Chapter Thirty Four – Confrontations

A forest-dwelling Salamence roared in absolute agony as a disgruntled Scizor clamped its tail, a large Seviper stuck its huge oozing fangs into the Salamence's hide and a brutal Empoleon slashed at Salamence's neck. Cain stood next to his Pidgeot and watched as his Pokémon ganged up on the dragon. Salamence soon growled angrily.

SLAM!

"ZOR!" With his large tail crashing into the ground, Scizor lost its grip. Salamence reared its head and lunged at Seviper.

CHOMP!

Seviper choked as Salamence lifted his head and tossed the startled snake at Empoleon; Empoleon took little damage, but Seviper was left giddy after having crashed into Empoleon's iron-hard body. Though weakened, Salamence faced Cain and his Pokémon bravely.

"RHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERGH!"

"Medicham, finish it," Cain instructed simply. Medicham lunged from behind Cain and charged at the dragon Pokémon with a frost-bitten fist ready to strike. Salamence inhaled.

"RHEEEEEEEEEEEEEERGH!"

Salamence exhaled an enourmous breath of incredibly hot air from his mouth, which ground Medicham to a halt. Cain scoffed as Medicham toppled over.
"Medicham, you're really pathetic..." Medicham looked up at Cain with fear. "I thought you were stronger than this; you've not won a single battle since you evolved."

THUMP!

Salamence slammed his watery tail into Scizor's abdomen, winding it. While Cain was preoccupied with Medicham, Scizor and Empoleon had attempted to fight back, but Salamence miraculously swatted them away. Salamence was determined to stay standing, no matter how many foes he fought.
"Pidgeot. Show Medicham how it's done."
"PIDGEOOOOOOOOT!"

SLAM!

Before he could even react, Salamence was struck critically by Pidgeot's devastating manoeuvre; the feathers on his head had shone in a white light as his body burned with a breath-taking red aura. Salamence's blood spewed all over Pidgeot as Pidgeot's beak somehow managed to penetrate Salamence's throat. Medicham's face turned pale as he witnessed the murder with his own eyes; he hadn't seen one up until that point, and he didn't realise he was supposed to be part of a team of murderous Pokémon. Pidgeot, though bloodstained, flew back to his master's side and watched as Salamence's breath began to escape him. Medicham looked back at Cain in horror, and Cain, in turn, faced Medicham with a look of disappointment about him.
"If you can't handle seeing it, you're obviously not worth my time."

In the morning...

"I have absolutely no idea what to do with you two," Hastings sighed as he faced the two young Top Rangers; Alexa had her eyes set on the floor near her, avoiding eye contact with the somewhat frustrated professor. Keith, however, tried to maintain his composure. "You two can be so reckless at times."
"Honestly, is it such a crime to show that you care about your profession?" Keith complained.
"No, but it's extremely foolish to act before you think. Alexa, you should know this better than anyone," Hastings said sternly towards the seemingly depressed Alexa; something was on her mind, but it wasn't Hastings grilling at her. "Alexa? Alexa!"
"Huh, what?" Alexa jumped with fright as she faced Hastings. Hastings folded his arms.
"What's gotten into you, girl?! I've never known you to be so distracted! Furthermore, I'd never expect you to condone Keith's actions yesterday!"
"I-I don't, but I understand why-"
"Make up your mind!" Hastings snapped.
"I-I was trying to say that I don't condone what Keith did, or didn't do, in this case, but I can understand why he didn't do it!" Alexa exclaimed in self-defence. "Honestly, if you took a little time to listen every now and then, maybe-"
"How dare you! That was completely out of order!" Hastings scolded furiously.
"Leave her alone already!" Keith snapped.
"What is this, gang up on the old man day?!" Hastings moaned. "The both of you have been extremely reckless from time to time."
"Alexa's been reckless ONE time!" Keith yelled. Hastings was somewhat startled that he addressed Alexa by her proper name, which, as he understood, he didn't usually do. "I've been reckless more times than she has, cut her some slack!"
"Precisely. You've been careless in those circumstances, and you could've gotten even more hurt than you were during those situations!" Hastings said angrily. "I'm not saying you're not fantastic Top Rangers," he continued on a more calmer note. "But you've got to stop putting yourselves in harm's way so unnecessarily."
"There's no way that can be guaranteed," Alexa said shyly.
"Not with that murderous illegitimate offspring is still out there," Keith added spitefully.
"Keith, calm yourself. Incidentally, Alexa, it appears that this Cain child is a Pokémon Trainer; are all Pokémon Trainers like him?"
"No!" Alexa cried. She looked away from Hastings again, looking rather sad. "...a-at least...not all of them..."
"I apologise; I wasn't under the impression that you were so brutal as a Pokémon Trainer," Hastings said apologetically.
"I know," Alexa said quietly.
"Uh oh...Professor!" Rhythmi exclaimed. "There's an alert from Crawford! He found another Pokémon that's been killed!" Hastings faced her.
"Any details?"
"Only that it's the male Salamence that's been killed," Rhythmi said shakily.
"Keith, Alexa, can you investigate?"
"Sure!" Alexa and Keith complied in unison. They ran out of the Operations room, Alexa following behind Keith. Hastings looked back at Rhythmi.
"That reminds me, have you made amends with Alexa?"
"What? Seriously?"
"Rhythmi..!"
"Oh, all right, I'll work something out!" she pouted.

