4/27/11 Ver 2.0: added extra scene and redid some page breaks

Shadows of Almia

Chapter 10 – The Summit of an Application

Kate was learning more tricks on how to land a hit on Tobias. The man usually said nothing other than directions of the challenge, and she would gladly do so. It was becoming apparent that she was not caring that Tobias was forcing her to learn this. It was becoming her own resolve to learn how to beat Tobias and master everything he wanted to teach her. Ever since that class incident, she was determined to work harder to become competent to make sure no one other than herself would get shot.

"You're such a martyr," Tobias laughed when he listened to her reasons. "You want to take everyone's pain."

"If I don't," Kate gave a tree a good kick, startling a Slakoth. "Then who will?"

"Touché," Tobias smiled. "I see how you think. It's good that you're developing a creed for yourself. This is what I like in you, a strong character, perfect to be my student."

"I don't understand, though," Kate frowned as she took a seat beside him on the abandoned log. "I don't feel any remorse in having you force me into this."

"It no longer is force," Tobias sighed. "This is now your own will. I was counting that you'd fail one mission, and then realize that this training is necessary."

Kate let her head fall back against the trunk of another tree, and rested her hands on the log. Her feet still burned from running all over the forest trying to hide and fight her way out. It was a difficult experience, but much better than her first time doing that. Everything that came to her seemed to be orchestrated, she thought. It was always her to clean up something, and learn something. Perhaps Tobias was such a manipulator…

"You act like you're a chess player," Kate snorted. "Making sure that I, the pawn, would land in the right spot."

"No, you're not the pawn," Tobias smiled. "You are the knight. It is a reward for yourself."

"Right…" Kate looked up at the starry skies. In places where civilization wasn't obstructing the smaller stars, she had to admit that she never seen a place so beautiful.

Crawford's lips were a thin line. Clearly, it wasn't the lack of sleep, or the coming shadows growing under his eyes. The goons he had spent two days interrogating were shivering in fright, and Luana wasn't so happy, either. The Operator was grave, along with Ollie, and Elaine. Kate stood before the temporary leader, ready to take on the mission, despite the news.

"I need you to go to Boyleland immediately," Crawford stated. "It's not only the Pokémon that have gone missing there anymore. Our Leader's apparently gone missing, too."

"The Union HQ's Operation Room raised the alarm," The Operator added. "They reported that Barlow's location signal disappeared off their giant map display two days ago."

That was an immediate bad sign for everyone. A Ranger was supposed to keep his location signal on at all times. If it disappears, after two days, a search team must be sent out for him. Typical protocol, but it wasn't much of an occurrence these days. The Ranger Union were short on hands, so they called their base and assigned them to send a rescue team.

"If his Styler's functioning, it should be putting out a constant location signal," Luana recalled her books. "He hasn't reported, either."

Of course! Everyone was worried. Kate could feel Starly gripping her shoulder a bit more. The Partner Pokemon were becoming more uneasy by the minute.

"The Union Operators reported that his signal vanished in Boyle volcano," Crawford gave her the written briefing. "Knowing Barlow, he got careless and dropped his Styler in lava. I bet it's going to be something we can laugh about later. Still, we'd like you to go Boyleland and search for Barlow. As the stand-in for our Leader, I'll assign you this Mission."

"Yes, sir," Kate nodded.

"There's a few ferries that can take you to Boyleland," Luana pointed to the map to the familiar port in Pueltown. "As a Ranger, the cool thing is that you get free privileges to use them. No tickets needed. Just show your Styler, and you're off."

"Thanks, Luana," Kate nodded curtly, and turned on her heel. "I'll be on my way."

"Be careful out there," Crawford cautioned her, and Kate nodded.

"I will."

"I need a ride to Boyleland," Kate pulled out her Styler, and let the man at the counter examine it.

"It's genuine, all right," The man nodded, and he looked at the many sailors. Many of them were drinking many cups of ale or beer. None of them were strong alcohols, though.

"Oi!" He shouted. "Anyone gonna go to Pueltown soon?"

"I am!" One of them stood up. He was lanky, and in his thirties, from what Kate could tell. He then led her outside to the dock where his boat was waiting. He helped her aboard, and soon he let the engines run, and the boat sped away from the port. Kate let the wind fly past her face. Her Starly found it amusing to take a few flights around the boat. Suddenly, it flew back down in fright when a big herd of Drifloon were floating past above her head. Kate stared in awe as the Pokemon were heading towards Boyleland.

"Well, would you lookkit that," A familiar voice surprised her. "Migrating Drifloon… 'tis rare sight indeed. They all cross Almia on the winds at this time of the year."

She saw a man with long navy hair, and his black fedora shielding his eyes. He was in a suit, as usual.

"Tobias!" She was surprised.

