dawning horror as she finally understood where he was coming from. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Bianca looked down at the ground, muttering "...Oh."
Latios shook his head, looking down with what she interpreted as pity. "I want Latias to be happy, I really do. And I have nothing against Ash as a person. In fact, he's one of the few humans I can say I trust. But if she claims him for her own, it will eventually tear her apart. She will be grief-stricken when Lorenzo passes, and then you. How do you think she would feel if her mate were to pass?"
To that, she had no words, opting to turn away and looking up at the canopy of the trees. Everything he had said was correct, and she cursed that fact with every fiber of her being. It was true that the twins would outlive everyone in the city many times over, and possibly even the city itself. She had come to terms with the fact some time ago, and but….
How could I have not thought about how Ash would factor into this?
Taking a breath, she quietly spoke, "So what do you want to do about it, then? Tell Latias to get over him? Ban her from ever thinking about him again? He's leaving tomorrow anyway." She subconsciously clenched her teeth at the thought, practically chewing her words as she turned to Latios with a grimace. "What are you going to do, keep them apart for the remainder of his stay?"
"If I must," came his even reply, staring at her with a resigned face as she glared at him..
"That was sarcasm, Latios, not a recommendation!" She snapped venomously. "Barring them from being together is daft enough, but…this? This goes beyond stupidity!"
He curled his lip at the comment, the feathers along his back starting to ruffle. "I wouldn't expect you to understand. You are not going to be the one to see a sibling mourn the loss of someone who has been dead for centuries. She has a chance to move on now, but she won't if she continues to pursue a human, especially one inclined to throwing himself at danger every chance he gets."
She was at a loss for words, and decided it was best to leave before things got too heated. "...I'm going back to the house now. We'll deal with this after the celebration." She abruptly turned and walked away, just as Latios called out to her.
"This wouldn't be a problem if you'd be more honest with yourself," his words made her stop in her tracks. What was that supposed to mean?
"I see how you react whenever Ash is brought up, how your eyes follow him. How much he's featured in the art you think no one has seen."
The wind rustled the leaves as she stood there, her blood feeling like ice. Her hands slowly clenched, and she barely felt the blood drip down as she stalked away from him, her art forgotten behind her.
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The walk back to the house was an enjoyable experience for Ash as he talked with Latias and the strange girl, most of which consisted of him trying to guess her identity. Much to her amusement, he just couldn't figure out who she was, even with Pikachu's elaborate game of charades.
"Can you please give me another hint?" He pleaded to her, looking at her as she smugly pranced at Latias' side.
"Hmm…no," she denied, baring her teeth in a grin as she glanced over. "No, I don't think I will."
He slumped in defeat and muttered, "Oh, man…."
"Plenty of clues, and you still don't know…." The girl trailed off, prompting him to sigh.
"I've been on so many adventures and met so many people, but I just don't remember you," he admitted, straining his brain in an attempt to figure out just who she was.
In the corner of his eye, he could see Latias smile and shake her head, her soft melodic voice echoing out a moment later, "You really have been meeting a plethora of people if you can forget a personality like hers."
"Oi! I'll have you know that I have a wonderful personality. Everyone loves me," the mystery girl haughtily replied, to which Pikachu snorted.
Giving his partner a glance, he frowned and pointed out, "But you threatened Kiawe with…not having kids? How were you gonna do that, anyway?"
"I mean if I told you that, it'd just give you another hint…or maybe not," the girl thoughtfully said, before perking up. "Oh, look, we're here."
Ash turned, and blinked in surprise as he saw she was right, the house standing proud as they approached. He could vaguely see shapes moving inside, and as they got closer, he could barely make out the voices of his classmates.
"Huh, that was fast," Ash noted, making the two girls chuckle.
"We may have taken the long way around, but the house isn't that far away from the other entrance," Latias pointed out, prompting Ash to nod thoughtfully.
The pink-haired girl merely hummed. "We coulda just teleported right into the place, ya know. A lot faster, and it'd be funny to see the looks on their faces," she snickered, only for Ash to perk up.
"Hey, wait a minute. You disappeared at the pier, didn't you? Teleported? How did you do that?" Ash asked, now wracking his brain trying to figure out if he's even met a girl that could teleport. On his shoulder, he could hear Pikachu muttering to himself, the rat no doubt questioning Ash's mental capacity.
"Again, that's another hint," she replied in her sing-song voice as they approached the door, before she straight up kicked the door in and announced loudly, "What's up, bitches?"
He winced at her language as he and Latias followed behind, carefully closing the door, only to frown as he noticed the wood was splintered.
"Uh, I think the door is busted…" Ash began, making Lorenzo groan from his seat.
