Remember? -A Pokémon Story-

Chapter 19

Augustine Sycamore paces back and forth across the cluttered floor, one hand running through his dark hair, while the other is placed on his hip. Cato is sitting beside him, watching his movements.

"How long is this going to take?" he mutters impatiently.

"It should be done soon, we just need to be patient," Burnet says, trying to calm him down. Unfortunately, it doesn't help much.

"What if they've already done something to her? What if we get there and it's too late? What if-"

"Professor, you can't torture yourself with 'what ifs'. You're just going to have to trust that she can make it until we get there," Kukui starts, "(Y/N) is strong. She's been through a lot, but right now she needs you. She needs you to be calm so you can help her."

"You don't understand, there's something else about (Y/N) that you don't know," Sycamore starts.

However, his words are drowned out from the shrill, computerized beeps that sound off behind them.

"The coordinates," Burnet says as she types a few more things into the computer, "We just need to start it up." As she breaks off towards the machine, Kukui turns to Ash, who has been extremely silent throughout all of this.

"Hey, Ash? Are you alright?" Kukui asks, worried. Ash has never been this quiet.

"Yeah I'm okay," he says with a small smile, "Pikachu and I are just worried about (Y/N)." Kukui nods, looking at the ground.

"Yeah, we all are," he agrees. Kukui looks at Ash and kneels so he's eye level with the young boy, putting his hand on Ash's shoulder.

"Ash," he starts, "I don't know if you should go. It might be better if you stay here," the Professor suggests.

"What? No way!" Ash counters," (Y/N) needs our help, and I'm not going to sit back and wait for you to bring her here!"

Kukui draws back, looking awkwardly at the ground.

"It's just... I'm not sure what's going to happen in there," he admits, looking back at Ash, "I don't want you to see things that you don't need to see."

"You don't need to worry about me," Ash says, "We're going to get (Y/N) back, and everything will be fine."

Kukui sighs, nodding as he looks to the side.

"Alright then, just stay close to me, okay?" the Professor asks. Ash nods, smiling. Kukui returns the smile and ruffles Ash's hat, eliciting a laugh from Ash and Pikachu.

"It's ready," Burnet says, drawing everyone's attention.

The six of them all step forward to the machine as it whirs to life, creating a wind current that blows through the room.

"I made sure to fix everything we did wrong when we tried to send (Y/N) home, so this should work!" Burnet shouts over the noise.

"Anybody else worried about the 'should'?" Kukui jokes, earning a glare from his wife. He sheepishly looks away, rubbing his head.

The machine erupts, spewing a mass from its center. The mass rips a hole in the air right in front of them, causing the wind to pick up speed. Colors blend together and flow gracefully in a single direction.

"It's stable!" Burnet shouts.

"Everyone remember the plan?" Kukui yells to the others. Everyone nods in agreement, bracing themselves for what's to come.

"Let's go!" Ash pipes up, as well as a small shout from Pikachu.

Sycamore puts his hand on Cato's head, taking a deep breath.

"We're coming, (Y/N)," he whispers.

They all step into the wormhole as the computer flashes two words behind them:

Ultra Megalopolis

~~~~~

A wave of nausea hits you as you jerk awake, propping yourself up on your elbows. The room swims as you look around. You screw your eyes shut, trying to make it stop.

'Geez, why do I pass out all the time?' you ask yourself.

Lying back down, you slowly reopen your eyes, trying to prevent the room from spinning again. You notice that you're lying on some sort of bed in a small room. A door is visible in front of you that's heavily barred.

The room is relatively empty, with nothing else besides a small window at the top of the far wall.

You can hear faint voices outside of your door. Straining to listen, you can hear the same men from earlier talking about you.

More specifically, how they're going to "dispose" of you.

Laying back down, you shudder. Normally, you would try and find some way to escape, but you're too weak to do anything.

A coughing fit comes up your throat, and you bring your hand up to cover your mouth. 

When you can finally breathe again, you can see drops of blood in your palm, causing you to panic.

Not knowing what to do, you wipe your hand on your shirt, probably increasing how terrible you look right now.

A shiver runs down your spine as you curl up into a ball, goosebumps erupting all over your arms and legs.

'Dad.. where are you?' you desperately call out in your mind, wanting nothing more than to just be with him again.

Your clammy hands brush your hair out of your face, sweat lingering on your fingertips. You clear your throat, wincing at the pain from dehydration.

'I don't want to die alone,' you think. Reaching down, you feel your backpack against the bed. You unzip it and weakly pull out the one thing that helped connect you to your dad.

Pulling the Mega Evolution book close to your chest, you groan at the ache in your muscles. It feels like your body is shutting down.

You close your eyes and breathe in the scent of the old book. Memories flood your mind, recalling the times your dad would read to you, or when he would brush work aside so he could help you with whatever you needed, no matter how small. He even cancelled meetings and appointments so he could play with you and Cato.

He never liked pawning you off to one of his assistants. He's your father, and he wanted to make sure you knew that he loved you with every fiber of his being.

He would do anything for you.

A tear escaped your eye as you pulled the book tighter, trying to get as close to the memory of your dad as possible.

You can feel your heartbeat slowing, and you let more tears escape down your cheek. Your breathing becomes ragged and your body feels like dead weight.

Clutching the book with all the energy you have left, you prepare yourself for what comes next.

However, you suddenly feel a strange sensation in your veins. It feels warm, and it spreads all over your body, easing the pain. 

You whimper at the relief, yet confused as to what it is. 

Unfortunately, the feeling is short-lived. The pain returns, but you feel... different? 

'What  just happened?'

You don't have much time to dwell on it because the wall to your right suddenly crumbles to pieces. A figure rushes in, engulfing you in a tight hug.

"Dad?" you croak out, your voice strained.

"We have to get you out of here, ma chèrie," your dad says, holding you close to him, "Can you walk?"

You nod and he grabs your hand, pulling you behind him.

"Then let's go."