Author's note: Time for personal thank you-s!
· Sakura Touko: I'm really glad you like this! Thank you for reviewing so often, and I'm sorry if it's kind-of sad. It's the season I get depressed (as in actual depression), so I'm kind-of getting my feelings out. :)
· Caramel Hearts: I update as frequently as possible, but I do have school, friends and planning. Lots of planning for college, finishing high school and becoming a singer/author. If you can see, I don't have heaps of spare time. I promise I will do everything I can to finish this though. :)
· Squirtle-chan: I glad that answered your question. Thank you for reading this. :D
Thank you to everyone reading this. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer: I definitely do not own pokémon, the characters, the games storyline, or whatever else I forgot. Thank you.
Chapter 9: Noises in the Beach Cave
(Kate's P.O.V, seven years old)
"No," I signed, "this can't be true. They can't be, they just cannot be dead."
"I'm really sorry Katie, I really am. I promise you I will always be there for you," My brother N said. I looked at him. Why would he say that! I couldn't believe him! Mom and dad couldn't be dead, they just couldn't. I began to cry, this wasn't supposed to happen.
Those people are unforgivable. They would go to any length to achieve their ends. They didn't care how many people they killed, injured and maimed just to get what they want. They were evil in its simplest form. This time, their target was the Moon Temple and the legendary powers it held within its heart. I was their target, I was Cresselia, the keeper of the Moon Temple's power. I had to be strong, I couldn't let everything be in vain…
(Keith's P.O.V, leaving for Fiore)
I watched as Kate became tiny on the horizon. She was my best friend, and it hurt to leave her. I knew we would see each other again though. Call it instinct, but I think this is the beginning of goodbye, not the actual goodbye. The thought scared me a little. Kate is such an interesting person. She has told me very little about herself, yet she knows almost everything about me. She is really special, and I wish I got the chance to tell her before I left, because I really wanted to tell her that I like her. Like as in more-than-just-a-friend like. I just hope I get the chance to tell her someday…
(Kate's P.O.V, present day)
I woke up with a start. I was being shaken senseless by a girl with dark brown hair. She slowly came into focus. It was Luana, the girl I had met during my one-day internship. Oh Arceus! I had woken up late for morning briefing. The night before, Luana had come to the Ranger School to gather me for Vientown's Ranger Base. That was where I would be stationed, and I was very glad.
I actually found myself crying yesterday, for the thought the Vientown rangers had shown for me. They had made the effort to learn sign language, and had specifically requested I be stationed there. Apparently they had been so impressed with my capture of the starly, that they wanted me, and not anyone else. It really made me want to cry.
I quickly shoved on the real ranger uniform Luana gave me. I walked out with a nervous smile on my face.
"Hello. It's a pleasure to see me. Sorry you're late," Everyone laughed. I didn't realize what was so funny until Crawford said, "That's even better than what I said when I first came here. I'm sorry we're late too." Everyone laughed again, and I face-palmed. I guess it's better than my first day at the Ranger School. I don't even want to repeat what I signed then. It was a good ice-breaker though.
"Anyways, let me do the formal introductions. I'm Barlow, I am the second strongest person in all of Almia. This is Luana. She's very scatterbrained, like the other morning she burnt our toast. She has brilliant white teeth though, I'm kinda' envious." Everyone laughed at Barlow. His face turned red, as he obviously hadn't meant to say that out loud. You didn't have to be a psychic pokémon to tell that though.
"Yes, that as very funny I'm sure. Anyways, back to introductions. You met Crawford, our resident jokester. I'm assuming you also met our operator, Shannon. She won us the styler recharging contest five years in a row. Finally, this is Elaine, our mechanic. Unfortunately, she prefers taking things apart to fixing them. Well, that's everyone." Just as Barlow finished speaking, a little girl burst in. She was followed by four happiny.
"Mimi! Is something the matter," Crawford asked. The little girl looked up at him.
"Mimi heard strange noises from Beach Cave. Mimi worried, so Mimi came to see rangers," the little girl said. Apparently, she speaks in the third person.
