I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years! This is going to be a decently long chapter, probably the longest in the story with 5000+ word count, which is why it took so long. I hope you all enjoy this next bit!

Chapter fifty-three: Journey of Fugitives Part 2

It starts to get dark; it starts to get cold. The snow is deeper now and we're still in this blasted forest! I don't know how much more I can take…I'm severely encumbered. A while back, Km was holding me but decided to run ahead in search of shelter. I look ahead to see her and Michael, along with Holo and Growlithe, traveling in a staggered column formation, looking for a reprieve. My injured leg is really getting the best of me…I cringe with every step I take…it won't be long until it finally gives. It's been DAYS since we've seen civilization and this damn winter is really testing my limits…everyone's limits…but If I had to say this: me, especially. This all kind of reminds me of our Team Rocket entrance exam a bit…not as deadly…but still…

I gasp and pant, completely exhausted while the two siblings in front discuss what to do next.

"We can't be too far from Route sixteen" Michael stated, looking for the next trail to take, but it's apparent we've lost our footing…even with Fearow's help.

"This damn snow won't let up" Km grouses, pretty much sounded like a complaint, yet I don't blame her…this place is really starting to test my patience.

It isn't long until we come across an icy wall, twenty-feet high, and stretching endlessly on both sides.

Holo just hovers above us, the Spiderbot/Needlebot hybrid scans the area for threats, but it's clear we're the only ones around…no one, not even Pokémon, would be out in this near-blizzard-like conditions!

As the two adults in front of me debate on how to pass this barrier, my mind is full of thoughts currently, I take this time to rest momentarily. Heh, funny…this whole journey is reminding me of when Km and I became Team Rocket agents…it sometimes feels like yesterday Leila and I were there…at the academy.

Two years ago…

Two eighteen-year-olds are brought to a large building somewhere in the middle of the Kanto region, far from eyes that would dare disrupt operations from within the facility. Tall cliffs surround the building's façade while men in trench coats patrol the rooftops. The young adults being led inside consist of me: Ansel, and the girl next to me is Leila. Behind us and leading us into the building is Sergeant Viper, the facility supervisor. I sigh deeply, obviously nervous, for today's the day…the day Leila and I join Team Rocket…

It was about a week ago…Michael, who I haven't met yet, sent a friend from Team Rocket to his sister, Leila. They took us to the Celadon arcade. Unlike all those other times we weren't allowed in…the man at the counter seemed to suddenly give us respect and let us enter. Amidst all the chaotic games being played around us, sitting on a circular table: Leila and I were introduced to a Team Rocket recruiter. They were disguised as a businessman, humble and respectable…someone that didn't look threatening at all…someone who could blend in and deceive people. Michael's friend explained everything, telling the strange man of our humble origins, and how we both wanted our lives to mean something…change for the better.

Leila told me of her brother Michael's exploits…how he came to amass a decent amount of money in the short-term. Not only that, but the fact he was apparently apart of a group of people that cared for one another. It seemed too good to be true. Without a moment's hesitation, Leila signed her paper. I, however, did hesitate…unsure about my decision. Everyone waited on me: my hand trembled and sweat dropped from my side, but then I turned to Leila…who was smiling contently to me. She's now a part of this...I think about it: we've been on the streets for so long and I can't just say…no and leave, never see her again...

Great things might come from this, and I must be there with her because something beautiful might come from all this. Team Rocket can help me become the person I've always wanted to be…not to be a rat in the gutter, but a lion destined to change the law of the jungle.

Finally, I signed the thin sheet of paper with my terrible handwriting, and I give a small smile of satisfaction. Leila hugs me as I return the gesture.

Now, a week later, we are here: secretly brought to this unmarked location on a bus. I looked up to the vast network of buildings in front of me: this is Team Rocket Academy, and we are now students in training. Leila got off the bus and soon patted me on the back, smirking confidently as I nod once to her…too late to back off now, that's for sure.

