It was a long, tiring, torturing, excruciating day of walking, tripping on rocks, listening to Charity chatter nonstop and being attacked by Geodude, but finally, when Rhin's internal clock was telling him that the sun would set soon, they saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

"Ah, there it is! Told you guys!"

"Oh thank Arceus and all its children," Rhin breathed out.

"Finally," Wolfswift muttered.

Rhin's first breath of fresh air as they exited the cave felt like waking up with a dry throat in the middle of the night and having a cold glass of water right next to the bed. It reinvigorated him. The exhaustion and pain on his calves seemed to vanish as he looked over the lush valley before them, the dark brown of the surrounding mountains morphing into a beautiful clearing, and then a city and the open sea in the far distance.

There was something wrong about that landscape, but Rhin's brain failed to pick it up at first.

"Ah… We really owe you one, Charity," he told her. "I guess you did know your way around after all."

"You're welcome, Ron! See, you're much prettier when you smile."

Wolfswift muttered an 'Ugh' behind her, more at the stammered sounds of embarrassment that came out of Rhin's mouth than anything else.

"Ha… haha… t-thank you." He swallowed, trying to hide the red on his face. "Anyway, looks like the sun's coming down. Do you know how much longer 'til Pewter?"

There was a heavy pause. Charity blinked a few times, then turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Until… Pewter? Pretty darn long I'd say, considering we're getting farther and farther away the longer we walk."

Rhin felt his stomach drop. Next to him, Wolfswift stiffened.

"W-what?"

"I said we're getting farther away from Pewter the more we walk."

Another, even longer silence followed. The cogs in Rhin's brain whirred as they spun, though it felt as though they were being slowed by some kind of sludge.

"Faaaaar… awaaaaaaaay!" repeated Charity, mouthing the words exaggeratedly at their lack of reaction. "It means you'll have to walk a lot if you wanna go t–"

Rhin opened his mouth, voice shaking with desperation. "B-but… we just got through Mt. Moon! Isn't Pewter on the other side!?"

"Mt. Moon? This is Rock Tunnel. I came through here 'cause there's a job I need to do in Lavender."

"We… we've…"

But words failed him. Rhin stumbled back a few steps, eyes wide, pale like a ghost, looking exactly like someone who'd been punched in the face. Next to him, Wolfswift moved for the first time in almost a minute, turning toward him.

"I'm going to slit your throat with your own tarot cards," he declared.

Finally, something in his snapped. Rhin threw his arms up toward the sky and let out a mountain-shaking scream.

"I knew it! God dammit, the stars told me I shouldn't trust gingers!" He threw his head down and grabbed at his hair with his hands. "Who knows how far away we are now! The others might've already reached the prison! They probably think we're dead! AGH!"

"That is more than likely," concluded Wolfswift.

"Hahaha…" Charity laughed nervously, scratching her cheek. "Did you guys have an appointment or something?"

Neither of them answered. Wolfswift just stood there in place, all faith in humanity gone from him, while Rhin remained on his knees and stared at the grass with glassy, distant eyes.

Finally, it was Wolfswift who broke the silence.

"And it's not like we can go back now, night's about to fall," he sighed. "The trip back would be suicide."

Rhin threw himself back, falling on his butt and looking up at the sky. "Ugh, you're right… and if we go tomorrow…"

"It's unlikely that they've already reached the prison, considering the distance," said Wolfswift. "But they probably will long before we get back there."

Great. Just wonderful. Rhin closed his eyes and breathed in really deep. He was about to suggest just giving up on the job when Charity chimed in.

"Well, if you've got an appointment in Pewter, I might be able to help you out."

They both turned to look at her sharply.

"I mean, like I said there's this job I gotta do in Lavender." She pointed behind her, toward the horizon. "But my employer's picking me up once it's done, so maybe we could give you a ride! Pretty sure we gotta head in that direction tomorrow."

"W-what!?" Rhin shot up to his feet. "Are you serious!? Could you really…!?"

Charity let out her tongue and gave them a peace sign. "Sure thing, Ron! We can even stay overnight in the house where I gotta do my job! I mean, I might need some help from you two tomorrow, but I'll get you back to Pewter no problem!"

She shone them a wide, perfect smile and extended a hand toward Rhin.

"Whaddaya say?"

----------------------------------------

Muffin woke up to something unexpected yet wonderful; the sound of boiling water and the smell of food being cooked.

