Uncontained

Malachi had two spare rooms, including his own empty one. I didn't feel comfortable sleeping in Malachi's room, so I slept on the couch. My Pokemon snoozed around me. I wanted to kiss Spirit goodnight, but I held back the urge. Spirit wasn't my girlfriend, and more than that, I'd been a complete douchebag to her. The only thing I could do now was keep her safe. Especially from myself.

Beth and Malachi's dad, Jeff, made a huge breakfast for us to see us off. It made me cry. I felt stupid for the blast of waterworks, but no one cared. I knew I had to leave and that thought hurt so bad there was no way I couldn't keep myself from crying. Spirit rubbed my back as I finished a box of tissues. Then we walked to the ferry.

"I'm going to be upset if the Rockets find you and kill you," I said. I didn't bother sugarcoating the fact. She needed a reality check anyway.

"I'm prepared for the consequences."

I looked her straight in the eye. "I'm not. I don't want you to die."

She gazed back with unreal coolness. "I won't." Then she took my hand. "We're both strong."

I wasn't sure whether she meant my Pokemon were strong, or that we were emotionally strong.

The ferry took about an hour to get to Cinnabar, and I didn't get seasick once. The town sprang up on a chunk of land in the ocean. It had rusty red mountains over the one skyscraper in the town, and the houses themselves were built on the rock. Most of them were made of clay straight out of the boulders. Sparse patches of stringy grass littered in the crevices of the rocks. When we arrived, Spirit eyed a creepy-ass mansion at the edge of Cinnabar. But as routine was, we went to the Pokemon Center first.

I may or may not have stalled a bit looking for the Rockets and planned on somehow leaving Spirit at the Pokemon Center while I searched. After chatting with the locals, I found that if a trainer wanted to fight Blaine, they had to go through the Pokemon Mansion and find the key to the gym inside. I thought that was bullshit. But after pounding stubbornly on the locked doors to Blaine's gym, I realized there was no other way inside.

We marched to the mansion. Spirit looked like she were biting her tongue. "Okay, what is it?" I asked finally.

"The Rocket outpost is underground," she said. "Underneath the Pokemon Mansion."

I halted dead in my tracks. "Fuck going in there, then." Then a thought hit me. "Does Blaine even know about this?"

"Not at all, but I'm sure if he did, he would have swept us all out." Spirit grimaced. "Trainers would disappear inside the mansion when they took the challenge. People said it was from ghosts, but..."

"It was from Team Rocket," I finished. A rotten feeling sank into my gut. "And Blaine would let that happen?"

"He searched the entire area himself and found not a single Rocket. They were good at hiding, too good. Now I think you have to sign a medical release before you go inside."

"Damn." I chewed on my lower lip. "Spirit, I'll head in without you. You can stay at the Pokemon Center."

Spirit sighed. "Still going to keep up that act? If Blaine can't find the Rockets, how do you think you would?"

I couldn't answer her. I heart felt torn in half. First half for my mom, and the other for Spirit. "Please stay by my side, then," I whispered.

The Pokemon mansion rose in front of us, it was a red brick building with rusted shutters on the windows. The door paint was grey and peeling, and posted in the middle of it was indeed the medical waiver. I didn't bother with it and barged right inside. A moldy red carpet expanded along the foyer and I was overwhelmed by a feeling I couldn't describe. Spirit joined my side and rubbed her arms. The hair on her skin must have been standing up just like mine.

The foyer was lined with statues of rhydon, arcanine, and other powerful Pokemon, but most of them were crumbling from age and covered with cobwebs. I shivered and ran my hand along the edge of one. It was cold as death and a thick layer of dust covered my fingertips. The eyes of the Pokemon statue leered down at me, watching. Florence sneezed on my shoulder. "Where do we go?" I whispered.

"Follow me." And Spirit led me down the halls.

The wallpaper was coming off in chunks, most of them yellowed and curled onto the floor, and zubat were nestled on the chandeliers above us. The chains creaked precariously when the Pokemon shifted. I was more concerned with pieces of the floor missing. Under the broken boards I could see nothing. I kept Rose close to me as we trekked through the wreckage. In the distance I heard a cracking noise. "Are there people around here?" I asked quietly.

