Chapter Thirteen - Return To Boyleland! Search For The Red Gem!
In the Boyleland…
A Staraptor slowly descended towards the ground, in front of the Ranger Depot. Alexa and Ryder hopped off of its back and it flew away. Alexa wore her medical hip-bag around her waist.
"This time, things are going to pan out differently," she stated. "I won't have to worry about phoning my kid brother again, I've restocked on medical supplies for you, Ryder."
Much obliged, Ryder thanked, looking towards her with a friendly smile on his face. By the way, I've taken the liberty of adding some human medication while I was removing what wasn't needed for me, so if you get hurt, we won't have to worry about calling for help.
"Much obliged, Ryder," Alexa said happily, smiling down at him.
"Mime-mime-mime!" a small squeaky voice exclaimed. Alexa and Ryder stepped into the village and found a familiar Mime Jr running in a circle around a Bidoof.
"Our Mime Jr can be such a handful," the village elder said to himself. "Seeing that makes my head spin." He noticed Alexa and Ryder entering the village, and appeared to be angry. "Another one of those criminal scoundrels has come along!" he exclaimed in a huff. He angrily entered his house.
Scoundrels?! That ungrateful son of a- Ryder's anger was almost beyond his control, but Alexa rested her hand on his shoulder.
"Whoa, easy, Ryder, he's probably just forgotten us," she began abruptly. "I mean, come on; it's been a while since we last came here."
Senile old git! Ryder exclaimed furiously. At this point, Alexa was already prepared to enter the elder's house.
"Settle down, Ryder," she began. "Let's just explain ourselves to get his permission to get to the other side of the cave." She opened the door and she entered the house. Ryder followed her, still in a grumpy mood.
Inside the house…
"You! Be gone at once!" the elder shouted angrily. "Come to kidnap our Mime Jr again, you wretched Dim Sun, you!"
Dim Sun?! Does Alex's uniform look like a full-body leotard to you, you senile old son of a- Ryder growled at the elder with great fury. Alexa held onto his right paw.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy, Ryder, easy," she whispered to him.
"Grandpa, that's not right, is it?" the elder's granddaughter questioned. Alexa faced the elder.
"Sorry. I'm the Pokémon Ranger who went looking for the Ranger who went missing while looking for your Mime Jr and the other Boyleland Pokémon," Alexa explained calmly.
"Eh? Oh, yes! I'm sorry, my dear, anyone wearing a uniform looks like a Dim Sun to me these days," the elder apologised.
Dim Sun wear black full-body leotards! How could you mistake a proper uniform for a bloody leotard you lunatic!? Ryder was offended at the elder's words.
"Ryder, chill out," Alexa whispered to him. "Anyway, sir, my partner and I would like to ask for your help again if that's possible."
After this, we won't bother trying to give you a heart attack again, Ryder quietly sighed sarcastically.
"Ryder, behave!" Alexa whispered with caution.
"What do you need help with this time, Ranger?" the granddaughter asked politely.
"We need to get to the closed off entrance to the Volcano cave," Alexa began. "We need to get in there because we need to search for any signs of the red Tears of Princes gem."
"I can't make heads or tails of what you're saying," the elder began in bewilderment. "But would you like to see the right side of the cave?"
That's what we want your help for, you stupid old fool! Ryder attempted to control his rage. Alexa noticed his self-control, so she didn't say anything; it was lucky Ryder's rudeness failed to meet the elder's ears.
"I can unlock the padlock on the door to the right," the elder continued. "Think nothing of it, the Pokémon of Boyleland are indebted to you."
"Thank you so much, sir," Alexa thanked gratifyingly.
"You go on ahead to the cave's gates. I'll meet you there once I find the proper key," the elder suggested. With that, Alexa and Ryder left the house.
Alex, I really hate that old man, Ryder jeered. How is it possible that a man of his stupidity got to be the elder of this village?!
"Try not to think about it, Ryder," Alexa said plainly. "Despite you believing him to be senile, at least his intentions are in the right place."
They approached a cave with a red gate closed and padlocked, blocking access to the cave inside. They stood outside the gate.
"Ah, there you are, Ranger of Pokémon!" the elder called. He approached the gate; he held a large ring with a series of keys attached to it. "Sorry to make you wait, my dear, let me open the door for you."
Oh, Arceus, what have you wrought?! Ryder sighed.
