Chaser and the Faraway Island

Chaser and the Forgotten Island

The sound of heavy duty machinery was all around him.

Frankly, he was surprised he was able to sleep at all with how noisy everything was, but even he could surprise himself at times, it seemed. But that wasn't the only reason he was surprised he could sleep.

Since they were quite far from their destination, Professor Amaranth had set in the course on autopilot, and his massive helicarrier that housed the entirety of the Professor's beloved Project Mew was currently flying towards their destination. Goh knew that they would be arriving in a few hours to their destination, a small, faraway island in the middle of nowhere. And despite being a nondescript island in the middle of nowhere, for Goh this place held huge significance.

Though, as he entered the study of the professor carrying two mugs, it seemed that he wasn't the only one who was feeling some trouble sleeping.

Sitting at the professor's desk in the study was his familiar childhood friend. Her hair was still down, a cascade of curls as she sat in her long yellow pajamas, clearly more interested in whatever was in front of her.

And so, to surprise her, he stepped close and put his arm around her, holding one of the mugs in front of her as he did.

"...!"

She gasped.

"I thought you'd want something to pep you up, so I made some coffee," he said.

Even in the dim light, Goh could see Chloe's eyes dart up at him before looking back at the mug.

"Coffee...?" she balked. "You couldn't make anything sweeter...?"

"I did add sugar," he said before gently kissing her cheek. "But you're still sweeter."

He immediately felt Chloe's face heat up. "Always acting so cool and smooth..." she huffed as she took the cup from him.

"You like it."

"I do."

The couple chuckled quietly in the dark room. With everything going on, they didn't really have any moments of quiet where the two of them could just be together like this, so it felt very nice to be able to just enjoy the other's presence. Goh took the moment to pull another chair closer to Professor Amaranth's desk and sit next to her.

Chloe took a sip of the coffee. "...you did pretty well, considering all you had to work with was whatever they had on board," she said. "And Quillon probably takes his coffee black with no sugar at all."

Goh stifled a chuckle. "Well, when I went to school with you for my most recent test, I saw everyone carrying coffee drinks. Though most of them were canned ones."

She nodded. "They're getting pretty popular at Sunset Junior High," she said. "I guess everyone's trying to grow up."

"Even you, Miss Cerise?" Goh asked. "All these extended absences must be stacking up."

Chloe glared at him, looking irritated, but Goh saw the sparkle of mischief in her eyes. She wasn't really upset. "I would worry more about what we're getting ourselves into than my attendance. Writing make-up essays is my job, after all."

"Not that that's what you're working on," he said.

Goh glanced down at the desk, spying three items on it. First, and most obvious, was a paper print out of a map. The map looked a bit strange, as though it was drawn by an uneven hand, but the island in the center of it was in fact the destination that the helicarrier was headed towards. The fact that it was so unreliable was the reason they had to get assistance from Tapu Fini in Alola to locate the island, in the end, but even this map was a vital clue.