Lance Neuman opened his eyes to the sight of a blinding light above him. He sat up and leaned against the wall behind the bed he was on. He sat for a moment in a confused state. Slowly his mind returned to him - he remembered being taken from Creston, remembered the Pokemon he rode with on the way to this unidentified place, and remembered the painful sound of the machine door opening. He couldn't completely understand what had happened. Suddenly, he like the sun rises from the east, a thought rose in his head. Totodile, where was he?

Lance looked all over the white, window-less room. The floor was flat; the floor tiles had no spaces between them. The walls and ceiling were the same: white, flat, no spaces or cracks. The only thing in the room was the bed that Lance was sitting on. That too, was white. To the right side of the room there was a door. Lance jumped up and ran at the door. He had to find Totodile and get out; he didn't want to stay in an unfamiliar place any longer. He took a few steps before his legs gave out on him. He was much more tired than he had originally thought. He fell to the floor, just inches away from the door. He slowly crawled inch by inch to the door, and just as he was about to reach for the knob, somebody on the other side opened it.

Lance looked up to see who opened the door, only to find another man dressed in the "R" costume. His heart stood almost still and he felt as if time had stopped dead in its tracks. He remembered now; these people had attacked his town and stolen the Pokemon. A potent mixture of depression and rage took over. He quickly got to his feet and lunged at the man. He swung at the man with a clenched fist. The man sidestepped out of the way, and threw a punch of his own. The blow caught Lance in the cheek, and sent him to the floor once again. Lance got up once more, and again tried his luck at connecting with a right hand. The man ducked under Lance's fist, grabbed his arm, and threw Lance over his shoulder. Lance hit the floor with a thud and a sharp pain ran through the back of his head.

"What's going on here?"

A booming voice came from down the hallway. Lance tried to look up, but couldn't. He put his hands behind his head to try to ease the pain.

"Ma'am, the boy attacked me. I felt it right to defend myself. Please forgive me."

The man bowed for a quick moment then stood stiff. To the surprise of Lance, the voice of a woman responded to the man.

"That's no way to treat a guest, private. Help the boy up."

"But ma'am-"

"I said help him up. Now!"

The man did as he was told, grabbed Lance's arm, and lifted him to his weak feet. Lance tried to stand, but his legs couldn't hold him up. He fell against the wall behind him, using it as a brace. He was breathing hard, glaring steadily at the man who he had just fought with. The man returned to his straight, stiff position.

"I trust you aren't hurt, correct?"

The voice surprised Lance. The sweet, feminine, yet powerful voice had an arrogant feel to it. Lance slowly turned his head, followed closely behind by his eyes to the source of the voice. A young woman returned his gaze. The gleam of her green dress drew Lance's attention for a second, before looking into her piercing, green eyes. They seemed to look right through him, as if there was somebody behind him.

"So? Are you fine or not? I can have this man be punished if you wish."

She looked into Lance's eyes with a sweet, girly smile. Lance couldn't think; something about this woman scared him. The sweet voice didn't seem to fit her somehow.

Finally, he swallowed, clearing his throat.

"Uh…yea, I'm fine."

"That's good. Shall I punish this man?"

The man began to break out in a sweat, keeping his eyes focused only on the woman. Something about what she said scared Lance; her tone was sweet, but felt evil to him.

"N-no, it's okay."

He didn't want to know what kind of punishment the man would get if he said yes; probably far worse than was deserved.

Immediately the woman's eyes turned to face the man. Her entire complexion changed and a shiver ran down Lance's spine.

"Consider yourself lucky, private. I have no need for those who do not do as they are told. This kid just saved your life. Thank him."

Life? Lance felt a tingling feeling all over his body. He had…saved a man's life? Lance was shocked at the statement made by the lady. He had the life of a man in his hands and didn't know it. He shuddered at the thought; what if he had said anything else…?

The man quickly turned to face Lance. Bowing, he begged Lance for his forgiveness, and thanked him for refusing to punish him.

"That will be all."

With that order from the woman, the man left down the hallway. Lance watched him until he went through a door and could no longer be seen. Suddenly, he became aware of the pain in his head once again. He slid down the wall to the floor, covering the back of his head with his hands.

