Chapter Twenty Eight – Kincaid's Final Act
"So what do you want to see us about?" Keith asked, who stood next to Alexa in front of Professor Hastings, who stood before Keith and Alexa in the Operations Room. Professor Hastings looked at the two Top Rangers with a firm seriousness about him.
"We have received two reports; one from Boyleland, the other from Captain Puel of Pueltown," he explained.
"Captain Puel?" Alexa questioned. Keith looked towards her.
"He's one of the harbour's captains, and the one who takes people to the Puel Sea," he explained.
"Correct," Hastings nodded. "He has reported his trademark ship as stolen," he explained further. Alexa and Keith looked towards him, as did Ryder and Buizel.
How did his boat get stolen? Ryder asked in bewilderment.
"He doesn't know, and that's what we intend to investigate," Hastings replied.
But, by 'we', you mean either Alex or Keith, don't you? Ryder asked plainly. You said you had a report from Boyleland as well.
"Indeed I did. We have been informed of a child trapped in the Boyleland Cave," Hastings stated.
"Which one? There's two," Alexa said with uncertainty.
"Oh, yes. It's the one Barlow went into before he went missing over a month ago," Hastings said. "Regardless, Alexa, I want you to find that child." Keith suddenly looked at Alexa.
"You don't suppose it's Keenan, do you?" he asked.
"Nope," Alexa said quickly. "He doesn't like overly hot places, and Boyleland qualifies as an 'overly hot place' in my opinion."
Besides, how could he get there anyway? Ryder asked, somewhat sounding cocky.
"Miles," Alexa answered, almost instantly.
"Who?" Hastings asked with curiosity.
"His Fearow," Alexa replied. "But, like I said, it's extremely unlikely that it's Keenan in that cave."
"I see. Regardless, I want you to look for the child while you, Keith, are to investigate the disappearance of Captain Puel's ship," Hastings instructed.
"Professor, are you sure you should send Alex to Boyleland?" Keith asked with concern. "I mean, given who's still out there, they might try something with her."
"I'm aware of your concern, but that is why I am sending you to investigate the ship's disappearance," Hastings sighed. "If that ruffian is connected to either of these cases, he is most likely behind the ship's disappearance." Keith sighed.
"Okay, fine." He looked towards Alexa, who, in turn, looked towards him. "Let me know if you need any help at all, okay? Or, at least let me know that your mission went well."
"Keith, you know I can look after myself," Alexa said reassuringly.
"I know, but I'm worried about you while he's still out there," Keith said with concern. "Look, promise me you'll contact me, okay?" Alexa smiled.
"Yeah, okay. I promise," she agreed. "Good luck." Keith smiled at her gently and nodded.
"You too," he said sweetly. Alexa gave Keith a quick kiss on his cheek as she ran passed him. Ryder stopped in front of Keith.
Stop worrying about her, she was a Pokémon Trainer after all, he advised. Besides, she's got me to back her up.
"Ryder, promise me you'll look after her, okay? Promise me," Keith insisted, with worry about his tone.
After last time, I'll promise myself I'll look after her while I'm at it, Ryder growled. I swear, if Hairspray Head tries anything with our girl again, I'll fight harder and I won't let him swamp me again like that bloody four-armed duck-faced Pokémon did!
"Um…just protecting her will suffice, Ryder," Keith said uneasily.
All right, I'll fight if necessary then, Ryder nodded as he ran after Alexa. Keith watched Ryder following Alexa.
"I understand and respect your concern for her, Keith, but Ryder has a point," Hasting smiled. Keith looked towards him in confusion. "Don't fret over her."
"I'll try not to, but I can't help it. I'd, uh…I'd better go now." Keith ran down the escalator. Hastings shook his head.
"That boy worries about Alexa far too much," he muttered to himself, just as Erma arrived from the escalator on the opposite side of the room.
"And he is right to," she said abruptly. Hastings looked towards her as she approached him. "Or have you forgotten that Alexa is now more than Keith's closest friend?"
Elsewhere…
A Staraptor flew over the ocean, with Alexa and Ryder upon its back. Ryder sat in front of Alexa and looked down at his reflection in the ocean below. Alexa, meanwhile, looked ahead, where the Staraptor was flying, and watched Boyleland Island steadily coming into view.
