The Trial of Dreams and Memories (TMM 2)

Arthur's Capture

After spending a few weeks investigating possible leads outside of the prison, it was time for Arthur to return. He didn't have a lot to show for his time out, but he had enjoyed the vacation from the secluded prison nonetheless. Alola had been the police chief's final destination. It was where much of The Mask Maker's escapades had taken place and where she chose to spend most of her time. It was only rivaled in her favoritism by Unova. Arthur poked around her now eerily empty house, which had been gathering dust. Trophies and medals belonging to the person she was before lined the wall, pictures of her and her friends scattered between them. 

"Damn shame," he had said upon viewing them, puffing a cigarette. 

The prison was on no map, of course, and accessing it came with certain procedures, one step of which was using the Aether Foundation's airstrip to leave the islands. They had been kind enough to lend it out. Arthur didn't speak to anyone while he was there, simply heading straight to the back of the artificial island where a small jet awaited him. His pilot stood outside to greet him and verify his identity while Arthur did the same. Finally, the tired police agent could board and put his feet up while he poured himself a glass of whiskey. 

It didn't take too long for the man to realize something was wrong. He didn't let it show, instead casually taking out his phone to send a distress signal and his location to everyone authorized to see it before wiping his phone of its data. Arthur didn't know how to fly, and he was unsure of how many people were in the cockpit. He also lacked Flying-type Pokémon, making midair escape nearly impossible. Surmising that his captor was Team Rocket, he pulled his hat down over his face and pretended to sleep. Causing trouble was likely to get him killed more quickly. If he stalled for as long as possible, he could both gather information and hopefully be rescued. 

"I figured," he sighed upon seeing the doors open to reveal Team Rocket grunts. The police agent didn't put up a fight, letting them frisk him, take his weapons, Pokémon, and phone and bind his wrists. Giovanni was waiting in his office, standing up with a smile as Arthur was led into the room. 

"Ah, let him go," he said with a wave of his hand. His Persian stalked out from behind him. 

"She really did fight it, I see," Arthur calmly observed, taking a seat. The black and red color scheme of the building reminded him of Morai. 

"That she did," the boss answered, pouring them both a drink before sitting across from Arthur. "Is she also responsible for that?" he asked, gesturing to his eye. 

"No, that was my wife," Arthur joked. 

"Let me see," Giovanni ordered. Arthur rolled his eyes, realizing that he didn't necessarily have a choice. He removed the eyepatch that he had been wearing while his wound healed, revealing a large scar that went through his eyebrow and over his eyelid. His actual eye wasn't rendered completely useless, but nothing was clear through it anymore. Giovanni leaned in and observed it before leaning back with a self-satisfied mile. 

"How is she?" he asked. 

"She's alive," Arthur tersely answered, not wanting to give anything away. "It's considered irresponsible to leave your pet in the hands of strangers."

"I knew she'd be in good hands. We've had quite the time trying to find her, however."

"It's almost like that was intentional. Is that what you're going to try and waterboard out of me?"

"No, no," Giovanni answered with a chuckle. "Keeping tabs on her has just been harder than I expected, is all. I was hoping you'd help me out. We're at a humorous crossroads. It's not beneficial to kill you now, and you can't do anything to me, so all we can do is talk."