"You're a lucky one, matey," Tobias continued to talk in the strange accent. "It ain't often that one gets to see the Drifloon on their migration. They're symbols of good fortune. It's a good sign for ya!"

"Tobias…" Kate raised an eyebrow, and Tobias gave himself a good laugh. They were on relatively good terms since the Outdoor Class, and Kate came to the forest clearing often to learn more from him. It pleased him, and he finally managed to make the younger girl laugh. The man really liked to pleasure himself in startling the rookie.

"What are you doing here?" Kate began to ask. "Where's the Sailor?"

"Silly Kate," Tobias smiled slyly. "I am the sailor. Don't you love disguises?"

"Not when they scare people," Kate looked away from him, and continued to stare at the Drifloon that were floating away. Starly gave the man a wary look while still perched on the railing of the boat's edge.

"Besides," Tobias smiled. "This is my personal ferry. Since you're being a good student, you can use it whenever you want, and you don't have to wait for a ferry."

"T-Thanks?" Kate wasn't looking away, still shaken from what was laid out. Tobias seemed to plan everything for her. What a good teacher, huh…

"No problem," Tobias smiled, and then remembered. "I forgot. I wanted to give you this."

The black music case was thrust into her arms, and she stared puzzled at it. The memory then came flooding back. Inside this was the sword that he gave her on her first visit to Pueltown. She didn't touch the weapon for many months, and she was clearly scared of what was next.

"High alloy unfolded specialized steel forged from a meteorite that fell a billion years ago," Tobias said. "Straight edge for fast strikes, High performance, can slice through certain metals, Forged by skilled craftsmen in Mt. Moon at a low price of ₱5,000,000."

"H-How can you afford that?" Kate sputtered in amazement. "T-That's a lot, for just something like this!"

"I have methods," Tobias ignored the rest of the question, and then pointed out to the incoming view of the island. Kate scrambled to her feet, and she was in awe of the massive mountain. It was definitely a volcano.

"You'd better use this, Kate," Tobias handed her a slimmer bag big enough to fit the sword. "You can sling it over your shoulder rather than carrying a music case."

"Yeah…" Kate nodded. "Right."

"While we're at it," Tobias slipped on his sailor cap. "Why don't you help dock the boat when we get there?"

Kate had never once been to a place this close to an active volcano. It was amazing that people were brave enough to risk living on these grounds. From her social sciences back at the Academy, she had remembered that Boyleland was the center of Almia's resources. It's extensive steam system provided steam energy as one of Almia's greatest energy reserves. There were also small oil firms nearby the place, so Altru, Inc. was heavily involved in this area. She sighed to herself, spitting out information that deemed useless at the moment. She walked out of the port, greeting a few fishermen on the way, and took more time to be amazed at the many holes that steam seemed to be seeping out of.

"Miss Ranger!" A child called for her, and she turned around. A young girl with strawberry blond hair was running up to her quickly, her skirt flying behind her. She stopped shortly before the rookie.

"Um… yes?" Kate tried to get a look at her face, since the girl was bowing her head. The kid's head snapped up, as if she wasn't tired anymore. Kids were this springy these days?

"There was a Ranger a few days ago," She said. This piqued Kate's curiosity.

"Does this Ranger happen to be big, and muscular," Kate tried to think up of a good description of Barlow. "Did he also have tan skin? And brown hair"

"Uh-huh," The girl nodded furiously. "Not only that, my Wingull went missing, along with all the other Pokemon! The Ranger also is gone, too…"

Kate could see that the child was close to tears, trying to stay brave by wiping them away before they fell. The teen softened and bent down to stroke her hair. "D-Don't cry, okay? I'll be sure to find your Wingull, and that Ranger, when I'll find him."

"T-Thanks you..." The girl's grammar went lopsided as she sniffled. A slightly older boy who seemed to be in search of the crying girl was racing over, and was patting her back, trying to calm her down. He looked up at Kate with a bit of distrust, but he understood what Kate had come here for, but he just needed to make sure.

"Are you the search team for that Ranger that went AWOL two days ago?"

"I'm only one person," Kate nodded. "But yes, I'm here to find him."

"If you want to go into that mountain," The boy said. "You need to talk to the Elder. He's the one who gives people permission to enter the volcano because it's really dangerous."

"The Elder?" The teen was puzzled.

"He lives in the biggest house around here," He pointed to the hut with a heavily decorated steeple. "You just need to knock, but be a bit careful. His eyesight isn't good. Also, since all the Pokemon went missing, along with his Mime, Jr., he's been really lonesome."

"Thanks for the advice," Kate nodded and got up. "What's your name?"

"Jem," He said. "My little sister here is Jean Louise."

