Chapter Ten - Top Ranger! Advancing Your Dreams!
"Well, I never knew this day would come," Barlow began. "Actually, I knew it was coming since I handed you your styler, Alexa, but I never knew it would be this soon. Congratulations, Top Ranger Alexa!"
"We're all happy for you, Alexa," Luana began. "But it's sad to see you go. This team turned out to be a really good one."
"Chairperson Erma asked for you personally, Alex," Crawford stated. "She said you're what the Union needs! Great, huh?"
"Y-yeah…great…" Alexa didn't look so cheerful. Despite her new status as Top Ranger, she didn't appear to like the idea of leaving the Area Rangers behind.
"Are you okay, Alexa?" Elaine asked.
"No…I…It's too soon for me! It's too soon to leave you!" Alexa confessed sadly. "Too soon to say goodbye!" Ryder tapped Alexa's arm. She looked down at him and found him with a warm smile.
Remember what Keith said before we parted; it's not goodbye, it's see you later instead, he said softly. Alexa looked away from Ryder, still with a sad look on her face. She took her keychain off of her shorts and looked at it in her hand.
"See you later…not goodbye…" she said to herself sadly. A teardrop fell onto her keychain, and she wiped the tear away from it with her thumb.
"Sounds like solid advice to me," Ollie commented in a friendly manner. Ryder looked up at Alexa worriedly, but soon noticed Barlow approaching her. He rested his hand on her left shoulder.
"Hey, cheer up, Alexa," he said softly. "I know you'll see him again." Alexa looked up at him in confusion.
"Hm?"
"Keith. That's what you're upset about, isn't it?" Barlow asked politely. "Tell you what; why don't you send him a letter telling him of your new Top Ranger status? He'll be happy for you, I'm sure of it."
"Barlow…" Alexa trailed off with a light sigh. She was too sad to say anything to counter his words.
"You'll be an excellent Top Ranger. Let's face it, kid, you're too skilled to be here forever," Barlow said, with a cheerful laugh. "And Ollie's right; Keith's advice is solid. Area Rangers can often work alongside Top Rangers, so I definitely know we'll work together someday."
"Thanks, Barlow…I appreciate this…" Alexa looked at her keychain. "I guess I'm upset because I've never had real friends before…"
"What about your friends back where you come from?" Elaine asked curiously.
"Compared to everyone I've befriended during my time here thus far," Alexa began. "Nobody I've previously made friends with never bothered to keep in touch with me...it's like they just...forgot about me..."
"Oh, they're not worth your time then!" Big Bertha huffed. "If someone doesn't look out for you when you've looked out for them, they're not your friends."
"And it took me a while to realise that," Alexa said sadly. She soon smiled. "But no more of it! I'm going to be the best Ranger I can be, and with all of my friends behind me, there's no way I'll be backing down from achieving my dreams so easily!"
Whee! Ryder jumped up and down happily.
"That's the Alex we all know and love!" Crawford cheered. "We know you can do it!"
"I'm sure Keith will be happy for you once he finds out," Luana said happily. "Good luck, Alexa!"
"Remember to stop by every once in a while," Elaine added. "We don't want to forget you!"
"I certainly won't forget you," Alexa began. "Any of you. You're all very memorable, and I'm grateful to have met and worked alongside you."
"I'm grateful to you too, Alexa," Barlow added. "You've been a pleasure to work with."
Later…
In Vien Forest, Alexa and Ryder approached Lookout Ridge. They stopped and took in the breathtaking view.
"You know something, Ryder? Barlow's right," Alexa began. "I should write Keith a letter, telling him that we're a Top Ranger pair."
I wonder how he's doing anyway? Ryder queried.
"Hey there, luck girl!" called a familiar voice. The green-haired Ranger from the Union – riding on a Staraptor – approached Alexa and Ryder. "Hey, it's me! I asked you a few questions at the Ranger Union!"
"Oh, hello again," Alexa greeted happily.
"The Union sent me to pick you up," the Ranger stated. "Get ready!"
