Chapter 17 – Burying Traces

Jordan examined a page in a large Pokémon encyclopedia very carefully. He had since turned his laptop off and sat it somewhat carelessly on the floor on one side of his armchair. He held the bulky book in one hand and held his usual glass of whisky in the other. As he examined the words and illustrations printed on the pages, the man was hatching a plan.

The front door suddenly closed, and Jordan heard Gabby and Andy approaching the sitting room. He knew they were there, but kept his eyes glued to the encyclopedia.

"How'd it go?" he asked casually. Gabby was the first to speak up, and looked more angry than Andy.

"Fucking Alakazam's powerful," she spat. "KO'd Liepard without breaking a sweat."

"Alexa's?" Jordan asked, looking at the busty babe through the corner of his eye. She nodded at him, and he returned to his reading. "I remember that thing. Must be listening to her again. What about you, Andy?" he asked before sipping his alcoholic beverage.

"no go, but at least I got to smash Keith's pretty face in." It was fortunate Jordan had finished drinking; otherwise, he would have choked on his own laughter and whisky. He chuckled, leaving Andy confused.

"Never thought you had a thing for the boys." Andy blinked, but, on hearing Gabby laughing her heart out, understood the subtle hint in Jordan's words.

"Wait, what?! No, I-I punched him in the eye, that's all!" Andy exclaimed, blushing heavily. "He had It coming, he mocked my masculinity! I-I'm not gay, Jordan!"

"Keep your bandana on, I was pulling your leg," Jordan smirked. Andy gave his boss a sceptical look while Gabby was trying so hard not to cry after having laughed so hard. She was panting heavily and her eyes were beginning to water. "Anyway," Jordan continued. "Everything's been arranged." Gabby, still holding her stomach with both arms, looked up at Jordan.

"For..?"

"The move. Tonight."

Alexa sat at the kitchen table, with Lily carefully wiping the blood away from her daughter's cheek with alcohol wipes. Alexa tried not to flinch as the alcohol touched her cut. Lupin handed Keith a frozen bag of sweetcorn and pointed to his eye, hinting that Keith should hold the bag over his black eye. Keith did so, but felt silly using the bag of sweetcorn for an icepack. Robbie sat on the carpet in front of the three-seater sofa, enjoying a fresh bowl of water. Reese sat on the floor, leaning against Robbie's side, hugging his own water bottle. Hayden and Ian were not present for reasons unknown to the wounded teens. Lily, after having cleaned and sterilised the cut, carefully placed a small dressing onto Alexa's cheek, followed by two strips of medical tape crossing over it.

"There we go, that should do it," Lily smiled. Alexa lightly touched the dressing with her fingers to make sure it was securely in place whilst not being too tight.

"Thanks, Mum," Alexa said gratefully as Lily began packing the first aid kit away. Keith sighed.

"But that settles it; I am going to find that house tomorrow, and nothing will stop me!" he stated firmly. Nobody noticed Keenan walking quietly down the stairs, listening in on the conversation.

"Let me help you. I know the area well, I should recognise something." Hearing the gesture, Keith mellowed and smiled.

"Thanks, Kitten. I think I'll need all the help I can get," he admitted.

"Maybe I can help?" Keenan asked suddenly. Lily and Alexa looked back at him as he approached them.

"Are you sure you're up for it? I mean, you DID have surgery a week ago," Alexa said with concern.

"Honey, I was up and about a week after the pair of you were born, and you know your brother's stronger than he looks," Lily chuckled. While Lily and Alexa spoke, Keith had a sudden burst of genius...if that was indeed what it was.

"He doesn't have to do too much," he began. "He can look for it from his Fearow's back!" Keenan nodded.

"That's what I was thinking," he smiled.

"Your call, Alexa; he's your brother, after all," Keith said courteously. Alexa took a moment to consider the offer. She knew she'd very much rather Keenan stayed well away from Jordan after the infiltration stunt he pulled backfired, but, at the same time, she knew a bird's eye view would help them hunt down Jordan's hiding place again.

