Chia: You're on a roll aren't you?

*crazy typing* Come on, I HAVE to write this! Before something happens! How often does an entire fanfic story just pop in your dreams so perfectly? I already have a little haze in the memory so I have to act NOOOOOOW!

Chia: *sweatdrop* You're weird.

I'm a writer. OF COURSE I'M WEIRD!

Chia: Hey readers! Are you out there? Read, review and enjoy another one of Sky's temporary fits of insanity.

*throws a show at the pachirisu*

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"…and Keith was trying to capture the man who tried to run off with our stylers."

"Ah. So this took place in my absence?"

Scene; the principal's office at ranger school. Keith was barely paying attention to what the teachers and principal were discussing. The redhead was still sulking over the fact the would-be thief had gotten away. Had Ms. April let him give chase, the guy would've been captured and punished. Rangers not only keep the peace but they bring justice! Keith was just trying to prove he was going to be a great ranger someday! Of course blabbermouth Rhythmi had to report to Ms. April…

"Keith."

Keith glanced at Principal Lamont. The principal had come up to him, studying the redhead's sour expression. Ms. April and Mr. Kincaid had already left the room upon the principal's request.

"You're much too reckless." Lamont said.

"I was doing the right thing." Keith grumbled.

"Yes but you behaved too much on impulse. There needs to be balance between that and thinking things through." Lamont reasoned. "Your stubborn attitude could land you in trouble. Had that thief carried a weapon, you might have gotten seriously hurt."

"But he didn't! I'm fine aren't I? I got the stylers back, no one got hurt and that thief's taken in for questioning! Rangers are supposed to be brave!" Keith argued.

Lamont sighed, shaking his head. "Keith…bravery isn't just about rushing into danger whenever you feel like it. "

A pause. Principal Lamont looked out the window with a faraway look in his eyes.

"There will come a time where you'll have to fight for what matters most to you. But I'm afraid until you come to terms with yourself and learn what true courage is, you won't be able to. Accept the truth." He quietly told the redhead.

Keith rolled his eyes. Leave it to the old grownups to make things so weird and boring. What a dumb lecture. Keith let his mind wander while Lamont talked. His eyes soon fell upon something at the corner of the teacher's lounge.

"What's that?" The redhead pointed out.

Lamont stopped speaking and looked. In the corner, sitting on top of a desk, was a playset of some sort. It reminded Keith a little of the ranger Union but there were some differences. Instead of the tree being on top of the roof, it was in the center of the building with the branches and leaves covering the roof-less building like a giant umbrella. A moat surrounded the castle as well.

"Ah that." Lamont smiled. "It's a gift, of sorts. From an old friend."

"Soooo it's a toy?" Keith blinked, looking at the castle curiously.

"No. Though there's a story that there's magic within. A long struggle between good and evil. A battle that could consume the world unless two lights stop it." Lamont responded. "If the lights can join together, then evil shall be banished forever more."

"Lame…" Keith muttered under his breath.

Such a kiddy toy.

"I was thinking of placing this in the library sometime. Though for now, until I decide where to safely place it, I shall leave the castle here in the office." Lamont said. "Now Keith, you should remember what we discussed. Alright?"

"Yes Principal Lamont." Keith responded.

With that, the redhead left the room. Principal Lamont continued to watch over the castle. Another sigh.

"Soon…it'll all be over soon enough." He whispered. "Please wait a little longer. Please wait for him."

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The rest of the day flew by quickly. Classes had been called off due to the thief interrupting everything. It was a free study day for anyone who chose to study. Of course, not many took that up and chose to just hang around. Eventually, it was night. It was that time of the night when students were getting ready to go to sleep. But that night?

"Ok everyone! Keep it down yay!"

Most of the students had gathered in the hang-out area of the dormitory. What was tonight? The Bravery Test! A famous tradition of the ranger school Keith had been looking forward too! After drawing straws some time back, he was one of the last students in school to take the test. And then several occurrences happened that postponed the test. Now? This was Keith's night. If he didn't already prove himself after catching a thief, he'd do so tonight!

"So you know the rules, right?" Rhythmi asked.

"Find all four stylers hidden and put them in the basement. No problem." Keith assured confidently.

"Ok but we still have the matter of your partner for the test." Rhythmi reminded. "Donovan is sick and can barely move. Meanwhile the only other seat next to you is empty."

"Relax, I can handle this whole thing on my own." Keith told her.

"Yes but…" Rhythmi started to object.

"Look, Rhyth. If I can chase after a thief, I can handle this too!" Keith said.

The blonde girl gave in. "Fine. Just be careful! We don't want to ruin the tradition for future students should you mess this up!"

"Oh ye of little faith." Keith scoffed. "I'll dash down, do what I need to and come back. Easy peasy lemon squeezy."

The other students clapped as the redhead proudly went to the stairwell and disappeared from their site. Soon, Keith arrived at the bottom of the stairs to the mainhallway. Geez, it was dark. Really dark. SUPER dark…

"Don't wuss out, man." Keith took a deep breath. "It's just the dark. No big deal."

"Biiiidooooo!"

"WAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Keith jumped as he heard a strange noise. His head whirled all over the place trying to find the source. But it was just a bidoof. Whew. Nothing to get worked out about. HA! Keith was still brave! He was the bravest out of anyone in school! This test would prove it! Now to find those hidden stylers.

First one was fairly simple. Just go to Ms. April's desk and grab it. The second one meant fending off a few zubats in Kincaid's but still, easy enough to get. Third was located in the library; smash a few boxes to get right to it. Now where was that fourth styler….?

"Pichu! Pi pi pichu!"

Keith had just stepped out of the library when he spotted a little pichu in the middle of the hallway. It was holding the final styler in its hands! But before Keith could go over and get it, the pichu was off. The little pokemon started running away.

"Hey get back here!" Keith called out to it.

Pichu stopped, looked back at Keith and then continued to run. Keith gave chase. Down the hallway, the two of them ran. Pichu ducked into the teachers lounge with Keith right behind it.

"You've got nowhere to go now." Keith said. "Now hand over the styler."

The pichu hopped onto one of the teachers desks.

"Pichu pi pi pi! Pichu pichu!" The pichu spoke. "Pichu chu! Chu chu pichu!"

It seemed like it was trying to desperately tell Keith something. What it was, the redhead didn't know. The little electric pokemon seemed frantic. What on earth was it saying? Keith walked forward, hoping to calm it down and get the styler back. But a few steps in…

SLAM!

The door closed behind Keith. He went back to try and open it but the door wouldn't budge. The redhead was locked in.

"What the heck…?" Keith muttered, trying to open the door.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrr…"

Keith paused. He swore he heard a strange noise. The redhead looked back at the pichu who was looking a little nervous. Keith's eyes darted about, trying to locate the source. From the shadows, as if appearing from thin air, came pokemon. Six of them; houndours and poochyenas. These were pokemon one would never find at ranger school. But weirder still, they looked fierce. Their gaze was locked straight onto Keith as they continued to growl.

"Pichu! Pichu pi pichu!" The pichu cried out.

"No problem." Keith whipped out his styler. "I got this."

These pokemon might be why the pichu was freaking out. Well Keith would befriend them and then calm the pichu down. Once that was accomplished, the styler would be his. Test complete!

The six pokemon charged forth. Keith ducked and dodged the incoming attacks, twirling his stylers. Wasn't easy trying to keep up with them all. His attention couldn't be focused on one pokemon or else the others would try to sneak up on him. All of the friendship gages were very low despite the hard attempts to capture them. And the pokemon were more ferocious than expected. Houndour and poochyenas were known for aggression but they were extra vicious. They kept trying to lash out at Keith.

"Come on!" Keith shouted as he continued the capture. "What's with you guys anyways? It's….AUGH!"

A poochyena had jumped and bit Keith right in the arm. Keith quickly swung the poochyena right into the wall, knocking it off.

"Arceus dammit…" Keith groaned. "That really hurt!"

He'd have to look at the injury after the capture. At the moment, he still had the other pokemon to take care of. And…and…wait, why was his arm shaking? Keith found he was trembling uncontrollably.

"Aaahh….aahhh….AAAAAAHHHHHH!" Keith cried out painfully.

His legs collapsed under him. He felt his nerves shaking and pain spread from his arm, throughout his entire body. Keith was starting to sweat uncontrollably as he hyperventilated. The redhead squinted his eyes shut. His heartbeat echoed in his ears. The student fell onto his sides as the pain only increased.

"W-what's…happening…t-to me…?!" Keith moaned.

He screamed when the pain intensified. It felt like every cell in his body was being stabbed by sharp needles. His heart was pounding, slamming against his chest. It seemed to take forever before the pain subsided, only leaving a slight headache. Keith gasped for air. Seemed like he could never get enough of it. His eyes slowly opened as he tried to stand back up.

