I tugged at the ropes tied around my torso in annoyance. I understood that as challengers who may already have claimed a badge the Rocket Grunts were wary of us, but I still thought they'd fastened the ropes a bit too tight for children.
To my side, Chee sat with her head hanging in total silence-Well she was always practically silent, but she wasn't trying to communicate anything non-verbally. She had stopped shaking, but now she just sat completely still. I was pretty sure she was still breathing, but nothing beyond that.
It had been at least a few hours since we'd been apprehended by the purple-haired man who seemingly ran the operation here. I wasn't sure exactly how long it had been, since the room had stayed completely illuminated for the entire time we'd been here. Whether it was day or night outside was impossible to say for sure, I could only judge by my internal clock.
The cave walls echoed every sound made from inside the large hollow, and I felt like I could hear bits of every conversation happening across the entire cavern. The clicks and snaps of pickaxes digging into rock had largely faded, and the mining team stopped to take their lunch break.
Nearby, a handful of the grunts were sitting in a circle, chewing on hard sticks of meat jerky. "Damnit. Tastes like eating mud." One of them grumbled aloud, messing with his curly black hair. The man was large and stocky, the sort of person you wouldn't want to bet against in an arm wrestling competition. By my estimates he would be in his early thirties.
"Shut up." A younger girl with brown hair snapped. "If Petrel hears you saying that, we'll all get in trouble. Just put up with it." From her voice and face, the girl appeared to be around her mid-twenties, but her tone was more like that of an petulant teenager.
Despite that, it seemed that she outranked the man, as he grumbled and leaned backwards. "Yeah yeah... Don't wanna get you in trouble Shasta. I just wanna eat something other than jerky. How long have we even been down here?"
"3 Days." The third member of their circle finally spoke up, a teenage boy with bleached blonde hair. His eyes were cold and lifeless, and he didn't look up from the ground as he took another bite from the jerky bunched up in his hand. In his other hand he held a book which he slowly thumbed through. Unlike the other two who were sitting on the ground, he was just crouching with his knees folded.
"I could've sworn we'd been down here for a week at least." The man mumbled. "Why'd the chef have to go and hurt himself anyway?"
Suddenly I noticed an opening, and I cleared my throat as I prepared to perform. I couldn't behave how I normally did, the more they underestimated me the more likely it was that I'd be able to achieve my goal.
"Um... Excuse me sir..." I called out with just a hint of falsetto. "Would you like me to cook something for you?"
The three grunts locked their eyes on me and I twitched in surprise, but I didn't allow myself to fold. The older man spoke first. "You think you're some kinda chef kid? We're grown men-"
The woman coughed.
"-And women- here. Kiddy food ain't gonna cut it." The man amended his statement as he finished.
"I know how to make a pretty tasty potato soup...?" I offered hesitantly. "Although people sometimes tell me I put in too much pepper..."
"We don't have any potatoes kid." The man sighed with resignation. "We only packed this jerky. That's half our problem."
"I have potatoes in my bag." I answered immediately. "Along with spices and other cooking supplies." I gestured with my head to the bag that had been stored under guard near the fossil sorting station. "If you bring me my stuff, I can cook the soup!"
The woman narrowed her eyes at me, standing to her feet. "Well isn't that mighty convenient. You just happen to have exactly what we want, and you're able to cook it too? What a rare talent for little kid."
I could tell she was suspicious of me, so I decided to go all in with the innocent route. "...Are you not able to cook miss...?"
The woman was taken aback. "W-What? Of course I can cook!"
I smiled at her. "Great, well you know where the food is, so you can cook for them now!"
The two men began to snicker as the twenty-something woman grew visibly flustered. I simply laid back against the wall with a look of relief-Although I was very much hoping they wouldn't go along with my suggestion.
"H-hold it! I wasn't finished!" The woman exclaimed. "Why would a kid like you have food like that?!"
"I'm in charge of looking after her." I gestured to the still motionless Chee with my head. "She's quite the battler, but not so good with camping..." I trailed off, letting them make whatever assumptions they wanted.
The older man glanced over at the woman. "...Shasta, the boss said these kids were from the Gym Challenge right? But it looks like she's the one who's actually doing the challenge, and he's just here to help with travel... I've seen a lot of similar arrangements in the past."
Shasta nodded, biting the nail on her thumb as she thought. "Plus, Petrel already took his Pokemon... Even if he tries something we should be able to take him."
The two of them stared at each other for a few moments, but the third member slapped the book shut. His eyes drifted to me, and he stood up for the first time, his neck arched forward. Even hunched forward the teen was tall, at least six feet. His figure was long and lanky, with spindly arms and legs.
"Bronze...?" Shasta spoke up suddenly. "Is something bothering you?" The way she asked him showed that she highly valued his input. I steeled my will, realising it was possible that he was the smartest member of the group.
"Hey." He spoke suddenly, looking down at me. "Kid, where are you from?"
I opened my mouth to answer that I was from Pallet Town, but I remembered the reactions of all the kids outside Pewter City and immediately thought better of it. "...Viridian City." I answered instead.
