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Notes: Chapter Two's comes from the oft-referenced wording in the 1993 report from Sandia National Laboratories, as an example of what warnings for long-term nuclear waste sites should evoke.

This place is not a place of honor… no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here… nothing valued is here.

---

Rose greeted Oleana with a smile that she did not return, but that wasn't out of character for her. Frankly, Rose would be more concerned if she did smile. Oleana kept her focus on the road as she drove away and asked, "Where do you want to go?"

"Do I have many options?" said Rose. "I am a man on the run, after all."

Oleana nodded. "The safest option would be to return to Wyndon. No one will expect you to get out of Hammerlocke so quickly, but I've secured a flying taxi, and I have an alibi prepared for the driver and myself."

As much as that sounded ideal, Oleana had testified against him once already. "That would be excellent," he said, "but I have to decline. If possible, I would like to return to the energy plant."

A light ahead turned red. Oleana hit the brake a little harder than she needed to. "Why?" she said.

"Did Bede not tell you?"

"All he said was that you wanted to escape. What didn't he tell me?"

Rose put a hand over his chest. "It's the matter of my heart," he said. "Or, rather, the lack of it. I need to study what Eternatus did to me, because the hospital didn't have answers, and I can't accept that when it comes to my own life. I'd like to try and recover the data from the energy plant, if nothing else."

Oleana hesitated. "I can take you there," she said, "but if you stay there long, I don't think I can get you back out."

"That's fine. Just drop me off then."

"Are you sure? You could get caught."

"Oleana," said Rose, "I do not have a lot of resources left to me, but I still have my wits. Trust that I can take care of myself."

"It's not that," Oleana said. "If I take you to the energy plant and just drive away, I might–" Her voice caught. "I might never see you again."

The emotion in her voice sounded genuine, but Rose felt it was misplaced. "Really, Oleana. Worst case scenario, I end up in prison. You don't have to worry about me."

Oleana didn't say anything for a few moments. The light turn green. "Alright," she said, and her shoulders slumped, like she was deflating. "I'll do as you say."

"Thank you, Oleana." As an afterthought, he added, "I do appreciate your help."

"I know," she said, and she stayed quiet for most all the rest of the drive.

---

At the energy plant, Rose ducked under police tape and cautiously went deeper in. Most of the plant had been shut down, but parts of it were still active–it needed to provide power to Hammerlocke, after all. He hadn't seen any security guards so far, but that didn't mean the alarms weren't set.

He knew where the silent alarms were, but upon inspection, none of them were active. Had no one bothered to re-enable them? Rose clicked his tongue and continued.

The room Eternatus had been held in–

–well. A crew had been there to clean up, since the wreckage from the explosion had been cleared away, and Rose didn't see any trace of blood. And he did remember blood; it had coated the floor beneath him when he first woke up. He hadn't realized at the time, but it must have been his own.

He put a hand over his chest and decided to move on.

The computer didn't turn on. Rose frowned and checked the wires coming out of it, but he couldn't see anything wrong. Either power hadn't been restored, or something had shorted out during the explosion, or something else, but he wouldn't get the information he needed.

A flashlight clicked on, illuminating his face.

"Huh!" a voice said while he shielded his eyes. "Come here often, Chairman?"

"I own this plant," Rose said, squinting. "Who are you?"

The woman stepped out into the center of the room, her heels clacking on the floor. She had pale skin and blue hair, and she wore unassuming clothes under a long, concealing coat. "I'm a scientist," she said with a smile. "Listen, I was very interested in what you accomplished down here, Chairman–even if the results were unintended."

Rose frowned. "Did you break in?"

She laughed. "Unlike you, who got permission?"

"Funny," Rose said. "Now, I have places to be, so unfortunately, I have to cut this encounter short. I won't inform the authorities if you don't."

"Wait, wait, wait." She moved closer. "No one knows what happened to you here, do they?"

Rose stood his ground and clasped his hands behind his back. "Am I supposed to believe you do?" he said, and waited for her to answer.

The woman stopped a few feet away. "I'm a scientist," she said. "Anything I don't know, I'll find out eventually. If it's answers you're looking for, Chairman, I can help you find them."

"Scientist is a broad term," Rose said. "What is your specialty, exactly?"

She grinned. "Immortality."

He raised an eyebrow. "I don't believe I'm immortal, and I have no intention of testing that."

"You're alive without a heart. That's within my expertise, even if you are capable of dying."

"Really." Rose frowned. "What's your name?"

"Mable," said the woman. "What, are you going to look up my credentials? You won't find anything, unfortunately."

"Then why am I supposed to trust you?"

"I'll tell you what," she said. "I can show you where I do my research, and you can decide there if you want me to help you. But tell me, Chairman, what other leads do you have?"

Rose hesitated. He may not trust a strange woman trespassing in the energy plant, but what else was he to do? He had no way of contacting Oleana, nor anyone else, and surely Mable would face consequences along with him if he were to go to the authorities.

"Very well," he said. "I'll see what you have to offer."

