Bang!
"Chomp!"
A blur of black; the Team Rocket grunt hit the deck instantly. Suzie and Giselle looked closer and realized their savior was none other than Cynthia's Garchomp. Cynthia's voice followed from behind, "Where are you two headed?"
"The cabins." Having just been saved by Cynthia, Giselle couldn't just ignore the question, so she answered coolly, "We're going to find Silas."
"I'll come with you," Cynthia offered with a cheerful smile, "And don't be so quick to turn me down. There are at least several hundred Team Rocket members on this ship, if not a full thousand—they're everywhere. If I'm not guarding you, there's no way you'll make it to Silas's room in one piece."
"Um…"
Giselle hesitated. She honestly knew Cynthia was right, but still didn't want to get too entangled with her—the Oak family's grudge was still there. As she hesitated, Suzie spoke up, "Alright. Thank you, Miss Cynthia."
"Let's go," Cynthia said, leading the way with Garchomp down the corridor.
"Sis Suzie, this…" Giselle was at a loss as she glanced at Cynthia ahead of them.
"We don't have much choice," Suzie replied, still walking. She gave a wry smile. "Miss Cynthia is right. Without her help, who knows if we'd even get to Silas alive. Sure, maybe Silas will be annoyed about it later, but he'll get it."
"Alright then." Hearing Suzie's reasoning, Giselle nodded with resignation.
The S.S. Anne's cabins were nestled deep in ship's hull. To get from the banquet hall to the cabins, Suzie's group had to pass through the dining hall, the lounge, and the gym. With Cynthia on their side, Team Rocket grunts were basically cannon fodder, so it didn't take long for the three women to reach Silas's cabin.
Inside the cabin.
Pikachu was in the middle of a sweaty set of push-ups, with Silas looming above him and barking out advice.
"That's it… bend those arms more. Get your body lower. Tail up! Good—now… fall!"
Bang!
"Pikachu—" Pikachu flopped flat onto the floor, then shot a pitiful look at his sadistic Trainer, who looked way too delighted at his suffering. The three women stared, dumbfounded. How thick was Silas's skull, really? The outside world was in complete chaos and this guy… was just playing games with Pikachu.
"Silas!" Giselle was at her wits' end. She yelled at him, "The place is blowing up out there! Do you even know what's going on?"
"So what?" Silas stopped messing with Pikachu and returned him to his Master Ball. He was halfway into a dismissive response when he spotted Cynthia behind the girls, so the smile instantly vanished from his face as he asked flatly, "What are you doing here?"
"Me?" Cynthia gestured to herself, then to Giselle and Suzie. "I escorted these two. If it weren't for me, do you really think they'd have made it here safely?"
"Thanks."
Silas forced the word out, then turned to Giselle and Suzie, apologetic. "Sorry, I didn't think this through. You got caught up in danger because of me."
"It's fine," Suzie and Giselle said in unison, shaking their heads. Giselle went straight back on topic: "But seriously, things are insane out there! Aren't you going to do something?"
"Do something?" Silas smirked, his expression turning scornful as he shook his head. "And why would I? Those Team Rocket grunts are just small fry—barely stronger than newbie Trainers. If the people out there can't handle this, honestly, this is the perfect excuse to weed out all the dead weight."
Giselle was stunned. Suzie hesitated: "Isn't that kind of harsh?"
"Not really." Silas shrugged. He didn't care at all for the same people who'd harassed him earlier, and besides, he held no league post—he was just a rank-and-file citizen, with zero obligation to play hero. He'd never had any respect for self-proclaimed saviors, anyway—why start now?
Seeing that Silas had no intention of intervening, Suzie dropped the subject and changed tracks. "Then… when do we leave?"
"Whenever~" Silas gave an exaggerated shrug, shooting an unconcerned glance at Suzie and Giselle. "Anytime you're ready. It's completely up to you—if you want to hang out on this ship a bit more, go ahead."
"…" Suzie.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Giselle rolled her eyes, exasperated. "The ship is about to sink! What kind of fun are we supposed to have—unless you mean fun at the bottom of the ocean?"
"Fine." Seeing Giselle all worked up, Silas grinned. "Let's bounce."
With that, he reached for his Master Ball at his waist, planning to have his Pokémon punch a hole through the hull and fly himself, Giselle, and Suzie straight to the next city.
But just as he got ready to move, a colossal wave smashed against the S.S. Anne, slamming into the hull and sending the whole ship into a series of massive shudders—it felt like they were going to capsize any second!
The violent tremor made Silas's face pale. He barely had time to throw his Master Ball before his entire body was flung into the air. White-hot pain shot from his skull straight down his spine.
Damn…
Did I take it too far this time…?