"Ryder…!" Alexa snapped quietly.
Just watch; I'll bet none of those keys is the one for that padlock, Ryder wagered. Alexa watched the elder as he approached the gate. The elder tried the first key, but it didn't fit into the padlock.
"Hmm? This is rather tricky…" He tried the second key, but that didn't even go into the padlock. "If it's not that one, it must be this one," he assumed as he tried the third key. It was too small for the padlock and failed to twist as a result. "Maybe it's this ancient looking key that's the correct one," he guessed as he tried the final key. It failed to even go into the padlock. "That didn't work either…"
See? I told you none of the keys worked, Ryder sighed. The elder turned around to face Alexa and Ryder.
"Forget about the red stone, dear, that solves everything," the elder said randomly.
We can't forget about it, you old codger! Ryder snarled under his breath out of frustration.
"I'm afraid we can't ignore the Red Gem, sir," Alexa sighed.
"Grandpa!" the elder's granddaughter cried, running over to him and Alexa. "The key was on a string around Mime Jr's neck!"
"Oh, that's it!" the elder exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, Ranger, this is the right key," the granddaughter apologised.
"At least we got there in the end," Alexa laughed. The elder used the newly obtained key and the gates opened perfectly.
"Ah, there we go. No trouble at all! You watch out for those flame spouts now," he warned as he made his leave.
"I didn't know this, but magma's…hot, isn't it?" the granddaughter asked. She then made her leave.
Magma's hot? No duh! Honestly, is she as stupid as her grandfather?! Ryder exclaimed in astonishment.
"It's probably a hereditary trait," Alexa teased. "Anyway, let's get ourselves in there."
Alex, that is the first sensible thing I've heard on this island! Ryder sighed sarcastically. And it's not even from a resident either!
"Yeah, it's from the Pokémon Ranger who saved the island's Pokémon," Alexa laughed. She and Ryder entered the cave.
Alexa and Ryder entered the hot volcanic cave. There was a bigger river of magma nearby, and a wandering Torkoal. Alex's styler received a transmission, and she picked it up.
"Voicemail, it's Wendy here," Wendy began. "Listen, while you're there, capture a Pokémon that can walk through the magma. Understood?"
"Yeah, I don't think I can jump the gap," Alexa teased. "Thanks for the advice."
"You're welcome. Be careful in there, Alexa," Wendy cautioned, ending the transmission. As soon as it ended, Alexa got another transmission through her styler.
"Wow, I'm popular today," she stated sarcastically as she picked up the new transmission.
"Voicemail, Alex, it's me, Keith," Keith stated.
"Keith? What're you voice-mailing me for?" Alexa asked in astonishment.
"Just a few things," Keith continued. "First, good luck with finding the Red Gem. I'll do my best to find the Yellow Gem."
"Aw, thanks, Keith," Alexa said pleasantly. "Good luck with your mission."
"Thanks, Alex. One more thing," Keith added. "What's your favourite colour?" he asked.
"My favourite colour?" Alex questioned. "It's green. Why?"
"No reason," Keith responded. "Thanks, Alex. Take care of yourself out there." Keith ended the transmission.
Methinks he's lying about the colour thing, Ryder assumed. Anyway, how do we move on from here?
"Well," Alexa began, looking up at a floating Drifblim higher up. "We can always capture Drifblim."
A while and a perilous trek later…
A Drifblim floated out of a hole in the floor, with Ryder and Alexa holding onto it as they were lifted out of the hole. Both Alexa and Ryder appeared to have differing wounds on their bodies; Alexa had various bruises and cuts mainly on her arms and legs, as well as the odd graze on her face, while Ryder had burn-related injuries.
"Okay, that's the last time we face an Aggron head on," Alexa stated with frustration.
I couldn't agree more, Ryder nodded with agreement. He and Alexa let go of the Drifblim and landed safely on their feet. Drifblim floated away, and Alexa picked up a transmission on her styler. She answered it.
"Voicemail, voicemail, it's me, Rhythmi," Rhythmi began. "We're sensing a seriously strong Pokémon in your area. Please be careful!"
"We'll do our best," Alexa complied. The transmission ended and Alexa faced Ryder. "Okay, let's move on."
"What is going on here?" asked a young, uptight feminine voice. Alexa and Ryder found two red-haired women in Dim Sun admin clothing and another woman with pink hair and dressed in pink approaching them. "Oh, now what's this!? How did a lowly Ranger manage to get this far?!"
