It hit us at once that we weren't getting out.

  Something's blocking teleportation

  Graves was still kneeling beside the body, but her posture had changed.

  Rigid. Alert.

  Her voice dropped. "Something's blocking us."

  Slowbro's eyes glowed faintly again, psychic energy rippling around its body and then sputtering out like sunlight being choked by smoke.

  The air shimmered, wrong somehow. Heavy. I felt it — the same kind of interference I'd felt before, at the HQ

  Dark Emiters

  Graves stood up fast, pulling her RangerNav from her belt. "HQ, this is Lieutenant Graves. Code..."

  Static. The signal icon blinked red.

  She frowned, thumbed through frequencies, switched to backup channels. Nothing.

  "Nav's jammed," she muttered. "Try yours."

  I pulled mine from my own belt. The small screen glowed faintly, the comm line trying to connect. I cycled through local frequencies, regional, and then emergency, every one jammed.

  Elena tried next. Then Takashi. Then Kaito. Same thing.

  "Jammed across all bands," I said quietly. "This is not good."

  Graves didn't answer right away. She just stared into the trees, expression sharpening as she thought.

  Then Takashi's shaky voice broke the silence. "Uh… Lieutenant?"

  He was pointing near the woman's body.

  At first, I didn't see it. Then I did.

  A pistol. Half-buried under leaves and blood. Modern issue.

  Graves moved over, crouched, and picked it up with two fingers. The side was dented, slide jammed halfway open, the Safety was off.

  She checked the mark on the handle.

  "Not a ranger's," she said flatly.

  Kaito swallowed. "Then what the hell is going on?"

  Graves didn't answer. She stood, scanned the tree line again. I could tell she was putting it together in her head.

  Finally, she said, calm but low, "A jamming field this strong means one of two things. Either someone brought in restricted tech..."

  She paused, eyes narrowing. "Or someone's using a lot of dark-types to power the interference. Either way, this isn't random."

  That shut us up.

  She reached for two more Poké Balls on her belt and released them.

  The first hit the ground and burst open, a Ninetales, tall and sleek, fur a deep, glossy white, eyes glowing crimson. Its nine tails fanned out like dark flames, stirring the air and scattering dirt and leaves

  The second was smaller, but the ground dipped as it appeared a Scizor, muscles tight under its crimson exoskeleton, eyes glowing faint gold as it flexed its claws.

  Both Pokémon stood still, waiting.

  Even after everything we'd seen these past few weeks, I felt my spine straighten. The air around them pressed down with weight. The kind that only comes from Pokémon who've bled, fought, and walked away.

  I saw the scars. Old ones. Pale lines cutting through the Ninetales' dark fur, a notch missing from one tail. The Scizor's steel shell was scratched and dented in places, edges worn smooth from years of impact.

  Graves looked over them once, then turned back to us. Her voice cut through the forest's quiet.

  "Listen up."

  We all focused.

  "Whatever's going on here, it's coordinated. That means we treat this like a hostile zone. My priority is getting word to HQ. Takashi, Elena, and Kaito, you'll take Slowbro and move towards the coast. That's the shortest route to open signal range."

  Takashi blinked. "Wait, you're splitting us up?"

  "Yes," she said firmly. "You'll take point under Slowbro's protection. Once you're out of the interference, contact HQ and give them our coordinates. Report a confirmed casualty, probable hostile activity, and an active jamming field."

  She turned to me. "Arata, you and I are going forward."

  I tensed. "Forward? Toward what?"

  "Whatever did this," she said. "If someone's using that kind of field, there's a reason. There could still be survivors. Or more targets."

  Kaito took a step forward. "Ma'am, that's suicide. We don't know what's out there."

  Graves' stare silenced him instantly. "We're Rangers. We move toward danger when others can't."

  Then she looked back at me, and I didn't flinch

  She nodded once, then turned to the others again.

  "Keep your comms open, even if it's static. Move fast. Move quietly. Don't stray off the path unless Slowbro says it's safe. If you encounter any hostiles, only engage as a last resort. Understood?"

  They nodded, still uneasy.

  Graves raised a hand toward her Slowbro. "Get them as close to the coast as possible. Stay linked."

  The Slowbro's eyes glowed faintly as he nodded to his trainer.

  I watched them vanish into the trees, heading downhill through the mist.

  Then it was just us.

  Me, Graves, Caesar, Ninetails, and Sizor.

  My boots crunched leaves as I stepped closer to her.

  Graves looked down once more at the blood trail, then at me.