"...yeah, okay. At least you'll be safe from most of Jordan's Pokémon in the sky," she smiled.

"Thanks, sis! Oh, yeah, how did you get on at the Accessory Store?" Keenan asked.

"Oh yeah!" Alexa snatched her backpack from the floor and immediately pulled out a black carrier bag. She held it towards Keith. "Here." Keith, though confused, took the folded up bag with his free hand.

"What's this?"

"Open it," Alexa smiled. Keith was further confused, but, not wanting to look the gift horse in the mouth, put his hand inside the bag and pulled out a green sweatband and a red neckerchief, confusing him further.

"Oh, those look nice!" Lily smiled.

"The sweatband's for Reese," Alexa explained. Reese poked his head up and looked at the commotion, as if to say 'did somebody say my name?'. "And I wasn't sure what to get for Robbie, so I got him some bandanas." Keith put the items down and picked the bag up from the bottom, tipping out the contents. An assortment of bandanas fell out, each of different colours and patterns. Keith counted them to himself.

"You got half a dozen...?"

"Yeeeeeah, they had a lot of variety, so I chose the ones I thought he'd like best. He can choose his favourite ones and maybe even Reese can have one if he wants." Keith smiled at Alexa.

"Thanks, I'm sure they'll like them. Geez, these must've cost a fortune..."

"Excuse me, Keith, money's no issue for us," Lily laughed. "Besides, don't you get paid? Being Top Rangers, you'd think you'd be getting a decent wage..." Keith gave Lupin the sweetcorn bag, which he soon returned to its proper place in the freezer.

"Y-yeah, we do, but-"

"Keith, it's fine, that place was inexpensive anyway. All of that was only about $10," Alexa shrugged. "...actually, I'd like to go there again at some point."

"Was it that good?" Keenan asked.

"Yeah, they even have a free repair service if any of the accessories you buy get damaged," Alexa replied.

"Ah, well, your grandfather might want to pay them a visit then; Hudson's scarf is horridly worn out," Lily sighed.

"Where is he anyway? And Dad?" Alexa asked.

"Well, uh, your father's dealing with an issue in the city's Poké Mart," Lily began sheepishly. "And your grandfather's off on another one of his 'for the heck of it' trips. Blackthorn City, apparently."

"Hope he stays away from Clair," Alexa grumbled. Keith took the sweatband and bandanas as he made his way over to his two Partner Pokémon, going over the accessories with them.

In the dead of night, meanwhile, Andy dumped a single crate onto the back of the Jeep, next to another one almost identical to it. Gabby sat on one of the crates, looking as though she'd been dragged out of bed. Jordan sat on a different crate behind Gabby, smoking a cigarette, as usual, keeping an eye on the barrel next to the house.

"Urgh, why are we moving at 2am?!" Gabby complained.

"The kids will be sleeping by now. So will most of the public," Andy explained casually as he closed the front door.

"Oh."

"Not to mention the only members of the public out at this time of night will all be the stupid drunken idiots who will most likely be throwing up left, right and centre after emptying their wallets at the pubs," Jordan grumbled. "Is that the last of it?"

"Except for the furniture, yeah, pretty much," Andy answered.

"That's fine, the new place is furnished anyway."

"W-what about that Sawsbuck and the other trophies?" Gabby asked worriedly.

"Relax, I had Skarmory take care of those," Jordan replied. "I knew there wouldn't be enough room for them, and I do not want to make two trips."

"You still haven't told us where we're moving to, Jordan," Gabby noted.

"I know. You'll see it when we get there. For now, floor it, Andy."

"Gabs, better buckle up," Andy cautioned as he made his way to the drivers' seat. Gabby did as she was told and sat in the passengers' seat and put her seatbelt on. Andy started the engine and drove the Jeep away from the house. Jordan moved to the only bit of space in the back of the Jeep, near three luggage bags and Andy's guitar bag. He looked at the barrel by the house, knowing...he'd be back.

