Happy belated Wednesday!


Chapter 34

"This is not going to work!" I whispered loudly, my palms pressed to my temples.

Make haste! Too much time has been lost, Arceus said, his voice urgent.

"You want me to make what?"

Get us out of here!

Reluctantly, I unlocked the door to the tiny stall. I sighed anxiously when I looked in the mirror.

"This shirt is going to tip them off instantly!"

Walk with confidence, and nobody will be any wiser.

I pulled the cap on my head a little further over my eyes. "Ugh!"

After the door to my cell opened earlier, I snuck out into the hallway with the intention of hiding in a bathroom like the one I was in at the moment. But I first found a door that was labeled 'storage room'. I knew that nobody was inside because it was not closed all the way to the wall. Pushing it open a little further, I slipped inside and tried to turn on the light, but only the emergency light on the floor was working. After squinting through the darkness for a few seconds, I saw some medical supplies, Pokémon gear, and . . .

Clothes!

I quickly grabbed the first clothes I could find and shed my own before throwing the new garments on. I felt conflicted about leaving my favorite travel clothes behind, but after a moment I stowed them behind one of the shelves. Then I grabbed a hat and ran out of there, darting into the bathroom across the hall. I did not have time to get a good look at myself before another person walked in, forcing me to wait in a stall until they left.

All I could think to myself was that this was not at all the right uniform. A t-shirt with the letter "R" printed on the front was tucked into a baggy pair of black knee-length shorts. The only thing I wore that was consistent with Team Rocket's uniform was the black cap. I hid my face in my hands and groaned to myself one more time before heading toward the door. Making sure the coast was clear, I scurried out of the bathroom and tried my best to act normal.

I walked quickly in the opposite direction of my cell, only having a vague idea of what to do next. I thought more about how I could get out of here by myself, or if it was even possible.

Too risky. They'd probably find me quickly, anyway.

I instead decided to head toward the main entrance and wait near there to be found. Keeping my gaze low, I began nervously walking around the Rocket HQ. I tried not to walk too fast and did not dare to ask anybody for directions. I wondered how long it would take for someone to notice I was missing from my room.

Unfortunately, I did not wait very long. I heard a high voice shout, "Hey, wait!"

I continued walking, hoping the girl wasn't talking to me.

"Didn't you hear me? Wait a sec!" she huffed indignantly.

Oh no, I thought as dread set in, is this where I get caught?

I stopped in my tracks, about ready to have a panic attack. As the footsteps came closer, I slowly turned around and saw a girl with blond hair and brown eyes quickly walking toward me. She wore a black mini skirt, but her shirt was black. Though she was out of breath from trying to catch up with me, she did not look suspicious.

I hoped to Arceus that I managed to make myself look sufficiently puzzled by her approach.

The girl slowed down as she approached, a look of realization crossing her face. "Oh . . . my mistake! I thought you were someone else!" she giggled, embarrassed.

"I . . . uh . . ."

I was thrown off by the sudden look of excitement on her face. "Say, are you new here?"

"Uh . . . n-new?"

"I heard a pair of sisters were being transferred here from another base. I'm supposed to get the younger one acquainted with the way this one runs!" she beamed excitedly.

"Ah, yes that . . . that's me," I stammered, doing my best to look her in the eyes.

"It's so nice to meet you! What's your name?"

Oh god, think of a normal name, not something stupid . . .

For some reason, I could do nothing but fixate on the massive "R" on her shirt.

"It's R— . . . Rose."

"Rose . . .?"

"Yeah, like . . . the flower," I laughed nervously.

I already did not see this ending well for me. "Oh . . . okay! Well, it's nice to meet you, Rose!"

"I have to go do . . . uh, g-garbage duty!" I said, starting to panic a little.

"Okay! And I'm Liz, by the way," she said, turning to go in the other direction, "I'm sure our admins will introduce us again later at dinner!"

"Actually, wait!" I called out.

She stopped and turned back around.

"Where, um . . . where do I throw out the garbage?"

"Oh, I can show you! By the way, who's your admin?"

"Elizabeth!"

