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Message-ID: <31804asstr$996883801@assm.asstr-mirror.org>
From: "Nikolai Mirovich" <nikolai@nergal.org>
Subject: {ASSM} Cerulean Dreams (6-7/20) (Pokemon Fanfiction, Ff, Rom, Solo, Lt.Bond)
Date: Fri,  3 Aug 2001 20:10:01 -0400
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Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories
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<1st attachment, "CD 6-7.txt" begin>


Cerulean Dreams (Chapters 6-7)

By 

Nikolai Mirovich


Author's Note: This is the second story in my series of Pokemon 
based fanfics. It continues the plot from "The Courier", but for 
the record, I'm not completely happy with it. But that happens; 
all I can do is make the third story even better! Anyway, there's 
many people I'd like to thank, but mentioning their names could 
get me killed, so I won't. Oh! And I'm preparing an FAQ for this 
series which should be at my ASSTR page 
("http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Nikolai_Mirovich") some time soon, 
so hopefully this ride will be less confusing to some of you.

Legal Stuff: If for some reason legal reasons keep you from 
reading this story (Ie: Your age is too young in your country to 
be reading such filth), I'm obligated to tell you to go away. Not 
that I think that'll stop you. And certainly not that I care who 
reads my stories, so long as somebody does! So, with out anymore 
of my ranting, on with the show!


Chapter VI

Miranda tucked the bottom of the unfamiliar frilly white blouse 
into her jeans as she followed Misty down the narrow flight of 
steps to the gym area. Once again the humid scent of water filled 
her lungs, but this time it wasn't accompanied by the echoing 
shouts of happy pokemon. The only sounds were the quiet lapping of 
the water against the sides of the pool and their already echoing 
footsteps.

"You're sure it's still alright to stay here?" the woman inquired, 
taking the towel from her shoulders and giving drying her hair 
another chance.

Misty smiled as she entered the stadium-sized room and turned to 
face Miranda as she slid the door closed behind them. "Don't 
worry," replied Misty, trying to banish Miranda's doubtful look, 
"Even if Violet's really mad at you, this is still my home. And 
you're always welcome here."

Miranda nodded and glanced out over the quiet pool, spotting a few 
of Misty's pokemon several meters down. "I think he's sulking," 
she commented as she crouched down and Misty walked up behind her.

"My horsea?" the trainer inquired, leaning on Miranda's shoulders 
and looking down in time to see the pokemon in question swim 
rather quickly away, "Yeah, I see what you mean. I guess he's had 
some time to think about what he did."

"Well, I really can't blame him," responded Miranda, glancing up 
at Misty, "The first time I saw a ghost I was a little unnerved 
too. Heck, when I first met Wraith I was actually really scared."

"Really?" commented Misty, surprise crossing her face as she 
focused on Miranda, "I thought you had no problem with ghosts."

Miranda smiled sagely and shrugged. "That's different," she 
explained, "Most of the ghosts I grew up with avoided people for 
the most part. When I met Wraith I was actively hunting him."

"Oh yeah!" laughed Misty, "He was making a huge mess of the Sylph 
Co mainframe, wasn't he?"

"The whole building, actually," she correct with a laugh, waving 
when she noticed the horsea glance up at her guiltily, "Say, any 
thoughts on what to name him? Or the others?"

Misty stood up and walked around to crouch beside Miranda, 
watching her goldeen go back to pestering her starmie. "Um, I was 
thinking of 'Marina' for the goldeen," she explained thoughtfully, 
"Maybe 'Umberlee' for the Starmie. Hm, I guess Poseidon would work 
for my horsea. It's a rather impressive name for such a small 
pokemon, but he can use the self-esteem!"

Miranda laughed, motioning to the shy water-type to come closer. 
"Come on, Poseidon," she called as Misty smiled encouragingly, "I 
forgive you. And I've put away the big scary ghost!"

The horsea turned his head to one side curiously, only hearing 
water muffled words, but knowing that they were intended for him. 
With a glance over at his happily smiling trainer, he pushed 
himself upwards, leaving a trail of bubbles as he went.

Misty laughed and shielded her eyes as the horsea broke the 
surface of the water, splashing both trainers with warm water. 
"Sea?" he inquired leaping at his trainer, and forcing her to 
throw out her arms in time not to let the poor thing drop on the 
ground at her feet.

"You two okay?" inquired Miranda as Misty fell back wards, still 
laughing.

"No worries!" assured Misty, holding her water pokemon out at arms 
length and speaking to him in a serious tone. "Now listen up, 
you," she said, trying to copy Miranda's teaching tone as best she 
could, "I've decided on a real name for you, but I want to make 
sure you like it, okay?"

The horsea tilted his head questioningly but attentively. "Sea," 
he said pensively, glancing at Miranda with a bit of a worried 
expression.

"Fear not, little one," assured Miranda, reaching out and petting 
the pokemon lightly upon the head, "See, new shirt. No problem."

The horsea nodded, looking happy before turning back to his 
trainer with an expectant look. "So, as I was saying," continued 
Misty, struggling back into a sitting position despite the damp 
floor, "I'd like to officially name you 'Poseidon'. Is that 
alright with you?"

The pokemon blinked at his trainer, looking confused for a moment 
before making a few happy sounds. "I guess he doesn't care, so 
long as you're happy," commented Miranda in an amused tone.

"Ah! Unconditional love!" laughed Misty, giving the officially 
named Poseidon a hug before placing him carefully back in the 
pool, "Now I just have to get the other two's attention."

"What about 'Aussie'?" inquired Miranda as the horsea swam happily 
away.

"Aussie?"

"That's what Nezumi calls your psyduck," replied Miranda a little 
guardedly.