"My head…owwww…" Keith rubbed his temples. "What was that?"

Something seemed off. The room was a lot bigger all of a sudden. That pichu was really high up on the table. And it looked at Keith with wide eyes. Keith was confused for a moment. He looked at his hands.

"WHAT THE….?!"

Those weren't his hands! They were furry paws! His body….that wasn't his body at all! It was short and covered in orangish fur! No school uniform! And there was a tail! No, dual tail! This was a buizel body!

"WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?!" Keith yelled, horrified.

"Heh heh heh."

"Another one down."

Keith looked up. The poochyena and hounrdour were sneering as they slowly approached Keith. Were they talking?

"Keith!" Wait, was that the pichu talking too? "You have to fight them off!"

"B-but I…!" Keith stammered, still in shock.

The pichu hopped off the desk. "We don't have much time! We have to battle them!"

The poor redhead was so confused. Still, he didn't have much choice. Both buizel and pichu were launched into battle; two against six. Pichu was using some thundershocks and tackles. It didn't seem as skilled as other pichu were but Keith had much more to focus on than that. He wasn't sure how to battle. Sure he'd seen it plenty of times as a human when watching pokemon battles. This? This was different.

Keith mostly dodged the attacks coming at him at first. Eventually, he remembered a buizel had a good tail for attacks. He swung around his tail in the Double Hit attack. With rising agility, Keith was able to do some Quick Attacks as well. It was tricky. But one by one, the opponents were going down. Four of them had been knocked near to nearly fainting when they decided to run off. The poochyenas and houndours dashed into the shadows, disappearing.

"Whew…" Keith panted, a bit tired.

"Are you alright?" Pichu asked.

"Alright? ALRIGHT?! LOOK AT ME!" Keith snapped. "I'm a buizel!"

Pichu looked away. "I'm sorry. I-I tried to warn you but…..you couldn't understand me."

"Wait, so you were trying to tell me about those pokemon?" Keith asked.

"Yes." Pichu replied. "They are pokemon with darkness running through their blood. Their purpose is to bring down humans and turn the world into a cold, dark place ruled by evil. And those pokemon had special venom in their fangs. When they bit you, they unleashed a curse and turned you into a pokemon."

Keith glanced at the arm where he was bitten. Under the fur, he could see a large red mark. Pichu saw this and showed one of his short little legs to Keith. Keith immediately noticed the same red mark.

"You're cursed too?" He realized.

"Sadly." Pichu sighed.

"Isn't there something we can do? There's got to be a way to get back normal!" Keith questioned.

"All I can do is take you to the Kingdom." The Pichu said.

"Kingdom?" Keith blinked.

"We're not the only ones afflicted with this curse." Pichu told him. "The Kingdom is a protective area where others who are cursed go to. It's to keep us safe and give us a place to strategize for future battles."

"Battles?" Keith tilted his head, ever puzzled.

The pichu jumped to a desk in the back corner of the room. Keith followed him. He soon found he was next to the castle Lamont had brought in earlier that day.

"Here we are." Pichu said.

"Kind of small, don't you think?" Keith sweatdropped.

Pichu wasn't fazed. His paw reached out and pressed one of the tiny bricks like a button. There was a click. After a second, the tree suddenly spit out rainbow sparkles at the pokemon pair. Keith coughed, rubbing his eyes after being temporarily blinded. When he opened his eyes again…

"W-we shrunk!"

The pichu chuckled. "You were turned into a pokemon not long ago. Surely you couldn't be more shocked now."

"Y-yeah but this….I…" Keith stammered, still surprised.

The castle didn't look too small now. It looked like actual building size from the pokemon's current height. Pichu already walked over the plastic river and was at the front doors. Keith hesitantly followed behind. The doors opened. It was a long, pitch black tunnel. Great. MORE dark hallways. As if Keith needed any more of those. Both pokemon went inside as the doors closed behind them.

"So pichu…er, I mean…um…" Keith began to speak.

"My name is Issac." The pichu said.

"Ok then." Keith made a mental note of it. "You said something about battles."

"Right. For years there's been a struggle between the forces of good and evil." Issac told him. "Darkness wants to take over this world and spread misery to all. Not too long ago, darkness was drained into specific pokemon who carried the curse. And those pokemon were ordered to attack humans; some specific targets, others just at random. More humans and forces of good weakened, the closer to world domination."

"And you guys fight these bad guys?" Keith guessed.

"We all have our roles. I was a scientist before I was afflicted with the curse. So I help with strategies or run errands." Issac went on.

"Then what were you doing at ranger school?" Keith asked.

"I was sent to find you. I was told to try and warn you what was happening as well as get help. Of course things didn't turn out exactly as I thought they would." Issac answered.

"Wait, find me? Who told you to find me?" Keith questioned.

"The Princess." Issac simply responded.

Keith was going to ask more questions when he noticed a light at the end of the tunnel. It wasn't much longer before both pokemon escaped the tunnel, into a new place. Keith looked around in amazement. What was this strange place? It was a building but it had this natural feel to it. The floor was just grass with some flowers. There was the same tree like the castle playset had; extending upwards into the sky. The castle had multiple floors that circled around the tree. There were pokemon all over the place.

The buizel was almost too distracted to keep following Issac, who lead him towards the base of the tree. The tree trunk had an opening; kind of like a door. Turns out, there was more to the castle than Keith thought! There was a large room within the tree itself! Mostly wooden furniture though there was a luxray there too.

"Issac, you're back." The luxray noticed. "Is this….him?"

"It is." Issac nodded.

Luxray looked Keith over. "Sigh. You couldn't stop them could you?"

"He fought them off as best as he could. But they outnumbered him and the curse took hold." Issac bitterly told him. "There wasn't anything I could do."

"Well…at least you managed to bring him here. He is alive, after all." The luxray turned to Keith. "My name is Sven. And you're Keith?"

"Right." Keith replied. "How do you know me?"

"Where's the Princess?" Issac asked Sven.

"She had something to attend to but she'll be back any moment." The luxray then twitched his ears, listening in on something. "I think I can hear her coming."

Sure enough, something was coming. A staraptor flew right in and landed on the ground within the tree. Someone on top hopped off. A human! It was a girl about Keith's age. She was wearing a long white dress of silk. Her soft chocolate hair fell down to her shoulders. On top of the head was a crown made of branches and flowers. Skin was so soft and pale. When she turned, Keith noticed she had a very pretty face. And blue eyes that glimmered like crystals. Amazing….

"Princess, Issac's returned." Sven alerted the girl.

"He is?" The Princess whirled around to see Issac and Keith. "Issac, welcome back! And….is this him?"

Issac nodded. The Princess came over and fell to her knees, looking at Keith. Keith felt his throat choke up and face burn all of a sudden. Those eyes! They stared straight right into his and…and they were captivating…

"I-I'm sorry. I couldn't stop the enemies in time." Issac apologized grimly.

The Princess smiled. "You still did your job well, Issac. I better take a look at the mark to see how progressed the curse is."

Her slender fingers took Keith's arm and pulled the fur aside, locating the red mark. The Princess was studying the mark with a concentrated gaze.

"Ah…u-um…d-do you understand me?" Keith struggled to ask.

"Mhm!" The Princess nodded. "I can understand all pokemon."

For another minute, the girl was examining Keith's cursed mark. Meanwhile Keith just stood there awkwardly, feeling inexplicably nervous. What was with him? He never felt this way before!

"It's not too bad. You'll only transform into a buizel at night." The Princess said. "Which confirms it. You are the one I'm looking for."

"W-what? What's that supposed to mean?" Keith asked.

"We're fighting against the darkness, trying to prevent its spread to the rest of the world and taking it over. But we're also trying to find a way to restore everyone here back to their human forms." The Princess explained. "I had a vision of a man; Splendidocious. He told me to search for you. You are our only hope left."

"Me?" Keith was as confused as ever.

"In order to cast away the darkness forever and break the curse, two lights need to come together. I am one of them. And you are the only one who can find the other light." The Princess continued.

"Me?" Keith echoed, still lost.

"We need your help. We have to search for the other light to join them together. Once I find the other light, I could end all of this." The Princess went on. "Will you help us? Could you please find the other light?"

Keith hesitated. "Can you turn me back to normal? Make me human again?"

The Princess looked down. There were tears starting to brim on the edge of her eyes.

"I'm sorry…..I'm so sorry, Keith." She whispered. "I can't. I don't know how."

Her hands reached up to take off the flower crown she wore. Suddenly, two white & blue ears popped up on top her head.

"Even I'm afflicted with this curse. I'm slowly turning into a pokemon." The Princess told him. "Please. Please help us. I need you."