"Dammit, M– er, you little-" he began to curse, and Ash cocked his head. Did her name start with M?
Before he could begin to figure out which people he's met that had a name starting with that letter, the girl in question casually shrugged and leaned against the wall, stretching her lithe body with a yawn.
"Sorry 'bout that," she said, not sounding particularly sorry at all. "I'll hop on that sometime later, probably."
Ash wasn't exactly convinced with the girl's claim, a sentiment that was echoed in his class's expressions, although Kiawe's somewhat fearful look was the major exception. He watched as his friend subtly leaned away in his chair, hands slowly moving to cover his groin.
"So your name starts with M?" Lillie asked as she tilted her head, Ash mumbling under his breath about that being his own thought.
"I suppose I can grant you the privilege of knowing one of my names," the pink-haired girl said with a dramatic sigh. "Just make sure to say it with the appropriate level of reverence, m'kay?"
"One of your names?" Kiawe muttered, flinching as her eyes fell on him.
"That's right, Ice-cream boy, one of my names," she replied in a hard tone before she lost all signs of hostility and grinned. "You can call me…Maya."
There was a moment of silence as Latias shook her head and sighed, "That one? Really?"
Maya turned towards the dragoness with a wink and asked, "Would you prefer I use my real name?"
"NO, I wouldn't," Latias stressed, making Maya cackle.
"So how was your trip?" Professor Kukui interrupted as the girl opened her mouth to reply, a strained smile on his face.
"Oh, it was pretty good! We…saw stuff. We saw stuff," Ash said, realizing almost too late that he was about to expose their excursion to the Garden. To his side, Latias winced before helpfully taking over.
"We went here and there," she began in a sweet voice, her hand curling pleasantly into his own. "Mostly around the area, we didn't want to stray too far from the house. I just wish we had a chance to visit where we first met," she said with a coo, holding a hand to her cheek as she closed her eyes with a smile.
Ash nodded, agreeing that a detour to the fountain would have been nice, although he wasn't sure why she seemed so giddy about it.
His classmates, meanwhile, collectively glanced between the two awkwardly, some quietly coughing into their fist as they turned to look at Lillie. For some reason, his friend seemed stiff as she slowly took a sip out of her cup, staring at Latias with a hard look that he didn't like.
As he opened his mouth to say something about it, Professor Kukui nodded and replied, "Ah, well, I'm sure you'll have the chance to do so later on. But, where's your friend? Bianca?"
The class seemed to start in surprise, finally noticing her absence. Latias once again stepped in, her voice hardening in a way that confused Ash. "She had to take care of something, but she should be here shortly. I think."
Man, what is it with these mean looks and stuff? He couldn't help but wonder as he scratched his head, not understanding the tensions that seemed to have built up in the span of their visit. Stress after traveling, maybe?
"Hmm, alright. I certainly hope so, we still have to get ready for the festival," Lorenzo said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Oooh, I can't wait!" Mallow squealed, much to the amusement of Lana.
The swimmer gave her a wry look and remarked, "You realize it's just a dance, right?"
"Just a dance?" Lorenzo scoffed, shaking his head. "My dear girl, I don't know where you heard such information from, but I assure you, it's more than just a dance. It's a celebration that will last long into the night!"
"Oh my," Lillie replied, holding a hand to her cheek and giving a quick glance towards Ash before looking away again, confusing him.
Professor Kukui awkwardly coughed into his fist and said, "Keep in mind we will not be up that long. We have a boat and plane to catch." He finished as the class let out several groans.
"I bet Bianca and Tia don't have to go to bed early," Sophacles grumbled to their amusement.
"That's because neither of us have to go anywhere," a voice replied from outside, and the class turned to see Bianca at the door.
"I apologize for being late, I had to take care of some things," the artist said briskly as she stepped in and attempted the close the door, only to frown when the latch wouldn't work. "What the…"
"Oh, uh, Maya broke it," Ash explained, making the girl in question cross her arms and pout.
Bianca paused for a moment as her gaze fell on Maya before rolling her eyes and sighing, "Of course. Why am I not surprised?"
"Because kicking down doors is fun?" the pinkette said as she grinned.
The artist merely gestured towards the door with a flat expression. "Really? This is fun?"
Maya looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding, "Yeah, pretty fun. I mean, I can fix it easily enough."
"That doesn't mean we like it," Lorenzo piped up, Latias and Bianca nodding in agreement.
"Oh, you know I can't stand it when you gang up on me like that," Maya pouted before popping something in her mouth. "Especially over such a simple little thing." Her little grin betrayed her farce as she began chewing on the mystery object, much to the chagrin of Latias.