"Thanks for the help, Jem," Kate smiled. She walked past them and headed up the red-stone stairs to the many houses and huts that comprised the Boyleland residence. Starly, who had been flying about once they got off the boat, rejoined her and perched down on her shoulder. From Jem's description, the Elder's house was indeed one of the biggest homes in the town. Sadly, it wasn't as distinctive as the others, save for the steeple with many Gracidea flowers. Now how did those come here? Kate shook the thought away, and knocked lightly.

Behind the door she heard a small shuffle of feet, and the door opened immediately. The Elder was a man of many wrinkles with a stiff crooked back. He was leaning forward, only to be supported by his cane, which was covered in multiple scorch marks. His eyes were squinted shut, and Kate was surprised that he could even see through them.

"Who are you?" He barked. "Where are the Pokemon you said you'd rescue?"

Kate was surprised at the unwelcoming conversation, and she backed away from the door, sputtering out an answer.

"I… d-don't… just… came…"

"Where are the missing Pokemon?" The man wasn't satisfied. "You said you'd bring them bac-"

"Grandpa!" A younger woman with dark hair came rushing out of the house. "That's a different Ranger! She's here to look the first one that came! Isn't that right?"

Kate nodded lightly, wearing a look that asked the lady how she knew. The woman read it, and she smiled.

"I'm the one who the union calls when they need to send a Ranger in."

Oh…" Kate was agape. "Um… so I can go?"

"You have my permission," the Elder snapped, stomping back into the house. "As long as you bring Mime, Jr. back."

"Also," the lady handed her a canteen full of water. "It's a long way inside Boyle Volcano. There's no water that's drinkable in there."

Kate took the water graciously, placing a mental note that the next time she came here, she needed to take water with her. The Ranger was given an extra canteen, in case she ran out of water. After many thanks and embarrassments, she managed to give the Elder a kind wave.

"Thank you!" Kate ran away from their view, hoping not to deal with them again.

Kate pulled on the many straps strung on her shoulder. The sword was pretty light, but the canteens were suspiciously heavy. Since when was water this hard to carry? If she was going to get her own canteen, she'd get one of plastic and not metal, like the military. Or maybe someone should develop a better metal to hold water… Oh, the many possibilities.

The heat of the volcano made her already sweat profusely, and her partner Pokemon had no desire to move its lethargic wings to give her more room to breath. It didn't help that they had to escape so many hazards, such as stray Slugma and Magmar. The Slugma weren't so bad, save for the puddles they left behind them that nearly melted Kate's shoes. The Magmar were even more troublesome, since they used every chance they had to pounce at her, causing her to be quick and roll forward to dodge an attack. Hopefully, she'd never see them controlled by a Gigaremo.

She had no map of the volcano of the mountain. All the more fun, she thought cynically. At least she managed to move outside to fresh air, and found a Gastrodon. She captured it, hoping that it'd do her some good to have something to protect her from the pouncing Magmar. She returned back to the path, and saw a floating Drifloon. It made her curious that a poor little thing like that could actually take the heat.

"Drifloon are useful Pokemon," Kate remembered Luana say. "Especially in Boyleland. You can use them to get up onto ledges that are too high to scale, or too wide to jump across. Just remember to hang tight."

Kate took out her Styler and captured it, and quickly grabbed their stringy arms. The Pokemon seemed to read her mind and it lifted her off the ground, and over the edge of the magma river and onto the other side. The Gastrodon seemed to make it easily anyways, and Kate was beginning to wonder if that Water Pokemon could go through lava rivers without sizzling itself.

A distinct chirp of her Starly caught the rookie's attention, and she saw it was standing beside a small device. She ran forward and knelt down to examine it. It was a Styler, and she studied it carefully. It could only be Barlow's Starly, Kate deduced, judging from the familiar scratch she remembered seeing on it back at the Base. She slipped it away into a pocket of her pants, and she moved onward, the canteens clinking as they hit against each other. She looked ahead, seeing a long way.

Kate froze at the moment she heard voices around the corner. Her Starly was anxious, and it stayed on her shoulder, its claws tightening. Kate crept forward and tried to hear more of the conversation.

"What a nightmare that was last night," A woman said. "It was brutal trying to subdue that big Ranger, the way he fought. It took eight of us to finally bind him with ropes a smidgeon on the tight side. Pokémon Ranger, my foot! He should call himself Pokémon Wrestler!"

"Barlow?" Kate said quietly. "Could they be talking about Barlow?"

"Sure enough, sure enough," Another woman with a deeper voice added "... I kind of goofed up, though. I grabbed that guy's Styler off him, eh? I think I dropped that Styler somewhere. I had it switched off, so there shouldn't be a problem, but..."

"It is about Barlow!" Kate hissed. She then realized she had spoken too loud, and she covered her mouth, hoping she wouldn't talk any further. Her back was pressed up against the wall away from the view of the women chattering. A few feet were moving, and Kate's ability to breath disappeared.