"My, it seems the private still has some fight. Why don't you lie down?"

Her voice was sweet again, confusing Lance even more. This change in personality brought thoughts of a certain doctor to Lance. He pushed through those thoughts, refusing to be distracted. He rose to his feet again, and stared into her emerald green eyes.

"Where is Totodile?"

This simple question seemed to shock the woman.

"Totodile? Oh! You mean that blue creature you were found with? He's safe; don't worry. He's in our holding chamber with the others."

"Holding chamber? Where? Take me to him!"

Lance's eyes glared directly into the woman's cold eyes.

"Why? What's so- oh my. He's yours, isn't he?"

Something about what she said brought rage into Lance. Of course it is, he thought. I was holding him when you grabbed me, wasn't I? The woman looked at Lance's face, noticing his expression.

"So he is. Alright, come with me then."

Lance looked at her, unwilling to move. Why should he trust her?

"You've nothing to fear. If we didn't have any plans for you, we'd have already gotten rid of you."

Plans? What plans? The cold statement somehow soothed Lance. From what little he knew, she was right. From what he saw, if he was not in their plans, he would have already been like that man with the pink shirt. The image of the poor man ran through Lance's mind again, causing him to nearly lose his breakfast. He regained his composure with a shake of his head, and agreed to follow the woman. He thought for a moment about what she had said. What plans could he be a part of? Why didn't they just kill him? He felt it best not to ask these questions, and instead asked the next thing that came to mind.

"I- I don't think I got your name."

The words seemed to flow out of his mouth with no control of his own. It was something he wanted to know deep down- and yet, didn't know about it himself, he thought to himself. The woman laughed quietly, and turned her head toward Lance.

"It's been a while since somebody has asked me that. I'll save the formalities, and just tell you. My name is Jane. And you are?"

The name surprised Lance. She had come off so harsh at first; he had expected a much stronger name.

"My name is Lance."

"Lance? Nice to meet you Lance. Now, go and get your Totodile."

They had arrived in front of a large doorway with a hallway going both to the right and the left.

"Your friend will be in the chamber at the end of the left hallway. I must leave you for now, but I'll have my men keep an eye on you."

She let out a loud whistle, to which ten "R" men responded. She pointed toward two of them. "You two will accompany this boy. If I should hear of any misconduct from any of you," She turned her eyes to Lance's, and smiled before turning them back the men, "the punishment will be severe. "Don't expect the kid to save you as well, as the decision shall be up to me." The two men stood stiff, raised their right arms, and saluted.

"As for the rest of you, get to work unloading the rest of them. We cannot afford to fall behind schedule anymore. Do you all understand?"

"Ma'am!"

All the men saluted as she walked away, her long black hair taking the place of her pale face in Lance's view. The two men she had told to keep an eye on Lance positioned themselves to either side of him without a word. Lance turned around, and went into the hallway. The "R" men followed him, staying to each side of him. Lance turned left, and walked down the hallway. To each side of the hallway there were rooms filled with different kinds of Pokemon. In some of them, they were sleeping, some were crying, and some were battling. Toward the end of the hallway, one particular room caught Lance's eye. A large, thick layer of glass acted as a see-through wall. Inside, it was white, similar to that of the room Lance was in earlier. A gigantic, scarlet red "R" was painted on the center of the floor of the room. Just then, the doors to one side of the room opened as a man wearing a white lab coat walked in. He smiled as he made his way to a machine at the end of the room. He pressed a few buttons and took a few steps back. Suddenly, the cylindrical machine opened with a rush of white smoke. As the smoke faded, a purple colored being appeared. The creature stood upright on feet that had but two large toes. It had a metal helmet on its head, with a black visor covering where it's eyes would be. Each of its hands had what looked to be a metal glove on it. It took a step forward, allowing Lance to see its long, purple tail. It walked forward to the center of the room, standing on top of the giant "R".

