The World Without Them || Original Pokémon Fanfiction ✓

Chapter Fifty-One: Vital Risks

 "Are you sure you know where you're going?"

 "Of course I do. I've been to Niska a bunch of times."

 "Then why have we been wandering around for so long?"

 Frost mentally rolled his eyes as he gave Sage an uninterested backwards glance to which she responded with a raised eyebrow of her own. They stood in a small alley between two huge buildings in the heart of the city. The group had made their way out of the crumbling neighborhoods near the mysterious gate to find a phone, and once the boy had completed that part of his plan, he had led them closer to the Capitol Building. Sage was still in the dark on what he had in mind, and her irritation was beginning to show.

 Mana looked from Frost to Sage worriedly as the runaway stuck his head around the structure's corner to get a better view of the street. Even in the downtown area, there was hardly anyone out and about. He heard the greenette sigh.

 "What happened to being on the same page? I thought you wanted to work together but you won't even tell me what you're planning," she stated in the same voice she had used on him early in their travels. It was firm and unimpressed, making him internally wince.

 "I do want to work together, and that's exactly what we're going to do. Just give me a few minutes to orient myself and I'll explain everything," he reassured.

 The greenette frowned and Mana shrunk further into his white coat. Frost did his best to ignore both of them as he attempted to gauge where exactly in Niska they were. He knew his destination, but the directions to get there were so foggy that he had to shake his head a couple times to clear his mind.

 Finally, a large sign just barely visible through the fog caught his eye. It was attached to a grand marble building that he quickly recognized from his past visits. The structure was located just down the mostly empty boulevard, filling him with relief. He pointed at it.

 "That's where we're going," he informed.

 Sage came up next to him to see what he was referring to. When her gaze landed on the building, she squinted in confusion.

 "What are we going to do at a fancy hotel?" The Iris questioned.

 Frost bit the inside of his lip. "You'll see. Just follow me."

 The Silverkeep native walked out into the open before Sage could complain further. Mana peered up at him curiously, but he purposely didn't make eye contact. He knew the Pokémon was just going to chastise him anyway.

 Soon enough, they arrived at the hotel's front entrance. Frost held his breath and immediately made his way through the glass double doors and into the lobby. He only allowed himself to calm down when he saw that there was no one behind the large desk off to the side and the entire area was unoccupied by visitors.

 The hotel's main floor was just as elaborate as the exterior made it out to be. Expensive vases sat on every coffee table, and velvet couches and chairs were placed atop long, neat carpets. The paintings that hung from the walls looked as if they should have been in a museum, and a small cart holding croissants and a teapot was located next to the counter. Everything about the place screamed wealth.

 Frost was wrenched from his observations when he felt Sage grab onto his forearm and spin him around. Her narrowed eyes and tight grip told him just how aggravated at him she really was.

 "Tell me right now why are we standing in the lobby of a five-star hotel with surveillance cameras in every corner of the room?" She inquired in a deadly calm voice that made shivers run down his spine. When he didn't reply right away, the girl clenched her teeth. "Your explanation better be exceptional."