11:50 PM
"Less talky, more planny," Charley says as Professor Hastings starts stuttering incoherently. He glances at Sven, who has pulled out a 'shake to activate' ice pack and is in the process of dabbing gently at Yuuki's leg. He's placed his small backpack under her head, and she lays still as stone, doing her best not to moan in pain. He winces at the blood covered wound, a sharp, stubble end of bone sticking partially out of the skin.
"We can't move her," Sven says when he catches Charley's eye. "We either have to spend the night here, or try to find a psychic type to levitate her out." He pats Yuuki reassuringly on the shoulder, then places the pack down once again. She gasps, but otherwise stays silent.
"You're the better medic, Sven," Charley responds. "Stay here, keep treating her leg. There's no way I'm letting us spend the night in a cave with half of an unreliable ceiling above us. I'll go look for a Psychic type."
Sven nods. He watches as Charley carefully scales the rocky incline that the Houndoom had used earlier, ending up at the rim of the crater. Then he looks back at Yuuki. Her eyes are tearful, though he thinks it's less due to the pain now, considering the ice pack's effectiveness.
"How long were the two of you together?" Sven asks casually. It wasn't a question he was comfortable asking, but all the better to distract her.
It takes her several moments to respond: "Three… Three months."
"Tell me about it," Sven responds. "What do you see in him?" He fakes a horrified expression. "You two didn't get up to anything while on duty, did you? Hastings will have your head for it," he says mischievously.
"Sven!" Her eyes widen and she blushes, knowing that Prof. Hastings and the Operators would hear every word they were saying. "No, we didn't get up to anything. He's proud, brave, and noble…" She trails off, lost in happy memories.
"I'm proud, brave, and noble," Sven says, grinning.
"Proud, brave, noble, and not a trouble maker," Yuuki corrects herself.
"Ok, that's fair," he grins. Yuuki laughs, but it quickly turns into a painful cough. "Damn you, Yuuki," Sven grunts, putting an arm on her shoulder to keep her from shaking. "You should've told me about your chest. Lemme grab another ice pack."
Charley's POV - 11:55 PM
Charley made a small smile, having overheard the conversation from the rim of the cave. He took a moment to snap a large branch from a nearby tree, then went over to stand by his Partner.
"Toar, torkoal, tor!" The Coal Pokemon wheezed. A puff of smoke blew from the hole atop his blackened shell. Charley chuckled, reaching down and patting Torkoal's shell. Most people, he noted, would consider him insane to do such a thing, but then again, most people didn't know that as long as you refrained from touching the few holes on the shell, it was perfectly safe.
"Oi, Houndoom!" Charley called from atop the ridge. In seconds the Fire-Dark type reappeared. From the direction, Charley knew he was keeping lookout around the rim of the crater. He held out the branch. "Take this down to the cave, please, and light it with a weak Ember attack." He supervises as Houndoom does as he asks, half carrying, half dragging the large branch down into the cave with his teeth. He pulls it a few feet to the side of Yuuki and Sven, who's got a weary hand on his Styler, and puffs a small fire into the center. In moments a roaring flame erupts, casting a warm glow onto the two Rangers. Houndoom returns to Charley's side.
Charley pats him on the head. "Thanks, Houndoom. Stay safe." Houndoom runs off into the trees. He stares wearily at the spot where it vanished from view. I hope I don't regret that, he thinks to himself.
With that happy thought in mind, Charley sets out across the darkened crater. Torkoal follows behind, keeping pace with the athletic Ranger despite his slow demeanor. As he walks, his mind wanders. It's an Arceus given gift to him, he thinks, although he debates thanking Arceus after all the shit he and his friends have been through these last couple days. He can do just about any Capture related task you can think of, and yet his mind is in a completely different zone.
He goes on autopilot and gets lost in memories.
Three Months Ago (Memory)
"Look out! RUN!" A voice screamed, disrupting what had been until a moment ago been a peaceful, entertaining Graduation Ceremony. The Ranger School's two top classes had turned to see a boy dressed in a lab coat, with a mushroom shaped clump of blond hair on his head, running pell-mell towards them. What he had been running from became clear moments later, when two enormous tangles of vines came charging out of the underground laboratory in which only he and his teacher ever visited.
