My heart is beating so fast I can hardly catch my breath. The image before my eyes blurs constantly. The world goes black, something inside me jumps, and then I’m awake again.

  Every bump in the road jolts through my body. I want to cry, but my tears have run out. Ying isn’t by my side, and I know there’s nothing I can do to get out of this. The Yamask in front of me keeps its face fixed on me and the two women in the car are shouting at each other, so I can’t understand a word they’re saying. Maybe it’s for the best. It’s my fault that all this happened.

  Dad kept telling me not to get into a car with strangers. Unova is a beautiful region, but the big cities are dangerous and sometimes children disappear just like Pokémon.

  Zorua was supposed to keep a watchful eye on me at all times, but she was so fascinated by the food stalls that she disguised herself as a little boy to blend in with the crowd. I was supposed to follow, but then there was this cute Teddiursa owned by a lovely lady and she told me she had loads of them from her last breeding. She wanted to give me one. And I wanted it.

  My eyes wander briefly to the wheel. They just pushed me into this car and shouted at me when I screamed for help. Then they put this Pokémon in front of me and the way it looks at me – it seems friendly somehow. A bit like Ying, only less fluffy.

  In fact, it doesn’t even have fur.

  When I pull my nose back loudly, Yamask blinks several times. Its small, black hands are ready to grab me, and yet it seems unconvinced to lend a hand. Still, I’d like to know what it’s thinking.

  “The boss will promote us if we give him the brat! Why else do you think he has ■■■■ ■■■■ ■■■■■■■ ■■■■■■?”

  Noise fills my head all at once. A bit like I’m at the sea with Dad. It prevents me from listening to the women any longer, even though their voices hurt my ears.

  “You there.” Then a nasal boy’s voice pops into my head. “You can hear me, can’t you?”

  Slowly, I press my hands over my ears. I can’t say anything. I don’t even know who’s talking to me.

  “You can talk. Those lunatics wouldn’t hear you, anyway.” A snort. “What do they want from you?”

  I shake my head. The world would be easier if I knew, but I think it’s related to what happened back home.

  “Humans...” Out of nowhere, Yamask puts a hand on my mop of hair. “Shall I help you?”

  Thinking seems impossible. I can only nod eagerly as Yamask laughs.

  Compared to my memory, it is almost dead quiet here. My perception gradually creeps back to reality and only the hum of an engine leads me to believe that Ghetsis has thrown me into a car.

  It takes a moment before I can tear myself away from the blackness behind my eyelids and open my eyes. Everything in front of me is grey. My head aches as if someone is scratching the inside, and seconds of cluelessness pass before I realise the colour in front of me belongs to the passenger seat.

  In the end, I sit up, careful not to cause nausea with my hasty movements. My belt pouch is missing, and with it my team and Rotom. I’ve been placed in the back of a car and although I expect to see Ghetsis again, there’s someone else behind the wheel. I’ve met him once before, when he was preaching about Pokémon and their poor lives. That was the day I met N for the first time.

  “What do you want from me?” Gasping, I bring up the only question that seems relevant.

  The stranger’s gaze darts to the rear-view mirror so he can scrutinise me before giving me a friendly smile.

  “What we always wanted,” he replies. “Plasma demands what we were denied back then. Your time has come, young lady.”

  I don’t understand a thing he’s saying, but I doubt anything more useful will come out of him if I ask further on the matter.

  “Where’s Ghetsis?”

  “He’s looking after your team and decided to make a few demands on our ... informant. We share similar interests, but similarity isn’t a match, as you know.”

  “And you think I’m playing along with ... whatever? I’m not interested in becoming queen of anything.” Exhausted, I slump back against the backrest. “Besides, the Explorers will be looking for me. I had a meeting with one of them.”

  “With Amethio De Vere, right?” A grin spreads across his features. “I’ve heard that you’ve been spending more time with him recently than with your previous partner. Who was that again? Spinel Vilela?”

