Two events that put Sage in an unsteady position hit in one day. Fun.

~!_!~

One was the call from the Ranger Union about the file. He almost had a heart attack when the numbers escaped the phone. Thankfully Chris was visiting to help him keep himself together. Everyone else was concerned about it.

"Hello?" A ranger somewhere behind him called out 'oh no. not Joel.' The group giggled as he bit his lip.

"Is this Sage?"

"Yep."

"Hi, this is Amanda from the Ranger Union. I'm calling about a file that is there."

"Which one?" He said, a very faint hint of fear coxing his words. Chris caught it and went over.

"File 691347."

Everything spun as Chris grabbed his shoulder. He had expected this. He gulped before speaking.

"Hold on a second..." He put the phone against his shoulder before taking a shallow breath. "Oh boy..." Chris gulped.

"Ask for Erma. There's no way out of this." Sage nodded weakly as he put the phone back to his ear.

"Um... actually... about that.... Can I please speak to the Chairperson? I have my reasons."

"Uh... sure. One moment." He let out a sound of relief before falling quiet. It took a little bit of time before the Chairperson spoke.

"Hello Sage. What did you need?" He gulped.

It's about that file..." He took a shaky breath. "691347..."

"The one that hasn't been turned in?" He hummed.

"Yeah..." He whispered as Chris kept a grip on his shoulder. "I... I was wondering if we could... talk in private about it."

"Of course. Just come by the union when you are ready." He smiled.

"Thank you Chairperson." As he hung up, a squeak escaped him. "Oh..." Chris helped him sit down as the others gathered.

"It's ok..."

"That thing is going to kill someone."

"I know... just relax. At least it'll be dealt with after this..."

~!_!~

Yeah... one he almost didn't escape. The other was worse.

~!_!~

He had made his way down through the forest. Lapis was supposed to be the one dealing with the fire and whatever else was here, but Scarlet needed him. So he was looking while Cedar was to catch up to him. He had put out most of the fire thanks to Cedar letting him borrow his Slowpoke. Slow didn't mean weak for sure. He spotted a Minun minorly shocking a Torchic, causing the small fire type to attack. The flames hit a bush, starting up a huge fire. Sage winced as the Minun disappeared into a cave. He turned to Slowpoke.

"Go for it." It nodded before putting out the flames. He turned to the cave and gulped. "Fearow! Stay out here for Cedar! Tell him where I am!" It nodded as he and Slowpoke went after the electric type.

~!_!~

That little electric type almost killed him. He was subconscious while it faced off against Slowpoke, that hardly did anything. It didn't leave his side, which was the good news. His styler was destroyed near him while he felt shattered. He gulped weakly, fighting so hard to stay awake. The Minun huffed as it sent another group of attacks. It missed as Slowpoke backed up to him. Its tail touched his hand, reassuring him about the situation. He smiled at that.

~!_!~

"Captain!?"

The moment Cedar's voice hit Sage's ears, tears ran down his cheeks. Sadly, he wasn't able to do anything about it because Minun said otherwise. It sent a lightning bolt at the entrance just before Cedar got there, bringing it down. Slowpoke sent out a loud sound, alerting its partner.

"Slowpoke!? Is the Captain ok?"

Sage couldn't make anything out as everything started spinning.

"Captain! Listen to me!" Slowpoke blocked another attack as Sage strained his ears to listen to his fellow ranger. "I'm going to get to you. Just stay with me!" Sage huffed weakly.

"Ok..." Slowpoke relayed the message as Cedar ran off to get another way in.

~!_!~

Shockingly it was Lapis that got in. While Cedar was forced to stay outside and listen, Lapis was able to arrive and get in. Who knows how, but he recreated the entrance for the duo to get in. The Minun immediately launched at them. Lapis's styler appeared while Cedar got to Sage.

"CAPTURE ON!"

The disc raced out as he captured and calmed the Minun while Cedar healed Sage. Sage couldn't stay awake as much as the duo wanted. The last thing he heard was Cedar trying to keep him awake.

~!_!~

"Captain..."

Sage opened his eyes enough to see who was speaking. Cedar was at one side while Lapis was asleep on the other side. Sage smiled.

"Hey... Cedar..." He huffed lightly before shifting. "Did you..."

"Yeah. We were able to finish the mission. Lapis told me to get you back while he cleaned up. I had to go after him so he could rest. Despite that, he stayed by your side till now. He did fall asleep, which is good, but..." Sage smiled softly as watched the bluenette.

"Thanks Cedar for everything. You deserve a break." The reaction said enough about what he had to say. "Hey, I'm not going to be moving for a while. I'll keep Lapis with me. You go take a break. Whether it's rest or just calming down, you do what you need to do. You earned it." Cedar frowned.

"Alright..." Sage spotted the uneasiness as Cedar made his way out. The moment he left, Lapis shifted. Sage chuckled lightly.

"Hey..." Lapis sat up and rubbed his eyes. He noticed Sage and nodded. "How're doing?"

"I've been better..." He gazed at the older ranger. "How are you?"

"Better than the cave." The smaller boy smiled weakly as Sage paused. "Lay down. I don't want a tired ranger right now." Lapis frowned before putting his head down.

"But I'm not tired..."

"Lapis... you're doing it again..."

"I know..." Sage hummed.

"I just had a thought... you don't have a partner pokemon... do you?" Lapis gazed at him.

"Huh?"

"Are your ears working?"

"Yes and no. You're really quiet." Sage hummed.

"My bad. I should've waited. Oh well." He coughed slightly before trying again. "You don't have a partner pokemon, do you?" Lapis paused.

"I... don't even know what that is..." Sage chuckled lightly at the confusion.

"Like... me and Fearow..." He smiled at his partner, who sat quietly beside him. "Cedar and Slowpoke... Slowpoke and Fearow are Partner Pokemon. They are pokemon with a powerful bond with a ranger and they don't leave their ranger's side even if they are used." Lapis hummed.

"Almost like... Alyssa with her Delibird?" Sage nodded.

"Exactly. Delibird would be Alyssa's Partner Pokemon. We house a lot more bird partners here in Fiore than most, but we manage..." Sage huffed as he glanced at Lapis, who had slightly drifted off to think about it. "Why don't you rest? Your partner will come in due time." Lapis hummed as he relaxed where he was. Sage smiled as he relaxed, letting the calm environment put him to sleep.

~!_!~ (Bonus)

Cedar nervously tapped his foot as he sat at the table downstairs. It wasn't that he didn't trust the duo. He was worried. He finally got up and went to their room to check. He peeked in and paused. The duo were asleep with the Minun from before on Lapis's head and Fearow resting on the other side. A soft smile crossed his face as he closed the door. He wasn't going to disturb them when they were relaxed. He sighed before headed to hopefully relax.