POKEMON RANGER, OUT OF THE DARKNESS - Chapter Five: Mewtwo.


"Morning sleeping beauty." Keith said warmly when he saw Kate shifting into a sitting position, smiling. Kate looked over to him and got an odd look on her face, before stating, "I didn't have a nightmare." She thought a moment, "And my mind isn't plagued… with the image of Little Sis." Her tone was confused.

"You think the nightmares are gone?" Keith asked slowly, looking at her eyes for a few seconds as she shook her head slowly.

"Darkrai is still out there at the top of Altru Tower. As long as he's up there and under the control of whoever it is that has him sending these nightmares, I'm going to keep getting them. I think maybe Mew just… pushed away the one image… of Little Sis. Darkrai will send others." She muttered anxiously, looking around at the forestry around them, "Did you carry me here? We were outside that Memory Cavern when Mew made me sleep."

Keith laughed embarrassedly, "Yeah, er, everyone was coming to stare at you because they noticed the light that Mew gave off." He coughed, "Figured you'd rather wake up away from stares."

"Well, thanks." Kate said in surprise, her blue eyes shining brightly as she smiled one of her now-rare smiles. Her face settled into confusion again as her eyes flickered with remembrance about something. "I think… I know what Pokemon we go for next."

"How?" Keith asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Mew told me. Just before he made me go to sleep… he told me… 'Mewtwo'."

"Mewtwo? What kind of Pokemon is that, an evolution of Mew or something?"

"Mew doesn't evolve, you idiot!" Kate giggled.

"Well then what is Mewtwo?!" Keith asked, his eyes glinting in laughter as he continued his ploy to make her laugh. It seemed to be effective seeing as she was snickering at his antics, but he was sure she knew what he was trying to do. Her soft smile made the angelic face light up noticeably and he found himself smiling back. It was nothing like her old bright grin, but it was much better than the somber frown she had been wearing for far too long.

"Our next lead." She answered him softly, looking toward the mountains to the west. "I think… we should go that way. Somewhere in those Mountains, I think that's where Mewtwo is." She didn't mention the slight tug in her mind that led her to believe that the mountains were where they needed to go.

Keith frowned slightly, "Well, let's capture a couple of Fearow or Pidgeot then." His no-nonsense tone made her smirk slightly, before her face settled back in its all too familiar frown.

"Keith, do you… think that everyone in Almia is okay?" she muttered quietly.

"…I don't know… but they can handle themselves…" he placed a hand gently on her shoulder and sighed, "For now, we need to worry about what we face, not what they face." His tone was regretful, and his eyes held pain that she realized meant he wished he didn't have to say the things he was saying.

Kate sighed, "Yeah… I guess you're right."

For a moment, neither said anything until Kate reached her hand up to place it on his hand, which was still resting on her shoulder. She closed her eyes slowly before exhaling and saying, "Nothing we can do about it."

---

There was a small town in the mountains that the duo stopped at to recharge and refuel. Sadly, the Stylers would need to be rerouted completely to be able to give to someone to charge in Kanto, or else be altered significantly. Kate refused to change anything about her Styler unless she herself did it, and as such neither of them got their Stylers checked. Kate looked over some of the wiring of her Styler idly as they waited for food in a restaurant then pulled out a small, round, clear stone from her pocket.

"What's that?" Keith asked her, catching sight of the stone. He didn't realize that it was the stone that Mew gave her before putting her to sleep. His curiosity over the clear stone caused him to plant his palm into the butter dish next to the bread as he leaned over the table to get a better look.

"It's the stone Mew gave me." Kate muttered, turning the clear stone and rolling it in her palm idly as she looked it over, ignoring Keith as he wiped his palm embarrassedly with a napkin, "It's odd, though, because when I put this thing down…" she placed the stone on the table and he noticed her eyes darken noticeably, "…the nightmarish images come back, but when I pick it up…" she plucked the stone up again and her eyes brightened to their original color, "They just melt away."

"That's strange. Mew must have, I don't know, made the stone so it absorbs the nightmares or something." Keith offered, tossing the napkin effortlessly into the trashcan on the near wall and grinning embarrassedly at her. She smiled slightly, "I hope that's it."

