Luana: We're finally back!
Ash: About time.
AKCC: Don't make me hit you again! I already have enough to do.
Ashley:Yeah, like making a new profile picture is so important.
AKCC: It took a lot of time! And finding the perfect background was important too! By the way, I drew my own OC, but the background belongs to another person and I don't own that at all!
Luana: Smooth.
AKCC: Shut up.
Ashley: Time to get this over with. AKCC here doesn't own Pokemon or anything else that she refers to. Only her OCs are her own.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Normal POV
"Ah-ha! What do we have here?" Hastings said as he pulled a small black gem from the Gigaremo Crawford and Keith brought back over two months ago.
"Ooh. Can I drill holes in it? Or can I smash it in pieces? Wait, I can cut it in half!" Elaine had a maniacal look in her eyes as she held up a drill, a hammer, and a chainsaw? That's right people; the girl can just magically make tools appear out of nowhere.
"No, no! This may be essential to the mechanical aspect of this machine." Hastings said as he backed away with the gem. He examined it a bit longer before calling Barlow over. "Barlow, I need to set up a meeting at the Union. Can you escort me there?"
"Yes Professor." Barlow nodded. "Crawford, you're in charge until I get back."
"What?!" everyone in the base exclaimed.
"Chief, are you sure about this?" Keith asked.
"Last time you put Crawford in charge, he turned the base upside down." Luana pointed out. "Literally."
"I still wonder how he was able to get everything on the ceiling." Barlow scratched his head. "However, Crawford does have the most field experience so he's in charge."
"But Audrey's been here for a year longer than Crawford." Rhythmi pointed out.
"Yeah, but Crawford's been in Vientown longer than she has." Barlow said. "See you guys later." he waved as he walked out of the base with Hastings.
"Alright, minions, you heard the Chief. Until he gets back, you have to listen to what I say." Crawford said with an evil grin.
"Arceus, we're all doomed!" Hydro cried.
"Well I don't have too since I'm not part of the base." Ash started to walk out the doors.
"Oh no you're not, Ashton. If I have to suffer, then you have to suffer." Luana dragged his brother back into the base.
And let the chaos begin.
Meanwhile in Fiore
"Are you feeling better, Solana?" Lunick asked his partner.
"I'm fine. There will be a burn mark there, but I can still walk." Solana answered. "In fact, I've been walking for over a month now." she deadpanned.
"Honestly, Lunick. You didn't notice when she walked in the base with you instead of you carrying her?" Mai sighed.
"So I forgot. The base hasn't been the same since Murph left." Lunick sighed.
"I know it's been a month after we went to Summerland and a month and a half after Murph left for Almia." Solana nodded.
"I wonder how Ashley's doing on her trek to Wintown?" Mai asked to no one in particular.
"I think she's glad she's going. She's been cooped up in Summerland for a month because Joel 'grounded' her and put Cameron in charge." Lunick said, putting air quotes around 'grounded'.
"I think that was his own mistake, putting Cameron in charge." Solana laughed.
"Hey guys, do you know why Lunick's styler is in the oven?" Spencer asked from the kitchen. Everyone turned to look at Lunick.
"Oh so that's where that was." Lunick rubbed his head.
"How did he ever become a Top Ranger?" Mai facepalmed.
"You have a message from Professor Hastings." Spencer said as he came over with Lunick's styler, playing hot potato with it.
"What does it say?" Solana asked as Spencer dropped it onto the counter.
"It says that he called for a meeting in Almia at the Union." Mai read it out loud.
"And he wants you guys there right away." Spencer added.
"How long ago was that message sent?" Lunick asked as he strapped the still burning styler to his wrist.
"About an hour ago." Mai said as she ducked behind her desk.
"You idiot! It takes us five hours to get to Almia and now we lost an hour for a meeting that is supposed to take place in three hours!" Solana yelled at Lunick.
"Then you guys better run. Especially you, Lunick." Spencer said as he poked his head from his hiding place from Solana's wrath.
Lunick took his cue to leave as he bolted out the doors with his Minun holding onto him. Solana was chasing him with her Plusle clutching her shoulder. They both captured a Staraptor and took off for Almia.
Little did they know, the message includes one other member from the base.