Outside...

Keith and Alexa, along with their partner Pokémon, approached Crawford, who stood near a large blue body with red wings. Barlow was with him, and he'd spotted Keith and Alexa approaching them.
"What's happening?" Keith asked breathlessly.
"See for yourself," Barlow sighed as he looked at the deceased Pokémon. Alexa and Keith took a closer look at the Salamence. Realising that Salamence was truly dead, Alexa stepped back in horror and began to shiver. Keith took note of the many differing injuries all over the Salamence.
"It's gotta be Cain," Keith scowled. "Nobody else could kill a Pokémon that powerful."
Alex? You okay? Ryder asked with concern. Alexa looked towards Ryder; she looked rather distraught.
"I-I'm fine," she said quietly. Crawford approached her.
"You sure you should be investigating this?" he asked worriedly. Alexa faced him in confusion.
"W-why?"
"I can ask Professor Hastings to pull you out of it if you want, Kitten," Keith offered. Alexa looked towards him with further confusion. "Something's been bugging you all morning, I know it is. I'm concerned that you're gonna let it get in the way of this investigation."
You sure, Keith? I don't want Buizel to be batted around like a piñata again, Ryder said quietly. Uh...what IS a piñata anyway? Alexa slapped her face into her palm.
"Bagon..."
"Huh?" Alexa looked at the nearby bush and found a trio of baby Bagon as they approached the deceased dragon. One of the three babies was a sparkly lime green as opposed to being a dull sky blue like its siblings. Keith, Ryder, Buizel, Crawford and Barlow looked at the baby Bagon in confusion. Alexa instantly figured out who the baby Bagon were. She crouched near the babies, who backed away a little in fright.

"It's okay, we're not going to hurt you," she said softly as she held her hand out. The little Bagons approached Alexa's hand cautiously and sniffed her fingers. One of the Bagon noticed her terra-cotta fingernails.
Hey, who're the Bagon?
"Salamence's babies," Alexa replied quietly. "I heard one of them say 'papa'."
"You can understand Pokémon?" Barlow asked in shock.
"Yeah; it's what happens when you spend your whole like around them," Alexa replied.
"Think you can talk to 'em about their dad?" Crawford asked.
"It won't be easy for them, but I'll try," Alexa said reluctantly. She faced the baby Bagon. "Can you tell us what happened to your papa?"

