"You ready?"

"I've been ready."

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three!"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"BUI BUI BUIZEL!"

"HOLY—" Kate shot up in bed, looking around wildly for the source of her sudden wake up call. Finally, her eyes rested on Keith, who was standing smugly by her bed, already fully dressed. Tempo, who he'd switched out with Voice the previous day, was standing next to the boy. They both looked rather pleased with their work.

"W—what the heck, Keith!" she groaned, looking at her clock. "It's 7:30 in the morning!"

"OBJECTION!" Keith yelled, pointing a finger at her with his arm outstretched. "It's 7:30… on what day, may I ask?"

Kate leaned forward in bed, holding her head as she tried to stop what was sure to be an oncoming Keith-migraine. "Uh… let's see… August twenty-second?"

"OBJECTION!" Keith shouted again as he pointed an accusing finger at her once more, but then he crossed his arms impatiently. "And what day is August twenty-second…?"

Kate seemed to think about that for a minute before replying simply, "Monday."

"OBJECTION!"

"STOP SCREAMING THAT!"

Keith huffed as he tried once more. "Think, Kate. What special day is on August twenty-second?"

"Arceus, Keith," Kate scowled as she closed her eyes in thought. "August twenty-second… August twenty-second… August twenty… second…?"

She felt her eyes snap open in realization, and then she looked up slowly at Keith.

"…It's my birthday," she murmured. "I'm thirteen now."

"That's right!" Keith grinned triumphantly. "So I, being the great guy I am, managed to convince Chairperson Erma to give us the day off today to celebrate. We can even go that that café you like so much. My treat."

Kate stared, but then she frowned slightly. "You don't have to go through all that trouble, Keith," she sighed. "I've never really cared one way or the other about my birthday."

Keith looked aghast. "But Katherine! Katherine Cymbeline Lovett!" he gasped, ignoring Kate's grimace at her full name. "This is no ordinary birthday! This is your thirteenth birthday! The big one-three! Twelve plus one! The transitioning from girl to lady! …Well, given your late blooming body, I wouldn't really count that last one…"

Kate blushed and threw a pillow at the boy, screaming, "PERVERT!" Keith simply dodged the fluffy projectile.

"…Is Rhythmi coming with us?" Kate asked through clenched teeth once she had calmed herself down. Keith suddenly looked fidgety.

"Well… no," he admitted. "She has a ton of work stacked up today, so she can't come."

Kate's shoulders slumped slightly. "Oh," she said. Keith shrugged in response, and then moved to the door. He stopped at the threshold, turning slightly to Kate and pointing at her as if he were lecturing the brunette.

"You get changed, and then go to the lobby," he ordered. "I'll be waiting at the doors. We're going to Puel City, OK?"

Kate stared with wide eyes, eventually replying, "O-OK."

Keith and Tempo left, leaving Kate alone in the room.

At first, she just sat in bed, wondering if she would be able to get away with five more minutes of blissful sleep. The idea was quickly discarded at the thought of Keith yelling at her, and she stood up, walking over to her wardrobe. Opening it, she realized that she actually had some pretty decent outfits in there now that Rhythmi had gotten a hold over her fashion life.

It took awhile, but eventually she managed to find an outfit she liked. After putting up her hair, she picked up Lyrical and left the room.

Walking down the hall, she had to wonder why Keith was being so insistent on celebrating her birthday. Sure, it was her thirteenth, but it was still just another birthday… she'd never really paid attention to the other twelve before.

'And besides,' she thought with a hint of annoyance, 'if he'd really wanted to make sure I have a great birthday, he could have at least let me sleep in a little long—'

"L-look out~~!"

"What the—!"

Suddenly, Kate felt herself crash into something, and she fell to the floor in a daze. Shaking her head, she glanced around and realized she was surrounded by papers and folders. She looked up to see a familiar small girl with short dark brown hair, a white lab coat on and teary green eyes.

"Misha!" Kate exclaimed, immediately recognizing the assistant scientist. "Oh, no, I'm so sorry!"

"Owie~…" Misha cried. "That hurt… Oh! T—the papers!"

Misha quickly began gathering up all the papers she'd dropped. Kate helped her, and before long the job was done. As she glanced at the papers she picked up, she just noticed a bunch of different numbers, letters and graphs on them.

"Misha, what are these?" she asked, standing up with the girl. Misha looked up cheerfully.

"Ah, well, these are the results from a diary that Top Rangers Solana and Lunick found in this hut when they were patrolling the Chroma ruins yesterday!" she answered happily. "It was all burnt and stuff, though, so they brought it back here for deciphering! Apparently, the shack where the diary was found is where Altru Incorporated started as Altru Oil! Solana and Lunick thought it was important, since the old Altru Inc. is where the Dark Crystals are found, so they brought it in…"

Kate nodded slowly, taking this all in. "Have you figured out what the diary says?"

Misha's face fell slightly. "Well… no," she sighed. "It's really very badly burnt. But, but! Nage's trying his very, veeery hardest to get the job done! He already figured out what the title says!"

"Really?" Kate said, surprised. "What does it say?"

Misha handed her one specific paper. "Here!" she chirruped.

Kate took the form and read over it carefully. Most of it was just scientific nonsense she couldn't make heads or tails of, but she could at least read what was at the bottom.

'Final result:

Brighton'

Somewhere in the back of Kate's head, a bell went off at the word. 'Brighton?' she thought. 'Where have I heard that before…?'

"U-um," Misha cut into her thoughts nervously. "If you don't mind, I'd really like that paper back…"

"Oh! Sorry," Kate apologized, handing back the paper. "I'm really sorry for bumping into you. Good luck on your research!"

Misha smiled. "Thanks, but I'm just an assistant. Nage's the one that does all the work!" she giggled. Suddenly, her eyes filled up with sparkles as her cheeks were tinted a slight pink. "Nage's so hard-working~! He worked all through his seventeenth birthday last month just to get some research for Professor Hastings… Oh, but he's also really caring! He blew off a day of work a few weeks ago just so he could spend time with me on my seventeenth birthday~!"

Kate sweatdropped slightly. 'Sounds like Nage needs to get his priorities straight…' she mumbled internally. Then she blinked.

"You… just turned seventeen?" she inquired uneasily. "Don't be offended… but you just look…"

"Like a grade-schooler?" Misha finished. "Yeah, I get that a lot… But anyways, I need to get these papers to Chairperson Erma! And I also need to get the other notes to Momo…"

Kate stared. "Momo…?" she asked.

