Loyalty

Loyalty 4

Loyalty

Chapter 04: Revelations

The gusts of wind in that particular altitude were harsh, especially given the traveling speed, but Ash didn't care. Faster Charizard!" He urged almost desperately as he clung to his pokemon and Pikachu clung to him, both trying to avoid falling to the ground far below.

Naturally, Team Rocket had information gatherers scattered about. Hacking into the radio frequencies of the police was not hard with their technology. It was that which revealed the location of the Azure Alliance's hiding place. The question still remained as to why the police knew where they were and fueled the theory that the police might have been manipulating the Azure Alliance from the shadows. Either way, they had gone too far, this was personal and those vigilantes would be stopped permanently.

At top speed, Ash finally arrived at the hideout in the outskirts of Fuchsia City, near the coast. The old warehouse was easily identifiable as the place he was looking for, due to it being surrounded by a multitude of police officers, cars, motorcycles and police trained pokemon. "All they're missing is the tanks," Ash muttered bitterly, though he knew his father could provide plenty of those if his mother wasn't safely returned to him soon.

"Let's go down to the main door, I'll need to have a word with the officer in charge." Following Ash's instructions, Charizard swiftly landed in front of a shocked officer Jenny. "Are you leading this operation?" Far from leaving any open room to be questioned, Ash's tone demanded to speak with the one in charge.

"Yes," Jenny almost stuttered, before she remembered who she was and in what position she stood. Sure, Ash was the Indigo League champion, everyone recognized him these days, but he too was under the law. "You can't be here."

"I heard my mother was taken hostage for ransom," Ash stated, cutting into Jenny's speech with a tone that made her and all the other officer's present feel forced to listen. The identity of Ash's mother was known to the general population, who thought his father had passed away many years ago, before he became a public figure. "I don't want her to be harmed, that's why I'm here."

Jenny tried to gain her authority once more. This wasn't the way she usually was, no one made her feel so small like this young man's atmosphere of authority did. It was unnerving. "The police will handle the situation." She had to follow the protocol even if she knew who he was, the son of Giovanni, though revealing that fact would only bring repercussions if they had nothing to bargain with against the criminal mastermind himself.

"I won't risk it," it was obvious that Ash would not permit anyone to kick him off the scene, regardless of how many laws he might be breaking by disregarding the police's orders to leave.

Without a hint of a warning, the silence that emanated from the inside of the old warehouse was shattered along with the door itself. A current of water swept forth, knocking most of the officers off their feet and even pushing some of the lighter vehicles back. A Kingler, Dewgong, Poliwrath and Seadra stood together ready to generate another devastating team water gun.

Ash was one of the few who escaped the attack. Charizard had reacted with amazing speed, picking up his trainer and gaining considerable altitude with just one sweep of his wings. Pikachu, who had been perched on Ash's shoulders was also spared from the water offensive. "Smokescreen, thunderbolt!" Ash didn't even take notice of his mother's attackers as he had been focused on her. By the time his eyes thought to wander elsewhere, the area was already obstructed by Charizard's smoke and the atmosphere carried Pikachu's heavy voltage.

Charizard, accustomed to his own smoke, held Ash and Pikachu on one arm, grabbing Delia with the other and swiftly gained altitude above the cloud in which the officers tried to find their way out of. Once at a safe vertical distance, their lungs enjoying the fresh air beyond the smoke, Ash climbed on Charizard's back, helping his mother do the same. "Are you alright?" He gave her a quick visual examination, searching for any obvious injuries.