Loyalty

Loyalty 9

Loyalty

Chapter 09: Ruins

Footsteps echoed through the metal corridors of the underwater structure. Comet was fast, but Misty had no intentions of letting him escape. She reached the end of the hallways that gave way to another large chamber and there was a bright flash of red light.

Gyarados, Comet's first pokemon obtained as a Magikarp from his father to keep as a pet when he was very young, the power house. Scyther, captured and trained continuously, the master of speed. Zangoose, a pokemon that almost perished to protect his master on a day when a valuable lesson was learned, he lived thanks to Ash's assistance in Comet's mission, the fierce protector. Absol, a pokemon obtained as an egg, skilled and smart, the cunning trickster. Krookodile, intimidating, aggressive, yet ultimately tame and friendly, though only outside of battle, a pokemon obtained during a special mission in a distant land, the devourer. Zebstrika, speedy, wild, feisty, a pokemon caught by Pixel in that same Unova mission, later given to Comet to join his team, energetic, stubborn and impatient, the hyper racer.

"What is this?" Misty stopped cold, facing the six pokemon. Was it a challenge?

"It has already begun," Comet reminded. "It's not a hunt as much as a race though, your call." He kept a cool attitude the whole time, as if he was used to this, even amused by it.

"A race it is," Ash voiced and the red beams once again returned to call the six titans back into their dwellings.

"In that case... I'll be off to the next location. There is nothing here... only ruins..." Comet left, disappearing down another narrow corridor in pitch darkness.

This time Misty let him go, turning to look at Ash with questioning eyes. "What was that about? He looked ready for a war for a second and then he left. What is this hunt? This race? What has begun?" She was angry, frustrated, excluded from things that Ash apparently understood which she felt concerned her very much.

"His mission and, being his partner I would guess Pixel's mission, have already begun," Ash revealed. "Their Rocket mission," he smiled in a mix of annoyance and amusement if such a paradox was even possible to be contained in a single expression. "This is something we do for each other. Comet, Pixel, Laiki, Jessie, James and some others who are my friends in Team Rocket all have a great loyalty to my father, but also to me. That can only be possible as long as those loyalties don't interfere."

"How can they not?" Misty inquired with impatience.

"Because we respect what we need to do." Ash concluded, his face flickering serious for a second before once more appearing relaxed. "A hunt is when we are all after the same prize, they'll interfere with me even if I don't seek a confrontation. A race is when we go our separate ways and don't need to fight unless the prize is in sight. This is a race, we're looking for clues and we were just given another. I don't know what those ruins Comet mentioned are about, but it was a free hint worth exploring."

"I see," Misty frowned. "Then he was warning you that you stand as enemies for the time being, even if you're also friends?"

"Yes," Ash nodded as he headed towards another metal hallway next to the one Comet had gone through. "It's more like being rivals, kind of like how it was with Gary, except the competition and the truce are more clearly defined."

"And he enjoys the competition," Misty huffed. "He's my relative; my parents were his relatives too. Uncle Luke is his father. My sisters always looked to him for protection and support; they can never stop caring about the kind uncle that reassured them after our parents' deaths. Honestly, neither can I. To think he's a Rocket, to think he's loyal to Giovanni?" She trembled in tension as if not knowing how to interpret her own emotions. Her teeth and fists were clenched as she stood unsure.