Misha nodded. "Yeah, Momoko Harukaze, but everyone calls her Momo," she answered. "I just finished a new set of notes for her… um… work, so I need to get them to her soon."

Kate thought about that, and then she smiled. "I'm going out today with Keith for my birthday," she said. "I could take those notes to her for you. She works at Altru Inc., right?"

Misha's eyes widened, but then she beamed. "Oh, if you could do that then it'd be a real help! Just please don't look inside, the info is strictly confidential!" she gasped. She took a folder out of her stack of papers and handed it to Kate.

Kate looked at the folder carefully. It was pitch black and had a shiny purple emblem on it that read in cursive, 'M.H'. Underneath that, in much smaller letters, was 'S.O.A Notes'.

"I know that 'M.H' probably stands for Momoko Harukaze," she mused, 'but what does 'S.O.A' stand for?"

Misha jumped slightly, then stammered, "Uh… Special… Oceanic… Aerodynamics! Yeah, that! Altru's developing an, um, underwater airplane!"

Kate stared. "Underwater… what?" she said nervously.

"Airplane," Misha said firmly. "Very high-tech. Very top-secret. W-well, I'll see you later! Make sure you get that folder to Momo!"

She ran off before Kate could say anything else.

Kate looked after her, confused. "Underwater… airplane?" she muttered to herself as she walked towards the downstairs escalator. "Whatever happened to submarines?"

.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Keith blinked. Then he stared. Then he blinked again.

Kate was dressed in a short-sleeved yellow shirt with a plaid-patterned gray tie secured loosely around her neck. Matching the tie was a plaid gray skirt, and she wore a simple pair of black sandals on her feet. She was holding, curiously enough, a black folder. What really seemed to catch Keith's attention, though, was her hair.

"…You're wearing the Drifloon binders?" he said in surprise. Tying up Kate's hair were the two Drifloon-modeled hair ties Keith had bought her when on Boyle Island.

"Huh?" Kate said, putting a hand subconsciously up to touch the accessories. "Um… yeah, I am. I-is there a problem with them?"

Keith blinked, then assured (rather loudly), "N-no, no! There isn't! I just… w-was surprised, I guess."

Kate nodded in understanding, looking down slightly as she replied in a murmur, "I don't have any other special binders like these, and, well… I like them."

Keith simply stared more, and Kate felt the blood slowly trickle to her face in embarrassment. Of course, at that moment, the one person she'd asked about that morning popped up.

"And how is my favorite couple doing this fine morning?" Rhythmi said cheerfully as she appeared seemingly out of nowhere beside the two.

Kate yelped in alarm as she jumped back at the blonde's sudden arrival. "R-Rhyth…" she stammered, but then she registered what Rhythmi had said. "W-wait, we're not like that!"

Rhythmi smiled an evilly innocent smile. "What?" she asked. "I only said 'favorite couple'. Couple means 'two'. By saying 'couple' I meant my two favorite people. What did you think I meant by 'couple', Kate? I didn't mean dating, but if you assumed I meant that then I guess I—"

"Rhythmi."

Kate looked over at the one who had cut off the Top Operator's tirade, which was none other than Keith. He was looking at Rhythmi with a glare in his eyes. This wasn't the usual irritated or angry glare he usually sent to his victims, though, but to Kate it almost seemed like a… a warning of sorts. As if he was saying, 'Don't push it.'

Rhythmi stared calmly back at him for a few seconds before finally smiling and saying, "OK, OK, I get it. I'll shut up."

Keith glowered at her a bit longer, but then he sighed, half in relief and half in what seemed to be exasperation. "Thank you," he said.

"No problem," the blonde assured. "By the way, where are Lyric and Tempo?"

Kate looked around, realizing that the two Partner Pokémon weren't around, but then Keith answered. "They went off to do their own thing. Probably went to go bug the Staraptor in the stables again."

Kate blinked, confused as to why the Pokémon weren't going to be accompanying the two, but Rhythmi on the other hand seemed unfazed. "Oh, OK," she nodded. Then she turned to Kate.

"Happy birthday, Kate!" she exclaimed, tackling the brunette in a hug. Kate hugged back at first, but then the world started to go blurry and she became aware of her lungs being constricted.

"Rhyth," she managed to gasp, "choking, not breathing."

"Oh! Sorry!" Rhythmi laughed, releasing her. Kate panted as she tried to catch her breath. Rhythmi's expression turned to one of sorrow and regret then.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come with you guys today," she apologized. "We've got too much going on with Dim Sun. I have to look up recent Gigaremo incidents, research those 'Dark Crystal' thingies and most of all try and find out what's up with Kincaid…"

"You mean the fact that he has a child?" Kate asked. Rhythmi nodded, her azure eyes glazing over slightly as she seemed to go deep into thought.

"It just gets to me," she said, "how he had a child, and he just up and abandoned them. Maybe he didn't even know about the pregnancy when he left, but… it still strikes a chord with me. I can't stand people like him!"

Kate stared at Rhythmi, and then looked over at Keith uneasily. He was sending the same glance her way. Finally, Kate said, "Rhythmi, I…"

Rhythmi blinked, and her eyes seemed to regain focus again. "Oh… what was I just saying?" she said nervously. "S-sorry. Well, I'll see you guys later. Happy birthday again, Kate!"

With those last words, she ran off.

The two Top Rangers watched her cautiously as she left. When she had finally turned the corner out of sight, Keith spoke up.

"Well, we should get going," he said, walking towards the front door. Kate nodded.

"Yeah," she agreed as she walked after him. "What do you think that was just now? The way Rhythmi reacted…"

Keith shrugged. "It was probably because of her family deal," he guessed. "Rhyth told us that her dad left when she was really little, right? She probably resents anyone who just abandons their kids like that. Anyone could relate, but… I don't think you'd be able to understand on the same level as her, because she's actually experienced it."

Kate nodded slightly, but she still wasn't fully convinced. "Something wrong?" Keith inquired.

"It's just… Rhyth's seemed really determined to find out who Mr. Kincaid's child is," she said carefully. Keith made a hmm sound in the back of his throat as he thought.

"Maybe," he speculated, "maybe she wants to find the kid and have them meet Kincaid so that they'll know their own father. I don't get how finding out your dad's a worthless criminal would make you happy, though… but hey. It's a fair reason.

Kate thought that likelihood over for a moment, still not entirely convinced. Finally, though, she sighed as they exited the Union out onto the path to Puel City.

"Yeah," she amended. "I guess it's possible."

.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"Keith? Kate? Why are you guys here?"