  "You keep that dragon close," she said. "If something jumps, I want it between us and them."

  I nodded. "Understood."

  Caesar growled low in agreement, stepping forward. His eyes were locked on the treeline ahead, tusks faintly gleaming in the dim light.

  Graves took one last glance around the clearing, then started walking toward the deeper woods.

  I followed.

  Whatever this was, it wasn't random.

  The forest thickened the deeper we went.

  Roots like ropes underfoot, branches clawing at my jacket. Caesar led the way, every step careful.

  We kept moving. Graves' Pokémon padded alongside her

  We didn't talk much. Just hand signals. Watch left. Move up. Hold.

  The trees started to thin after a while, the ground turning rocky. The forest gave way to jagged stone and steep rises. Caesar used his claws to pull himself up ahead of me, testing footholds.

  Then I saw it.

  At first, it looked like just another ridge. But when we climbed closer, I noticed straight lines cut into the rock. Too straight. Artificial.

  A camouflaged panel, half-covered in vines.

  Graves moved closer, brushed some moss away. A dull metallic surface showed underneath rusted, but modern. She ran her fingers along the edge, found a latch.

  "Someone's been here recently," she said quietly. "Hours, maybe a Day."

  I crouched beside her. There were scuff marks on the stone. Boot prints. And in the dirt nearby, a metal casing. Spent. Rifle caliber.

  "Definitely not a Pokémon," I muttered.

  She nodded once, then pried open the panel. It came loose with a screech. Behind it, a dark passage led downward through steel walls, a staircase cut into the rock.

  A faint hum came from below.

  She looked at me. "You hear that?"

  I nodded. "Yeah, I hear it."

  She pulled a flashlight from her belt, clicked it on. "Stay sharp."

  We went down. Caesar followed, crouched low so his head wouldn't hit the ceiling. The steps echoed through the hallway.

  The air was colder down there. Sterile, like an old lab.

  At the bottom, a corridor stretched forward. Doorways on either side, open and dark.

  Graves moved to the first room, swept her light across it.

  Cells.

  Metal bars, reinforced glass, hooks in the ceiling.

  One door still had dried blood smeared across the inside.

  Caesar growled quietly. I didn't stop him.

  We moved on.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  The next room looked worse. A table bolted to the floor, with ,leather straps on each corner. Tools on a tray beside it, surgical, but wrong. Too many stains to be just medical.

  Is this Team Rocket..

  Graves moved. Her jaw was tight, flashlight beam steady as she looked around.

  At the far end, another door. Slightly open.

  She motioned for me to cover. I stepped ahead, knife in hand, other on Caesar's shoulder. We pushed the door open.

  The smell hit first.

  Rot, Iron, Decay.

  Then the sight hit me.

  A woman, tied to a metal chair. No clothes. Skin cut, bruised. Dried blood streaking down her arms and legs. Her head lolled to one side, eyes empty.

  She'd been here for a while, but not long enough to rot completely. The blood on the floor was still wet.

  Caesar let out a low, rumbling growl that made my chest vibrate.

  I forced myself to look. To stay calm. Someone had done this deliberately. Torture.

  Graves knelt, checked for a pulse anyway. Nothing.

  Her voice came out flat. "Dead. At least twenty-four hours. Maybe less."

  I looked around the room again. Recording equipment. A terminal screen was cracked and dark. A metal door at the back was ajar, light flickering faintly behind it.

  Graves stood, adjusted her grip on the flashlight, and nodded toward it. "Let's check that."

  We moved in. The next chamber was small, lined with more cables and consoles. Dust on some but one screen still hummed faintly, low power running through.

  She leaned closer, scanning it.

  "What is it ?"

  She didn't answer right away. Her eyes narrowed as she recognized something.

  "Dark field generator," she said finally. "That explains the teleport block. And…" She tapped another display, half-smashed but still faintly readable. "A jamming node. They built the interference right into the walls."

  I frowned. "Who the hell has that kind of gear? That's restricted military stuff."

  Her jaw clenched told me she was thinking it too.

  She turned to me. "We need to find the power source nearby. A generator room, maybe another wing. We shut it down."

  I nodded. "Understood."

  The hallway stretched deeper, dim lights flickering weakly. My footsteps echoed off the metal. I pulled my knife from its sheath, held it low, ready.

  Caesar moved beside me, every motion quiet for something his size. His eyes glowed faintly blue in the dark.

  There was no sound but the hum of machinery somewhere below and the drip of water from the ceiling.