"Huh? Who's there?" She heard.

Kate heard louder footsteps. Damnit, she thought, shouldn't have talked. Hopefully, they were only grunts. Only grunts… She then saw long thin faces of unshapely women, both in the Dim Sun uniform, looking down at her small stature.

"Oh, some kid?" The first was puzzled. The second then stuttered and pointed at Kate's uniform.

"No, look again, it's a Ranger!" She tugged on her friend's arm. "This is bad! Let's beat it!"

No time must be wasted. Kate bent low and then leapt from the ground, giving the first grunt a quick uppercut to the chin. The woman gave a brief gasp of air before falling back down on her bottom, clearly not awake. Kate landed down, and landed a swinging punch on the other who was too shocked to notice the fist. Both women were down before they knew it. Kate was panting heavily, from the intense heat, of the volcano, and the first time she used her fists. Starly flew back onto her shoulder, and she was confident that it'd be easy, if they had Grunts like these running about: no fighting experience, no fitness.

A slow beeping seemed to ring in her ears, and she looked back at the fallen bodies of Dim Sun grunts. Both of them had communicators, and red lights were flashing furiously. Kate's face began to pale. What was she thinking! Weren't those sensors that would report to their base that somebody was down? Kate began to swear as she began to run down through the cave. She could hear distant shouts. They could be bad at fighting, but these grunts were well-organized!

Just as she turned round a corner, she saw a beeline of several grunts, some with their Miniremos out.

"Hey!" The one in the middle smiled. "You know we're Team Dim Sun, and we can make Pokémon do as we command! Here's a demonstration!"

A MacCargo and Magmar sprung out from behind them and headed in Kate's direction.

"Gust!" Kate shouted for her Starly to make a whirlwind of hot air at them. It wasn't much use, but it'll do. Kate drew out her Styler, and spun it in circles, and then thought of something new. Still spinning the Capture disc, she raced down towards the grunts, and she jumped forward, feet first. Her feet landed in the face of one of them, and she leapt of his face, landed low on the ground. The other grunts were startled at just how difficult their job was getting, and they began to disperse themselves. The Ranger checked the progress of her Styler. Almost done, she cheered herself on. She spun a few more times before diving low and giving the next grunt a punch, and then punched the one beside her.

The Capture Disc returned to the original slot of the Styler, and Starly flew into the faces of the grunts who were waving away the smoke that came from their broken Miniremos. It used Gust to sweep them in big whirlwinds, and sent them slamming into the ground. Kate punched the last one, and Starly returned to its partner, proudly look at the destruction they've done on the grunts.

"Did you think it was a good combination?" Kate looked at Starly, who nodded.

The grunt she just knocked out was stirring. Looks like she didn't hit them hard enough… Kate then knelt down and grabbed the man's wrists and pulled them behind his back. The man seethed at the incoming pain. The Ranger bit her lip in animosity.

"Interrogation is one of the important aspects of a mission," Tobias said as he dodged a flying fist. "You can learn a lot about what you're after if you ask the people who know about it themselves. However, they won't be willing. That's why you might have to use brute force on them. Also, I'll teach you how to press later. Makes them nervous and slip up stuff that could be useful later."

"So, you're up," Kate said, and the man tilted his head sideways.

"A Ra-"

Kate placed her knee onto his back and dug into it hard. The man gasped, and Kate's lips twitched at the fact she was hurting him to get something she needed. Maybe interrogation shouldn't be her thing…

"I want to make this as painless as possible…" Kate was hoping her voice didn't sound too harsh, but she could tell that failed since the man began to shudder. "Could you… could you please tell me what you're guarding?"

"Why should I tell a Ranger!" The man spat to the side. "You're a-"

Kate lifted her knee and slammed it down onto his back, and she pushed his arms higher so his shoulder was at a point of almost being dislodged. The man sucked in air through his teeth, and he tried to flail his legs.

"Our hidden harbour!" The man screamed. "We had to keep it hidden so we can ship out the abducted Pokémon undetected!"

Kate let go of him, and he was sprawled on the ground, far too tired to move.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Kate nodded and she walked off with Starly flying after her.

Much to Kate's surprise, she found the harbor through a metal sliding door that opened when a button on the side was triggered. Fortunately, no one noticed how loud it was when the door crashed closed, and Kate gave a sigh of relief. She noticed the sharp change in temperature, and she could no longer feel her hands being sweaty and wet any longer. Starly's flying seemed to be better. Before her a large pool resided, and she could see this reservoir contained a massive barge ship. How in the world could people fit a ship this big! Kate could see numerous big shipping containers, all marked with the Dim Sun emblem. Kate then heard the sound of kicking and shouting, and she raced behind the crates and looked up.

