Something tight burn around my wrists, digging deeper and deeper, forcing me out of my sleep. While my wrists were behind me, burning, I felt colder than a sneezing ice type. Trust me, those Pokémon's sneezes were cold because ice shards were embedded inside, well, in nicer terms, the sneeze.

My body instinctually curled together as I tried wrapping my arms around my legs to keep warm, but my hands wouldn't go past my back. When I tried tugging, I realized they weren't just tied to my own hands, but someone else's as well. It was then I opened my eyes, seeing darkness around me, with a dim light behind these silver burred lines.

Someone took off my Swanna mask, and it didn't take much to realize who. I couldn't see without my mask or my glasses. To think, everything was going as planned until something wrapped around me, suffocating me. I wouldn't be surprised if Team Miasma left me here to die.

It was then when I felt someone shift behind me. I'm in a dark room with bars in front of me. While I may be clueless on how I got here or where I'm at, I do know that I was in a dark and small room with something tied behind me, or rather, someone. The air became thin, while a voice whispered in my mind: nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

No, it couldn't be happening. I squeezed my eyes shut as I brought my knees into my chest. I couldn't wrap my arms around my legs, but I laid my head on top of my knees. Concentrate on breathing, I thought. Breathe slowly. In and out.

"Sylvia?"

My eyes shot opened as I looked everywhere. I couldn't see. The hands that were tied around mine did their best effort to wrap around mine. His touch was freezing, but comforting in an odd way.

"Rudi?" I asked, not looking back as it was too good to be true.

"Arceus, I thought you were smarter than to fall for their tricks," Rudi cursed before I felt his fingers let go.

I didn't want him to let go, but as they did, I noticed the ropes tightening around my wrists for a moment. I bit my tongue to prevent me from letting out any noise. I just had to keep reminding myself I've experienced worse. From the time that Pokémon used a poison sting on my back to the time that I stepped on one of Toxapex's poisonous barbs, this was nothing. At least, that's what I had to keep telling myself as the ropes wrapped tighter around my wrists.

After a few moments, those ropes fell to the floor. Once gone, I didn't turn around to look at Rudi and ask what was going on. I should've, but instead of doing that, I wrapped my arms around my legs feeling another cord of rope tied around them. I didn't waste any time untying them.

One thought came into my head. At least when I find a way out of this place, I wouldn't have to search for him. It was almost a relief. With Rudi around, I wouldn't feel so alone in this small space. There was no way that mysterious man's voice could torture me here. Not when someone was here on my side that is.

"We had a plan," I explained, "Besides, they didn't get the real map. Rena made a fake one that they took. My plan was to just have them hand you over in exchange for it, and if that didn't happen, Rena was—Rena!"

"What," Rudi froze behind me, "Is she alright?"

"I don't know. She was supposed to stop whoever was there, but she never came. Then again, it happened so fast," I explained, "You don't think they—"

"No," Rudi claimed as his back slowly peeled away from mine, "No, she'd be in here if that happened. Something else must've happened."

We both fell silent before I felt Rudi's arms wrapping around me. I laid my head on his shoulder, shaking really bad as I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I was scared. Superheroes weren't supposed to be scared though. When Rudi was Braviary Man, he didn't seem to be scared of everything. The picture of our parents, they carried themselves with confidence.

Superheroes were supposed to put on a brave face and go through any obstacle. Sad excuse I am to be called a superhero.

Tears soon found their way out of my eyes, but I couldn't help it. Dark and tight spaces weren't something I could deal with, not after what happened that day at the Ferris Wheel. I could feel the air getting thinner around me. The only thing keeping me sane right now is knowing Rudi was there, his arms wrapped around me.

Knowing he was here, we could make it out of here.

A pain shot through my arms, causing me to pull away. Rudi let go, looking me in the eyes, I think. Because everything was so blurry I couldn't exactly tell. It was just a guess that he looked at me.

My hand brushed over the lower part of my right forearm, feeling something tender. Must've gotten a bruise or something from all the ropes tied tightly around me.

"What's wrong?" Rudi asked.

