Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, its world or characters. Only the story and original characters herein.
Chapter Ten
The rest of her trek was uneventful, for which she was grateful. Silent, too. It wasn't clear whether the group of Rockets she ran into was the full force or if the others had completed whatever they came to do, but the cave that echoed with sound not long before now rang with the silence of a grave. In some ways it was more disturbing.
They encountered no one else, and though she'd lost her young guide, it wasn't too hard to find the tunnel once they made it to the cave wall. There was only so much you could do to hide a giant hole in the wall. They'd relied on the lack of light to keep it a secret, and whatever the other end looked like.
Not that she had any idea where it went.
She slumped against the wall and slid down to the floor. "What're we doing, Smoke?" she sighed as he dropped down beside her. "We can't go home, and now that Slate guy could be dead for all we know. Everyone here could be." Her head fell forward to rest against her knees, spilling her hair around the sides. In the dim light, blocked off behind the dark veil of her hair, she was almost comfortable. Safe. Not sitting alone somewhere underground.
Paws hit the side of her knees and she tumbled onto her side. She squeaked in surprise as she tried and failed to catch herself. Twisting around, she glared at Smoke through the mess of hair across her face. She fumbled and scraped at the strands so he could better see her annoyance.
He blew hot air at her, making her squint, before walking over to sit facing down the tunnel. He waited a couple seconds before turning back to her with a yip.
Lyss blew out a breath of her own. "Stop worrying, keep moving - I know. You don't have to be such a brat about it." Smoke's tail swished as she approached, a movement universal among pokemon, and she swore he did something to make himself cuter. She couldn't even hold her glare until she got to him. A soft chuckle escaped her lips as she rubbed his head, causing him to lean into her. "Alright, alright, stop it with the Eevee eyes." Kneeling, she swept him into hug and laid her head on his, taking comfort in his warmth. "You're impossible."
After another squeeze, she let go and stood. "Alright, let's see what's through door number two here."
Turned out to be a long empty tunnel. Go figure.
The occasional Zubat swept past, only visible for a second before it flapped off into the darkness, but beyond that they saw nothing. She wasn't up on her underground knowledge though, so maybe it was normal. Still, she expected to see Geodude's cluttered among the regular rocks, or even get lucky enough to spot an Onix. It was kind of disappointing, but if they knew about the commotion in the lower Pewter cavern, they probably went into hiding.
She pushed that train of thought behind her and refocused on her footing over the uneven ground. Smoke walked just ahead of her, lighting the way as best he could. What would've happened if he'd been a different type of pokemon? A Vaporeon for instance? The thought made her giggle for some reason, and she waved off his look as he glanced back at her. He probably thought she was mental, but at least he stayed by her.
She paused. That was where she always compared him to her parents, who she'd never known, who she'd always thought abandoned her and didn't want her. Now she knew they were Waterflowers though. Did that make a difference? Well, they'd been killed, so they at least got a pass for not coming back for her.
Of course, it didn't matter anymore for the same reason - she'd never meet them now. You couldn't ask the dead if they'd ever wanted you. So she shouldn't care. Didn't care.
Except she did.
Her shins bumped something soft and she windmilled her arms as she struggled not to fall. It was Smoke who kept her upright as he shoved her into the wall. It was also Smoke who tripped her in the first place, but that thought pushed aside as she realized she could see him. Not just his glow, but from a light that extended in from somewhere else. She'd just been too preoccupied to notice it.
Caves still enveloped them, and this new light was not the light of day. Its glow was familiar though - torches or lanterns perhaps. Either way, it meant they weren't alone anymore.
She inched forward down the rugged tunnel, striving for as much stealth as she could muster. They didn't know for sure who'd be waiting for them after all. Meanwhile, Smoke went on ahead, his paws not even making a whisper of sound, and she envied his soft pads. Shoes were never stealthy, it's like they were made to ruin surprises.
Smoke was getting pretty far out in front though. "Smoke!" she hissed, trying to be quiet and make herself heard at the same time. "Come back!"
He ignored her and disappeared around the bend.