"Do I even want to know what he calls me?" the girl chuckled in 
response, reaching onto her belt for the psyduck's pokeball.

"Not really," laughed Miranda as the duck appeared dangerously 
close to the edge of the pool, "But for the record he's called you 
'water chick', 'boss lady's babe', and 'Miri's dream come true'."

"'Boss lady's babe'?" inquired Misty, giving Miranda an odd look 
as the woman shrugged helplessly, "if he wasn't so cute, I'd smack 
him for that one. But did he really call me 'Miri's dream come 
true'?"

Miranda smiled sheepishly, turning away as she exhaled slowly. 
"No," she admitted, trying to hide her blushing, "I just made that 
one up. Although he does call me 'Miri' sometimes."

"'Miri'," replied Misty thoughtfully, "You know, you never 
explained that nickname to me. Is that what people called you when 
you were little?"

Miranda nodded, turning back to Misty, her eyes seeming a little 
distant behind her glasses. "Well, mostly just my father and my 
mom's sister," she explained, smiling as Misty's psyduck suddenly 
lost his footing and began flailing his arms in a desperate 
attempt not to fall into the pool, "but my father's the one who 
actually came up with it."

"I see-!" responded Misty, lunging forward just in time to grab 
her pokemon by his stubby arms and pull him back from the brink 
and the very real danger of drowning. "Look you stupid 'duck!" she 
scolded her pokemon as he leaned against her, shivering with 
fright, "You're a water pokemon! Learn to swim already! Yeesh! 
Anyway, as I was saying, I like it. But does it bother you to have 
people call you that?"

Miranda shrugged thoughtfully. "Sometimes," she admitted as Misty 
lead her pokemon a short distance away from the edge of the pool, 
"Because it was sort of my father's own private name for me. My 
relatives use it sometimes, but I don't mind usually."

"Do you mind when I use it from time to time?" inquired Misty in 
mock meekness, causing a small smile to cross Miranda's lips.

"I feel honored that women I love has chosen to use the name my 
father once called me," she answered melodramatically, bowing her 
head once in approval.

"Thank you," replied Misty, glancing down at the pokemon she still 
held, "Now as for you!"

The psyduck cringed a little, his eyes going wide with fright at 
the sudden change in Misty's tone. "I've got the perfect name for 
you, psyduck," his trainer announced in a sly tone, "'Kappa'."

"Psy?" inquired the psyduck, clutching both sides of his head as 
his head ache suddenly got worse at the mere thought of having to 
remember something new.

"Oh that's just too funny!" laughed Miranda, "But don't kappas 
have no top to their heads, and if the water leaks out they die?"

"Something like that," chuckled Misty, scratching her pokemon on 
the head to make sure it was firmly attached, "But also some 
people call golducks 'kappas'. Maybe it'll be a lucky name for 
him."   

"You just want him to evolve," said Miranda teasingly as she 
walked over and sat cross-legged beside Misty.

"Have I ever denied that?" the trainer replied with a smile before 
turning her attention to the quiet splashing she heard by the 
pool, "Oh! Great timing ladies!"

Her starmie and goldeen stared back at her as Misty turned to face 
the sound, an aura of expectation seeming to surround them. "I 
guess they talked to 'Poseidon'," commented Miranda. 

"Guess so," Misty agreed pointing at her goldeen first, "Okay 
girls, firstly, Goldeen. Your new name is Marina. Starmie? I'm 
calling you Umberlee. Unless either of you object..."

The goldeen gave a nonchalant reply, flipping backwards and 
disappearing under the water, not seeming to mind the change. The 
starmie, however, gave a more meaningful reply. 

Misty felt a gentle brush against her mind, and a moment later 
felt a deep sense of approval emanating form the Umberlee. 
"Wow..." the girl stammered, leaning back against the strange 
sense of vertigo that overcame her, "When did you learn to do 
that?"

"About a week ago," came the voice of Lily as she pushed the door 
to the upstairs open and walked towards them, "I guess her psychic 
half is starting to assert itself."

"Really?" inquired Misty, a wide grin crossing her face, "Has she 
learned any actual psychic techniques at all?"

"Not really," replied her sister with a shrug, tossing her long 
red hair over one shoulder as she moved to hand Miranda a 
newspaper clipping, "Well anyway, Violet said you wanted to see 
this."

"Thanks," said Miranda absently as she took the cut out and 
scanned it over quickly, "Say, um, is your sister okay?"

"Violet's fine," assured Lily dismissively, "Her pride's bruised, 
but she'll recover, "On, and, Misty?"

"Yes?" her sibling inquired, her tone somewhat defensive as she 
glanced suspiciously.

"Yeah, like the three of us are going out shopping," Lily 
explained, not even noticing her sister's reply, "so would you 
mind watching the gym for a few hours? Thanks, don't wait up!"

Misty shook her head and turned to Miranda. "See what I mean?" she 
asked rhetorically as her sister headed back upstairs, "I'm 
furniture to them. Not that I mind looking after the place and 
all. So, what's with the secret note?"

"Um, a love letter?" offered Miranda, smiling at the expression 
that momentarily crossed Misty's face before reading the article 
more thoroughly, "It's the contest your sister told me about 
before she tried something stupid."

"Oh?"

"Poetry contest," she continued as Misty shuffled closer and read 
over her shoulder, "It's being held at the Festival, and the first 
prize is rather ironic."

"A free dinner for two at 'Ces Batards De L'autre Cote De La 
Rue'," read Misty, leaning her head on Miranda's shoulder, "Isn't 
that the place-?"

"Where we made a delivery to last night?" finished Miranda with an 
amused grin, finishing Misty's sentence without thinking, "Yes. A 
delightful irony really."

