Dan chased Writhe into the restricted access area of the Tesco. He dashed through those weird flaps that hang between the doorways, the weird, clear separating flap-thingies. They usually seem completely pointless and right now, Dan didn't even have time to be annoyed by them. They were still flapping when Dan went through them, so that was still a good indication he was hot on Writhe's tail.
The employee's only area was just the same as it was with every other supermarket and every other Tesco. Except this one contained a lot more frozen captive bodies held in slabs of ice. Racks of them were stacked up to the ceiling from wall to wall. Dan spotted Writhe run between one of the rows of stacks, still nearby. The area smelled weird, not exactly unfamiliar- the scent of a loading and storage area but a bit weirder than he expected.
"Make this easy for yourself, Writhe!" Dan yelled. "Surrender now and I'll only pummel you... well, I'm still going to pummel you either way. Make this easier on ME and just come out so I can pummel you."
"Ennngh, eeehhh-"
Dan rolled his eyes. Apparently Writhe was going to be difficult. "You better be picking out a spot for yourself. And your friends."
He walked towards the stacks. The weird smell was getting stronger. They weren't alone- there were employees in this employee section. Uncommon, in Dan's experiences, but none of them tried to stop them. Apart from that, Dan didn't notice much about them, aside from the fact they were members of Team Rocket.
Dan approached one of them. "Hey."
"Hey."
"This place certainly has its own unique scent. You know where I can get a forklift?"
"I don't smell anything. Don't bother me now," the Rocket Grunt said. "I have to get these units loaded before my shift ends."
"Hey- I just asked where a forklift was. Do you have one or not?"
The grunt finally looked at Dan. "Oh, it's you. The supervisor wanted to talk to you."
"Oh?" Dan asked, surprised. "And where might I find him?"
The grunt turned back to his work. "They usually find you. And we don't have forklifts here- we use Magnetons and Magnezones. They're for-"
"Authorized personnel only, I get it. I have a friend with one anyway," Dan said. "So, you're not going to try to stop me?"
"There's no point. I'm busy," the grunt said.
"Ah," Dan said. "Well, how very kind of you. Tell Petrel and Vinny I said hello. And tell them to get some air freshener for this place."
"I'm sure they'll get right on that." The grunt went back to work and Dan left him. Dan actually had worked for Team Rocket back on Earth building part of a Game Corner and an island base. Like his time with the Umbrella Corporation, Dan left before they began most of their criminal activities. He was actually offered a position as a Rocket Grunt, but declined because the uniform was required.
Dan rounded the corner and looked up. For some reason, looking up high made him slightly dizzy. As he expected, Writhe N. Payne was climbing the racks of frozen ponies to the ceiling in an effort to ditch him. Not the worst escape plan Dan had ever seen, but one that was obviously poorly executed.
"PAYNE!"
"Hnnnnmmgg. Hehhhg. You're too late, Dan! You'll never catch me now."
Dan reached up, grabbed Payne's tail and yanked him down to the ground. "Uuglff!"
He kicked the pony onto his side. "Tell me how to unfreeze the ponies and maybe I'll just put you on ice instead of killing you."
"Why not just knock him out and deal with him later?"
Dan turned around. Another pony, a blue pegasus stallion approached from behind them. The strange smell from earlier was almost overpowering now.
"Maybe after I get some information out of him. And you are?" Dan asked.
"Salutations!" the pony said, he leaped to the ear and stretched out his hoof to shake Dan's hand. "My name is Tetran Cowall. You call me Cobalt for short, if you like."
Dan recoiled his hand. "Tedran? As in Ted? Who are you really? Are you with Payne?"
Cobalt shook his head. "No no no no, sir. It's TETran, Tetran Cowall. I'm... friends with a few of your friends from Cloudsdale."
Dan looked over the smiling pony. "Is that right? And why aren't you frozen along with the rest of them?"
"Oh, well," Cobalt leaned closer, "that would be because I made a very lucrative deal. One which you may want to consider."
Dan's quizzical gaze slowly became an intense glare. "You sold us out." He reached out and grabbed the pony around the neck, but the pegasus was just a split-second faster in that instant. He spun and twisted out of Dan's grip. Dan's limbs felt a little sluggish for some reason.
"Ah-ah! Now now, dear boy, we must all look out for our own interests, mustn't we?"
"You're a traitor!"
Hovering just out of Dan's reach, the pegasus gave a humble bow. "I prefer the term opportunist."
"I'll carve it on your tombstone, then. After I take you down. I take requests," Dan retorted.
The pegasus put his hooves on his hips. "And exactly how do you plan on doing that?"
Dan gestured around them. "I have a ready-made army just waiting for me to unleash them. An army that thinks I'm a hero. After I'm done with Payne here, I'll defrost my team and have my friends from Cloudsdale take care of you."
Cobalt smiled. "Ah, well, I wouldn't worry too much about that."
"Why's that?" All of a sudden, Dan's vision became incredibly dizzy. He was having trouble keeping balance. It was too much for him and finally, he tripped over Payne.
"That smell you noticed when you first arrived? It's a special type of gas and anyone without olfactory blockers like mine and the workers here will soon start to feel dizzy when they breathe it in," Cobalt explained. "Soon they'll start to feel sluggish and will finally lose consciousness," he said, just as Dan succumbed to the gas.
Cobalt landed next to Dan, grinning over him. "Nighty night, Dan." Members of Team Rocket slowly appeared around the two unconscious forms to drag them out of the warehouse.