Chapter 8

"Voicemail! Voicemail!" Barlow's voice spoke over Kate's styler. "This is Ranger Barlow to Ranger Kate, do you copy?"

"What is it?" Kate groaned groggily. She was lying in bed, still half asleep.

"Wake up, Ranger!" Barlow shouted into his styler and Kate jumped to her feet and saluted.

"Ranger Kate awake and ready, sir!" It took a moment before Kate realized that no one was there. "Barlow?"

"Your styler, Kate..." Barlow spoke, sounding annoyed.

"Sorry!" Kate shouted and grabbed her styler. "What's going on?"

"There is an Gigaremo Countermeasures Meeting at the Ranger Union in two hours. We need you to make your way here. Also, make sure to obtain a Pokemon who can do a Target Clear on a Red Gigaremo."

"Understood, sir, I'll find a water-type that knows Water Gun right away!" Kate quickly rushed out of the dorms. "Barlow called, he needed me to get to the Ranger Union for a meeting, Crawford, you're in charge!"

"Wait, Kate!" Crawford shouted as she rushed through the door. "You're...not dressed..." He sighed. It was only a moment later before the doors slid open and a very crimson Kate entered. "By the way..."

"I'm not dressed...Yeah, I realized that..." Kate sighed as she returned to the dorms to get dressed.

"Okay, Pueltown..." Kate spoke as she stared at the map in her hands. She had made it through Vien Forest and to Pueltown in about half an hour or so, and had even caught a good level water-type Pokemon as Barlow had requested, but it was at this point when she realized she had no idea how to get the rest of the way. She stared at her map, trying to figure out where it was she was supposed to go next.

"You look lost," a voice spoke and Kate looked up from her map. Her eyes examined around her for a moment, but she saw no one. She then looked back down to resume examining her map when she noticed a young girl in front of her. The girl wasn't very old, only ten or twelve at the oldest. She wore a black blouse and red skirt while she had her blonde hair cut fairly short so it didn't reach her shoulders.

"Oh, hello, little girl," Kate smiled. "I am a little, actually."

"Where are you going?"

"Well, I'm trying to find the Ranger Union..." Kate sighed. "It's passed Pueltown...but I don't know how to get there."

"There's a man named Murphy in Pueltown who just came from there. Maybe he can show you the way!"

"That would be very nice, do you know where he is?"

The girl nodded. "Yeah, come with me, I'll show you." She turned, but before she started walking, she turned her head back to Kate. "By the way, my name's Melody."

"Nice to meet you, Melody, I'm Kate Yamaki." The two made their way deeper into Pueltown until they came upon a somewhat large man dressed in a green suitcoat and pants. A white dress shirt was underneath the suitcoat and he had his brown hair styled so that he would look very professional.

"There he is." Melody pointed at the man and Kate rushed over to him.

"Murphy?" Kate asked and the man turned to her.

"Yeah, that's me. I'm Murphy, former Ranger and now head of PR at the Ranger Union. What do you need, Ranger?"

"I need you to show me the way to the Ranger Union. I was called there for a meeting."

"Ah, that's pretty simple," Murphy began.

"Onii-sama!" Melody shouted as a door opened nearby. Kate turned and her eyes went wide.

"Isaac?" Kate nearly shouted.

"Kate! It's been too long! How have you been?" Isaac asked as he smiled. Melody rushed over to him.

"I'm good, thank you." Kate turned to the building he had come out of. It was a rather large building, still in construction. The beams they were using to build it were painted purple in color, and she noticed a smaller building that seemed to have been built prior to this new building at the base of it. "Is this where you work?"

"Yeah, this is Altru Tower, tentative name, of course."

"Tentative name? You mean they haven't named it yet?"

"You don't know? There's a contest running right now for the name of the tower."

"I sent in 'Muscle Tower'," Murphy chimed in. "It's a strong name, don't you think?"

Kate chuckled nervously. "Umm...sure..." She turned back to Isaac. "Well, it's nice to see you again. I haven't seen you since graduation. I'm working in Vientown right now, actually."

"Really? If I had known that, I would have come to visit on occasion."

"Kellyn works there, too..." Kate looked away and sighed. "At least I think...He got badly injured on our last mission...We're not sure if he'll be able to work again or not."

"I'm sorry." Isaac put his hand on Kate's back. "Everything will be all right, though, you'll see."