"Hmm, and it does sound kinda romantic," added Misty, slipping her 
arm around Miranda's and holding it tight, "Don't you think?"

"Kinda..." replied, Miranda reluctantly, struggling to translate 
the strange, snooty sounding name, "But we'll find out when I 
win."

"Oooh! You're confident," teased Misty, looking up at Miranda with 
an amused smile.

"I afford to be," the woman assured her, "I have the greatest 
source of inspiration in the know universe by my side."

"Kappa?!" inquired Misty, unable to keep a straight face as 
Miranda's jaw dropped and she struggled to speak.

"That's it!" scolded Miranda mock severity as Misty laughed, 
startling Kappa awake, "Now you're in trouble!"

"Why? What'd I do?" asked Misty, chuckling as she looked up at 
Miranda as innocently as possible. 

Miranda sighed and shook her head as she crouched down and scooped 
Misty up into her arms. "Well normally I'd say that you're guilty 
of making me deliriously happy," she explained as Misty put her 
arms around Miranda's neck for support, "But I think that joke 
deserves a harsher punishment that simple reciprocation."

"And just what are you going to do about then, my love?" inquired 
Misty, using the sweetest tone she could muster, brushing her nose 
against Miranda's as she spoke.

"I think," her lover replied, slyly before turning towards the 
pool, "That I'll just toss you in!"

"Ah, no!" exclaimed Misty, laughing even as she clung to Miranda's 
neck for dear life, "At least not fully clothed, anyway!"

"Oh all right," the woman chuckled, a mirthful smile crossing her 
face as she turned around before releasing Misty's legs, "Then 
I'll just have to undress you first!"

"What?!" laughed Misty, as embarrassed as she was amused by 
Miranda's sudden playfulness, "My sisters are coming down soon! I 
can't let them see me naked!"

"They've seen me," Miranda teased, one arm still about her lover's 
shoulders as she lifted the front of Misty's top just enough to 
get a reaction, "It's only fair. Besides, it'll take them hours to 
put on their make-up!"

"Hey! That's not nice," Misty giggled, grabbing the bottom of her 
shirt and pulling it back down before pushing against Miranda with 
her hip, sending the courier a step back, "Although it's very 
true!"

"I suppose," agreed Miranda, looking thoughtful, "And actually, 
it's better that they don't see you naked."

"Oh?" inquired Misty, giving Miranda a knowing glance, mostly 
sensing what was to come, "And why's that?"

"Well," the woman explained with an expression of helplessness, 
"Then they'd see what true beauty is..." at this point, she 
adopted Violet's 'Valley girl' tone and said, "Then they'd like 
totally not be able to compare to it, and they'd just like to 
totally die!"

Miranda smiled as Misty's laughter echoed through the room as the 
door slid open and her trio of siblings entered the gym area. "To 
speak the name is to invoke the power," she quoted, smiling 
politely and nodding as the three sisters stopped and stared at 
Misty.

"Like, what's so funny?" inquired Violet, as always the leader of 
the terrible trio.

"Oh, nothing," assured Misty, waving her hand dismissively as she 
wiped a tear from her eye, "Just us being despicably cute."

"I see," commented Lily suspiciously as Violet cringed and Daisy 
smirked, "Well, we're off.

"So, like take care of the Gym while we're gone, okay Misty?" 
replied Violet, her falsely friendly tone sounding more like an 
order to Miranda's ears.

"No problem," assured Misty with a shrug, "I checked the register, 
and we're not expecting any challengers today."

"Well, we'll probably be gone until this evening," Violet called 
over her shoulder as the trio wandered past them and towards the 
exit.

"So don't wait up, you two," chuckled Lily mysteriously.

"Shopping is such a total chore!" added Daisy, their heals 
clicking noisily across the floor as they entered the foyer and 
their voices became a muffled cacophony before the being silenced 
by the final sounding boom of the main doors sliding shut and 
locking behind them.   

"You know," commented Miranda, shaking her head as the echoes 
faded, "They kinda scare me."

"Just don't give them too much leeway," Misty advised, walking 
towards the stairs, "Anyway, you want anything? I was going to 
throw on my bathing suit and take a swim."

"Well, my back pack if it's not too much trouble," said Miranda a 
little sheepishly, "I have this idea for a poem I could enter in 
the contest, and it's going to burn a hole in my head if I don't 
get it down soon."

Misty smiled, shaking her head in amusement as Miranda checked the 
back of her head with her hand, a perplexed expression crossing 
the woman's face. "Okay, I'll be down in a second," she promised 
before jogging up the stairs.

"Thanks," Miranda called before glancing down at Kappa. "You need 
swimming lessons, don't you?" she inquired rhetorically, causing 
the psyduck to tilt his head to one side and stare blankly at her 
in confusion, "Okay, this is probably spoiling her, but I'll see 
if I can get Umi to help you."

Miranda unfastened a pokeball and hit a hidden switch, causing it 
to expand to functional size before holding it out towards the 
pool. "Umi, dear," she called out lovingly, "It's time to spoil 
you rotten again!"

With a flash of light and a splash, Miranda's dratini reappeared, 
floating happily in the immense pool. "Draaaa!" she exclaimed, 
about to dive under causing Miranda to shake her head sternly.

"Not just yet, love," she told the little dragon, causing Umi's 
eyes to swirl from contented yellow-green to a disappointed mauve, 
"I need you to help Kappa learn to swim some more. You've done 
okay teaching him before, but he still needs practice, okay?"

Umi nodded, looking a little forlorn before glancing at Kappa and 
blasting him with a small jet of water. "Psy! Psy! Psy!" the 
pokemon exclaimed, running in fear from his own element as Miranda 
suppressed a laugh.

