EPISODE 76: Assistance!*

"Ouch." Logan awakened, experiencing pain from his left limb, the limb where he was shot at. Fast but softly, I ran to him, covering his mouth as I uttered in the faintest sound as possible, "Quiet. We're surrounded."

"Surrounded?!"

"Yes. Apparently, we're in some sort of cage covered with black cloth. Send your Pokemon back to its Pokeball then we'll have to wait for help to arrive."

"Help to arrive? Ha-"

"Yes, I did. They took my bag but not what I have in my pocket. They must be in a hurry, but what for?"

"Perhaps it could be because of the gem you found. What if, the gem you found was not an ordinary gem?" He guessed, saying his words like a feather touching the ground.

"I have no clue but I think it has some sort of significance since it was able to cause a surge of waves."

"Waves? Wait a minute..." Logan thought deeply in his mind.

"Those aren't waves, those are energies which means... You just found the Ruby."

"Oh my. You mean the object that is capable of summoning-"

"Yes." he intervened and cut my words. I began to panic after hearing this. Courtney had just stolen the key to doomsday. Now, I have no choice but to wish Zeal would arrive any time sooner.

"If they had stolen the Ruby, there is a possibility Courtney and Tabitha went back to wherever their headquarters is to give it to Maxie." I rubbed my hair in anxiety.

Then, I heard, people screaming from afar, explosions battling and doors opening. Even the grunts governing us were perturbed all of a sudden. I also heard Zeal's voice and it brought hope to me. Finally, when everything was silenced, she removed the cloth, revealing us. With the help of her Roserade, they unlatched the lock of the cage and sent me and Logan free.

"I'm glad you're looking alright. Why did you even dare to infiltrate their laboratory in the first place. And who's the guy?" Zeal threw questions at me at once.

"He's Logan, a professional trainer. I don't need to explain much but something was stolen."

"What was stolen?"

"The Ruby!"

"Wait, as in "THE" Ruby?"

"Yes!"

"The one capable of bringing Groudon to life?"

"Yes! That is the one and we must find Tabitha and Courtney."

"I searched everywhere but there were no admins in sight, only a few elite operatives, grunts, and a few valuable items that I myself, had stolen. Hehe."

"Hmm, this is a high threat. I must contact Steven about this." Logan buzzed in the conversation.

"Wait the champion?!" Me and Zeal were a bit thunderstruck after hearing his words.

"Is there anything wrong with that?" Logan inquired, about to call Steven with the use of his Rotom-Phone.

"No, just um... just don't call him, we can handle this situation alone. Come on, Xeryll is waiting in the helicopter. As for you dullard, you can probably handle yourself since you're a trainer." the previous memory recalled on her mind, the time when she and I pissed off him, his friend, and his shiny Pokemon. She then grabbed my hand and raced off to the halls, leaving the trainer alongside the fainted grunts.

"What the? Why are you following us? You must be an undercover cop aren't you?" Zeal noticed Logan catching up from behind.

"There is only one exit so we'll just part-ways once we leave this facility. Where in the world are we?"

"We're under some tea-shop covered with ash. Oh and Luna, wear this mask, the ash will obviously trigger your asthma." Zeal explained to Logan as she handed an N-95 mask for me to wear.

"Oh right. Fallarbor Town is extremely close to Mount Chimney." Logan uttered as our scheme to escape continued.

Something then popped up in my mind. I remembered, the ancient Mew, no doubt they've captured it and I knew I can't just leave it here since Mew is for the good of Team Rocket and not for the good of those fools.

As we ran, me and Logan stumbled many times because of the wound in our left leg. The pain on my is quite tolerable but it is the balance between my center of gravity which seems to glitch alongside Logan's. The halls were flickering with red lights and countless of fainted bodies can be seen everywhere, probably because of Zeal.

"Wait. We have to find Mew, they definitely captured it." I halted Zeal for a moment and released my grip from her.

"What?! This is our o-"

"You little scums! Team Rocket never stops infiltrating our bases!" Tulip, the second elite operative after Axis made an appearance. Her hair is as those of a red tulip, her eyes are bright yellow with complexion, fair and moist.

" Sigh, Absol, deal with her." pissed off because of her sudden interruption, Absol is tossed out of its Pokeball. With her sharp claws and aggressive growls, she spilled Tulip's blood on the floor until nothing was left. Absol mainly struck her in the chest and bit her like a dog with rabies, giving her no opportunity to throw out her Pokemon.

Logan and Zeal on the other hand, quickly closed their eyes, choking their saliva heavily.

"I'm going to have a hard time sleeping tonight," Logan muttered, keeping minimal eye contact on Tulip's pale corpse.

"Good work, Absol. Return to your Pokeball. Logan, speak nothing of this. I'm still trusting you."

"You can count on me, I'd be a pool of blood if I tell the officers about this."

"Right. So where were we? Oh, Absol return to your Pokeball. Come on Zeal, Logan, we must find Mew." I led the way this time and from our original plan to turn left to reach the exit, we turned right which led us to the extension of their underground hideout.

"Is your friend always like this?" Logan asked.

"Luna? Of course not. Hehe." Zeal smiled with an embarrassed face.

"This is the second time I witnessed her do "this." Well, let's find Mew."