  Telling him that Spinel was never my partner is as important as asking how he knows all this.

  “They won’t be looking for you,” the stranger continues. “Ghetsis has sent them a message on your behalf that you have been given a task from above. None of them will look into it.”

  Saliva hangs dry on my tongue. If no one is searching for me, I’ll have to get out of this mess on my own – without a team and a plan.

  “But that doesn’t answer why you’re so sure I’ll do what you want me to do. Are you trying to blackmail me with my Pokémon?”

  “Not at all!” Throaty laughter escapes him. “That would jeopardise Plasma’s unity. But you will surely come to your senses when you think about the fact that your decision will determine whether we dispose of Harmonia once he’s been accepted by the dragon, or whether we continue to entertain him.”

  Harmonia. N. The boy who wants to find out whether his views are correct or if all this is nothing more than irrational ideas.

  “Why would you want to get rid of him? Without him, there certainly wouldn’t be a Legendary Pokémon.”

  “Because it doesn’t matter whether it wants to obey or not,” my driver replies. “We need someone worthy enough to summon this Pokémon. Once that’s done, the safest way would be to capture and subdue it without having to worry about this boy doing more stupid things. Lately, he has gotten further and further away from our goal. He wants to get to know Unova ... as if a king should know every corner of this depraved region.”

  A dry swallow burns in my throat. His behaviour surely stems from our conversations. He wants to know more and become more confident in his statements and opinions – despite all the preparations Plasma has made for him and the future of this organisation. Since we met, he has probably become unpredictable to the people around him.

  I don’t need to ask to understand why his life hangs on my decision. If I give in to them and play along with this drama, I can control N. With my words, I can bring him back to his old views.

  “But who promises you I will play along forever? Maybe I can find a way out for N and me.” Clutching my hands in the seat cushion, I don’t dare take my eyes off the stranger’s face for a breath.

  His smile answers me before he does. “You’d have to deal with a lot of things at once. Master Harmonia, your Pokémon, an escape route that gets you far away from Team Plasma...”

  “I just need one good try and the Explorers will help me.” They are the biggest and safest constant I have. With them behind me, I’m sure Plasma will lose.

  “Oh, certainly, the Explorers. A handful of people who want to stand in the way of five hundred others. There are always a hundred Plasma members at our meeting point, and the rest are scattered throughout Unova and beyond. Are you sure you can lead a good life if you have to keep looking over your shoulders?” A deep chuckle shakes him. “You have no chance of disappearing as long as Plasma works well.”

  There’s nothing I can say in my defence. Everything he shares with me only brings my miserable state to the fore. Even if I want to believe that the others can get me out of here, that doesn’t mean it’s the best decision. Putting others in danger is out of the question. If I want to escape, it will be with my own skills.

  But I don’t have time to think about my escape when the car suddenly stops. My body is thrown forward slightly, causing me to slam my shoulder against the passenger seat. Simultaneously, my gaze fixes on the outside world spread out behind the windscreen – a storage yard full of large containers just waiting to be loaded onto ships. Wherever we are, this can’t possibly be part of Castelia.

  As my driver gets out, I realise I could climb to the front and start the car up again. The temptation lures me, but remains hidden behind the knowledge that I’m putting N’s life at risk. That’s the only reason I wait until the stranger opens the door for me and gestures to me to get out. My body slowly pushes out of the car.

  The air seems a little cooler here than in the city, clinging to my bare legs and making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. In the blink of an eye, the other grabs me by the arm, and I have no other option as he drags me straight to a container with some security windows built into the top edge. They are probably trying to store fruit in this place, something that needs light.

  My stomach threatens to form a knot in light of the circumstances as the stranger pulls open the doors and allows me a peek inside. There’s nothing here apart from locked boxes, and when I look up at him, he gives me a friendly smile.

  “It’s used as cold storage,” he explains in the same breath as he pushes me inside with force. “You’ll be able to cool down your hot temper here and by the time you’re picked up, the world will certainly look a little different.”

