The Regeneration Effect

Chapter Twenty-Three - Carried

"Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green . . ."

Rosa stared blankly at the empty cell opposite hers, her throbbing shoulders slouched against the back wall. The surrounding gloom was suffocating, and as vast as the ocean beneath her. It was impossible to keep track of time from her cell, but if she had to guess, she'd been trapped for years.

"When I am king, dilly dilly, you shall be queen . . ."

The ship rocked, sending a nest of spiders crawling through Rosa's stomach, but she clenched her fists so her nails bit into her palms until the worst of the nausea passed. The dense fog clouding her mind was thick enough to smother her, but she clung to the one thought that wasn't fuzzy: she had to stay strong for her Pokemon. They needed her, and she them. Even if they couldn't forgive her. Even if she did have to release them afterwards. No matter what, she was going to free them. Her worry for her team was like a leaky faucet in the back of her mind, constantly dripping their names and faces. Zaveid. Anna. Sven. Gaston. Her empty stomach and declining health was nothing compared to wondering after their fates.

"Who told you so, dilly dilly, who told you so? 'Twas my own heart, dilly dilly, that told me so."

The last note didn't ring through the empty chamber as it should have, but instead died under Rosa's breath, her voice too weak to carry and support the sound. It fell away like winter petals from a summer flower, and she leaned her head back against the frigid stone wall, spent.

Her father's song was the only comfort she'd found in her well of darkness. It bound her to reality, in a way – kept her sane.

Which was good, because it felt like a lifetime had passed since she'd attempted escape. The days crawled by, a blur of throbbing muscles and deafening silence, with each hour passing slower than the last. She wanted to see Hugh, or Curtis, or her mother - anyone warm and familiar - but the only visitor she'd had since she'd been locked away was the ninja.

His presence was never welcome.

Sometimes he brought water, which was nice. But every so often, she was forced to endure long sessions of Joltik treatments. He always knocked her out with sleep powder to do it, and she always woke feeling less and less like herself.

At first, when he came to visit, she'd asked him questions: sometimes about Ghetsis, her teammates, and Hugh, but mostly about the Regeneration Effect. What did it mean? Was it code for something? And what had he meant when he said it couldn't save her? But the ninja never gave up his secrets, and soon she grew too tired to demand answers from him. It was hard to keep her fire lit when Ghetsis's head was fuller than her stomach, and the constant pounding in her head resembled a mariachi band.

So, their visits became silent. He watched her with a wolf-like gaze, and she glared back, vividly picturing different ways she could ruin his elegant facial features.

Groggily, Rosa fumbled with the chains behind her back, wishing she could wash away the itchy patches of dried blood there. Her matted hair was in tangles from shaking the bobby pins loose to pick the locks on her shackles, but they'd all broken in the heavy steel mechanisms. The blood was from trying to slide her wrists out- she couldn't get them slippery enough, though.

Insults and gestures were the only real retaliation she had now. It was only a matter of time before the ninja returned to punish her for flipping him off a few hours before.

Remembering pulled a tiny smile from Rosa's mouth. Ticking him off was a bright spot in her otherwise bleak existence.

"Call up your friends, dilly dilly, set them to work. Some to the plough, dilly dilly, some . . ."