"Oh! Is this your sister, Isaac?" Kate asked when she realized Melody was standing there and had called out 'Onii-sama' only moments before.

"Yes, this is my sister, Melody."

"You have a very cute sister, Isaac." Kate smiled and Isaac chuckled.

"Well, that's pretty true."

"Move out of the way, President Hall is coming through!" a voice shouted and Kate looked up.

"Who?" Kate asked.

"Uh oh, it's Blake Hall, President of Altru Inc. He's a nice guy, but he's very serious."

The crowd nearby seemed to split into two lines, and after a moment Kate began to see a man stepping out of the crowd. He had green hair that stuck up in a weird style, and his face was even weirder. Kate swore for a moment that he was a pig, not a human, when she saw his face. He wore a blue and white striped suit and he was slightly hunched over. His arms were skinny, so much so that Kate wondered if the man had some major birth defect that caused his horribly misshapen body, especially since he looked to be quite fat. "You work for him?" Kate asked, almost disgusted.

"No, that's Wheeler," Isaac spoke with a tone suggesting he had no care for the guy either. "That's Blake Hall."

Behind of Wheeler was another man. This man was dressed in a purple dress shirt and he wore a pair of black dress pants and a black dress coat over his shirt, though he had it left open. His hair was a deep black color, and it was long enough for him to pull it up into a ponytail in the back. The thing that impressed Kate the most was the very sharp sunglasses he wore. The edges looks as if they were so sharp they could cut through plastic as if it was paper.

"That's Blake Hall? That cool guy?" Kate asked, shocked beyond belief. She had never expected a president of a corporation to be dressed so cool. She figured he would be in his sixties with gray hair and walking with a cane, like Professor Hastings, not looking like he was only thirty at the oldest.

"That's him," Isaac spoke with a nod.

"Isaac," Blake spoke as he stopped next to Isaac.

"President Hall," Isaac gave a bow. This was the first person Kate had ever seen him bow to.

"Working hard, I hope."

"Yes, sir, I was just taking my lunch break when my friends and sister showed up."

"Lunch break?" Kate shouted. "What time is it?"

"12:30," Isaac spoke, surprised she didn't know.

"I have to get to the Union!" Kate shouted and grabbed Murphy. "Show me the way, and quickly!"

Murphy laughed. "Relax, I got you, no worries. Just follow me." He began to walk off.

"Nice to see you again, Isaac, bye!" Kate rushed off after Murphy and Isaac laughed.

"Friends with a Pokemon Ranger?" Blake asked and Isaac nodded.

"We went to school together."

"I see..." Blake stepped forward and into the Altru Building with Wheeler and Isaac behind him.

"And here we are!" Murphy spoke as he waved his hand out towards the impressive building now before them. The Ranger Union was massive, at least 4 floors high. On the top of the Union, Kate could see a large tree growing up into the air. "Th-there's a tree up there!"

"There is," Murphy spoke with a smile.

"Amazing!" Kate stepped forward until she walked straight through the doors of the Ranger Union. The inside was much larger then she had expected it to be. There was a reception desk in the center of the bottom floor, and people were lined up on one side, obviously hoping to find out more information about what was going on now in the region, or were even seeking help.

"Welcome to the Ranger Union, Kate," Murphy spoke with a smile. "If you have to attend a meeting, you'll be able to get there by simply going up the escalator over there to the second floor. The meeting room will be the middle room."

"Thanks, Murphy."

"Ah, Kate, glad you made it in time, I was worried," Barlow spoke as Kate entered the meeting room.

"Sorry about that, Barlow, I got lost. WHOA!" Kate shouted as she stared at the room she was now in. The room was fairly large and had several computer screens all around. At their feet was an even large screen that showed an image of the Almia region with several different notes all of it, showing troubled areas.

"Impressive isn't it? The Ranger Union is unlike anything else I've ever seen. I'm still amazed by this place whenever I come here. By the way, we'll be beginning the meeting shortly."

"Right." Kate nodded. A few minutes passed as the other members of the meeting showed up. Of course, one was Professor Hastings himself, while the others were mostly just researchers. There were four that were carrying a very heavy and fully restored Gigaremo into the room. "Is it really okay to have rebuilt the thing?"

Barlow nodded. "You'll understand why soon enough."

