Chapter Text
It was a colorful fall day, the breeze sending reddish hues of leaves fluttering across the grounds of Ranger Academy. Inside the school, Ms. April's class was all gathered in their homeroom, all chatting and gossiping in excitement about what was to come.
"Settle down, settle down!" Ms. April called as she took the stand at the teacher's desk. "The longer you chatter, the longer it'll take for us to get out of this school and into the courtyard!" Almost immediately, the whole class went quiet—Keith being the last to go silent, of course, as he hurriedly put in his final two bits. Ms. April smiled. "…Now then," she said, "I assume you all know what today is?"
"OUTDOORS CLASS!" the class cheered back, their volume more than making up for their small size. Ms. April beamed more.
"Come on!" Keith shouted. "We wouldn't forget about Outdoors Class!"
"That's right!" she said. "Today, we'll be spending the day outside with a visiting Ranger from Vientown. There, you can ask him any questions you like. Of course, there are rules… don't ask too many questions, because there are other people who would like to go. Don't ask the Ranger any questions unrelated to his job. And, for Pete's sake, raise your hand and wait to be chosen before asking a question."
She gave a pointed look at Keith. "That means you, Mr. Evans." Keith gave his best angel face, but rolled his eyes dramatically when Ms. April turned away.
"With that out of the way," she said, "let's all go outside, class. We're gathering in Ascension Square. Don't make a fuss—Mr. Kincaid's class is studying in their room. They had their Outdoors Class yesterday."
Quickly, the class hurried out of the room, all whispering in excitement. Kate, Keith and Rhythmi hung a few feet back, walking behind the rest of the class.
"Yahoo!" Keith said, doing a rather out-of-character skip. "I've been waiting all month for this!"
"…Yahoo?" Rhythmi said, raising an eyebrow. "Yahoo? Forgive me if I'm wrong, Keith, but you're way too excited about this."
Kate blinked from her spot in between Keith and Rhythmi. "Come to think of it, Keith," she said, "you thought of thirty-four questions to ask the Ranger, right?"
"Thirty-eight." Keith said proudly. "I thought of four more overnight."
Rhythmi made a tsk of disapproval. "I hope you realize you'll only have time for three questions max. Maybe four."
Keith went a bit red in the ears. "S-so I just ask the rest when class is over, before he leaves!" He snapped. "Problem solved!"
Kate laughed nervously, quickly steering the subject around. "B-but… a real Ringtown Ranger, huh?" she said. "I wonder what they'll be like?"
"Cool, strong, calm, collected…" Keith said, ticking off points on his fingers, "…and totally awesome. Like me, but with a way cooler uniform."
Rhythmi made a snort of laughter. "…You? Calm and collected?" she said. "You're about as calm and collected as a Vigoroth after eating a Tamato Berry." Keith glared at her, but decided not to dignify her with a response. The three were now in the courtyard, approaching the stairs to Ascension Square.
"How come you aren't excited, Rhyth?" Keith demanded. "This is a real Ranger we're talking about here! Like, an official one!"
"Exactly. A Ranger." Rhythmi said, putting her nose up in the air. "I'm training to be an Operator. I'm not interested in Rangers. All that physical work and grime is so unappealing to me."
"Yes, Arceus forbid you break a nail," Keith muttered, Kate smiling in response.
Rhythmi glared. "Operators are what keep Rangers from getting killed on every mission. They're far more important… no offense, Kate."
Before Kate could say "none taken," Keith snarled. "You've gotta be kidding! Without Rangers, nothing would get done! We're definitely more important!"
"G-guys, let's not—" Kate started weakly, but was immediately cut off as the two started to bicker over her head.
Kate sighed as the trio went down the stairs, praying that Ms. April would be able to get the two to shut up.
They were gathered at Ascension Square, a clear plot of land with a nice view of the ocean, a small, dingy dock and a huge stone statue in the shape of a Ranger holding out his Styler directly in front of him, an Operator holding her clipboard, and a Mechanic, holding his wrench and toolbox with pride. The figures stood on a stone platform that was about five feet tall, a small set of stairs leading up to the actual statue. It, not counting the platform, was easily fifteen feet tall, maybe twenty at most. There, the class was gathered around the beloved, much idolized Ranger they had all been waiting anxiously for the whole month.
Hair.
That was Kate's first thought.
