"Aren't you tired?" The words seemed to conflict with Spenser's dynamic stance as he delivered them; the arms over his chest and broad, powerful footing did not match the caring question whatsoever. In fact, when Lunick first reported down here to the base's lobby, he was positive his Leader had a ripe new mission ready for him.
Spenser's typical dark circles under his eyes stretched thin as he squinted down at the younger Ranger; beyond just caring for his team as humans and having the decency of wanting them to take breaks, it was also part of his actual job to make sure they didn't burn out, so to speak. A unique part, one that seemingly fell square on the shoulders of his own responsibility as a manager of his own base. All work and no play tended to make Rangers want their contracts to go away. And he couldn't dare afford to lose either of his top two right now.
"You've been ping-ponging around all of Fiore for weeks now, between the whole Super Styler recovery and putting a stop to Gordor up north, to helping Elita with all the recovery Sekra Range needed. Hell, you and Solana only got back a few days ago, and Hastings has already whisked her off to Fall City for help in development of the Ranger Record thing he's trying to implement in our next wave of stylers. You two have GOTTA be exhausted."
And it was true- as much as Lunick loved this line of work, it was by no means a conventional 9-5. Being on contract with the Union was an internationally based employment, so the typical mandated days off a week for Fiore's labor laws simply didn't apply to them. And it's not to imply that they got no time off, but… Certainly holidays were much fewer and far between. Even on days without active duty, there was always something to be done around the base custodially or otherwise to help keep the space a livable facility for all the Rangers stationed there. So with all the commotion of the past few weeks, and how crazy busy everyone had been, himself at the epicenter of it… Yeah. He was tired.
Lunick closed his mouth again, letting the words sink in as he just gave his superior a small nod. He didn't even realize how exhausted he was until Spenser had brought it up, but now that he did, it was crushingly obvious.
The Base Leader just gave a knowing smile, breaking out of the formal stance to step forward and put a hand on Lunick's shoulder. "I bet you are," his words dripped with empathy, and Lunick's muscles all dropped to a sluggish posture, thankful for his understanding. "Anyone would be tired after going through what you went through." The green-haired man reached over and scratched under his Minun's chin from where she sat atop his shoulder, smiling at the partner Pokémon. "You too, little one."
Still not following what Spenser had called him down here for, Lunick rubbed the back of his neck, sheepish to be seen as lazy. It was a particular insecurity of his, especially since there had definitely been a handful of times he'd had to have been reprimanded for accidentally sleeping in past pre-shift briefing. "Uh, thank you, Leader," he said formally out of habit, hoping that it goaded Spenser into going on about what this was really all about, because he could tell the senior Ranger was not done.
"Cameron's prepared the perfect gift for you, Kazuki," Spenser began, and guiltily relished in amusement at the way it made Lunick's eyes widen nearly in panic with the knowledge of how the Summerland Leader was NOTORIOUS for gifting horrible gifts. The truth was, Spenser had actually planted the idea in his old friend's head and asked for it as a favor, but… well, he couldn't let his top Rangers know he had some favoritism toward them.
Laughing at the response, Spenser shook his head. "A real one, this time, I swear! He's arranged a vacation for you and Solana, to stay in Summerland. To take some well-deserved time off from being on-duty all the time. And while I know it's for private, personal use, this time…" He crossed back over to the operator desk, quickly signing a paper and filing it with the current operator-on-duty. "I've authorized usage for the both of you to get there via the Dragonite Bus."
Lunick breathed out a sigh of relief, a warm smile beginning to spread on his lips as the reality of the situation began to settle in. "Thank you, Leader," he repeated, and it was much more earnest this time, as he quickly headed back to the elevator and swiped his Union ID for access back to the dormitories so he could pack up for the week and be off.
The flight across the region was not a long one: about 45 minutes to an hour of flight time until he was on the island that Summerland residents called home. The entire time, he couldn't help but start to get more and more excited… An entire week! A whole week of relaxing on the beach, spending time with his best friend and their two Pokémon, sleeping in for once... Nothing but sunburns to worry about, only sandcastles and playing in the surf on their itinerary. He was also excited by the fact that this would actually force Solana to take a freaking break for once in her life; after all, her case of WorkaholicTM was so bad that being ordered by the Leader to go on vacation was probably the only way she would ever actually do it.
"Hellloooo, Summerl-EYYYEH!" The drop-off from the Dragonite Bus had always been less than stellar, but this time in particular it really… burned. The planks of boardwalk out front of the Summerland Base were scorching, nearly melting the sunglasses right off his face. He scrambled to his feet to dart inside, if nothing more than for the air conditioning. And even still, that hardly seemed to break a dent.
"Arceus, it's hot!" Lunick proclaimed as soon as he stepped through the sliding glass doors, dropping the duffel bag off his shoulder. "Is the forecast like this all week? How do you guys do it?"