She hurried to dress herself and came out of her tent without even brushing her nest of a bed hair, just because her stomach was rumbling that badly. And the sight that met her was an unexpected one. Sammy knelt in the clearing amidst all the tents, a freshly built bonfire heating up the big steel pot suspended above it. She looked over the boiling rice and stirred every few seconds.

"That smells so good!" Muffin exclaimed as she approached. "Didn't think I'd find anyone cooking so early in the morning."

Sammy didn't turn to look at her, but a smile did form on her lips.

"We'll need all the energy we can muster for the fight ahead," she said. "It's not much, but I did what I could with what we had. Here, you can have some."

"Ah, thank you!"

She sat alongside Sammy, and in less than a minute the both of them were enjoying a heaping, steaming bowl of freshly made risotto. The first spoonful was enough to make Muffin exhale happily. The flavor was simple, but effective.

"It tastes really good," she said. "I didn't think we had much more than rice and salt and butter. Must've been hard to make it taste like this."

Sammy just leaned back and shrugged, then gobbled down a spoonful. "It's not that hard once you get used to it," she said after swallowing. "You gotta learn to fend for yourself out here in the wild."

"Did you use to camp much?"

An eyebrow was raised her way, and Muffin immediately realized the stupidity of her question.

"Ah. Sorry, I…" She laughed and shook her head. "I'm still getting used to… all of this. I keep forgetting what kind of people I'm traveling with."

"It's fine. I'd be worried if you'd gotten used to this so fast," was all that Sammy said in response.

They ate in silence for what felt like an entire minute. However, unlike the silence she'd shared with Mycroft, this one felt a lot heavier and tense. There was a hard edge to Sammy that was always there. Even while eating and pretending to relax, she could see the sharpness on her face and the tenseness in her shoulders. She was clearly not the kind of woman that did small talk or opened up to people easily, much less to someone like Muffin.

That look… does she not expect me to make it through this? she wondered sadly. Does she think I'm useless, like Sabrina does?

Suddenly, the risotto didn't taste quite as good. She swallowed the last of what was left on the bowl and let it rest on her lap, eyes downcast.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"You… you said we'd need the energy for today's fight." She finally broke the silence. "How do you know we'll have to fight something in the prison?"

Sammy froze for a moment, and then she shrugged. "Because hoping for good things is what'll kill you in this line of work. It'll be easier for everyone if we just assume we'll have to fight our way through."

"R-right," said Muffin. She felt like an idiot for having to ask these things. "I'm guessing you have experience on the matter."

"I've brushed shoulders with death more than anyone probably should," she muttered under her breath, narrowing her eyes. "It's never easy, and it's never pretty."

"Ah… I see. Well–"

"Muffin."

Sammy turned to look at her for the first time, and the sheer weight behind those golden eyes of her paralyzed her as easily as an Arbok's glare.

"W-what is it?"

"I'm going to be honest with you," she said. "You kind of piss me off."

Muffin's mouth went dry. "O-oh. Er… why d–"

"Because you don't belong here," she stated. "You don't need this job. You're clearly a momma's kid, someone with an actual family and either enough money or influence not to have to stoop this low. Yet you did it anyway. And for what; novelty? The thrill of it? Do you have any idea how condescending it looks to the rest of us who don't have a choice but to do this?"

"I… I just…"

But what could she say to something like that? Sammy's words didn't feel sharp and painful like Sabrina's were always intended to feel like. They were hard, but honest. For the first time she saw something besides cold determination in those eyes. It was concern.

"I… wanted to make a difference," she finally said. "To find a way for things to return to normal."

Sammy's nose scrunched up. She didn't look angry or disapproving, just… tired. After a moment she looked away and sighed.

"There might be a way to make things better, but I doubt someone as good as you would have the stomach for it."

"W-what? What do you mean?"

"Never mind." Sammy gave a small shake of the head. "Sorry, I know that came off as rude. You just… remind me a bit of me when I was younger, I guess."

Muffin raised an eyebrow. "You don't look much older than me."

"That's not what I meant. Anyway, it doesn't matter," she muttered, looking away again. "Just… keep in mind what I said. There's a good chance a few of you won't come out of this alive, and I'd rather avoid unnecessary casualties."

She spoke of it so casually, as though it were the possibility of being caught by an unexpected rain or a rather aggressive Rattata. It made something in Muffin shiver.

