Our saviour, Kiria, led the way to a hotel at the end of the path. She didn't say another word all the way there, opening the door to what was supposedly her room and leaving it open for us to follow. The three of us did just that, and I shut the door behind us.
"Good girl." Kiria said to her Ninetales, scratching the Pokemon's head. She straightened up and turned to face us. "You all right?" She asked.
"Thanks to you." Nelly nodded.
"Yeah – thanks a lot." I smiled.
"Well, now I've found you two, I can let Megan know." Kiria pulled out her phone and began tapping. "Although, I wasn't expecting a third person." She glanced at Alicia.
"M-my apologies." The hooded girl looked down.
"It's all the same to me." Kiria shook her head. Then she brought her phone to her ear.
"She doesn't waste time." I looked to Nelly.
"Seems like it." She blinked. "Hey there." She bent down to say hello to the Ninetales.
"Aoo." The Pokemon looked up at her and smiled.
"Wow, you're beautiful..." Nelly reached out and touched her fur. The Pokemon delighted at the attention.
"Megan?" Kiria looked up from the floor. "I've got them. Yeah. Mm-hm. Just in time. Yep... Got it."
She brought the phone down and looked over to us. "I'm putting her on speaker." She said, pressing a button.
"Toby? Nelly?" My sister's voice came through.
"Megan? We're ok." I told her.
"That's good. Now that you're safe, we can bring you back in and we'll go over what we're going to do about Team Rocket."
"Right away?" Nelly asked.
"The sooner the better." Megan replied. "I've been tracking them, and they've got a ton of helicopters, full of grunts like the ones you've come up against. And they're not limiting themselves to Japan anymore. One of them entered Italian airspace not moments ago, and others crossed over into Australia and the USA overnight."
"They're going to steal even more Pokemon..." I frowned.
"Exactly. The sooner you get back here, the sooner we can formulate a plan. And the sooner we can formulate a plan, the sooner we can put an end to whatever it is they're plotting."
"Ah..." Alicia looked as if she wanted to say something, but turned away.
"You ok?" Nelly asked her.
"Who's that?" Megan heard the unfamiliar voice.
"We have someone else travelling with us." I explained. "She needed help getting around."
"And the poor thing ran into you two of all people? What rotten luck." She laughed.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" I demanded.
"Let's face it, you two don't exactly attract the best crowds, do you? Case in point, me sending Kiria to help you out."
"I do what I can." Kiria looked around absently.
"...Fair point." I sighed.
"Anyway," Megan went on. "I can have a boat sent to pick you up in no time. Either that or I send a helicopter of our own – don't worry, it's normal-sized, not like those grotesque hunks of junk Team Rocket are parading around. Either way, you need to get back here ASAP. You'd better bring that girl too."
"M-me...?" Alicia looked up.
"Mm." Kiria looked her up and down. "Kid sticks out like a sore thumb."
"O-oh..." The girl retreated further back into her hood.
"Plus, Rocket have seen you now. They'll come back for you. Without protection, you're a sitting duck." Our rescuer put her hand on her hip.
"Oh dear..." Alicia swallowed.
"Regardless – are you ready to come back?" Megan asked.
"Yeah, I guess so." I replied.
"Good, then-"
"P-please wait a moment...!" Alicia interjected. We all turned to look at her. "I don't mean to be a burden to you... I am truly grateful that you let me come with you this far, but... I can't leave Alola..."
"Why not?" Kiria seemed to be studying her face.
"W-well, I... I-I've never left Alola before..." Alicia admitted.
"I promise you'll be safe." Nelly told her.
"Safer than if you were to stay." I added.
"But I... Oh..." She let out a distressed groan.
"If you've got something to say, spit it out." Kiria glared.
Alicia hid her face.
"Aoo!" Kiria's Ninetales looked up at her, as if scolding her for being too cold.
"...Sorry." The woman sighed. "But we don't have a lot of time here."
"Is there something you need to do before we go?" Nelly asked.
"Yes..." Alicia swallowed again. "The truth is... I-I'm looking for someone. But I don't know where they might be..."
"What's their name?" Kiria asked.
"...I can't tell you..." Alicia shook her head, seemingly pained at hiding details.
"We can't help you if you don't tell us what we need to know." Nelly said gently.
"Clock's ticking." Megan said through the phone.
"You can trust us." I assured her.
"Trust...?" Alicia looked from me to Nelly, and we nodded. She then looked to Kiria.
"I don't have any stake in this." The turquoise-haired woman said. "I just help beat the bad guys. Say what you want – my lips are sealed."
"Mm..." Alicia looked down at her pet. Her Alolan Meowth looked back up at her and nodded slowly. "Minerva... Yes." The girl took a deep breath. "I need to find a girl named Acerola."
