Beep! Beep! Beep!
There weren't a lot of things that got under my skin nowadays, but my alarm was definitely one of them. I groaned as I rolled over to try and silence my alarm, but ended up missing it and knocked it over, making a very loud noise as it hit the concrete floor. I cursed under my breath as I forced myself to get out of my bed and retrieve my alarm from the floor, which was still going off. I winced as my feet touched the cold ground, not expecting the sudden change of temperature. I really needed to request that rug that I wanted, but I was honestly too busy with all of the big things coming up. Sometimes I found myself wishing that I had more time on my hands, I've had almost no time to myself and it is honestly really draining. Both physically and mentally. I also needed to make progress on my research, which I had fallen way behind on. I decided that I would somehow carve out time in my day to do some field work. I could make trek all the way to–
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of quick and heavy footsteps. I scrambled to my feet, and looked at my clock. I felt the color drain from my face.
Shit
It read 7:13. I had two minutes to get to the morning briefing before I was late. I threw my uniform on so fast that I had put my shirt on backwards. While I was fixing my shirt, I heard a loud knock on my door.
"Rosie! You're going to be late again!" The sound of my best friend's voice eased my stress a little bit. I pulled my socks and shoes on before bursting out of my room. I then realized that my friend was no longer standing by the door and I began running. I was lucky that I was placed so close to the Meeting Hall. I arrived in the meeting hall and breathed a sigh of relief. I had made it in the nick of time. I quickly took my seat next to my best friend and waited for the meeting to start.
"Are you feeling okay, you've seemed really stressed out lately. I'm worried about you."
"Amber I promise you, I'm fine. I just need to get through these next few weeks and then we can all take a breath. Maybe then we can take a nice long vacation if Admin will let us. I think we all deserve a nice long break." I replied. Amber was my best and longest friend. She was really the only person that I could fully trust here. We'd been through everything together; basic training, greenhouse, school, trainer's school…I couldn't remember the last thing I did that Amber wasn't somehow apart of or knew about.
"Me too. We've all been busting ass for like three months now with no break. Aren't there child labor laws?"
"Probably, but do you think Admin gives a shit about that? They have bigger things to worry about like the Police, the G-men, and the Champions, if they ever come out of hiding. I honestly can't believe they still call themselves Champions, they're cowards. They're supposed to be the wisest and strongest trainers in the world and instead of trying to fight back they hid like idiots. It's hilarious, if you ask me." Amber pondered my response for a few seconds and looked back at me with a reassuring look.
"Just promise me you'll take some pressure off of yourself, okay? We need all hands on deck, plus we can't have anyone burning out in the middle of this, it's too risky." She said, I thought about what she said. It really was too risky to focus on anything else and risk ruining everything our organization had worked so hard to achieve. We really had been busting ass for the last three months, it was insane how hard we were working. Amber and I had been working with the Magma Branch of Team Rainbow Rocket since before we could remember, I was probably four or five. Long before I could have any recollection of what my life was like before Team Rainbow Rocket. Not that I'd want my life to be any other way, but I had always wondered who I could've been if –
My thoughts were interrupted for the second time today. The Meeting had finally started and to my dismay Tabitha and Maxie were both present at the morning briefing. I hated both of them with everything inside of me. They were both perverted assholes who only cared about themselves and money. Not to mention the horrific and disgusting rumors about them assaulting a prisoner and a grunt, which made me want to throw up. Tabitha oversaw my training when I was growing up, and would constantly berate me for numerous things having to do with my appearance and skills. Luckily, I progressed enough that I became an agent before the age of 14, so I wouldn't have to deal with the conniving comments anymore.