"How did I get in this mess? Seriously, how?" Ash's Pikachu sighed as he looked at what he was wearing. You actually have to feel bad for him since he was wearing a blue southern belle dress (A/N: Cosplay Pikachu's Beauty costume. Sorry Pikachu!). But don't forget the others.
"How did he get us in these outfits?" Rhythmi asked as she looked at her outfit. It was a western styled dress with a bonnet.
"I think the question is where he got these outfits." Audrey said. She wore the same outfit as Rhythmi.
"Why am I dressed up as a horse?" Elaine asked. She had a white horse costume on with a horse head on.
"And why am I dressed as a girl?" Ash exclaimed. Like he said, he was dressed as a girl. However, unlike Rhythmi and Audrey, Ash was wearing an old showgirl dress that reaches the floor with a black wig on.
"At least you don't have to wear something like this." Luana said. She was wearing a rather revealing western showgirl dress. It was the same as Ash's, but it was shorter. By that, it was literally half the entire length of the dress, from shoulders to her feet.
"Crawford could've dressed me up something like Keith." Ash pointed to Keith.
Unlike the others, Keith actually looked good. It was a western cowboy outfit with a hat and bandana over the mouth. According to Crawford, this was a bandit outfit. Hydro was wearing small cowboy boots, a small hat that fit him perfectly, and a bandana over his mouth as well.
A bright light flashed through the room as Rhyth took a picture of Ash in his girly outfit.
"What was that for?" Ash asked.
"Ashley told me to take any pictures of you as a girl. Sorry Ash, I mean, Ashlynn." she said with a smirk.
Ash let out a grunt and walked over to a wall to smash his head in it. His fault for crossdressing all those years ago.
"Howdy there, ladies. Now, who's the belle that needs saving?" Crawford walked out for the back with a western sheriff outfit on.
"Crawford, you are so dead when I get my hands on you!" the Ketchum 'sisters' growled.
"Keith, Barlow needs you in Pueltown for-" Rhythmi wasn't able to finish her sentence since Keith already bolted through the doors with his costume on the floor. Good thing he had his uniform under it. "A mission." she finished.
"Thank you Barlow." Keith exclaimed as he ran through the forest.
"Aw. I wanted to wear that costume longer." Hydro whined.
"Sorry buddy, but I don't want to know what Crawford wanted us to do in those cosplay outfits." Keith stated as he reached the entrance to Pueltown.
"Keith. You finally made it." Barlow greeted them.
"What do you need me to do, chief?" Keith asked.
"Well as you know, the Professor hates traveling by sky so we are strictly traveling on footing." Barlow explained as they walked towards the pier. "But unfortunately, the bridge leading to the Union is struck and we can't get across."
They reached the pier where they saw Hastings waiting there with Brook.
"And I'm guessing Brook dropped his keys to the bridge while chasing after that boat." Keith crossed his arms as he looked at Brook.
"Huh. Yeah, I did." Brook rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"And it's your mission to retrieve it so we can get to the Union." Barlow explained.
Keith nodded and went to get changed in his swim shorts. After he got out, Barlow and Brook were waiting for him on a boat.
"My friend lent me his boat so we can go out to sea." Brook explained. Keith and Hydro boarded the boat and the boat sped off.
"Do you know how to drive this thing?" Keith yelled over the wind.
"Not really!" Brook yelled back.
"What?!" Barlow and Keith exclaimed.
"Just kidding!" Brook stopped the boat. "This is where I dropped the keys."
"Here, this is an Aqualung. It was just invented by a researcher at the Union. Place it inside your mouth and it will allow you to breath underwater." Barlow handed Keith a small device.
"Good luck Keith." Hydro said as he lunged on a chair on the boat with sunglasses and a coconut drink in his hands? Paws? Um, nevermind that. The real question is where he got the coconut drink. And sunglasses.
"What are you talking about? You're a water pokemon meaning you can swim. You're coming with me." Keith pointed out.
"Oh yeah." Hydro said as he hopped over to Keith who sweatdropped.
"Let's get this over with." Keith mumbled as he placed the Aqualung in his mouth. He jumped off the boat and sunk down into the seawater.
Keith opened his eyes and looked around him.
Where's Hydro? Keith wondered by his question was answered when Hydro cannonball into the water next to him.