"Sorry I'm late, ya'll," a voice spoke and Kate turned. A very attractive woman walked in at that moment wearing a red, knee-length dress that had white stripes down the sides. A jacket then covered her chest and where the dress was white, so was her jacket, but where the dress was red, the jacket was black. She had long green hair which was obviously a dye job that she was only long enough to end just below her shoulders.

"Welcome, Wendy," Professor Hastings spoke with a nod.

"Whose that?" Kate asked Barlow in a whisper.

"Top Ranger Wendy, also known as the Flying Ranger," Barlow responded. "One of ten Top Rangers in the Ranger Union. Others also include Ben and Summer who are currently in Fiore, along with Sven. Sven thinks he's a cowboy or some such..."

"Who are the other six?"

Barlow shrugged. "Never met them, though you might like Ben and Summer. There's currently a bet going on for when they're going to finally confess to each other."

Kate blushed a little. "People bet on stuff like that here?"

"Only on those two. They've been Top Rangers for about two years now, and they've always been together. It's obvious they like each other, but they refuse to say so."

"All right now," Professor Hastings spoke up. "Looks like we're all here, so let's get this meeting started. This is a meeting to let people know about the Gigaremo and how to stop it. Barlow."

Barlow stepped forward. "The Gigaremo is a powerful device. It can control the minds and actions of any Pokemon within a one-hundred yard radius. Put six of these things in Pueltown, and you've have absolute control over the entire city."

"Interesting," Wendy spoke up. "And so what do we do about this?"

"Each Gigaremo is made out of a different material. For example, if you were to touch this one, you would notice that it is extremely warm, almost burning hot."

Wendy stepped over to the Gigaremo and placed her hand on it. "Doesn't feel hot to me." Barlow smiled and flipped a switch on the Gigaremo. It began to hum loudly as the silver ring in the center began to spin slowly, picking up speed after a few moments, and then finally taking off at full speed a few moments after. Kate quickly readied herself for a sudden attack of any Pokemon since the machine was on.

"Ow!" Wendy shouted as she pulled her hand away after only a moment. "It got that hot that quick?"

Barlow nodded. "Hear that strange sound?"

Wendy blinked, then nodded. "Sort of like a weird pulsing noise."

"That's the sound that controls Pokemon."

"Wait, why did you turn it on if it can control Pokemon? Isn't that bad?"

Barlow nodded. "It would be normally, yes, but I had to turn it on to show you the heat of it and let you hear the sound. Plus, it has to be on to deal with it." He turned to Kate. "Kate, if you please. Everyone, stand back, and I'm not kidding when I say that."

Kate nodded and walked forward. "All right, then, Wartortle, Water Gun!" The Wartortle stepped forward and unleashed a blast of water at the machine. The machine crackled and fizzled for a moment as the water hit the machine. After a moment, just like every time before, the machine exploded violently, sending debris in every direction.

"Whoa!" Wendy shouted. "That was an explosion!"

"Exactly. The first time we encountered it, we took care of it the same way. Kate here got severely injured in the explosion when a piece of debris shot out and hit her in the leg."

Kate held up her leg. "I've still got the scar from it."

"As you can see, these things are extremely dangerous. So far, we know that there are four different kinds of them. Fire - which is red - water - which is blue - grass - which is green - and electric - which is yellow. At least, that's what we're assuming the yellow one is as we never got a chance to touch it or attack it. It was carried off by Team Dim Sun when we got to it."

"That's the encounter that Kellyn got hurt in, right?" Professor Hastings asked and Barlow nodded. "At least he's doing better now. Toxicroak poison is absolutely terrible."

"Wait, you mean to say they controlled a Toxicroak with that thing?" Wendy asked.

Barlow nodded. "It nearly killed both Kate and Kellyn. Luckily, Kate managed to...defeat the thing." Kate was a little surprised when Barlow didn't mention what actually occured during the encounter.

"In either case, we'll need to be very careful of these things," Professor Hastings spoke up. "Now, I bet I know what you're all wondering right now. 'Why didn't the Gigaremo affect any of the Pokemon nearby when we turned it on?' Yes?" The researchers and Wendy nodded. Kate also nodded. "If you would move your attention to the screen below you."

Everyone looked down and the screen changed to an image of a blueprint of some kind. It showed a Gigaremo with the top half lifted up. A small crystal-like object was seen between pieces. "See the crystal there? It's a small black crystal that makes the machine work. Remove it, and it won't do anything."

"So this crystal controls the Pokemon, does it? Interesting," Wendy spoke as she put her hand to her chin. "Might I ask some questions?"

