Currently everyone was having a short break while the trainer's pokemon were getting treatment.
Alice once again approached Kota and sat beside him. She tried her best to get a common topic for conversation but Kota was a tough nut to crack.
Silently staring at the battlefield, Kota pondered some possibilities that might occur in the future after his meeting with Alain, Cynthia and the rest.
"Kota, have you ever fallen in love before?"
Alice rested her chin on her knees as she curled up and hugged her legs, her smooth and curly hair lined near her eyes.
"No…"
Kota lied, there wasn't any reason for being honest anyways. Alice didn't respond to him, she continued to share her story.
"I had once fallen in love. He was handsome, charming and unaging. It was a pity that he was older than me and already had a son."
Alice chuckled and sighed. It seemed even she was shocked and surprised by her feelings.
Had it not been for an accident that messed up the man's life, she would have confessed her feelings to him.
"I wish he was never in that lab trying to recreate a fake legend. I don't believe a human can be reborn as a pokemon."
She muttered in a low voice, yet Kota heard it clearly and showed a confused look.
"Lab? Reborn as pokemon? Is it the explosion of the lab where they were trying to experiment on human and pokemon genes to merge them together?"
Asked Kota turning his head to look at Alice. Just as Alice was about to answer his question, a loud explosion engulfed the wall near them.
Boom!
Smoke and dust mixed in with the air, debris and large pieces of concrete flew and scattered around.
"Cough! Cough! Ariya! Why didn't you warn?"
Kota shook his head and tried to see in the smoke. His ears still rang and his head was aching.
"Zzzzzzz!"
A buzzing sound came out of his earrings. Kota guessed that there was a jammer or an interference in the signal.
Bang!
A gunshot resonated within the smoke. Kota quickly reached out his hand to the tree and hid behind it.
"Cough! Cough! K-Kota?"
Alice was lying on the ground with a heavy pain in her head, she raised her head and looked around only to find everything filled in with white smoke.
"Silent."
She felt a hand grab her waist and pull her in embrace. There was panic in her heart but she then recognized the voice, it was Kota's.
"What happened?"
Alice shrank in Kota's embrace and asked in a low and soft voice. She could hear many screams and shouts from somewhere in the smoke.
"I don't know."
Replied Kota. His heart was beating fast and his mind was having many chaotic thoughts. What was the attacker's target?
Their motive?
Was it kidnapping? Revenge? Stealing? Hijacking? Or just to kill?
He reached out his left hand on his waist belt, but didn't find his pokeballs.
"Shit!"
Kota cursed furiously. Gengar was taken to the medical room for checkup while his other pokemon were in his room inside their pokeballs.
"What?"
Seeing him cursing, Alice asked in a hesitating voice. Was it because she was almost sticking to him and he didn't like it?
"So you have your pokemon with you?"
"N-No."
Alice was also the same, even the other trainers should be facing the same problem right now. They didn't bring their pokemon.
The ones they were battling with, were sent for treatments and checkup.
"Then lay low."
Kota slid away from Alice, his eyes tried to see but the white smoke was too dense. Footsteps sounded near the tree, he quickly retreated back and sank behind the tree trunk.
"Hey, hurry! We need the stones."
"I know that. You go that way. I will go this way."
Two men's conversation was heard along with their approaching footsteps. Kota calmed his breath, then clenched his jaws.
Alice felt like crying, tears rolled down her eyes and her face was full of terror. She looked up at Kota, expected some consoling but saw him suddenly dash towards the voice.
"K-Kota!"
His figure was blanket away in the white smoke. She held her mouth controlling her cry that could burst out any moment.
Zap!
"Ahhhhh!"
A man's scream echoed. Followed by the sound of punches and kicks. Blue lights flashed in the white smoke, glimpses of two figures fighting each other were caught.
Bam!
"Ahge!"
The groan was weak, and then silence returned. Alice, weeping up, moved her head and looked around but saw no one.
Step Step.
Soft footsteps of walking, came. Alice hid behind the tree, shutting her eyes tight and closing her mouth, she waited.
Step Step.
The footsteps stopped right behind the tree. She could hear the gasping of that individual.
"... Alice? Are you there?"
It was Kota. Recognizing the voice, she opened her eyes and went to the opposite side of the tree and saw him with a device on his face.
It was like a mask, with green looking eyes. In his arms was a long rifle, the modified stun gun.
* * *
Behind the mask, Kota was breathing heavily. He had just fought against two armed intruders and barely won.
The training of various martial arts he had gone through in his past life was not in vain.
He looked at Alice, scared and afraid, her body was trembling and tears trailed down her cheeks. Getting on one of his knees, he then hugged Alice trying to calm her down.
With his solemn expression, he looked with the help of the mask and saw that the intruders were going towards the control room.
"Hey, hey! Listen to me. Now is no time to cry. Get yourself together. We have to get to our pokemon and fight back."
"B-But-"
"There's no time, follow me."
He pulled Alice along with him towards the medical room. His eyes glanced towards the other trainers, most were in a similar state like Alice.
In the smoke, he and Alice disappeared from near the tree. Kota was cautious because as he could see the intruders, the intruders could see him as well.
Quietly they entered the corridor and headed inside the medical room. The smoke hadn't completely filled the rooms so one could see without any problem. Unfortunately, behind the doors stood a male intruder welding his stun rifle.
"You! Where did you get the mask from!"
He roared angrily and locked the rifle on Kota. Just as he was about to shoot, Kota pushed Alice to the side and leaped in the other direction.
Bang!
The small device, charged with electricity, failed to electrocute Kota. After a forward roll, Kota dashed and avoided more shots before he arrived before the intruder.
"Fuck!'
The intruder cursed and struck out the rifle to strike at him. He had underestimated Kota's strength, with his wide open eyes he looked at Kota who grabbed the rifle and pushed him on to a wall.
Bam!
Kota headbutted the intruder, then yanked the stun rifle and slammed the metal stock on the intruder's face multiple times until he was knocked out.
Thud.
The intruder's body fell on the white floor. Blood gushed out of his broken nose and ripped cheek. Some whites could be seen through the red flesh.
"Hah… Hah…"
Alice with her mouth closed and red teary eye, stared at Kota who stood before the intruder's body holding the bloody stun rifle. His figure, though small, was the most frightening thing that Alice had ever seen.
"Get the pokeballs."
"..."
"I SAID GET THE POKEBALLS!"
Kota glared towards Alice, his dark eyes flashed with red lights. Alice immediately stood up with her trembling legs and walked over to the pokeball storage.
"Hah…"
Sighing, Kota dropped the stun rifle and stepped towards the pokeball storage slowly. His movement caused Alice to be tense and more afraid.
Inside the pokeball storage, there were about twenty pokeballs. Alice and Kota grabbed their pokeballs then headed outside.
"You, go help the trainers. I will go to the control room."
"O-Okay."
Alice lowered her head in acceptance of Kota's command. She quickly rushed outside with her pokeball in hand prepared to battle.
Watching her figure leave, Kota shook his head and concentrated on his next action. The corridor where he stood, led to the control room at the end.
Thin smoke had covered the control room's door. He didn't see anyone standing guard before the door so he advanced with a calm mind.