Momoko Harukaze stared at the duo in front of her desk, her purple eyes holding a confused look in them. Her uniform seemed to have changed, instead of the typical secretary uniform she wore; she was now donning a sleeveless black shirt, jean shorts that were such a dark blue they could have been black, high heeled dress shoes and a purple tie with a skull accessory at the collar. Her hair was longer; growing out a little past her shoulders now, and was pulled back in a fairly messy ponytail with a black ribbon.

"Well, we had an errand to run…" Kate said, taken slightly aback by Momo's appearance. Momo blinked, looking down at herself.

"What're you looking at? Is there something on my… oh. The outfit," she grimaced. "President Blake's put my little sister in charge of uniform design. Her name's Pixie Harukaze, and seeing as I never let her play dress up with me as a model, she paid special attention to my uniform."

"Sounds like she's quite the girly-girl," Keith commented.

"Bingo," Momo answered gloomily. "She's my complete opposite, and not just in personality. We don't even look alike… But anyways, why are you two here? I thought you were supposed to be on your birthday date together today…"

"One, it's not a date," Keith cut in crossly, "and two, how the hell did you know that?"

Momo jumped, but then quickly answered, "I, ah, have a friend that works at the Union! You know, Misha!"

Kate nodded. "That would make sense," she commented, "but… you're only thirteen, four years younger than Misha, right? You don't look like it."

Momo shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a milk addict," she admitted. "It really does make you taller; the doctors weren't lying after all. I'm even taller than Misha! Ha! …But back to my original question. Why are you here?"

"Ah! Right!" Kate said, holding out the black folder. "Misha wanted me to give these to you."

"What?" Momo quickly took the folder and opened it, making sure the contents weren't seen by the two Rangers. After a few seconds, she closed it, looking up. "Thanks for delivering these, it's a huge help. You… didn't look inside, did you?"

"Nope!" Kate replied cheerfully. "We didn't open it. After all, they are top secret, right? 'Special Oceanic Aerodynamics'?"

Momo stared. "Special… Oceanic… the hell?" she muttered, looking down at the folder. Then she seemed to notice the 'S.O.A' underneath the large emblem. "Oh. OH! Yeah, that's what it is! Special Oceanic Aero-whatever! Ahahaha! …But… why are you delivering these and not Misha?"

"I bumped into her—literally—in the hallway earlier and she mentioned having a bunch of stuff to do, so I offered to at least do this much while we were out," Kate informed. Momo nodded slowly.

"I guess I can see how that would work…" she sighed. "Anyways, thanks for bringing me these. It's a huge help. How about you guys look around for a bit before leaving? We've got a ton of cool exhibits."

Kate looked up at Keith. "Can we?" she asked.

Keith shrugged. "It's your birthday," he replied simply. "If you want to, then sure."

Momo grinned. "Alright then!" she said happily. "Feel free to check anything you're interested in out. If you wanna know about something then just give me a shout." With that final comment, she turned back to her desk work.

The two Top Rangers wandered around the lobby for a bit, looking at the preserved blueprints and invention models. Eventually, Kate happened upon three paintings lined up in a row on the wall, each showing one man. They struck a note of familiarity in her mind, and she inspected them closer.

Keith, noticing her sudden interest in the display, walked over. "Found something mildly exciting around here?"

"I-I dunno," Kate said uncertainly, "it just seems as if this is important or something…"

Keith stared, but then he called out, "Hey, Momo!"

Momo hurried over to the group. "Yes?" she asked.

Keith pointed at the portraits. "Who're these guys?" he inquired.

Momo sweatdropped. "Come on, guys, I told you this on your first visit, didn't I?" she sighed. "Alright, I'll say it again, just pay attention this time."

First, she gestured to the first picture, which showed a jovial old man with a straw hat and long white beard. "Doyle M. Hall," she said firmly. "First President of Altru, and original founder of the Altru Oil Company." Once she was convinced that the two Top Rangers would remember that, she moved on to the second painting.

The next portrait showed a rather sullen looking man with receding brown hair and a drooping mustache of the same color. "The second President was a man named Brighton Hall," she informed. "He—"

"AAAH!"

Both Keith and Momo jumped at Kate's sudden outburst. "W-what is it?" Momo asked in surprise, a little put off at being interrupted.

Kate looked rather distressed. "T-that's who the diary thing belongs to!" she said. "He's the one who wrote in it!"

"I'm sorry, but what?" Keith pressed irritably. Kate filled him in about the diary Misha had shown her and what it meant. She also explained how the diary bore the same name as Brighton Hall.

Once Keith had heard the whole story, he turned quickly to Momo. "Momo," he said urgently, "could we speak to this guy? It's really, really important!"

Momo stared, confused, but then she said slowly, "I-I'm sorry, but that's not possible."

"Why?" Keith demanded further.

Momo's face hardened. "Because the man died over thirty years ago!" she huffed. "Our current President is the guy in the third painting down, Mr. Blake Hall!"

Kate blinked. "O… oh," she mumbled, looking down in apology. "Sorry."

Momo simply grumbled in response.

Keith, on the other hand, groaned. "Well, there goes that lead," he sighed. "Could you at least tell us a little about him?"

Momo nodded. "What do you want to hear about?" she asked.

Keith shrugged in annoyance. "I dunno; how about why this Brighton guy looks so damn depressed?" he inquired carelessly.

Momo grinned. "Ah, it's nice when I have an answer for something," she sighed in content. Then she cleared her throat and started.

"Brighton Hall was put in a state of depression during most of his time as President of Altru Oil Companies," she stated. "The reason for this was that Almia itself was going through an extreme energy crisis, all because his mines were running low on oil. He seemed to perk up, though, when he announced that he had found a brand new source of energy. He never lived long enough to reveal what this new method was, though. Despite this, Altru grew at an astonishing rate when Brighton's son took over after his death, and Almia is doing pretty well in terms of energy, since new mines have been found not too far from this very building."

Kate nodded slowly when Momo was done. "So the President got depressed because of low oil," she said slowly, "but then he discovered a new source of energy. He never got to reveal it, though? Even though it could have been the solution to a major energy crisis?"

"What does that have to say about our supposedly stable economy?" muttered Keith.

Momo rolled her eyes as she looked at him. "We're hiring thirteen year-old girls as chief secretaries at major companies," she deadpanned. "Since when has our economy ever been 'stable?'"

.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"I still can't believe you wanted to go all the way to Altru—on your birthday, no less—just to deliver some papers for Misha," Keith said as he and Kate waited for their food. The two had left Altru Incorporated, and Keith (before Kate could do something incredibly stupid like take someone's Quest) had insisted on taking Kate to her favorite café. They were seated inside this time, next to a window, as all the outside tables were taken.