"I'll… give it some thought, I guess," she said. "But… I meant what I said before. I'm not as wishy-washy about this as you or Sabrina seem to believe."

"… If you say so."

She placed the bowl on the ground and shot up to her feet in a way that made it obvious that was the end of the conversation. She took one last look at the risotto and nodded to herself.

"The others should be hungry too," she said. "I'll wake Siegfried and Molly, you wake up Mycroft and Sabrina."

"Er… what about Silver, Ñako and Vard?"

Sammy just scoffed, though it almost sounded like a laugh.

"Have you seen them eating? I want this to last until we've all had our fill," she said. "I don't care if it's cold by then; they'll eat last."

----------------------------------------

Sabrina spat out a line of smoke as she walked, a lit cigarette held firmly in her working hand, looking up at the concrete and steel sky surrounding them.

Pewter was small, in about the same way a bear trap was. Tall buildings and skyscrapers rose up into the sky like teeth, with them at the center. They all looked new, yet also dilapidated. The town was mostly empty, save for a few brave souls running as fast as they could to get what they needed before everyone else woke up. There was nothing picturesque or historic about it; it was all grey and drab and shitty.

God, what a horrible town.

Not as bad as Saffron, but close. At least they were close to their destination, close to the reward that was waiting for her, the reward that would finally get her off this region. Far, far away from Kanto and all the troubles, all the memories…

"Hey!"

Someone snapped their fingers in front of her face, almost making her choke on the smoke of her cigarette. The ninja. Sabrina glared at him. She couldn't help it, there was something about the guy… a certain obnoxiousness that felt horribly familiar.

"I know the landscape is beautiful and all," he said sarcastically, "but we should probably get a move on with this Mullac thing, yeah?"

She cleared her throat and gave a curt nod.

"We're almost to the other end of town. Can't be more than an hour away from the prison," she said. "So make sure you're all–"

But as she looked over her shoulder, she noticed something was off. It took her a second to realize what it was.

"Wait, where's Silv–?"

"Yo', Flaca, here!"

He came running from across the screen, scythe in hand as usual, and yet…

"Er… Silver?" asked Siegfried, a concerned look on his face. "Where is Molly?"

Silver stopped beside them, and didn't say anything for a moment. Some might've thought he was just catching his breath, but Sabrina noticed the way his shoulders had dropped.

"Yeah… about that."

----------------------------------------

10 Minutes Before:

Silver and Molly were walking in the back of the group, not too far from the others. He stared ahead with an odd expression in his face, and he sounded less energetic than usual as he spoke.

"Pretty calm in here, huh."

Molly nodded nervously. "True… but we probably shouldn't lower our guard, just in case."

"She's got a point," said Mycroft, a bit ahead of them. "There's a good chance the other team could've set up a trap for us."

"At ease, my good comrades," said Vard. "The Team of Vard shall overcome any nasty surprise that might be in store for us."

Silver nodded to himself. Something about Vard's words always managed to cheer him up. "Yeah… let'em come. We'll deal with them."

"Of course we will!" declared Molly. "Together we can do anything!"

Silver stopped walking, and since Molly had her arm around his that meant that she stopped as well, with a little yelp of surprise and a wide-eyed look of surprise.

"S-sir?"

"Hey… I'd like to talk to you for a min', okay?"

He positioned himself between her and the rest of the group, and noticed as they kept walking without them, not noticing their sudden absence.

"I… what is it?" asked Molly. "Don't scare me."

"Look, I…"

Taking off his backpack, Silver grabbed a few items inside, only what he knew he might need for his mission, and then handed the rest alongside the backpack to Molly. She took it almost automatically, looking unsure.

"What... is this?"

"Here's the thing," sighed Silver. "Vard, Ñako, the Flaca… I don't know their stories, but it's clear they're all a bunch of fuck-ups like me. But you… You're different. You're smart, kind, determined. You know so much about medicine and other stuff, especially anything about these critters."

"You mean Pokemon?"

"Yeah! See how smart you are?" He forced himself to smile. "But even though you're so capable… back there, I couldn't… I mean, it was just a few shitty Zubat and you ended up getting hurt. And… I couldn't do anything. We…"

He took in a deep breath. Here came the hard part.

"We… are going to the Pewter prison. But you're not."

A choked gasp left her lips. "What!? Why!?"

