"Come on, Aria! We're going to be late!" Šárka cried from the other side of her teammate's bathroom door.
The ivory door suddenly flew open. With a scream, Aria angrily threw what appeared to be a misshapen, stretched out wire hanger outside the bathroom. It hit the heliotrope colored carpet floor with a faint tinny clank as it spattered specks of contaminated water on the floor near the top of the stairs. For the past twenty minutes, Aria had twisted, manipulated, and maneuvered the clothe hanger in a myriad of different shapes trying to hook her silver ring and pull it out of the unflushed toilet bowl. Her futile efforts had only frustrated and nauseated her more. In the end, the clothe hanger only wasted Aria's time, making her later than she already was. Her friend Šárka had been there the entire time waiting for her and she knew the younger ranger wasn't happy about that.
Since her days of training Šárka as a ranger, the two of them developed a very close bond. Aria was never close with any of the other rangers, especially Serena and Leilani. Her one-time friendship with Jenna didn't last very long, with Jenna complaining that she was mean after working on two missions together with her. Aria didn't really care; the girl was too weak for her anyway. Aria didn't enjoy being a pariah, especially since her line of work called for her to be social, interactive, and even cordial with the other rangers. But she had learned to live with the fact that her fellow student rangers didn't consider her personable and didn't want to be around her. Mostly, she felt because they didn't understand her. Even though she felt a sort of emptiness from the lack of companionship, Aria grew accustomed, and to a certain degree, liked being by her lonesome. It wasn't until Šárka signed up to be a ranger and Aria became her mentor that she began to understand just what exactly it meant to have a friend, or at the very least, a companion. Šárka was just as snappy, outspoken, and just as much of a spitfire as Aria was, and yet, they still clicked. Aria could vent to her about anything and everything and Šárka would justify her rants before going on about her own. In fact, Šárka was like Aria in almost every way, except she wasn't labeled as a bitch like she was. But it was through Šárka that she understood what a friend was. And Aria was glad to finally have someone as an ally instead of enemy.
Way off down the hall, the wall clock chimed. It was eight o' clock. She wasn't even dressed yet and she was already running late for work, not to mention the twenty minute walk it would take to get from her house to the Fall City Ranger Base.
Šárka stepped inside the frame of the bathroom door and crossed her arms.
"You're going to have to put your hand inside if you want to get that ring back." She said flatly.
Aria gagged.
"No, way! I am not putting my hand in that murky water."
"You shouldn't have left the ring so close to the toilet in the first place. Let's just go already. We're already late for our morning report. Joel is gonna be on our asses."
"I'm not leaving without it!" Aria snapped back. Closing her eyes, Aria eased her hand haltingly but gingerly in the toilet bowl before quickly lifting it back up.
"Just do it!" Šárka yelled.
Sighing heavily, Aria once again lowered her hand in the toilet bowl. But once her yellow rubber gloves touched the cool water she immediately yanked her hand back out and threw off the gloves.
"Eww! Eww! Yuck! Disgusting! Eww!" she cried, hysterically.
Rolling her eyes, Šárka walked inside the bathroom.
"Tangie. Lilly. Come here, please."
Two grass-type pokémon quickly appeared at the bathroom doorway. One was a very large pokémon encompassed completely in blue vines. The other was smaller in size and more elegant looking, donning a red flower on its head with golden filaments resembling a crown.
"Tangie, can you come over here? Aria needs your help. Lilly, sweetie, you can just stay there and look pretty."
The flowering pokémon known as Lilligant nodded and stayed waiting in the doorframe while the pokémon filled with plant vines stepped inside and walked into the bathroom near Šárka.
"Be a dear, Tangie and use your Power Whip to get that dingy ring out of the toilet for Aria, please?"
The Tangrowth nodded its head in obedience as its arms and a couple of the blue vines that made up its body suddenly glowed purple. The Vine pokémon then dipped one vine into the toilet filled with Aria's waste and easily pulled out a silver ring, dripping with unclean toilet water.
"EWW! EWWWW!" Aria shrieked.
Šárka opened Aria's vanity doors and pulled out a small plastic tub and a bottle of disinfectant. She bitterly poured the strongly pine scented green liquid into the pink tub and filled it with the disinfectant. Her Tangrowth then immediately dropped the stained ring into the tub without hesitation.
"You're welcome," Šárka said irritably as she took out a scalpel out of her pack and started to cut off the part of her Tangrowth's vine that had been in the toilet filled with Aria's egesta.
Aria still wore a face of disgust as she got off of the floor, flushed the toilet, and went to wash her hands.
"That was so disgusting! I can't believe you made your pokémon do that."
"Well, we weren't getting anywhere with you freaking out about it and we're already late for work as it is. Tangie couldn't care less what her vines touch so long as she gets the job done."
Aria went to dry her hands as she watched Šárka cut off Tangrowth's vine with a lancet and the tainted vine fall to the floor.
Aria cringed.
"How could you do that?! You're cutting off a piece of your pokémon!"
"Does Tangrowth look like she's in pain to you?" Šárka asked irritably as she dropped the broken vine into the trash with a latex glove before taking off the glove and disposing of it herself.
The Tangrowth seemed unfazed by the vine being cut and tucked the rest of its vines away.
"Tangie's vines are an extension of her body. Of course she wouldn't feel any pain. And the vines will quickly grow back anyway. She is made up of vines but cutting one off is like cutting a fingernail. Maybe other pokémon who are not enclosed in an overgrowth of creeping plant vines would feel pain. But again, that's because Tangie has no nerves in her vines as other pokémon do."
Šárka then went to go wash her hands as Aria stepped outside to get dressed and put on her ranger uniform.
"I don't even know why we had to go through all this trouble of getting that cheap ring. You should've just flushed it down the toilet with the other waste."
Aria slipped on her brown work glovelettes.
"Murph gave me that ring. He'd be really upset if I just disposed of it."
Šárka snorted as she stepped outside the bathroom. "Yeah, the cheap ring with an imitation gem on it. You said it yourself you hated the fact that he got you something that can be categorized as costume jewelry, with its fake silver and embarrassing Cubic Zirconia gemstone."
Aria put on her stylish brown belt. "It is a cheap disgusting ring and I hate it. But he bought it for me and it's the only time anyone's given me anything."
Šárka sarcastically replied, "Aww. So because you never felt affection from anyone before, you're cherishing the one gift anyone's ever gotten you. And that's why it's a keepsake. How sentimental and sweet."
"Shut it, Šárka! Don't turn this into a pity, sappy thing about me! Lardo gave it to me and had the word "love" engraved in it. I'm trying to spare his feelings by not just dumping the damn thing into the trash with the other garbage!"
Šárka folded her arms again with a small grin.
"Now that's the Aria I know. Snippy. But seriously, calling Murph lardo? Isn't that a bit harsh?"
Aria picked up her styler and put it on its holder in her shoulder strap pocket. It was so rustic to keep her styler at her waist like the other rangers did. "I call him what he is. It's not my fault he's a dolt without a brain who guzzles down everything known to man to be edible. I didn't make him that way."
Šárka raised her eyebrow at Aria and paused before answering.
"…You're not a bitch, Aria."
She angrily spun around to face her. "I know that!"
"So why are you trying so hard to be one?" Šárka said as she grabbed her pack. "You don't gotta be so viciously nasty. The guy got you a ring because he loves you, and however tacky that ring may be, it must mean something to you because you wanna keep it. Yet you still call him disparaging names…even to his face."
Aria gawked at her.
"What's with this whole one-eighty, Šárka? You agreed that the ring was trash and should have been thrown away. Now you saying it's valuable?"