"That was fun! Let's do it again!" Hydro cheered.
"Not now. We have a mission to do." Keith said through the transmitter in the Aqualung.
"Look. There's something shiny over there." Hydro pointed to a silver object.
"That's the key." Keith said as he swam closer. However, a Sharpedo tackled into him, sending him into a coral reef. "Ow." Keith moaned as he looked at the cuts on his arms.
"Your back isn't looking so good." Hydro said as he swam around Keith. "And the Sharpedo got the key in his mouth!" Hydro pointed to the pokemon who caught the key in its mouth.
Voicemail! Voicemail!
"How are you doing down there?" Barlow's face showed up on the screen.
"Fine." Keith lied. Truth was, his back and arms were stinging.
"Are you sure? You sound like you're in pain." Barlow looked concern.
"Yeah. Just got slammed by a Sharpedo into a coral reef. Nothing big." Keith said.
"What?!" Barlow exclaimed. "Keith, get back to land right now!"
"Sorry, chief, but I can't. The key got stuck in the Sharpedo's mouth and I can't let it choke on it." Keith said before he ended the call.
"Does he remind you of anyone?" Barlow sighed on land.
"He sounds a lot like Ashley." Hastings nodded. "Speaking of which, perhaps I should've gave her an Aqualung before I left. Oh well, it's not like she needs to go underwater."
"Uh, Spencer?" Mai said. "Hastings just sent a message saying that he's going to be late and Lunick, Solana, and Ashley should wait at the Union for him.
"Did you also say Ashley?" Spencer asked.
"Yep." Mai nodded.
"Good thing Solana's not here right now." Spencer said as he prepared to call Solana on his styler.
"What is it, Spencer?" Solana shouted over the wind. Currently, both her and Lunick are flying towards Almia faster than they have ever flew before.
"Did Lunick mention that Ashley was supposed to be with you guys?" Spencer asked.
"What?!" Solana stopped in the middle of the air.
"Oh, so he didn't. Well she was supposed to be at the meeting with you guys." Spencer said before ending the call.
"LUNICK!" Solana screamed.
"Yes?" Lunick flew back to her.
"How did you not know that Ashley was suppose to be with us?!" Solana yelled.
"I didn't have time to read the entire message..." Lunick said quietly, flying out of Solana's reach.
"Okay, we can't waste anymore time. I'll call Ashley and tell her to meet us there." Solana sighed, rubbing her temples. "Hopefully, she made to Wintown already."
With that, the two rangers sped off to the Union.
"I'm guessing we're going after it?" Hydro asked.
"You got that right. Now, follow that Sharpedo!" Keith ordered as he held onto his partner.
Hydro spun his tail and propelled both him and Keith over the ocean floor until they caught up to the Sharpedo.
"What do you want?" Sharpedo asked as it swam away from the two.
"We're only trying to help you!" Keith shouted. They cornered the Sharpedo in an underwater cul-de-sac.
"Hydro, use Aqua Jet and try to cut off that Sharpedo!" Keith ordered. Hydro nodded and soon, both pokemon and ranger were covered in water, well, more water, and rocketed in front of the Sharpedo.
"Why do you keep chasing me?" Sharpedo asked, the key shining in its mouth.
"We're chasing you because of the key stuck in your teeth. That's the only thing we want." Keith said.
"You can understand me?" the Sharpedo asked.
"Yes I can. And I promise you, we mean no harm." Keith said as he swam closer to the Sharpedo.
"Alright." Sharpedo said as he opened his mouth. Keith stuck his arm in there and carefully pulled out the key.
"There. See? You're okay." Keith said when he got the key out.
"Wow, you're right, kid. Thanks!" the Sharpedo said before it swam away.
"Let's get back to the surface." Hydro said. Keith nodded and grabbed hold of Hydro. He spun his tail again and propelled the both of them to the surface where Brook was waiting after taking Barlow back to land.
"Hey you got it!" Brook exclaimed when Keith got back on the boat.
"Yep. And this time, don't lose it." Keith grinned as he threw the key back to Brook. Caught off-guard, Brook fumbled with the key, but managed to get a hold on it.
Brook drove the two of them back to land where Barlow and Hastings were waiting.