"I just told you. We're all a bunch of fuck-ups. No one would miss us if we were gone; there's nothing we can do for anyone other than fight and kill. But you… You've got something special." He placed a hand on her shoulder, a warm smile on his lips. "You got what it takes to be a trainer. A real trainer, not the shitty imitations we are. But if you come with us and you die…"

"W-what does that have to do with anything!?" protested Molly, her voice growing hot with anger. "I can still help, I can still be of use to everyone! Why can't I come? Is… is it because I'm not good enough?"

Her voice shook and broke at that last sentence, and Silver felt something in his stomach tighten. This was harder than any battle he'd fought before.

"No, that's the problem. You're too good. You're a living Pokedex, someone who genuinely loves Pokemon and the world around you, someone who can someday be much more than I could ever be."

"You're wrong!" she screamed, pushing against his chest. "You're not useless! You're not a waste, you're... y-you're…"

But it was getting harder for her to speak, the sudden realization of what was happening bringing her close to tears. Silver almost had to look away.

"I know who I am. I never tried to kid myself about that," he said. "And… yeah, I need you. I want you to be there with me, but I can't…" He closed his mouth, gathering his thoughts. "Because I know who I am… I know I can live on no matter whose blood I spill, because I know the kind of people I'm up against. But not you. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you while we were down there."

Molly took a step back, face flushed with anger and heat, tears running down her cheeks. She needed a few tries before she could get the words out.

"T-then you're just telling me to go away out of convenience!" she yelled. "Because it's easier for you, because you'll feel better about yourself! You can't decide what I can't or can't do!"

"Yeah. You're right." That affirmation seemed to confuse Molly. Silver wasted no time explaining. "I'm not the owner of your dream or your destiny. But you think you can become a famous trainer if you just follow us for the rest of your life? Well here's your chance."

"B-but…"

Silver grabbed two Pokeballs, the consequent flash of light interrupting Molly, making her close her eyes in surprise. When she opened them again, two Pokemon were at her side, grabbing onto her legs softly. A Swablu and a Jigglypuff.

"Look, Flancito and Regordeta would get all sad if you stay like that, so I think they'll come with you."

"W-wh…?" Molly looked down at the two Pokemon, lower lip shaking. "With me? But… they're your Pokemon. You'll need them for–"

"Trust me, they'll be a lot better with you than with me. Pokemon battling ain't really my style anyway," he shrugged. "And besides, they fit you more, right?"

Molly was left speechless. She stared down at the Pokemon, at the two new Pokeballs on her hands, and at the backpack she was now holding, eyes wide and disbelieving.

"I left you as much money and food as I could. Should last you for a pretty long time," said Silver. "You can keep exploring and training, or you can buy a ticket back to Saffron no problem if that's what you want. It's your choice."

Molly clutched at her chest with her hands, eyes shut tight, and shook her head. But she couldn't say anything. Couldn't refute him. All she could do was stand there, shaking, sobs trying to climb up her throat.

"I… don't want to say goodbye."

Silver let out a soft laugh. "Who does?"

Swallowing down her sobs, Molly looked up and was about to say something when Silver interrupted her.

"It doesn't have to be goodbye forever," he said. "Meeting you was the luckiest thing that ever happened to a fuck-up like me, and I know I don't deserve to have that kinda luck a second time, but… if we get out of this alive and fate wants it that way…"

He reached over, grabbing hold of her hand with his own. His callused fingers felt rough against hers, yet she held onto them for dear life.

"… maybe we can meet each other again."

Molly shook her head.

"Not… not maybe," she declared, frowning up at him. "I won't accept it unless you promise. Unless you swear we'll see each other again. Please."

"I…"

Silver was caught off guard by that. He smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, and finally replied after a few moments.

"You really are demanding," he said. "Fine. I guess I can promise that. But only if you promise me to keep going. Chase that dream. Become a Pokemon trainer. You love these fucking critters and know so much boring shit about them, so I know you'll get far. You ain't got any roadblocks in the way like we do, so you better give it your all. I promise I ain't gonna ever forget you. 'Cause…"

He hesitated for a moment, but then his body moved on its own. He grabbed Molly and pulled her into a hug, which lasted only a second, but a second was all he needed. By the time the hug was broken, Silver was looking the other way, away from her.

"No existe el olvido, mi amor," he said, a terrible weight in his voice. "No existe."

He walked away, without looking back, without waiting for a response. He knew that would only make it harder.