The younger teen shook her head.
"No. It is a piece of trash crap ring. But you still want to keep it, even wanting to get it out of a toilet. A toilet, Aria! That must mean that even if you don't care for the ring, you care about Murph. Yet, you constantly insult him. That makes no sense. It's almost like you don't care about him at all, which I don't believe is true."
Aria was thoroughly annoyed at this point.
"You're the one not making sense, Šárka. I can't believe you're turning on me like this. The only reason I wanted to get the damn ring back was because I didn't want to hear Wailord's maudlin cries when he found out it was gone." She said as she started packing her bag.
"Do you love him?" Šárka asked point-blank.
Aria paused.
"Why would you even ask me that?!" she asked bitterly without turning around.
"The fact that you're not giving me an immediate straightforward answer tells me that you don't. Or that you don't even know. And it makes it seem like you're only using Murph because he's showing you affection. That makes you appear even bitchier. But you're not a bitch, are you?"
Aria was completely enraged at this point and angrily approached Šárka.
"How dare you?! Trying to psychoanalyze me like your shrink mother as if I have Munchausen syndrome or HPD or some other attention-seeking disorder! Sorry, Dr. Yamamoto, if my behavior bothers you. Stay out of my business!"
That hit a nerve with Šárka.
"I am not my mother. It doesn't take a genius to know that you're using that boy for your own insatiable thirst for affection. You obviously don't care about him or his dingy, stupid excuse for a ring but you still want to be with him because he worships the ground you walk on. If you loved him, or even cared about him, you wouldn't call him lardo or fatso or Wailord. Yeah, the boy could stand to lose a few pounds but attacking him with those words…That's emotional abuse. And you know what? I don't think you're that heartless of a person. I think you want the attention Murph gives you and that you do care for him at least on some level. Otherwise, why are you even in a relationship at all?"
Aria felt like punching her 'friend' in the mouth.
"Šárka, stop it." She said through grit teeth
"I'm just saying what it looks like from the outside. It looks like you're using him. Or that you don't care about him. And others not knowing why makes you look like a mean person. A callous bitch. And I know you're not a mean person or a bitch. I know you."
Aria exhaled in annoyance.
"You're starting to sound like Leilani. I am not abusing, Murph! Okay? Whatever I do or say, he tolerates it. He's never spoken to me against it. He's never approached me about it. Anything 'negative' that I say is completely justified and a direct result of his incompetence, stupidity, and downright laziness. And everything I say is completely factual!"
"Just because he tolerates it doesn't make it right." Šárka countered. "And just because you believe the things you say to be true doesn't mean they actually are."
"Say one more thing, Šárka." Aria threatened. "Say one more thing…Stay out of my business!"
The younger ranger scoffed and started walking to the stairs and down towards Aria's front door.
"Whatever, Aria. Let's just get to the base, okay? We're already in for an earful because we're so late."
With a huff, Aria clipped her pack on her hip and called for her pokémon.
"Meowphy, darling. It's time to go." She said as she picked up a carrier bag and swung it over her right shoulder.
A cream-colored feline pokémon with long whiskers and a golden coin on its head came skipping out of Aria's bedroom. There was a big, bright, luscious lavender blush colored bow tied around her neck and puffed out in the back. She nimbly jumped inside Aria's pet purse carrier. She petted the cat pokémon gently on her head before heading downstairs to join Šárka. She was standing by Aria's front door with her Tangrowth and Lilligant.
"You know we're not allowed to have two Partner Pokémon." Aria said haughtily as she met her at the door.
Šárka lovingly petted her Tangrowth and Lilligant.
"It isn't my fault I've bonded with two just fantastic beauties." Šárka cooed as she fawned over her pokémon.
"I don't know if I can keep your secret any longer, Šárka," Aria said scornfully, "Union regulations clearly state that a pokémon ranger can only choose one pokémon as their partner. Regardless of how close you may feel to other pokémon, you can't keep them and you have to release them back into the wild. A ranger could get in serious trouble for this."
"You're lecturing me about following Union rules? Miss Brawl Instigator?" Šárka retaliated sarcastically, irritating Aria once more.
Šárka then stopped petting her pokémon and turned to face Aria.
"Look, I had Tangie and Lilly when I signed up to be a ranger. They were both my pokémon. I may have chosen Lilly to be my official 'Partner Pokémon'," she said using air quotes as Aria had before, "but Tangie is just as important and my partner all the same. Besides, if anyone questions me about it, which they won't, I'll just say that Tangie is my pet. No rules against having a pet, right? I would love to have signed up Tangie but her size makes travel so difficult, especially in cases of emergencies. My Tangie's not the fastest pokémon but she sure is strong. It's such a shame she has to stay at my house all day."
Aria exhaled tiredly.
"Come on. We better head out and get the chastising over with. Joel really will have our asses if we don't report and have a good reason why."
Šárka opened the front door. "Don't worry. I'll have Lilly use Aromatherapy to mellow out the situation…or rather mellow out our Leader, Joel. Tangie, sweetheart, you can go back home now. I'll see you when I return. You were a big help this morning. Thank you, sweetums."
The large pokémon entangled in blue vines gave a small cry, enveloped her ranger in a large nearly bone-crushing hug, and then slowly started walking down the path and making her way to Šárka's house.
Šárka looked down at her more graceful plant-like pokémon.
"You ready to go, Lilly?"
The Flowering Pokémon cried sweetly and nodded.
"Okay then." Šárka glanced back at Aria before walking down the steps of her front door. "Let's go flat butt. We're late enough as it is."
Aria grimaced. She hated when Šárka called her that. It was one of the cocky nicknames they would call each other from time to time. But Aria still hated her calling her butt flat. They had such a love-hate relationship at times.
Aria touched her behind lightly. Then she glanced upstairs to where the tub filled with disinfectant containing the bogus ring Murph bought for her rested in the bathroom, before finally walking outside her house and locking the door behind her.
Murph was nervous. No. Not Nervous. He was completely panic-stricken! He felt as though he was going to faint at any moment!
No. He couldn't faint! He had to man-up and do this mission! This very trying, intimidating, petrifying mission! He couldn't fail! He just couldn't! He had never been successful at this kind of mission before or any mission, for that matter. But if this mission wasn't handled right, it could spell disaster!
Murph could feel his fellow Ringtown Rangers watching him. He just had to be successful at this! He just had to!
With his quivering lip and shaking hands, Murph readied his styler. A bead of sweat fell from his forehead as he tried to concentrate.
"You can do this, Murph!" he heard Solana cry.
"Yeah, you can do this! Don't worry about it!" Lunick followed.
"Don't worry? Don't worry?! OF COURSE HE SHOULD WORRY!" a tall blonde-haired man with a goatee bellowed from the side. "Failure is not an option here! He should be worried! Very worried! Oh, trouble! Trouble! It's a crisis!"
Murph gulped.
"C-C-Capture On!" he stuttered.
His knees buckling, he unsteadily released a blue capture disc from his styler. It flew passed the target pokémon he was trying so desperately to rescue.
"Be careful, you!" That same man angrily roared. He made a fist threateningly. "If you injury my precious pokémon, so help me!…Get my precious pokémon back to me, right now!"
"Geez, take it easy, will yah?" Lunick said chidingly to the older man.
"You got this, Murph!" Solana encouraged. "Bring the capture disc back! Control it with your stylus!"
Plusle and Minun both cried out to their humans' friend as they did a heartened cheer.
Murph swallowed hard. If he didn't do this and do this right, he was going to be in big trouble!
