Woo. Me again. No, I'm not dead. If you want to know, Gx finished, and then when I next found an episode, it was the society of light arc, which really killed my enthusiasim for GX for a while. So, in the meantime, I'll throw out the odd chapter of this. A pokemon ranger: shadows of Almia fanfic! I know, yet another fandom. Post story, but I wont give any more hints.
Discalimer: The events recounted here are a work of fiction. Any similarity to a real person or place is merely a coincidence.
... I have too much fun with these things.
"Almia: Two weeks since Altru Tower"
Leon looked at his partner, Alakazam. "Al, why do you do that?" He shrugged.
"It sets the scene. We can't expect everyone to know these things." Leon just looked more confused.
"Al, sometimes I wish you didn't have second sight. It'd make things a lot less complicated. But still, why did you tell me to come here? I mean, this is an Ice Cream Soda bar of all places! What important event could possibly happen he- ooph!" Leon caught himself on the counter as another customer knocked into him, a small splash of soda landing on him.
"Woah, sorry about that, didn't see- Oh, come on! You? I'm not even doing anything!" Leon was confused, and a little bit dazed, but he turned around groggily to see-
"Ice! So that's what you saw Al! Really, I wish you'd just tell me what you see sometimes."
"I prefer it when you think for yourself. Just because I have enough brains for both of us doesn't mean you don't need yours. Besides, the rest of today is down to you."
"You mean you guys aren't here to fight me?"
"What? No! This is our day off! But Al insisted that we come here, not that he'd tell me why." He shot Alakazam and accusing look. "But, to be honest, I'm not going to fight you on my day off. I only get about one a month since something urgent usually comes up. Since I doubt you're breaking the law, bumping into you in a soda bar isn't urgent." He shot Ice a sly look. "Anyway, didn't you promise me one of these back in Almia castle?"
Ice winced. "Aww, shoot. I wasn't expecting to have to pay up."
About five minutes later, the two of them had taken a table at the back, Ice cream sodas in hand.
"So, how have you been since I last saw you? It's been two weeks since the who Altru incident." Ice shrugged.
"Okay. Can't say I've had much grief, since Blake got most of the press attention. What about you?"
"Oh, we've been quite busy with all the clean-up. Team Dim Sun might be out of the picture, but a lot of the damage still needs undoing. The difference is, now we have lots of little jobs, and there just aren't enough of us to deal with them all." Ice sipped his soda reflectively.
"Sounds like you were lucky to get a day off then."
"Oh, they had about five things for me to do, but Alakazam said he'd picked up something more important, and, well, top rangers can assign their own missions..."
"So you're actually skiving? A goody two-shoes like you?"
"Well, I thought he meant it as well. I only realised what he had in mind when we got here."
"What, bumping into me?" Leon laughed.
"Well, maybe I didn't get that bit. Still, it's nice to not be at each other's throats for a change. Mind you, we got along fairly well even then, all things considering."
"I make a point of being civil to people, even if they are my enemies." They both sat in silence for a while, Leon stirring his soda reflectively.
"Can I ask you something Ice? What made you join up with Team Dim Sun? I mean, you don't seem like a bad person, and you're clearly bright enough not to be fooled by their premise of peace..."
Ice took a while to answer. "If you must know, I was helping them before all this started. They got me with the same lie they got Isaac with, that they were working on a device to help foster friendship between people and pokemon. I ran field tests for them, seeing what affect their devices had on various wild pokemon. It was all still at the experimental stage then, and I had no idea what results they wanted. By the time Altru showed it's true colours, they offered me a position in the Sinis Trio, and to be honest, by that point I thought I'd already done enough to make me a criminal, so they only way out was for Blake to succeed.' Leon glanced over at Alakazam, who nodded slightly.
"So, all this time, you were just scared...? I knew you weren't a bad person, but still..." He looked over. "Al, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Alakazam concerntrated.
"I can't say I had been. You are sure?"
"Absolutely. But I'll need you to vouch for me"
"It will be done. I take my leave of you then, I shall await you at the union." With that, Alakazam teleported away leaving the two of them alone.
"I don't suppose you'd like to fill me in?" Leon smiled.
"Well, bear with me but, I have an offer for you..." Leon spoke at some length, and for some time.
"WHAT!"
"WHAT!" Elma looked at Leon in astonishment, Professor Hastings in Outrage, Wendy in complete confusion, and Sven seemed... slightly amused? "You expect us to take one of the leaders of team Dim Sun on as a ranger?"
Leon took this quite patiently. "I can understand your reservations perfectly, and while there is quite the list of reasons I can give for this, allow me to summarise: Alakazam vouches for him."
"Is this true?" Alakazam nodded.
"This state of affairs has my approval."
"And might I ask what sparked this... notion of yours?"
"Ice, care to recount to them what you told us?" Ice nodded, and Alakazam materialised a book while everyone else listened intently. As his tale drew to a close, the stares turned to Alakazam.
Alakazam didn't even look up. "Spoken with sincerity." Hesighed. "Really, can't you decide for yourselves for once? Arbiting your every conversation grow tiresome." There was an awkward silence, no one quite knowing what to say.
"W-well then, does anyone have any objections to this?" Sven shrugged.
"Hey, we needed more hands around here anyway."
"And I'm sure Alakazam- and Leon of course – know what they're doing," agreed Wendy.
"Well, I barely know the boy, so I can hardly comment, but Isaac is in the building, and I'm sure he has something to add. I'll just call him." Isaac entered a few minutes later.
"Mr. Ice! I wasn't expecting you here." Isaac was quickly filled in. "Well, Mr. Ice was always very kind to me while I was working for Altru, even when I went back because they threatened Melody. And he always made sure that Melody wasn't hurt by anyone, and was treated well. I saw him stop Miss Lavana from hitting her once."
"Then I suppose that settle things. Leon, Ice is your responsability until we deem him otherwise, do you understand?"
"Absolutely. And it's only fair, since I brought him here... More or less."
"More or... Oh. Alakazam."
"And so it came to pass that Ice did join the Rangers of Almia. Though the descision was not initially popular, it would prove to be-"
"Al, are you narrating again?" Ice looked at him.
"Does he do that a lot?"
"Every now and then. One day I'll find out just who he's talking to.' Leon yawned. 'But... maybe not tonight. Tommorow I show you the ropes after all."
"Yeah..." Ice clearly wasn't sure things would work out yet, but he kept his doubts to his self. There was still time after all.
"It should be noted that Ice was sharing Leon's room, due tot he lack of free rooms, and the fact that the whole situation was more or less Leon's fault-"
"Al! Enough with the narrating! Some of us are trying to sleep!" And sleep came without another word.
Well, more shameless fanselfservice from whole fic is practically a sod you then piece after Ice got written out of someone else's...
Ah well. TTFN