I'm Running Even If I Don't Want To.

Chapter 32

"Aghhhhh!" I groaned, feeling the need just to bash my head into the steering wheel out of frustration.

"Pikachu," Cap said from my shoulder as he patted the top of my head with his paw, and instead of screaming like I wanted to, I just sighed in complete frustration.

"Sorry, Cap, Friede, and Ludlow make this look so easy, and we've been at this for two hours, and that's the fifth time we've drifted off course," I said with a sigh as I checked the clock for it to read almost 3:30 in the morning.

"Pikachu!" Cap cried out as he leaped off my shoulder onto the console and started tapping his tail against the window, staring me down.

"Yeah, you're right, Liko needs us. I may not be as good as Friede or Ludlow at piloting, but I can do what I can for now and get us as far as I can." I said as I gripped the steering wheel tighter, determination once again rising. Cap gave me his version of a thumbs-up before he leaped back up onto my shoulder...

End of Dot's POV

Fuecoco woke with a start, and he tried to snuggle further into Roy's arm like he always does, but Roy wasn't there... Fueco sat up fully to discover his trainer was nowhere in the room, and he tilted his head to the side before scrambling off the bed and starting toward the engine room upon hearing Carkol and Slugma working.

"Fue-Fuecoco?" Fuecoco called as he stumbled through the little flap at the bottom of the engine room door meant to filter heat out, though it was mainly used as a point of access for the ship's smaller Pokémon.

Fuecoco ran toward Roy, who was in the middle of scooping coal, swaying on his feet, his face bright red, soaked in sweat, looking like he was a moment away from falling. Roy was startled by the sudden weight that tackled his leg, and looked down to see Fuecoco clinging onto his leg like a Komala clinging onto their log

Roy threw another scoop of coal into the engine, his arms aching in protest, but he just wiped sweat off his brow before he set about getting another scoop of coal.

"Fuecoco!" Fuecoco cried, kicking his legs, trying to get Roy to stop as he swayed some more. "I'll be fine, just another four or so hours, then whoever wakes up, I'll let them take over. Liko needs us to get to Alola as soon as possible, so I need to work twice as hard to get us there.... I can't leave her there on her own any longer." Roy responded as he threw another scoop of coal into the engine...

Fuecoco shook his head and sank his teeth into the edge of Roy's pajama shorts, kicking up a fuss as his trainer made yet another move to get more coal. Roy tried to pry Fuecoco off for a few minutes before he sighed, giving in, and he walked out of the engine room.

"Ten minutes, then I have to head back in there," Roy said as he stepped out onto the deck, feeling the wind blow past his face, tossing his sweat-soaked hair, cooling him down instantly by about ten degrees. Roy spent the next ten minutes telling Fuecoco what he missed while he was asleep and telling him just a bit about the past four hours.

Roy walked back into the engine room, followed by Fuecoco, who stood next to the furnace with Slugma and started firing off embers to help as much as he could. Roy smiled down at Fuecoco before he set back to work shoveling coal once again...

Friede's POV

Wow, my back feels pretty great for having slept in the Captain's chair overnight.... I thought to myself, still half asleep, as I stretched only to realize there was no way I was in the Captain's chair...

I shot up on edge to discover I was on the couch in the living room... I stood up hastily, scanning the room around me for any signs of how I had gotten there. My eyes skimed past the window out of habit, but I did a double-take upon seeing a cloud... when we are NOT supposed to be in the sky...