"Mission all finished, Barlow." Keith said as he jumped onto the pier.
"Good job, Keith but what happened to your back and arm?" Barlow asked.
"Remember when I told you that I got hurled into a coral reef?" Keith said sheepishly.
"I told you to come back." Barlow said sternly.
"I know, but I wasn't about to let a pokemon die." Keith defended.
"You're right. For your good work, I'm promoting you to Ranger Rank 5." Barlow smiled.
"Awesome! OW! Hydro!" Keith glared at his pokemon.
"I'm only trying to help here. Do you want your wounds to get infected?" Hydro climbed onto Keith's back with a roll of bandages.
Keith grumbled as Hydro washed his wounds and wrapped them up. He slipped back on his uniform over his swim shorts and he, Barlow, Hastings, and Brook walked back to the bridge.
"I got this! It's my job after all!" Brook ran into the operating room and lowered the bridge.
"Finally! Let's hurry to the Union!" Hastings said as he rushed over the bridge.
"Thank Arceus we're out of that cave!" Ashley exclaimed as she walked out of Panula Cave with her cousin, Chris, at her side.
"Maybe now we can properly get this wound taken care of." Chris pointed to his arm which was wrapped in the bottom half of Ashley's shirt.
"Quit complaining! It was your fault for waking up that Steelix which I had to capture and we didn't have any medical supplies." Ashley retorted.
"Who told you to come without any supplies?" Chris glared at her.
"Hey! I had to do a lot of persuasion to let Cameron allow me to come here! Besides, it was Uncle Joel's fault for putting Cameron in charge of me." Ashley crossed her arms over her chest.
"Let's just get to the base." Chris sighed. Ashley followed him through Wintown and into the base.
"Chris, you're back and I see that you brought a ranger here." a lady with pink hair said. Chris nodded 'yes'. And he's back to his silent demeanor.
"I'm Ashley and Chris is my cousin." Ashley introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you, Ashley. I'm Elita, leader of the Wintown base." Elita nodded. "What happened to your shirt?" she pointed to Ashley's waist which had her scars revealed.
"Oh it's a long story. The scars are an even longer one." Ashley said.
Voicemail! Voicemail!
"Finally!" Solana exclaimed as she popped up on the screen.
"What's the matter?" Ashley asked.
"Why haven't you been picking up your styler?" Solana asked.
"I've been Panula Cave. There's no signal in there." Ashley explained.
"Fine, but we need you at the Union right away." Solana said.
"Why?" Ashley asked.
"Lunick was being an idiot and ignored a message from Hasting saying that we need to be in Almia. And he also forgot to mention that you also needed to be there." Solana explained.
"When do I need to be there?" Ashley asked.
"About an hour." Solana answered.
"What?!" Ashley exclaimed. "I can't be there in an hour! I can't even capture a Staraptor to take me there since I'm not a top ranger!" Ashley ranted.
"Don't worry. You can take my Skarmory to get there." Elita spoke up.
"Thank you Elita!" Ashley bowed down thankfully. "I'll meet you guys there." Ashley said to Solana before hanging up.
"She's right outside." Elita said. Ashley followed her outside and saw a Skarmory ready to go.
"Thank you so much Elita." Ashley said as she boarded the pokemon.
"Don't worry. She'll listen to everything you said. Good luck." Elita waved as Ashley took off into the sky.
"Professor! I'm glad to see that you're safe!" a certain chubby former ranger exclaimed.
"Ah Murph. Are the preparations for the meetings ready?" Hastings asked.
"Yep. Almost all the rangers are here. We're still missing the three from Fiore." Murph answered.
"We have to start without them than. Barlow! Come! We have to get to get to the Union!" Hastings said as he went towards the Union with Barlow at his heels.
"... and who am I?" Murph sweatdropped.
"Hi there." Keith said, making his presence known.
"Oh hi! My name's Murph. I'm the Union PR guy though I got the job recently." Murph said.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Keith and this is my partner, Hydro." Keith said as Hydro climbed onto his shoulder.
"What happened to your arm?" Murph asked as he looked at the bandages on his arm.
"I had to get a key from a Sharpedo. I didn't exactly get off without scratches." Keith said.