Alex, do you think Kincaid is actually behind the ship's disappearance? Ryder asked curiously. Alexa subtly winced upon hearing Kincaid's name.
"Why?" she asked.
Academic curiosity, Ryder answered. Professor Hastings said Kincaid might be more likely to be involved with the ship's disappearance, but what do you think?
"Unlikely, to be honest," Alexa said timidly. "He might still have his other resources. How else was he able to escape the Oil Field Hideout?"
Good point.
The Staraptor slowed down as it approached Boyleland. Upon landing, Alexa and Ryder dismounted and the Staraptor flew away. Coincidentally, another Staraptor was loitering around near Boyleland's Ranger Station. Alexa and Ryder made their way into the Boyleland Cave.
Meanwhile, Keith and Buizel had arrived at the Puel Town Harbour. They saw three very similar-looking ships, with differing colours; a red and white boat, a yellow and white boat and a blue and white boat.
"Captain Puel's boat is normally here, isn't it? Oh great…where am I supposed to begin?" he asked in a sigh.
"Bui…" Buizel sighed. He followed Keith as he approached the four ports, specifically the empty port between the blue and white boat and the red and white boat.
Meanwhile…
Alexa and Ryder arrived at the former Team Dim Sun harbour. They ventured further inside, towards the large crates that remained after the harbour was exposed.
"Hello?! Is anyone here?!" Alexa called.
It's okay, we don't bite! Well, I do, but I won't bite you, I promise!
"Not helping, Ryder," Alexa sighed as she looked around. "Huh?" Ryder looked up at Alexa before he turned his attention to what she was looking at; a cyan blue and white boat was moored and floating in the water right in front of them.
Is that…?
"Hang on." Alexa held up her styler and established contact with Keith via voicemail. "Keith? Keith, it's me."
"Alex! I knew you'd contact me!" Keith sighed with relief over voicemail. "What's happening, are you all right?"
"Confused, if anything; there's a boat moored here," Alexa replied.
"Huh? What colour scheme does it have? The other ships here have different colours," Keith said.
"Cyan blue and white," Alexa replied.
"That must be Captain Puel's! Captain Wail's is the dark blue and white boat! What's Captain Puel's boat doing there?!" Keith asked in bewilderment.
"I dunno, but I'm not finding any child in distress either," Alexa said.
"Really?"
"Something's not right, I don't like it," Alexa said quietly. "I'm going to report this to Professor Hastings and-"
BOOM!
"Aagh!" Alexa gave out a cry of pain as a strange rainbow-coloured beam of energy hit her styler, causing a small explosion upon impact. The attack had apparently come from the ceiling. Alexa held onto her injured arm and collapsed on one knee as her styler fell to the ground. Ryder ran over to her with concern.
Alex, are you all right, what happened?! he asked hastily.
"That would be a Signal Beam attack," a familiar, yet unwelcome voice replied. Alexa and Ryder looked towards where the voice came from; Alexa looked rather frightened, but Ryder snarled angrily.
Elsewhere…
"Alex? Alex?!" Keith exclaimed towards his styler. He closed it, looking worried. "What the hell?! Captain Puel's boat is at Boyleland?"
"Bui, bui, bui," Buizel added.
"There's got to be a reason for this…" Keith pondered.
"Bui! Bui, bui!" Buizel cried.
"Maybe…oh, God!" Keith opened his styler again and established a voicemail contact with the Ranger Union. "Voicemail, it's me, Keith! This is serious, I think Alex's been set up!"
Meanwhile…
Alexa stood up properly, holding her right arm, as Kincaid revealed himself from the shadows of the crates on the other side of the area. Ryder continued snarling as he stepped in front of Alexa protectively. Ryder held Alexa's broken styler in one of his paws.
"Hello again, Alexa. It's been a while," Kincaid smirked. "Almost a fortnight, I believe."
Spare me the introductions, please. Let's get out of here! Ryder gently took Alexa's left hand and they turned to run towards the exit, only to find another familiar and unwanted face blocking their way after having closed off the harbour from the cave with a large crate.
"Oh, no, there's no chance of escape this time," Kincaid said smugly. Heath smirked as he advanced towards Alexa. Alexa and Ryder stepped back, but they had eventually backed themselves into a corner. Ice and Lavana joined Kincaid and Heath in cornering Alexa and Ryder. Ryder stepped in front of Alexa, growling furiously as he held out his arms, practically trapping Alexa between him and the corner behind her. Ice gave out a small laugh.