They ate their meal in silence as Kate tinkered with her Styler and the small clear stone, and almost before either had completely eaten their meals, a young woman burst into the restaurant yelling for help. Kate and Keith looked up instinctively, as several Pokemon ran into the restaurant… several very familiar Pokemon.

"Buizel!" Keith gasped, noticing his partner among the menagerie of Pokemon. He also noticed other familiar Pokemon, "Kate, your Cranidos, Munchlax, and Starly!"

"Not only them, but Machop, Chimchar, and Turtwig too! Even Croagunk and Mime Jr.! And Kricketot!" Kate's eyes were shining with laughter, "Seems our partners got a little lonely without us." She moved forward to greet the menagerie of Pokemon, which surged forward at her like a wave. She caught herself before she fell and Pachirisu scurried out of her jacket to join the group that was smothering her.

She heard Keith grunt as his Buizel connected with his stomach, and he fell besides her laughing. Those around them in the restaurant were thoroughly confused, and some even moved forward to try and restrain some of the Pokemon that were seemingly 'attacking' the duo on the ground.

Kate was giggling madly as she hugged one partner after another, finally coming back to Cranidos and planting a kiss on the Pokemon's forehead. "You led them here didn't you, Cranidos?" her Cranidos was the primary leader of her partner pokemon when Pachirisu was gone. It seemed like something it would do.

Pachirisu chattered as it danced around the duo and the other ten pokemon, sparking at the cheeks and letting off static as it hopped around. Kate pushed the other Pokemon gently off of her and sat up, watching as Keith did the same with his Buizel. Their eyes locked for a moment before Kate looked away, her face oddly closed off.

Keith frowned, before looking around at the people staring at them and he realized why she had looked away, 'Best not to make a scene when so many are watching.'

He stood and helped her up, offering his hand as casually as the attention would garner him, and they marched out of the restaurant calmly, the many Pokemon in tow.

---

They spent almost a week scanning the mountains on Pidgeot, eating lunches up in the air and sleeping on the ground below, before Keith's sharp eyes caught sight of the cave in the base of one of the mountains. Kate had sent in a captured Crobat to scope out the cave, and the results made both of them grin. Mewtwo was residing in the cave.

But, both realized as they prepared to go into the cleft, the sky was darkening far too quickly to even think about entering the dark cave. Keith sighed and handed her one of the now slightly worn silk-shot blankets that they had been using for the past week, nodding slightly when she smiled. It had been just that long since she had had a nightmare, and both were content to sleep with the reassurance that a nightmare would… probably not strike that night.

Of course, they both should have known that PROBABLY was not DEFINITELY.

---

She shuddered as she looked around, the horrific fear that she had thought had left her was back in full force, no, even stronger after lying dormant for a week. The dark abyss surrounding her squeezed in, muffling her cries and suffocating her even as she tried to pull away from the almost starving black tendrils of smoke that surrounded her and poisoned her lungs. She reached out into the darkness, hoping to catch onto something – anything – anything that would let her pull away –

The smoke in front of her cleared as her arm was pulled back by the tendrils, and there, floating before her and almost blending into the blackness that restrained her, was Darkrai, holding in his clutches –

"NO!" she yelled, staring in shock at the two blonds floating in front of Darkrai, the pain shining in the crystal grayish blue eyes, the moans they let out as the darkness closed around their throats…

"No…" she whispered as they reached out their hands toward her helplessly, calling out, "Help us, Kate! Help us!"

"No…!" she sobbed, when the arms dropped back into the darkness and the heads dropped, and the two forms of Isaac and Melody disappeared into the blackness, dead, and they disappeared from her sight as the darkness closed around their limp forms.

She tugged futilely at the binds holding her back, glaring with tears in her eyes at Darkrai as something in her heart broke. The two who were the closest to family to her from Pueltown… gone. Her little sister, gone. Who next? Would her parents…?

"…ateee…! Kaaaaaa…! Kaaaaaatttt…! Kaaaaaaateeeee…!"

She screamed as she heard the desperate calls coming at her from all angles, until she heard one that made her start.