"Same way you did, I suppose," Alexa retaliated sarcastically. "It's called going through a door."
"So that's why the door was open," the pink haired woman began. "Someone opened it for you."
Yeah, and the less said about that the better, Ryder sighed.
"But I've locked it with a secretly copied key," the pink haired woman continued. "In other words, you're in the bag. It's nice to meet you, Ranger. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm one of the Sinis Trio."
"Sinis Trio?" Alexa questioned.
"The Big Boss's favourites," the pink haired woman explained bluntly. "My name is Lavana! A woman of fiery passion, like this very volcano"
"So you named yourself after lava? Couldn't you go with a name that means lava as opposed to having lava in your name?" Alexa asked rudely.
"And flanking her are Lavana's personal henchperson, the Dim Sun Crimson unit!" the two female admins declared.
"Crimson unit? Oh, so does that make Ice's troupe the Cerulean unit?" Alexa teased. Ryder chuckled to himself.
"You two stay out of the spotlight!" Lavana instructed to the two admin members. "By the way, Ranger, are you searching for the Red Gem too? Too bad if you are; there's only one Red Gem."
"There was only one red prince, so, yeah, there would only be one gem to correspond to that said prince," Alexa sighed.
"Give it up and get out of here!" Lavana demanded.
"And what are you going to do if we don't?" Alexa asked mockingly.
"Lavana, let us! We'll handle this!" the two flunkies volunteered, stepping closer to Alexa.
"That's true, I'm not needed for a job this small. You two do it," Lavana sighed.
Are you calling us weak, you filthy little Barbie doll?! Ryder snarled angrily at Lavana. Alexa chuckled.
"Nice one, Ryder," she whispered. The two flunkies each got a Miniremo out and typeed something into them. Two hypnotised Monferno arrived and attacked.
"Capture on!" Alexa fired her capture disc out of her styler. Despite how much the two Monferno jumped around, the capture disc managed to circle around at least one of them. It wasn't long before both Monferno were befriended and released.
"Lavana, I'm sorry! I have no excuses!" the first flunky exclaimed apologetically.
"We made her do a lot of that loopy thing they do, though. She should be tired at least," the second flunky added quietly.
"Are you kidding? I needed to work this shoulder anyway!" Alexa exclaimed happily, rotating her right shoulder.
"Out of the way, you failures!" Lavana fumed. She stepped forward while her flunkies stepped back. "This is the thanks you get for firing me up emotionally!" She set up her Miniremo and a hypnotised Infernape landed in front of her.
"Capture on!" Alexa fired her capture disc out of her styler again. Infernape proved to be more of a challenge for Alexa; Infernape occasionally attacked by creating small explosions around it, making it difficult for Alexa to see where her capture disc was aiming. After a short while, Infernape created a group of flame spouts around it and jumped around afterwards. Despite the difficulty Infernape was presenting, it was soon befriended and released. Lavana panted.
"The-there…all that looping must've left you exhausted," she panted. Alexa flexed her right arm around.
"Nah, I'm actually pretty good now," Alexa stated. "I don't know why you're exhausted, all you did was watch."
"And Ranger…beating me doesn't solve your problem," Lavana continued. "If you think you can take the Red Gem now, you're sadly mistaken. There's a brutally tough Pokémon guarding it!"
"That doesn't surprise me, since I've just had a voicemail about it," Alexa sighed.
"I'll leave now so I can put my makeup back on," Lavana huffed. "It's not because I lost! My makeup is runny! And don't forget it!" Lavana and her associates then left the area.
Her makeup is runny? Too much information, lady! Geez! Ryder moaned. Alex, why do female humans want to look good?
"Because they think it makes them feel good," Alexa answered. "Not that I know anything about makeup, the only type I touch is nail polish," she stated, looking at her fingernails; her nails were short, but were perfectly painted in a dark terra cotta brown colour. "Anyway, let's advance."
After a short trek…
Alexa and Ryder walked along a rather narrow area of land, surrounded by magma, and find a pedestal of sorts with a red fire-shaped gem shining atop of the pedestal. They tried to approach the gem…
FSSSSSSSSH!
Steam was released from the four small holes in the floor near the pedestal. This startled Alexa and Ryder.
FOOOOOOO!