Nervously, he extended the rod on his styler and timidly began maneuvering his hand to control the released capture disc. But it was already too far gone for him to use.
"Try again!" his friends encouraged in unison.
Nervously again, Murph released a capture disc, this time a green one, from his styler. As the floating disc passed by the tempered pokémon this time, Murph quickly wrung his hand back, bringing the spinning capturing tool back around the pokémon. He clumsily but effectively began circling rings of friendship energy around the highly agitated pokémon. After a few more tense seconds, the capture line loops illuminated brighter and closed in on the pokémon, leaving a few yellow sparkles decorating the surrounding air afterwards.
Breathing heavily, Murph hesitantly looked down at his capture styler. A white circle was blinking on its screen.
Murph drew in his breath.
"I did it…" he muttered. "I did it!"
"Yeah, way to go, Murph!" Lunick hollered as he cupped his hands around his mouth and then pumped his fist in the air.
"I knew you could do it!" Solana praised on as well.
Plusle and Minun hopped around joyously at his success while his Partner Pokémon Slowking just nodded with a smile.
Murph began jumping up and down.
"I did it! I actually did it! I captured Larry's Swellow! I finally did it!" Murph cried ecstatically.
The distressed Larry quickly rushed passed Murph, inadvertently knocking him down on the ground.
"Oh Swellow! Swellow, my darling!" Larry cried as he ran with open arms.
The normal/flying type pokémon chirped happily as it did an aerial loop before flying straight to Larry, who enveloped it in an immense hug.
"Oh, Oh! My darling, Swellow! I finally have you back in my arms! Oh, I don't know what I would do without you! My sweet, sweet powerful, classy Swellow!"
"Swellow! Swellow Swell!" it cried cheerily.
Solana and Lunick both ran to Murph's side. Solana helped him to sit up.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, yeah…I'm fine," he said merrily.
Lunick crossed his arms.
"You know. I think a thank you is in order here, Larry." Lunick goaded.
Larry turned his head slightly to face the three Ringtown student rangers.
"Thank him? After he almost smacked my precious Swellow with that capture disc you folks use?!"
"Well, if you didn't upset Swellow in the first place, Murph wouldn't have had to capture it for you!" Lunick countered.
"My precious darling did not run away from me! It got lost while we were taking our afternoon walk."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Lunick said nonchalantly, "The amount of times your Swellow 'gets lost' is like a million. You ever think maybe it just wanted to spend some time by itself?"
Larry was greatly offended.
"How dare you say such a thing?! My darling Swellow would never want to leave my side!"
Lunick sighed in annoyance.
"The point is you should be thanking Murph for bringing Swellow back to you."
Larry turned his head with a "Humph!"
"Maybe if one of you more qualified rangers took on my request but you treated this like it's a joke. Well, I don't think it's funny! But I suppose he tried his best. And my dear pokémon and I are reunited once again! Let us go now, Swellow darling. I'm sure after all that stress you endured what you need is a nice relaxing soak in the hot springs sand."
And with that, Larry indignantly walked away from the three teens into Lyra Forest.
"I suppose that was a 'thank you'," Solana said, unsure.
"Yeah right," Lunick huffed, "You know, I'm starting to think Swellow really is purposefully running away from Larry."
"Be nice, Lunick," Solana playfully warned. "It's like Larry's daughter says, 'Not a day goes by without him raising a big commotion about how his beloved pokémon ran away'. Larry's histrionic. He can't help it. It's his personality trait, not a personality flaw that he can instantly overcome, and his eccentricity is something he has to work on tethering under control."
"Yeah, well, I still say he could've been a bit more appreciative, not to mention considerate," he replied as he helped Murph up to his feet. "That was a great capture, Murph. Don't even sweat about Larry. It's a Mission Clear!"
Murph smiled weakly at his friend's kudos to him, but he couldn't hide the disappointment that read in his eyes, which Solana picked up on.
"What's wrong, Murph? I thought you were happy about taming Larry's Swellow as a mission?"
Murph nervously started rubbing the back of his neck.
"No…I mean…I am happy I was able to get Swellow back to Larry. It's something big for me, you know, because I mostly stay at the base checking inventory or changing light bulbs. Getting an actual field mission was great and all…It's just…"
"What is it, Murph?" Lunick asked, also a little concerned about his friend's demeanor.
"Well…It's just…This wasn't even a real mission at all! It was just a 'patrol the city and help the citizens' sort of thing. And then there's the fact that capturing Larry's Swellow isn't even in its own right a difficult enough feat to be called a mission. Solana, you captured Larry's Swellow back when you were still just a rookie and it was a Taillow. Lunick, you captured Larry's Taillow when you were just a Rank 1 Ranger. Now you're both Top Rangers, graduating to Ace Rangers next year along with all the other rangers from our class, and I'm still here doing mediocre jobs and frivolous requests and I'm still just teetering at Rank 5. In all the time I've been working as a Ranger, I've only just barely moved up half my ranks. That's still like a novice level. I should be at the senior level at least! You guys are! You two are paramount, even above that! You can even be considered Elite rangers without graduating to Ace! Everything I do is just frivolous and without true meaning; there's always someone who can do it better. I'm not doing anything but menial work. So…I just…I just don't know what I'm doing!"
Solana and Lunick both cringed and shared a glance as they looked at their distraught friend.
"Murph," Solana began calmly. "You can't compare yourself to me and Lunick. That isn't fair to you. Yes, Lunick and I have been out in the field doing missions more than you have and yes, that's why our ranks are higher. But that doesn't mean that everything you do is for not or has no purpose at all?"
"Yeah, bud," Lunick agreed, "Don't discredit what you do. Checking the Union shipments and changing the light bulbs in the base are really important. The whole base would be out of whack if we didn't have you to spruce things up and make us laugh with your jokes from time to time. And it is never menial to help the citizens of Fiore, even Larry. Don't undermine your confidence in what you do, Murph. You are an important, integral part, not to mention a phenomenal asset to this team and things just wouldn't be the same without you."
Murph sobered up and lightly chuckled.
"Sniff…Wow…Thanks guys…Really…And I know you're being nice and all, but…I'm just not cut out to be a real ranger."
"You are a real ranger," Solana said definitively. "You wear the uniform, you help the citizens of Fiore, you help solve the ecological issues we have in this region and you help to bring justice to those wronged. You make this world a better place. It sounds cliché and corny but it's true. Maybe you're not meant to be a field ranger. But you are definitely essential in the Pokémon Ranger profession, whatever it may be. And you will be right there graduating with us and the rest of our class next year."
Murph's smile widened.
"Aw…Thanks, Solana. You guys really are the best."
Lunick and Solana both smiled as their friend started to regain his joyful spirit and blithesome nature.
Lunick patted his friend on the back. "I say we all need to celebrate. Murph man, how 'bout we go down to Trainer Dee's and get you some yummy corndogs and curly fries?"
"Mai Mai!" The electric minus pokémon cheered.
Again Murph chuckled.
"That sounds great, Lunick. But Aria says I should cut down on the fats."
"Well, you should be allowed to spoil yourself. You just cleared a mission. But I guess we don't have to go to Trainer Dee's. How about we –"
Before Lunick could finish his suggestion, his styler began ringing. He took it out of its holder and answered.
"This is Lunick."
"Lunick, we need you down here on East Road! A herd of Donphan are in heat and all the male Donphan are performing their Roll Out Dance of love to court the females in the Krokka Tunnel! But their mating ritual is causing a ruckus within the cave! They are causing rockfalls which is extremely dangerous to anyone who is traveling inside the Krokka Tunnel as well as the other pokémon who reside in there! We need you here immediately to help defuse the situation!"
