Beep, beep, beep. Beep,beep, ,BEEP, BEEP!
Keith reached a hand out from his bed and hit the snooze button on the alarm clock. Kate shifted slightly in her bed, trying to fall back asleep. Rhythmi looked up slightly and murmured, "What time is it…?"
Keith looked at the clock blearily and mumbled, "7:55."
"OK." Rhythmi sighed and closed her eyes. Kate wrapped the covers around herself tightly.
…
The three jumped out of their beds, faced each other and screamed, "WE OVERSLEPT!"
"Keith, you idiot! Why didn't you set the alarm for 7:00?" Rhythmi asked frantically. Keith panicked, saying, "I did! It was probably another one of Crawford's pranks!" Kate cut in, yelling, "Never mind that, we've only got a few minutes! Morning briefing is at 8:00, and it's—" The three looked at the clock.
7:56 AM
They looked at each other. "AAAAHHHH!"
It all happened so fast; first Rhythmi and Kate grabbed their uniforms and rushed into their girls bathroom to change, and Keith ran into his single bathroom. Then, after they had exited, they had to grab their Stylers and hook them onto their belts and get the belts around their waists. Rhythmi picked up a hairbrush and started fixing her hair, and Keith tried to help Kate with her pigtails before Rhythmi pushed him aside and stepped in, getting the job done within 10 seconds.
"How much time is left?" Kate asked, turning to the clock.
7:59 AM
"ONE MINUTE! WE HAVE LESS THAN ONE MINUTE!" She screamed, and Keith grabbed Tempo as Lyrical jumped onto Kate's head, and the three kids bolted out of the room, barreling down the halls at mach speed. Keith was counting down the remaining seconds on his watch.
"Five—four—three—two—one—"
The three slammed the door open and ran into the dining room of the Ranger Base. Barlow looked up from his clipboard at the trio for a quick second, then shook his head, sighed, and got back to his business.
Keith glanced over to see Crawford just barely holding in his laughter. "D-did you sleep well?" He asked, choking on his giggles. Keith growled at him, but said nothing more. He looked over at Kate and remarked, "Kate, one of your pigtails is falling out."
"Really?" She asked, becoming slightly self-conscious. "Yeah. I got it." Keith answered, trying to fix it, but making it worse. Eventually he even accidentally undid the pigtail and the hair binder fell towards the ground, along with the entire left side of Kate's hair. "…Crap." He muttered. Kate became nervous. "Can you see it?" She asked, looking around. The boy searched the floor, but then sighed. "No… Dang it, I'm sorry, Kate." Keith said, clasping his hands together and grinning sheepishly in apology. "I'll buy you new ones while on patrol, a whole set, OK?"
Kate, who was now undoing her other pigtail so she wasn't uneven, blushed slightly and remarked, "You don't have to buy me a whole new set…" Rhythmi grinned. "Why don't you just lend her one of your hair ties, Keith?" She asked. Keith glared.
"I don't—" He started, but he was cut off by Barlow talking. "There's not much to do today. So today's a free patrol. Go wherever you like, but don't slack off too much, OK?" The Base Leader boomed. "OK!" The team chanted in response.
"Good. Now, let's eat!" Barlow stated, and a small cheer went up as the team at down for breakfast. Just as everyone was getting settled, however, a large, loud voice bellowed from outside the room, "It's me! And I brought milk pudding!"
Keith and Rhythmi perked up eagerly. "It's Big Bertha!" They cried, and no sooner had they said it than the door opened and the tall, stout woman walked into the room. Luana smiled. "Hi, Big Bertha!"
Big Bertha smiled back in response. "Good to see you, Luana. And the rest of you too!" She barked, looking around the room. She was holding a large bowl with plastic wrap over the top. "And to make sure you all are getting your nourishment, I brought milk pudding!"
Keith jumped up from his seat in joy. "YES! MILK PUDDING!" He cried in triumph. Kate blinked. "Milk pudding…?" She murmured. "What's that?"
Silence.
Then Keith snatched the bowl Big Bertha was holding out of her arms and held it out to Kate. He tore off the plastic wrap, spooned out a decent amount and held it in front of Kate's mouth. "Eat." He commanded.
