Spark caught Blanche's elbow as they staggered backward, soaking their shoe in the stream but not seeming to care. Their eyes remained fixed on the duffel bag, and Spark could practically see the series of calculations rushing through their brain. He wasn't sure if he was more alarmed by the abrupt appearance of the bag, or by Blanche's reaction.

Candela stepped forward with Flicker, head swiveling, desperately searching for the source of the item. But the room was as empty as before. Not a breath out of place, not a sound beyond their beating hearts and the hollow rush of water exiting the cavern.

"Kite, scout the area," Candela instructed as she released her pidgeot from her ball. "Flicker, keep your light close to us."

Kit zipped through the long room as Candela haltingly approached the bag.

"Stay back!" Blanche exclaimed.

"Don't you think if someone had time to plant the bag and escape, they'd have had time to attack us by now?" Candela grinned back at them, but Spark sensed that she lacked her usual confidence.

"It does seem kinda convoluted for a booby-trap," Spark said, pulling Blanche forward and out of the water. "Just a random bag plopped in the middle of a cave? We had our backs turned for a while. Why didn't they just come at us from behind?"

Blanche swallowed hard and gripped one of their pokéballs tightly. "I suppose. But that's not a random bag, Spark. It's the one I packed but left behind when the sandshrew creatures attacked. There's no reason for it to be here. Be careful, Candela."

Candela crouched by the duffel and, with two slightly trembling fingers, unzipped it. She leaned back, as if something might burst out at her. When nothing did, she slipped her hand into the bag and pulled out three familiar metal rings.

Spark's head ached at the mere memory of Dr. Dillinger's torture devices. "What? I thought you guys would have thrown those things away!"

"We did," Candela said. "I mean, as much as it was possible for us to. I hurled them into a junk pile back where we landed. We had no intention of taking them with us."

"So why are they here?" Spark asked.

Blanche crept toward the bag as if it were laced with explosives. They flinched as Kite wheeled back to Candela and hovered in the air by her trainer.

"Nothing, huh?" Candela asked. Kite's plumage drooped in confirmation, and Candela returned her to her ball.

"This doesn't make sense," Blanche said, kneeling by the bag and peering at the contents. "I left this on the other side of the lava bridge we destroyed."

"There must be other ways across," Candela said.

Spark shivered. "Which means those creatures can still reach us."

Blanche took one of the rings from Candela. It gleamed orange and blue from Flicker's flames and the surrounding crystals. "Dr. Dillinger called these prototypes, did she not?"

Spark hobbled forward, a cold weight forming in his chest. "I think so. What are you getting at?"

"Someone or something deliberately brought us this bag of supplies and these circlets. The supplies are useful to us, but we have no need for instruments of torture," Blanche said.

Candela gave a false laugh. "Really? Because I think Dr. Dillinger would look wonderful wearing one of her own creations."

Blanche's knuckles whitened around the ring. "Absolutely not. That's not how we operate. What I'm trying to say is that Dillinger's hypno brought these to us for a reason, and I think I know what that reason is."

Spark felt like he'd missed a few stops on Blanche's train of thought. "You think Hypno did this? Why didn't he stick around?"

"Because he intends to aid us from afar somehow," Blanche replied, as though it were obvious. "Candela, do you have Dillinger's communicator?"

Candela warily handed the device to Blanche, her face betraying the same distrust and uncertainty that Spark was experiencing. "Blanche, they're failed experiments. They're nothing more than headache-machines. I know you're obnoxiously smart, but do you really think you can fix a project that a team of researchers probably worked for years to develop?"

"I don't think there's much to fix," Blanche said as they tapped the communicator's screen. "It struck me as strange, when I was removing these circlets, that Dr. Dillinger would be able to wield such control over devices she considered dysfunctional. Perhaps these aren't perfect, or else she wouldn't have risked implanting a better device in her own head, but they must still hold value. Look at this program she's created for it."