"Copy that, Lind. I'm on my way."
Lunick put his styler back on its holder.
"Murph man, I promise we'll celebrate your Mission Clear as soon as we can."
Murph shook his head.
"No, it's okay. Don't worry about it. I didn't think it was such a big deal anyway. And I gotta get back to the base…I have to check inventory again…"
Lunick slowly opened his mouth to say something, only he didn't know what to say.
"…Um…Well…You take care of that, Murph. And when you're done, we'll talk." He then turned to face Solana. "And, Babe, I promise I'll be done with this mission in time for our date tonight. Don't you worry about a thing. I can handle this. Come on, Minun!"
The little mouse pokémon nodded firmly.
Lunick gave Solana a quick peck on her cheek.
"I promise, Solana! I'll be back before you know it. Meet me at the fountain in Fall City at eight," he yelled back as he and Minun sprinted of into the Lyra Forest.
Solana smiled softly.
"You guys going out again?" Murph asked.
Solana hugged herself. "We, uh, didn't get a chance to yesterday. We're going out to dinner to celebrate the commitment Lunick and I made for one another. Then we're going dancing. Not something I'd like to do but Lunick insists."
Murph nodded in understanding.
"Sounds nice. I've been wanting to take Aria out but she never wants to go. The things she wants to do are a little expensive for me to come up with, so we just end up going home and not going out at all."
"That's so sad, Murph. You guys don't even spend time by each other?"
"Aria's always on missions or something. And Aria still has this thing about me coming over to her house. I don't know why we don't do things together? I try my best to make time for it, but it never works out. I respect Aria's privacy and work life anyway."
Solana lips curved downward. She didn't believe for one second that Aria couldn't make the time to spend with her boyfriend. She was just giving excuses for why she wouldn't go out why him. Leilani was right. Aria didn't care about Murph at all.
Murph sighed.
"I've gotta get back to the base before Leader ends up calling me. You, uh…wanna come back with me?"
This time Solana smiled weakly.
"Sure, Murph. I'll walk with you there and help keep you company for a little while before I go back home to get ready."
Murph broke out into a wide smile and his cheery demeanor returned once more.
"Thanks, Solana."
"Of course, Murph."
Solana looked at herself in her full-length mirror. She smoothed out her sheath dress as she continued to check herself in the mirror. The little black formfitting dress was a Charmeuse, off-the shoulder minidress, with a crossover twist bodice that raised her bust line, and a skater skirt bottom that gave the flowing effects synonymous to the skirts of figure skaters. The hemline was halfway up her thigh and the clinginess accentuated her natural figure. It was quite the elegant dress. Much more elegant than her other little black dress, which was still clingy but had less of a sensual appeal. This dress, despite the flattering skater skirt, looked more formal, as if she were going to a highly publicized event. It definitely ate a huge chunk of her bank account and it really wasn't her usual style of dress, showing off more flesh and cleavage than she was used to. But she wanted to wear something a little more alluring for her date with Lunick.
Just like they didn't have much free time because of their career as friends, so was the same now that they were dating (the hip, accepted term was dating, though going steady would have been closer to the actual description of their relationship, but they would never be caught dead using it!). They could be called on a mission at any time, which was inconvenient and a little disheartening even, as Solana wanted to spend as much time with Lunick as she possibly could. Days like the one they had yesterday were rare, but Lunick always somehow found a way to make it work. They had a change of shift in the evening tonight, so Lunick had been planning this date for a while, knowing the schedule ahead of time. And considering the special gift he had given to her two days ago and his convictional speech, Solana wanted to make the most of tonight and show Lunick just how devoted she was to him.
Outwardly calm, but with Beautifly tearing up her insides like a school of Basculin, she walked away from the mirror and sat down at her dresser to begin applying her makeup. As she began applying her shimmering fuchsia pink lip gloss, her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a light blue blur. As Solana looked away from her dresser mirror, she immediately recognized the glittering blue shopping bag from Vixen's Confession that Leilani had gone to the previous day when they were shopping together. Solana grimaced. She knew the contents of what was in that bag. Leilani had showed her the one she bought for herself, but she also told her she bought one for Solana too.
Leilani's claim that the lace panty would make her feel sexy on the inside, she thought was facetious. But the longer Solana looked at the bag, the more she felt herself embarrassingly wanting to see it. Going against her better judgment, Solana timidly crept over to the sparkly paper shopping bag and sat on her bed. She removed the many pretty wrapping tissue papers that were inside the bag and meekly peered inside. Closing her eyes, Solana dipped her hand into the bag and pulled out one of the enticing panties. Then Solana opened her eyes and saw that it was the red hiphugger, white bow print, lace panty that Leilani had shown her earlier at the mall.
Solana scrunched up her face, uncomfortable looking at the erogenous piece of underwear. She was definitely getting this back to Leilani as quickly as possible!
She then peered inside and took out a second piece of lingerie, which she assumed was supposed to be hers. Unlike Leilani's it was a lace-trim cheekini, which showed off a little more of her derrière than she was used to. It was faint light pink foil lace, accented by a tiny blue bow at the front. It was also a little more see-through than Leilani's and showed off more flesh.
Solana started to turn a scarlet red. If her parents knew she had this kind of frilly lingerie in her closet they'd tan her hide, for sure. And if her brother knew!…And remembering Lunick's initial reaction when he found a less amorous but still suggestive undergarment in her locker back at the base…
Solana covered her face with her left hand. and dropped the panty on her bed. She was getting even more flustered and embarrassed just thinking about putting them on, even guilty.
Solana knew Lunick said she was pretty. Beautiful. Stunning even. But she still felt a little insecure about herself, as most teenage girls would. The acronym YDLS kept popping up in her brain. The big juncture Lunick surprised her with the other night kept making her feel warm on the inside.
"Pla Plah?" her partner pokémon asked.
Plusle had been in there the entire time helping Solana figure out what to wear and giving her feedback, though how Plusle as a pokémon could have knowledge or understanding of human clothing and fashion was mind-boggling.
Solana lifted her hand to her forehead and looked at Plusle. The little mouse pokémon seemed concerned over Solana's discomfort.
"Plah Pla?"
Solana looked back at the pink panty that Leilani had bought for her. With a heavy sigh, she picked up the lace undergarment, put Leilani's back in the blue bag, and then walked slowly to her bathroom.
I sure hope Leilani is right about this…
Fall City was usually very busy and very alive during the day. Hordes and swarms of people, some strolling, others shopping about their own personal business, all rushing and bustling passed one another to get to their destinations. But the large, dense, urban area that was always filled with millions of people during the day was surprising quiet at night. Sure, there were those few shopkeepers that were there lingering in the marketplace waiting for someone to come into their shop and make a purchase, and maybe just a few other people moseying around the city. But it was not nearly as hectic, chaotic, and confusing as it was during the day, which was great for Leilani. It made way for a relaxing evening stroll with her new friend. Only a sliver of the moon was showing in the twilight sky, though the nearly clear skies allowed just enough for starlight to gleam the city streets. The streetlights stretched for miles as they continued their walk through town square.
Leilani felt like she was floating on a cloud as she and Alejandro walked down the sidewalk, hand-in-hand. Her heart felt like it was dancing around in her chest whenever she was near him. In fact, it would fluctuate from a rapid throbbing to a calm beating whenever he would compliment her or make a witty little remark. And especially when he touched her.
