It had been about an hour— I didn't know, I wasn't counting —since No. 18 had left. He promised that he would come back for later tonight so he could help us escape. If we did get out of here, I knew I would be forever in his debt. I mean, he did save my life.

   Rosa and I sat in silence against the back wall of our cell. Even if we wanted to talk, we couldn't. Well, Rosa couldn't at least. In the fading light, I could see ugly-looking black bruises ringing my sister's neck. I hadn't noticed them earlier, so either they had shown up recently or I had been too preoccupied with trying not to bleed out, and I was pretty sure it was the latter. By now the blood I couldn't wipe away from my hands had dried, streaking them red. It was sickening. I hated seeing blood and I could barely look at any, let alone my own, without feeling nauseous.

   "How... how long... have we been... s-stuck here?" Rosa choked out, sounding like she had swallowed nails.

   "I dunno, we were thrown in here a while before you woke up and it was pretty light out. So I'm guessing a day at the most?" I replied.

"... Th-thank you..." Rosa then wheezed. "For... sh-shielding me."

"You don't need to thank me," I said. "You've always tried to protect me, and I need to do the same." A lump formed in my throat. "I... I can't imagine life without you."

"Me t-too," Rosa said. She smiled at me. Though it was weak, it was genuine. That smile somehow made everything seem better, and I returned it.

   It was pretty late into the night, and I was just beginning to nod off when I heard two quiet knocks at the cell door. I jolted awake, the sudden movement causing a sharp pain to rip through my gut. I gritted my teeth against the pain and shook Rosa awake. The door opened a second later, revealing No. 18, Hugh, and Lucy who had become a living lantern again. I was instantly relieved to see Hugh. Other than a jagged tear in the front of his jacket and a trickle of dried blood on his face, he looked fine.

   "Nate, Rosa! Come on!" Hugh whispered. Rosa stood up and helped me get to my feet as well. It took every ounce of mental strength I had to not double over. I put my arm around Rosa's shoulders and she supported me as we walked to the door. I could've walked on my own, but I felt too weak to object.

   "Here. You might need these." 18 held up both of our backpacks as well as my belt with my Pokemon's Poké Balls still attached to it. "They never guard anything in the cargo hold, so it wasn't too hard to get them." I managed to slip my bag and belt on, feeling more secure the instant I had my Pokémon again. I had missed their presence terribly.

   Nate, I thought I would never see you again! Soul's voice echoed.

   Aw c'mon, you know I wouldn't leave any of you, I thought back, not wanting to risk talking in case someone happened to be listening. I removed Saber's ball from my belt and presented it to 18. "You asked if we had any Water-types? The only one we have between us is Saber, my Samurott."

   "That'll work just fine," 18 said, taking Saber's ball. He walked over to the small porthole and in one swift move, punched out the glass with little difficulty. He then held Saber's ball up to the "open" window and let him out. There was a deep splash and I could hear Saber growl from outside. "Don't worry, Saber. Nate's fine," 18 said. He paused for a moment then resumed talking. "He is, I promise. Can you swim around to the port side of the ship? I'll send my friends with you." He removed two Poké Balls from a satchel he had strung around him and sent the Pokemon outside. "Voir, Coral, go with Saber and wait for us."

   Wow, this guy's great with Pokémon, I thought to myself, impressed.

   "Rosa, you..." Hugh began before cutting himself off. I turned to see Hugh staring intently at Rosa's bruises.

   "It's... fine really," she said as quietly as she could. If she tried to whisper, the scratchiness in her voice would make her words unintelligible.

   "You can talk later. Once we get off the Frigate, we have a long ride ahead of us," 18 interrupted. "We're five miles off Driftveil's coast. Let's get going."

   We left the cell and began making our way down the hall and towards the stairs. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Hugh was walking rather unsteadily, almost as if he couldn't keep his balance. I told Rosa to stop and asked my friend if he was okay.

   "Sorta. I hit my head pretty hard when I was trying to run from the Triad, and everything's been kind of... spinning ever since."

   "O-oh..." I stammered, not sure how to reply to that. Being choked was one thing, getting clawed was another, but receiving a head injury was on a more serious level. That wasn't just something you could recover from easily. I was about to make up a reassuring comment when 18 answered for me.

   "Everything alright?" he asked. "I hate to break up the reunion but we need to get out of here ASAP." Without another word, we hurried to catch up with 18. We ascended the first flight of stairs and ended up in a wide hallway lined with many identical doors. 18 gazed around hesitantly, his brow wrinkled in confusion and concern. "Something's not right," he said. "It's... way too quiet. And they always keep the hall lights on."