Students screamed and scattered, and teachers herded them out the front gates of the school. The evacuation seemed to be going well: The Tangrowths had been distracted by something on the ground by one of the classrooms. In all the panic, only two students actually realized what that distraction was, or rather who it was.
"C'mon! Sven yelled. Together, rivals he and Charley leapt away from the teachers. One of the Tangrowths loomed over Yuuki. As it prepared to swing, Sven shouted "HEY, PEA-BRAIN!" He threw a small stone at the creature's back. The beast jerked, and it's fist impacted the wall right above Yuuki, showering her with dirt and stone.
The first beast turned, and Sven seemed to deflate a little, grinning sheepishly as he activated his School Styler. The other one, though, swung its arm at Yuuki, too. She would've been crushed, but Charley ran in out of nowhere and managed to pull her away. He proceeded to Capture the other Tangrowth. It was a tough fight, but the rookie Rangers were also the best in their class. After several painstaking minutes, two shouts of "Capture Complete" called the rest of the school back in, the crowd cheering madly.
Then they went silent as Yuuki pulled Charley close and kissed him, lips and all. It was several moments before she pulled away, by which time Charley's face had grown more red than anyone could remember.
"Thanks for saving me, Charley," she said, blushing as well.
Charley grinned. "Bah. You wouldn't have needed saving if that dork Paul hadn't broken your Styler."
"Hey!" A voice from the crowd yelled.
"It's true!" Charley shouted back. Then he turned back to Yuuki. "Oh, and by the way, you kinda just kissed me in front of all the staff, not to mention our parents…"
Yuuki turned wide eyed to the crowd, as if just realizing they were there. "Oh damn…" She muttered.
Sven thumped Yuuki on the back, then laced one arm around her and the other around Charley. "Took you long enough, though. Better late than never, eh?
Few Minutes Later (Memory)
"DAPHNE ALICE YUUKI, IF YOU KISS SOMEONE LIKE THAT AGAIN BEFORE YOU TURN EIGHTEEN, SO HELP ME I WILL FLAY YOU ALIVE!"
"Mom!"
One Month Ago (Memory)
"Fuck you," Charley muttered, panting heavily. He squinted through the darkness. The clouds were so black, it was impossible to see past the edge of the Altru Tower. He clutched his Styler arm, where a deep cut was etched into the crook of his elbow.
He sensed a presence behind him. He whirled around, supporting his Styler with both arms, and lashed it out. It whirled towards a spot where the darkness seemed to condense, it's rainbow trail growing extra wide at his command. It circled once before the glowing red eyes appeared out of the smoke. He got a couple spins in before a flurry of dark, razor like blues of wind lashed out from the monster. Charley pulled his arm up so quickly his shoulder popped, succeeding in preventing his Styler from taking damage.
He was getting close, he could tell. The Darkrai seemed to sense it, too. It growled it's ghastly cry, and a field of black, gaseous fumes appeared right in the path of the top. He pulled back, slamming his arm downward.
This time he wasn't so lucky.
The top flew through the edge of the smoke, and it shuddered. The device made a panicked, high pitched squealing sound as his top started smoking and sparking. He couldn't take another hit.
Laughter sounded from behind Darkrai, insane, maniacal laughter. Blake Hall stood at his machine, turned to level three, controlling Darkrai. "This is the end, Ranger! Darkness with reign, and your death will be the first of millions!"
"You're mental! Charley shouted desperately. "I'll defeat you!"
Blake simply grinned. "You've no idea," he taunted. "No idea of this machine's true power. The hidden fourth level… Level DARK!"
With a maniacal laugh, Blake typed furiously on his machine, ignoring the dire warnings of his creepy assistant, Wheeler. At once, the orbs, which had been sparking green, turned blood red. The lights on the tower exploded one by one, and the orbs suddenly shattered into millions of sharp shards. Blake screamed in pain as several of them impaled him in the face. Darkrai seemed to yell in agony as well. The dark clouds that had nearly broken his Charley's Styler expanded, snaking their way over to Blake. They slowly snaked themselves over him, and over the wind Hall Jr. screamed for mercy. They died down moments later. Wheeler didn't even scream.
