"Lunick can make anything happen, possible or impossible!"
"For the last time: I. Don't. Know!"
Protector of Silence
Chapter Thirty-Nine - The truth
"We're lost aren't we?"
We're not lost
"Yeah we are. We need a map."
We don't have a map
"Well we'll find one. And why are you arguing so much today?"
I'm not arguing - I'm just explaining why I'm right
"Hmph! Sure, whatever you say Mr Padawan, would you like chips with that?"
How did we move from maps to Star Wars? And what does this have to do with chips?
"...I don't know you guys. I seriously don't."
Pit, pat; pit, pat; pit, pat; pit, pat
Kate never guessed how athletic Solana really was - that is, until she had to try and keep up with her. It just reminded Kate that Solana was a real ranger and just how much she had to improve to become one too.
They'd run through so many corridors that Kate had lost count some time ago. Everything looked the same and she was beginning to doubt even Solana knew where they were running anymore. It was miracle no goons had stumbled onto them yet.
Just as Kate thought this, the blue-haired girl ground to a sudden halt and Kate had to put on the brakes quickly to prevent running into the back of her. The ginger shuffled to the side to see what Solana was looking at, and then wished she hadn't.
Standing opposite them, a few metres ahead and flanked by a Torterra and a Salamance was Hunter J.
"Ah, Solana" the hunter smirked "Awake at last."
Solana glared back defiantly, drawing her styler but not activating the styler wand; Kate immediately did so too.
"You!" the former Ringtown Ranger growled "Lunick warned me about you!"
"Oh, I'm sure he did" J chuckled "He would never put his precious blue-bird in danger with letting you in on some of the risks."
"Quit it with your nonsense!" Solana stamped her foot in frustration "Lunick cares about Kellyn and I, and us him just as much! He'll come for me, just you watch!"
J snorted. "Like that pathetic ghost is capable of saving you now."
"You'll see!" Solana shot back "Lunick can make anything happen, possible or impossible!"
Apparently J had decided to give up on Solana, and turned to her new target. She extended a hand towards them - Kate in particular.
"Come Katherine" she said as sweetly as possible "I can take you to Kellyn." Immediately, Kate shied away, balling her free fist. "I see. This isn't what you want?"
"I-I do" Kate laid a hand on her chest, taking a deep breath to calm herself, her eyes closed "More than anything." Her eyes flew open again, determined once more. "But not with you here!" With that, she activated her styler wand, almost as a threat. But Solana was staring between J and Kate. Her auburn eyes wide.
"Kellyn?" she breathed.
"Hmph, well, if that's how you want it" J grunted, raising her chin and her firing arm "Then I'm afraid you'll be comi— YOW!" She yelped with pain as something jumped out from behind her Salamance and sunk it's teeth into her lower arm. With a huge swing of her arm, she dislodged her attacker and clasped her hand around the bite mark, gritting her teeth. As their saviour landed just in front of them, Kate realised what it was.
Or who.
"Shadow!" she gasped.
The Umbreon turned, looking right into her eyes. And in that moment, Kate felt the Pokémon knew exactly how she was feeling - her fear and torment and dying hope.
"Salamence!" Hunter J ordered, her eyes narrowed with extreme anger. The Salamence blasted a Flamethrower at Shadow, the Umbreon leaping out of the way before sprinting between the two girls and racing back the way they had come.
'Follow him' A part of Kate's brain that was still working correctly ordered. And she did. She took off after the Umbreon, Solana on her heels. She never lost sight of him for more than a few seconds as they rounded corners. They were running at a speed Kate didn't know she could reach - but they had to get away from Hunter J.
Just as her legs were beginning to ache and her head began to spin and a dreadful stitch was starting to form in her side and Kate was wondering if they would ever stop, Shadow finally turned off the main corridor down a smaller side one. It was here he finally stopped and lay down, his flank rising and falling heavily as he gasped for air. Kate too slid down to the base of the wall, frantically trying to get her breath back.
"W-We'll be safe here!" she gasped to Solana, who was sitting beside her now. Solana gave what appeared to be a nod of understanding before the three of the them continued in their panting fest.
About ten minutes later, the stitches were gone and the breathing had returned to normal - but Kate was quite content to stay sitting down thank you very much! But now she was sat next to Shadow, running her fingers through the exhausted Umbreon's short fur.