"I think you should have those changed. Altru Inc is nearby. Maybe they have some." Murph said as he led Keith through Altru Park.
As they were walking, a very tall blond mushroom caught Keith's eye.
"Isaac?!" Keith exclaimed.
The young scientist turned around at the sound of his name. "Keith?"
"Good to see you!" Keith ran up to him. "How's the job going?"
"Fine. I'm actually the lead scientist at Altru Inc." Isaac explained.
"Way to go. If only Rhythmi was here." Keith said as he slapped Isaac's back a little too hard, causing him to stumble.
"You guys know each other?" Murph asked.
"Isaac and I used to be friends in Ranger School with two others." Keith explained.
"And one of them is very mad at you for what you did at Graduation." Isaac added.
"Wait a minute; that sounds familiar." Murph said, scratching his chin. "You're that redhead that Ashley wants to forget!"
"You know her?" Isaac asked.
"Oh yeah. I was a ranger at the Ringtown base where she was stationed and she explained the situation to everyone." Murph explained.
"I can't believe that she wants to forget me." Keith said, sulking.
"In her defense, you were pretty harsh to do that to her without her permission." Isaac said.
"I wonder how she's doing after that mission in Summerland?" Murph wondered out loud.
"Keith, your arm?" Hydro poked his partner to see if he was still alive.
"Oh yeah." Keith shot up. "Isaac, do you have any bandages at your workplace? I got injured in a mission and I think I need to change them." Keith explained.
"Sure. Follow me." Isaac nodded, leading them to a tall building.
"Lunick! You're an idiot! That was not the right way!"
"How was I supposed to know that it was a wrong turn?"
"A person is not possible of taking 50 wrong turns! Especially in the sky!"
"So I have a lack of directions. Is that wrong?"
"I swear, if we are late to this meeting, you are so dead!"
"I am so dead if I come late to that meeting." Ashley muttered as she rocketed through the skies on Skarmory.
"You know you could've just called Mew and have her teleport you over there." Pikachu yelled over the winds.
"..."
"And now you tell me that?!" Ashley screamed.
"You never asked before." Pikachu shrugged.
"Well it's too late now; let's just hope that we get there in time." Ashley sighed as she ordered for Skarmory to go faster.
"Welcome to Altru Inc." Isaac gestured to the lobby as he, Keith, and Murph walked through the front doors to the building.
"Wow. It's so busy here." Murph gasped.
"Wait here while I get a first aid kit." Isaac said before he walked off.
"I never would've thought I would be here." Murph said.
"I'll never would've thought I would be even near here. This place gives me a bad feeling." Keith said as he looked around.
"Here you go." Isaac came back with a first aid kit, but Hydro took it from his hands before going back over to Keith.
"Let him do it. He needs to clean the wounds anyway." Keith explained as Hydro unwrapped the bloody mess that was Keith's arm.
"Did you stick your arm into something?" Isaac asked, shocked at the sight of Keith's arm.
"Yes; a Sharpedo in fact and this happened because of that." Keith said as Hydro washed the wounds.
"Hey, Isaac, who are these guys on the wall?" Murph pointed to three portraits on the wall next to an elevator.
"Those are the former and current presidents of Altru Inc." Isaac explained. "The one on the far left was our first president and founder, Doyle Hall. When he passed away, he gave his company to his son, Brighton Hall , who tried to find a new energy source. Our current president is the one on the far right, Blake Hall. He was Brighton Hall's son and was given the company by him." Isaac explained.
Hydro just finished wrapping the new bandages around Keith's arm when the elevator dinged.
"What's going on?" Keith asked as all the employees lined up before the elevator.
"The president is coming." Isaac answered.
The elevator doors opened to reveal a tall man wearing a black suit with black sunglasses. His sleek black hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Next to him was another man who looked like a miniature version of the Joker, complete with the green hair and creepy smile.
"Hello my people!" Blake Hall greeted. "Here at Altru Oil, we dedicate ourselves with finding a new source of energy. Now, we mustn't keep our customers waiting."
"The man beside Blake is his assistant, Wheeler." Isaac explained. Keith was too focused on him to notice the two men walking towards them.
"Professor Isaac, I am sure that our research is going well?" Blake asked.