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  I want to say something, can feel my throat scratching, but he simply slams the double doors shut. What remains is the bitter cold, which clings heavily to my clothes and makes my shoulders shake within a few moments.

  Several times, I rub my hands over my upper arms. The thin fabric on my skin barely holds the warmth, and I can’t help but think of Raya and her beautiful, warm body. With her fire, I could easily get out of here. Instead, I’m on my own, without a team and Rotom. I can’t ask anyone for help.

  For a moment, I close my eyes as I try to suppress the clattering of my teeth and come up with something. He hasn’t told me how long they plan to keep me locked up in this place. My semi-sound mind tries to plead that they’re going to kill me. The rest of me clings to the certainty that they need me. This moment, this biting coldness and Plasma’s drastic action, are probably a sign that they want to make me submissive. They want me to realise what they can do to me and that I can expect even more such nastiness if I oppose them.

  I wouldn’t be surprised if Ghetsis suggested this to highlight my defeat with his mockery. The only good thing about all this is that the cold soothes my headache.

  More determined than before, I clench my hands into fists and breathe in the icy air until it stings my lungs. Then I loosen my stance and start moving. The twelve metres from one end to the other are enough for me to run up and down. As I do so, I keep bumping shoulder-first into the double doors in the hope they will burst open.

  The cold drives me around until my legs are numb and my nose runs so badly that I have to pull it back several times. Walking around doesn’t help much and although I feel a little warmer, my skin seems to freeze.

  Out of breath, I lean on my knees. As soon as I get the chance, I’ll look for a way out – without putting N or the others in danger.

  》 WHISPERS 《

  I can’t feel my body anymore.

  Cowering in a corner, my jumper pulled over my bare legs and my arms wrapped around my knees to make myself as small as possible, I can barely keep my eyes open. It feels like crystals are hanging from my eyelashes and the shaking of my shoulders is now so natural I barely notice it. Breathing through my nose seems impossible, so I keep my mouth slightly open to let the biting cold run over my tongue. My eyes are fixed on my slightly blue fingertips.

  I have no clue how long I’ve been sitting here like this, hoping for all this to end – for someone to open this damn door and let me out. At some point, an artificial light was switched on above me, giving off a bit of warmth, but it’s barely enough against the frost of the container. Swallowing is impossible. My throat is too parched, too cold, too numb.

  Resting my head on my knees, I try to think of something more beautiful. But no image forms in the blackness of my thoughts. It’s just me, somehow alone and somehow defenceless in the hands of an organisation morbidly attracted to me. I can’t explain it any other way. In all the time I spend trying not to freeze to death, my ideas and thoughts race in all possible directions. Sometimes I think I can make sense of Ghetsis’ actions. Then I realise you can get behind anything if you think it through far enough and twist most of it halfway to make sense.

  My next breath seems to screech – almost like rusty hinges threatening to break at any moment. So I close my eyes. The tiredness in my body makes it impossible to take up any other position, although it might be better if I moved a little more. I should just jump up and walk around a bit, like I did at the beginning, but I can’t even move my fingers.

  All that only seems to change when I suddenly stand up on my feet and dizziness falls over me. Then I lift my eyes, noticing the smirk on Ghetsis’ lips and his hand tugging my upper arm upwards harshly.

  “Looks like you won’t protest any longer.”

  The satisfaction in his voice would probably compel me to comment under normal circumstances. But my face is too stiff to even think about a useless argument like this.

  Instead, I let Ghetsis drag me out of the cold storage – into the darkness of an evening that has fallen without my awareness. Compared to the frosty temperatures inside these metal walls, the world outside seems incredibly warm, and although this only makes me shiver even more, I breathe a sigh of relief. All seems right with the world until we reach a beige-coloured off-road vehicle, and when Ghetsis forces me into the passenger seat, I don’t even resist. It’s warmer on the upholstery of the car than on the floor of the icebox.

