The ship lurched, causing Mark to slam his shoulder into the doorframe. His Raichu was the only one not affected by the ship since she was hovering on her surfboard like tail. Watching Nate fall across the floor, Mark cursed and forced his way over to him. Wasting no time, Mark grabbed his wrist and hefted him up over his shoulder. Wrapping his arm firmly around Nate's legs, Mark yelled out to Raichu. "Cover me!" Raichu saluted with her little hand and surfed back out into the hall to check for more guards. Rushing back down the hall, Mark panted heavily as more guards were running up the steps and down the hall behind them. Mark turned back into the room where Aerodactyl was waiting. Behind him, Raichu was electrocuting a few pokemon that had reached the doorway. Grabbing the saddle bar, Mark pulled himself up onto Aerodactyl with all the strength he had left. Laying Nate out in front of him, he let out a loud whistle to signal Raichu to retreat and shifted his weight to inform Aerodactyl to leave.

Aerodactyl turned to face the broken window, spreading his wings for takeoff. Raichu surfed up to them, letting Aerodactyl smack a lean black dog with curled horns away with the powerful strike of its long tail. The Houndoom yelped as it was sent into the wall and before the others could enter the room, Aerodactyl took off into the rainy night sky. Mark squinted into the pouring rain, trying to steer Aerodactyl to the shore of Shamouti Island. It was too dangerous to be flying in the middle of the storm, but he had no choice. Overhead, lightning flashed across the sky, revealing everything in a bright light before sending it back into a pitch black darkness. The heavy rain was starting to fall sideways as the winds picked up. He could hear Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres's sharp cries carrying on the wind, making their positions hard to determine. Through the Ranger Styler on his wrist, he could feel his Aerodactyl's fear. It didn't want to fly anymore, but Mark kept his emotions calm to help encourage it on at a steady pace.

The wind blew them off from the course that Mark wanted, but he stayed calm and tried to adapt to it to get generally where he wanted. Seeing shore, Mark coaxed Aerodactyl down to it. Aerodactyl was thrilled to be landing and headed for it a bit faster than Mark wanted. Just as Aerodactyl landed on the wet sand, a lightning bolt struck the sand by his wing, causing him to jerk wildly. Mark and Nate were thrown into the sand as Aerodactyl let out a panicked roar and took off into the wood line. Stiffly rolling to his feet, Mark limped and staggered across the sand to heft Nate over his shoulder. They had to get under cover. Zapdos's lightning was wild and he knew better than most that in rain like this... Lightning traveled sporadically until it found a grounding source. Things like wet sand were beckons for lightning. Raichu helped Mark when she could, warning Mark to places on the beach that she thought were hot spots. Trudging into the woods, Mark calmed down a little. Lightning would hit the treetops before hitting them, but he still wanted to find better shelter. A cave was preferred. If lightning hit ground it would disperse itself.

Raichu scouted for him, her cheeks sparking from the static in the wet air. Her curled ears twitched as she looked around with her keen rodent eyesight. Finding a nice big tree, she pointed to it and chipperly hovered around it. She felt it was safe and that was good enough for him. Laying Nate down carefully beneath it, Mark fell to his knees to pant hard. They were both soaked to the bone, but the rain was less under the big trees many leaves. Raichu patted Mark's shoulder comfortingly as she hovered nearby. It was a comfort to have her close. Raichu could absorb lightning if she had too but would have to release it somewhere or risk being overcharged to the point where she'd get sick and sluggish. Wincing, Mark looked over his hurt leg. Seeing a piece of sharp shell in his leg, he groaned in frustration. He wanted to remove it so badly but left it in for now. Sitting down, he relaxed his leg and tried to think of a way that he could find Sean and Pryce. He'd left them outside of Ice Island and was worried about them. The seas were getting rough.

Shifting closer to the tree, Mark touched Nate's neck to check his pulse. Even with the cold and how badly he was starting to shake, he could still feel his heartbeat. Noticing a dark stain on his shirt, Mark touched it and swallowed when his fingers came back stained in blood. Adjusting onto his good leg, he pushed Nate's shirt up to see the damage. Nate felt so cold and over his pectoral muscle was a small bullet hole, along with a light bite from what he believed was his Aerodactyl. Mark shook his head, growling out to him. "Damn it, Nate..." Touching the wound, he tried to see how deep it was. He even slipped a hand around to Nate's back to see if he felt an exit wound. There wasn't one. Which meant the bullet was still inside. Nate groaned softly, causing Mark to lighten his touch on him. Nate's eye was bruised and bleeding but he was still alive. That was a good sign, but he didn't have the means to help him. Keeping Nate's shirt up, Mark scooted closer and lifted his own shirt to expose his chest. He wasn't generating much heat. He just hoped he was generating enough to keep Nate stable as he leaned against Nate's bruised ribs. It was better if they were both naked... but in the pouring rain, this was the best he could do.