Everyone watched as the babies pantomimed a basic synopsis of their father's brave confrontation with Cain and his Pokémon. Alexa was the only one who understood what the Bagon were trying to explain; everyone else was dumb-founded.
"What about your mama?"
"Bagon-Bagon, Ba-Bagon, Bagon," the green Bagon explained.
"I see..."
"What the heck is going on, Alex?!" Barlow asked. "I couldn't understand a single word of that!" he complained. Alexa stood up and faced her comrades.
"They weren't supposed to, but the babies saw the whole thing," she began. "It was Cain that was responsible for Salamence's death."
"I knew it!" Keith yelled. "What did the Bagon say?"
"They said their father was being ganged up on," Alexa explained as she bent down to pick up the lime green Bagon. "They think it's because Cain wanted this little guy."
"What's so special about him?" Crawford asked.
"You're not familiar with shiny Pokémon, are you?" Alexa questioned.
"What?" Crawford asked in bewilderment.
"Case in point. There really isn't anything special about a shiny Pokémon other than their rarity and colour schemes," Alexa explained. "A Pokémon has a very slim chance of being born with colours different from the norm for that species. Like this Bagon; instead of being blue, he's green."
"Makes sense...I think," Barlow mumbled.
"Needless to say, a shiny Pokémon is actually a valuable Pokémon, and if one has been spotted in a certain area, people would stop at nothing to get their hands on it," Alexa explained further.
"Does that mean they get poached?" Crawford asked.
"Actually, no. Poachers tend to target rare species or powerful Pokémon; they don't care about what colour the Pokémon is. No, trainers who are known as "shiny hunters" try to find them."
"Shiny hunters?" Barlow questioned.
"Don't let the name fool you; shiny hunters are actually harmless, albeit obsessed with what they do," Alexa said reassuringly. "Trust me, I've seen one in action," she added as she put the shiny Bagon back with his siblings.
"You have?" Keith asked.
"Yeah, in the Hoenn region; I was going towards Route 114 when I saw a shiny hunter trying to capture a shiny Zangoose while recording it on film," Alexa elaborated. "That said Zangoose ultimately got fed up of the shiny hunter and wanted me to do something about it. Shandra, my Gardevoir, defeated his Pokémon and the shiny hunter ran off crying. Literally; it wasn't a pretty sight."
"May I ask...how old was this guy?" Barlow asked.
"Uh...I was 13 when I saw him, but I think...well...I don't think he was any older than 25 at the time," Alexa mumbled to herself. "Getting back to the topic at hand, I assume Cain had his Pokémon kill Salamence because of Ryder."
Oh, thanks! Ryder said sarcastically.
"I'm not saying it's your fault, Ryder," Alexa sighed. "I just believe that Cain might be thinking about having his Pokémon fight you, that's all."
Oh. He saw my power, didn't he?
"Yep," Alexa nodded.
Well maybe if he hadn't been such a pain in the tush and agitated the Carnivine, I wouldn't have had to use my power! Ryder complained.
"I agree whole-heartedly," Barlow nodded. "Clearly Cain's going to be a problem if his Pokémon are strong enough to kill this Salamence."
"That may be, but it wasn't a fair fight," Alexa stated as she looked at Salamence's deceased corpse. "Look at these injuries; there is no way they all came from the same Pokémon. The saddest thing about it is that Salamence tried to fight back...I can make out some defence wounds too."
"We need to do something about this!" Keith exclaimed. "How many more Pokémon is Cain willing to slaughter until he's satisfied?!" Alexa winced subtly; Keith's use of the word 'slaughter' apparently bothered her. She looked down at the baby Bagon.

"You should go back to your mama and stay out of sight," she said quietly. "You'll be safe there, I promise."
"Ba-Bagon," the babies nodded. They remorsefully looked back at their dead father one last time before they scurried into the bushes. Alexa stood up again and watched the Bagon running towards their cave.
"...Ryder? Can you dig a hole large enough for Salamence please?" she asked.
Aye, aye! Ryder saluted. He then suddenly began tearing the ground away with his paws. The hole he dug grew bigger and bigger with every stroke of his paws.
"Alexa, what's he doing?" Keith asked. Alexa faced him.
"There isn't a burial site like Mt Pyre around in Almia; the least I think we can do is give Salamence a dignified burial right here," she explained.
"That's a nice thought," Barlow smiled.
Okay, I think it's big enough now! Ryder said as he popped his head out of the large hole. Is it suitable?
"Yeah, it's fine," Alexa said as she examined the size of the hole. Ryder carefully used his Psychic technique to slightly lift Salamence's body off of the ground and gently placed it inside the hole. Ryder filled the hole with the soil he dug up respectfully and, once the hole was filled, and Salamence was out of sight, walked around the improvised grave, on all fours, tapping the soil with his feet to smooth the dirt out.
Done. Now what?
"We try to find Cain, of course," Alexa answered.
"Almia is a region of peace, his blood lust won't be tolerated here," Barlow added.
Yay verily, Ryder nodded.
"Crawford and I will look around the forest in case Cain struck again," Barlow said.
"Alexa and I will report back to Professor Hastings about this then," Keith stated.
"See you guys later," Crawford said as he and Barlow ran off towards the Vien Forest. Keith, Alexa, Ryder and Buizel made their way towards Puel Town.

