AN- I meant to post this last night but fell asleep writing! And had a very vivid dream about a modern reboot of Wizard of Oz, where the ruby slippers were like actual fluffy loungewear slippers instead of having a heel?

Anyway, hope everyone is having a good winter :)

Songs that inspired this chapter:
- Pink Mist, by Gunship
- Daniel in The Den, by Bastille
- The Mountain, by Gunship
- The Fury, by Starcadian
- Matter, by MODERNS
- Left Behind, by Michael Oakley
- The Heat, by Penguin Prison
- Bright Night Flowers, by Jon Fratelli

A red envelope. Ravi's messy handwriting in ballpoint: 'For Dodo' spelled the spiky letters.

He smiled, sliding the nail of his thumb under the seal to open it. Inside was a hand drawn card with Mondo's profile on the front, drawn in pen and filled in with watercolour. It looked like him on a good day, what he sometimes saw in the mirror when he turned his head to the most flattering angle. He couldn't help but smile wider. Ravi had recognised the best in him.

"Aw, Ravi," he gushed. "This is amazing, you're such a good artist!"

"Oh come on, it's just a sketch." Ravi waved their hand. "Read the inside, that's the main bit."

Mondo opened the card and saw both halves filled with writing; Ravi looked down, suddenly embarrassed, and picked at their second slice of cake while Mondo read.

CONGRATULATIONS ON PASSING YOUR EXAM!

You legend, you only went and did it! All that worrying for nothing eh? I told you you've got more brains than you give yourself credit for :p

I'm not great at sentementall- that doesn't look right, whatever- I'm not great at emotions but I'm gonna give it a go, so watch out, this is probably about to be Cringe City

I'm really proud of you Mondo. REALLY fucking proud! I know you had a lot of doubts about this whole thing, whether you could do it or not, but today you proved you CAN do it, and screw everyone who doubted you! Imagine they're faces when they see you in your new uniform, that's gonna be sweeeeeet.

And I know you're gonna be surprised you passed but I'm not at all. (Well okay maybe I'm a bit surprised you passed the fitness segment- do they still make you do like a thousand pull-ups?) You're always so humble but I don't think you realise how gifted you are. When I was your age I was just bunking off and getting messed up, but you're out here making a living, making a name for yourself already. I see a big bright future for you and I can't wait to be there for it.

You're a very special person oh god that's cringe innit

"Ravi!" Mondo laughed, looking up from the card. "Stop calling everything cringe!"

Ravi hid their face behind their hands: "Oh no, that means you're at the cringe bit."

Nah but for real, you're something else. Not just a valuable member of our team but a damn good person. You care about things I don't even think about- you care about me, not many people bother with that. And I hope you know I'm always gonna look out for you. Even if I'm your boss on paper (weird!) you know that's not it- I've found a brother in you, and I hope you've found something like that in me.

Ugh that's my sap quota for the decade- SHOW ANYONE THIS CARD AND YOU'RE FUCKIN' FIRED

Hugs 'n' kisses,

Ravi :D

Something wasn't right, something was weird, wasn't it? Ravi couldn't really remember. Something was weird. Their thoughts were a confused tangle of memories and half-dreams, but beyond that there was a weight, a heaviness-

Their body. Oh, that was right, they existed.

They were lying down. Why were they lying down? There was a strange sense of urgency, like they'd forgotten something important-

Had they ever filed that report? No, they didn't think so- why would that be? They tried to open their eyes, and it took way more effort than it should have just to get a smudge of vision.

Why were they on the floor? And why did they feel so-

Clarity smacked them across the face as their eyes found the toppled mug.

Coffee. Mondo.

"No," Ravi gasped. They struggled to press themselves up and it felt like trying to lift a boulder. No, surely he hadn't, no, no, no-

With incredible strain and a lot of heavy breathing, they just about managed to get to their knees, and clung onto their desk to pull themselves the rest of the way up. By the time they were standing they were absolutely sure of it: they'd been drugged.

Knockout powder, if they weren't mistaken. Team Rocket blended theirs with an artificial sweetener that Ravi could still taste on their teeth. But that didn't mean Mondo had-

No point wondering what had happened. They needed to see for themself.

The first step forwards almost sent them crashing back to the floor, but they managed to stumble into the wall instead, and palmed their way along it, bracing as much of their weight against it as they could. Moving their legs felt like swinging two sandbags along, and their hands were equally numb against the wall, but their mind was determined. They just needed to get to the locker.

It took all their concentration to get a grip on the key and turn it. The locker's door swung open, revealing an array of drugs and poisons. Ravi grabbed for one of the syringes on the middle shelf, sucked in a breath, then jammed the needle into their thigh. They waited for the stimulant to fully depress, then took out the empty syringe, dropping it.

