Chia: Sky's been off her game lately. As if severe writers block ain't bad enough, she's gotten herself sick. Tsk, tsk tsk. Well people! Read, review AND enjoy!
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Mission complete. A bit tired from all the running, Keith sat down in one of the chairs. Crawford looked to be a little worn too but handled giving the full report to Barlow. So much happened yet the two understood so little. And that mission left even more questions than answers.
"Hey guys!"
Keith looked to see the doors open and hear a well-known voice.
"Hi Kate!" He greeted.
"Where's Luana?" Crawford asked.
"She called for Bertha to carry something heavy back to base. Turns out we found something interesting." Kate replied.
"Interesting how?" Barlow asked.
"Well…it's hard to describe….red, made of metal and super weird." Kate said, unsure. "But you'll see when it gets here."
"WE'RE BACK!"
"Um. I guess that would be now then." Kate sweatdropped.
Through the doors came Luana and one of the neighbors, Bertha. And there certainly was a strange thing that Bertha carried. The woman hauled what looked like a super heavy machinery gizmo on one shoulder. And the device was crashed right over in the mechanic work station, where Elaine was both shocked and curious.
"Y-you lifted that thing alone? On one shoulder?" Barlow asked, stunned. "You really are Almia's strongest person."
Bertha was thanked and then she left, returning to her family once more.
"That's the machine that was making all the noise." Kate said.
"Pokemon were acting crazy, as if they were hypnotized! And they seemed to be suffering from the noise. Even worse, Kate and I tried to capture pokemon but they weren't befriended at all!" Luana explained.
"Not befriended? Hypnotized?" Crawford blinked, confused.
"That doesn't seem right." Keith commented.
"Any idea how this machine works?" Barlow asked.
"All we know is that is emits a sound that hypnotizes any uncaptured pokemon. Though it certainly gives headaches to those who are captured as well as us people." Kate answered.
"And you can use target clears on them! Kate was super smart in figuring that out!" Luana added.
Kate smiled from the praise. Keith smiled as well, somehow happy to see his ranger partner in such a good mood. Was it pride? Did Keith feel proud that his best friend did a mission really well and found something important?
"OH MY GOSH! MECHA!" Elaine went starry eyed. "It's…it's so beautiful…"
"Uh oh." Court gulped.
"I…I…." Elaine smirked, whipping out tools in her hands almost by magic. "I MUST TAKE IT APART!"
"GRAB HER!" Barlow ordered.
Crawford and Luana quickly got the mechanics arms. Elaine was being held back. Barely. Keith was a little surprised by the scene before him.
"We're going to need to properly take this apart and get analysis. While you are capable, I'd prefer an expert scientific mind to help you. And I know someone who would be interested in this find." Barlow said. "We'll call in Professor Hastings from the Ranger Union."
Keith froze. His muscles clenched tightly as the stomach curled into knots. It was a name that always sent Keith into a little bit of a panic.
"Leader? Isn't the professor in Fiore on a business meeting?" Court asked.
"He is. We'll have to wait until he gets back before we can examine this…er…thing." Barlow replied.
A quiet sigh of relief. Thank goodness…the professor wasn't coming. Well not yet anyways. But that gave Keith a little bit of time to mentally prepare himself for whatever might come. Also, he'd make sure to enjoy his freedom too. With Hastings around, Keith couldn't be himself.
"I wanted to dismantle that!" Elaine whined, bawling like a little girl.
"I know you do! And Professor Hastings will come running once he's back! You know he loves this sort of thing almost as much as you do!" Barlow assured. "But you need to wait awhile."
Elaine pouted. Determination was still written all over her face. She wasn't going to give in easily.
"Knowing how you are, we'll put you on lockdown and the machine under guard until the professor comes back." Barlow said.
"Awwww…" Elaine moaned.
"So we have an unusual machine causing pokemon to fall under some sort of hypnosis. And there's also poachers wearing bizarre uniforms too. Something just doesn't seem right here." Barlow noted.
Bizarre was right. They were leotards that looked uncomfortable to wear. All black but with a purple logo on the chest. It seemed familiar but from where…?
"I remember now!" Crawford snapped his fingers. "That logo Keith and I saw! It was on the collar attached to the buizel!"
"That's right! And look!" Keith pointed to the machine. "There it is again!"
"Looks like the oil spill, the machine and poachers are all connected in some way or another. We'll have to do some investigating." Barlow said. "But for now, quests are taken care of and peace is restored foe the time being. I say we can kick back for the rest of the day. Especially since the two rookies did a good job today."
"Stopping the poachers and getting evidence? I'll say they earned it!" Crawford whoop'd. "LET'S ORDER PIZZA!"
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Chia: This was the end part Sky couldn't write before she left for vacation!...then the writers block. Then severe writers block and getting very sick. She'll be fine but to those who didn't get the message posted in the crossover story, Sky's update schedule will be weird. Be patient during this short era and she'll make it up to you with more uploads during the summer! Next update is uh…well it should be sometime soon!