"Alexa, I know you're more of an expert on Pokémon Trainers than the rest of us, but...are you absolutely sure that you're okay with investigating all of this?" Keith asked worriedly.
"I'm fine," Alexa insisted. "I-I just don't like seeing Pokémon having been killed is all..."
Given how close you are to Pokémon, that's only natural, Ryder said softly.
"It's pretty impressive that you can understand Pokémon, though," Keith smiled.
"Not really, my parents can as well," Alexa shrugged. "And Keenan. We can all understand Pokémon as if they were speaking in plain English."
"By the way...when the Pokémon cry out while under the influence of a Gigaremo or Miniremo...what do they say?" Keith asked.
"Nothing; it's just a battle cry," Alexa replied. "A poorly executed one at that; it was more like a simple yell to be honest. Why?"
"Just curious is all," Keith shrugged.
As the foursome arrived at Altru Park, Ryder suddenly stopped and sniffed around. Alexa and Keith, noticing that Ryder had stopped, looked back at him.
"What's wrong?" Alexa asked.
I can smell blood, Ryder replied. He looked towards the Chroma Road. That way.
"Don't tell me Cain struck again!" Keith complained.
"Keith, you should tell Professor Hastings about the Salamence; Ryder and I can investigate this," Alexa said.
"Are you sure?" Keith asked.
"The last thing I want is Buizel getting hurt again," Alexa said firmly. "Ryder's strong enough to at least hold off Cain's Pokémon until help arrives."
"...okay. Be careful," Keith said with concern. Alexa and Ryder raced off towards the Chroma Road. Once they were out of sight, Keith lifted his right arm up and opened a communication with his styler.

Alexa followed Ryder as he followed the scent of blood he picked up from the park. Alexa stayed close to Ryder as he sniffed at the air around him.
"It must be getting stronger; I can smell it too," she said quietly.
Yep, Ryder nodded. I just hope it's not the Salamence's mate that I'm smelling out here—huh? Ryder stopped in his tracks and looked down; he stepped into a pool of blood. Ew. He lifted his foot up and checked his bloodstained paw pads. We're here.

With a sense of dread about them, Alexa and Ryder looked behind the bush the blood came from. Alexa immediately turned white, covered her mouth and staggered back in absolute terror as tears overwhelmed her eyes. Ryder, on the other hand, turned pale, dropped his ears and stared at what he had sniffed out; a Medicham's dead corpse lay limp against the tree trunk. Medicham's eyes were open and lifeless, its chest literally torn open, exposing its damaged internal organs. There were various other superficial wounds all over the Medicham's corpse, and its left arm looked as though it could break off at any given moment. But amongst all of the wounds, there wasn't a single defence wound in sight; Medicham didn't stand a chance.
...Holy...Muk...
"It was worthless anyway."

Cain's insensitive voice broke the tense atmosphere, as Ryder and Alexa faced the heartless trainer and his golden Pidgeot in shock.
"C-Cain...?"
"Bloody thing didn't even lift a finger to defend itself," Cain huffed. "I dunno why I even bothered trying to train it in the first place." Overwhelming fury dominated Alexa as she heard Cain's harsh words.
"Medicham was YOUR Pokémon?! And you killed him?! What kind of heartless fiend are you?!"
"Pokémon are built for nothing more than to fight; if they can't fight, they might as well be dead," Cain said rudely. Alexa's tolerance for Cain quickly declined as she heard such talk.
"You know NOTHING about what it means to be a trainer!" she shouted furiously. "If a trainer isn't satisfied with their Pokémon, they trade that Pokémon to a trainer that wants it or, at the very most, releases that Pokémon, TRAINERS DON'T KILL THEIR OWN POKÉMON!" she cried at the very top of her voice.
"Alexa!" Keith called. Alexa and Ryder looked back and found Keith and Buizel approaching them hurriedly.
"Keith?!" Keith approached her and panted to catch his breath.
"I heard you all the way from the park! What's going on?!"
"She just found my Medicham, that's all," Cain shrugged.
Too right we did! That sadistic killer murdered his own Pokémon! Ryder snarled angrily. Keith looked at Cain in disbelief.
"What the hell, man?! Killing wild Pokémon wasn't enough for you that you had to kill your own Pokémon as well?! I hope karma catches up to you!"
"I'm scared," Cain said sarcastically as a decrepit-looking Absol walked from behind him. As malnourished as the Absol looked, it didn't appear to be suffering in any way, but it had a ghastly amount of old scars all over its body. There was a large cut over its nose and is missing a claw on its front left foot. Alexa was appalled at the sight.
Yeah, well, you should be, Ryder growled. After all...you murdered someone's father! Ryder lunged towards the Absol as the spike on the back of his right paw illuminated in a white light and formed three razor-sharp claws. Absol's scythe shone in a pink-purple light and...