Mable clicked the flashlight off. "Believe me," she said, though Rose could no longer see her face. "You won't be disappointed."

Oleana's car was gone when they exited the energy plant. Rose paused, wondering if he should wait, but he hadn't exactly told her to come back, had he? He sighed and continued to follow Mable.

---

Even at such a late hour of night, the journey through downtown Hammerlocke was tense. Mable kept to hidden corners and alleys with the confidence of someone who was experienced in staying in the shadows.

Rose did not have that confidence. The clothes Bede had brought to the hospital may have not been his usual outfit, but he was still a highly recognizable person. Rose kept his head down and did his best to keep up with Mable.

Finally, they were at the edge of the Wild Area. Mable ducked under a broken fence and gestured for Rose to do the same. "We're almost there," she said. "Hurry up."

"I'm only being cautious," Rose said.

"There's no one else around here, just pokémon." Mable paused. "Well, there's like, one other guy, but you won't meet him."

"Someone else lives here?"

"Not with me. Some old washed-up gym leader has a campsite near my house." She shrugged. "I let him use my shower sometimes, but he knows to leave me alone."

"Huh," said Rose, mentally running through the former gym leaders he knew of. His brother was one of them, though Peony was better known as a former champion, and Rose had a feeling that he would have heard of him if he lived this close to Hammerlocke. "What's his name?"

"Who cares?" Mable shrugged. "Like I said, you won't meet him. Just stay away from windows."

She kept walking. Rose had to follow.

Mable brought him to a small house hidden in the Wild Area. Mable stopped in a patch of bushes and took a quick look around before approaching the entrance. "He's not here," she said. "C'mon."

She opened the door and motioned inside. Rose spotted a flash of something green running into the bushes; but it was just a wild pokémon. He went in.

The house was cold. Rose felt a draft around his feet even after the door closed. The floor was bare, and the walls were plain drywall. The room itself was sparsely furnished; there was a small kitchenette in the corner, a table with a single chair, a bookshelf mostly filled with loose papers, and a worn-out couch. One door was half-open, leading to a bedroom, and two others were closed. Rose hoped one of them led to a bathroom.

Mable gestured to the couch. "Sit down," she said. "I need you to tell me everything you know."

"I thought I was coming to you for answers," Rose said dryly.

"I need something to start with, obviously." Mable huffed. "You have Dynamax energy in your chest or something, right?"

He sighed. "The doctor told me a piece of Eternatus fell into my chest," he said. "They described it as a Wishing Star, an item that is also sourced from Eternatus, and what Dynamax bands make use of, but I have no way of knowing what it actually is without cutting my chest open again."

Mable tilted her head. "Is that not a possibility?"

"Absolutely not," Rose said sharply.

"Feh! Spoilsport." Mable dragged the chair over and sat on it backwards, facing him. "So what I'm hearing is that it could be Dynamax energy, which is very interesting. Do you still need to breathe?"

"I…" Rose couldn't speak for a moment. "Yes? What?"

"My research into Dynamaxing is limited," she said, "but I know that the energy provided from it is why pokémon can not only grow to huge sizes, but don't need increased oxygen to sustain their bodies at such a size–the energy compensates for it. So it's possible that with that same energy keeping you alive, you wouldn't actually need to breathe."

Rose swallowed hard. "Even if that was true," he said, "I don't see how we would safely test it without suffocating me."

Mable looked at him incredulously and said, "Just hold your breath."

"Oh."

Mable held up a hand just as he inhaled. "Hold up, I need to get something. Don't move."

Rose watched her carefully as she went to the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets. "I have to have one of those things," he heard her mutter, followed by a curse. He frowned.

"A-ha!" Mable grabbed a small object out of a drawer and returned to Rose. "Put this on your nose," she instructed, handing him a small kitchen clip.

"Is that necessary?" Rose said.

"It'll be easier than not having it," Mable said. "Do you want answers or not?"

"I have no interest in being a test subject," Rose said sharply. "I want answers for myself, not for the curiosity of someone else."

Mable frowned. For a moment, she didn't say anything, and Rose considered leaving and finding Oleana again.

Finally, she spoke. "Sure, sure," she said. "But I'm the expert here. You'll get the answers you want as long as you listen to me."

Reluctantly, Rose decided to at least give Mable a chance. If this "experiment" yielded no results, he would leave, but if it did, well, maybe she was worth listening to. So he put the clip on his nose and held his breath while Mable started a timer.

For the first ten seconds, he felt ridiculous. Obviously, he would get no results, and he'd look like an idiot in the meantime. He should leave the poorly-constructed shack in the middle of nowhere and find actual help.

After twenty seconds, he started to wonder if he had ever measured how long he could hold his breath for before this. He tried to remember if he knew what the average limit was. Had he ever looked it up?

After thirty seconds, he felt bored. He looked down at his hands in his lap and noticed a faint red reflection on his shirt. He looked around to find its source.