  When Ghetsis sits down next to me and offers me a bottle of water, I gratefully, if wordlessly, accept. The water revitalises my parched body. Still, I choke twice and cough like crazy somewhere between the start of the engine and the first signposts.

  It seems to take an eternity before calm washes over my body and I feel like I can hold out a little longer. Then my gaze wanders to Ghetsis, who looks out-of-place behind the wheel of the car, dressed in his robes.

  “Are you even going to let me go back to the Explorers willingly at some point?”

  A humorous snort escapes him. “No. I must confess it was an extremely unpleasant surprise within my elaborate plans when I learnt you were staying with them. They had found you on an island in Alola and claimed you for themselves, and here I was sure I would be the one to put you out of the misery of eternal flight.”

  “So you really know something about my past?”

  “I know almost everything about you, Domino.” He doesn’t even look in my direction as his smile becomes wider. “After all, I went to great lengths with Plasma to use you for my ideals. Starting in Johto, then to Unova. Your father, after some hardships, probably thought to find renewed safety in another region without a thought for his own daughter’s will. He even sought the help of a very unpleasant man back then.”

  “What happened then?”

  This time Ghetsis glances in my direction. “If you prove yourself useful, perhaps I’ll tell you.”

  I want to believe him, want to cling to his words and endure – but I know better. Ghetsis doesn’t give the impression of a man I should trust. Maybe he’s telling me about that time, but how much of it will be true? I can’t deny I would do almost anything to learn about the past, so the fuzzy images in my head take shape. Even if I claim otherwise, the thirst for knowledge is irrepressible. But I’m not stupid enough to fall into an obvious trap like this. I’ve learnt a lot since Alola. The past few months have shaped me. It’s more important to find a way out and, in the best-case scenario, to ensure that N escapes this absurd sect too.

  Eventually, the car stops and when I dare to look outside, there is only a cave entrance. Everything around us is green – trees frame a meadow path and the mountains in front of us rise to unreachable heights. They are not nearly as big as Mount Lanakila, but I don’t think they are suitable for climbing. Even from down here, it’s possible to make out the soft whiteness under half moonlight near the top.

  “Where are we?” There’s no point looking at Ghetsis. My situation is set in stone and he won’t hurt me as long as he has a use for me. The fact he’s been trying to get his hands on me for years says it all.

  “This is the Chargestone Cave, a place of light and energy, as the inhabitants of Unova would probably attest.”

  To say I know exactly where we are would be a lie. I have no idea about the places this region offers. All my interest was focussed on the test and everything that was to come – especially as Spinel did most of the trips with me. I could rely on him. He did the planning, not me.

  When Ghetsis gets out, I know I should follow. Outside the car, a breeze hits me and my body reacts with a shiver. The feeling of freezing to death is still deep in my bones. Everything about me is chilled and as I try to follow Ghetsis, my legs wobble weakly under my weight. The effort of stumbling after him is nothing like the exhaustion that overcame me when I rescued Mimikyu.

  Still, I drag myself into the cave and for a moment, I am blinded by the glaring blue-white light inside. Immediately, I squint my eyes. Unusual flickering dances in the blackness behind them and when I open my eyelids a crack, I recognise the glowing rocks hovering above the ground as if they have a life of their own. Thin threads twitch sporadically across the surfaces and although I would like to touch them, Ghetsis beats me to it with a brief explanation.

  “Many people have already suffered permanent shock after touching the stones of this cave with their bare hands. The ground contains very little voltage, which you can barely feel, but the rocks have enough electricity to light up a city for weeks.”

  My previously half-raised hand lowers again. I don’t need another electric shock. Thanks to Magnemite, I already know how unpleasant it can be to come into contact with electricity. In front of Ghetsis, it’s better not to take any more damage.

  Instead, I follow him deeper into the cave. The ground beneath my soles crunches slightly and it takes a few stone steps and forks before we arrive at a kind of platform, guarded on either side by men I’ve never seen before. Dressed entirely in black with wild white hair, they look like figures from the shadows, bowing gently as they catch sight of Ghetsis. Behind them stands N, his back turned to us, his gaze presumably fixed on the dazzling stone in front of his nose.

