Author's Note: Sorry for the long delay, I've had to deal with mid-terms and a very busy marching schedule haha . Any ways I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! It might be a little bit of time before the next chapter, but I'll upload it once it has been written! As always, please feel free to leave a review in how you liked the chapter! Enjoy! :)
"Ehh excuse me" a voice was heard from the other side of the room. Ash and Misty looked over and noticed the hotel clerk. He was there the whole time! The man had nodded his head, tipping his hat with his hand, and soon left the room in a business-like style, closing the door behind him.
"Oops, I forgot that the clerk was here the whole time" Ash replied, watching the worker leave.
"Yeah, same. He didn't say any thing the entire time" Misty replied, also keeping her glance towards the door. She then turned towards Lawrence. "Lawrence, I.. I want to thank you for believing in our plan" she spoke, nodding her head with respect.
Lawrence chuckled. "Hey don't worry about it! And contrast to what Isabella told you, I think your plan is reasonable. You seemed to have a strong belief behind it. Although I do have a question.. who is going to secure your safety once you get to Saffron City?" Both Ash and Misty looked at each other, not really knowing a strong answer to give. Technically it was going to be the city itself, but it sounded so stupid on itself.
"We know the Gym Leader in that town and she'll be able to provide us safety once we get there" Ash replied. Misty was shocked at his answer but it sounded legit! After all, it was Ash that restored happiness within Sabrina's heart, so it would make sense of how she could help them once they arrived into the city.
"Hmm alright" he simply replied, nodding his head in agreement. "I think you guys have a pretty sound plan ahead of you. Though you must keep in mind that your plan is still risky. There is no 100% chance that you'll be successful, you understand that right? Infected patterns can be unexpected and you may never know when you might get attacked."
"We understand that" Ash replied.
"Um, Lawrence?" Misty spoke up.
"Yes, Misty? What is it?"
"Well... um.." Ash looked over at Misty in wonder what she was going to say. "Did you have previous relations with Isabella before this whole thing broke out? I-I mean I know that there is probably something between you two but I-I didn't know if it was just the caught-up-in-the-moment types of reactions... S-Sorry, I'm just curious" Misty spoke, giving a slight blush of embarrassment. Lawrence smiled and moved towards the bed, sitting himself on the edge and clasping his hands together in thought. Misty moved herself to the nearby chair and Ash stood behind her, leaning himself to the top-rest of the chair, sitting his head on his crossed arms.
"Well, to simply answer your question, we did have something before this whole event happened. Previously we both met as Pokemon trainers, having encountered through a tournament event outside of this region. It was at a convention-type tournament, where trainers would stay through the entire week, as they enjoyed various commendations and parties outside of the battles. They usually invited skilled trainers who they've secretly been keeping an eye on for a set time. Perhaps you have heard of it? The Orange Islands Royale?"
"Yeah we've heard of it! We, ourselves, got invited a while back but we couldn't accept due to other conditions happening at the time" Ash replied, taking that small trip down memory lane.
"Hmm it's understandable. I think they invite like a hundred trainers for this tournament. Any way we had met up, actually, at the first day of the event. You know, they sit you down next to someone that you don't know in hopes that you make friends with them. Well, hehe, we hit off pretty well. This was before she became such the hard-ass that you see today."
"Really? What was she like before?"
"Ohh she was quite sedimental and always trying to make conversation. She had believed in learning everyone's story and she would also become so interested in learning about their stories. Apparently, my story seemed to be the most interesting, as she always wanted to hang out during the tournament, outside of the battles."
"What kind of Pokemon did she have?"
"Mostly dragon-type Pokemon. She was very proud to have a Dragoniar as her favorite and closest Pokemon. Isabella did a very good job during the tournament, as far as advancing into the Final Four before she got defeated by someone who had another Dragon-type, and would actually win the tournament. But regardless, she was a fantastic tactician in Pokemon battles, it was unbelievable!"
"How did you do in the tournament?" Misty asked, really taking an interest in this story.
"I did alright. I managed to get to the Elite Eight before getting defeated by a trainer with a damn good Espeon. Well then, fast forward a bit, it's the last night of the tournament, before the final match and the closing ceremonies, both Isabella and I met up for what would be a memorable evening."
"What happened?" asked Misty, sounding so much like a little girl listening to a fairy tale being told her mother.
"Well, we decided to meet up the night before everyone headed home, and naturally there was a royal ball on the final night. And though I was, heh, quite shy about the matter, and so was she, we actually danced together for almost the entire night" he spoke, closing his eyes, filled with the sweet memories of that night. "Ahh what a most memorable night it was! Towards the end, we walked out to this balcony outside the ballroom, that overlooked the ocean around the islands. The subject about what was going to happen after the tournament, to which we both had concluded that we had our separate ways to go.. but suddenly there had occurred a moment that both of us would never forget. As we looked into each other's eyes, we could both sense a spark between the two of us, something that truly took us both away, and we.. well, you can kinda guess haha" Lawrence chuckled, scratching the back of his head while displaying a blush across his face. Both Ash and Misty chuckled also, as they both understood that they had kissed each other in that moment. "Yep, it's exactly as you think it is" he replied, seeing their chuckling.