My blood turned cold at the sound of Cassidy's voice echoing in the hallway. I instinctively turned to the side and pulled my hat lower, hoping that she hadn't noticed me yet.

"Hi, big sis!"

Of course she's your big sister.

"Don't you have something to do right now?" Cassidy hissed, her footsteps coming closer, "I'm not catching heat from your admin this time, got it?"

"I'll be up at kitchen duty in a second, I just have to show the new girl where the garbage disposal is!"

Her eyes narrowed. "What new girl?"

"Yeah, don't you remember? A pair of sisters was supposed to be transferred here today! This is Rose, the younger one!"

"I thought that was supposed to be next week," Cassidy said, putting a hand on one hip

"Was it?" Liz asked uncertainly.

"And what'd you say her name—"

Before she could get any closer, the lights in this hallway went out.

"Huh?!"

I had accidentally grabbed Liz's arm in my surprise. Not even the lights from the halls that branched off were working, it was pitch-black.

"What's going on? Did we lose power?" I heard Liz ask aloud.

Before either of us could respond, the sound of small, bare feet ran past us. The two of us yelped in surprise.

"Who's there?!" Cassidy shouted, finally pulling out a flashlight on her phone. She saw that I was still standing there, at this point clinging to her sister's arm and hiding my face in her shoulder in fear. Liz was looking around furtively, her free hand on one of the Pokéballs in her belt.

"Where'd it go?" Cassidy muttered, shining the light down the hallway, "that'd better not be . . ."

Moments later, the lights came back on.

"You two get a move on, I have to go investigate whatever that was," she said nervously, quickly dialing a phone number as she ran toward the sound of the footsteps.

"I'll be at kitchen duty soon, sis!" Liz shouted as I dragged her in the opposite direction.

"Fine but hurry up!" she called out behind her.

As soon as we turned the corner, I let go of her arm and let her lead the way. What was that about? She doesn't think that was me, does she? I thought, more nervous than ever.

"Are you okay?" Liz asked, "Your hands are shaking."

"Y-Yeah, just nervous about my first day," I said, letting go of her arm and trying my best to smile.

"Don't worry about what happened earlier! I'm sure it was just a grunt pulling a prank on my sis, it happens more often than you'd realize," she laughed.

I was silent, so she continued, "But, you came from another base, right?"

"I meant . . . I'm nervous about my first day here," I said quickly.

I tried to keep track of where all the bathrooms were as we passed them, in case they would become necessary later.

"You'll be fine! It's probably almost the same routine as the base you came from . . . oh, here we are!"

She stopped outside of a door that said "Disposal Room"

"This is the one near the main lobby," she said, pointing down the hallway, "there's another one on the other side of the building, but we can go find that later."

"Thank you," I said, "you've been really helpful!"

She waved her hand and smiled, "No problem! Come by my room later when you're done, I'll get some clothes that actually fit you!"

I halfheartedly laughed at her last remark before stepping into a nearby bathroom and shutting the door behind me. Once I was sure there was no one else inside, I put my hands on the sink and let out the air I was holding.

"That . . . was too close!" I gasped.

Once I calmed down, I walked to the sink to wash my hands. As soon as I finished, I smoothed my hair, pulled my skirt down a little lower, and tried to roll up the sleeves of my Rocket shirt.

"I can't just hide in here," I mumbled to myself, "I have to be ready to help whoever is coming."

When I thought I looked presentable I tried to get my breathing under control before walking back out to look for the main entrance.

After what felt like an hour, I had figured out the layout of the building pretty well. I didn't know who was coming to rescue me, if anybody, but I could at least be prepared with an escape route when they came. There was a front lobby with a few different exits, but that would be too obvious to try to escape through. There was also a door with a sign that said "Exit" not far from where Giovanni's office was. Why were those the only two? Maybe there were more that I had not yet spotted.

The longer I spent outside of my cell, the more I found myself wondering if anyone at all was coming to help me. Maybe no one knew I was gone yet, after all. But I had to trust what Arceus showed me earlier. After all, what other choice did I have?

