Uncontained

I was both terrified and exhilarated.

I was going to find the boss Rocket and rescue my mom. It was going to happen. With every stupid grunt that got in my way, which Malachi and I destroyed later, I became sure of it. These guys weren't as tough as I thought. How bad could the boss Rocket be?

Then we found the Rocket with the lift key.

It was the young man that threatened me with the gun at Mt. Moon. I was proud to see that I'd broken his nose and it'd healed badly. He recognized me. "I heard word from upstairs." His voice was still low and gravelly. "You here for the lift key?"

"It'd be a lot easier if you cough it up now," I said. "To spare you from the shame and guilt."

He narrowed his eyes. He was young, a lot younger than than the grunts I'd seen here. He was probably only a few years older than me, and had white blond hair and blue eyes. "I'll give it to you," he said.

I stopped. Malachi looked at me. "What?"

"I'll give it to you." He took out a red key from his pocket and tossed it to me. I fumbled, but caught it. "I was told not to harm you. Our boss wants to see you personally."

For some reason this didn't sit well with me, even though this was the thing that I wanted all along. I swallowed. "This has to be some sort of catch," I said.

"There is," the young man said. "If you see our leader, you will die."

---

Malachi and I found the elevator and jammed the key into the slot outside. I expected some sort of fire to shoot out and kill us all, but nothing happened. Florence cried as the elevator went out. I avoided looking at Malachi.

But I felt his hand on my shoulder. "We're not going to die, okay? So I'm not going to give you some cheesy farewell."

I looked at him and he had his shit-eating grin on his face. I couldn't help but grin back. "You're right. "No time to waste with goodbyes, right?"

The elevator lurched to a stop.

Summer's vine slipped into my hand and I looked at the Pokemon. Czeslaw took her other vine and Isaac took his paw. He offered his to Uriah. I reached up and and took Florence's paw.

Uriah snorted. No time for this. Let's go.

I broke into a wry smile and we unlinked hands, and exited the elevator.

We stepped into the room. It was almost bare except for a table, a computer, and a shelf of books. A chair was turned around so I couldn't see the person who was sitting there. I would've found it amusing if I wasn't so scared. I could vaguely imagine a man with a meowth on his lap.

"I'm here for my mother," I said.

My voice came out weaker than I'd hoped, but Malachi put a hand on my arm and that helped a little. The chair swiveled. I held my breath.

But who I saw made my world fall apart.

It was the man I'd only seen in pictures.

My father.