"Don't worry, we'll be okay" she whispered, a small smile on her face "Thank you for rescuing us." Shadow gave a small whine in response. "We'll wait here for a bit. Then we can go and find Keith, Luna and Kellyn."
"Kellyn?" Kate turned her head to look at Solana. The blue-haired girl's eyes were wide with shock and amazement.
"Yeah, don't you worry" Kate smiled "Kellyn and Keith 'll find us, or we'll find them, and then everything'll be alright! I promise!"
Solana shook her head. "That cannot be. Kellyn is just a baby. What can he do?"
Kate frowned, then remembered something. According to Percy, Solana had gone missing, supposingly 'died', a month or two before Lunick passed away. And she'd been perfectly preserved as a statue...for all those years?
"Solana, I don't know if you know this but..." Kate took a breath "It's been ten years...since you went missing." Kate expected Solana to gasp or startle or something, but there was certainly no outward reaction. "Kellyn's eleven now. Fiore and Almia are at peace again. Murph's got a girlfriend...oh Arceus, that's a scary thought." Kate shuddered slightly. "And Lunick...h-he's gone." Solana raised an eyebrow ever so slightly, and Kate told her the dreaded news that she didn't think was her's to tell. "Lunick...passed away...a few months after you went missing."
Again, no outward reaction. Kate was starting to get majorly freaked out by now by this girl's lack of displayable emotion. And then, finally, Solana spoke in a voice barely audible:
"I thought so. You look a lot like him."
"Huh?" Kate blinked "Who?"
"Percy" Solana explained "You have his face." She smirked. "I always told him he looked like a girl."
"Oi!" Kate punched her lightly on the shoulder "That's my big brother you're talking about!" The two girls laughed, and Kate wondered if this is what it would be like to have a big sister. She didn't have a sister - the closest thing she had to one was Leilani who was just as much as tomboy at Kate was. "He's grown up now - he'll be 25 in November. And he's got a girlfriend. Or will, eventually. It's sorta inevitable."
"Really?" Solana asked, eyebrow raised. "Who?"
"Leilani" Kate stated. Solana's eyebrows shot up into her hair for a second, but she controlled her amazement.
"Lunick always said they'd make a great couple" Solana whispered "Whenever we visited Percy, Lunick always brought up Leilani at some point. Percy would blush each time without fail." Kate giggled at the thought, but stopped as she saw Solana go all subdued after mentioning Lunick.
"Solana?" Kate asked, wondering if this would break the blue-haired girl out her mournful trance. Solana let out a long, deep sigh.
"He promised we'd meet again" she breathed "I may not recognise him, but he would be there. Somewhere." She nodded determinedly. "And wherever Kellyn is, Lunick will be there! I'm sure of it!" Solana then turned to Kate, a confident and determined smile on her face. "So let's find your friends!" Kate nodded back, just as confidently.
"Uh-huh!"
'How much further?'
"If you ask that one more time, I swear by Zapdos I will electrocute you! For the last time: I. Don't. Know!"
Meanwhile, what were Keith, Kellyn and Sparks up to? Well, to put it simply, they had gotten lost. Sparks had picked up a random map from a grunt's room they'd been in previously and Keith was trying to read it, but Kellyn was getting anxious.
How much further?
He tried Keith now - he had more patience than Sparks. It took Kellyn tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention, because his face was quite literally buried into the little fold-away map.
"Huh? Oh" Keith blinked sleepily before turning his attention back to the map. His voice was still nasal from the cotton-buds stuck up his nose - they'd found them after Keith's nose had started randomly bleeding again. "Well, according to the map, we should reach the observation deck in about..." He paused, thinking for a second. Le gasp! Keith is thinking! "How 'bout never? Since somebody gave me a map in a foreign language."
'Give me that!' Kellyn growled inwardly, snatching the map 'I knew we shouldn't have let you keep the map! Leave it to you to mess things up!'
"Can you not mentally rant to yourself?" Sparks sighed "Because whilst your target can't hear you - I can."
Kellyn was about to retort, when he lifted one of his feet to take a step and the purple floor panel beneath his foot collapsed ever so slightly. Before he even had so much the time to squeak in alarm, the floor fell out from under him.