"Wow, what a wonderful story!" Misty spoke, clasping her hands together in excitement.
"Indeed! But.. what made her so.. well, like the hard-ass we keep seeing?" Ash commented, trying to make sure that he didn't offend him.
"Hmm, yes, that's another story.. but for now, we have to move out" Lawrence spoke, standing up from the bed, motioning the two to get up as well.
"Move out? Where?" Ash asked in confusion.
"Well, we don't have much ammo to spare," Lawrence spoke as he looked outside, "And it seems that the fighting as subsided for now, so we might as well take advantage of the quiet before the storm, but only very quickly. I sense that the infected are going to come back into another round against our defenses". Both Ash and Misty nodded their heads.
"Right, understandable" Ash replied. He walked into the other room, while Misty reloaded her pistol with what ammo she had left. Ash walked into the darkened room and noticed immediately something particular: The room floor was covered in empty rifle round canisters. Ash looked over to Brock, who was still sitting at his desk, his eyes down the sights of the rifle. "Brock, where on Earth did all of these empty shells get here?" Ash asked, motioning his hand towards the floor.
"I've been hunting like crazy," Brock cooly responded, still looking down the rifle, "and from what I count, I've got about forty of them so far and I don't plan on stopping."
"Wow.. that's quite impressive Brock!"
"Heh" he chuckled, smiling while he was still looking down the rifle. Brock then suddenly pulled the trigger and one of the shells shot out of the rifle, tinging on the floor. "Forty-one" he spoke, reloading the next bullet into the rifle. Brock then looked up at Ash, with a facial expression that was completely collected and cooled. "Now what is it you want to tell me?" Brock spoke, breaking the stilled expression that Ash held. Mostly he was surprised that Brock was acting so cool and calm during this whole event.
"Eh, I just wanted to let you know that Misty, Lawrence, and I are going to find some ammo. Can you hold down the fort for us?"
"Of course I can Ash. No problem at all" Brock replied, giving a thumbs up.
"Thanks! We'll stay in contact while we are gone" Ash spoke, turning around and walking back into the other room. Brock turned back around and looked back down his sights of the rifle. Both Lawrence and Misty were ready when Ash walked back into the room, waiting by the door.
"How's he doing?" Misty asked Ash, as she really didn't hear too much from Brock ever since she went downstairs initially to help protect the lobby.
"He's doing just fine, actually. Brock's had a pretty successful kill count at about forty-one kills" Ash replied. As he said this, he could hear another shell ting against the ground, to which he glanced at the darkened room. "Ehh, I guess forty-two now" he corrected himself. Lawrence chuckled at the correction.
"Heh, so you're ready to head out then?" Lawrence asked, lifting up his light machine gun to waist height. Ash walked over to the dresser and picked up his assault rifle, shouldering the strap and holding the gun within his hands.
"Yep, let's hit it" Ash replied.
"Okay, now we are going to need to act quickly about this. Even though we have an opening, it doesn't mean that it wouldn't last too long on our part. Darkness will become the infected's most critical weapon in turning this tide to their favor, which will be in about an hour" Lawrence commented, glancing outside and noticing that the sun was beginning to set in the distance.
"Got it" both Ash and Misty replied in unison.
"And one more thing. You two are going to have to stick very close to me through this. I have a good idea where the nearest armory is with regards to the hotel. But like I said we have to move quick and stay close".
"Right, understandable" They replied. Lawrence opened the door, jumping out into the hallway to check the hallway for any infected stragglers.
"Left check, right check, left once more. Alright, hallway is clear, let's move!" Lawrence spoke. Ash and Misty followed him outside the room, making sure that the door was locked behind them.
"All set!"
"Alright, let's get going!" Lawrence commented, and all three of them started running down the hall towards the lobby.
As they ran down the hall, Misty started to think about what was all going on. She couldn't believe how she was able to steel her own mind, so suddenly, and be able to fight.. but what caused it? Misty was trying to understand what allowed her to finally click in her mind.. Maybe something about the moment allowed her subconscious to finally kick the sick dreams of what might happen away and convince herself that they truly did have a chance. Or maybe perhaps a sense of responsibility? But then what responsibility did she hold? Maybe.. maybe it wasn't a responsibility, but.. more of a duty. But then what duty did she hold? She was a trainer not some kind of soldier! What duty then? What?..
Suddenly something finally clicked in her mind. It wasn't her duty as a trainer to fight.. but it was the duty as a close friend to protect those she cared about. To ensure their safety because you feel that you need to protect your family against anything that threatens their safety. It finally made sense! Misty couldn't help but wear a great smile on her face, in her personal satisfaction, in feeling that she finally understood her purpose in fighting against these infected. To ensure the future generations and those who live in that time, those in the present must be protected.
"I must protect those who I can be able to.. those who I feel will have an important in the nearby future.. Ash.." Misty thought to herself. She looked over at Ash, who had this strong look of passion and focus within his eyes, something that just made Misty feel more strongly about fighting against these infected even harder than before. "Thank you.. for all that you have done for me.. for saving me against myself.. and giving me something, or rather, someone, worth protecting... you.."