  I swallowed, steadying my breathing.

  I tightened my grip on the knife and nodded once to Caesar.

  "Let's finish this."

  We kept moving forward, deeper into the dark.

  The tunnels stank of rot and metal.

  My hand stayed near my knife as I followed Lieutenant Graves, Caesar padding close behind, tail light dim. Her Ninetales led the way, fur glowing faint gold, each step scattering motes of ember light that lit the corridor in flickers.

  We passed rows of cells.

  At first, I thought they were empty. Then I saw the shapes.

  Half-rotten. Thin bodies. Pokémon, emaciated, bones pressing through skin.

  The smell hit a second later. I clenched my jaw and kept walking. Graves didn't say a word, but her pace slowed. Even she looked shaken.

  The tunnel opened up into a larger chamber, a circular room with metal grates, broken monitors, and cages lining the walls.

  At the center was a humming machine, its lights flickering red and blue.

  "That's the source," she said.

  I stared at it. "Now what?"

  She glanced at me, dry. "We unplug it."

  Her Scizor stepped forward, eyes glowing faintly. It raised its claws and brought them down. Sparks flew.

  The metal screamed before bursting in a small explosion that forced me to turn away and cover my face. Caesar growled low, tail whipping once in irritation.

  When I looked back, the generator was split open, smoke curling up from its wreckage.

  The red lights flickered once, then went dead.

  Graves was already on her ranger nav, voice sharp. "Lieutenant Graves, Vermillion patrol unit. We found an unregistered structure dark field generator, and a jammer destroyed, two confirmed dead, and multiple dead Pokémon. Coordinates uploading now."

  Static crackled, then a voice broke through: "Copy, Lieutenant. Your squad's been teleported in, reinforcements inbound."

  Her shoulders dropped a little. For a second, the tension left her face.

  Then she exhaled and said quietly, "We wait until they arrive."

  The words had barely left her mouth when something whined behind us.

  Both of us turned.

  A small shape stumbled from one of the open cell doors, a Teddiursa. Its fur was matted, ribs showing, eyes wide and hollow. It stared at the light, trembling.

  Then it saw us.

  And snapped.

  The thing lunged forward, mouth open in a snarl that didn't sound like a child's cry anymore. It went straight for Graves.

  "Scizor!"

  Her Pokémon moved like red lightning, one blur, and the Teddiursa was slammed into the metal floor, pinned down. The clang echoed through the room.

  Graves' eyes hardened. "It's feral."

  I froze.

  "Kill it," she said.

  Scizor's claws lifted again.

  "Wait!"

  My voice came out sharper than I meant. Graves turned to me, eyes narrowing.

  "It's a feral, predator pokemon Ranger. It'll attack anything. You saw what happened. League protocol says... "

  "I know what it says."

  She pointed to a cell behind the Teddiursa. Inside was a dead Ursaring, larger, older, torn open, and stiff. "That's its parent. It won't survive in the wild, and it will kill anything that moves There's no saving it."

  I ignored her and stepped forward.

  Caesar moved too, low and tense, his presence steadying me. Graves'

  Ninetales growled low, warning. Caesar growled back, tusks glinting in the dim light. The sound bounced off the steel walls.

  The Teddiursa twitched, snarling weakly. I knelt down slowly, heart hammering.

  "Easy…"

  It snapped at me, teeth flashing. I didn't pull back.

  My fingers trembled as I reached again, closer this time. Its eyes were wild, unfocused. But underneath the fear, something else: pain, confusion, loss.

  I reached deeper, not with my hand, but that other sense. The one I never talked about. The one that tied me to Caesar and Livia

  And then I felt it, raw, small, but burning. Fear. Anger. Grief.

  I pushed calm through it. Quiet, steady, like lowering my breathing after a fight. Caesar's aura pressed with mine, the same steady rhythm.

  The Teddiursa froze. Its breathing slowed.

  Then its eyes softened, just a flicker, and it slumped.

  The bond snapped into place.

  There weren't words to explain what happened. Just a pulse, faint but real. A spark between us.

  I exhaled, lowering my hand to its fur. "You're okay," I whispered.

  Behind me, silence.

  When I looked back, Lieutenant Graves was watching, her jaw tight. Her eyes flicked from me to the Teddiursa, then to Caesar, then back again. Something complicated flashed across her face.

  After a long second, she said quietly, "We'll wait for the rangers outside."

  I nodded, still kneeling, the small bear's breathing slow under my hand.

  We walked out together into the night.

  The bunker was dead quiet behind us.