The Mask Maker

Please Don't Let It Be Them

They sat down once again on the red couches, Persian appearing from behind Giovanni and affectionately rubbing against his leg. Morai didn't mind cats, but this one always looked like it wouldn't hesitate to shred anything that breathed. 

"So you're joining the Subway Bosses' team of Depot Agents, hm? You'd be the first woman to do it and  you're a criminal, so you can expect a lot of news segments. Are you going to dirty their reputation just to save your own?" Giovanni asked, pressing the tips of his fingers together. 

"Before we continue, I'd like to know what happened in Anville after I was knocked out. Did anyone get hurt?" Morai asked. 

"No one could defeat Ingo. It was a matter of keeping him away from you long enough to take you and get away, which they eventually did. His brother arrived just as they were leaving. The pair put up quite the fight, but it was too late. Other than being mildly roughed up and poisoned, no one got hurt."

Poison? Oh no. They were only involved in this because of me. 

"Alright then. It's true that I was offered a job of sorts to help them with the subway and to keep me from whatever the International Police was going to do with me, but I know that Ingo's proposition was mainly about the latter. He's trying to help me out, like friends do. But everywhere I go with this mask on I always cause problems. That's why I'm taking a break. I'm going somewhere far away for a while."

"We've made a deal. You can't decide to quit and leave," Giovanni said. 

"I almost have already. Why didn't you stop me then?"

"I knew you'd come back, and you weren't going to help the International Police in the past, either. Think about what you're giving up, Champion. We can help you become the strongest in the world."

Yeah, the strongest after you, the trainer thought. 

"I didn't say I was leaving Team Rocket. I just want some time to myself to think and strengthen my powers without causing more damage," Morai explained. "Besides, Interpol isn't happy with me at all right now, and if I return I'll have both them and the Subway Bosses on my tail."

"We can protect you from all of them."

"I don't want anyone I care about to get hurt because of me. What if we made a sort of compromise? I'll go on my trip, and when I get back I work with both you and the Battle Subway. That way, the International Police won't bother me much and I'll be helping the Subway Bosses for a little while. I'm sure I'll be under a close watch, so I'll have to be even more secretive about our partnership, but I'm sure you're used to that. Ingo and Emmet know who I am, and if I refuse their offer I'll constantly be running from everyone, even without a mask."

"Hm. You've made a decent case. It would force Team Rocket to work harder just to keep you around. You'll have to prove you're worth that effort. Will you do that on your solo excursion?" the Rocket boss calmly asked. 

"I will. And to prove it, you can have this."

 Morai took off her mask and placed it on the table in front of Giovanni. 

"When I get back, I won't need it...Well, actually, I'd still like to cover my face, but keep it until then." 

Giovanni took the mask in his hands and looked at it.

"You really are going somewhere secluded, hm? You won't need to hide your identity at all?"

"Well, I mean, I'll probably have something  to cover my face, but not that. I don't want to rely on it." 

"Alright then," Giovanni said with a sigh. "We have paper bags you can cut holes in, though it won't look as nice."

Giovanni smiled and Morai gave an awkward chuckle. Suddenly, an alarm began to sound and red lights started to flash throughout the building. Morai jumped up and looked around as a Team Rocket grunt burst through the door.

"Sir! There are intruders in the building!" he shouted.

Please don't let it be—

"They appear to be the trainers we fought in Anville Town."

Of course it is. 

"Let me take care of this. Please," Morai said. 

The trainer looked to Giovanni and ran out of the room, no mask on her face. Everyone around her was either running or stopping to do a double-take of her. She didn't notice. All she cared about in the moment was keeping her friends from reaching even deeper into her secret life. 

"She's going to take care of it, but not like that. Do it," Giovanni commanded, handing a grunt the vial he had been given by the scientists. 

The building was so confusing. Everyone was running somewhere, but not all to the same place. The Mask Maker stopped and looked around frantically before grabbing someone by the shoulders and asking them where the intruders were. 

"On floor 7," they quickly answered. "Wait a second, aren't you—" 

Before he could finish his sentence Morai ran off to find an elevator. She found one and pressed the same button for the seventh floor numerous times, as if that would make it go faster. Waiting while it slowly descended was excruciating. The trainer's heart was pounding and she felt lightheaded. The loud echoes of the alarm and the flashing of red didn't help. 

Ding!

She started through the doors as soon as they were open enough to fit through. Once out, she almost got hit by an Archeops. Morai looked to where it came from and found the silhouettes of Emmet together with Ingo far down the hall. She stood there, staring at them. Team Rocket grunts were rushing toward them from the other side of the hall. She could feel the wind from the attacks of the Pokémon on her face, and she realized she had left her mask several floors above. She reached for her Pokéballs, but nothing was there. 

What do I do?  How do I stop this chaos? I'm the one that started it all. 

The Mask Maker, with no mask, ran as hard as she could toward her friends, dodging Pokémon and their attacks. She was knocked to the ground by an Arbok. She had already been roughed up from the events of the past day, and there was so much adrenaline flowing through her veins that she didn't notice her injuries. She did all she knew to do by standing up and desperately yelling at the top of her lungs. 

"Stop!"

To her surprise, everyone had actually stopped. The only sound that remained was the slight ringing in her ears. But before she could do anything, she was grabbed from behind. 

"Surrender and give up your Pokémon, or else." 

Morai was being restrained by two Team Rocket grunts and a third was standing to the side, holding something in his hand. 

Ingo and Emmet eyed each other, then looked back at Morai. She was struggling to get free, but it was no use. 

"Don't do it! It's not worth it!" she yelled. 

Morai looked at both of them with desperation, and they stood tall and silently looked at her. They looked to each other one last time and nodded. It was obvious that Emmet was the one that had been poisoned, and Ingo had torn clothes and scratches across his face. 

"You are worth it," they said in unison. 

They called their Pokémon back and began to set their Pokéballs on the floor.  Morai noticed that one of their Pokémon was missing. 

Excadrill?...Oh, I see. The hole in the ground. Well done, Ingo. 

Ingo's Pokémon burst out of the tunnel it had made and aimed for the two Team Rocket grunts, forcing them to jump aside. The third, in a split second, grabbed Morai and jammed a syringe with the vial Giovanni had given him into her neck and let her go. She fell to the floor, writhing in pain. 

Her head felt like it was splitting open, until she didn't feel anything at all.