Raichu snuggled up with them, trying to help keep them warm with her charged body heat. She wasn't as warm as a fire pokemon would be. However, in times like this she was better than nothing. She curled her flat tail over them to keep them as dry as she could. Whining softly as she saw Mark shake more and more from the cold. Locking his jaw, Mark buried his face against Nate's neck and tried to think of someplace warm. He was so out of it by the time that Raichu jerked up with a hard glare. She sparked and threatened someone behind Mark. While Mark felt the end of a spear touch his shoulder. Shivering violently, he looked over his shoulder to look at it. He couldn't even bring himself to be afraid and certainly didn't have the energy to talk. Laying his head back down on Nate, he relaxed himself. If they wanted to kill him or rob him... He didn't care. He just wanted to stay still. He saw lamps move in as a young voice he didn't recognize said aloud. "Ma! There are more over here!" Mark heard twigs snap and raised his head slowly to look. His eyes could barely focus with the rain falling into his eyes.

Hands began to grab him to pull him away from Nate. Mark managed enough energy to shove the man pulling him away. Upon trying to go back, more hands grabbed him to pull him onto a straw stretcher. People moved to Nate and Mark tensed, listening to the same voice say aloud. "He's hurt. We need to get him to my mother! Hurry!" Mark rolled to his side on the stretcher as it was lifted off the ground. His every movement was sluggish and strained. Raichu landed on Mark, shivering and cooing softly against him. Mark wrapped an arm around her, letting himself close his eyes as something was draped over them. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a cave next to a roaring fire and strange soft voices. The smell of food made his stomach rumble, coaxing him to slowly sit up. His wet clothes had been removed and replaced with a warm wool one piece with tribal designs painted on it. Raichu sat by him, flashing him a warm smile as she nibbled on some fruit in her hands.

Taking in the large cave, he was able to piece together that he was with the locals of Shamouti island. They were all huddled up together in the large cave to eat and keep warm as the rain continued to down pour outside. Noticing he was up, an older woman made her way over slowly to offer something in a coconut shell. The woman's long white hair was braided and made up with colorful beads. Her tan face was painted in colorful designs and her eyes were the softest brown that Mark had ever seen. She was dressed similar to him, but her outfit was more feminine with hanging beads and carved wooden birds that looked like the legendary birds. Handing him the little cup, she told him in a pleasant voice. "Here. Drink. It will warm your spirit." Mark touched the edges of the warm cup, inhaling the strong soothing scent before trying it. He felt the warmth spread all through his insides. Drinking it down heavily, she pulled the empty cup back and told him. "The tea should help fight the ice that lingers within." Licking his lips, he asked her gently. "My friend. Nate. Where is he? Is he ok?"

The woman set the cup down on a rock and picked up a small wooden plate with fruit on it. Handing it to him, she told him calmly. "He's resting. Over there." She pointed and he leaned forward to look. Nate was dressed like himself, but had moss placed on his hurt shoulder. Nate was close to the fire like him with Zoey napping beside him. Looking back to the older woman, he asked her curiously. "Why did you save us? I thought you didn't like outsiders?" She huffed softly to herself, replying in a kind tone of voice. "We may not like how we've lost our land to the Teams... but that doesn't mean we judge people so unfairly. Rest. Regain your strength. You both are lucky to be alive." Mark flipped the blanket off his injured leg. His leg had been wrapped in leaves and moss too. The woman pulled the blanket back down over his bare leg, telling him seriously. "The poison from the Cloyster shell in your leg was a weak dose... but left untreated it could have killed you if it had reached your heart. Lucky we found you when we did."

Mark swallowed uneasily, letting her add in a motherly voice. "Lots of injured pokemon are washing up on the shore... We do what we can... but we need Lugia and he's not answering our call... Your friends say they can help though. I just hope it's not too late." Mark blinked, asking a bit surprised. "My friends?" The woman nodded, telling him as she stood up. "Yes. They went with some of our warriors to track down an Instinct member seen fleeing to the docks an hour or two ago. We discovered them a little while before you. They got pretty banged up by a startled Aerodactyl, but they were ok." Mark shook his head in disappointment with himself. She leaned closer to him though to whisper over his ear. "It's been a long time since I've seen an Alolan Ranger." Mark stiffened, saying under his breath a bit defensively. "Excuse me?" She grabbed his hand, turning it palm up and running her fingers down the rough skin along his wrist. Feeling the faded scars, she told him coolly. "You have the scars of a Ranger Styler from Alola. The birthplace of the true Rangers. Not like the Rangers here... Your people and mine are not so different."