Keith wasn't sure what to do. This whole thing seemed crazy! Darkness, cursed pokemon, a secret little world…it was insanity! He was almost ready to just run right out of there and find his way back to the school. But….

His eyes stared at the Princess. Poor girl was horribly upset. Here she was; a princess of all these pokemon. Their leader and she couldn't help them. Not without having help herself. She'd soon turn into a pokemon too. Then what? What if those dark pokemon came back to attack her? Keith didn't want to get a girl like her hurt.

Keith took a deep breath. "Ok. I'll help. I promise."

The Princess smiled, wiping away the tears. "Thank you! A thousand times thank you!"

"Princess!"

A plusle popped inside the tree. It ran up to the Princess.

"Princess! We need your help! Lunick's been severely burned!" The plusle frantically said.

"I'm on my way. Wendy? Can you fly me to the hospital floor please?" Princess requested.

"Of course." The staraptor, Wendy, agreed.

The Princess turned to Issac. "Issac, please explain to Keith anything he needs to know. Assist him with whatever he needs."

"I will." Issac nodded.

"Sven, please patrol the castle. I fear the enemies attacks are growing more frequent. We can't have too many of our teammates injured for what's coming ahead." The Princess said to Sven.

"I understand." Sven responded.

The Princess and the plusle hopped onto Wendy's back. Just like that, the staraptor was gone. Sven left to do as the Princess asked. That just left Keith and Issac.

"I've got a few questions." Keith said as the two walked outside.

"Yes?" Issac responded.

"Who exactly is this Princess? What's the big deal with her?" Keith asked.

"The Princess has been gifted with the ability to heal and understand pokemon. She was blessed with light. Her being is filled with warm, kindhearted light." Issac answered. "When the curse first started, many of the affected were children. They believed that girl to be a true Princess and the name just stuck."

Even kids were cursed into pokemon bodies? This was worse than Keith thought.

"She looks like a princess though. And you guys act as if she really is." Keith said.

"Well she is our leader. The Princess guides our team and heals those who have been hurt. And she knows everyone here. A friend to us all. Always takes the time to get to know the team members and helps comfort them when the curse gets to be too much." Issac told him. "You're lucky, Keith. The curse only affects you at night. Meanwhile the rest of us don't catch a break."

Keith felt a little guilty. The curse was terrible and he hated it. But he got time to be human again. He had a privilege no one else had. It was another reason to be a part of this team. Keith felt he should help these nice pokemon…er, people….and restore them to their human forms. And he really wanted to help the Princess before she became a pokemon as well.

"Sooooo what exactly am I supposed to do?" Keith asked. "I mean I know I'm supposed to be looking for this 'other light'. But how do I even do that?"

"To be honest, I don't know either. All I know is that you're the only one who can find it. Still, I will help you any way I can." Issac replied.

"ENEMIES INCOMING! ALERT! ALERT! ENEMIES INCOMING!"

There were several pokemon crying this from spots within the base.

"Looks like the dark pokemon are launching another assault here." Issac mumbled.

"Wait, more dark pokemon? They're going to attack this place?" Keith looked around to see pokemon scrambling about.

"It's been happening more frequently. They want to ravage this place so that no one who's cursed has safety. Many have already been killed or taken as prisoner." Issac informed. "No matter what happens, we can't let them get to the Princess. They do and it's all over."

Many pokemon were all set for battle and charging out the front doors. They were risking their lives to protect everyone in this place. So much dedication. Keith was impressed. And he felt like he should be doing the same.

"I want to help them." Keith decided.

"I know you do but it's way too dangerous. You barely have any battle experience. If you get killed, we lose our only hope of breaking this curse." Issac said.

"But I…" Keith wanted to object.

"Issac! Keith!"

It was Wendy.

"We've got a massive attack this time. The dark pokemon already know about Keith." The staraptor informed.

"And they want to eliminate him as soon as possible." Issac assumed.

"Bingo. Issac, you're needed in defense department. They need an extra boost getting our security systems running." Wendy ordered. "I'll get Keith secure with the Princess."

"Alright." Issac understood. "Keith, be careful."

Issac dashed off. Wendy allowed Keith to hop up on her back so she could fly them to the top floor of the base. There were branches that extended from the top floor to the center of the tree trunk, where there appeared to be another room.

"The Princess is in there. We have security on this floor so you guys should be safe." Wendy instructed.

"Got it." Keith got off her back. "Thanks Wendy."

With that, the staraptor was off once again. Keith could hear noise coming from outside the base. The battle already began. Hopefully, no one would be seriously hurt. Keith crossed over the tree branch bridge and reached the room the Princess was in.

The Princess was sitting on a bed, looking out a small window. She then noticed Keith and smiled.

"Keith! I thought I was going to be all alone in here again." The Princess said.

"I was told to stay here with you." Keith told her, taking a seat on a nearby chair. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." The Princess assured. "I was just hoping for a little company while I'm stuck in here."

"Is it that bad to be here?" Keith asked.

"I know I'm being protected by my friends. And I appreciate that. It just gets so lonely. I worry for their safety." The Princess sighed, looking back out the window. "Every time there's a battle, I pray that they all come back alive. I want to help them in the battle but I know I can't fight. I'd be more of a hindrance than help."

She looked so sad. It made Keith feel…well….bad. He wanted to see the Princess smiling like she was before. It was awful to see such a nice girl so upset. But Keith's experience with sad girls was severely lacking.

"You, um…you're a good person to care for your friends like this. With you watching them, I'm sure they'll be fine." Keith tried to comfort her. "And I'm here too. I'll find that other light and make all this go away. I swear, I'll do whatever I can to help you."

The Princess turned back to Keith, giving him the smile he wanted to see.

"Thanks Keith. That means so much to me." The Princess said.

Her hand reached over, scratching Keith behind his head. Keith froze, then melted at the touch. It felt so good! No wonder pokemon liked this! This Princess really did understand pokemon! What a sweet girl….

"INTRUDERS ON THE UPPER LEVELS! INTRUDERS ON THE UPPER LEVELS!"

"PROTECT THE PRINCESS AT ALL COSTS!"

The Princess froze. Keith was alert. He wandered to the opening to see what was going on. The pokemon protecting the branch bridge were knocked out. Three sableye were on their way over.

"Stay back." Keith warned.

"Dark pokemon?" Princess whispered.

"Yeah." Keith nodded. "I'll handle this."

"Please be careful…" The Princess looked extremely anxious.

Keith gave her a confident grin. "I'll protect you. Don't worry."

The buizel stepped outside, mere feet away from the sableeye. Sure there were three of them. But this wouldn't be too big a deal. Keith was brave. He could totally take them all on. Seemed like the sableeye thought the same of him. They didn't waste a moment to leap in and attack Keith.

Keith managed to avoid the first few attacks. But those sableeyes were FAST. Their claws came out of nowhere to try and shred the buizel right up. Keith was able to land double hit and quick attack several times on them. Still, more hits were landed on Keith than he could get out.

"Keith!" The Princess shrieked, watching in horror.

No way was he defeated yet. Keith knocked one off sableeye off the bridge. Looks like some other pokemon below would take care of that guy. Two more to go. Keith jumped over a shadow ball and managed to send the second one flying. Now where was the last one?

WHAM!

Keith was hit, tumbling against the bridge feet away. Dang sableeye….that one was a doozy. Keith was bleeding a little. Still, it didn't stop him. He wasn't giving up that easily. Keith charged forth, readying another quick attack. The sableeye was running to him with shadow claws ready.

KABOOM!

Both hits attacked the other pokemon. The sableeye had been blown off the branch….but so had Keith. The buizel was sent hurtling down the tree. Suddenly, Keith felt his head crash into the ground and his world went dark.

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"NNggg…nnnnnnng….."

Darkness. So much darkness. Keith felt like he was groggy and lost in that darkness for ages. His head ached so much. He slowly crossed over to consciousness, lifting his sleepy eyes. A groan escaped his throat.

"Well look who's up!"

A familiar voice. Took a moment to register that it was Janice's. She was folding the sheets to beds in…the boys dorm? Wait a moment…

"What happened…?" Keith's raspy voice asked.

"You have a concussion! Knocked yourself silly during that test you kids do. Lamont found you in his office with that big bruise on your head. So I wrapped it up and helped you get to bed." Janice told him.

Keith felt his head. There was a bandage. And he could feel the bruise as well. Man did that thing hurt!

"Now you stay in bed. Can't have you in class with an injury like that." Janice advised. "Get some sleep and I'll get you lunch later!"

The caretaker strolled out of the room. Keith was left with a sore head and confusion.

"W-was that just a dream?" He mumbled. "Was all of that just a dream or a hallucination?"

It seemed to be. That knock could've done something to his head. A curse and pokemon transformation? A secret base? A beautiful princess with sparkling blue eyes…

Had to be a dream. No way it was real. Keith sank deeper into the pillows and covers, just wanting more sleep. He took a quick look at his arm and froze. It was the red mark. That red curse mark was on his arm.

