Chapter 3 | Waterfall

Brenton patiently waited for his fellow agent to return. He and his partner, Prinplup, sat on a rock that he'd cleared the snow off of. The snowstorm outside hadn't improved, either. In fact, peeking outside was like looking at a cascade of snow covering the cave entrance as if the skies were pouring down snow.

Their near-empty stomachs grumbled, expressing their shared desire to eat something. Lunch, however, was a concept that had eluded them since they'd had to start rationing their dwindling stock of food.

With a jolt, the two perked up at the sound of snowy footsteps resonating throughout the cave. Brenton and Prinplup swiveled their heads toward the origin of the sound as they continued to listen intently, straining their ears to do so.

As the sound of snow crunching under feet grew more audible, Brenton and Prinplup simultaneously shot off the rock, landing on their feet. Before they could get ready to attack, their nerves were quickly eased upon seeing that it was just Miyamoto and Scizor.

She'd returned with a peculiar, misshapen rock held in her gloved hand. Part of it looked like a regular rock, but blue ice jutted out of it at strange, yet methodical angles.

"An Icy Rock?" Brenton asked. His companion responded with an energetic nod, a grin on her face. "That's a nice find, Miya!"

"What did you find in your cave, Bren~?"

"I didn't find anything, but my cave kept going on until it got dark. Do you think we can explore it together to reduce any risks there?"

Miyamoto nodded, placing the Icy Rock next to the pile of Ice Stones. "We can go now! After that, I think the blizzard should clear up and we can continue."

"Alright," Brenton responded, grabbing his flashlight from his backpack and handing another one on to Miyamoto. "Let's get going then."

"Prin!"

"Scizor!"

Brenton slid his backpack on with just one smooth movement, patting the flecks of snow on it off in the process. With a sort of cautious determination pulsing through their blood, everyone made their way toward the cave he'd previously explored, this time ready to explore it in its entirety.

Several massive icicles loomed over the group, seeming to reflect light every which way. The walls constricted somewhat, but the cave was still easy to navigate.

Silence briefly enveloped the cave as the footsteps, now the sound of feet on rocks, stopped. They'd reached the dark area of the passageway, so anything could be lurking around. Even though Noivern had said nothing was moving within the cave, their cautiousness compelled them to act accordingly. Two clicks resounded through the cave as the two turned on their flashlights.

The darkness surrounding them immediately receded into the newly established shadows. The two agents took a moment to carefully inspect the floor, checking for any sizable fractures that may pose a threat to their activities. Fortunately, there weren't any, but that didn't mean they wouldn't be on alert anyway.

The two flashlights' light shone in all directions as the team moved along the cave's passageway. Some of the dust that had been lying on the ground had been disturbed by their steps, sending it flying upwards and every which way. They only discovered one notable thing at this point—a small skeleton with one leg severely damaged while also frozen to an oversized rock on top of it—which gave Miyamoto a small fright.

"*The rock has deep claw marks on it… If it's up at this altitude, I'm willing to bet that it's a Sneasel skeleton*," Brenton whispered to his comrade. "*Unfortunately, it looks like anything of worth on its corpse is gone.*"

Miyamoto grimaced at the sight, her face twisting into displeasure. "I don't like skeletons… Let's hurry up and leave this room."

"That's fine with me."

They kept going until they came to another section of the passageway where it split into two parts. One path offered a steady ascent up a steep slope, dim lighting, and a chilly breeze coming from it. The path that led downwards had a considerably brighter light that promised something of interest.

The unsettling, all-encompassing silence that accompanied the halt of the two agents did nothing to lower their guards as they observed the passageways.

Brenton looked toward Miyamoto, asking a silent question, to which she simply shrugged. "*You were the one who chose to go to this cave passageway. You can choose the path.*"

Brenton nodded and thought for a moment before deciding to cautiously move along the downward path. He planted each foot down on the ground with a firm "clunk" to avoid slipping on any loose ones. As the light gradually increased, much like that of a rising sun, they turned off the flashlights.

When they arrived at the clearing, their eyes grew as big as saucers. In front of them lay a thoroughly frozen pond inextricably linked to a waterfall. The waterfall, in itself, was frozen, appearing to be in a condition of suspended animation. A few bubbles were stuck in the deep blue ice and were present in the frozen water. When one examines the scenery, it's easy to picture how it may have looked in a warmer temperature.

"This place is beautiful!" Miyamoto exclaims, a wide smile making its way onto her face. She took a camera out of her backpack and dutifully snapped a few pictures of the scenery. Pictures that they'd pridefully submit in their physical report when their mission was complete.

A few Pokémon lie in the frozen pond of ancient water - three Magikarp, a Lanturn, two greyish Seaking, a Finneon, five Relicanth, and a… strangely white Wailmer. One abnormally large Magikarp was suspended in the middle of the waterfall, seeming like it was attempting to accomplish the herculean task of climbing it.

Aside from Relicanth, each Pokémon looked slightly different than their modern-day counterparts, having an extra fin here and there, or different markings. One thing was for sure - Team Rocket would probably be interested in some of the DNA of these Pokémon. Being able to send it to the labs would definitely benefit their pockets.

'Should I check to see whether any of the Magikarp are carrying eggs? Or should I try to collect their blood?' Jack continued to study the immobilized Pokémon, his brow furrowing in thought. 'The blood is most likely frozen, and the Magikarp has yellow whiskers, so it shouldn't be carrying any eggs.'

"Miya, can you have Scizor break the ice surrounding the fin of the Magikarp stuck in the waterfall? We can pull it off and submit it to the base in our next supply drop."

Miyamoto nodded before turning to her Pokémon. "Scizor, use Bullet Punch on the ice surrounding the Magikarp's fin. Try to conserve energy."

"Scizor!" The metallic red Pokémon exclaimed. Scizor strode across the glacial water toward the waterfall, his claw slowly being encased in a flowing silver aura. With just a touch, the region of ice surrounding the fin of the Magikarp simply shattered and fell away. He returned to hand the fin to Brenton after skillfully snipping it off with his other claw. After receiving the fin, he frantically searched his backpack for an unused bag to put it in.

Brenton placed the fin into the bag, his fingers only making slight, calculated movements to prevent any damage to the fin. He gingerly placed it next to the small bag of Mew fur they'd painstakingly collected from the peaks of other mountains in the mountain range - both of which were placed inside a compartment reserved for their more delicate things.

"By the way, do you think it's time that we made another report?"

"I don't think it's that time yet. Let me check," Brenton replied, pulling his thick orange coat sleeve down to check the weatherproof watch on his arm. "It's 3 PM. The sun goes down in two hours. Do you think the blizzard's stopped by now?"

"It's been seven hours since the blizzard started. It should be possible that it's gone. The second cave passageway seems to go upwards, so we can take a look at that before trying to leave through the front."