Gazing out from behind the bars, Philip felt it a cruel twist of fate as he could see into a part of the route leading to Goldenrod National Park, his rage at being held captive for years filled him. It was always Devin, the head scientist of Cipher and creator of the terrible Pokemon known as Negatives, that visited him month after month. Besides the usual Cipher Peons coming in to give him food, there were very few others that would come and visit him. It always came back to the same question that was always asked of him. Philip felt like a lesser man would have broken years ago and agreed to join the Cipher's cause.

Now, as he sat in a chair facing a television, the door was opening and Philip braced himself mentally for Devin. As he glanced at the door, he knew the best course to piss the scientist off was to literally ignore him. It was funny to see Devin get mad and have him start screaming at him. It felt, in a way to Philip, that Devin was just as trapped as he was. Sure enough, once the door was open, the scientist had entered.

"Hello Philip," Devin said. "Are you enjoying the air from the window?"

Philip couldn't say anything as he stared at the blank tv. He could hear a foot tapping from Devin as the scientist immediately became annoyed. It almost made him smile with pleasure. Ignoring Devin was wildly entertaining.

"This is your own fault you know," Devin said in annoyance as he moved over to the window. "You could have been one of the most powerful members in Cipher under Royce. You have no one else to blame but yourself for being here."

Closing his eyes, Philip recalled the faithful day in which Royce, leader of Cipher, took over Goldenrod. It was because of the way he trained his Pokemon that he managed to take down a single Negative Pokemon. Royce couldn't react fast enough to his snapping. Oh, how he missed being the Silent Snapper. Yet, he didn't want to live a life of crime and have people fear him. It wasn't him. It wasn't what he stood for.

"I've been kind to you, you know," Devin said, his voice dripping with venom. "If it wasn't for me, you'd be trapped on Citadark Isle with the rest of the trainers who pose a threat. You have it good here compared to those rotting on the Isle."

Finally, Philip reached over to grab his notebook and smirked as he wrote something on the paper. He glanced at the scientist who seemed to relax a bit at Philip at finally writing something before he tore the piece of paper and handed it to Devin.

'And yet, Cynthia has managed to give you the slip as well,' the note read.

"Cynthia will be found eventually!" Devin practically hissed in a fit of rage, crumpling up the paper in his hand. "You're starting to make me impatient Philip. If you don't stop these silly little games of yours, next time I'll be sure to bring a Negative Pokemon in here!"

Flinching at the words slightly, Devin had thrown the crumpled paper down before turning to head back out. "I will let you have a week to think about your behavior before I come back," Devin threatened. "And next time, maybe I won't be as generous as I have been."

As the door slammed shut, Philip got up and immediately started to pace in worry. As entertaining as Devin was as he got angry, it seemed that his patience with him was now gone. What would he do? How far would Devin go to take his frustrations out on him? Was he going to die in a week?

"Oh hello," a voice spoke, snapping Philip out of his worried thoughts.

Turning to the window, Philip walked over to it and stared in shock to see a rather short man with black hair and green eyes staring into his cell.

"This window is new. I've seen this wall plenty of times but never this window."

Philip was still shocked, doubly so when the man didn't seem to be worried about getting caught. It almost seemed comical with how this strange man was acting very nonchalant about it. Especially since he seemed more curious about the window more than anything else, not even his own safety.

"So, what are you in for?" the man finally asked.

Turning, Philip went to his desk and grabbed his notebook and pencil before writing something down, tearing it out before handing it to the man. The man seemed confused but took the piece of paper and started to read it.

'I'm mute and I took down a Negative Pokemon when I was a teenager,' the note read.

"Mute, huh?" the guy mused before staring at the note in disbelief. "You… took down a Negative Pokemon?"

Looking up at Philip, the mute man gave a nod before writing something else down to hand over to him.

'I can tell you're not a part of Cipher, is there any way you can help me escape?' The man seemed amused as he read the note before giving him a smile. 'They're going to kill me if I don't get out of here.'

"Breaking you out is going to be child's play," the guy told him. "First and foremost, my name is Jack, one of the greatest thieves the world has ever seen. Second of all, I'll be seeing you on the other side."

As Philip blinked, wondering what Jack was planning, he was gone. Looking back and forth, Philip tried to find him, but there seemed not to be a trace of Jack, not even where he stood just moments before. There was no way Jack could have disappeared so suddenly, there were no footsteps leaving nor was there any crunching of the dirt under the shoes.

Philip paced his cell, his fate and future was hanging in the balance of someone he just met. He watched the time pass, starting to worry as there was nothing he could do was sit there and wait. His attention snapped to the door as it opened.