"Wait, what? What're you-"
"Coming at you!" The Staraptor flew over Alexa and grabbed hold of her left arm. Ryder held onto her as the Staraptor pulled the duo up into the air.
Outside the Union…
Alexa and Ryder fell from the sky and landed on their feet. The green-haired ranger hopped off of her Staraptor and faced Alexa.
"Well, we're here," she commented.
"By the way, I never got your name," Alexa said abruptly.
"Oh, you didn't? My name's Wendy," the Ranger replied. "I'm known as the Flying Ranger because of my Staraptor partner."
"Nice to have met you, Wendy," Alexa said cheerfully.
"Chairperson Erma's waiting for you in the conference room," Wendy stated. "You should go up and see her."
"I will, thank you," Alexa thanked as she and Ryder entered the Union building.
In the conference room…
Alexa and Ryder entered the conference room, and they met up with Professor Hastings and Chairperson Erma.
"Welcome, Alexa," Erma greeted. "I see you're looking much better than the last time we met."
"Yes, I am, ma'am," Alexa said modestly. "Nage did a superb job with my cheek, and I'm much better than I was before."
The door opened up abruptly, and a familiar-looking crimson haired boy hastily entered the room. Neither Alexa nor Ryder noticed the second Ranger nor his partner Buizel.
"Sorry I'm late!" the Ranger apologised in a hurry.
"It's quite all right, dear," Erma began. "We know why; you had to stop Team Dim Sun along the way, yes? We've received thanks from the citizens for your efforts. Incidentally, have either of you noticed? This may surprise you, but…turn around."
Alexa did so and almost clasped her mouth in shock when she saw who she stood next to; Keith. Keith was equally surprised, but he soon smiled.
"Alex! I didn't know you became a Top Ranger too!" he exclaimed happily. "I was going to write to you tonight about it!" Alexa looked at Keith with tear-filled eyes, but with a warm smile about her face.
"So was I…" Alexa responded shakily. "Oh, Keith!" she instantly ran over to him and hugged him. "I've missed you so much!" she cried. Keith hugged her in return.
"I missed you too," he corroborated. "But I never lost faith! I knew we'd see each other again, but, whoa! Never expected it to be like this!"
"Me neither!" Alexa laughed. Erma laughed.
"I'm glad you two get along so well," she said happily. Alexa and Keith faced her, both with gratifying looks on their faces. Neither of them noticed that they still held onto one another.
"Now, I must present to you the symbol of any Top Ranger; the Fine Styler," Hastings declared. "Incidentally, you may want to release each other."
"Huh?" Alexa and Keith faced each other in confusion before they found out that they were still holding each other. They released each other and blushed from embarrassment. Erma laughed again.
"I believe you two will get along like a house on fire," she said cheerfully. Hastings went over to Alexa and Keith and gave them very different-looking stylers. These ones appeared to clip onto one's arm. Keith and Alexa put their stylers on their right arms.
"There, you are now properly certified Top Rangers," Hastings said proudly. "Now, you may take some time to catch up; Chairperson Erma and I will be leaving you now."
"I will be waiting for you in the Operations Room, dears," Erma stated. "Meet me there when you're ready."
"Thank you, ma'am," Alexa thanked kindly. Hastings and Erma left the room, leaving Keith and Alexa alone.
"Wow, I can't believe this is happening!" Alexa exclaimed excitedly. "I wanted to tell you about this, but I don't need to now because we're both here at the same time!"
"I wanted to pay you a visit in Vientown," Keith began. "But I don't think that's necessary anymore, do you?"
"Not really," Alexa laughed. "But, God damn, I missed you so much! Thank you, Keith."
"For what?"
"For writing to me," Alexa replied, blushing. "I thought it was very sweet of you." Keith blushed as well.
"I…I wanted to let you know how I was doing in Fiore, so that's how it started," he replied nervously. "Thank you for writing back."
"You're welcome," Alexa said timidly. "So…did you bring your partner Pokémon with you?"
"Yep!" Buizel hopped onto Keith's right shoulder. "This is Buizel. Buizel, this is my best friend, Alexa, and her partner, Ryder."