"No! Not like that, dear," she scolded half hearted, "try just 
getting him into the water first, then make sure he doesn't drown. 
For some reason Kappa hasn't figured out he's amphibious yet..."

Miranda shook her head, grumbling at the bizarre ludicrousness of 
Misty's psyduck, yet strangely reassured that the Universe had a 
sense of humor. With a wary sigh, she went up into the bleachers 
and took a seat in the front row before pulling out her note pad 
and scribbling a basic outline for her latest work.

"Started already?" inquired Misty as Miranda scratched out the 
first few notes and stared down at her note pad in dismay.

"Yeah," she replied warily, glancing up at Misty and smiling, "I 
want to make sure it looks alright before I add it to my book.

Misty nodded, lifting Miranda's heavy backpack over the short wall 
before leaning over and glancing at the small booklet Miranda 
held. "Can I see?" she asked playfully, feeling more mischievous 
than curious.

"No!" chuckled Miranda, trying to sound worried as she held the 
precious note pad close to her heart as she set her backpack down, 
"Not until the tomorrow. Then I shall reveal the depth of my love 
for you to thousands of people! Unless you'd prefer that I didn't. 
I'm sure I've got something old I can dig out of my poetry book."

"No, that's alright," assured Misty with an amused grin as Miranda 
opened the weather-beaten pack and yanked out a thick, hardcover 
book, "I certainly have nothing hide. And I have no fear of 
showing off my chosen lover to the masses."

"Then I'll be sure to make it extra sappy and embarrassing, just 
for you!" assured Miranda jokingly as she smiled down at the old 
black covered book, filled with yellowing parchment and a decade's 
worth of memories.

"Hey, I like sappy and romantic," replied Misty, trying to sound 
hurt as she took her first real good look at the tome Miranda 
held, "Hey, what's with the scratches?" she asked as the woman 
turned the book over and opened to the first page.

"It's from a persian," Miranda explained grimly, looking up at 
Misty over her glasses and pausing for a moment as her brain 
registered the fact that the pale green two piece bathing suit her 
lover wore was new to her, "It happened The year I left home; the 
same year that I received Nezumi. If it wasn't for this book, I'd 
probably be the one with the scars."  

Misty gulped, cringing at the thought of how big the feline would 
have to have been to carve out the four long, deep gashes in the 
precious book. "He doesn't remember the incident himself," Miranda 
continued with a shrug, idly running her fingertips along the deep 
gashes, "But he doesn't like felines much. I suppose the memories 
still in his subconscious somewhere. It's a good thing I was 
there, or he'd have made a quick snack for that monster."

"By the looks of things," added Misty, feeling concerned though 
she knew the incident had been long before they'd even met, "You 
were on the menu as well. I don't think I like that idea much."

Miranda shrugged, flipping the book closed as she thoughtfully 
searched Misty's eyes. "I'd do it again," she promised, her tone 
distant, but loving, "He was worth it. Even with his smart mouth."

Misty smiled; laughing a bit under her breath as Miranda looked 
down at the book and opened it's creaking binding to one of the 
last poems. "Well, I should go make sure Umi doesn't drown Kappa," 
she commented, glancing over her shoulder at the sudden frantic 
splashing and frightened yelling from the pool, "Don't work too 
hard!"

Miranda glanced up and smiled in amusement. "This is work?" Misty 
inquired laughing and holding her book back protectively as Misty 
dove gracefully into the pool as though it were the most natural 
thing in the world. 'For you I doubt it is, my love,' the courier 
mused, glancing at the first poem she'd ever composed for Misty. 
The black ink staining the special paper the book was bound with 
almost symbolically, 'Not that this is for me.'

She closed the book a bit hesitantly and tossed the note pad on 
top of it, partially covering the cover's wounds. 'Okay,' Miranda 
told herself, 'Time to show the world what I'm capable of.'

Once her pen touched the paper, Miranda felt could almost feel the 
weight of unused words pressing against her mind, their deep 
desire to spill out upon the page unhindered by the fact that it 
was merely a rough draft. Without looking up, she wrote 
frantically, pausing only to haphazardly cross out spelling errors 
and occasionally put tiny 'X's before whole stanzas to symbolize 
the fact that they were simply to be abandoned. As she wrote, 
Miranda even gave up any sense of chronology with the work, 
writing as the ideas came, and making little number notes to tell 
her which stanzas went where, occasionally adding bracketed 
alternate phrases at the ends of lines in case her other ideas 
either meshed better with a different wordings, were more 
meaningful, or just plain sounded better.

As time ticked by, Miranda absently noted that she couldn't hear 
the splashing of the water, the joyful calls of the pokemon, or 
Misty's nearly musical laughter. She took a moment to focus a part 
of her brain on it, letting it in so that her love for Misty could 
focus her creative energies. Giving her muse a truer focus, and 
ultimate goal. 

'This is almost like making love with her,' the woman mused, her 
ears half listening, her senses all but unaware of the world 
around her save for the sound of Misty's voice, and what she was 
doing in her name, 'My mind focused on a single goal, my senses 
focused only upon my beloved.'

Miranda glanced up in time to see Misty pull herself from the 
pool. In that instant, the image burned itself permanently into 
her mind. Time seeming to slow to a near halt with Misty's hands 
placed firmly on the edge of the pool, pushing her upper half into 
the air as her serene smile was reflected in a million tiny 
droplets of water that seemed all but reluctant to fall to earth 
rather than hang suspended for all eternity, reflecting a beauty 
they were but a shadow of. 

Misty opened her eyes, unfreezing the moment, and blushing as she 
noticed Miranda admiring her. With a wider smile, she pulled 
herself the rest of the way out of the water, and glanced over her 
shoulder absently, making sure that the pokemon could get along 
without her for the moment. Then, as she turned back to face her 
lover, Misty reached up and unfastened her hair, letting it fall 
wetly across her face as her amused smile became one of mischief.