Charley was suddenly very much alone with Darkrai. It slowly started floating towards him, and with every inch, victory seemed more and more impossible. Hopelessness flooded through him, despair as he had never felt before. The Ranger dropped to his knees, choking on a sob. Darkrai would swallow him, then his family, friends, everyone in Almia.
He'd failed.
"Charley! CHARLEY!" A pair of voices screamed at him. He looked up to see Sven and Yuuki, bucking around wildly in the fumes on their Staraptor, screaming at him. "DON'T GIVE UP!"
Charley felt something shift in him then. He put one leg up, into a kneeling position. Then the other. Then he stood. His back straightened as the power of his friends's heartfelt emotion poured into him. His styler started sparking. He looked down at it, shocked to see a glow each of red, blue, and yellow: the shards from the Tears of Princes, with visible bands of energy streaming from his friends and himself, pouring the power into his Styler.
He suddenly felt elated. He stood straighter, and spoke with a voice so powerful, every Pokemon and person in Almia heard his words.
"It is not over. Darkness will not consume any more souls while I, protected by the courage of my friends and loved ones, protect Almia." He looked directly into the devilish eyes of Darkrai. "I am more powerful than you, demon. CAPTURE, ON!"
The top spun faster, sparking with red, blue, and yellow crackles of lightning. It spun faster and faster around Darkrai. Darkrai desperately threw dozens more black razorwinds, but with a skill and reflex that seemed beyond any human capability, Charley's arm slashed, rolled, dipped and dived, and the top followed his every movement. Not a single evil blade struck the device, and still faster it spun, until the beam tightened over Darkrai. It seemed to explode in pure light, blinding Charley.
It was several moments before he could see. When his vision finally cleared, however, he thought it was a hallucination. The black, hurricane winds that had surrounded the tower had vanished, and the beautiful view from atop Altru Tower was filled with bright blue sky as far as the eye could see. The Shadow Crystal, which had been a shade of black so pure it seemed to absorb the light around it, was now see through clear, and in the sunlight it seemed to sparkle in a rainbow of hues. Charley processed all of this before he realized he had fallen to his knees.
He stood, noticing that the cut on his arm had magically healed, but that he was so tired he could hardly keep his eyes open. Then he heard the growl. He spun around to see Darkrai hovering a few feet away. It growled again, but somehow Charley could tell that it lacked any malice. He floated forward, and Charley hesitantly put out his hand. Darkrai pushed it's forehead against his palm for a moment, then nodded respectfully to Charley.
"You're welcome," Charley said. Darkrai turned away and flew off into the sky.
He watched for a moment, then cried out as a heavy weight slammed into him. He went sprawling to the roof of the Altru Tower, smothered by the body of Yuuki. She kissed him. Hard. Charley only hesitated a moment before kissing her back. He managed to sit up, holding her.
When they broke for air, Charley grinned. "I think we did it."
Yuuki laughs: "Oh, gee. You think?"
"Ya know, Yuuki, you could do some good pics," Sven says jokingly, pointing over his shoulder. "You do the publicity well." Behind him, several helicopters, filled with news reporters, filmed the roof.
Charley rubs his chin thoughtfully, having stood up. "You know? I think I can handle a little publicity." He then pulls Yuuki close, and the kiss they share is accompanied by a cheer so loud it's heard all across Almia: the sound of millions of citizens cheering in relief and happiness.
"I'm starting to feel like a third wheel," Sven complains.
Yuuki chuckles. "You could kiss Charley, if that would help."
Charley fake gags. "I'd rather fight Darkrai again."
Sven laughs hard at this. He wipes a tear from his eye. "I'll be honest, I'm alright with it. Let's get something to eat first, I'm star- Charley?"
Charley had just stumbled, Yuuki momentarily held him up until he could get his balance. "Sorry," he mumbled. "A little tired."
Yuuki laughs. "Let's get you back to the Ranger Station."
Darkness, but not an unfriendly one.