Spark and Candela leaned over Blanche's shoulder as they thumbed through a series of digital buttons. Blanche selected a button labeled CIRC3, which opened a series of additional options, including "ACTIVATE," "FIT," "SEARCH," and "STATIC." They clicked ACTIVATE, and one of the circlets buzzed, the circuitry on the inside of its band coming to life.

"My guess is that these circlets are fully functional and were used for experiments before Dillinger perfected her implanted diode. Why else would she manufacture three identical, technologically-complex devices if she knew the first one was a failure? No, these aren't prototypes. They may be faulty and imperfect, but they're usable," Blanche said, lifting the activated circlet toward their head.

"Whoa, hold on a sec!" Spark said, lunging to stop Blanche's hands before they could don the device. "What if your theory is wrong? You could scramble your brains with that thing!"

Blanche pulled their hands away. "I'm merely inspecting it. However, I'm confident in my theory, and believe the hypno is trying to assist us."

Candela crossed her arms. "When I talked to you before, you were pretty anti-Hypno. Why the change of heart?"

"After hearing you describe Team Rocket's experiments in greater detail, I realized I may have misjudged the hypno's character. At the time, I was… emotionally compromised," Blanche said, and the words seemed to pain them.

Spark didn't remember Candela and Blanche discussing Hypno before, but he could easily imagine Blanche saying something cold and dismissive regarding the pokémon who'd essentially saved them all from becoming Dillinger's thralls. There was something more going on, though. Cautious, logical Blanche wasn't prone to rushing into dangerous experiments like this. That sort of rash behavior was entirely unlike them, regardless of their change of heart.

"It's not that you trust Hypno. You're just curious." Spark hadn't meant to voice his realization like that. It had simply come out.

Blanche dropped the circlet back into the bag, suddenly flustered.

"It's OK! I'm curious about it, too," Spark reassured them as they nervously tightened their ponytail. "Dr. Dillinger might be the evilest thing that's ever lived, but it's hard not to be interested in her research."

Blanche cleared their throat. "Yes, it's true that I'm curious about her invention. But I do have a different perspective on her hypno, too. These circlets could be the key to our escape."

"And a healthy dose of revenge," Candela added, making a show of cracking her knuckles. "But to do that, one of us has to put one of these bad boys on. I think it should be me."

Flicker whinnied in protest and stamped his hooves.

"I have a really bad feeling about this, Candela. I don't think we should risk it," Spark said. He looked to Blanche for support, but they didn't come to his aid.

"And I think we need to risk it," Candela said as she picked up the active circlet and held it gently between her fingertips. Her cocky grin faded for a moment as she met Spark's pleading eyes. "This isn't just for us. This is for Hypno, and for every one of the dozens of pokémon who died because of one crazy scientist. If this can help us find Dillinger and stop her, then we can't not try. Think of the risk Hypno took for us."

"I get it, I do, but something doesn't feel right, and my gut feelings usually mean something," Spark argued.

Blanche perked up a little, but didn't directly address what he'd said. "We don't have much battery left, and it's chancy to use an electric pokémon to recharge it. We need to make a decision."

"Candela, I think Dr. Dillinger and her team need to be brought to justice somehow, and my heart is broken for all the pokémon who suffered because of her, but there is a reason these rings double as torture devices. Think about it. The guy who is notorious for accurate gut feelings and having a problem with impulse control is telling you to slow down and reconsider," Spark said.

Candela considered him for several long seconds. He wondered if she was pulling her punches because of his rambling, awkward admission of self-doubt a few minutes before. But he was sure of how he felt now. Of course he wanted to trust Hypno. Of course he wanted to find Team Rocket and set them straight. But he also wanted to keep his friends safe, and maybe they'd all be better off if they kept marching and ignored the circlets.

At last, Candela shook her head. "No, Spark. If Hypno left these here, they must be important."

"Then let me do it," Spark said, and smirked. "I don't have much of a brain to scramble anyway."

"Now that I know you're not joking when you say nasty crap about yourself, I'm not putting up with it, so don't you dare," Candela said, shaking a finger at him like a scolding parent. "Listen. I'm trying to be practical here. You and Blanche have already gone toe-to-toe with death too many times for comfort. It's about time I had my chance."