Kate frowned. "She seemed to really need the help," she replied. "Besides, we found out a little about that diary, didn't we?"

"We are not here to research diaries, Kate," Keith reminded firmly. "We are here to have fun. Did you hear that?" he glared at her a little, but then he stood up, leaned over the table and reached a hand out to grab her cheek and pull on it, stretching her face.

"Fun," he repeated crossly, ignoring Kate's squeals of protest. "Got it?"

"Got it," Kate affirmed, but through her cheek being pulled it sounded more like 'Gaw eet'.

Keith nodded, releasing her and sitting back in his chair. "Good."

At that moment, the waiter came with their food. Keith didn't fail to notice that it was the same teenaged waiter they had met when in town shopping with Rhythmi who had seemed to take a liking to Kate, but this time he noticed Keith sitting across from the brunette and didn't try anything, instead simply handing them their plates and drinks and then taking his leave.

Kate's eyes immediately lit up at the sight of the cookie in front of her. She didn't hesitate to start in on it quickly, picking it up and taking a small bite so as to savor the taste.

Keith watched her as she grinned wide with every bite she took, sipping her drink between helpings, her pale blue eyes shining over just one chocolate chip cookie. …She didn't even notice that the side of her mouth was stained a luscious brown from one poorly aimed bite.

"Honestly, you're like a little kid…" Keith sighed, grabbing a napkin and extending his arm to dab at the chocolate.

Kate looked up and blinked in confusion. "W-what? Did I get something on my face?" she said self-consciously.

"I got it," Keith assured as he erased the last of the mark from her lips. "OK, there. Keep eating, but be careful."

Kate stared, but then she brightened up and nodded. "OK!" she chirped as she took another bite of her cookie—and in doing so caused another stain to fall upon her pale features.

Keith made a sound of irritation in the back of his throat as he got another napkin to clean the imperfection again.

Kate blinked again, looking up from her cookie as she felt the cloth against her face. She looked… honestly confused, like a six year-old who had just done something wrong, but wasn't quite sure what it was.

The redhead stared in slight surprise as his mind registered the perplexed look in her shining pale blue irises, the way her eyebrows drew together, puzzled, and how her lips frowned slightly in childish bewilderment.

Keith smiled gently as he removed the last of the chocolate. He put down the napkin, but then slowly moved his hand to hover next to her head.

"…You're hopeless," he murmured, tugging slightly on her skin before letting his hand rest on her cheek.

Kate just looked at him, innocence filling her eyes. Then she silently took another bite of her cookie.

Keith pulled his hand back from her face, sighing and finally starting in on his own coffee cake. A few moments of quiet passed before Kate suddenly said, "Why did you insist on taking me out today?"

Keith sipped his water a bit before answering bluntly, "It's your thirteenth birthday."

Kate huffed irritably. "I know that, but why are you going all out on this? It's not as if this is Christmas or anything."

Keith stared into his glass, thinking that over for a minute. "Well," he said slowly, "I guess it's to say 'thanks' in a way."

Kate didn't reply to that for awhile, and Keith knew she was probably blinking in utter confusion. Any minute, any second now she would be saying something along the lines of 'Thanks? For what?'

"Thanks? For what?"

Yep, there it was.

Keith growled slightly as he leaned back in frustration. "You know," he answered, "for everything! For all the times you bailed me out when I was in trouble back in school—"

"Rhythmi usually did that, I just tagged along," Kate reminded him.

"Alright then, for all the times you've saved my ass on a Mission—"

"You've saved mine just as many times."

"Uh, all the times you… um… gave me one of your cookies—"

"That never happened, and never will happen."

"OK, then what about that big deal when my dad came last week?" Keith snapped crossly as he glowered at the brunette, regretting the words as soon as he'd spit them out.

Kate's eyes widened as she stared at him in surprise, but then she looked out the window with a slight look of stubbornness on her face.

"…I—I only did what any other person would do in that situation," she mumbled in weak protest.

Keith scoffed. "Yeah, right," he muttered, "like anyone else would have walked out in that rain just to find me."

"Don't say that!"

Keith blinked as his head jerked back to look at Kate, who was now looking at him with anger and desperation in her pale eyes. "D-don't say that!" she repeated with slightly less gusto than she had before.

Keith just looked at her, completely baffled. "…Excuse me?" he asked uncertainly.

Kate's face went slightly pink (from stress, Keith decided) as she stammered, "I-if you just talk all p-pessimistically like that, then nothing good will come out of it, a-and it's not as if no one else would have gone out to look for you! Y-you're a really nice person who's a-always willing to listen to people and so I bet there would be l-lots of people who would search for you! L-like… like…"

The girl's face scrunched up in concentration as she thought, and Keith just stared back at her in shock.

Finally, though, he bowed his head as he let out a small laugh.

"Wha—" he heard Kate say, but then he buried his face in his hands as he let out a deep groan of defeat.

"I give up," he declared. "You're acting too… too cute."

He couldn't see Kate for the fact he was hiding his eyes, but he was sure her face was going that certain shade of red reserved for whenever she was complimented, and, as if on cue, he heard a squeal of, "I am not cute!"

Keith grinned at the color he was positive her cheeks were by now (although it was certain his own weren't doing any better) and repeated simply, "Yes, you are. You're cute. Stop denying it."

There was no reply or protest this time, and Keith took his palms away from his face to look at his female companion.

Kate was glaring (or at least trying to) at him, her face completely red and her small hands balled up into fists on the table. Keith smirked at her.

"You're too nice for your own good," he stated. "You know that?"

Kate simply looked stubbornly out the window again, not meeting his eyes and mumbling embarrassedly, "S-shut up."

Keith blinked.

And then he laughed.

A few minutes later, the two had left the café and were now just walking aimlessly around the city. Keith read off a map Rhythmi had forced on him the day before to see what they could do next.

"Uh… there's an ice cream place a little farther down, so we could check that out later," he mused, "but there's also a park nearby where a lot of Pokémon live, so if you wanted to go there we could do that. Ooh! Brook and Alex's house isn't too far from here! Maybe if we get lucky Gracidea will be there and I can embarrass him a little… hey, why aren't you answering me?"

Keith looked over to where Kate had been moments ago, but now she was gone.

Meanwhile, Kate was walking through a large crowd, looking around at all the tall buildings and sparkling water fountains. "Wow, there sure are a lot of people here today…" she murmured to herself, then said a little more loudly, "Keith, make sure you don't get lost in the—"

She glanced over to her side, only to find that the redhead was gone.