We are greeted by a man who is a tall and older man with a blue purplish mohawk running down the middle of his bald head. He towers above us, brandishing a notepad to write on. At first glance, he doesn't appear very impressed about our appearance. His voice is deep and gruff, like a Major in the military, but he isn't a Major though. At the academy, he is known as Drill Sergeant Viper.

"Welcome to training, recruits" he simply muttered.

The first day had us going through a rigorous fitness test. Since Leila and I lived on the streets, practically running off with stolen bread or anything else we could find, cardio wasn't all too difficult for the both of us. Then came a wall we needed to climb.

"Uh…" she shook her head to me.

"It's not that high, I promise. Let's get this over with."

The girl sighed before we began climbing the obstacle. For me, I'm able to make through most of the wall without much trouble; however, my partner is having trouble. I look back and grumble softly in frustration, "come on, just a few more feet!"

"Ansel, it's too high!"

I shake my head before deciding, "I'll come to you, hold on."

I climb down, making my way to her while extending my hand to her, "just hold on to me!"

Down below us on the ground: Viper is writing down notes, closely observing our progress. Once I'm at the top, I pull her up as well, helping the eighteen-year-old to finish.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" I huff in exhaustion before Leila punches my shoulder, "ow! What was that for!?"

"Got'ta vent" she says.

"Then hit the wall, not me!" I growl before she smirks, "you ARE a wall sometimes, Ansel Jefferson." She used my full name as I rolled my eyes.

The next course after has us running down a track containing several obstacles we must jump over or crawl under in order to pass. It's hard and I keep finding myself taking a bit too long with this section, yet Leila seems to be enjoying it…she's really taking off like a rocket right now: dodging all the things in front of her. It isn't long before her progress is halted after she almost fell into a booby trap! The ground had collapsed and revealed a deep hole that if she was caught in…it would be unlikely for her to get out. I arrive soon after clearing the other obstacles, looking around to see where more might be:

"We got to be careful" I wipe sweat off my forehead as she runs ahead, "L-Leila!" I shake my head before following her.

As we run across the rigged course, I unfortunately land on a trap and the ground beneath me shakes and collapses, sending me into a hole. I yell as loud as I can, it was almost a blood-curling scream, but it's cut-short just as I am able to hang on to the edge, managing to save myself the last second. Leila stops running, finding me in my current predicament, so she runs to me and crouches, quickly helping me out.

"T-thanks."

Days pass as we both progress through the class, eventually reaching high marks that soon impress Sergeant Viper; however, as we start getting noticed, our fellow classmates start getting a bit competitive toward us. There's one particular person that Leila and I found to be a fellow rival: his name is Jeremy, soon to be assigned under the name: Rk. He joined thanks to his uncle's position in the group…none other than Anthony Preston.

At first, Jeremy gave us no respect:

"So, you two must be the street rats I've heard so much about." The recruit chuckled, "you won't get far looking thinner than the gutter you two probably slept in every night" he said while pointing to our malnourished bodies.

"You look like the spider I ate from that gutter" Leila deadpanned.

I, meanwhile, scoffed at his insults, not entirely affected by them…he should have SEEN us not too long ago. Now that we're here, we both have three squares a day, and it didn't take very long for us to look and feel healthier. Not only that, but we started working out at their fitness center too in order to help get us into shape.

It isn't long before the day comes that Leila and I are taken into a room with dozens of trainees, including Jeremy. Today, all of us had donned black suits with an 'R' symbol on our chests to help identify each other.

In front of all of us is Sergeant Viper, who is standing next to a map with several marked locations on it.

"Listen up, recruits, it's important that you do. Today's challenge will be to reach the destination marked here. You have twenty-four hours to reach your target."

We listen intensively as Jeremy crosses his arms, chuckling to Leila. He makes a 'neck-cutting' gesture which annoys her. I tap her arm, trying to get her to resume listening to the Sergeant.

"It does not matter which trail you take as long as you reach your destination before the scheduled time expires."

"You think it's a race?" I turn and asked Leila who shakes, "it's definitely more than that" she mutters quietly under her shaky breath.