Groaning, she debated. Did he go ahead because he didn't feel it was dangerous, or because he wanted to take care of the danger before she got there? It could be either way with him. She sped her pace to catch up to him. Whichever it was didn't change that she needed to be there with him. It just would've been nice to know if she was in danger of dying again in the next few minutes.
She didn't wonder for long. Smoke was sitting right around the bend, a small group of people in the next room staring at him in wary silence. He cast a lazy glance her way, wondering what took her so long no doubt.
Now it was her turn to ignore him, as she turned her attention to the others there instead. They all wore regular clothing and didn't give off the menacing air of Team Rocket members. Not to mention they hadn't called pokemon of their own when a Flareon showed up in front of them.
Lyss took a step closer. "Are you all from Pewter?" None of them seemed willing to take their eyes off Smoke for long, so she moved over in front of him. You couldn't really blame them for being cautious, but really, when had Team Rocket ever used a Flareon?
She cleared her throat and tried again. "Don't worry about him." It still took them some time to pay more attention to her, and she suppressed a groan of annoyance. "Are you all from Pewter?"
"Yes," a woman off to the side spoke up. Finally. Little arms clung to her legs as she held the child behind her. "Who're you?"
"I'm Lyss, I was...," she paused, "visiting." Blank stares surrounded her. "Is there anyone else around? Are you the only ones who made it here?"
"Slate's through there." The woman gestured to the opposite path and relief surged through Lyss. "The Rockets took him."
And quick as that, her relief vanished.
The desire to just fall over and stay there pricked at Lyss' mind. She was fifteen for Arcues' sake! There had to be someone else to save these people, to save her. There wasn't though. Slate was the only person she knew, the only person who might help get her life back on track. And now Team Rocket had him. With his position in this rebel group, it meant he was as good as dead.
Once again, she forced herself to breath in and let it out, long and slow.
"Alright, stay here then, I'll go get Slate." Smoke punctuated her statement with a yip as he stood by her, ready to go. He always was though, and she felt better having his indomitable spirit there.
"But you're just a girl." The man who spoke up had fear written all over his face. He looked a heartbeat from full blown panic. "What can you possibly do? They trapped us here! They just haven't gotten around to killing us yet!"
As the murmurs started up among the rest of the group, Lyss glared at the man. His words weren't necessary, he just scared the rest of them. "Yeah, I'm just a girl. You're a grown man, so stop whining." Lyss shifted her attention to the woman from before. "I don't think there are any more Rockets back in Pewter. You can take your chances back there or you can stay here and guard to keep them from coming back."
She went to leave then, crossing the small area to the next tunnel. Yet she stopped there. Her firsts clenched and she spun back. "You're rebels! You were already fighting Team Rocket before this, what does it matter that they attacked first?" Her pulse thrummed as she looked among them, agitated for some reason she couldn't point out. "Stop acting like sheep because you lost a fight."
Then she left without waiting for a response. She wasn't being fair to them, they'd all lost something, probably someone, and had their world turned upside down. She didn't care. They were supposed to be freedom fighters or something. They were supposed to protect other people, normal people - people like her.
She ground her teeth and pushed on.
It was hard to tell while surrounded by rock, but the tunnel sloped up as she walked, and she longed to be back on the surface. Team Rocket wasn't going to hide underground anyway. They ruled the world for the most part, so why hide? Why take Slate anywhere though? Why not just kill him down with the rest?
As soon as the thought came to her she banished it. It was one question she was sure she wouldn't like the answer to.
Urgency pressed in on her and she hurried on through the tunnels.
#
Escaping the tunnels took longer than she'd hoped, but she made it to the surface. Streams of warm light filtered among the trees and washed over her, sending a shiver of goosebumps over her skin. The hills behind her weren't much to look at, and considering the labyrinth of caverns beneath them it was hard to comprehend how far up she'd come. The burn in her calves attested to it though.
She ducked back inside the cave before taking in much of the sight. Large vehicles with the TR logo emblazoned on them sat in open view while Rocket members milled about the area. The groups stood apart from one another, and most looked uninterested in anything going on around them. Rockets laughed, played games, or just stood talking.
Reinforcements perhaps? There was no way to know, but they were trouble for sure. The sheer number of them put the group she'd run into down in Pewter to shame. This was a veritable army, one with a purpose.