The man in front of them looked fairly young—twenty five, maybe twenty six. He was tall and lanky, with a slightly large nose. He was wearing a uniform that consisted of a white shirt, a red jacket with yellow cuffs, black shorts with the same cuffs and red shoes that looked beaten up, but still quite usable. A red Styler with an official Union seal was on his belt. The most memorable detail about this man, though, was his hair—he had a huge brown afro, curls bouncing all around his head. Surrounding him were three Pokémon—a Bellossom, a Cherubi, and a Combee.
Rhythmi looked even less impressed than Kate, who just looked… shocked. "An afro." she mumbled. "The man has an afro." Keith, however, was unfazed, practically vibrating from his seat next to Kate.
"Alright, class, settle down!" Ms. April called. "This is Crawford. He's a Ranger at Vientown Base… Crawford, would you like to introduce yourself?"
"You got it, Ms. April!" Crawford said. He grinned around at the students. "Like she said, the name's Crawford. I've been a Ranger for about eight years, now, and it's a pretty great job!" He gestured to the three Pokémon surrounding him. "These here are the Friend Pokémon I captured on my walk here! Now, who can tell me what Friend Pokémon are?" Rhythmi raised her hand. "Yes, the lovely lady in the back with the big blonde do!"
Rhythmi cleared her throat before putting her nose in the air and saying proudly, "Friend Pokémon are Pokémon that are captured by Rangers with their Capture Styler. These Pokémon can be used to power up the Styler, clear obstacles, or aid the progression of a Mission in other ways. However, once a Friend Pokémon has served its purpose, the Styler automatically releases it."
Keith glared at Rhythmi before muttering, "You quoted that right out of the bloody textbook."
Crawford, not noticing this, smiled more. "And now, I'd like to introduce you all to one last friend of mine…"
He grinned more, going silent. The students all looked around, craning their heads to see if anyone was nearby. When it became clear there was no person or Pokémon in sight, they started to mumble amongst themselves in confusion.
The mumbles turned to cries of alarm when Crawford's afro started rustling.
Rhythmi yelped, "what in the-?!" while Keith simply let out a "cool!" Kate just stared with wide eyes, gulping as the afro moved and squirmed. And then—
"Budew!"
A little Pokémon popped its head out of the afro, several students screaming when it did so. It was green, with a cute little yellow face, the top of its body looking like a bud.
"Ahh," Crawford said, cackling a bit as he removed the Pokémon from his hair, "that never gets old. This is my Partner Pokémon, Budew!"
All the students (besides the more mentally scarred ones) cheered and gave applause. Ms. April let out a shaky sigh, looking a bit pale.
"Honestly, Crawford," she said, "would you at least consider cutting your hair? It gives me the heebie-jeebies."
Crawford laughed. "You always did have a weakness for overgrown, tangled things, Ms. April," he said. Then, with a look at the students, "Ms. April here was actually my teacher all those years ago. She nearly fainted when she saw me—and on her first day on the job, too!" Ms. April blushed, hissing at him. Crawford ignored her. "Anyway, now for the fun part… question time! Who wants to go first?"
Several students raised their hands, Keith almost shaking with the effort to not blurt out all thirty-eight of his questions. However, Crawford didn't pick him. "You there!" he said, pointing at a brunette boy.
"You said Partner Pokémon, right?" the boy asked. "What does that mean?"
"I'm glad you asked, teenage male!" Crawford said happily. "A Partner Pokémon is basically a Pokémon that a Ranger has a deep bond with. Unlike just capturing Pokémon, using them once, and then releasing them, Partner Pokémon are always with you."
"So!" the boy pressed. "If you were friends with lots of Pokémon, you could take them with you all the time?!"
"Bzzzt!" Crawford responded, putting his arms in an X shape. "Wrong-o! The laws of the Union state that a Ranger may only have one Partner Pokémon with them at any given time! Sure, you COULD have lots of different Pokémon, but you could only take one with you on duty!" The student huffed a bit at that, but went silent. "Next?"
Keith's hand once again shot up as fast as a rocket, but Crawford looked to another. "Yes, you, with the pink ribbon!"
"Yes!" The brunette girl with a big pink ribbon in her hair said. "Mr. Crawford, why did you decide to become a Pokémon Ranger?"
