A flashlight blinded my eyes more than I already was without my glasses. I shielded my hands in front of my eyes, hoping for the light to go away. At least I knew there was someone else here. As for who that person was, I'm not sure. I just hope the person could help us escape.

When the person started to speak, I realized that person wasn't on a rescue mission after all.

"Huh," The voice sneered, "Can't believe you two actually got yourselves caught."

Her voice seemed oddly familiar, but when Rudi spoke, I realized it wasn't exactly a welcoming one. To be honest, I just knew the voice from somewhere, but I couldn't quite put a name to it.

"Lantana," He hissed, "What do you want?"

The flashlight that had blinded us lowered towards the ground. Lantana. To think I had completely had forgotten about the fourth admin of Team Miasma. She was the easiest one to actually defeat, but that doesn't mean it'll be easy to fool her.

It made me wonder why she hasn't been as active as the other members of Team Miasma. I've only seen her once. That was the only time I've seen her as an active member of Team Miasma. Then again, while I somewhat forgot about her, I figured that maybe she was working on something bigger for the organization.

"Yeesh, can't I help you two out for once? I'm on your side," She explained as something clattered on the floor.

Not really knowing what, I tore myself from Rudi's grasp and crawled to where the source of the noise was. I didn't want to believe my eyes when I saw a Swanna and Braviary mask laying there. I sat back as I grabbed my mask, bringing it inches from my face to make sure this was actually my mask.

White feathers, no beak with a thin black line where the nose and cheeks would lie, yes, this was undeniably my mask. I could even feel the lens that Rena had inserted so that I could see.

"Oh my Arceus," Lantana complained, "I didn't bug them or anything. They're completely fine. What are you, as blind as a Zubat or something?"

"Yes," I muttered as I pulled the mask over my face and started to tie it.

Everything that was blurry before had sharpened and became clear. I was surprised nothing was done to prevent me from seeing. The mask appeared to be normal too. A part of me felt like this small gesture should be enough, but this is Lantana we're talking about. She just couldn't be trusted.

"Huh, learn something new," She said in surprise before I looked up at her.

Lantana looked different from the last time I've seen her. Her long purple hair was pulled back into a ponytail while she ditched her black evening gown for a simple gray shirt and jeans, almost looking unrecognizable. She even had two Pokémon floating beside her.

The first Pokémon I had recognized from when I first battled her. It was her Mismagius. The ghost Pokémon glared into my eyes, remembering what happened the last time we met. I turned my gaze to look at the other Pokémon, but it was one I've never seen before. To be honest, I wasn't even sure if the thing was even a Pokémon. It looked like the key ring Nurse Joy had to hold all the room keys, only, the keys had a small face on it, proving that it was a Pokémon.

Where did this odd Pokémon even come from?

"It doesn't matter," Rudi snapped me from my thoughts, "We're not falling for your tricks."

Lantana took a step back, far enough for me to see her jeans cuffed up to show off her grey stilettos, "Really? I'm trying to help, and you think I'm here to deceive you?" The woman sighed, "Maybe you guys should know that I was in Kalos for the past two months because my boss fired me."

"Why Kalos of all places?" I suspiciously asked.

"Because there's a thing called a key stone that can give someone a lot of power. I thought I could find it for myself, only to realize it was a lot more complicated than it seemed, so I came back, hearing the news that both superheroes were captured. Good thing I know this place around, otherwise you two would be trapped until they got their hands on the legendary Pokémon," She explained.

Rudi placed his hand on my shoulder. His other hand wrapped around his mask.

"I still don't trust her," I heard Rudi whisper.

"Neither do I, but what other choice do we have?" I whispered back.

"You two know I can hear you, right?" Lantana asked, "Well, I guess you have all right to distrust me, but to prove myself I'm on your side, Klefki, be a dear and open their cell."

The unknown, key-ringed Pokémon, flew towards the lock and placed a key into it. We watched as it twisted it and the cell door opened. I didn't think twice. I stumbled up to my feet and started to walk out, when a hand grabbed my wrist.

Looking back, I saw Rudi giving me a wary look. With one hand, he held onto my wrist, while the other hand had his mask in it.

"We can't trust her," Rudi warned.

"I know," I whispered, "But it's either I die of fear in here or I take my chances. I'm not doing the earlier one."

Rudi's eyes soften as he realized what I was talking about. Tight spaces, darkness, even when I just felt alone in some way, it all just brought back bad memories. At least with him being with me, I could shove away most of the thoughts, but I could still feel my heart pounding.

Had Lantana not come when she did, I probably would've had a heart attack of some sort.

While he was shocked, I tore my hand from him and walked out of the cell, finding that Lantana held out three Poké Balls. They weren't just any Poké Balls either. These Poké Balls belonged to me. My eyes widened in realization as I grabbed them, feeling the weight of a Pokémon inside each and every one of them.

"I have to warn you," Lantana said, "It wasn't easy getting those back."

The Poké Balls clipped onto my belt, and as I looked down at all three of them, I started to realize something, "Just tell me one thing," I said, "What is going on with Team Miamsa?"

Lantana lowered her flashlight for Rudi to see. I glanced at him as he stood there, still deciding whether or not to come out of the cell. He knew I wasn't going to go back. Rudi still looked at Lantana as if she could never be trusted. She couldn't, but maybe there was some way we could figure how much we could trust her.

"Once they got your map and threw you here, they took over the Giant Chasm to find Kyurem," Lantana explained, "If they get their hands on that legendary Pokémon—"

"The whole world will be destroyed," I realized, before lookin back at Rudi, "We've got to go. I don't care if it's true or not. If the world is at stake, well, then it's a risk I'm willing to take."

Rudi nodded his head. I watched him as he hesitantly made his way out of the cell. His stare was harder than a steel type and looked like they could pierce through nearly anything. He marched up to Lantana, not letting his gaze tear away from her. Lantana offered him his single Poké Ball, which he snatched away from her and pointed it near her face.

"If this is some sort of trick," He said venomously, "You will be sorry."

To prove his point, Rudi quickly released Braviary. Maybe it was because Braviary knew I was on Rudi's side or maybe it was because of the day this Pokémon learned about my past, but either way, this Pokémon didn't even give me a glance. Instead, he looked at Lantana and glared.

Lantana's Pokémon looked like they were about ready to fight, but the purple haired woman returned both of them to their Poké Balls to prevent any fighting. Once clipped onto her belt, Lantana raised her hands up in surrender for a quick moment before turning around and walking out of the cold basement-like area.

I knew Rudi didn't trust her. I even knew that I shouldn't even trust her. If she was on Team Miamsa's side, then why would she be giving us back our Poké Balls? There were too many reasons to believe her and not to. The more I think about it, there were more reasons not to seeing as she was once a criminal. Not only that, but she worked for Team Miasma. I didn't want to trust her just as much as Rudi did.

Right now, we didn't have a choice.

Author's Note:

Thank you all for reading! Hope you are all enjoying as well. Take care everyone!