   His comment made me feel uneasy. 18's certainty and confidence were the only things keeping me calm. Seeing him visibly concerned like this made my own confidence begin to ebb away. He abruptly returned Lucy to her ball and everything went dark. "Just in case," he said from somewhere in the darkness. "Come on." We climbed the second flight, stopping in our tracks when 18 told us to wait. "When I open the door, we make a dash for the port side and jump. Voir and the others will be waiting for us."

   I really didn't like that plan. Jumping into freezing waters in the middle of the night? Was he kidding? I wanted to expresses my misgives though there really was no point in doing so. We didn't have an alternative, so abandoning ship it was. I made sure my grip on Rosa was tight and waited for the door to be opened.

   18 turned the doorknob and inched the door open, only to gasp and slam it back shut. "No way! How did they know?!"

   I suddenly felt someone yank me from Rosa's grasp and pull me down a step. Without the person holding me, I would've gone head over heels down the stairs. I was about to yell when someone clamped their hand over my mouth and something cold and sharp was pressed up against my neck.

   "Don't... move," a Triad member's voice whispered menacingly. I froze up with fear and bit back the scream I desperately wanted to let loose. From the brief struggles I heard on both sides of me, Rosa and Hugh were in the same situation.

"What the?!" No. 18 exclaimed. The hall lights flickered on, blinding me for a second. When the splotches faded from my vision I saw what had happened. The Triad members had grabbed me, Nate and Rosa, and were holding knives at our throats. 18 stood at the top of the stairs, staring down at us in utter shock and disbelief. I could tell Kage was the one holding me. The whole time I'd been imprisoned here, he would always be the one to check on me, and I knew he would never let me out of his sight for long.

   "Traitor," the man holding Nate stated coldly.

   "Don't you even think about hurting them!" 18 growled, glaring at the Triad. "I'm the one you should be worried about, they didn't do anything."

   One of the members gave a reply, but Kage didn't let me hear it. He leaned in right next to my ear and said, "No matter what he says, I will personally make sure you don't get out alive." He slowly traced an invisible line across my throat with the knife, right along my scar. I couldn't help but shudder as he did this. He had become obsessed with me in the worst way possible, and it terrified me. I wasn't scared very often, but when I was, it felt horrible. With the unbridled fear and nausea I had been feeling for days combined, I thought I was going to be sick. And I might've if it hadn't been for Kage's hand over my mouth. 

   "Just go onto the deck, traitor. And don't even think about bringing out any of your Pokemon," the man called Shade said. Out of nowhere, Rosa began sobbing and 18 definitely took notice of this. Looking defeated, he re-opened the door and left the stairwell, the Triad members dragging us up the remaining stairs after him.

   There were at least a dozen Neo Plasma grunts standing on the ship's deck along with the old man in purple robes I had seen previously, and a much taller green-haired man in black robes who held a cane. The green-haired man looked scornfully at No. 18, his one eye narrowing while the other was covered by a red-lensed monocle.

   "What an absolute shame," the man said in an eerily silky tone. "I thought you were a promising one, No. 18. You knew what we had planned for these children, and yet you try to help them escape? Why?"

   "Because you wanted to kill them, Ghetsis." 18 spat the man's name as if he was spitting out something foul.

   "You know that has to be done. They have interrupted too many of our missions, and you know what I always say, nuisances... Are. Not. Tolerated!" Ghetsis slammed the end of his cane down on the deck, striking it with surprising force. "Your punishment will be severe." His mouth then formed into a devilish smile. "And as for how I knew what you were planning with those children, a little Pidove told me." A female grunt stepped out from behind Ghetsis. She looked up at 18 with sorrowful eyes.

   "17, how could you?!" 18 gasped.

   "I'm sorry, No. 18," the female grunt said. "I overheard you talking in the brig earlier and... and I couldn't afford for your plan to be successful. You know Ghetsis' word is final." She hung her head.

   "You see, No. 18? Your supposed 'friend' gave you up. Now, why don't you do the same? It'll save you a lot of pain in the upcoming minutes," Ghetsis said, a condescending edge to his tone.

   18's shoulders slumped and he sighed. "I had a feeling this would happen, I just didn't want to believe it. I guess I'll have to... give up." He said those last two words separately from his statement. At that moment, Charlotte sprung out from under 18's hat, knocking it off in the process. Charlotte used Screech, making everyone on deck— including the Triad and Ghetsis —reel back as the earsplitting shriek assaulted their ears. I no longer felt Kage's grip on me and I turned to see that all three Triad members had vanished.

   18 retrieved a purple Poké Ball from his bag and held it above his head. "Now's the time for action! Design, let's do this!" 

   The light that came from the ball expanded into a huge silhouette, nearly half the height of the center mast and the width of half the deck. Whatever Pokemon was released let out a mighty roar and the light surrounding it shattered away into white splinters, revealing a creature black as the night itself. It fell to the deck right in front of No. 18, creating cracks in the wood. The Pokemon spread its large wings and opened its blood-red eyes. The group of grunts erupted in chaos.