"Sorry it took me so long," Philip heard the voice of Jack as the man peeked in. "I had to deal with the Peons guarding the place."

Giving a sigh of relief as Jack fully opened the door, Philip grabbed his notebook and pencil and finally made his way to escape. He gave a nod to Jack who nodded back. Though, Philip had to take a double glance at a silver colored Nickit on Jack's shoulder.

"This is Swiper," he explained. "We met when I first ended up on the streets. He cleans up my fingerprints on stuff so it's not tracing back to me."

That was honestly rather clever, especially since owning a Pokemon was forbidden unless one was a part of Cipher.

"Here, follow me," the thief said, turning to lead the way out. "Don't worry about being stealthy here, I made sure everyone managed to pass out."

'How?' Philip wrote.

"I have a thumb trick," Jack explained. "I discovered it years ago when I placed my thumb on the back of someone's neck."

Philip looked a little baffled at Jack as he casually explained how he did it. Here he was, trusting a wanted criminal to help him escape.

"We're going to have to slip into the alleyways before we can… communicate with each other again," Jack explained as they approached the entrance of the prison. He took out a Moonball before returning Swiper. "They barely patrol those."

As the two stepped outside, Philip lifted his gaze to the sun, feeling the warmth of it immediately hitting him. It had been too long since he had felt the warmness of it before he was jerked out of his trance by Jack pulling him away.

"You can radiate in its light later," he muttered as he led the way. "Right now we have to get out of here."

Philip was a bit annoyed but ultimately knew that Jack was right. If a Cipher Peon saw him, both of them could end up captured and put on the Isle. As Jack kept glancing around, they made slow progress in the alleyways.

"Alright, we're safe now," he said, stretching out slightly.

'Wouldn't it have been easier to go into the wilderness?' Philip wrote and held it out to Jack.

"That would be the first place they'd be looking," Jack said, shaking his head. "In order for you to escape, you have to be a step ahead of them. Go where they wouldn't think to look."

Philip looked up at the sky in misery as he wondered what he should do next, or rather, where to go next. Jack stared at him, realizing the man didn't have an exact plan.

"Was it true?" Jack asked. "The fact they're going to kill you?"

'I'm sure you know who Devin is? He always visited me, trying to get me to change my mind on joining Cipher. At some point, I started to ignore him (which was kind of entertaining if I'm being honest) and it seems that his patience has finally run out.'

"Ah, that's why he was leaving the prison in a fit of rage," Jack noted. "Well, we have to figure out a way for you to further escape."

'Why are you helping me?' Philip asked.

"Hm? Oh because we can't really let Cipher win now, can we?" Jack asked. "If you die, that's one less threat that they have to deal with and if your claim of taking down a Negative Pokemon is as true as you say it is, then they win in a big way."

That was some well thought thinking to Philip and one that he hadn't considered yet. Devin had control over him for years, he could have ended his life at any moment. Dread washed through Philip as he looked around rather scared now.

"Hey, hey, easy," Jack said. "I didn't mean to scare you. Come on, we need to find a way to avoid Cipher."

It seemed they both weren't sure as to how they would go about doing that before Jack turned and started to head down a path. Philip, having no plan, followed him.

"I think I know where we can escape to that not even Devin would know until it'd be too late," Jack said, his gaze flicking to Philip for a second. He could tell the mute man was curious from a split glance. "We're going to be taking the train and going to Kanto."

Kanto? That was… actually really clever in Philip's opinion. By the time that Devin could think about the train, hopefully he would have slipped out from under Cipher and be off the radar. Though…

'How are we going to get on the train without passes?' Philip tapped Jack's shoulder to show him what he had written.

"Excuse me," Jack coughed. "Did you miss the part that I'm one of the best thieves around? You just stay in the alleyways and don't let anyone see you while I get two passes for both of us."

Giving a nod, Philip had to once again trust Jack with his fate as they followed the twists and turns of the alley, noting how confident Jack was with where he was heading. Once they reached a certain point, the thief had put a hand on Philip to stop him.

"Alright, stay here," he said. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Once again, Philip was left alone as Jack turned the corner. It made him pace, worry once again filling his mind. Was Cipher aware that he had escaped yet? He was so close to freedom and if Cipher was aware that he had escaped now, any chance at freedom could be taken away from him. Looking around the corner, there was no sign of Jack yet.

"Hello," Jack's voice made Philip jump in surprise. "Yeah, sorry, I have a habit of scaring people like that."

Turning, he saw the thief had somehow slipped past him and was now standing behind him, holding two tickets in his hand. How did he do that?

'That was incredible!'

"You can marvel at my sneak skills later," Jack laughed. "For now, we can get on the train. It's supposedly the last one going to Kanto for the day. Let's go."

