It was strange, seeing how vulnerable Sven was now, but that didn't excuse him from pushing Kellyn. What had happened, though? One minute, Kellyn and Wendy were flying on their Staraptor—the next, Wendy and her Staraptor were falling. Maybe Ash himself underestimated the mission. It was not just about Legendary Pokémon now.
Sven jiggled Wendy's shoulders and begged, "Wendy, wake up! Please!"
Kellyn sat, clutching his arm, and he, Ash, Brock, and Dawn anxiously watched Sven.
Finally, Wendy stirred and shot up, almost banging heads with Sven. "Whoa!" she said.
"Wendy!" Instantly, Sven blushed and crawled away from her. He stood, cleared his throat, and returned to his stern demeanor. "I tried warning you. You and I should have checked on the Crystal."
What? That was it? He wasn't even going to apologize to Kellyn or ask if Wendy was okay? What did she see in him?
Wendy smacked her hands and admitted, "To be honest, Sven, I think I would've lost you quicker than Kellyn. I haven't had a fall like that in a while. Wow!" She grinned. "Talk about an adventure!" Wendy rose, but her legs jiggled, and she held out her arms. "Whoa!"
"Wendy!" Sven's mask cracked again, and he hurried to her, taking her hand and arm. "Come on—we're getting you checked out at the Ranger Depot."
"Let me help," Kellyn said, standing. He still looked as guilty as ever.
"Stay back, Kellyn!" Sven spat. "I don't want to see you right now!"
Kellyn flinched and backed away.
Okay, that did it! No one bullied Ash's friends when he was in the room!
He lifted his fist, but Wendy stopped Ash by grabbing Sven's shoulder and meeting his eyes. "Sven, please, don't take it out on Kellyn. We're okay."
Her Staraptor joined the group. "Star!"
Sven lowered his voice. "We'll confirm that at the Depot, Wendy."
"I'm sorry," Wendy apologized to the others. "He just needs some time to cool down." She smiled gently at Kellyn. "You're okay, Kellyn. Why don't you show Ash, Brock, and Dawn Peace Tower, and we'll come up with a plan later, once Sven's head is out of the clouds?"
"I'm sorry, Wendy," Kellyn said back. "I'm so sorry."
"No, thank you," Wendy corrected. "You saved us, and now we know what we're dealing with. If anything, this was a successful practice run." She poked Sven's ribs. "Don't you agree, Sven?"
Sven released Wendy and turned. "We can talk after the Depot." He headed toward the roof's ladder, and Wendy shrugged, following him with Staraptor.
While they left, Brock's shoulders slumped, and he lowered his head.
Dawn finally gave him the hard truth. "Sorry, Brock, but it looks like you've got some competition."
"Ugh." Brock sank to the ground and buried his head in his knees.
Croagunk popped out of its pokéball and comfortably rubbed his back, slowly saying, "Cro, Cro, Cro."
Ash giggled, but then he lost his smile, and he and Pikachu examined the Luminous Crystal and the Tears of Princes.
Now what were they going to do?
Ash tried to think, but still didn't know what had happened, so while Brock checked Kellyn's arm, he asked, "Kellyn, what happened?"
More guilt overtook Kellyn's face, so Blu set his head on his thigh.
"Everything is corrupted, even the Tears of Princes." Kellyn sniffed, and his voice trembled. "Wendy tried warning me not to get close to the Crystal, but… I didn't listen. It hurt her, all because of me."
"Kellyn, don't blame yourself." At least Brock recovered quickly from Wendy's rejection. "Like Wendy said, that was a practice run."
"And at least J wasn't up there," Dawn tried encouraging. "So, we still have time."
"But what are we supposed to do now?" Ash folded his arms and tapped his left one.
"Pika," Pikachu said from his shoulder.
"I don't know." Kellyn hit himself on the head. "Think, Kellyn, think!" He removed his arm from Brock and stood, beginning to pace, his hands in his pockets. While he paced, he thought aloud. "Parity is trapped in the Luminous Crystal. If it's corrupting her and the Tears of Princes, then…" Kellyn paused before snapping his fingers. "The Gem Guardians!"
"Gem Guardians?" Ash said. "And Parity is trapped in the Crystal?" How did that happen?
Kellyn faced him and his friends. "The Gem Guardians are the Guardians of the Tears of Princes: the Yellow, Red, and Blue Gems. Parity must've fused herself with the Crystal to try to fight the darkness until Blu and I could get here."
Now, he was beginning to think like a Ranger again, but Ash still had trouble understanding. "Uh, okay."
"The Gems are acting like a barrier around Parity," Kellyn continued, "but since the darkness is spreading, it must be overpowering her light, so it's corrupting the Gems—and maybe even the Guardians, too. That means…"
"Oh!" Brock punched his palm. "We need to save the Gem Guardians first! That's the only way we can weaken the barrier so you can get to Parity, Kellyn."
Kellyn nodded. "Right. But we have to be quick. J may figure it out, too."
"We"? Was he, Top Ranger Kellyn, beginning to ask for help? Ash hoped so; he wanted to meet a Gem Guardian and learn Almia's lore.
"Let me quickly show you guys Peace Tower," Kellyn said, "and then we'll return to the Depot and call the Union. Sound like a plan?"
"Yeah," Ash, Brock, and Dawn said.
Before leaving, Kellyn released his Staraptor and said to the Luminous Crystal, "Hang on just a little longer, Parity. We're going to get the Gem Guardians."
"Blue!" Blu called to his sister. "Blue-Bird, Blue-Bird!"
Within the Crystal, as if she had heard Blu, Parity opened her eye again and flapped her wings. She opened her beak, but nothing escaped.
Corruption spread across Parity's long, glowing legs, and the Pokémon shut her eyes when it hit one side of her face. She folded her wings and bent her body.
Down below, Ash and his friends sprinted for the Tower's ladder.
The Luminous Crystal pulsed, sinking it and the Tears of Princes closer to the Tower's roof, the more Parity fought.