CLANG!

Ryder's claws collided with Absol's scythe. Both Pokémon were snarling at one another angrily.
"Lucario appears to be well trained. I fail to understand why you aren't a trainer instead," Cain said bluntly to Alexa.
"I refuse to lose another Pokémon because of battle. Ryder, fall back!" Alexa exclaimed. Ryder's growling faded and carefully ceased his attack, willingly following Alexa's order. Absol walked back towards Cain and glared at the Lucario. Keith was left confused at what Alexa had just said. He didn't understand why she called Ryder off of Absol either. Cain laughed quietly.
"If you're going to hold back like that, you'll never win over me," he mocked. Alexa clearly struggled to contain her overwhelming emotions of hatred and sadness.
"Why are you even here...?"
"The Orre region got boring," Cain said simply. "Absol?"

FLASH!

"AAGH!" Keith, Alexa, Ryder and Buizel were blinded as an intense flash of light burst from Absol's scythe. When the light faded, Cain, Absol and Pidgeot were nowhere to be seen. Keith looked at Alexa with further concern.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I-I think so..." Alexa said shakily. She looked back at Medicham's body. "What should we do about...?"
"Alexa...come on, you're not fit for this," Keith sighed. Alexa looked at him in astonishment.
"What?!"
"You're getting too worked up over this. I can understand why, but I'm concerned that it'll get out of hand," he explained. "Come on; you've seen enough for today."
"...okay," Alexa nodded nervously. Keith gently took her hand and escorted her away from the Chroma Road. Buizel followed happily, but Ryder walked back towards the Medicham's body. He gently closed Medicham's eyes with his paw.
Arceus...please...watch over Medicham, he prayed. He gave the dead Medicham one final glance before he ran off after Alexa and Keith.

Later...

"I've asked Sven and Wendy to deal with the Medicham," Hastings said to Alexa and Keith. Ryder and Buizel were also at their side in the Operations room. "But you are right to express your concerns to me, Keith. Alexa, I'm afraid I'm withdrawing you from this investigation. Do you understand?"
"Y-yes," Alexa said quietly. "I'm sorry..."
"You've done nothing wrong, Alexa," Erma said gently. "But we believe it is for the best that you sit this investigation out."
"I-I know," Alexa nodded.

"PROFESSOR!" Rhythmi screamed as she ran up the escalator. Keith flinched as he heard her ear-piercing screech.
"For the love of all things, Rhythmi, are you intent on giving me a heart attack?!" Hastings fumed.
"Whatever is the matter, dear?" Erma asked.
"O-okay, I-I was going to drop something off in Keith and Alexa's room w-when I-I saw...t-this!" Rhythmi exclaimed, holding up an amulet. Alexa's eyes widened at the amulet; the chain was a thin sterling silver chain, and the amulet was clear and it contained a small preserved fragment of a Butterfree's wing.
"Hey, that's mine, give it back!" Alexa demanded furiously. Everyone in the room, barring Ryder, looked at her in astonishment.
"Y-yours!? Y-you wear a piece of a Pokémon's wing?! That is so gross!" Rhythmi said in disgust.
"I said give it back!" Alexa demanded again.
"Alexa, calm yourself, dear," Erma said firmly. "Rhythmi, you shouldn't take what doesn't belong to you."
"But, Alexa, why would you carry this thing around?! I mean, I know it's just a piece of a Pokémon's wing-"
"A Butterfree's wing," Alexa said abruptly. "Give it back! I mean it!"
"But why would you carry it around? It's just a piece of a Butterfree's wing, it can't mean all that much," Rhythmi said ignorantly as she looked at the wing fragmnet; the markings on it were dark blue instead of the usual black. "What is it, a trophy or something?"

WHACK!