"Lunick!" Cameron wiped his brow, an apologetic look already on his face. It was then that the Ringtown Ranger began to read more of the subtleties of the room; even the Summerland Rangers looked on the brink of dehydration and hustling to provide pallets of water out to the citizens. "We… Just entered a Shelter in Place." The Leader broke the news to him but couldn't bear to make eye contact, feeling already horrible for getting the kid's hopes up only to (quite literally) drop him into a disaster zone. "This heat wave's kicking us like no other. It's come on so suddenly that-"
Cameron's words were interrupted as a tremor shook the grounds on which they stood, snapping everyone's heads to attention. A few of the Rangers swore under their breath in worry, and while Lunick had been regretting not changing into something of less layers to wear when he first landed, he was grateful now that he was still in-uniform, because it was becoming increasingly apparent they needed all hands on deck. "Any leads?"
The Base Leader had hurried behind the operator desk, working a screen to gather data on the quake. "Uh, epicenter read at site of the Jungle Relic, yup…!"
Lunick clapped his hands together, his face lit up. "That's good!" There was a silence, and he realized no one shared his excitement, and cleared his throat. "Uh, sorry, right. Bad that there's natural disasters happening. But what's good is I know that place…! I can help scout it out. I was there when it erupted, I have firsthand knowledge on it." He carefully left out reminding them all that he was the reason it erupted. "And, I have an existing repertoire with Entei, after all! That has to be what's causing all this! I can calm it down. I know I can. I've done it before…!"
Grabbing his styler out of its holster, he leaned over the desk with pleading eyes. "Please, Leader. I can be a great help. It's really, really important to me that this gets resolved before Solana gets here, if possible. She… She really needs the break, sir, and I just know that she won't be able to rest knowing there's something she could be doing to help."
Cameron wiped his forehead again, and gave a curt nod. "Lunick Kazuki, I am hereby assigning you this official mission: Investigate the Jungle Relic and see what you can do to figure out what's causing this weather!" He turned to his own Rangers, on a roll with leadership, and began to instruct them all their commands, too. "We are to ensure that all inhabitants, people and Pokémon alike, are safe. Please, check on our residents and make sure all have water and appropriate shelter, and that all infrastructure is still sound!"
Already pushing his way out in a newfound hurry, Lunick saluted over the shoulder that Minun wasn't occupying. "Thank you, Leader! I'll be back before Hinata even gets here, just you watch!" (His choice in wording was… Ironic, at best.)
Heading into Olive Jungle only made the severity of the situation that much worse; with coming closer to the source, also came brutal heat. Stepping into the Relic itself? It was like a furnace. If he didn't know any better, Lunick might've thought his blood was actually bubbling.
Flipping open his styler, he made sure to report back once again- he'd promised that since he was going ahead on his own, that he would update the base regularly of his status. "It's all from one Pokémon…" Sure enough, the readings on his styler denoted his findings to be true. He quickly typed a text of that update and sent it back to the operator, too, more confident than ever now that he'd been correct in his original assessment and could sufficiently handle this so Solana didn't even have to.
The small handheld machine that was his lifeline beeped weakly, and the messages were starting to bounce back. The earthquakes must have put at least one of the save machines within the relic out of commission- thankfully it wasn't something that would impair its capture ability, but signal for message sending was getting wimpier and wimpier.
It was clear, just by stepping into the atrium of the challenge site, that this had to be where the quakes were all stemming from. Stalactites were falling and crashing left and right, with rubble accumulating nearly everywhere he stepped. Not that, of course, he worried much anymore about destroying the Relic. I mean, kinda been there, done that. Moreso was his focus on not falling into the areas of fragile geothermal ground, because that was a recipe for a third degree burn just waiting to happen.
Thankfully, like he had told Cameron, he knew his way around in here. He knew where all the Pokémon tended to like to hide out, and while they were all (understandably) a bit more rampaged and distressed than usual, he knew just the spot he had to stop to snag a poké-assist from. While the challenge chambers were all shut, keeping him from entering the challenge of water den and receiving aid from either the Kingdra or the Gyarados that had at least once called it home, he knew of another oasis, still active in the volcano. Or, at least, he hoped hadn't up and evaporated quite yet in this excruciating heat.
Much to his surprise and dumb luck, the cavern he's thinking of is still there, and honestly quite a bit cooler inside than the rest of the Relic. He was sure he had this geological feat to thank for the fact there were still two Poliwrath stomping about inside, a small stream behind them that they were protecting. Now THEY would be useful for assisting with Entei. Both ran straight at him as soon as he entered the hideaway, something he was ready to handle and able to side swipe out a dodge for, whipping out his styler again to initiate capture. They provided more of a challenge than he realized they would be, if not just because there were two of them going for his capture line at the same time, in opposite directions. He ultimately had to have Minun's help, with using her poké-assist to startle them steady in place long enough for him to loop around them enough to complete the capture.
