Rythmi jogged back down to her Operator station, saying that she had work to finish and that she would join us later. Keith and I were seated on the bench under the oak tree, catching up on the latest news.
"... So the Chikorita licked your Capture Line instead of attacking it?" I asked. "Uh... was it retarded or something?"
"No one knows for sure," Keith laughed. "But I decided to let that one go in case it did something else a bit different."
Keith made me feel so relaxed, like everything was alright. But it wasn't. I got straight down to the point. "Keith," I began, "Why are you here? Did you hear about the Quint Reunion?"
"Yes," Keith said solemnly. "The trouble that Darkrai and the other legendary Pokemon might be causing? I also thought that was an interesting name, Quint Reunion.
"I am confused, though," Keith went on, "Legends say that Palkia and Dialga are somewhat against Darkrai or may be in a war with him involved. Why would they get together now? And Cresselia? Legends say that she hated Darkrai too. And in a cavern under the Boyleland Volcano? There are too many unanswered questions here."
"So were you called back here to help with the mission?" I asked him.
"Actually, since my dad is feeling a little better, my mom said I could take off for Almia," Keith said. "And the Professor called me up here to take care of you because of your leg."
"What?!" I shouted, anger surging through my body. "He wants me babysat?"
"I knew you would have an outburst like every time, Tori," Keith sighed. "Only temporarily, until your leg heals."
Ugh! I shouted inwardly. I can perfectly take care of myself!
"Anyway, after we're done talking Professor Hastings wants us down in the meeting room. He's found out some more about the mysterious stone," Keith said.
"Alright," I said gloomily, and Keith helped me up from the bench. "You really can't go down the stairs like that," he told me. "I guess I'll have to carry you."
Before I could protest, Keith sweeped me off of my feet and jogged down the steps. "You know," he huffed, "You could really use a wheelchair!"
I agreed. "That's not a bad idea. My armpits kill!"
He sat me down at the bottom with my crutches. We walked to the meeting room together, sharing few words. Down the hall, the meeting room door slid open, and we walked inside. As soon as everyone arrived, we took our usual seats and waited for the Professor to start.
Professor Hastings walked to the front of the room, saying, "We have found some more information about the mineral stone. It seems that this particular stone is made up of many color shades, all color-coded with different Pokemon types, such as Fire, Water, and Grass."
I wondered where he was going with this information. He continued, "These colors take over the minds of our Pokemon. The information I have found on this has been most intriguing. There are little shard pieces scattered around Almia that no one knows about. Not even the Union knew about it until about two days ago. For instance: Murph's partner Pokemon that day was his Spoink, a Psychic type Pokemon. Murph found some pink shard pieces under the ground when the floor caved beneath him. Spoink started acting strangely, and even attacked Murph. Therefore, we know that pink shards control the minds of Psychic Pokemon."
Rythmi shrieked. "That's horrible!"
"Murph eventually got Spoink away from the shards, and everything went back to normal," the Professor said. "Spoink acted like nothing had happened, so it apparently has no memory from it. Murph also told me that when he saw the stone in front of Darkrai, it had different rays of colors covering it. That's why we're calling it the Lunar Stone."
That's just creepy, I thought to myself. Shards controling the minds of innocent Pokemon. All of them coming from the Lunar Stone, perhaps.
"That's why I want Sven and Keith to take a research team out to Boyleland again," Professor Hastings announced. "Murph will tell you where the hole is and everything else you need to know." Murph ushered the team of two out the door.
"Wendy, will you help Tori around for the time being until Keith returns?" The Professor had a teasing glint in eye. "She won't be any trouble for you, I'm sure."
"Professor, is that really necessary?" I said, trying to change his mind. "Wendy could be doing much more useful things, like patroling, or Quests, or--"
"Wendy is going to help you around now, Tori." Professor Hastings said sternly. "You can't get around by yourself easily, and judging by how tired you're looking now you need a wheelchair. Wendy will help you."
"Alright," I grumbled, defeated. I stared down at my shoes.
"Meeting dismissed, everyone. Except for Tori; stay there while I get you a wheelchair." The Professor whisked out of the room, as did everyone else. Only Wendy and I remained.
"It'll be fun, Tori!" Wendy exclaimed. "We can go for a walk in the Vien Forest. Well, actually, I'll push and you'll ride."
"Okay," I reluctantly agreed. Then, with a little more enthusiasm, "We'll enjoy ourselves, I'm sure."
At that moment, the Professor walked back in with a wheelchair in front of him. "Here you go," he told me as he helped me in. "Have a nice time!" And with that, Wendy wheeled my out the door.