"Bui-bui!" Buizel greeted happily.
Hey there, little guy, Ryder waved cheerfully.
"Bui!" Buizel waved happily in response to Ryder.
"Nice to meet you, Buizel," Alexa smiled. "Anyway, shall we go and see Chairperson Erma?"
"Sure," Keith agreed. Alex and Ryder prepared to leave the conference room. "Alex?"
"Yes?" Alexa turned to face Keith in confusion.
"Before we do, I want to clarify a few things," he said nervously. He blushed again. "First, I really am sorry now; about calling you weird when we first met."
"It's nothing, Keith," Alexa smiled.
"A-and, uh…I gave you my honest opinion about how you look, right?" Keith asked nervously.
"Yeah? What about it?" Alexa asked.
"Well…you looked pretty in the photo," Keith began timidly. He's still blushing. "But you look more beautiful in person…" Alexa blushed upon hearing Keith's opinion.
"Thank you, Keith," she said shyly. She, Keith, Ryder and Buizel exited the conference room.
In the Operations Room…
Keith, Alexa and Ryder disembarked from the escalator and met up with Chairperson Erma. Three Operators were behind her, at their desks.
"Hello, dears. I trust you two have been acquainted with one another now?" she asked. "I would like you to meet our three Top Operators. Come along, dears!"
The three Operators, one of whom looked oddly familiar, left their seats and approached Chairperson Erma.
"Hello, I'm Marcus," the male operator introduced.
"My name's Linda," the blue-haired operator said happily.
"And my name's Rhythmi," Rhythmi stated. "I only graduated about…wait a minute…Keith! Alexa! Hi!"
"Rhythmi?" Both Keith and Alexa were in shock to see their second friend again.
Oh, what the?! Whoa-ho, what a twist! Ryder laughed. Erma laughed for a third time.
"I can assure you, the three of you being here is of no coincidence," she began. "I have heard the three of you made a pledge at the Ascension Square at the Ranger School. Ms April told us about it."
"Y-yeah, that's right," Alexa confirmed. "We each made our own separate pledges, but we combined them into a promise."
"That's very sweet, dear," Erma complimented.
RING-RING-RING-RING!
Linda went over to her desk and picked up the incoming voicemail.
"Voicemail, voicemail, it's me, Sven," began a mature masculine voice. "Listen, I need some backup down here; I'm on Team Dim Sun's trail, but there're too many of them to handle. Can the Union send a Ranger or two to help me out? Over and out." The transmission ended.
"A Ranger or two, eh?" Erma pondered. "Then two he shall get. Alexa, Keith, this will be your first mission as Top Rangers, but I want you two to go to the Chroma ruins and meet up with a Ranger named Sven."
"He wears a red hat, so you can't miss him, really," Marcus added. Alexa and Keith faced each other and nodded. They faced Erma again, looking determined.
"Alex and I can handle it," Keith confirmed. Alexa nodded in agreement, as do Ryder and Buizel.
En Route to the Chroma Highlands…
"Pretty intense stuff," Keith commented, having heard Alexa's more recent missions. "You're so lucky you got to teach an Outdoor class!"
"I'm sure you'll get the opportunity someday," Alexa said reassuringly. "You just have to be careful about which questions you want to answer."
"Why, did someone ask you if you wear pyjamas at night?" Keith teased.
"No, it was a little more personal than that," Alexa stated. She appeared to be annoyed, but blushed at the same time.
"What did they ask?" Keith asked curiously. He then noticed Alexa's blushing.
"I really don't fancy recalling it," Alexa admitted.
In the Chroma Highlands…
Alexa and Keith entered a very hilly highland. There were various wild Pokémon wandering around the area, but there were mostly resting Carnivine lying around.
"Is this where we need to meet up with Sven?" Keith asked openly.
"I think the ruins are further up," Alexa answered. "But we're certainly on the right tracks."
Alexa, Keith, Ryder and Buizel advanced onwards, heading towards their said destination. Some of the Carnivine woke up and watched the foursome making their way along the highlands. One of the Carnivine eyed Alexa and charged at her. Keith was the only one to notice.