...Unfortunately for him, however, perhaps the worst of the quakes yet struck right in the middle of his attempt, causing him to stumble and break his line. This one… This one was no joke. He fell to his knees, and was completely surrounded by the loud cracking of what could only be from the Relic around him. Looking around frantically, he recognized the newly-forming spiderweb cracks that were widening right above the cavern entrance and… Without thinking, he grabbed ahold of Minun and absolutely chucked her out to safety, much to her devastation after hitting the ground. The both of them scrambled to their feet at the same time, but it wasn't enough; the opening to the oasis cavern caved in at that very moment, solidifying the only entryway and separating Ranger from Partner Pokémon.
Potentially worst of all, while the dust was still settling from the initial crash, Lunick could hear her crying out on the other side. The crackling of desperate electric bolts let him know it wasn't that she was injured, it was that she was scared about him. But her efforts were fruitless; he had just drained her energy all out for a poké-assist, after all. She whimpered endlessly, upset at being apart. And that tugged at his chest horribly and twisted his heart into a million knots.
"Minun…! Minun, hey, I'm okay, I'm okay!" He was screaming as loudly as he could in any form of hope she could hear him through the giant rubble, and at least, the crying subsided a bit. Having her on the other side hurt him, too, but he at least could this way hope she had the decency of mind to know when it was time to get out of there and leave him behind to save herself if things were to come to that.
Lunick flipped open his styler desperately, and was completely and utterly crushed at the NO SIGNAL symbol at the upper right of the screen. He tried once, twice, thrice to send out SOS messages back to Summerland base to update them of his dire situation and to send backup, but it didn't matter. None of them went through, and he knew it was pointless to keep trying. No, he could figure this out by himself. He had to. He'd been in precarious situations before, and gotten out just fine. This was merely more of the same, he was sure of it.
"Okay, Lunick," He talked to himself to try and work this through, pushing up on his palms so he could stand once again. The Poliwrath had hopped back into the river to hide when the tremor hit, so he was no longer being charged as he paced back and forth, so long as he didn't get too close to their territory. "This is a puzzle. How do you solve it?" He pulled his headband off and let out a huff, readjusting it back on his head in the same exact place out of nervous habit. "No visible exits. No Minun. Two Poliwrath. A river, which is at least a potential water source… Being guarded by the two Poliwrath. Rocks covering the entrance." He gave the boulders an earnest shove with all his body weight, letting out a loud grunt as he tried to displace them, but as he suspected- they didn't budge.
Desperately (though deep down he knew was not the case), he crossed over close enough to scan the Poliwrath with his styler: Level 3 water assist, confirmed. A level 3 crush field-assist instead could definitely solve all his issues right now, but he simply didn't have one. And didn't have a way to text his colleagues to get one and come let him out, either.
His heart still descending towards his stomach, the dark haired man still went ahead and instigated them anyways, initiating an encounter in which he could try again to capture them. He made sure to only encounter one at a time to make it much less of a burden on himself, and between the new tactic and the extreme focus being in a dangerous situation channeled within him, the captures themselves were easy enough.
"Poliwhirl, hydro pump on that pile of rocks!" He pointed and instructed the both of them, which did as he asked. It was all he could do to hope the water stream from them combined was powerful enough to move the impediment.
But, with his gut's assessment, it didn't work. He was truly starting to feel like he was running out of options here. Running at the wall of rocks, he let out a frustrated scream, crashing into them and only doing damage to himself, not the obstacle at hand. Crying out in pain and anger at himself for even thinking that might work, he collapsed down to sit on the ground, defeated.
What was he supposed to do? What tactical error had he made that went wrong? How was he supposed to know this would happen? He pulled out his styler one last time in a bleak, waning hope of the signal issue having changed, but it was just as useless to him as everything else he had tried. He dropped it, too, to the ground, and rested his head on his knees. It was time to face the reality of the situation. The tremors were getting worse, and basically to rub salt in his wounds, the entire place ripped open a new one once again, crashing even more rubble in with a loud plunk! into the river.
After everything he'd been through… After all the things he'd faced in his career of being a Ranger… It was rocks. Rocks were the damned thing that could be the end of him.
This was supposed to have been his vacation, a celebration of all the things he'd accomplished. Just time for he and Solana to enjoy themselves, and-
Solana.
Arceus, he couldn't even imagine what she would do if she knew. If this were her, and he had to find out she was gone, and know she had gone stupidly, specifically so he didn't have to worry…
He felt nauseous even thinking about it. He couldn't imagine her having to live it.
Maybe she didn't have to. Maybe backup was on the way. Maybe Cameron changed his mind and ordered some of the Summerland Rangers out to the Relic, too. Maybe they'd get here before the whole damn thing caved in on itself.
… He didn't know. Idiotically enough, his mind was still berating himself for having ruined Solana's vacation by putting himself in this situation. He knew that was a stupid priority to have, but it was one that was keeping him from opening the pandoras box of dwelling on the fact he might never even see her again, might never see any of them again. Not even Minun.