Two spouts of magma erupted from the river beneath the two, close to the narrower path. This startled Ryder especially.
GYAAAASHEEEEEEEEEEEH!
A Heatran leapt out of the magma from Alex's right hand side and landed in front of both her and the Red Gem. The Heatran roared continuously.
"Hmm. It's been a while since we saw a Heatran last," Alexa muttered, unfazed at the behemoth's appearance.
And we both know what happened last time we saw one, Ryder appeared to be relatively worried about witnessing such a behemoth. Please, Alex. Be very careful.
"You're right. We can't screw this up now," Alexa agreed. "Capture on!" she fired her capture disc at Heatran.
Heatran presentd a challenge for Alexa; it created a small series of explosions around it – one of which managed to damage Alexa's capture disc a little bit, unleashed a large burst of fire around it – which Alexa avoided altogether, and it created a small yet dangerous puddle of lava. With the obstacles Heatran presentd, Alexa was forced to restrain herself a lot more than she had to against Lucario. Ryder fired an Aura Sphere at the capture disc, increasing its power by double. Despite this power boost, Heatran's obstacles continued to cause Alexa and her capture disc troubles as Alexa tried to maintain her focus on the large four-legged volcanic behemoth guarding the very gem Hastings had sent her and Ryder to secure. However, despite the odds stacked against her, Alexa managed to capture and befriend Heatran, with her capture disc still intact. Heatran roared, causing the bright light around the Red Gem to fade. Heatran then returned to the magma it came from. A small splash of magma landed on Ryder's tail. Ryder howled in pain as he ran around in a panic.
Owowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowow! The pain created from the burning magma spot on his tail was too unbearable for him. Alexa quickly got a bag of dirt from her medical hip-bag and threw it onto Ryder's tail. The burning died away and the magma cooled because of the soil's impact with the small dot of magma. Alexa and Ryder sighed with relief. Ryder then went to the Red Gem and took it from the pedestal. He and Alexa then left the volcano cave.
At the Union…
"Another job well done, dear," Erma complimented. She, Hastings, Alexa, Ryder and a scientist similar to Nage were in the Operations Room. The scientist was treating the magma burn on Ryder's tail.
"So the Red Gem was inside the Boyle Volcano after all," Hastings pondered. Alexa took the red fire-shaped gem and held it in front of her.
"Heatran was more of a challenge than we thought," Alexa began. "But we got through eventually."
"Bravo, Alexa! Well done!" Hastings complimented happily. "Chairperson Erma, would you like to do the usual honours, please?"
"Certainly. Alexa, dear, the magma must have been unbearably hot," Erma assumed, having taken notice of Alexa and Ryder's selective injuries. "Yet you persevered and succeeded in the face of such adversity. You are now certified to Ranger Rank 7."
"Thank you, ma'am," Alexa thanked. At least my visit to the Stark Mountain volcano paid off, she thought to herself.
"All done," the scientist declared. He stood up straight, revealing Ryder's bandaged-up tail. "I would recommend checking the wound before retiring for the night."
"I'll do that. Thank you, Vatona," Alexa gratifyingly thanked.
Later that night…
Ow! Ryder flinched with pain. Alexa was applying a lotion onto the burn on Ryder's tail. Heatran needs to watch out where he splashes!
"I don't think he did it on purpose," Alexa laughed. She was wearing completely different pyjamas; her current pyjamas consisted of a blue short-sleeved T-shirt with matching pyjama leggings, both of which appeared to be relatively tight, as they somewhat revealed Alexa's figure; her bust size was reasonable, but she looked relatively slender at the same time. Ryder turned his head to look at her.
Alex, do you honestly want to hide your body from Keith? He asked. That's why you've brought your baggy pyjamas, isn't it?
"Nothing gets passed you, huh?" Alexa sighed, starting to put a fresh bandage over the burn, which had now been smothered with lotion. "But, yeah, I want to keep it from him."
What about everyone else at the Union? Ryder questioned. Are you planning to hide yourself from them too?
"Well, at least from the male half of the Union," Alexs said with a small laugh. "But I don't like it when people make opinions about others based on their figure, which is why I like to hide mine."
Alex, you'll have to reveal your figure to someone sometime, Ryder cautioned. And if you're not confident about it, why not show it to just Keith first?
"Well, apart from the fact that he's not here," Alexa began teasingly. "I don't want him to feel like I'm pressuring him into doing anything."