But there was no red light, and nothing to reflect off of. The light outside was cold and distant, the sun not yet risen. The room's illumination was harsh and white. A chill gripped him. Rose forgot about breathing and grabbed his shirt.

"Hey, what–"

Rose ignored Mable and pulled his shirt open. His chest glowed red.

"Huh," Mable said. She stood up. "Guess it is Dynamax energy, then," she said, moving closer. "Are you still not breathing?"

He remembered he was capable of moving air in and out of his body and tried to start breathing again. His attempt triggered a coughing fit that left him doubled over and gasping. The glow faded.

"Interesting," Mable said. "Like normal Dynamaxing, it could only kick in when there isn't enough oxygen, but that's only a hypothesis. We'll have to repeat the experiment and see if–"

Rose took the clip off his nose and let it fall to the floor. "I'm not doing that again," he said.

Mable scoffed and crossed her arms. She almost looked intimidating, standing above his chair. "What, you want to give up after a little scare?" she said. "If this is your body we're talking about–"

He raised his hand and cut her off. "I am not giving up," said Rose. "I have decided to accept your help, and am open to further research… but I need a moment. Please leave me alone."

"Ugh! Fine. I should be sleeping, anyway."

She turned away and went to the half-opened door, through which Rose could see a mattress on the floor. Mable glanced back and said, "You can have the couch," and shut the door behind her.

Rose sighed and ran a hand through his hair. The panic was starting to fade before it could overwhelm him, but he certainly couldn't sleep in this state. He would have liked to take a walk, but, well, the Wild Area was dangerous without his pokémon, even if he could be certain he wouldn't be recognized.

He was, effectively, trapped in the house.

The thought made his panic spike again, but he took a few deep breaths and forced it down. Mable was… intense, and she had a highly focused interest on what was happening to him. That wouldn't be all bad, if she helped him find answers.

He lay down on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. He could see traces of water damage. Rose rolled over and tried to sleep.

---

The next morning, he was woken up by knocking on the door.

Mable slammed her own door open, which startled him so bad he nearly fell off the couch. When he sat up, he realized that she was dressed in only a sports bra and sweatpants, and politely averted his eyes.

Whoever was outside knocked again. "Give me a sec!" Mable shouted. She snapped her fingers to get Rose's attention and pointed at one of the other doors. He nodded and quickly went to hide himself.

The door led to a descending staircase. Rose closed it behind him and balanced on the top step, listening to the conversation.

"What do you want?" Mable said.

"Hey, hey," the other person said. His voice was deep and raspy, with a trace of amusement. "What's your problem? You got my mail."

"What, and you need me to get it for you?"

"Nah, it's not like you lock the mailbox. I figured I'd deliver your mail now that I've got mine. It's junk, more junk, something from Kalos, your–"

Paper crinkled. Rose could picture Mable snatching the letters from the other person's hands. "Oh my God. Just slide it under door next time."

"Seriously, Mable, you're not usually this much of a jerk."

"Lay off, Acacius."

Rose knew that name, to his surprise. He had never met Acacius, but he had heard of a man by that name, and seeing as Mable described him as a former gym leader, Rose was confident they were the same person.

Acacius had been a gym leader around the same time Peony was champion. He was a grass-type specialist who had allegedly used gym funding inappropriately; he had to assume the allegations were true, because Acacius had resigned, and he disappeared shortly before Rose became the pokémon league's chairman. A replacement was already chosen, and the issue appeared resolved, so Rose hadn't bothered to look into it upon taking his position.

"Man, I go to the trouble of delivering your mail, and this is how I'm treated?" Acacius laughed. "Whatever, not my business. Hope the rest of your day–"

Mable slammed the door. Acacius raised his voice. "Okay, fine! I hope the rest of your day sucks!"

No response. Eventually, Rose heard Mable approach the door he was behind. "He's gone," she informed him upon opening the door. "Stupid prick. Of course he chooses today of all days…"

"Just bad luck, I'm sure," Rose said, trying not to look at Mable's chest. "I hate to impose on you, but if you have any food…"

"What, I figured you could go without eating, too, right?" At Rose's horrified expression, she cackled. "That was a joke," she said. "You're supposed to laugh."

He sighed and half-smiled. "It wasn't a funny one," he said.

"Whatever." Mable turned away. "I'm getting dressed. I'll get something cooking later."

While Mable returned to her bedroom, Rose sat down on the couch and ran a hand over his head.

It was becoming increasingly clear that he did not want to entertain Mable for much longer, no matter what she promised. The only way out was through the Wild Area, but it wasn't as if they were that far from Hammerlocke–he wagered he could make it back to the city without encountering any pokémon.

He glanced out the window. The sun was bright in the sky. Pokémon were one thing, but trainers were another; he didn't fancy his chances making it back without being recognized. He would have to put up with his host until nighttime. He could make it until then.

Cold unease settled in his gut; would he be able to leave without a struggle? He had no pokémon, no one else to help him…

Rose shoved those doubts down. He couldn't allow himself to consider them.