Leilani had only known Alejandro for three days and she was already starting to develop some feels for him. Was this what a crush was? She had told Solana that what she felt was superficial and emphasized that she had limited knowledge of him, so she could not be crushing on him. But something about him…just made her feel good on the inside! His appealing looks aside, Alejandro was a really fun, carefree dude – similar to Lunick but perhaps a little bit more out there, like Leilani – which she felt was such a plus! He was new and exciting! A thrill seeker even!
Initially, Leilani just brushed off his bizarre antics, direct flirting, and inappropriate bluntness because she found it amusing. But now she was starting to feel nervous around him, and yet…she was very happy whenever he randomly showed up to see her. And even when he wasn't with her, she found herself constantly thinking about him…and when she had no reason to think about him! She was interested in getting to know him better, yes. He still hadn't told her much about himself but she still enjoyed being around him all the same.
Everything felt so surreal. She had never felt this way about anybody, save for Murph. The hole that had been in her heart from not being able to be with Murph was slowly being filled by Alejandro. So then…maybe she was crushing on him after all. After she calmed down from her fangirling yesterday at the Fall City Mall, she spent the rest of the day hanging out with Alejandro, with a disgruntled Percy trailing behind as a third wheel. And again today, they spent the majority of the time together, with Alejandro accompanying her on her missions. Leilani didn't know what Percy was so suspicious about. Neither of them knew Alejandro very well, so how could he be passing judgment on him already? Percy still asserted that he was bad news and urged Leilani to stay away from him. But really…Leilani didn't really care what Percy said and started to tune out his whining because she saw something different in Alejandro. The way she was feeling about Alejandro nearly paralleled the same way she felt and still feels about Murph, though to a lesser degree. So, maybe because her feelings are the same with him as with Murph…maybe…she was falling for this guy…
Alejandro chuckled.
"You know, Leilani, I still can't over the fact that you caught those Hippowdon all by yourself! And so fast! So swift! And with no assistance at all!"
Leilani smiled weakly.
"Well, I did have help from Lucario. That made it much easier." She said as she ran her free hand through her braids. Her Partner Pokémon had actually returned back home after her last mission to meditate. He would have rather come along since he was very protective of his human, but Leilani insisted he stay home and rest, telling him she'd be fine. Though it didn't gel well with him, Lucario obeyed his human and stayed at home waiting for her to return.
"You know, you are a phenomenal ranger, Leilani." Alejandro complimented, making Leilani feel even more embarrassed.
"Well, I do the best I can. I love my job and I live to please the people of Fiore and make them happy."
"You've certainly made me happy since I've been here. Might even consider staying here a while longer so long as I get to see your pretty face every day."
Leilani started to feel Butterfree in her stomach again. She coiled one of her braids as she tried to laugh off her bashfulness.
Alejandro's smile widened. He looked down at the pavement.
"You know, Leilani, I know a lot about you. How you grew up in Summerland but that your family is originally from the West Indies. So we both got that Caribbean blood in us."
Again, Leilani laughed timidly. "Wow. How do you know all that? We only just met three days ago and I haven't told you anything about me and my life."
He turned to face her.
"I get around. I've traveled to a lot of places but I'm glad I stopped here in Fiore. You know, the news media talk a lot about your friends, Solana and Lunick."
"They should. They saved this region I don't know how many times."
"But you were there working with them. They didn't do it all by themselves. But the little bit of attention they gave you, I absorbed. Who was this beautiful, confident, sassy, girl? I wanted to know."
Leilani put her hand to her chest. Her heart felt like it was about to come flying right out of her chest!
"You sure are a real charmer, you." She breathed out.
"I only speak the truth about how I feel. I can't keep my feelings contained. I'd explode if I do and end up doing some crazy neurotic thing like trying take over the world like the crazies you deal with."
Leilani chuckled lightly "Well…they weren't really neurotic. They were crazy, but they weren't neurotic. They were just bad people."
Alejandro stopped walking and took Leilani's hands in his.
"Well, I'm good people." He said with determination. "I am good people and can be good people to you. For you. With you. You've got something special inside you. I see it. We can be good people together."
Leilani's head slowly dropped, her eyes wide, and her mouth gaped. Had she heard that right? Had he just…
"But I don't know anything about you." She quickly said trying to hide her shock.
"But I know everything about you?"
She removed her hands from his and rested them on her hips. "That's not enough. Before you begin saying crazy talk like that, you gotta tell me more about you."
Alejandro's eyes narrowed a little, barely noticeable, but Leilani seemingly didn't catch it.
"I don't like to talk about my past. It upsets me."
"Well, I don't see how we can continue being friends unless I learn more about you and who you are," Leilani sputtered. But she was firm in what she said. She wouldn't even entertain anything like he suggested until she knew more about him.
Alejandro stared at her hard for a moment before his countenance softened and relaxed.
"Okay." He said plainly.
Leilani inhaled deeply, not knowing what was going to come next.
Alejandro gestured for her to start walking with him again and they did.
"What do you wanna know?" he asked simply.
"Well…You could tell me about where you grew up? Why you're always traveling a lot? What it is that you do?"
Alejandro waited a few seconds before responding.
"I spent my early years as an orphan. I don't know what happened to my parents. Guess they didn't want me or something. I slept in the streets, made a living on the streets. Had no one I could count on, depend on, or turn to for help. I was on my own and learned to live that way."
Leilani frowned and had a look of sadness on her face.
"Don't you look all down and depressed. I'm fine. Look at me? I turned out great. I don't have a job or a career. Like I said, I lived on the streets. I had a crew back in Celadon; fellas from all walks of life. They took me in. They were my family. But we had a falling out and so I traveled to Veilstone. Made another crew. But I wasn't happy so I went back to Celadon, patched things up with my guys and we were going strong once again. But I grew to like being a vagabond and traveling to all sorts of places. My boys understood and said they'll be right there waiting for me when I returned. Only now that I've met you, I may not want to go back."
Leilani was beginning to feel nervous again and abruptly stopped walking.
"Wow, uh…That's a lot…I'm glad you were able to get through your hard times and had a group of friends to support you. I know my pals are always here for me and I'm here for them."
"Yeah…right," he said as he started walking closer to her. "What's wrong? You look all meek and shy? That's not the Leilani I know."
Leilani backed up against one of the streetlight poles.
"I-I'm not shy…I just…I'm a little discombobulated and all. It's been a long day, the missions and work and all." She said coyly.
Alejandro smiled wickedly.
"Oh, you look so cute. Like a little Skitty."
"W-Well…T-Thank you…but, uh…i-it's late. I have an early shift tomorrow…"
"The moonlight shines so beautifully on your face." He said smoothly as he parted a few loose braids that were covering half of Leilani's face.
Leilani felt like she was going to pass out.
"Alejandro…I really do need to get home…Lucario's waiting for me…"
"So beautiful." He whispered.
"Huh?" Leilani said timidly.
He caressed her face and looked her straight in her eyes.
"You are so beautiful," he said as he leaned in closer to her.
Jittery, Leilani leaned back against the lamppost and held onto it.
"I…I can't…"
"Please…" he said, looking back up at her.
Leilani looked into his hazel green eyes. She felt like he was looking right through her soul. She could feel her knees beginning to buckle as he drew closer to her.
Even though everything in her head screamed 'No!' Leilani felt herself giving into temptation. Her eyes started to close as she could feel Alejandro mere inches from her face.
Just as their lips were about to meet, Leilani's left eye suddenly caught focus of something. Opening her eyes wider, Leilani saw Solana, sitting by herself on a park bench in front of Fall City's Fountain. Plusle was lying down on the ground beside her.