The two men set out to the train station, both on guard for Cipher Peons but luckily, there were none around. Once they entered the lobby, Philip was more on guard as ever as the secretary scanned their tickets before getting on board.

"So far so good," Jack muttered as they took a seat opposite of each other. "Now then, once we're in Johto, we have to figure out where to go next."

'I say we try to make our way to Kalos, Galar, or Paldea.'

"Unfortunately, they're closed off due to the ongoing war between them and Cipher," Jack said, making sure to keep his voice low. "So we'd have to be really sneaky or tell them about our situation about how they threatened to kill you."

Philip leaned back, shaking his head sadly in disbelief. He had hoped that going to one of the only free regions left would give him the freedom he had wanted all along.

'Do you know of anywhere we can go?'

"I have safe spaces," Jack said. "However, since there's going to be a probable nationwide manhunt to find you, I don't think that would be the safest option."

As Jack spoke more and more, Philip was starting to look defeated. The thief felt a surge of sympathy for the mute man, knowing he was living on borrowed time.

"Do you, uh, want to talk about how a mute man managed to beat down a Negative Pokemon?" Jack asked curiously, trying to quickly change the topic.

'I was a Pokemon trainer when it happened, I placed second in the Johto league a few months prior to the takeover. Royce, the leader, didn't understand that I was mute at first and couldn't react fast enough to my Pokemon's attacks in time. His Noivern took hit after hit and finally fell to my fifth Pokemon. Everyone back then called me The Silent Snapper and on national tv, I took down a Negative Pokemon.'

Jack felt himself light up with interest as he read what Philip wrote, fully understanding why Cipher feared him as much as they did.

"Do you think you can do it again?" he asked. "Take down a Negative Pokemon?"

'Not with how I am right now. I have no Pokemon and no way to get any of mine back. Also, I would probably have to retrain my Pokemon to respond to my snaps or at the very least, train up all new ones.'

Jack crossed his arms, his brow furrowed in thought as he continued talking with Philip. At this point, the train had blown the whistle before starting to move. 'I want revenge on Cipher but I know I can't get it right now. Challenging anyone is surely a death sentence.'

"Going anywhere isn't safe," Jack mused. "...Are you alright?"

Philip sighed before looking up before feeling his stomach sink. There was a Cipher Peon staring at him, one that he would very rarely see from time to time. Glade. One of the right hands of Bandit, the Cipher Admin of Canalave City. She and another called Jet were allowed to go anywhere and everywhere to do business for their admin. 'Don't turn around,' he slowly wrote as he kept his eyes locked with Glade. 'Glade's here.'

"Oh no," Jack muttered, shivering as he had to resist the urge to turn around. "We might have to hop off if she comes at us."

'On a fast moving train?'

Jack flinched at the words, trying to figure out what to do. "Do you think she recognizes you?"

Philip nodded as Glade took a piece of paper out before scribbling something on it. She then folded it up and got up. Tensing up, Philip finally tore his gaze away to look at Jack before looking down at his hands. He had been so close to freedom and yet, Glade was about to arrest them.

"...What?" Jack asked after a few tense moments, seemingly confused. "She just passed us up."

Philip jerked his head up in surprise as Jack reached over and picked up the piece of paper. He took a quick glance behind him to see Glade walking away without looking back. "She's one of the most loyal members to Cipher to date. Why would she not arrest us?"

'Note?' Jack unfolded the piece of paper, his gaze immediately becoming suspicious of what it read.

"It says to go to the Burning Quilava around midnight," Jack whispered, turning the paper around before trying to turn it sideways to see if there was a hidden message on the paper.

The two men looked at each other in confusion on what just happened as they tried to wrap their minds around it. It made Philip wonder if Glade was loyal to Cipher as she made herself out to be.

'I think there's more to Glade underneath the surface than we think there is,' Philip wrote. 'Say nothing out loud lest we be compromised about it, I think we should meet up with her.'

Jack hesitated as he weighed the options of what to do. He could leave Philip and remain on the run. Luck always seemed to be on his side and he had never once been caught. He pointed at the pencil, which Philip handed it to him before writing something down.

'I'm not completely convinced of this, it could be a trap,' Jack wrote.

'She could have easily arrested us on this train,' Philip wrote back.

'I'm still very suspicious of this,' Jack wrote with a sigh.

'I'm not asking you to come with me,' Philip said. 'I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I dragged you into this and something happened to you. If I make it out of that meeting still free, do know that I am forever in your debt for freeing me next time we meet.'

He could see the clear hesitation in Jack, knowing the thief wasn't about to trust a Cipher official. The two stared at each other in silence, it wouldn't be too long before they would go their separate ways Philip knew.