The effects started to kick in almost instantly. Ravi's vision sharpened as they felt their heart rate increase, and the numbness started to fade from their limbs- okay, that was good.

It wasn't good. None of this was good.

They walked. Already it was easier, moreso with every step. They came out of their office, into the hallway, and headed straight for the monitors.

The door was open. The agent on watch was unconscious in his chair, his empty mug on the table. Ravi gave him a hard shake.

"Hey! Emilio!"

His head just bobbled around like a ragdoll as Ravi shook him, so they gave up, and looked to the screens.

James' cell was empty.

Ravi swallowed. Now they knew.

It hurt. It hurt. They'd sworn they'd never let themselves be wounded like this again, but here they were, a spear of betrayal sticking out of their gut. Something sacred had been punctured, and all they could do was feel it as the warmth drained out, leaving them cold and hollow.

Mondo knew how much pressure was on them to succeed. He knew how crucial this mission had been, and he had pulled it all undone.

He had abandoned them. For that lying, cowardly, shithead of a…

They crushed their eyes closed. There wasn't time to wallow in the pain- no, they had to channel it, had to had to had to- Ravi huffed angrily at their forming tears, and swept them away with the back of their hand.

Eyes open.

They had a job to do.

Ravi looked at the alarm on the wall, about to press it when the picture of Matori's frowning face crossed their mind. Oh, she'd just love this. She'd been waiting for Ravi to fall on their face ever since they'd been promoted.

They'd probably be demoted. Worse, even.

Unless-

Ravi checked their watch. 3:20 am- okay, okay that was manageable, it had only been twenty minutes. They could still get a handle on this before the higher-ups were any the wiser.

They ran out of the room and further down the hallway, jumping over another unconscious guard. Hard to believe Mondo was capable of-

Focus.

Up the stairs. Even with the stimulant charging through their veins it was a battle, but little by little autonomy was returning to their body, each movement easier than the last.

Through the main building. Out into the cold.

Their truck was gone. Ravi had been trying not to think about Mondo but their fists clenched as they imagined him driving off with it. Not even a goodbye.

Screw him. He was dead.

Ravi crossed the frosty tarmac to where their motorbike was parked. They didn't need the truck anyway- this would be much faster.

They unclipped their helmet from the handlebars and put it on before swinging their leg over the seat. Engine on, kickstand up, and they were away, slow at first and then revving up once they were out of HQ's earshot.

The needle on the speedometer twitched clockwise. 40mph. 80mph. 140mph and counting, into the dark dead of morning.

They wouldn't fail.

"And you're sure you disabled the truck's tracker?"

"Yes," Mondo told James for the second time. "I turned off the whole comms system, so…" He swallowed. "Unless Ravi hid a bug somewhere they didn't tell me about."

James winced. "Might they have?"

"Maybe," Mondo admitted. "But hopefully we have enough of a headstart for that not to matter." He checked the time again: 3:30am. "We should still have about half an hour before anyone wakes up."

"Right- so we'll ditch the truck before then," James nodded. "Okay- and there's definitely nothing else on you they could be tracing? Phone?"

Mondo shook his head.

"Team Rocket I.D?" James went on.

"I left it in the card-reader."

"Earpiece?"

Mondo's eyes widened. "I forgot!" he exclaimed, slowing down so he could drive with one hand and take the earpiece out with the other. "Oh crap…" He rolled down the window and chucked the earpiece out, sending it skittering down the road. "O-Okay, that should be everything." Steadying his breathing, he sped up again, settling on 80mph. If he went too much faster he'd run the risk of getting pulled over, and he certainly didn't want to add the cops to this mess.

James watched him drive, nothing but admiration for the young man. How much courage it must have taken, for him to have put his neck on the line like this. But James could see the anguish all over his face.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive?" he offered again. "I know I don't have a licence but I like to think I'm quite good."

"It's okay," Mondo mumbled. "It um, it helps to have something to concentrate on." There were sweet moments when he could forget himself in the blur of the road under the headlights. What he'd done would dissipate, and though it never lasted, he savoured every second away from the heartache.

"I get that," James said. He bit his lip. "I don't think I've even said thank you. Thank you, Mondo. I really, really appreciate it, more than I can ever say."

Mondo gave him a small smile. "You're welcome, Mister James."

"I thought I was dead." James huffed out a laugh. "I really did! And of course I knew you cared about me, of course you do, but I never expected you to stage a breakout, that's… And all on your own-"

"I couldn't just leave you there."

"Most people would have."

They fell back to silence, just the whoosh of the wheels against the road.