She could see… Barlow! It was Barlow! He was thrashing about in his bindings and he was dragged by the more bulky grunts, even stronger than her leader. Kate found it queer that she was seeing her leader in a complete mess. He seemed to be collecting bruises and cuts all over. To see one of the strongest men in Vientown beaten was… jarring.

"You rotten bunch of crooks!" Barlow continued to resist twisting in the ropes. "You're messing with me: Barlow! You're not getting away with trussing me up a smidgeon of the tight side!"

"Quit shouting in my ear!" the big grunt shouted in Barlow's ear and stuffed a gag on the man's mouth before slapping the captive man across the face. "You're cargo! Be quiet already!"

For the first time, Barlow became a sobbing heap, and Kate was appalled that a strong outspoken man like him could become a weak, vulnerable… she shouldn't continue. She heard the hatch opening, and more banging and stepping of metal. She then heard a grunt nearby listen to the announcement.

"It'll be five minutes until we leave," the communication link said. "please be prepared to board the ship immediately."

Kate clenched her fists. She had to get their as soon as possible. Noticed a grunt nearly spotting her, and she curled up behind the crate, and she heard the man walk away, not coming to see. She sighed deeply, and she got to her feet very slowly. Starly immediately flew over to the top of the crate. It began to look down at the grunts walking around, and it spread its wings when the coast was clear. Kate crept forward and hit behind the tall shipping container. It didn't occur to her that the canteens that she still carried but emptied already were clanking as she went, and she was surprised she heard some surprised shouts. Starly flew down and poked at them, and with a startled gasp, she flung them to the ground, making more noise.

"Oh, damnit," she cursed as she heard several shouts of a group of grunts coming her way. This day wasn't going as well as she thought.

"Er-hem! Ahem! This is your captain speaking!" The intercom shouted. "This cargo ship will now depart for our hideout! All crews, report to your stations!"

"We reported that a real ranger was on the loose..." A grunt looked up at the commander, whose face was shrouded by the insanely high collar of his coat that reached up to his nose. His shades hid his eyes surprise as he looked at the grunt with little regard that the woman was scared.

"Give me footage," He said icily, and she quickly flipped it on. He watched a young girl with brown pigtails taking down a gang of Dim Sun members with her partner Starly blowing her opponents off course, allowing her to board the hatch as it closed.

"She got it!" One of the admins shouted, and was about to head out the door to command some Grunts to go after the intruder, but the executive stopped him.

"Let her come," He said, with some satisfaction. "I want to see how she gets here. She's… different from that one we tied up in the storage rooms. I wonder if she'll put up a better fight against me…"

"But sir!" Another spoke. "What of the destruction she'll cause-"

"No more of that," The man glared. "We'll replace the equipment easily. After all, a better version of these Miniremos is almost finished, and we'll be able to send a stock of them by next month. We don't have to fret about these ones."

No one questioned the superior, and he cracked his knuckles, giggling in pleasure that he would meet someone recognizable.

"This is the Kingston Valve?" A Dim Sun grunt stared at the piece of machinery. "It looks like a giant drain plug if you ask me. Not a valve."

"Yeah, that's what it is. A giant plug," said his friend. "You yank that out, seawater will flood the ship and down she sinks. If that plug comes out, it'd be almost impossible to put it back in. You'd need Machoke-level strength to muscle it back down."

"Thanks for the info." A voice appeared behind them.

"Wait, wha- Aaagh!"

"A Ranger! We ne- Oomph!"

Kate stood above the two men she had knocked out, and she looked at the Kingston Valve.

"He's right," She noted to herself. "It really does look like a plug."

Starly chirped in victory, and she searched the pockets of the Dim Sun grunts, seeing if there was anything useful. She managed to find some key cards, and a big map of the base. She found herself at the bottom of the ship, and to get to the top, she'd have to take a lengthy way.

She then remembered that the Grunts had those knockout sensors, and she saw a duo of grunts facing her. They had Miniremos out, and they pointed an accusing finger at her.

"Not only are you a stowaway, but you're a meanie!"

Kate was wondering if these people were mature adults in the first place.

"We're reporting you to our higher-ups!"

How's that going to help anything?

A Houndour came at, her and she captured it and knocked out the Dim Sun grunts at the same time. Luckily they were girls this time. Kate stared at them, contemplating if she should take one of the uniforms and disguise herself, but decided against it. She was never fast at changing, so she will just have to barge through. She entered the next chamber and she saw at the scene before her, a few men were having fun tormenting a Mime, Jr.

"Hehe, didn't expect to find a Mime Jr. in Boyleland. What a score you are! Hope this makes the captain happy!"

The poor Pokemon tried to run away from sight, but was surrounded by them. It couldn't escape. Kate, taking pity in it, took action. She grabbed the railing, and she swung her legs over it, letting herself drop down onto the floor. One of the grunts gave a startled gasp.

