Okami: Thanks for the reviews, everyone!

Kellyn: Am I in this chapter?

Okami: Yes. Yes you are.

Kellyn: YAY!

Kate: SHUT UP, SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!

Keith: Kate, it's 12:53 in the afternoon.

Kate: *Annoyed* Yeah, I know. But Kelly over there wouldn't shut up last night!

Kellyn: KELLY? HOW DARE YOU!

Okami: Uh, I do not own Pokemon.

Kate shot up in bed, trembling. These dreams just get worse and worse!

Silently, she glanced at her watch. It was six o'clock in the morning. School doesn't start until eight...

Kate put her head back down on her pillow and sighed. I always wake up before I'm told who it is.

A thought occured to her. Didn't I see that shadow when I was doing my initiation...? Her blood ran cold. Wh-What if I'm going insane? Will they still let me be a ranger?

Kate knew the answer was no. She closed her eyes.

Maybe...Maybe I'm not going crazy. Maybe something bad is actually happening...

A little later...

Kate sat up as the other girls stirred. She checked her watch again. Seven thirty-five...

She climbed out of bed, having actually gotten some sleep.

Rhythmi yawned, but brightened up when she saw Kate. "Did you sleep well?"

Kate nodded. "Yep, I sure did! And you?"

Rhythmi grinned. "Of course. So...You didn't have any more nightmares?"

"No." Kate lied. "Not one!"

"Well, that's good."

As Rhythmi walked off to get changed, Kate sighed with relief. At least she believed me!

In Class...

Ms. April stood at the front of the room, giving a long, drawn-out lecture on the voicemail feature. Kate yawned and closed her eyes.

"And so, I would like Rhythmi to play the part of the Operator, and Keith to be the ranger."

"Umm, Ms. April." Rhythmi started hesitantly, "Keith isn't here yet."

Ms. April looked at Keith's empty seat. "Huh. Did he sleep in? That's not like him, though..." she turned her emerald gaze on Kate. "Fine, we'll have Kate play the ranger."

Kate opened her eyes. "Lucky me." she commented sarcastically, causing Rhythmi to giggle.

I guess she is okay!

Ms. April rolled her eyes and gave a styler to Rhythmi, before handing one to Kate. "Good to have you back." she whispered.

Kate smiled, feeling slightly guilty about the lying. Maybe the dreams will stop! That thought cheered her up.

"Psst. Come in, Ranger Kate!" Rhythmi hissed into her styler.

Kate sweatdropped. "Errr, Rhyth?"

"Yeah?"

"I can hear you without the styler."

"Oh."

"..."

"..."

"Fine."

Kate got up and headed for the hallway, when the door swung open, sending her into the wall. A furious looking Kincaid-what else was new?-stormed in.

"NO RUNNING IN THE CLASSROOM, EITHER!" he snapped at a nearly unconcious Kate.

Her eyes blazed. "If anyone was running, it was you!" But, apparently, her comment went unheard.

"Ms. April, there is a small matter of which I would like to speak with Keith." Kincaid stated.

Kate snickered, seeing as his hair was still pink.

"What is the matter, Mr. Kincaid?" Ms. April walked over to help Kate up before turning to the other teacher.

"The stylers from the Staff Room have gone missing, and I suspect Keith is the culprit." Kincaid growled.

Kate's eyes widened, and she growled. "Look, Kincaid-Keith is a prankster, sure. He's also a bit annoying, tardy, impulsive, competitive.." she continued to list things off. "Wait, what were we talking about?"

"Keith is a theif." Kincaid stated bluntly.

"Oh yeah!" Kate cleared her throat. "But I know Keith-he's a good, loyal friend, and would never steal anything!"

"Oh really?" Kincaid sneered. "Do you have any proof he's not the thief?"

"No." Kate answered honestly. "But do you have any proof he is?"

Kellyn got up and joined the group, followed by Rhythmi.

"I've known Keith for a while." Kellyn remarked. "He's a lot of things, but a thief is not one of them. And, besides, you have no evidence he stole the stylers."

"Yeah!" Rhythmi exclaimed. "Don't you always preach, 'Never cast suspicion on others without solid proof'?"