So was that real? Did Keith actually go through all of that?

"Only one way to find out."

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For the majority of the day, Keith slept. When your brain hurt from being knocked around, not much you could do. It was an easy way to escape the pain. He ate a little, slept a lot and inbetween, wondered about the red mark. His mind kept going back to the pokemon and that Princess. It felt real. Yet it also felt like it couldn't be. Keith wanted to find out the truth.

He waited till it was sunset. Keith already got his dinner earlier and everyone else would be in the cafeteria eating. Stuffing pillows under the bed sheets as decoy (just in case), the redhead got out of bed and made his way out of the room. He was a bit wobbly but still alright. It wasn't hard to go downstairs and back into the principal's office.

There it was. The little playset castle. Right where it should be. Keith started to walk over to it just as the sun disappeared.

"ACK!"

Keith felt his heart seize up. His arm was shaking violently which spread to the rest of his body. He fell to the floor and cried out in agony. This pain felt all too familiar. Keith could feel his body squeeze and shrink into its pokemon form in a process that took forever. When it was over, Keith knew it had happened again. He was transformed into a buizel.

"You came back."

Keith was getting up as someone looked at him from the desk above. Issac.

"Of course. I promised the Princess I would." Keith said.

"Come." Issac nodded his head towards the castle. "We've got a lot to go over."

Keith jumped up to the desk beside Issac, who pressed the brick. Both of them shrank and were able to enter the castle. There was a little bit of silence as they went through the tunnel.

"You know what you did was dangerous." Issac suddenly spoke.

"What?" Keith responded.

"Keith, you don't have much battle experience. Yet you challenged the dark pokemon to a three on one battle. You endangered yourself and the Princess. What's worse, you nearly died. If you die, we lose any hope of defeating the evil and becoming human again." Issac told the buizel.

"I was doing what was right! I was protecting the Princess!" Keith reasoned.

"Yes and while that is good, there were other approaches. You could have called for help. Stall the sableeye till someone arrives. Lock you and the Princess, barricade the room. If you had to battle, you could have come up with a strategy. You could've thought things through!" Issac argued. "But you didn't. You rushed in without thinking. While you fended off the sableeye, you nearly got yourself killed. You were lucky. A fall like that could have cracked your head open."

"Sorry…" Keith muttered.

Keith was annoyed, feeling a little déjà vu. Geez, didn't anyone appreciate what he was doing?

"You really worried the Princess."

That got Keith's attention.

"I did?" He spoke.

"Once it was safe to come out, she rushed right to your side. She was afraid you died. Used a lot of her healing magic to help you." Issac apprised. "The Princess has been on edge since we sent you back."

"I…I didn't know she cared that much…" Keith quietly said, surprised.

"She considers everyone a friend. And she sees something special in you besides the ability to find the light." Issac went on.

"Wait, really?" Keith stared at Issac in astonishment. "Me?"

"Her words exactly. Princess can sense things that others can't. And whatever you said to her during your time together really meant a lot to her." Issac shrugged. "We're almost coming to the exit."

Sure enough, there it was. There was the light. Both pichu and buizel crossed through it to reach the base. Same as it was before. Pokemon hanging around or doing something. Though this time, Sven and Wendy seemed to be waiting for the pair.

"Great to see you alive and kicking!" Wendy greeted. "How's the head?"

"Sore." Keith sweatdropped.

"We'll be delaying your search for the light today." Issac said to Keith. "This time, you'll be learning combat from these two."

"Just in case that little 'incident' should repeat itself, we're going to teach you proper combat skills." Sven told the buizel. "Pokemon attacks, basic maneuvers, battle stuff, all the things you need to know."

"You're in good hands. You may be interested to know that Wendy and Sven happen to be Top Rangers." Issac informed.

"No way!" Keith gasped.

Top rangers? They were heroes to Keith! He aspired to be a great top ranger someday! And now he was face to face with two of them? And he'd learn to fight from them? SO FREAKING COOL!

"I have to take care of security. We need to boost power in case of future attacks." Issac said, leaving. "Good luck Keith!"

"Thanks Issac!" Keith called after him.

"Ready to begin the training?" Wendy asked.

"We're not going easy on you." Sven warned.

Keith smirked. "Bring it."

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

The night wore on with tough training. When Sven said they weren't going easy, they weren't kidding. At first they gave Keith proper lessons. Like how to access more moves involving elemental powers.

"Concentrate on your element. You're a water type so think water. Transfer your energy and thoughts throughout you when you attack"

Keith easily learned water gun, whirlpool and aqua jet. Still needed work on the hydro pump. He was also able to learn basic moves like better quick attacks, swift and razor wind. Then came the battles.

"Keep focus! Don't you dare let a knock like that get you off track!"

"Look for the enemies weak spot!"

"Duck and roll!"

"Use their strengths against them!"

It was a hard night of battles; one after another. Keith was exhausted by the end. Boy were Wendy and Sven talented at fighting. Still, they were epic teachers and even better friends. Maybe Keith could be a top ranger like them someday. Questing together and taking on missions as a trio? Sounded awesome.

Towards the end of the night, Keith had been allowed time to chill out and rest. He soon noticed he was being watched. The Princess was by the tree.

Keith went over to her. "Were you watching the entire time?"

"Whenever I wasn't busy." The Princess answered, kneeling down to meet him face-to-face. "You're doing great."

"Really? T-thanks!" Keith scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "I still have a little ways to go before I'm as good as Sven or Wendy."

"I'm just happy you're so willing to help." The Princess smiled.

Keith wasn't sure why but his face was flaring up again. Was it a fever?

"I um…" Keith cleared his throat. "I-I'm sorry. For last night. I didn't mean to make you worried."

Princess stroked the buizel's head. "Thank goodness you're alive."

Keith could feel the bruise on his head getting warm and soft. Was the Princess transferring energy to him? Yeah. She was healing him! Such a sweet girl…

As she healed the bruise, Keith caught a glance of something. Something flickered behind the Princess. It was a pachirisu tail. And it was connected to the Princess. That curse was progressing steadily. Keith knew he had to hurry.

"I can't heal your concussion completely. But I hope I could make it a little better for you." The Princess said.

"Thank you." Keith responded, suddenly feeling a rush of confidence. "And like I said before, I promise to find that light!"

"Keith!"

It was Issac. Keith hadn't seen the pichu since earlier that night.

"I'm here to take you back to the school. It's nearly morning." Issac said.

Already? Time just flew by. Issac and Keith started walking towards the tunnel. Just before going through it, Keith paused to take a look back. He could see the Princess watching him with a warm smile. Keith smiled back, gave a wave and then left. The next night could not come soon enough.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Sure enough, Keith's concussion was much better. The Princess's healing has transferred to his human form (though turning back to human was another painful transformation). Janice reluctantly allowed him to attend classes again. Still, Keith couldn't focus. His mind was elsewhere. He was thinking about the others back in the base and about the Princess. Keith wanted to find that light they needed. Yet no matter how much he thought about it, he didn't have any idea where the light could be or where to find it.

During breaks, Keith caught up on his sleep in the library. Lunchtime was spent in the library eating and looking through books with legends in them. He wasn't an avid reader, true. Still he did make a promise and he wasn't backing out on it. Surely there had to be a clue someplace! Yet…nothing. No hints as to where this other light might be.

The evening came. Keith waited for everyone else to head off to the cafeteria for dinner before he snuck off to the teachers' lounge. He watched the sun set outside the windows and waited.

"ACK!"

Transforming was as painful as ever. Keith was always a tad sore whenever he switched forms. Once he was a buizel, it didn't take long for Issac to appear. The pichu helped shrink them down and guide them into the castle tunnel.

"I've tried and tried, Issac, but I can't figure it out. I don't know what or where the other light is." Keith said as they walked. "I mean I've looked in books and nothing, nada. Are you sure you don't know? Is the other light a person like the Princess? A pokemon? An item? Or an actual light?"

"I'm sorry Keith but I know as much as you do." Issac replied. "It's good that you're taking this seriously."

"I want to get back to being human but I also want to help you guys. You, Sven, Wendy, the Princess….you guys are my friends. And everyone here is so nice. You guys deserve to be human again and not risk yourselves every time there's a battle." Keith told him.

"Thanks Keith." Issac said.

They arrived back in the base. Same old, same old.

"Perhaps we should try consulting the books. There may be something in there that would be of use to us." Issac suggested.

Keith caught a glance of the Princess going into the tree. "Uh sounds great! But could I talk to the Princess first? Maybe she knows something. You, uh, you never know unless you ask or something…."

"Not a bad idea." Issac agreed. "Meet me on the next level. The library isn't hard to find."