Without a word, Miranda set down her note pad and returned the 
smile, looking on with admiration as Misty stepped closer, 
dripping as tiny beads of water covered her body as her bathing 
suit clung so tightly it left little to Miranda's imagination.

"I haven't worn this thing in quite a while," the trainer 
explained in a curious tone, tilting her head ever so slightly to 
one side as she reached up to unfasten the clasp in the front, "I 
found it when I went upstairs and I'm surprised it still fits. But 
it's a touch uncomfortable..."

Miranda pursed her lips as the clasp came undone with an almost 
ominous -click-, and the two halves of Misty's top fell to the 
sides, allowing her only tantalizing glimpse of her lover's bosom.

"You know," continued Misty, leaning forward just a little as she 
took hold of the bottom half of her bathing suit with both hands, 
her voice wavering ever so slightly as she spoke, "It's 
interesting how different pokemon view our need for clothing..." 
Miranda swallowed, exhaling slowly as Misty slowly pushed the 
bottom half of her pale green swimsuit a short distance over the 
swell of her hips, "Staryu and starmies don't seem to notice. The 
lack of real eyes, I suppose. Where as goldeen think we're silly 
to worry about such things..." Misty's smile broadened somewhat as 
she turned around, teasingly protecting her modesty as her 
swimsuit slid down on her toned, athletic legs, "And psyducks are 
just to stupid to notice."

"I- I see," commented Miranda, crossing her legs uncomfortably and 
nearly breaking her pen in half as Misty stepped out of the 
garment, the firm rise of her bottom an unavoidably provocative 
eye-catcher before standing up straighter and stretching out her 
muscles.

"I hope so," Misty chuckled as her top fell from her shoulders 
before glancing over her shoulder at Miranda and blushing as she 
leapt forward, diving into the pool once more, scattering water-
pokemon in all directions.

"Breathtaking," Miranda mused, standing up and leaning on the 
retaining wall as she watched Misty swim at an amazing speed 
towards the bottom of the pool, "A creature worthy of a thousand 
ballads."

Setting her notepad down on the wall, and scribbling a few notes 
whenever her muse whispered new inspirations into her ear, Miranda 
stood and watched Misty as she swam. Her graceful movements almost 
making Umi seem clumsy by comparison as she glided through the 
water, holding her breath for longer than seemed possible. 

When Misty finally returned to the surface for breath, she broke 
the surface as dramatically as possible, ever aware of Miranda's 
quiet voyeurism. With a joyful smile, she held her arms out and 
head back, her orangish hair falling flat by the weight of the 
water. Then, as Misty arched her back and continued her forward 
momentum, she inhaled another lungful sweet air, and slid into the 
water, head first into her favored element. Leaving Miranda with 
images of water glistening of her naked skin, clinging almost 
hungrily to Misty before her lover disappeared beneath the waves 
once again. There one moment, gone the next, almost akin to a half 
forgotten dream or an unconfirmed sighting of a legendary pokemon.

"I'm going to be here all day," chuckled Miranda, taking off her 
glasses and rubbing her eyes before brushing her bangs back to 
distract herself long enough for coherent thought to return, only 
to have the moment stolen fully by the chime of her watch. 

With a wary sigh, she glanced at the timepiece, clicking it into 
pager mode. As she feared, the Courier Crew dispatch number was 
scrolling hurriedly across the tiny screen. "I'm only half 
thankful they gave me one of these," she muttered sitting down and 
digging through her backpack until she found the cell-phone she 
hated using before hitting the speed dial.

The line made a few odd noises as the satellite automatically 
rerouted the signal to the closest dispatch center. "Cerulean 
Dispatch," came the mildly edgy tone of the man on duty, "How can 
I help you?"

"Yeah, this is Lilcamp. Courier number 09143102, I just got a page 
from you guys?" replied Miranda, leaning back in her seat warily, 
wishing she was allowed the simple contentment of watching Misty's 
naked form glide effortlessly through the calm waters of the 
Olympic sized swimming pool. 

"Oh! Oh good!" came the dispatcher's all too relieved response, 
"Sorry to bug you, ma'am, but it seems there's been a small 
accident and-"

"An accident? Where?" demanded Miranda, leaping to her feet, "It 
isn't Zack is it?!" 

"No ma'am," assured the dispatcher, "It was our usual mail 
courier. Some joker thought it'd be funny to toss a crowbar 
through the front spokes of his bike."

"Ouch! Is he okay?"

"He's expected to live," the man commented with what must have 
been a mirthful grin, "but we're still waiting to hear from the 
hospital as to when he'll be on his feet again. He flew quite a 
distance over his handlebars apparently. Good thing he had that 
jigglypuff with him to land on..."

"For sure," laughed Miranda, the thought of the hapless courier 
sailing head first into his over inflated jigglypuff making her 
chuckle despite the seriousness of the matter, "So, how big a 
route are we talking here?"

"Oh, maybe an hour," assured the dispatcher, "Two if the weather 
decides not to cooperate. You're lucky, though, it would've been 
longer but if he hadn't been attacked at the midway point."

"Lucky me," commented Miranda giving Misty a mournful look as she 
surfaced again and gave the courier a quizzical look, "Anyway, I 
can be at the hospital in ten minutes or so to grab the rest of 
his delivery in about ten minutes."

"Great," replied the dispatcher, cheering up considerably, "Thanks 
Ms. Lilcamp, we appreciate it!"

"Not a prob'," commented Miranda, hitting the 'End' button and 
tossing the phone back in her backpack as Misty walked over and 
leaned over the wall.

