Sun & Moon: Rebellion (Sun x Lillie Fanfiction)

Chapter 27 - A Step Beyond

"Ah, Sun! There you are!"
Mom acknowledges my entry immediately before I even fully push the door open. She somehow does it every time I get home. It's like she can sense it when I walk up the road from the Pokémon centre or something.
"Heh, did you forget Lillie again?" Dad jokes. He glances at me curiously as I push the door closed, his slightly-raised eyebrow indicating that he's expecting some sort of story from me. A slightly worn-out sigh trails past my lips without me noticing as I enter the room.
"She decided to stay at Aether Paradise," I explain, a sarcastic smile spreading across my face. "Ran into some trouble there. Guess who?"
"Err, Santa Claus?" Dad jokes.
Mom and I both stare at him in unison, sharing the same unsmiling expression. The silence hangs in the air as Dad glances between us, before he finally concedes and raises his hands innocently.
"Alright, alright. Tough crowd."

It doesn't take long to recount this morning's attack on Aether Paradise to my parents while I stop at the kitchen to put together something to drink. I decide not to mention some of the more... perilous details. I'm sure Dad would love to hear about me leaping down an elevator shaft, but Mom gets worried a little easier than he does.
"Huh. Wouldn't have expected them to go for a place like Aether Paradise. Seems like they've actually got some kind of plan," Dad remarks. His eyes have since trailed down toward the floor, staring thoughtfully at the cold tiles while his fingertips graze against the surface of his chin. Mom's eyes gaze at me, filled with concern.
"Nobody was badly hurt, right? Lillie's okay?" She asks. I nod.
"Yeah, she's safe. She stayed to help her mom take care of everything. Apparently they've got things under control now," I reply, turning to Dad. "With that aside, Lil insisted on me going to the Altar with you, dad. Still up for it?"
Dad glances up, the smirk gradually perking back up on his face.
"Course' I am," he fires back cooly, tossing a Poké Ball into the air and catching it again as it comes back down. "Me and Saber have been looking forward to it."

As I pour the last of the fruit juice down my throat, Dad hauls his grey rucksack up onto his back and adjusts his jacket. He really doesn't waste any time. I put the empty glass next to the sink, turning to Mom.
"Alright then. We won't be too long."
As she always does, my mom simply offers a warm smile. "Then I'll prepare for the festival tonight. Have fun, you two!"
"Will do! We'll try to be back in time," Dad chuckles. I push open the front door and step outside again, this time with my dad in tow.

There's something sweet about seeing Ember and Saber together. The two champion Charizards stand together at the edge of the path, both of them admiring the same ocean view that's especially familiar to me, since it's the same view we have from the house. Dad adjusts the saddle gear on his signature Pokémon while the waves crash in the distance, the quiet only occasionally disrupted by a shallow grunt from one of the Charizards.

"Right then, I'll follow your lead," Dad says as he climbs up onto his Charizard.
I do the same, making sure to check my gear. "Sure. We're heading back to Poni Canyon - we'll have to land at the mouth of the tunnel at the end of the canyon, alright?"
"Ah, Poni Canyon... where we had our little race, right?" Dad remembers. He raises an eyebrow. "Why don't we just land at the Altar?"
I smile slightly. "You'll just have to find out when we get there, Dad."
Without saying more, I pat the side of Ember's neck and we begin our ascent toward the clouds.

—————

The journey to Alola's most sparsely-populated island feels like a particularly long one this time. Maybe it's just because I'm enjoying the view too much - after all, I was stuck at home for way too long, and I've missed the scent of the cold wind.
After crossing several kilometres of the deep blue ocean, Ember finally begins his descent towards the rocky surface of Poni Canyon. I glance over my shoulder at Dad and his black Charizard, both of them following my descent from not far behind. We swoop in past a landscape of rock arches and dead trees, slowing to a halt at the mouth of Poni Island's one and only trial site.