Mr. Kincaid scowled.

"Well, I dunno about you, but I'm going to look for him." Kate stepped into the hallway. "Anyone who would like to join in, feel free to do so."

Kellyn and Rhythmi joined her.

"I'll check upstairs!" Kellyn called, running off.

"I'll check in the rooms. You find anything, voicemail me." Rhythmi said, walking off.

"I'll check outside!" Kate called after them.

Outside, Kate looked around for anything. She had almost given up hope when she saw a trail of stylers leading down the stairs and to the main gate. Curious, she followed the trail, only to find Keith and a strange man arguing close to the gate.

"Give us back the stylers!" Keith snapped.

The man tried to run.

Kate smirked from atop the stairs. I can have a little fun with this!

The man had reached the gates and was running off, when something jumped from off the top of the gate and landed in front of him.

"WAHH!" he cried, tripping and dropping the stylers.

Kate grinned. "Trying to steal our stylers, eh?"

Keith joined them. "Kate, when'd you get here?" he sounded apalled.

"That's irrelevant." Kate stated, helping the thief up. "Now, why'd you take the stylers?"

"Yeah!" Keith added. "Do you know how important they are to us?"

The man started to bawl. "I'm sorry!" he choked. "I've always wanted to be a ranger, but I never became one properly. So I thought that if I had a styler, I could become one.."

Kate nodded slowly. "But how did you wind up with all of them?"

The man sighed. "When I saw all of them just sitting there, it was so tempting..."

"What's going on here?" Ms. April called, running to join the group.

"This man stole our stylers!" Keith exclaimed.

The man, now terrified, ran off. Keith started after him, but Kate put her hand lightly on his shoulder and shook her head.

"It's not worth it."

Keith sighed. "I guess you're right..."

Ms. April smiled at the two of them. "We should get these stylers back to the Staff Room."

Back in the Staff Room...

Kate, Rhythmi, Keith, and Kellyn stood before Mr. Lamont, Ms. April, and Mr. Kincaid.

"Well done, you four." Mr. Lamont started.

"I'm impressed!" Ms. April continued. "Rhythmi and Kellyn, you took charge of the situation and organized search parties."

Rhythmi and Kellyn beamed.

"And Kate." she looked directly at the young girl. "You're belief in your friend was impressive. You spoke your mind and did what was right. That's an essential quality in a good ranger."

Kate shrugged.

"Keith." Ms. April stared at him for a moment. "You're much too reckless. Rely on your colleagues more."

Keith's face fell slightly. Kate spoke up quietly,

"Aww, c'mon, Ms. April. Give him a break. He did the right thing in my book."

Ms. April smiled. "I suppose you're right..."

"Of course I am: I'm me." Kate retorted.

Keith's face lit back up. "Thanks, Kate." he whispered.

Kate said nothing, but the corners of her mouth twitched up into a small smile.

"Mr. Kincaid, I believe you owe someone an apology." Kellyn remarked.

He opened his mouth to protest, but stopped when Rhythmi flashed him an icy glare. "Fine." he turned to Keith. "I. Am. Sorry."

Dear Katie,

Wow, you helped catch a thief? That's amazing!

Things here in Fiore are as boring as ever. But guess what: Mom and Dad found a house in Chicole Village! They think we're gonna move there.

Write back soon,

Celeste

About a week later...

"Alright, students. Today, you will be going on your one-day interships."

The class cheered and dispersed.

Rhythmi stood and stretched. "Well, I'd better get going. The Ranger Union is a long way from here."

Kate watched her friend leave for a moment, then started for the door. Keith joined her.

"You're going to Vientown too, right?"

Kate nodded.

"Then let's go together."

She nodded again, and her face flushed slightly. Thankfully, Keith hadn't seen.

Kellyn ran over and put one arm around Kate, and one arm around Keith. "I'll come too!"

Kate almost groaned.

The trio walked in silence until they the main gates.

"WAAGH!" A tall, skinny man was clinging desparately to the trunk of a tree. Below him, a group of three Bidoof were charging around. The man seemed to spot the three students, because he screamed, "HEEELP!"

Kate nodded and reached for her styler.