"Each trainee will get one loaf of bread and a bottle of water."

I am taken aback by this, and I give a muted gasp with sweat falling from the side of my face…is it what I think it is? This is no ordinary test like the others, this test is about survival. Leila knows it too, she looks just as nervous as I am.

"Good luck to you all" Viper finishes just before we salute the Drill Sergeant and break away into our groups. Leila and I form a tight huddle.

"Maybe it won't be so bad, you and I have definitely been without food for long periods"

"This'll be different though…we're not in a city…we'll be in the wilderness."

I sigh, "we made little things like this work for us in the past" I mutter, gesturing to our bags that contain a single loaf of bread and a bottle of water.

"The streets will be nothing compared to this, this is a mental test just as it is physical, I'm sure of it" Leila claps back.

"Whatever it's supposed to be and teach us…we better get going." I finished as I grab my bag and she does the same, we sling them over our shoulders in preparation for what's to come.

"Right…" Leila nods confidently, "…'cause you and me, we know a thing or two about all this, most of the others don't."

It isn't long after that most of the recruits went outside with their sole Pokémon acting as their third partner in the party. We leave the vicinity of the base towards the high rocky cliffs above. The first leg of the journey soon became our most challenging moment in my humble opinion. Over a quarter of us were already encumbered and it's only been two miles since we've started! Leila and I did not stop for nothing and pressed onward with our mission despite the hostile conditions. It's summer and the outside temperature is almost in the triple digits, especially by noon when the sun is highest in the sky. With no clouds and the air literally baking all around us we soon find ourselves running low on water already. Some of the people from the main group turn back, deciding to quit the challenge, finding it too overbearing. I kind of wanted to join them…but I shook my head, telling myself to keep going no matter what! I'm not going to let some dumb place like this get to me, we are getting through this!

Jeremy and his female partner, Sara, are ahead of the pack and even taunted us for it.

"I say you two should follow the rest back to base, some of us have been doing this longer than you!" Jeremy snickered as we chose to ignore him, not letting his words discourage us in the slightest.

Eventually we headed down a river to try and refill our water bottles…unfortunately, once we tasted it, we were both shocked to learn that it's salty!

"Ansel, damn it, what are we going to do?" Leila said, quite uneased by this revelation. I instinctly throw my bottle into some rocks, "let's just go…"

"Yea…I don't even know if we're there yet…" Leila grumbles.

"We will be there sooner if we don't stop often and don't think about it much" I clap back. The Pokémon we had chosen to be our third partner is Growlithe, a firedog that Leila had received from her brother a few days before we arrived. It's going to be useful in starting fires and such, but then came a problem: we all had to scale a tall cliff to continue and Growlithe wouldn't be able to climb by itself.

"One of us will have to carry him" Leila dared suggested as I scoffed at the idea, "you're nuts, he's too heavy."

We both look around as frustration builds, now what do we do!? We'll lose if we don't get across this thing! We might have to leave him behind or something…we don't have a Pokéball for them either, guess we're screwed...

"Damn it!" Out of nowhere I punched the wall in front of us as Leila shouted in distress, "Ansel!?"

I pant in the aftermath, my hand reeling in pain. Suddenly, we feel the ground shake, an earthquake ensues!

"Leila!?"

"Ansel, move!"

We dodge incoming falling rocks from above us as we run for cover! Growlithe, Leila and I hide behind a large boulder that shields us from the falling rocks from the cliff that had just collapsed. The carnage revealed a family of Dugtrios that have been disturbed and had used Earthquake in defense! That explains why this is all happening now…the duggies disperse as we quietly leave our shelter. We look toward the cliff that no longer exists, in its place: the pile of rocks from what the wall was can now allow us to proceed!

"Well Ansel, that's one way to do it" she snickers as I start climbing the debris, gesturing her and the firedog to follow closely behind.