"…Crowd…" she finished quietly as it slowly sunk in that she'd wandered off without him on accident. Immediately she began to panic, but then brightened as she remembered she could just use her Fine Styler to contact him through Voicemail! …Then she realized she had left her Styler at the Union since she wasn't on duty. Oh, but she did have a cell phone, so she could call him—

'No, wait,' she remembered, 'I gave my cell phone to Keith before we left since I didn't have any pockets…!'

As the brunette mentally berated herself for not just holding her cell phone in her hand earlier, she was approached by a group of people. Looking up and around at her surroundings, she realized she had still been walking as she'd thought to herself, and had ended up wandering in a spot in town where not a lot of people hung out. She was pretty sure she was near the harbor…

Kate turned to the group that had approached her. It was three boys, all about fourteen or fifteen. One had dark purple hair, another orange, and the last a shocking green.

"You look like you're lost, little girl," the purple haired one said. "Do you need directions?"

Kate jumped. "Yes! I mean, no! Wait, I mean yes!" she stammered, "I-if you could help me find my friend that would be great…!"

"Friend…?" the boy said, looking at his companions. "What does this friend of yours look like?"

"U-um, he's got spiky reddish brown hair, eyes that are almost the same color, and he'll probably have a really grumpy expression on since I got lost and all…" Kate said, tripping over her words as she described Keith. The boys looked at each other and grinned.

"Actually, we saw someone exactly like that a few minutes ago," the mauve-haired boy mentioned. "We could take you to him if you want…"

Kate stared, but then she visibly brightened as she nodded.

"That would be great!" she said. "Thank you!"
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"This is stupid. This is stupid. This is stupid."

…muttered Keith as he stormed down another road, searching for Kate. He'd been asking around with civilians and shopkeepers about the brunette, and had eventually followed the trail to a series of dark alleys and passageways around the harbor. What the hell was she thinking, going into a shady place like that? Sometimes he really didn't understand that girl.

Keith grimaced as he looked around. Most of the area was covered in shadow, making it fairly hard to see. When he realized this, it occurred to him that he should probably have a certain searching partner help him. One that was accustomed to the dark. He wasn't sure if he would be able to reach her from this far, but…

'VOICE!'

'BLOODY HELL!'

Keith winced at the shriek he got in response to his sudden call. He probably should have predicted it, though, as Voice was all the way at Partner Farm and most likely hadn't expected that sudden yell in her head.

'What in the name of… KEITH!' she roared. 'WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?'

Keith sweatdropped as he apologized, 'S-sorry to surprise you, Voice, but—'

'SURPRISE? SURPRISE? YOU NEARLY GAVE ME A BLOODY HEART ATTACK!'

'Sorry!' Keith repeated. 'But we've got an emergency!'

'WHAT KIND OF EMERGENCY COULD POSSIBLY—'

'It's about Kate!'

At this, Voice immediately simmered down. 'What's wrong?' she asked. Keith quickly explained the situation at hand to the Misdreavus. He felt a wave of understanding over the link, and then the words, 'I'll be there in about six seconds.'

Keith blinked. 'Six?' he said, confused. 'How can you come here that—'

Before he could finish, though, Voice came bursting through a dark, shadowed wall. Keith yelped as he jumped back in shock.

"How did you—but that—I—" He stammered incoherently. Voice grumbled to herself as she shook off some dust.

'Shadowesque Travel Technique,' she answered swiftly. 'Or just 'shadowing' for short. It's a method we Ghosts use when we need to get places fast. It's convenient, if not somewhat tiring.'

Voice then turned to Keith with determined eyes. 'Well, let's get going,' she said. 'Kate can't have gotten too far, so we should be able to find her quickly enough.'

Keith just stood there, still startled by Voice's sudden entrance, and Voice glared at him a bit.

'I didn't come all this way here so you could gape at me like a fish,' she snapped as she floated ahead of him, 'so come on. Let's go save your girlfriend already.'

These words brought Keith crashing back down to Earth as he ran after his Partner in irritation. "She's not my girlfriend!" he corrected testily.

'Oh, my apologies,' Voice said wearily as they walked down the dark alleyway, her glowing red jewels lighting the path. 'She's a girl who you are not dating, but despite this you are madly in love with her and wish beyond anything else that she was your girlfriend. Terribly sorry.'

"I don't wish she was my girlfriend," Keith huffed in protest. "That would be just creepy and forceful. …She can go out with whoever she wants."

'So says Denial Boy,' the Misdreavus muttered.

Keith glowered at her. 'What? Is there something in my head that says otherwise?' he challenged, this time replying through the link. He knew she wouldn't be able to get out of this one, because that was how he really felt. For once, she wasn't going to be able to use his own head against—

'Keith, please wipe that smug smirk off your mind before I do it for you,' Voice interrupted his thoughts. 'And for your information, there is something in your head that says otherwise.'

Keith stared. "What?" he said, aghast. "That's not possible!"

'Being as I'm an outsider, I'm able to judge your mindset with… less of a bias,' his Partner explained. 'That being as it is, I can sense that one tiny part of you that's rebelling against the rest. Would you like to hear about it?'

"No, but I have a feeling you're going to tell me anyway."

'Right you are. You see,' Voice said, and here Keith sensed some actual—if not small—confusion in her thoughts, 'your emotions are doing all they can do in order to convince you that you would be OK with Kate not returning your feelings, and that as long as you're friends, then you're satisfied. However!"

Keith glanced over at her in slight curiosity. "…However?" he asked.

Voice returned the gaze solemnly. '…However, deep inside there's one undeniable truth,' she answered. 'A small light covered up by all the lies. It holds your desire to have Kate as your own, to not tolerate anyone else with affections for her or anyone who tries to take her away. …It holds your true 'thoughts.''

At first, there was no response from Keith. Finally, though, he sighed.

"I can't exactly say you're wrong, as I doubt you'd try to lie to me about what's in my head," he said. "But… but if these 'thoughts' you're talking about were to come true, it wouldn't be fair. Kate deserves to be with whoever she wants to be with. That's all that matters… I don't care about anything else."

Voice looked at him, still not fully convinced. 'Keith…' she tried, but he wouldn't hear it.

"If we split up, we'll find her faster. I'll go look over this way, and you go the other way," he ordered. "If one of us finds her, we'll contact each other. OK?"

Voice just kept on staring at him, but then she nodded reluctantly.