"You're not going to take any chances this time, are you, Lucario?" he asked casually.
After last time? You can bet your life I won't! Ryder said angrily.
"Does that mean we'll have to take you down again? This, I'll enjoy," Ice shrugged. Ryder's growling intensified.
Elsewhere…
Keith and Buizel were at the Ranger Union, talking to Professor Hastings, Barlow, Sven and Erma. Keith looked completely anxious.
"It's just as I said! Alex told me Captain Puel's boat is at Boyleland! At the old Dim Sun Harbour!" Keith explained. "She had just told me she was about to report it to you when the connection suddenly broke! I think something's happened to her, I need to find her!"
"I pray she isn't hurt," Erma said quietly.
"Indeed. This is extremely worrying, especially if one considers that Kincaid and the Sinis Trio are at large," Hastings pondered.
"I think it was a set up!" Keith stated.
"How so?" Barlow asked.
"Here's what I think of this; Kincaid stole Captain Puel's boat – or one of the boats moored at the harbour, at least, I don't think he cared which one he took – just so a report could be made to the Union! He took the boat to the Hidden Harbour in Boyleland and made a false report to the Union about a child being trapped there! He did so because he must've guessed that Alex and I would be on hand to investigate the two reports, and while I investigate the ship's disappearance, he'd go ahead with his plan and ambush Alex! Without me to help her! Don't you get it?! He wanted to come up with a plan to separate us, so he could capture Alex without me to get in his way!"
"Do you suppose this hypothesis of yours would also apply if Alexa had been sent to investigate the ship's disappearance?" Hastings asked.
"Even if it does, I don't bloody care!" Keith yelled in frustration. "Look, my girl's probably in danger right now, and I need to go and help her out of it!"
At the Hidden Harbour…
Ryder continued to hold his ground, protectively standing in front of Alexa as he growled furiously at Kincaid, Heath, Ice and Lavana.
"Give up; there's no hope of escape this time. Heath's blocked the exit, and the only way out is with us," Kincaid said maliciously. "I'll spare you any pain if you let Alexa come with us."
I would tell you what I'm thinking right now, but there's a lady present, Ryder growled.
"And they say chivalry is dead," Lavana said tauntingly.
I'm just being a faithful friend. Not that you know what I'm talking about; you walked off when the others were instructed to go after us when Sven's Luxray led us to his boat! Ryder shouted.
"Yes, and, believe me, she had a very harsh grilling for that," Kincaid sighed. "But Lavana's incompetence has no bearing on the matter at hand. Give yourself up, Alexa."
"N-no way! Why can't you leave me alone?!" Alexa exclaimed.
"Because, my dear Alexa, you ran all over Almia to stop my plans, and Team Dim Sun. You and the mutt standing in front of you," Kincaid answered rudely. Alexa was left insulted.
"Just because Ryder's not a pure-breed Lucario, that doesn't give you the right to call him a mutt in such an insulting manner!" She fumed.
"Chill, Alexa, chill," Ice said calmly. "Just come quietly, all right? Spare yourself all of this fuss. I'll even give you an Ice Cream Soda."
"I don't even LIKE Ice Cream Soda!" Alexa snapped.
"All right, all right, no need to lose your cool," Ice shrugged. "Look, come quietly and we'll go easy on you."
I'll believe that when I see a Voltorb using Mega Punch on a Mismagius! Ryder snarled furiously.
"Enough casual banter. I will say this once more; step aside," Kincaid said sternly.
Like. Hell. I. Will, Ryder said spitefully. I made a promise, and I'm keeping it!
"Is that right?" Kincaid questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"To Keith? I bet it's to Keith, it's to Keith, isn't it?" Lavana asked teasingly.
To myself, if you really must know, you filthy little dolly, Ryder said rudely.
"What do you want from me?!" Alexa asked interrogatively, though with fear about her voice.
At the same time…
"All right, Keith, but I am not going to let you go alone," Hastings said finally. Keith looked at Hastings in confusion.
"Huh?"
"This is possibly the only chance we will get at finally apprehending Kincaid and the Sinis Trio once and for all," Hastings explained. "At least, at the present; who knows when another opportunity will come? No, I want to ensure that they are arrested this time."