"Yes, it's going fine." Isaac nodded. "President Hall, this is my friend from Ranger School, Keith, and a worker from the Ranger Union, Murph." Isaac introduced the two boys next to him.
"Nice to meet you both. But Professor Isaac has a lot of work to do." Blake said.
"See you later Keith. Tell Rhythmi I said 'hi'." Isaac said before walking into the elevator with Blake and Wheeler.
"Wow. Can't you believe it? We got to meet the president of Altru Oil!" Murph exclaimed.
"I didn't expect it either." Keith said in reply. "But that Blake guy gives off a bad vibe." Keith muttered to himself.
Voicemail! Voicemail!
"Keith, I need you at the Union right away. Come to the conference room." Barlow ordered before he hung up.
"Well, since you have a meeting to go to, let's hurry!" Murph said. They exited the building and headed towards the Union.
Beep!
"Guess I have a message." Ashley pulled out her Pokegear. It was a file from Rhythmi.
"What is it?" Pikachu asked when she looked at her partner. Ashley opened the file and it showed her twin brother in a western dress and a wig.
"Oh! This is-!" Ashley laughed, unable to get another word out.
"Wow. That's a new low even for him." Pikachu smirked.
"And he will forever remember it." Ashley pressed a couple of buttons and the picture was saved in a folder with the rest of the pictures she had of whenever Ash dressed as a girl.
"Look there's another one." Pikachu pointed to another file.
"Let's see it then." Ashley clicked the picture and it was Ash's Pikachu dressed up in a blue dress.
"That's a new one." Pikachu looked surprised.
"I know. I feel bad for him. Not for his trainer though." Ashley put away her Pokegear and zoomed off for Almia.
"The conference room is on the second floor. There's a golden plaque right outside. You can't miss it." Murph directed when both he and Keith got to the Union.
"Thanks Murph." Keith nodded before heading up the escalator with Hydro on his shoulder. When he got to the second floor, Keith stepped off the escalator and saw a gold plaque with the words 'Conference Room' on it.
"He wasn't kidding." Keith muttered. He opened the door next other sign and entered a large room. A monitor took up an entire wall as well as another in the floor. When he entered, he saw his brother, Ben, with his partner Summer. His cousins, Kellyn and Kate, who is Kellyn's twin sister were next to them. Keith also saw two other Top Rangers, one in a cowboy outfit, Sven, also known as Ashley's cousin, and a greenette, Wendy.
"And here he is! Our prized rookie ranger, Keith!" Barlow came up to him. He escorted Keith to stand next to him. Keith gave a small wave to Ben, Kellyn and Kate who waved back.
"May I start the meeting now?" Hastings impatiently asked.
"Not yet, we're still missing the three rangers from Fiore." an elderly woman, Erma, scolded him
"No time! We can't afford to wait for them any longer. Let's begin the meeting." Hastings tapped his cane on the floor. "Keith! Destroy that machine!" Hastings pointed to a red Gigaremo in the middle of the room.
Keith jumped at the sound of his name, but obeyed nonetheless. "Hydro! Water Gun!" he ordered his partner. Hydro jumped off of Keith's shoulder and launched a stream of water from its mouth. The machine instantly blew up when the water came in contact.
"Good." Hastings nodded. "Kellyn! Ben! Clear this mess!" he boomed. The two rangers jumped a bit before rushing over to move the remains of the Gigaremo. It took a couple of minutes (more like half an hour) for them to move the parts to the side.
"Professor?" Keith raised his hand. "Why didn't the Gigaremo cause the pokemon in the building to go berserk?"
"I was just getting to that." Hastings said. "As Keith said, that machine was a Gigaramo."
"Gigaremo. Not Gigaramo." Keith corrected.
"Yes, a Gigaremo. It is a machine that was made by a group called Team Dim Sun. These machines cause pokemon to act out in their presence. But if you would all look at the floor monitor." Hastings said. The floor lit with a blueprint of a Gigaremo. A diamond shaped stone was in the middle of the machine.
"That stone is a Dark Shard. When placed in the Gigaremo, it causes pokemon to fall under control." Hastings explained.
"And you can be sure that we, Area Rangers, are eager to destroy those machines and take out Team Dim Sun" Barlow added.
