POKEMON RANGER, OUT OF THE DARKNESS - Chapter Four: Mew.
"Hello?" she called out, knocking on the door again, "Professor Oak, if you're here, the Ranger Union called and warned you we were on our way?" She glanced back at Keith, "They… did call him, right?" She raised an eyebrow questioningly at him as he started laughing.
The door opened and a gray haired, middle-aged man appeared with an Oddish clinging to his head. Kate took one look at the Oddish and the distressed look on the man's face before giggling. "Are you… having some problems with that Oddish?" she choked out between giggles, "Or does it just like you that much?"
"Oh, ha, ha, ha." The man said, shaking his head, "You two must be the Rangers that needed to come see me from Almia region."
"So they DID call you." Kate said, in all seriousness, glancing back at Keith who burst out laughing again. "Ignore him." She muttered, shaking her head, "It's a little joke we just came up with. I'm Kate, he's Keith." She looked at the Oddish again and smiled, "If you're not too busy…"
"Oh, yes, yes, come in, of course." Professor Oak stepped to the side and opened the doorway, Kate looked through it into the cluttered lab, and smiled, "Haha, looks like the Research room back at headquarters… or Little Sis's bedroom…" Her face fell into a distressed frown as she mentioned her Little Sister, and Keith instantly sobered up, seeing the sadness in her eyes, which quickly disappeared when she noticed his attention. Her face went blank.
"We already discussed this, Kate." He said quietly, slipping into stride with her as Oak led them out into the research field. He glanced at her closed off expression before sighing, "She's fine. Darkrai is trying to intimidate you, okay?" He rested a light hand on her shoulder and her eye twitched ever so slightly, an almost pained twitch. He lifted his hand away as she turned.
"I know… but it still hurts." She raised a hand to her chest, over her heart, and her eyes closed. "I keep trying to tell myself it's not real, but my dreams… they are real when I'm asleep. All common reason disappears." She shook her head, and sighed.
"That's when I come and wake you up." Keith said flatly, grabbing her wrist as she started to walk away. "You can't just push me away, Kate!"
"I can when you're getting a little too close for comfort!" she snapped back, wrenching her wrist free and glaring half-heartedly at him, tears filling her eyes.
"Is there a problem?" the Professor called back, having taken notice of the angered stances that the two Rangers now sported. Keith's eyes held a look of betrayal and anger, while Kate's eyes were despondent and fierce. She huffed and turned, walking after Professor Oak and leaving Keith with a confused look on his face behind.
"Kate!" he called, his expression hurt, "Kate come on!"
"Leave me alone." She said quietly, just loud enough for him to hear. He sighed, walking after her soberly, an unsure tilt to his walk. As he followed the now silent Professor Oak and Kate, he delved into his thoughts.
Kate was so different, he noticed with a pang of sadness. Her loud voice and cheeky grin were seldom seen or heard, and her friendly demeanor was nearly gone completely. He remembered all too well when she had gotten angry before Operation Brighton, back in Ranger School, and shuddered. His eardrums (and the eardrums of their classmates) had never quite been the same.
Now… he looked at her posture. 'Definitely pissed.' He flinched. And yet her voice hadn't risen beyond standard… well, Kate standard, anyway. Had he really angered her that much? He looked around at the Pokemon, shaking his head of the thoughts and latching on to anything he could focus on.
Kate was explaining everything to Professor Oak, from the battle with Darkrai to the nightmares to the need to get rid of them. He sighed, realizing she was cooling herself down. His friend from ranger school was pretty much gone, but… deep down, he knew that the old Kate was hiding in the darkness. Maybe, with a lot of patience, he could help her fight that darkness, and reclaim her happiness…
Professor Oak looked back at him, saying loud enough, "No one has done it before… not alone… but the Pokemon I would suggest is a Mew."
'Mew…' Keith nodded, 'If you can help me to help Kate, then I'll go to the ends of the earth to find you.'
---
"So, this is it."
Keith looked at the guide as though he were crazy, at the darkening sky as if it were at fault, and then at the offending place they were at, "A cave."
"Not just a cave…" the guide boy said sharply, "This 'cave' is Memory Cavern, the most mysterious cave in these parts! They say that a pokemon so powerful that it delves into your mind, pulls out memories and thoughts, and projects them in the cave walls is at the back of this cave!"
"Yeah, okay, we get it, Mew is at the back of the cave, he can read minds, and the memories are played like movies." Keith rolled his eyes; "So? We're going in." he moved to walk past the tour guide, who stepped in front of him.