"Kate, please wake up…" the broken voice came from everywhere at once, drowning out every other voice even as she felt the sweat that had been piling up on her forehead being wiped away by some invisible force, some gentle hand, a gentle touch that she subconsciously leaned into, a comforting feeling washing through her body as she moaned in emotional pain.

"I'm here, Kate, please, wake up… please… please…" the voice whispered to her again and again, and she struggled against the darkness that held her immobile as Darkrai advanced. Fear once again clutched at her heart as she cried, silvery tears sliding down her cheeks and falling into the darkness…

A shock of pain came to her cheek before Darkrai got close, and the scene vanished… instead forming the sight of the dark night filled with stars. She brought a shocked hand to the stinging on her cheek and felt it was wet, and she closed her eyes as a shocking twinge of pain flickered from her tender touch. She looked around and caught sight of trees, several very worried looking Pokemon, and an even more worried teenaged boy sitting at her side.

"Sorry." Keith muttered sadly, "For your cheek."

"What… Did you…?" she rubbed the red spot on the right side of her face as she stared at him, and he nodded sadly.

"You wouldn't wake up. You scared me half to death, Kate, I didn't know what to do." He sighed, "I went on instinct and… well, slapped you."

Her stomach flipped as she watched his serious expression shift to something else, and something in her mind registered. 'He looks so tired… so old. He must have been really worried.' She put a little bit of pressure on her cheek as she felt more tears pouring down over her fingers, mixing the salty tears with the salty sweat as it moved down towards her chin.

Cranidos stepped toward her as Pachirisu climbed onto her shoulder and nuzzled her, and Chimchar, Starly, Machop, Turtwig, and Munchlax sat in front of her with wide eyes as they watched her worriedly.

Croagunk, Kricketot, and Mime Jr. stood behind her and watched her as she wiped her face of the sweat and tears. Keith watched the actions with tired eyes, offering her a hug when she glanced back at him, which she gladly took.

"I thought that... maybe... they were gone." She muttered.

"So did I, Kate." He whispered back, and she shivered as his warm breath brushed her ear. "I really hoped…" She buried her suddenly red face into his shoulder, as he stiffened slightly unsurely. "Kate, um…"

Kate nodded into his shoulder, acknowledging that she had heard him, before her Styler beeped quickly followed by his.

"Damn Rhythmi, how does she always know when to call?!" Keith muttered mutinously as Kate pulled away and clicked open the screen on her Styler.

"What has you calling, Rhythmi? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"Shouldn't you?"

"Yes. Yes we should." Kate's dry, tired tone made Keith flinch. Rhythmi chuckled embarrassedly over the Styler before stopping.

"Er, we got a report from Pueltown…"

"Isaac and Melody." Kate stated flatly, her eyes dark.

"What…?" Keith asked, watching as Kate sighed.

"How did you know?" Rhythmi asked, "They seemingly disappeared in the last hour."

Kate and Keith's eyes locked momentarily and Keith felt his fingers twitch slightly as he understood. The dream.

After a second, he nodded in understanding and her mouth twitched upward at the corners. "Long story Rhyth." She said into the Styler. "One that I'd rather not get into." She clicked the Styler screen closed and looked at Keith, "Let's go see if Mewtwo is any more useful than Mew."

---

SLAM!

The third time she was thrown like a rag doll into the wall, she heard a loud POP resound from her right shoulder. Biting her lip as she fell to the ground, she wrapped her fingers around her arm and, with a grunt, popped it back into place. Her face contorted in anguish as pain flared from the joint, but she stood up and started directing her capture disk again, following the swirling form of Keith's capture disk as they both tried to capture Mewtwo.

Keith recalled his capture disk seconds after she heard the "OK!" from her Styler and she dropped to her knees, wrapping her hand around her right arm again as she gingerly moved her shoulder about.

"Kate…" she heard Keith mumble as he settled beside her, placing a light hand on her left shoulder. "I heard something pop. Are you alright?"

Kate laughed slightly, "Just my shoulder. You shouldn't worry so much. A moment of distraction could have sent you into a rock spire or something."

