Another nightmare…? She thought calmly as she looked around the blackness, "Who was taken this time?" she asked softly, waiting to hear the voice.

"As you already know, it was Wendy." Her reflection said in the same voice. She looked much better than she had in the beginning, less gaunt, less battered, less broken. She looked stronger, and if it weren't for the chains of blackness still holding her captive, Kate would have thought she was looking in a mirror. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you last night. The ah… meeting with you ran longer than we thought it would and we didn't have time to tell you."

"It's okay. I've gotten over it. Any idea what's really going on?"

The chained Kate bit her lip, "There are going to be at least two more disappearance plans to come. They'll be really close to you. Other than that… well…"

"What?"

"He's striking at the Luminous Crystal."

The words made her heart stop for a moment, "…that bastard."

"I know. That's why you don't have much time left. You need to hurry, Kate."

"…I know." Her gaze was lowered as she spoke softly, fear clenching her chest. "If we don't…"

The implications of what could happen if they failed flashed into her mind, just the same as they had when she had first made her way up to Altru tower so long ago. If they failed, Almia would pay the price… maybe even the world this time.

--

Her eyes opened with tears in them, and she looked up at the sky. Her breath was shaky for an odd reason as she felt an odd sort of anticipation growing in her chest. She didn't like it one bit. It felt like it had when she had seen Keith flying off the tower. Her arm shook as she pushed herself to her feet still with her gaze on the stars. Where was it…

Orion looked down at her when she could finally find it, her favorite constellation of the bunch. The Warrior. Strong and valiant, courageous and great. She always liked the warrior, and what it stood for. Protection and strength were things she had needed a lot along her Pokemon Ranger journey. And since she felt stronger whenever she looked at Orion, she had the tendency to look at it whenever she could.

"We're so close." She murmured, looking up at the constellation as she thought, "Two more pokemon, I think." She sighed, "Hang on everyone, we're almost there."

--

He looked over the shadowed form of Almia, embracing the darkness that hung low and caressed the landscape around him. It was truly a miracle that no one had thought to check on the Luminous Crystal yet.

A miracle that he was counting on for these last few days; he needed more power to dislodge the other two gems than he had thought. It had taken twenty of the recruits' rather seasoned pokemon to remove just the yellow gem, and as if taking the strain more seriously, the other two gems refused to be knocked away the same way.

He gave a small evil smile. He was going to win. He was actually going to win. Then he could dye his hair back to its original color and reveal his true face as the face that had taken over Almia.

Almia would be the start, he thought gleefully. Then he'd take over the other regions, one by one, and rule the world from Altru Tower.

It was the thought that drove him to be careful these last few days. He didn't want to lose it all within the last steps.

The next target would hopefully convince Kate to give up her endeavors to stop him… and if not…

He smirked at his Gliscor and the Gengar he had taken control of. If she was so foolish to try and stop him up here, he was ready.

--

Keith woke up with a yawn and a stretch as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, making himself wake while Buizel stood next to him. A chuckle from off to his left seemed to signal Buizel to water gun his face, and the last traces of sleep disappeared.

He wiped his face and glared weakly at his Buizel, before crawling out of the cave and catching sight of Kate. "Hey." He called to her, walking over to sit by her. She glanced at him and smiled slightly, leaning against his side and laying her head against his shoulder. He leaned his head against hers and they sat there in silence, watching the rose-red sunrise together.

--

Kate glanced down at the red and yellow feather she held in her hand, an uneasy feeling sitting in the pit of her stomach. She was going to face the next pokemon within ten minutes, and she was starting to chicken out. That wasn't right. She couldn't chicken out now.

She took a deep breath, steeling herself before striding into the third cave they had found, this one more possible than the last two they had searched on the field. If it wasn't this cave, she was willing to bet it was the next cave.

Of course, she had said that about the first cave. Hmm.

Keith was following behind her a few feet, his Styler ready in case something needed to be caught. Pachirisu shifted on her shoulder, chattering softly as it looked around. She absently reached up to scratch its ears to calm it down. If she was right… if her messenger was right… she had two more chances before things went sour in Almia. Two more chances that she hoped didn't dwindle to one too soon.