"No, no one is allowed to enter Memory Cavern, to preserve the purity of the place!" the guide snapped at him, blocking the entrance.
"Well, sorry to say, freckle face, but no person, place, or pokemon is completely pure, except for maybe a couple of legendaries. If a pokemon got into the cave the purity would be wrecked anyway." Kate was advancing on the boy, and he stepped backwards slightly, "Not to mention, some people aren't as… clean, as others." The boy was looking nervous now, "Some of us actually… what's the word I'm looking for…" he was nearly in the cave. "Oh, that's right...!" she smirked and threw her voice out loud enough to scare the guide, "BATHE!" the poor boy was thrown into the cave, and he screamed in shock.
"HOW DARE YOU?!" he yelled at them, "YOU'VE DESTROYED THE BALANCE!"
"Actually, I believe that since you're the one in the cave, that was you." Keith snickered, "Now, since there's no more purity to preserve, we'll be going in."
He and Kate strode past the bewildered boy and into the moist cave, their momentary partnership abolished as Kate strode further in than he. Keith sighed, looking at the walls and wondering for a moment if that 'Legend' was true. 'Does Mew really stay in this cave? Does it have the power to project memories?' he looked at the walls more closely and his eyes widened as he saw hidden in the shadows of the dark rocks his own childhood memories, becoming clearer as the moments passed and he and Kate ventured further into the cave.
"Kate, you…"
"Not now, Keith." She said softly, also looking at the walls. Keith looked at the rocks as she came to a stop, "Maybe we should spend the night here in the cave, then face Mew in the morning."
"Well… if you think so," he muttered, rubbing the back of his head anxiously. He watched as she took a corner of the room for herself, and then settled down a bit away from her before looking at the rocks and breathing out. He listened for a while to her breathing to make sure she was fully asleep before whispering, "I'm sorry for loving you, okay?" and turning away from her.
---
Early the next morning he was awakened by Kate's breathing hitching. He looked over at her and saw her face contorted with pain, her hands clutching at the air in front of her face. Without thinking, he crawled over to her, shaking her but with no success. He looked at the rocks, remembering the night before when he had seen his memories…
"Put me in her shoes, Mew! Show me what she's seeing!" he muttered furiously, touching her forehead and dabbing away the perspiration while touching one of the rocks. His eyes blanked as he felt something in his mind click into place, and the hand that was touching her forehead tingled. He closed his eyes and breathed out, focusing on his hand resting gently on Kate's temple.
Shadowy images formed on the back of his eyelids, and he focused on them; the shadows revealed what was undoubtedly going on in her latest nightmare. A frown appeared on his face as he shifted his hand to grip hers tightly.
Kate's Little Sister was being sucked into the darkness, crying out for help and wishing for someone, anyone, to help her, as she disappeared and the darkness retreated, leaving no trace that she was even there…
'Kate…' he cried in his mind, 'Wake up!'
Her eyes burst open and tears formed, and she whispered, "No."
He pulled her into a hug as she cried, and he heard her whisper, "Even after I told you to leave me alone…" her sentence was broken by a sob, "…you still…." He nodded into her shoulder, understanding.
"That's what friends do." He muttered back quietly, biting his lip as he felt her sigh into the hug, "You…" he started, trying to work up the courage to say what he had wanted to say so badly for the past year.
"KATE! We have an issue that concerns you…" Rhythmi's hysterical voice called out, crushing the moment into a million pieces and making Keith sit up straighter.
'Damnit.'
"What is it?" Kate asked quietly, a flicker of fear in her eyes.
"Er, your little sister… she's disappeared Kate."
There was silence between the two, and Kate looked as though her worst fears had materialized. Keith sighed softly, placing a hand over hers and trying to look at her eyes, but she looked away and tugged her hand from his grasp.
"We'd better find Mew to get this over with as soon as possible." She whispered brokenly, "As soon as this is over, everything will return to normal."
Keith looked at the stark black stones that shone with a polished gleam and he saw himself, tied up and watching as Kate had given up the yellow gem, one of the last chances Almia had, to save him. No matter how hands had played out that day, when they executed Operation Brighton together, she had taken the risk of a lifetime… just to ensure that he was safe.
'Why, Kate? Why do you make me feel so confused and yet so happy when I see your pained smile now? Why am I so scared when you have a nightmare? Why do you make me act this way? Why does everything I try to do upset you?'
