Disclaimer: Looketh: I'm glad you liked it! Festivalshipping…kinda…is coming up next. And I agree with the new regions thing. AshKetchumDarkSide: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it : ) Penny Tee13: Awww, thanks. That was very sweet. Rat2rrj: Thank you, what a wonderful thing to say! And of course you may request chosenshipping, I'll do that soon : )

Question: Um…favourite pokemon?

My Answer: I love Celebi. It's adorable.

Characters: Keith X Kate, as requested by Protag 8b.

Summary: Yay for romanticalness X D And Heath's dialogue was copied directly from the game, by the way. Like Radio Tower and Ferris Wheel, this is a modified scene.

Hostage

~Things we've said, words that we'll try to forget,

It's so hard to admit.

I know we've made mistakes, I see through all the tears;

But that's what got us here~

The force of the helicopter's whirring blade blew my hair back from my face and caused the water that surrounded the stone platform I stood on to ripple as it dipped low to hover above me. The all too familiar Dim Sun logo was printed on its side, and I withdrew my stylus, bracing myself with my feet apart.

"Hoy, Kate!" a deep, heavily accented voice called out. "Nice work, you get the Yellow Gem! Very good going!" As I watched the door slid back to reveal a hulking brown-skinned form that grinned at me as if we were old friends. "Although…Very dumb it was for you, following silly vicemail all long way out here to this big Haruba Desert."

"How do you know about my voicemails?" I demanded, feeling dread sink down in my stomach like a heavy stone.

He threw back his head and laughed. The sound reverberated throughout the cavern. "I imitating Keith good, yes? Mimic him good like he was me, right?"

Realization dawned on me, along with anger. "What did you do to Keith?" I snarled, starting towards him to kick him where his stupid dim sun didn't shine. My partner pokemon threw itself at me, chittering at me to calm down. "I swear to Arceus, if you-"

He chortled again, his booming voice drowning me out. "Team Dim Sun, I am belonging to! But more, more, more, I am one of Boss's favourites, the Sinis Trio!" He jumped down, landing with a heavy thud in front of me. He towered above me, muscles bulging from his oversized arms. "My name, it is Heath! Not Keith- Heath! How do you like that?"

I gritted my teeth in frustration. "Why are you doing this?"

His smile was as toothy as a sharpedo's. "First! I think to myself, "Get the Yellow Gem myself, I will!' But there be a pokemon, cresselia, being guardian to that rock. Then, along comes a ranger, kind of happy, kind of go lucky. Surprise, surprise! He try to capture that cresselia! I think to myself, 'Good chance for me! He capturing pokemon, I getting rock!' But that ranger, Keith, he no good! Failure capturing cresselia!"

"You take that back!" I yelled. "Keith is an amazing ranger!"

He ignored me. "Irritating to see it make me, but then flash!" He made an expressive gesture with his meaty hands. "I have inspiration come to me. Rumors I am hearing of a very skillful ranger named Kate. I think to myself, 'Reel in Kate I will do with friend-o Keith act as bait.' So I send you fake vicemail!" He howled with laughter once again, hands on his hips.

"Just get to the point," I hissed, itching to bash him over the head with my stylus. I couldn't believe that I had fallen for this idiot's act.

"So, now you understand?" he asked when his laughter finally petered off. "The Yellow Gem, you give me now."

"I would never hand over the Yellow Gem to the likes of you," I told him.

A leer spread over his face like molasses, and I realized that I had played right into his hands. "Of course, I am fair," he purred. "I trade you something for rock. I give you your friend, quite important, and I take Yellow Gem. Fair deal?"

I choked on my rebuttal as Keith was dragged into view, a Dim Sun member's hand wrapped around his throat. Thick coils of rope held him immobile, his russet hair unkempt and his brown eyes burning at me. He struggled, shouting, "Kate, don't do it! Don't give it to him!"

A low whimper was torn from my throat, the strength instantly being sapped from my body.

Heath's smile spread ear-to-ear. "Silly Keith. Maybe brave, but smart, not so much." He looked down at me as the Dim Sun member's grip on Keith tightened, and I saw him gasp for air, his airflow getting blocked. "Yellow Gem for blue-faced Keith. You make trade, yes?"

"No," I choked.

As I watched, Keith was pushed to the floor of the helicopter, the member's boot colliding with his face.

"How about now?" asked Heath.

I glared down at the jewel in my hand, and then up at Keith, who was begging me with his eyes not to surrender. I felt something inside me break, and I hurled the gem at Heath, a muscle in my jaw leaping as I felt the pinprick of tears forming behind my eyes. "Take it and give me Keith, you monster!"

"Smart is your deciding," he told me as he stooped to retrieve the Yellow Gem.

"Just shut up." It came out raggedly.

Keith was kicked out of the helicopter, and his knees buckled as soon as he hit the ground. Heath climbed aboard it as it flew away, shouting condescending farewells, but I didn't hear any of them: I had sank to my knees beside Keith and was frantically trying to tear the bindings off of him, blistering my hands in the process.

"Kate," he croaked.

I blinked back tears. "Don't. Don't talk."

"Kate, stop. You're hurting yourself." Blood was running from his mouth as he spoke, his voice lacking its usual energy. "There's a knife in the left pocket of my pants. Use that."

After a bit of searching I found it, and cut him loose. The ropes fell to the ground, dust rising up from where they landed, and he rubbed at his wrists. "Thanks."

I handed the knife back to him in reply.

For a while we just sat there, staring at the same patch of sand on the floor. Then he cleared his throat and whispered, "Kate…Kate, I'm sorry."

My head snapped up. He was gazing at me with moist brown eyes, his face littered with bruises. His buizel had climbed onto his lap and was nuzzling his stomach, her eyes shut in relief. "It wasn't your fault," I finally managed to say, my eyes sliding away from his. "It was mine."

"Kate, no-"

"Yes, it was." My hands were clenched into trembling fists, and I stared down at them, blinking hard and fast. "I shouldn't have fallen for the voicemails. And I…I shouldn't have…" My voice broke. "I shouldn't have let them hurt you like that. I'm sorry, Keith."

"No. If I hadn't been so weak-"

"If I hadn't been so stupid-"

"If I hadn't been so reckless-"

"If I hadn't been so blindly trusting-"

"If I- no. This is pointless." He reached out with raw, blistered hands to hold me by the shoulders, forcing me to meet his eyes. "What's done is done, Kate. We're both sorry. The important thing is that we're both okay."

I gave him a smile I knew was watery. "Since when did you become so mature?"

His answering smile was drooping. "I don't know. It won't last, though, don't worry; tomorrow, I'll be back to being the old Keith that you know and love."

I snorted tremblingly. "You mean that cocky old git? Why do you say that I know and love him?"

"You'd have to, or else you wouldn't have risked your life and given up the Yellow Gem to save him." He stood, pulling me up with him and slinging an arm around my shoulder for balance. Our partner pokemon trotted along behind us as we hobbled to the transportation circle. "Which reminds me: thanks for saving me, Katie."

"I told you never to call me that," I grumbled, but let it slide when he pressed his lips to my forehead.

~If love is an ocean wide, we'll swim in the tears we cry

They'll see us through to the other side

We're gonna make it~