Sky: Hey guys we are back!
HTF: Though we may need to replace a certain someone. *Glares at Keith*
Seren: Hey cool, you're back HTF, welcome home! *High fives*
Ben: She went? When?
Summer: Why are we here?
HTF: You're in this story, you'll be going to a different Region.
Ben: Epic. I want chocolate. *Drags Summer away*
Sky: Is that code for sex or something?
HTF: If I knew I'd tell you. Anyway, second chapter here it is, make sure you review.
Seren: They don't own anything expect Camera Face Shipping and me, this disclaimer will only be here until the third chapter. If you have a problem with me, Camera Face Shipping or the plot, confront HTF ASAP!
Kate: Other than that, ENJOY!
Thunder roared in the sky as black clouds gathered over Almia. Lightning struck the ground every now and then, moving the grass slightly.
Something wasn't right. The pokemon couldn't sleep because of everything going on in the air. They watched as lightning struck the ground. An eerie aurora filled the air, causing them to go into hiding.
In the Union, the Rangers slept peacefully. Some moving around slightly in their bed, their faces full of bliss.
Thunder roared in the air again. Kellyn jolted up right in his bed, sweat clinging to his body as he did so. He rubbed his face before walking into the bathroom.
Kellyn ran the water in the sink. He had been having a nightmare of sorts. He had dreamt that, during the fight with Darkrai, he had gotten an ugly scar along his face. That the scar faded after a little bit of time. Kellyn splashed his face with water, cooling off. His face was wiped with a towel before looking into the mirror.
The lights were already on, due to being automatic. Once Kellyn saw his reflection, he jumped back, screaming as he did so.
Seren shot up in her bed as she grabbed her styler before rushing into the bathroom. She saw Kellyn looking at his face in the mirror. She sighed.
"Kellyn, what are you doing?" she asked.
Kellyn, shivering, kept staring at his reflection. His fingers brushed over the scar on his cheek.
"It...It was real..." Kellyn whispered. "M-my face...it's scarred..."
"Yes, Kellyn. It was real." Seren said, rubbing her eyes from sleep.
"LOOK AT ME!" Kellyn yelled, panicking. "I-I'm hideous! My handsome face is permanently ruined!"
Seren sighed again. She grabbed Kellyn's shoulders and forced him to make eye contact.
"Listen to me. It doesn't matter what you look like. Heck, you could have half your face scarred for all I care. All that matters is what's beneath the skin; what's in your heart." Seren told him in a serious tone. "You are a strong, caring ranger who wants to see a world in peace and is a great friend. That scar only proves what you're willing to go through."
"B-...but I..." Kellyn stammered.
"That scar is barely noticeable, Kellyn. No one else pays any mind to it but you." Seren went on.
Kellyn looked back at the mirror with a trace of doubt in his face. Sere was starting to feel uneasy herself. Her expression darkened as her hold on Kellyn released.
"Do you honestly feel that scars make your face ugly?" Seren questioned.
The brown haired boy nodded.
"Then you must think I'm ugly."
Kellyn's eyes were wide as he stared at Seren. "S-Seren? You have a scar?"
Seren pointed to the one going from her nose, crossing her lip and down to the chin. The injury had gone deeper than Kellyn's thus, as a result, ended up a little darker and jagged. While Seren wasn't one for looks, she started feeling conscious now. If Kellyn really thought that scars made you ugly, then what would he think of his partner?
Kellyn blinked once. Twice. His eyes watched the scar. He reached his hand out to feel the scar that was on his friend's face. For the longest of times, there was nothing but silence.
"...well?" Seren waited for an answer.
Kellyn made eye contact again. "I had no idea you had a scar."
"What? But it was so obvious." Seren frowned. "How could you not see it?"
"Cause I was looking at your eyes."
Seren was breathless. She had no idea how to respond. All she could do was gaze into Kellyn's eyes, which were gazing back at her.
Kellyn rested his hand on the side of Seren's cheek as he moved closer to her. Seren, being shorter than him, moved her head to look up at him.
Thunder crashed in the sky once more, causing the two teens to jump apart. They ran to their window, seeing the Staraptor and other bird pokemon flying away.
Seren's eyes narrowed as she watched the lightning hit the ground just besides the Union.
"That was close," Kellyn whispered.