Night comes and Growlithe has made a fire for us. The rocky cliffs we are on top of is pretty chilly tonight, especially with the breeze coming from the northwest. Down below the cliffs we can see a forest that has one or two lights fading in and out from within…no doubt those are members from the group. The three of us huddle around the camp fire for now to try and stay as warm as possible. Curiosity and boredom, mostly boredom, had us looking up toward the sky.

"Wow…look at all those stars…"

"Never seen so many honestly" I nod.

"Definitely not." Leila sighs, turning to me with crossed legs and a small smile on her face for me, "Ansel, I wouldn't mind staying in a place like this 'ya know" she said softly, "being this far away from cities really helps clear my head. I can't remember feeling as peaceful as I am right now."

I rest my back against the cold floor of the plateau, "I don't blame you…if this all works out, I would love to be stationed inside a forest."

"That would be pretty rad" Leila's smile widened at the possibility. After a couple of minutes, she rests her hand on her cheek and rocks back and forth idly, "so…how many do you think are left?" she asked.

I sit up, thinking to myself for a moment, "who knows…not many that's for sure" I shrug nonchalantly, once again resting against the smooth floor.

"You think we will make it?"

I open an eye to this and think to myself despite being confident, "we made it through the first twelve hours…I say we still got a good chance."

Silence grips us, but not long after…Leila groans in pain as I sit up, "I'm…very thirsty…"

I look away, toward the forest and an idea crosses my path. I stand up and gesture her to stay put, "wait here" I insist.

"Ansel?" She raises an eyebrow before Growlithe barks for me. Despite their pleas, I climbed down a slope and ventured into the dark forbidding forest, alone. Not long after, I stumble upon the nearest encampment: two random trainees, a boy and a girl that are slightly younger than us, are there. Their Pokémon seems to be missing…maybe it was left behind…or it's on patrol…I better be on the lookout and do this quickly and quietly.

I sneak into their camp unseen, using the experience I have stealing food in the big city. Like imbeciles they are both asleep and are vulnerable. Not only that, but they left their bag out for any person to take…good job guys. I devilishly chuckle before crawling to them, reaching for the half-empty bottle of water. Soon enough, Leila will have her water and these fools will wake up and learn their lesson!

Suddenly, my eyes widen, and I shiver in surprise. The man is facing me and is a couple of inches away!

However, I realize that the grunt is still asleep and simply turned to be more comfortable. I give a quiet sigh of relief before taking their water. I start crawling backwards before getting up to run off with my prize. Unfortunately, I hear an angry Rattata charging at me! There's no question about it, it's their Pokémon! I yelp before running away and they give chase. Before I can reach the edge of the slope to climb back to safety, I feel the rat hop on my back. I grunt, trying to get the damn thing off, but I ultimately fall flat on my belly…it seems like the mouse is going to give me a rough time. Luckily, I see several individual flames hit the creature repeatedly, causing them to jump off and run away, greatly injured. I turn to face my rescuer, it's Leila's Growlithe!

"Good boy!" I pet the dog as it barks happily.

We both return to Leila, who's still by the fire and I toss the bottle to her. Before she has a chance to drink from it, she chuckles, "you devil."

I sit down, laughing back, "That's what they get for leaving it out in the open for anyone to take."

I didn't stay on the floor for long because we suddenly hear cries coming from the forest below, their Pokémon must have alerted them!

"Time to go" I say before packing up our stuff and putting out the fire. Leila nods, almost immediately putting away her belongings too, along with her newly acquired water.

Once we reach safety, we reached a cave where she drinks from the half-empty bottle, regaining energy shortly after. Though now came another problem: she had eaten the rest of her bread, so she had no food left and she's quite hungry. I was about to eat mine before I noticed her…Growlithe was also hungry. I scoff to myself, deciding to break it into smaller pieces for them, though it wasn't much…it's something…we're used to that after all…making do with what you got.

Breaking through the silence of the cave is Leila, "we're going to make a great team."

"We always have been since we were kids" I add softly.

The next day comes, only a few hours remain…our group travels through the rest of the canyon. It's cloudy today, so the temperature is bearable this time around, and there's a slight breeze that cools us also. I check the map while Leila and her dog stand guard.