"Wh-wh-what are you doing here? How did you sneak on board?" One of them pulled together and he pressed a button on an open Miniremo. "I'll show you the power of our Miniremo! Hey, Mime Jr.! Throw these stowaways off the ship! Ticka-ticka-tappa, and-"

His face met with a strong fist, and he was out for the next hour. The other experienced the same experience, maybe an occasional pit to the stomach, and they'd forget what they had for lunch. Kate then looked at the Mime Jr. It was still dizzy, and it looked at her with pleading eyes.

"Mime!" It shouted, and it began shooting psychic balls at her. Kate dodged them, and hid behind a crate. Mime, Jr. shouldn't be strong enough to shatter this crate, so she had some time think of a plan. Starly noticed what Kate was doing, and it swooped down to distract the Mime, Jr. The Miniremo was still running, and she saw that there was no way she'll be able to turn them off conventionally. Looks like a one-use machine only. Are these people idiots?

Or maybe…

…Straight edge for fast strikes, High performance, can slice through certain metals, Forged by skilled craftsmen in Mt. Moon at a low price of ₱5,000,000…

Kate remembered that she still had her sword with her, and she wrestled it off her shoulders, and drew out the blade. It felt weird, using it for the first time. She waved it a bit, feeling the way it cut through the air so well. It seemed so… lethal… maybe, too lethal for her taste, but it was all she had at the moment. She could see that Starly could be beaten at this moment, so she raced to the Miniremo, the sword high above her head. She then gave it a swift cut down in a diagonal direction, and she could hear the scraping of metal and circuits snapping. She grabbed Starly and the dazed Mime, Jr. and dove behind a crate, just before a loud bang came from the chopped Miniremo, and a cloud of smoke filled where it once was.

Kate looked back at the map, and noticed she still had a long way to go. She looked at the Mime, Jr.

"Go hide," She ordered it. "I can't do much for you right now, but try not to get caught."

"Mime!" It squeaked and went running in the other direction. Kate was left behind, her sword still drawn out. Starly realized that it was out, and it squawked at the sight of how absurdly sharp it was.

"I know," Kate sighed. "It's a bit overkill, but it's all I have at the time."

Kate quickly pressed her back to the wall as she heard hushed voices echoing in the halls of the cargo ship. They sounded deep, so surely, they were men. She peeked around the corner, and saw the same buffy men who had hauled Barlow away. They were so terrifying up close, their well-toned body shown in their tight uniforms. No way she could just run in and punch. Kate reconsidered the idea for a moment, and then dropped the idea anyways. All she could do was punch…

A small whir of electricity came behind her, and she saw the Voltorb she had to capture to stop it from exploding in her face. She looked at Starly, which nodded at the plan, and then to the men around the corner. She then crouched low, and let the Voltorb go loose.

The Pokemon was sent flying into the faces of the guards, and upon contact, an explosion lit the hall. Kate could hear surprised shouts followed by several heavy thuds. She was hoping that they only suffered minor burns, and nothing serious, hopefully. She cautiously came round the corner and examined the unconscious guards, and she searched for a key card. Apparently, she discovered that this was the only way to go through gates without having to zap them open with electric Pokemon. She managed to lose the first key card she got a hold of in a capture with that certain Voltorb, and she was worried she wouldn't find another. Just her luck.

Fumbling with the key, and she slipped past the gate, and let the door slide behind her. Kate then noticed that a camera was closely watching her as she walked across the corridor. Hm… the alarm should have turned on a while ago, and she was sure Dim people should be looking for her now. But where were they? Shouldn't there be massive amounts of goons walking about, looking for a Ranger intruder? Unless their superior told them to stay hidden and let her run about as she pleased, she was hoping that this mission would be a bit more normal.

"H-How…" An admin gasped, and his commander chuckled.

"It seems I have a bit more trouble that I expected," He said. "I hope she doesn't start running up here. I'll ruin the fun."

Barlow grit his teeth against the cloth gag that was wound about his head and over his mouth. He found it very difficult to control that gag reflex that has been coming up once in a while. It's even hard to swallow. He tried to wriggle about in his bindings. It was pitch black, and the last thing that he could think of was large spikes going through his chest. He then heard several shrieks of passing grunts outside the room, followed by a hard thump of falling bodies. He then heard the rattling of the door, and a whispered curse.

"I hope this works," he heard someone say, and two slashing motions was heard, and with a big bang, the door had been separated into four triangular parts, and they fell apart, falling upon each other. The light blinded Barlow, and he winced at the intensity. He watched someone walk into the room, and find the light switch, making his eye problem worse. His eyes then widened in surprise.

It was Kate, and she was here, with her Starly flying closely behind, rescuing him… What was even more shocking was that she was holding a sword. Since when did a girl like her get her hands on something as dangerous as those! Kate said nothing as she took a look at Barlow's unwell form, and removed the gag from him. The man coughed a bit before wriggling and looking up at Kate's skeptical face.