"Something isn't right," Seren breathed as she removed her hands from the windowsill. Kellyn looked at her before returning his gaze to the window. No, something wasn't right.
Across the hall, Wendy gripped the blankets and woke up with a start, gasping for air. She and Sven, two of the most experienced Top Rangers, were some of the only people to make it out of Operation Brighton without a scratch on them. Though the images of that day would haunt their dreams for years to come, if not the rest of their life.
Sven moved around in his bed before sitting up. His eyes landed on Wendy as she walked into the bathroom to wash her face.
"Wen? You ok?" Sven asked as he followed her. Wendy shook her head as she got rid of the water dripping from her face.
"No, Sven, I don't think something's right," she answered, eyes frightened. Lightning lit their room up, for a moment, Wendy thought she saw something in a calm cowboy Ranger's eyes. What was it? Fear? Panic? Worry? Whatever it was, it was gone now.
"Wendy," Sven whispered walking closer to her.
He hated seeing his fellow Ranger in such a panicked state. Sven had known Wendy for several years. She wasn't someone you could knock down easily. Never depressed, never worried, never...this. If she was upset about something, then he had to be serious. Sven didn't want to see his partner this way. He wanted to see Wendy as she always was; confident and spirited.
The cowboy pulled Wendy in close, wrapping arms around her softly. With his muscles, it almost felt like he could crush her fragile, shivering body. Felt like he had to be extra careful. Sven's hand found Wendy's lime green hair, stroking it delicately. Wendy leaned her head against Sven's chest, relaxing slightly. Her arms clung to him.
"Whatever happens, I'll be there. We'll get through this together." Sven murmured. "We're a team. Always have been, always will be."
"S-Sven..." Wendy's voice was small. "Thank you," she whispered. She loved the cowboy being there for her, having known him since she started her job as a Top Ranger.
At first, the two weren't close, but now? Now they were the closest of friends, like Kate and Keith were. Though Wendy, unlike Kate, was still unsure of her feelings for her partner. She didn't know whether she thought of him as just a partner and best friend, or something more.
Sven pulled his head away from Wendy, smiling as he did so. The smile was contagious, as it caused Wendy to smile too.
"Whatever's coming next, we'll all pull through this, together, as one," Sven smiled as he kissed Wendy's forehead. He had always had a habit to do that. Ever since he first saw her, he had always gave her a small peck on the forehead.
Sven would feel her relax as he did so, before she calmed down completely, enough to do what she needed to do. Though he knew Wendy wouldn't sleep again now, and neither would he.
Up on the Operator's floor, Rythmi had woken up early, like she normally did to get an early start. So far, there had been one phone call from a woman who said a pokemon came bursting through her house agitated and angry.
The woman had to call Officer Jenny for help, who was now in the hospital in Jubilife City. The call itself was from Sinnoh, which was something Rythmi couldn't understand.
'We patrol around Sinnoh during the winter, in the summer everything's fine. So…..what's going on exactly?' Rythmi asked herself as she pulled up the news on the TV.
"Reports have been sighted by young trainers of lightning hitting the ground. Once this lightning connected with the ground, the trainers had said the ground moved and something rose from beneath it before quickly disappearing."
Rythmi paused the video as a figure stood just above the ground.
"Too small to be Darkrai," Rythmi jumped a mile in her seat as Isaac walked up behind her.
"Arceus...Isaac, don't do that during a thunderstorm," she sighed as she rested a hand over her heart.
"At least I didn't try busting your door down with an axe and yelling 'Here's Keithy'," both Rythmi and Isaac sweat dropped at that. Keith had done something like that one day in Ranger School when they were in the girl's room. His excuse? He was bored.
"True," Rythmi replied as she zoomed in on the image on the larger screen. She used the computer to bring it out of its darkness and into slight light, though it didn't turn that bright.
"It almost looks like a pokemon," Isaac muttered as he and Rythmi both moved closer to the screen. The two accidentally bumped their heads together as they did so.
They drew away, laughing as they looked at each other with slight blushes on their faces. Rhythmi expected Issac's head to draw away but it didn't. Instead, Issac was still very close to Rhythmi. A hand brushed a strand of hair from her face, then smoothed the cheek.
"Rhythmi..." Issac whispered. "I...I um...y-you look very pretty."
"Issac..."