"So, what are you suggesting?" Keith asked. Hastings looked towards Sven and Barlow.
"Barlow, Sven, I want you two to go with Keith," he said. "However, I want two more Rangers to go with you, is that clear?"
"I can give Wendy a buzz, no problem," Sven agreed.
"I know another Ranger who can help," Barlow corroborated.
"Excellent, call them," Hastings said firmly. "I just pray that we can get everything together before Kincaid hurts Alexa. I, for one, do not want a repeat of what transpired almost a fortnight ago." Keith clenched his fists subtly.
"Hang on, Alex…" Keith whispered to himself.
Meanwhile, Kincaid laughed at Alexa's question. He, Heath, Ice and Lavana continued to corner Alexa and Ryder.
"Did you not learn anything from last time? I want the Pokémon Rangers off of our backs," Kincaid responded. "Since holding you hostage worked last time-"
"Almost worked," Alexa corrected abruptly. "Keith saw through your deceit."
"Because you managed to tell him!" Kincaid fumed.
"Almost," Ice corrected.
"Indeed, but Keith still saw through it, like she said," Kincaid sighed. "But this time, things will be completely different."
"So you're going to kidnap me again? Bloody hell, Kincaid, that's so redundant!" Alexa complained. "I mean, come on! You already tried that once before, and it didn't work! What makes you think doing it again will work for you this time?!"
"It's not so much repeating myself, but rather going about it in a different way that will prevent you from ruining a perfect plan," Kincaid said calmly.
"Even so, it won't work! I've already contacted Keith about the missing ship! He'll work out that I'm in trouble because of how you cut off our communication and broke my styler!" Alexa exclaimed. "Knowing Keith, he's already suspected that this whole thing is a set up, just so you could play déjà vu and kidnap me without him getting in your way!"
"Brilliant deduction, Alexa, but that won't save you," Kincaid smirked.
That'll be my job if it has to be! Ryder declared.
"And what makes you think you can this time?" Lavana asked tauntingly.
"Quiet, Lavana," Kincaid commanded quietly. "Now, Alexa, even if Keith is suspecting this is a set up right at this very moment, he can't save you. He's fallen for it too; you see, we stole one of Puel Harbour's boats just to give the Ranger Union something else to investigate. I knew they'd send Keith because, unlike you, he doesn't know his way around the Boyleland cave."
"That didn't stop me from coming here the first time, though, did it? Remember? Barlow?" Alexa questioned. "You really need to rehearse that some more, because 'not knowing his way around the Boyleland cave' is no excuse."
"Regardless, it separated you from Keith, allowing the four of us to confront you in peace," Kincaid said sternly. "Now, we can finally take you away and we can get the Ranger Union off our backs."
"Like I said, that's redundant," Alexa sighed. "Who wants to see that happening all over again? Huh?"
"I do," Kincaid replied quickly.
"Why?!"
"Because I prefer you with your mouth shut," Kincaid said, with annoyance about his tone. "You couldn't say anything or do anything, and I hope to make sure of that again. And when I make my ransom call to the Ranger Union, I'll make sure you don't interrupt like you did last time."
"That won't happen, because I'm not going with you! Honestly, it'll get clichéd and ridiculous if you keep trying to abduct me, just leave me alone!" Alexa yelled angrily.
At the Union…
"Barlow and I have informed our contacts," Sven said, with a smile on his face. "Both of them will meet us at Boyleland, so we don't have to wait up for them."
"Fantastic!" Erma smiled.
"All right then. Keith, Barlow, Sven, I don't need to remind you of the seriousness of your mission; Alexa must be recovered at any cost!" Hastings stated. "I'm positive Ryder is looking after her to the best of his abilities, but there is only so much he can do! Ultimately, you three, and the other two Rangers meeting you at Boyleland, are the only ones who can effectively help Alexa! Now go! Alexa needs you!"
"Right!" Keith, Barlow and Sven nodded. Keith sprinted out of the Operations room, with Sven, Barlow, Buizel, Makuhita and Luxray in pursuit. Hastings and Erma watched them leave.
"I hope Alexa's safe," Erma said with concern.
"Indeed. We all do," Hastings agreed.
At the same time, Kincaid had given off a small huff. Ice smirked and shrugged.
"No can do, Alexa," he stated. "You're what we need to keep the Union off our backs."
