Navigating the smooth ocean surface to reach the entrance of the Seaside Cave hadn't been as challenging as Rosa feared it would be. Zaveid's strength as a swimmer had been brilliantly showcased as he'd ferried her and Curtis through the waves. Though Zaveid's breathing had grown more labored as the sun peaked above the horizon and lifted upward towards the center sky, he'd refused to stop or even slow until the opening of the cave was clearly in sight.

Dragging a still unconscious Curtis through a pitch black cave full of wild Pokemon was proving to be a different story. Sven carried his weight now as the pup carefully trailed the path Rosa chose to follow (using her flashlight, which she feared would run out of batteries before the cave's exit was within reach) but Rosa prayed fervently to Arceus he would not wake soon.

The cave was a death trap.

Wild Pokemon, stirred by that morning's earthquake, were in a fear-induced frenzy. Woobat dive-bombed from the ceiling, Boldore and Tynamo charged at the slightest sound of movement, and Excadrill burst from their burrows in the ground when Rosa and her team stepped too close. They'd learned to avoid nearing the ponds within the cave as well, since they'd been drenched by the spray of a Seel's watergun and nearly caused a Golduck to drop the loose hanging boulders from the ceiling down on their heads.

All her team members had taken a turn dealing with these onslaughts of violence, but all had grown tired. Rosa's last revive was gone as well, used to recover her exhausted Lucario.

Now she and Sven moved at a crippling pace, avoiding every loose pebble and scrape of shoe on rock. Rosa kept the light trained directly on the path in front of her feet; Woobat were not as fuzzy as they appeared.

"Mmm..."

The sound of Curtis's groan froze Rosa's blood. Pausing, she trained her eyes on the cauldron of bats clinging to the rocks above.

They didn't seem to notice.

Signaling to Sven to hasten their pace, Rosa risked pointing her light towards the back of the room they were in. The outline of another section of cave was visible, but no daylight yet.

Moving quickly would be the only way to find the exit before Curtis woke and brought hell upon them.

The next room was more rocks and ponds and darkness, as was the one after that. Deeper into the cold abyss they descended, with every new room bringing more awareness to her sleeping companion. His zombie-like devotion to Team Plasma wasn't necessary to get them killed, since his loud voice could easily do the job.

Time passed at a crawl. Rosa switched Sven out for Zaveid again, worried he was growing too tired. Her restless night was catching up as well, but stopping wasn't an option any of her team wanted to explore.

What was it Colress wanted her to find in this cave? Was it a hiding place to lay low in while Ghetsis plunged the world into chaos? Surely not - Colress knew her better than that.

Then why were they here?

"Mmm... ooh..."

Rosa stilled again, and Zaveid twisted his great head back to catch a glimpse at Curtis. He was waking.

Shinx.

A hand over his mouth wasn't enough to silence him, so Rosa ran her fingers through his damp hair and smoothed her hand over one cheek to try and sooth him. Why, why didn't she own a Pokemon that knew sing?

His eyes fluttered open and a whisper escaped his cracked lips.

"Rosa?"

"Ssh."

"Wha... what happened?"

Slamming her hand over his mouth, Rosa dropped into a crouch beside Zaveid and cringed into his fur. The wrath of a dozen Woobats they could probably handle, but a few hundred of them rested in the colony above their heads.

She drew in a silent breath. Two. Rosa risked opening her eyes to scan the ceiling. Perhaps they'd exhausted themselves hunting the previous night and panicking all morning, because none of the bats so much as screeched.

A relieved snort escaped Zaveid. Straightening, Rosa bent over Curtis to press a silent finger to her lips. When he nodded in understanding, she removed her other hand from his mouth and quickly typed a message on her Xtransceiver.

Is your head okay?

Curtis's brow furrowed, but he nodded.

Do you remember anything about this morning?

Another nod.

What do you remember?

Curtis's eyes moved between Rosa and her Xtransceiver, and she offered her wrist when she understood what he wanted. She had to bend her arm at an awkward angle so he could use the keyboard, but his message was short.

Earthquake. Then nothing.

Nothing at all?

Curtis shrugged.

At least he was himself, which was more than she'd dared hoped for. The return of awareness to his eyes was more than the return of her (maybe?) friend - it was a sign of hope. Ghetsis had yet been able to project Arceus's range of control over the entirety of Unova. Instead, his control was tight only over a specific range of geographical coordinates. For the time being, anyone beyond that range was safe.

Which meant they still had time to stop this.

"Check the Seaside Cave when the dome descends below the skyline. You won't have much time after that."

Sneaky Colress. But how had he known Ghesis would fail again?

Hastily, Rosa typed another message. Ghetsis tried to snatch away your will, and nearly succeeded. You were marching to join his army when I knocked you out.

Curtis blinked and brushed the bruised side of this temple with his fingers. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as if to say, "you kicked me, didn't you?"

Rosa shrugged, and a real smile transformed Curtis's worn expression into a blossoming spring. Shakily slipping from Zaveid's back, he joined her on the dusty cave floor.

Surely they'd find the cave's exit soon, and when they did, perhaps they'd discover what other cards Colress had concealed up his sleeves.

Although Rosa had known she'd someday be forced to look at the monstrous ship again, her reaction to the Plasma Frigate's presence was something she could have never prepared for.

Their time in the cave now seemed too short. Had Curtis slept for another half hour, she could have explained that morning's events without trouble. Though the winding tunnels had seemed to go on for miles, cracks of sunlight started to show through as she and Curtis had continued through the maze of rooms towards the sound of flowing water.

Their journey had been made easier by the waning of wild Pokemon as they approached the outermost rooms. The wildlife's fear drove them into the deepest parts of the cave, allowing Rosa and her party to move faster as the darkness lifted. Upon seeing the blessed door of light, Rosa and Curtis had sprinted to their salvation of sun and sand without a second glance.

Right into another hell: a beach with the plasma frigate floating just feet from the shoreline.

The rhythm of Rosa's heart seemed to triple in seconds, tying her stomach to knots and drying the saliva from her mouth. She felt her limbs begin to tremble, but closing her hands only made the shaking in her legs worsen to include her toes.

A thousand images of her experience on that ship stole her from the present. Steel-plated bars trapping her in a hollow cell of concrete, a chill that encased her bones in a thin sheet of ice, endless thirst and gnawing hunger, humming of electricity that numbed her senses until she couldn't stay awake-

"Are you okay?"

The whisper near her ear jerked Rosa back into awareness. She jumped away from Curtis with a hiss, and he lifted his hands out in a gesture of peace. Inhaling through gritted teeth, Rosa swatted him away.

"I'm fine! Just thinking about how we're going to get on that thing. Any ideas at-"

The ear-piercing shriek of metal against metal resounded from the ship. Rosa and Curtis slammed their hands over their ears as the gangplank dropped from it's place tucked into the ship's side to slam into the sandy shore.

Rosa's eyes followed the metal stairs upward to the ship's deck and her stomach did a flip-flop as a familiar figure materialized at the top. His usually angelic expression did not look happy, but she could not help but be happy at seeing him.

N had delivered the Plasma frigate to her.