CHAPTER 42
Zorian and Rylan found a safe place to hide behind one of the buildings in Undella Town. Zorian placed a finger over his mouth. "Keep quiet," he whispered. "This is one reaction I need to hear."
Diana seemed furious as she examined the machine. "Not only is that Aggron gone, but now our product is inoperable."
"How so, ma'am?" asked another Rocket.
"The power switch is gone," replied Diana. It took us three years to build this machine, and it may very well take us quite some time to build a replacement switch. We can't turn the machine on without it. I need to move it inside the Unova base as soon as possible."
There was a beeping sound, which Zorian recognized as a Rocket pager. Diana put her hand to her ear. "Yes?" she asked. She was able to hear someone speaking to her through an earpiece, so there was no chance that Zorian would be able to catch the full conversation.
"Unfortunately, sir," said Diana, "our machine has been put offline by one of our own. No idea who it could have been; he was just a lowly grunt. …What? You say your Zorian went missing? Well, track him, you dolt! Surely he has the chip?"
"Oh, rats! I forgot!" Zorian spat. He quickly took off his Team Rocket uniform top and threw it into the sea.
"What was that for?" Rylan asked.
"Team Rocket isn't the lowly band of common thieves it used to be," said Zorian. "Ever since Giovanni left the organization, the executives have been trying to make Team Rocket more advanced, especially in regards to technology. You see the red letter R on your uniform? It contains a tracking chip."
Rylan quickly discarded his uniform top as well.
"Uh-huh…" said Diana. "What? He's here in Undella? I'll be he was the one who… He's with his brother? In the sea? Well, let's not waste time. They need to be captured."
Diana turned to the group of Rockets who accompanied her. "Okay, you lot. Time for a swim."
Zorian grabbed his brother's hand again and took off. "Let's not stay here." He began to walk to the northwest.
"Where are we going?" Rylan asked.
"Icirrus," replied Zorian. "Dad's house. We can't stay, though. Team Rocket will be expecting us to return home. We just need to get in long enough to gather some supplies."
"But what about Brycen, the Gym Leader?" asked Rylan. "Couldn't he help?"
"I'm sure he could," said Zorian, "but I don't want him to risk his neck for a couple of ex-criminals. My plan is to disappear for a while. Let Team Rocket forget we exist. Then, when the time is right, we can come back here and start fresh."
"And that's why you want to use that machine on us?" asked Rylan.
"Right," said Zorian.
"But how are we gonna get back to Icirrus?" Rylan inquired.
"On foot," said Zorian. "It'll take a while, but we can do it. Diana's gonna put the machine somewhere inside the Unova base, so all we have to do is go inside and find it once we're prepared."
The walk to Icirrus City was quite long and tiring. Zorian was carrying a bag with limited supplies, but it was enough to see them through safely.
As they walked through Opelucid City on the way, they did see a fair few shady characters lurking around town. Zorian and Rylan did not speak to anyone. They continued walking.
Once they reached Icirrus City, Zorian looked around his father's house carefully before approaching it. There was no sign of Team Rocket. He took a peek inside his bedroom window and saw no one there. He carefully opened his window from the outside using a trick he learned from Team Rocket and snuck into the house. Rylan remained outside, hidden in the bushes nearby.
There was nobody inside the house, it seemed, but Zorian remained vigilant nonetheless as he gathered food, clothes, and other items.
As soon as he had everything that they would need, he snuck back out of the house and returned to his brother's hiding place in the shrubbery.
"I got lots of stuff," he said. "First things first. Let's get out of these uniforms."
Zorian and Rylan changed into clothes better suited for traveling. They deposited their Rocket uniforms in the nearest trash bin. Zorian pulled two hats out of his bag and neatly tucked in his long, black, red-streaked hair before putting one on. He helped Rylan do the same. Rylan's hair was shorter, but equally black and with blue streaks. It was difficult to avoid looking at his brother's face as he helped him with his hat.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" asked Rylan.
"You've changed," Zorian replied. "I can tell. You look so shameful, so depressed."
"What do you think I am?" Rylan asked. "I've been stuck in that place for three years without you. I've seen things I see again and again in nightmares."
Zorian embraced Rylan once more. "I'm here now. I'm here."
Rylan pushed his brother away. Zorian's heart sank.
"Hugging me won't fix this," said Rylan. "But I'm not blaming anything on you. I'm the one who followed you into Team Rocket. I've no one to blame but myself for this."
"Shut your-!" Zorian stopped himself from yelling. "Just…don't talk about that, okay? People make mistakes. That's life. We can't dwell on the past. We have to focus on the future. Okay?"
Rylan looked down. Zorian's brother, who once always looked him in the eyes with a smile, now refused to look back at him. Zorian felt even worse.
After he finished hiding the recognizable blue streaks beneath the hat, Zorian took his brother's hand again and led him away from the hiding place, away from Icirrus.
The two began their walk back toward the Unova base near Undella Town. They passed Opelucid City a second time, but this time there were fewer folks hiding in the shadows than before.
"Guess they moved out of the city," Zorian said.
It took some time, but Zorian and Rylan did eventually make it back to Undella. Zorian scouted ahead for signs of Team Rocket before entering town.
"Okay, Rylan, on my signal, we head for the tower-"
A loud explosion interrupted Zorian's sentence. Looking ahead, he noticed that the outside of the Unova Rocket base had been attacked and was on fire.
"Oh, no!" he said. "Let's hurry! We need to find that machine!"
The two guards standing at the entrance to the base quickly ran inside to try and stop whoever was attacking the base. Zorian took the opportunity to hurry inside while no one was looking.
"Okay, where's the research room in this place?" he asked.
"Fifth floor," Rylan replied.
Zorian led Rylan up four flights of stairs. All the while, the building continued to suffer attacks from the outside. Once they reached the fifth floor, Zorian found the research lab and quickly hacked the Card Key reader, forcing the door to open.
The machine was inside, but someone else was standing there as well.
"I figured you'd show up," said Diana. She smirked at Zorian and Rylan. "Unfortunately, this hideout is on its last legs, but worry not. We still have cells in the Kanto base with your names on them. We'll teach you what happens to those who cross Team Rocket."
"Really?" asked a voice. "Because it seems to me like those who cross Team Rocket are the ones who succeed in the end."
Zorian turned around and saw someone dressed in white at the door. The uniform he was wearing bore a crest with the letter P on it.
"Ah, so you're Team Plasma," Diana said. "Sorry to disappoint you, but Team Rocket will not have you butting into our business."
"You are our business," said the Plasma member. "Those who would steal and exploit Pokémon for profit need to be punished. Pokémon are not tools for personal gain." He held up a Poké Ball.
"Hmph," Diana scoffed, reaching for one of her own Poké Balls.
Taking advantage of this distraction, Zorian quickly slipped over to the machine and reinserted the switch he took, then turned it on. He input a random set of coordinates and pulled the lever. Pulling Rylan close to him, he stood still as the beam of light from the laser turret hit them.
He soon felt as though he was being dragged headfirst into a hole. It did not feel comfortable. The tile floor soon vanished from beneath his feet and was replaced with a stone floor. A stone floor he could feel with his bare feet. He was no longer wearing shoes. He could feel claws protruding from his toes as well.