Uncontrollably, he felt himself start to choke on his hopeless emotions. He was sure the involuntary tears weren't helping his already-rapidly-dehyrating state, either.
The Poliwrath were no longer indebted to him by any stretch, but still felt the goodness of Lunick's heart from the capture, and quietly made their way over to the broken Ranger for some sympathy. It wasn't much, but if he wasn't getting out, it meant they probably couldn't either. And they might as well be some company.
One sat on either side of him, nudging their way under either of his arms to snuggle up for companionship. The gesture was nice, but only made him choke harder, as a perfect example of just why he loved this job so much. Of why he wasn't ready to stop helping.
But, unfortunately, all he could do at this point was hope. And it was a resource he was very much starting to run out of.
Breathing out a long sigh of relief, Solana was just happy to finally be going home. Spending time with the professor was always an honor, and Aria was… Mostly tolerable, during their mission together out on the Safra Sea, but seeing (and capturing) actual, physical Kyogre was just the sort of crazy enough thing she needed on top of all the chaos she'd been through to make her desperately want nothing more than an easy, relaxed, patrol of Lyra Forest for the next multiple weeks.
The short flight back to Ringtown was one where she tried to merely process what just happened. Before Spenser had accepted her many begging letters to join the Union, she'd lived all her life in Sootopolis City, Hoenn; all her life she'd heard nothing but stories and legends of the three of them: Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza. And now she'd just faced one.
Upon being dropped in front of the Ringtown Base, she all but ran inside, nearly out of breath in excitement to share with Spenser and Lunick. "Leader!" She called out from across the room as she hurried up to him, but he beat her to the punch.
"Solana! I just got off the phone with Joel! You captured a Kyogre?! That's mind blowing!"
Despite having been more excited to share the story with Lunick, being beaten to her own huge news by her Leader deflated her immediately, stripping the wind right out of her sails. It was enough of a shock to where you could physically see the energy high that she'd been running on peter right out of her, leaving behind only the shell-shocked, exasperated state of being that she'd learned to inhabit. "Yeah," she puffed out, her arms feeling like lead. "It's been insane, Leader."
"Which is exactly what I want to speak to you about," Spenser segwayed with a small smile, pitching her the same thing he had to Lunick only an hour and a half prior. "Take the Dragonite Bus," he punctuated the explanation of her vacation with, a small smile on his face. "And enjoy the break. That's an order."
Solana heaved out a long sigh in relief, and nodded her head in knowing amusement. It was no coincidence that those were his choice of words; he knew she would only truly relax on direct order to do so. "Yes, Leader," She gave him a small, half-hearted salute, then hurried upstairs to catch her flight to the easternmost settlement of the region.
Solana's timing, however, could simply not have been any worse. The period when Lunick's state was deteriorating overlapped exactly with her Dragonite Bus trip to Summerland, meaning she hadn't had a clue about any of it. Word of the heat wave had not yet been spread beyond Summerland when she was sent off, as it had only barely begun when she had first been reporting back the Kyogre mission. Spenser would go on to discover the news of it right after she left, but by that point it had been too late to stop her.
When she landed, coincidentally, her initial reaction was nearly identical to that of which her partner's had been. "Yeesh!" The girl shook out her palms, feeling like they had charred over just upon catching herself during landing. When she stepped into the Summerland base, her headband was already off and being wrung out, cutting through the tense air unknowingly like a knife. "Wow, is it hot out tod-"
Her words were cut short in confusion of watching Percy and Leilani gear up in Search & Rescue tactical gear, something that Summerland Rangers nearly never even touched since most of their S&R missions were done by boat, anyways. Rarely did tourists venture far enough into Olive Jungle to warrant it, and most of the area wasn't even legal for the public to enter, anyways. "What're y-?"
Solana's head whipped around as Cameron interrupted her, looking more serious and stressed than she had ever seen him in her entire life. "What a rotten time to invite you here on vacation…" He wiped his head, but it was not only the heat that was making him sweat. It was nerves, too. "With this abnormal heat and earthquakes… So much for getting rest and relaxation…"
He was beating around the bush of something. She could tell. Solana looked around, her eyes narrowing, and she quickly noticed that someone who was supposed to be here was notably not in the room. Just before she could speak, the ground rumbled again, and the overwhelming feeling of dread consumed her as she tried to parse out what little information had been given to her. "Cameron, what's going on?" Her tone had a sharp edge to it, and her posture was suddenly straight as an arrow.
"That's… What's got me worried even more, yup. It's Lunick, he's gone to the underground volcano to investigate. But we've lost contact with him. He'd been looking forward to meeting up with you right back here, he'd said he'd have to get done with this mission and get back to the Ranger Base before you'd even got here, so you could take the time off, but…"
"I'm going." The very second Cameron had said the words 'it's Lunick', she had already ripped a set of the S&R tactical gear off the walls and begun fitting herself within it.