The next morning, both Keith and Alexa were changing into their proper Pokémon Ranger uniforms. Skywing rested on the chair near the blue beanbag that Mavis rested on. Mavis was practically mummified with the amount of bandages covering the many wounds she'd sustained during her harsh beating from Jordan's Skarmory, but she looked content in her rest. Alexa was just about to put her last remaining boot on her foot when a brief flash of light caught her eye; Lupin had appeared into the room, holding a single Poké Ball in his hand.

"Is that Anna's Poké Ball?" Alexa asked politely. Lupin smiled at her and nodded. Keith, still baffled at the repaired relationship between Lupin and Alexa, turned to Skywing.

"Hey, Skywing, aren't you normally the one who brings Pokémon here?" he asked.

"It's of little consequence, my boy," Skywing answered, keeping his eyes closed softly. His voice sounded softer and more worn out than usual. "Besides, Lupin asked me if he could take over. Considering his ability to teleport at will, who am I to argue?"

"Fair point," Keith agreed. Lupin handed the Poké Ball over to Alexa.

"Thanks, Lupin," Alexa said happily. Lupin returned her kind smile and teleported out of the room. Seconds after Lupin left, Alexa released the Pokémon from inside the Poké Ball given to her. The white light formed into the slender figure of a Mienshao with an unusually thick tail. As the glow faded, the Mienshao had a yellow star shaped mark on her nose and dark magenta eyes. Keith was rather intimidated at the Mienshao's demeanour.

"Whoa...um...hello?"

"Hmf," the Mienshao huffed. Mienshao's voice was deep, yet feminine at the same time.

"Uh..."

"Anna, this is Keith. Keith, this is Anna," Alexa said politely. Anna – the Mienshao – glared at Keith and looked straight into his eyes. She remained silent.

"I-Is she...okay?" Keith asked.

"She's one of my more serious Pokémon; content, but not easily amused," Alexa explained. Keith couldn't understand how she could say that so casually.

"So...does she like anybody? At all?"

"Keith, she's serious, but only to the extent that she's the exact opposite of Ryder. She does have friends, believe it or not." Keith actually couldn't believe what Alexa just said. In fact, the revelation surprised him. "Anna, are you up for spending time with me and Keith?"

Anna looked at Keith once more and kept quiet to think of her response. Keith felt unnerved by Anna's look. He wondered how on earth Alexa could put up with such an intimidating Pokémon. Eventually, Anna looked at Alexa and nodded. Keith sighed silently; he wished she shook her head instead.

"Don't fret, Anna's a very good ally," Skywing said quietly. "She's just cautious when you first meet her, she'll come around."

"I hope that's the case," Keith whispered back. Skywing nodded.

"Don't worry, Keith, she's on our side," Alexa smiled. "Let's go." Keith nodded and followed her and Anna out of the bedroom, allowing the two bird Pokémon to continue their rest in peace.

Outside, Colin, with Keenan riding on his back, soared into the sky as Keith and Alexa ran out of the city, with Anna and Reese following closely. Reese wore his brand new green sweatband on his head. Robbie sat in the house's shadow, watching the two Rangers disappear out of his line of sight and sighed.

It wasn't until Keith and Alexa were near Ecruteak City when Keith finally spoke. However, rather than going into the city, the pair took a detour through the woodlands nearby.

"I admit I can't blame Robbie for not wanting to go back there," Keith said quietly.

"Give him time; his scarring will heal," Alexa said softly. Keith sighed.

"I hope so. Poor guy."

"He's in good company, leave him be. Besides, we have a house to find!" Alexa said eagerly. Keith smiled for a brief moment before a thought crossed his mind.

"Alexa? Will it even be possible for Keenan to recall the path he took when he escaped? It WAS a cloudy day then."

"That's irrelevant; Keenan has a bird's eye view of the whole region at the moment," Alexa explained.

"So he doesn't have to remember a thing..." Keith muttered to himself. "The place is in the middle of nowhere!"

"Exactly," Alexa nodded.