Mt. Moon towered ahead of them, blotting out the stars. It felt a little eerie with no other cars around. Just miles of wilderness on every side, and whatever lurked in the dark beyond.

Mondo wasn't sure where they were going exactly, but they could figure that out later. For now all that mattered was covering ground. He kept telling himself that, gripping the wheel like it could anchor him to safety.

A glint in the wing mirror.

In the plains you could see a car's headlights from miles away, especially in the dark, so Mondo tried not to get too worried. It could be anyone- a trucker, probably. But as the light got brighter, closer, he started to wonder why a trucker would be outpacing the speed limit. Why anyone would be at this hour.

He pressed his foot down a little, speeding up to 90mph. Still the light got closer.

"Should we be concerned about that?" James squeaked.

"Maybe," Mondo said. He was racking his brains trying to figure out who it could be- an agent who'd spotted them leaving, perhaps? But then why hadn't they been followed before? And it couldn't be anyone on security, they wouldn't have woken up yet, unless someone hadn't finished their drink-

Oh no.

The approaching vehicle was close enough for Mondo to see it had one headlight, not two. Not a car but a motorbike, cutting a straight line towards them.

"Ravi," Mondo gasped. "Th-There was a coffee stain on the floor- they didn't drink it all- oh crap!"

A growl behind them as the bike's engine revved; Mondo slammed all the way down on accelerate, cold sweat prickling the back of his hands and neck. The truck was at its maximum speed but the bike was still going faster, no contest at all on the smooth of the road.

Mondo looked out of the left window, towards the edge of the road. No real barrier there to speak of, just a dip down.

"Hold on," he warned James, bracing himself too before swerving left.

The truck caught a second of air as it shot from the road down to the dusty plains, landing with a thump that jostled both of them in their seats.

"Whoa," James grunted.

Mondo pressed on. The ground here was much bumpier than the road, but that was what he was going for. The bike might have been faster, but it wasn't built for dirt.

Even Ravi would have a hard time keeping up with them now.

Ravi had never driven this fast in their life. Not even when they'd bought their bike and taken it out for that first wild test ride.

No, this was stupidly fast. They'd be the first to admit that. But damn if it wasn't getting results.

The world had been reduced to a whistling smear on either side. They could only see the little splotch of road ahead in their headlight, and the distant tail lights they were chasing. They knew it was their truck, no doubt. Ruthless focus spurred them on.

Just as they were getting close, the truck turned offroad. Ravi barely hesitated before turning the same way, slowing down so they didn't total themself. If Mondo thought playing chicken would work he had another thing coming.

The motorbike bounced a little as it landed, and Ravi knew right away that top speed was not an option on this terrain. There were bumps and divots all over the place that would quickly send them flying if they weren't careful.

Clinging low to the bike, Ravi waited for a relatively flat stretch of land before reaching a hand towards their holster. Their eyes flicked between the ground ahead and the truck as they raised the pistol, lining up their shot, careful, careful-

The silenced bullet zipped into the ground, just missing the truck's back tyre.

"Shit," Ravi cursed. They had to lower the pistol to turn away from a rock, then revved, the engine humming higher. It was a risk, but one they'd have to take if they wanted any chance of catching up. By the looks of it the terrain was only going to get rougher.

Their bike skipped across the bumps, dust spinning up with every landing. The rocks and branches that the truck could drive over were hazards on two wheels, which meant even more to watch out for- and to top it all off they could barely see what was coming in the dark. It was dangerous, terrifying, but Ravi looked at it the way they looked at everything dangerous and terrifying they'd done for Team Rocket: like it was a test. One they knew they had the skills to pass.

They lifted their gun again, close enough now to catch the blur of the truck's wheels in their headlight. Failure yapped at Ravi's heels, rabid and promising to rip them to shreds if they hesitated.

Keeping the bike steady in their left hand, they steadied the gun with their right, holding their breath.

They fired off one shot: it missed, but this time they weren't giving up their precious aim, adjusting slightly to make sure the second shot hit the target. Up, just a little-

Ravi saw the pothole coming a moment too late. There was just enough time before they hit it for their stomach to drop, and suddenly everything was upside-down.

Launched from their bike, they spun through the air, time seeming to vanish. Their helmet was glossy with moonlight as they flew forwards, dropping the gun midair, bracing for a landing they knew was impossible. But in those few weightless seconds before they hit the ground, there was the strangest calm Ravi had ever known.

They crashed shoulder-first, just like Viper had taught them, but it did nothing to stop them skidding onwards like a pebble flung across the sea. They hit the ground a few times before the momentum finally tired, and their body rolled to a stop, dust pluming around them. The cloud settled, and still they lay unmoving.

The whir of the truck driving away, then nothing.