'…As you wish,' she said, floating off into a wall. Keith continued down the path they had been walking, trying not to think of what Voice had said. Of course, though, the words she had spoken eventually wormed their way into his brain.

He knew that what she'd said was probably right, but despite that he refused to accept it. Wanting Kate just for himself would be stupid, selfish, and just plain immature. Keith didn't have the right to wish for something like that. Not when he hadn't even gathered up the courage to tell her how he felt yet. She had the freedom to be with whatever person made her happy.

Even if that person wasn't him.

When this thought struck him, another one hit him at almost the same time. 'Keith!'

Keith stopped in his tracks and blinked. 'Voice? Is that you?'

'No, it's your Lord Arceus,' the familiar English voice said sarcastically. 'Yes, it's me!'

'What's up? Did you find her?' he demanded. He caught a wave of urgency over the mental link.

'More like I found them.' Voice informed. 'There are three people with her. I saw them as soon as I exited that wall. You'd better get here fast; I'm hovering above them all right now. They can't see me.'

Keith took off towards where he felt Voice's presence. Kate had probably run into some sailors around the docks and was asking for directions… But if that was the case, why was he getting so much tension and worrying emotions from Voice? It was almost as if she was worried about him. When he secretly looked in a little deeper as he ran, he realized she was worried about what he was going to do when he found her. …What he was going to do? Lecture her, probably. But that was it. Why was she so worried?

When he turned the last corner, he knew why.

Kate was standing between a wall and three guys who looked about a year older than Keith was. Their hair colors were dark purple, orange, and green. The purple-haired boy seemed to be talking to Kate, and when Keith listened he could catch what he was saying.

"…Come on," the mauve-haired boy pressed, "you said this guy you were with isn't your boyfriend. Why don't you just ditch him and come with us?"

Kate shifted uncomfortably. "I-I'm sorry, but I thought you were taking me to where he was?" she said edgily. "I don't think…"

At that moment, the purple-locked guy put a hand above her head, closing her in. "Come on," he repeated, "just ditch him. You're not his girlfriend or anything."

As soon as those words were out of his mouth, Keith's hands balled up into fists as he felt his blood boil. What right did that guy have to say that? They didn't know Kate like he did. They didn't know how fragile she was. They didn't know how kind she was. They didn't know she was his.

That she was his.

Voice, who was hovering over the scene, immediately knew what Keith was going to say before he did, and screamed mentally, 'Keith, calm—!'

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF MY GIRL!"

As soon as the words had been shouted, Kate and the three boys turned around quickly to see the speaker. Kate, completely shocked by the words, exclaimed, "Keith!" The mauve-haired kid just smirked.

"What, so this is the guy you were talking about?" he laughed, not realizing that Keith was walking towards the group. "He doesn't look so—"

Keith punched him.

The boy reeled backwards, his lackeys quickly coming to his aid. He looked up in a shocked daze, stammering, "Wha… you just… who—?"

"Keith Evans, eleventh Top Ranger," Keith informed in a clipped tone. "I kindly suggest you three get the hell out of here before I arrest you."

The three punks just gaped at him in shock, but then they turned and ran for it, screaming some incoherent nonsense as they went. When they were out of sight, Kate turned to Keith. Her eyes were wide in surprise, most definitely from Keith's choice of words not moments earlier. "Keith…" she stuttered, "you just… called me… what—"

"It was the only way I could get those guys to back off," Keith cut off quickly, lying his ass off in the process. There were a million ways he could have gotten those guys to back off. He just went with the stupidest, most uncool one. Obviously.

Kate stared, but then she smiled weakly and nodded. "Oh… I see," she laughed sheepishly. "I-I'm sorry I—"

Keith grabbed her hand before she could finish, holding it tight as he dragged her off down the alleyway. Kate blinked.

"Keith, what are you doing?" she asked.

"We're going through a crowded part of town once we get out of the harbor, and I really don't feel like losing you again," Keith answered flatly. "Just hang on until we get to where we're going."

Kate didn't say anything for a moment. Soon, though, Keith heard her small voice say happily, "OK, I understand."

Keith didn't answer, but just kept pulling her along.

Meanwhile, the three idiots from before kept on running, but finally they slowed to a stop.

"OK, I—I think that's enough," the purple-haired boy puffed, holding his now slightly swollen face. "I don't think that that guy even followed us…"

'Oh, he didn't. But I did.'

Suddenly, a ghostly wind began to blow around the three. "W-what's that?" the green-haired boy said nervously.

"I don't like the sound of this…" Orange Hair quivered.

Purple Hair just gulped.

Voice, who was now floating above them all, smiled eerily as she looked upon the three. Poor, pitiful fools they were.

'You seem to have made my partner upset,' she thought to herself, 'and unfortunately, I can't let that slide. Besides…'

The sinister grin on her face grew as the wind around the punks picked up.

'Besides… I've been craving some fear to snack on as of late.'

Three high-pitched, terrified screams rang through the air as one bone-chilling laugh rose above them all.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Kate looked up tentatively at the back of Keith's head as he kept dragging her along by the hand. She was pretty sure—no, scratch that, she was positive he hadn't been paying attention to where they were going, and now they were walking along the harbor dock. The sun was setting, and there were no people around save for themselves and the sailors who were far out at sea, their boats visible on the horizon.

Keith stopped when they reached the end of the dock, not letting go of Kate's hand. His eyes were covered slightly by his bangs, but he was looking out at the ocean with a slightly annoyed look in his eyes.

"…U-um…" Kate said carefully. "A-are you alright, Keith?"

Keith didn't answer for a moment, but then he sighed. "Well, I'm mad," he answered simply.

Kate bit her lip as she looked down at her feet in regret. "I-I'm so sorry I got lost!" she stammered apologetically. "I wasn't careful enough; I shouldn't have wandered off like that! I'm so, so sorry!"

Keith scowled. "Don't apologize," he said crossly.

Kate looked back at him in confusion. "…But… you're mad at me, right?" she asked hesitantly.

Keith ran his free hand through his spiky locks in frustration, struggling for words. "No, I'm not mad at you!" he said angrily. "I'm mad at those guys for leading you off. I'm mad at that purple-haired guy for trying to get you to go off with him. I'm mad at Voice for not telling me about those punks earlier so I could have come up with a decent plan—but mostly—but mostly I'm mad at myself!"

Kate stared. "At… yourself?" she asked.

Keith growled. "Yes, myself!" he said, his voice rising slowly to a yell. "Because I didn't keep a close eye on you so you wandered off, because you ended up meeting those three freaks, because you were led off into those alleys so I couldn't find you fast enough, and because you didn't try and shove those guys off of you like any sane person would do!"