"Is it common for Johto residents to have houses isolated from other towns?" Keith asked curiously.

"Not really, but Jordan's hiding place isn't the weirdest case I've seen."

"You reckon?"

"Try finding one in the middle of the ocean," Alexa sighed. Keith was flabbergasted; the very idea of a house isolated on a small patch of land in the middle of a vast ocean seemed illogical to him. He wondered where in the world Alexa came across something like that.

Keith's concentration broke when he accidentally bumped into Alexa, who had suddenly stopped running to look up at the sky; Colin had stopped mid-flight and hovered over a certain area. Keith and Alexa ran towards Colin, and soon discovered Colin was hovering over Jordan's house. Keith and Alexa stared at the house as Colin flew down towards them.

"...looks just as ominous as when we first arrived," Keith commented. Keenan climbed off of Colin's back and returned his Fearow to his Poké Ball.

"No joke," Alexa agreed.

"...something's wrong with this picture," Keenan said nervously.

"Yep; no Jeep."

"But that's a good thing, though..right?" Keith asked shakily.

"I guess...it just...doesn't feel right somehow," Keenan replied.

"Snap. At any rate, this is the best chance we have," Alexa stated. "We have to crack this case."

"But what if they come back?" Keenan asked fearfully.

"We settle it. Once and for all," Keith said confidently. Anna looked behind her, at one of the trees nearby. She could have sworn she heard something. "Come on." Anna shrugged and followed Alexa and Keenan as they and Keith ran towards the house. Jordan moved away from the tree he hid behind and watched...smirking.

As Keith closed the front door behind him, Alexa, Keenan and Anna looked around the house. Alexa somehow felt tense, as though they had just entered a haunted house. Remembering the circumstances that brought her and Keith to the house the first time and what they saw during their investigation, chills ran up her spine as she dreaded what they'd possibly find this time.

"O-kay, the door was unlocked...that's fishy in itself," Keenan said quietly. Alexa looked towards Anna; the ambiance of the seemingly deserted household hadn't affected her at all.

"Anna?"
"Hm," Anna nodded as she began to keep a close eye and ear on her surroundings, in case the three of them were in a trap. Keith moved away from the door and looked around the area with Reese. Reese hadn't been to the house before, but was already shivering with fear.

"...something doesn't seem right here," Keith observed. Alexa nodded in agreement.

"It feels...deserted, somehow." Keith nodded; he felt the same way.

"I'm going to look upstairs," he said. "Alexa, can you-"

"Sure," Alexa said quickly. She glanced at the closed basement door, knowing all too well that Keith was about to ask her to look down there. Keith chuckled.

"Heh; pretty sharp. I'll be back as soon as I'm done." With that, Keith made his way up the stairs, part of him wishing he wouldn't encounter more severed Pokémon corpses. The lacking smell of blood and decay, however, set his mind at ease. Anna looked up at Alexa as she looked down at her.

"Right, come on, you, basement time," Alexa said, somewhat hesitantly. Anna nodded and followed Alexa to the basement door.

"W-wait for me, Alex!" Keenan yelped as he ran towards his sister.

Jordan quietly approached the barrel next to the house and pulled the lid off, somewhat forcefully. The barrel was full of some sort of liquid. Jordan looked at his reflection in the oily substance and grinned; whatever his plan was, it was going to be diabolical.

Keith opened every single door on the upper floor of the house, but, to his surprise, all of the rooms looked tidy, yet vacant. Even the room he, Ryder and Alexa found the Stantler and Lapras corpses was empty. The room had since had been cleaned; not enough for the blood on the carpet to disappear, but enough for the grotesque smell to lift from the room. The sight of the old blood on the carpet frightened Reese, but Keith counted him lucky the little Buizel had no idea where the blood came from. The only thing on Keith's mind was 'why were all of the rooms cleaned out?'. Keith left the room and continued looking through the rest of the rooms.

Alexa and Keenan made their way down the basement stairs, but were horrified at what they saw after Anna flicked the lights on.