"Ow... That's bright," Barlow muttered. "It beats the darkness, though. Being in the dark brings me down. I wish you never saw me this way, though. Being roped up a smidgeon on the tight side... Ollie put up with it without a peep. Tough guy."

"Um… Barlow…?" Kate asked, and he jumped. She was wondering if he was surprised that she talked, or that she was holding a blade that might a bit of red on it. It was her own, by the way, that red. She unwittingly cut herself.

"I'd like to get free and get moving," Barlow grinned. "If anyone can snap this rope I'd say it's Big Bertha and no one else. It looks like we'll need a Pokémon to help with this, too."

Kate then held out her sword as a gesture, and Barlow paled.

"Nononono!" He sputtered. "Anything but that!"

Kate then revealed a Raticate, and Barlow gave her permission. The rat Pokemon chewed away the ropes, and Barlow massaged them, but winced when he saw the laceration marks were severe. Kate had never seen injuries like this for real (She remembered seeing them in one of their textbooks on first aid in the academy), and she fought back the urge to gag at the sight of it.

"B-Barlow…" She said quietly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Kate," He smiled, patting her on the back. "Even in my wildest dreams, I never thought you'd be rescuing me. Those ropes and bruises were nothing! I'm surprised that you managed to make it on board."

Kate dug into her pocket, and drew out the second Styler. Barlow lightened and took it from her hand, and looked over it like a young child excitedly examining his Christmas present.

"It burns me to think that I had the Ranger's symbol taken from me," He muttered darkly. "It tells me I need to be better."

His grimace turned into a smile, and he held it out into the light. "First things first: switch on the Styler. There's a lot of new mail in my inbox. People were trying to get in touch with me..."

"Yeah…" Kate nodded. "We tried to call you over the last two days…"

Barlow laughed nervously. "Hehe… sorry about that… Huh?"

His Styler beeped and flashed red. "An incoming message already."

Crawford's face lit up on the screen, and Kate leaned sideways before the camera.

"Voicemail! Voicemail! Crawford calling from the Ranger Union!" The man with the brown afro was seriously worried. "Your Styler started transmitting again! And that hell happened to your face! Is that a black bruise! Man! And I thought I'd never see the day-"

"Details aside," Barlow smiled. "Yep, I'm back."

"Thank goodness," Crawford sighed in relief. "I see Kate's joined you. Both your location signals are coming in clearly. It looks like you're in the middle of the ocean, though..."

"We're on team Dim Sun's cargo ship," Kate added. "We'll keep you posted if we find anything suspicious."

"Roger that, kiddo!" Crawford winked, and they could see a few tears coming. "... Leader, I'm glad you and Kate are safe!"

Crawford hung up, and Barlow sighed in dismay. His partner, who had been trapped up in a small cage, was freed by Starly, and it was now waddling up to its partner, a bit worn from a beating as well, but not as bad as Barlow himself.

"I've caused everyone a lot of worry with all of this..." The man looked at everyone in the room. "My Makuhita suffered because of me too, too. I'm sorry dude."

The Pokemon made a gesture that seemed to say, "It's no problem. We just need to work harder." Barlow picked it up, and stroked its head softly, and it smiled at the touch. He then looked at Kate, who was still handling that sharp blade. He gave a long look at it, and then to Kate, demanding an explanation.

"I…" She said. "It's… something that I picked up along the way…"

"It's all right…" Barlow smiled. "Sometimes in these places, you can't always rely on Pokemon when they're berserk. This goes against our code as a Ranger, but there are times you have to use your own force. I'm not sure how you got that thing, but it sure is helpful that you keep it. We don't know if we'll face off anyone who wants to aim a gun at us."

"A gun?" Kate recoiled at the word.

"Of course, kid," Barlow laughed. "This is a crime syndicate, after all. You'd think they're clean folk when they worked in it for so long…"

"Yeah…" Kate nodded. "Just… don't say anything about this… sword. When we get back."

"Sure thing," Barlow nodded. "There's moments the base has used knives to get through during one recon mission against Team Rocket. Never told the Union about it."

"Hm…" Kate nodded again. "So we'll just have to fight our way up to the top?"

"You got it," Barlow turned to the next door. "Here, now that you did some showing off, let me do mine. Please move out of the way."

Kate complied and backed away, along with Makuhita and Starly as Barlow crouched into a stance. He then roared, and went charging for the metal doors. He raised his fists and thrust them forward against the door, and he punched them down, leaving some wind trailing behind past Kate's face. The man cracked his neck and his wrists and grinned sheepishly.

"And that's what I call a Target Clear," He grinned. Kate smiled after him as she and the partner Pokemon joined in on the escape.

