We land on flakes of snow, tired and exhausted from the abrupt incident. How I can't wait but to see Ebony again, and once I do, I'll give her a taste of her own medicine. Not only her, but including her own sister and crew. Because of her actions, our pilot has perished, and not only that, she has risked the lives of the three of us, nearly pushing one of us to make the sacrifice move. If it wasn't for our pilot's coward nature.
On the island of bare frost, Virgo sets up the tracking device, a handy gadget given to us by professor Olive. With it, acquiring Articuno will be a breeze and we'll definitely catch it before the opposing team does.
"Luna, Charlotte! By good fortune, Articuno is located somewhere in this island." Virgo reports, staring and observing the tracking device carefully.
"Then what can I say, but thank you to Ebony and her crew." I reply back sarcastically. We have the upper hand, for we have landed above our target. According to the tracker, the Pokemon's location is located somewhere beneath our feet. This would mean another trial, and that is to pass the caves of frost and ice. It can make anyone's skin look like an apparition, white and pale.
The gamble for the mirage of ice continues! Without a moment to lose, we make our way to one of the cave's rocky entrance. If it we'rent for the professor's Team Rocket Tundra Outfits, we would be frozen meat by now. The outfits give us warmth and comfort throughout our whole journey within the walls of the Seafoam caves. In these caves, only one color is present, and that is white.
The pristine whiteness extends as far as the eyes could see. Wherever you look, wherever you step on, it is always pure snow. Even the hanging stalactites, to the piercing stalagmites are merely shards made out of snow, making them blunt. A single touch of them however, does not pierce but numbs your fingers.
This could be a winter wonderland for Virgo, gazing on the beauty for snow, but for me and Charlotte, the trauma a year ago keeps bouncing back to our shallow minds. This time, we are cautious and prepared for what is to come to avoid what happened a year ago. I could not bare for the same scenarios to happen again.
"This seems like a nice place to rest, don't you think?" Charlotte questions to me.
"Rest? We need to find Articuno before the opposing side does. I have no time to eat." I respond with seriousness, continuing my walk through the cave.
"But we've been walking for more than an hour. My stomach is hungry." Virgo says, begging for pity. As an Elite Operative, the decision falls to me, whether to eat or continue is up to me. If I were to say yes, the society will have an upper hand, but if I were to say no, what would they think of me? A bossy agent just like Xavier. It would be an irony to think that the person who has no liking to bossy people is one of those people.
Being an elite also has its disadvantages, and this is one of them. I think for the decision for a moment or two, thinking on what to sacrifice, our hunger or Articuno. I am aware the opposing side is also looking for the mirage, lurking somewhere here, and if they were to claim Articuno before us, then it would be game over.
From nowhere, an incident changes the topic. While walking around in circles, I accidentally stepped on something I wasn't suppose to step on. Blue ice, one of the most brittle ice known to mankind. It is so fragile, even a Caterpie could break it, what more my feet?
"Ah!" I shriek, accidentally stepping on the blue ice, causing me to fall. In a nick of time, before my body hits the cave system below us, Charlotte grabs my hand. Her response was faster than a bolt of lightning. My face turns into an expression of shock, seeing her worried eyes, clinging her hands to mine.
"Don't worry, I won't let go." She says the exact words I've told her back in one of the prisons of the PPD. I feel proud to have a friend like her.
Alongside with Virgo, they try to raise me back, but little does Virgo know that she has stepped on a blue ice as well, causing her to fall too. The cracking of the blue ice, affected the surrounding snow, causing even Charlotte to fall as well. The three of us crash to the lower floor of the caves of Seafoam.
"Ouch." I utter, massaging my aching head. The fall is quite harsh, making the pain a little bit hard to tolerate. The three of us have fallen to a place we did not expect, however, it was one lucky drop. The cave is filled with complete darkness, and your voice could even echo loudly. In front of us however, is the shining golden price.
Articuno, we have fallen directly to Articuno. Its body is encased inside a sphere of ice, sleeping for more than a thousand years I presume. Its shining glory around the ice it sleeps in, attracts the attention of me, Charlotte, and Virgo.
"So... this is what Articuno looks like personally. I've only seen it in books. I never knew it would be this mystical." Virgo utters softly. Her eyes flinch, stuck with no choice but to stare in awe. This is a jaw-dropping discovery for the three of us, and what's better is Ebony, her sister, and their whole crew could not be found anywhere near. The trophy falls to us.
With only three chances to acquire the mirage of ice, the only thing left to do is to awaken it from its mystic chambers.