Kate was confused. "I—"
"Just eat."
"But—"
"Do it."
"Why are you—"
"NOW."
Kate finally sighed and cautiously opened her mouth. Keith immediately shoved the spoon in, and Kate choked for a minute before swallowing the pudding carefully. She blinked. Then she remarked, "It's good…"
"See? SEE?" Keith yelled as he pumped a fist into the air. Big Bertha smiled at the scene, but then turned her eyes to something in the corner. Her eyes narrowed. "BARLOW!" She yelled. Barlow jumped. "Y-yes, Bertha?" He asked. Big Bertha pointed to what she had seen.
"You have five seconds to tell me why you are keeping this man hostage in your Base."
Everyone's gaze turned to Ollie, who was sitting in the corner, tied up and not saying a word as usual. The young man had seemed to become thinner throughout the week the team had been holding him.
"Don't you at least feed your hostages?" Bertha questioned irritably.
"Hey!" Keith protested. "We've tried feeding him, but the farthest we've gotten is Elaine shoving the food down his throat."
Bertha glared at Elaine, who sweatdropped. The gargantuan woman then sighed; and picking up the bowl of milk pudding and a spoon she walked over to Ollie. She scooped out a decent-sized amount and held it in front of his face.
"Eat." She commanded, just like Keith had done to Kate. Ollie refused to open his mouth. Bertha's eyebrow twitched. "Eat." She said again, pushing the food against his lips. Ollie still didn't budge. Bertha snapped.
"JUST EAT THE PUDDING, DAMMIT!" She bellowed, and almost as if it was magic Ollie's jaws opened accordingly and he swallowed the pudding.
…
Ollie blinked just like Kate had done, obviously surprised by the wonderful flavor. Bertha smiled. "That's right, isn't it good? You want more? Here, I'll put it into a bowl for you… Somebody untie this boy so he can eat properly!"
Barlow was aghast. "Bertha, he's a hostage!" He protested. Bertha's eyes narrowed as she smiled evilly. "I don't think you heard me correctly." She said. "I said…
"Un.
"Tie.
"This.
"Boy.
"Right…
"NOW!"
Barlow gulped, and then said instantly, "Kate! Keith! Untie this boy right now!" But he didn't have to issue the order, for Kate and Keith were already hurriedly untying Ollie.
After Ollie was untied, he stood up, and the group noticed that he was surprisingly tall and looked to be Elaine's age, give or take a year. Ollie immediately took the bowl of milk pudding that Bertha offered him, eating it up hungrily. When he was finished, he looked up with a very sad expression.
"I… I don't deserve this…" He mumbled. "I… I…"
"You… what, may I ask?" Keith inquired irritably. Kate and Rhythmi elbowed him simultaneously. Ollie seemed to struggle with himself a bit longer, but then yelled,
"The Vien Forest's fire was my fault!"
…
"…And this is a surprise to us how…?" Keith asked. He was then knocked over the head by both Kate and Rhythmi, falling to the floor. "Oh, sure," he protested, "Let's all play 'Beat the Hell Outta Keith Because He Asked an Innocent Question!'"
"Sure, I'm game." Rhythmi shrugged, kicking him on the floor. "IT WAS A JOKE!" Keith yelled, but Kate seemed a little more concerned about the matter at hand. "U-um, so how did the fire start, Ollie…?"
Ollie seemed genuinely upset now. "Well, a bunch of guys in dark costumes that called themselves 'Dim Sun' or something offered to pay me if I set one of these machines called 'Gigaremos' up. So I went to the forest with it, but I was clumsy, and the lighter fluid dropped and hit the spark plug and that was what started the fire! I'm so, so sorry!" He cried, bowing his head.
Barlow sighed. "So that's what happened… Don't look so worried, boy, we won't charge you for it. It was an accident. By the way," He said, looking curiously at Ollie, "What's your real name?"
Ollie blinked. "My real name?" He asked. "It's—"
*BEEEEEEEEP.*
"Oh, so THAT'S what it is!" Keith said incredulously. Luana pouted. "I like the name Ollie better, so we'll just keep calling you that." She said. Ollie sweatdropped. "…OK?" He laughed nervously.