"I'm worried you might be too close to this," he interjected, shaking his head a little. "Percy and Leilani are already on the mission, they can handle-"
"I am going." She insisted, her jaw clenched. It was extremely unlike her to talk back to or second guess any superior, much less a Base Leader themself. She hooked up one of the older-fashioned walkie talkies to the local communication channel and fastened it on her vest, steely in her regard.
"You'd be breaking rank." Cameron reminded her, crossing his arms over his chest. His silly personality may make him seem to be the type to be a pushover, but make no mistake; there is a reason he is a Leader. "This is unlike you, Hinata. This is not your mission."
"Then assign it to me!" Her voice was raised, and she threw her arms out in indignation, only proving his point about her proximity to the situation potentially making her make emotional decisions instead of rational ones. "I can help. Let me help. I'm the best asset you have for this situation. I know exactly how he thinks. Assign me the mission."
This kind of behavior would absolutely not fly with any of the other three Base Leaders, but there was the added layer of complexity to Cameron: his heart. If Solana had to ever pick a Leader to turn to if she had to spill out all her emotions, it would easily be him. He understood that side of people so much more than the others, who could completely remove it from themselves when in the field. His stare turned from one of sternness to one of sympathy, and... despite his better judgement, he relented.
With a defeated sigh, he stood up straighter to deliver the official assignment. "Solana Hinata, I hereby cancel your vacation leave, and assign you onto the mission of uncovering what's causing all the trouble here in Summerland."
"Thank you, Leader!" She was like a whirlwind strapping on the tactical boots, already grabbing things she would need and shoving her styler into the holster haphazardly and smacking the SEARCH AND RESCUE identifier tab onto her vest.
"Woah, woah, Solana, wait for us!" Percy and Leilani were trying to keep up with her pace, but she was already on her way out the door, more determined than she'd ever been. "You can't go out alone for S&R missions!"
"On the record it'll just show I left with Lunick, since we're partners." She spoke with confidence, more instructing than offering. She flashed a small smile, hoping Cameron would forgive her for it. "Right, Leader?
"You're pushing your luck, Hinata!" He warned, but she was already through the doors, Plusle in tow.
"I know! But thank you again!"
Unable to have patience when her best friend was in danger, Solana absolutely took off through Olive Jungle, never so much as dropping to a jog as she tore through the familiar paths back deeper into the island where the Jungle Relic stood. The weather abnormalities had started to get the better of the jungle wildlife as well, she'd noticed- various Pokémon looked incredibly distressed as she passed them, and some of the quakes had seemed to cause some weird geological incidents and trees to have fallen. But she didn't have time right now to handle any of that- she called it in over comms so the Summerland Rangers knew what they were running into, but as for her own mission at hand... the jungle would have to wait, and she'd have to double back for it later.
The Ringtown Ranger didn't even hesitate to plunge herself down the staircase and into the active volcano, nearly tumbling down multiple flights as another earthquake rippled the ground. It was much more intense here than out in Summerland proper. She flipped open her styler and found much of the same information Lunick had discovered himself earlier; it was all coming from… one Pokémon. Whatever it was, it was seriously powerful.
"If you see anything that could be a hint of them, please, let me know." Solana was soft spoken to her partner Pokémon, and he let out a small cry in agreement to let her know he heard her instructions loud and clear. The two of them descended into the main atrium where the home of the four challenges once stood; the place it had all begun for Entei only a few months prior. Returning and being awash with all the heat emanating off of the chamber instinctively made her flush in guilt all over again for having completed the fourth challenge with the very guy she was hopelessly looking for, but it was by no means the time nor the place to be dwelling on that again now.
Wild Pokémon were practically running in circles in a panic all over the pathways, some rushing to charge at her, some hurrying to flee away when she'd approach. She nearly got absolutely bodied by an aggravated Rhydon horn-attacking right in her direction, and had to dive out of the way just in time to stay wholly intact.
And then there was the most wonderful sight she could have ever seen.
"Minun!" There she was, the little yellow and blue rat, jumping wildly on a ledge right above the entrance to the old fire challenge. Solana scooped up her own partner Pokémon and nearly tripped up the steps, what with how fast she was scaling them to get to her. "You don't even know how happy I am to see you safe." It was true- seeing Minun was at least a sign, but it was an incredibly terrifying and worrying one that she was alone. Solana was shaking now, her panic getting the best of her, but she swallowed her fear and did her best to push on. "What… Where is he…?" She asked with a wobbly voice, scared of the answer.
The little electric type jumped frantically onto the giant pile of rubble- so large, that Solana hadn't even noticed at first that it wasn't just part of the structure, and was actually where the small oasis cavern had once been. Her stomach twisted multiple times over, and she shook her head, trying to remember to breathe. No. Certainly Minun would not be this excited if all they were recovering was a body. He had to be okay.
