Kellyn understood what Darkrai had told him in his vision, but still didn't want to risk the others—not even Blu—since he was the Guardian. So, he woke up in the middle of the night, still a little foggy from Blu's Hypnosis and a sudden, sharp pain in his arm. No, Kellyn wouldn't let a little Hypnosis and an injury stop him: Parity needed him.
He rolled out of bed, changed his clothes, and put on his coat, zipping it up. Then, clutching his arm, Kellyn entered the Depot's dark, quiet lobby and headed for the exit, where snow was softly falling outside. He had slept more, so he wasn't as exhausted, but Kellyn still yawned and tightened his grip on his arm. He probably was using it too much, but he needed both arms to handle his captures.
With that in mind, Kellyn inhaled and stopped before the door, but he paused and stared at it instead of walking out.
"Teamwork. Balance," echoed Darkrai's words. "Teamwork."
Finally, Kellyn sighed and stepped away from the exit, only to notice a tall figure sitting in a chair in the darkness. "Sven!" Kellyn quickly took off his coat and tried to hide it behind him.
"Relax," Sven said. "I don't feel like insulting you right now, Kellyn." He reached onto a table and picked up a glass of water, sipping it. "I can't sleep, either."
Where was his tough boy façade?
"Did Darkrai visit you, too?" Sven asked, resting his arms on the table.
What? Why did Darkrai visit him?
Kellyn turned on a light, revealing Sven, and grabbed a chair. He sat at the table with him and saw that they were next to a group of phones and a hot cocoa machine.
Sven prepared two cups of cocoa and handed one to Kellyn. He grasped his with both hands and said, "Darkrai said that I'm too reckless and need to open up more. Can you believe that?"
"Um…" Kellyn's voice trailed, and he sipped his cocoa.
"Yeah, I know," Sven added. "I'm a jerk."
"I wouldn't say that," Kellyn argued. "It's more that you're acting older than you are." He shifted his feet. "Darkrai told me that, too. He said that I need to work on balance and teamwork to master Vatonage." It felt strange, carrying on a conversation with Sven without either of them insulting each other, even though Kellyn had tried sneaking out. It was even stranger to see Sven without his hat. Was his hair that tufty?
"You know… I'm trying to figure it out." Sven drummed his fingers. "While I understand why Darkrai chose you, you're a little young to look after an entire region."
And they were back with the insults. Kellyn knew where Sven was going with this.
"I don't know if you're ready to look after a region yourself, too, Sven," he shot back. "At least, not by yourself."
Sven blushed before saying, "You're probably right." He ran his fingers through his hair and dropped his hand. A long silence ensued, and then Sven continued: "Kellyn, may I ask you something?"
Seemed like a strange request from someone who insulted him, but whatever. A Ranger listened to another Ranger. "Shoot," Kellyn said, sipping his cocoa again.
Sven lifted his eyebrow. "You were ten when your sister was born, right?"
Molli? What did she have to do with anything? "I was," Kellyn answered. Boy, that first year with a baby sister was something.
Kellyn noticed a lump forming in Sven's throat. "Wha-What was it like when she was a baby?"
The second he asked that, Kellyn spat out his cocoa, and it splattered on Sven's face. "Oh, I'm sorry!" he apologized.
"Thank you, Kellyn." Sven picked up a napkin and wiped his face. "I deserved that."
What on Earth did Kellyn miss while stationed in Sinnoh?
He opened his mouth, but Wendy entered the room and said, "Oh, there you two are!" She gestured at the boys. "What's all this?"
"Nothing!" Instantly, Sven slid his chair away from Kellyn and stood.
"Wait…" Wendy's smile vanished. "Did you tell him, Sven?"
"Ranger to Ranger," he answered, pressing his back against the wall. "No Trainers, that's final. It was bugging me, Wendy!"
She glared. "We weren't supposed to tell anyone until after the mission!"
"It was bugging me!" Kellyn jumped when Sven punched the wall.
"Um… I'm just gonna leave." Kellyn slowly stood and faked a yawn. "Big day ahead: Gem Guardians and freeing Parity, ya know?"
"No, stay," Sven begged, grabbing Kellyn's arm and pulling him to him.
"No!" Kellyn groaned.
"I didn't want you to take this mission, Wendy!" Sven fought.
"I can take care of myself—thank you very much!" she retorted. "You heard Hastings and Erma: we need to work as a team! And considering that you're a terrible Staraptor flier, Sven, you need me!"
Sven clenched his fist. "And considering your situation, Wendy, you should not be on this mission! Don't you see—I'm trying to protect you."
"Really?" Wendy scoffed. "Last I checked—you needed saving in Crysta Cave, not me."
"Can I go to bed now?" Kellyn whimpered.
"Yeah, sorry." Sven released him. "But!" He held his finger up to him. "Do not mention this to the Trainers."