For the moment, the pokemon split up. Keith ran right over to the tree. Sure enough, the Princess was there. She was organizing some papers on top of one of the desks. Keith could see her feet had transformed into white & blue paws with some of the fur spreading up her legs. Damn that curse.

"Hey…er…Princess?" Keith spoke up, clearing his throat.

"Keith!" Princess whirled around, happy to see him. "Welcome back!"

Ack! Why why why?! Why did Keith's face turn red every time he saw her smile?! This was insanity!

"So I-I…um…" Keith struggled to speak for a moment. "Princess? Do you know anything about this other light?"

"Well…not too much, really." The Princess answered. "But I was able to sense it."

"You did?!" Keith exclaimed.

"Sort of. I just felt that it's asleep. It's sleeping, waiting for something. It awaits the day when it can be awakened and set free." The Princess said.

"What's the light waiting for?" Keith asked.

"That I don't know." The Princess answered. "I don't know anything else."

"At least you gave me a little info. I'll find that light and wake it up." Keith told her.

The Princess smiled, making Keith go red in the face again. In sudden swift action, the girl took Keith into her arms and hugged him. Keith was even redder than before. It felt like his face was on fire! He could feel his heart pounding rapidly. What the heck is wrong with him?

"Thank you so much!" The Princess murmured. "You're always there for me and you're always so helpful."

"I…er…um…ahhh….." Keith stuttered, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"Princess!"

Wendy entered the room with Sven following behind. The Princess set Keith back on the ground.

"We have two more who have been cursed. Both are contest coordinators and waiting in the hospital area." Wendy informed.

"I'll be there in a moment." Princess nodded, then looked over at Keith. "Good luck, Keith. If you need anything, let me know."

"R-right…thanks…" Keith mumbled, feeling awkward still.

Princess had gotten on Wendy's back and flew out. Keith left the tree to go find Issac. Sven was walking beside him.

"Visiting the Princess again?" Sven spoke.

"I wanted to ask if she knows anything about the other light I've been searching for." Keith told him.

Sven smirked. "You've been seeing the Princess a lot lately."

"She's my friend. And she's a really great girl." Keith said.

"Plus you were very eager to fight for the Princess on that first night you were here." Sven added in a devious tone.

"Yeah…?" Keith tilted his head, unsure what was going on.

"You like her, don't you?"

Keith felt his face flame up again. Dang, right after he just cooled off….

"WHAT?!" Keith exclaimed.

"Aha! I knew it!" Sven chuckled.

"I just met her! How can I like her?!" Keith questioned defensively.

"Come on, Wen' and I saw the signs. Talking to her whenever you can, that extreme dedication to your promise, the trembling, the stuttering and your face goes as red as a tomatoe berry when you're near her." Sven said. "…but then again, I guess it'd be hard to like her. I mean she's not the prettiest girl around.

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Keith snapped.

"BUSTED!" Sven laughed.

"Ack!" Keith froze.

They were approaching the library. Keith could see Issac at one of the back tables studying from all sorts of books.

"Any chance of a confession?" Sven questioned.

"None whatsoever." Keith grumbled, humiliated.

"Give yourself time to think about it. Who knows? Maybe you'll have a shot with her." Sven winked. "In the meantime, I'll be scoping the perimeter. I'm next on guard duty. You need anything, come get me."

The luxray left. Keith was left with a dozen confusing thoughts and nerves rattled. He shook his head as he entered the library. No way did he have a crush. And NOT on a Princess. Not on someone like her. Impossible. No way. …..right?

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Not much progress that night. Issac and Keith discussed what the Princess said as they tore through the library books. But nothing seemed to be helping. There wasn't a clue anywhere that led them to the other light. Before long, it was morning again. Keith barely made it back to school when he transformed back into a human.

Classes. Sleeping breaks. Going through library books. More sleeping. It was the same as the day before. Keith was going crazy! What the heck was this 'other light'? Where could it be?

"Keith? You're in the library and not sleeping? An unusual sight."

In the afternoon, Principal Lamont strolled through the library and stood near Keith's table. Wait…Principal Lamont? That castle playset belonged to him! Maybe he knew something!

"Uh, yeah. I was looking for something." Keith said. "Maybe you could help?"

"Oh?" Lamont responded.

"That story you told me the other day? It kind of got stuck inside my head. And now I want to read about it. But there aren't any books in here that tell that story." Keith told him.

"That's because there are no books of that story." Lamont informed.

"Ah. Got it." Keith sighed. "Then could you tell me more about that story?"

"I didn't think you were so enthused." Lamont raised an eyebrow.

"I REALLY want to find out more. Like how it ends. And you mentioned lights. Where are those lights?" Keith questioned.

Lamont chuckled. "Remember what I told you, Keith. Once you embrace it, you'll find what you're looking for."

"Come on, principal! Just tell me!" Keith moaned.

The principal said nothing else. With an all-knowing smile, he left. Keith slammed his head on the table. So much for THAT. Now what was he going to do? How could he ever break the curse and save his friends?

"No…I will." Keith got back up. "I have to! I'm not giving up!"

That curse would break. And all the dark pokemon would be vanquished. Keith was going to find that light no matter what it took.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Sunset once again. Keith was barely able to sneak away from his classmates and reach the teacher's lounge. Just as he closed the door, the transformation again. Several times the curse would change his body and Keith still felt immense pain from it. Sigh. With any luck, it'd all be over soon.

Knock! Knock!

"Keith? Are you in here?"

Rhythmi? Darn blonde must've followed him. The buizel dashed under one of the desks. Rhythmi entered the room and looked around.

"I could've sworn I saw Keith come in here…" She mumbled. "Hmmmm."

After a moment, Rhythmi left. Whew. Kind of close. Good thing Rhythmi didn't witness Keith's transformation. No way would he want the blabbermouth to get involved or tease him about all this. Keith crawled out from under the table and noticed someone sitting on top of one of the desks.

"Issac!"

Keith hopped up onto the desk beside Issac. But the pichu wasn't paying attention. Instead, he was looking at the door with a lost gaze. He seemed…hurt?

"Uh Issac?" Keith tapped Issac's shoulder.

Issac shook his head. "Sorry! Good to see you again Keith! Shall we head off?"

Both pokemon leapt to the castle playset. With a shrink down and the doors opened, they were into the tunnel once again. Keith was getting used to the routine at this point.

"So Issac, what was that all about?" Keith asked.

"Hm?" Issac glanced at Keith.

"Do you know Rhythmi at all?" Keith questioned.

"I uh…" Issac turned pink, stumbling around his words. "S-she's an old friend. We played together when we were young. Up until the curse, we were in constant contact. I…I just hope she isn't mad at me."

"Nah. Rhyth isn't one to hold a grudge. And she probably knows you pretty good. She'll know you had a good reason." Keith reassured. "You two will meet up again."

"I can't wait for that. To see her and my own little sister again after so long." Issac sighed, lost in thought.

The curse took away more than humanity. It took away lives. Issac, Sven, Wendy…they had lives before they were cursed. They wanted to get back to having adventures, being with friends & family, being free. Everyone in the secret base had somewhere to be yet here they were; trapped in a war between good and evil. Keith was their only chance to break free of it. And Keith was desperate to help them.

Enter the base. Nothing seemed to be different. Keith looked towards the tree, hoping he'd catch a glimpse of the Princess. Nope. Not there. Possibly running errands or helping other pokemon in need. Keith would have to talk to her at a later point.

For this visit, Keith and Issac decided to discuss the 'other light' with other pokemon at the base. Why not ask questions and see if anyone knows anything? Couldn't hurt to ask. And the two were running out of ideas (and library books). So they went up to pokemon and just asked.

"No idea man…"

"Sorry but I don't have a clue."

"I really hope you'll find the other light!"

"If it's sleeping, maybe you should check the beds or something?"

"Look in dark places?"

Not much help. Still, Keith did enjoy talking. When not asking questions, Keith struck up conversation with the other pokemon. They were actually quite interesting. There were all sorts of cursed pokemon from across the world. Two rangers from Fiore were there. A mechanic and operator too. Lots of pokemon trainers had been taken in. A couple contest coordinators here and there. Even a gym leader had been cursed; a GYM LEADER! Everyone was affected. Even little kids had been cursed and had to take refuge in this place. Keith talked to them all and found himself interested. He liked getting to know the members of this base. Perhaps when the curse was over, he could hang out with some of these guys.

"You're super nice! And really cool!" A young magby, Max, said with glee.

"Just like the Princess!" His cleffa friend, Bonnie cheerfully said.

Speaking of which…

"Have you seen the Princess at all recently?" Keith asked them.

"Oh she's sick." Bonnie answered.

Sick? The Princess?

"Where is she?" Keith questioned.

"Up in her room." Max replied.

