Rawr. Another chapter. XD I'm gonna be on vacation next week, though, so no update. I swear that everything in this chapter is important (or will be). There's no senseless violence. I actually didn't want to drag it out that long, but it would be unnatural if I just brushed through it... so yeah. Also... so much scene-switching... Gah.

Anyways, enjoy! Or something.

Touko woke up in a dark, dusty room with the familiar but now repulsive scent of bitter herbs. It was probably the room behind the counter in the old herbalist's shop, she guessed. He had done this? No wonder he had so many strange powders and things. What did he want? she wondered nervously.

She wriggled and felt her wrists. They were tied tightly behind her back with strong rope, and her ankles were also tied together, the rope digging into the skin of her bare feet. She was gagged and blindfolded as well. Someone was very careful.

She remembered with a jolt that she had gone unconscious at the hot springs, and it was unlikely that her kidnapper would have known where her clothes were. She tried to figure out what she was wearing, but all she could feel was some sort of light fabric on her skin. It might have been a piece of cloth wrapped around her for all she knew. Angrily, she kicked at the air, but it didn't loosen the ropes or even break anything.

She froze when she heard voices coming from the next room. There was a gruff voice and a cold female one, as well as the rasp of the old herbalist.

"You have her?" the female voice asked.

"Yes, of course. My treasures always do their job." That was the herbalist.

"Excellent. Team Rocket will reward you handsomely."

Touko's blood ran ice-cold at the mention of Team Rocket. They were notorious for their cruelty. Why was Team Rocket in Hoenn? Their base was on the Johto/Kanto island. What did they want? A ransom from N? And he would pay it, too, unless it involved harming Pokemon. No, perhaps even if it did... How much was friendship worth to him? She couldn't let that happen. She had to escape.

As she heard footsteps approaching, she let her head hang limply, pretending to be unconscious.

"Carry her to the truck," the female voice commanded. Heavy footsteps sounded next to her, probably belonging to the man with the gruff voice. Strong arms lifted her up easily as if she weighed nothing.

Seizing her chance, she elbowed the man, who dropped her in surprise. Blind and tied up, she crawled as fast as she could in the direction that they had been taking her. Her heart dropping, she realized that she couldn't possibly escape at this rate, but she knew she couldn't allow herself to be taken onto the truck to who-knows-where.

Her fears were confirmed when the man effortlessly overtook her in a few long strides. She thrashed and struggled, but without the element of surprise on her side, he held her slender body easily. It didn't help that she was unable to punch or kick or even bite.

"Just use the drug," the female voice snapped, irritated. "I don't want her struggling all the way there.

Before she knew what was going on, Touko felt a prick on her arm, and then her body stilled. There was no struggle this time; her mind went blank almost as soon as the needle punctured her skin.

This time when she woke, she was neither blindfolded nor gagged, though she was still bound. The rhythmic rocking of the room along with the occasional jolt told her that she was on a truck. The room was dimly lit, but spacious and rather clean.

She looked down. As she had guessed, she was wearing nothing but a piece of white cloth wrapped around her body a few times and tied in place with a sash. She sighed and observed her surroundings.

There were no doors as far as she could see. A clear plastic wall separated her from the driver and guards. Aside from her, her side of the truck was empty, although she was strapped to the wall of the truck to prevent her from sliding around as the truck moved.

Just as the thought entered her mind, the truck jolted again and stopped abruptly, nearly yanking her head out of place as it tried to dislodge itself from the rest of her body, which was strapped in place.

Two grunts opened the compartment door, which actually turned out to be one of the walls. They unstrapped her and lifted her up as she feigned unconsciousness, not wanting to be given another dose of the herbalist's strange concoctions.

With her eyes half-open, Touko memorized the path they took as they entered a strange cave on a cliffside by the beach. Before they disappeared within its depths, Touko saw another cave not more than a couple hundred steps away that had Magma guards patrolling the entrance.

Once inside the Rocket hideout, the path became a winding labyrinth, and Touko lost track of the way back quickly. She didn't worry about that for long, as she was dumped onto a cold stone floor. One of the grunts chained her left ankle before untying her feet, although her hands were left bound.

"Commander Janine, will that be all?" One grunt asked with a salute.

The violet-haired girl narrowed her eyes at Touko. "She's awake. Her breathing is too quick."