Mondo's breath was stuck in his throat. His trembling lips gasped open, but no words came to them. His eyes were fixed to the wing mirror, the shrinking wreck of the bike, of Ravi.

"Keep going, keep going!" James urged, turned around in his seat so he could watch out of the back window. "Oh my word!"

Mondo did as he said. Pedal pressed down. Hands at ten and two. Robotic. Stunned.

If the crash had been as bad as it looked…

He didn't even know what to hope for. Every imagined outcome horrified him.

He could barely breathe, but he kept driving on, until it was clear that Ravi wasn't getting back up anytime soon.

The plains eventually sloped down to a hill, at the edge of which Mondo parked. The dead silence that followed as the engine shut off brought the whole thing into startling reality, and he whimpered as he tried not to burst into tears.

"Oh Mondo," James said. "It's okay, we're okay. But we have to keep going, all right?"

Mondo nodded, sniffing. "Yeah," he choked. "Yeah, we have to."

They opened the doors on either side and stepped out. The bitter wind swam past them, howling low.

Mondo went around to the back and opened the boot. Inside were a couple of heavy-duty camping packs- he slung one to James, who wasn't expecting the weight of it and nearly dropped it. Getting the packs on was a business in itself, so they helped each other with the buckles.

Geared-up, they left the truck where it was and waded through the dry bushes that bordered the hill, dead sticks crackling underfoot. The closer they got to the edge the more the hill looked like a cliff, though it was still just about climbable.

They scrambled down some crumbling rocks to a ledge that looked more sturdy, and then studied their options. Ahead was no good, far too steep, but there was a drop down to the right that would take them to what looked like a dried riverbed. Not exactly an easy jump either, but they'd both survived worse.

James went first, the shock of the landing going painfully up his shins, then turned around to guide Mondo down. He needn't have worried though- Mondo made the jump look easy, even with the pack that must have weighed about as much as he did. James could hardly believe the difference between the delivery boy he'd known, and the now ex-agent who was apparently more skilled than James was.

The riverbed carved a decent path down for them to follow, at least until the end, where the slope steepened and they had to skid the rest of the way. But they made it, scratched and scuffed but both in one piece, and the welcome cover of trees ahead.

Once they were in the woods there was a certain amount of relief. At least they were off the radar- admittedly not by much, but anyone who wanted to follow them would have some tracking to do first.

They walked for what seemed like hours, and probably was. They went through a marshy patch, around a lake, then followed the rising sun through the pine trees.

With the heavy packs, lack of sleep, and trauma combined, it was a minor miracle that they made it as far as they did before the anxious energy they'd been running on finally exhausted. It seemed like an okay spot to rest.

Mondo got to work pitching the tent without a word.

Since Ravi had crashed, Mondo had kept himself moving from task to task with barely a pause to let his thoughts gather. But now that the tent was up and their sleeping bags were unrolled, there was no avoiding the symphony of guilt in his mind.

The way Ravi had flown…

James watched Mondo hug his knees to his chest. Pale blue light filtered in through the tent's walls, just enough to see each other's outlines by.

"I…" Mondo gazed at the floor in front of him. "I didn't think they'd go that fast."

"It's not your fault," James quickly said. "They were shooting at us- it's not like you had much choice in-"

"Do you think they're dead?" Mondo flinched at his own question, inhaling shakily. "They could be, couldn't they?"

James looked down. "Well… They were wearing their helmet."

There was that familiar pinch behind Mondo's eyes, and sure enough tears started to stream down his cheeks. "I know Ravi probably seems evil to you," he sniffed, "but there's other sides to them." He wiped his eyes, face crumpling. "They've been a real friend to me," he sobbed.

James shuffled over and wrapped him in a hug. "I understand," he said. "I've done some pretty nasty things for Team Rocket in my time, too." He rubbed Mondo's back, and pulled out of the hug so they were face-to-face again. "I won't judge."

"And I know what they were doing was wrong," Mondo exhaled. "I could see that. I just didn't- I didn't want to hurt them-"

"Mondo." James shook his head. "You didn't hurt them- they were trying to hurt us. What you did was save me." He squeezed Mondo's hand. "I know it's painful. I can't take that away, but I can promise you that you're not alone. I'll always have your back."

Mondo leant forwards into another embrace. "Thank you," he cried into James' shoulder, clinging on tight.

"You're amazing," James whispered. "I hope you know that."

Mondo didn't feel amazing. He felt like a cowardly traitor.

Eventually exhaustion did its thing, and Mondo found his eyelids pulling shut. James helped him to his sleeping bag, then went to his own.

Sleep relieved Mondo of his tragedy. His features fell soft.

Free from the world until he woke.