"Watch out!" he exclaimed, pulling Alexa towards him. The charging Carnivine missed her and tumbled down a small hill. Alexa was left taken aback, as was Ryder.
Ow! That had to hurt! Ryder winced. Alexa looked towards Keith with a grateful smile.
"Thanks, Keith," she said gratefully. Ryder looked around cautiously, as did Buizel, but with worry.
"Bui!" Buizel exclaimed in shock. Alexa, Ryder and Keith looked around; several Carnivine were surrounding them. They all looked ready to charge at the Rangers.
"Let's get out of here!" Keith yelled, grabbing Alexa's right hand. He, Alexa, Buizel and Ryder ran away, attempting to outrun the continuously charging Carnivine.
"Why are they trying to attack us?" Alexa pondered as she struggled to keep up with Keith, despite him having a firm grip on her hand.
"I don't fancy hanging around to find out, to be fair, Alex," Keith replied. "Let's just keep running until we get to the ruins!" Alexa, Ryder and Buizel all nodded in agreement.
They found a set of stone steps in plain sight ahead of them. They continued running away from the Carnivine, but this made them oblivious to everything else around them.
THUMP!
"D'AAAAAGH!" Whilst Ryder and Buizel managed to avoid the attack, the restless Bastiodon purposely tackled into Alex and Keith. The Bastiodon and some of the Carnivine ganged up on the taken down Rangers.
"Bui-bui!" Buizel cried worriedly.
"Buizel, Ryder, get to the ruins! We'll meet you there!" Keith shouted back.
Buizel, let's go! Ryder encouraged Buizel to follow him up the steps; although reluctant, Buizel followed Ryder. Keith and Alexa stood up and held their right arms – and, thus, their stylers – out in front of them.
"Capture on!" Alexa and Keith fired their capture discs out of their stylers. Alexa's capture disc spun around on the spot as it gained more energy. Keith's capture disc aimed for the Bastiodon. Alexa's capture disc circled around the four Carnivine. Both Alexa and Keith were somehow controlling the directions of their capture discs with their right arms. Eventually, the Carnivine and the Bastiodon were all captured and released.
"Nice capturing, Alex. How did you do that thing with your capture disc?" Keith asked.
"Oh, it's the Power Charge feature," Alexa explained, recalling her capture disc back into her styler. "It's something the Fine Styler is capable of. It basically increases the power of the capture disc, making captures easier."
"Professor Hastings never mentioned anything about that," Keith complained. "How do you know about it?"
"Research," Alexa answered. "I did some extra studying on my way to Almia. I didn't really have anything else better to do."
"Speaking of better things to do, let's go up to the ruins to meet our partners," Keith suggested. He and Alexa ran up the stone steps.
Inside the ruins…
Keith, Alexa, Ryder and Buizel walked down some stone steps, into a dark cavern underground.
"These must be the Chroma Ruins alright," Keith commented. He spotted a lone Drifblim hovering around. "Hey, a Drifblim!"
"Heh; haven't seen one of those in a while," Alex said nostalgically. "Not since I fought Sinnoh's Elite Four anyway."
"Okay, Alex, I think we should talk about what antics you've been up to before we met," Keith teased. "Anyway, if we need to, we can use a Drifblim to go up a level."
"That's good to know for the future," Alexa commented. "In the meantime, let's go in deeper."
Eventually, Alexa and Keith – along with Ryder and Buizel – walked through a dark pathway. Keith stopped and smells the air.
"Ew…what's that smell?" he asked, looking fairly disgusted. In confusion, Alexa sniffed the air with her eyes shut.
"That's a Skuntank," she stated. Keith faced her in disbelief.
"How can you tell that from scent alone?" he asked. "And how come you haven't recoiled from it?"
"I've been around a Skuntank before," Alexa began. "I've gotten used to how they smell."
Don't get me started on the said Skuntank's owner, Ryder sighed.
"Bui!" Buizel pointed ahead of him. A lone Skuntank ventured out of a cave on the left hand side. Alexa readied her styler.