"What the..?! It's been cleaned out!" Alexa exclaimed. And she was right; there was no trace of the stuff she and Keith last saw down there; there were no crates of severed Pokémon parts, no cages, no Ursaring pelt hanging on the string, no stuffed Sawsbuck, no toolbox, no bloodied crates...nothing. The blood on the walls had even been cleaned off. It was as though everything she and Keenan saw in the first place was never in the basement.

"Why would they do this?!" Keenan asked. Alexa ventured further into the room to get a proper look.

"We found them out, mate," she replied. As she looked around, she made a random observation; the rope she found in one corner was no longer there.

"Huh?"

"After Keith and I deduced that you escaped prior to our arrival, we searched the place," Alexa explained. She sounded glum; the last thing she wanted was to be reminded that her brother was held hostage by the poacher who almost killed her in cold blood in front of her deceased Butterfree's grave. If she hadn't filed a report of her findings that day, then perhaps Jordan would have killed her after all.

"What did you find?" Keenan asked. Alexa shivered; the 'what if' scenario of her demise quickly changed into the horrific images of the harvested Pokémon dumped in the middle of an otherwise empty room. Alexa could almost feel her stomach turning at the thought of seeing that all over again.

"..stuff that even I'm too young to see," Alexa finally said quietly.

"...oh..."

"I sent off a report of our findings that night," Alexa added. She took deep and quiet breaths, in an attempt to exile the unwholesome thoughts and imageries from her mind. "Maybe Jordan's lack of actual activity was down to him finding a new place to hide out in..."

"Oh. So by removing his stuff from here, you can't place him here," Keenan assumed. Alexa smiled at her brother.

"Ooh, get you, Sherlock!" she said playfully. Keenan laughed shyly. Alexa looked around the room again, back to her serious demeanour. Anna and Keenan watched her observing the empty room. "But Jordan had a lot of stuff...where could he possibly...?"

Jordan opened the front door and the letter cage. He dumped some different coloured pillow cases into the cage and carefully placed a plastic cup of what appeared to be fuel onto the pile before closing the cage. The cup was only filled with a little bit of fuel; only about thirty millilitres at the most. Jordan carefully closed the front door, being careful not to create so much noise and to not tip the cup over. He quietly locked the front door and began to feed some string through the mail slot, which went into the cup and, thus, into the fuel. Outside, Jordan used his lighter to set fire to the string. The fire on the string burned away at the string, which eventually went into the house.

"Good luck surviving this," he muttered as he went round to the back of the house.

Keith and Reese left one of the rooms on the far end of the upstairs corridor when they suddenly heard a large explosion. The pair ran to the top of the stairs and suddenly saw the source of the explosion, which horrified them greatly; the small flame had touched the fuel in the plastic cup, which caused an explosive reaction and set fire to the pillow cases in the letter cage and had created a fire in front of the door, blocking one of the house's exits. Alexa and Keenan had heard the explosion from the basement and raced out to investigate, only to see the exact same sight as Keith. Anna began to hiss.

"W-what the?!"

"Keith, are you all right?!" Alexa yelled.

"Y-yeah!" Keith shouted back. The fire burned intnesely; Alexa, Keith and Keenan had to resort to shouting to make themselves heard.

"What do we do now?!" Keenan cried.

"Put the fire out, obviously!" Keith shouted hastily.

"But going out through the back door would-"

"Reese, you're up!" Keith exclaimed, cutting Keenan off. Keenan and Alexa could smell the fuel burning in the fire, but Reese had already taken a deep breath.

"WAIT!" Reese had already fired a shot of water just as Alexa and Keenan cried out. Anna stepped in front of Alexa and Keenan, bracing herself for the result of Keith's blunder.

Jordan heard a large explosion from outside. He was at the back of the house, stuffing a ripped up piece of rag into a glass bottle of the same diesel he used to create the makeshift bomb. He scoffed as he took aim.