Even through the pain, Silas grimaced. But his eyelids felt like lead—consciousness faded as he felt a soft, gentle touch brush his lips, and then the world went utterly dark.
Underwater.
"Silas, wake up!"
"Silas, come on, wake up!"
"Silas, Sister Suzie's hurt—please, don't leave us!"
In a daze, Silas heard Giselle's anxious voice, and forced himself to ignore the pain in his head, cracking his eyes open. Hovering over him was Giselle's panicked face, worry carved into every line.
"What… happened?" Silas did his best to gather himself and managed a faint smile. "Did something go wrong?"
"Silas!" Suzie screamed when she saw him stir, hurrying over. "Hurry, get up! Sister Suzie's injured!"
Suzie's injured?!
The shock overrode his grogginess, and Silas shot upright.
The first thing he saw was an alarming pool of blood. Next, his gaze found Suzie—ashen-faced, bandages wrapped around her head, tinged red. She was unconscious, lying limply in Cynthia's arms. Silas's voice went low and tense: "What happened?"
"That," Cynthia said, nodding at an overturned table a few meters away. Blood was still staining the sharp corner. Silas understood immediately; when the ship was hit by the wave, Suzie must've slammed her head right into the table—that's how she'd ended up this way.
Sure, people in this world were tougher than twenty-first century folks, but an injury was still an injury. It was just that the severity might be less than what it'd be on Earth—otherwise, losing this much blood from a head wound in the old world would've been a death sentence.
Despite that, Suzie's situation was anything but good—head injury and so much blood loss. Silas questioned grimly, "How bad is it?"
"Not good." Cynthia shook her head, clutching Suzie close. "I managed to bandage her, but it's rough and she needs emergency care, ASAP. If seawater gets in her wound, infection's certain—it'll only get worse."
She paused, then went on, "Even if the wound stays dry, she's lost so much blood, her brain's not getting enough oxygen. If we try to break for the surface right now, there's no guarantee she'll even make it…"
"I get it." Silas cut her off, serious. "Any other issues?"
"No." Cynthia shook her head; her eyes were full of sorrow. In her mind, Suzie was most likely lost.
While Cynthia grieved, Silas moved in front of her and, with one fluid motion, scooped Suzie into his arms. He turned to Giselle, who looked stunned and nervous. "Let's go."
"Go where?" Giselle blurted.
"The hospital," Silas said quietly.
...
S.S. Anne, bottom level.
Thanks to the luxury cruise being tossed upside down, the lowest deck was now the highest, and the top deck was the new bottom. Ten minutes later, Silas—Suzie in his arms—arrived there with Cynthia and Giselle.
"Silas?!" As soon as they entered, a joyous voice called out. It was Ash and his friends—and with them, Team Rocket's notorious goofball trio. Ash was surprised and concerned, "What are you doing here? What happened to Sister Suzie?!"
"It's nothing," Silas answered flatly. "Just a little cut."
"Glad to hear it." The ever-clueless Ash didn't give it much thought and jumped ahead, "Hey, do you have a Water-type Pokémon? We're about to blast out of here. If you need to borrow one, just say the word."
"No need." Silas shook his head, not eager for small talk. "Are you all ready to move out? If you are, I'll punch a hole and we jet—I need to get Suzie to the hospital. Now."
"Wait," Ash replied quickly, "Brock and Misty went to get some rope. As soon as they're back, we—"
"Ash!" Brock's voice interrupted, "We've got the rope. Uh, Silas, when did you get here?"
"Tie it off," Silas barked, ignoring Brock's surprise. "We're going. Now."
"Got it!" Something in Silas's voice left no room for argument; Brock and the others leapt into action.
As Ash's group dealt with the rope, Silas finally faced Cynthia. "Thanks. This time, I owe you. If you ever need anything, just say the word—no matter how crazy, I'll return this favor."
"Deal!" Cynthia nodded without hesitation.
As Silas and Cynthia wrapped up their conversation, Ash's group finished tying the rope.
Seeing they were set, Silas pulled out his Master Ball from his waist. "Charizard!"
ROAR!!!
Charizard exploded onto the scene, immediately sensing Silas's urgency. He crouched down low, and Silas climbed on, Suzie still in his arms. He turned to Giselle, "Get on."
"Okay." Giselle nodded. She was confused as to why Silas called Charizard here, but she trusted him—no questions, just action.
Once she was aboard, Silas gave Charizard a sharp command: "Fire Shield!"
"Charizard~"
Charizard gave a deep growl, then struck the ground hard with his wings, launching them all upward. The flame on his tail whipped around them, weaving into a massive, seamless dome of fire.
This…
Is this…?
Even Cynthia, who'd just called out her Milotic, was stunned. As she stood staring, Silas's voice boomed through the flames, wild and fierce, "Break us out!"