"Solana?" she uttered, placing a hand on Alejandro's chest to tell him to stop. She then sprinted off towards her best friend, secretly happy that what was about to happen didn't happen.
"Solana! Solana!" she shouted and waved.
The dejected ranger slowly lifted her chin off of her fist and opened her eyes to see Leilani fastly running towards her.
"Solana," she breathed out, "Solana…girl…What're you doing here?"
"You're dressed to kill. Doesn't that mean you're supposed to be on a date with that beau of yours?" asked Alejandro.
Leilani jumped back, startled. She didn't even know that he had caught up to her that fast.
Solana sighed.
"We were supposed to be on a date but Lunick had to go on a very important mission. He said he'd be back in time for our date but it's already after ten and he still hasn't come back to meet me yet."
"Oh, bummer, Sole," Leilani said sadly. "Did you try calling him?"
She nodded. "Only once. It didn't go through. He's on a mission, so I didn't expect him to answer his phone. I wouldn't dare call him on his styler."
"Even on your very special date?" Leilani asked, clearly shocked.
"At first I was angry. I thought maybe he forgot or something. But that's not like Lunick. Not anymore. Now I'm starting to get worried about him." Solana said, clearly concerned.
Leilani sat down next to her. "I'm sure he's fine, Sole. You know Lunick. He never gives up."
She sighed again.
"Yeah, I know Lunick. He's reckless and doesn't always think things through. I'm worried he got hurt or injured or –"
"Come on. Don't think like that. Lunick's a tough guy. I'm sure he's alright."
"But what if he's not, Leilani? What if –"
Again, Solana was cut off as she heard someone started calling her name.
"Solana! Solana!"
"Mai Mai!"
Solana turned and saw Lunick running straight towards her. She quickly got to her feet.
"Solana…" Lunick panted as he bent over on his knees. "Solana…"
Solana put her hand behind his back and held him.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
His uniform was dirty and torn in a few areas, and his hair was all over the place.
Finally catching his breath, Lunick straightened up, but Solana still continued to hold him.
"Solana…Babe, I'm so sorry. I tried to get here as soon as I could but those Donphan caused a lot of damage to the Krokka Tunnel. They were so difficult to tame. We had a whole team there but it still took us hours to pacify the battle. I tried, I really tried to come –"
"Shhhh," Solana hushed. "It's alright. As long as you're not hurt or anything."
Lunick looked down at his clothes.
"I'm a little banged up, but don't you worry. We will still have our date tonight."
Solana shook her head.
"Lunick, the restaurant's probably closed. The dance club too. We can put this off another night. You look so exhausted."
"No!" Lunick demanded. He held Solana's hands. "We are going to have our very special date tonight. Just give me a couple minutes to change out of this ragged uniform and we're all set. There are other things we can do. I'm not out of ideas yet. Don't you worry, Babe. Your man's got this."
Solana smiled lovingly at Lunick. Even though he was all exhausted and weary, he was still willing to make the most of tonight.
"Aww," Leilani cooed.
"Oh, Lunick," Solana cried as she gave her BF a fierce hug.
"Wow. You look incredible," he said as he looked his girlfriend over. "You're all dolled up, dressed to the nines…Now I know we have to have our date tonight! Just let me go back to the base and –"
Before Lunick could finish his statement, several screams erupted from the city and people immediately began fleeing in their direction crying out.
"Fire! Fire!" They screamed and cried.
Both Lunick's and Leilani's stylers began vibrating. Solana's styler vibrated in her purse.
"This is, Lunick. What's going on here, Lind?"
"Code 3! Code 3! There's a huge fire at apartment complex on the west side of the city! Firefighters and other rangers are on the scene attempting to put out the blaze! Backup is needed! All available rangers report to the site immediately!"
Lunick quickly put his styler back in his pocket.
" Guys –"
"We heard," Solana said determinedly. "Let's go!"
The three rangers quickly bolted for the Fall City apartment complex…and Alejandro followed behind them.
The glowing embers shot out of the apartment building as the blaze intensified. The heat was oppressive and could be felt even from two hundred yards away. It was chaos as many citizens all fled the surrounding area, screaming and crying from the fiery inferno.
All three arriving rangers were shocked at how great the fire was. Flames engulfed the crumbling apartment building, spreading violently through every part of the building. It grew more and more wild with every second. The hoses from the firefighters and the assistant pokémon of the rangers already on the scene were making negligible difference as fire continued to ravage the building.
Lunick ran up to one of the firefighters.
"What happened?!" he asked almost in a panic.
"I don't know!" The burly man anxiously. "We got a call about a multiple-alarm fire but we had no idea just how severe this was and how difficult it would be to contain!"
"Lunick!" Lind cried out as he signaled for his friend. Lunick, Solana, and Leilani all ran to him.
"Where's Leader?"
"He's on his way. He got held back at his house."
"Lind, this building is going down! Has everyone been evacuated?"
Lind shook his head fearfully.
"No! Most of everyone escaped, but there's a girl still trapped in there!"
"What?!" Lunick screamed.
A plume of fire exploded from the building, erupting more screams from the terrified citizens. Heavy black smoke seeped out of the building.
"We've got to go in there and save her!" Lunick hollered.
"The idea of anyone going in there is ludicrous! We saved most of everyone!"
"Not good enough!" Lunick retorted angrily. "We save lives! We don't settle for casualties!"
"It's too dangerous!" Lind urged.
Another explosion erupted from the unstable building.
Infuriated, Lunick fastly rushed to the collapsing building before anyone could stop him.
"Lunick!" Solana, Lind, and Leilani all cried in unison.
Minun chased in after him. Solana too tried to follow, but she was quickly pulled back.
"Lunick!"
"Are you crazy?!" Lind asked. "Get back, Solana! You're not geared up for this!"
"Lunick!" she cried out again.
Wasting no time, Lunick bolted into the building. Smoldering fire covered the floor like a carpet. He couldn't enter it directly. Lunick then ran to the side and got a Venusaur to lift him up to the highest floor where he heard the screams the loudest, leaving Minun behind. Without hesitation, Lunick leaped in through the broken window of the crumbling building. Crouching on the ground, Lunick covered his mouth. The putrid, pungent smell of smoke reached and burned his nostrils. Sweat dripped down Lunick's forehead from the sweltering heat. The room was full of smog and it was difficult for Lunick to see anything between the smoke and the rising flames. He could hear the girl's strained cries and struggled to fight through the blaze. Trying desperately not to breathe in the noxious gases, Lunick crawled on the wooden floor trying to follow the sounds of the feeble screams. All he could see was the fiery red and orange blaze. Lunick was beginning to feel dizzy and the crying suddenly stopped, but he still pressed forward. When his eyes found the girl lying flatly on the ground, he quickly crept to her, the smoke still stinging and reeking in his nose.
She had blonde hair pulled to the side in a ponytail with a blue scrunchie, and was wearing a torn up frilly blue dress and no shoes.
Still struggling to breathe, Lunick laboriously picked up the girl. The floorboard beneath him creaked and started to lower, and he aguishly hopped to the side. Lunick knew if he didn't get out of there fast he was a goner.
"No…" the girl weakly muttered.
"Don't…worry…I'll get…you outta…here…" Lunick gasped.
Forcing himself on his knees, Lunick weakly crawled to back to the broken window. He was feeling so lightheaded, but he couldn't give up!
"Hey!" he coughed as he reached the end.
Two green vines rose from outside the building and enveloped Lunick, still holding the girl. He was quickly pulled out and lowered to the ground by the Venusaur.
"Lunick!" Solana cried as she, Plusle and Minun ran towards him.