Maxie was in charge of our branch of Team Rainbow Rocket, and he was a ruthless leader. I met him for the first time when I was six years old, the man was strange to say the least. Every morning and evening briefing he tells the story about how he "cheated" death and praises Groudon for saving him. The man's insane but no one has the guts to tell him. We never really found out what happened to Archie, the man who was the leader of the notorious Team Aqua. Amber and I think that he's hiding, too ashamed to face the fact that he was no longer top dog. Which was understandable because to be defeated by someone as idiotic as Maxie, would be utterly humiliating at the very least.
"Good morning everyone, morning briefing will now commence, please silence all devices, thank you." The speaker then clicked a button and we joined the livestream. I looked down at my Pokétch, it read 7:25. We were ten minutes late. Per usual Maxie was reprimanded by a board member, which was quite amusing, Amber and I could barely contain our laughter. As the briefing continued, I zoned out not anything too interesting was ever discussed during the morning briefing. Until something caught my attention.
"It's with great pride that I announce that we have managed to locate the hiding place of the Alolan Champion, Ash Ketchum and his many associates, including world renowned Pokémon researcher, Gary Oak, Top Coordinators May and Drew Hayden, Sinnoh Champion Paul Rebolledo, Professor Brendan Birch, and others as well." I raised my eyebrows. I hadn't heard those names in a long time, not since all this started. Pictures of those mentioned began flashing on the screen, and the two coordinators from Hoenn caught my eye. They looked sickeningly familiar, I just couldn't pinpoint where I had seen them. I looked over at Amber, all of the color had drained from her face, she looked like she was going to be sick.
"Are you okay?" I asked, concerned
"Yeah" she began to reply "I just feel like I know those people. Not just like I've seen them on TV, but like I feel like…" She trailed off. "I feel connected to them, especially to the Hoenn professor– I just can't explain it." I looked at Amber with curiosity.
"It's so strange, I feel connected to some of them too– but I just can't pinpoint it." Amber put a hand on my shoulder.
"We're probably just stressed and over analyzing this. It's most likely nothing." I didn't reply. I went back to watching the slideshow with various faces of people, young and old.
"They are currently hiding somewhere in the Northern Orange Islands, most likely on an island that is sparsely populated and without an Orange League Gym. Once we have secured the group we will transfer them to Sootopolis City at the Magma Branch, and they will be placed in the Iron Prison in the volcano. You shall begin preparations for the prisoners at once, update all security systems, and whatever else needs to be done. We will send notice once we have located the group for sure and we will send a group of talented agents to retrieve them and complete the transfer. We are sending a tentative security plan for the Magma Branch, you should have patrols all hours of the day and all hours of the night. Please send over shifts and agents who will be guarding the prisoners so they can be reviewed by Admin. Dismissed."
I gaped at the screen, I wasn't really sure what to think. The entire meeting hall was silent, a look of utter shock on everyone's faces. It was unexpected to say the least. I would've thought that prisoners of such value would remain in Kanto, under Admin's watchful eye, but I guess not.
My thoughts then shifted to another issue. I would have absolutely no time to do research as long as these prisoners were being kept in Hoenn. So much for going to Forina or Meteor Falls, I thought to myself. It would take maybe one or two weeks to actually get there on foot without being detected, though I would have to find a way to sneak out of base without being detected. I prayed to Arceus that I wouldn't be put on any night shifts, I was already sleep deprived enough. Thanks to the chaos of everyday life as an agent for Team Rainbow Rocket.
After another few moments of awkward silence, Maxie finally dismissed us to the day's work. I stood up and walked out of the meeting hall towards the dining room, Amber quickly followed. We walked in silence, I could tell she was on edge, especially by her facial expressions. Amber has always been an anxious person, she was in a horrific accident 3 years ago and still has PTSD from it. It still horrifies me every time I replay the situation in my head, it's like I can still hear her cries and wails of immense pain.
"I find it hard to believe that they're actually going to send a group of as much value as Ash Ketchum and his associates to Hoenn? Why wouldn't they keep them in the High Security Prison in Kanto?" Amber said.
"Maybe Admin is planning something more.. Like they have a bigger plan then they're letting on? Or maybe they're trying to keep Ketchum from finding out something?"