Crawford smiled. "Well, I suppose it's all because I love Pokémon," he said. "I want to become friends with them. To bond with them—and what better way to do that by working side by side with them, protecting society from evil with them? Plus," he continued, grinning, "it's just a hell of a cool job!"
"A-hem," Ms. April coughed, giving a pointed glare at Crawford.
Crawford smiled nervously in response. "…Heck," he corrected. "A-alright, who next?"
Keith seemed to nearly break his neck this time raising his hand. Despite the effort, though, Crawford turned to an ebony-haired girl. "Yes, Ms. Ponytail over there!"
"Thanks!" she said. "Well, I wanna know for future training simulations… what kinds of Pokémon are difficult to capture?"
"Hmm," Crawford mused. "That's a toughie. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to capturing. But if we're speaking strictly for me… Definitely Psychic and Ghost-type Pokémon. You see, they have a nasty habit of teleporting outside the Capture Loop. Now, that won't make any trouble for a Ranger who's good at analyzing the situation and knowing where to move the Disc so you don't lose the Pokémon, but… well, I'm not very good at that."
"Just like what happened to us…" Kate whispered to Keith. He nodded quickly, before raising his hand once more… however, this time Kate joined him.
Crawford looked over, pointing at Kate. "Yes, Ms. Spiky over there!"
Keith glared daggers at Kate that screamed "mutiny." Kate gulped, ignoring him as she spoke.
"U-um," she said shakily, "H-how exactly does b-being a Ranger w-w-work?"
Crawford blinked. "Hey now, no need to be afraid! I don't bite!" he said. "But strictly speaking, here's how it works. Typical Rangers work under a Base Leader. Those Base Leaders issue missions, which we carry out. When we don't have a mission to be working on, we patrol our given area, helping out citizens and basically keeping the order."
Kate nodded carefully. "Y-yes… I understand." She said. Crawford grinned in response.
Next up, much to Keith's chagrin, was Rhythmi. "Alright then, smarty-pants! What do you have to ask?" Crawford said.
"No offense to you, sir," Rhythmi said, her voice dripping with offense, "but in the long run, Operators are more vital to the overall operation than Rangers, right? We relay information, missions, we analyze situations… without us, Rangers would be virtually useless, right?"
Keith let out an 'oh!' of indignation.
Crawford blinked. "…Well… you have a point," he said. "But without us Rangers, who would you Operators be talking to?"
Rhythmi's smug look quickly fell. "…W-well," she said. "T-that's…"
Crawford smiled.
"…I'm not going to say Rangers are superior to Operators," he said. "But I'm not going to say Operators are superior to Rangers, either. They're both equally important, and neither can survive without the other. They both aid and support each other. Of course, though, it isn't a two way balance—you also have Mechanics." Two of the students—specifically, the two Mechanic students—grinned and nodded in agreement. "These three depend on each other—it's that balance that the Ranger System flourishes and thrives on."
Rhythmi looked down, completely silent. Crawford smiled more—then he walked over, patting her head.
"…You'll understand one day," he said. "Heck, there's a whole lesson on it. Once you accept you're not the most important, the whole world seems to put itself into perspective."
Rhythmi was quiet a bit longer. Finally, though, she gave a small nod.
"…Alright!" Crawford said, striding over to his original spot. "Anyone else?"
Keith's hand shot up, accompanied by a loud "ME!"
Crawford, along with the rest of the group, jumped a little. After a beat, Crawford let out a loud laugh. "Alright then!" he said. "You there, with the flaming hair!"
Keith's whole face lit up. "Yes!" he said happily. "I've got thirty-eight questions! But the first one—the most important one—that question is—!"
He was abruptly cut off by a loud beeping noise coming from Crawford's belt.
"Ah—" Crawford said, reaching for his Styler. "Hold that thought, kid."
He took out the Styler, hitting a button. A screen slid open, and suddenly a voice could be heard coming from the machine.
"Crawford!" The voice was deep and burly, obviously belonging to a man. "Are you still at the school?"
"Correct-a-mundo, Chief," Crawford answered, stroking Budew. "What's up?"
"We've got trouble," the voice answered. "Some fishermen thought it'd be a good idea to go into Mantine territory. It's illegal to fish there, but they thought they could make a quick buck since there's rumors of treasure in that area. Anyway, they dropped nets to pick up some treasure they found—but a Mantine got caught up, and now it's stuck."