"Capture on!" she fired the capture disc out of her styler. The Skuntank stopped and faced Alexa in confusion as the capture disc surrounded it. The white ring formation enveloped Skuntank with its white glow and captured the Skuntank. It walked over to Alexa. "And that's capture complete."
"Alex, why did you get the Skuntank?" Keith asked, mildly in disgust.
"I'm remembering what Sven said via voicemail," Alexa began. "He said there're too many Dim Sun minions to handle, so I thought Skuntank may be helpful in that area."
A little later…
Keith, Alexa, Ryder, Buizel and the Skuntank ended up in a deeper part of the caverns, with coloured crystals embedded into the walls around them, making the area appear to be dark blue. They met up with a Luxray and a tall black-haired man with a red hat – Sven, in other words - who appeared to have been waiting. Sven faced Alexa and Keith.
"Shh! Keep your voices down," he whispered to the two oncoming Rangers. "The name's Sven, this is my Luxray partner."
"Lux-ray," the Luxray greeted quietly. Alexa gently pet the Luxray on the head. Luxray enjoyed the petting.
"I'm Keith, and this is Alex," Keith whispered, squinting towards Alexa, who had just ceased the petting.
"Short for Alexa. Nice to meet you," Alexa whispered. "What's going on here?" she asked quietly.
"Why don't you two see for yourselves?" Sven offered quietly. Alexa and Keith looked around the corner, along with Sven. They saw a whole hoard of Dim Sun minions around the entire clearing.
"Looks like we've already cleared out all of the dark stones," one of the minions stated. "There're only the light coloured ones left."
"Should we get the light coloured ones anyway?"
"Oh, yeah? Then what would we do with them, make jewellery out of them?"
"Maybe we can sell them for pocket money."
"What are you, seven years old?"
"I've heard enough, let's get them," Keith whispered angrily, about to run into the clearing. Sven pulled him – and Alexa – back behind the wall.
"Whoa, easy," he cautioned, after having pulled the duo back behind the wall. "Let's not rush into anything."
"How do you suggest we get rid of them then?" Keith asked quietly.
"Easy. Flush them out of the ruins," Sven responded in a whisper. "I think there's a Pokémon that can emit a powerful stink in these ruins."
"You mean one of these?" Alexa asked playfully, almost in silence, hinting at the Skuntank she captured earlier.
"Oh, you've caught it already. I guess you must've had a similar idea," Sven complimented. "Alright, let's get ready. Cover your noses." Alexa, Keith, Sven and the Pokémon all entered the clearing.
Before the Dim Sun minions had a chance to talk, the Skuntank emitted its intoxicating fragrance from its tail, which spread throughout the whole room. Alexa – having taken a deep breath beforehand – held her right hand over her mouth and nose; a white cloth could be seen in her hand. The minions – and Keith – were all caught off guard by the vile scent, however. The minions fled from the area. As the scent died down, the Skuntank left. Keith hacked and coughed.
"God! Sven, you could've warned us in advance!" he exclaimed, having barely recovered from the foul stench.
"I did," Sven replied. Alex removed her hand from her face and went over to Keith, presenting him with the cloth.
"Here," she offered. Keith took the cloth and sniffed it, curious as to why Alexa was unaffected.
"How did you do that?" he asked in amazement. Alexa searched her pockets and picked up a small brown bottle with a black lid and a purple label around it.
"Lavender oil," she replied. "I rubbed it into the cloth a little while back. I knew it would come in handy. I found it in the medical pack my Charizard gave to me back at the Boyleland."
"Clever thinking," Sven complimented.
"Alex, mind if I keep this for a while?" Keith asked.
"Sure, I don't need it anymore," Alexa granted.
"Okay, now we can press on. Let's go."
Later…
Keith, Sven and Alexa came across a large monument standing against the cave wall. There was a large hole in the wall at the top of the monument. Sven, Keith, Alexa and the Pokémon – Ryder gave Buizel a piggyback ride, for some reason – walked up the steps and looked around.
"It seems we're too late," Sven sighed. "It's already been taken."
"What has?" Alexa asked.