"Not destroying our property is not a simple little thing!" The dragoness protested hotly, earning a sly look from Maya as the girl blew a large pink bubble before popping it.
Ash's brain was starting to register that Maya probably wasn't well liked by the Alto Mare family when she gave Latias a wicked grin and replied, "Surely nothing anyone can't handle, right? We could always find those two Legendary Pokemon. I'm sure they'd love to help out their subjects."
Most of his class gave her a quizzical look, while Kukui's gaze flicked to Latias, causing a trickle of fear to run up Ash's spine. Did his teacher suspect something? Or did he already figure it out?
Lorenzo and Bianca's reactions didn't help, as they stiffened and gave Maya harsh glares, faces becoming pale.
Deciding now would be a good time to intervene before things got out of hand, Ash stepped in with a nervous laugh and said, "I'm sure Legendary Pokemon have better things to do than repair doors."
His comment drew the attention of his class, Kukui in particular looking interested.
"You would know, wouldn't you Ash?" Kiawe remarked with a snort, although his eyes never drifted from Maya.
"Yeah, you have a habit of running into Legendaries, Ash, did you see Latias or Latios while you were here last time?" Mallow asked curiously, his classmates nodding in agreement as they all stared at him expectantly.
Lorenzo, Latias, and Bianca were staring at him intently, the artist subtly shaking her head.
Suddenly, he heard Latias' mental voice say to him, "Just play dumb, they'll expect it!"
"...What's a Latios?" he replied a moment later, staring at Mallow. Pikachu immediately fell to the floor, and didn't get up from the faceplant.
"NOT THAT DUMB!" Came Latias' mental screech, the dragoness facepalming. Bianca brought a hand up to her face and pinched the brow of her nose, closing her eyes. Lorenzo turned and stared up at the ceiling, muttering something under his breath that Ash couldn't quite catch.
His classmates' curious looks devolved into ones of disbelief, staring at him with expressions that made him want to curl up and die of embarrassment.
Instead, Ash did his best to recover from his blunder, laughing nervously as he said, "J-just joking, haha! I know what a Latios is, of course! I fought one, after all!" Which was actually true, although from the looks he was getting from Latias and Bianca, it seemed as though he had forgotten to share that tidbit. Maya, on the other hand, was smiling pleasantly, still chewing her gum.
"Wait, you have?" Mallow asked, looking as dumbstruck as the rest of the class.
"Yup," he replied to the growing chagrin of Bianca and Latias. "In Sinnoh, during the Lily of the Valley conference. I lost to the trainer, but we managed to get him."
Ash was proud of the fact, although he became considerably less proud as the expressions of surprise that temporarily graced Bianca and Latias quickly reverted back to glares.
Why do I feel like I'm in danger?
As the dragoness opened her mouth to reply, Kukui's phone began to ring, making the man frown as everyone turned to him as he started pulling it out.
"That's odd, it should be put on 'do not disturb'," he muttered as he looked at the screen, before quickly answering it. "President Lusamine, what can I do for you?"
Lillie's face mildly soured, with Mallow and Lana shooting her sympathetic looks. Kiawe cocked his head and mused, "I know she's worried about Lillie, but is this really necessary?"
"For her, it always is," Lillie grumbled, glancing at Professor Kukui as the man started looking more and more confused.
"You're kidding…That's-...Are you absolutely sure-...I see. Thank you." The Professor hung up the phone, looking utterly bewildered.
"What's wrong, Professor?" Ash piped up, curious as to why the man seemed at a loss for words.
Sophocles quietly snorted, "I bet Lusamine is on her way now with a fleet of boats." The entire class laughed with the exception of Lillie, who glared at the boy.
"Please don't jinx me like that, Sophocles!"
"No, it's nothing like that," the professor stated, taking his hat off as he ran a hand through his hair. Professor Burnet placed a comforting hand on his arm
"It's not bad, is it?" She asked in a quiet voice, the rest of the class beginning to look concerned.
Their fears were alleviated as he shook his head slowly, replying, "I…don't think so. But another Ultra wormhole opened up, this time at Poni island."
The class grimaced while Mallow moaned out, "Oh come on, another Ultra Beast?"
Before the situation could devolve any further, Professor Kukui shook his head again and said the words none of them expected to hear; "Not an Ultra Beast. A person."
Author's note:I'm hoping against all odds that future chapters won't be complete garbage like these past five have been. I'm looking to get around the same quality as "You're My Inspiration", which is also getting to be on its fifth chapter shortly. In the meantime, thank you for getting this garbage out of the way. Please feel free to leave a review, as it reminds me that people still care about this fic for reasons I can't fathom. I'm just glad to be privileged enought to be among the very very few AltoShipping authors left in existence.