He's not the type to have that mind, Ryder smiled. I'm confident that you can confess to him about why you wear baggy pyjamas when he's here.
"Well, if you think he'll be somewhat okay with it," Alexa began, despite sounding uneasy. "I'll take your word for it."
The next morning…
Ryder – still with a bandage on his tail – and Alexa – with a cup of coffee in her hand – arrived at the Operations Room.
"Good morning, dear," Erma greeted. "I trust you slept well?"
"It's not the same without my roommate, but I slept decently. Thank you for asking," Alexa elaborated politely.
"We've received word from Keith late last night," Erma continued. "He confirmed there was a folklore about the Tears of Princes in the Haruba Desert. He also confirms those small stones came from a large yellow crystal, the crystal being the Yellow Gem."
"So we're on the right track then," Alexa guessed. She took a drink from her coffee cup.
"However, the Yellow Gem is said to be concealed deep inside Hippowdon Temple," Erma continued. "He reports that it will take him time to reach the crystal."
"Poor Keith…I hope he's okay," Alexa said worriedly.
"One more thing," Erma added. "He sent a message, along with his report, for you, dear."
"A message? For me?" Alexa questioned with shock.
"Yes. He's asked me to tell you to contact him as soon as possible," Erma elaborated. "He says he has something to ask you, dear."
"Um…okay, I'll let him know I got the message," Alexa stated.
"In the meantime, I shall be waiting on the rooftop," Erma said. "Come up when you're ready, dear." Erma leaves for the rooftop.
Alexa got her styler and attempted to make contact with Keith; she was still confused about the message he left for her. She made contact.
"Voicemail, voicemail, Keith, it's me, Alexa," she stated.
"Hi, Alex!" Keith greeted happily. "Did you get the message I left with Chairperson Erma?"
"Yeah, you said you have something to ask me?" Alexa questioned.
"Yeah, I do. What was your very first Pokémon?" Keith asked.
"My first? My Charizard, but, to be pedantic, it's Charmander," Alex answered. "Why?"
"No reason," Keith answered. "Thanks, Alex. Oh, yeah, before I hang up, how was the Boyleland?"
"A few aches and pains here and there for both myself and Ryder," Alexa began. "But we're fine otherwise. The Red Gem's been secured, at least."
"Nice one, Alex! Anyway, I should press on with my mission. I'll see you soon, okay?"
"Of course it's okay! I'm missing my roommate!" Alexa laughed. "Take care, and good luck."
"Thanks, Alex. Stay out of trouble and I'll see you soon." Keith ended the transmission. Alexa and Ryder then ran up to the rooftop.
On the rooftop…
"Alright, Alexa, would you put the Red Gem onto the dais, please?" Hastings asked calmly. Alexa walked over to the empty dais to the left of the Blue Gem and put the red fire-shaped gem on top of it. Everyone watched as the Red Gem shines brightly as a certain pulse is emitted from it, similar to the pulse the Blue Gem had emitted previously. The pulse was brief once again, but was unleashed into the atmosphere like before. The Red Gem continued to shine brightly alongside its blue neighbour.
"And that leaves only the Yellow Gem," Hastings commented, looking towards the empty dais. "All we need to do now is wait impatiently for Keith's return."
Oh, yeah, because impatience is in your nature, innit? Ryder asked sarcastically. Alexa said nothing about what she heard; she felt somewhat insulted about Hastings's words.
"Sorry to interrupt," Rhythmi apologised, entering the scene. "I've just received a message from Keith. The guardian Pokémon protecting the Yellow Gem is giving him trouble. But he says there's no need to worry."
"I hope he's right," Alexa said worriedly. Rhythmi faced her.
"Oh, by the way, he left another message for you," she added optimistically. "He's asked me to tell you he's happy for your success in the Boyleland."
"Oh. Thanks, Rhythmi," Alex thanked nervously. She was blushing and had an embarrassed look on her face, but she was actually flattered.
"That's his message," Rhythmi stated, returning to the Operations Room downstairs.
"Alexa…this is strictly for my peace of mind," Hastings began. "Will you go to confirm that Keith is doing as well as he claims?"
"Y-yes…of course…" Alexa muttered nervously. "I'm worried about him…"
"I'm sure he's fine, Alexa, but humour me," Hastings continued. "This is only making certain of a sure thing."
To be continued…