EMS quickly ran passed her to Lunick. He had partially collapsed, choking, letting go of the girl as she rolled on the ground away from him. A paramedic quickly put an oxygen mask Lunick's face, while a critical care paramedic started to perform CPR on the girl.
"Lunick, what were you thinking?!" Lind asked, completely scared out of his mind.
Lunick continued to cough, choke, and gasp for air as the oxygen entered through his nose and mouth. The paramedic quickly hooked him up to a CO-Oximeter.
"Lunick," Solana cried. Leilani held her friend close, also teary eyed, trying to soothe her.
The apartment building finally collapsed on the ground with a loud echoing Boom!, golden and crimson flares still ablaze. The firefighters and pokémon rangers were all still trying to demolish the flames except for four – Solana, Leilani, Lunick, and Lind.
Lunick slowly opened his eyes, still gasping for air.
"Lunick!" Solana cried.
"I'm here! I'm here!" Spenser yelled as he arrived at the scene. He saw the fallen apartment building but then he rushed to Lind, who was the Fall City Ranger in charge while Joel and Cameron were at a Conference.
"Is everyone alright?" he asked, worriedly.
"I'm…fine…" Lunick gasped as he continued to breathe deeply. Solana broke free of Leilani's grasp and ran over to her partner, Plusle and Minun too. She held him as he continued to breathe in the oxygen from the mask.
"What happened here?" Spenser demanded.
"Lunick rushed in to save someone who was still trapped inside the apartment before it collapsed. He rescued the girl but he's being treated for smoke inhalation." Lind answered.
Spenser was shocked.
"Lunick?"
Still struggling but feeling a little more clear-headed, Lunick tried to stand up.
"You need to stay still and sit down, sir," the paramedic advised.
"The girl…Where…is…the girl?" he hoarsely asked.
A shrill scream suddenly erupted a short distance from him. The girl he had just rescued had apparently regained consciousness and was violently flailing her arms and legs, pushing and kicking the paramedics away as she laid on a stretcher.
"Iya! Iya! Yamete!" the girl cried. No! No! Stop it!
"Hold her down!" one of the medics ordered. "We have to get this oxygen mask on her!"
The four medics all tried to hold her down and apply the restraint straps. She continued to wail and fight them.
"Yamete! Yamete! Yamete kudasai! Watashi ni furenaide kudasai! Nigeru! Anata no monsutā watashi kara hanarete Getto! Iya! Doko ka ni itte! Yamete!" Stop it! Stop it! Please stop! Do not touch me! Get away! Stop! Get away from me you monsters! No! Go away! Stop it!
"We're going to have to sedate her!" one of the medics cried.
"Yamete! Yamete! Iya! Watashi ni furenaide kudasai! Warui otoko! Yamete!" Stop it! Stop it! No! Do not touch me! Bad man! Stop it!
Weakly, Lunick took his oxygen mask off.
"Sir, please put that back on!" the paramedic ordered.
Lunick unhooked himself from the pulse CO-Oximetery.
"Baby, what are you doing?" Solana asked, her voice full of concern. "You need to be checked out and taken to the hospital."
His chest tight, Lunick weakly stood up and dizzily walked over to the paramedics surrounding the girl.
The head medic grunted. "Where's that damn diazepam! We need her still to restrain her!"
"Iya! Iya! Yamete! Yamete!" No! No! Stop it! Stop it!
Lunick tapped one of the medics on the shoulder so he could pass through. Weakly, he fell to his knees.
"Chīsana on'nanoko, ochitsuite kudasai." Little girl, please calm down.
"Nigeru! Nigeru!" Get away! Get away!
Again, Lunick tried to talk to the girl.
"Koibito o ochitsuku. Dare mo anata o kizutsukeru tsumori wa arimasen. Watashitachi wa tasukeru tame ni koko ni iru." Calm down, sweetheart. No one is going to hurt you. We are here to help.
"Iya! Iya! Watashi wa shinitakunai! Nigeru! Nigeru!" No! No! I do not wish to die! Get away! Get away!
Lunick looked up to the medic.
"She's traumatized. She will not cooperate with you if you continue to spout orders at her."
"Well, what do you propose we do?" he asked, harshly.
Still trying to control his breathing and take in oxygen from the air, Lunick turned back to face the girl.
"Koibito, watashiwomite." Sweetheart, look at me.
The girl continued to flail.
"Yamete! Yamete! Warui otoko! Yamete! Iya!" Stop it! Stop it! Bad man! Stop it! No!
"Mattaku warui otoko wa arimasen. Watashiwomite, hachimitsu, onegaiitashimasu." There is no bad man. Look at me, honey, please.
"Iya! Yamete! Nigeru!" No! Stop it! Get Away!
"Watashi wa genkidesu. Kokode wa anata o shien suru. Watashiwomite kudasai." I am good. Here to help you. Please, look at me.
The girl stopped flailing but continued to cry.
Lunick slowly reached out to touch her and she flinched.
"Yamete! Watashi ni furenaide kudasai! Watashi kara hanarete shutoku suru!" Stop it! Do not touch me! Get away from me!
"Watashi wa, Pokémonrenjā. Watashinonamaeha Lunick. Renjā Lunick." I am a Pokemon Ranger. My name is Lunick. Ranger Lunick.
She stopped crying.
Lunick continued. "Anata no me no amaimono o hirakimasu. Anata no me o aite kudasai. Anata wa watashitoisshoni anzendearu, Renjā Lunick." Open your eyes, sweetie. Please, open your eyes. You are safe with me, Ranger Lunick.
Timidly, the girl slowly opened her eyes halfway, before opening them up fully to Lunick.
Lunick smiled.
"Kon'nichiwa. Wakarimasu ka? Anata wa anzendesu." Hello there. You see? You are safe.
The girl blinked at him a couple times.
"Anata wa kanari aoi me o shite." He said. You have pretty blue eyes.
The girl started to cower again.
Lunick held up his hands.
"Iie! Iie! Watashi wa anzendesu. Renjā Lunick. Oboete imasu ka?" No! No! I am safe. Ranger Lunick. Remember?
The girl blinked again.
"Renjā Lunick?" Ranger, Lunick?
"Hai. Renjā Lunick. Anata wa watashitoisshoni anzendearu." Yes. Ranger Lunick. You are safe with me.
The girl blinked again and looked Lunick up and down. She stared at him for a long while.
Smiling at her, Lunick looked back up to the chief medic.
"Be gentle with her. She's been through a lot in that fire."
"I will. Thank you, young man." The chief medic replied. He then turned to his men. "Alright, guys. Let's get her on!"
As the four paramedics attempted to approach the girl she again began flailing.
"Yamete! Iya! Iya! Bakku taizai!" Stop it! No! No! Stay back!
"Sore wa daijōbudesu. Anata ga anzendearu, oboete iru?" Lunick interjected. It is okay. You are safe, remember?
The girl again looked at Lunick with teary eyes.
Lunick nodded to her then held up his hand to the medic.
"I'll ride along with her. She's less agitated around me. I need to get checked out myself."
The chief paramedic scratched head.
"If you say so. But we need to get you kids to the hospital and fast. We need to get your oxygen levels up, pronto!"
Lunick nodded.
The paramedics again tried to put an oxygen mask on the teenage girl.
"Iya! Iya!" No! No!
"Anata ga anzendearu. Watashi o shinjite. Lunick." You are safe. Trust me. Lunick.
The girl continued to watch Lunick as the oxygen mask was put on her face. She was scared and kept looking at Lunick, who just nodded and smiled reassuringly. She reached for him as she was taken on the stretcher into the ambulance.