Barlow cleared his throat. "Well!" He boomed, "We now know this strange group's name, Dim Sun… And now that Dim Sun is starting to make some noise. Kate, Keith, Rhythmi! I'm not going to deprive you three of your free day, but keep an eye out, would you?"
The three nodded. "Leave it to me!" Keith bragged. "If that Din Sum or whatever tries to come near me or my friends, I'll just give 'em a Keith-style pounding! And if that doesn't work, I'll just set Kate on them!" Kate went scarlet while Rhythmi held a poised fist dangerously close to Keith's head.
As the three turned to leave, Ollie said, "Oh! Could I ask a favor?"
They turned. "What's up?" Keith asked. Ollie seemed slightly nervous. "Oh, well, I have a… friend in Chicole Village." He said. "So I was wondering if I could tag along with you guys…"
Rhythmi looked at her two friends. "Let's do it. After all, we were going to visit Kate's family, right?" She said. Kate smiled and nodded, while Keith simply sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine, you can come." He said carelessly. Ollie seemed to brighten up.
"Really? Oh, thank you so much!" He said happily. Kate smiled more. "It's really no problem." She asked. "But first…"
The female Ranger turned to Keith and gestured to her let-down hair, saying, "You owe me a new pack of hair binders."
.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
A few minutes later, Kate had dragged a reluctant Keith into a small accessory boutique. They had emerged shortly after with a brand new pack of hair binders in various colors.
As the four of them walked, Kate started to unwrap her new hair accessories to tie up her hair again when Keith suddenly put his hand over hers', preventing her from redoing her usual hairstyle.
Kate blinked. "What is it?" She asked.
Keith stared intently at her face.
And then he stole her hair binders.
"Keith!" Kate said, aghast. "Give them back! What was that for?"
Keith still looked serious. "No using these until tomorrow." He said sternly. "Why?" Kate huffed, uneasy from her hair being down.
"Because. I like your hair like this, it's a nice change. So just keep it like that for today, got it?" Keith commanded. Kate glared at him. "…You're really not going to give those back until tomorrow, are you?" She asked.
"No, I'm not." Keith answered, grinning. Kate exhaled angrily. "Fine, I'll keep it down for today, but only because I have to." She grumbled, stomping ahead. Keith simply strolled along behind her at a nice, normal speed.
Rhythmi and Ollie had been watching this scene unfurl with great interest. "…Hey," Ollie remarked to the blonde, "What's up with those two anyway?"
Without looking at him, Rhythmi recited, "Keith is in love with Kate but he's in denial so whenever someone confronts him about it he goes red and denies everything. Kate is completely oblivious to his feelings due to her denseness and one-track mind."
Ollie nodded uncertainly. "Got it… I think… Right?"
.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
When the group arrived in Chicole, they were suddenly greeted by little Gracidea running towards them.
"Big Sister, Big Sister!" She cried, clutching onto Kate's shorts. "It's scary! A ghost appeared on our farm and—" Gracidea then looked up at Kate's face. She blinked.
The pink haired toddler then stepped back, alarmed. "I'm sorry!" She apologized. "I thought you were my sister Kate!"
Keith burst out laughing, Rhythmi sighed, Ollie wondered who the heck this kid was, and Kate turned red. "G-Gracidea, it IS me… See?" She said, using her hands to pull her hair up into two pigtails. Gracidea gasped.
"Ohhh! I didn't recognize you, Big Sister! It's 'cause you've never ever worn your hair down, ever!" The tiny girl exclaimed. Kate sweatdropped, and Keith's eyes went wide. "Never? Really? Huh." He remarked.
"B-but anyways!" Gracidea said, "There's a hat ghost on our farm!"
…
"…A hat ghost?" The group said, confused. Gracidea nodded. "Papa wants you at our farm right nooooowww! So goooo!" She said, pushing Kate towards the farm.
"But…" Kate said as she looked back at Ollie. The former hostage simply smiled. "It's OK, my Quest can wait." He said. "I'd like to see this 'hat ghost' anyways."