Somewhere during my search, I came across an atrium that had windows. The discovery had been shocking to me at first. Based on how long the descent from the surface was, I had assumed this hideout was deep underground. But there was no denying that this part was exposed to the outside world: I could see a sliver of the moon hanging in the night sky.

We really must be in the side of a mountain, I suddenly realized, thinking back to the vision I had earlier. I tried not to stare too long, though I felt a bit of hope flicker to life inside of me at the sight of the moon. I decided that this would be the fastest way to exit the hideout, pinning all my hopes onto a Pokémon being able to break through the windows.

It was hard to guess how much time went by as I made my way through the hideout. I avoided looking at people as much as possible when I passed, walking with purpose as to not be scolded for avoiding whatever my "assignment" was. I felt confident that nobody twice when they saw me. The only things I was concerned about were being seen twice by the same person, or someone saying something about my strange outfit. My white shirt might as well have had a target on it among the sea of black. Two girls even whispered and pointed at me as I walked by. Eventually, a door labeled "Utility Closet" caught my eye, one without a passcode. Deciding that I could use a short break, I pressed the button that opened the door and slipped inside. I kept my back to the wall until it slid closed again behind me.

The room was pitch black and unoccupied. I sat on the floor and rested my head on my knees, taking a moment to calm myself down.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

I screamed at the top of my lungs and pressed my hands over my ears.

ATTENTION ALL STANDBY MEMBERS. THIS IS HEAD ADMIN SPEAKING.

"No, come on!" I moaned, getting back to my feet.

THERE IS A CIVILLIAN MINOR LOOSE IN THE HIDEOUT. BLACK HAIR, GREEN EYES, TWELVE-YEAR-OLD FEMALE. DO NOT ENGAGE IN BATTLE. CONTAIN AND BRING HER TO AN ADMIN AT ONCE IF SHE IS SIGHTED. ADDITIONALLY, . . .

The speaker hesitated before it continued, WE HAVE ONE CONFIRMED MEWTWO SIGHTING. I REPEAT, MEWTWO HAS BEEN SIGHTED.

My heart lurched.

Mewtwo?!

ENGAGE IN BATTLE ON SIGHT. REPORT TO YOUR ADMIN IF DEFEATED.

I listened to that last part in disbelief. Why were they being encouraged to start an unwinnable fight?

I rapidly hit the button to open the door several times before it finally slid open and I sprang out into the hallway. "Mewtwo?"

I stood there for a moment, startled by the flashing red lights that must have appeared in the ceiling when the alarm went off. I finally picked a direction and took off running. I called out his name, not caring who could hear me.

"Mewtwo! Where are you?!"

"Stop right there!" I heard a Rocket shout from behind as I turned a corner.

Crap!

Luckily, I stumbled across a bathroom and quickly retreated inside. I heard the man run past the door, at which point I peeked back outside before taking off in the same direction again.

I ran as hard as I could, my heart threatening to burst out of my chest. I was too scared to cry. In fact, I could not remember being more scared in my entire life than I was in that moment.

I arrived at the intersection of two hallways, but I knew the right one led to the atrium. I chose that one and kept running.

"Mewtwo!"

A faint voice called back:

Lilly!

I gasped and stopped at the sound of my name.

"Mewtwo?!"

Lilly, where—

His voice almost turned into static, then suddenly cut out.

"I'm right here!" I shouted, turning around to run, "I'm right—"

I screamed in surprise when I smacked into something I could not see. I had turned around so quickly that the resulting force knocked me flat on my back. I quickly scrambled away, worried that I had accidentally collided with a member of Team Rocket. But when I looked up again, there was only empty air in front of me.

Moments later, Mewtwo appeared. He had been levitating, but at that moment he abruptly landed on the floor. His hands were on his knees with his head angled toward the ground as he took some deep breaths. I was so shocked to see him that I still did not move. Though I was filled with questions, all the air seemed to have escaped my lungs and I could not ask a single one. After a few seconds, he finally looked up at me, his dark eyes clouded with exhaustion.

"Sorry . . . to have kept you waiting," he said breathlessly, extending his hand toward me.