The students were buzzing with excitement, their combined murmurs making a steady hum of noise. "The fishermen have been arrested, but the Mantine is still tangled—plus, it's injured a fin in the boat's propeller," the voice continued. "Sorry, Crawford, but Outdoor Class will have to be cut short. Luana's already en route to the Academy's dock to pick you up."
"Roger that, Chief!" Crawford grinned. "This is Crawford, signing off!" He hit a button, the Styler powering down. "Sorry, kids—looks like I've gotta end it here."
The class groaned a bit, but nonetheless, they looked excited as they witnessed a real mission being issued.
Keith, on the other hand, looked like his heart had just been ripped out his chest, chewed up, spit out, and then stepped on.
Just then, the loud noise of a boat's jet could be heard. The class all looked to see a figure there—it was hard to make out, but from the size and sound of the voice, it seemed to be a young woman.
"CRAWFORD!" the girl shouted. "Let's go! We've got work to do!"
"Roger that, Lu!" Crawford yelled in response, his mood seeming to improve tenfold. "Well, see you later, guys!"
He ran to the boat with his Pokémon, leaping off the dock and onto the deck—and the class watched as the boat sped off, leaving only rippling water in its wake.
A long silence ensued, the whole class watching as the boat slowly faded out of view.
"…That," a boy finally said, "was so cool."
"Arceus!" Keith yelled at the sky. "Thirty-eight questions! Thirty-eight fucking questions I had to ask that Ranger—and I couldn't ask one of them!"
"Calm down, Keith," Rhythmi said, "all that yelling's gonna make me lose my appetite."
It was nightfall, the stars blinking into view. Kate, Keith and Rhythmi had decided to carry their dinner all the way to Ascension Square. They were alone—Kate was sitting on the ground next to the platform, Rhythmi on the stairs so as not to get dirty. Keith, of course deciding to be a rebel, had climbed up and was perched on the toolbox of the Mechanic about halfway up the statue.
"Is it really ok for us to be here?" Kate said nervously.
Keith rolled his eyes. "Naahh, it'll be fine," he said. "Everyone's too busy talking their heads off about that Mantine thing. They won't miss us as long as we make bedtime curfew." He grinned at Rhythmi. "I have to say, though—it was pretty nice seeing Rhyth get chewed out by that Ranger."
Rhythmi blushed, glaring up at him. "I was not chewed out!" she snapped. "He just corrected me about a mistake I made about how the Ranger-Operator-Mechanic system works—!"
"Liar, liar, tail on fire," Keith sang gleefully.
Rhythmi huffed. "Can it," she said. Then she looked at the sky, smiling. "I'm going to be the best Operator in the world. A Top Operator."
Kate blinked. "A Top Operator… W-wah!" she flinched, looking a bit intimidated. "A-aren't there only two Top Operators right now, though?! S-shouldn't you aim a bit lower first…?"
Rhythmi looked at her, smiling. "And why should I?" she asked, batting her eyelashes. "Go big or go home. I want to help people all around the world with my fabulous communication skills."
Keith snorted. "Yeah," he retorted, "I'll let you know if Godzilla decided to take over Almia. I'm sure you'd be able to communicate with him."
Rhythmi threw an apple at his head with surprising accuracy, considering he was eight feet up. Kate laughed nervously in response, but when Keith recovered, he spoke at Kate.
"Ow-ow-ow… a-anyway, what about you, Kate?" He asked, looking at the sky. "Don't you wanna be a Top Ranger?"
"…I wonder," Kate murmured, leaning back. "I mean… I didn't come here with big dreams or anything. I-I guess I just wanted to do something. I wanted to leave the ocean, I wanted to see the world, I wanted to…" she sighed. "…It's hard to explain, I guess… but… I want to do something. But I don't know what that 'something' is yet. I feel like it's there, but… I just can't see it."
Keith looked down at her, eyes wide. Rhythmi blinked at the girl, equally surprised—and confused. "…Kate…" she murmured.
Kate blushed, stammering. "I-I'm sorry!" she said quickly. "I-I must sound ridiculous, right?! F-forget I said anyth—"
"Alright then!"
"H-huh?"
Kate and Rhythmi looked up at the source of the sudden outburst to see Keith. He was standing now, grinning like a madman down at them.
"You don't know what to do, right? You said that you 'can't see it,'" he said. "So, what does that mean? It means you're not high enough."