"Excellent. As for the Top Rangers, they will investigate further into this group." Hastings added.
"Yes, the Union will use all of its resources to bring peace to Almia." Erma said. "And maybe a few new recruits." she whispered to herself, looking at Keith.
"Hello, Keith is it?" the greenette ranger walked up to him. "I'm Wendy. May I ask you a couple of questions?"
"Sure. Why not?" Keith nodded.
"Okay." Wendy pulled out a notebook and a pen. She flipped opened to a blank page. "Now, when they escaped from Pueltown, they had a green Gigaremo with them?" she asked.
"No. It was a yellow one, but I wasn't close enough to scan it." Keith answered.
"And do you know which way they went?" Wendy asked, writing in her notebook.
"I don't know, but it looked like they were going towards Boyleland." Keith answered.
"Alright, one last question." Wendy said. "What are your feelings for Ashley?"
"Well, I like her a lot. But she sorta hates me right now, but I'm willing to do anything for her to change her mind." Keith answered mindlessly. But when he saw Sven glaring at him, he realized what he just said. "What! No! I didn't mean it like that! Why would you even ask that?!"
"Just testing something out. Thank you for your time." Wendy walked back next to Sven, who was glaring daggers at Keith.
"Well then. I would say that this meeting is now over." Hastings coughed, trying to diffuse the situation.
"Wait!" two blue-haired rangers from Fiore came running through the door.
"Sorry...we're...late." the one with light blue hair panted.
"Did.. we... miss... anything?" the dark-haired one panted.
"Just the entire meeting." Keith shrugged.
"You got to be kidding me!" Solana shot her head up. "Lunick! This is all your fault!" she growled at her partner.
"Now, Solana, let's not get hasty." Lunick backed away towards Ben and Kellyn.
"Don't worry." Ben said.
"We can fill you guys in." Kellyn added.
"Alright Keith." Barlow placed a hand on Keith's shoulder. "I'm going to get the Union to house us for tonight. Just go find an empty room and rest up for the walk back to the base tomorrow." Barlow said.
Keith nodded and headed out of the room.
"I'm tired. Aren't you still hurting from that Sharpedo?" Hydro asked.
"If I wasn't, than why am I limping?" Keith replied. Hydro shrugged and Keith opened the door to an empty room. When the door opened, Keith felt a rush of wind behind him.
"Watch out!"
Keith turned around to see who that was, but they were gone. "Why does that voice sound familiar?" Keith muttered to himself as he got into bed and went to sleep.
"Finally! We're here!" Ashley exclaimed as the Union building came into view. "Skarmory! Land right outside the doors in front! Wait for me until I call for you." she ordered. Skarmory cried out in approval and dived down to land next to the front doors. Ashley hopped off and ran into the building.
She walked into the reception area and saw a familiar face.
"Murph!" she called out. The boy turned around at the sound of his name. "Nice to see you again! You look good."
"Thanks. You look well too." Murph replied.
"You're too nice. But I don't have much time. I have to go to a meeting." Ashley said quickly.
"Oh, the room is on the second floor. You can't miss it. There's a sign outside." Murph said. "But I think-"
"Thanks!" Ashley ran up the escalator before Murph could finish what he was saying.
"Slow down!" Pikachu cried out, hanging on for dear life on her partner's shoulder.
"Watch out!" Ashley called out as she almost crashed into a pair of researchers. She saw a golden sign with 'Conference Room' on it and pushed open the door.
"Sorry I'm late!" she exclaimed when she rushed through the doors. Ashley placed her hands on her knees and panted. She looked around the room to see only the top rangers in there.
"Aw! Did I miss it?" Ashley asked.
"Unfortunately so." Sven nodded.
"Damn it!" Ashley exclaimed. "I would've been here sooner if-" she stopped and glared at Lunick. "You!" she marched towards him. "You idiot! Why I oughta-!" Before she could land a hit on Lunick, Ben and Kellyn grabbed her by her arms, restraining her.
"Is it me or has she gotten more violent?" Sven asked to no one in particular.
"Nope. You're right." Solana answered him.
"Would you blame her though? She has been through more than we have." Wendy said.
"And you would think she would've been a little less reckless and more careful." Ben said.
"What did you just say?!" Ashley focused all of her anger on him instead.