"Looks like…we're pretty close!"

I lower the map, moving forward before the other two follow. I stop by the edge, I'm able to see a ravine down below and there's a chopper and some men waiting for us!

"That's it!" We start climbing down the side of the canyon. After a few minutes we arrive to our destination.

Sergeant Viper looks at us with contentment, "congratulations Ansel and Leila, you have made it across the canyon before time expired. Therefore, the both of you will move on in our program."

And so, we remain at the academy, slowly learning more about all the typical stuff that Team Rocket Grunts do. Days pass by and soon enough it's only just me, Leila, Jeremy and his partner left in the program…the last ones left from hundreds of applicants...

Surprisingly, despite his earlier attitude toward us, Jeremy started respecting us more after the recent exam.

Between that time, Sergeant Viper presented our progress in a report to a man behind a desk. The location is unknown, but it's possible that it's a far-away location. The man across from Viper is wearing an orange-colored suit…he is known to the grunts as the leader of their organization…it's Giovanni.

"Ansel and Leila have shown great promise. Their profiles suggest experience with thievery, and both are resilient, even in the face of hardship" Viper shows files of us to the leader, who gives a short smile of satisfaction.

"Interesting…perhaps these two are what Dr. Bartoli needs."

"Shall I add them to her roster then?" Viper asked, but Giovanni shook his hand, giving a single chuckle, "not yet, they must prove themselves. Surviving in a canyon with a dog is one thing, but I wonder if these two are ready for MY exam…"

It wasn't long before the day of our final exam came, and we were ready. After a short briefing, we were dropped off by helicopter in the middle of the night on the rooftop of a tall building. Our group, which consisted of me, Leila, Jeremy and his partner Sara, silently makes our way through the roof. With the help of Sara's lock-picking skills, we gain access to the building's interior.

We find ourselves inside a long metallic hallway with several rooms containing computers. Our outfits were the opposite color of the white walls: black, with masks that hide our identities.

I squint my eyes to see a sign…it becomes apparent to me that we're in a building belonging to Silph Co.

Leila smirks, getting quite excited for our first real mission, "this just got interesting."

"We're here to rob Kanto's big tech firm…whatever the boss wants, it must be important" Jeremy smiled too, growing a little fond of Leila a bit, much to my annoyance.

I scoffed in response, "we got a mission to get done for the Sergeant, and fast, come on" I move ahead as Jeremy snorts silently, whispering to Sara next to him:

"Bug-Sel is acting like somebody is likely to spot him, even with his short size." Sara giggled in response as Leila looked back, following my lead, "come on you two."

Jeremy pulls out a device that finds the spot that we need to go to, and once that's done, he hacks into a keypad of one of the doors. The hack does its job, allowing access. Once we're in, we find several large computers on desktops, though the ones that really catch our attention are the ones the size of furniture! Along the walls are these huge mainframes, all bright and emitting colorful auras. Jeremy next to us reaches into his bag and pulls out another device, planting it on the wall next to the mainframe. Sara checks the schematics of the floor on her tablet. Leila and I, meanwhile, keep watch, and soon enough Leila spots someone approaching!

"Guys-" she whispers loudly just before we all duck and cover.

Sara nods softly to her partner, "it's on the other side of this wall, that's for sure."

"Great, then this'll be a breeze" Jeremy grins.

"Folks, some dude is coming, TWO of them, actually!" I exclaimed before we hide underneath a desk. Jeremy finds the exact spot to place his device and presses a button, pulling away moments after. It starts downloading something wirelessly, it appears to be plans to something.

Our teammates hide in the cubicle across from us as the two strangers enter the room with flashlights, aiming their lights in various directions. Soon enough, they turn on the room lights.

It won't take long, I promise, a man says as the security guard crosses his arms.

The scientist stops just a few inches from Leila and I, reaching for a bag on the very desk we are hiding under.

Ah! There it is, sorry about that.

The man rejoins the guard by the door before they turn off the lights again and leave. I wipe sweat off my head in response, breathing a sigh of relief while the others move out of hiding to resume the mission.