"...Give me a second." Solana's voice cracked as she ran back down the stairs, dealing the ultimate uno reverse card on the Rhydon and charging at it this time, styler already equipped in hand and at the ready. She captured it in complete record time, using all her emotions to channel an extreme focus to not make a single mistake in the process. "Rhydon, crush those boulders to clear out that opening!"
Lunick trembled in fear of being squashed like a bug type every time one of the quakes ruptured through the ground, but this one… This one felt like it was practically bullying him with how close it was. Everything was shaking, and he scrambled back from the boulders that had been blocking his exit, until… the dust settled. And it wasn't a quake at all. "Solana?!" He jumped to his feet, rushing forward, and the two of them all but collapsed into each other, arms wrapped around one another so tightly and secure that this was real.
"Lunick…" She heaved, the flood of relief all catching in her throat at once as she buried her face against his neck and held him close. "You're alive…!"
"Thanks to you," he stood still, letting her pull back and examine him for any major wounds that would need immediate attending to. Thankfully, he only had the caked-on dirt and multiple open surface scrapes from his escape attempts: something that would have to be cleaned as to avoid infections, but not inhibiting his mobility.
"I have him!" She called into the walkie-talkie strapped to her shoulder, reporting back on the local frequency, which wasn't jammed by the save machines having been destroyed. "He's alive, and conscious. Will need first aid, but nothing critical. Over."
"You… came to rescue me." He took in the specialized uniform she was wearing, and shook his head in disbelief. "Arceus, Solana, are you a sight for sore eyes..."
She laughed, but it was breathy and hollow, and more out of shock and relief than actual amusement. Without missing a beat, she gestured to his dirtied and torn up skin, and followed up with: "And you're a sight that makes my eyes sore." She tucked some of the stray hair back out of her face, looking up at him expectantly. "Look at you! What happened?!"
It was out of a place of the utmost care, and the tone of her delivery showed it. He couldn't help but smile at her snarky choice of delivery, and looked behind his shoulder at the Poliwrath, which were cautiously distant from the new person they didn't know, but intrigued by their new friend. "There was... a tremor that caused a rockfall," he explained, feeling her hand on his cheek and letting her pull it back so he was looking at her again. He swallowed thickly, resting a hand on her wrist, and she could see the fear still in his expression. "I was trapped down here, and the stylers' signal is out. I tried everything I could to get out on my own, but… It was scary, Solana. I… started thinking about what might happen to me if no one came. I felt so lost and discouraged."
She didn't say anything, just pulled him back into another tight hug, and he appreciated the comfort more than he could verbalize.
"I'm sorry I ruined your vacation," he whispered after a moment, and she laughed at him right in his ear.
"I know you did not just even think about saying that as if that's the priority right now." Before he had the chance to defend himself, the ground rumbled once again, and they got ripped apart from one another from the sheer force of it. "Man. These quakes are just getting worse and worse…!" She looked over her shoulder to check on Plusle and Minun, and then jolted upright suddenly, looking like a kid in a candy store. "Quakes… QUAKES!" Lunick could tell her mind was running a mile a minute; whatever realization she'd stumbled on was a big one. "Earthquakes and severe droughts…! Yes! Lunick, I know what's going on here!"
"My money was on Entei going on a rampage again, is that what you mean?" He didn't know what was so crazy about the idea, but with the way Solana was shaking her head so vehemently, he felt silly for having even suggested it.
"It's Groudon! I'm sure of it!" She huffed, all worked up in her explanation. "I spent my whole childhood hearing all about this. I know this tale! Kyogre brings a relentless flood and unfathomable tides and whirlpools, the creator of the seas long ago. Groudon? The relentless sun, so strong it can dry up whole oceans, and earthquakes so mighty it can crack continents into two!" Solana looked away, sheepishly, realizing she'd gotten overexcited about such a thing, before adding on. "Or so the legends say, of course. They're forever locked in a war with one another, and that MUST explain why Kyogre had vicious rake marks on its back!"
"On its back…?!" Lunick's face was twisted in confusion, running a hand through his hair to push it back. "Solana, did you see Kyogre or something?!"
"Oh," she said, entirely too casually. "Yeah. I captured it. Yesterday, in the Safra Sea."
"WHAT?!" Lunick screeched, and his voice alone caused a few more loose pebbles to fall from the ceiling of the large challenge atrium. "You what?! And this is when you tell me?!"
"You were a little bit busy wasting away in an active volcano for me to be able to tell you, you know!" She smiled, though, because this was much more the reaction she was looking for when she'd tried to break the news to Spenser earlier. She reveled in Lunick staring at her in dumbstricken awe for just a second, then continued on. "So if Kyogre is real, that means Groudon is real, and it must be what's causing this! Both of them must have come to Fiore to recover after their fight!" She put her head in her hands, muttering under her breath. "Arceus, I need to call my parents after all this is settled."