His eyes tightened on me, and he paused for a moment. "...Are you the missing Viridian Child?"
I blinked in surprise. "What? What's the missing Viridian Child?"
Our eyes locked and there was a moment of silence, but after a few seconds he turned and crouched back down where he'd been standing earlier. "It's probably fine." He mumbled, opening the book back up to where he'd left it.
...What on earth was all that? I wondered to myself.
The other two grunts whispered to each other for a moment, then the older man walked over and undid my binds, letting me loose. "Alright kid, but don't try anything funny." The man grinned, licking his lips. "If this is some sort of trick, I'll tie the ropes even tighter next time. Got it?"
The older man stood between me and Chee, blocking the path to untying her as well. If that had been my plan, it would have been effectively thwarted. Well, it might not have been the worst idea, if not for the fact that Chee was absolutely out of sorts right now. I didn't want to risk initiating a plan that hinged on using her strength to escape.
And neither of us had our Pokemon.
I nodded. "Don't worry, I'll be good." I smiled.
"I'll be keeping an eye on you, to make sure of that." Shasta spoke up. "I don't trust Simon to pay enough attention. And you're not allowed to access your bag, we'll get your things for you." She spoke sternly. Her conditions didn't phase me too much.
I had two primary goals for the moment. The first was simply to get away from being tied up, even if only briefly. I would never be able to achieve anything if I stayed bound in a corner until their boss shipped us off to Cerulean-Assuming he was even being honest about letting us go after their project was completed, which I doubted.
The second was to earn some trust with the Rocket Grunts. The more they thought of me as a stupid but well-meaning kid, the better. If they would to any extent allow me to travel freely, I'd be able to figure out where the boss had placed our Pokemon, and formulate a plan to recover them.
True to her word, Shasta kept a close and watchful eye as we walked over to my bag. Simon came with us, but the lanky teen-Bronze- stayed behind to keep an eye on Chee. When we reached the fossil sorting station, Simon opened my bag and began to rummage through it, checking it for Pokemon or dangerous tools.
"Hm... What's this?" He fished out the Pewter City Gym Badge, displaying it in the air. "...A badge?!"
Both Simon and Shasta turned their stares on me, eyes wide. In a flash, Shasta threw a Pokeball and it burst with a flash of white-blue light, congealing into a small blue and purple winged creature with no eyes and a big dark mouth. "Zubat!"
"Kid... You beat a Gym?" Simon glared at me, and I felt a sweat down my back. I had forgotten my badge was in there, and I hadn't expected a reaction this intense regardless.
"No, that's Green's badge." I answered, my hands in the air. "She's an incredible trainer you know? I'm just looking after her badge so she doesn't lose it."
The air was thick with tension for a few moments, but eventually the pair breathed a sigh of relief and Shasta retrieved her Pokemon into it's ball. Simon rummaged a bit deeper, but nodded. "Nothing suspicious aside from that. No spare Pokeballs, no hidden compartments, nothing. We should be fine using it."
He eyed me cautiously. "But you'll still have to keep your hands off the bag, just in case. I'll hand you whatever you need."
I nodded. "Thanks a lot sir!"
...
It had been about 30 minutes since then, and I was stewing away at my cooking pot now. Getting permission to use the knives had been a real chore-In the end Shasta chopped the potatoes and bacon for me so that I didn't get to hold the weapon- but the potato soup was almost done.
And, I'd successfully figured out the lay of the land. The cavern mine was roughly split into three areas, one for miners, one for sorters, and one for sleep and taking a break, which held tents and other misc storage. There was a small crate that was just filled with loose beef jerky, which made me feel a little sick to look at.
Chee and I had been placed somewhere in-between the rest and mining areas, such that we wouldn't get in the way of either activity. It also placed us dead centre in the army of Team Rocket Grunts, making escape an implausible idea. There were also a few larger looking grunts guarding near the edge of the rest area, stopping any wild Pokemon from invading from the nearby caves.
I had a small taste of the soup and nodded with satisfaction. "Mm. It's ready! Mind if I get a bowl for my friend as well?"
"Your friend who has a gym badge? You're not going anywhere near her." Shasta growled. "We're not that dumb."
Worth a go. I thought halfheartedly.
Nonetheless, all three grunts had been drawn by the smell of soup, their mouthes watering. Simon spoke first. "It smells so delicious! I haven't eaten anything but jerky for a month!"
"3 days." The teen corrected him, but Simon didn't care. He took a bowl and eagerly filled it with soup, stepping back and taking a deep sniff.
"It smells so good! Down the hatch-"
He raised a spoonful to his mouth to take a bite, but was stopped by the long thin arm of his teenage compatriot. "Hold on." Bronze spoke. "Having the kid try it first is a good idea. Make sure it's not poisoned."
"Bronze..." Shasta sighed. "He's just a kid, he's not going to have poisoned it. Besides, we watched all the ingredients he put in."
"...And I just ate some." I added.
Bronze eyed me curiously. "...Some trainers have resistance to poison. I want to see the girl try some. Unless there's some reason we shouldn't give her any...?" His silver eyes bored into me.