"Eh?" the disconcerted grunt looked at Touko in alarm, and she tried even harder to feign sleep. Irritated, the commander strode to Touko's cell, her boots clicking on the stone floor, and grabbed the younger girl's hair.

"Oww!" Touko yelped in surprise as her head was pulled up violently. "What are you doing?"

"Did you think you could fool ME?" Janine hissed.

"What did I ever do to you?" Touko demanded, scowling. "YOU'RE the one who kidnapped ME!"

Viciously, the purple-haired girl yanked on Touko's hair, and tears collected in the corners of her eyes as she bit back a gasp of pain.

"Um, Commander... The Master ordered us not to harm her..." One of the grunts interceded tentatively, and the woman whipped around, hatred burning in her eyes.

"Fine," she snapped. "I won't hurt her." A cruel smile danced on her lips as she spoke. "Do you have the items?" The grunt hesitated, but handed over a small leather bag at her impatient hiss.

She rummaged through it and found what she wanted: a crystal vial full of clear lavender liquid, much lighter than the dark violet kind that hung on a gold chain around Touko's neck. The commander held the vial out to the grunt, who accepted it with confusion. His expression turned to horror, however, at her cold command. "Make her drink this," she told him, her eyes expressionless.

"But we received orders not to harm her!" The grunt trembled. "We'll be killed for this!"

"Indeed, if the master finds out." Janine smiled again, that cold predator's smile. "On the other hand, if you don't do as I say now, I can personally give you a fate worse than death. So I would suggest that you do as I say and make sure the master never finds out."

The grunt's mouth was wide open in horror, and he said weakly, "Yes, Commander." Stiffly, he walked to Touko and stopped.

Bracing herself, Touko kicked out at him as soon as he approached, and he stepped back instinctively. He glanced at the commander, who had folded her arms expectantly, and kept advancing.

Touko struggled and thrashed as he tried to hold her down, but eventually she ran out of energy, panting as she continued to resist. The grunt was also getting tired, but he had the benefit of not being tied up, and he grabbed her throat and slammed her against the wall, pinning her to the cold stone. He managed to immobilize her thrashing by sitting on top of her, and he pinched her nose until, gasping, she was forced to breathe through her mouth. With one swift movement he poured the contents of the vial into her throat and forced her mouth closed.

Much of the liquid leaked out of her mouth, but he held her mouth shut until she could not resist swallowing, her nose burning painfully. Satisfied, the grunt hastily retreated outside the cell and almost slammed the cell door shut in his haste.

As soon as she swallowed the strange liquid, her pupils dilated, her eyes widening and staring blankly, and her breathing became ragged and sharp. Soon, sweat covered her pale body, and her face became feverish. She felt a throbbing pain in the pit of her belly, and her head hurt immensely.

Clutching her stomach, she saw through foggy eyes a coldly ecstatic smile on the violet-haired women's face before she turned and walked away. Shortly after, the pain overloaded her senses and her mind went blank, though there was still the pain, the throbbing of her feverish body, the splitting of her head. She couldn't escape it, it was ripping her apart. She screamed senselessly, rolling on the cold stone ground. For a brief moment she really thought she was going to die, and one single thought rang through her mind. (I)N!

Then everything went black.

"Touko?"

Touko turned and saw, to her surprise, N. She looked around; everything was green and grassy. Where was she?

"Musharna was right," N said, relief etched on his face. "She said I could probably reach you through the Dream World."

"The Dream World? But I thought that needed Professor Fennel's machine thing..." Touko frowned. She was probably just in a regular dream. Either way, it was nice.

"Usually, but Musharna said that if two people are close enough, she can link them by dreaming," N said with a broad smile. "Isn't that great?"

Touko nodded dumbly. "Wow..." She tried to figure out what was going on. She had been kidnapped by Team Rocket, she remembered. There had been an unpleasant woman with cold eyes. She remembered fighting furiously against something, but... no, she didn't know what it was that had happened.

"Where are you right now? We'll come save you!" N said vigorously, and Touko frowned in concentration.

"I'm not sure... A place by the beach, in a cave. There's a magma hideout nearby in another cave. I heard city sounds. We got here in a truck."

"Beach..." N frowned. "There are lots of beaches in Hoenn. A beach with a cave and a city? I don't think it's Slateport, there's no place for a cave there... It might be Lilycove."

"Don't worry too much. I'm not some useless princess. I'll be able to escape on my own, I bet."

