Brave to Dare
A/N: I hope you guys haven't been waiting too long for an update. If you have, sorry. Things just have been going nuts, with school and other things. On the bright side, this chapter was kind of easy to write, since this is another one of my favorite scenes from the original Disney movie.
Well, let's get on with Chapter 7. Roll it!
Chapter 7
Official Meeting
Soon, Dawn found herself at the center plaza. In front of her was the famous Prism Tower, reaching high up into the sky. What people had said about the iconic tower was true. It was nearly impossible to not notice it, no matter where one may be in the city.
Just then, a small drop hit her bare arm, freezing her in her tracks.
"Piplup!" Dawn looked up at her Water type perched on her head and saw that he was rubbing the top of his feathers with a flipper. The teenage girl looked further up and saw that the sky had quickly turned dark grey, and more drops of rain began coming down.
"Oh, come on." Dawn groaned. Of course it had to rain! She mentally slapped herself for not remembering to bring an umbrella in case this would happen. Dawn quickly started running towards a nearby building to hide underneath the shade as the rain rapidly started to increase.
"Now what?" She wondered aloud.
Suddenly, a darker shadow swooped above the building where Dawn was. She looked up and saw a bird-like Pokémon flying towards one of the windows in one of the first couple of floors of Prism Tower. That shadow then hovered near that slightly open window and a figure jumped through it, then two much smaller ones followed suit. Then, the bird-like figure vanished into a faint bright red beam of light.
Dawn got a thought, then smiled. She took out a Poké Ball and opened it. After the usual blue light appeared, a Togekiss emerged and trilled happily.
In an empty hallway of Prism Tower, Ash slipped through a door with Pikachu and Espurr on his heels. The two Pokémon shook themselves to remove all the water that was in their fur. Ash smiled slightly, but it quickly vanished.
He knew that he had done and messed up this time. No one would ever do that in a competition, and as his luck would most likely have it, that annoying brat probably accused him of causing collateral damage that she started and the police are likely out looking for him to arrest him for a crime he didn't commit.
Yeah, the only crime I committed was that I did what no one would do: stand up for that girl who was being bullied right in front of everyone. Ash thought with a grimace.
"Stay close, you two." He said to Pikachu and Espurr.
The two nodded as they scampered ahead of Ash, and they all took careful and quiet steps down the hall. After a few tense seconds, Ash felt a presence coming from behind them. He slowly faltered in his steps, waiting for the right moment and scanning his surroundings for something.
Right when he took one second to pause, he immediately whirled around, grabbing a metal rod nearby and holding it out in front of him, catching the girl by surprise and causing her to fall onto her bottom and the Piplup falling off her head.
Ash recognized the girl before him. It was the same girl who had kind of helped him earlier with the thugs ganging up on Espurr in the alley.
"You." He said. And to think he was starting to like her earlier! He really had rotten luck. Pikachu and Espurr each took a fighting stance beside the male Trainer.
Dawn held up her hands up as she scooted back to stay away from the rod Ash was holding out to her stomach. "Hold up now." She said, trying to compromise. "I don't want any trouble."
"Oh, really?" Ash asked, not removing his rod. "Then why were you following me?" He demanded.
"Calm down." Dawn said, now realizing that she was backed up against the wall. "Please, just give me a chance to apologize."
"For what exactly?" Ash questioned, his eyebrow slightly raised in confusion.
Before he could blink, Dawn quickly pulled the rod away from him and jabbed him in the stomach with it, sending him onto his back from the surprise impact.
"For that, for example." She answered as she got back up on her feet.
Ash glared at her. "You sneaky little-"
"Whoa there!" Dawn cut him off before he could finish his vulgar sentence. "Easy. We may not be in a church, but you should really watch what you say."
Ash recovered from the jab and got back on his feet. Then, by sheer chance, he was near a discarded broom. "Are you always this charming, or am I just lucky?" He asked, before he grabbed the broom and started swinging it at Dawn, who blocked it with the metal rod in her hands.
The Pokémon were having their own battle, with Pikachu firing Thunderbolts, Espurr blocking attacks with a Light Screen, and Piplup shooting out Bubble Beam attacks.