She peeked around the corner of the cave and sighed, "Dead end." She called back to Keith. "I was so sure about this one too…"

A cold wind rushed into the cave and she closed her eyes tightly, shivering. She was forced forward a step with the strength of the wind.

"Why have you come here?"

The loud voice rang out with a cold, clear efficiency that made both Kate and Keith shiver. Keith grabbed hold of her hand and she looked gratefully at him before taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"We've come here hoping for some form of help." She replied calmly to the blue dog. It was only then that she realized it looked like it had ribbons coming out of its butt.

She heard Keith take a quick breath of air as he realized this little detail, and she stepped on his foot, carefully looking away. Keith quickly got a hold of himself.

The blue dog nodded, "Explain." It encouraged her, looking interested. "You have the look of one steeped in their own darkness. If you call for help, you must specify."

"I am trapped in my own darkness, or however you said it. I've been like that for over a year." She paused, tugging the long cloak that she had resting on her shoulders closer as the wind passed through again, fighting a shiver, "I hoped you could help explain this." She held out the feather. "I know you're probably not the pokemon we're looking for… but this was our only lead, and… Entei and Raikou made it like this, so we figured, maybe you were the next logical step?"

"Did I ask you to ask me questions, or did I ask you to explain?" Suicune asked in an amused tone of voice. He turned toward Keith, "And your wish, in this quest?"

"I only want to help Kate." Keith responded confidently, his eyes locked on those of Suicune. "In any way that I can."

"Your courage shines through." Suicune noted absently looking between the two, "Very well. Prove yourself and I will explain."

Kate rested her hand on the release button for her Styler, but was stopped when Suicune made a low growling noise.

"Only the boy."

Kate, who slowly stepped back a few feet to let him forward, mirrored Keith's surprised stare. Suicune looked at her solemnly before turning his gaze on Keith.

"You want to protect her. You want to help her. Prove yourself."

Keith glanced back at Kate before his face set in a determined grin, and he winked at her, "I'll take care of it."

"I hope you will." Kate smiled slightly, "But remember, it won't matter to me in the least if you lose or not. Just don't get yourself killed."

"I'll try." Keith nodded with a grin, before stepping forward to take on Suicune.

--

Far away from them, in Almia, a blond girl screamed as Pokemon attacked her.

--

"You…" Rhythmi whispered, "How… why?"

"How, why?" he taunted her condescendingly, his eyes gleaming, "I'll tell you how, and I'll tell you why, you little brat. Your little friends are the only things that are threatening my plan. Their insignificant quest may bear fruit, therefore, I must… dissuade them from continuing. They've been annoyingly determined, despite the many… disappearances." He gestured around to the nine other captives, each sleeping peacefully around them. Rhythmi's eyes widened.

"Sven… Wendy… Barlow and his team… Melody and…" her voice hitched, "Isaac…"

"Yes." He smirked at her as her eyes filled with tears, "Each and every one of them here because of one thing… They supported her."

Rhythmi's gaze landed on the smaller dark blonde, whose pigtails were falling in her face. She had no doubt that if those eyes opened, then they would be the same ocean blue shade as Kate's.

She turned back toward the man in front of her, who she almost didn't recognize. "But… but why?!" she asked desperately, tugging against the grips of the two minions behind her, who were tugging her over to two Drowzees.

"You really think I'm going to reveal my plan? That's part of the reason all evil villains fail! They take the time to explain everything! That's also the reason you're told the story of a video game before you even start, it's a plot against the villains telling you exactly how to defeat them!"

Somewhere extremely far away, the fourth wall collapsed on the authoress writing this.

"You've turned into a horrible man." Rhythmi called as she struggled against the Hypnosis attack, "AND KATE KNOWS WHO YOU ARE!"

He smirked as she fell asleep. "Of course she knows who I am. She was a bright girl."

He turned away, walking toward the luminous crystal again.

"Even if she DID run in the hallways."

(Okay, if you don't know who the villain is, you need therapy. And to go get a copy of Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia. And to be beaten over the head with a wet noodle(which I will happily provide). And to go find another story, because really… how can you NOT know who it is?)

--

"You have done well." Suicune intoned, bowing his head as Keith recalled his Styler. "You have learned much on this journey. Do you think you could have captured me when you first began?"

"No, honestly." Keith shook his head, "Now you promised you would explain, please."

"Show me the feather."