  “I see everything is going according to plan. It’s good to see that common sense has saved you, Harmonia.” Ghetsis spreads his arms wide as he steps closer to N, making him turn around.

  The sight of him makes my breath catch. His lower lip bitten to a bloody line, he puts on a smile that barely reaches his lifeless eyes. Any lustre, any curiosity is missing from his expression. The boy in front of me seems to be a shell of what I encountered in the city hours before.

  “And as I vowed, here is the girl I once told you about. The girl who was led astray by vile souls.” Without further ado, Ghetsis takes a step to the side so that N’s attention falls on me.

  “Domino... You’ve ... changed your mind in such a short time?” He doesn’t believe the circumstances, looks straight into the face of this lie, and yet he seems willing to swallow anything as long as it gets him someone not named Ghetsis.

  “No,” I reply stiffly. “But I left my Pokémon in Ghetsis’ care to find out which way you’re going to go.” I feel like biting my tongue. “I want to accompany you on your path and see if you’ll be right.”

  “You want to stay by my side until then?”

  I can only manage a nod. Appearing too eager or too content at this moment would only push him further in a direction I can’t grasp. In these breaths, he needs someone by his side and I’m the only one here. The only person who wants to do something for him.

  Eventually, the smile on N’s lips becomes a little more honest. Then he bridges the distance and takes my hands in his. I have to look up at him so as not to miss any movement on his face.

  “Thank you,” he breathes. “Thank you ... for being here.”

  “If I’d known what was going to happen here beforehand, I probably would have chased you after our meeting at the bakery.” I smile gently, too. Here and now, I want to give him the feeling that he can come to me if he needs someone. I want to be a support for him, to get us both out of here before it’s too late.

  Determination that also reaches N as a little life returns to his body. “You’re probably the first person ... I’d call a friend.”

  We hardly know each other. All that exists between us are a few conversations and dozens of disagreements. We probably don’t even fulfil the minimum requirements to call each other a friend. But I don’t want to argue with him. I know what it’s like not to have anyone. At some point, you’re starved, constantly searching for something. For me, it was freedom because I knew there was something out there waiting for me. But N probably hasn’t lost his memories. He remembers all his years without human friends. He knows a different kind of hunger than I do.

  “We should continue on our way to fulfil our plan and bring about change at last.” Finally, Ghetsis intervenes. He already has his eyes on our way back, but underlines his words with an amused snort. “Unless, of course, we have some important information that has slipped my watchful eye. Have a good evening, Professor.”

  I whirl around in a flash. She looks at us all, panting wordlessly, before pausing on me. “I’ve finally found you!”

  “Aurea...” I don’t know what to say – what I can say.

  “After the mess Ghetsis caused in Castelia City, I asked around a bit and learnt that he took a girl with him. One with white hair who tried to fight him with her team.”

  “I didn’t fight back,” I interject hastily. I don’t want to take away N’s hope of having a friend in the middle of his battle. “Ghetsis asked me to join, and I agreed.”

  “Agreed?” Juniper’s disbelief makes her put her hands on her hips and shake her head. “You want to be a professor. We both know that guy made you do it!”

  Shooting down her statement would probably be the best solution, but I can’t have this discussion forever.

  “I want to help N,” I start. “I’m here to stand by him. Everything else is ... irrelevant for now.”

  Before Juniper can protest further, Ghetsis puts a hand on my shoulder. The almost saintly smile on his face looks innocent. If I didn’t know any better, I’d fall for it again.

  “You heard her, Professor. We’d rather not be accused of forcing someone to do something against their will, when we all know that Plasma always has open arms for lost souls.” The corners of his mouth twitch downwards as he turns to the unknown three in front of us. “Take her away. A woman in confusion often causes unplanned delays, and we are a very busy party of Pokémon lovers. Peace be with you.”