"Idiots." He kept his eye on the seemingly out of place whisky bottle in the kitchen. It looked as though it hadn't been opened before. Jordan used his lighter to set fire to the rag and prepared to throw.

Anna broke a barrier she had created around her, Reese, Keith, Alexa and Keenan, which had protected everyone from the massive explosion. The fire seemed to have intensified. Keenan began to cough as a result of the fumes.

"Brilliant! Just brilliant!" Alexa shouted sarcastically.

"How was I supposed to know it was a petrol based fire?!" Keith shouted furiously.

"The smell?!" Alexa questioned sardonically.

"Guys, enough!" Keenan yelled. "We need to go!"

Before everyone could even move, they heard the sound of breaking glass and another explosion. They looked back at the kitchen and saw nothing but fumes. They couldn't even see the cause of the kitchen's explosion, but Alexa and Keenan feared the worst.

"What the hell?! Now where do we go?!" Keith shouted.

Anna looked into the lounge subconsciously and saw what appeared to be liquid pouring onto the logs in the fireplace. Her eyes widened in horror, but she reacted quickly. She lifted her arm up and slammed her arm fur to the ground, which caused a trio of large rocks to shoot up from the ground in front of the doorway leading to the lounge just as a lit cigarette fell onto the diesel soaked logs. The entire sitting room exploded into flames, but the large rocks protected Anna, Reese and the kids from the explosion. Anna faced them and pointed up the stairs.

"SHAO!"

"Thanks, Anna! Come on, let's go!" Alexa cried. Keith picked Reese up and ran up the stairs, closely followed by Keenan and Alexa, Anna following from behind. The fire began to spread to the foot of the stairs.

Skarmory hovered over the house's chimney, holding the now empty fuel barrel in his talons and carrying Jordan on his back. Jordan watched as the inside of the house was burning everything inside down, including Alexa, Keith and Keenan. Or so he had hoped.

"Adios," he said quietly. Skarmory dropped the barrel, which shattered into pieces on impact with the ground, and flew away from the house. Jordan looked straight ahead, satisfied with his evil plans. Even if Alexa, Keith and Keenan survived, there wouldn't be a single trace of his presence in the house...if there wasn't a house to find.

Alexa, Keith and Keenan retreated to the upper floor and began coughing; with three sources of fire, the fumes were beginning to prove overwhelming for them. Even Reese and Anna began to choke on the deadly smoke.

"T-the front's out, the b-back's out...now what?!" Alexa coughed.

"I-I'm sorry!"

"Keith, w-we can talk a-about this when w-we're NOT in danger of turning into ashes!" Alexa choked. "A-and we w-won't b-be rising from them if w-we do!" Keenan looked around and saw a piece of string hanging from the ceiling. The string had a wooden sphere tied to the end of it, and the string was hanging from a latch in the ceiling. He had an idea.

"T-the attic, maybe?" he asked loudly.

"I-is there a way on t-the roof form there?" Keith questioned. Alexa saw the fire travelling up the stairs, almost onto the floor they were all on. She heard the sound of wood crashing onto the floor; the banister must have crumbled off of the stairs because of the fire.

"J-just try it!" she screamed. "Anna, c-can you-"

"Hm!" Anna nodded. She leapt towards the string and clasped it with both of her paws. Her feet touched the ground and pulled at the string, opening the latch and causing a ladder to fall from the attic.

"Perfect!" Hope returning to his heart, Keith took charge of the situation. "Keenan, you go up first, Alexa, you follow!"

"O-okay," Keenan gulped.

"G-got it!"

Anna watched the fire closely as Keenan climbed up the ladder, followed by Alexa. Keith followed Alexa, with Reese riding on his shoulder. Anna slammed her arm fur on the ground once more, which cause a large rock to shoot up from the ground and in front of the staircase. Satisfied, Anna leapt up into the attic and assisted Alexa and Keith in closing the latch.