Kate was completely lost now. "…Keith," she protested, "all those things were my fault! You should be mad at me!"

"I know that!" he shouted. "But I have to blame myself! I have to blame myself for you wandering off, for you walking away with those guys, for you going away into that shady area on your own because—because—because it's impossible for me to stay mad at you, dammit!"

Kate was shocked. After a few seconds, though, she felt a sudden wave of emotion pass through her, and she stepped forward, letting go of Keith's hand so she could put both her tiny palms on Keith's chest, laying her forehead between them. A short silence passed before she finally spoke.

"I can't believe you think I'm too nice for my own good," she murmured, eyes tearing up slightly, "when you're the one going on about how you can't be mad at me for something I did."

Keith stayed frozen for a moment, taken aback by the sudden gesture, but then he wrapped his arms around her tiny frame.

"You're wrong," he muttered. "You're the person who's too nice for her own damn good. You're willing to help anyone, any time, any place. Me… the only person I'd be willing to help out so readily is you."

Kate half-closed her eyes as she felt small teardrops fall down her cheeks. As if in response to this, she felt Keith's grip around her tighten.

"Wow," Keith joked with a small laugh, "we seem to be doing a lot of this lately, huh? Hugging, I mean."

Kate blinked, but then she felt a small giggle escape her throat. "Yeah, I guess," she whispered back.

A few seconds passed, but then she felt one of Keith's arms move from around her to his jacket pocket. She felt whatever he had pulled out rustle for a moment, and then she heard Keith say, "Close your eyes and move back for a minute."

Kate followed the command, and suddenly she felt something wrap around her neck. Soon after this, Keith said, "OK, open them."

Kate opened her eyes, and then looked down to see what he had put around her neck. She gasped at what she saw.

It was a necklace; an oval shaped one with a pale blue jewel and smaller white ones surrounding it. It was hung on a silver chain. It sparkled and shone in the light from the sunset, reflecting what it faced in a clear light.

"Oh, my—how did you—Arceus—this must have cost—" she stammered, not knowing where to start. Keith answered her questions before she even got them out.

"I got it at the market for under forty bucks," he said quickly. "So price wasn't a problem. Rhythmi helped, but I made the final decision. She got you another necklace, but she has it back at the Union. This is a birthday present from me."

Kate gaped at him a little longer, but then she smiled widely.

"T-thank you," she laughed, her hands over the necklace. "I love it! Thank you so much!"

Keith nodded. "No problem," he assured. He suddenly became very quiet, as if he was thinking of something. Finally, though, he put his hands on Kate's shoulders and leaned forward slightly. Kate's eyes widened as he kissed her on the forehead.

She immediately froze, unmoving, as she felt heat rush to her face. The spot where Keith's lips were suddenly seemed very aware, as if the nerves in that area were the only ones in her body that were working at that moment. Kate was slightly nervous, and yet… and yet she was incredibly relaxed at the same time. The feeling of Keith's lips pressed against her forehead was somehow comfortable… and nostalgic.

Almost as if she'd felt this same sensation before.

When Keith finally pulled away, he stepped backwards uneasily and coughed. "H… happy birthday," he mumbled.

Kate, seeing as almost all neural function had ceased by now, simply replied, "Y-yeah."

Keith turned away, his back now facing her, and said loudly, "L-let's go home! The sun will be all the way down soon, and Rhythmi will make a fuss if you're not home in time to see her present."

"Y-yeah."

He started walking, and Kate simply watched him, her face a pure scarlet red by now. Slowly, she touched the spot where he'd kissed her with one hand, but then shook off the feeling and covered the area with her bangs again.

Keith, who was already far ahead of her, looked back at her curiously. "Hey!" he called. "What're you spacing out for? Let's go already!"

Kate jumped slightly and ran after him. "Y-yeah, I'm coming!"

When she had caught up to him, their paces slowed to a walk. Kate glanced over at Keith tentatively. He was looking straight ahead, not realizing she was looking at him.

Kate turned her gaze back to in front of her and smiled gently. "Keith?" she said.

"Yeah?" Keith asked, still not looking at her.

"…Thanks. I have to say, this was my most exciting birthday yet," she said happily.

At this, Keith finally looked over at her, raising an eyebrow.

"You delivered papers, got chocolate on your face repeatedly and nearly got kidnapped by gangsters…" he mused. Then he grinned back at her. "Yeah, I'd say that was a pretty exciting birthday."

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The next day, all the Top Rangers and Top Operators were called into the meeting room by Chairperson Erma and Professor Hastings.

Kate, Keith and Rhythmi stood next to each other, curious about what was going to be discussed. "It's probably about Team Dim Sun," Rhythmi insisted, "that's all Chairperson Erma is concerned about right now."

"I think it's about the contents of that diary that was found," Kate protested. "That book could be a huge clue to what's going on!"

Keith scoffed, which in turn prompted the two girls to look at him. He smirked at them. "Obviously this meeting is about that Brighton guy," he stated. "He's the writer of the diary and former owner of the mines where the Dim Sun goons were digging, which automatically trounces both of your theories."

Rhythmi blinked at him. "How did you know he was the former president of Altru Oil Companies?" she demanded.

"Keith and I went to Altru Inc. the other day to deliver some papers for Misha," Kate informed. "Momo told us about him."

Rhythmi's eyes widened. "You went to Altru?" she said in surprise. "Oh, did you see—"

The Top Operator stopped herself quickly, though, her mouth snapping shut immediately. Kate stared.

"…Did we see… who?" she inquired. Rhythmi's face was tinted a slight red as she twirled one of her spiraling blonde locks around a finger.

"N-no one," she mumbled, then repeated more clearly, "no one! I must be losing or something, saying random things like that! Ahahahaha—AH!"

Rhythmi yelped as Keith threw a playful arm around her shoulders. "Ooh, I know who you were going to ask about!" he cackled.

"Who?" Kate asked. Keith grinned evilly as he removed his arm from Rhythmi to pace thoughtfully.

"It's elementary, my dear Katherine," he said in a mock English accent (that Voice would likely have cringed at). "Who else at Altru Incorporated would Rhythmi possibly wonder about?"

"Keith," Rhythmi growled quietly, but Keith ignored her as he obviously wasn't concerned for his own safety.

Kate was still confused. "Wait, so who is it?" she asked again. "Tell me!"

