Navigating the calm ocean surface to reach the entrance of Seaside Cave had been less challenging than Rosa had feared. Zaveid's strength as a swimmer showed as he carried both her and Christoph through the waves. Despite his breathing becoming more labored as the sun climbed higher in the sky, Zaveid refused to slow down, pushing forward until the cave's opening was clearly visible ahead.

Dragging an unconscious Christoph through the pitch-black cave full of wild Pokémon was a different challenge altogether. Sven carried him now as they carefully followed the path Rosa navigated with her flashlight. She worried the batteries would die before they found the exit, but more than anything, she prayed Christoph wouldn't wake up anytime soon.

The cave was a death trap.

Wild Pokémon, stirred into a frenzy by the morning's earthquake, attacked without warning. Woobat dive-bombed from the ceiling, while Boldore and Tynamo charged at the slightest sound. Excadrill burst from the ground whenever they stepped too close. They'd learned to avoid the ponds, too. A Seel had drenched Rosa with Water Gun, and they'd narrowly escaped after a Golduck after it tried to drop loose boulders from the ceiling onto their heads.

Her team rotated positions defending her and Christoph, but exhaustion was setting in for all of them. Rosa's last Revive was gone, used to restore Anna after a particularly nasty encounter with a Boldore.

Now she and Sven moved at a crippling pace, avoiding every loose pebble and scrape of shoe on rock. Rosa kept the light trained directly on the path in front of her feet; Woobat were not as fuzzy as they appeared.

"Mmm..."

The sound of Christoph's groan froze Rosa's blood. She stopped dead in her tracks, eyes scanning the swarming mass of bats clinging to the rocks above.

They didn't seem to notice.

Signaling to Sven to quicken their pace, Rosa dared to point her light toward the back of the cave. The outline of another section of the cavern loomed in the distance, but no sign of daylight yet.

Moving quickly was their only chance to find the exit before Christoph woke and brought hell down upon them.

The next room they entered was more of the same—rocks, ponds, and impenetrable darkness. The one after that wasn't any better. Deeper into the cold abyss they descended, with every new room bringing more awareness to her sleeping companion His zombie-like devotion to Team Plasma wasn't even necessary to get them killed; his loud voice could do the job all on its own.

Time passed at a crawl. Rosa switched Sven out for Zaveid again, worried he was growing too tired. Her restless night was catching up as well, but stopping wasn't an option any of her team wanted to explore.

What was it Colress wanted her to find in this cave? Was it a hiding place to lay low in while Ghetsis plunged the world into chaos? Surely not - Colress knew her better than that.

Then why were they here?

"Mmm... ooh..."

Rosa stilled again, and Zaveid twisted his great head back to catch a glimpse at Christoph. He was waking.

Shinx.

A hand over his mouth did little to muffle his groans, so Rosa ran her fingers through his damp hair and smoothed her hand over his cheek to try and soothe him as he'd done to her so many times before. Why, why didn't she own a Pokemon that knew Sing?

His eyes fluttered open, and a barely audible whisper slipped from his cracked lips.

"Rosa?"

"Ssh."

"Wha... what happened?"

Before he could say more, Rosa slapped a hand over his mouth, her breath quickening as she dropped into a crouch beside Zaveid, her body pressing against his fur for comfort. The wrath of a dozen Woobats they could probably handle, but a few hundred of them rested in the colony above their heads.

She held her breath, every muscle frozen as she listened, her pulse thumping in time with Zaveid's steady heartbeat. The silence stretched on, each second feeling like an eternity. When nothing moved, she cautiously cracked open her eyes and scanned the ceiling. The Woobats remained still—perhaps exhausted from last night's hunting and the frantic activity of the morning. None of them screeched, not even a rustle of wings.

A soft, relieved snort slipped from Zaveid as he relaxed. Straightening, Rosa leaned over Christoph, pressing a finger to her lips to signal for quiet. When he nodded, she slowly removed her hand from his mouth, then quickly typed a message on her Xtransceiver.

Is your head okay?

Christoph's brow furrowed, but he nodded.

Do you remember anything about this morning?

He nodded again.

What do you remember?

Christoph's gaze flickered between Rosa and her Xtransceiver. Realizing what he wanted, she offered her wrist. She had to twist her arm uncomfortably so he could reach the keyboard, but his message was short and to the point: Earthquake. Then nothing.

The creases on her forehead deepened, but she let it go. At least he was himself again, which was more than she'd dared hope for. The awareness in his eyes wasn't just the return of the man she cared for (had cared for, she reminded herself); it was a glimmer of hope. Ghetsis hadn't yet extended Arceus's influence over all of Unova. For now, his control seemed confined to a specific area, and anyone beyond it remained safe.

Which meant they still had time to stop this.

"Check the Seaside Cave when the dome descends below the skyline. You won't have much time after that."

Sneaky Colress. He had known Ghetsis would fail again.

Hastily, Rosa typed another message: Ghetsis tried to snatch away your will. You were marching to join his army when I knocked you out.

He blinked, brushing the bruised side of his temple with his fingers. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, as if to say, You kicked me, didn't you?

Rosa shrugged, and a real smile transformed Christoph's weary expression into something brighter, like the first signs of spring. Shakily slipping off Zaveid's back, he joined her on the dusty cave floor.

Surely they'd find the cave's exit soon, and when they did, perhaps they'd discover what other cards Colress had up his sleeves.

***

Although she'd known she'd someday be forced to look at the monstrous ship again, Rosa's reaction to the Plasma Frigate was something she could have never prepared for.

Their time in the cave now seemed too short. Had Christoph slept for another half hour, she could have explained that morning's events without trouble. Though the winding tunnels had seemed to go on for miles, cracks of sunlight started to show through as she and Christoph had continued through the maze of rooms towards the sound of flowing water.

Their journey had been made easier by the waning of wild Pokemon as they approached the outermost rooms. The wildlife's fear drove them into the deepest parts of the cave, allowing Rosa and her party to move faster as the darkness lifted. Upon seeing the blessed door of light, she and Christoph had sprinted to their salvation of sun and sand.

Right into another hell: a beach with the plasma frigate floating just feet from the shoreline.

The rhythm of her heart seemed to triple in seconds, tying her stomach to knots and drying the saliva from her mouth. She felt her limbs begin to tremble, but closing her hands only made the shaking in her legs worsen to include her toes.

A thousand images of her experience on that ship stole her from the present. Steel-plated bars trapping her in a hollow cell of concrete, a chill that encased her bones in a thin sheet of ice, endless thirst and gnawing hunger, humming of electricity that numbed her senses until she couldn't stay awake–

"Breathe."

The whisper near her ear jerked her back into awareness. She jumped away from Christoph with a hiss, and he lifted his hands in a gesture of peace. Inhaling sharply, Rosa swatted him away.

"I'm fine!" she snapped, though her voice was strained. "Just thinking about how we're going to get on that thing. Any ideas at-"

The ear-piercing shriek of metal grinding against metal rang out from the ship. Rosa and Christoph slammed their hands over their ears, wincing as the gangplank dropped from its place and crashed against the sand.

Her eyes followed the metallic staircase as it descended, her stomach twisting in a knot. At the top of the stairs, a familiar figure emerged. His usually angelic expression was stormy, but she couldn't help the flutter of happiness she felt at seeing him.

N had delivered the Plasma frigate to her.