Pokémon Swirl & Spiral

Chapter 13: Core

As soon as the door clicked shut behind them, Kairi felt instant regret. Looking back, there was no perceivable handle on the other side. The whole thing just stood there like a flat panel.

It all happened so fast. What did she just get herself into?

Diving into the unknown with a girl you've never met before. So smart, Kairi. That's strike one.

Looking around, the room they had stepped into was actually a brightly lit narrow hallway. At the end of it was a metal door on one side and a spiral staircase going down on the other. The blank whiteness of it all was an eyesore.

The two of them walked up to the door. An electronic key card scanner was installed on the side of it that prevented entry.

"Don't know where this leads, but it looks like we can't go anyway." Dakota muttered. "Down we go." She began to descend the stairs.

"Wait!" Kairi protested. "I don't know about this. What if we get caught in here? We should really go back." She had a bad feeling in her stomach. Something felt off. What they were doing wasn't right.

"Got any better ideas?" Dakota asked. "That lock back there doesn't seem like it's going to let us back through. Besides, a lot of people will see us. It'll look bad. There's got to be another exit somewhere. For now, let's see where this goes. Maybe we'll find out where they're bringing my sister and the others." She continued downwards.

Kairi hesitated before taking a single step down.

Is this girl crazy?

She didn't see why Dakota was so obsessed with knowing where the sHARPs and the eliminated challengers were, to enter a most definite restricted section of the stadium. Kairi wanted to turn back, but Dakota had already vanished out of site.

If this is what she says it is, that means Hazel was brought here too. Just go, you're already stuck here with this girl.

She bit her lip and followed.

The staircase was long and intricate. The deeper they went, the dimmer the lighting became. Kairi felt dizzy, keeping her eye on the girl in front.

"So what's your name?" She asked her as they descended. "Sorry, I didn't really pay attention to the interviews."

"K-Kairi." Kairi replied. "Challenger 033, from Sector Xevl. You're name's Dakota, right?"

"Yep." She affirmed. "Dakota McIntyre. Challenger 015. You probably heard my sister say it earlier. We're from Sector Gnis."

"Nice to meet you."

"Pleasure."

As they began to reach the bottom, the noise level increased dramatically. Kairi could just decipher the cries of Metagross^A and Metang^A along with the whining of machinery. The two of them slowly looked out where the final step led to.

From their viewpoint, the staircase led to a large room. It was a lot brighter than the inside of the staircase. A wide, automatic sliding door was positioned across from them. Even with the noise they continued to hear however, the entire area was empty.

Stepping out carefully, Kairi and Dakota gazed around at the place. To the side of them was a large tunnel with a lit up metal runway that went straight for several feet before turning right. A few sHARP hover cars were parked towards the wall.

"What...is this?" Kairi asked quietly, looking around. She likened it to some kind of transport station.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Dakota responded.