So why were they still there? They'd already torn the city apart, probably killed most of the residents, and taken the leader. What was keeping them there?
A different group caught her eye, a pair of Rockets away from the rest. They weren't seated around a game of cards and they definitely weren't laughing. Devices in their hands occupied their attention as they flicked at them with pens, and while their lips moved they were more subtle then their boisterous counterparts. They had to be some form of leaders. Maybe they knew something of what was going on.
Now how would she get them to tell her any of it?
Even if the Rockets weren't going anywhere, she risked being caught every moment she was there, not to mention what danger Slate might be in. She scanned the area for ideas. Team Rocket members were all ages, there was no minimum age required to join and you stayed so long as you were useful. Not that she'd ever heard of a retired Rocket. Could she sneak in among them? It wasn't an original plan, but there must be too many of them there for them to know each other. She'd be able to slip among them, find out what she needed, and get out.
She almost wished she'd swiped a uniform from a Rocket earlier, but the thought made her queasy. They wouldn't have been in good condition anyway.
Halfway through her plan to jump a fringe member she remembered a certain fire pokemon as he tugged at her pants leg. He could no doubt tell she had something in mind, and there was no way it could safely involve him going out among the Rockets. She blew out a breath and crouched down with him behind the rock wall, thinking.
"If only I still had my bag," she muttered, mostly to herself. She spared a quick glance out the tunnel. "Not that any of them have bags, so it probably wouldn't help."
Another sigh as she rubbed his head. "What do we do now?" He leaned into her hand a moment before slipping around her to peer through the cave opening. She let him go. After all, he was always the level headed one between them. Always getting her out of jams and keeping her from doing anything too stupid.
When he winked and dashed from the cave, she took it all back. Shrieking in surprise - she had to slap a hand over her mouth – Lyss jumped up after him, then squatted back down as heads turned her direction. Her heart was trying to leap from her chest as she sat there pressed against the jagged rock wall, just waiting for the alarm to go up. At any moment the Rocket's would swarm into the cave and drag her out. Any second now.
Any second...
Ten more seconds passed, time filled with her pounding heart, before she let herself consider that no one was coming. No sounds blared through the air to rouse the camp, and she allowed a careful peek around the stone tunnel. Everything was just as it was before. Rocket's went about their games, not the slightest bit concerned.
Lyss slumped back. She was going to strangle Smoke for doing that to her. Where'd he run off to anyway? None of the Rocket's spotted him or there would've been some activity, but she didn't see him out there anywhere either. He must have some plan in mind to take off like that, and she prayed it didn't have to do with him letting them chase him to get them away from the camp.
When an explosion shook the cave, she had a brief moment of panic that she'd been spotted and they were trying to bury her. The shouts that filled the air didn't match an attack though, and none of the cave came down around her. It was in the camp.
Lyss peered out of the tunnel and her eyes went wide. Fire engulfed one of the vehicles bordering the camp, and the result was the biggest bonfire she'd ever seen. Sparks jumped to nearby tents, catching there and growing as they ate away at the cloth. The camp was alive with activity as Rockets scrambled to find ways to contain the blaze. Water types weren't Team Rocket's specialty though, and she only spotted one out among them. The rest of the members were pulling bits of the camp away, trying to keep the fire from spreading, while still others raced away from the camp with whatever containers they'd been able to get their hands on.
It was utter chaos, and Lyss giggled to see the terrifying Rockets reduced to impromptu, and ineffective, bucket carriers. The few she'd had her eye on earlier were shouting orders and shoving the grunts off to their tasks. Some of them took off across the open ground, to some body of water or maybe a well, but the majority stayed in camp to control the blaze or go about other business. They had more bodies then they needed, so it didn't take long for those in charge to regain control of things.
When a leader pointed to the cave and sent a grunt running her direction, Lyss' amusement faded and she ducked back inside. She searched for somewhere to hide, anywhere she could get out of sight and let the Rocket go past. They'd probably just been sent to check on the townspeople and wouldn't be careful in watching for intruders, like Lyss. Which wasn't helpful if she was standing right in front of the Rocket when they came into the tunnel. She needed to move.