---
'Why do you care so much about me?' very similar and yet very different thoughts as those of Keith were voicing themselves in Kate's head as she looked over at her downcast friend. 'Why are you so protective? Why do you want me to be happy so badly? Why do I get shocks running down my back when you hug me? Why do I feel my hands start tingling when you hold onto them? Why, Keith?'
She sighed and stood, glancing once more at Keith as he too stood before striding further into the cave, her thoughts whirling.
---
The black rock faded almost fluidly into diamonds, which glittered in the faint sunlight falling from the small hole in the ceiling. There was a single staircase in the wall of jewels, rising up to the opening. Kate looked up at it; her gaze determined again, the scary, fierce determination that had helped her defeat Darkrai before. He shuddered at the dark glint in her eyes.
"Well." She muttered, "This is it. We face off with Mew, catch it, and go back to Almia region."
"Right," Keith replied haltingly, pushing away the flipping feeling of his stomach and the disturbed thoughts from his head. He watched as Kate strode up the diamond stairs, her face melting into a calm countenance. He followed behind her with a nervous feeling in the bottom of his mind.
Something was going to go wrong with their plan, he was sure.
---
"Kate… listen to me please… Just because Mew…"
"Just because Mew what?" Kate asked miserably, "wasn't the one we need, meaning we have to find a more powerful Pokemon to take its place? That could take who knows how long leaving Little Sis in the dark realm!"
"Kate." Keith sighed, having thought of something, "I remember reading somewhere that Cresselia's feathers can cure nightmares, why are we in Kanto when Cresselia is just a few kilometers away from the Ranger Union in Hippodon Temple?"
"You think I didn't try Cresselia?" Kate muttered morosely, "That was the first place I looked for a way to fight these things, a week before I left to hide away in Pueltown. I explained it to Professor Oak, Cresselia didn't help me even when I got a feather. The nightmares came back, and back again, and again!"
Keith remembered all too well the day she had disappeared for a few hours and come back anxious and unsatisfied. Whenever anyone had asked about it, she would just say she had been looking for something she couldn't find.
Kate curled into a ball and rested her forehead on her knees, small tears tracing down her cheeks as she closed her eyes tightly. She wrapped her hands over her head and whispered quietly, almost quiet enough that he didn't catch it if it weren't for his attention on her. "Why, why must it be me?"
Keith looked away, toward the sky, and debated what he wanted to tell her. He wanted her to know his feelings very badly, but every opportunity seemed to pass him by or…
Voicemail, Voicemail! This is Rhythmi!
…Rhythmi would call… Keith sighed, 'Why does she have to call at the most inappropriate times?' he glanced at Kate, 'My few chances are always interrupted by her…' As Kate glanced up, he blinked solemnly at her and the gaze remained unbroken. An unbidden thought strayed into his head; 'Why not just tell her now?'
…No. Not yet, not when she was so upset. He knew that her calm moments were few and far between even now, and they would soon disappear entirely, but he just wasn't ready to tell her yet. He didn't want to risk rejection that much.
'…her eyes are so beautiful…' he thought mindlessly, looking at Kate's crystal blue eyes as he thought of what to tell her. Her shoulders were slumped; everything about her seemed droopy, even her pigtails were sagging in sadness.
"Kate," he started slowly, exhaling nervously, "I… want to tell you…"
A flash of light broke the moment, and Keith cursed, 'WHY?!' before covering his eyes and squinting at the light.
It was Mew, floating before Kate with a tiny stone in its paw. It floated over to Kate and pushed the stone into her hand before placing its paw on her forehead, closing its eyes and starting to glow even brighter. Keith had to shield his eyes completely until the light faded and Mew was gone. When he finally was able to look, Kate was fast asleep with a calm expression on her face: A dreamless expression.
His painful thoughts of longing to tell her seemed to melt away as he stared at her face, the angelic face he wished he could touch gently with his fingers… he held himself back away from her to keep himself from waking her, and only for that reason.
"Sleep well, Kate." He whispered, "Eventually… you'll know." He paused, before reaching out a hand to gently move a strand of hair out of her eyes, "I promise."
Kate didn't wake up until the next morning, and for once, he was happy that she was out cold.
A/N: TEH FLUFFINESS.
FEAR TEH FLUFFINESS.
IT WILL TAKE OVER YOUR MIND.
KATE AND KEITH ARE TEH CUTEST.