"I know," N sighed. "But I want to come anyways. Isn't that fine? That way, I'll be able to help you if you need it.

Touko felt a bubbly surge of warmth for some reason and opened her mouth to say her thanks, but the wrong words came out. "Why would you go to so much trouble?"

N blinked. "Well, you're my friend."

The warmth disappeared. "Oh. You don't have to, you know. Bianca and Cheren probably wouldn't, not unless it was something I couldn't handle by myself."

"Should... should I not?" N sounded anxious and a bit hurt.

"No!" She wrapped her arms around his waist as if he would disappear. "Or, what I mean is, yes! That is, um, if you... want to... I... I'd like it."

"I'm glad. I just want you to be my friend always. I just... don't want to do anything that might... make that..." his voice and warmth began to fade.

She looked around on alarm. Everything was blurring—she was waking up.

She gasped as she was wrenched violently from her dream by a kick. Her body ached for some reason, and her mind felt dreary and heavy. It felt like some sort of parasite had invaded her body.

Another kick. She winced as she tried to turn her head towards her oppressor. Of course, it was that unpleasant woman. Janine. She remembered her doing something terrible, but she couldn't remember what. She did remember a dream, though, a lovely dream.

"Remember this?" The woman held up a vial of suspicious-looking clear violet liquid. It did look familiar, but Touko didn't know why.

"She doesn't remember. It worked." The cold woman was talking to someone else now, and Touko closed her eyes again, thinking they were done with her. She didn't see it coming when a grunt suddenly wrenched her mouth open and poured the contents of the vial into her mouth, and she swallowed all of it out of surprise.

Waves of pain coursed through her, and she almost lost consciousness immediately, but she was too tired to even feel pain as she collapsed on the ground. (I) At least it wasn't as bad as last time, she thought instinctively. And then, Wait, what last time?

Janine watched her through narrowed eyes as the small girl convulsed in pain. She almost felt sorry for her, but it was necessary. HE would be pleased. And of course, the concoction would erase her memory, so she wouldn't be able to tattle to the Master. Working with split loyalties was annoying, but the consequences of crossing either man were even worse.

The younger girl had already passed out, and Janine turned and walked away. The Master was coming soon, and she needed to prepare things. It irked her that she was commanded by someone no older than her, but he was more powerful, and in Team Rocket, power was the key.

"N? Are you here?" Touko looked around the grassy forest nervously. It was much blurrier than last time, which scared her.

There was a muffled response. After a few seconds, the air shimmered for a second, and N appeared, as blurry as the background. When he saw her, he grabbed her hand and her surroundings, as well as him, became clear.

"Oh, thank goodness you're fine," he breathed. "It was getting difficult to find you even though you were asleep. It was as if your signal was dead for a minute."

"I have been getting tired," Touko admitted. She felt heavy as a rock even though she was dreaming.

"Are you alright?" N furrowed his brow, his voice concerned. "Who kidnapped you? Are they doing anything bad to you?"

"Team Rocket, I think." She hesitated. "I can't remember anything that happened since I got here... all I know is that I've been really tired." (i) And my body hurts, she thought, but she didn't want to worry him. "Is Bianca fine?"

"Oh yes, but she's been worried sick." He sighed wistfully and took her hand. "We've been traveling as fast as we can, but we won't get to Lilycove until tomorrow. Hang in there. We'll come get you soon."

Unexpectedly, Touko hugged him. He felt warm, even though it was a dream. N looked dazed for a second, his face turning red, but he returned the hug and stroked her hair. "We'll definitely find you." She sighed and leaned in closer to him, bringing her face close to his.

"N, I... I think—"

A burning sensation in her nose woke her up as liquid went down the wrong way. She coughed, accidentally swallowing the rest. Immediately, her sore body began to burn and ache, and her head swam until nothing made sense anymore. She shuddered and gasped as a wave of pain passed through her, her stomach feeling as if it were being eaten by acid. And her chest felt heavy, like lead. Like something poisonous was invading her body. She was glad that she lay on the cold, rock-hard ground as it gave her an anchor, and the thought of seeing her green-haired friend kept her sane through it all.

"The master is arriving tomorrow," Janine's familiar voice hissed. "We won't be able to afford risking the ghostwater after this. She MUST be ready for the sacrifice."