"I certainly think someone's high," Rhythmi muttered.
"Can it, Blythe. Anyway!" Keith said, pointing down at Kate. "It's like a skyscraper, right? From the bottom, you can only see what's around you. But when you climb higher—and higher—you can see more and more of what's really there! And so, by that logic…"
He smirked, moving the finger pointing at her up towards the sky.
"…You reach the top! Then you can see everything—including this weird life purpose you've got. You get me?"
Kate was frozen in place, staring up at him. "…I… I-I think I do," she said uncertainly.
Keith grinned, climbing quickly down from the Mechanic's belt to the ground. "Good!" he said. "So aim for the top—namely, being a Top Ranger!"
"W—" Kate squeaked. "W-WHAT?! I-impossible! D-definitely, p-positively impossible! I-I could never…!"
"You can," Keith pressed, "if you just quit acting so damn modest."
A silence fell, Kate looking down at her shoes. Finally, though, Rhythmi cleared her throat.
"You know," she said nonchalantly. "There's a legend about this statue. It says something along the lines of… 'If you confess your dreams to your friends at this statue, and make a promise to fulfill them, you will definitely reach your goal.' Or something cheesy like that."
"Well there we go!" Keith said triumphantly. "Rhythmi's already told us her weird dream to save the world with communication, and Kate's told us about her weird dream-she-hasn't-quite-found-yet. So now all we gotta do is promise!"
"H-hey!" Kate said, huffing a bit. "T-that's not fair, Keith! Y-you haven't told us your dream!"
"Huh? Oh, I guess not," Keith said. Then, with a grin—"I want to protect people. Be a hero, y'know? I wanna look evil in the eye and then laugh in its face!" Rhythmi scoffed and rolled her eyes, but she was smiling slightly at the sincerity.
"So!" Keith continued. He held out a hand. "Let's promise, right here. To definitely fulfill our dreams no matter what!"
Kate stared at the hand, wondering to herself. Was it… really possible to become a Top Ranger? It seemed so otherworldly, further out of her grasp than the moon itself.
…But…
She gulped, putting her hand over Keith's. "…O-OK," she said. "I-I promise."
The two both looked at Rhythmi, who was looking on with her arms crossed.
"…Oh, alright," she sighed, putting her hand over theirs, "I promise. Not that I need to, of course."
A beat, in which they all stood rather awkwardly with their hands gathered in the middle.
Then they started laughing.
"G-geez," Keith sniggered, pulling his hand back, "that was so corny."
"I-it was your idea!" Kate laughed.
"Shut up!" Keith said. Then he grinned more. "…Hey, Kate," he said, "wanna have a race?"
Rhythmi blinked. "What kind of race?" she said. "Like, at the training grounds? They're closed by now."
"Nope," Keith said. Then he pointed up the statue. "…First one to the top wins."
Kate squeaked a bit. "K-Keith!" she said quickly, "That's dangerous!"
Keith smirked. "What is it, Katie?" he purred, leaning in. "You're not… scared, are you?"
Kate gulped, shrinking meekly. Rhythmi just looked on in amusement.
"…A-alright," she finally said, nodding, "I-I'll do it. B-but I'm blaming you if I fall!"
Keith cackled. "You better pray to Arceus, because there's no one faster at climbing than me," he said. "Yo, Rhyth, you'll be the judge?"
"Roger that," Rhythmi said with a winning smile. "And lucky for you both, I knew this would happen… so I brought my binoculars to watch you when you get high up. I can't tell who will win from all the way down here."
Keith's eyes narrowed. "Blonde with binoculars," he said. "Creepy."
Rhythmi stuck out her tongue. "Both of you take your marks at the steps," she commanded.
Kate and Keith both walked to the staircase of the platform, taking their starting positions.
"…Ready," Rhythmi said slowly, "set… GO!"
They took off, the two students reaching the statue and starting their climb simultaneously. Keith scaled the statue with ease, seeming to make footholds out of thin air, while Kate barely managed to scramble her way up. That being said, the winner was clear—flipping and swinging and jumping his way up, Keith was at the top of the Ranger's head in no time. Kate managed to make her way all the way up the Ranger's neck, and was just about to climb up the ear to the head.
And that was when she looked down.