Spark again looked to Blanche, hoping for something, anything. But they simply stared at Candela, calculating and weighing invisible variables behind those piercing, analytical eyes. They were trying to be rational, to lock out the emotions that had tainted their judgment before. Spark wished they could incorporate those feelings into their reasoning. He hated being pitted against them like this. The softhearted fool versus the heartless robot. There was so much more than that.

"Hey, Blanche, any input at all on this?" Spark asked as gently yet emphatically as he could.

Blanche steepled their fingers and closed their eyes. "I value your concern, Spark. We'll proceed with extreme caution. The moment something goes awry, we'll abort the experiment."

Spark's mouth fell open. "What? Do you hear yourself? This is not an experiment! This is Candela we're talking about!"

"And I'm right here, and I'm consenting," Candela said.

Her eyes burned a bright and unyielding gold, twin stars in the night sky of her face. She would not be contradicted. Her word was law. In his mind, Spark imagined the royal figure in curving, flame-inspired armor from the carved door. He'd lost the fight.

And Candela knew it. She smiled at Spark, but it wasn't condescending. It was kind. "Hold them to it, Spark. If it goes south, we'll stop. Shall we?"

Gritting his teeth, Spark nodded. "If you're sure."

"I'm sure," Candela said, placing the circlet on her brow. "Blanche?"

Blanche selected an item on the communicator. "Prepare for fitting."

Candela sat next to the duffel and flashed a thumbs-up, signaling Blanche to press a button. Candela clenched her fists as the band adjusted to her head and tightened into place. Flicker reared and nickered apprehensively. Spark could nearly feel the constriction of the band himself. He tried to keep his face as flat and calm as possible, so as not to alarm Candela. Not that she seemed too concerned, even with the circlet burrowing into her scalp.

"I suspect Dillinger used the 'static' function on us before. We'll try the 'search' function instead, which I assume will allow you to psychically seek out pokémon with an implant," Blanche said. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Candela said. There was a hint of unease in her voice, subtle, hidden beneath her adventurous grin.

Blanche tapped the SEARCH button, and Candela sucked in a sharp breath.

"Candy!" Spark exclaimed.

"D-don't call me that," Candela said tensely, her eyes squeezed shut.

"I guess that means she's OK," Spark murmured to Blanche in a weak attempt at humor.

"What's going on, Candela?" Blanche asked, their finger hovering over the screen.

When Candela opened her eyes, only the whites showed. "I feel… strange. I can see some shapes, but I can't make sense of them. I'm not gonna lie, this isn't comfortable."

"Do we need to quit?" Spark asked.

"No, I'm OK," Candela said, and paused to take a few steadying breaths. "I think I'm getting close to something. It's… it's reaching toward me. It's… AH!"

Candela clasped her head, fingers twining in her dark hair, teeth bared and pressed together tightly. Spark rushed to her, his hands waiting above the circlet in case he needed to remove it quickly. He tried to interpret Blanche's expression, but their face was a mask of clinical focus.

Candela's eyes rolled forward again, but something was different. Her pupils had dilated to a disturbing, unnatural size, nearly eclipsing her golden irises. She stared sightlessly past her friends, breathing heavily. Flicker backed a few steps away and shook his mane, unsettled by seeing his trainer in such a state.

Spark squeezed her shoulder. "Candela? Should we stop?"

"Don't stop," Candela whispered. "I found him. I found Hypno. But... what the hell?"

Blanche leaned forward. "What is it? What do you see?"

Candela shuddered. "We're not alone."

§

AN: Since this is a "grittier" and marginally more realistic pokémon universe than the games or anime typically depict, I've had trouble deciding how to describe pokémon cries. Rather than having them repeat their names, I'm going off of their "real world" animal counterparts and the digitalized roars from the original games. All this is to explain why Flicker has a very horse-y vocabulary. I could have attempted a horsea pun there, but I was strong.