Without warning, Alexa punched Rhythmi in the eye and the two girls fell to the ground. Keith, Ryder, Buizel, Hastings, Erma and the Operators were absolutely horrified as Alexa tried to brawl with the terrified Rhythmi, who tried her hardest to defend herself.
"Don't you DARE assume I'm ANYTHING like that murderous waste of skin! You don't know anything about me, don't even THINK about assuming that you know me!"
"Alexa!" Keith pulled Alexa forcefully off of Rhythmi and restrained her to the best of his abilities. Despite the restraint, Alexa attempted to fight back at Rhythmi. Ryder looked at her in horror; he hadn't seen such an outburst from Alexa in all his life. Alexa was completely offended and enraged, yet her eyes started to release tears.
"How dare you make assumptions about me based on what I have! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE EVEN BEEN IN OUR ROOM!"
"Alexa, that is enough!" Hastings shouted. Linda and Erma approached Rhythmi and helped her up. Rhythmi had a large bruise on her left eye and was dreadfully shaken up. Keith continued to restrain Alexa, who was still completely livid and fuming at Rhythmi. Ryder picked up the amulet Rhythmi had dropped during the struggle.
"And here I thought you couldn't get any worse, you ignorant little-"
"Alexa, that will do!" Hastings scolded. "Yes, Rhythmi should not have invaded your privacy, but you shouldn't have assaulted her like that!"
"Professor," Erma said quietly. She approached him and whispered something to him inaudibly. He nodded and faced Alexa.
"Alexa, I'm suspending your duties with immediate effect."
"What?! Y-you can't do that!"
"It's for the best, Keith," Erma said worriedly. "Alexa, dear, I don't know what's been on your mind all day, but you've gone too far by hurting Rhythmi like this."
Alexa's hostile anger faded into further sorrow and regret as her tears fell more constantly down her face. She closed her eyes tightly, gritted her teeth and avoided eye contact with everyone, resisting the urge to weep.
"I know today has been a shock to you, dear, but you're not in the right state of mind to continue in your duties right now," Erma said sensitively. "As much as I hate to say this, but you've been different since you returned from Oblivia..."

Alexa broke free from Keith's grip and fled from the Operations room, almost in tears. While Hastings and Keith looked at Rhythmi, Ryder sighed to himself as he looked at the amulet in his paw. He quietly left the room to follow Alexa.
"Are you all right, dear?" Erma asked Rhythmi. Rhythmi's breathing was unsteady and rapid; she was terrified.
"I-I-I..."
"What were you doing in our room anyway?" Keith asked.
"I-I-I-I wanted t-to l-l-leave a-a note a-and..."
"You found the amulet?" Hastings assumed. Rhythmi whimpered as she nodded. Linda helped Rhythmi onto her feet.
"Come on, let's get you to the medical room," she said softly as she escorted Rhythmi out of the room. Keith looked back at Hastings with guilt about his face.
"W-when I said she shouldn't be a part of this investigation, I-I didn't mean she should be suspended!"
"I realise this, Keith," Hastings said quietly. "But she was completely out of order, assaulting Rhythmi in such a crude fashion. She has to understand actions have consequences."
"But she already knows this!"
"Even so, it would be wrong of me to not suspend her for this. She doesn't get any special treatment, she's going to be treated just like any other Ranger."
"...but..."
"No excuses," Hastings said sternly. "She will be suspended until Cain has been apprehended and handed over to the International Police."
"In the meantime, dear, I will deal with her and Rhtyhmi," Erma added. "This means you are in charge of this investigation, Keith."
"...okay," Keith nodded. "I-I'm...I-I should go..." He walked away from Erma and Hastings and out of the room.

Keith entered his and Alexa's room and found her on his bed, sobbing rather loudly into her pillow. Ryder was next to her, stroking her back comfortingly. Keith closed the door softly and approached Alexa. He sat next to her and faced her worriedly.
"Alexa..?"
"H-huh..?" Alexa turned to face Keith in confusion; her face was red and her eyes were soggy with her tears. She sat up. "K-Keith..! I-I..."
"Shhh..." Keith gently placed a finger over her lips. "Come here," he whispered as he gently drew Alexa closer to him and cuddled her. She held onto him rather tightly as she began to sob quietly. "What was all of that about...? Hey..?"
There's a meaning behind the amulet, Ryder said quietly as he showed Keith the Butterfree wing fragment. Mostly what it's holding, anyway.
"W-what does it mean?" Keith asked carefully.
This wing piece...came from Lydia.

To be continued...