"Nothing, just sore, that's all," I said, before realizing something, "Wait, how exactly did you get caught?"

"Too many of them I guess," Rudi claimed dropping his head onto my forehead, "It's not important."

"I see," I said.

Rudi chuckled, raising his hand and brushed his hand over my left cheek, "You can't see, can you? They took our masks and Poké Balls."

I didn't say anything. If I contradicted him, he would know I was lying. If I said I was fine, Rudi would make up some joke about this entire thing. At least, I think he would. Rudi was a wild card at times. I wasn't sure if he would be joking at times or being sincere for once. If I admitted to it, I'm not exactly sure what he'd do.

Staying quiet just seemed like the best option right now.

Rudi wrapped his arms around me, and brought me closer to his chest. For a moment, I forgot how bad I was shaking until I felt how calm his arms were wrapped around me. He might have been there, so I couldn't be alone, but that didn't mean I was afraid. I guess I couldn't just shove the fear away.

"I'm here to protect you, don't worry," Rudi whispered.

"Just tell me what's going on," I said.

Leaning on his chest, I could feel him take a gigantic breath. He didn't want to tell me. Whatever was going on, it was worse than we imagined. At least one thing was for certain. They didn't have Rena. Rudi said she'd be in here if they had her. Besides, she could fend for herself. Rena might have been an inventor, but while she a skilled inventor, she was just as skilled in Pokémon battles and in combat.

Just as long as they didn't have her, Team Miasma couldn't get their hands on the legendary Pokémon. Without that legendary, they couldn't take over the world.

If anything, at least I knew they were being delayed ever so slightly.

"You gave them a fake, right? Well, apparently, there was something on that one that was worth searching. Whether they know it's a fake or not, it doesn't matter. They threw both of us in here, which isn't good," Rudi explained.

"Why?" I asked, feeling his heart beating faster and faster while he took deep breaths.

Just by his small actions, I could tell the next thing he'd say wouldn't be good. I tried not to think much about it. Maybe I was wrong. Hopefully, my suspicions on what he'd say wouldn't be right.

"People never come back," He said, "It's the forgotten place. Don't worry. We'll find our way out. After all, I am Braviary Man, the Unovian hero."

I laughed. Of all things, I'm glad he wasn't completely broken. Rudi's still his cocky self, the same arrogant boy who thought he was indestructible. Seeing that he still had that attitude, then there still had to be hope.

Slowly, I tore myself from his arms, looking him in the eyes as well as I could that is. I wish I could just clearly see his face. Even if I had my glasses on, it would still be hard due to the dim lighting.

"What's the plan then?" I asked.

"Nothing yet, right now we need to—" He stopped mid-sentence.

Rudi didn't have to explain why he stopped mid-sentence either. While I couldn't see, I could still hear. The silence outside our shared cell started to disappear. All that the hall produced was that dim light and the frigid cold air that made it seem impossible to last inside these cells any longer than a week.

Now, out of the blue, the sound of heels clicking down the hallway came. The Team Miasma grunts didn't dress up as nicely as their admins, so I could rule that option out quickly. As for the two female admins I could remember, well, if something was going one with that map, I'm sure the whole team had to be there.

Then again, Rudi said that this was the forgotten place. No one should be coming down here. As the clicks and clacking sounds of heels became louder, I wondered who would be coming here as there wasn't one person I could think of that would wear heels.

If a person was coming, then it couldn't be good. Rudi wrapped his arms protectively around me as we stared outside the cells, waiting for the person to come closer.

"Sylvia," Rudi whispered in my ear, "I have a bad feeling about this."

I nodded my head to agree, but all I could think was why Team Miasma would come back? Surely they wanted us to stay here to die, so who would be coming here?

Authors Note:

It's question time: who do you think is coming? Do you agree with Sylvia that it isn't one of the members of Team Miasma, or do you think she's wrong in her answer? I'd love to see your answers before the next chapter's reveal, so please, leave a comment.

Thank you all for reading! It's very appreciated. Hope you have a wonderful day. Cya later!