"What's up?"

"Oh, duty calls," the woman explained, stuffing her book back in 
with the phone, "No rest of the wicked, I suppose."

"You'll be back in time for supper, I hope?" asked Misty, 
shuffling her feet as Miranda stood back up and met her hopeful 
gaze.

"I won't be gone a half second longer than I have to be," Miranda 
promised with a reassuring smile, holding Misty's chin 
affectionately as she leaned forward to kiss her.

"Oh, and I heard you mention a hospital," added Misty as Miranda 
pulled reluctantly away, before coming out from behind the short 
wall, "I hope everything's okay."

Miranda nodded, a reminiscent smile crossing her lips. "I'm sure 
I've had worse injuries," she assured, idly wondering just how bad 
off the courier was and who'd had the audacity to do such a thing, 
"But if not, I might have deliver the mail for the next few days."

"I see," commented Misty worriedly, "Then I guess you'd miss the 
contest..."

"It's the price we non city-bound courier's pay for our freedom, 
my love," Miranda explained, coming around to give her a half a 
hug good-bye, "We have to stand in when the city-bound couriers 
are sick or injured."

"That's okay," assured Misty, being careful not to get Miranda 
wet, but trying to give her a hug good-by all the same, "I'm not 
going anywhere." 

Miranda nodded, smiling sadly before turning and walking towards 
the foyer, refusing to look back. 'I must be getting soft,' she 
sighed inwardly, 'My dedication to duty seems to be failing... Oh 
well, it is a small price to pay for love.'

"Ooo! Draaa!" came a panicked voice behind her as she opened the 
double doors that lead to the Gym's front foyer.

"Umi?" asked Miranda, spinning around in time to see her dratini 
slithering out of the water to race frantically towards her. A 
panicked took had crossed the suddenly stricken dragon's face as 
she slithered awkwardly across the tiled surface after her 
trainer.

The courier could only smile at the forlorn sounds the dratini 
made as she stopped at Miranda's feet and reared up, her eyes 
swirling a combination of orange and yellow. 

"I'll be back soon, dear," Miranda assured, picking up the 
slippery serpent and holding her wet body at arm's length, "Just 
stay and play with Misty for now."

"Iiiini!" exclaimed Umi sadly, reaching forward to poke Miranda's 
nose with her snout in a gesture that always filled the woman's 
heart with love and made her laugh.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay and play with your friends, 
Umi?" Miranda inquired, glancing past the little dragon at the 
group of pokemon who looked on in curiosity.

Umi turned, following Miranda's gaze. Her eyes changing to a 
thoughtful lavender as she mulled it over before turning back and 
brushing her trainer's cheek with her snout affectionately. 
"Draaa!" she agreed before slithering free of Miranda's grasp and 
making her way back to the pool.

"Bye!" called Miranda in a maternal tone, laughing in her 
amusement, and glad to see that her pokemon cared about her as 
much as she cared about them, "See you soon!"

She gave Misty a final glance, and the trainer blew her a kiss. 
"Farewell, my love," the courier whispered, turning away before 
her resolve could erode any further, and hurried out the door...

***

Even from under the water, Misty could hear the front doors of the 
gym open and close, followed by the sound of unhurried footsteps 
across the tiled floor. With a 'follow me' motion to Umberlee, she 
swam to the surface, a strange suspicion over coming her.

What Misty saw when she partially left the water caused anger to 
immediately stir within her. Before the trainer, standing by the 
pool with a determined look upon his face and an apprehensive 
looking pikachu on his shoulder, was Ash.

"What are you doing here?!" she demanded as Umberlee surfaced 
directly in front of her, protecting her modesty, "A Pokemon Gym 
is sacred ground! You can't just wander in any old time you like!"

Ash shrugged, nervously glancing around the gym as though Misty 
weren't even there. "Well, sorry, but I heard you were in town and 
I thought I'd stop by. Maybe see if you'd gotten bored of 
following that old woman around."

"Old woman?!" demanded Misty, clinging to Umberlee with one arm as 
she shook an angry fist at Ash, "How dare you! Besides, Miranda's 
only two and a half years older than me, ya know! Which means 
she's way more mature than you'll ever be!"

"Oh, whatever, Misty!" countered Ash, meeting Misty's hard gaze 
for the first time as Umi broke the surface of the water, resting 
upon Misty's shoulder with eyes that swirled an angry red, "Look, 
we've been together all this time, why leave now? You know I'm 
going back to the League again, eh? And this time, I intend to 
win!"

"Yeah, so?" laughed Misty cynically as she felt the dratini's tail 
wrap protectively around her torso, "You'll only loose again 
anyway. And the League isn't accepting challengers until next year 
anyway. Furthermore, there's no way I'm wasting one more second of 
my life with you! If I want a heartless, unfeeling, immature 
traveling companion, I'll find myself a lobotomized geodude!"

Ash glowered at her dangerously, but said nothing, instead opting 
to turn and storm out the gym in a huff. As he went, Misty glanced 
at Pikachu. The yellow furred rodent glanced over his shoulder at 
her and shook his head sadly. His eyes would have had tears in 
them if pikachus could cry, and it made Misty's heart sink to see 
a friend get caught in middle of it all.

"I'm sorry," she whispered once Ash was back out in the sunlight, 
and hugged her starmie for support, "I'm sorry you had to get 
stuck with such a crappy trainer, Pikachu."

Umberlee made a concern sound and sent a feeling of deep concern 
into her trainer's mind as Umi made sympathetic noises and nuzzled 
Misty's neck. "It's okay, guys," she assured them, turning around 
to see her other pokemon looking on with equal concern, "I'll be 
alright. Now, let's see about teaching Umberlee to use her psi 
powers to their fullest potential, and getting Kappa to learn to 
swim...!"