"I'm what you WANT is more like it," Alexa said unkindly.
It goes against every instinct in my body, but I will hurt you if I have to. Any one of you, Ryder growled.
"Ooh, not very friendly," Ice said sarcastically.
"Alexa, this is your final chance, I am getting extremely impatient. Come quietly, and we will make this easier for you," Kincaid demanded with frustration.
"There is absolutely no way that I will allow myself to be held hostage by a cape-wearing, hairspray abusing hallway hater, a suave smart-mouthed blue boy, a pink obsessed Barbie girl and an idiotic, bumbling, shirtless foreigner with a Hariyama overbite!" Alexa shouted loudly. "Not again!"
"Alexa, Alexa, Alexa…insults will get you nowhere fast," Kincaid sighed as he shook his head.
"Boss, now, we do it, yes?" Heath questioned.
"Indeed," Kincaid agreed as he took out a Miniremo unit from behind his back. He set it up in front of him. "And now is the perfect time too; with her styler broken, she's defenceless."
Don't be so sure; I'm not without bite, and I'll take on whatever you throw at us! Ryder declared.
"This time, you'd be biting off more than you can chew," Kincaid said as he and the Sinis Trio stepped back. Kincaid typed into his Miniremo.
BOOM!
A large Metagross fell from the ceiling and landed in between Kincaid and the Sinis Trio and Ryder and Alexa. The Metagross was under the Miniremo's control, as it looked somewhat dazed. Ryder was mildly startled at Metagross's sudden appearance, but kept his ground regardless. Alexa was also startled. The Metagross faced Alexa and Ryder.
"META!" it cried, in a deep voice.
"By the way, Alexa, where do you think that Signal Beam attack came from, hm?" Kincaid asked curiously.
"I-I'm going to guess Metagross," Alexa replied quietly.
"You guessed correctly," Kincaid smirked. "Now, all of this banter is getting on my nerves."
"My apologies," Alexa sarcastically apologised.
"If you won't come quietly, I'll have to take you by force!" Kincaid exclaimed angrily. "Metagross, attack with-"
BOOM!
Two Lairon broke into the harbour; through the metal door and the crate Heath had placed to obscure the exit. Kincaid, Heath, Lavana and Ice were horrified at this, but Alexa and Ryder were relieved at the distraction. They then saw Keith racing into the harbour, towards Alexa, followed by Sven, Barlow, Wendy and Crawford. Keith stepped in front of Ryder and held out his styler.
"Capture on!" he yelled as the capture disc escaped his styler. As the capture disc circled around Metagross, Crawford, Barlow, Sven and Wendy rounded up Kincaid and the Sinis Trio, eventually cornering them in a different corner.
"You four aren't going anywhere this time!" Sven stated. "You're going down, for good this time!"
"Damn…" Kincaid cussed under his breath.
Metagross briefly shone in a white light and Kincaid's Miniremo unit exploded as Keith's capture disc was recalled back into his styler. As the Metagross casually walked off, Keith faced Alexa, with a look of worry about him.
"Alex, are you all right?" he asked. Alexa smiled warmly at him. Ryder happily moved out of Alexa's way, allowing her to approach Keith. Ryder then watched as Alexa quickly, yet gently, pressed her lips against Keith's. She delicately ended her kiss and looked lovingly into his eyes.
"I knew you'd come. What I didn't know was…whether you'd come alone or not," she said quietly. Keith gave off a quiet laugh.
"Professor's orders; he wanted to seize Kincaid while we had the chance to," he explained as he stroked Alexa's cheek with his right finger. "He wasn't sure if there would be another chance, so he took this one. I'm just glad you're not hurt."
"Oh," Alexa lost her smile. "I-I'm not…um…" Alexa looked down at her right arm; her styler was missing, as Ryder continued to hold onto it, but the explosion from earlier had left a bruise on her arm. Keith looked down at her arm and spotted the bruise.
"What happened?" he asked with concern.
"A Signal Beam attack hit my styler; it exploded on contact," Alexa answered quietly. Keith ever so gently raised Alexa's right arm to get a closer look at the bruise. "It was how our communication ended so quickly."
"Does it hurt?" Keith asked.
"I don't think it's too bad. Nothing's broken anyway. Other than my styler," Alexa replied. Keith gently raised Alexa's arm a little bit more and planted an extremely light kiss on the bruise. He faced Alexa with a gentle smile on his face.