When the whole team arrived at Partner Farm, the first thing they saw was Kate's father, Alistair, looking quite bewildered. Kate ran up to him. "Daddy!" She called out.
Alistair turned to see her, and his serious face lit up. "Kate! Good to see you!" He smiled, taking his oldest daughter in his arms and kissing her hair. Kate looked up. "What's all this I hear about a hat ghost?" She asked.
Alistair let go of Kate and sighed. "Well… Just look there." He said, and pointed ahead of them.
There, around two meters away, was a bowler hat moving.
By itself.
Keith rolled his eyes. "Idiots. That's not a ghost," He said, "It's a zombie." Rhythmi elbowed him.
Kate blinked. "Actually…" She said, squinting her eyes a little to get a closer look. She then smiled and took out her Styler.
"CAPTURE ON!" She shouted. Keith was confused. "I don't think the Styler works on zombies, Kate!" He called. Kate ignored him and kept circling, when finally something gave in and the Disc returned to Kate's Styler.
…
The hat was shrugged off the shoulders of a rather undersized Kricketot, which ran up to Kate happily. "Kricke. Kricketot!" It cried.
Keith blinked. "Huh. It looks a bit too colorful to be a zombie." He said. This time both Rhythmi and Ollie whacked him upside the head.
Kate's father blinked. "So that was it…" He muttered. "A Pokémon must have snuck it's way in here… Seems as if that Kricketot likes you, Kate."
And it was true; The Kricketot was nuzzling against Kate contentedly. Kate smiled, but it was a sad smile. "…I'm sorry… I would love to keep you, but I can only have one partner."
"Buzz! Incorrect!" Rhythmi cut in. "Only one partner at a time! According to Union rules, you may have as many Partner Pokémon as you wish so long as all the ones you are not using have a safe place to stay! And lucky for you, your dad happens to own a farm!"
Kate looked hopefully at Alistair, who sighed. "Alright, I suppose I could let your Pokémon stay here." He consented. Kate jumped up. "Yay! Thanks, Dad! And could Keith's Partner Pokémon stay too?"
Keith seemed surprised at Kate's second proposition, but Alistair nodded, saying, "Of course."
Kate was overjoyed. "Yay!" She squealed. She was holding Kricketot in her arms. "Now then, you need a name… How about… Metronome? Metro for short."
Kricketot; or Metronome; trilled happily at the suggestion. Kate smiled once more, but then turned to Lyrical. "Lyric, could you stay with Dad for the time being? I'd like to introduce Metronome to the rest of the team." She asked. Lyrical nodded. "Chipa!"
Kate nodded, then, with her new Partner Pokémon in her arms she turned to see Ollie. "Well then," She said, "Should we go and see your friend now?"
.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
A few minutes later, the group and their new buggy addition were standing in front of a house next door to the Lovett's house.
Ollie seemed nervous, but he didn't bother to knock. He just walked right in.
Inside the house was a middle aged woman with reddish hair just like Ollie. She turned to see who had entered her home and her eyes widened when she saw who it was. "…Son…?" She murmured incredulously.
Ollie looked nervous. "…Hi, Mom." He said sheepishly.
…
"EHHHHHHH?" Kate, Keith and Rhythmi yelled. Ollie's eye twitched, but he didn't take his eyes off his mother.
"…Mom… I'm sorry." He said. "I wasn't thinking straight when I was away all that time and I never bothered to call or visit. I'm so sorry to have worried you, Mom."
The woman stepped forward, as if in a dream, and tears filled her eyes. Without a word, she immediately embraced Ollie. "My son… Oh, I'm so glad you're home…!" She cried. Ollie hugged her back, but quickly turned his head to Kate and mouthed, 'Thank you.'
Kate nodded and silently left the house with her two friends. "So," Keith said, "What now?"
But Kate was already walking towards her own family's house. Rhythmi was confused. "Kate, what're you doing?" She asked. Kate turned around, and her friends were shocked to see that tears had filled her eyes. Kate then said,
"I'm going to see my mom, because I never want to put her through whatever Ollie's mom has."
