Opal & Topaz

S1 ep 17: Finding a Spark in the dark.

How many turns had they made now? Quite a few. He didn't care enough to keep count.

He was cold, wet, hurt, and miserable. At most, he wanted to just curl up on the floor and see if he could sleep off a dislocated thumb.

But he needed to find Sparks first. Moody as he was, he knew he'd never forgive himself if he didn't find them. Especially once he actually managed to get some sleep, and maybe some medical attention.

"Where the fuck are we?" Deimos whispered. Everyone had taken to whispering in fear of being heard. Hank simply didn't speak. It seemed more efficient, stealth and energy-wise.

"For the last time, saying that won't help!" Oh, and that too. The other two had taken to arguing, apparently. As if they didn't have enough problems already. Hank considered multiple times telling them so, before deciding he'd rather focus on keeping his hand steady.

Steadying himself seemed to hurt the least. That being said, it still hurt. But it took the pressure off his thumb, at least.

Hank listened for the quiet sound of his blue friend following along. Just as suspected, he heard quiet pitter pattering from the roof. Not that he thought they'd leave. But if they went still it was generally a sign that someone was nearby. And that someone nearby was generally unwanted.

Another fork in the path. Not that it mattered too much to him. While the other two thought he was leading, really he was just following Daz. If they were smart enough to lead those two to Hank, they could lead Hank to Sparks before showing them the nearest exit.

Another left. Odd. They'd taken quite a few of those, hadn't they? Surely Daz wasn't taking them in circles? Hank pondered on this for a moment, before ultimately losing his train of thought as a muscle twitched in his hand, shooting pain through his thumb.

It was now he wished they'd just found another way out of those cuffs, and had the other two explore back here without him. At least he wouldn't have to deal with those two arguing every other minute back there.

"Seriously, I think we're going in circles!" Deimos argued. Hank kept his gaze ahead. The last thing he wanted was to be dragged into this stupid argument, whatever it was about.

"Well, what do you want us to do, genius?" Sanford snapped, which Hank thought was unusual. If anything, he thought Sanford would be the calmest of them.

"I'd like this guy to tell us where the fuck we're going!" Wow. Maybe the company that hired them needed to invest in swear jars.

Either way, that question answered itself. By some miracle, Daz had brought them back to Hank's 'holding' room. How convenient for them. And the guards, whoever they were, seemed to be long gone now. 

There was still some angry mumbling behind him, but he was too focused on finding Sparks to care. He just wanted to bring his Pokémon back to safety, then maybe sleep for the next ten years.

As expected, Daz led them through the tunnel the guards originally came from. Hopefully they saw where team Aqua  placed stolen pokeballs, otherwise they'd all be stumbling around in the dark for a while yet.

All through the tunnels here, the eerie chanting of a crowd filled the silence. Hopefully Sparks wasn't there, wherever there was.

The chanting kept getting louder, and Hank wondered what it was all about. Maybe his thumb hurt, and he couldn't concentrate, but the other two didn't have that problem.

If they decided to investigate, Hank was happy to let them. They just needed to realise that Hank was also more than happy to leave without them once he found Sparks.