Chapter VII

The sun was high above, yet its rays were showing the first signs 
of weakness as the Earth began to slowly drift away from it, 
heralding the end of Summer. Throughout the park, a few people and 
most of the staff were wearing light jackets. The tourists from 
Cinnabar where easiest to spot, however, they were the ones who 
continually had to remove their Winter gloves to prove that they'd 
had their hands stamped. 

But the cooler weather failed to stop most of the local population 
from showing up to the End of Summer Festival, and Misty and 
Miranda found themselves waiting in a rather long line up to get 
in.

Once at the ticket booth, Miranda paid for them both and led the 
way to the closest information booth. Behind the park 
representative, obviously paid not to look bored, was a huge map 
of the area, complete with tourist friendly large print and far 
too happy looking symbols for all the points of interest.

According to the map, the Festival used the natural lake near the 
center of Cerulean City, with the entrance to the festival at the 
South shore near the marina, which advertised a weeklong boat show 
with free admission to all festivalgoers. At the opposite end, the 
wooded parkland area at the lake's North shore was being used as a 
place for people to relax and have lunch. If one could ignore the 
omnipresent concession stands and people shouting out the days 
specials, while the rest of the End Of Summer Festival encircled 
the lake with mostly rides games on the West side, and shows and 
various game booths were confined to the East side. In the lake 
itself, however, floated the Festival organizer's huge yacht that 
served as their base of operations. It was also a convenient base 
camp for the small group of Pokeforce Officers who mostly sat in 
their motorboats looking bored as they kept an eye on things, 
waiting to back up their land bound comrades if need be. 

"So, what's first on the agenda?" inquired Miranda, giving Misty's 
hand a squeeze.

"Well, I think we should get you signed up first," her lover 
offered, checking out the large plague with that listed off the 
times and locations of the festival's scheduled activities, "We're 
fairly close to where the contest's going to be held..."

"And that's dangerously close to that water pokemon show their 
having in fifteen minutes," added Miranda, giving Misty a knowing 
glance.

"Hey, I never said I didn't have an ulterior motive!" she laughed 
in reply, suddenly grabbing hold of Miranda's arm and hugging 
herself against it, "Besides, we're here to have fun, right?" 

Miranda smiled, giving Misty a gentle kiss on the forehead. "How 
could I possibly deny you anything?" she asked rhetorically, 
"Besides, I don't think they have a gyarados there, and you could 
probably teach them a few things!"

"Hey, I'm not that good!" laughed Misty, leading the way past a 
group of lost looking tourists, "Besides, Professor Myria is 
always there to do a short talk about water types."

"Is she Cerulean's Poke' Prof?" inquired Miranda as they passed 
through the gates of the marina and followed the brightly coloured 
cutouts of water pokemon that lead the way to the area they 
wanted.

"Yup, our very own para-zoologist," replied Misty with a nod, 
"She's the one who gave me Shadow, way back when. Although I did 
eventually manage to catch the other two types she had available 
on my own later."

"The goldeen and the horsea?"

Misty nodded. "New trainers in Cerulean City can only choose water 
types," explained Misty as they found a good seat in the bleachers 
overlooking a cordoned off section of lake, "Some people might 
call that a weakness, but I've always thought of it as something 
to be proud of."

"Lav'Brats get a choice of a rattata, pidgey, or a bellsprout," 
added Miranda reminiscently.

"That's an odd combination. And um, 'Lav'Brat'?"

Miranda smiled reminiscently, giving Misty a sideways glance. 
"That's what we started calling ourselves," she explained, shaking 
her head at the thought, "Well, usually it's 'Lavender Brats.' I 
can't even remember who started it originally, but last time I 
checked new generations of trainers from Lavender started using 
the term. It's both flattering and disturbing!" 

"It must be interesting to be from a small town like that," 
chuckled Misty, giving Miranda a playful nudge, "I'll bet it's 
really hard to keep secrets there too."

"Painfully!" agreed Miranda with a laugh, "Infact, Lavender's so 
small, that my aunt's our town's pokemon professor."

"Wow," commented Misty, looking up at Miranda with a touch of awe, 
"That must have its advantages."

"Oh, sure," chuckled Miranda, "If you don't mind being a guinea 
pig now and then."

"She didn't make you spend the night in the Tower, did she?" 
inquired Misty in a nervous tone as several people walked out onto 
the small platform at the water's edge and began releasing pokemon 
in the lake.

"Goodness no!" cringed Miranda, the Lav'Brat's tone serious as her 
complexion paled a little, "No one's THAT crazy! Well, maybe 
Zack... Oh, I see the show's about to begin."

Misty turned in time to see a smiling woman with long, dark green 
hair that was giving way to gray and emerald green eyes, partially 
hidden by glasses so huge they made Miranda's seem small by 
comparison, step out onto the stage. "Hi all!" she called out 
enthusiastically, waving to the group of mostly families who had 
assembled in the bleachers as the wind blew the hem of the long 
dark green dress she wore under her official looking lab coat, "My 
name's Professor Myria, and this-" the woman tossed a pokeball 
into the water, releasing a an ancient looking kingdra, "-is 
Waterstorm!" 

"Hey, he evolved since last time I was here," laughed Misty over 
the applause to the crowd as Professor Myria tossed a fish to the 
suddenly very pleased looking water-type who snatched it out with 
his snoutful of razor sharp teeth.

"They're allot bigger than I thought they were," commented 
Miranda, glancing over at Misty, "I guess that means Poseidon's 
going to be a match for Leviathan when he grows up."

"Oh, ya!" laughed Misty, her sea green eyes reflecting future 
victories, "I'm going to show the world just what water pokemon 
are capable of. Just you wait!"