"You'll be all right, Alex. And don't worry about your styler, that can be repaired easily," he said reassuringly. Alexa smiled warmly towards him. Keith returned the warm smile.
Kincaid watched Keith and Alexa with disgust as Sven was putting a pair of handcuffs on his wrists, behind his back.
"Those two make me sick," he grumbled.
"Shame; she's a very nice young lady, and he's the perfect fella for her," Sven retaliated playfully.
"Good God…" Kincaid winced as Sven lifted him up onto his feet. Wendy had apprehended Lavana, Crawford restrained Ice and Barlow handled Heath. Sven looked towards Keith and Alexa.
"Keith!" he called. Keith, Alexa and Ryder faced Sven in confusion. "We'll use Captain Puel's boat to get back to Pueltown and get these guys into custody. You okay to take Pet back to the Union?"
"No problem," Keith nodded.
Using the boat they stole against them? Oooh, that's sweet irony! Ryder smirked.
"Indeed," Sven laughed. "Take care of them, yeah, Ryder?"
Aye-aye, sir! Ryder playfully replied as he saluted Sven. Sven laughed as he and Kincaid climbed aboard Captain Puel's ship. While Sven was getting ready to leave, Ryder led Buizel, Keith and Alexa out of the harbour.
Outside…
Ryder, Alexa, Keith and Buizel exited the Boyleland cave and made their way towards the Ranger Station, thus towards the loitering Staraptor. Without warning, Keith had fired his capture disc from his styler and captured the Staraptor within mere seconds. The Staraptor flew towards Keith as his capture disc was recalled into his styler. He then looked towards Alexa.
"Ready to go back to the Union?" he asked. Alexa gave him a nod while Ryder mounted on the Staraptor's back. Keith approached Alexa and lifted her off of her feet, much to her astonishment. While holding Alexa in his arms, Keith managed to mount on the Staraptor's back, and the Staraptor flew away from Boyleland.
Ryder looked down at the ocean beneath him as the Staraptor flew. Alexa held onto Keith as he held onto her. Alexa smiled at Keith warmly.
"Keith? Did you figure out what had happened to me?" she asked.
"Yeah. I was really worried that it was all a plot for Kincaid to ambush you," Keith replied. "It was a possibility, but there was no way I was going to wait and see what would happen. I couldn't do that to you. What exactly happened anyway?"
"Nothing. It was just banter, mostly," Alexa answered.
"So it was just an exchange of words for a good while?" Keith questioned.
"Yeah, I was trying to stall them for as long as I could before Kincaid whipped out his Miniremo and Metagross," Alexa explained. "Although I didn't know he had the Metagross until it showed up. Kincaid said he wanted to do what he did before; hold me hostage to keep the Union off of his back."
"He said that? Bloody hell, Alex, he must've been desperate!" Keith said with disgust.
"Redundant was how I put it," Alexa said quietly. "But, yeah, I think he was. He said he was going to do things differently to make sure I wouldn't interrupt like I did last time."
"Like that'd work. Hey, were you okay being around him again?" Keith asked with concern.
"I was a little nervous at first, but, somehow, I think I got over it," Alexa replied, almost in bewilderment. Keith kissed Alexa on her cheek and smiled at her warmly.
"Great! Once we get back to the Union, we'll get your arm looked at, okay?"
"Keith, it's just a bruise, it's not a broken arm," Alexa laughed.
"I know that; I just think it should still be looked at, you know? Then we'll see if we can get your styler fixed."
"If you say so. Thank you," Alexa smiled warmly. Keith gently pulled Alexa closer to him, allowing her head to rest on his shoulder.
Later…
Professor Hastings and Erma stood in front of Keith, Alexa, Ryder and Buizel in the Operations room. Alexa had a bandage around her right arm, but Hastings and Erma looked pleased. Hastings held Alexa's broken styler in his hand.
"We've had the report from Sven; Kincaid and the Sinis Trio have officially been taken into custody," he said happily.
"And what's more, Keith, you managed to get to Alexa before they could do her further harm," Erma added with a smile.
"I have Alex to thank for that; she told me she stalled Kincaid for a good while," Keith smiled as he gently placed his arm around Alexa's waist. He gently pulled Alexa a little closer to him as she smiled.