I shrugged. "I mean, I wanted to give her some anyway. We haven't eaten in quite a while either."
The teen took a bowl and walked over to Chee, crouching down beside her. He stirred the soup and scooped up a spoonful, holding it out to the young girl. Chee sat completely motionless.
"Open wide." He demanded, but she made no sign of responding. "What's wrong, don't like soup or something?"
He pushed the spoon to her lips, but she turned her head away so that he wouldn't be able to push it inside her mouth.
Silence, and he placed the spoon back in the soup, resting his chin on his palm. "Is it poisoned after all?" He asked her quietly.
More silence. Then out of nowhere, he slapped her.
She looked up at him with a startled expression on her face, her eyes wide.
"Answer the question." Bronze growled. "Is it poisoned?!"
Chee's eyes began to fill with uncertainty and she turned to look at me but as she did so, Bronze grabbed her jaw and turned her back to face him. "Stop trying to dodge the question!"
Her eyes filled with panic, and he raised his arm to slap her again. "Stop!" I called over.
Bronze paused, sending a glare over at me. "She's mute!" I exclaimed. "She can't answer you!"
His grey gaze softened, and he eyed her for a moment. Finally he lowered his hand and let go of her jaw, letting out a small 'tsk' as he placed his chin on his curled up fist.
"Mute, huh." He mumbled.
And suddenly, his eyes changed colour. Instead of the deep silver they had been until now, they suddenly turned a copper-orange, almost as if a lens had been removed from in front of his eyes. I could hardly believe what I was seeing.
He let out a long low whistle. "Damn, what a kid." He grumbled. "No wonder she's a Gym Challenger."
I frowned at him, and my confusion only grew as his eyes flickered back from orange to grey, as if they'd never even changed.
For now I walked over and sat beside Bronze, picking up the bowl of food he'd set aside. "Chee." I looked into her eyes, and she immediately averted her gaze.
...I'm sorry. It's all my fault we were caught. She thought. You must be mad at me.
"I'm not mad at you." I answered softly, lifting a spoonful of the food up for her. "I know it's hard for you."
She eyed me slightly, then she quietly took a bite from the spoon, swallowing the soup. I smiled at Bronze. "See? No poison. She just doesn't trust people."
...It hurts. I caught Chee's thought from the corner of my eye.
"I'm sorry it hurts..." I sighed. "Hang in there, okay?"
She nodded quietly.
"Hey." Bronze scowled at me.
"...Yes...?"
"...Did you just read what she was thinking?"
I froze, realising too late that it was probably a bad idea to have shown that ability to a member of Team Rocket. Before I could answer however, his gaze focussed on me, and once again his eyes changed colour from silver to copper.
And a system window opened in front of me.
[Log:
An opposing trainer used 'Scan' on you without your consent!
-Your Sp. Def was too high for them to pierce! ]
Before I could fully digest the system window, an arm pierced through the centre of it and wrapped around my throat, squeezing tight as the man it was attached to lifted me into the air with alarming strength.
"Bronze!" Shasta exclaimed. "You're out of line!"
"Hey." The teen spoke, his voice practically oozing like a grimer that had been left out in the rain to spread it's poisonous goop. "What colour are my eyes?"
"Bronze!" Simon growled.
I stared in terror into his eyes, feeling the shortness of breath as his fingers tightened around my neck. I didn't have time to think about what the correct answer was, so I just answered honestly. "O-Orange!" I wheezed, barely a whisper.
His eyes widened, and he glared at me intently. "I'm going to appraise you now, let it happen."
[Log:
An opposing trainer has requested to view your status. Allow?]
I stayed silent for a moment, stunned, but I was brought back to reality by the tightening grip around my throat. There was every possibility that he would just kill me if I refused.
...Allow!
[An opposing trainer has been allowed to view your status.]
The teen's eyes seemed to glow with a deep orange, and he mumbled to himself. "Eye to Eye... That's all? Stats are low too..." He frowned at me, but finally he let go, and I dropped to the floor, coughing as I tried to reclaim the oxygen in my lungs.
Shasta dropped to my side, placing a hand on my back to make sure I was okay. "Kid, you okay...?" She asked quietly.
I nodded softly, but I turned to glance at Bronze, who just folded his arms and looked away. "Hmph. Better safe than sorry." He grumbled.
I hadn't expected anyone to be able to see my status, but fortunately it seemed he hadn't been able to see that I had the Regression System, I didn't particularly want to try explaining that to a man who was perfectly willing to choke a child.
"HR will hear about this, Bronze." Shasta growled in response.
"He's a child!" Simon exclaimed aggressively. "Some lines you just don't cross, do you understand?!"
"Tch." Bronze clicked his tongue and wandered off, evidently sulking. "We're all benefitting from his labour, I don't see how this is any worse..."
"Take it easy." Shasta whispered to me. "We'll leave you untied for a bit to recover, so be good, okay?"
Scary as the experience was, it actually cemented me more as a well-meaning kid in the eyes of the other two members, and Bronze had left. Technically this had worked out quite well for me...
Although the bruise on my neck disagreed.