Pokémon Swirl & Spiral

Chapter 26: Glass

"My family used to own Sector Gnis' Poké Mart a few years ago." Dakota had said, staring out onto Luxen's lights.

She had just finished describing to Kairi about her dream.

"When my sister and I were growing up, the Poké Mart would always be where we spent most of our time after school." Dakota continued. "I remember it being so fun to just run around and hide in different parts of the store. Granted, only if our mom nor Brozong didn't catch us first. It was a family business, so the place became sorta like our second home."

"Did your parents make you work there?" Kairi had asked.

"We were too young. The most we ever did was help our dad pack stuff on the shelves, and even then we were too weak to carry most of the things they sold. But still, it was an incredible place. It made our family really happy working there."

She had trailed off for a few minutes after.

"Dakota..." Kairi had responded. "You know I don't mean any offense, but why are you telling me all this?"

Kairi remembered her taking a long deep breath.

"Because...I know I can trust you..." Dakota had finally answered, her voice breaking. "Ruby and I w-walked back to the place from school one day. B-but instead of the Poké Mart...All we saw was s-smoke...and fire being blasted...!"

Dakota had suddenly buried her face in Kairi's chest, tears pouring out of her. Kairi had immediately put her arms around her. Even Zoroark had crouched down to console her.

"T-there were Metagross everywhere! In the center of all of them was that Senator...Shida! They had burned everything! We tried to find our p-parents...but...we never did...!" Dakota sobbed. "The h-house was taken, and R-ruby and I were left with nothing! W-we had to s-sleep on the streets for weeks, stealing for food, until someone finally gave us to an a-adoption center...!"

Kairi had to wipe away her own tears as she patted Dakota's back. "W-why did they burn it...?"

"We still don't know...There was no media or news report. No one in Gnis said anything about it!" Dakota cried. "A-all I know is that whatever it was...I had a suspicion. And this competition has proven to me that it was true...The Lady had a part in it...!" Her voice had shifted from despair to definite anger. "She killed them!"

"The Lady...H-how do you know...?" Kairi carefully responded.

Dakota had wiped her face before pulling away and looking up at her.

"T-the opening ceremony..." She stuttered.

Kairi would never forget how red her friend's eyes were that night.

"...Lady Hera was wearing my mom's obsidian necklace."

...

I'm so sorry, Dakota.

"Kairi? Hey, kiddo. We're here."

The voice of Admin Nixon had returned Kairi back to reality. The final match was coming up soon and Nixon had offered to scout the event's venue. Stepping out of the hover-car, she stared up at the large dome that was Luxen University's Grand Stage.

Oval in shape, the large structure was shorter than Luxen Stadium, but severely made up for it in its width. The outside walls were clear and spotless. Just looking at it gave Kairi a whole new vibe.

The smartest of Arim attend here. Arceus, no wonder Miko made the news.

"Fancy stuff, isn't it?" Nixon stated.