What was the crazy woman talking about? But Touko didn't brood on the question as she shuddered again and gasped from another spasm of pain. Then she couldn't see or feel or hear anymore, and her vision became nothing but white.

She wasn't sure how long she stayed like that, half-awake but senseless, unthinking. All she could feel was the burning in her heart and stomach and mind, and it hurt, it hurt like hell. Sometimes she would grab the cold, rough stone just to assure herself that it was real, but her fingers could barely feel the stone even as it scraped her fingers, making them bloody and cut up.

When she finally managed to pull herself upright, she could not remember anything from before. She didn't even know how long it had been. No longer than two days since she had been kidnapped, surely? She winced with every little movement that made fire course through her muscles anew. Finally, after many painful hours, she fell asleep again.

The forest again, of course, or so she assumed. But this time, it was more than blurry; she couldn't make out anything other than colors. Was she going to be able to see N? Suddenly, a yawning chasm of fear opened up in her heart. What if she couldn't see him this time?

She huddled on the ground, suddenly cold and afraid, her body too heavy to lift. She sat on grass, but it was too undefined to really be grass; it was nothing but a green blob. It was as if she was in a separate dimension from her surroundings.

Suddenly, imperceptibly, there was a movement in the air. A flash of green that matched so well with the forest that for a second Touko didn't even notice it. She saw something move the second time, and she lifted her head tiredly.

"Touko...?" The voice was faint and faraway, yet at the same time it felt like she could hear it right next to her. "Touko...!"

She finally noticed the translucent silhouette and reached out to touch it. For a second, she grasped nothing, but soon it became a living, breathing figure. N. She almost cried from happiness, her soul tired and broken by now.

"It's been getting harder and harder to reach you. It's like you don't exist anymore sometimes, like you're in another universe that I can't reach." N sighed and kneeled on the ground, wrapping his arms around Touko and cradling her head.

"Mhmm," Touko mumbled, only half-listening, her face pressed against his soft, warm shirt, her tears staining the white fabric.

"We'll definitely be there soon," N promised. "We've found the Rocket hideout already. It's just behind the boulder line in the water, but we'll find some way to cross it and get you out."

Touko's only response was to cling even harder to N. Slowly, he pulled back a little and stroked her hair as she wiped her eyes and gazed up at him, her eyes a bit red. She trembled just a little, but there was such an intense look of trust in those eyes that he brushed his lips against her forehead reassuringly.

Her trembling stilled, and she sighed, feeling a rush of warmth. When he pulled back, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his lightly, hesitantly. When he recovered from his surprise, he leaned into the embrace and pulled her closer, a sweetness in their kiss as warmth melted into warmth, the heartbeats of the two very different trainers synchronized to form one steady beat. Their hands were the same temperature.

Then suddenly, she began to feel him disappear, and panic rose in her heart. She grabbed his shirt as if that would prevent her from waking, but he began fading nonetheless. Right before the sweet dream dissipated into the morning mist, she felt something soft and fuzzy pressed into her fingers.

Then it was over, and she was awake. She opened her eyes, looking down at her hands that still held the warmth of the dream. Her eyes widened as she saw what she held, and she could almost cry for joy.

It was her Torchic doll. She buried her face in its warm felt that still held N's lingering scent and touch, wishing it would last forever.

"The orders have arrived! Move faster, or he'll be displeased!" The angry voice echoed through the cold stone corridor, reaching Touko's tired ears.

As several sets of footsteps approached, Touko found herself clutching her doll tightly, reminding herself of the wonderful times. She made a silent promise to herself: she would definitely escape from this place. She wasn't a dainty princess, and she wouldn't let N save her all the time. The shadows of the grunts and the commander rounded the corner, and Touko braced herself.

"Quickly! We only have two hours to finish the operation! I don't care how many men it takes, just HURRY!" The violet-haired woman scowled, and five bulky grunts were shooed into the cell.

Touko quickly found herself overpowered, and she was bound and gagged again, although she managed to tuck the doll into her makeshift dress. One of the grunts threw her over his shoulder like a potato sack despite her useless struggling. They marched quickly until they exited the maze-like halls and entered a large cavern with a pool in the center.

As they stopped by the deep-blue water, Touko peered nervously into it. It was endless and dark, as if the ocean floor were a million miles away. She was startled by a faint rumbling in the pool that quickly became the roar of a motor as an elegant black submarine burst out of the water. It was sleek and spotless, and it was probably the most high-tech sort available.