"Easy." Kiria said almost immediately.
"It is...?" Alicia blinked.
"She's a Trial Captain on Ula'ula Island."
"Trial Captain...?"
"It's common knowledge on these islands." Kiria shook her head.
"R-really...? I wish I had asked sooner..."
"Let me guess -" Megan spoke. "You're going to help this girl find who she's looking for."
"Well..." I glanced at Nelly. She glanced back and gave me a nod. "Yeah. Sorry, but that meeting will have to wait a little while longer."
"All right then." Megan sighed. "Just remember, the longer you take, the more time Team Rocket has to pull ahead and steal even more Pokemon."
"We understand."
"I'm so sorry for the burden..." Alicia looked down.
"Don't worry." Nelly smiled. "If meeting this Acerola is so important to you, we'll help make it happen."
"As long as you understand that it needs to happen quickly." Kiria said. "And you'll have to leave with us when you're done." She added.
"...If those are the terms, then I accept."
"Contact me when you're ready to come back." Megan said. "Until then, I want you to look out for them, Kiria."
"Mm-hm." Kiria brushed a hair from her face.
"Good. I'll speak to you all again soon."
With that, the call was ended.
*
Nelly pulled me to one side to discuss what had happened.
"This is something we have to do, right?" She looked over at Alicia, who had bent down to pet Minerva with a smile on her face.
"Yeah..." I nodded. "No offence to her, but I really don't think she'd make it on her own."
"Mm, you're right... Oh well, we'll see more of the region before we go back, at least."
"True. Besides, it can't hurt to help her."
"If we're done here, the next boat to Ula'ula Island leaves in about twenty minutes." Kiria said, adjusting the device around her wrist, removing a light blue crystal from it and putting it away.
"What about those people that were chasing us?" Alicia asked.
"We won't have to worry about them for a while." Kiria turned towards the door.
"Did you... Are they... Dead...?"
"I didn't kill them. I dumbed the move down a bit to compensate."
"Aoo-ah." Ninetales nodded.
"They'll be frozen for a little while longer, so let's get out of here before they figure out what happened."
"Sounds good to me." I agreed.
*
On Ula'ula Island...
"My, the Royal Guard sure are out in force today." One elderly woman commented, seeing patrols of soldiers march off in different directions.
"They must be stepping up their search for the Princess." A lady beside her said. "I can't believe they haven't found her yet."
"They'd do well to search a little bit harder than they did the last time a royal went missing."
"I think they are – even the Princess's fiancé is somewhere on the island looking for her with the troops."
"Well I do hope the Princess is safe. It would be such a shame for the royal wedding to be called off."
*
The boat was slicing through the came blue of the ocean, but once every so often, there would be a flash in the sky, as the very heavens seemed to be trying to rip themselves apart. The bright lights always lasted mere moments, but every time it was still a shock.
"Just what are those things?" Nelly wondered, looking up at the sky.
We were sat by the railings alone. Kiria was stood close to the main cabin, leaning against the wall under the shade of the roof round the corner. Alicia was on the other side of the small vessel, staring out to sea. We could see neither of them from where we were.
"I have no idea." I shook my head. "Maybe Kiria knows."
"What do you think of her, by the way?" Nelly asked.
"She likes to get things done." I shrugged. "Efficiency isn't such a bad thing."
"No... But I worry that she'll end up hurting Alicia's feelings if she's so blunt all the time."
"Look at you, caring about somebody we barely even know." I smiled.
"Well, we hardly know anything about either of them." Nelly sighed. "I just want to be friendly."
"No, I get it. You're doing great." I nodded.
"Thanks." She smiled, resting her head on my shoulder. "How long do you think it'll be before we get to see everyone again...?"
"Hopefully not too long." I replied. "They'll be all right. I know it."
"Yeah..."
We heard footsteps and Nelly sat up straight. Seconds later, Alicia came round the corner, Minerva in her arms.
"Hello." She smiled. "I just wanted to say thank you again. It truly means a lot to me that you two agreed to help me."
"Don't mention it." Nelly smiled back.
"We're happy to help." I agreed.
"Thank you so much!" Alicia bowed and walked away.
"I wonder what her story is." I sat back.
"Everyone's got one." Nelly stretched.
"Yup. Some more crazy than others." I said, drawing a giggle from her. "Still... I want to know why she needs to see this Acerola person so badly."
"It's interesting, but I don't think we should pry too much. We barely know her. All we can do is help her get there."
"You're right." I stood up, looking out over the sea. Ula'ula Island was approaching fast.
"We nearly there?"
"Yeah." I held out my hand. Nelly took it and stood up.
"Thank you."
"We should get back to the other two." I smiled.
"Yeah. You don't think Alicia could get lost on a boat, do you?"
"Nah. I mean... I hope not."