Mewtwo floated over toward her and looked at her as she made sure her shoulder was all right. She nodded at Keith in exasperation, conveying that she was indeed fine and he didn't need to worry. Looking up at the Pokemon, she smiled weakly, "You were a little bastard, you." She chuckled, "But we got ya. That's all that matters."

Mewtwo held up his three-fingered hand and looked at it as it started to glow with a purple energy. Kate raised an eyebrow as a spherical shape formed.

'…another one of those stones?' she thought as Mewtwo handed her another, perfectly round, clear stone… no, not completely clear, she realized. This one had purple smoky swirls floating around inside it. The image of Isaac and Melody faded from her mind as she took it and she looked up as Mewtwo started speaking telepathically.

I'm afraid I am not the Pokemon you seek.

"Damn." Keith muttered at this, "You mean we're still not right?" He placed a hand on Kate's shoulder to hold her back, as she prepared to lunge at Mewtwo in a rage. She let out a string of curses that put his internal cursing to shame.

He tugged her out of the cave with the help of Mewtwo momentarily restraining her psychically. With stuttered apologies to Kate, he led them away from the cave and toward their two Pidgeot. Mewtwo nodded slightly when Keith positioned Kate on her Pidgeot and set it flying, before he climbed on his own and Mewtwo let off his psychic control.

Keith sighed as he heard Kate raging twenty feet away from him, a small smile on his face. There was the angry Kate he remembered.


A/N: Try Number Two... Failure, Number Two... ^^;

So, sorry for the MONDO delay, yo. Being allowed to only work for three hours a day REALLY delays how much I can get done. Next chapter is pretty much planned out, so you shouldn't have to worry too much about that. Should be up sometime in the next few days (I WILL have it done before the weekend is up, damnit!) but for now I think the "One day, One chapter" thing is going to have to go for a vacation for a while. Again, sorry.

Don't think I've forgotten... PERSONAL BUT PUBLIC REVIEWS TIME. Or PPR time. Or maybe PAPER time, whichever you like.

Lots of thanks to everyone who has reviewed these last few chapters, and big, Kate-and-Keith grins to Ashlynn, my BFF for offering her ears and eyes while I rambled nonsensically about how much I love this couple right now... and shoved my story under her nose to read. ^^

Reviews:

Roses 'n Horses

(Chapter 3) --- Thanks for your review. I really love it when new people submit reviews, even when they aren't signed so I can send them a note. 'Anyone out there reading this?' is usually the question going through my head when I start a story.

(Chapter 4) --- I surely hope this story is interesting, if it wasn't then I would think it were a bit of a waste of time...

FaithfulSoul (Only one to review ALL my chapters so far O.O)

(Chapter 3) --- Damn you and Fishy ApplePie for being so much fun to reply to! Your nonsensical rambling (much like my own aforementioned nonsensical rambling to Ashy) is really insanely fun to read and think up responses to.

(Chapter 4) --- LINEART!

(Chapter 5) --- (Tackleglomps teh cuteness of Mew.)

Fishy ApplePie

(Chapter 3) --- I AM modest, DAMNIT!

(Chapter 4 BOTH) --- You are so annoyingly fun to reply to. Just like your sister...

Straw BerriKitty

(Chapter 4) --- Trust me, I know EXACTLY which legendary they go to. (mischievous smile) THEY just don't know yet.

(Chapter 5) --- Beware the Fluff, for it is plotting to take over the world.

Moona-Kat

YOU ARE NEW AND AWESOME.

Berry Eon

YOU ARE ALSO NEW AND AWESOME.

Superikku

OMG I've got the personalities?! (Ish shocked)

HorseMagic17

This is your favorite story... you need to look at some other stories then, hun.

BlazieAura

TEH FLUFF IS TO BE FEARED.

Timberstar

You may wish it, but that won't just make it happen. Sadly, I don't really control them...? They're being incredibly stubborn right now (they tend to not look at me unless they're glaring nowadays, since I'm writing this xD)

---

WOW long AN. And with that, I leave you with a parting quote that I thought up this morning.

"Sometimes, when you have a hole in your jeans, it makes you have a holey crotch. Sometimes, when you have a hole in your mind, it's a mind block. Or you're just dead."