   "It can't be!" I heard Ghetsis yell over the creature's roar.

   "Lord Ghetsis, we must abandon ship!" Zinzolin shouted.

   "Nate, Rosa, Hugh, run!" 18 demanded. "Design, Fusion Bolt!!"

   I didn't question what was happening, it was like my mind shut down and pure instinct took over. Time seemed to jump-cut and I was suddenly across the deck and next to the railing, watching Nate and Rosa jump into the water. Behind me, I heard people screaming and the crackle of generating electricity. Before hesitation could take over I vaulted over the railing and plunged into the icy water.

   My feet hit the water first and coldness raced up my body as I entered the water in a perfect pencil dive. I remembered to close my eyes right as my head went under. This was seawater after all, and I didn't want to have a second part of me feel like it was burning. Though muffled, I could hear what sounded like explosions on the surface. I reasoned that the move 18's Pokemon had used either damaged or destroyed the ship. 

   As I sank deeper into the ocean I felt a strange sense of bliss, it was almost euphoric. Time seemed to have slowed to a crawl. It was strangely peaceful being under the water, like being suspended in space. So much destruction and possibly death raged mere feet above me... but I was safe from its reach. The cold felt nonexistent to me and a part of me was content to stay down there forever. But then reality slapped me across the face when my chest began to hurt. What little air my swollen throat had allowed into my lungs didn't last long at all.

   I randomly kicked my legs and started swimming what I hoped was up. My dive had carried me very deep and with my eyes still closed, I couldn't tell how far I was from the surface. Just when it felt like my lungs would burst, I felt a hand grab mine. They pulled me upwards and a second later, my head broke the surface. I gasped and coughed, inhaling as much air as I could.

   "Rosa, thank Arceus, I thought you drowned! Saber helped me find you. C'mon, climb up," I heard Nate say. "Hugh's here too. He's on 18's Lapras."

   Lapras? "A-are you... two okay?" I coughed. I blindly pulled myself up onto Saber's smooth back, happy to be out of the water.

   "More or less," Hugh replied.

   "Uh, I-I'll just say salt water doesn't mix well with cuts," Nate said through clenched teeth.

   Rubbing my eyes to clear them, I gasped a bit as the water on my hands got in them, causing them to sting slightly. I opened them and was stunned by what I saw. To the far left of us was an ocean of fire. Chunks of flaming wood and cargo floated among other random detritus. And above the ruins of the central mast the great black Pokemon hovered in midair, the fire's bright glow contrasting against the beast's dark coloring. Blue streaks of lightning sprung off its tail and fizzled out before they hit the water. From atop its back, No. 18 waved down to us.

   "Wait a second, I'll be down there shortly." He whistled a high-pitched "A" note and Voir flew in through the flames. 18 jumped down from the Pokemon's back, landing on Voir. "Thank you, Design." The Pokemon then vanished back into its Poké Ball. Voir circled down next to us, his wingbeats creating ripples in the water. Voir then used Whirlwind on us. Though I almost fell into the water, the extremely strong wind somehow dried me off. With hypothermia being a real possibility, I was glad to have that problem out of the way. "Sorry about that, you three. We need to go, Driftveil isn't too far away," 18 said afterward.

   "Wait a minute! What. Was. That?!" Hugh asked forcefully, gesturing to the carnage. "Your Pokemon just... annihilated everything! We could've died!"

   18 seemed taken aback. He exhaled sharply, running his hands through his dark-colored hair. "Do you think I asked Design to do this much damage?" he sighed. "He can't exactly control how powerful his Fusion Bolts are, y'know? Besides, what's done is done. The Frigate was destroyed and now I need to plan my next course of action."

   "What is there to plan? You probably killed every Neo Plasma member on board that ship!" Nate sounded horrified. And in a way, his feelings weren't misplaced. Design had just singlehandedly ended the lives of dozens of people. But oddly... I didn't care. The hatred-driven part of my mind was actually happy that these people were gone. It was Neo Plasma after all, they had committed so many abhorrent acts against both people and Pokemon. They deserved it... right?

   "True, but not true," 18 said. "I'm sure the Shadow Triad, along with Ghetsis and Zinzolin have gotten away. It may not be right away, but they'll do it. They'll regroup, and they'll continue their plan."

   "How can you be so sure of that, 18?" Hugh asked angrily. "The Triad can't be alive, they just can't!"

   "They all are, and I know it for a fact! I've dealt with these people more times than you can count," 18 said sternly. "These people can, and have bounced back from setbacks. Even before they became Neo Team Plasma, I've clashed with them. And stop with the 'No. 18' shtick! My mission failed, I don't need that cover name anymore." He yanked his mask off, exposing his whole face.

   "My real name is Hilbert Idelle."