Pokemon - Capture Quest

Chapter 19 - The Fight Ahead

We made it to the HQ in just about an hour, thanks to the navigation provided by Skyra, Paolo and Gabi. A set of inconspicuous buildings straddling the border between Kanto and Johto was where I would finally meet up with my sister.

Gabi ran up to the main door of the central building – a large black structure that was clearly high-tech. He rang the bell and knocked on the door, glancing back at the unconscious Princess still dazed in Paolo's arms. In a matter of moments, the door clicked open, and it was pulled back. Megan was standing in the doorway, her smile of relief at seeing us immediately swept away by shock and mild panic at the sight of Alicia.

"Get inside." She said without hesitation. "We have medical staff in the west wing."

We all entered the building with haste, Skyra shutting the door behind us.

The main area we were in was spacious yet full of essentials for this type of business. There were people sat at computer monitors, tapping away whilst focusing on the screens. Across from them were rows of lockers made of thick metal. Some staff were checking them, and Nelly visibly shuddered when she saw one of the young men take out and examine a combat knife, whilst the woman beside him, got to work on polishing the scope of her sniper rifle. It was clear that we were out of place here – this was truly a base of operations for adults who were willing to do dirty deeds for the pursuit of good. It struck me as somewhat ironic that this was a branch of my mother's own company that focused on uniting people and Pokemon – then again, Megan's profession had saved us several times before, so I wasn't about to complain.

An observant woman at the front desk called for medical assistance before Megan even spoke a word, and the response time was impressive. Less than thirty seconds later, a man and a woman in white came running up the hall from the left, wheeling a stretcher towards us. They helped Paolo to lift Alicia on to it, and we watched as the doctors set the Princess down gently.

"I'll catch up with you all in a minute." Megan glanced back at us, before following the stretcher back down the hall to make sure everything was all right.

"Meow!" Minerva scurried forward after them.

"I hope she'll be ok..." Nelly watched the stretcher carefully turn a corner.

"I think she's all right for now." Skyra said. "Her breathing seemed to have calmed down."

"Sì." Paolo nodded, stretching his arms. "I think we made it in time."

"Guys!"

We turned to see Acerola, accompanied by Kiria. It had only been a couple of days, but ever since the helicopter crash, it felt like years since we had last seen them.

"Huh? Where's Alicia...?" Acerola stopped running, looking around eagerly. Nelly broke the news to her, and the younger Princess stood in shock for a moment, staring into nothing. Kiria had her arms folded, but even the Ice Queen was shocked by the news, her lips parting and her arms sliding apart.

"Sis!" Acerola took off down the corridor, speeding past several staff walking the other way.

"Damn it..." Kiria glared at the ground. "First Alfred, now Alicia? This was supposed to be a safe mission – no casualties..."

"You're acting as if someone died." I shook my head. "We're all alive."

"But I failed... This was supposed to be an easy mission. Who knew ferrying you kids around would turn out to be such a hassle."

"Par for the course with us." Nelly sighed.

"Next time I'd like a warning." Kiria straightened up. "Either way, good job, boys." She nodded at the three who had met us at the docks. "You brought them back. You succeeded where I couldn't."