Kate held up the red and gold feather, letting it go as it started to glow again. It floated toward Suicune before flashing and shifting colors to add blue to the mix. Another flash followed.

The colors on the feather started shimmering together.

"At dawn tomorrow, Stand facing the eastern sunrise, and look to the skies. Hold the Rainbow Wing," he indicated the multicolored feather, "so that it shines in the sun. Then wait."

Kate took hold of the feather again and frowned, "But…"

"And take this as well. You have a small collection by now." The pearly white crystal had swirls of blue and green on it, and it drifted into Kate's waiting hand. "Their purpose will be revealed soon enough."

Kate closed her fingers around the crystal and looked up when a strong wind whisked through the cave again. Suicune was gone.

"But you never explained!" She yelled in aggravation at the wall, making an echo. She SWORE she could hear chuckling behind the echo.

--

"VOICEMAIL! Kate, if you're there, this is kind of huge!"

"Linda?" Kate looked down at the terrified brunette staring at her from the screen, "Where… Where's Rhyth?"

"She disappeared!" Linda explained with a frantic cry, "And the pokemon attacks are getting higher! We can't last much longer, Kate."

"Two more days." Kate nodded, "One for one final pokemon battle, the other for getting back. And Linda…"

"Yeah?"

"If you can, get a message to Solana in Fiore. She was practically my idol back there… with my parents in Fiore, I'm hoping she'll deliver a message to them."

"What's the message?"

"Tell her to tell Mom… I'm getting Little Sis back. And also to tell dad that when they get back to Fiore, I expect him to make Vegetable stew."

"Got it." Linda paused, "And Kate… when you get Sven and Wendy back, can you tell them they should just stop pretending that everyone doesn't see and that they should go out?"

"Done. I was wondering when they'd date. If they haven't done it yet then they obviously need help."

--

"You're almost done." Her mirror image smiled at her, "You know what you need to do. Now do it."

Kate nodded, closed her eyes in the dream, and concentrated.

The black chains melted away from the dark-Kate, and she stepped forward to grab her hand. Standing back to back, she smiled slightly and exhaled.

She felt the hand she gripped dissolving into her own hand, and a sense of wholeness washed over her. She looked at Darkrai, "We'll be back. See you the day after tomorrow."

Darkrai nodded solemnly toward her, and she smiled.

The scene disappeared in a flash of light.

And suddenly she was awake, looking out toward the pre-dawn grayness and knowing that just one more battle awaited them in Kanto, before they could go back to Almia.


AN: WHEW! Okay. First of all. IF YOU DON'T GIVE ME AT LEAST TWO, I REPEAT TWO REVIEWS FOR THIS CHAPTER I'M GOING TO BANG MY HEAD REPEATEDLY AGAINST SOMETHING HARD AND YOU PEOPLE WILL BE LEFT HERE. You have two days to give me two reviews. (And I'm being VERY EXTREMELY GENEROUS. I could say you have TWO HOURS. So Y'all BETTER REVIEW.)

I WANT TO BREAK A HUNDRED *BEEP*ING REVIEWS, DAMNIT!

So. Now that my little rant is over, Other things that are important.

Flaming Blizzard. I owe this chapter to you. Not only did you give me a GREAT conversation when last chapter was posted, but you also gave me the required AWESOMENESS to get my head back onto Pokemon Ranger and out of the AWESOMENESS of the Ice Age section, whose authors are amazing and JESUS CHRIST I was caught in a viscious cycle of awesomeness. So everyone, you are REQUIRED to flood Flaming Blizzard's PM inbox with thank you messages for this chapter. This is my decree.

Also...

SCHOOL IS STARTING IN TWO WEEKS. That means that not only will I not be here for a good chunk of the day, I'm only going to have the computer for three hours per weekday, seven per weekend (a rule that my parents are planning on enforcing RIDICULOUSLY.) and that sequel I told y'all about? Yeah, it'll be over the year if you're lucky. As long as LIFE doesn't butt its ugly mug into my face. I'M GOING TO TRY TO FINISH THIS BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS AGAIN, but no promises.

This means the last few chapters might be spread over... like, two months, at most. Because Sophmore year Equals CHAOS.

I think that about covers everything. YOU ALL BETTER REVIEW, READERS!