"To be honest, you are no better than your brother." Kellyn added.
"Did he just?" Kate facepalmed.
"Yep." Summer nodded.
"How am I even related to him?' Kate sighed.
"Don't you even dare compare me to him!" Ashley exclaimed. "Unlike him, I did not get in the middle of a fight between Mew and Mewtwo! Unlike him, I did not get processed by an ancient king! Unlike him, I did not release an evil Hoopa! Unlike him, I-"
"Wah! Mew!"
Out of nowhere, Ash suddenly appears and drops to the floor. A certain pink cat was floating next to him. Unfortunately, Ash was still in his costume.
"I am not in a outfit like that!" Ashley said before laughing.
"Where am I?" Ash asked, looking at everyone staring and laughing at him.
"This is better than the picture!" Ashley exclaimed.
"Dude, why are you even wearing that?" Sven asked.
"I did it against my will! Crawford forced me in this outfit!" Ash yelled.
"How?" Ben asked.
"He said that he would send the other pictures of me to all of the ranger bases." Ash said.
"Wait a minute, only I have all of those pictures!" Ashley stopped laughing. She placed her hands on her hips. "How did he get them?!"
"Luana also had them and Crawford hacked into her computer and made copies." Ash answered.
"That does sound like him." Kate commented.
"Good thing we got in and out of that base as soon as we got promoted." Kellyn said to his twin sister.
"And I was wondering," Ash said. "What the hell happened to your waist?!" he pointed to his sister's waist, which was uncovered by her ripped shirt.
"Oh. This?" Ashley chuckled nervously. "Just a little run-in with a mind-controlled Charizard and an Entei. No biggie."
"No biggie? Are you kidding me?!" Ash yelled.
"I told you so." both Mew and Ashley's Pikachu said.
"Shut up!" Ashley hissed to both of them.
"And this is what happens to you when you don't have your older brother to look out for you." Ash scolded her.
"I don't think you should really be saying that when you're dressed like that." Solana pointed out.
"For the umpteenth time! You are not the older twin!" Ashley screamed.
"Is this normal for your family?" Summer asked Sven as Ash and Ashley were still arguing.
"Pretty much. But it's worse at a family reunion." Sven shrugged, amused at his younger cousins.
"My family reunion is pretty much the same thing. We had to buy my aunt and uncle a new house." Ben said.
"Remind me not to go to either one of your family reunion." Wendy said.
"Me too." Summer added.
Voicemail! Voicemail!
"What is it, Elita?" Ashley picked up the call on her styler.
"I need you to get back to Fiore right away. I have an important mission for you in Wintown." Elita said.
"Right. I'll be there soon." Ashley nodded before hanging up.
"Leaving so soon?" Sven raised a brow.
"I'm afraid so. I wish I could hang out with you guys some more." Ashley sighed. "Mew, can you teleport me to the roof?"
"No problem!" Mew exclaimed, and in a flash, they were gone.
Ash and the Top Rangers rushed up to the roof to see Ashley on the edge of it.
"See you guys later." Ashley smirked before jumping off the roof.
"Ashley!" everyone rushed to the edge of the roof.
After she jumped, Ashley let out a whistle and called Skarmory up from below. The pokemon obeyed and flew straight up. Ashley grabbed Skarmory's neck and pulled herself on. She then flew up and hovered above the roof.
"You guys are so gullible!" Ashley grinned. "But seriously, I have to go. I need to return Elita's Skarmory to her." Ashley said.
"So you're going to fly there?" Summer asked.
"As if. It took me a long time to get here. In a hurry." Ashley explained. "Mew, can you teleport me to the Wintown base?"
"No problem." Mew nodded. She flew next to Ashley. Waving goodbye, Ashley, Mew and Pikachu disappeared in a flash of pink light.
"Wait a minute. I'm still in a dress! Mew! Get back here and teleport me back to the base so I can kill Crawford!"
AKCC: I had a major block while writing this chapter.
Ash: Poor baby.
Luana: You're not one to talk.
Ash: That was one time!
Ashley: And I loved doing this chapter. Super funny.
Ash: good for you.
AKCC: I'm already tired of you three. Get out of here. And don't forget!
Cast: Review!