"Waaaaaay up high! At the highest level! Center of the tree!" Bonnie added.

Keith remembered where that was.

"Hey Issac!" Keith called out to the pichu some feet away. "I'll be right back! Gotta check on something!"

"Meet me in the library when you're done!" Issac responded.

Keith barely heard him. He took off, going through the floors of the secret base. Didn't slow down until he got to the top floor; just a little bit away from the Princess's room. He paused. Took a deep breath. Then he entered.

"Um…Princess?"

She was in the bed. Blankets covered her completely. She was huddled together and shivering.

"Princess?" Keith knocked on the wall. "A-are you alright?"

"Keith?" came a muffled voice from the blankets.

"Y-yeah." Keith responded.

He came into her room. The buizel hopped onto a chair and looked at the Princess. She uncovered her head from within the blankets to reveal her curse wasn't slowing down. Her head, her hands, probably her whole body was covered in white and blue fur. Aside from the transforming, it didn't look like the Princess was in good shape. Her eyes seemed to barely open halfway and she was weak.

"What happened to you?" Keith gently asked.

"The transformation's accelerating. I don't have much time before it's complete." The Princess coughed. "I'm….it hurts so much…"

Keith knew how it was. It always hurt him whenever he turned into a buizel and then back into a human. Princess didn't get to deal with the pain all at once. Instead, it was a slow change that would ravage her body in pain for who knows how long. To have that pain for longer than a few moments? It'd be torture.

The Princess still looked strangely beautiful; even as she was halfway between human and pokemon. Those eyes reached out to Keith. They were pleading for help; wishing to make things right for all of her friends. She wanted to cast the darkness away. And Keith found himself wanting to do the same. For her.

"Don't worry. I'm here to help. And I'm doing everything I can to fix all of this." Keith said, taking her hand with his paw. "I'm not going to give up."

"I know you are." The princess weakly smiled. "I believe in you."

With that, the Princess peacefully fell asleep. Keith grinned, happy to have given her comfort. He jumped off the chair and was heading towards the door. A piece of paper fluttered down from the drawers, landing on the floor. Keith picked it up to return the paper where it was when he read the hastily scrawled handwriting

Vision. Man Splendiodcious. Tells of warrior to find the other light. Warrior is stubborn but determined, a friend to all and good hearted. Seeks courage. Find Keith.

The Princess had mentioned in a vision. Must've written it down when she first had it. Huh. Wrote little notes to remind herself. Interesting quirk. So this was how the Princess knew to find him. Was that a description of him given to her? Or what she thought of him? Hard to say. Still, Keith was portrayed as a decent guy. And it didn't seem like the Princess thought any bad of him. Good to know.

Keith took a glance back at the bed. The Princess tossed and turned in her sleep before settling. There was a slight snore that drifted in the air. The buizel grinned. How cute was this girl?

"CUTE?!" Keith flamed up as his thoughts ran wild. "I did NOT just think that!"

And yet….the Princess was cute. Really cute. A very sweet, kind girl with a pure heart and a heart-warming smile. Every time Keith saw her, she drove him nuts! And many times, Keith wanted to see her again. She seemed to be on his mind a lot.

"N-no way…" Keith gulped. "Was Sven right? D-do I like the Princess?"

….

"I better go see what Issac's up to…"

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Not much luck for the rest of the night. Issac and Keith gathered all the data they could from asking pokemon and tried reading whatever book remained in the library. No answers. Keith was feeling lost and a bit useless. He was supposed to be the only one who could find this light yet nothing was coming up. He had no clue what to do or how to continue the quest. But….he couldn't give up. For the sake of everyone in the base and for the world, he had to continue his search. Keith had to find a way to break this curse.

Throughout school, Keith tried to think of something he might not have tried yet. He thought over what Lamont said in the library, what he already knew about this light, every little detail. And then when he did, his thoughts always traced back to one thing; The Princess. Her blue eyes and sweet nature…

Keith could always shake his head and try to focus again. And the whole thing would repeat again and again. It was this way all day long. Right up to transformation time.

"Any progress?" Issac asked as they took their usual tunnel walk.

"Gah, nothing. I have no idea what I'm doing…" Keith muttered. "So how's the Princess?"

"She's better. On her feet again. And quite often too." Issac responded. "We've been having a lot of trouble."

They entered the secret base and Keith immediately saw it was busier than ever. Pokemon scrambling around like crazy. There was a Braxien rolling a stretcher with a bleeding swablu to one of the upper levels.

"What the heck…?" Keith whispered, watching the chaos.

"Things are not going well here." Issac stated.

"I'll say."

Wendy soared in, landing beside the two.

"The dark pokemon up'd their ante. We've got more assaults on our members when they leave the base. So many pokemon are getting hurt. Even more are being captured." She told the guys.

"Any attacks on the base yet while I was out?" Issac asked.

"None since the day Keith arrived." Wendy answered. "But I have a feeling those guys will attack us at any moment. Probably planning a full scale invasion. With Keith here and the Princess weakened, they'll want to finish the war."

"Is there anything being done?" Keith questioned.

"Sven left last night with a group of pokemon on a recovery mission. They're going to try and rescue some of our guys. We'll need as many team members as we can get. I know Sven and he'll be back soon enough. The guy never fails a mission." Wendy replied. "And how's the search going? Any luck?"

"Bits and pieces are all there but I can't figure it out!" Keith groaned, frustrated.

"Hey don't beat yourself up. You've still got some time left. The entire base has faith in you and so does the Princess." Wendy said, then smirked. "And I'm sure you want to see her, don't you?"

Keith was trying hard not to blush. Wendy chuckled.

"If you do, try the hospital area." She suggested. "Anyways, I'm needed to help bring other hurt pokemon in and keep this place under control. Issac, the other scientists need you. They want to beef up the security systems."

"I'll get right on that." Issac turned to Keith. "Can you handle this on your own for a little while?"

"Sure. Not a problem." Keith responded.

"Great! I'll help you in a few hours when I get the security up and running." Issac said.

Everyone split up. Wendy flew off to go help transfer the injured to the hospital ward. Issac was off to help with security. That left Keith alone. He could go to the library….but he already read every book that might possibly help. No ideas what to do. Maybe Keith could be of help in the hospital area? It'd be better than standing around doing nothing. And wasn't the Princess there too?

Keith decided to just that. Avoiding getting in anyone else's way, the buizel quickly took off to the floor where he heard the hospital was at. The hospital area took up half the floor. A lot of stretchers and beds were filled with pokemon in pain. Some burned, some bleeding, some poisoned or paralyzed…all of them needed help. A lot of pokemon medicine professionals were doing the best they could to relieve the pain and get them better. It was pure chaos!

It was towards the back that Keith found the Princess. She was behind a curtained section, treating an unconscious leafeon. The leafeon had a lot of major bruising and one of its front legs was twisted strangely. There was a huge slash on its side. Keith looked at the Princess, who was transferring healing energy. She didn't look sick. Just tired. Keith noticed her hands had become paws. And her cheeks were yellow circles. The transformation was near complete.

"Uh…hey." Keith spoke up.

Princess looked up. "Keith! It's nice to see you again!"

"How are you holding up? Feeling any better?" Keith asked.

"A little pain but I can manage it. I just feel more tired right now. There's so many pokemon to treat and so little time." Princess answered. "But I'm happy to know that I'm saving lives and taking little steps towards peace."

"You like helping pokemon, huh?" Keith leaned against the bed.

"It's always been my dream to help pokemon and make the world a better place." The Princess said with a smile.

Keith couldn't help smiling along with her. What an amazing girl she was.

"Do you need any help around here?" Keith offered. "I'm not getting anywhere with my search for that light and the place is packed."

"Sure! I'd like that!" Princess accepted.

And so the two got to work. The Princess helped clean wounds and transfer energy into the injured pokemon. Keith was by her side; getting anything needed, cleaning wounds, attending the sick patients, everything. When the Princess was exhausted from using her energy, Keith made sure she took a break for a few minutes. Princess was always up and ready for the next patient; hard worker. Keith admired that about her.

"Whew! That's the last of them!"

Hours had passed by. Keith and the Princess had collapsed in chairs, exhausted. But there were no more patients in the room. Either they were out and about or resting in their hospital beds. The place was cleaned up.

"Good job, Keith!" Kate said.

"Me? You did all the healing!" Keith responded.

"Only because I had extra help." Kate reached her hand to scratch Keith's head. "Thank you. I appreciate everything you've done. From trying to find the light to just being my friend."

Keith purred uncontrollably. A little embarrassing to be purring like that but the head scratch just felt so darn good!

"There you are!"

Issac came into the room. Looks like he was finally done with whatever he was doing.

"Oh hey." Keith greeted.

"Keith was helping me out with the patients." Kate said.