Midnight (Present Day)
"Capture, Complete!" Charley pulls himself back into the present, laying his eyes upon a curious looking Kadabra. He crouches down next to him. "Hello," he says. "I've got a friend that's hurt badly. She's in a place that's pretty dangerous right now. Do you think you could levitate her away, and possibly find us a safe place to stay the night?" Kadabra nods happily, then takes Charley's arm. Before the Ranger can react, A white flash erupts around him, and he's standing next to Sven, who leaps back in surprise. Charley looks around wildly, but sighs in relief when he sees Torkoal still beside him.
"Oh, you're back," Sven says. He points to Yuuki's leg. "I used some of the branches, along with my climbing rope, to make a makeshift splint. It isn't perfect, and it sure as hell won't last long, but it'll do until we can get her to a healer." Sure enough, Yuuki makes a small wave at Charley, her leg wrapped up in what appears to be Sven's backup uniform cloth, thick rope, and several whittled pieces of branch.
"Looks good. Alright, Kadabra. Can you keep her straight, and lead us to a safe place?" Kadabra nods. His eyes glow blue, and Yuuki's body glows in response. Gently, he raises her up, then floats she and himself to the top of the ravine. They wait while Charley and Sven follow, Charley carrying Torkoal. Once they get to the surface, Kadabra floats shortly ahead, leading the way. Charley falls into step with Sven, Torkoal walking alongside. "So, Sven… Where's your Partner?"
Sven looks dejected. "Riolu's stuck in Almia. I had to book it over here, and I wanted her to be safe." Charley grimaces, knowing now why Sven seems depressed: Pokemon Rangers develop a strong bond with their Partners, and it's hard on both sides to be separated.
"Kada, Dabra Ka!" Kadabra barks at the Rangers. They look up in Unison to see a small cave entrance. Charley looks back, and from his point of view he can easily make out the details of the wasteland of Celestic Town. He shivers and turns back to the group, nodding to Kadabra. Kadabra leads them into the cave, which is surprisingly warmer than the outside. Inside is a small room, complete with a human sized bed that seems to be made of Mareep wool. Kadabra lays Yuuki on the bed, and she sighs in relief A few seconds later she falls asleep.
Sven looks around, then at Kadabra. "I'm guessing this is your home, and you sometimes allow travelers to use the bed, or even nurse them back to health." Kadabra nods, a small grin forming. He points to a couple more beds, which at first glance had been hidden by a large boulder.
Charley shakes his head. "Thanks so much, Kadabra." He pulls off his Styler.
"You're welcome." Charley jumps, and Sven does, too. "Hehe. Telepathy," The kadabra adds, laughing mischievously.
Charley laughs weakly. "I wasn't expected, though I guess I should have. Thanks again, Kadabra." He turns to his Styler, tapping the device. Immediately, Professor Hastings answers. Erma stands next to him, and both look severely worried.
"Vatonage Ranger Charley Mason reporting."
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Professor Hastings yells. Charley, despite being in fact thousands of miles away from the man, seems to shrink, and Sven winces in sympathy.
"I only woke up a few hours ago," Charley responds. "My Styler was nearly destroyed. It's basic functions, Capture and Radar, were enabled. When I woke, I saw Yuuki was in Sinnoh, too, so I decided to head to her. On the other hand, I had to work on the fly to repair my Video Message function. I could've used Ernie, no doubt. However, the first thing I hear when I turn the damn Chat on is 'SVEN, MOVE!' I could guess the rest simply by looking at the video. Thankfully I was close enough to get there in time."
Professor Hastings gets a look in his eye that Charley knows well, and he holds up his hand. "WIth all due respect, Professor, Yuuki is down for the count, and both Sven and I are close to it. We're safe for the moment, and at this second the only word I can register is 'sleep.' We'll talk more in the morning."
"We're in a-"
"A damn crisis, I know," Charley snaps. "You'd think being in Michina Town when this shit went down would give you a hint." His voice drips in venom, and the Professor wisely quiets down. "We'll talk in the morning," Charley repeats. Without waiting for a reply, he cuts the communication.
Sven whistles. "And Yuuki calls me a troublemaker.
Charley chuckles tiredly, laying on the woolen pillow.