Lunick continued, "Shinpaishinaide kudasai. Anata wa, mohaya kikende wanai. Anata ga tasuke o ukete iru." Do not worry. You are no longer in danger. You are getting help.
A medic then approached Lunick and put the oxygen mask on his face.
"Come on," she said as she helped him up to the ambulance. Minun jumped in with him. It wasn't until he sat down that he realized Solana and Leilani had been standing there the entire time.
"Oh, Solana…I am so sorry about tonight."
Solana quickly shook her head.
"Don't be. I just want you to get the help you need. I'll meet you at the hospital after I change out of this dress, okay?"
Lunick still felt remorseful, like he had done something wrong.
"Okay…I love you, 'Lana."
"I love you too, sweetie."
Two more paramedics then jumped into the ambulance and closed the rear doors. The ambulance driver then drove off, carrying the two remaining injured from the fire to the Fall City Hospital.
Solana watched the ambulance go until it was out of her sight.
Leilani put her arm around her.
"How're you holding up, girl?"
"I've been better," she said quietly as she played with the ring on her finger.
"He's gonna be fine, Solana. He did a beyond crazy, suicidal thing, but he always pulls through. Plus, he was able to help calm that girl down so she could go to the hospital to receive treatment even though he needed treatment himself. Now that's remarkable."
"Yeah," Solana sighed. "He's really something."
Leilani could see that her friend was still emotionally wrecked from the whole ordeal.
"Maybe you should just go home and rest after all this, Sole?"
Solana shook her head.
"No. I gotta see Lunick. He needs me."
"Lunick's resilient, Sole. Lunick may be the one with the physical injuries but you look like you took the biggest blow."
Solana hugged herself and turned around to face her.
"I-I'm okay…I'm fine. Really."
Leilani wasn't convinced.
"You want me you give you a ride home?" Alejandro suddenly appeared, again startling Leilani.
"Where have you been?"
"Oh, uh. I have this thing about fires. You know." He shrugged.
Leilani crinkled her brow.
"Well…um…Thanks for the offer, but my girl needs me."
Again, Solana shook her head.
"No, Leilani. I'm fine. Don't be worried."
"You telling me that is going to make me worry more."
Again, Solana sighed.
Leilani patted her on the back.
"Tell you what, how 'bout you go home and I'll hit you up after you've settled in. Get yourself some hot chocolate or something and get all cozy in bed. Then we'll spend the rest of the night talking until one of us falls asleep. Deal?"
Solana smiled weakly and nodded.
"Deal."
"Okay. Come here, love." Leilani said as she enveloped her friend in a huge hug. "Everything's gonna be alright. You'll see. And did you know that Lunick was bilingual?"
Solana raised her eyebrows and shook her head.
"No. I didn't have a clue. But he's always full of surprises."
"Yeah," Leilani sighed as they pulled apart from the hug. "Settle yourself in. Get some hot cocoa, and we'll talk the night away. Okay?"
"Okay. Thank you, Leilani."
Leilani smiled widely. "Of course, girl. I'm here for you."
"So, uh…Did you still want me to give you that ride?" Alejandro asked.
"Um…You know what, Alejandro? I think I'll walk it home."
"Oh, well then I'll walk you home."
At this point, Leilani was too tired to object to him so she let him come.
After Leilani was out of her sight, Solana hugged herself again. She saw her Leader talking with the other rangers and firefighters about what happened, then she looked at the fallen apartment building, little embers still sparking up from beneath the ash and rubble.
"Plah Pla?"
Solana looked down at her partner pokémon before letting loose a sigh one more time.
"Let's go home, Plusle."
She continued to hug herself as she walked until she finally reached home and plopped down in her bed.
All afternoon she had been concerned about wearing the lace panty, but now she was worried about something else entirely. If the purpose of the lingerie was to make her feel good on the inside, it most definitely did not succeed at that.
Freddie guardedly walked down the stairs of his house. Someone had been laying their finger on his doorbell for the past five minutes and pounding on his front door. Who would be at his doorstep at two in the morning? His gut told him not to answer the door but the bell kept ringing incessantly and he really did not want his daughter to wake up. Whoever was at the door could also pose as a serious threat and the last thing he needed was for something bad to happen to Niema. He had too many experiences dealing with dangerous people and he was not going to put his family at risk. All the lights in the house were off except the porch light outside, leaving only the moonlight to guide his steps through the windows.
Creeping closer to the front door, which was still ringing and knocking, Freddie peered through the peephole. He couldn't quite make out who was at the door. Even with his porch light on, all he could see was a dark figure, still pounding away at the door.
Gritting his teeth and preparing himself for the worst, Freddie unlatched his front door and swung it opened, getting himself ready should he need to fight back. But when the door finally opened all the way, Freddie was not prepared for what he saw.
"Anya?" he said, incredulously.
The young woman lifted up her head and smiled lazily. Her clothes were all ragged and torn up, her brown hair was a mess, and her eyes were bloodshot.
"Hi, Freddie-Bear," she said sweetly in a cracked voice.
Freddie shook his head. "What're you doing here, Anya?"
Freddie's former love scratched her arm rapidly as she stared off into space.
"Can…Can ah's c'min?" she asked, her words very slurred.
Freddie could not believe what was happening.
"Anya, no. I can't."
"Please?" she begged again as she stepped closer to him. The light on the front porch now showed just how chillingly gaunt she had become as well as highlighted the small pimples that were visible on her face and neck.
Freddie cringed in disgust.
Anya continued to scratch her arm vigorously.
"Please, Freddie? I's got nowhere ta go…Can I jus' c'min? Pleasezz?"
Freddie put his hand to mouth, trying to keep himself calm.
"You cannot stay here, okay? I'll give you what you need but by later this morning, you gotta go. Niema can't see you like this."
"But I ain't got nowhere else ta go?"
"Anya –"
"Pleeasez, Freddie-Bear? Ah's hurt. Ah's hurt real bad. I promise Ima getting help…but I need someplace ta stay."
Freddie looked at her hard. Then, he grudgingly stepped aside.
"My daughter is asleep. You cannot wake her…And you can't come into my bedroom either, do you understand?"
Anya's face came to life.
"Thank you, Freddie-Bear. Ah knew you'se would help me."
She tried to give him a hug but he grabbed her wrists and stepped back.
"You can rest on the futon. And there's some curry rice in the fridge. But you must be quiet. Do not wake Niema. You cannot disturb Niema."
"Ozekay, Ozekay. Ss'ank you, Freddie-Bear." She said, her slurring even worse.
Freddie let go of her wrists.
"Quietly, Anya." Freddie emphasized. "You will be completely quiet."
The troubled young girl nodded her head with a faint smile before wobbly shuffling inside Freddie's home.
Exhaling loudly, Freddie closed his eyes and shut the front door, mentally berating himself for what he had just done.
A/N: Okay. I gotta clear up some things that probably may have left you guys confused.
Firstly, I sincerely apologize if my Japanese text was inaccurate or written incorrectly. Even though I know some Japanese, I am definitely not fluent in it and I had to get help to put together those sentences. So again, if I've written something wrong or inaccurate, I sincerely apologize, and if you notice something that needs to be adjusted, please let me know in your review and I will update the chapter. The Japanese text will come again a few times as the story continues.
Secondly, the One Partner Pokémon rule stands in this story because this takes place years before Shadows of Almia. Just had to clear that up.
That's all I have to say for now.
Happy New Year's Everybody and thank you!
And please don't forget to review!
Always Do Everything With Love,
XyKPfan