"This looks like the captain's quarters. It's got to be the captain we're after."

"What is that smell? I think there was an extra-hold kind of hairspray that smelled like this."

For some reason, Kate and Barlow ended up on the most bizarre room on the ship. It was the most adorned room there was, too. The walls were plastered with purple wallpaper with coffee swirls. The desk was cherry brown, with numerous books about "Mooching up to your boss." Barlow and Kate had a small good laugh about the fact that the room was so girly when there were men's clothes in the closet. It wasn't soon when Kate seemed to notice that this cologne, or hairspray, if she was correct was absurdly nostalgic… familiar…

A shuffling that they heard when they exited the room had the two Rangers meet with a bumbling grunt, who tripped on his feet. He rubbed his throbbing head, and he gazed and saw the faces of two skeptical intruders.

"The b-b-big ranger's broken out! Help, someone! I need backup!"

Kate was about to go forward and knock the guy out. After taking out so many grunts with her bare hands, she felt little regret about this job, but she stopped when immediately, several grunts came in from all sides. A Miniremo was on each side of the corridor, sending two MaCargo for them, and Kate and Barlow was back to back, taking out their Stylers. Kate slipped her sword back into the bag strapped to her back, much to Barlow's relief.

"Are you ready, Kate?"

"More than ever," Kate scowled, and she charged forward, taking a long leap and using the same kicking tactic to take out the man at the Miniremo. Barlow ran to the other side, releasing his capture disc and taking a good swing at multiple Dim Sun grunts. Kate directed her Capture Disc as fast as she could just as she did a simple speed vault over the Miniremo and swung her legs into the face of the other goon trying to take control of the Miniremo. She looked at the progress, and gave one final swing, and the capture was complete. The Miniremo sparked off, ruined for life. She then gave a last uppercut on the last standing grunt.

"You really busted a move out there," Barlow laughed. "The last time I visited the Academy, they only taught Parkour."

"Extra practice," Kate answered briskly. "We're almost to the roof."

Kate and Barlow noticed just how empty the deck was, despite the fact that the day was sunny and nice. Looks like work was taken seriously around these parts, they both thought. They wandered about the vast deck, trying to see just how this they'd escape when the time came. Both of their sharp ears picked soft footsteps, and they spun around to see a man in a black coat, with the Dim Sun emblem almost glowing on his chest. The uniform was more padded and puffed than that of a grunt. His shades hid his eyes, and his high collar hid his mouth. But his hair was showing. It was light blonde… and curled…

"Mr. Kincaid?" Kate and Barlow gasped in unison.

"... Well, what a surprising guest we have," The man drawled, unfazed by their surprise. "If it isn't Kate Davies… You haven't been running in the ship's hallways, have you?"

He chuckled as he gave his long hands a flourish and ran them over his hair as if he were some supermodel taking a photo shoot. Kate gagged at the thought of the teacher being… a celebrity on the magazines. She remained quiet, and watched as the man looked unpleased by their small reaction.

"We haven't met since your graduation, have we?" Kincaid added. "Perhaps you don't even recall who I am. I was, after all, only teaching the class next to yours."

"I know who you are," Kate grimaced. "Mr. Kincaid."

"But I only played at being Mr. Kincaid, the teacher. My true identity is..." He twirled around, with little effect. "Team Dim Sun's guiding light! Mr. Kincaid!"

He let out a strange laugh, and Barlow frowned in disgust. Kate's hands twitched. She should just get that sword out and slice his head off. That would be nice, and this hairspray was whelming.

"You've certainly come a long way to be confronting me," The blonde man grinned behind the fabric. "I wouldn't have imagined it from an unruly child like you. Not from one who ran in hallways and snuck around where you didn't belong, not to mention the incidents at the Ranger Academy. That dear Ms. April didn't want her students to fail, so she must have curved your discipline grade…"

Kate ignored his words and was more alert about the footsteps of numerous grunts and admins coming through, and they all filed out into many beelines surrounded Kate and Barlow. The two Rangers crouched into a fighting stance. Kincaid laughed even harder, to the point Kate thought he sounded like a mad joker. Maybe they should bleach his face and turn his hair green…

"They got us," Barlow snarled, and Kate nodded in agreement.

"You thought we wouldn't notice?" Kincaid grinned, pulling his collar down so Kate could see his mouth as he talked. "Minions! Take care of them!"

The Miniremos began to beep, and many Torkoal came on board, their pores steaming.

"Oh, shit," Barlow cursed. Kate looked at him.

"That's the first time you've sworn in front of me," She noted. Barlow then nodded.

"Yeah, I know."

A/N: A bunch of chapters pouring out today because I really want to finish this before June. Hehe... noticed the Mockingbird reference in there... I'm so sorry, Scout, I made you a crybaby...