"Hey! Didn't your mother teach you that it is wrong to hit girls?" Dawn asked as she deflected another swing and tried to switch to the offensive.
"Yeah, but also to defend yourself from anyone who seems suspicious." Ash answered back sassily as he blocked Dawn's swing.
The two kept dueling for a few more seconds. "You actually fight pretty well." Dawn said.
They then got into a stance, where they could feel each other's breath on their faces. "Funny." Ash replied. "I was going to say the same thing about you!" He pushed Dawn with his broom.
"That's a little below the belt, don't you think?" Dawn asked, backing away slightly.
"No, this is." Ash answered before he tried to swing his broom into the side of Dawn's head. She dodged it, but then Ash got down and swung Dawn's legs from under her.
Dawn rubbed her sore lower back. "Touché." She commented.
Just then, a Thunderbolt hit Piplup into the wall beside his Trainer, zapping him good. Pikachu and Espurr then appeared beside Ash.
"You're good in self-defense and battling." Dawn noticed.
"Well, there are a lot of things that you don't know about a person at first glance." Ash answered, keeping his broom in front of him, glaring sharply at Dawn.
The blue-haired girl rubbed her lower back as she slowly stood back up. Piplup then managed to shake himself out of his paralyzed state and hugged his Trainer's leg. "Yeah, I noticed." Dawn winced. "Permit me. My name's Dawn." She introduced.
Ash shared a look with the Pokémon beside him that clearly said, "Is she serious right now?"
"And you are..." Dawn trailed off, wanting him to finish. Even though she knew his name, she wanted to be polite and let him introduce himself.
"Is this an interrogation?" Ash asked suspiciously.
Dawn tossed away the metal rod. "I believe it is called an introduction." She said.
"You're not going to turn me in?" Ash asked, his defensive stance slightly faltering and he lowered his broom.
"Why would I turn someone in to the police who did nothing wrong?" Dawn questioned. "Besides, I only came to warn you that they only want to talk to you, and that you're not in trouble."
Ash suddenly felt ashamed of himself. He then put the broom away. "You... are definitely not what I thought you were." He said. "And I suppose an apology is in order."
"Thank you." Dawn said, relieved that he was finally listening to her. The Pokémon ceased their battle stances, seeing that the two Trainers were no longer hostile towards each other.
"So if you're not going to turn me in, what do you want?" Ash asked.
"Your name will suffice." Dawn said with a soft smile. Ash felt he couldn't tear his eyes away from her, seeing just how blue her own eyes were. He then returned her smile.
"Ash Ketchum." He answered, keeping his gaze on her.
"Nice to meet you, Ash." Dawn said.
The Pokémon noticed that the two humans were still looking at each other in a comfortable silence, both smiling softly at the other. The dim lighting was the only light source in the hallway, making Dawn's eyes appear to be glowing the brightest blue, like the ocean. And Ash's own brown eyes seem to glow with a trusting warmth, making them appear like the most delectable chocolate.
"Pika-pi?" The voice of the Electric type and a paw tugging on his leg ended the moment, and both Trainers turned away from each other, slightly blushing. Ash looked down at Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon giving him a teasing grin.
"Don't even start." He said firmly, even though his blush got a little bit deeper.
Piplup made a lovey-dovey face at Dawn, which also made her own blush more noticeable. "Not you too." She hissed.
Then the both of them turned to each other, Ash rubbing the back of his head and Dawn rubbing her arm.
"So, should we get going, then?" She asked. "I mean, uh, let's head on back to the Exhibition." She added awkwardly.
"Yeah." Ash agreed. "We better go."
Silently, all of them headed down towards the bottom floor of the tower.
A/N: How is that for some Pearlshipping fluff? There is definitely a little spark there.
I know, this chapter isn't exactly the longest or the most action-packed, but this is a scene that needed to be in, since obviously in the story, Ash had to choose someone, and Pearlshipping is my OTP, so need I say much?
I hoped y'all enjoyed this chapter anyway. Please leave a review about what you think.
Got to fly! ;)
