Hey guys, FtP here. Yes, this is a very short chapter, but I have schoolwork to do and I want to get this updated. Yes, the next chapter will be the last chapter, so brace yourself for the end. R&R please, and enjoy.
Umber
It was time. Night had fallen and I am on Cerise Island, concealing myself behind a rock pile a couple hundred yards from the entrance of the cave that led to the maze of tunnels inside the island. I had navigated those tunnels years ago, but long ago I forgot where each one goes. Moaning at my own stupidity, I called Ditty out of its Pokéball. I had changed the plan to suit how long Ditty could hold the Transform, making it so the Ditto wouldn't have to hold it for long periods of time without breaks in-between. I had also put on a mottled black and brown hooded cloak over black clothes. Camouflage colors, perfect for the inside of a cave. I had bought this cloak and a few others with camouflage for other environments for times such as this, but I had never had the chance to use any of them. Until today, that is.
I flinched as Ditty crawled up my sleeve and came to rest on my shoulder, ready to crawl onto my face and Transform if a person approached. Hand on my Pokéballs, I started creeping forward. Tensed for the sound of an alarm being tripped, I slowly made my way to the cave, but I reached it without incident. Where was the security? I'm still wondering that as I creep through the dark tunnel. But my wondering was short-lived. I stepped into the small cavern where the three tunnels branched out, each leading to a place where a member of the Elite Four had confronted one of my friends so many years ago. But two of them were caved in and the third was blocked by a steel door. It wouldn't be hard to get by, but it might trigger some alarms.
I called Vee out to crush the door. His power level had risen to almost the highest it could over the years, and Sabrina herself had trained him to boost his attack's power. That had saved my life so recently and it was going to help me save someone else's life today. I asked Vee to crush the door with Psychic, then watched it crumple like tinfoil. Only an idiot would dare to stand between me and Yellow, and now that idiot would feel the full force of my wrath. I called Vee back into his Pokéball, and then dashed down the tunnel as an alarm started to whine. Stealth was no longer an option, not now that I had been found out.
I soon found myself in the room where I had fought Bruno. The acid lake was still there, occupying the entire floor, but there was a half-melted steel bridge that spanned it. Why couldn't people just let Team Rocket die? It had been disbanded twice, but it just keeps coming back, and each time the people in charge just get dumber, the bridge is proof of that. I called Aero out and asked him to fly me over to the other side of the acid. I wasn't worried about the acid fumes hurting him; his Rock typing would protect him from the damage. Once again, I climbed onto his back, and once again, he took off.
A figure suddenly emerged from cave on the other side of the acid. It was a girl wearing tattered gray clothes. I was just about to tell Aero to fire a Hyper Beam at her when I noticed something. Her hair is long and yellow. I choked back the order. Instead, I jumped off of Aero and landed neatly on the center of the bridge. I grabbed at a railing to help me pull myself up, but it gave way, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the bridge, leaving me with no support. I almost fell, but I caught myself just as the girl ran up to me.
"Red!" she cried, embracing me. There was no doubt in my mind as to who it was.
"Yellow," I gasped. "How did you get here? How did you escape?"
"Well, I…" she started to say, but then she trailed off, looking at something overhead. I stood up and glanced over my shoulder, then quickly ducked. Aero swooped down behind me, mouth open in a horrendous screech. Yellow jumped to the side, avoiding his outstretched fangs, but got hit by Aero's wing and flew into the railing. She got up, gasping for breath, blood pouring out of a gash in her chest.
"No, I didn't fake my own death for that beast to kill me! If I die, so do you, scum!"
Now used to things not being what they appear to be, I realize that "Yellow" is really the Rocket agent who I thought had poisoned herself. Aero had realized it, now I realize it, but it's too late. She leapt at me, face curled into a horrible snarl. The hole is right behind me, calling out a Pokémon would be impossible. I raised my hands to try to deflect her, even if just a little, but I know that it's pointless. I am about to die.