Jeremy checks the device and finds that it finished copying the data from the computer in the other room.

"What is it?" Sara asked as Jeremy gives a look of surprise, "I-I think these are plans for a new Pokéball…the prototype is called…Project M." He stated.

"No way…" Sara gasps.

"Project M?" Leila raises an eyebrow.

"What do you suppose that is?" I inquired further.

"Not sure, but Team Rocket will LOVE this for sure" Jeremy remarked, he removes the device and tucks it in his bag, gesturing us to follow, "time to go."

As we leave, Leila smiles at the idea of finding new tech, "maybe this new Pokéball is supposed to be like…the mother of all Pokéball's? Like…the master…ball?"

"Who cares, as long as it helps us pass the exam." Sara quipped.

"The exam? You know how much this prototype would cost to the right buyer?" Jeremy quipped back.

"Don't get any ideas" I rolled my eyes to him.

We quietly follow the young adult down the steel hallway, making our way to the rooftop. Sara presses a button that sends the Team Rocket helicopter in to pick us up. We all quickly jump in before leaving the site, having accomplished our mission. Jeremy hands over the schematics to Viper, who grins upon seeing what the plans contain.

The day after, the four of us are in the gymnasium with Sergeant Viper as well as several other high-ranking Team Rocket members.

"Congratulations recruits, you have successfully passed the course! You have proven to be valuable assets to this organization." Viper begins, he hands us some papers and pens to us all.

"Please sign this contract, showing us your continued commitment with Team Rocket and you will receive your field names afterwards."

Without hesitation, and not bothering to read the fine print, we sign our names, feeling that we have earned it.

"Good, allow me to be the first to welcome you four as Team Rocket's newest agents!" Several of the officers and grunts in the background applaud before Viper continues, "now, on to name assignments."

"Jeremy, your assigned name on the field will be: Rk."

"Sara, you will be assigned with the name: Nk"

"Leila," she looks up to him, greatly anticipating a great name, "you'll be called: Km"

As soon as he said that Leila, now Km, scoffs slightly at the name. She turns to me and whispers, "they called me after a unit of measurement…I should feel honored but I'm not…"

I shrug.

Finally, Viper turns to me, "Ansel, your name on the field will be: Cy."

I raise an eyebrow at this, finding the name quite ridiculous.

"What's with these silly names?" Jeremy, now Rk, protests, standing out of line.

"You wouldn't want to be caught with your real name on you, would you? It's to hide your identity, obviously" Viper claps back, "use these names with pride, use them to put fear into any who oppose you, they are your badges of honor, for you four are now: special field agents."

"Yea…special indeed…" Rk scoffed, rolling his eyes and folding his arms in response.

Nonetheless, he soon joins us in saluting the Sergeant before he steps away. Soon enough, a woman steps in shortly after, wearing a lab coat. She has long brown hair that runs straight down her back. She fixes her round glasses before smiling at us with glee, "hello, my name is Doctor Sarah Bartoli…I am the lead researcher for the Viridian City division. The four of you will be stationed at my base deep within the Viridian Forest. There, you will be collecting Pokémon for us to experiment on for our research…not wild Pokémon, mind you-but those belonging to trainers. You four are now under my command." She finished, fixing her glasses once more before we salute her.

"Yes, ma'am!"

Bartoli stands moving about, clearly excited about this, "I can't wait to see what you four will bring me! I'm sure it'll be terrific!" Very soon after, she composes herself, walking by each of us. First she sees Nk, or Sara:

"I hear you have perfect navigation skills, that's always important when traveling in Viridian Forest."

Next up, she stops in front of Rk, otherwise known as Jeremy, "your uncle told me a lot about you, I expect much from you, young man."

Then, she stops by me, fixing her glasses, "you clearly have great resilience and loyalty in the face of certain doom, I will study your progress with tremendous interest."