The attic was completely empty of anything, but neither Keith, Alexa nor Keenan knew if it was empty beforehand or if it had concealed more incriminating evidence of Jordan's poaching activities. But given the house was on fire, surviving was the first and only thing floating around everyone's minds. Everyone had become dirty from the soot that was being carried around in the smoke. Everyone, however, was sweating; they felt unbelievably hot because of the fires down below.

"Whew..."

"Don't rejoice yet, Keith; the whole structure could still collapse on us," Alexa panted.

"Meaning...?"

"Every minute counts, bro," Alexa replied. Keith looked around, but, to his dismay, failed to find any means to climb onto the roof.

"...ACK! There's no access to the roof from here!"

"Now what?!" Keenan exclaimed.

"Well...since this place is doomed anyway..." Alexa looked towards Anna. "Anna, can you make a hole in the roof please?"

"Hm!" Anna nodded in compliance. She looked up at the roof and relaxed her stance as her body became outlined in a white glow. The glow moved away from Anna's body and formed two rings of jagged energy spheres, which faded into incredibly sharp rocks very quickly. Anna held both of her arms out, sending the rocks flying towards the roof. With a loud crack, the stones created a hole in the ceiling. Anna leapt up to the hole and used both of her arm furs to smooth out the hole to prevent anyone getting hurt as they climbed out. "Shao!"

"Great stuff! Thanks, Anna!"

"Hm!" Anna nodded courteously at Keith, who was smiling at her. He recognised how great of an ally Anna really was, and proceeded to wish he hadn't been so intimidated in the first place. "Shao!"

"Go for it," Alexa nodded. Anna jumped up onto the roof and walked around a little before looking back into the attic from the roof. "Is it safe, Anna?!"

"Hm!" Anna nodded.

"Good!" Alexa smiled.

"Okay, Keenan, you're up first!" Keenan looked towards Keith hesitantly.

"B-but-"

"It's fine. Besides, you're the only one with a flying Pokémon, you have to be the one to leave first!" Alexa exclaimed. While she had a point, Keenan was still reluctant.

"O-okay," Keenan nodded.

Alexa and Keith both lifted Keenan up to Anna, who kindly helped him up onto the roof. Keith lifted Alexa up to Anna, who also helped her onto the roof. Alexa and Anna then helped Keith up by pulling him up together. By the time Keith got onto the roof, Keenan was nowhere to be seen. Reese sighed with utmost relief.

"Are you all right?" Alexa asked. Keith looked up at Alexa.

"Y-yeah, I think so," he replied. Keith took Alexa's hand as soon as she held it out to him. Alexa then helped Keith to stand up on his own two feet. "I'm really sorry I made that fire worse."

"Given the other ones, I don't think it matters any more," Alexa said nicely. "I'm sorry I was snappy." Keith shook his head and smiled.

"It doesn't matt-"

The roof collapsed under Keith and Alexa's feet. The pair began to fall into the attic, but Anna tried to grab them both. Keith held onto Alexa, but felt a pair of talons clasping around his wrist as he tried to reach out to Anna. Anna held onto Alexa's arm as she and Keith were being pulled away from the burning house. Keith and Alexa looked up and saw Colin carrying them away. Keenan looked down at the pair of them.

"Are you okay?! That was really close!" he exclaimed worriedly. Alexa and Keith kept quiet to gather their thoughts; if Colin hadn't arrived when he did, they could have died in the fire or whilst trying to get down from the roof. Effectively, Keenan saved their lives. Both of the Rangers smiled at Keenan.

"Yeah."

"Thanks, bro." Keenan smiled at his sister.

"Straight home now, no arguments," he said. Keith laughed.

"No complaints here, buddy!"

"Bui, bui!"

Alexa and Anna were the only ones silent throughout the rest of the flight. Anna's silence was understandable, given that she wasn't a talkative Pokémon to begin with, but questions were plaguing Alexa's mind; where did Jordan move his stuff to? Who was the arsonist who tried to kill everyone? Who would live in the middle of an ocean? She sighed and smiled at her Mienshao, who, in turn, smiled back; everyone was alive and well...that's all Alexa cared about.

To be continued...