Barlow nodded, "Thanks for coming to see us Mimi. I'll send a couple of rangers to the Beach Cave to check it out." Barlow turned to us. "Luana, can you take Mimi home. Crawford, take Kate to the Beach Cave to investigate those weird noises. It's probably just a zubat, but with all the other weird stuff going on lately, you can never be too sure. I will stay here and report to the Union on the issue. Crawford, Kate, I expect a full mission report upon your return. Understood? Then I suggest you get on with it."
Luana left the Base with Mimi, so Crawford and I left as well. "So, did you and Keith ever get to dating?" I blushed a deep crimson as Crawford asked that.
"No. Why would you think that," I signed. I sure wished we were, but it wasn't like Keith would ever feel the same. Even if he did, I knew my destiny. It would only make it that much harder to say goodbye.
Crawford and I walked in silence all the way to the beach. I was surprised to see that the starly from before was here. She looked at me with pleading eyes.
"She probably wants to be your partner pokémon. Will you accept her as your partner," Crawford asked. I nodded my head, of course the answer was yes! I gave Starly a hug, and we continued on our way.
When we finally entered the cave, I got the same dizzy feeling and splitting headache. I breathed in deeply, I had to do this.
"Are you okay, Kate? You don't look so well," Crawford asked, his eyes filled with concern.
"I'm fine. I just have a small headache, no big deal. Let's continue." We continued on our way deeper into the cave. Crawford jumped at a zubat's screech, and Starly flew around nervously. Sometimes I think people get nervous too easily, a trait I notice even in myself.
We finally reached the end of the cave. I saw a red machine. My headache had been getting progressively worse, and I suspected this strange machine was the cause. I motioned for Crawford to come over and take a look.
"What in Arceus's name is that? And how are we supposed to destroy it? This must be what's causing the pokémon to act so weird."
I nodded. The more I thought about it, the truer it was. I had to admit, all of the pokémon in the cave had been acting rather strangely. None of them had said anything, merely walking in circles. I walked over and touched the odd machine. I immediately jumped back. It was very hot to the touch, and it made my headache ten times worse.
'Wait,' I thought, 'if it is so hot, then cooling it with water might just break it!' I figured I would need a pokémon with a power rating of at least two.
"Crawford, are there any pokémon with the field move soak, and a power rating of two in this cave." I smiled, hoping he had the answer.
"There might be a gastrodon somewhere if you need it. Why do you ask?"
I totally ignored him. This needed to be resolved quickly, or I wouldn't be able to stay in control of myself much longer. I quickly located the gastrodon and captured it. It wasn't as difficult to capture as the tangrowth, but it sure wasn't easy. I ran back to the machine, and pointed for Gastrodon to use soak on it. Gastrodon obeyed, and I was pleased to see the machine stop working.
"Wow! That was awesome Kate! I'm really surprised. I know I sure wouldn't have thought of using soak to destroy the machine! I tell you what, you go back and tell the leader what happened, and I'll get Almia's strongest person to carry this. I know for sure it's too heavy for me to carry alone.
(Kate's P.O.V, half an hour later)
"Can I dismantle it? Please," Elaine, our mechanic asked. Ever since Crawford got back from the cave with the machine, Elaine has been begging us to let her dismantle it. Barlow keeps telling her to wait for Professor Hastings. Personally, I'm most excited about meeting the Professor.
"Hey Kate, if you want to turn in early, go ahead. You've had a full day," Barlow said.
"I will have to take you up on that offer. I'm not feeling so well, so see you in the morning," I signed. I decided to try to get some sleep. There was something bothering me though. Why would that machine be able to make the pokémon act so strange, and why would it affect me too? I wondered if it had something to do with me being the Lady of the Moon, Cresselia. I guess there's no use just sitting around wondering, I should probably use the opportunity to catch up on some much needed sleep. I signed a quick goodnight to Starly, and fell sound asleep. I kept waking up though, every couple of hours. I had a bad feeling, a feeling that my entire life would be turned upside down soon…
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