"So are we going to go back to finding the light?" Keith assumed.

"Actually, it's almost morning." Issac told him. "I have to take you back to the school."

Yikes! Was it almost morning already? The time flew by!

"You should get going before you transform again." Princess suggested.

"Ok but don't you need help here? Surely there's something I could do." Keith offered.

"Thanks." Princess grinned. "But you'll need your rest and there will be people who will notice you gone. You'll see me again soon."

As she said this, Keith noticed her hair changed. The chocolate brown was slowly turning into a light shade of blue. The Princess passed into the next state of transformation right before Keith's eyes. She didn't have much time left to be human. And Keith had a feeling he didn't have much time to find the light the Princess needed to break the curse.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Keith was anxious all day. No focus on schoolwork. Didn't tune in to Rhythmi and the other classmates when they chatted. Fell behind in gym class. He could barely squeeze in one of his infamous library naps. How could he sleep? The dark pokemon could attack at any time. His friends were in constant danger. And the Princess….she was succumbing to the curse. Was she in pain? What part of her transformed this time? Would she still be able to help the other pokemon? Keith was dying to find out.

Finally, the time came. The redhead managed to slip away from the cafeteria, unnoticed. One painful transformation and he became buizel once again. No matter how many times he'd go through it, Keith suspected the changes would always hurt. Issac greeted him as always. They shrunk and went through the tunnel again.

"How's the base holding up?" Keith asked.

Issac sighed. "Not too well. Everyone's been having this anxious feeling. Even me. And we have no idea why. It's just….this strange sense of dread. Like something may be coming. We've been preparing like crazy just in case."

"Preparing?" Keith echoed.

"Sven's back and he managed to rescue a lot of captives. Whoever is able bodied has been or is currently training. I've been working to make extra security measures." Issac explained.

"And how's the Princess?" Keith questioned.

Silence. Issac looked at the ground.

"….the transformation is complete." He mumbled. "The Princess is a pokemon now."

Keith felt a cold chill run through his body. So the curse took away her human form now. That poor girl….

"I-is she alright?" Keith nervously asked.

"The Princess is doing alright. Still some shock and soreness but she's helping heal our comrades and doing whatever she can to prepare the base. Even she's sensed something wrong." Issac answered.

Keith felt sorry for her. The Princess was leader of everyone so she did shoulder quite a bit of responsibility. And she cared for everyone. To worry about them and sense danger? She must be going through so much pain.

Both pokemon reached the secret base. It was a lot like the day before. Luckily, it didn't seem like there were many hurt. Just pokemon rushing about on errands and training all over the place. Everyone was getting ready for whatever might come. Actually, Keith could've sworn he felt something in his nerves that was off….

Keith glanced at the tree but did a double take. Hanging by the doorway to the room inside was a pachirisu. Those eyes…Keith knew them well.

"Princess…" He whispered.

So her curse really was complete. Keith wanted to go over and talk to her so badly.

"DARK POKEMON APPROACHING! REPEAT! DARK POKEMON APPROACHING! THIS IS CODE RED! NOT A DRILL! CODE RED!"

There were loud announcements suddenly screeching out from all over. Suddenly, the other pokemon froze. They listened. And then they rushed about, panicked but also strangely determined and ready. Keith was wondering what the heck was going on till Wendy and Sven came over.

"Another wave of dark pokemon?" Issac assumed.

"Worse. The entire army is on their way over here." Wendy told him.

"ALL of them?!" Issac exclaimed.

"Yep. Every last pokemon and their commander are about to storm this place." Sven said.

"I better get to the security team. They'll need my help to access the new defense mechanisms." Issac said before rushing off. "Be careful!"

"We will!" Wendy called out after him.

"Wendy here will be monitoring everything from aerial view, relaying messages, sending the severely injured to the hospital, taking care of what needs to be done. I'll be out there helping our guys battle." Sven told Keith.

"What do you want me to do? I'm ready to fight alongside you guys and do whatever I need to." Keith told them, resolute.

"That's what I hoped to hear." Sven grinned. "The defenses and security should keep any intruders out of this place. Still, you never know what might happen. Go over to the Princess and protect her. Make sure she's ok. If the dark pokemon break in, get her to her room on the top floor. You may have to battle."

"Just remember what we taught you and you'll do fine." Wendy assured.

"Got it." Keith nodded, accepting his mission.

"Don't be too reckless this time." Sven warned.

"I won't." Keith said. "I'll battle the right way. Good luck."

"Good luck." The luxray and staraptor said before departing.

With them gone, it was time to get to his duty. Keith went over to the Princess, who was inside the tree.

"Hey Keith." She greeted awkwardly. "I uh…heh, I guess it's hard to recognize me this way."

"Nah. I still know who you are." Keith assured. "Pokemon or not, you're still you."

The Princess's eyes grew teared up. All of a sudden, she dove into Keith's buizel arms and hugged him tight. Keith felt his heart beating like a drum. He hoped she couldn't hear it.

"It's just so hard! Being a pokemon, being a leader, trying to handle everything at once! *sniffle* I have no idea how you put up with being a pokemon or with me…" The Princess said, her voice a little muffled.

"I'm barely used to it myself." Keith swetadropped. "But you're not a bother. Y-you're my best friend. Heck, I'm surprised you're putting up with me."

Princess looked up at him with an inquisitive look. "What do you mean?"

"I'm the stubborn idiot who's supposed to be looking for the other light. I had ONE job and I can't even do that right." Keith said.

KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

An explosion interrupted the two of them. The entire base was quaking violently. What was THAT? Keith took a look out the door to see what happened.

The doors of the base had been blown into smithereens. The security system Issac was working on had failed. There was a group of skuntanks with evil looks, marching in the gates. There were pokemon racing up to them and ready to battle. All hell was about to break loose.

"Is everything ok?" Princess asked, concerned.

"We better get going." Keith told her.

Keith took the Princess's paw and started running. The two of them took off through the base and up the first set of stairs. And not a moment too soon. The stunanks release massive stink cloud bombs on the first level of the base. Whoever wasn't hurt by the blast was paralyzed by the horrid smell. More dark pokemon were coming inside to fight. They were picking off the base pokemon one by one.

The buizel and pachirisu passed the second floor. Third. Nearing the fourth. Just a little bit to go. It sounded like the dark pokemon were trying to climb the levels too. Other pokemon were assisting Keith and the Princess to the top and stopping dark pokemon where they stood. Time was being bought.

"I hope everyone's ok…" Princess whimpered.

"They're fighting their hardest and trained for this. I know they'll win." Keith assured her. "Are you doing alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine…." The Princess's voice trailed off as listened to the sounds of her friends battling against the darkness.

Keith felt just as bad. He wanted to provide backup to Sven, Wendy, Issac and all the others in the secret base. Still, he had a job to do. Keith knew he had to protect the Princess from any harm. No way would those dark pokemon get to her.

Finally, they reached the top level. Across the tree branch bridge and into the Princess' room. They'd be safe. Hopefully. Keith prayed his comrades could keep the dark pokemon away from the upper levels. If they didn't, it'd be a sign the dark pokemon were winning the war. At that point, the only hope left would be to find the light and join it with the Princess.

"If I only knew where that light could be…" Keith thought, feeling useless.

There were screams sounding in from the lower levels. The Princess was trembling, horrified. It didn't sound good down there. Explosions, more screams, attacks…it was utter turmoil in the base.

"PRINCESS…"

Something, or someone, was on the bridge. Keith ran out to go see. The two pokemon guards at the edge of the bridge had collapsed. In the middle of the bridge was a strange black, circular shadow. Then, something started to rise from it.

"Darkrai…" The Princess gasped, her eyes wide with fear.

Keith took up a protective stance in front of the door, guarding the Princess. Darkrai looked straight at Keith with a glare.

"Your base is being demolished as we speak. Many of your companions have fallen." Darkrai spoke. "And once I vanquish you, the light, darkness shall win. It's all over."

"Oh no it's not." Keith said in a stone cold tone.

"You dare try to stop me?" Darkrai challenged.

"I won't let you near the Princess." Keith growled.

"Amusing. Very well. I'll battle you." Darkrai accepted. "Be warned, buizel. No one escapes my battles alive."

"Keith, please be careful." Princess whispered, upset.

Keith turned his head to give her a quick, reassuring grin. He focused back on Darkrai and used a quick attack. Darkrai easily dodged it. It launched a shadowball to counter attack. Keith dodged that and the next round of shadow balls. The buizel knew he had to be careful. He learned his lesson. No rushing into battle and acting on impulse. No…Keith knew to think things through and use the lessons the others taught him on battling.