"Three hints," Keith said as he held up three fingers. "One: he's a know-it-all braniac. Two: he's got a dorky mushroom-impersonating haircut. Three: Rhythmi has a huge crush on—"

"KEITH!" Rhythmi shrieked, whacking the boy over the head before he could finish. Unfortunately, though, Kate had already caught on.

"I know, I know!" she piped up cheerfully. "It's Isaac!"

"Correct—OW!" Keith screamed into the floor as Rhythmi aimed a kick at his head. The redhead snarled at her as he stood up shakily "Watch it! Those high-heels you wear really hurt, you know!"

Rhythmi was extremely red by now, glaring at both the Top Rangers. "I do not like that smarty-pants geek!" she yelled in embarrassment. Once she was finished shouting, though, she looked down at her feet and mumbled, "…But did you see him?"

Keith grinned in triumph, and Kate answered, "No, we didn't. We asked Momo, though…

"What? Isaac?" the purple-eyed secretary had said as Kate and Keith were leaving Altru. "He's away on business."

Kate had stared. "What kind of business?" she asked. Momo shrugged.

"I honestly don't know," she answered.

Keith's eyes narrowed. "But you're chief secretary, right?" he protested. "Isn't it your job to know this kind of stuff?"

Momo glowered at him. "I don't know everything, you know," she retorted bitterly. "This is apparently a top-secret operation. Only the people who are way, way high up in the ranks know about it… That's all I can really tell you."

Rhythmi nodded. "…So that's it…" she murmured. The Top Rangers looked at her with leers full of taunts and remarks, but she beat them to the punch, screaming again, "I DON'T LIKE HIM!"

Kate and Keith looked as if they were going to argue the matter further, but at that moment Chairperson Erma walked into the room, followed closely by Professor Hastings and some regular Union Rangers who were rolling along a cart with an object on top of it, but whatever this was no one could tell, as a sheet had been put over it. With the group also was Nage who (for once) did not have Misha clinging onto his arm happily. As if to complement this, he looked a little more morose than usual, but he seemed to brighten up when he entered the room.

Once the group was at the head of the room, Chairperson Erma cleared her throat importantly. "Now then, I assume you all know what I called you here for," she said. "We are here to inform you of the contents of the diary Miss Solana Young and Mr. Lunick Clark found at the old headquarters of Altru Oil Companies."

Keith and Rhythmi ignored Kate's little murmur of "Told you so."

"Thanks to the hard work of our valued scientist, Mr. Nage, most of the contents of the diary, although badly burned, managed to be deciphered," Erma continued. "Nage will now speak, so listen up!"

Nage stepped forward holding a simple yellow folder in his hands. "Thank you, Chairperson Erma," he said, opening the folder. He cleared his throat, and then he started.

"From what our forensics analysis team has managed to figure out so far, this diary dates back to about thirty years ago," he said. "Apparently, the oil in the Chroma Highlands was running out, and Brighton was in a state of panic and depression over this. It was around this time, though, that he made a discovery."

Nage paused there for a moment, waiting, but Keith broke the silence and said loudly, "Well? What was the discovery?"

"Mr. Evans!" Erma shouted irritably. "Please show some respect! I'm sure Mr. Nage has a perfectly good reason for stopping there…"

"Actually, Chairperson, I didn't," Nage said evenly. "I just wanted to pause for effect. You know, like in the movies."

…Silence.

"…Please, Mr. Nage, just go on," Erma finally sighed wearily. Nage nodded and continued.

"While drilling for oil one day, his workers came across a huge black jewel mounted upon a ceremonial dais," he said. "I believe that this is what Sven calls 'the Shadow Crystal. Anyways, Brighton wrote that something in his heart 'responded' to the Shadow Crystal. He was confident that the masses of energy that could be derived from the jewel had the ability to solve Almia's energy crisis."

Nage closed the folder and looked up, adjusting his glasses. "…That's all we have for now," he finished. "Any questions?"

Wendy spoke up. "Yes, I have a question," she said. "Is the current President of Altru Inc.—President Blake, that is—mentioned at all in the diary?"

Nage fidgeted a bit with the pencil behind his ear. "Well, yes, he's mentioned in passing," he said slowly, "but from what we managed to figure out, Brighton left most of his son's care to his wife. He only seemed to be concerned about the Shadow Crystal.

Kate and Keith didn't miss the scowl that found its way to Rhythmi's features.

Nage pulled off the cloth of the object that was on the cart, revealing a glass container with a particularly large Dark Shard inside of it.

"Along with the huge Shadow Crystal that was taken, the mines were filled with Dark Shards," Nage informed. "That's where the Gigaremos and Miniremos that Dim Sun uses get their power from. We've sealed off the mines from civilians so that they can't take any more, but the mines are practically wiped out of the Dark Shards by now, and on top of that the Shadow Crystal's gone, taken by Dim Sun."

At this, Sven decided to speak. "So, what's our course of action?" he asked.

"Well, from what we figure we have two options," Nage said grudgingly. "One; find the supply of Dark Shards and the Shadow Crystal and destroy them… or find some way to fight against their dark power."

Ripples of discussion broke out through the crowd, hushed murmurs of individual opinion. Through all this, Murph, the stocky and yet happy-go-lucky helper at the Union, walked up to the head of the room and looked at the Dark Shard.

"So, this thing can really control Pokémon?" he asked, stepping closer. "It's a little hard to believe that something this tiny could—AAAH!"

As soon as Murph had gotten closer to the pendant, he'd started glowing blue.

Everybody freaked out, including him. "MR. MURPH!" Erma boomed. "What—what is the meaning of—outrageous—why on Earth are you—"

Murph fumbled with his jacket zipper for a moment before finally opening it, revealing a pendant colored a deep blue, similar to the ocean or Rhythmi's eyes. It was glowing violently. "M-my pendant…" Murph spluttered.

Hastings suddenly noticed something on the container holding the Dark Shard. "Look!" he exclaimed. "The meter! The one that monitors the Dark Shard's power… I-it's going down!"

"MR. MURPH!" Erma yelled loudly. "What is that pendant and where did you get it?"

"I-i-it was a present from my dad!" Murph whimpered, obviously intimidated by the Chairperson. "He lives in Hia Valley! The p-pendant's made from one of these stones called 'Tears of Princes', a-and—"

"MS. LOVETT! MR. EVANS!" Erma bellowed. Kate and Keith quickly ran up.

"Yes, Chairperson Erma?" they said, slightly out of breath from all the chaos that had just occurred. Erma glowered at them.

"You are to go to Hia Valley," she ordered. "Immediately! You two are going to investigate this stone!"