Keith and Kellyn did the same.

Three.

Two.

One.

"Capture on!"

The Bidoof were a little agitated, so they proved to be harder to capture than originally planned. But, the three friends managed to capture them all.

"Capture complete!"

The man gradually slid down from the trunk of the tree. "Thank you, young'uns!" he exclaimed in a thick southern accent, reminding Kate of her uncle. "Them there Bidoof were out to get me!"

"No problem, Little Tim!" Kellyn assured him.

"It's a ranger's job to help those in need." Keith added.

Kate looked confused.

"This is Little Tim." Keith explained. "He's the milkman around these parts. His wife is pretty famous around here, too." he turned to Little Tim. "This is Kate. She's the newest student."

Little Tim smiled. "Well, Kate, it's sure nice to meet you, but I'd best be going. I still have a lot of deliveries to make. Thanks again!"

Kate, Keith, and Kellyn watched him leave.

"We'd better be going, too." Kellyn noted.

"Yeah." Kate agreed.

They ran quickly, pausing only once when they had reached the bridge. Midway across, a little girl with blond hair and wide blue eyes was near tears.

"What's the matter?" Kate asked once they had gotten closer.

"My brother isn't here..." she mumbled.

"Who's your brother?"

"Melody!" a new voice called.

Isaac approached with Ponte at his side. "Melody, what are you doing here? It's not safe to come here alone!"

"Big brother!" Melody ran and enveloped Isaac in a hug.

Isaac sighed. "Little kids."

"Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em." Kate finished.

Melody pulled away from Isaac. "Who are your friends?"

Isaac brightened up. "This is Ponte." he gestured to the boy with messy green hair. "And that's Keith, Kellyn, and Kate!"

Melody grinned. "It's nice to meet you all."

Isaac took his sister's hand. "Melody. I'm not mad anymore. I have to go to the Altru Building; I'll drop you off in Pueltown."

Kate watched as Isaac, melody, and Ponte walked off. I wonder how my sister is...?

"Let's go, we're running late!" Kellyn exclaimed.

"Aw crap, we don't want to give them a bad impression!" Keith added.

Together, they ran at top speed to Vientown.

"This is it." Kate announced as they stared at the Ranger Base. "Let's get this over with."

They walked through the doors to find no one home.

"Hello?" Kate called.

"Anybody there?" Keith chimed in.

"Echo!" Kellyn exclaimed.

Kate and Keith sweatdropped.

"What?" Kellyn asked innocently. "I wanted to see if it would work!"

"Over here!" someone called in a feminine, sing-song voice. The group looked over to see a woman with bright violet hair and eyes smiling. "I'm the Operator here."

"Great, so where is everyone?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, we were wondering." Kellyn added.

Kate smacked him with her styler. "No need for the commentary, Kellyn!"

The Operator giggled. "They all went out on a very important mission. However, they left an extremely imprtant parcel for you to bring to them. Do not tip it over, and don't swing it around."

Kate nodded, and the Operator handed the parcel to Kellyn, of all people.

"Be careful." she warned as the trio left the building.

As they walked to Nabiki Beach, they pondered what was in the parcel.

"I bet it's a bomb!" Kate exclaimed suddenly.

Keith sweatdropped.

"Do not tip it over, and don't swing it around...That's gotta be it, Kate! What idiot would swing a bomb around?"

"Quick, throw it against that tree, let's see if it explodes!" Kate cried.

Again, Keith sweatdropped.

"Don't you just love explosions?" Kellyn mused.

"They're the best!"

Keith rolled his eyes. "You two are idiots; Why would they trust three minors with a bomb?"

"Yeah!" Kate realized. "And why would they trust it with Kellyn of all people?"

Kellyn sweatdropped.

They were still bickering over what it was when they reached Nabiki Beach. Near the waves, a young couple murmured quietly to each other. And just up some stairs, an old man was surrounded by Pokemon.

"What's the matter, Munchlax? You're not hungry again are you?" The man chuckled at the Munchlax's response. He then turned to a little Pachirisu. "Oh, Pachirisu. So cute, so cute..."

The three students approached as the man was talking to the Starly.

"Come now, Starly, eat up."

