Hello, all! As promised, here is the second chapter of my four-part Pokemon Ranger piece. I hope you enjoy! In this chapter, we get a peek at what's going through Kellyn's mind.

Feel free to leave kind, constructive criticism—I'd love to hear from you!


Kellyn watched Kate out of the corner of his eye as he cracked eggs into a bowl. Though she smiled at Keith's and Rhythmi's antics, there was a hollowness to her gaze—a hollowness she hadn't shaken since the night of Darkrai's rebellion.

Kellyn suppressed a shiver. It had been the worst night of his life, one he too would sometimes rather forget. If he hadn't encouraged Kate to go on without him while he finished that Rampardos's capture, he wouldn't have reinjured his shoulder. Maybe then she wouldn't have faced Darkrai alone, wouldn't have been caught off guard by the Pokémon's illusions, wouldn't have fallen into the shadow world. Somehow, she'd managed to capture the Pokémon from inside its own hellish realm, but she'd emerged haunted, only a shell of herself.

He should have been there with her. He was her Ranger partner, after all—but he'd failed her. And that haunted him.

Rhythmi's squeal brought him out of his mental hole. A grinning Keith bolted from the room as Rhythmi charged after him, covered in powdered pancake mix and wielding a spatula like a sword. Chuckling, Kellyn glanced at Kate, hoping to share the light moment with her—only to find her staring vacantly at the table. All amusement drained from his heart, replaced by leaden weight at the glazed look in her eyes. Her hands—had they always looked so small?—clutched her coffee mug as she rocked slowly back and forth, staring but not really seeing what was in front of her. It was an expression Kellyn was beginning to easily recognize and vehemently despise: she was back in the shadow world.

Abandoning the eggs, Kellyn gingerly eased himself onto the seat next to her. Gently, he brushed his hand over hers.

"Kate."

She jolted away as if he'd screamed in her face, her mug clattering to the table. Hot coffee splashed out, eliciting a hiss of pain as the hot liquid scalded his fingers. Kate blinked rapidly, as if coming out of a trance, her eyes focusing on Kellyn's reddening hand.

"Oh my gosh, Kellyn!" Her hands flew to her mouth.

"It's okay!" Kellyn tucked his burned hand under the table, his other reaching out to her. "It's okay."

"It's not okay." Kate popped to her feet, but not before he saw her mouth wobble the way it always did when she tried not to cry. Dashing to the freezer, she returned to the table with a glassful of ice, her expression once again schooled into a tightly controlled mask. "Put some ice on your hand."

"Really, Kate, I'm fine."

With a glare that could freeze Boyleland over, she pulled on his arm until he reluctantly laid his burned hand on the table. Her expression faltered, but she forged on nonetheless, gently tugging his hand open and icing the blistering skin with surprising tenderness. Her soft touch made his insides feel woozy, just as it had for the past few months. He knew what the wooziness meant—he wasn't an idiot—but now definitely wasn't the time to be making romantic declarations, so he steeled his heart against the attraction.

As if to underscore how far her thoughts were from his, Kate murmured, "I'm sorry."

"Kate." Kellyn waited until she met his gaze. "It's okay. Really. I understand."

Kellyn watched the emotions warring in her gaze, wishing with everything within him that he could somehow still those raging waves. She let him in more than anyone else, yet there were still places she hadn't allowed him to touch.

"I know you do," She said finally, quietly. Her shoulders curled in, as if all the fight had gone out of her, like a limp sail on a windless day.

Anger welled up inside Kellyn's midsection. This wasn't Kate—not really. The shadow world had stolen the real Kate, returning only a lifeless husk in her place. But Kellyn wasn't about to give up on the Kate he knew was still there—not without a fight.

"Let's go for a run this afternoon."

Kate blinked up at him, surprised by his sudden change of subject. He steadily met her gaze.

"Alright."

He grinned, and after a moment, she tentatively returned it. He had an idea, one that he became more and more confident of with each passing moment. One that, hopefully, would help restore his best friend's life.