Mark pulled his wrist away from her, mumbling out grimly. "That was a long time ago. I don't do that anymore." Mark shifted uncomfortably to look at the fire. She leaned closer though to whisper over his shoulder. "Yet, you joined Team Instinct... The one team that tries to uphold the old Ranger morals." Mark slowly turned his head to lock guarded eyes with her. She stared back without fear, telling him in a powerful voice that cut him to the core. "I sense pain... You're running from something... Or someone?" Mark tried not to show any emotion when she told him in a sudden loving voice. "A loss... You want to be closer to him. At the risk of losing who you are?" Mark couldn't take it anymore and put a hand to her chest to gently push her back as he bowed his head and blurted out in loud distress. "STOP! Just... stop." Exhaling heavily, Mark timidly looked around to see that everyone had stopped talking and was staring at him now. Taking his hand off the woman, he mumbled out. "I'm sorry." The woman took his wrist in her hands, comforting him like a mother when she said. "I'm sorry. I can't help it sometimes. Forgive me." She released him, getting to her feet to walk away.

Mark stared at the ground blankly, his heart twisting up in his chest. The locals began to chat again, allowing Zoey to move closer to ask curiously. "What happened? Sean said that Nate flew off the handle... Why?" Mark shrugged, grumbling out a bit darkly. "I don't know. Ask him. He's the one who corrupted the Ranger Styler." Zoey tilted her head, asking him confused. "I don't understand. How did he do that?" Mark glanced around to make sure that no one else was listening before telling her honestly. "Ranger Stylers are not like pokeballs. They don't take ownership of a pokemon. Instead, the Styler is designed to project a Ranger's emotion to the pokemon in order to share an instant bond with them. Allowing Rangers and pokemon to work together for a brief time. Rangers go through months of training to control their emotions, because the Styler continuously transfers emotions to each other. You feel what they do, and they feel what you feel."

Zoey's eyes drifted to Nate with worry, letting Mark tell her seriously. "Depending on the pokemon you are working with, depends how dangerous certain emotions can be. If your feelings fall out of sync with each other, or either of you gets hurt... it breaks that bond. The pokemon goes back to being wild and instinctive in nature. Rangers have lost their lives trying to bond with pokemon that take strong emotional control to bond with. I thought Nate could handle it... but-" Zoey cut him off to finish for him. "You didn't take into consideration the emotional pain he was in... So, he lost control... because Aerodactyl is an aggressive pokemon that would rather feel anger than pain. So, Aerodactyl projected anger back into Nate. Right?" Mark nodded guiltily. Zoey's eyes darted to meet his, her voice stern as she scolded him lightly. "You saved him. So, for that I forgive you. Just keep in mind, that however Nate did it... He kept Giovanni from keeping Celebi and this." Zoey pulled a small blue orb from the duffel bag slung around her back.

Mark stared at the dull thing, unable to really grasp why something like that was so important. Reaching out absently to touch it, Zoey moved the orb away but not before it began to shine. Zoey dropped the orb onto his blanket in shock. Both of them watching as the orb reflected a watery light over the brown wool blanket. Without thinking, Mark grabbed the orb to pick it up and felt a power surge through him. The power he felt wrapped around him like a gentle wave rolling over the shore. It relaxed him and cleared his mind of everything. Staring into the orb, he saw the bright light within dance across the surface of the ocean. He became mesmerized by it. Looking deeper into its depths. Then he heard a soft familiar voice whisper to him from inside it. Cradling the orb, he held it closer to listen to the voice that sounded like his father. "Look deeper than the surface. Great wisdom comes from looking through another's eyes. Look beyond yourself. There are many paths... and if you look close enough. You'll find me all around you. I'm still teaching... just listen. I'm still here, son."

Mark's hand began to shake as he cradled the orb. Tears were brimming his eyes and spilling down his cheeks. He hadn't heard his dad's voice in so long and the feeling of such calm and peace... had broken him. As the light dimmed in the orb, Mark dropped the orb to his lap and dropped his head into his hands to cry. Around him the locals rose to their feet to stare at him with wide eyes. Although, the old woman seemed less surprised. Her eyes followed a stray breeze that left the cave. Zoey put a paw on Mark's shoulder, asking him a little worried. "Mark? What happened? Are you ok?" Mark couldn't answer. Even as Sean and Pryce entered the cave to take in the sudden scene with confused looks. To Be Continued...