"It must have come here since this is a newly active volcanic site," Lunick agreed, and Solana nodded insistently, reactivating the open channel on the walkie-talkie.
"Percy, Leilani, you here yet?" Solana turned up the volume knob so Lunick could hear, and Leilani was the first to report back.
"We're just outside, heading in now."
"Don't!" Solana's exclamation was so quick it nearly cut the blonde girl's sentence off, and she was quick to explain herself. "Sorry, I mean…! We have plausible reason to think Groudon is what's causing all of this. All of the symptoms Summerland is experiencing are one for one with what it's known for in legends…" She looked up at Lunick and asked him a silent question, and he agreed. "We think it might be best to go in with a smaller team. If we overwhelm it by having too many people approach at once, it might rampage even worse, and who knows what kind of irreparable damage that could do to Summerland as a whole. Leader?"
Cameron chipped in over comms, having been surveying them the whole time from the Base. "... Our highest priority right now needs to be minimizing the damage from this event, both people and wildlife alike." He agreed, "but Hinata, Kazuki, are you sure you're within the capacity to handle such a thing? Lunick, you especially? Neither of you were even supposed to be on active duty today..."
She passed it to him and he spoke for himself. "Thank you for the concern, Leader." Even though they couldn't see their colleagues, they could both tell that hearing his voice firsthand was a breath of relief for all of them. "But I'll be okay. We are already in here. We might as well finish the job."
His partner took the device, following up with support. "Olive Jungle really looked worse for wear," she reminded them. "I really think the assistance would be much better allocated there. That way too, if we do need backup, they're not too far away for dispatch."
Cameron grunted over the comms in agreement, taking their advice to reallocate the Summerland Rangers to help with jungle rehabilitation and prevention of any further sustained damage. Solana and Lunick were both quick to capture one of the Poliwrath apiece, knowing very well that if their assumptions were correct, the poké-assists would prove invaluably helpful for them later on. Once both were settled, Solana climbed up over some rubble in the way, holding out her hand to help him scale it too since she was sure he was probably far more overexerted than she was. But when he was back on flat ground again, she didn't let go of him, still shaken up from the thought of having lost him earlier. It had been a sobering moment that sometimes she took getting to work with her best friend for granted, and by the apologetic way she looked at him as she knitted their fingers together, he could tell she needed the comfort.
"Just to keep you on a tight leash so you don't wander off and get trapped again," she mused, and Lunick rolled his eyes affectionately at her jab.
They traversed deeper into the volcano, the increasingly suffocating heat letting them know they were headed in the right direction. Much to their surprise, however, they were not alone.
"Hey, hey, sweethearts! Having a little date alongside this scenic magma pond?" Both of the Ringtown Rangers nearly jumped out of their skin, neither having expected to come across anyone else in here. Much less… Someone from the Go-Rock Squad, based on the uniform?! They let go of one another to both whip out their stylers at the ready, sharing a nervous look between themselves. If the catastrophes were actually all being caused by a Go-Rock resurgence rather than a hurt Pokémon, it would be a lot more trouble for them.
All of those fears subsided, however, once the ex-grunt opened their mouth again. "While you've been fraternizing, I've been here, dreaming about my return up to big capers…! Don't you know who I am?"
Lunick and Solana both dropped their guard a little, more confused than threatened. "...Uh, no?"
"I am the Solo Go-Rock Squad! My glory will be greater than theirs has ever been, and I-" The Rangers weren't intentionally being rude when they laughed but… After everything they'd faced the last few months, they couldn't help it. "... You snickered?! You'll pay for that!"
They did not, in fact, pay for it. Actually, the poor ex-grunt was such a feeble match for the two of them that the 'battle' didn't last more than 30 seconds.
"Tch. I guess 'Solo Go-Rock Squad' is a silly name after all… I mean, you'd need more than one to make a squad. I guess it'd work for you two. Look at you- all connected and in sync with one another. It makes me jealous…!"
"Do yourself a favor and evacuate, immediately." Lunick cut through the waffling, shaking his head. "We cannot be held responsible for your safety should you choose to ignore that warning."
They left with haste as advised, which allowed Lunick and Solana to continue deeper down. It was at this point that they first began to hear Groudon's roars through the infrastructure, and… It became increasingly obvious that it was coming up through the ground. Through holes in the ground that they would have to jump down through, more specifically.
"Ladies first," Lunick joked the same way he always does when they're faced with something like this, and Solana gasped, shaking her head and refusing to have it just like usual.
"Oh nonono. You're coming down with me, whether you like it or not." And with that, she tugged on their conjoined hands, sliding down into what they recognized to be the chamber that had been under the Challenge of Wind.
Groudon roared and shook the ground more violently than ever, and the two of them could now see the opening to the cavern it was hiding in. "...You ready?" She asked him, letting go so they could both have full mobility in case they had to split up and flank it on either side.
"As I'll ever be," he promised back, and both charged headfirst into the chamber.