"Hey, Mr. Woodward!" Kellyn exclaimed as the old man turned to a little Eevee.

The man was startled. "Eevee, did you just...speak?"

"No, Mr. Woodward." Keith grabbed Kellyn by the ear and tugged him around to face the old man. "That was Kellyn."

Kate joined them.

Mr. Woodward blinked. "And who is this pretty young girl?"

"Where? I don't see a pretty young girl." Kellyn remarked. Kate scowled and smacked him with her styler.

"He meant Kate, you idiot." Keith smacked him as well.

"You would think that, Keith." Kellyn snickered, earning himself another smack from Keith, who was now a light shade of red.

"I'm Kate." Kate introduced herself, turning away from the now-wrestling boys. "I'm the newest student at the Ranger School."

Mr. Woodward smiled. "Well, I know you already heard, but I'm Mr. Woodward."

"Nice to meet you." Kate shook his hand before turning to Keith and Kellyn. "WOULD YOU TWO IDIOTS JUST SHUT UP AND ACT A LITTLE MATURE?"

"I will if he will." Kellyn stated.

"Ditto." Keith added, crossing his arms.

Kate rolled her eyes. "And you say I'm the immature one."

"Well, we'd better get going. We're late enough as it is!" Keith turned to Kellyn. "You didn't mess up the parcel, did you?"

"No. I put it down before you assaulted me." Kellyn picked it up.

"Well, see ya later, Mr. Woodward!" Kate called, dragging Keith and Kellyn away.

The little Eevee watched them go for a moment before chasing after them.

"Dang, you're stronger than you look!" Kellyn told Kate as she continued to drag both him and Keith.

Kate let go. "Hey, look!"

A few yards in front of them, a group of rangers were gathered. One was Crawford.

Crawford was the first to notice them. "Hey look! It's Flamey, Shorty, and Dunce!"

Keith scowled. "Hahaha, make fun of the rehead.''

Kate glared at Crawford. "I'm only shorter 'cos I'm younger!"

"And that leaves-hey!" Kellyn exclaimed.

Everyone burst out laughing

"So." a tall, muscualar man started. "Do you have that very important parcel?"

"Yes." Kellyn stepped forward, but almost tripped. "Whoops."

Kate rolled her eyes, took the parcel from Kellyn, and handed it to the man. "Here it is."

"Alright, lunch is here!" he exclaimed. Sure enough, when the parcel was opened, it was lunch.

As they ate, the introductions were made.

"I'm Barlow. And this is my partner, Makuhita." the muscular man started.

"You know me." Crawford continued.

"I'm Luana." a girl with short black hair and bright green eyes squealed. "And this is my partner, Buneary! Ain't she a cutie?"

"And I'm Elaine. I'm the Mechanic." a woman with grease stains on her uniform informed them. "And you are?"

"I'm Kate."

"Shorty!" Crawford coughed.

Kate glared at him before continuing, "That's Keith, and the klutz is Kellyn. Or, as I call him sometimes, Kelly."

Barlow chuckled. "So, how old are you kids?"

"I'm thirteen." Keith and Kellyn said at the same time.

"I'm eleven." Kate muttered.

That got everyone's attention.

"But...You have to be twelve to get into ranger school!" Kellyn exclaimed.

"I know. And that's what Mr. Lamont said in his letters."

"Huh?"

"I had to write the Ranger School several times before they would even let me take the entrance exam." Kate explained. "I wrote Mr. Lamont for months just to see if they would let me take the enrance exam."

"And?" Elaine asked.

"After a while, Mr. Lamont wrote me and said, 'This school is for children ages twelve and up. However, with your dedication, we might have to make an exception. If it is okay with your parents, you may come only for the exam. But only if you pass will you be admitted.'"

"How come you never told us?" Kellyn asked.

Kate shrugged. "It never came up."

Kellyn was about to reply, but someone screamed.

"HEEEELP!"

Okami: Dun dun dun! Mysterious, eh? No? Well, WHO ASKED YOU!

Kate: Please pardon Okami. She got ahold of the chocolate this morning and...

Okami: WAHOO!

Kate: Thanks for reading, please review!