Kellyn felt the anxiety bubbling inside him, but instead of saying, "I'll try," he nodded and quickly left the scene, entering the quarters.
Kellyn climbed into bed, pulled the covers close, and thought for an hour. He pretended to be asleep when he heard Wendy and Sven enter, but in reality, he was still wide awake.
Adults. Maybe Kellyn wasn't ready to be one after all. Maybe Sven was right—perhaps he should've gotten Darkrai's gift instead of him. How could Kellyn protect everyone on the team when he couldn't even protect himself and not trust himself to fess up to Ash and his friends?
Ugh, why was being a Guardian so hard? That question bombarded Kellyn for the rest of the night.
Evening bled into morning, and Kellyn still felt the tension between Sven and Wendy at breakfast in the Depot's lobby. Not that his own mental health was suffering with the thought of not telling Ash and his friends.
Distract yourself, Kellyn, distract yourself, he told himself.
"So, Wendy," Ash said, quickly finishing breakfast, "what's the battle plan for today?"
There he went, wanting to get straight to it.
"Well…" Wendy didn't look at Sven. "I was thinking that we start by visiting Ms. Winter and going from there. Unless, of course"—she snarled at Sven—"Sven doesn't think I can handle myself."
"Oh, boy," Kellyn mumbled, trying to swallow his rising anxiety.
Sven huffed and folded his arms. "Well, excuse me for looking out for you."
Blu came between the two, squawking, "Blue-Bird! Blue-Bird!"
"Yeah, did we miss something here?" Brock inquired.
"Nothing at all, Brock," Wendy replied, standing. "Sven and I are just having a little spat right now."
"Wait! Does that mean…?" Brock shuffled in his seat, grinning.
"No, it doesn't, Brock," Wendy admitted.
"Aw!" Brock lowered his head, and Ash and Dawn chuckled.
Wendy turned on her heel. "Well, are we going to Ms. Winter's or not?" She zipped up her coat and left the table, stepping out into the fresh snow.
"Wendy!" Sven stood and started after her, but tripped over his chair and crashed into the floor, his foot caught in the chair's legs. "Ow!"
"Sven!" the others said, rushing to him.
Dawn, hugging Piplup, knelt down and jokingly asked, "Did you hurt yourself, tough guy?"
"No." Sven released his leg and puffed out his cheeks.
Wait, had he actually hurt himself? Sven didn't seem like someone who would feign an injury to get a girl's attention, right?
He rose and half-limped to the door, only for the Operator to yell, "Hold on, young man!" behind. She tossed Sven a fur coat, and he caught it. The Operator smiled and flicked her wrist.
Kellyn and the others watched as Sven pulled on the coat and limped outside, again yelling, "Wendy, wait!"
Kellyn swore… He would never understand love.
He and the others waited a few minutes, then grabbed their coats and went outside to Shiver Camp.
Children played in the snow, while their parents watched, and a few people skated on the ice rink in the center of the village.
"Guys!" Wendy sprinted to Kellyn and the Sinnoh trio, her Staraptor and the rest following. She stopped before them and asked, "Have you seen Sven?"
"Sven?" Kellyn gave Wendy a funny look. "He came out here looking for you."
"Well, he's not here. Do you think he might have...?" Wendy faced Shiver Camp's west exit. "I did say that I wanted to go to Ms. Winter's to prepare us for the Castle."
"I'm sure he's fine," Dawn argued. "After all, he's tough guy Sven."
"But he hasn't been himself for a few weeks," Wendy explained. "Not since…" She paused and looked at Kellyn, clearing her throat. "I'm sorry, guys, but Staraptor and I need to find him—especially with J out there."
That was Kellyn's chance to head for Almia Castle himself, but then he once again heard, "Teamwork. Balance," in his head. At that point, that hurt more than his arm.
"No, we're going with you," Kellyn told Wendy. "Sven's tough, but he's also part of the team." Would he have said that merely forty-eight hours prior? Kellyn looked at Ash and Pikachu. "Right, Ash and Pikachu?"
Ash paused before stuttering, "Uh, right. As a team, we work together."
Wendy smiled weakly. "Thanks, guys—this means a lot. Sven couldn't have gone far, and he does have Luxray, but still…"
Brock still looked a bit upset about Wendy's rejection, but he said, "We'll find him, Wendy. Anything for you!"
"Aw, thank you, Brock." Wendy leaned forward and pecked his cheek, causing Brock's jaw to drop. "That's for helping me."
Blu came in and offered his head to Wendy, so she kissed it, too. "And that's for you, Blu."
Blu sighed and floated around her.
Wendy clenched her fist and faced the others. "Let's find Sven before J does and head to Ms. Winter's!"
There was the Wendy Kellyn knew, but no matter what happened in Hia Valley, it didn't change the fact that he had sworn to keep Ash, Brock, and Dawn in the abyss until the end of the mission.
How hard could that be?