"The Shadow Crystal," Sven answered. "It's a very large crystal with darkness embodying it. What I can't understand is why the Pokémon who was supposed to be guarding it allowed it to leave the ruins."
"The guardian?" Keith questioned.
"Darkrai, I'll bet," Alexa assumed. "Darkrai is a dark type Pokémon and contains the powers of darkness in its body. Not to mention that Sinnoh legends state that Darkrai is said to be capable of sending Pokémon and humans alike into a terrible nightmare, which can only be cured when a Lunar Wing – provided by Darkrai's rival, Cresselia – is near the victims if Darkrai does not undo its actions on its own. It wouldn't surprise me if Darkrai was supposed to be the gem's guardian."
"Hey, you're pretty intelligent! Darkrai was supposed to be guarding the Shadow Crystal," Sven confirmed. "I wonder what happened to Darkrai after the crystal was taken… Still, we should find out where this hole leads."
A short while later…
Sven climbed up a ladder and found himself by an old shack on a hill just above the Chroma Highlands. He exited the hole, allowing Keith, Alexa and the Pokémon to climb out.
"Hey, we're back outside," Alexa observed. Sven walked over to a signpost just outside the shack.
"A-ru O-l," he read out loud. "Altru Oil? This must be where Altru Inc started!" he exclaimed, quickly entering the shack. Keith, Alexa and the Pokémon joined Sven inside.
"Yikes…what a mess," Alexa stated; old pieces of paper and broken chairs were left all over the floor. Sven was looking around.
"Maybe we can find some clues in here," he commented. "Feel free to have a look around." Keith started assisting Sven in looking around for any said clues. Alexa and Ryder wandered off on their own. They looked at a closed door, with some crates of bean cans nearby, before looking over at a lone desk opposite the door. They approached the desk and found a green book resting in the centre of the desk. Alexa picked up the book and – having taken notice of the book's age – carefully skimmed through it. Eventually, the text became too illegible due to fire damage.
"Keith! Sven! We've found something!" Alexa shouted. Keith, Buizel, Sven and Luxray ran over to her and Ryder in confusion.
"What've you got?" Sven asked. He and Keith looked at the diary over Alexa's shoulder.
"It looks like a diary of sorts," she replied. "It's too hard to read, it's been damaged, possibly by fire."
FLUSH!
Alexa, Sven and Keith turned around to face the door; Alexa was confused, but Sven looked cautious and Keith stood in front of Alexa protectively. A familiar face entered the room through the previously closed door.
"Alexa? Keith? Is that you?" he asked. "When did you two become Rangers?"
"Ponte?" Alexa and Keith questioned in confusion.
"You know this guy?" Sven asked.
"Yeah, he was at Ranger School with Alex and me," Keith answered. "But, Ponte, since when did you become a member of Team Dim Sun?"
"Oh, this?" Ponte asked, looking at his leotard. "Sure, it's a Team Dim Sun uniform, but I didn't agree with their morals, so I quit the day I joined. You know me, I'm the conflicted marshmallow boy!"
"So, do you know what happened with the Shadow Crystal?" Sven asked.
"Oh, yeah. We dug it out of the ruins and us lower members loaded it onto a large helicopter," Ponte explained. "I don't know what it's for, though…"
"Thanks, we'll take things from here," Sven stated. He, Alexa, Keith and the Pokémon left the shack.
Outside…
"Alright, you two, it's time to report back to the Union with our findings," Sven suggested. He, Keith and their partners started to leave. Alexa and Ryder remained behind, thinking things over.
"Okay, something has to be up," Alexa began. "Why would the hole where the Shadow Crystal used to be lead to an old Altru Inc shack? And what does Team Dim Sun want from the crystal to begin with? This doesn't seem to add up." Ryder shook his head.
It can't be a coincidence, Alex. Perhaps we're dealing with something far greater than just a team bent on hypnotising Pokémon, he assumed. Maybe we're dealing with something similar to Team Galactic, barring universal domination.
"Alex! Come on!" Sven shouted. Alexa and Ryder jumped down the hill and ran over to him and Keith.
To be continued…