The two blondes stared at each other's eyes. Eyes that slowly closed as they bent forward. Lips stretched out and were centimetres from contact...
KERPOW!
"EEP!"
Rhythmi jumped and clung to Issac, terrified of how the thunder clashed across the sky. Isaac's face was cherri berry red at the close contact. But he awkwardly put his arms around his friend and murmured comforting words. Rhythmi was still spooked by what happened though she slowly calmed down. In Issac's arms, the world was less of a scary place. Things were never so confusing.
"Thanks." Rhythmi said as she looked back up at the genius.
"Of course." Issac smiled.
Meanwhile, miles away in the normally quiet Vientown, another girl was up. She sat in the main room of the ranger base, watching the rain from her spot on the windows. Luana was tired but she couldn't go back to sleep. Heck, couldn't close her eyes without seeing images flashing inside her head. Her body shivered from the cool air of the ba-...
Huh? Out of nowhere, a blanket was thrown on top of her head.
"Insomnia? You know the best cure for that is to get a lot of sleep."
Sitting down next to Luana was Crawford, grinning a little from his joke. Luana flashed a quick smile before looking back out at the rain.
"You haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately." Crawford noticed.
"I can't..." Luana sighed.
"Nightmares?" Crawford guessed (Luana nodded). "What about?"
Luana shrugged. "Lots of things. I usually dream that I'm falling. T-that I'm falling through cold darkness. And no one's there to save me. Tonight I...I dreamt that these shadows slowly encased the world..."
Her head was buried in her hands. The dark haired girl curled up into a ball.
"I don't know what to do." Luana's muffled voice spoke. "I can't sleep without waking up to a panic attack. It's like those dreams...t-they're real..."
Ever since Brighton, these nightmares happened to Luana. Crawford knew she was still dreaming about when she fell off Altru tower. He was glad that Luana wasn't awake during their time in the dark void. More scary stuff to harm that once innocent mind.
Crawford slipped an arm around Luana's shoulder and pulled her close. He rested her head on his chest. The blanket was wrapped around her more; to keep her warm. Luana sniffled, looking a bit surprised by the action.
"Luana, I don't just share the good times with you. I'm there during the bad times too. I'll make you laugh but I'll also be your shoulder to cry on." Crawford quietly told her. "No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you. I promise."
Luana smiled, listening to what she needed to hear. She snuggled into Crawford's chest as tears silently slipped down her cheeks. The pair watched the rain together. Crawford sighed. He and Luana were the perfect pair. Not just for ranger partners. Crawford would crack some jokes or pull pranks, Luana would laugh. They brightened each other's day. Even when there was a particularly rough day, Crawford always found the will to smile because of Luana. Her cheerfulness was contagious. Sort of like a seed; getting under the skin and taking root. And like a seed, the feeling started to grow and blossom into something...more. Whether that flowering emotion would be shared with Luana or not was yet to be seen.
There was a soft snore. Crawford looked down to see Luana peacefully drifted back to sleep. He chuckled. So cute. The afro ranger picked up Luana in his arms and carried her back to bed.
"Heh. You still believe in shooting stars, Luana?"
"Why not? Cute idea! Oooh! There's one now!"
Crawford smiled at the memory. That one happened not long before Operation Brighton; one of the rare calm moments they had together. Looking out the window, up at the stormy sky, Crawford wished he could see if there was a shooting star passing by that second. If there was, he wished for his partner to have nothing but sweet dreams.
Seren: …..I'm dying…..
Kellyn: At least I said the mushy stuff.
HTF: You're enjoying this part of the contract aren't you?
Sky: *Looks up from ideas* Yes, very much so.
Kate: Go figure.
Keith: Why wasn't I in this?
HTF: We had enough Kate and Keith mush in the last story. We're introducing some other mush, then we'll bring your mush back into it.
Kate: Damn, I thought I was home free.
Keith: You know you love me.
Rythmi: Can we just say review and….KEITH PUT THE VASE DOWN!
Keith: NO WAY! GO LONG CRAWFORD!
Crawford: WAAHOO!
Isaac: We're surrounded by idiots.
HTF: Pretty much.
Sky: HEY! GET YA ASSES OVER HERE AND SAY THE END PART!
Cast: *Goes into big huddle* we hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review and we'll see you again soon. REVIEW!