The grunt hauled her in, with the commander following closely, and tossed her in a dark room. To her surprise, as soon as the lights turned on, she found that the room was actually rather luxurious, with a plush bed and a fuzzy carpet, as well as a flat-screen TV, a sofa, and various other things. The fact that she was still tied up made it all rather pointless, however.

No one had bothered to secure her in any way, either, and she tumbled this way and that as the submarine dove through the seawaters. Several strong currents almost caused her to crash into a wall, and she thanked her lucky stars that she was not any rounder.

Finally, after many bruises and close calls, the submarine shuddered to a halt in a strange underwater cave. Amazingly, there was plenty of air there, and one of the bulky grunts picked her up roughly and carried her up several flights if stairs carved out of the rough red rock of the cave. She was placed in a small but warm room with a plush red carpet and creme wallpaper.

She waited for something to happen. After two seemingly endless days in a cold cell, it seemed unbelievable that Team Rocket would just let her stay here, but no one came by for hours. Her stomach complained a bit, and Touko realized that she hadn't had anything to eat during that time, although she had been too tired and sore before to worry about it.

Without warning, a grunt vigorously swung the door open. His face was red and he was out of breath. After a few splutters and heavy gasping, he burst out, "The master would like to see you!"

Touko scowled at him but allowed him to untie the ropes on her wrists and ankles. She was too far from any civilization to escape anyways, unless she got a map of the hideout. Trying to muster as much dignity as she had left, she walked behind the grunt as he led her through the red rock corridors. The hallways were surprisingly wide, and despite being carved straight out of the stone, the walls were smooth and flat.

They passed several small doors and entryways before finally stopping at a large, more ornate one, though it was still rather simple by most standards. The grunt rapped on the door and barked his name, and after an eternity, the door swung open. Inside was an office-like room with several chairs and a large desk, as well as two other doors, which were of the regular size, though still a bit fancier than the doors outside, and a long hallway. The lair of the final boss, Touko thought wryly.

From here, the grunt seemed confused as well. He looked around and scratched his head nervously, glancing at the guards standing next to the large door they had just passed through for help. Neither guard even seemed notice him.

Luckily for him, a third guard strode out of the hallway and saw him. Impatiently, the guard motioned for him to follow, and Touko, not knowing where else to go, walked behind him as well.

When they arrived at the end of the hallway, the grunt saluted and walked back. The guard motioned for her to walk through the doors before he, too, slipped into the shadows. Frowning, Touko kicked the doors open, venting all of her frustration and anger on the steel double doors. They gave a large, echoing BANG as they collided with the wall behind and revealing a large, spacious bedchamber with elegant carpeting and rugs and paintings in gilded frames all over the wall. There was a small-ish figure working at a desk nearby, and in the shadows, he did not seem very intimidating. For some reason, she had thought that the final boss would be... larger.

Then figure looked up and she lost the ability to think.

N kicked the wall of the Lilycove Rocket hideout angrily. "If only we had been just a few hours early! We were so close!"

Bianca bit her lip in worry. "I hope Touko will be alright... She's tough, so I think she can handle it."

Not at all assuaged, N turned to the Rocket grunt they had captured, who was shaking tremendously. "Where did they go?" N demanded.

"N-nowhere," he sputtered nervously.

"Look," N ground his teeth. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Which do you prefer?" His eyes darkened and there was a mad, feverish edge to the normally gentle green.

"I really don't know," the grunt pleaded fearfully, seeing the near-insanity in the teen's eyes. "Don't kill me, please. I just know that the master wants her..."

"The leader of Team Rocket? Who would that be?"

The grunt stammered a name, and N's eyes widened. Behind him, he heard Bianca inhale sharply. Not even in his darkest dreams could he have imagined this outcome, but somehow, he thought ironically, there was a twisted fatefulness about it.

"Come, Bianca." N turned heel and exited the cavern, suddenly exuding an air of regality, of dignity and power. He had not felt this way in a long while. "We'll need to visit some old friends."

There was no way around it. He would need control of Team Plasma for this.

Woot. Stuff happens. Bianca('s Pokemon) is useful. Uninspiring comments.

PS. Sorry for any typos. XD I type these up on my ipod so that I can write anywhere I want, but it's way too easy to make mistakes on that.

Um. So yeah. Please review. XD