Finally, she stops by Leila, now known as Km, "you have a fiery personality, keep it under check though, try not to burn yourself out while you're at it!" She finally walks away as Leila shakes her head, soon whispering to me:

"I'm already going to dislike her" Leila vowed.

It isn't long after that we began working for Team Rocket and began collecting mass sums of money as a result.

Our first trip into Viridian City is fortunate enough…with our newfound wealth we began to shop for stuff we previously could never dream to buy. Km bought merchandise she longed to get, many upscale dresses and purses she dreamed of having as a kid. I, on the other hand, found myself attached to a particular jacket on a wall. It's a black and green jacket that seems to resonate with me. I pictured myself wearing it, the new clothes would definitely fit my style of wardrobe. And so, without a second thought, I purchased the jacket, teasing Km with my new outfit. Staring back at me in the mirror is a young man wearing a green/black jacket, fingerless gloves, a messenger bag, and a black military-style hat.

Km/Leila looks to me proudly, giving a thumbs up and a wink, "now that's a makeover!"

"Oh quiet" I chuckle back.

As we spent the day shopping in Viridian City's affluent areas, spending almost all our money on a lot of things we didn't really need, we came across a music store. It's getting late and they're about to close, but something in me had me really interested in the place. In it, there's another item that seemed to attract me with its beauty…a beautiful guitar made of mahogany. My mother used to play before we left Johto in such a hurry and I always wanted to learn from her…but could never afford the instrument…now's my chance. I check my funds…but they're low…I still can't…I shouldn't have spent so much so fast!

I look down with disappointment.

"Ansel…" I hear Leila call to me, "go ahead." I look down to see her offering me money before I look back up to her.

"B-but you don't got much left yourself…" I stutter.

She simply smiled in return and buried the last of her money into my palm, closing it with her own hand. She nodded softly and I made my decision finally: I brought her into a tight hug.

"Things are already getting better for us" I whisper softly in her ear.

"I know" she returns.

We break away and I grab the guitar and a case, and with Km's money…I bought them both.

We left the store as I heave a satisfying sigh

We made it…

I shake my head, my flashback ending abruptly as I look toward the others: Michael and Leila

"We'll just have to keep going parallel 'till we find an opening" Michael suggests as Holo is perched on his back, the machine is on idle mode, "and we can't really turn back either…"

"I get that…but this storm is killing us…" Leila grunts.

"Maybe try using your fire at the wall, see if it melts" I suggest, standing up slightly, my back against a tree.

Km scratches her chin and nods in compliance, "okay, stand back everyone, Growlithe…front and center!"

Her dog joins her before both begin using their fire attacks at the wall, and slowly but surely it starts to melt little by little…unfortunately…what it reveals underneath is solid rock.

"Damn it…" Leila growls as her dog does the same.

"Oh well…looks like we're going with my plan." Michael muses, turning to us.

"Okay, but which way" Leila asks her brother as he shrugs, "right I guess. Holo, go ahead and try to find an opening along the wall!"

The Spiderbot/Needlebot hybrid springs back to life and it complies, flying off into the storm along the wall.

And so…we start moving again, parallel to the ice wall. A few minutes pass, but my body is quickly giving way…like a shield taking way too many blows…soon enough I begin to wobble. It's just too much for me now…

Growlithe looks back, noticing that I am falling behind, and starts barking in my direction. The others turn to see. By this point, I've given it everything I have…my body is shaking uncontrollably, and I begin to fade…

"L-Lei-la…" I say weakly as my eyes pull back. My body leans forward, and I collapse into the snow. The others gasp and panic before rushing for me. Km picks me up, wiping snow from my face and clothes, "Ansel!?"

"He's out, come on Growlithe, we need more than ever to find us a place!" Michael exclaimed as the canine went onward in search of shelter. Holo returns and finds me unconscious.

"Holo, go look for a place, now!"

Again, the robot disappears. Leila is still holding me, tears starting to fall from her eyes.

"Please Ansel…stay with me, oh god…stay…Ansel…"

Oh no! Cy doesn't look like he's in good shape! Find out what happens next with the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed this newest edition. Take care everyone!