Water gun. Hydro blast. Razor Wind. Quick attack. All these attacks, Keith managed to land on Darkrai. It took a lot of damage. And Keith managed to avoid a lot of attacks while landing a few extra. Still, it wasn't a perfect battle. Keith did get hit several times by a dark pulse or psychic. Took the wind out of him nearly. Through the hardships, Keith didn't back down.

"You're a commendable opponent, buizel." Darkrai admitted. "But it's time to finish you off. DARK VOID!"

Keith was unsure what was coming next. But Darkrai charged something in its hands and threw it right at Keith. The buizel suddenly found himself standing over a pool of darkness. A pool that was slowly dragging him down! Keith grunted and groaned as he struggled, desperately trying to climb out of the darkness. It was like treading through magma.

Darkrai snickered. Then it turned its attention to the tree and floated its way to it.

"No!" Keith cried out.

Fear filled his being. What was going on? Where would the darkness take him? Was Keith going to die? Aw no no no! This couldn't be the end! Keith didn't want to go down this way!

"HELP!"

A scream snapped Keith out of his shock. Princess was inside the tree. She shrunk back against the tree walls as much as she could. Her little eyes were huge with fright. The pachirisu was trembling as Darkrai was growing closer and closer.

No…no Keith couldn't let this happen! The Princess needed him! She was his reason why he was fighting. All of the blows he took had been for her. Keith had to fight to the end to make sure the Princess was safe. He had to overcome the darkness!

Suddenly, as the dark void reached Keith's neck, he stopped sinking. Instead, he started to rise. The dark pool vanished as a brilliant white glow surrounded Keith's body. A warm glow that held a strange power to it. It rejuvenated Keith and set him back on the branch bridge.

"The other light!" The Princess recognized, staring in awe.

"So the other light rests in you, does it?" Darkrai said, turning back to Keith. "Well. I suppose I'll have to finish what I started."

Darkrai lunged forth. Keith quickly dodged and unleashed a series of water attacks. The battle went on for a long time. The light surrounding Keith had managed to help minimize the dark-based attacks though they caused some damage. Oddly, Keith felt no fear. Every ounce of him felt a rush of courage and resolve. It was strong, pulsing through him. This was what true bravery was. This was what it meant to be brave. Not to chase after the danger but to have a reason to.

WHAM!

A hydro pump knocked Darkrai. It had taken severe damage and lost its ability to float. The dark leader sank to the bridge, wiped out.

"I win. Now take your dark pokemon and leave." Keith ordered.

Darkrai sneered. Using the last of its energy, Darkrai swiftly dove right at Keith and used shadow claw.

Keith froze. His eyes were wide open as he saw the shadow claw go right through him. Slowly, darkrai's claws pulled back; covered in blood. Darkrai gave a menacing laugh before blacking out and losing its balance. It fell off the bridge and down towards the ground far below.

"KEITH!"

The buizel dizzily stumbled a bit before collapsing onto the bridge. Blood poured from his open wound. The Princess ran onto the bridge to Keith's side. Even with his sight quickly growing blurry, those eyes still captivated him. Those blue crystal eyes filled with worry and tears.

"P-Princess…" Keith coughed up blood. "Y…you're….ok…"

"Don't worry I'll heal you! I-I think I've got enough energy!" The Princess told him, her voice shaky.

Keith's paw grabbed hers. Her paw felt so warm while his was getting cold. Tears were starting to trickle down the pachirisu's cheeks.

"D-don't die. Please don't die!" Princess begged. "Y-you're the other light! The one we've all been looking for! P-please…please don't die…"

Keith smiled sadly. He felt a tear or two hit his fur. His voice was gone and the rest of him would be soon too. But there was one last thing he wanted to do before he could go peacefully; one last thing he wanted the Princess to know. His paw yanked the Princess closer to him and Keith pressed his lips against hers.

The Princess was startled by the sudden action but then accepted it. She melted at Keith's side, sharing the emotions that flowed through their kiss. Never before had Keith felt anything like this. Such a glorious feeling. If he died, he was going to die happy.

Keith's light glowed brighter. The Princess was surrounded by light as well which was getting stronger. Both lights grew in intensity, swallowing up the world around them. As it did, Keith let go.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

Dark. Everything in Keith's world was dark for the longest of times. But he heard something. Bird pokemon? Bird pokemon some ways away, singing. Something struck his eyes. Keith managed to pry them open, facing direct sunlight. He squinted his eyes and tried to find out where he was.

The teacher's lounge? Could it be? It looked like the longue. All of the desks, the chairs, the paperwork. Exactly as Keith remembered it. But how? How was this possible? Keith remembered he had been dying by the side of the…

"Princess!" Keith's mind snapped to attention.

What happened to her? What became of the Princess and the others back at the secret base? Keith looked to the corner where the castle playset would be.

The castle wasn't there. It was gone.

All that remained was the plastic grass and water moat where the castle used to be. Keith tried to touch it but the remainder turned into dust.

"No…" Keith whispered, confused. "Where's the base? Where did everyone go? What happened?"

His eyes caught sight of his arm. He checked the spot where the poochyena bit him some time ago. The red mark…it was gone! Keith's curse was broken!

"Well, well. Good morning Keith."

Keith looked to see Principal Lamont enter the office. The elderly man was carrying coffee and some paperwork.

"Lamont!" Keith ran up to him. "The castle! I-it's broken! Or gone or something! I think something's wrong!"

Lamont glanced at where the castle once was. Then sipped his coffee.

"No, nothing is wrong. Everything is as it should be." He said.

"Where is everyone? What happened to them?" Keith desperately asked the principal. "And where is the Princess? Is she ok? Did the curse break for her too? You've got to tell me what happened!"

"Settle down, Keith." Lamont chuckled. "You should be getting ready for class today. School's going to begin soon."

"But…!" Keith tried to protest.

Lamont waved his hand. Keith sighed. So the principal wasn't going to say anything. Hmpth. Jerk. Keith walked out of the principal's office feeling a mixture of apprehension and sadness that tore him apart from the inside.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

The day seemed to drag on forever. Keith had worried what happened to his friends and the Princess. How could he focus on class projects when he didn't know of their fates? He'd never be able to go on if he was the only survivor of that war. Keith couldn't handle the loss of all those in the base.

Eventually, Keith found the day's newspaper with the headtitle "Missing People Found" catching his eye. Suddenly, a lot of people who had disappeared had suddenly returned. They gave no explanation but said they were happy to return. Some of the names seemed very familiar. Below the main article was another one. Two top rangers had been gone for a 'top secret' mission for a long time and they finally returned, succeeding. They were very happy, wishing to thank a 'special friend for bringing light to dark times'. Their names? Sven and Wendy.

That confirmed it. Everyone in the base had finally been set free from the curse. And they were doing just fine. Keith felt relief, knowing they were safe and human again. The war against darkness was over. The world was back to peace and filled with light.

Later, at night, Rhythmi was glowing from sheer joy. After months, she had finally gotten an email from her old friend Issac. The blonde girl printed up the email and was carrying it around everywhere she went. Her best friend finally reappeared, apologizing for the absence. Rhythmi seemed to be just happy to have him back.

But Keith was still bothered. Yes his friends were doing alright and he had done his job. Curse was broken, back to being a human, all that. There was one thing missing; the Princess. What happened to her? Where did she go? Would Keith even see her again?

Keith could feel his heart shatter at the thought of never seeing the Princess again. He found love. And it was gone. Just like that. It hurt so much. Love was such a wonderful feeling and it was yanked right from him.

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

"Class! Settle down, I have an announcement!"

Keith yawned. He wasn't having an easy time staying awake the next morning. Most of his night was filled with dreams tormenting him with the loss of his love. Every time he closed his eyes, Keith could see nothing but her face.

"We have a transfer student starting a little late in the year. And they're coming to this class!" Ms. April announced. "Starting today, you'll have a new classmate!"

Whispers broke out. There go the rumors. Everyone seemed excited at the prospect of someone new joining them. Ms. April called something over the buzz of the students. The back door opened. Everyone watched as a girl with light brown pigtails and pale skin made her way to the front of the room.

"Class, I'd like to introduce you to Kate." Ms. April introduced. "She's going to be a ranger!"

Keith looked up to see who this new girl was. He froze. His hands trembled. N-No way…it couldn't be! But those shining blue eyes! And the warm smile! Keith knew them anywhere!

"Hm?" Ms. April turned to look at Keith. "Keith? What's with the big grin?"

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

*sinks into chair* Worked nonstop all day long for this….

Chia: All of THAT in a dream? O_Oi

Believe it or not, yeah. I was surprised to get a dream like that but hey, it made for a decent story. Truth, courage, love, all that. Now if you excuse me, I'm exhausted. TIME TO DREAM AGAIN! *passes out*

Chia: *sweatdrop* Hang in there, readers. Sky'll make a return with another chapter at some point. Thanks for reading! Now where are those jigglypuff markers…?