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

Chapter 32

My adrenaline soared as I grabbed Charizard's pokeball preparing for the worst, as I raced to the bridge. I threw myself inside to see Dot and Cap at the wheel...steering the ship.

"Dot, Cap!" I called as I strode across the bridge in just a few long strides.

"Ahh!" Dot yelped as she turned to face me along with Cap. I raised an eyebrow in question as I leaned against the wall, and Dot rubbed the back of her neck as Cap lightly smacked her on the back of her head with his tail.

"Before you get mad, we have a good explanation," Dot said quickly, and I just lightly shook my head.

"I'm not mad, just confused," I said, giving her a small smile, and Dot took a deep breath before telling them everything....

Liko called, I wasn't awake for it, I wasn't able to help, wasn't able to try talking to her. Roy and Dot had to answer the call, then they took it upon themselves to get as far as they could to help their friend. They knew just how much we were pushing ourselves ... I thought as I reeled for a brief moment at the information before I took a deep breath in. "Ok, can you head into the living room? I'm going to get Roy and wake up the others," I said, and Dot nodded as she went to the elevator and Cap hopped off her shoulder and onto mine.

"You could have woken me up," I said as I knocked on everyone's doors as I ran down the hallway. Cap crossed his arms and closed his eyes, and I just sighed, about to say something as Ludlow and Mollie walked out of their rooms, the first people to have woken up from my frantic knocking.

I quickly told them everything, and before I could even ask, Ludlow was already making his way to the bridge, and Mollie was already switching into Doctor mode.

"I'll tell Murdock and Orla when they get out of their rooms, and send Orla to the engine room as soon as I can," Mollie said, and even though her hair was still sticking up from the static shock of sleep, she looked as serious as ever. I nodded as I started running toward the engine room...

Rot looked worse for wear; his face was dark red along with his arms, and legs from prolonged exposure to the heat. He was soaked in sweat, and deep purple eye bags decorated the undersides of his eyes. I just grabbed from the underside of his arms and just started walking toward the living room, hearing Fuecoco just behind us.

"Friede!" Roy shouted as I carried him, but I just kept walking till I was behind the couch Dot was on. I placed him down as gently as I could beside her before I bent down and did the same to Fuecoco.

"Are you mad?" Roy asked in a small whisper, and I winced at the heartbroken tone in his voice like a little kid still half asleep looking for reassurance after a nightmare.

"I'm not mad, bud, at either one of you, but we do need to talk about what happened," I said as I sat across from them.

"I know you both just wanted to help Liko, but you guys can't just fly the brave Olivine by yourselves with or without Cap's help. You could have crashed, you could have gotten lost, and what if the Exploers attacked? You can't fly the ship and defend the ship at the same time, that's a bit above your pay grade." I said, cracking a small joke at the end to alleviate the tension, Dot and Roy shared a glance before looking at me.

"We admit it, it wasn't a good idea to sly the airship by ourselves, that we should have gotten help from any of you all," Dot said, glancing away.

"You guys just worked so hard, barely getting any sleep, we just wanted to do what we could to help all of you since you've helped us so much," Roy added from his spot beside his friend, and I shook my head, sighing.

"I can admit we were pushing ourselves beyond our limits and then some, but we are the adults on board; it's our job to keep all of you safe," I said, and Dot's head jerked up at that, and I raised my hand before she or Roy could speak.

"But I will talk to the others about being a bit easier on ourselves or at least taking more balanced shifts," I said, despite myself. Roy and Dot glanced at one another again and nodded, giving me a thumbs-up each.

"Well, you both should get some sleep and, maybe a shower because we've got about four hours before we arrive in Alola," I said as I dusted off my pants, giving the kids a smirk when they cheered before running toward their rooms...

Just a bit longer, Liko... We're almost there.

End of Friede's POV

Wahoo, Chapter 32 is completed!! This one took so long, but I hope you enjoyed it! We got a lot of the RVTs in the chapter, and they're so close to Liko, so I hope you all look forward to that reunion that will be happening sooner rather than later. I don't have much else to say I hope you have a good day and a good rest of your week, and see you next week.-k