Miranda put her arm around Misty, giving her half a hug. "For 
forever and a day," she promised as Professor Myria stopped mid-
sentence and glanced at her watch.

"Hey," she commented, sounding a little annoyed as she glanced out 
over the lake, her voice echoing as the hidden microphone caught 
every word she said, "They should be here by now..."

"'They?' inquired Miranda, glancing at Misty who suddenly covered 
her face in her hands and shook her head.

"I should have known..." the trainer muttered, "It's like an 
ancient Egyptian curse!"

"Say wha-?" began Miranda, looking in the direction of the lake as 
a huge volume of water was rapidly displaced by large object 
rising out of it, "They aren't-? That isn't-?"

Misty only nodded, not even bothering to look as a huge mechanical 
tentacruel cast a long dark shadow over Professor Myria and 
Waterstorm. In response the woman, who had been standing with her 
arms crossed and her foot tapping impatiently sighed heavily and 
lifted her arms above her head with a bored look upon her face.  

"Alright, already," she muttered bitterly as the four of five 
people in the crowd who began to panic were settled down by those 
who had started laughing, and two huge tentacles came down to wrap 
around the woman and her pokemon, "Let's get this fiasco over 
with!"

"Get this over with?!" came a trio of voices, the sound echoing 
strangely from within the metal monster, "Whatever do you mean?"

Myria sighed heavily, once more folding her arms and looking bored 
out of her tree as Waterstorm yawned widely and swished his scaly 
tail idly. "Every year it's the same old thing," she chided, 
seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was suspended a dangerous 
distance above the ground, "You guys build some new contraption 
that's supposed to be a pathetic attempt to resemble a water 
pokemon, and you march in here expecting all of us to just hand 
over our pokemon. Like some how the concept of being horribly out 
numbered means nothing to you! As if being surrounded by Pokeforce 
Officers wasn't a criminal deterrent-!"

"You know," interrupted a male voice as small hatch on top of the 
giant tentacruel opened and familiar looking figure popped out, "I 
think she's right."

"So what James!?" exclaimed an equally familiar woman with long 
red hair, "This is more than just our responsibility to our 
organization!"

"It's a tradition!" added Meowth as he popped up between the two, 
"And you have to admit that last year's 'contraption' wasn't that 
half-bad."

"I suppose," agreed Myria hesitantly, "But kinglers are supposed 
to walk sideways. I don't really think that it was realistic to 
have it run forward like that."

"Hey, we're villains!" defended Jessie, as Waterstorm nodded in 
agreement with his trainer, equally serene despite their 
situation, "We don't have to follow the rules!"

Myria opened one eye and gave the trio a sideways glance. "And 
what about the dewgong?" she inquired with a hint of a smirk, "Or 
the starmie that couldn't stand and fell flat on its face? Or the-
?!"

"Alright! Alright!" the trio exclaimed, covering their ears and 
crying, "We admit it, we're no good at this!"

"Maybe we should start paying you morons to show up and get your 
butts kicked," Professor Myria commented as she and her pokemon 
were put back down, "It couldn't hurt the show. Might even bring 
in a few more people."

"Hmm, that's an interesting thought," pondered James as Jessie 
smacked him hard on top of the head.

"Forget about!" she growled, pulling out a remote control that 
started the tentacles flailing about threateningly, "Team Rocket 
doesn't do legitimate business! We're a crime syndicate, we should 
start acting like one!"

"But Jessie," continued James, grabbing the remote as well and 
trying to pull it away from his partner, "Don't you remember what 
Professor Vlad said?"

"The illegal gambling is just a front?" offered Meow, "The real 
money's in the dry cleaning?" 

"I don't care!" yelled Jessie, planting a foot against James' 
chest and yanking at the remote with both hands for all she was 
worth.

"Okay that's enough," commented Myria, with only mild amusement, 
"Waterstorm, blizzard attack."

"Wow! I'll bet Umi could learn that," commented Miranda 
thoughtfully as the enormous draconic seahorse turned his long 
snout to face the mechanical tentacruel and let loose with 
swirling blast of what appeared to be snow and hail, accompanied 
by a howling wind, "But I think I'd call it 'Cone Of Cold'."

"Hey!" complained Misty as she peeked out between her fingers, 
"Why didn't you tell me they were using a tentacruel this year?"

"They do this every year?" asked Miranda, smiling in bemusement as 
she watched the swirling blast of Winter's might spread outwards 
in an ever increasing area until it enveloped most of the 
mechanical pokemon causing most of the surrounding water to freeze 
solid around it.

"Every year for the last five," assured Misty as several uniformed 
Pokeforce Officers on jet skis sped onto the scene, lead by an 
Officer Jenny who seemed oblivious to the chill even though her 
uniform consisted of her hat and uniform jacket over a dark blue 
one-piece bathing suit, "Fortunately, though, I've managed to miss 
most of them."

"Well, that about wraps that up," laughed Myria, turning back to 
the crowd as the Pokeforce officers tossed out ropes with 
grappling hooks on the ends that caught hold of the small ice-flow 
before towing the three wannabe criminals and their mechanical 
tentacruel off into open water.

"Close, but not quite!" called Meowth, laughing as he pulled out a 
second remote and hit the overly large red button that took up 
most of it.

Within an instant, a second hatch opened and a huge balloon had 
inflated. There was a loud mechanical -clank!- and part of the 
tentacruel's head detached, taking the three Rocket's with it. 

"Sorry!" the three called down laughing, "But not today!"

"They'll be back," shrugged Misty warily, "They always are..."



Copywrite
Nikolai Mirovich (Nikolai@Nergal.Org)
"http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Nikolai_Mirovich"
June 9, 2001






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