"He was right there! I'm certain of it!"

Captain Pollard raised an eyebrow and smiled smugly at Dr. Dillinger. "Uh-huh. Your long lost hypno just happened to reappear and tell you which way to go, and now he's conveniently gone. Darn!"

Dillinger crossed her arms. The tension between them had been mounting the longer they wandered the dark and terrifying maze of the mountain, but she'd found a way to keep herself cool. How easy it would be for Pollard to get lost down here, never to resurface. Nobody would even suspect foul play, not after everything that had happened. She mentally rehearsed what she'd say in her report to her higher-ups. Gosh, Giovanni, it was a nightmare down there! Poor Captain Pollard… he never saw that cliff coming. Oh, Giovanni, I tried to save him. I tried to tell him to look out for those terrifying creatures, but he said he could handle himself. What a shame.

"Hypno was here, Captain," she said with an insincere grin. "He was standing by that passageway and waving me on. He wants us to follow him."

"Yes, of course he does," Pollard said. "Follow him to our deaths, maybe. Even if you did see Hypno, why the hell would he want to help us? Seems to me you two aren't on the best of terms."

"I trained him from a hatchling. I've designed and installed his implant. I know this pokémon," Dillinger said, her smile flickering. "He's obviously remembered where his loyalty lies and is returning to help us out. Perhaps he's a bit skittish and isn't ready to get too close quite yet, but I can understand that."

Pollard rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes at her. "Oh… Oh, I get it now. You're hungry for a little vengeance, aren't you, Dr. D.?"

Damn, he'd seen right through her. The ring of Rocket grunts around them began to whisper to one another, but Dillinger silenced them with a hateful glare. Giovanni, you should have been there. It was a massacre. I was lucky to get out alive. All those grunts… such a waste…

"That's fine, Doc," Pollard said with a shrug. "I totally get it. But we have three paths in front of us, and we can't base our decision on your desire to get back at the pokémon that outsmarted you."

Dillinger clenched her fists. I did everything I could to save him, Giovanni. But there's no helping some people. Rest in pieces, Cap'n.

"Just how are we meant to decide then, Captain? Because so far, you've led us into nothing but hordes of bloodthirsty monsters," Dillinger pointed out, maintaining her sugar-sweet smile.

His face cracked for a half second, and he opened his mouth to reply. Before he could, his communicator buzzed. All at once, a chorus of buzzing arose, and the dozen grunts around Dillinger reached for their devices at once, exchanging nervous glances as they did.

Pollard blinked in confusion as he looked at his communicator, then looked at Dillinger and smiled wickedly. "Looks like you've sent a group message."

"What do you-" But realization struck before she could finish. "Oh…"

Pollard cleared his throat and began to read. "'Howdy, Rockets!' Then there's a little rocket ship emoji, how cute."

Dillinger rolled her eyes. "You don't have to read the emoji out loud."

"Don't be an idiot. Of course I have to read the emoji out loud," Pollard said, matter-of-factly. "Ahem, where was I? Right, the rocket ship. 'We hope you have been enjoying your time in the mountain.' Aw, sweet of them. 'Unfortunately, it's time to go home, and we're your ride.' Sad face emoji."

Yes, you heard me right, Giovanni. He was totally eviscerated. Little pieces of him everywhere. And he used to be so handsome. Pity.

"'I've turned on the tracking system for this communicator so you can find us. Unless you want to die down here,' skull emoji, 'you should meet up with us so we can lead you through the portal. We know where it is, and we're your only chance to see the light of day again.' Sun emoji, thumbs-up emoji, poop emoji, and another poop emoji."

"Such eloquence," Dillinger commented.

Pollard continued reading. "'Hypno should have been by to help you out by now, in case it's too hard to track my beacon through the tunnels. He's got a knack for navigating them. Hope to see you soon, my dudes. TTFN, XOXO, Spark.' Oh, and then there's a little P.S. specifically for you, Doc."

Dillinger tilted her head. "Go on, then."

"'Dr. Dillinger, I suspect Candela will try to kill you when you show up. You'll be lucky if she finds you before I do. But I see more than Candela sees. There is no hiding from me.' Heart emoji."

For some reason, a chill ran down Dr. Dillinger's back. She scoffed to hide it. "And that's meant to be intimidating?"

Pollard tapped on his communicator, looking for the beacon Spark's message had mentioned. "You sure are quick to write off one of Professor Willow's acclaimed assistants."

Dillinger cackled. "Candela would definitely kill me if she had the chance. Maybe even Blanche would. But Spark? What a joke."

Pollard suddenly sobered up and looked her in the eye. "There are worse fates than death, Doc. You of all people should know that." He returned his attention to his communicator. "Not only that, but wasn't Spark the first one to throw a wrench in your plans? I wouldn't underestimate the guy."

"Do you get off by playing the devil's advocate?" Dillard snapped.

Pollard smirked. "I'm trying to help you out, Doc. Spark, Candela, and Blanche turned your spelunking experiment into a fiasco. We need to be prepared for them. Don't you remember the storm that wrecked Trichroma Town when Zapdos showed up? It made Articuno's blizzard look like a winter wonderland. That bird doesn't mess around, and neither, I suspect, does the human it's connected to. What's that saying Team Instinct has?"

One of the grunts raised his hand and answered. "There is no shelter from the storm?"

Pollard snapped his fingers. "That's the one. There is no shelter from the storm. Sounds a lot like, 'There is no hiding from me.'"

"Tauros shit," Dillinger hissed. She refused to be shaken. "Look, are we going to stand around all day, or are we going to find those cocky little fucks and get out of this hellhole?"

"What a potty-mouth!" Pollard taunted. "But you've got a point. You heard the doctor, troops. Let's move out."

Dillinger stepped aside, letting Pollard lead the way down the tunnel that Hypno had pointed out to her. So, he'd truly switched sides, had he? Maybe Pollard was right.

There were fates worse than death, and Hypno's fate was sealed.

§

AN: It's been a while since I've done a two-fer, huh? I thought about spreading out the two chapters I released today, but I'm avoiding studying. Um. I mean. This part was actually cut from the previous chapter, since I didn't want to switch perspectives in the same segment. Thus, two chapters today. Also, I write a lot when I'm stressed. I'm very stressed. 3 3 3