"Sure," Barlow spoke and pushed Kate forward. "Kate has the most experience with them, so she can answer your questions for you."

"L-Leader!" Kate spoke up and became tense when she realized she was now in the spotlight.

"Kate, was it?" Wendy asked and Kate nodded nervously. "You've seen these units in action. How exactly does it make you feel?"

"How does it...make me feel?" Kate asked, confused at the question.

"To see Pokemon controlled by some evil device for who-knows-what purpose."

Kate put up a fist. "It makes me mad. I want to pulverize the guys doing it."

"Really now? And what about the Pokemon? How do they look when under the control of this device?"

Kate looked down. "They look hurt...They don't want to be controlled. It hurts...I think more then just emotionally. To be honest, some of them looked like they were in real physical pain. And then, there were the ones who looked confused. They would just fly or run in circles. Always...in circles...never stopping..." Tears rolled down her cheeks as her fists balled up at her sides. "And Team Dim Sun deserves every kind of punishment in the world for misusing Pokemon like this!"

Wendy smiled and nodded. "Well, I can tell your heart is in the right place. You care deeply for them. Don't worry, we'll bring them to justice one day." She patted Kate on the shoulder and Kate, without even thinking, jumped forward, wrapping her arms around Wendy.

"S-sorry, Wendy," Barlow spoke. "I'll just-"

Wendy held up her hand and pulled Kate close. "Hey, it's all right, we'll get them, okay? Don't you worry."

Suddenly, it was as if the ground itself shook below their feet. "Earthquake?" Kate asked, almost scared. She had never experienced an earthquake before in this region, nor in her last home.

"We don't get earthquakes here..." Wendy spoke, sounding worried. Again, the earth shook rather violently.

"Barlow, Kate, go out there and check out what is going on," Professor Hastings spoke up at once.

"Right away!" Kate and Barlow shouted and rushed out of the meeting room, down the escalator, and out of the Ranger Union.

"This is definitely where the quakes are starting from," Barlow spoke as he looked around. They had come to a place known as the "Peril Cliffs". They were known as such due to how dangerous the cliffs were. "Let's climb up and see what we can see." Barlow reached out and grabbed a vine tight with his hand, pulling himself up.

Kate followed closely behind, and the two made their climb higher into the cliffs. Once they had gone up a ways, they stopped and Barlow looked around. "All right, try to see if you can see anything."

The ground shook and Kate turned. "Did you hear that?" she asked.

"The ground rumbling?"

"No, it was something else." The ground shook again and Kate rushed forward.

"Kate!" Barlow shouted then sighed as he carefully followed behind her. They walked across some of the perilous cliffs before coming to a set of cliffs that looks almost like a set of stairs, if you were willing to jump down a couple of feet at a time anyway.

"Barlow, look!" Kate pointed down. There was a man dressed in a black outfit and next to him were two large gray raptor-like creatures. The tops of their heads looked as if something had cracked their head open, revealing a blue skull underneath, even though it hadn't been. One of the raptors roared and charged forward, slamming into the wall, expanding an already existing hole in the side of the cliff.

"Those are Rampardos!" Barlow spoke and growled. "Those are not going to be easy to take care of."

"That guy is obviously controlling them."

"But how? There isn't a Gigaremo or anything around here."

Kate thought for a moment, then shifted her weight forward. "Only one way to find out." She jumped, landing on the cliff below her. She then proceeded the procedure until she was at the bottom.

"Kate!" Barlow shouted and sighed. "I can't believe this is the same shy girl that joined our team a year ago." He jumped down the cliffs in the same fashion Kate had.

When Kate noticed Barlow was now at her side, she cleared her throat. "You there, Bad Guy!" she spoke up. "What are you doing to those Rampardos?"

"It's the Rangers!" the man shouted. "You fools won't stop me! These new Miniremo are just as powerful as our Gigaremo, but they have a million more commands!"

"'Miniremo'?" Kate asked.

"Rampardos! Charge!" The man pushed a couple buttons on the strange laptop in front of him and the two Rampardos turned to Kate and Barlow.

"Now you've done it, Kate." Barlow held out his Styler. "I'll take one, you take the other."

Kate nodded. "Capture on!" she shouted as she released the Capture Disc. Her eyes locked onto the Rampardos in front of her, and she felt herself connected to it just like before. She could feel the creatures very moves, and sense what it was thinking. She quickly jumped to the side as the Rampardos charged at her. She then twirled her Styler, creating a series of four loops around the creature.