"That was very smart of you, dear," Erma complimented towards Alexa. Alexa smiled nervously as she blushed.
"Yeah, well, uh…I-I was trying to see if I could buy Keith some time; I knew he already figured everything out at that point," she said modestly.
"And it worked," Hastings smiled. "Incidentally, the fact that you were not seriously hurt is a great relief."
"Yeah, well…the same can't be said for my styler, though, unfortunately," Alexa said nervously as she rubbed the back of her neck.
"I will repair it personally. Incidentally, Keith, I believe you and Alexa should get some rest; the both of you have had a long day, I'd imagine," Hastings advised.
"Yes. Thank you, Professor," Alexa said politely.
Personally, I would've preferred our mission to be a hoax rather than a trap, Ryder sighed. Erma chuckled.
"You're probably right, dear," she said kindly.
Later on…
Ryder and Buizel were sound asleep on Alexa's old bed, huddling next to one another. Alexa lay on top of Keith's bed, in her lilac pyjamas, looking relaxed. Keith entered the room from the en suite, in his white vest and black pyjama pants, with a bottle of water in his hand. He looked towards Ryder and Buizel.
"Hey, where's Kyle?" he asked in confusion.
"Oh, he's staying with Keenan for the moment," Alexa replied as she began stretching. She made some moaning sounds as she stretched. Keith watched her stretching and smirked.
"Alex, is it just me or do you sound like you're purring when you stretch like that?" he asked playfully. Alexa stopped stretching and looked up at Keith in confusion.
"Purring? What do you take me for, a cat?" she asked. Keith placed the water bottle on the chest of drawers next to the bed and sat down next to Alexa.
"If you keep doing that, then I just might," he said playfully as he continued to smirk at her. "If you're not careful, I might start petting you."
"You stroke my hair, isn't that enough for you?" Alexa asked, laughing slightly.
"Probably not, Kitten," Keith smirked. Alexa looked at Keith in confusion.
"Huh? Kitten?"
"Yep. As of now, it's my special nickname for you," Keith said as he climbed into bed and lay next to Alexa. "I think it's kinda cute."
"I-If you say so," Alexa said nervously.
"I do," Keith smirked. He gently kissed Alexa's cheek and his smirk warmed up into a loving smile. "You don't mind, do you?"
"N-no, not at all. But if you start making me wear a cat collar, I'll-"
Keith quickly, yet gently, planted his lips on Alexa's, quickly cutting off her sentence. Alexa relaxed and held onto Keith as they kissed. Keith eventually held onto her gently, and moved one hand to the back of Alexa's head. As Keith gently, yet slowly, released the kiss, he moved his hand from the back of Alexa's head to stroke her cheek with his finger as he smiled lovingly towards her, transfixed in the gaze of her vivid fuchsia eyes. She was smiling sweetly at Keith as she blushed.
"You'll what?" Keith asked quietly, to prevent the tender atmosphere around him and Alexa from being completely spoiled. Alexa's smile grew slightly.
"Never mind," she whispered. She and Keith closed their eyes softly as he drew himself close to her, planting his lips on hers again. They kissed for a good few minutes before they delicately released their kiss and looked tenderly at one another, eye to eye.
"I must say…you're extremely gentle when you kiss," Keith said sweetly. "I love it."
"You think so? I've been told I'm really gentle in that department," Alexa said quietly. "You're really gentle too."
"Really? You're the first girl I've actually kissed…like that," Keith admitted as he began to blush.
"Really? I would never have guessed," Alexa said quietly, in astonishment. "Actually…you're…you're the first boy I've kissed…l-like that," she admitted as her blushing intensified slightly.
"Really? Wow…I had no idea…" Keith said quietly. "You're fantastic…"
"Thank you…I can say the same to you too," Alexa said tenderly. "Oh, before I forget…"
"What is it, Kitten?" Keith asked quietly. Alexa's smile grew a little bit.
"Thank you…for saving my life," she thanked lovingly. Keith smiled a little.
"For you, Alex…it's always a pleasure…" Once more, Keith and Alexa closed their eyes softly as they drew themselves close to one another. Once again, Keith's lips and Alexa's lips had met. They held their kiss for what felt like a blissful eternity before they released one another and drifted off to a peaceful sleep. They didn't need the duvet, which they lay on top of, to keep themselves warm; they held onto one another.
To be continued…