"Not up here." She tilted her head slightly and I knew she heard the sound as well. "It's probably the rafters. It happens all the time." Then she stopped in front of an arcanine statue and stuck her hand inside its mouth. Before I could say something, I heard a click, and something heavy groaned from the other side of the mansion. A hidden door had been opened. Spirit dusted her hand off, which gave me some relief. The dust meant the Rockets hadn't used this switch in a long time. "I'm not going with you any further," Spirit said. "The door opened where the big fireplace used to be. If there's any trouble, I'll stay out. Call for me if there isn't any trouble." Then she slipped her slender hand in mine. "I'll go to you if I find trouble," she said.

"I'll be back in a second," I promised. I willed my hand to release hers, even though her touch made me want to stay, and jogged across the room. Exactly as she said, the fireplace had moved, and underneath it was a trap door. There was a big "R" painted over it, as if the Rockets couldn't figure it out already. Czeslaw put a firm claw over my shoulder before I lifted it. I will be here if anything happens, he growled.

I swallowed and lifted the wooden door. Summer held it open for me with her vines. Inside was only darkness. Uriah extended his tail and illuminated some concrete stairs. I mustered my courage and tromped down there. Florence, Isaac, and Rose followed. The others were too big.

I felt around until I found a string and pulled it. A naked lightbulb sparked to life and revealed the area around me. There was a row of cots, desks, and a single outdated computer, but no people. Along the end of the hall were tunnels and none were lit up. Dust blanketed everything. It was a tad less dust than what was outside, though.

There's no one here, Isaac said. I nodded gravely and searched the desks. Everything inside was scraped clean. Nothing was under the beds either. If anyone was here, they'd already left, or didn't even arrive yet.

Then a shrill scream pierced the air.

I bolted and Summer's vines wrenched me around the waist and hauled me through the trapdoor. Florence clung to my hair and squealed. Rose and Isaac burst through the stairs upward. Czeslaw roared. And that was when I saw a man gripping Spirit by the hair with a gun in his hand. It was Spirit's brother. "Soul, let go!" she wailed.

"Don't take a step of she will die," the man growled.

I flung my hands up out of reflex. "Please let her go!" I blurted. "I'm not here for you, I just want to find Giovanni! Please let her go!"

"Giovanni's not here," he spat. "No one is. Everyone here is gone for good. I'm the only one left."

A strange calmness overtook me. "Then let your sister go," I said.

The man sucked in a quick breath. "You told him about us?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"I trust him," Spirit hissed.

His gun wavered at her temple. Czeslaw's muscles tensed. "Please," I said. "I won't hurt you."

Then, he lowered it and let go of Spirit's hair. Just as he let go, Spirit slapped him across the face.

"Yowch!" He recoiled.

Spirit fumed and jabbed a finger into her brother's chest. "Screw you!" she cried. "If you hadn't been jumping to conclusions and listen sometime we wouldn't be in these situations! Beau rescued me from Silph when it exploded. We're just here for Giovanni, you numbskull!"

Even with the young man's guilty expression, I didn't feel comfortable with the gun still in his hand. He seemed to realize it, narrowed his eyes, and placed it back into the holster at his hip. Czeslaw relaxed, but only slightly. Let me walk with you, he growled, and I allowed it and approached them.

"Has the time finally come?" the man asked in a low voice. "Spirit, are you finally going to destroy Team Rocket?"

"With Beau's help, I will," she stated. "It will happen, Soul."

Soul looked me up and down with a critical blue gaze. Then his eyes shifted to my Pokemon. "I've beaten Giovanni twice," I said. "Plus he has my mother. I can't let him get away with this."

Soul said nothing for a long while. He looked just like his sister, though his nose and face shape were a bit different. And his eyes were cold. "I won't help you," he said, "but if you fail, I will protect you both from Giovanni's wrath." Then his ice blue eyes struck me. "You have my faith, though. Giovanni will be in Viridian City with what's left of us. You won't have a problem getting through to him. A weak leader has no followers."