This just served to anger the beast, and she could feel its anger. It was angry at her for attacking it, and it was angry at the man for controlling it. She knew she had to free it, and quickly. She pulled her Styler to the side and stared deep into the creature's eyes. It growled at her before charging once again. She quickly side-stepped to avoid the charge before grabbing onto the creature's arm, using it to pull herself onto the beast.

"What are you doing, Kate?" Barlow shouted as he noticed her position on the beast. Kate, however, didn't respond and simply held on tight. Rampardos roared loudly and began to move to shake her off, but as he did, she gripped harder, feeling his every move before he made it.

"Calm down," Kate spoke sweetly as she placed one of her hands on the creature's head. It began to shake even more fiercely, but Kate held on tight with her other hand. "You're okay, this man doesn't control you any more. Just relax." Rampardos roared again and Kate quickly jumped up, standing on its back. She held her Styler forward, releasing the Capture Disc once more and circling the beast a couple more times.

Rampardos had had it now. It roared its loudest roar and the Rampardos next to him roared in unison. "What the heck?" the man asked as he pulled his hands away from the Miniremo. "Something's wrong!" The Rampardos charged forward, slamming its head hard into the cliffside. When it did, it managed to knock several large rocks loose, which began to tumble down towards the ground.

Kate quickly kicked off the creature, landing on the ground next to it. She then performed a double backflip, landing away from the Rampardos as the rocks came down around it. She aimed her Styler forward, once again launching the Capture Disc. She quickly performed several quick loops around its head, arms, and legs while it was stunned by the rock fall.

Kate then performed another backflip as the creature broke free of the rocks that had fallen on top of it. The Miniremo was now beginning to go beserk - lights flashing, loud beeping, circuits beginning to crackle. "What's going on?" the man shouted as he stepped back from the Miniremo.

Kate stared the Rampardos in the eyes once more. It seemed even more crazy, even more angry. It was as if the Miniremo's condition was affecting the creature. Of course, it made sense that it would be. It roared once again, making the Rampardos Barlow was fighting roar as well, making Barlow jump back so Kate and him were back to back.

"Barlow, get ready," Kate spoke up.

"For what?" Barlow asked, sounding worried.

"They're about to charge. When I say, jump out of the way, and not a moment sooner."

Barlow nodded. "All right." The Rampardos growled as they loared their heads. The two aimed for Barlow and Kate, scrapping the ground with their feet. They then roared and charge forward. "Wait for it," Kate spoke as the Rampardos grew closer. "Wait," she spoke again as they grew ever closer. Barlow stood his ground, not shaking at all. "Now!" Kate shouted and the two jumped out of the way, just barely avoiding the beasts, causing them to slam head-first into each other. The impact caused them to stumble and fall and Kate quickly formed a set of large loops around both creatures. "Capture complete," Kate spoke as the Capture Disc returned to her Styler.

"No!" the man shouted as the Miniremo in front of him exploded violently. "This is impossible! The Miniremo...defeated by meer Rangers?"

Kate turned back to the man and the Rampardos slowly stood to their feet. They stepped up behind her and growled at the man. "Leave, or I will let them have you."

"BRAVELY RUN AWAY!" the man shouted as he turned and rushed off. "Team Dim Sun will get you, Rangers! We'll get you-" He tripped and landed face first in the dirt. Kate and Barlow laughed as they watched him pick himself back up and run away once more.

"So, he was really a part of Team Dim Sun," Barlow spoke seriously after a moment.

"Seems that way," Kate spoke and sighed. "And now they have a...Miniremo? It looked like a laptop."

"Well, considering how heavy those Gigaremo are, they aren't practical. They needed to be sure the technology worked, then they condensed."

Kate nodded. "Well, hopefully that's the last we'll see of them. For a while at least."

"Agreed." Barlow folded his arms over his chest and sighed. "Agreed."

Kate released the Rampardos and waved as they rushed off on their own. The two reported back to the Ranger Union, and after filing a report were sent back to the Ranger Base. Kate changed out of her uniform, then yawned as she lied back in her bed, closing her eyes. "What will Team Dim Sun come up with next?" she wondered as she drifted off into sleep.


A/N: Don't forget to review and tell me what you thought of the chapter and the story as a whole thus far ^^