It was exactly as they'd inferred; the Groudon was rampaging primarily from pain of the notable, large gashes striped across its otherwise armored exterior. Between the two of them, they were able to bait out the hyper beam attacks into safe(r. No hyper beams in a small concealed cavern of magma can ever be considered safe) directions and away from themselves and their Pokémon, and with all the immobilizing assists, were finally able to manage to calm it down. Lunick was ultimately the one to complete the capture, and after conveying his feelings to it, he walked up to the large legendary completely fearless, holding a hand out to it.
"It's okay, now, big guy." He gently touched a gloved hand up to the beast's neck, and it originally flinched, which made both Rangers stiffen, but ultimately relaxed into Lunick's soothing. "I know you're in a lot of pain. I know this isn't who you are."
Solana beamed, always enamored wholeheartedly with her partner's caring-beyond-belief bedside manner, whether it was when dealing with distressed humans or Pokémon. He always knew just what to say to make everything alright. Together, they burned through the full extent of both of their healing items on hand, and seemed to patch up the legendary well enough for it to cease its destructive temper tantrum, receding into the hottest pits of the volcano where they couldn't follow.
Lunick put his arm around Solana's shoulders, and she crashed into him for support, opening the comms again. "All's good," she breathed out, the exhaustion she'd been feeling after coming home from Kyogre washing over her all over again. "It was Groudon, and it's stopped now. Lunick captured it, but we can give full report when we get back to Base."
"The heat's already letting up out here!" Percy chimed in, ecstatic. "You guys did great! I'm so thankful to hear it went well enough! Go back to Base, Leilani and I can deal with the aftermath!"
"He's right." Cameron's voice cut in, and instinctively both Lunick and Solana stood up a little straighter. "Come straight back to Base, yup. My Rangers can handle the rest, yeah."
"Yes, Leader," both of the Ringtown Rangers heeded the order, and made their way out of the Relic and through Olive Jungle at a tired, meandering pace. They'd both been through a lot, just today even. Certainly they were allowed to enjoy the trip back, just together as the two of them.
As promised, as soon as they returned from the impromptu mission, both saluted and gave report in full detail of what they'd witnessed so it could go on record.
"You know, now that I know you're okay, I envy you two for having gotten to see Groudon up close like that." Cameron huffed, wiping his head and shuffling some papers around. "But actually, after having overlooked how today panned out, I had to pull rank and have made some decisions, as I feel some reparations are due." First, he turned to Lunick, reading off the official document he'd submitted for him: "Lunick Kazuki, after today's events, you are hereby out for one week on medical, effective immediately. Both mental and physical. No missions whatsoever until you are cleared for return after your days of rest." The Leader then turned, and Solana cowered shyly, knowing whatever was coming to her was fair, even if she did get the job done. "Solana Hinata, due to your outright insubordination and egregious lack of following standard S&R operating procedures, you are relieved of your duties for 7 days of administrative leave as punishment."
"Yes, Leader," she accepted, dropping her head down apologetically. "I'm sorry for my tone, earlier."
"Water under the boardwalk," Cameron reassured her, all whilst Lunick was staring at his best friend wildly. Insubordination?! Scary Solana was out, and he MISSED it?!
"And by the way… Since you both happen to be on leaves of your contracts for the next week… Cabana 34 is rented out for you to stay in, as it just so happens. What a shame you missed your vacation…"
Picking up what he was saying, both Ringtown Rangers lit up in wide smiles, more grateful than they could ever express. "Yes, Leader. What a shame indeed."
The Summerland Leader passed the keys to the hut over to Lunick with his own jubilant and knowing grin, giving them both a curt nod. "Consider it a thank you. Because of you two, Summerland's back to normal. I'm very grateful for it."
His expression quickly shifted right after, before they could escape it. "You know, I just said Summerland's back to normal… But what's going on? It's still abnormally hot… What's causing this heat wave?" The operator behind the desk snickered, already knowing where this was going, and Cameron continued. "... Oh, I get it now! This heat… It's coming from this smiling couple right here! Ooh-la-la~!"
Lunick and Solana were both so red and huffy, you really would think the heat wave was back, but just for the two of them. Grabbing Solana by the arm, Lunick began to book it out of there, their two electric type Pokémon scampering behind them. "AnywaysWe'reOnLeaveSoGottaGo,SeeYouAllBye!"
Once they were out front of the Base, both nearly the same color crimson of the Groudon they'd just faced, Solana snatched the keys right out of her best friend's palm, a toothy smile on her lips. "Betcha I can sleep longer than even you can right now," she taunted, running down the boardwalk towards the vacation huts to beat him there.
"Literally only you could make napping a COMPETITION!" Used to her antics, he ran after her, shaking his head in complete awe of how things that had looked so bleak ultimately ended up so perfectly. The next week was going to be exactly the time off together that the both of them needed. He just knew it.