บท 59: EPISODE 59: Trial*

"Can you feel it? The crisp, cold and sharp, water filling your lungs. Your eyesight going blurry, and your desperate arms flailing for something to clutch to, to save you from this horrible fate.

All around you, clean but dark. Looking down, seeing the deep ocean.

You start to go limp, crashing around at the surface tiring you quickly, and you start to lose yourself.

Your eyes close, images of your life faintly seen in your eyelids, before you feel yourself being dragged down, by the ocean. You can feel the water surrounding you in a cold embrace, and a rush of fear shoots through your body, your brain panicking for air, just for air.

But, you have no will to fight it any longer.

You let the ocean take you, and keep you." Violet connects the speaker again. She utters a very agonizing and gruesome mock, using an ocean to describe my fate.

My ribs heave up and down but no benefit comes. Only Dizziness. I slump to the damp concrete with torpid fading my light. Violet disconnects the speaker again. She watches me die slowly from the CCTV camera.

From the darkness which sucks the life out of me comes a spark and ignition of hope. Xavier's Mightyena crumbles the door into fragments with its powerful crunch.

"Luna!" Xavier yawps. He steps forth, searching for my body blindly. It was like walking through a forest with thick fog enveloping the atmosphere. His ears remain attentive to any sound, even those with the lowest frequencies. He covers his nose with his ocean blue scarf, protecting him from the fog which slowly escapes the room.

I could hear his footsteps, sometimes coming closer while sometimes coming farther. I try to murmur his name with a heart-rending manner. However, his ears wasn't able to comprehend my delicate plead.

I called endlessly. My voice traveled in an endless destination around the room carrying a frangible tone. This is the last of the energy I bear. Hope is lurking, yet it too was blinded by the opponent.

However, hope has the power to outmaneuver foes as well. With Mightyena's nose, it was able to detect my scent.

<Might! Mightyena!>Mightyena gathered his attention and pointed towards me. Both of them whisked for only a matter of time remains before my spirit departs from my body.

Xavier knelt down and held me in his arms. He carried me out of the room with an urgency and hurry. Smoke continued to seep out of the room, suffocating the other members and agents of both sides.

Both Rocket and PGC grunts fought in the midst of the smoke which slowly demolished their lungs. The red alarms turned on, alerting an immediate evacuation.

Xavier carried my body to the outskirts of the laboratory and placed me on the soil. I inhaled with relief, cherishing each oxygen molecule that enters my nostrils.

"Is... Is the mission complete?" I queried with a dour voice. Xavier exhaled heavily, shaking his head to the side.

I lifted my upper body and leaned across a tree. I watched the commotion, intensifying in every second. The smoke rages inside the laboratory, but I fear that it has the compatibility to succumb to the city if it dares to escape the facility

Charlotte saw us resting upon the grass. She darted to us with her lungs gasping for oxygen. Her face illustrated the looks of a filthy rag covered with mud and dirt. She seems desperate for attention while carrying a flash drive on her hand.

"We have to leave quickly. I was able to gather the data from the supercomputer." Charlotte uttered. She paused from time to time as she inhales the abundant oxygen.

"How?! How did you surpass the smoke?" Xavier wondered with a bewildered mind.

"Simple, I crawled. I learned that technique from a fireman long ago. He told me to sneak and remain calm in case a smoke outbreak occurs.

As for the city, I fear everyone will suffocate if not contained right away. The police are also in the corner with Lt. Surge."

"What about the other members?" I questioned.

"Bloody hell, all of them were captured. Only Professor Violet managed to escape and we need to escape too before the police find us." Charlotte exaggerated, trying to convince us to stand up.

We heard a police car heading our way. Due to fear, the three of us dashed to the deeper reaches of the forest. We went further from the city, trying to look for a beacon or a helicopter to pick us up.

The police car continued to chase us. We have no compatibility to outrun the car but we can somehow think of a diversion or a way to outmaneuver the police.

"We have to split," Charlotte suggested. Me and Xavier concurred since that is our only option. However, the police had plans of their own.

The car's operation was ceased as three officers began to chase the hell out of us. Charlotte turned left, I turned right, and Xavier went forward. Each police followed our paths in hopes of seizing the three of us.

"Stop right there!" The police chasing me demanded. She threw her Pokeball, releasing an electric type Pokemon.

"Raichu use Electro Ball!" The police instructed. A ball of electricity did head towards me but I dodged it by hiding behind the tree.

I gasped for air, taking small glimpses at the officer and her Pokemon. Her feet walked upon the grains of gravel and sand, giving me ease to detect her footsteps. The fog grew thicker, symbolizing an upcoming storm.

I prepared Lily's Pokeball for attack in case I needed to. I also begged to my mind to avoid itself from entering another crazed state.

"Step out right now. I know you're hiding behind the tree." The officer demanded, pointing her taser at me. Her Raichu seemed prepared and determined to attack me.

"Petilil, use-" I escaped the shadows and showed myself. I was about to toss Lily out of her Pokeball yet the officer's look shocked me. The officer glanced back at me as time paused for a moment.

"Luna?" The officer questioned. She dropped her taser to the ground and hugged me tightly. Her tears trickled down her eyes and into my back.

"Jenny," I uttered with awe, slowly hugging her back. I never expected to meet her nor her evolved cutie.

"Why did you leave? Don't you know how worried we were!" She scolded. Yet even with anger, her tears continued to flow. I was too shocked to respond back.

For a moment, my heart seemed to moan. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to escape and catch up with Xavier and Charlotte.

"For five months I've been dying to find you but not like this. What happened to you, why did you join Team Rocket?" Jenny queried with a fragile voice. Her mind had a hard time processing everything.

"I am not what I used to be."

"Please return, take my hand, and leave this path. Please, you have no idea how worried your mother is. She cries at her bed every night, yearning to meet her long lost daughter." She extended her hand, acting as a passageway for redemption.

"There is nothing I can do. I chose this path, and I cannot stray from it. People will only mock me if I return. Fight me, if, you wish to, I won't hold back."

"I don't want to fight you, Luna. I promised myself not to fight you, even if you joined the organization which killed my family. You're not the Luna I remember."

"I guess I'm not the Luna I used to be. I'm sorry Jenny but I have to go." I uttered for the final time before running away from her. As I run, I hesitated the urge to look back. Jenny will only get hurt if I prolong my stay.

<Raichu! Rai!>Raichu alerted, pointing at me.

"Let her be Raichu. We'll just tell the chief that we've lost her." Jenny uttered and rushed back to the police car with tears oozing off her eyes. We ran in opposite directions, trying to forget the time we met each other in the forest.

On the edge of a cliff, a helicopter descended to pick me up. Charlotte and Xavier were there, glancing at me with relief. I looked back before stepping inside the helicopter. My eyes resisted the urge to cry after meeting my best friend.