Immediately, her hands went cold, her body seeming to go numb as the feeling of being alone took over. Everything became a blur: the ground underneath, Rhythmi's form at the bottom of the platform, the sound of Keith's whoops of victory. She hated this feeling—the feeling of being scared to death that she would do something, anything wrong, and that no one would be there to save her.
No one.
"Wh—Kate! Are you OK?!"
Suddenly, a hand grabbed hers. The grasp was firm, and it was like an anchor, suddenly pulling Kate out of the trance. But most of all—most of all, the touch was warm. It was so unlike her own hands, which were cold and shaking from the fear.
Kate blinked rapidly as she met Keith's gaze. "Are you OK?!" he repeated urgently. "C'mon, I'll help you up! Just get your foot on a good hold!"
Kate stared for a moment as she finally came back to Earth. Then she nodded very slightly, hanging on to him.
Slowly, steadily, she made her way up the final steps, Keith pulling her up onto the Ranger's head.
"…S-sorry," Keith said, panting. "I-I shouldn't have made you—"
"N-no!" Kate cut him off. "I-it's… f… f-fine…"
Kate's voice slowly faded out as she noticed what was around her. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight.
"…Huh?" Keith blinked, following her gaze. "What is… it…" His eyes also widened at what he saw.
From the top of the statue, they could see everything. The ocean, waves slowly crashing with boats that looked as small as her pinky finger floating on the horizon, the forest, bird Pokémon calling and fluttering as they went to bed, the faintest outline of Vientown in the far distance—and the Ranger Academy, lights twinkling as the other students feasted on their dinner.
"…I can see everything from up here…" Kate murmured.
Keith laughed slightly, replying, "Yeah, and we'll be able to see a lot more once we've graduated. And then we'll be real Rangers, and then Top Rangers…" He grinned, looking at Kate. "And you know what? It'll be—"
He stopped short when he saw her.
Kate was wearing an expression she'd never had before. She was smiling—only this was different from the happy, nervous smile she got when she made a friend, or the sheepish one she gave when she'd received a compliment. No, this was different. Far different. She was smiling joyfully, her face filled with wonder, excitement, interest. Her pale blue eyes seemed ten times brighter, reflecting off everything: the lights from the Academy in the distance, the large, expansive ocean, the dazzling stars above them… it was as if those blue irises were trying to sear everything into the brunette's memory before it all left. Pale cheeks were flushed a lively pink, and her brown hair, while still tied up in the usual spiked twintails, was slightly messy, her bangs falling in front of her eyes, and the two loose pieces of hair she usually left neatly framing her face blowing slightly in the wind.
It was ten times better than the view of the landscape.
Keith's mouth dropped open slightly, his ears going red. His hands shook very slightly as he tried to regain control of the parts of his brain that had just seemed to shut down. Just then, thought, Kate looked at him—the shining, eager blue eyes trained directly on him.
"…What were you going to say, Keith?" she said, her voice still as impossibly soft as always. "You said, 'it'll be…' what?"
"…U-uh," Keith said, horrified that he couldn't find the ability to form words or access his memory. The redness in his ears spread—he felt the warmth spread to his cheeks. "I-I said it'll… u-uh, I mean, that's, I… I-I said, um…"
He gulped deeply, finally managing to speak and remember. "G-great! I-it'll… i-it'll be great."
Kate blinked, staring at him.
And then she smiled.
"…Y… yeah!" she said happily. "I-it will!"
Keith stammered, shocked at how they had somehow switched places. He wasn't supposed to stammer! Kate was the one who stammered! "I-I—w-well, yeah, t-that's—I-I, uh—RHYTHMIIII!"
The redhead tore his gaze off Kate to look down at the blonde below. "Y-you wanna come up here?!" he yelled. "The view's awesome!"
Rhythmi gave a thumbs up from her position at the platform, looking up at them with her binoculars. "Nope!" she said, her voice positively ringing with glee. "I'm perfectly happy with the view I've got here!"
Keith scoffed. "What fucking view?!" he demanded. "You're just staring at us with bino…"
The redness in his cheeks spread to his neck as it hit him.
"WE'RE GETTING DOWN, KATE!" he bellowed, starting to jump down.
"A-ah, sure—w-wait!" she called, panicking a bit. "H-help me get down! I-I'm not a Mankey like you!"
But the calls went unheard to Keith as he sped down the statue as fast as possible, trying desperately to erase everything that had just happened from his memory.