As it did, the doors to the right of the room opened, with another man in a lab coat making his way into the room. The man took a few steps forward, before stopping and bringing a Pokeball out from his pocket. He threw it, releasing an extremely large Gyarados. The blue dragon let out a gigantic roar before looking at the creature in front of it. Rather than questioning what was in front of it, it instead flew toward it, opening its massive jaws, ready to destroy whatever was in its way. The purple creature stood firm, without so much as a flinch. Suddenly, a blue light broke through the black visor on the helmet of the creature as it raised its arm toward the dragon. A blue light began to form around the Gyarados as it slowed to stop just inches from its target.

The creature and the Gyarados stayed in the same position for several seconds before the creature finally raised its arm. Quickly, the Gyarados flew into the air, stopping just short of hitting the roof. The man that had released the creature stared intently at it, writing down whatever he seemed to see on his paper. As he did, he ordered the creature to "finish it". The creature did as it was told, and threw its arm down. The Gyarados came crashing to the ground, creating a crater in the floor. The dragon made no sound of pain, and showed no signs of movement as it was returned to the Pokeball from which the man that released it had thrown. Just then, Lance felt a shove. "Keep moving," one of the "R" men told him. He did as he was told while the purple creature walked back to the door it came out of.

Seconds later, Lance was at the chamber. One of the "R" men left Lance's side, and walked into the room. A minute or two later, he walked out with a small, blue alligator. It was Totodile! It didn't seem to be happy. It was thrashing about, and screaming as the "R" man made his way toward Lance. Lance ran towards the man just as Totodile realized he was there. Totodile jumped out of the man's hands, and into Lance's. The two embraced in a long, tight hug as the "R" men stood and watched, still with no emotion on their faces.

Lance was escorted, along with Totodile, back to his room after that. While the two were happy to be with each other again, Lance couldn't help but feel troubled. He was in a strange place with people who had attacked his city, and had stolen all their Pokemon. On top of that, the woman he had talked to…something about her felt awkward to him.

Totodile looked at Lance, not knowing what to think. Is everything all right?

Lance looked down to see his friend worried about him. He had not realized that his thoughts had shown through his facial expressions.

"I'm sorry buddy, I'm just thinking."

Oh…I wonder if I can help.

The alligator hopped on his lap, and showed Lance a big smile. It brought its arms to its mouth, and moved them in the shape of a smile.

"So you want me to smile, eh?"

He couldn't help but laugh. Sometimes Pokemon can be so naive. Just then, the door to his room opened. Lance looked up to find that Jane had made her way into his room.

"I trust that you had no problems finding your friend?"

"Uh, no… Not a problem."

"Good. I have some information for you."

Lance sat silent, looking intently at her.

"You will not be allowed to leave without a Team Rocket member accompanying you."

"I'm not allowed to leave- what?"

"As you know, we run a less than likable business here."

You can say that again, Lance thought.

"As such, we cannot simply let you leave. What if you should bring the authorities? Anyway, you will be accompanying my team and myself whenever we leave. You have been assigned to my team, whether you like it or not"

Lance was shocked. How could he be assigned to their "team?" He hadn't exactly signed up. The idea of working with these people sickened him.

"And what if I refuse?"

"I sure hope you've had a nice life."

"What do you mean?"

"You mean you haven't noticed?"

She pointed toward his right leg and began laughing.

"Why don't you have a look?"

Lance lifted his pant leg, and his heart began to beat fast. There was a device wrapped around his leg. It was small and just above his ankle. Why hadn't he noticed it earlier? How could he not notice that? Lance kept repeating these things to himself in his mind before Jane continued.

"That is a bomb. If you try to escape, I will simply detonate the bomb. Do as you are told, and you'll be allowed to live."

Lance's heart stopped. He couldn't think. What could he do? He was trapped with these murderers, and had no way of escape- aside from death. He looked up at Jane with darkened, sad eyes, meeting her arrogant green gaze.

"Why?"

"Count yourself lucky, kid. The order came from higher up. Somebody must like you to keep you around this long."

Lance had a look of defeat on him, unable to find a way to do anything to save himself.

Jane turned around, and walked back to the door. She stopped in the doorway, and turned her face to Lance one more time.

"We're leaving tomorrow. Welcome aboard."