"Yeah, but I just don't understand why they would keep them here. It's not like he has better access to them from the Volcano."
"You're right, he doesn't. That just confuses me even more, he's definitely not telling us everything, and with our luck we'll probably be on night watch." I answered and Amber groaned.
We'd finally arrived at the dining room, and hopped in line. I looked up at the board which had today's meals. It read:
Breakfast: Cheese and Avocado Grits with Rye Bread and Marmalade
Ew. I thought as I moved towards the food. Ever since budget cuts and Arceus knows what else, the food here has been progressively getting worse. But I had to eat something, I had a long day ahead of me and I didn't get a lunch break until almost 2 in the afternoon. I reluctantly picked up a bowl, and used the liedl to put the grits into my bowl. The smell was revolting, it took everything inside of me not to shudder or make a face. If you complained about literally anything here, you'd be subject to some sort of psychological test that will trick you into admitting something either embarrassing or something that will get you killed. It was a given that once you go into the interrogation room you probably would never be seen again per Maxie's orders. They take traitors seriously here, and anyone who is suspected must be eliminated.
Once I snapped out of my thoughts I found myself at the front of the line. The smell of the grits made me want to hurl. The woman who was on breakfast duty scooped up the grits with the leidl, and plopped them onto my plate making a squelching sound.
"Thank you" I said quietly, and quickly walked towards the bread and marmalade which seemed much more appealing than the grits. I quickly made my toast and sat down at a nearby table. Amber quickly sat down, and sighed.
"This looks so delicious," She said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes at her. Despite her timid nature, once you gained Amber's trust, she was super sarcastic and nonchalant. One of the people in Admin once slipped up and told Amber she reminded him of her mother, which of course piqued Amber's curiosity. But, we haven't seen that person since. We don't know much about our biological families, and I doubt we ever will, thanks to the tight grip Team Rainbow Rocket has on its members. It's always been something that's interested me. From the rumors I've heard there are archives at the Main Headquarters that contain every single detail about each member of Team Rainbow Rocket. The only problem was that the Main Headquarters were all the way in Kanto, which was like a 3 hour plane trip or atleast a day and a half on a boat. Then an idea struck me.
"Amber, I have an idea!" I said, eager to tell her exactly what I was thinking.
"What Rosie? What are you so excited about? Your excitement is literally pouring out of you."
"Ok, do you remember when that one person from Admin told you that you reminded him of your mom?"
"Oh yeah! I've always been curious about that.."
"Okay, I came up with a plan that we can propose to Admin and maybe it will get us to Kanto." Amber's face changed from excitement to an unreadable emotion. I then realized she wasn't looking at me anymore. An uneasy feeling crept into my throat and I began to feel sick. I slowly turned around to find Maxie standing behind me. He was scowling down at me. I had honestly forgotten how tall he was since the last time I had actually been within a 20-foot vicinity of him.
"My office, three minutes. Make haste." He said with an unnerving calmness that made my skin crawl. He smirked at Amber and I, and I let out a sigh I didn't know I was holding in. Suddenly, I had a horrifying feeling about what was going to happen in that office. I looked over at Amber and she seemed like she knew it too. We weren't going to come out of this alive, or at least sane.
Drip Drip Drip Drip
The constant dripping in the cave was going to drive me insane. We had only been here three hours and I was already getting wary. The cave was gross, cold, and wet, but at least we were well hidden from the outside world. I turned my focus to the woman asleep on my shoulder, I stroked her hair and gave her a soft kiss on top of her head. I stroked her hair more to calm myself down than anything else. I didn't want to admit it but I was absolutely terrified about the coming weeks, usually situations like these didn't worry me but I was scared. Scared for myself, scared for her, and everyone else.
My thoughts wondered to someone who I hadn't seen in a long time, I always wondered what happened to them, what they were doing with their life, or if they were even still alive.