'I'm coming with you,' Jack finally wrote after a bit of time, surprising the mute man. 'If something goes wrong, then I can try to get you out.'

An odd rush of relief filled Philip, glad that he wasn't going to face Glade alone. He had no idea what the peon wanted with him or why she wanted to meet up in a bar, but he was hoping that it wasn't a trap like Jack said.

'I have a safe spot near the Burning Quilava anyway,' Jack continued to write. 'We can rest there for a while before we go.'

Giving a nod to the thief, all they could do now was wait until they got to Kanto before making their way to Jack's safe house.

"I'll grab us something to eat after we get there," the thief said as the train started slowing down. "One good thing about taking the train, it cuts down on travel time."

As the train rolled to a stop, the two men stood up and quickly scurried out from the train, on guard for any Cipher Peons roaming around. Philip became increasingly paranoid seeing a few hanging about but it seemed that Glade was talking to them first.

"Is Glade… distracting them?" Jack asked quietly as the peons had their backs to them.

Philip gave Jack a nudge before running after him into a nearby alleyway. Now in the safety of the alleyways, both of them seemed to relax slightly.

"We're not out of danger yet," Jack said as he led down a path. "Just keep close to me and whatever you do, don't make eye contact with anyone."

Philip was a bit confused as he followed along before his footsteps faltered. There were vendors everywhere as Jack seemed to be confident to walk through. Hurriedly, he raced to catch up to the rather short man, trying to keep his gaze in front of him.

"Relax, you're doing fine," the thief mused, giving the mute man a side eye. "We'll be out of here quickly."

Philip couldn't help but worry as he could feel people's gazes on him, following his every step. He tried to steady his breathing, hoping that no one down this path was a member of Cipher. As Jack turned down a darker path, Philip could feel himself relaxing from all the gazes that were following him. Was Jack truly leading him to safety? The alleyways seemed so much darker in Saffron City compared to that of Goldenrod's.

"Stay here, I'll be right back," Jack finally said as they stopped in front of an abandoned building.

Watching as the man suddenly climbed up a water spout, the mute man was impressed to see him easily scale the building before slithering through a window. He must have done that a bunch of times if he knew what he was doing. Soon, the sounds of nails being pried off was heard and the entrance for Philip was opened just enough for him to squeeze through.

"Apologies, I'm not used to having guests," Jack said, leading the way up the stairs and into a room.

It made Philip gasp at what he saw lining the room. Small bags were lining the room everywhere, coins were scattered across the room, and it seemed that Jack had stolen a bunch of nick nacks that were also scattered across the room. The man didn't seem to be bothered by Philip's horrified gaze as he tried to sweep stuff to the side.

'Why do you have all this stuff?' he finally wrote and held out to Jack.

"Well, why not? Not like Cipher does anything about it," Jack explained. "They only target people who are against them. Why care about thieves and murders as long as they aren't targeted."

Philip looked at Jack in absolute disgust, realising how selfish the man was and didn't care about the people he was hurting.

'You don't need all this stuff to survive and live off of,' Philip wrote angrily. 'You're hurting people.'

"I don't need you to lecture me," Jack said bitterly. "You can stay here or not, but I'm going to go get some food. Just do know if you go to get food yourself, you will be caught."

Rage filled Philip as he crumpled up the piece of paper, but ultimately knew that Jack was right. He could risk getting spotted by someone and ultimately end up getting recaptured. Giving a weary sigh, the mute man sat on the bed, staring down at the floor. How did his life come to this? That he was relying on a thied to keep him safe. A pain of sorrow shot through Philip as he missed home.

He missed his family and everything he held dearly. There was nothing left that he had on him to remind him of home… He gave a flinch as something floated down in front of him before feeling something soft land on his hands. Gently picking it up, Philip immediately gazed to the ceiling in shock. Where did this come from? In his hands was a rainbow feather, something that few people were granted to have. Standing up, Philip looked at the cracks, trying to determine where it came from.

"What's that you got there?" Jack asked. It seemed like he had gotten some burgers. "I actually forgot what you wanted so I just got you some toppings."

Holding the rainbow wing close to him, Philip didn't want to let go of it for a second as he moved over to grab something to eat. 'It's a rainbow wing,' he explained, writing with one hand and clutching the feather in the other. 'It's supposedly part of Ho-Oh.'

Jack raised an eyebrow as Philip put the feather down in his lap and started eating. "That rainbow wing means a lot to you then?" he asked. Getting a nod from the mute man, Philip seemed like he wasn't about to elaborate further. "You get some sleep when your done, I'll wake you up when it's time to go."